eurekapd Chapter 1386 Old Zheng's Restaurant
Chapter 1386 Old Zheng's Restaurant
"Head to Lao Zheng's Restaurant immediately!" Xiao Zhou led his team out. Lao Zheng's Restaurant was packed with customers during lunchtime, and the owner, Zheng Hu, was busy attending to them. Zheng Hu was 35 years old, about 176cm tall, and of slender build. He indeed walked with a slight pigeon-toed gait, perfectly matching Wang Fang's description of the "man in the black jacket" and the physical characteristics deduced from the suspect's footprints at the scene! Xiao Zhou didn't act rashly. Instead, he led his team to sit down in a teahouse diagonally opposite the restaurant, secretly observing Zheng Hu's every move.
Observation revealed that Zheng Hu had a volatile temper. When a customer complained about the high prices, he immediately retorted sharply, nearly getting into a fight, a stark contrast to Qin Lifeng's honest and unassuming nature. More importantly, Zheng Hu was wearing a dark blue work uniform with noticeable wear and tear on the cuffs, which closely resembled the brass-colored metal buttons found at the scene. Xiao Zhou immediately arranged for a team member to go to Hongda Appliance Supermarket to find deliveryman Zhao to verify the delivery details, while he himself remained at the teahouse to monitor Zheng Hu.
Around 2 PM, the team member who went to verify the situation reported back: Deliveryman Zhao confirmed that when he delivered the goods to Lao Zheng's restaurant on the afternoon of September 10th, Zheng Hu personally signed for them. At the time, Zheng Hu was wearing a black jacket, and his attitude was somewhat impatient; he urged Zhao to unload the goods quickly. Zhao recalled that when Zheng Hu signed for the goods, he saw a brand-new air conditioner box in the corner of the restaurant's kitchen, which matched the model of the floor-standing air conditioner Qin Lifeng had purchased. Furthermore, Zhao mentioned that there was another strange man in the restaurant at the time, talking quietly with Zheng Hu. When they saw Zhao enter, the two stopped talking and their expressions became somewhat unusual.
Having gathered this information, Xiao Zhou immediately led his team into Lao Zheng's restaurant. There weren't many customers left. Zheng Hu's eyes flashed with panic when he saw the officers in police uniforms, but he quickly regained his composure: "Officers, are you here for a meal or something else?" "We're from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment. We're here to ask you some questions." Xiao Zhou showed his badge, his gaze sweeping across the restaurant before finally settling on the kitchen. "On the afternoon of September 10th, did you sign for a Gree brand floor-standing air conditioner?"
Zheng Hu's expression changed instantly, but he forced himself to remain calm and said, "Yes, I bought it. So what?" "You bought it?" Xiao Zhou sneered. "We checked the sales records at Hongda Appliance Supermarket. The buyer of this air conditioner is Qin Lifeng, not you. Tell me honestly, why was this air conditioner delivered to you? Why would Qin Lifeng buy an air conditioner for you?"
Upon hearing the name "Qin Lifeng," Zheng Hu visibly stiffened, his eyes darting around. "Qin Lifeng? I don't know him. Maybe the supermarket delivered the wrong thing. I decided that air conditioner wasn't suitable and returned it." "Returned it? Returned it to where? Do you have a return receipt?" Xiao Zhou pressed on. "As far as we know, you didn't go through any return procedures at all, and this air conditioner is currently in your restaurant's kitchen. We've already verified that."
Zheng Hu's forehead broke out in a cold sweat when his lie was exposed, but he still refused to admit it: "I don't know what you're talking about. That air conditioner was definitely not bought by me. Someone else put it here, and I don't know who it was." "Someone else put it here? Who? When did they put it there?" Xiao Zhou continued to press, while giving the team members a wink. The team members immediately went to the kitchen to retrieve the cabinet air conditioner and related evidence.
Inside the kitchen, a brand-new Gree floor-standing air conditioner sat in the corner. The packaging box had been opened, but the air conditioner had not been installed or used. The team carefully examined the air conditioner's surface and found several blurry fingerprints near the air vent. They also discovered a small amount of black fiber inside the packaging box, similar in material to the black fiber found at the scene. Furthermore, in the restaurant's storage room, the team found a button that perfectly matched the brass-colored metal button found at the scene; a few threads remained on the button, suggesting it had recently come off clothing.
When the team members laid out the recovered buttons and air conditioner in front of Zheng Hu, his mental defenses completely collapsed. His legs gave way, and he slumped to the ground. "I confess... I confess everything..." Zheng Hu's voice trembled as he stammered out the whole story. It turned out that Zheng Hu and Qin Lifeng weren't strangers; they had crossed paths three years prior. At that time, Zheng Hu had accumulated a large gambling debt and was being harassed by debt collectors. He learned that Qin Lifeng's oil mill was doing well and that he had considerable savings. Zheng Hu then hatched a scheme, asking Qin Lifeng for money under the guise of "borrowing." Qin Lifeng, being an honest man, initially didn't want to offend him and lent him 5000 yuan.
Instead of being grateful, Zheng Hu took advantage of the situation and repeatedly borrowed money from Qin Lifeng under various pretexts, accumulating over 30,000 yuan in total. Qin Lifeng, unable to bear the harassment, repeatedly demanded repayment, but Zheng Hu refused, claiming he had no money. This led to a conflict between the two. In September of this year, with the loan sharks intensifying their demands, Zheng Hu again approached Qin Lifeng to borrow money, only to be firmly refused. Enraged, Zheng Hu threatened Qin Lifeng, saying he would harm Qin Xiaoyu's son if he didn't receive the money. Concerned for his son's safety and wanting to stop Zheng Hu's harassment, Qin Lifeng offered to buy Zheng Hu an air conditioner to partially offset the debt, while also asking Zheng Hu to stop harassing them.
"Qin Lifeng said he didn't have that much cash on hand right now, so he would buy an air conditioner to offset more than 9 yuan of the debt. He told me not to mention the rest of the money again and to promise not to harass him and his son anymore." Zheng Hu lowered his head, his voice hoarse. "I agreed to him at the time, and he went to Hongda Home Appliance Supermarket and bought that floor-standing air conditioner, agreeing to deliver it to my restaurant on September 10. After the air conditioner was delivered on the afternoon of September 10, I felt unwilling to accept it. I felt that it was too much of a loss to offset more than 9 yuan with just one air conditioner, so I wanted to ask Qin Lifeng for another sum of money."
"Did you go to see Qin Lifeng on the morning of September 11th?" Xiao Zhou pressed. Zheng Hu nodded: "Yes, I called Qin Lifeng on the morning of September 11th and asked him to meet me near the cornfield at the east end of Wangjia Village. I said I had something to discuss with him, but actually I just wanted to force him to give me another 20,000 yuan. He was unwilling to come at first, so I threatened him that if he didn't come, I would go to the school and cause trouble for his son. He had no choice but to agree to come."
According to Zheng Hu's confession, around 10:00 AM on September 11th, Qin Lifeng arrived at the cornfield at the east end of Wangjia Village as agreed. Upon meeting, Zheng Hu demanded another 20,000 yuan from Qin Lifeng, threatening to continue harassing his son otherwise. Qin Lifeng refused on the spot, and the two immediately engaged in a heated argument. Qin Lifeng accused Zheng Hu of breaking his promise, while Zheng Hu, enraged, began to fight with Qin Lifeng.