Chapter 354: Chapter 342 Consolidation_1
Zhu Yantao thought for a moment.
"I recorded all the people they knew in my notebook, but those are the ones I knew of, as well as what was found on their phones. I’m not sure if anything was left out. During the investigation by the police, I wasn’t clear about what was found; they never asked me, nor did I offer any information.
You might think Yueyue, being an actress, must have had a larger social circle. On the contrary, she was a very shy girl. She chose to leave that industry and marry my son, managing the hotel business with him precisely because that circle was too chaotic and she had few real friends.
Therefore, she had few acquaintances. With my son’s parents already gone, she only kept in touch with her two brothers, Fang Qing and Fang Duo. Fang Duo lives abroad. As for classmates, there was only one close one, Qi Yueqiu. After marrying my son, she practically lost touch with everyone else.
As for Guotai, he had three friends from middle school till his disappearance, whom he kept in contact with. I have their names, places of employment, and home addresses all recorded here, but this information was from eight years ago. I don’t know if there have been changes since then, given that Guotai is no longer with us and our contacts have lessened each year."
Zhu Yantao didn’t continue, though everyone understood that it wasn’t just about fewer contacts, but that contacts were utterly severed.
With his son’s family silenced, as friends, some genuinely grieved and feared visiting the elderly, being reminded of their son’s family, so they did not intrude too much.
Then there were those who were nothing more than fair-weather friends. When one used to run restaurants and marry a star, they would cling daily. But when fortune declined, leaving just an elderly couple, of course, there was no need to maintain those relationships.
Why keep in touch?
Could they help pay off debts?
At that time, afraid they probably couldn’t have avoided Zhu Yantao, as he was borrowing money all over the town.
Xu Dayuan glanced at the notes photocopied by Mr. Zhao, his gaze landing on the list. Zhu Yantao had recorded in great detail the information about Zhu Guotai’s three friends, comprehensive data, with all three born in 1971 and all 33 years old in 2004.
Wen Tongyi, a physical education teacher at the No. 27 Middle School; Yan Guoyu, who transitioned from the navy to work at the social security office; Wang Yaochang, detective chief at the Beizhai Police Station.
Next to each person’s job title was a phone number and home address, which saved quite a bit of investigative work.
"You’ve recorded these details very meticulously. Then we’ll start by checking these leads. After all, there’s another case that seems to be connected, so let’s look for commonalities. This matter can’t be rushed. Besides, do you recall something unusual happening to your son before April 14th? For example, any issues with unpaid wages? Or did he discipline someone?"
Zhu Yantao shook his head, rummaging in his backpack and pulling out a ledger, the kind with a blue plastic cover used for manual accounting, and handed it over to Xu Dayuan with both hands.
"Catering enterprises have a high turnover rate among the staff, who often have a low educational background. Moreover, locals in Qindao rarely work as waiters, feeling embarrassed to be seen by neighbors in such jobs. So, my son consistently recruited people from the Luxi and Ludong Western Region.
They were trained before arrival and could start work immediately—those not suitable even after dismissal still received an extra month’s salary as severance, as we had connections with local employment authorities. Consequently, Guotai managed his staff well, and certainly wouldn’t make enemies over such matters.
This ledger is just a part of it. There are many more at home, all summaries of the various hotels’ operations. After Guotai’s disappearance, business plummeted directly due to no one daring to dine at our restaurants, fearing bad luck, leading to its eventual shutdown.
Life went on smoothly without anything special happening, which is something I cannot comprehend. If there had been any hint or indication, we could have considered the possibility in that direction. But without any signs, my son and his family disappeared suddenly, and then I received the ransom note."
At this point, Zhu Yantao took a deep breath. No matter how much time had passed, it was still an open wound whenever mentioned.
However, Xu Dayuan understood that what Fatty found most incomprehensible was precisely this abruptness—without any warning, his son’s family was kidnapped, leaving him without any clear thread to follow, like a headless fly.
Still considering the eight million, Xu Dayuan turned to Zhu Yantao again.
"Although I know it’s cruel to ask, for us to understand the full picture, I have to inquire whether you think the kidnappers arbitrarily demanded eight million, or if it was within your means, that this was their upper limit?"
Zhu Yantao waved his hand, seemingly suggesting Xu Dayuan not overthink it, then after pondering for a moment, answered:
"There was a twenty-four-hour interval from when the letter was sent until they phoned me. I’ve thought carefully about this question. At that time, I couldn’t have come up with even another ten thousand, let alone fifty thousand. I had mortgaged everything I could—my cars, houses, properties. Maybe they estimated my family’s assets?"
Liu Yufei flipped to the next page of the photocopies, which listed the Zhu family’s assets before the incident. In fact, the value of these assets far exceeded eight million by several times, but with the family disaster, the hotel didn’t just close down but went directly into bankruptcy, and the properties and cars were sold at low prices.
If one were to insist, those who bought the Zhu family’s assets at low prices could also be considered beneficiaries.
Mr. Zhao was keeping his eyes on Xu Dayuan. Seeing that he had closed the notebook, Mr. Zhao knew Xu Dayuan had asked almost everything he intended to, and he looked at Zhou Ning, repeatedly winking and gesturing.
Zhou Ning slightly lowered his head. What else could he ask?
Should he question the old man about whether his daughter-in-law had an affair, or whether she had any enemies before marrying Zhu Guotai?
According to the distribution of the wounds on the body, Zhu Guotai sustained more defensive injuries, while Zhu Li had more injuries from torture. Comparatively speaking, Fang Yue seemed to have endured less torture before death. If they were only used as bargaining chips, the kidnappers wouldn’t treat them differently. There could be opportunistic assault, but the treatment wouldn’t be so starkly different.
These words, Zhou Ning could not bring himself to ask, but indeed, it was possible to talk with the Fang Family about it. Moreover, with a family of three kidnapped, could the Fang Family really have no reaction?
Seemingly sensing Zhou Ning’s confusion, Xu Dayuan tilted his head to look at Zhou Ning and raised an eyebrow, saying:
"If Director Zhou has any questions, just ask them directly. This isn’t a trial; we just want to understand the situation from all aspects. I think the old man will understand."
Zhu Yantao nodded in agreement.
"It’s okay, ask anything you want. I know you have no ill intentions and genuinely want the case to have some leads. I can handle any question."
With that said, Zhou Ning directly asked:
"During the twenty-four hours of fundraising, did you contact the Fang Family? After all, raising eight million would require collateral, and I saw that one of the properties is the house that Fang Qing, the eldest of the Fang family, bought, right?"
Zhu Yantao nodded and flipped his notebook to the last page, which contained a record with the transaction date, price, and the parties involved.
Handing the notebook to Xu Dayuan, Zhu Yantao then continued:
"When the incident happened, I used this Quanshan District property as collateral to a guy in Quanshan to get 1.8 million in cash. To be precise, this amount was just over thirty percent of the property’s market value in 2004. But desperate for cash and given that the transaction was in cash, no one would be readily available.
A month and a half after the kidnapping, Fang Qing came to me asking what I planned to do with the property. Since it was mortgaged on a daily interest rate, and I was distracted with too many things, including needing to let go of the hotel staff, I was overwhelmed.
Fang Qing said he’d take care of it, he’d pay the daily interest, but in return, he wanted the property transferred to his name at the price of 1.8 million, and he’d cover the transfer tax. He asked if I was okay with that.
Of course, I couldn’t refuse; it’s better that a family acquaintance benefits rather than some strangers. A week later, I don’t know how he managed it, but he got the deed back, and we went straight to transfer the property."
Zhou Ning wasn’t sure how much the daily interest was, but he guessed that the cost calculated daily must be as expensive as rolling with donkeys. At that time, Fang Qing must have wanted to take such an advantage.
Similarly, his sister had died. Was he hoping for compensation?
Looking at Zhu Yantao, Zhou Ning just nodded, without saying anything else. Xu Dayuan patted Zhu Yantao on the shoulder.
"Alright, old man, you must be tired. We’ve pretty much got the information we need. Are you returning to Rudong City for the time being or staying in Qindao for a while? If you’re staying here, I can arrange a place for you."
Zhu Yantao waved his hand, smiling faintly as if he didn’t want to trouble anyone.
"Don’t worry about it, leaders. I don’t even know how to thank you for investigating this case; how could I trouble you further? I’ll just stay in the city area for now. The old house was just demolished and they gave me a place to live. I’m available anytime if needed; I’ll take my leave now."
Zhu Yantao fended off Mr. Zhao, who wanted to see him out, waved to everyone, and quickly left.
Watching the receding figure, Mr. Zhao sighed and returned to Xu Dayuan’s side, patting Zhou Ning on the back.
"Zhou Xiaozhou, is that the only question you have?"
Zhou Ning glanced at Zhao Xinli.
"I understand how you feel, but inquiring is the responsibility of Director Xu and the others. We just need to listen in here, so let’s just listen properly. I can’t exactly ask Fatty about the state of the fingers and ears he received, or if there were any particular findings when identifying the body, can I?"
Mr. Zhao was disheartened, and Liu Yufei patted him on the arm.
"I know you care about this matter, but don’t get down. Being anxious won’t help. We’ll do what we need to do without missing a single detail. Since we suspect that the 2000 February 3rd kidnapping case and the 2004 April 14th kidnapping case share similarities,
and handwriting analysis supports this, we can merge the cases and investigate the social relations on both sides together to see if there’s any overlap. That way, we might find a breakthrough."
Xu Dayuan was very satisfied with Liu Yufei’s words. Ever since he arranged for Liu Yufei to go train on the ground, he had a different approach to cultivating Liu Yufei, who was also willing to share her thoughts, and had grown quickly during the short span of half a year.
"You’re right. There is no problem with merging the cases. Chen Gang’s social circle was the simplest in the February 3rd, 2000 kidnapping case. His access to people was very limited, so from that angle, connecting with the Zhu Family, the Fang Family, and related individuals for a breakthrough is definitely feasible."
Xu Dayuan paused before continuing.
"Speaking of the property issue, I think we need to investigate all the individuals related to the records in the notebook, as well as conduct a DNA test on the Zhu and Fang families’ members, as a free health check we’re providing."
