Chapter 328: Chapter 328 Li Er Has a Problem
Even his hands had lost all trace of their natural skin color.
"Hello, we are here to look for someone. There’s a person named Li Er, do you know where he is?"
Upon hearing this, the man only furrowed his brow before looking them up and down.
"What do you need him for?"
"Oh, the thing is, we’re from the hospital. There are some matters we need to consult with him about. Do you think you could help us find him?"
"From the hospital? What does the hospital want with him?"
"Are you Li Er by any chance?"
Liu Zheng truly didn’t want to keep tangling with him. Moreover, in his view, their entire conversation was pointless, meaningless.
"Yes, I’m Li Er. So, what’s the matter?"
"Here’s the situation. I’m from Jinhua Hospital. Previously, when we had unclaimed bodies, weren’t they always handled by those two brothers before being sent here?"
"Right, they were sent here. But I’ve given you a full accounting of all the costs and procedures. There’s nothing I’ve held back."
"No, no, that’s not what I mean. I’m saying that yesterday, no, it should be during the daytime yesterday, a body was delivered here, right? Have you cremated that body yet?"
"Yesterday? Oh, I remember now. Indeed, there was one covered in bloodstains. But that body has been cremated. After I received it, I handed it directly over to our staff responsible for that."
"Dedicated staff? Isn’t that your job to handle?"
"Me, cremate? How could I possibly be qualified to do that? Plus, you see, I’m just here to tend the boiler."
"Oh, I see."
"What’s this all about? Why are you suddenly pursuing this particular body? Is there something going on?"
"It’s because we found that there might have been an identity document in the pocket of that body. We only found out afterward, so we wanted to come here and investigate, even if it’s just a pile of ashes, we need to find out who the real family is."
"Ashes from unclaimed bodies like these are usually consolidated, and if not, they’re discarded as waste. So even if you want to claim them, I’m afraid it’s impossible now. They’ve already been mixed with all the other ashes."
"Didn’t you check the body for anything in the pockets before sending it in?"
"That’s not my job. Plus, we have dedicated staff to do that. I’m only in charge of receiving them. After that, I pass them on, and anything beyond that is none of my concern."
"Hey, I thought you were the one burning all these people? How is it not your concern now?"
"Who said that? How could it possibly be me who does the burning? Let me tell you, stop spewing nonsense. All our workers here are professionally trained and certified. You can’t just say anything you want."
As Liu Zheng spoke, it was clear that the man was somewhat antagonistic and unwilling to listen to him talk this way.
"Oh, I’m sorry, I apologize. Perhaps there was a misunderstanding. Well, if that’s the case, then we’ll leave it be. We’ll go back and explain things, and let’s just forget this ever happened."
"Wait a moment."
Director Xiao and Liu Zheng were just about to turn and leave when, unexpectedly, Li Er wouldn’t let it go and stopped them.
"You say you two are from the hospital, how do you prove you’re really from the hospital? Could you be outsiders who came here to probe for information?"
Director Xiao didn’t say a word. He just helplessly shook his head and then took out his work ID to show the man right in front of him.
"See? My name is Xiao, and this is my work ID. And every time there’s a body to be dealt with, I’m the one who assigns the task to those two brothers before they bring the body here."
Seeing the work ID, Li Er’s expression suddenly changed. He went from frowning to grinning in an instant.
"Hey, look at this fuss. It turns out to be Director Xiao! Ah, Director Xiao, I’m really sorry, truly sorry. It’s like a flood in the Dragon King Temple—one family doesn’t recognize another."
"You’re trying to cozy up way too late. When did we become ’family’? We just came to look for something. Since it’s not here, we won’t bother you any longer. Let’s go, we’re heading back."
He waved at Li Er, and then the two of them walked back the way they had come.
When they reached the end of the road, Liu Zheng couldn’t help but look back stealthily. He noticed that Li Er was still watching them.
It wasn’t until they turned the corner that he finally stopped.
"Do you feel it? There’s definitely something wrong here."
"Of course, I feel it. If it were just a regular reception, there would be mistakes in the procedure first of all. How could a boiler operator have the capacity to receive these things? Clearly, there’s some kind of under-the-table dealing."
"It’s baffling, what kind of under-the-table deal could be made with a body? Could one really buy and sell a dead body?"
"There’s something you may not have considered—there’s something very deep hidden in this. And have you thought about the fact that although a person is dead, some organs might still be usable?"
"You mean, they are trading organs?"
Director Xiao’s eyes widened in shock, unable to even imagine such shady dealings taking place within the crematorium.
"Right, that’s very possible. But right now, we are only speculating. If we really want to confirm it, there’s only one way—to infiltrate the enemy ranks and find out the truth."
"Infiltrate their ranks? How would we go about doing that?"
"It’s simple. Are there any unclaimed bodies coming from the hospital in the next couple of days? If there are, then, we can go undercover in this crematorium. We’ll wait until night and quietly see what they do with these bodies."
"Hmm, this is indeed an idea. If we could really uncover such illicit trade, I would never tolerate it. We must call the police."
"Let’s talk about that when we get to it."
