What Tang Yuan said is right.

Making dumplings requires skills. In particular, presentation is very important. As a northern saying goes: only good-looking dumplings are delicious.

The remaining dumplings in the bowl are crooked, and it feels like stuffing the fillings in, and then kneading the two sides of the dumplings together... Although this is a necessary process for making dumplings, kneading is very technical, especially the edges of the dumplings.

If done skillfully, two dumplings put together belly-to-belly will become a very beautiful flower.

Tang Yuan raised his head and looked at Hu Pingtao: "When I was in the hospital, I heard Cao Zhong say that his wife made the dumplings last night. It seems that his wife is not very good at making pasta."

Hu Pingtao explained: "Because I usually eat less, I don't have the opportunity to make dumplings. Making dumplings is like cooking. To put it bluntly, practice makes perfect. So whether it was Cao Zhong's son who made the request yesterday, or Cao Zhong's wife's experience in making dumplings,

Their performance proves that they rarely eat dumplings."

"You were right about one thing just now: to save trouble, if your family wants to eat dumplings, both you and I will choose to buy them outside."

"Actually, the same goes for Cao Zhong. If only his son wants to eat it, Cao Zhong can go to an outside store and buy a portion and bring it back. Because he obviously has a deeper affection for his son than for his two daughters. To put it bluntly, he favors sons over daughters.

The problem is that his son and two daughters both said they wanted to eat, and they were face to face, so it was difficult to favor one over the other, so Cao Zhong simply threw the problem to his wife and asked her to solve it."

Tang Yuan didn't agree very much with this. He frowned and asked, "Boss, why are you so sure?"

"Because Cao Zhong doesn't have much money." Hu Pingtao explained: "The reason why I started with the house just now is to provide circumstantial evidence for this matter. Having money can really solve many problems! Since Cao Zhong and his wife

I don’t have any special interest in dumplings, so as an adult, I would definitely give them to my children first.”

"Cao Zhong's mentality of favoring sons over daughters is very serious. If there is something delicious to eat, he will give it to his son first, and his daughter will not be able to take care of it for the time being."

"But there is a prerequisite for all kinds of behavior: if there are three portions of the same good thing, Cao Zhong will definitely divide it equally among the three children. So when conditions permit, he told his wife: Go to the vegetable market in the afternoon to buy meat, and come back to pack it in the evening

dumpling."

"It's definitely cheaper to mix the noodles and stuffing yourself than to buy some dumplings from outside! Just take the dumplings stuffed with cabbage and pork. You can buy ten of them for eight yuan in a store outside. With the three children of the Cao family, it's easy

It’s no big deal to make a hundred dumplings. In total, this is eighty yuan.”

"The hind legs of this pig only cost a few dozen yuan per kilogram."

"Chinese cabbage is even cheaper. Fresh cabbage costs only six yuan per kilogram at most."

"As for the flour... you can do the math yourself. If you buy food and make dumplings at home, you can eat several meals for eighty yuan."

"Green Gourd Sword Fairy"

"Cao Zhong's wife is still very good at living. Yesterday she made more than two hundred dumplings, which is enough for two adults and three children."

Tang Yuan kept listening without commenting. Mainly because he didn't understand what Hu Pingtao wanted to express.

Hu Pingtao continued his analysis: "As you said before, there are no signs of prying on the doors or windows, and the things in the house have not been disturbed. It is unlikely that outsiders will enter the house and rob them. Looking at this aspect, it is possible that an acquaintance may have committed the crime.

Sex is great.”

"Although the wholesale market occupies a large area, the house Cao Zhong rents is very small, and there is a corridor outside. People live across the street. There are also front shops and back rooms on the left and right sides. The only difference is the size of the house."

When Tang Yuan heard this, he couldn't help blurting out: "Boss, do you doubt Cao Zhong?"

Hu Pingtao did not deny: "This is just an alternative that I think is very likely at the moment. Again: murder must be beneficial, and no one will do anything without profit. Kill the regicide.

A king can get a crown; if a beautiful woman’s husband is deliberately killed, his wife will lie in someone else’s arms.”

"Similarly, this case of eucalyptus appears to be food poisoning on the surface, but if you apply the theory I mentioned, Cao Zhong would have benefited a lot in the middle."

"When I was in the hospital, I saw Cao Zhong's wife and eldest daughter respectively. They were still in a coma and didn't wake up. His wife...Liu Xiao'e...that's the name. She looks very average, with a thick waist.

A rural woman who looks quite strong. In a word: she has no beauty and is not in good shape."

"Cao Zhong said before that he came to the provincial capital to work in his early years. Later, he started the pepper business because of the introduction of a friend. I checked some relevant business records from the market management. Cao Zhong's store can only operate

It’s just so-so, at least judging from the books, he didn’t make much money.”

Tang Yuan felt his eyes light up: "Are there some transactions that were not recorded in the ledger and were conducted privately?"

Hu Pingtao snapped his fingers: "That's what I want to say. If you can't make money when you open a business, what's the point? Of course, this kind of thing is not absolute. Some businesses don't open for half a year, and they only eat three days after opening.

Year. If business is not good this year, then make up for it next year. Cao Zhong may also be in this situation. So I think Cao Zhong's business situation may not be as embarrassing as it seems on the surface. Maybe he has a sum of money saved in his hand.

Maybe he has a very good business privately, but his wife knows nothing about this."

Tang Yuan asked tentatively: "Maybe?"

Hu Pingtao shrugged his shoulders and did not deny: "Yes, maybe. I have no evidence, just speculation. As I said before, this is just an alternative to the direction of investigating the case."

Tang Yuan said slowly: "If this is really the case, then Cao Zhong has a sufficient reason to kill."

Hu Pingtao sighed: "Yes! With money in his pocket, his wife becomes a yellow-faced woman. And there are children. Although Cao Zhong favors boys over girls, he gave birth to three in one breath. For him,

It is also an extremely heavy burden. If he takes this opportunity to ruthlessly kill the child, even if he finds another woman to marry outside, will there be any drag on him?"

Tang Yuan frowned: "Boss, I think there is a big flaw in your reasoning."

Hu Pingtao turned around and laughed softly: "I know you are referring to Cao Zhong's son. Even if he was really cruel enough to poison and kill people, he would definitely avoid his son and not bring everyone with him.

.”

Tang Yuan curled his lips and said, "You already know this, but I'm still talking nonsense!"

Hu Pingtao learned: "Actually, there is another flaw - the person making the dumplings is Cao Zhong and his wife. Even if Cao Zhong wants to poison, he must have a chance."

Tang Yuan added: "Besides, Cao Zhong himself also ate dumplings, which is also a flaw."

Hu Pingtao shook his head: "This can't be counted. Don't forget, Cao Zhong woke up this morning and ran outside to ask for help. Also, he himself said that he didn't eat many dumplings last night. If he felt uncomfortable, he wouldn't

Eat it. If he has no intention of calculating, he can just eat a few and it will be justified on the surface."

Tang Yuan's frown deepened: "According to what you said, it's really hard to find a clue to this case."

"So now I'm waiting for the test results from Ding Jian as soon as possible." Hu Pingtao explained: "Fat Ding is very stable in his work. He took samples of everything in the house, including dumplings and refrigerators.

Not to mention the food left in it, even drinking water, swill, garbage, and cooking utensils were not left behind."

Tang Yuan added: "There are also seasonings. Poisoning is quite particular. Just put a little casually into the soy sauce. Generally speaking, it will be effective for a week."

Hu Pingtao took a long breath: "So it's very troublesome to verify this. Let's just speculate here. The key is to wait for the test report. If... I'm talking about if, the test results from Fatty Ding show that

If there are no toxins found in all the samples, it will be troublesome, and the entire direction of speculation will have to be overturned."

Tang Yuan was stunned for a moment, and then an expression of disbelief appeared on his face: "All the samples tested non-toxic? How is this possible? Cao Zhong's family clearly suffered from food poisoning, and the medical examination reports from the hospital have come out."

Hu Pingtao said slowly: "There are many types of poisoning, and there are many different situations of food poisoning. Of course... I am just giving an example. There is such a possibility, but the chance is very small."

As he spoke, he pointed to the bowl of dumplings placed on the dining table: "If there is no poison in these dumplings, then what I just said is meaningless."

"Also, the soy sauce you mentioned just now is also one of the possible detection directions of this eucalyptus."

Tang Yuan understood immediately after hearing this: "Boss, what do you mean, are you going to inspect the store where Cao Zhong and his wife buy ingredients?"

Hu Pingtao nodded: "The butcher stalls and vegetable vendors that were purchased at that time must also be thoroughly investigated. All the food sold must be sealed and samples taken for testing. If it is true that a certain type of food is poisonous, once it spreads, it will be

It will cause large-scale social incidents."

Tang Yuan's face turned pale and his breathing became rapid. He knew very well that what Hu Pingtao said was definitely not an exaggeration.

Indeed, there are many possibilities for poisoning.

If Ding Jian's test results show that the dumplings are normal, then the investigation into the source of the toxin must be expanded.

Oil, salt, sauce, vinegar...all nearby non-staple food stores and canteens must be inspected.

"I'll make arrangements now." Tang Yuan couldn't take care of so much anymore, and seizing the time was the key now.

Hu Pingtao nodded: "You go ahead! I can just follow the things here."

The benefits of being a captain are quite obvious. Many things can be arranged for other people to do.

…

After Tang Yuan left, Hu Pingtao knocked on the door opposite Cao Zhong's house.

Pang Zhonghua quickly let him in and boiled water to make tea.

Hu Pingtao took a look at the house and found that it was quite spacious. Then he smiled and said, "It's bigger here than the other side!"

Pang Zhonghua explained: "This used to be a house on the railway. Later, the province carried out land replacement, and a large area of ​​the original house of the Railway Bureau was vacated. The entire house was moved, and this place became vacant. They are all five-story red brick houses with very good structures.

It was solid, and it would be a pity to demolish it and rebuild it, so it was divided into sections and turned into a dry goods wholesale market."

"The house next to here used to be a residence, with a unit of fifty square meters. The actual area of ​​the former welfare house was larger than what was shown in the house book. Look, this one alone is more than thirty square meters, plus the outside

There are more than seventy of them. Once the outer wall is opened, it will become a shop. For the people inside, just install a hollow wall."

"Although Lao Cao came here earlier than me, he is stingy and is reluctant to rent a big house. The shops he has there are all small shops, which were rebuilt from the former coal sheds. If they are included in the corridor, it looks like a big house.

So what’s going on is that they are actually illegally constructed houses from the past. It’s just that the market is under overall management, as long as the rent is paid on time.”

Pang Zhonghua is very talkative, and Hu Pingtao likes to deal with this kind of people. He asked: "Your name is quite special. Haha... you are a celebrity!"

Pang Zhonghua smiled and said: "Don't mention it, this name was given by my father. I had never heard of this person before. Later, when my son went to school and signed up for a calligraphy class outside, I found out that such a person existed. Fortunately for me,

The word "Zhong" has an extra single character, otherwise it would be really unclear."

Hu Pingtao reached out and touched the teacup. It felt less hot. He picked it up and took a sip. He then changed the subject: "Are you familiar with the situation at Cao Zhong's family?"

Pang Zhonghua nodded: "It's not bad! Everyone is doing business together, and there are two pairs of doors. You don't look up when you look down... He is a very honest person. I have never seen him quarrel with others."

Although this statement is a bit vague, the meaning is very obvious.
To be continued...