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Chapter 109 - Chapter 109

  The next day, when Lin Shuyue woke up, it was already nine o'clock. She washed up and drank a glass of warm water before checking her mobile phone. After seeing the text message Wu Dongyan sent her, she turned on her computer and logged into her email. Soon, several photos restored with PS and their comparison pictures appeared in front of Lin Shuyue.

  Lin Shuyue looked at the restored faces in the photos and could not associate them with the bloated and obese people in the farm.

  She closed her computer, tied her hair up and went to the newspaper office. When she passed by the refrigerator, she took out a can of yogurt and a can of eight-treasure porridge.

  She finished a can of yogurt and a can of cold porridge before she even got downstairs, and threw the rubbish into the trash can next to the elevator. After walking a few steps, Lin Shuyue went back and went to the property service desk next to her to talk to one of the property managers named Huang Xiumiao.

  The property management of Xijiang Apartment is quite responsible. During the day, there are two young girls guarding downstairs, and at night, there is an old man who looks very strong and fierce.

  Lin Shuyue usually doesn't pass by the lobby when she drives back, but if she doesn't drive, she will chat with the girls at the service desk on her way back.

  The air conditioning in the hall was turned on very high, so the two little girls didn't feel hot even though they were wearing black trousers and long-sleeved shirts.

  Lin Shuyue took out two fresh peaches from her bag and placed them on the service counter, then started talking to the girl with the name "Huang Xiumiao" on her chest.

  "Xiumiao, I remember your family is from Jiutang Town, right?"

  Huang Xiumiao stood up from behind the service desk and said with a smile, "Yes, my family is from Fengyao Village, Jiutang Town."

  Lin Shuyue has a good memory. Fengyao Village in Jiutang Town is not far from the breeding farm.

  The smile on her face got bigger. "It's like this. I have a relative who wants to do breeding. Aren't the pigs in Jiutang Town particularly good? He asked me about it, saying that I know a lot of people, and wanted me to help find a reliable breeder."

  Jiutang Town is famous for raising pigs. Jiutang pork is more expensive in the market than meat from other places. It is true that a relative wants to raise pigs. She just talked about it with Lin Shuxing when she came over a few days ago. It was not someone else who wanted to raise pigs, but Uncle Lou and Aunt Lou.

  It's not nonsense for her to use this to talk to Huang Xiumiao now.

  Huang Xiumiao's eyes lit up: "Reporter Lin, I do have piglets at home. They were born not long ago and are guaranteed to be healthy. You can ask your relatives to come to our house to take a look."

  "Oh, that's great. Let's add each other's contact information. Send me your home phone number and I'll send it to my relatives." Lin Shuyue took out her mobile phone, and Huang Xiumiao readily gave her her Penguin ID.

  The two added their contact information, and Lin Shuyue put her phone back in her pocket and continued to ask, "Xiumiao, I passed by your Jiutang area a while ago and saw a very grand and large breeding farm. What does that farm raise?"

  Huang Xiumiao and the others all knew about the farm that Lin Shuyue mentioned. Huang Xiumiao said, "I don't know which boss built it there. It's been two or three years. There aren't many animals raised there, but the area is quite large, and people often come and go in the farm. My mom passed by there last time and saw several people coming out of it."

  Because the gate of the farm was usually closed, it was a new thing to see someone coming out, so when Huang Xiumiao returned home during the holiday, her mother told her about it.

  "My mother said that the food raised in that farm was sent to big restaurants in the city. Every time the pigs and chickens were released from the pens, a small truck would come to pick them up. The villagers were jealous. After all, selling pigs to pig dealers would definitely not be as expensive as selling them to big restaurants, so we plucked up the courage to ask. But they refused to buy them. They said that the breeding method of that farm was learned from abroad, which is different from the breeding method in China."

  When Huang Xiumiao said this, she curled her lips. She couldn't stand some people. In the eyes of those people, even foreigners' farts were fragrant.

  "They are really pigs. Have you seen those pigs before?" Having just experienced the incident at the funeral home, Lin Shuyue had a bit of a stress reaction.

  "Yes, I have seen them. There are big black pigs and big white pigs. They are fat and white. They are better than the ones we raise in our village." Huang Xiumiao said.

  Lin Shuyue felt relieved, and then said: "My relative said that the farm is so big, it must be profitable, and he was planning to go and take a look. Now I think it's unnecessary."

  After Lin Shuyue finished speaking, she glanced at the clock hanging behind the service desk and exclaimed, "It's already this late. I have to go to work first. We can talk again when we have time."

  "Goodbye, Miss Lin." Huang Xiumiao said with a smile. After Lin Shuyue left, Huang Xiumiao sat down. Another waiter grabbed the peach given by Lin Shuyue and went to the bathroom at the back to wash it. After coming out, she started to eat it with a crunch.

  "Ms. Lin is worthy of being a reporter. She is not short of money. This peach is sweet and crisp."

  Huang Xiumiao knew that her colleague was very greedy, but Huang Xiumiao didn't think there was anything wrong with being greedy. But the problem was that her colleague had no sense of boundaries, and always stared at her in a very familiar way after finishing her own food, whether it was lunch or snacks or fruits.

  The peach was given to them by reporter Lin because she wanted to ask her something but was too embarrassed to do so. She couldn't just not eat a single bite and let it go to others for free.

  Huang Xiumiao's colleague was a little unhappy. She ate her own peach but kept looking at the peach in Huang Xiumiao's hand. Huang Xiumiao bit the peach and didn't look at her at all.

  •••••

  Lin Shuyue arrived at the office and looked through today's newspapers. They were all talking about Yu Xiangwan. Even the Chinese official media mentioned it.

  This was the first time that Lin Shuyue had seen a discussion comparable to the top topics in her previous life in this pre-Internet era.

  Lin Shuyue's report was not sent out yet. She had already agreed with Wang Mingzheng and others that she would make a big news story, and now there was some progress. Wang Mingzheng and Huang Qiang trusted her as always and did not ask any more questions.

  Lin Shuyue didn't even go to her workstation, but went to the printer to print out those photos.

  After the call, she put away her notebook and went to Huang Qiang's office.

  Since Huang Qiang was promoted to the director of the newspaper's news department, he has had an overwhelming amount of work to do. Even when he goes home to sleep at night, he dreams about his work.

  As soon as Lin Shuyue entered the office, she smelled a strong aroma of coffee. Seeing that Huang Qiang did not sleep well and looked much more decadent than before, Lin Shuyue felt a little distressed and grabbed a handful of candy from her bag and put it on his desk.

  "This candy is delicious and refreshing. Master, please try it." Lin Shuyue took the initiative to peel one and put it in her mouth.

  Huang Qiang was indeed not in good spirits, so he grabbed one and ate it. His confused mind instantly became clearer.

  Lin Shuyue put the printed photos in front of Huang Qiang: "Master, do you have any impression of these people?"

  Huang Qiang took the pictures one by one and looked at them. After reading them, he said, "Although there are some changes and distortions, these people were famous before. I have a good impression of them."

  Huang Qiang used to work as an entertainment reporter and was familiar with people in the entertainment industry.

  Huang Qiang took out one of the papers and said, "This is Liu Mengqi. In 2002, her song "The Past" was released and was widely loved by people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong. Because of her good singing voice and wide range of voice, many music critics say that she is the second Qiu Fei in Hong Kong. When she releases more albums and grows a few more years, she may achieve greater success than Qiu Fei."

  Qiu Fei has been the most popular female singer in Hong Kong since the 1970s. She is now 60 years old, but she does not tremble when singing high notes and her breath is still long when singing fast songs.

  The fact that Liu Mengqi received such high praise for just one song is enough to prove her excellence and talent in this aspect.

  "What a pity! Just as this song became popular, she announced that she would quit the entertainment industry. Now no one knows what she is doing." Huang Qiang also felt a little regretful. That song "The Past" was really nice to listen to. He still listens to it from time to time.

  "Master, can you contact their relatives or friends?" Lin Shuyue asked.

  Huang Qiang glanced at Lin Shuyue. It's true. Huang Qiang's work as an entertainment reporter over the past decade was not in vain. Although he didn't report any sensational exclusives, he did make a lot of connections.

  "Liu Mengqi's former agent is from mainland China. He happens to be in Pengcheng right now. I just had a drink with him last night. Wait for me to call him." Huang Qiang took out his cell phone and made a call. After a while, a drunken voice reached Lin Shuyue's ears.

  When Liu Mengqi's agent Li Song heard Huang Qiang say that his apprentice wanted to interview him, he agreed without hesitation.

  "I'll get up now. At half past ten, I'll invite him to dinner at the restaurant downstairs." After Li Song finished speaking, he hung up the phone with a click.

  Huang Qiang gave his phone number to Lin Shuyue, and then contacted the relatives or friends of the others.

  Most of these people were not in Pengcheng, but they were all willing to be interviewed by Lin Shuyue. After getting the phone, Lin Shuyue went to the tea room and called them one by one.

  Because she is Huang Qiang's apprentice, and Huang Qiang has a good reputation in the entertainment circle of Guangdong Province, so their attitude towards Lin Shuyue is pretty good.

  By ten o'clock, Lin Shuyue had contacted seven of the obese people among the fourteen. Their friends and agents all said the same thing about the disappearance of those seven people.

  Suddenly one day, they decided to quit, and then paid the company a penalty, and then changed all contact information and could no longer be contacted. When asked if they like shopping, their answer was that they often go to larger supermarkets, especially Jirui supermarkets, where they are all members!

  Lin Shuyue sent a text message to Wu Dongyan telling her what she had found out, then went to the hotel where Li Songyi lived to keep her appointment.

  When going downstairs, she happened to see a company moving things downstairs, and Lin Shuyue saw Yuan Shuzhen, who was the person Lin Shuyue rescued from the blood-sucking demon Jia Yongchang. It was she who reminded Lin Shuyue of the Wangjiang Villa case later.

  They both worked in the same office building, so Lin Shuyue often met her. Ever since her boss, who loved to visit Wangjiang Villa, got a strange disease and only responded to his former "like-minded people", he became addicted to this illusory world.

  A group of men in their forties and fifties were vying for the favors of some other men in their thirties who were still in good shape. They were performing some magical plots every day, and their weird things were often reported in the newspapers. Among that group of men, several have divorced, several companies have gone bankrupt, and some have even contracted sexually transmitted diseases.

  Yuan Shuzhen's company was one of those that went bankrupt because the boss was obsessed with jealousy and had not taken care of the company for a long time. All the customers were gone, and the business naturally went bankrupt.

  But the boss is not worried about his future life at all. After all, as a man who has maintained himself well, there are many people willing to support him.

  Yuan Shuzhen was not worried about where she would go in the future. She was capable and had already found a job on the fifth floor of Dingsheng Building, next to Lin Shuyue's newspaper office. She could start work tomorrow.

  The two chatted and laughed as they went downstairs. Lin Shuyue went back to Xijiang Apartment to drive the car, and then went to Kailin Hotel where Yu Xiangwan fell from the building yesterday. Li Songyi lived here.

  The blood at the bottom of the third floor had been cleaned up, and many people were walking back and forth in and out of the hotel. It was as if the traces of Yu Xiangwan falling from the building had never appeared. There was no impact on their hotel at all.

  The restaurant of Kailin Hotel is on the eleventh floor. Lin Shuyue took the elevator next to the lobby on the first floor and walked to the dining area according to the waiter's instructions.

  The entire eleventh floor is a restaurant, all with floor-to-ceiling windows. There are many green plants in the restaurant. Looking out from the floor-to-ceiling windows, the scenery of Pengcheng comes into view. Lin Shuyue looked around and first saw Chu Zhonglin, Ah Mi, and Ah Yuan sitting by the window. They also saw Lin Shuyue. Chu Zhonglin still remembered her, nodded to her, and lowered her head to eat the sandwich.

  Lin Shuyue saw Li Songyi drinking coffee in the booth behind them. He was about 40 years old, wearing a white sports suit and a black hat. His outfit broke Lin Shuyue's stereotype. In her imagination, those star agents should all wear suits and ties.

  Li Songyi also saw Lin Shuyue and waved at her, and Lin Shuyue walked over.

  "Hello Mr. Li, I am Lin Shuyue, Huang Qiang's apprentice."

  Li Songyi stretched out his hand and shook Lin Shuyue's hand, then made a gesture of invitation. After Lin Shuyue sat down, he smiled and said, "I often hear Ah Qiang talk about you. When I see you today, you are indeed a beautiful woman."

  Huang Qiang is a person who likes to show off. As Li Songyi is the person who has the best relationship with him, Huang Qiang often praises Lin Shuyue for her good looks and talent in front of him.

  When Li Songyi saw her today, he felt that it was indeed true. With Lin Shuyue's looks, she would have the upper hand even in the entertainment industry full of beauties.

  Li Songyi poured Lin Shuyue a cup of tea.

  The two talked about Huang Qiang. Huang Qiang also had a bottom line when reporting on the entertainment industry, never wrote false statements, and when asked to delete photos or not publish news, he did not ask for exorbitant amounts like other reporters.

  He has a good reputation, and many people in the circle like to deal with him, and sometimes they will take the initiative to reveal any news to him.

  Li Songyi is one of the people who admires Huang Qiang very much. They have become good friends after years of getting along with each other. Every time Li Songyi comes to Pengcheng, he will take time to have a meal with Huang Qiang and get together.

  Lin Shuyue smiled politely, and after a few minutes of greetings, she asked about Liu Mengqi.

  Li Song still feels a little regretful when talking about his most promising subordinate. He said, "Meng Qi likes our mainland culture very much. When she came to the mainland to participate in activities, she would set aside an extra day to visit nearby scenic spots. She also has a small house in Pengcheng. When there are no activities, she will come here to live."

  Liu Mengqi withdrew from the entertainment industry too quickly and too completely. There has been no news about her in the past two years. Li Song has brought many actors and singers underground, many of whom are very popular, but every time he thinks of Liu Mengqi, he still feels regretful.

  Liu Mengqi's talent is really good. This is the first time that Li Songyi has met someone with such a good talent. Her talent cannot be said to be a gift from God, but God is chasing her to feed her! She not only has the talent of singing, but also the talent of composing. She wrote the music and lyrics of the song "The Past" by herself.

  After she left, Li Songyi never met such a talented person again. Li Songyi was once ambitious and wanted to make Liu Mengqi the second Qiu Fei, but unfortunately, Liu Mengqi was not interested in this. In the past two years, Li Songyi went to Liu Mengqi's home to look for her twice, but her family didn't know where she went. It was as if she had evaporated from the face of the earth and there was no news.

  Lin Shuyue waited for Li Songyi to finish speaking before asking, "Mr. Li, does Liu Mengqi like shopping in malls? For example, Jirui Supermarket?"

  Li Song nodded: "Yes, she likes it very much. She usually buys her clothes and food from Jirui Supermarket."

  In addition to sightseeing and visiting famous places, shopping is also one of Liu Mengqi's ways to relieve stress. She especially likes to go to Jirui Supermarket.

  On the other side, Chu Zhonglin and others began paying attention to Lin Shuyue as soon as she entered the restaurant. When they saw that the person she was dining with was Li Songyi and the person she was asking about for was Liu Mengqi, a once-famous celebrity, they pricked up their ears to listen.

  When Chu Zhonglin heard Lin Shuyue asking about Jirui Supermarket, her expression finally changed. She stood up and walked quickly towards Lin Shuyue's table.

  "Ma'am, I know you are a reporter. I want to ask, you are investigating Jirui Supermarket now. Is it because this matter is also related to Yu Xiangwan?"

  As the only two women among the group of reporters yesterday, Lin Shuyue, coupled with her superior appearance, had already been remembered by Chu Zhonglin.

  Last night, she also used her connections to investigate Yu Xiangwan's case, but to no avail. Now, she heard that Lin Shuyue was also investigating the matter. Thinking back to the morning newspaper, the only newspaper that did not report Yu Xiangwan's fall was Pengcheng Metropolis Daily. Chu Zhonglin was sure that this female reporter must have other bigger and more explosive news in her hands.

  Lin Shuyue glanced at Chu Zhonglin, nodded, and handed the printed photo of Liu Mengqi to Li Songyi. She also specially printed out a photo of Liu Mengqi, who was now overweight and weighed about 400 pounds, as a control group.

  Li Songyi looked back and forth, his whole state was dazed. He really couldn't believe that the person who was so fat could be Liu Mengqi.

  But there was another voice in his heart saying, that was Liu Mengqi. As an agent, he knew that Liu Mengqi had a black mole on her earlobe.

  Chu Zhonglin also had a look of doubt on her face about her life, especially when Ah Yuan came after her. She and Liu Mengqi were competitors who debuted at the same time, and they had met each other many times in private.

  "Is this Liu Mengqi? Is it fake?"

  Lin Shuyue's cell phone rang. It was a message from Wu Dongyan, saying that they had set off for Louis' "garden" in Jiutang Town.

  "Whether it is or not, we just need to go and find out."

  Driven by curiosity, they stood up and all got into Lin Shuyue's car. Under Lin Shuyue's leadership, they headed towards Louis' garden.

  At the intersection, they met Wu Dongyan's police car. Wu Dongyan stopped and handed Lin Shuyue a can from the passenger seat.

  "My mother makes some cold fish, you can try it." After saying that, she asked the team members in the driver's seat to drive away, as if they didn't see the car full of stars in Lin Shuyue's car.

  Chu Zhonglin's eyes kept falling on Lin Shuyue.

  After driving for twenty minutes, they finally arrived at the gate of the farm. Looking at the slogans about pig farming written on the wall, Li Songyi's hands were shaking.

  Chu Zhonglin recalled what Yu Xiangwan had said to her: "Louis always asks me to eat. I think one day I might die of obesity. Rather than that, I might as well die first."

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