met free Chapter 944 New Clues Emerge
Chapter 944 New Clues Emerge
“Let’s start with the list of long-term employees, focusing on those who went missing around the time of the remains’ death,” Li Ming told his team. He picked up the uniquely designed gold ring on the deceased’s hand and examined it closely in the sunlight. The inner band of the ring was engraved with the faint letters “ZY,” and the band face was decorated with vine patterns. The small diamonds that were set in the center had long since fallen out, leaving only empty slots. “The craftsmanship of this ring is not common. There weren’t many people wearing gold rings in the factory back then. Maybe this can be our breakthrough.”
Li Ming led his team through the old residential areas where retired employees of the old textile factory lived, visiting each house one by one. At each door they knocked on, they would show the deceased's remains a photograph, a close-up of the gold ring, and a photo of the faded work clothes, patiently asking questions.
In a dilapidated residential building, they found Sun Xiulan, the former deputy director of the workshop. The old woman, wearing thick reading glasses, carefully examined the photo, her brows furrowed: "This ring looks familiar, but I just can't remember... This work uniform must have been from the factory before, but so many people wore this kind of uniform." She tried hard to recall, "In those years, people came and went in the factory. If we're talking about people who suddenly disappeared, there seem to be a few, but I really can't remember who they were."
Next, they went to the home of retired accountant Chen Jianguo. Sitting in a small room piled high with newspapers, Chen Jianguo adjusted his glasses: “I know all about the factory's finances back then, but I don't know much about the people involved. However, I remember there was some trouble in the warehouse, with a lot of personnel changes. You could investigate that.” When he saw the photo of the gold ring, he stared at it for a long time. “The style of this ring doesn't seem like something an ordinary worker could afford. Could it be someone from management? But I can't think of anyone from management who's disappeared right now.”
When Li Ming visited Zhao Qiang, a former security officer, a flicker of unease crossed the elderly man's eyes. "The old textile factory thing...it's been so long, I can't remember anything," he said evasively. Li Ming keenly noticed his unusual behavior and pressed further, "Mr. Zhao, you were in security back then, you should remember everything about the factory, the people coming and going, the big and small things. Take another look at this ring, this work uniform?" Zhao Qiang licked his dry lips and shook his head. "I really don't remember." But the way he kept fidgeting with the hem of his clothes betrayed his inner turmoil.
At the home of another long-time employee, Liu Mei, she looked at a photo and suddenly said, “I feel like I’ve seen this ring on someone’s hand before, but I really can’t remember. It just feels very familiar. As for the work uniform, most of the long-time employees in the factory have worn it. If I had to say something special, I remember one year, a batch of important materials went missing from the warehouse, and afterwards a few people in the factory started acting strangely, behaving suspiciously. But I didn’t pay attention to who they were at the time, and now I can’t remember them at all.”
The investigation lasted for several days, yielding only scattered clues. Some people said they seemed to have seen a similar ring, but couldn't recall who wore it; others mentioned unusual activity in the warehouse, but couldn't provide specific details about who wore it; still others recalled an employee suddenly disappearing, but the time and details were vague. These clues were like a tangled mess, seemingly directional yet difficult to unravel, and the true identity of the remains remained undetermined, plunging the case into uncertainty once again.
Standing in front of the Criminal Investigation Division's whiteboard, Li Ming heavily circled the photo of the gold ring with a red marker. The inner band of the ring was engraved with the blurred letters "ZY," and although the vine-covered face was worn, the exquisite craftsmanship was still evident. "The investigation has reached a stalemate, but this ring must hold the key," he said, turning to his team. "Check every gold shop in Dongchuan City that you can name, one by one, focusing on sales records from about fifteen years ago!"
When the case reached a stalemate, Li Ming and his team had already organized several case analysis meetings.
The focus remained on identifying the deceased, and everyone ultimately agreed that the gold ring was the primary clue to help trace the identity, as there were no other leads available.
Although the ring has a rather antique style, its craftsmanship was quite exquisite for its time. Small workshops could not produce such a small ring, so it was very likely sold by a well-known gold shop. Since the shop was a brand, it was very likely still in existence. Therefore, Li Ming changed his approach and started by looking at all the well-known gold shops in Dongchuan City.
The first stop was the "Jinmantang" jewelry store in the city center. The store manager pulled out a yellowed ledger, her finger sliding across the dense handwriting: "This vine design was a hit around the turn of the millennium, and many people bought it, but specifically fifteen years ago..." She suddenly frowned, "Back then, the computer system wasn't connected to the internet, and the paper records were moved to different warehouses several times, so they might be incomplete." Team member Xiao Chen squatted in a storage room piled with cardboard boxes, coughing from the dust. He finally found a few bundles of old receipts tied with hemp rope in a corner, but unfortunately, no matching records were found.
Fifteen years ago is indeed a very long time. Computers weren't widespread then, and most accounting was done manually. So, finding the exact details is extremely difficult. Unless it was a very formal purchase, it's practically impossible. Even for reputable jewelry stores, whether these records can be preserved for 15 years is uncertain. However, Li Ming and his team have no other choice but to follow this lead, which currently has some value. If they still can't find any valuable clues through the ring and can't confirm the deceased's identity, then the case may be left unsolved.
At the time-honored "Baoqing Jewelry Store," a retired sales clerk, using his reading glasses, examined a photograph: "This ring looks like our 'Lotus Entwining' series, but for custom-made rings with engraved names, we need to check a special file." Inside the archives, the smell of mildew was pungent. Team members, wearing masks, carried boxes of documents onto their workbenches. "June 17, 2008... March 2009..." Xiao Wang's fingers suddenly stopped. "Wait, there's a custom-made record for November 5, 2008, but the customer's name is blurred by water stains; only the surname 'Zhang' is legible!"
“The surname Zhang is too broad, keep searching!” Li Ming’s voice came through the walkie-talkie. The investigation team moved to the Chow Tai Fook counter, where the current manager’s eyes lit up as he looked at the photo: “This design is very similar to our old ‘Love Threads’ series! But custom-made items require the head office to retrieve the files.” Three days later, crucial information appeared in an electronic document sent from the Guangzhou headquarters—in October 2008, a customer named “Zhang Zhiyuan” ordered the same ring, but the phone number he left was the main switchboard number of a textile factory.