Half an hour later, Hu Jia emerged from Qiao Hua Li's office.
He had gotten the result he wanted.
"You're saying Uncle Qiao was poisoned?"
"Yes, they say he gets an antidote once a week, and when it acts up, it's worse than death."
"Is there an antidote?"
"Do you know what polygonum hydropiper is?"
"Polygonum hydropiper? A type of Chinese medicine?"
"Mmm! Also known as red pepper, its achene is ovate, densely dotted, and has the effects of reducing swelling, detoxifying, promoting urination, and stopping dysentery."
"Then it's not that simple? Pharmacies have it."
"Yes. But the strange thing is, the polygonum hydropiper needed to cure this poison only grows in Brazil."
"Brazil? Where is that?"
"I don't know. I've never heard of it."
Polygonum hydropiper from Brazil?
Ouyang Wen looked shocked. No wonder Uncle Qiao had betrayed them; he had already been harmed by villains.
Hu Jia also sighed. Thinking of Qiao Hua Li's body, poisoned and coerced, he felt angry and sad. Sad that he had distrusted Uncle Qiao, only blaming him for betrayal without ever considering the reasons behind it. Angry that the "Dao Ren" were so despicable, even resorting to poison!
Just moments ago, Qiao Hua Li had told Hu Jia a secret.
He said he had been kidnapped by a group of people not long ago. They had forced him to ingest a poison that acted up once a week, causing pain as if his internal organs were being displaced.
The captors threatened him to work for the "Dao Ren," promising agonizing death if he refused, and a weekly antidote if he complied.
Perhaps due to their confidence in the poison they had developed, their vigilance was not high. After mingling with them, Qiao Hua Li learned that to counteract the poison, he needed to consume a Chinese medicine called polygonum hydropiper. However, this particular type of polygonum hydropiper was different from what was commonly found in markets; it had to be grown in Brazil.
But where exactly was this Brazil?
Qiao Hua Li's account made Hu Jia very sad. As he left the office, he found Ouyang Wen, hoping he would use his connections to help find this Brazilian polygonum hydropiper.
Not only was he saving Uncle Qiao, whom he had been close to since childhood, but given his identity as the deputy chief of the police bureau, he had to be saved.
Of course, now that things had been cleared up, Qiao Hua Li was also prepared to go all out. He said he would find an excuse to transfer Tong Meng to the second team as soon as possible, and also instructed Hu Jia, "You must keep a close eye on her."
...
When Hu Jia returned home that evening, he recounted Qiao Hua Li's story to Lü Qing Qing, who listened with great emotion.
"It's fortunate you got the truth out of him, otherwise you might have alerted them and caused a lot of trouble," Lü Qing Qing thought Hu Jia's move was quite risky.
If Qiao Hua Li hadn't been coerced but had joined the "Dao Ren" for personal gain, Hu Jia's direct questioning could have provoked the "Dao Ren" to kill him. Even if they didn't kill him, they would be alerted.
At that point, Qiao Hua Li could find any excuse to transfer Hu Jia out of the criminal investigation team, leaving him nowhere to turn.
"The next week is almost here. I must sort out Tong Meng while I still remember," Hu Jia felt he had been a bit impulsive, but he didn't regret it.
Upon hearing this, Lü Qing Qing felt touched and sweet.
Hu Jia had promised to help her with Tong Meng, and he was keeping his word. The reason for his impulsiveness was his fear of entering another amnesia cycle and delaying this matter.
"Silly," Lü Qing Qing playfully glared at Hu Jia, "That person is just a minor problem. If you ruin the plan or even put yourself in danger for me, it would be a loss."
"I'm not silly, I know what's important and what's urgent," Hu Jia said.
Lü Qing Qing was of utmost importance, and her matter was urgent.
...
The new week began, and Hu Jia stood before Lu Jiao.
"Who are you?" Lu Jiao instinctively took a step back, seeing the person blocking his path.
"Once, I met a young man. He was being bullied, and I saved him." Hu Jia approached him step by step.
Lu Jiao's surprised gaze was undisguised, "You, you..."
"Back then, I introduced him to work at a pawnshop, but he said something like this," Hu Jia continued, "The rich rely on pharmacies, the poor rely on pawnshops. He said some pawnshops often take advantage of people in distress and exploit the poor. Even for brand new pawned items, they would maliciously undervalue them. That's why he didn't want to go."
"Benefactor, is it really you?" Lu Jiao suddenly became excited.
In his memory, the person who had come to pawn the box back then was very thin, with a stubbled face, completely different from this dashing man before him.
"Lu Jiao, long time no see," Hu Jia said with a slight smile.
"Long time no see, long time no see," Lu Jiao's eyes even welled up, "I thought I'd never see you again, I didn't expect to meet you here."
"You're mistaken, we didn't just happen to meet here. I came specifically to find you," Hu Jia said.
"Specifically?" Lu Jiao looked surprised, then immediately reacted, "You mean that..."
Before he could finish speaking, Hu Jia raised his hand to interrupt him. "Let's talk somewhere else."
...
In a secluded small room, Hu Jia told Lu Jiao about his current situation, including his amnesia.
After hearing Hu Jia's story, Lu Jiao was filled with mixed emotions. "Fortunately, I left a message for the proprietress back then, otherwise you wouldn't have found me."
Yes, the proprietress Lu Jiao mentioned was Yang Yue Gu.
When they were in Zhong County, Yang Yue Gu had told Hu Jia something.
After Hu Jia and Mou Ji Xuan finished their business with Yang Shao Quan, on their way back to Yu, they had rescued a young boy. The boy was being bullied by ruffians who had even stolen the only valuable item he had.
Hu Jia wanted to help him, but the boy was stubborn and refused his money. Helplessly, Hu Jia remembered that Yue Gu had mentioned the pawnshop was hiring, so he took the boy to the pawnshop opened by Yue Gu's late husband, thinking of introducing him to a place to make a living.
At that time, the boy quite disliked pawnshops, saying they were places that fed on the flesh and blood of the poor. However, Hu Jia wasn't angry. He said that while some pawnshops did exploit the poor, others could be a lifeline for the poor in their most desperate moments.
Perhaps it was Hu Jia's words that had an effect, or perhaps the boy saw the integrity of Yue Gu's late husband. In any case, he stayed in the end.
Not only did he stay, but he also learned a great deal. The boy only left after Yue Gu sold the pawnshop.
However, since Yue Gu was no longer involved in the pawnshop's affairs and a long time had passed, she couldn't remember the boy's name. As for Hu Jia, there was no need to mention it; he didn't even remember the incident.
This was why Yue Gu had gone to look for the ledger.
Because at the pawnshop, the person receiving items would only use their alias or a number to record the details of each transaction. However, in 1924, when the boy first received an item, he didn't know the rules and directly wrote his own name.
His name was "Lu Jiao."