Chapter 50 Section fifty

Taking the notebook, Zheng Xing said: "As you guessed, the taste of our family is based on Mr. Ariake's original cuisine." "Don't admit to murder, but admit to stealing the recipe?" "No, I didn't steal it, I bought it." "bought?" "500,000. This is the one I bought at the time." Zheng Xing spread out the notebook and placed it in front of Gong Yi. Looking at it, Gong Yi swallowed his saliva.This notebook is bound with copy paper.He knows the above content better than anyone else. Xingcheng leaned over and took a look. "This is...the recipe notebook!"

"Have you seen the real thing?" Zheng Xing asked unexpectedly. "They showed it to me. Come to think of it, Dad, did you really buy this?" "It's absolutely true." Zhengxing glanced back and forth at Koichi and the others, "At that time, Mr. Ariake was obsessed with gambling. I met him on such occasions. Originally, I just went to deliver food." Gongyi immediately realized the matter of the gambling organization. "There, I had a little dispute with Mr. Ariake. He asked me if I didn't feel ashamed to serve such a terrible dish? From the words, I learned that he is also the chef of a foreign restaurant. I am quite confident in my cooking skills. I gritted my teeth and asked him: What about your cuisine? Then a few days later, I went to his shop, which is 'Ariake'." Zhengxing looked into the distance, looking like he was lost in memory.Afterwards, he shook his head, "As soon as I entered, my heart was shocked. It completely overturned my understanding of foreign food. I finally understood why my restaurant was not popular. At the same time, I also understood what it means to be left behind. The smell in my memory. I couldn’t figure out how he made this smell. So, I shamelessly asked Mr. Ariake. Of course, he couldn’t tell me. He just let me think about it myself.”

"So, why does this recipe..." Koichi asked. "Back to my store, I began to immerse myself in repeated research, trying to find a way to make that taste. However, no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn't reproduce that taste. Just when I realized my incompetence and started to burn out, Mr. Ariake contacted me. He Ask me if I want to buy the cookbook." "Dad took the initiative to find you?" "He said he needed money. He didn't say the specifics, but I was vaguely aware of it. I heard earlier that he owed a large debt because of gambling. I'm afraid it was to repay the gambling debt. The price of 500,000 was also proposed by him. .Maybe he ran around to raise money, and ended up short of this."

"So, you bought it?" Xingcheng asked. Zheng Xing twisted his face in pain and nodded. "For the chef, this is a very shameful thing, however, I agreed to his request. I immediately took out the deposit and sent the cash by registered mail. Because I was worried that if I was slow, it would make others A few days later, he contacted me. He said that the recipe was copied and asked me to pick it up. That night, I rushed to 'Ariake'. Because I had to take care of my own store, it was late. He explained to me I went in through the back door, and I walked around to the back of the store." At this moment, Masako paused and took a deep breath, "At that time, someone was standing at the back door. Judging from his size, I knew he wasn't Mr. Ariake, but I didn't see it. See his appearance. At that time, the man was walking into the house."

Gong Yi leaned out: "Absurd..." "I didn't want others to bump into me, so I found a place to hide. I thought maybe it was a chef who asked Ariake-san to buy recipes like me. In this case, I was deceived by Ariake-san. It's really shameless." After smiling , Zhengxing continued with a serious expression, "Ten minutes later, the back door opened again, and the man came out and left quickly. Seeing this, I opened the back door and yelled into the house a few times, but there was no response. So, I Walking inside. The sliding door to the bedroom was open, and after taking a sneak peek, I couldn't help screaming."

The scene he witnessed fourteen years ago emerged in Gong Yi's mind.Seeing the tragic situation, it was only natural for Zheng Xing to groan. "At that time, there was only one thought in my mind: it would be terrible to stay here. As I was running away, I noticed the copy paper on the shelf. Those turned out to be recipes. I grabbed them and escaped through the back door." Said, Zheng Xing looked at Taifu, "You should have witnessed me at that time. At that time, I was so panicked that I didn't even notice that there was a child beside me." "Liar!" Tai Fu shouted hoarsely, "full of lies."

"It's unbelievable, but it's all true." The chief executive sighed, "Even so, I don't feel wronged. With the recipe I got in this way, I started selling 'Ariake' in my store." The beef diced rice bowl. People have received rave reviews for it, and the scale of 'Togami Pavilion' has gradually grown. However, the achievements obtained by plagiarism are not at all proud. I have been thinking secretly, want to Get rid of the constraints of the 'Ariake' recipe a moment earlier. However, the sky failed, and the taste of 'Ariake' continued to expand in the 'Togami Pavilion'. There is nothing I can do about it."

Zheng Xing put his hands on his knees and buried his head deeply. "In order to protect myself, I brought you painful memories. I don't know how to apologize. I'm really sorry." Taifu stood up suddenly. "That's enough! It doesn't matter if the recipe was stolen or not. What about the fact of the murder? Plead guilty!" "Calm down, Taifu!" "The words of this kind of guy are trustworthy? It must be nonsense!" "Indignation is useless in this situation. Anyway, the truth will be revealed soon. Hold on!" Gong Yi looked at Zheng Xing, "You don't intend to make us blindly believe your one-sided words. There must be evidence, right? .”

"I'll show you when the Hagi village policemen come." Zheng Xing nodded. Looking into his eyes, Gong Yi felt that his belief was collapsing bit by bit.Zheng Xing's words are reasonable, not at all like an excuse made up on the spot. Gong Yi remembered that the day before the incident, someone saw their mother Tazi in the library.On weekdays, she hardly ever goes to the library.It would make sense if her purpose was to photocopy the recipe notebook. Who was the man who visited before Masashi Togami?Gong Yi has no clue. The doorbell rang and everyone looked up. Xingcheng got up.Gong Yi still looked at Zheng Xing in silence.The executive closed his eyes.

Soon, Hagi Village came in after Xingcheng, followed by Kashiwahara. "A few days ago, I'm sorry..." After greeting Masashi, Hagimura saw Koichi, his eyes widened in surprise.Then, his eyes moved to Taifu, and he said with a dazed expression: "Could it be that you are Taifu-kun?" Taifu lowered his head in embarrassment. "I found it." Kashiwahara looked at Koichi. "Finally, he was contacted. Although Mr. Kashiwahara said that the search work should be left to the police, but there was a thorn in my heart, so we went to the 'Hogami Pavilion' together. Then, my younger brother saw him and confirmed that he It is the prisoner. Today, we sneaked in and asked what happened."

"Get in?" Hagi Village frowned in surprise. "They seemed to tell my son first. He was already very concerned about the police visit, so he joined forces with the two to find out the truth. Just now, I have confessed what I know. Calling you all of a sudden, really I'm very sorry." Zheng Xing's explanation was quite ingenious.He concealed the crime—the part of them pretending to be the police and extorting a confession from themselves. "Do you know the truth about the 'Ariake' incident?" Hagi Village asked. "I can't tell the truth. Unfortunately, I don't know the culprit. However, I'm hiding something important." Zhengxing once again told Hagi Village the ins and outs of the recipe.Hagi Village stood up and began to record, with surprise and doubt on his face. Not long after, "Mr. Hushen." Bai Yuan called out. "These words do have some persuasiveness. It may be rude to say so, but after fourteen years it is not difficult to invent plausible excuses. What is there to prove that what you say is true?" "I think it's okay. At least it can prove that I'm not a prisoner." He replied calmly.Afterwards, Zhengxing looked at Hagi Village, "There should be something left behind by the suspected prisoner at the scene. A transparent plastic umbrella. Right?" Hagimura was dumbfounded, he looked at Koichi. "The plastic umbrella thing is not public. You said?" "No. He knew it before I said it. That's why I'm sure he's the criminal..." Gong Yi closed his mouth. "Then, why do you know?" Hagi Village asked Xingcheng. "It's simple. Because that umbrella is mine. That night, I went to 'Ariake' with an umbrella. Plastic umbrella." "You forgot to take it?" "No. I won't forget my umbrella." Hagimura asked in surprise, "What do you mean?" "Please wait a moment. I have something to show you." Zheng Xing stood up. Kung folded his hands on his chest and remained silent.He decided to listen to these words for the time being.Tai Fu beside him lowered his head without saying a word. "I didn't expect that." Hagimura murmured in a particularly abrupt voice.Kashiwahara next to him was lost in thought with a serious face. There were footsteps, and Zheng Xing came back.In his hand was a long and thin rod wrapped in a furoshiki. "What is this?" Hagimura asked. "Please open it and have a look." Zhengxing handed it to Hagi Village. The moment Hagimura unwrapped the rug, Koichi couldn't help saying "ah".Inside the furoshiki lay a plastic umbrella in a thin transparent bag. "That night, I left 'Ariake' with an umbrella." Saying that, Masako looked at Taifu, "You don't seem to have seen this. Well, although I was holding an umbrella, it wasn't open, so it's hard to notice Bar." "However, you just said that the umbrella that fell at the scene was yours..." Hagimura said. "Mistake." "Wrong?" "When I went in, I put the umbrella in the basket by the back door, and when I escaped, I took the wrong umbrella. When I noticed this, I was already some distance away from 'Ariake'. At that moment, I remembered. In People who visited Ariake before me put their umbrellas away when they entered and left without an umbrella in their hands." Hagimura was taken aback, staring at the umbrella in his hand without moving. "Then, this is the prisoner's umbrella..." "That's right." Zheng Xing nodded, "It should have been handed over earlier, but I didn't do that, I didn't have the courage. However, I had realized that the police would find me. Because my fingerprints were on the umbrella left at the scene. In order to be able to explain clearly at that time, I kept this umbrella. I put it in a bag to avoid wiping the fingerprints of the prisoner. However, the police did not come. They have not come for fourteen years. They were gold watches, candy boxes, etc. that I didn't know about. I couldn't understand why my fingerprints got on these things. The umbrella is another matter. Anyway, I plan to wait and see for a while until things become clearer. " Gong Yi was speechless because he felt that Zheng Xing hadn't lied.He really couldn't imagine that these words were all lies, and even the umbrella was specially prepared. "Please check this umbrella." Zhengxing said to Hagi Village. "When I knew I made a mistake, I breathed on the handle, and then, fingerprints appeared on it immediately. I didn't hold the handle from the beginning to the end, but just held it on the plastic part, so there shouldn't be my fingerprints. I think it's the prisoner's fingerprints." Hagimura looked at the umbrella with a serious expression.Then, he raised his head, looked at Xingcheng, and shook his head slowly. "No, that's weird." Gong Yi looked up at the policeman in surprise.Hagi village said to Zhengxing: "These words are inconsistent. You are lying." Zheng Xing looked at the policeman in astonishment. "Where is the contradiction in what I said?" Hagi Village took a breath, and said again: "Don't you think it's strange what you said yourself? As you said, we thoroughly searched the leftovers—umbrellas. However, we didn't come to you. Do you know why?" "I also find this point quite unbelievable. I think that my name was not found in Mr. Ariake's network at that time. My relationship with him was not put on the table. You collected my fingerprints a while ago, for the sake of Check that it matches the fingerprint on the gold watch. That was not a problem for me. In fact, I realized at the time that at any time you might find that my fingerprints matched the ones on the umbrella. However, you never Nothing happened. I was wondering what the hell was going on." Listening to Zhengxing's words, Koichi also noticed the contradiction in Hagi's mouth.Indeed, there are some parts of the truth that Zheng Xing said are contrary to the facts.However, he doesn't feel like he's lying.Had he been a prisoner, he could not have failed to notice that inconsistency. "Mr. Togami, are you really telling the truth?" Hagi Cura asked. "Every sentence is true, there is no lie." Zheng Xing replied firmly. "That's so weird. You said the umbrella that fell on the scene was yours. You said you were prepared for fingerprints. However, we didn't find any remaining fingerprints. They were wiped clean on purpose gone." Koichi nodded in agreement with Hagimura's words.He was told the same about the umbrella. "No, it's impossible." Zheng Xing looked surprised, "I took the wrong umbrella. If I still have the time to wipe off the fingerprints, how could I make a mistake." "Then why are the fingerprints disappearing out of thin air?" "I don't know. I can't answer it either. Everything I said is the truth." "Ask again, is that umbrella really yours? Because the umbrella that fell on the scene belongs to the prisoner, if the fingerprints of the prisoner who visited 'Ariake' before you were wiped off, do you think it is reasonable?" The executive shook his head. "Because I took the wrong umbrella, I have been keeping it for fourteen years. Although it is a plastic umbrella that can be seen everywhere, it is definitely not mine. When the umbrella I use is closed, the string will buckle in the button, because the string is Velcro. That's when I realized I was wrong."