124 Communication Problem

 

We all felt depressed after hearing about Granny Wang’s story. People that you met on the road all had their own story, a perfectly normal person could experience things that we could not have ever dreamt about. Sometimes, one’s disappearance didn’t tell all. After a moment of silence, Gu Chen was the first to say, “Even though Granny Wang is mute, she was not born with it. Since she can’t speak, at least we can interview her about the murder through writing. If we can get some clues from Granny Wang, it’ll be of great help to the investigation.” Gu Chen made a great point so I concurred, “That’s right, based on the timeline we’ve established, there is a good chance Granny Wang did see something.”

The village head nodded. “It’s not that I don’t understand that but I don’t think she’ll be able to help you. She has lived alone since she was 14. After she was 40, she spent more than 20 years not communicating with anyone else. You suggested using writing with her but for that, she has to be literate, right?” Lee Danan suddenly chimed in, “That’s right, Granny Wang is like a ghost in our village. She never talks to people and keeps to herself. If not for the background given by the village head just now, I really thought she was not right in the head.”

The village head glared at Lee Danan before he added, “If only the old woman wasn’t so advanced in age when she adopted Wang Meizi, Wang Meizi might grow up into a normal person. But sometimes, fate is like that. Perhaps this is Wang Meizi’s destiny.” The village head added, “Other than her own name, Wang Meizi doesn’t know how to write anything else.”

Guan Zhenglin was anxious when she said, “But she has to interact with people somehow, or else how would she survive? How would she buy food? She would at least use some sign language right? I know a little sign language, I’m not proficient at it but I can still communicate with another signer.”

The village head shook his hands. “How can I put this? The old woman didn’t have any family so she left everything she had to Wang Meizi. It wasn’t much but Wang Meizi also inherited the old woman’s talent in sewing. She would take however much people are willing to pay. The most common place she’d visit is the convenience store by the highway to buy some everyday consumables as well as needles and threads.” The village head explained, “You don’t need to speak when shopping at the store. She only needed to place the items on the counter. The cashier would use his finger to show the price and Granny Wang would pay him the money.” With a sigh, he continued, “But if you need her to discuss something more complicated than that, I doubt she’ll be capable.”

I patted the old village head’s shoulder. “No matter what, Granny Wang is our most valuable witness at the moment. Since we’re already here, there’s no reason for us to give up without even meeting Granny Wang, right?”

Seeing the determination on my face, the village head sighed and then turned to Lee Danan. “Lee Danan, go and get Granny Wang here.” Then he changed his mind, “Actually wait, she will not come with you. I’ll go get her personally. I knew her when she was just a teen. At this village, I’m one of the few people that has a connection with her.” Then the old village head added as if to himself, “After all, we’ve known each other for 50 plus years already. When I was 3 or 4, I was already toddling behind her butt.”

The village head rolled his wheelchair to head out but I quickly stopped him, “Sir, the wind is so strong outside and the road is thick with snow. I can’t allow you to take such a risk. How about this, have Gu Chen push you and we’ll go to Granny Wang’s home together.” Hearing that, Chief Zhou stood up and said, “That’s right, Master Wei. We should go all together.” The village head nodded, “Okay, that’s not a bad idea. Lee Danan, do you mind sitting here? If someone comes to find me, tell them I’m at Granny Wang’s place, understand?”

Lee Danan nodded. “Of course.”

We walked all the way to Granny Wang’s place. The village’s main entrance, which we came from, was on the western side of the village, the village community centre was at the middle, Granny Wang’s home was on the east, the body dump location was by the roadside of the eastern small path. The most eastern end of the path was the small convenience store and the highway. Gu Chen pushed the old village head at the front, Chief Zhou and Guan Zhenglin walked beside them. I lagged behind by myself as I ruminated over what was said earlier.

From the conversation, I knew that the small path on the east would lead to the highway. If that was the case, then the murderer might not necessarily come from First Drain Village. The highway was well-used, vehicles passed by First Drain Village daily. People like truckers might know the village well too. That widened up our investigation scope so much more. I would have to edit my criminal profile but for now, that was just an instinct. I didn’t dare to sink too much into it.

Other than that, there was a mystery that still eluded me. Based on what Chief Zhou and the village head said, it had been some time since First Drain Village became the Handicapped Village. Theoretically speaking, there would be marriages among the villagers and there was no research to prove that 2 handicapped parents would necessarily have a handicapped child. So there was a problem. It was impossible for every villager here to be handicapped. Perhaps Chief Zhou and the village head were just exaggerating with the Handicapped Village name? Regardless, I had a sneaking feeling that this village was not as simple as it appeared. But now was not the time to unearth that mystery, we still had a murderer to catch.

10 minutes later, they arrived at Granny Wang’s home. The village head rolled the wheelchair to the door and pulled on a rope that reached out from the front door. As he pulled on the rope, he explained, “This rope is connected to a scale inside the house. When she sees it moving, she’ll know she has visitors. Everyone here knows about it.” After a few pulls, the door creaked open. An old lady about 60 plus stood before us. However, she had less wrinkles than the village head, if not for the story earlier, I would have no trouble believing Granny Wang was younger than the village head. Then again this was a woman who could still walk for an hour to get to the convenience store to make her weekly purchase and then walk an hour back home, she must still be physically fit. In contrast, the village head was indisposed in a wheelchair so he had less exercise.

Then we finally understood how ‘little’ the interaction the village head really had with Granny Wang. The village head gestured and shouted at the old lady, as if the volume mattered to a deaf person. Granny Wang looked at us with alertness, there was no sign stating that she was going to let us get in. Chief Zhou took out his badge and showed it to her. Then he made the sign of a gun and handcuff, after some more games of charades, Granny Wang finally got it. She bowed at us and then invited us in.

Granny Wang didn’t seem as unapproachable as Lee Danan made her out to be. Perhaps it was a generational gap that made him feel that way. Granny Wang was smiling as she welcomed us into her home. She looked like someone’s kind grandmother. Perhaps she only wished for company as most old people do.

There was a stove inside the house and Granny Wang was cooking when we found her. On the stove were noodles and some vegetables. This was a normal meal. Chief Zhou took over the cooking and said with a smile, “Let me show you my cooking skills. When I was young, I had to take care of myself. Not to brag, but I’m quite a good cook.” As Chief Zhou added the noodles, he said, “You guys should try to interview the good granny while I cook. Although I’m honestly quite afraid that we won’t get anything even after my cooking is done.”

The few of us took up the challenge one after another. I tried to use drawing to communicate but I failed. Granny Wang had no idea what I was drawing. Then came Guan Zhenglin, she tried sign language but clearly Granny Wang had not studied that language before. The two of us tried for almost an hour. Chief Zhou was already done with the cooking. He ladled a scrumptious bowl of noodles for Granny Wang. She accepted the bowl and looked at us with plain confusion. She eventually interrupted us and signalled us to join her for the meal.

The last to take up the challenge was Gu Chen. Gu Chen stood before Granny Wang for a long time and did nothing. In the end, he sighed, “I really can’t think of anything. It’s getting late and honestly I’m quite hungry.” In the end, the village head said, “The sun is already up high in the sky. I’ve already requested my wife to cook a large meal at home, we’ll have lunch at my place.”

I waved my hands and looked at Granny Wang. “Sir, this time I don’t think I’ll be able to follow your orders. Do you mind telling your family to have the meal on their own? I think we will just have our lunch here. I haven’t had such simple dishes since I moved to Dong Xing City, I miss them dearly.”

After persuading the village head multiple times, he had no choice but to call home and told his family to not wait for us anymore.

The food was good and the company was great. Even though Granny Wang couldn’t hear us and we had no idea what she was thinking, happiness was contagious. My heart felt serene seeing the bright smile on the old lady’s face. Even though we might not get any clue from Granny Wang, we did get a good meal and a peaceful time.

“This is bad!” Lee Danan’s voice suddenly drifted in from outside. “Master Wei, this is bad. Please come out now!”