The next day, as Jian Jing had said, she went to the beauty salon to get her face done.
Tony's inspiration made her realize that while the police could certainly investigate the Fang Group thoroughly, when it came to grudges and grievances, it was still necessary to find someone knowledgeable who was willing to talk.
A beauty salon was a place even better suited for gossiping than a barber shop.
The salon Jian Jing went to was introduced by Kang the president. It was for regular customers only, either successful career women executives and businesswomen, or wives and daughters of wealthy families - in other words, a place where information flowed freely.
She chose a full body care package - a massage while chatting with the beautician.
After asking about her age and family, the conversation naturally turned to salary and finances. Talking about income and money management led to a discussion about stocks.
"The stock market hasn't been doing so well recently," Jian Jing said. Despite her public image as introverted and inarticulate, she had no airs about her, and was gentle and friendly. "You work hard for your money, don't throw it away by investing blindly."
Making money was a topic of interest for everyone.
The beautician quickly said, "I don't buy stocks, only some funds and wealth management products."
"That's good. My manager said stocks have been falling sharply lately, especially Fang Group's. She moved me into pharmaceuticals instead. Medical cosmetics have been doing better and better these past two years." Jian Jing said with a smile.
Hearing this, the other beautician giving her a hand treatment was very surprised. "Fang Group's stock has fallen?"
Jian Jing said, "Yes, real estate has been getting worse and worse these past two years."
"But Mrs. Fang was just here today, and seemed totally normal," said the younger, prettier beautician treating her hands. "Couldn't tell at all."
"Then it probably wasn't an internal company issue," Jian Jing mused. Feigning a sudden realization, she added, "It must be because of the fire."
The masseuse beautician asked, "What fire?"
"Wasn't there a tall building that burned down the day before yesterday? I think it belonged to Fang Group." Jian Jing blinked, looking pensive. "Arson, and with the stock taking a hit, it was probably a competitor."
Hearing about corporate espionage, the beauticians were actually a bit intrigued, already stuffed full of gossip about the wealthy.
"A competitor sent someone to burn Fang Group's building?"
"Who did it?"
"How vicious!"
"You're right, that seems a bit extreme. Business rivals don't usually go straight to arson over a disagreement," Jian Jing said.
The back massage over, Jian Jing changed position to lie on her back. The girl's fingers gently massaged pressure points on her head.
This was a very relaxing part of the treatment, and she spoke more freely: "Either it was a personal enemy, or they offended someone."
The masseuse beautician said, "I haven't heard about Fang Group having any enemies."
The hand treatment beautician disagreed. "Who said they don't?" She named several famous real estate companies.
The masseuse beautician said, "But those are all from different places. Think of all the big national developers, they each started in different cities, the local fights here were settled decades ago. None of the new ones can compare to the Fangs."
The hand treatment beautician didn't argue further.
"An enemy doesn't have to be a business rival," Jian Jing steered the conversation subtly. "Fang Group's...foundation isn't very clean."
The hand treatment beautician lowered her voice, "Does it have to do with the X Road?"
"Unavoidable, twenty years ago," Jian Jing made a thoughtful look. "But with the recent crackdowns, they shouldn't be sticking their necks out now."
The masseuse beautician cut in, "That's right. They arrested quite a few before, remember that girl?" She said to her coworker. "She used to be a mistress, after her boss went to jail, she disappeared."
Here she gave some gossip about the girl.
Jian Jing patiently listened and participated in the discussion, before seizing the chance to conclude decisively, "So it must have been a personal grudge."
At this point, both girls were a little excited.
It was well known that girls didn't necessarily like detective stories, but weren't bad at deduction themselves. Given interest and motivation, they could investigate actions and connections clearly.
A full body treatment took three to four hours, in the closed room of the salon. Using gossip as bait, Jian Jing finally got the veteran beauticians to bite, and they started playing detective with her.
"Angry enough to burn down a building, the grudge against Fang Group must have been huge," she held up a finger. "Firstly, I'd rule out business disputes, know why?"
She spoke casually, without any solemn air of solving a case. The two girls didn't feel any wariness, only interest and novelty.
"Because business competition wouldn't use such crude methods?" guessed the hand treatment girl, moving to do an exfoliating foot scrub.
Jian Jing laughed, "No, business methods can be very crude too. An author was doing a book signing, and his rival hired a mourning parade to cry in front of the store. Did that work?"
"Wow." The girl thought hard. "Then why not?"
"Because it doesn't have much impact," Jian Jing explained. "Fang Group's major development focus these past two years has been a resort project in the suburbs. If there were safety issues, it would at minimum be investigated, at worst shut down. If I were a competitor, I would definitely target that place."
The girl nodded. "Oh right, I remember Mrs. Fang talking about that a few times, seemed very concerned."
"She also said after it was done, she'd invite the other ladies to visit and play," added the masseuse beautician. Having worked for a long time, she understood the subtext of what the ladies said. "It's probably meant to be a high-end place."
Jian Jing gave a faint smile, and continued, "It's not a business grudge, so it must be personal."
"Chairman Fang is the most likely possibility, then Young Master Fang, Second Miss Fang." Thanks to the runaway groom incident, Jian Jing was intimately familiar with the Fang family. "Mrs. Fang and Third Miss Fang and Young Master Fang all have their own businesses, and aren't as closely tied."
The masseuse beautician wiped her hands and took out a sheet face mask, preparing to put it on Jian Jing. Working efficiently, her mind moved quickly too. "Mrs. Fang opened an art gallery, Third Miss Fang...I remember she opened a bar, and Young Master does hotels, right?"
"Boutique hotels," the hand treatment beautician corrected. "Don't you remember? His ex-girlfriend came to get a spa treatment here before. Tiny little thing, talked in a soft voice, best friends with Fang's..."
She gave a knowing look.
Her coworker immediately understood, and smiled meaningfully, but didn't elaborate.
Jian Jing naturally wouldn't pry into overly private matters, and went on, "I heard Second Miss Fang does a lot of charity and is very nice?"
Unless it concerned personal privacy, the beauticians found it hard to keep secrets. "Yes, she's pretty good, very polite, not like some ladies who treat us like servants from ancient times."
"And she's divorced now." Jian Jing acted as if recalling. "Women have a lot less trouble once divorced. At least we can rule out revenge by a mistress."
At this, the beauticians had subtle expressions.
"Second Miss Fang's ex-husband..." they hinted obliquely. "Doesn't have girlfriends."
Jian Jing was taken aback for a second, blinking. "Boyfriends?"
They smiled without outright confirming it.
Jian Jing understood - a scandal in the Fang family.
"Then it's Chairman Fang and his eldest son." Jian Jing remembered Young Master Fang's behavior, steady and scheming. Could it be some feud between him and someone else?
The masseuse beautician said, "I don't think it's Young Master Fang."
"Why not?"
"Young Master's wife was here two weeks ago. She said after they finished Young Master's wedding, they'd be going abroad for half a month's vacation. Their eldest daughter is studying in Europe, good chance to visit her." The masseuse beautician explained, "If I wanted revenge on someone, what's the point if they're not around?"
The hand treatment girl agreed, "Gotta slap the face in person. So it's Chairman Fang then?"
Jian Jing smiled and gave the final verdict, "I think so too, just don't know what grudge could make him resort to arson."
"Must have been a huge hatred."
"Don't TV shows always say, revenge for a murdered father, stealing someone's wife..."
"No way Chairman Fang is a murderer, but stealing a wife..."
"He must have more than one mistress."
"Mrs. Fang is already his third wife, who knows how many are outside."
"That one before...almost ran into Mrs. Fang, that was..."
"But she's so young."
"The Fang family is so rich, there's no need to steal someone else's wife."
Jian Jing listened to their rambling discussion without interjecting—she couldn't interject anyway since her face was covered with a facial mask. Only after fifteen minutes, when the silk mask was peeled off, did she casually ask, "Could it have happened during the development project... Demolition and relocation are when problems are most likely to occur."
As the conversation delved deeper, the beautician was growing weary of it.
After all, they didn't have much interest in the case. Gossiping was fine, but prolonged discussion was bound to become annoying. However, the customer was excited, so they didn't want to pour cold water on her enthusiasm. Jian Jing looked like someone who could afford to spend money. Firmly grasping a VIP customer was crucial for their performance.
Jian Jing was observant and naturally didn't miss their expressions. She immediately added a manicure service to give them a little sweetener, "What do you think, could something have happened during the demolition?"
Manicures at this beauty salon were worth 2888 RMB, another tidy income.
The beautician wanted to curry favor with her even more. She racked her brains trying to remember, and hesitantly said, "I didn't hear anything about demolition. But there was a lady before who kept saying the Fang family did things unfairly. Supposedly for some project, they ruined a family completely."
Jian Jing slowly opened her half-closed eyes, a glint flashing in them, "Oh? There was something like that?"
The beautician didn't know much, but told her everything she had heard.
This is what happened. About seven or eight years ago, the Fang Group wanted to develop a resort project and acquired two parcels of land. But these two parcels were purchased separately, with a small parcel in between them.
This small parcel had already been purchased by a small developer called "Jianxin." They planned to turn it into an agritourism site.
With conflicting positioning that was also an obstruction, the Fang family naturally wanted to get rid of them.
The beautician didn't know what means they used. According to what that knowledgeable lady said, not only did the company go bankrupt, but the boss jumped off a building and committed suicide over his debts. His family was also harassed until they disappeared without a trace.
Jian Jing searched online. Judging by the timeline, this resort was the current resort.
She then logged onto related websites to look up companies and searched homophones for "Jianxin." There were seven or eight companies, but only one that went bankrupt and dissolved in 2013.
Jianxin Real Estate.
The legal representative was called Pan Guo.
*
The suspect Inspector Qiu locked onto was called Peng Wei, male, thirty-six years old, a survivor of the Qili Bridge collapse accident.
That year, he and his family were preparing to go on vacation when the large bridge suddenly collapsed. Their car was buried for over two days before being rescued.
There were five people in his family - his wife, children, and parents. He was the only survivor. The rest all died. Over the years, he had been trying to petition and sue the Fang Group multiple times but to no avail.
Even now, he still lived alone, doing odd jobs everywhere, and life was very hard for him.
Most importantly, although the commercial building burned down, the street cameras across from it were undamaged. He was caught on video passing by the area before the fire started.
Could it be him?
