Chapter Forty-Nine: The Boatman

“What a pity,” Kelly Losaidy said with a hint of regret.

Over four hundred square meters, and the address was right in the downtown office district of Nanlin City, quite impressive indeed. At that price, it was practically a steal; otherwise, Kelly wouldn’t have recommended it to Li Changqing in the first place.

“Oh, by the way, a commission came in yesterday.” Kelly Losaidy suddenly remembered something. “Someone called the number on our flyer, wanted to meet in person at Linjiang Dock to discuss a job.”

Li Changqing’s eyes lit up—this was good news. He called out to Tang Xiaoyu inside the room, “Xiaoyu, get ready, we’re heading out.”

The Linjiang River wound through the heart of Nanlin City. In fact, the city itself had originally grown up along its banks, thriving on the prosperity of water and land trade. This meant bustling docks, shipyards, cargo vessels, fishing boats, and more.

Linjiang Dock was among the top three docks in Nanlin. Here, containers full of goods were stacked high, freighters were moored, constantly loading and unloading cargo. Trucks rolled in and out in a steady stream.

On this street, countless trucks were parked. Li Changqing, Tang Xiaoyu, and Kelly Losaidy took a taxi directly to the dock’s office building.

It was a five-story structure built by the owner himself, with dock workers coming and going constantly. Before coming, Kelly Losaidy had already made a call.

A balding man in a suit stood outside, a cigarette in his hand, nervously checking his watch from time to time.

When the taxi pulled up, the three got out.

“You must be Detective Kelly, the internationally renowned investigator.”

The man stepped forward, both hands extended, a broad smile on his face. “My name is Huang Chao, I’m the owner here. And these two are…?”

Kelly Losaidy gave a faint smile. “My two assistants.”

Damn it… Li Changqing cursed inwardly, but it was clear this middle-aged man had sought Kelly out because of the ‘international detective’ claim on the flyer.

Exactly the effect Li Changqing wanted—of course he wouldn’t ruin the image.

“Xiao Li, would you take my coat?”

“Yes, Mr. Kelly.” Li Changqing smiled, taking Kelly Losaidy’s coat.

Huang Chao thought to himself, No wonder he’s an international detective, he even brings two assistants.

“Let’s talk in my office,” he said, leading them inside.

Huang Chao’s office was spacious, with a leather sofa and a large wine cabinet stocked with red wine, while the desk was piled high with messy paperwork. Huang Chao sat on the sofa and said, “I need your help to find someone.”

To find someone?

Kelly Losaidy asked, “Whom are you looking for?”

Huang Chao hesitated, then took out two photographs, setting them on the table. “These are two of my dock workers. They were supposed to be on duty the night before last, watching over the goods. But the next morning, they’d vanished. The surveillance footage shows they never left the dock through the main gate.”

“We searched the entire dock and found no trace of them.”

Kelly Losaidy glanced at the photos; both men looked to be in their thirties. He asked, “They disappeared inside the dock?”

A missing persons case? Li Changqing had his own suspicions, but as an assistant, it wasn’t his place to ask too many questions.

“The commission fee is twenty thousand Lang coins. What do you say?” Huang Chao asked with a grin.

Li Changqing exchanged a glance with Huang Chao and quickly agreed.

They produced a contract, and both parties signed without delay.

“Mr. Huang, is there any other clue about their disappearance?” Kelly Losaidy passed the contract to Li Changqing.

“Hmm…” Huang Chao thought carefully. “Before this, they’d had a dispute with one of the ferrymen on the river.”

“Those guys are still out there every day, rowing people across. Can you believe it, in this day and age?”

Before a large bridge was built over this river, everyone—travelers, cargo—relied on ferries to get across. But with modern development, fewer and fewer took the old boats. Still, the nearest bridge was three kilometers away, so locals sometimes still used these traditional ferries.

“There are still over a dozen ferrymen on the river,” Huang Chao continued. “They often interfere with the docking of our cargo ships, so our people argue with them every few days.”

“The two missing men last had a fight with a boatman named Ye. It ended badly.”

“A boatman?” Li Changqing asked.

Huang Chao beckoned them to the office window, which overlooked the whole river.

At that moment, a man in a bamboo hat and raincoat was ferrying passengers across the water. On the shore, a few crude brick cabins stood beside a cluster of small boats.

The boatmen lounged on their boats, chatting idly. Now and then, someone would come to cross the river.

“These people are out of step with the times,” Huang Chao said impatiently. “It’s only a matter of time before they’re obsolete.” His business was often disrupted by these boatmen, and negotiations had led nowhere.

“Understood. We’ll begin our investigation,” Kelly Losaidy replied with a gentle smile.

The three left Huang Chao’s office.

Tang Xiaoyu turned to Li Changqing. “Could that boatman Ye have killed them out of spite after their argument?”

“From the way Mr. Huang spoke, it sounds like disputes between the dock workers and boatmen are a regular occurrence,” Li Changqing replied. “It’s probably not the most likely explanation, but we still need to check it out.”

“Kelly, you look around the dock. Xiaoyu and I will talk to boatman Ye and see what we can find out.”

Kelly Losaidy nodded. “If I discover anything, I’ll call you.”

Li Changqing and Tang Xiaoyu left the dock. A narrow path had been built along the embankment by the river; following it, they soon reached the waterfront.

Tall grass grew thick along the bank, but a path had been trampled through. Five simple houses stood here, likely the boatmen’s temporary dwellings.

Eight boatmen sat on their fishing boats, smoking and telling off-color jokes. When they saw Li Changqing and Tang Xiaoyu approach, they fell silent.

“Want to cross the river? Ten Lang coins,” a boatman with a dark complexion asked, smiling.

Tang Xiaoyu was about to ask about the dock, but Li Changqing smiled and nodded. “All right, take us across.”

He took Tang Xiaoyu’s hand and climbed into the boat.

It was a wooden craft, with a modest canopy and small stools for seats.

The boatman skillfully steered them out onto the river.

“Master, you’ve been ferrying here for years, I suppose?” Li Changqing asked casually.

The boatman nodded. “Yes, it’s been nearly twelve years now. Just making a hard living.”