The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 120 Commonplace [Bonus Chapter]

An old, faded red rope with two small ceramic pendants hanging from it. The patterns on the pendants have been worn away, and it's impossible to tell what they originally depicted.

Dan Dajun pulled his sleeve down to his forearm, where a red string was clearly visible.

He compared it to the red string he was wearing on his wrist; although one was new and the other old, they should be the same thing.

Village Chief Lin walked over and paused for a moment when he saw the red rope.

Seeing the strange expression on his face, Shan Dajun shook the old red string. "Have you seen it before?"

Village Chief Lin nodded. "Many young men in the village believe in this, even my two sons do."

The things that can be exchanged for two copper coins at the Temple of the Matchmaker are indeed not very rare.

Dan Dajun placed the old red rope on the table, sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and said to Gao Qi, "If you know anything, tell me. If we catch the murderer soon, your mother can rest in peace sooner."

Gao Qi's eyes twitched, but he didn't react further.

If Shan Dajun hadn't been a government official with a sword, he would have driven the people out long ago, just like chasing away villagers.

Village Chief Lin awkwardly reminded him, "Officer, he's mute now and can't speak."

Shan Dajun: "..."

You didn’t tell me earlier!
As the two men left the Gao family's house, a yamen runner hurried over and said, "Boss, everyone in the village has arrived."

Dan Dajun nodded, and the three of them hurried to the old elm tree.

A large crowd gathered under the old elm tree. It was said that the trip would take a long time, so everyone brought their own stools.

As soon as Shang Wan and her family arrived, Aunt Zhou and Madam Rong pulled them to the seats reserved for them and chatted with her and Xiao Huan about who was with the group when the incident happened, who couldn't say where they were, and who they were guessing was the murderer.

Yuanyuan sat on Lu Chengjing's lap, her big eyes following the colorful marbles the older boys were playing, clapping her little hands with delight.

Lu Chengjing's heart races whenever he hears his daughter clapping her hands, so he turned the little one around to look into her eyes.

Hmm... the color is normal.

The elderly father was relieved, and under his daughter's protesting gaze, he turned the person back.

Before long, Shan Dajun and his group arrived.

Shang Wan noticed the red string tied on Shan Dajun's wrist. Looking around, she realized that several young men were wearing the same string, something she hadn't noticed before.

Shang Wan was speechless. It turned out that this thing was already everywhere.

Lu Chengjing noticed that Shang Wan's expression was unusual and called out softly, "Wife?"

“Look at their wrists,” Shang Wan whispered, leaning closer. “They all have red strings.”

Lu Chengjing glanced around discreetly and noticed that even Li Dashan was wearing one on his wrist, and it was brand new.

"Dashan, what's that red string on your wrist?"

"It was a gift from someone else." Li Dashan raised his hand to cover the red string, his eyes darting around, seemingly a little shy.

Lu Chengjing: "..."

No, he must have misread it.

Shang Wan made a gesture to Lu Chengjing, implying that good things were probably on the horizon for the Li family.

But the next second, Shang Wan was proven wrong.

The red string on Li Dashan's wrist was actually a gift from Liu Yuzhi!

Don't ask Shang Wan how she found out. Li Dashan would frequently glance at Liu Yuzhi like a thief, then blush and look sweetly at her. Anyone with eyes could notice. But that's not the point. The point is, Liu Yuzhi raises fish!
Not only Li Dashan was looking at Liu Yuzhi, but several young men in the village were also looking at Liu Yuzhi, and their expressions and demeanor were almost identical to Li Dashan's.

These young people all had a brand new red string on their wrists.

Shang Wan couldn't help but exclaim, "What a talent! They've only been here a few days and they already have a fishpond!"

Something flashed through her mind so quickly that Shang Wan couldn't catch it.

She frowned and pondered, but she couldn't figure out what that fleeting feeling was.

Lu Chengjing lowered his eyes, looking thoughtfully at the red string on Li Dashan's wrist.

Dan Dajun's words interrupted their thoughts. The coroner found a silver hairpin in the clothes that Gui had hung at her waist. He took it to Old Lady Gao to identify it, and it did not belong to Gui.

After seeing the design of the silver hairpin, Shang Wan and her family fell silent.

Isn't this the token of love that Lu Chengjing gave to the original owner, which Shang Wan later used to exchange for grain?

Shouldn't this thing be with the Lin family? How did it end up with the Gui family?

Chen Guifang gasped in fright, then quickly covered her mouth, realizing she had overreacted.

But it was too late. Shan Dajun gestured for her to step forward and asked, "Have you seen this silver hairpin before?"

Chen Guifang nodded, her gaze instinctively falling on Shang Wan.

Dan Dajun then looked over, his tone slightly softening, "Madam Shang, have you seen this silver hairpin before?"

“I have seen it. It used to be mine,” Shang Wan said truthfully. “On my first night in the village, I had Shi Tou take it and exchange it for some grain. If I remember correctly, this silver hairpin should be in the Lin family’s possession.”

Dan Dajun looked at Village Chief Lin, "Is what Madam Shang said true?"

Village Chief Lin nodded. Liu had worn it out to show off, and many people in the village had seen it, so there was no point in denying it.

Chen Guifang interjected, "Mother gave this hairpin to my sister-in-law. I saw her wearing it a few days ago, and Yuzhi said it looked beautiful."

Liu Yuzhi was suddenly called out, and after a moment of surprise, she nodded in agreement, "Yes."

Zhou looked panicked and hurriedly explained, "This hairpin fell off after I wore it that day, and I haven't seen it since."

"What a coincidence!" Shan Dajun scoffed. "You found a silver hairpin on the murderer, and it just so happens to be yours. And it just so happens to have fallen off. Are you implying that the deceased stole your silver hairpin?"

"I...I don't know." Zhou was pale with fright and hid behind her husband. "I didn't kill him."

Lin Jianshan said, "Officer, when Aunt Gui died, my wife and my mother were cooking in the kitchen together. It's impossible for her to have killed anyone."

Liu nodded in agreement, confirming that Lin Jianshan's statement was true.

Shan Dajun said, "The hairpin now belongs to your Lin family. Its appearance at the crime scene means the murderer must also be a member of your Lin family."

“Officer, you can’t say that. This hairpin used to belong to the Lu family.” Village Chief Lin couldn’t let his family take the blame. “They wanted the hairpin back before, but we refused to give it to them. The scholar’s ​​wife knows martial arts, so it’s not impossible that she secretly stole it.”

“Village chief, please make yourself clear. We don’t want to go back, we want to buy it back. Since your family refuses to sell, we won’t pester you,” Shang Wan retorted. “It’s just a silver hairpin. If you want to buy it again, just do it. I wouldn’t stoop so low as to steal it.”

Village Chief Lin snorted, "Who doesn't know that my Lin family has always been on good terms with the Gao family? How could we possibly kill someone? A few days ago, your two families had a feud, and I even helped mediate. It's not impossible that you harbored resentment and then killed someone."

“When Gui Shaofen died, our whole family was together. It’s impossible that we went out to kill her,” Shang Wan said before Village Chief Lin could refute her. “To avoid you accusing us of colluding to commit perjury, the children from the Li and Luo families were playing at my house at the time and can all testify for us.”

The village chief's words were stuck in his throat.

Shang Wan glanced at the Lin family members. "By the way, I remember you, Village Chief, and the Lin Da and Lin Er families, but none of you have an alibi. Can you tell me where you were at the time?"

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(End of this chapter)