Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 327 The Nouveau Riche Mentality

Huang Yanli replied, "He said he was going to the great country of America to learn and investigate their advanced aquaculture techniques."

Zhou Yi didn't know much about the aquaculture industry, so he wasn't sure if it was necessary to go overseas to learn it.

The general perception of overseas study tours is that some leading cadres use public funds for personal enjoyment.

"So how long does he plan to stay abroad this time?" Zhou Yi counted and said, "From March 16th to today, it's been almost a month and a half."

Huang Yanli shook her head: "I don't know about that. Anyway, he has a lot of business to do and is usually not at home. His business trips are usually at least ten days to half a month long, so whenever he goes on a business trip, I take the child back to my mother's house to stay."

Zhou Yi frowned slightly: "In all this time, have you spoken on the phone?"

Huang Yanli said frankly, "No, I don't know his phone number over there. If he doesn't call me, I can't contact him. Oh, maybe he called home or his eldest son, but I don't know."

"Didn't you contact him when he was away on a business trip?"

Huang Yanli gave a slight sneer: "He doesn't like me disturbing his outings to indulge in pleasure, so why should I bother him?"

What is your husband's private life like?

"Officer Zhou, you want to ask how many women my husband has on the side, right?"

Zhou Yi nodded.

“I don’t know either. I only know a lot. Anyway, he’s never lacked women around him. There are women he’s set his sights on, women who have come to him on their own initiative, and even prostitutes.” Huang Yanli said, her hands trembling slightly.

Clearly, she, as the legal wife, wasn't indifferent; she was simply powerless to do anything about it.

"Are you clear on whether he went abroad alone or with others?"

"I don't know, but I bet he brought some random woman with him."

"Have you discovered anything?"

"I discovered that one box of medicine was missing from my home."

"Medicine? What medicine?"

Huang Yanli blushed slightly: "It's one of those little blue pills that help with erections. He's getting old, so he takes pills before we have sex."

Xia Yu felt a little embarrassed, after all, he was still young.

Zhou Yi was quite calm. What was this? During the interrogation of Xu Jiaguang in the Zhang Hui case, the things he confessed were far more explosive than this.

However, this Mr. Zheng Guangming is really something else. He's so old and can't even get up anymore, but he still wants to have fun.

More importantly, he has such a beautiful young wife at home, yet he's still not satisfied and is having affairs outside.

However, Huang Yanli's next sentence directly explained why this was the case.

Huang Yanli sneered, "When he was poor, he was frustrated and longed for young and beautiful women. So when he got rich, he started desperately looking for women, and he never hesitated to spend money on them."

That's absolutely right, and it perfectly illustrates the nouveau riche mentality.

They are no different from those who suddenly become rich and then spend money recklessly.

The only difference is that Zheng Guangming's targets are beautiful women.

"Ms. Huang, may I ask how you and your husband met? What is your relationship like?"

Huang Yanli didn't answer immediately, but instead asked, "Do you mind if I smoke?"

Zhou Yi said, "Make yourself at home, this is your home."

"Thank you." Huang Yanli took out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from the drawer of the desk next to her, then took out one and lit it.

She was smoking one of those long, thin women's cigarettes; judging from the packaging, it was probably imported.

"I'm sorry, I usually don't smoke because I'm taking care of my child."

Although she said that, judging from her practiced manner, Zhou Yi must have smoked quite a bit behind her back.

Moreover, the way she smoked, despite her elegant and luxurious appearance, gave Zhou Yi the feeling that she had a worldly air about her.

Both are wealthy and beautiful, but Huang Yanli's temperament, like her name, has a vulgar feel.

On the contrary, Qian Hongxing's wife, Yao Yuling, may not be very bright, but her temperament makes people feel more comfortable and natural.

Huang Yanli flicked her cigarette ash skillfully and said, "I was working part-time as a waitress at a nightclub at the time. He brought his friends over, and that's when he took a liking to me. He started pursuing me like crazy, but he wasn't very rich back then."

She said without any hesitation, "My family used to be from the countryside. My parents grew watermelons. I'm not embarrassed at all. It's just that we were too poor. I married him because he was rich and willing to spend money on me. Look at my parents' house now. If it weren't for Zheng Guangming, my family would never have been able to build such a nice house in our entire lives."

"So I don't really have many complaints about him. We made an agreement, and I only have one request: don't bring those disreputable women home or to the company, and definitely don't have any illegitimate children. I don't care about myself, but I have to ensure that my son's interests are not harmed, and he agreed to that."

"So, officers, you said he went abroad, but who did he go with, and did he call me after he got there? Do I care?"

“Once he goes out, I can’t control him. I just need to make sure no one else can get into this house.”

Huang Yanli exhaled a puff of smoke, and the air was immediately filled with the scent of mint.

She said slowly, "That's just how men are. As long as they have money in their hands, that's what really matters. Anyway, I've figured it out."

Logically speaking, there's nothing wrong with what she said; given such a large age gap, the probability of true love is very small.

Moreover, Zhou Yi had seen Zheng Guangming's photo; he was far less attractive than Qian Hongxing. If he didn't know Zheng's background, he would have been mistaken for an old farmer toiling in the fields. The benefits of the times, if seized, can truly make even pigs fly.

"Thank you for your candor, Ms. Huang. Since that's the case, I'll get straight to the point. We recently discovered two bodies, and the time of death should be March 16th."

"What does that have to do with me?" Huang Yanli's expression changed slightly as soon as she said that.

“We now suspect that one of the deceased may be your husband, Zheng Guangming, so we need your cooperation in our investigation.”

As soon as Zhou Yi finished speaking, Huang Yanli's expression froze, and the cigarette in her hand fell onto her expensive shoes.

"No...it's impossible. My husband went abroad. How could he be dead? You must have made a mistake." Huang Yanli stood up, looking flustered.

Zhou Yi said that in order to observe her reaction.

When a normal person suddenly hears that a loved one has died, their first instinctive reaction should be shock, followed by denial, and then an emotional outburst and loss of control.

This is based on the veteran police officer's years of experience in handling cases, and it also has a scientific theoretical basis.

The initial shock is because the brain receives an overload of information and is in a dissociative state, prioritizing the verification of the information's authenticity.

This leads to an initial negative reaction, a feeling that it's impossible; it's actually the brain's instinctive feedback.

Then physiological reactions begin to occur, such as trembling, difficulty breathing, fainting, or vomiting.

Then comes the emotional freezing stage, which may involve breakdowns, crying, screaming, or extreme silence.

This is a fairly normal process.

Huang Yanli's shock and denial both fit this reaction.

However, Zhou Yi felt that what happened next was not quite right.

She repeatedly denied it, saying that the police must have made a mistake, and she also showed signs of trembling, panic, and helplessness, even pretending to cover her face and cry.

However, Zhou Yi could not see any sadness in her reaction.

The facial muscles are truly amazing things. The same face can involve different muscles when crying, whether it's real crying or fake crying.

“Officer Zhou, you must have made a mistake, it can’t be.” She sobbed, but Zhou Yi didn’t see the tears.

There are basically two possibilities in this situation.

First, she had no real feelings for Zheng Guangming, and his death had no effect on her.

Secondly, she already knew Zheng Guangming was dead, but she pretended to be shocked and incredulous.

Regardless of the type, she was acting "sad."

"Ms. Huang, please don't worry. It's just a suspicion at the moment, and we are still confirming it."

Huang Yanli covered her face and nodded.

"We need to confirm Zheng Guangming's height, weight, any physical characteristics, and whether he has any illnesses, etc." Zhou Yi glanced at her and asked, "You know all of this, right?"

Huang Yanli nodded, and then gave Zheng Guangming's height, weight, and even his shoe size.

"As for physical characteristics... he has a mole on the back of his neck, about the size of a soybean."

Zhou Yixin thought that after being buried in the ground for more than a month, his face had deteriorated to the point that it was unrecognizable. Moles, as a feature, were completely useless for identifying him.

Does he have any health problems?

"He has high blood pressure and a minor heart problem, but he only takes medication for high blood pressure, and he carries his heart medication with him at all times."

"Does Zheng Guangming own a red Nissan Toyota?" Zhou Yi asked.

"Hmm, it seems there is a red one."

"Where is this car now? Do you know?"

Huang Yanli shook her head and said, "He said he lent it to a friend."

"Friends? What friends?"

"I don't know about that. We have a lot of cars, so I don't care about that."

How does Zheng Guangming usually get around? Does he have a driver?

"There was a driver, but he's quit."

Zhou Yi was taken aback: "You quit? When did that happen?"

“It was in early March, just before my husband went abroad, when he suddenly said he wanted to go back to his hometown. Apparently, his elderly relative had been diagnosed with a health problem and he wanted to go back to take care of the relative, so he quit his job.”

The reasoning was quite reasonable, but Zhou Yi felt it was too much of a coincidence.

First, the family's nanny was fired, then the driver went back to his hometown, and then Zheng Guangming went abroad for an inspection and never returned.

It was as if everyone involved had been suddenly excluded.

In criminal cases, one coincidence is normal, but repeated coincidences definitely indicate a problem.

(End of this chapter)