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

Chapter 444 Sun Tzu's Art of War (10,000 words per day, 23 days)
"Jiang Zhengdao!"

That name has appeared again!

The last time it appeared was in the case of Long Zhiqiang.

But last time it was just a simple connection, after all, as the Golden Phoenix Nightclub is the largest entertainment venue in Hongcheng, anyone with money can go in and spend money.

But this time it's different.

Jianghai Haoting, a villa community that has not yet been put on sale, was developed by a real estate company under Jiang Zhengdao's name.

Zhou Yi had no impression of this Jianghai Mansion in his previous life.

He remembered Hongcheng Baodi, where Qian Hongxing lived, because it was a well-known old villa area in Hongcheng, and in the minds of the people of Hongcheng, this place was synonymous with the rich.

Jianghai Haoting's location isn't great because the development of Kaiping District failed, which diminishes its location, surrounding amenities, and commercial value.

But even a starved camel is bigger than a horse, and it's newer than Hongcheng and Baodi.

In 1997, anyone who could afford to live in a villa was considered wealthy.

When Xu Nian told him about the incident after Director Xu's accident, he was only focused on comforting her and didn't pay attention.

But the reappearance of this name made him sense something subtly amiss.

Director Xu has a villa specifically for storing embezzled funds and goods, and the developer of this villa happens to be Jiang Zhengdao. Is this normal?
That's definitely not normal.

It's unlikely that Director Xu would openly transfer ownership of a villa to his own name; usually, it would be registered under his daughter's name or that of another trusted relative.

However, Xu Nian obviously couldn't agree to do that, otherwise she wouldn't have even had the chance to leave in her previous life.

So Zhou Yi thought that perhaps it wasn't necessary to transfer the property rights; having the right to use the property would suffice.

If Director Xu is like this, then is Chen Gengyun also like this?

Upon hearing Jiang Zhengdao's name, Wu Yongcheng and Shi Tao's expressions changed. Liang Wei and Xiang Jie, who came from the provincial department, had naturally never heard of this name.

"Old Wang, investigate the specifics of this Jianghai Haoting, all aspects, the more detailed the better. After you've finished, compile the information and give it to me directly," Xie Guoqiang said to Director Wang.

Director Wang nodded.

Xie Guoqiang said, "Let's end this meeting here for today. We'll continue investigating anything that hasn't been clarified yet."

Standing in front, Jiang Biao looked confused. "I haven't finished speaking yet."

"Captain Liang, Wu Yongcheng, come to my office." Xie Guoqiang said and walked out, but after taking two steps, he suddenly turned back and said, "Zhou Yi, you come too."

Zhou Yi was startled, "Me?"

Wu Yongcheng patted him on the back, and he immediately replied, "Yes."

……

Xie Guoqiang's office was simpler and more unpretentious than Zhou Yi had imagined.

The last time I met Liu Baoguo and Chen Gengyun was in Ni Jianrong's office.

Although Ni Jianrong's office was far smaller than Xie Guoqiang's, its furnishings were noticeably more exquisite.

"Director Xie, is there anything special about this developer?" Liang Wei sensed something was wrong and asked as soon as he entered the room.

Xie Guoqiang casually said, "No, it's just an old colleague of mine who went into business around 1989. Now his business is quite big, and he's considered a prominent figure in Hongcheng's business community."

As Xie Guoqiang spoke, he rummaged through a drawer, seemingly looking for something.

Liang Wei's expression was subtle. He had met many people and knew that this situation was usually not simple.

"Please sit down," Xie Guoqiang said as he looked up and saw the three of them standing.

"I called you here because I have some information to share with you. After all, everyone is fighting, and I can't just sit idle."

As Xie Guoqiang spoke, he pulled out several business card books from the drawer, dusted them off, and began flipping through them.

Zhou Yi immediately perked up his ears; information personally investigated by the bureau chief must be extraordinary.

"It's about this Chen Gengyun. On the surface, he seems like a highly educated intellectual and a professor, but in reality, he's not that simple."

"He is active in various fields in Hongcheng under the identity of a sociologist, including politics, business, culture and academia. I made some inquiries and found that many people are familiar with him."

Wu Yongcheng asked, "But he's just the dean of a secondary college at a university, he doesn't have much real power, why does he need to befriend so many people?"

Liang Wei understood what it meant and was about to speak when he noticed that Zhou Yi hesitated.

He then called out, "Zhou Yi, do you have something to say?"

Liang Wei's words made Xie Guoqiang, who had been looking down and flipping through his business card book, stop what he was doing and look up at him.

Zhou Yi nodded and said, "According to Director Xie, this Chen Gengyun is probably a professional 'political broker'?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Guoqiang's eyes lit up, and he nodded, saying, "Yes, broker, that's a very accurate word."

Wu Yongcheng understood at this point, after all, everyone in the room was intelligent. "So his purpose in knowing so many people wasn't to do favors or ask for favors, but to sell his network?"

Zhou Yi said, "That's right. It's about using one's own network of relationships and information channels to build connections between different entities, transmit information, facilitate transactions, or achieve certain political goals, thereby seeking personal gain."

"Political broker" is just a fancy name; in reality, it's just an intermediary who connects power and money.

Xie Guoqiang did not mention Liu Baoguo, which means that Liu Baoguo did not do this job.

In Zhou Yi's view, being a sociologist is a rather abstract academic field, unlike something as concrete as being a mathematician.

I never expected this old guy to use his sociological expertise in this kind of place.

"Director Xie, will someone try to sabotage us?" Wu Yongcheng asked worriedly.

Xie Guoqiang glared and said, "Bullshit! At this critical juncture, who dares to court death!"

Then he placed a stack of newspapers on the table and said, "You can see for yourselves."

Liang Wei had obviously read the newspaper and didn't move. Wu Yongcheng picked up the newspaper, and Zhou Yi leaned over to take a look.

This newspaper is not a newspaper that can be seen outside, such as a certain daily newspaper. It is an internal publication, managed by a unit under the provincial party committee. It is mainly an internal publication for the civil service system in the province and is targeted at government agencies.

The third page of this newspaper now features a detailed report about Fan Tianyou's disturbance at the Third Municipal Hospital, clearly indicating that he came prepared.

“This is…” Wu Yongcheng asked in surprise.

"It's Xu Director's doing." Xie Guoqiang continued flipping through his business card book, then said four words: "A warning shot."

Zhou Yi instantly felt immense respect for his superiors. This incident, which was originally unfavorable to the task force, had been transformed into a guillotine hanging over their door. Anyone who dared to step forward at this moment would be in trouble.

Xie Guoqiang said, "But I'm telling you this so you're aware of the situation. When we interrogate Chen Gengyun later, please note that we will only focus on the criminal case itself. If Chen Gengyun implicates other people or other matters, we will immediately involve the Discipline Inspection Commission."

Wu Yongcheng and Zhou Yi immediately nodded and replied, "Understood."

"Found it," Xie Guoqiang said calmly, then picked up the phone on the table.

Upon seeing this, Wu Yongcheng was about to stand up and leave.

Xie Guoqiang raised his hand to gesture for him to sit down, then looked at his business card book and dialed a number.

After waiting for a full minute, Zhou Yi heard a click from the receiver. Xie Guoqiang then pressed the speakerphone button and put down the receiver.

"Hello, Director Xie, what made you think of calling me?" A gentle voice with a smile asked from the other end of the phone.

"Old Jiang, I'm here to ask for your help, you know. I don't usually come here unless I need something." Xie Guoqiang said with a laugh into the phone.

But this smile was completely forced, because Zhou Yi saw no real smile in his eyes.

He searched for a long time for the number, and it turned out to be Jiang Zhengdao's.

This should be considered Zhou Yi's first "contact" with the powerful and influential President Jiang.

Jiang Zhengdao laughed and said, "Are you kidding me? You're the director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, how could I possibly be qualified to help you?"

"Really, I have a case here that's quite tricky, and it just happens to be related to your business, so I had to come to you."

"Oh really? Is that so?" Jiang Zhengdao sounded surprised on the other end of the phone, but Zhou Yi sensed a hint of wariness. "Old Xie, if anyone under me breaks the law, you should investigate and deal with it. The law is the bottom line of society, and it must not be tolerated."

Faced with this impassioned speech, Zhou Yi inwardly sneered, but he noticed that Xie Guoqiang's expression remained unchanged.

It seems that those who can become bureau chiefs must be very shrewd and calculating; I still have a lot to learn.

"It's not that serious..." Xie Guoqiang said, drawing out the last word, "It's just that there's a villa complex called... Jianghai Haoting, did you build that?"

Jiang Zhengdao was silent for about three seconds before speaking, "Oh...yes, it's a project developed by my real estate company. Oh dear, I had completely forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it."

"What's going on with this villa complex? It doesn't seem like any of them are for sale."

"Old Xie, you know the situation in Kaiping New District. A few years ago, the city was in a hurry to develop the new district, right? At the beginning, there wasn't much foreign investment, so the city held several conferences of the Federation of Industry and Commerce to mobilize local enterprises to invest in the construction. Kaiping New District promised to provide a lot of support."

“You know, when the city opens its doors, how can local businesses not respond? So I got a piece of land that was relatively close to the city center, but I hadn’t decided what to build. Then I thought, if the Kaiping New Area really develops, wouldn’t a lot of rich people be born? Wouldn’t it be the safest way for me to make money off these people?”

"So we decided to build a villa area. We didn't dare to build too many in the first phase, just about thirty villas. But..." Jiang Zhengdao said with a wry smile, "As you know, the Kaiping New Area didn't take off, and my house went down the drain."

This logic is quite reasonable; it's undeniable that the Kaiping New Area project failed to materialize.

Xie Guoqiang asked, "So it's just going to stay empty like this?"

“Hey, let’s leave it empty for now. If I were to sell it to the public, the second phase would have to be started, and the surrounding facilities would have to be built too. Otherwise, who would buy it? It’s a losing business either way, so at least we can avoid the hassle.” Jiang Zhengdao then asked, “What, could it be that some fugitive suspect is hiding in Jianghai Haoting? I’ll send people to search the area immediately, and if we find anything, we’ll call the police right away.”

"Old Jiang, don't rush. Let me ask you about someone first."

"You said."

"You know Chen Gengyun, right?"

"Hmm...that name sounds familiar, isn't it that...the grand professor? What kind of sociology does he study?"

This answer strikes a perfect balance. Not knowing someone would seem fake, while knowing them would put you in a passive position. Knowing them but not being close to them is the best approach, allowing you to advance or retreat as needed.

"Here's the thing, this Chen Gengyun is involved in a case that the province is paying close attention to, and they've even reported the progress to the ministry. There are some clues pointing to the possibility that Chen Gengyun might own a villa in your Jianghai Haoting area. When I saw that it belonged to you, Jiang Zhengdao, I thought, 'How can I let you get away with this? I can't just wrong you like this, so I quickly gave you a call.'"

Jiang Zhengdao immediately realized and replied, "Oh, I see. There must be some misunderstanding. The property rights of these villas are all with the real estate company. I haven't bought a single one."

"Oh dear, what should we do? Could it be that someone under you saw these villas were just sitting empty and wasting time, so they rented them out behind your back?"

Jiang Zhengdao pondered for a moment: "Old Xie, how about this, let me check first. If what you said is true, I will definitely cooperate with your work."

Xie Guoqiang nodded and smiled, "Oh dear, we haven't been in touch for so long, and the first thing I do when I call you is ask you for a favor. I feel so bad about it."

Jiang Zhengdao pretended to be serious and said, "You're being too formal. I may have taken off my police uniform, but I'm still a law-abiding citizen. Cooperating with the police is every citizen's responsibility and obligation."

"Okay, thank you for your help. I'll wait for your news," Xie Guoqiang said with a smile.

"Okay, I'll take care of it right away. I'll let you know as soon as I have any news," Jiang Zhengdao replied with a smile.

The two hung up the phone at the same time, and the smiles on their faces vanished the instant the call ended.

Jiang Zhengdao looked at the view outside the huge floor-to-ceiling window, his face ashen, and picked up his phone on the table to make a call.

"Come to my office. Jianghai Haoting is being watched."

In the director's office at the Municipal Public Security Bureau, Xie Guoqiang stared coldly at the landline and said, "Just wait and see. He'll hand it over to you soon enough."

Liang Weize stood up and said, "I'll go and say hello to the comrades from the Discipline Inspection Commission."

Xie Guoqiang nodded without saying anything.

Wu Yongcheng asked, "So, Director, are we leaving too?"

Xie Guoqiang replied, "You go first, Zhou Yi stays behind."

Wu Yongcheng and Zhou Yi were both stunned.

What's the situation?
Zhou Yi couldn't help but feel a little nervous. It was already strange that he had been called here earlier, since both Chen Gengyun's identity as a political broker and the information from Jiang Zhengdao's phone call could have been relayed by Wu Yongcheng.

Now that you've left yourself alone again, what are you planning to do?
Wu Yongcheng was also puzzled, and even looked back as he closed the door.

"Director Xie..."

Xie Guoqiang put the business card holder back in the drawer, then stood up, opened the bookcase behind him, and asked, "Do you remember the question you asked me?"

Zhou Yi's heart skipped a beat. Was this a prelude to settling scores later?
But I could only bite the bullet and say, "I remember."

On his first day joining the task force, he asked Xie Guoqiang a question.

—If we still can't find the murderer, will we end up using Lu Xiaoshuang as a scapegoat? Even if the chain of evidence isn't complete.

Zhou Yi's question stemmed not only from his concern for Lu Xiaoshuang, but also from his desire to test Xie Guoqiang.

In the end, he was no match for the bureau chief and was outmaneuvered instead.

It was a humiliating move.

Xie Guoqiang took out a book, then turned around and placed it in front of Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi looked down and saw a thread-bound copy of "The Art of War".

He didn't understand what it meant and looked up at Xie Guoqiang.

"Here's a book for you. Study it when you have time."

Zhou Yi was even more confused. What did this mean?
"Zhou Yi, I have a question for you."

Zhou Yi immediately straightened his back.

How can we get Chen Gengyun to confess everything on his own initiative?

Zhou Yi didn't understand. Did Xie Guoqiang ask this question just for this reason?
"Director Xie, I think this shouldn't be too difficult. We're finding more and more clues now. All we need to do is confirm the relationship between Fan Tianyou and him, find the first crime scene, and put this evidence in front of him. He'll be speechless."

Xie Guoqiang remained silent.

Zhou Yi continued, "He and Liu Baoguo protected Fan Tianyou, altered his student records, and concealed the truth about Dong Lu's burns."

Xie Guoqiang remained silent.

"DNA testing revealed that cigarette butt was found in the mine..."

Zhou Yi stopped mid-sentence, seemingly understanding why Xie Guoqiang had asked that question.

The confirmation of the relationship between Fan Tianyou and Chen Gengyun only strengthens the logic that Chen Gengyun gave false testimony for Fan Tianyou, since his own alibi is very strong.

As for the first crime scene, let's not even talk about whether Jiang Zhengdao would obediently let the police in to investigate.

Even if it is found that a certain villa was the primary crime scene, but it is not registered under Chen Gengyun's name, and no traces of Chen Gengyun's footprints or fingerprints can be found inside, how can it be proven that Chen Gengyun participated in the crime?

As for the series of actions taken to protect Fan Tianyou eight years ago, even if they are verified, they would only constitute the crimes of protecting someone and official misconduct.

As for the cigarette butt, it's still unclear whether it belonged to Fan Tianyou or Chen Gengyun.

Even if Chen Gengyun's DNA is detected above, he can still deny it, since picking up a cigarette butt is quite easy.

Therefore, the current series of evidence, strictly speaking, cannot be considered conclusive proof.

Given Chen Gengyun's cunning, he will inevitably deny everything or simply not answer at all.

However, this evidence is insufficient to form a complete chain of evidence to convict him.

In homicide cases, what can be considered irrefutable evidence are either physical evidence at the scene, such as biological evidence and traces like bodily fluids, fingerprints, and footprints, or the suspect's fingerprints on the murder weapon, or audio-visual materials such as video and audio recordings.

Later, there was also electronic evidence, such as emails, text messages, and chat logs.

If none of the above are complete, then there are two points left.

First, key witness testimonies: someone witnessed the murder and testified to it.

Second, the suspect's self-confession is crucial evidence. This means the suspect, acting voluntarily and legally, provided a detailed confession of the murder, and the confession is highly consistent with other evidence such as the crime scene investigation and autopsy report. This can serve as important grounds for conviction. Xie Guoqiang asked this question because he had seen through the current situation and understood Chen Gengyun's stubborn nature of not admitting guilt until the very end.

That's why I asked that question.

Zhou Yi thought to himself, "What should I do? A major memory recovery technique?"

Xie Guoqiang showed no emotional fluctuation and said calmly, "I'll give you twenty-four hours to give me an answer."

"Okay, Director Xie." Zhou Yi, holding the book "The Art of War," walked out of Xie Guoqiang's office with a puzzled look on his face.

As soon as he stepped outside, a hand grabbed him.

Wu Yongcheng, who had been waiting for a long time, asked, "What does Director Xie want with you?"

Zhou Yi held up the book "The Art of War" and said, "You gave me a book."

Wu Yongcheng took it and flipped through it, looking completely bewildered: "Sun Tzu's Art of War? Is he insulting you?"

Zhou Yi corrected, "It's not 'Sun Tzu's Art of War,' it's 'Sun Tzu's Art of War,' pronounced with the third tone."

The two talked as they walked downstairs.

"Hey, just kidding. I'm not illiterate. Why would I give you a book out of the blue? He's never given me one before."

When was the last time Director Xie gave you something?

"It's just that box of chocolates, and you even managed to steal it and give it away as gifts."

"How about I give you this book?"

"No, this is a gift from Director Xie. There must be a reason why he gave you this. Think about it carefully."

Back in the Third Brigade office, Zhou Yi recounted his conversation with Xie Guoqiang in detail, hoping that Wu Yongcheng could offer some advice.

But Wu Yongcheng's first words after hearing this were: "Were you out of your mind? How could you ask such a question!"

He was, of course, referring to whether or not Lu Xiaoshuang would be convicted and the matter resolved.

Zhou Yi gave a helpless bitter smile. "How can I tell you this? Should I tell you that I just want to test whether Xie Guoqiang is right or wrong, because I want to overturn Du Qingming's case?"

If I can find out the answer, I can make plans early.
"You're usually a smart person, how could you do something so brainless? Lu Xiaoshuang has really become your weakness, hasn't she? You act recklessly whenever it involves her?"

Zhou Yi quickly admitted his mistake, because he really couldn't explain it.

"Captain Wu, can you give me some pointers? How can I get Chen Gengyun to confess his crimes? Even Chen Gengyun himself praised you, saying you're the number one detective in Hongcheng."

"Alright, stop flattering me. This question was set by Director Xie, it has nothing to do with me," Wu Yongcheng said, standing up. "However, based on the current progress, a second interrogation, a little probing, is fine. I just don't believe his mental fortitude is really as strong as Director Xie thinks."

Zhou Yi nodded. Yes, now that the two key clues of Changfeng Forest Farm and Jianghai Haoting have come out, and there are a bunch of other clues as well, instead of thinking about it here, we might as well just conduct an interrogation.

The two hit it off immediately and decided to interrogate Chen Gengyun.

Before the interrogation began, Zhou Yi asked Wu Yongcheng why Liang, the detachment leader, had gone to see the Discipline Inspection Commission.

Wu Yongcheng said, "Let the Discipline Inspection Commission go and hold people accountable at Jianghai Haoting."

Zhou Yi was startled and immediately understood what was going on.

Jianghai Mansion is most likely not a project that was forced to be shelved, as Jiang Zhengdao claimed.

It is very likely that Jiang Zhengdao prepared this specifically to win over certain people.

Not opening for sale or not being available for public sale does not mean that these villas are useless or unfinished projects.

On the contrary, if it's not put on sale, no one will know about it, and it can be turned into a private estate for other uses.

Moreover, these villas are all under Jianghai Real Estate's name, so they cannot be found when investigating private assets, which makes some people feel even more at ease.

As for who it is, that goes without saying.

Jiang Zhengdao is providing safe houses for those people, and Xu Nian's father is among them.

As for Chen Gengyun, Zhou Yi felt it was unlikely that he obtained the villa because of his position as the dean of the Hongda Social College; rather, it was probably because of his role as a political broker.

It seems that Chen Gengyun has acted as a go-between for Jiang Zhengdao quite a few times.

Now that Chen Gengyun has been detained by the police because of the Hongda case, the investigation has reached Jianghai Haoting. Jiang Zhengdao's so-called investigation is most likely just to notify certain people to take action.

So when the Discipline Inspection Commission went to keep watch near the villa area, they had to write down everyone who came.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but sigh, "It seems like Hongcheng is about to experience a major earthquake."

It's just unknown whether Xu Nian's father will reveal his secret ahead of time.

……

In the interrogation room, Wu Yongcheng looked at Chen Gengyun across from him and asked, "Dean Chen, how are the conditions here?"

Chen Gengyun opened his handcuffed hands and gave a bitter smile: "I'm already a prisoner, why does Captain Wu have to make fun of me?"

“Alright, since you put it that way, I respect your decision.” Wu Yongcheng held up the evidence bag in his hand, which contained a photo of Chen Gengyun when he was young.

"This is a picture we found in your sister's house. Is this you?"

Chen Gengyun glanced at it, nodded, and said, "That's right. It's me."

What's the deal with this Changfeng Forest Farm?

"What's going on?" Chen Gengyun was a little confused. "It's... it's about educated youth going to the countryside. This phenomenon was very common back then. Oh, Comrade Zhou Yi is too young to know, but you should know about Detachment Wu."

"Why isn't this record in your file?" Wu Yongcheng asked.

"Oh, Captain Wu, you mean the school's records? The school records mainly record academic records. During that time, I was just a lumberjack working from dawn till dusk, so there's no point in writing them down. Besides, it's been so long, so let's not talk about it."

Zhou Yi discovered that interrogating Chen Gengyun was like squeezing toothpaste; he would only answer questions one by one, and he wouldn't say a word about anything he wasn't going to mention.

The question about Changfeng Forest Farm was naturally directed at Fan Tianyou. Theoretically, he should have been nervous when this photo appeared, but he remained calm as always.

“It’s alright, Dean Chen, you have plenty of time now, so tell us in detail about your experience back then. When did you go, when did you come back, why did you go, and why did you come back? Where is Changfeng Forest Farm? What happened during your time in the countryside? Did you contact the people there afterward? Tell us everything in detail.” Wu Yongcheng turned his head and said, “Zhou Yi, pour Dean Chen a glass of water. I love hearing these kinds of old stories.”

Zhou Yi nodded, got up to pour water, and then placed a disposable cup in front of Chen Gengyun.

Chen Gengyun nodded to him, smiled, and said thank you. He didn't look like a prisoner at all.

"Oh, by the way, Dean Chen, there's something I need to remind you of. The city archives have records of the educated youth who went to the countryside. If you can't remember anything, we can help you."

Chen Gengyun lowered his head, took a difficult sip of water, and said, "Since Captain Wu wants to hear it, then I'll ramble on a bit."

Wu Yongcheng gestured for him to proceed.

"Let me think... I was notified in March of 1963 that I was to go to the countryside. As for the reason, I won't go into details. In those days, it was a major policy that everyone had to obey."

To be honest, when I learned that I was going to the countryside, I was very excited. This was in response to the country's call to receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants, to reform my thinking, temper my will, and cultivate class feelings with the working people, so as to become a reliable successor to the proletarian revolutionary cause.

Sorry, I've gone off on a tangent.

In short, for an intellectual like myself who grew up under the baptism of revolutionary thought in our new society, this was a very glorious thing. I still remember that when we boarded the train in April, our families came to see us off, and we were all wearing big red flowers on our chests.

But after a three-day, three-night train ride and a one-day, one-night truck ride, I was completely dumbfounded when we arrived at our destination.

Because it is deep in a mountain, the northernmost part of our country.

Towering trees are everywhere, and even standing on the mountaintop, you can't see the end of them.

Apart from some makeshift wooden huts, there was nothing else. There was a sign at the place we came from that read "Changfeng Forest Farm".

This made us intellectuals from the city feel a deep sense of powerlessness.

Because of the sudden arrival of our group, the original wooden cabins were no longer enough, so we slept in tents for the first two months.

Every day when I open my eyes, all I see is trees being cut down, timber being felled, and land being cleared.

My hands, which have been used to holding pens since childhood, are now wielding axes and saws every day, forcing me to grit my teeth and squeeze out strength from the very marrow of my bones to work.

Calluses formed on his hands, and when they broke, his hands were covered in blood. He would wrap them in a clean cloth, then pick up the axe and continue working.

For the first few months, to be honest, every night when I went to sleep, it felt like hundreds or thousands of needles were pricking my palms, and the pain made me bite my collar and cry.

But she didn't dare to cry out loud, afraid that others would find out.

Deep in the mountains, we wielded axes day after day, felling those ancient trees that had grown for who knows how many years.

Fortunately, a new house was built later, so we no longer had to live in tents. The calluses on our hands would break and grow back, eventually turning into thick calluses.

My mindset gradually shifted from initial helplessness to a more balanced one.

Sometimes we would find joy even in hardship, sitting on large tree stumps and singing revolutionary songs together.

There are many wild boars and other animals in the mountains. We have hunting rifles in the forest farm, so we use them to hunt.

The happiest time for everyone in the forest farm is when they finally catch some game, because then they can finally improve their meals.

We educated youth could write a letter home every three months. These letters would first be sent to our respective Production and Construction Corps for review, and then the Production and Construction Corps would send them out in a unified manner. After receiving the letters, they would be sent back from the Production and Construction Corps.

Oh, the Changfeng Forest Farm where I was located was a unit under the jurisdiction of a construction corps at that time. There were several forest farms like ours. We were only responsible for cutting down trees, and the transportation and other things were all uniformly dispatched by the construction corps above.

So apart from the replies every three months, we were completely isolated from the world, as if we didn't exist.

Looking back now, this experience was truly amazing. It gave me a lot of inspiration for my future life, and I benefited immensely from it.

More than six months after I arrived at the forest farm, I received my second letter from home.

In this letter, I learned that Aiping was pregnant, and had been pregnant for several months.

Oh, Aiping is my late lover, Li Aiping, Linlin's mother.

Aiping and I were high school classmates, and our families used to be neighbors, so we knew each other very well. That's why our families arranged our marriage during the Spring Festival of 1963. If I hadn't been suddenly notified to go to the countryside, we probably would have gotten married that year.

Back then, we were young and impetuous. Before I set off, the two of us...

Hi, let's not talk about this, it's not appropriate.

In short, I really didn't expect that Aiping would get pregnant after just one time.

My family told me that Aiping's due date is before the Spring Festival, and asked if I could take leave during the Spring Festival to come back and see her and the baby, and also get our marriage certificate done, otherwise she, a young woman, would not be able to face anyone.

Sigh, it's not that easy to go back.

From the moment I received this letter, I submitted an application to the Production and Construction Corps, but it was rejected every time.

After I submitted more applications, the cadres talked to me, saying that my revolutionary consciousness was too low and that I was only thinking about my own family.

I was so frustrated I wanted to cry, and I didn't dare submit any more applications.

I was very depressed during that time, especially on the eve of the Spring Festival in 1964. At that time, the atmosphere in the forest farm was peaceful and everyone was very happy because it was the first Spring Festival there.

I was the only one there, and every minute and every second I spent there felt like torture.

Because my child was born, my loved one had to bear the strange looks from others all by herself.

I went to the leader, hoping to make a phone call home. The leader felt sorry for me and finally agreed to let me hitch a ride on a timber truck to the Production and Construction Corps to make the call.

However, if I want to come back, I'll have to walk back myself, because the truck won't arrive at our forest farm for several days.

Then, I hitched a ride on a truck to the Production and Construction Corps on New Year's Eve, and made a phone call home from there.

Because everyone was busy preparing for the Chinese New Year, and everyone in the Production and Construction Corps was quite busy, when I called my dad's workplace, there happened to be a few minutes of unoccupied office space.

I took this opportunity to tell my dad to quickly try to find connections and get me transferred back.

I learned from the phone call that Aiping gave birth to a daughter on January 13th, and she will be a month old soon.

But we haven't named the child yet. My dad said Aiping plans to ask me to name the child when she writes her next letter.

Just then, my dad called and asked me to name the child.

The phrase "heaven-sent rain" immediately came to mind, so I decided to name him Chen Lin.

After making the call, I immediately set off on foot for the forest farm. It was a mountain road of more than ten miles, and it was snowing. I walked alone in the mountains for a very long time, and I was terrified until it got dark before I returned to the forest farm.

They had already celebrated the New Year, and all that was left was some leftover food.

I hid alone in the kitchen, eating cold leftovers while silently shedding tears.

Later, my family went to great lengths to pull strings, and finally in October 1964, I was transferred from Changfeng Forestry Farm and returned to Hongcheng.

At that time, my daughter was already able to walk by herself while holding onto the bed.

Aiping and I hugged each other and cried our hearts out, then went to complete the marriage registration procedures.

With tears streaming down his face, Chen Gengyun said, "That's roughly what happened back then. To be honest, my ideological awareness wasn't very high. I only spent a year and a half in the countryside, which is really incomparable to the noble character of some people who stayed in the local rural areas for more than ten years or even their whole lives. The main thing was the birth of my daughter, which shook my heart."

He sighed deeply, "It's just a pity, Linlin..."

When Chen Gengyun said these words, he was sincere and earnest, especially his despair at the beginning and the bitterness of eating leftovers alone in the kitchen on New Year's Eve, which was truly moving.

The problem is that his statement only confirmed his experience as a sent-down youth, without mentioning any other information that might involve Fan Tianyou.

It seems to be very detailed, but in reality it is avoiding the important issues.

What was the reason for the name change?

"It was my father-in-law's idea to change my name. He said that the name Yimin was a bit too high-class and out of touch with the masses, so he suggested that I change my name, so I did."

"Chen Gengyun, do you know this place called Changfengling?" Wu Yongcheng asked.

Chen Gengyun immediately nodded and said, "I know, it's the place where our Changfeng Forest Farm was back then."

"Do you know that Fan Tianyou comes from Changfeng Ridge?"

Chen Gengyun stared wide-eyed in surprise and asked, "Really...really?"

Wu Yongcheng sneered: "What, haven't you asked him where he's from all these years?"

"It wasn't that bad, but I only asked which city he was from, not his specific address. After all, we were both students then, not at the point of discussing marriage, and I didn't want to put too much pressure on him," Chen Gengyun said with emotion. "I really didn't expect that he would actually... actually come from Changfengling..."

Zhou Yi kept observing his every subtle expression, trying to find some clues.

But he had to admit that this old guy was truly the best actor he had ever seen; calling him a veteran actor was no exaggeration.

His every reaction was almost perfectly timed; he wouldn't appear too fake by pretending to know nothing, but he also wouldn't reveal any extra information.

Looking at the old man, Zhou Yi finally understood why Xie Guoqiang had asked him those questions. If Chen Gengyun refused to confess, given his mental fortitude and acting skills, he could keep dragging the case on indefinitely.

It might not have been a big deal, but I've never seen a criminal suspect outlast the police.

But Chen Gengyun is different. He is a political broker with a very complicated network of relationships involving too many people.

Moreover, since Director Xu chose to use Fan Tianyou's disturbance at the hospital as a weapon, he naturally hoped that Hongcheng could resolve the situation quickly.

To avoid any more nightmares.

Zhou Yi looked at the book "The Art of War" beside him, and suddenly a thought popped into his head.

At this moment, Wu Yongcheng was "reminding" Chen Gengyun: "Fan Tianyou was born in November 1964, the month after you left Changfeng Village. You can't possibly have no memory of his mother and family at all, can you?"

Chen Gengyun frowned, deep in thought, then suddenly seemed to remember something and exclaimed, "Oh... I remember now, he... he might be Fan Chunyu's son..."

Wu Yongcheng was immediately delighted and hurriedly asked, "Who is Fan Chunyu?"

Just as Chen Gengyun was about to speak, Zhou Yi suddenly stopped him, saying, "Alright, the interrogation ends here!"

(End of this chapter)