Before being reborn and getting married, the pampered young lady emptied her family's assets to

Chapter 117 Old Li ran away long ago

Anmin touched her belly, a rare gentle smile appearing on her face: "Yes, I'm over four months pregnant, it's twins."

"Great!"

Director Yang walked over and took An Min's arm.

"Please sit down, please sit down. You can't move around too much while you're pregnant. Liang Yi, why didn't you take better care of her? She must be exhausted from traveling all this way back."

Liang Yi smiled and replied, "Don't worry, Aunt Yang, the journey was quite smooth."

Director Yang held An Min's hand and kept asking her questions, from morning sickness to her prenatal checkups. His concern warmed An Min's heart.

Some people are not family, yet they are closer than relatives; others are related by blood, yet they are like strangers.

After they had finished talking, Director Yang noticed the seriousness in their expressions and asked, "Is there something you need this time you've come back for?"

An Min hesitated for a moment, but still briefly recounted the story of An Zhijie's arrest.

Director Yang gasped in shock after hearing this, slamming his fist on the table and shouting, "That beast An Zhijie! And that Qian Xue, there's no justice in this world!"

Xu Qidong frowned and remained silent for a long time before speaking: "Are you planning to go back to the village to investigate this matter?"

An Min nodded, thought for a moment and said, "My mother can't have died in vain. Even if An Zhijie made a mistake, he shouldn't be framed like this."

"Most importantly, I think Andy On wasn't lying. Although he's a bad person, he still has his bottom line. And he's actually quite cowardly. Even if you really provoke him, he would never be so ruthless."

So Anmin thought, if only we could find evidence that Lao Li and Qian Xue killed Lao Qitou.

However, it's clear that since Lao Li and Qian Xue dared to do this and even found An Zhijie to take the blame, they must have already cleaned up everything.

Upon hearing this, Director Yang immediately objected: "No way! The village is in the eye of the storm right now, it would be too dangerous for you to go back while you're pregnant."

"Aunt Yang, I know it's dangerous, but I have to go."

Anmin spoke firmly, explaining that she had come back specifically for this matter.

This matter has caused a great uproar. Everyone knows that Andy On killed someone. If the police were to investigate, they would be too afraid to speak up.

But in their eyes, An Min and Liang Yi were just ordinary people.

Asking around will surely reveal some information.

Xu Qidong pondered for a moment, then got up and took a notebook out of the drawer.

“I have an old comrade-in-arms in the village. He was the village party secretary before he retired. He’s an upright man. Here’s his contact information. You can ask him for help when you get back. Maybe you can get some useful information from him.”

"Remember, always be careful and avoid head-on confrontations. If you encounter any problems you can't solve, feel free to call me. Even though I've retired early, I still have some connections."

Liang Yi took the notebook and thanked him sincerely, "Thank you, Uncle Xu."

Director Yang went to the kitchen to prepare dinner, muttering to himself.

“Stay here tonight, and I’ll make you some braised pork to help you recover. Tomorrow I’ll ask for a day off from work and go with you to buy some nutritional supplements to take back with you. The conditions in the village are poor, and we can’t let the children suffer.”

An Min's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at the busy Director Yang and the concerned Xu Qidong.

At times like these, this warmth is especially precious.

During dinner, Director Yang kept putting food on An Min's plate and repeatedly reminded her of precautions during pregnancy.

Xu Qidong then analyzed the situation in the village with Liang Yi, reminding them to avoid troublesome people.

It was late at night, and Anmin lay in bed, but she couldn't calm down.

Her mother's kind face appeared in her mind, and she gently stroked her belly. Liang Yi, who was beside her, noticed that she was not asleep and took her hand: "Don't think too much, I'm here."

An Min nodded, rubbed her palm against Liang Yi's, and relaxed her tense nerves a little.

The next morning, Director Yang handed An Min a large bag containing milk powder, vitamins, and several thick coats.

"It's colder in the village than in the city, don't get cold. This is a phone call from your Uncle Xu to his old comrade-in-arms, he'll take care of you."

Xu Qidong patted Liang Yi on the shoulder: "Stay calm in the face of trouble, and protect Anmin and the child."

Liang Yi nodded vigorously and led An Min on the road back to the village.

The two had called the village secretary in advance, and someone picked them up as soon as they arrived at the village entrance.

Anmin had come before, but she had never met the village secretary.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the village secretary led them back home, telling everyone they were relatives who had come from his family.

"The An Zhijie incident has caused quite a stir. That piece of land has been sealed off. This is a big deal. There have been a lot of people coming and going in the village lately."

The village party secretary walked ahead, talking as he went.

"What about Old Li? Has Old Li been home lately?"

An Min thought of An Zhijie's words and asked a question.

Hearing her words, the village secretary shook his head: "Old Li recently went out to work, saying he wanted to make money."

"That old guy is very shrewd. He left as soon as Old Qi's matter came out, otherwise the police definitely wouldn't have let him go."

Upon hearing this, An Min and Liang Yi exchanged a glance.

Old Li is running so fast, isn't he afraid of being discovered?
The village secretary glanced at An Min's slightly protruding belly and slowed his pace.

“He left in a hurry, saying he was going south with a construction team from a neighboring village to build a building. He packed his bags overnight and took a bus away. The villagers all said behind his back that he was guilty, but without evidence, no one dared to say it openly.”

“Some people in the village said before that he was having an affair with An Zhijie’s wife, Qian Xue, saying that they often saw the two of them together. Now Qian Xue has returned to Haicheng, An Zhijie is in jail, and Lao Li has also run away. Tell me, isn’t this really strange?”

As soon as the village secretary finished speaking, Liang Yi suddenly asked, "Uncle, in the days before Old Qi was murdered, was there anything unusual happening in the village? Like, were there any arguments at night, or was anyone loitering around that woodland?"

The village party secretary stopped and looked back, his eyes scanning the two men's faces.

“Something unusual? There is something. Three days before Old Qi was murdered, someone heard Old Li smashing things in his yard and cursing as if he was arguing with someone. Someone else said that he saw Qian Xue knocking on Old Li’s door late at night, and the two of them whispered inside until late at night before parting ways.”

"The police have asked all these questions, but they only asked the same few questions over and over again. The police have searched the Li family's house thoroughly but haven't found any evidence."

Anmin's heart skipped a beat: "They're arguing? Do you know why?"

"Who knows."

The village party secretary spat on the ground.

As we spoke, we arrived at the village secretary's house, a small courtyard enclosed by adobe walls.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw an old woman with a blue headscarf carrying a winnowing basket. She paused for a moment when she saw them.

"This is my wife."

The village party secretary introduced them: "These are Xiao Liang and Xiao Min, relatives from the city."

The old woman put the winnowing basket in the corner and smiled as she ushered the house in, saying, "Come in and warm up. I'll go boil some water."

An Min and Liang Yi looked at the courtyard, and then An Min suddenly asked, "Uncle, are all the courtyards like this in our village?"