Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

Inside the interrogation room of the Nanshan County Public Security Bureau, Wei Xucheng, handcuffed, sat in the "regret chair." Two police officers opposite him picked up a cigarette pack, waved it in front of him, and asked, "Do you recognize this cigarette pack?"

Wei Xucheng's eyes darted around. He wanted to say he didn't recognize it, but then he thought that the police had already found the only three cigarettes left in his room, so whether he recognized it or not was meaningless. So he could only nod and say, "I know it. I threw these away myself. I don't know who picked them up."

"Who picked it up is none of your business, and we won't tell you. Tell us, how did you meet those four thugs? What was your plan to kidnap Chen Zaiguang's son? Where did you intend to escape to?"

The police asked a series of questions, leaving Wei Xucheng completely bewildered. How could he have become an accomplice of criminals? He was truly innocent!

"Officer, I'm really not an accomplice of those thugs. I just had a drink with them at a state-run restaurant," Wei Xucheng hurriedly explained. "I just ate a bowl of noodles at a noodle stall at the entrance of Shangzhai Village and ran into Lao Luo and Niu Zi. We chatted for a bit."

"During that time, they kept asking about the factory in Lianzhai Village, so I thought I'd show off that I was a cousin of the boss of Guangdong Company. I exaggerated and told them some things about my cousin, and that's how we got to know each other!"

"I'm definitely not one of them!"

"If you're not one of their accomplices, then what were you doing taking them to the county high school gate? Were you taking them to scout out the area and identify potential targets? Confess!"

"I really didn't. I just had a few too many drinks and wanted to go home, but those four bastards insisted they weren't comfortable with me walking home drunk, so they dragged me back to their rented room to lie down for a while. That's how we ended up at the county high school. You call that scouting?"

"If you confess honestly, you might get a shorter sentence. Don't try any tricks on us," Officer Wang slammed his hand on the table. "Six students from the county high school are already gone. Do you know that the parents outside the county bureau, knowing your accomplice has been arrested, are all gathered around, ready to come in and kill you!"

"I'm really not one of them! I'm even more wronged than Dou Sha!"

"Fine, keep being stubborn," Officer Wang said, seeing that Wei Xucheng was unmoved and still insisted on his innocence. He then left with another officer who was taking notes, leaving Wei Xucheng alone, still shouting that he had wronged someone!

Director Wang Yan was outside. Seeing Old Wang come out, he asked, "Has the kid confessed yet?"

Old Wang shook his head. "This kid's mouth is harder than a rock in a cesspool. He just keeps insisting that he's not one of them."

"Did you find any money, or a gun, at his house?"

"No, but as soon as the kid heard we were coming, he tried to climb over the wall to escape. He obviously has something to hide and is afraid of being caught by us and taken to the station," Old Wang said.

Upon hearing this, Wang Yan snorted angrily, "Since he's so stubborn, let's detain him for now. Once those three thugs are caught, we'll compare their testimonies and see how he can still keep up the act!"

临山

Bai Shuibao, Lao Luo, and Lao Shan had been hiding in the cave for two days. During these two days, they survived on dew and a few biscuits bought from the supply and marketing cooperative, enduring hardship without daring to venture out of the cave.

The militia and police will be searching the whole mountain with guns. If they dare to show up, they'll probably be chased away and might even get a peanut in their mouths before being sent down to keep company with the cows.

"Brother, why don't we take advantage of the darkness tonight and head out through a side path? We can run towards Hongping from there. I know a very well-hidden route," Lao Shan suggested. "If we stay any longer, the three of us will either starve or die of thirst in this cave."

Bai Shuibao was also really struggling to bear the hunger in his stomach, which was already a little painful. Hearing Lao Shan say this, he asked, "Are you familiar with this road? Don't let the police block you on the back road and get you all caught."

"We know this all the way. I discovered it by accident. I guarantee not many people will know about it. We'll sneak off there, avoid the police, and hide in the city. We'll play hide-and-seek with them!"

"Okay, let's wait until it gets dark and then set off. We won't bring any bags or anything. Let's find a place to bury the gun first. Carrying this thing is too conspicuous."

Around 1 a.m., the militia and police who had been searching the mountain withdrew. It was very cold on the mountain now, with the wind howling and a light rain falling. The three people, Bai Shuibao and his companions, were shivering in the cave.

Not daring to light a fire, they ate biscuits and drank cold water. Bai Shuibao glanced at his watch and said to the other two people sitting close together, "It's about time. It's past one o'clock. I reckon the militiamen have all retreated down the mountain. We can set off now."

As the three stepped out of the cave, the north wind was like a cold blade, and the fine icy rain was like a razor, stinging their cheeks and making them shiver and chatter.

"Damn it, this is...too cold!"

Despite wearing several layers of winter clothes, the cold wind mixed with drizzle blew straight into the patched sleeves and cuffs of their clothes. The three of them walked in a line, one in front of the other, on the dark mountain path.

Lao Shan was right; there were indeed no militia checkpoints on the path. The three of them quickly ran down the mountain and followed the terraced fields to Hongping Village. They found a cowshed at random and huddled together in a pile of straw to keep warm.

The two yellow oxen in the cowshed had their places taken up by Bai Shuibao and his two companions, so they started mooing. Before long, someone in a house not far from the cowshed lit a kerosene lamp and came out to see why their big yellow ox was mooing in the middle of the night.

The owner, carrying a lantern and wearing a cotton coat, hissed as he shone the lantern into the cowshed, muttering, "Could it be that mice have gotten into the cowshed in the middle of the night? I'll have to borrow a mousetrap from Old Huang tomorrow."

Just as the homeowner was about to investigate further, a hand suddenly covered his mouth and nose from behind, preventing him from making a sound. Another hand used its elbow to tightly strangle the homeowner's neck, intending to strangle him to death right there in the cowshed.

Seeing that their elder brother Bai Shuibao had succeeded, Lao Luo and Lao Shan saw the homeowner kicking around in panic. Fearing that the noise would attract others, the two quickly stepped forward and each took one of his feet, pinning the homeowner to the ground. After about five minutes, Bai Shuibao finally released the homeowner.

The kerosene lamp that had fallen to the ground had gone out. The three men carried the strangled homeowner into the cowshed, covered him tightly with straw, and then, carrying their knives, prepared to sneak into the house, kill the rest of the people, and scavenge some food to fill their stomachs.