Era: Starting from the local police station

Twenty minutes later.

Jiang Zhenghua finished a lunchbox of food, plus two steamed buns made from mixed flour.

Half a box of hot water used to rinse the lunchbox.

When I arrived at the conference room, it was full of people, each with a cigarette in their hand.

Seeing him come in, Qiao Fuping exhaled a puff of smoke and said in a deep voice, "Everyone has been visiting all afternoon, and I know you are all very tired, but the victim's body is still on the cold autopsy table, waiting for us to redress his grievances, so we can't rest yet and we have to finish the job."

He stubbed out his cigarette and said loudly, "Let me first tell you about the progress of the investigation by other units. I called the important factories, businesses, and neighborhood offices in the area, and also sent them photos of the deceased. As of 7 p.m., only the steel mill has responded that one person looks similar."

Upon hearing this, everyone sat up straight.

Qiao Fuping shook his head slightly and sighed, "Unfortunately, after investigation, that person only looks similar. He took the afternoon off to rest at home and is fine."

Everyone felt a little disappointed.

"Chief, did you ask that person if they have any siblings?"

"According to the comrades in the security department of the steel plant, that person is an only child and his hometown is Weifang, Shandong. He has no cousins ​​working here."

Jiang Zhenghua frowned slightly: "What's that person's name?"

Qiao Fuping was taken aback, then picked up the notebook, flipped through it, and said, "Wang Dahe."

Zhang Chongguang glanced at Jiang Zhenghua: "Has the Hongxing Machinery Factory reported the situation?"

"They said there's no such person over there."

After Qiao Fuping finished speaking, he glanced at everyone and said, "That's the situation on my end."

After he sat down, Jiang Zhenghua stood up and lifted the cloth covering the blackboard: "Did those who went west find anything?"

Cao Hui stood up and said, "Meng Yuan and I have visited half of the streets here, and everyone said they didn't find anything unusual. We also checked the back walls of the alleys, but we didn't find anything."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded and instructed, "Give me a report on the visit tomorrow, clearly stating which alleys we visited, for future reference."

Cao Hui replied, "Understood."

"What about the north?"

Qin Weijun stood up and said, "Zhang Yi and I visited about half of the households. One elderly woman said she heard someone shouting for help last night, but the elderly person was quite old. Many neighbors reported that they didn't hear anything and said that the elderly person often has auditory hallucinations, which is somewhat unbelievable."

Jiang Zhenghua pressed further, "Did you two check the area?"

"I looked through the nearby streets and alleys, but found nothing."

"Write a report tomorrow."

"clear."

Jiang Zhenghua looked at Geng Jianwu: "What about the south?"

Geng Jianwu stood up, picked up his notebook, and said, "It's pretty much the same here; they haven't provided any useful clues. However, during the investigation, we obtained a lead on another case."

"What case?"

Geng Jianwu said with a smile, "An old lady reported that the courtyard diagonally opposite hers is very lively after eight o'clock every night. She often sees people sneaking in and out, staying for almost the entire night. However, these people are very excited when they go in, and when they come out, some are dejected, while others are overjoyed."

Jiang Zhenghua said thoughtfully, "You suspect someone is running a gambling den?"

Geng Jianwu nodded: "Besides this, I can't think of any other place where people would do this."

Qiao Fuping interjected, asking, "Is there any concrete evidence?"

Geng Jianwu shook his head and then said, "I didn't dare ask too many people, for fear that their eyes would alert them. I only inquired indirectly during the visits, and many people said they occasionally saw similar situations."

Jiang Zhenghua pondered for a moment and said, "Here's what we'll do: tomorrow, find a trustworthy stranger to keep an eye on things for a few days. If you have solid evidence, raid this hideout immediately. If not, we'll conduct an inspection to see what's going on."

"Understood, I'll report back to you tomorrow."

Geng Jianwu sat down after he finished speaking.

Qiao Fuping looked worried and lit a cigarette.

Jiang Zhenghua picked up the chalk and said, "In the east direction, we had two groups, and we were relatively faster, visiting about two-thirds of the residents. Someone provided this clue, and I think it's closely related to our case."

At this, everyone immediately perked up and sat up straight.

"Guo Caiju, a resident of a courtyard house in Xiguan Hutong, said that when she got up to use the restroom around 11 p.m. last night, she encountered two slightly overweight men pulling a cart at the gate of her courtyard."

Jiang Zhenghua finished recounting the clues in one breath and even wrote the keywords on the blackboard.

Qiao Fuping asked first, "Have you verified with Hongxing Machinery Factory about wild boars?"

Zhang Chongguang explained, "Because it's late, the purchasing staff and their supervisors have already left work. I was worried they might not tell the truth or hide anything if I called, so I thought I'd verify it tomorrow morning."

Qiao Fuping nodded, then asked, "Zhenghua, what do you mean by writing 'cart'?"

Everyone looked puzzled.

Only Geng Jianwu frowned first, then nodded thoughtfully.

Jiang Zhenghua explained, "Does everyone know what this cart is used for in the countryside?"

"Transporting firewood and crops."

"When we get to town, we transport goods."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded: "What you said is all correct, but you missed the most important point, which is transporting manure to fertilize the fields."

Qiao Fuping frowned: "When I asked, I didn't smell any manure on the cart. That doesn't mean anything, does it? You know, this cart is a farmer's treasure. They cherish it and would probably clean it carefully after use."

Jiang Zhenghua smiled slightly: "Chief, what you said is possible. However, this is precisely the point that exposed their identities this time."

Why?

"Chief, is it because you forgot what they said they were pulling out this time?"

"Didn't I say it was wild boar? It still smells of blood."

Zhang Chongguang explained, "Chief, you forgot that wild boars have a very strong, foul odor, and their fur is covered in pig feces and other things. They can't possibly pluck the hair off before sending them, can they?"

Qiao Fuping's eyes lit up: "That's right. If the skin had been peeled off, the bloody smell wouldn't be so strong. Since you can still smell the blood even when it's wrapped in tarpaulin, it means it wasn't peeled off and cleaned, so you should still be able to smell the foul odor."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded and continued, "Furthermore, after hauling farmyard manure, the gaps in the cart, the wheels, and the tires will inevitably have some manure stuck to them; there are always areas that can't be washed thoroughly. Since there's none left now, that means..."

Qin Weijun chimed in, "They're lying."

Jiang Zhenghua waved his hand: "Yes, they're lying. At least they're not from the countryside, and they're not dragging wild boars, so what could it be? Why are they being so secretive?"

Qiao Fuping slammed his hand on the table, making a dull thud.

He said excitedly, "Even if these two aren't the murderers, they're definitely not good people. We must find them as soon as possible."

Everyone agreed.