Era: Starting from the local police station

Three men walked in, dressed in patched clothes, all covered in dust and dirt, with tobacco pipes tucked behind their waists.

Upon seeing the people inside, the three of them became somewhat reserved and slowed their pace as they entered.

The oldest among them, Hou Baogen, asked in a low voice, "Secretary, what do you need us for?"

"It wasn't me, it was these police officers. They were asking about Sanwazi..."

Hou Qilai, the youngest among them, quickly spoke up, interrupting the Party Secretary: "Comrades, we gave Brother Sanwa our share of the profits voluntarily. It's not that he's exploiting us. You must not punish him."

"Yes, Brother Sanwa is such a good person. He helps us earn money to support our families."

"That's right, Sanwa is a good person, we can't criticize him."

Jiang Zhenghua tapped the table to interrupt: "Comrades, listen to me. We're not here to cause him trouble, we just want to ask about some other things."

The three men clearly did not believe it and all looked at Hou Yongshou.

Hou Yongshou sighed deeply, his face filled with grief, and said, "The police officer is right. Sanwazi got into trouble in the city... He was murdered."

The three of them stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief.

Hou Shucai asked, "Second Uncle, are you telling the truth?"

Hou Yongshou closed his eyes and nodded emphatically.

Hou Baogen muttered, "How...how could this be? He even said he'd help us make a lot of money."

Hou Qilai was filled with grief: "My brother Sanwa told me last time that when I get married, he would buy me a bicycle so that I could have a grand wedding."

He raised his arm, wiped away his tears with his sleeve, and asked through gritted teeth, "Second Uncle, who killed Third Brother? I'm going to shoot that bastard to death, and then I'll pay with my life."

Seeing this, Jiang Zhenghua stood up and came to the three of them: "Please accept my condolences. Don't talk nonsense anymore. The case is under investigation, and we will definitely give the deceased justice and a satisfactory answer to you. I just pretended to be grieving and talking nonsense."

Hou Qilai stubbornly raised his head, his eyes bulging as he stared at Jiang Zhenghua: "What kind of mourning is this? All I know is that debts must be repaid, and murderers must pay with their lives. Since someone dared to kill someone from Houjia Village, they must pay the price in blood. I..."

Jin Hong and Zhang Chongguang slammed their fists on the table, stood up, and glared at Hou Qilai.

Hou Yongshou suddenly opened his eyes and scolded, "Qi Lai, shut up, don't talk nonsense."

"Second Uncle, but..."

Before Hou Qilai could say anything more, Hou Yongshou's voice turned cold: "What? You're not even listening to me anymore? Apologize to the police officers."

Hou Qilai then reluctantly said, "I'm sorry, police officer."

Hou Yongshou stood up, bowing slightly, and said, "Officer, I'm sorry. This rascal has been like this since he was a child. He gets along well with Sanwa, so he spoke without thinking for a moment. Please forgive him."

Jiang Zhenghua snorted, his gaze sweeping over the three men with a chilling aura: "I understand your feelings. It's impossible not to feel anger after your loved ones have been murdered. However, this is the new China, where there are rules and laws. No one can act recklessly."

The three were instantly intimidated by his imposing aura and dared not look him in the eye, so they all lowered their heads.

Hou Yongshou felt the chill and was immediately startled, his muscles tensing up.

Unexpectedly, this young deputy director was someone who had crawled out of a pile of corpses.

He quickly said, "Deputy Director Jiang, don't worry, we will definitely abide by the law and regulations. I will keep an eye on these bastards."

Seeing that he had achieved a deterrent effect, Jiang Zhenghua's chill immediately dissipated: "That's good. Solving cases and arresting murderers is our business, our duty. Please rest assured, as long as you cooperate, we will definitely get to the bottom of this."

This era was known for its fierce and unruly people. Not to mention how many hunting rifles were hidden away, every village had its own militia, which had standard-issue weapons.

If we don't deter them, they might cause some trouble.

The four of them responded in unison.

This left Zhang Youming, who was standing to the side, dumbfounded. When he looked at Jiang Zhenghua, his eyes were full of admiration.

Jin Hong and the others looked on with admiration and sat back down.

Jiang Zhenghua sat back down and opened his notebook: "Do you know where Hou Laicai lives in Beijing?"

Upon hearing the question, Hou Shucai looked up and said, "I know this. I've been there before. It's the fourth large courtyard in Micang Hutong, Nanluoguxiang, Dongcheng District."

Which house?

"The second room with a reverse seating arrangement."

Does Hou Laicai have a girlfriend?

"No, I don't think so..."

However, Hou Shucai's face showed a hint of hesitation.

Having grasped this point, Jiang Zhenghua said earnestly, "I hope you can tell the truth, because there might be some clues to solving the case hidden here. Of course, you can choose not to tell, but we will find out sooner or later."

Hou Shucai said in a deep voice, "I said, actually Sanwa has a girlfriend."

The three men from Houjia Village all turned to look at him, their faces filled with disbelief; clearly, they were unaware of what was going on.

Hou Yongshou asked, "Shucai, are you telling the truth?"

Hou Shucai nodded and said softly, "I promised Sanwa that I would keep his secret and not tell anyone. But now..."

Jiang Zhenghua asked, "Tell me more about this woman."

Hou Shucai nodded: "To be precise, this woman is his lover."

The three people from Houjia Village were immediately shocked.

Hou Baogen said, "Shucai, you can't talk nonsense about this. It concerns Sanwazi's reputation."

Hou Shucai gave a bitter smile: "The person is dead, why bother about reputation? Besides, I'm just stating the facts."

He looked at Jiang Zhenghua: "Comrade Policeman, I'm the only one in the whole village who knows about this. Because I've always liked to follow him around since I was little, my relationship with him is better than with anyone else. Usually, when we finish work in the city and there's no work the next day, everyone will come back overnight. This May, we were moving parts at the machine factory, and I strained my back that day. It was really painful, so I asked Sanwa if I could rest at his place for the night and then go back to the village the next day. He agreed right away."

Zhang Chongguang asked, "Did you see that woman?"

Hou Shucai nodded: "After we got back, Sanwa bought some braised meat, a bottle of cheap liquor, and some peanuts, and we started drinking. When it was almost time to go to bed that night, there was a knock on Sanwa's door. When we opened the door, it was a woman in her thirties, who was very beautiful. She was stunned when she saw me."

Jiang Zhenghua saw him swallow and handed him a bowl of water: "Drink some, moisten your throat before you talk."

Hou Shucai was taken aback for a moment, then accepted the gift with both hands: "Thank you."

After taking several large gulps, he continued, "At the time, Sanwa introduced me with a smile, saying that I was his younger brother and that I should just call that woman Sister Diao. Sister Diao greeted me. Then she helped Sanwa tidy up the house and even helped him wash the clothes before leaving with the cornmeal Sanwa had given her."

He put the bowl aside, picked up his pipe and put it away: "After Sister Diao left, I couldn't help but ask her if she was his girlfriend. He said no, just his lover."

"He said that Sister Diao was a widow. After her husband died, she raised two young boys and an elderly mother-in-law on her own. Sister Diao was the only one who worked to earn money, and the family was really struggling financially. So she helped him clean the house, and he gave her some food."

Hou Shucai lit his pipe and continued, "I asked him if he would marry her. He said no, because Sister Diao would never give up her job to go to the countryside, and he would eventually have to go back to the village to take care of his parents. They are not on the same path."

"Do you know where this widow lives?"

Hou Shucai took a puff of his pipe: "Sanwa said he lives in their backyard, but I don't know which family. I didn't even dare to ask about his job."

Jiang Zhenghua looked at Jin Hong.

The latter said in a deep voice, "Xiao Li."

Xiao Li, who was sitting to the side, immediately stood up and replied, "Here."

Jin Hong said in a deep voice, "Immediately draft a telegram to Director Qiao, informing him of Hou Laicai's address, and at the same time, secretly investigate this shrewish widow in the backyard."

Xiao Li immediately took out a notebook from his pocket, quickly wrote something down, and then promptly handed it to Deputy Director Jin.

Jin Hong glanced at it, wrote his name on it, and handed it back: "Send it like this."

Xiao Li took the notebook, saluted, and replied, "Yes, sir."

After saying that, he quickly walked outside.

Jiang Zhenghua continued, "Tell me about your work. What kind of work do you do? Which factory do you work in?"

"Most of the work was at the Hongxing Machinery Factory, unloading heavy raw materials or loading large parts, all heavy jobs. Occasionally there were also some moving jobs. I also went to the steel plant twice to help unload coal. Actually, all those jobs were very tiring. Sanwa often helped us with the work. The foremen in the factory all said that our leader was really good, unlike the leaders of other teams who didn't do any work, at most they would just stand on the sidelines giving instructions and boosting morale."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded: "Was there anything that made you feel something was off?"

All three shook their heads.

Jiang Zhenghua frowned: "What kind of work have you been doing lately?"

Hou Shucai said, "We don't always go. Sometimes the factory doesn't need that many people, so we take turns. The last time I went was at the end of last month. I went to load the parts, which they said were already processed."

Hou Baogen said, "I went there around the 20th of last month. The first day was spent unloading raw materials, and the second day was spent helping to load the trucks."

Hou Qilai said, "I went there on the 2nd of this month. During the day, I helped deliver parts to the workshop, and at night I loaded them onto trucks."

Upon hearing that the truck would be loaded that evening, Jiang Zhenghua and the others' eyes lit up.

Jin Hong hurriedly asked, "What did you put in there last night?"

Hou Qilai replied, "It's some waste coal slag, said to be produced by burning coal in the forging workshop."

Jiang Zhenghua asked, "How often does this kind of work happen?"

Hou Qilai said, "Not many, I've only done it twice."

Hou Shucai said, "I did it four times, twice with Brother Baogen."

Jiang Zhenghua asked, "Did anything different happen during the loading process this time?"

Hou Shucai shook his head.

Jiang Zhenghua said seriously, "Think about it carefully."

Hou Shucai lowered his head and pondered, then lifted his shoe and tapped his pipe.

No one urged them on; they waited quietly.

After a long pause, he finally looked up and said, "I really can't remember. Nothing happened."

Jin Hong and the others exchanged glances.

Zhang Chongguang whispered, "What if I'm wrong? Maybe it's something else?"

Jin Hong looked at Jiang Zhenghua.

Jiang Zhenghua turned around and asked, "Is there any difference between loading coal slag and loading spare parts?"

Hou Shucai said, "Yes, when loading parts, the security guards and officers all kept an eye on it and even counted the loads. But when loading coal ash, only the security guards watched, and they would occasionally leave."

Seeing his expression, Jiang Zhenghua pressed, "Did you remember something?"

Hou Shucai glanced at Hou Baogen and Hou Qilai: "When you were loading coal slag, did you bring any garbage with you?"

Hou Qilai shook his head: "No."

Hou Baogen asked, "You mean the kind that's packaged in a bag?"

Hou Shucai nodded.

Hou Baogen said, "They brought it once, saying it was household garbage. It was already loaded onto the truck when it arrived."

Jiang Zhenghua said seriously, "Tell me in detail what's going on with this garbage?"

Hou Shucai exhaled a puff of smoke: "When we're loading coal ash at night, sometimes we're asked to clean up the garbage piled up on the side as well. The difference is that sometimes when the truck comes, there are a few sacks thrown into the truck bed, saying that the factory cleaners threw them in and we have to take them out with us."

Hou Baogen continued, "The first time I saw the burlap sacks, I thought they were such good things that I could bring them back and have my family mend them to use for storing grain. Just as I was about to get on the truck and rummage through them, I was stopped by the security guards. Sanwazi also told me not to take them. He said they were factory property, and if I took them without permission, I wouldn't be able to explain myself. I felt quite sorry about it for a while, after all, they were rare burlap sacks, and I just threw them away like that."

Jiang Zhenghua and the others exchanged glances.

Jin Hong nodded silently.

Jiang Zhenghua stared intently at Hou Shucai and continued, "Is there something wrong with you bringing this up now?"

Hou Shucai nodded: "On the night of the 2nd, just as we were preparing to load the truck, the driver said he needed to rest for a while. Not long after he left, the security guard said he had an upset stomach and needed to go to the toilet, asking Sanwa to watch the loading process. After the security guard left, only the people from our village were left. Sigouzi suddenly jumped onto the truck, trying to take the sacks out and leave. When Sanwa tried to stop him, he had already succeeded and even said he had a way to hide them."

Zhang Chongguang asked, "Did you take it with you?"

Hou Shucai shook his head: "Si Gouzi couldn't pull it, and it made a loud noise, which scared him so much that he jumped off the car. Si Gouzi was cursing and saying that he didn't know who was so wicked as to put bricks in the sack."

He looked up and said seriously, "Sanwa's face was very ugly at the time, and he kept a long face afterwards. He also told us not to reveal a word about this, otherwise we wouldn't be able to get any more work."

"At the time, I thought it was because Si Gouzi was disobedient and made him angry. But now that I think about it, it doesn't seem to be like that."

After Hou Shucai finished speaking, he lowered his head, and the whole room fell silent.

After a long pause, Jiang Zhenghua asked again, "When you finished this last job, did Hou Laicai say when the next job would be?"

Hou Shucai replied, "Yes, when we were loading goods during the day on the 2nd, he told me that the machinery factory was about to move machine tools and organize the workshop, and they would definitely need people then, so they should be able to work for several days."

Zhang Chongguang interjected, asking, "Did they say when?"

"He said it wouldn't take more than a week, but we never got it. A few of us even discussed whether the factory's plans had changed, but we never expected it to be him..."

Hou Shucai's face was filled with grief.

Jiang Zhenghua wrote it down in his notebook: "Do you register every time you enter the factory?"

Hou Shucai replied, "Registration is generally carried out during the day, but not necessarily at night."

"Under what circumstances is registration not allowed?"

"There's a guy in the security department named Xiao Hu. If he's there, Sanwa will give him a pack of cigarettes, and he'll let him in right away."

Hou Shucai paused for a moment, then said, "I've seen this person a few times, always at night. I haven't seen him during the day."

Jiang Zhenghua asked, "Do you know his name?"

The three of them shook their heads in unison. Hou Shucai said, "I only know that his surname is Hu, that he's probably in his thirties, about my height, and fairer than me. I don't know his full name."

Jiang Zhenghua looked him over and wrote down in his notebook, "1.7 meters tall, fair complexion."

"What are his distinctive features? Like scars or marks?"

All three of them lowered their heads and tried hard to remember.

Suddenly, Hou Baogen looked up sharply, pointed to his collar, and said, "I remember now, there's a black mole on the right side of my neck. One night, when we went in, he dropped his cigarette on the ground, and I saw it by the light from the guardhouse when he picked it up."

Jin Hong interjected, "What about the truck? Is it the same one every night?"

Hou Shucai said, "Most of the drivers are Master Gu. He is a man in his forties, very burly, and his voice is a bit hoarse, probably because he smokes a lot. He is also very tall."

They then asked for some more details before letting the three of them leave.

Tell Hou Yongshou to call a few more people.

The people who came knew very little, less than Hou Shucai and his two companions.

Jiang Zhenghua glanced at the time, picked up his bowl, and took a sip of water: "It seems that others only know a limited amount of information."

Hou Yongshou picked up a teapot and poured water for the group: "In the village, Shu Cai and the other two are closest to Sanwazi; the others are just so-so."

Zhang Chongguang took out a cigarette and spread it out: "Where's your village chief?"

Hou Yongshou explained, "The village chief and the accountant went to a meeting in town. It seems the town was mobilizing for steelmaking and collectivization. I have a bad temper and often argue with my superiors, so I didn't go."

Jin Hong nodded: "I think it's getting late, and we've learned enough. How about we call it a day?"

Jiang Zhenghua and the others nodded.

"Comrades, let's have some more tea. I'll have someone prepare a meal right away. We can eat before we leave."

Hou Yongshou said apologetically, "I was so focused on Sanwazi's matter that I completely forgot to prepare food. I'll arrange it right away, it'll be ready soon."

Jin Hong smiled and said, "No need, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. We're all part of the organization, and we can't take even a needle or thread from the masses. That's the rule."

"But...but this isn't right. You all ran away because of Sanwazi's matter, and I didn't even give you a meal. Don't worry, I can still afford to provide you with a simple meal."

"Really, there's no need. Solving cases is our duty. If we actually ate it, what would that look like?"

With that, the group packed their things, got up, and headed outside.