Era: Starting from the local police station
Chapter 66: Risking One's Life
As the group arrived near Yu'er Hutong, the sun was setting, and a layer of golden sunset glow spread across the road, making it look like a golden avenue.
The vehicle turned into the police station compound.
Yu Yong strode forward and, seeing Tu Shan being led off the vehicle, asked, "Who is this person?"
Jin Hong laughed and said, "That's the guy who vandalized the truck."
Yu Yong's eyes widened as he said, "This...this is solved already? That's way too fast!"
Jiang Zhenghua ordered Cao Hui: "Take him to the interrogation room and begin the interrogation immediately."
Cao Hui responded, "Yes."
Jiang Zhenghua turned to Yu Yong and said, "The case is only half solved. He's just an executor; the mastermind is nowhere to be found."
Cheng Mingli got off the three-wheeled vehicle: "With him here, the mastermind can't escape."
As Jin Hong walked towards the backyard, he said, "Tu Shan's psychological defenses have basically been broken down. If we strike while the iron is hot, we should be able to get a confession soon."
He looked at Yu Yong: "How is Hu Decai?"
Yu Yong replied, "I went to see him. He looked very haggard and was sitting there in a daze. I guess he was about to reach his breaking point."
Jiang Zhenghua asked, "Have the comrades who went out to investigate returned?"
Yu Yong pushed open the conference room door and let everyone in: "Chen Junsheng is back. Lao Lin called back and said that he found the person who borrowed the car. He left Chen Shan to keep watch and is on his way back."
Upon hearing this, Jin Hong smiled broadly: "Looks like it's all good news. Let's peel back the layers one by one and see how long these rats can hide."
Jiang Zhenghua asked, "Sir, is there any news about Meng Yuan and the others?"
As Yu Yong offered cigarettes, he said, "They called around 5 p.m., saying they learned in Tianfu Village that Hu Decai does indeed have a lover named Diao Cuihua. The two also said they discovered some suspicious things and went to Wanshou Village to investigate."
Jiang Zhenghua then asked, "Did Chen Junsheng say what he found out during his investigation?"
Yu Yong lit a cigarette: "He hasn't been back long, I haven't had a chance to ask him yet, I'll have him come over now."
As he spoke, he quickly walked out of the office.
Jin Hong exhaled a puff of smoke and looked at Jiang Zhenghua: "What are you planning to do?"
Jiang Zhenghua pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Let's start with Tu Shan and find out who the mastermind is. Although the case started with Hou Laicai's murder, his death was premeditated. The murderer made a meticulous plan and didn't give us many clues. It's just that they didn't expect us to not fall for it and not investigate it as a robbery. Instead, they went directly to the machinery factory, which forced them to act hastily and revealed their weakness when dealing with Gu Youliang."
Jin Hong glanced at him and said, "I understand what you mean."
Jiang Zhenghua looked at Cheng Mingli beside him: "Section Chief Cheng, we're going to raid the secret operation tonight, which will definitely startle them, but the most fatal part of the whole case isn't outside."
Cheng Mingli was taken aback for a moment, then nodded: "I understand. I'll go back to the factory right away and keep an eye on things to ensure everything goes smoothly."
"They do all this to transport those things out of the country, but we don't know what it is that makes them work so hard."
Jiang Zhenghua looked at Cheng Mingli with a serious expression: "Section Chief Cheng, has your factory received any secret missions?"
The moment those words were spoken, the entire conference room fell silent.
Then, everyone's eyes turned to Cheng Mingli.
Cheng Mingli shook his head repeatedly: "You think too highly of our factory. Although we are a key municipal enterprise, we are still a joint venture. How could our superiors assign us a secret mission? We have always been carrying out routine missions, which do not involve anything that needs to be kept secret."
Jin Hong and Zhang Chongguang relaxed.
Jiang Zhenghua, however, frowned and looked down at the table, lost in thought.
The conference room door was pushed open, and Yu Yong and Chen Junsheng walked in.
Jin Hong took a puff of his cigarette, pointed to the empty chair beside him, and asked Chen Junsheng, "Did you find anything at the tenement today?"
Chen Junsheng sat down in a chair and opened his notebook: "Today I visited everyone in the courtyard. According to their descriptions, Diao Cuihua is a filial person. Since Wang Jiansheng passed away, people from the neighborhood committee have visited her many times to try to persuade her to find someone else to live with, according to the policy. But each time, Diao Cuihua has refused, citing the need to raise her children and support her mother-in-law."
As he spoke, there was a hint of admiration on his face.
"What about her mother-in-law? Was there really no interference from her?"
According to her neighbors, her mother-in-law had offered to send her back to the countryside so she could remarry with her children. But Diao Cuihua refused each time, saying she would never remarry and only wanted to raise her two children.
"I never expected Diao Cuihua to be so kind and righteous. It's not easy for a woman to raise two children and support her elderly mother-in-law."
"The financial difficulties are one thing, but the main problem is the gossip. She's exceptionally beautiful. I reckon if she gets even slightly close to another man, the amount of gossip could drown her."
Chen Junsheng nodded emphatically: "Director Zhang is right. During my visits, 90 percent of the men praised me, but at least half of the women used terms like 'vixen' and 'slut'."
Jin Hong stubbed out his cigarette hard inside the wooden box: "That's to be expected. There's always trouble around a widow's door; it's always been like that since ancient times."
Seeing the comments the others made about Diao Cuihua, Jiang Zhenghua thought to himself, "Could I have been wrong? Or is this person's acting skill so impressive that she's created an invincible persona for herself?"
He looked at Chen Junsheng: "What did Ni Yongfu and his wife say?"
Chen Junsheng replied, "I specifically asked the couple, and they said that Hou Laicai was introduced by a relative. They said it's not easy for rural people to make a living in the city, and knowing that his house was vacant, they introduced him. According to Ni Yongfu and his wife, Hou Laicai is also very good at dealing with people. When he first came to their door, he gave them some wild wood ear mushrooms and said that he would occasionally give them some wild mushrooms and wild vegetables, which are worthless things in the countryside. Seeing that there was a profit to be made, they rented the house to him at a normal price."
"So, did you actually send it later?"
"Yes, he did. And last year, Hou Laicai arranged for a truck to haul away the cabbages and coal briquettes that his family stored for the winter."
"Any other takeaways?"
"A woman living next door told me something, and I'm not sure if it was jealousy or if it's true."
Jiang Zhenghua took the last drag of his cigarette: "What's up?"
"According to her, this Diao Cuihua appears respectable on the surface, but is actually quite promiscuous behind the scenes. When Wang Jiansheng was still alive, she once encountered him. In a corner, she was not only arguing with a man, but also tearfully hugging him."
Jin Hong frowned and asked, "Could it be fabricated out of jealousy? Is there any concrete evidence?"
Chen Junsheng said with a wry smile, "What she said was quite detailed. She described the man as tall, fair-skinned, but dressed in shabby clothes, seemingly from the countryside. She also said she suspected he was Diao Cuihua's kept man. When I pressed her to tell me if she had seen him again, she said she had deliberately passed by the area several times but hadn't encountered him again. However, after Wang Jiansheng's incident, she once saw a woman who looked very much like Diao Cuihua while shopping, coming out of a small courtyard with an official. The two were chatting and laughing, seemingly very intimate."
Did she see the person clearly?
"No. By the time she caught up with them, the two had already disappeared."
Jiang Zhenghua frowned: "When did both of these incidents occur?"
Chen Junsheng flipped through his notebook: "The first time was a month before Wang Jiansheng's incident, and the second time was in the latter half of 1956."
Cheng Mingli said, "That person definitely wasn't Hu Decai. A month before Wang Jiansheng's accident, he had already joined our factory and become a cadre; it's impossible for him to be dressed in such shabby clothes."
As they were talking, there was a knock on the conference room door.
Then two police officers carried in two large basins, and the aroma of food immediately filled the entire conference room.
Upon seeing the vegetables in the bowl, Jin Hong asked in surprise, "Old Yu, where did you get this meat from?"
"Thinking that my comrades had worked hard, I made an exchange with the director of the Qianmen Railway Police Station. Their people travel all over the country, so they gave me some of their personnel."
"It's really convenient there, especially for trains running to the Northeast. I heard that the train police officers always bring back some good stuff when they come back."
Jin Hong asked, "What did you exchange? Do you want me to reimburse you?"
Yu Yong waved his hand: "No need. I just promised him that I would lend him two people to help with duty during the National Day holiday, and a bottle of Fenjiu liquor."
Jin Hong picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of the pork stew with vermicelli: "You can adjust the ingredients yourself, and I'll get you two bottles of wine."
"Thank you, Deputy Director Jin."
Cheng Mingli picked up a piece of food, swallowed it, and exclaimed, "Director Yu, the chef you found is excellent. He's no worse than the head chef in our cafeteria."
Zhang Chongguang exclaimed, "Chef Zhuang's cooking skills are truly superb. These shredded potatoes are crisp and refreshing."
Yu Yong said with some pride, "I paid a lot of money to hire Master Zhuang."
As he spoke, he looked at Jiang Zhenghua: "He and Deputy Director Jiang were comrades-in-arms. They used to be cooks in the Beijing Public Security Army. Last year, during the reassignment, I traded a few bottles of good wine from the commander for him."
Shortly after, just as the group put down their chopsticks, a sound came from outside the office door.
"Report."
"Come in."
Cao Hui entered with a beaming smile, stood at attention, and saluted: "Reporting to Deputy Director Jin, Tu Shan has fallen."
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with joy, and they all stood up.
"Have you revealed who ordered it?"
According to his confession, he wasn't very familiar with that person, only knowing that everyone called him "Brother Leopard".
"Then why would he risk his life for that person?"
"Tu Shan has a serious gambling addiction. He often borrows money from the bookmakers, always hoping to win back his losses, but how could the bookmakers let him win? When he was working at the machine repair shop, things were alright; he had a monthly salary to cover his expenses. But since he was fired last year, he has lost his income and often doesn't even have any capital left."
Cao Hui paused briefly before continuing, "Because of this, he frequently borrowed money from the farmers, which were high-interest loans with compounding interest. Now he owes a huge sum. It's not something he can pay off by simply stealing chickens and ducks and selling them."
"Is it always this 'Brother Leopard' who steps in and vouches for the debtors every time they come after you?"
"That's right. It's said that Brother Leopard has a lot of influence, and the dealers respect him a lot. Whenever the dealers are unwilling to lend money or are pressing for repayment, it's Brother Leopard who steps in. Over time, he and Brother Leopard have become quite familiar. The night before last, Tu Shan went to that place as usual and was pressured by the dealers to pay back the debt. They even threatened that if he didn't pay back the money quickly, they would go to his house and cause trouble. If he really couldn't pay, they would take his sister-in-law to pay off the debt and sell his nephew and niece."
Cao Hui continued, "He was terrified. He went to beg Brother Leopard for help, but Brother Leopard said he was too busy to deal with it, he was annoyed too. So he asked what happened, and the other party said he had a sworn enemy, a truck driver, who owed money and wouldn't pay it back, and was very arrogant. He was thinking of how to teach him a lesson. Tu Shan patted his chest and guaranteed that he could put the truck driver in a sack and beat him up. However, Brother Leopard said that was too lenient, he needed to teach him a profound lesson. Ideally, someone who would remember it for a lifetime. So, Tu Shan used his repair skills and offered to break the reset spring, so that the brakes would fail, which would be enough to scare the other party."
"Brother Leopard agreed to his suggestion right away. With a wave of his hand, he not only got the bookmaker to extend the repayment period but also lent him a large sum of money. He spent the whole day at the casino and couldn't come out at all. He lost it all again just as it got dark. Brother Leopard told him that if he couldn't get things done, he would personally come to collect the debt. If he succeeded, he would forgive all his gambling debts and even gave him a bottle of good wine before he left."
Just then, the sound of a car engine came from outside.
"Looks like Geng Jianwu and his men are back. Did they say which underground establishment they were from?"
After Cao Hui finished giving the address, Jin Hong said, "I didn't expect it to be here. I remember you said today that Geng Jianwu had arranged for someone to keep an eye on us, right?"
Jiang Zhenghua nodded: "That's right."
"Report."
The sound of Lu Jianli reporting could be heard outside the office.
"Come in."
The door was pushed open, and Geng Jianwu, Liu Baojia, and Xiao Li walked in, looking travel-worn, and saluted in unison.
Jin Hong returned the greeting: "Thank you for your hard work. How was the harvest?"
Geng Jianwu said, "After making inquiries and investigating along the way, in early 1955, Hou Laicai found a few strong men from the village next to theirs and brought them into the city."
Jiang Zhenghua's eyes lit up: "So they were the ones pretending to be thugs?"
Geng Jianwu nodded: "That's right. These people are very clever. They deliberately cause trouble in the neighborhood every day, pretending to be newcomers surveying the area. That unlucky guy who got arrested back then only volunteered to join because some tough guys came along."
Jin Hong's face lit up with joy, and he slammed his hand on the table: "Now that we have this clue, I think Hu Decai should speak up. And this also proves that his relationship with Hou Laicai is not so simple."
Zhang Chongguang asked Geng Jianwu, "Old Geng, you said you found a gambling den, and Deputy Chief Jiang told you to keep an eye on it. Did you contact anyone?"
Geng Jianwu replied, "I have people keeping an eye on things. What? Are you going to make a move now?"
Jin Hong said, "The person who sabotaged the reset spring has been caught, but the mastermind is in that place. Is the person you found reliable?"
Geng Jianwu affirmed, "No problem. This is my friend's son. He used to go astray and got into trouble, which I helped settle. He usually helps me gather information, and I provide him with some supplies."
Jin Hong nodded: "Please go through the trouble again and ask him about the specifics of that courtyard, especially whether a guy called Brother Leopard is there tonight."
Geng Jianwu replied, "Okay, twenty minutes will be enough."
Zhang Chongguang said, "I'll go with you."
After the two left, Jiang Zhenghua said to Jin Hong, "Deputy Director Jin, could we request a portrait artist to create a sketch of this 'Brother Leopard' to make it easier to find him?"
"I'll call the city police station right now and ask them to send a portrait artist over."
After saying that, Jin Hong asked seriously, "Should we clean up all those filthy places tonight?"
Jiang Zhenghua pondered for a moment and said, "We must act. We didn't hide when we arrested Tu Shan this afternoon. If the news spreads quickly, these people might go into hiding temporarily."
"Then I'll report to the director and request reinforcements. The number of people we have isn't enough."
Cheng Mingli also stood up and said, "Deputy Director Jin, Chief of Staff Yu, Deputy Chief of Staff Jiang, I'm taking people back to the factory now to ensure its safety."
Jin Hong nodded: "Let's stay in touch and keep each other informed of any developments."
Jiang Zhenghua and Yu Yong saw off the security personnel.
Jin Hong walked out of the director's office: "The portrait artist will be here in half an hour. The director has already approved the operation. He will be in charge of the cleanup operations at the other locations. We'll take care of that location. Once we're ready, we'll move in from both sides simultaneously."
Jiang Zhenghua pondered for a moment and said, "That's good too. It will keep the other side from figuring out where those people are being watched, and it will also confuse them into thinking it's just a routine security check. It will also make things easier for us."
Jin Hong said, "That's what Director Yang meant too."
Jiang Zhenghua said, "Deputy Director Jin, I think it's about time to conduct the first interrogation of Hu Decai. Delaying it any longer might backfire and cause him to develop a confrontational mentality out of extreme fear."
Jin Hong nodded: "You seize the opportunity in this matter and go ahead with the investigation. I'll handle the rest."
Jiang Zhenghua said to Chen Junsheng, who was standing to the side, "Get ready, we're going to interrogate him."
Chen Junsheng responded, "Yes."
A moment later, Jiang Zhenghua walked out of the conference room carrying an enamel mug.
Chen Junsheng stood at the office door with a notebook in his hand, while Liu Baojia stood beside him with a smile on his face.
Jiang Zhenghua asked in surprise, "You've finished eating?"
Liu Baojia nodded: "I've already eaten. Deputy Director Jiang, I'd like to learn from you, is that alright?"
Jiang Zhenghua nodded: "Then let's go together."
You'll Also Like
-
I have too many anime girlfriends!
Chapter 71 12 minute ago -
The Three Kingdoms: Home Travel
Chapter 132 12 minute ago -
Resources are monopolized, what can I do about my unlimited access card?
Chapter 114 12 minute ago -
Era: Starting from the local police station
Chapter 72 12 minute ago -
Courtyard House: The Cultivation System Takes Me Flying
Chapter 180 12 minute ago -
Courtyard House: I Rely on Time-Space Trade to Build a Nation
Chapter 195 12 minute ago -
The dating reality show host just wanted to give up, but the rich girl fell for him.
Chapter 70 1 days ago -
Courtyard House: Starting as an eighth-grade worker, with too many wives.
Chapter 117 1 days ago -
Courtyard House: My Time Travel is a Bit Too Strong
Chapter 323 1 days ago -
Siheyuan: Reborn Silly Pillar, Taking Control of the Entire Courtyard
Chapter 92 1 days ago