Era: Starting from the local police station

The three arrived outside the first interrogation room.

Seeing this, the police officer at the door got up and helped push open the door.

Jiang Zhenghua was the first to step inside.

Hu Decai, who had been sitting in the interrogation chair with his head drooping, suddenly raised his head and looked towards the door after hearing the noise.

At this moment, Hu Decai was completely devoid of the energy he had in the morning.

His eyes were bloodshot, his face was weary, and his lips were chapped.

Upon seeing the three people enter, his eyes held a mixture of resentment, frustration, and even a hint of relief.

Jiang Zhenghua saw his condition, and the timing was perfect.

He slammed the teacup he was holding onto the table, reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it for himself.

Chen Junsheng pulled out a chair, sat down, opened his notebook, and pulled out a pen from his breast pocket, ready to take notes at any time.

Liu Baojia sat down to the side, crossed his arms, and stared intently at Hu Decai.

Jiang Zhenghua exhaled a puff of smoke: "Hu Decai, I'm sorry."

But there was not a trace of apology on his face, which made Hu Decai's lips twitch.

He continued, "It's not that I deliberately ignored you, I was just quite busy this afternoon, busy catching the murderer of the driver, and I forgot about your matter."

He deliberately emphasized the words "murdered the driver".

Upon hearing this, Hu Decai's expression changed, and his eyes showed a renewed sense of fear and suspicion, his gaze flickering.

Jiang Zhenghua asked softly, "After these past few hours of consideration, have you made up your mind?"

Hu Decai exhaled a breath of stale air, straightened his body, and forced himself to be energetic. His voice was dry and hoarse: "What do you expect me to think? I don't know why you arrested me. When I get out, I will definitely report you to my superiors and expose your abuse of power, your wrongful detention of workers, and your attempt to sabotage socialist construction."

Jiang Zhenghua shook his head and sighed, "It seems you really are stubborn. Tell me, do you know Gu Youliang?"

Hu Decai was taken aback, seemingly not expecting him to ask this, but he quickly recovered and nodded: "I know him, we're both workers in the same factory."

How much do you know about him?

"I only know him, I'm not very familiar with him. There are several thousand people in our factory. I'm a staff member in the personnel department, and he's a driver in the transportation team. How could I know much about him? I've only met him a few times."

Jiang Zhenghua gave a soft "Oh," and then said, "Then tell me what you know about him."

"I heard that he has an eldest son who is chronically ill and often needs to go to the hospital for treatment. I heard from my coworkers that he is a very loyal person and often covers night shifts for them."

"I heard he has a wide range of interests and a pretty good alcohol tolerance; you can't even outdrink him?"

Hu Decai scoffed, "Tch, he's such a boring guy. He's only interested in money; he doesn't care about anything else. Besides, he doesn't even drink..."

He abruptly shut his mouth, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Jiang Zhenghua sneered, "Why did you stop talking? Didn't you say you weren't familiar with each other? You know his hobbies and drinking capacity perfectly well, isn't that familiar?"

Hu Decai hung his head and remained silent.

Do you know how he died?

Before Hu Decai could answer, Jiang Zhenghua continued, "A complete stranger damaged the return spring in his brake drum, causing the brakes to fail on the cliff edge, and he was thrown off, leaving no trace of his body."

"That's not the worst part. The worst part is that the other party felt that damaging the return spring wasn't enough, so they added alcohol to the hydraulic fluid in the master cylinder, damaging the braking system. Do you understand what that means?"

When Jiang Zhenghua said his last sentence, he suddenly raised his voice.

The shout startled Chen Junsheng, who was taking notes. The pen tip slammed into the notebook, making a hole in it.

Hu Decai, who had been looking down, suddenly tensed up, clenched his fists tightly, and turned white from the excessive force.

The interrogation room fell silent instantly, with only Hu Decai's heavy breathing.

Jiang Zhenghua continued, "I think you understand why now. Those people didn't leave him any way out; they were determined to kill him. Tell me, how about I let you go back now?"

"No...don't..."

Hu Decai suddenly raised his head, then immediately lowered it again, his face contorted.

Jiang Zhenghua rebuked in a deep voice: "Hmph... You don't want to? If you don't say anything now, why should we lock you up? Haven't you been clamoring to file a complaint?"

Hu Decai's face showed struggle; he tried to speak several times, but no sound came out.

Jiang Zhenghua's lips curled slightly: "Do you know who the murderer is?"

Hu Decai tilted his head, clearly wanting to hear clearly.

Jiang Zhenghua said, "He was a gambling addict. He used to be an excellent employee in the factory, but after being dragged into playing cards a few times, he fell into a trap and incurred huge debts from loan sharks. The person used this to blackmail him, demanding that he damage his car or else he would sell his nephew and niece, his sister-in-law, and a lover."

Hu Decai suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Jiang Zhenghua.

Jiang Zhenghua said with a serious expression, "Tell me, what if that person offered those thugs and beggars unimaginably high prices..."

He paused briefly, then said, slowly and deliberately, "She's a widow, can she protect herself?"

Hu Decai's expression changed, and he immediately closed his eyes, his face full of pain.

For the next few minutes, no one spoke in the interrogation room; the air seemed to grow quiet.

Hu Decai suddenly opened his eyes, his voice hoarse: "Give me a cigarette, and I want some water."

Jiang Zhenghua gestured to Liu Baojia with his lips: "Go pour me a glass of water."

Liu Baojia responded and quickly walked outside.

Jiang Zhenghua took out a cigarette from his pocket, put it in Hu Decai's mouth, and lit it for him with a match.

Soon, Liu Baojia came in carrying an enamel mug and handed it to Hu Decai.

Jiang Zhenghua sat down again at the interrogation table: "Name."

"Hu Decai, male, 30 years old, from Wanshou Village, Hongxing Town, Nanyuan District, Beijing, comes from a poor peasant family."

Hu Decai cooperated very well.

Seeing his cooperation, Jiang Zhenghua and the other two felt relieved.

Chen Junsheng's pen moved a little faster as he took notes.

"I confessed voluntarily. Starting in early 1957, I colluded with Hou Laicai and used our positions to subcontract all the temporary workers in the factory to Hou Laicai. Each time, Hou Laicai would deduct 20% from their wages as a referral fee, and I would take 40% as a kickback."

"You must have investigated me. I'm so afraid of being poor that I never want to live a life where I don't know where my next meal will come from again; I don't want to be looked down upon anymore, and I can't even keep the woman I love."

At this point, Hu Decai's face contorted with rage: "I'm really not happy about this. Why do city people eat dry food every day? We work in the fields all day long, growing large amounts of grain, but in the end, we can't even get enough to drink and have to rely on wild vegetables to fill our stomachs."

He took a deep drag on his cigarette and threw the butt on the ground. "I know you look down on me. I actually married a widow eight years my senior, and she had a seventeen-year-old son when I was thirty. But... but do you know what? The day I picked up a mother and son at the Fangshan Restaurant in Beihai Park, they said they ate a whole table of food. Do you know how much it cost? It was a full seventy yuan! That's two months' wages for a first-class fitter, money I couldn't earn even after three months of hard work pedaling a tricycle. At that moment, I felt despair about life and the future."

Jiang Zhenghua asked, "That woman must be Tan Xiu, right?"

Hu Decai nodded: "I just didn't expect that she would ask me to pick her up the next day and accompany her to collect rent at the shop. I asked her why she didn't have her man come with her, and that's when I found out that she was a widow."

Chen Junsheng looked up and asked, "So you got the wrong idea?"

Hu Decai scoffed: "If it were you, marrying a beautiful and charming woman and going from a lowly landowner to a rich man, would you be willing? Going from a peasant who could be sent back to the village at any moment to becoming a member of the working class, would you do it?"

Chen Junsheng's expression froze.

"At the time, it was just a fantasy. But I never expected the opportunity to come. One day, I was passing by and saw her being bullied by thugs, so I went to help her and was seriously injured myself."

A smug look appeared on Hu Decai's face: "She took meticulous care of me at my bedside every day, and I felt a strange burning in her eyes when she looked at me. So when she asked me why I was there, I lied and said that I couldn't forget her, so I had been following her."

He picked up his enamel mug and took a sip of water: "As for what happened later, you all know. I married her, successfully moved from the countryside to the city, and even got a government-subsidized grain ration. I became the pride of my family, a capable person envied by everyone in the village, and no longer had to worry about going hungry."

Chen Junsheng asked, "You've already achieved the life you wanted, so why do those other things? Isn't it better to just live a good life?"

Hu Decai seemed to be muttering to himself, or perhaps asking, "Yeah, isn't it better to just live a good life? But how did I end up like this?"

He sighed and continued, "It must be the dissatisfaction in his heart, or maybe it's because he saw her with tears in her eyes that day."

Jiang Zhenghua asked, "Shouldn't she be Diao Cuihua?"

Hu Decai nodded emphatically: "That's right. It's all because of her. My life has completely changed. We were mutually attracted to each other, but her parents insisted on marrying her off to a city man, simply because her younger brother needed a dowry for his wedding. Do you know how much that is?"

His face was a mixture of bitterness and resentment, tinged with self-mockery: "Thirty thousand old bills, now they're only worth three yuan. Isn't that ridiculous? I can easily earn that in a day now. But back then it was an astronomical sum for me. I could only watch helplessly as she was married off to a city man for that little bit of money."

How did you two meet?

"It was probably around June. I had just started working at the machine factory. That day, in order to please Tan Xiu, I went to a jewelry store to buy her some jewelry. I ran into Diao Cuihua there. She was coming out of the pharmacy, but she didn't see me. I was afraid to see her, afraid that I would not be able to resist rekindling my old feelings and would feel sorry for my wife. So I secretly followed her to see how she was doing."

"Isn't it because you're afraid she'll find out you're rich and start bothering you?"

Hu Decai was taken aback, then smiled bitterly and said, "Maybe. I went with her to the tenement and saw her mother-in-law pointing her finger at her and cursing, while her husband stood by silently. I felt a tightness in my chest at that moment."

"And then?"

"Later, I couldn't hold back anymore. The deep longing that penetrated to my bones was so intense that it made my heart ache, and I thought about her all the time. That day, I deliberately changed into a set of old and worn-out clothes and pretended to be passing by, walking past her not far away."

A smile appeared on Hu Decai's face, like that of a boy experiencing his first love, tinged with sweetness: "Even though we hadn't seen each other for a long time, she recognized me at a glance and quickly caught up with me. There wasn't a trace of disgust in her eyes, nor the slightest hesitation; she threw herself into my arms. You know what? At that moment, I felt like the happiest person in the world. From the moment she said those words, I knew that I could never let go of her for the rest of my life."

He said softly, "She said, 'Ever since I left, I've been dreaming of bumping into you on the streets of Beijing, even just to see you one more time. Heaven has been kind to her; it finally heard her prayer and granted her wish.'"

Jiang Zhenghua frowned: "How did you know she would pass by there?"

"I followed her twice and found that her mother-in-law was in poor health and often got medicine from the old pharmacy on that street."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded: "From then on, you thought about rekindling your past relationship, and that's how you murdered Wang Jiansheng?"

Hu Decai shook his head repeatedly: "I didn't murder him, it was an accident. It's true that we rekindled our relationship. I told her about my situation, and she was so understanding. She told me to live a good life, and that she would be content as long as we could see each other from time to time. I thought I'd leave it at that for now and try to help her improve her life. But I never expected that Wang Jiansheng would have an accident so soon after. I also thought about divorcing my husband and living with him, but she refused. She said she couldn't let Wang Jiansheng down, and that she had to raise the children and support her elderly parents."

He asked, "Tell me, what man wouldn't like a woman like that?"

Jiang Zhenghua stared intently at him: "So, you orchestrated an accident involving Wang Jian?"

Hu Decai shook his head decisively: "I really didn't do it."

Jiang Zhenghua changed the subject: "Then tell me, what exactly was pulled out of the factory?"

Hu Decai gave a wry smile, looked up at the three men, and said, "Would you believe me if I said I didn't know?"

Liu Baojia glared at him.

Chen Junsheng also stopped writing, his eyes looking at him with an expression that said, "Do you think we're fools?"

Jiang Zhenghua remained expressionless, simply watching him quietly.

Hu Decai sighed and said in a deep voice, "If you had asked me before, I would have definitely answered that it was scrap metal. But after I was taken into custody today, and after hearing you say that Hou Laicai was killed and Gu Youliang had an accident, I also feel that something is wrong."

He paused for a moment and then explained, "After Wang Jiansheng's accident, Qi Ronggen was in charge of handling the incident. Out of curiosity, I asked him about the cause of the accident, and that's how we became acquainted."

"So, he's the one who dragged you into this?"

Hu Decai nodded emphatically: "After that, he would invite me for drinks from time to time. At the time, I thought he wanted to get to know my wife and my father-in-law through me. After all, they were the investors, and many of the middle managers in the factory were their former subordinates, so they still had a certain influence in the factory. After we had been dating for a while, one time I got drunk, and when I woke up, there was a woman lying next to me. I was completely dumbfounded."

His face was full of bitterness.

"Did he use this to blackmail you?"

Hu Decai nodded: "You know my situation. If this gets to Tan Xiu's ears, everything will be over."

"So what are his demands?"

"He told me to find a few reliable people, and that I didn't need to do anything else. All I had to do was stay quiet and not say a word when cleaning up the trash at night, no matter what happened. He promised me a certain share of the profits every month. He pulled out a lot of cash notes right then and there. I'd never seen anything like that before. Plus, he had something on me, so I... I gave in."

After Hu Decai finished speaking, he lowered his head deeply.

Chen Junsheng said coldly, "Aren't you afraid they'll steal important assets from the factory?"

"I asked him about it at the time, and he told me that he was just stealing some scrap materials to sell. He also told me not to worry, that his brother-in-law had already come up with a plan to smooth over the books so that no one would find out. I also secretly observed him several times and found that each time it was not a large item, but a sack of things, which he claimed was workshop garbage. The temporary workers would not touch it."

"And what about Hou Laicai?"

Hu Decai explained, "Hou Laicai was someone I knew before. He asked me how to become a smuggler and what precautions to take, and I told him everything. He even treated me to a meal. After the smuggling operation had been going on for a while and I saw that nothing was wrong, I relaxed my guard, but I was still a little uneasy, worried that the temporary workers might cause trouble. That day, I ran into Hou Laicai, and he invited me to dinner. During the meal, he asked if I could help him out. I thought that if I had a permanent person to manage the temporary workers, the chances of being discovered would be much smaller, so I suggested that from now on, if I needed anything, I should let him find someone, and he would oversee the work. He agreed on the spot. And this guy is quite good at dealing with people; he directly took 30% of the temporary workers' wages and let us split it together, guaranteeing that it was all willingly given by the workers and there would be absolutely no problem, so I acquiesced."

"So, when Diao Cuihua was transferred to a different post, you were in charge of all the supplies at the end of 1956?"

Hu Decai nodded emphatically: "I contacted Qi Ronggen and asked him to ask Director Wang for help in handling it."

"Weren't you ever curious enough to open the sack?"

"I also wanted to go and find out what was going on, but there were guards watching every time they loaded the trucks, so I never had a chance."

Jiang Zhenghua asked in a deep voice, "Whose idea was it, yours or Hou Laicai's, to have the villagers pretend to be thugs and stage a hero-saves-the-damsel-in-distress scene?"

Hu Decai's expression froze for a moment: "I didn't expect you to know even this?"

"We know far more than you think, so we advise you to honestly confess your problems."

Hu Decai sighed: "It was Hou Laicai's idea. He said that's how it's portrayed in plays, and women love it, so he found someone to act out that scene with me."

"Where did Hou Laicai live before? Whose idea was it to put him in the tenement?"

"He used to live in the same courtyard as me, in the Xicheng District. As for moving into the tenement, it was purely coincidental. It seems that the son of the previous family came back, and the house was no longer rented out. He mentioned this when he was delivering things for a customer, and the customer introduced him to the current landlord. By the time I found out, he had already moved in and even had Diao Cuihua help clean the house."

Jiang Zhenghua frowned and said, "He doesn't know about your relationship with Diao Cuihua?"

Hu Decai nodded emphatically: "We never said that. Ever since he moved in, I've kept my distance from Diao Cuihua whenever we meet."

When was the last time you saw Hou Laicai?

"It must have been around noon on the 3rd when he came to the factory to find me and asked when we needed people."

After Hu Decai finished speaking, he paused briefly: "It was originally agreed that the factory would need a lot of temporary workers for this machine relocation. But for some reason, the section chief assigned the task to two other people, and I didn't have any openings."

"Did Hou Laicai behave any differently than usual at that time? Or did he say anything to you?"

Hu Decai lowered his head and recalled for a moment before slowly speaking: "He didn't say anything at the time, but he was a little disappointed when he found out there were no spots available. However, he did act a little strangely at the time, he kept hesitating to speak, but when I asked him what was wrong, he said it was nothing serious, just that he wasn't feeling well."

"He didn't mention the burlap sack to you?"

"He mentioned it. Every now and then, he would ask if it was really garbage inside. I naturally said yes, it was just some stuff that needed special handling, containing some chemicals, and he specifically told me not to touch it, otherwise I wouldn't get any more work."

Did Diao Cuihua know the details of this matter?

Hu Decai shook his head: "I didn't mention this to her."

"Who in the factory was involved?"

Hu Decai said, "The people I know are Qi Ronggen, the deputy leader of the guard group; Hu Youshan, the security guard; Gu Youliang, the truck driver; Deng Hui, the warehouse manager; and Wang Zhi, the head of the logistics department."

"Where have the goods been sold?"

Hu Decai shook his head: "I really don't know. I was only responsible for finding the cleaners. Qi Ronggen handled everything else."

Jiang Zhenghua then asked some more questions about the details before having Hu Decai sign and put his fingerprint on the document, thus ending the questioning.