Chapter 47

Qin Hengzhi looked at Lu Qiaoge without changing his expression, then said in a deep voice: "Although the households whose chickens and ducks were stolen are somewhat scattered, look..."

Qin Hengzhi raised his hand and pointed to those households they just mentioned one by one.

Then he pointed to the small alley directly in front: "Whether it's a single person or multiple people, as long as they run into this small alley, they basically lose their traces."

Lu Qiaoge looked at Qin Hengzhi in surprise.

Entering this alley, passing through a house with gates on both the north and south sides at the very end, was Chen Xiangqian's house that the gray pigeon mentioned.

Qin Hengzhi was truly smart.

She got the news from the gray pigeon and took a shortcut, but Qin Hengzhi analyzed it himself.

Officer Li nodded and said: "That's exactly it. We just went to see it. Although the footprints were messy, as long as they ran into the alley, no one could catch them."

That alley twisted and turned, and even looking at it made one dizzy.

Qin Hengzhi added: "There must be a household in the alley with gates on both sides. That door should be on the other side. Going out from the north gate most likely leads to the area where the stolen goods are hidden..."

Jiangcheng was a northern city. Initially, the population here was sparse. More than a hundred years ago, after the people who came here to reclaim wasteland settled down, the irregular street layout was gradually formed.

After the railway, the roads and buildings followed the railway. Looking from the air, it was radial. Except for the standard south-facing pattern of the tube buildings built after the founding of the country, the old houses had all kinds of orientations.

Qin Hengzhi was right; going out from the north gate was likely a road leading to the East 41st District.

And at this time, Qin Hengzhi had already gone to chase the team.

For some reason, Qin Hengzhi had an intuition that with Lu Qiaoge there, they should be able to accurately find the place where the stolen goods were hidden.

This chicken and duck theft case would be broken very smoothly!

The facts were indeed so.

Lu Qiaoge stood by the wall and pointed to the chicken feathers stuck to the wall: "Look here, the bag definitely wasn't tied tightly, and the chickens ran out. But after catching them back into the bag, the thief didn't care. Last night's rainstorm was so big, whether it was human footprints or chicken claw prints, they were all washed away by the heavy rain. But actually, it's not so. Many things, as long as they have been done, will definitely leave traces."

Officer Li nodded in agreement and praised Lu Qiaoge: "Comrade Lu observes meticulously, very good."

He also really wanted to say that she was a good seedling for criminal investigation, but now...

Saying it was useless.

Soon, a few people arrived at the area where Chen Xiangqian lived.

Although Lu Qiaoge didn't know which household he lived in, the gray pigeon told her just now that Chen Xiangqian's house was at the very north, leaning against the wall, and there was a cherry tree in the courtyard.

This season was the season when cherries in the north were ripe. Lu Qiaoge was distracted and thought she should find an opportunity to go to Guzi Village.

She remembered that many families in Guzi Village had cherry trees.

The clues seemed to disappear here.

This area was relatively high, and even if there were any traces, they were washed away by the rain.

Lu Qiaoge pointed to the Chen family courtyard: "Look at that cherry tree, isn't there a chicken feather on it?"

Officer Li squinted his eyes. From so far away, how did Comrade Lu see it?

This eyesight was too good.

Shao Le walked a few steps forward and said boldly: "Whether there is or not, is it okay to knock on the door to understand the situation?"

It was definitely okay; they had asked several households along the way.

They all said they didn't hear any strange movement last night.

They didn't see any strange people in the morning either.

Thus, the group walked toward Chen Xiangqian's house.

Just as the Chen family door was pushed open, two young men walked out from inside, shoulders hooked.

Seeing Officer Liu and Shao Le, they didn't react much, but seeing Officer Li, they were terrified. One ran toward the courtyard, and one ran toward the east of the road.

There was no need to ask; those who turned and ran upon seeing the police were definitely guilty.

Officer Liu was a retired soldier and could work at the security station, so his skills were definitely good. He stepped forward and grabbed the young man running east. Officer Li kicked open the courtyard door that had been closed again. He said to Lu Qiaoge: "You go call Officer Zhu and the others."

Lu Qiaoge didn't show off her strength either. She just glanced at it and felt relieved.

There were no desperate criminals, so Officer Li and the others wouldn't be in danger. Besides, Officer Li had a gun; the black weapon was brought out, and more than a dozen hoodlums all squatted down holding their heads in panic.

Shao Le's face was flushed with excitement. He stood beside Officer Liu and shouted like a fox borrowing a tiger's might: "No one is allowed to move!"

Lu Qiaoge called the other two police officers who were still investigating at the scene in the shortest possible time.

Then more than a hundred chickens and ducks were searched out from the Chen family's cellar.

These people were more timid than Lu Qiaoge thought; they didn't dare to eat even one.

Lu Qiaoge analyzed that since they didn't dare to eat, they should have wanted to sell them to the black market.

The legendary black market of the era, she should find an opportunity to see it.

After all, this was also within her scope of responsibility.

The matter here was resolved. Officer Liu had to go to the police station, and she and Shao Le naturally had to return to the unit.

Incidentally, notify the residents that they could go to the police station to claim the chickens and ducks their families lost.

The residents were happy, but some were cursing. This area of bungalows was not small, and they could raise three or five chickens and ducks to improve their lives.

The old people who raised old hens said that after being so frightened, the old hens might not lay eggs anymore.

These bastards, hurry back to the countryside to farm and don't harm the city.

Saying so was also no problem.

But now, the number of unemployed youth registered had exceeded one thousand. Even in this era, the employment situation was very severe.

This problem, without expanding employment positions, was basically unsolvable.

The morning's work was considered successfully completed, but after Lu Qiaoge and Shao Le arrived at the unit, they couldn't report their work.

At this time, it was almost time to get off work. The neighborhood cadres who went down to investigate had all returned, and several neighborhood committees also came to report their work to the director.

There were more people than usual.

But at this time, everyone wasn't in the office but gathered in the courtyard.

A woman in her thirties with a tear-stained face stood in front of a man who was about the same age but had a gloomy face, roaring hysterically.

"Thirty-six yuan and eighty-nine cents, eighteen jin of food coupons, one jin of meat coupon. Ding Zichuan, you not only hit me but also scolded me for a month. I swore to you, I didn't see this salary. You didn't hand it to me at all, let alone give my mom a cent. On the contrary, my mom knew that month's salary was lost and even gave me ten yuan. But you, you ran to my house and made a big scene, saying my mom spent your salary, and saying something like 'wool comes from the sheep.' My mom's health was already poor, and she was angered until she was bedridden. But you, Ding Zichuan, told people that my mom was guilty, was guilty, and felt sorry for you, so she fell ill..."

Lu Qiaoge immediately understood. The money and food coupons tucked in the book "How the Steel Was Tempered"—the owner had come to find them.

Logically speaking, finding what was lost should be a happy thing.

But what was this situation?

(End of chapter)