Chapter 783

After chatting about random nonsense for over twenty minutes, they had become quite familiar. Wang Yan took a sip of tea and began the main topic.

"Grandpa, Big Brother, you all know that I came over today just to learn a bit more about Zhao Zhendong's situation."

Wang Yan looked at everyone in the old Zhao family with a smile, wanting to see if he could spot anything different on their faces. After looking around, there was nothing unusual; everyone showed varying degrees of sighing and disgust. Unless he asked the key questions, he wouldn't be able to see much.

Zhao Zhenye sighed and nodded: "Yes, I've heard from people in the village too that Officer Wang has been investigating Zhendong's case recently. Ask whatever you want to know; we will definitely cooperate."

"Yes, Officer Wang, I was twenty back then, and I was the one who rode the motorcycle to take my dad to the police station," Zhao Weiguang said, nodding from the side.

"Alright, then let's talk about June 14th, 2008. How did you discover that Zhao Zhendong was missing?"

"It was rare for him to be missing for a whole day. He had plenty of drinking buddies, but those people had families and jobs; even if he drank himself to death, no one would take him in. Even if he went out to find a prostitute, they wouldn't let him stay the night. Besides, I told the police who came before, there was a typhoon those few days, and it would rain whenever it felt like it. In weather like that, you tell me, could he be missing for two days?"

"The next day, I went to check his house, and the roof was leaking. Weiguang and I fixed the roof together. When noon came and we still didn't see him return, we felt something was wrong and rushed to the police station to report it. The police came over, looked around, and then left without searching for anyone. It's not like two years ago; they know all about these things..."

"Officer Wang, you know as much as I do. Every time they set up this special task force, they come and ask you once. When you're alone, you often ponder it too. If there were any situation, I would have told them long ago. Although Zhendong wasn't doing honest work, he was my own brother after all, and I have to look out for him. If not, how would I answer to Mom and Dad when you go down there? That Zhendong..."

Listening to Long Qiangyu's rambling, Long Qiang nodded. Those accounts didn't differ from what was recorded in the case files; they were basically the same. It was just that there was a typhoon, it kept raining, they got suspicious when they didn't see him, and then they went to report it.

The depression on Zhao Weiguang's face froze, his eyes lost their luster, but he didn't speak.

Xia Jie smiled: "Tell me your thoughts."

"Let's see if it's the crime scene."

"If I had evidence, I would have made an arrest already. Both of us would have earned a Third-Class Merit." Xia Jie shook his head with a wry smile, "It's just that while chatting, I felt they were a bit unnatural and guarded. That is not a normal thing."

Zhao Wei stopped abruptly, looking at Xia Jie in disbelief, because it seemed to really make sense. She shook her head repeatedly, "You're not counting that, are you? I don't believe your intuition, and while this guess seems reasonable, the leadership certainly wouldn't agree with your theory. Besides, ten years have passed. Even if they did it, we can't produce any evidence. The bloody clothes, the murder weapon, etc., must have been disposed of by them long ago, and the crime scene must have been covered up. We have no way to prosecute them. And if it really is like that, then Dongning Village deserved to die, didn't he? That was his own niece..."

"You, let me tell you, you can't bully Zhao Wei. Otherwise, watch how I deal with you."

"Fine, then I'll find them and hold a small meeting to arrange the tasks."

Hard work pays off. It was almost evening when Xia Jie finally had a breakthrough at the home of a man in his seventies.

Moreover, Long Qiangyu's psychological defense wouldn't be that high. Basically, as long as his criminal motive and criminal behavior were proven, he would confess everything himself, taking all the blame on his own shoulders so it wouldn't affect Wang Yanguang.

Wang Suozhang hummed with dissatisfaction, carrying a hint of arrogance. His apprentice, who was now a branch bureau chief, was becoming more and more assertive. Ever since Xia Jie arrived, Director Song hadn't acted like a rebellious disciple again, which was quite comfortable...

"I know. But now that your deduction has become reality, I just can't help but think, you said how helpless Wang Yanhong must have been back then?"

Leaving the old man's house, Long Qiang remained silent, his mood not high. The old man didn't know what they were doing, so naturally, there was no reason for him to lie. The old man was also sharp-witted, spoke clearly, and what he said was certainly credible. It seemed that Xia Jie's speculation and deduction were becoming reality.

Amidst the flattery from Long Qiang and the others, without using Gao Chao to make the call, Wang Suozhang took action himself and called Captain Luo with a single phone call.

It was already past 8:00 PM when they returned to the police station. Xia Jie and the other newcomers, along with the two station leaders Zhao Zhendong and Gao Chao, re-examined the case and reported the day's investigation results.

"It's the same feeling I had when I ruled out Zhao Weihong. If there were abnormal behavioral manifestations, do you think their family could have avoided three investigations? I feel that Wang Yanhong is a bit off. I suspect she might have had an abortion. This is just like how I can identify drug users; I'm very confident. But she denied it and denied ever having a boyfriend. I feel there must be something going on in there..."

Although the previous task force might have swept through it several times, to be honest, everyone had focused their attention on Zhao Weihong. Even if they had investigated this place, how serious could they have been? People get complacent and relax. Besides, the body was discovered two years later, and by then, the house had already been rented out. Do you think the comrades at the time would have been very thorough?

"We also found a female classmate of hers from high school who was quite close to her. According to her, Wang Yanhong once took three days of sick leave in late May, and her complexion wasn't good after she returned. We also found another good friend of Wang Yanhong's from high school. Without our prior prompting, she also said that Wang Yanhong had taken leave at that time. Brother Yan, it all matches up."

Xia Jie smiled and praised the old man for his good memory and filial piety, while criticizing today's young people for being unable to remember anything. He took out his phone, opened the calendar app, and checked which day it was. The old man must have been speaking in terms of the lunar calendar.

Moreover, from another perspective, Long Qiangyu certainly wouldn't be sentenced to death; at most, he would just go in and sit for a few years in exchange for a future life of peace for the family. In the eyes of an outsider like Xia Jie, it was actually worth it for their family. Otherwise, if the case remained unsolved, a task force would be pulled out to investigate every year or two, and their mental pressure would be immense...

"Yes, Grandpa, I know everything you said. I'm just holding onto hope, thinking that if you happened to remember something, this case that has been dragging on for nine years might just be solved."

Zhao Zhendong went to run around the hospitals to check if there were any abortion records for Wang Yanhong in the city or province. Although he didn't hold much hope, it had to be checked. Only when it was confirmed that there really weren't any would it truly be confirmed.

Perhaps this family had hidden it very well, escaping the investigation of veteran police officers for years. But Xia Jie could be certain that the Long Qiangyu family and Dongning Village definitely had some issues. Even if it wasn't Wang Shouyi who killed him, he definitely knew the inside story. Combined with the fact that Wang Yanhong had an abortion years ago and denied having a boyfriend, Xia Jie had to consider the direction of disgusting, sinister human nature...

Zhao Wei let out a long sigh. She understood the logic, but she just felt very helpless. If everything was true, she just felt uncomfortable in her heart.

Wang Yanguang laughed out loud: "Young people these days, those who are dating are never single, changing boyfriends and girlfriends so frequently. But those who aren't dating stay single forever. This sister of mine really worries our family."

"As for the issue of Wang Yanhong's reputation, we don't need to worry. The presiding judge will naturally have considerations. Human hearts are made of flesh; they will definitely protect the victim."

Smiling, Long Qiang asked, "Sister Weihong is twenty-eight this year, right? Our family's conditions aren't bad, so why have you been single all this time? Haven't you met anyone you liked over these years?"

"You pitying Wang Yanhong now is useless to her, and it also affects your own mood. What's most critical? It's that this feeling of yours is destined not to last long. In a few months, you might even forget a person like Wang Yanhong. You're just looking for trouble for yourself now. Think more openly. If you can handle a matter, handle it; if you can't, don't dwell on it."

Long Qiang said: "Now we have obtained the same time frame from two aspects. If we widen the time range, that is in mid-to-late May of 2004. In those half a month, Wang Yanhong once had five consecutive days of rest, and disappeared for two days along with Wang Shouyi and Kong Liping. And after Wang Yanhong returned to school for classes, her physical and mental state were both not good."

Proving this point would allow them to report the news to the criminal police team, and immediately over a dozen people would be mobilized.

Also considering Dongning Village's bad behavior in the past, Wang Shouyi, as the older brother, couldn't bear it anymore and directly killed the person. It could be considered cleaning up the family's reputation, keeping the family clean, and preserving Wang Yanhong's reputation. No matter how you think about it, Dongning Village deserved to die...

"How is it?"

"If it's like this, then I think they definitely wouldn't do it in a public hospital, as there would be records. It's more likely to be in a private clinic with better conditions, or they might even go to a hospital in another city. With the few people we have at our station, it's not easy to investigate. And... are you confident?"

Zhao Wei greeted the director and turned to leave. Xia Jie lit a cigarette and accompanied him to smoke.

"Regarding the Dongning Village case, we finished visiting Xincheng Aofu this afternoon. Seeing that it was still early, I went to Ping'an to find Wang Shouyi to understand the situation..."

"Even if it's prosecuted, think about it. Wang Yanhong is twenty-eight years old, and according to what you said, she's quite pretty. Why hasn't she found a partner? Is it because she has trauma? If it's prosecuted, it must be public. Even if all the crimes are pinned on Wang Shouyi, Wang Yanhong's innocence won't be preserved. How will she face people in the future?"

Xia Jie nodded: "That's for sure. We don't have that authority either. But if it really turns out to be as I deduced, we must talk about the credit, Director. I don't really care, but you have to fight for Long Qiang and the others. Today's work might be insignificant, but it's a cold case of a murder that hasn't been solved for nine years. If the commendation comes down, it must reduce their internship period. Director Song can decide this. We are all excellent young police officers; the sooner we become regular, the sooner we can enforce the law, and the sooner we can contribute our youthful strength."

Regarding the Long Qiangyu case and Wang Yanhong's encounter, Xia Jie naturally felt pity. It's just that, as he said, he is now a law enforcer, and the rules are written clearly there. If he hadn't discovered it, that would be one thing, but having discovered it, he wouldn't help cover it up.

"Some personal likes and dislikes will affect your stance, and ultimately affect your judgment."

"Grandpa, do you remember when Grandma's birthday is?"

"Zhao Weiguang, Li Dawei, Yang Shu, you three form a group and find Wang Yanhong's former head teacher and classmates to inquire from multiple sides. Pay attention to one thing: keep it confidential and try to scare them so they don't talk nonsense. Zhao Wei and I will go to Zhao Zhangyi to visit and confirm whether their family left home during that period. Any questions?"

For a head teacher, they might not remember when a student took leave, but they would generally remember the child whose grades suddenly dropped ten years ago for unknown reasons...

After exchanging a few polite words and declining the old Zhao family's warm invitation to stay, Xia Jie left the old Zhao family with Zhao Wei, who had remained silent the whole time.

Listening to Long Qiang rambling through the process and his personal speculation, Zhao Zhendong couldn't help but frown, "So you are now planning to make an issue out of Wang Yanhong's abortion?"

However, it wasn't that it didn't make sense. After all, this wasn't a good thing, and no one in the family would take the initiative to bring it up. But what made Xia Jie suspicious was the timing. He judged that Wang Yanhong's abortion was about ten years ago, and when was ten years ago? It was when Dongning Village went missing.

Xia Jie pulled the curtains, took out a purple light, and shone it on the floor, especially on the corners and bed legs.

"To conduct such a large-scale visit and screening, relying on you few certainly won't work. Our station can't spare that many police officers either. Arresting people is fine, but this kind of thing takes up too much police force. We still have to find the criminal police team. If we really solve it by our own efforts, Captain Luo's face won't look good either. His pressure is not small, and it's also good for our station."

"Let me explain." Xia Jie sat there like an old cadre, took a sip of tea, and said, "I am investigating the floating corpse case from nine years ago, which is the Dongning Village case. You have all flipped through the case files and understand the situation. After more than a month of visits and investigations, I personally judge that this matter was not done by the village chief Zhao Weihong. At present, I think the biggest suspect is Dongning Village's older brother, Wang Shouyi."

"Can't we admit to dating? If we two become a couple, it would be a fine story in our station. Director, you must support me; you can't sabotage it."

At the old Zhao family's place, they took revenge themselves. The legal provisions clearly wrote the consequences of murder, and they all knew it; otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to such great lengths. If they really did it, they had lived ten years of peaceful life.

Less than seventy minutes after hanging up the phone, Captain Luo arrived at the station with two subordinates. After listening to Long Qiang's re-analysis of the case and all the information currently mastered, confirming its credibility and authenticity, he said it was left to them before leaving in a hurry, and that night, he set up the task force once again.

After listening to Long Qiang's words, no one answered. Zhao Weiguang and the other three looked at each other. Finally, Zhao Weiguang couldn't help but ask: "Brother Yan, are we really investigating? If it's really as you analyzed, then this Dongning Village deserved to die. Then what are we investigating? And it's not certain we can find evidence to prosecute."

"Went to help the criminal police team arrest people. What's the matter?"

Li Dawei had never spoken up; he absolutely followed Xia Jie's command. And to be honest, he also felt pity and couldn't bear it, but the law was there. However, what matter could be more important than him establishing merit as a police officer?

"I don't think there's any problem, right? Their family looks quite good, and they are very cooperative with us. And I think their reactions are normal. After all, Dongning Village's reputation isn't good. If they weren't his own brothers, I feel they wouldn't even want to look at Dongning Village. Now that he's dead, they are actually relieved."

However, it was a pity that because of the passage of time, perhaps Wang Shouyi really did a good job. Xia Jie bent over and searched for a long time, but couldn't find anything unusual. Although he didn't have reagents, his eyesight was very good, yet he discovered nothing. It seemed he had wronged the previous task force members. Since that was the case, he could only dig up the ground, but obviously, he couldn't do that now.

"Now that we know enough, we won't disturb you anymore. Grandpa, Big Brother, if you remember anything, notify us immediately. This is my business card; my phone number and WeChat are on it. If there are any problems, feel free to find me. Civil, criminal, or even some legal matters, I can help you think of ways."

Following closely behind Long Qiang, they arrived at the house of the brothers Wang Shouyi and Dongning Village. Zhao Wei asked suspiciously: "Why are we coming here again?"

So, the saying goes, first impressions are hard to change. He was such an awesome player, yet he still had his attention diverted by that old guy Long Qiangyu...

"Yes, if it's proven that Wang Yanhong had an abortion back then, then it might really be as I guessed. Otherwise, such a coincidence can't be explained. And once this point is proven, we can report it to the branch bureau and reform the task force to investigate around the Long Qiangyu family."

"Big Brother is being too extreme. There are also many people who have been single for twenty-five or twenty-six years." Long Qiang shook his head and smiled, saying, "I came here this time to see if there are any new situations, and by the way, to learn about our family's situation. You also know that I am now specifically doing community work in Siwaihe, and your household registrations are all in Zhao Zhangyi, so I have to come and take a look no matter what."

Xia Jie smiled and raised his eyebrows at her, then turned and walked into Dongning Village's house. It was already dinner time, and the tenants were at home, which made it convenient for Long Qiang to do his work.

"This afternoon, Zhao Wei and I went to Wang Shouyi's house and chatted with their family... Everything I said is my personal speculation and hasn't been verified yet. Just now, I asked the director for instructions, and he asked you all to cooperate with me in the investigation."

Long Qiang turned his head abruptly, eyes wide: "So you mean, you think Dongning Village was killed by Wang Shouyi?"

"Back already." Zhao Zhendong was smoking by the flower bed again, smiling and saying nonsense.

"It had been raining overcast for those few days, and Dongning Village wasn't someone who was rushing to work or eating lunch, so there were few people active outside. Even if there were people who happened to meet him, they probably wouldn't have the heart to specifically remember it, just focusing on walking. Ten years ago, the roads in Zhao Zhangyi weren't the cement roads they are now. Once it rained, it was muddy, which wasn't easy to walk on."

And according to Wang Shouyi, on the day he reported the disappearance on June 17th, he went to Dongning Village's home and found no one, and the house was leaking. They only left after they finished repairing the roof. Combined with the time judgment, I think the crime scene was in Long Qiangyu's home, because... we might have to dig up the ground or scrape off a layer, and find the branch bureau's forensic personnel to do testing.

Now he asked Wang Yanhong if she had dated anyone over these years because he saw that Wang Yanhong had an abortion, and it was a long time ago. His medical skills were there; a normal doctor certainly wouldn't be able to see it, but could he, Wang Mou, be an ordinary person? He could even see the impact on the body of someone who had only taken drugs a few times, not to mention that a life had been lost in the body. This must have left traces. As long as he was slightly serious, the lies would have nowhere to hide.

Xia Jie didn't speak, gestured to Yang Shu, signaling him to say a few words.

"I don't know if you still remember what Wang Shouyi was doing before he reported the case?"

Gao Chao listened quietly to the process. This verified the time, and he was already ninety-nine percent sure; the remaining one percent was purely an accident. He looked at Long Qiang in surprise: "You kid are really capable. I remember when you first came, you went to catch thieves with me, and we chatted in the evening. It's been less than two months, and you've already solved a murder case? And you've done it to this extent, basically leaving nothing for the criminal police team to do. A Third-Class Merit is secure. You coming to our station is truly a waste of your talent."

"Investigate it, see if it's as we think. If it is, then continue to find evidence. If it isn't, then that's certainly good; continue to investigate and analyze slowly like a headless fly. However, I don't think there's that possibility. Even if it isn't as we think, they must still have other issues. Alright, things will straighten out when they reach the bridge; they actually thought about being caught long ago. It's just that later, when they saw the task force heading directly for that old guy Zhao Weihong..."

"Found it, Brother Yan." Zhao Weiguang's voice was a bit excited, without any of the indignation from last night about Dongning Village deserving to die. He was very proactive, "We found Wang Yanhong's head teacher. According to her, Wang Yanhong's grades in the first year of high school were very good, and she could have been admitted to a key high school. But in the second semester of the second year of high school, her grades slipped. The exam was in mid-May, and by the end of the term, it was disastrous. Later, it slowly got better."

And Wang Shouyi's information you also know; there are no other houses, warehouses, etc., or rather, their family doesn't have the conditions, having a place where they wouldn't be disturbed within two days. But Dongning Village's home could. He wouldn't go find others, and who would come find him? It rained frequently those few days, and even fewer people would look for him.

"Yeah, I just haven't met anyone I liked. I can live by myself; I don't have to find a man to get angry with." Wang Yanhong nodded, her expression slightly impatient, perhaps feeling that Xia Jie was being too nosy.

A student taking leave ten years ago was really a small matter. And an abortion wasn't a very big surgery. Post-operative weakness was certain, but it actually didn't take long. They might even have left during a Saturday and Sunday, and it wasn't impossible to go to school later. Of course, since it was their own child, they certainly couldn't let her go to school, so they had to ask for a few days of leave.

"Where is the evidence?"

While chatting with people, Xia Jie walked around the house and looked.

Moreover, he could actually feel that this family was mentally tense, just appearing relaxed and natural. This obviously meant there were problems. Perhaps they had told the lies so many times that they believed them themselves, which was why they appeared natural. But subconscious mental alertness couldn't escape his, Wang Mou's, sharp eyes. Otherwise, why would he have run directly in front of that old guy Zhao Weihong and asked him face-to-face?

This isn't a problem for us police; it's a problem of the law. The sentencing for rape and molestation isn't as heavy as for murder, but such people deserve to die. Of course, I'm not attacking the law; after all, if rape and molestation were punished heavily, there would certainly be a large number of people taking advantage of loopholes.

The layout of the houses in Zhao Zhangyi is generally the same. There are few families that change the layout in a trendy way, and even if they do, it's during later renovations. But obviously, for a village that shouts about demolition every year, no one is willing to invest too much in the house. Basically, there are no changes, just repairs.

This old man's name is Xu Chuntang, and he has a good relationship with Wang Shouyi's family. The two wives are close, and they are from the same village, so they are quite close.

"I'm telling you, you stinky kid, visiting 7,000 people in Xincheng Aofu for over a month, is there no end to it? Your intentions, now, are like Sima Zhao's heart—everyone knows it. Let me tell you, the comrades in the station have opinions now."

Xia Jie said: "If it's true, then it's indeed very pitiful, but that's not for us to pity. I'll say it again: every criminal, every criminal act, has more or less a pitiful reason behind it, a pitiful motive for committing the crime. Do you remember Dong Nianfeng from before? Isn't he pitiful? But he planned the murder and dismemberment; he has to pay with his life."

After searching for a while with no results, Xia Jie chatted with the tenants for a while before taking Long Qiang away.

After successfully unifying the team, everyone got off work early at 9:00 PM. Xia Jie treated them to barbecue. The next day, they went to work, and it was the damned Monday. Everyone started their operations.

As for the next step, since the director hasn't found the abortion record in public hospitals, we can only invest manpower to sort through private clinics and hospitals that had the conditions to perform abortions ten years ago, and then visit and screen them one by one. In addition, I suggest digging up the ground at Dongning Village's home at the same time to do some testing. These two points, one is the motive, one is the behavior; no matter which one is confirmed, the case is basically solved."

"So I thought I'd let him write a few 'longevity' characters, and then write some auspicious words, which would look good posted at home, right? I remember it was the week before his birthday, and it happened to be a Sunday. I went to their house to look for him, but only Weiguang was at home, saying he had gone out for something. A day later, I went to look for him again. By then, he had returned and wrote the characters for me."

Therefore, it's more likely that they chose to re-apply cement. But professional crime, and at a time when they were nervous, they might not have done it thoroughly. Even if the cement was applied well and it couldn't be seen from the surface, as long as the ground was dug up, with existing technology, detecting bloodstains isn't a very difficult thing. As long as they didn't clean it thoroughly, even if they applied forty layers, it could still be detected from the cracks.

"Their house is on the edge of the village, and there are neighbors all around. And if this were the crime scene, Dongning Village must have returned. It makes no sense that no one in the village has an impression of it."

Xia Jie took Zhao Wei to visit Long Qiangyu again, wanting to determine a time period ten years ago to see if the Zhao family had any situations where they weren't at home. This was harder than climbing to heaven; who would remember those things? Unless it was accidental, and someone happened to look for Long Qiangyu's home because of something, otherwise, neighbors wouldn't necessarily have memories.

The two walked outside unhurriedly, and Zhao Wei asked: "How is it? Any discoveries?"

Wang Yanhong sat on the sofa hugging her legs, chin resting on her knees, and she shook her head gently: "No one I like, being single is quite good."

Yang Shu let out a long breath: "If it's true, no matter what, Wang Shouyi killed someone. The law clearly writes that those who intentionally kill shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years. If the circumstances are relatively minor, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years. We are police officers; no matter the reason, if he killed someone, we have to arrest him."

"Don't worry, Director, is my character not guaranteed?" Xia Jie shook his head and turned to ask, "Is Old Gao in the station?"

Cleaning up bloodstains on a cement floor isn't an easy task. Wang Shouyi's family might have wiped it so it couldn't be seen from the surface—after all, the cement floor itself was very dirty—but Xia Jie knew the Zhao family, who understood how to clear bloodstains. Even if Wang Yanhong's studies were good before, the possibility of a girl who had been hurt applying what she learned was almost nil.

This is young people confronting their own conscience. They must have a conscience, but they must also consider the actual situation. How to retain one's conscience while struggling in society is a challenge that many people have to face.

As for Yang Shu, he started doubting himself again. He actually felt that what Zhao Weiguang said wasn't wrong...

"And don't even think about it. If we find evidence, then in the end, it will definitely be Wang Shouyi, the twenty-eight-year-old, who goes to jail. He'll be thirty-seven when he comes out after nine years. If we can't find evidence and can't prosecute, then we can only count it as their good luck."

Xia Jie recognized him; he was the director. If he didn't recognize him, he really wouldn't have a way. Besides, the better Xia Jie did, the higher his retirement benefits would be. This was a true living ancestor; he had to support him even if he didn't want to, and he had to agree even if he didn't want to.

"Stop it, Director. I think it's you who has opinions. Aren't Zhao Wei and I a good match? A talented man and a beautiful woman, how good is that?"

"Stinky kid, do you still need to tell me? For our own people, the credit they deserve certainly can't be less. Otherwise, watch if I don't slap Director Song's table."

The next morning, they dug up the cement floor at Dongning Village's home. If Xia Jie hadn't stopped them out of consideration for the tenants' rest, Captain Luo would have gone to shake people to dig up the ground right after hearing the case...

My studies were quite good back then, but I performed poorly in the college entrance exam and only got into an ordinary second-tier university, studying finance. After graduation, I worked in an accounting firm for two years. After learning the practical work, I resigned and managed the accounts and taxes for Wang Yanguang's company. He pays me ten thousand a month. As an older brother, he's really good to his younger sister.

After saying this, Xia Jie extinguished his cigarette, turned and walked into the building, picked Long Qiangyu and the others who happened not to be on duty, and Zhao Wei, who hadn't been sitting for long. He rinsed the cups himself and brewed new tea. The group sat down in the small conference room on the first floor.

Zhao Wei had no heart to speak, feeling sentimental. Xia Jie didn't disturb her either. When they reached the roadside, he peeled off a parking ticket from the car window, drove away, found a restaurant, and had a sumptuous dinner. Only then did he return to the station after 3:00 AM.

After rummaging for a while, Xia Jie confirmed the date: August 31st, 2004. According to the old man, it was at most one day early. Now, as long as the date found by Zhao Weiguang and the others could match, this information could be considered true. Then they could follow that date to find the hospital where Wang Yanhong had the abortion.

"Why didn't I discover it? Were there any abnormal manifestations?" Zhao Wei frowned and pondered, recalling the bits and pieces just now. She had been observing silently.

To put it bluntly, sometimes Xia Jie's speech was off-key and lacked logic; that was just following his heart. But now, it was a visit related to the case, and every word of his had a purpose. Either to ease everyone's mood and make them relax, or to ask about some information from the side to find the flaws in those people.

Xia Jie thought for a moment and looked up abruptly: "The house was leaking, and they were repairing the roof? Are you saying that at that time, they were cleaning up the bloodstains in the house? After covering it up, they went to the police station to report it?"

Even so, Xia Jie still visited the neighbors. They were all acquaintances, so he cared about their recent situation and then asked casually, chatting for ten or twenty minutes. Neighbors, front yard, backyard, he had to inquire about people in the village who were closer to Wang Shouyi and then go visit them.

It had to be ignorant adolescent unrequited love... Xia Jie hung up the phone and turned to look at Long Qiang: "If you keep acting like this, you won't be able to do your job well."

Just as he got into the car, started the engine, and was about to drive to eat, Xia Jie's phone rang. It was a call from Zhao Weiguang.

Long Qiang looked at her carefully, "Sister Weihong, you are quite pretty. Many people must be pursuing you, right? Haven't you dated anyone over these years?"

Although Long Qiang's speculation had a closed-loop logic, it was all speculation, and he was just holding an attitude of trying it out. Besides, even if he didn't agree, could he stop Long Qiang from investigating on his own? To be honest, Xia Jie's contribution to the station now, as long as he didn't cause trouble, was really just doing whatever he wanted. Moreover, Xia Jie himself was passionate about work. Although he used his work to pursue Zhao Wei, his results were there.

"The conflict relationship in the Dongning Village case has been investigated clearly, and I personally ruled out Zhao Weihong, so now I can only suspect Dongning Village's older brother, Wang Shouyi. Someone has to investigate, right? There are no other clues. If you say we don't investigate them, who else can we investigate?"

Zhao Zhendong nodded with a smile. Pity was pity, but he had seen too much after being a police officer for so many years, so there were no waves. If he had to say there was, it was that his retirement benefits had taken a solid step toward the deputy department level.

Unwilling to give up, he climbed onto the roof again to look for repair marks, but the roof was just a layer of white waterproof cloth, and nothing could be seen.

"You have so many reasons." Zhao Wei waved her hand irritably: "Let's go, let's go, let's go..."

"Alright, find a place to eat. Gather at the station in the evening. Hanging up."

At present, there are two points we need to investigate: first, confirm whether Wang Yanhong, who was studying at the Seventh High School at the time, took leave from school before June 17th, 2004, and when and for how long. Second, confirm the whereabouts of Long Qiangyu, Kong Liping, and Long Qiangguang during that period, whether they disappeared for a few days, or whether Wang Yanhong stayed at home for a few more days during that period.

Long Qiang's brain turned quickly, and he instantly thought of a disgusting thing: "You suspect Wang Yanhong was once raped by Dongning Village, then got pregnant, and after Wang Shouyi found out, he killed Dongning Village in a fit of rage. The autopsy report of Dongning Village said he had been hit and hacked by multiple people. It might have been Wang Shouyi and Wang Yanguang, father and son, who did it together. Then they took advantage of the typhoon and rain..."

Long Qiang happily started the car, drove a long way, and took Long Qiang, who had turned grief into appetite, to eat a bowl of rich meat noodles with a high level of quality. It was fragrant...

"Hey, look, they aren't even covering it up anymore."

Zhao Zhendong was certainly still skeptical. After remaining silent for a long time and carefully thinking about the possibility of Long Qiang's speculation, he let out a long breath: "You investigate it as you see fit. I'll go see if there are any medical records for Wang Yanhong in public hospitals. As for the rest... like this, let Zhao Weiguang, Yang Shu, Li Dawei, and Zhao Wei listen to your command. You take them to investigate for a few days first. If there are clues, we'll talk."

An uncle raping his own niece and getting her pregnant—and once such a thing happens, it's very likely not just once. Considering Wang Yanhong's reputation, she certainly wouldn't seek legal justice. The law might be fair, but Wang Yanhong wouldn't be able to face people in the future.

"Solving cases is just a side matter. Mainly, I want to go deep into the masses and practice the spirit of serving the people."

"I don't know how helpless you are because I can't empathize and can't experience your despair. But I know that if you can't overcome this point, not to mention not being able to do your job well, you might lose your life due to a moment of negligence or pity. If you really can't stand it, if you have the ability, go change it, climb to the top and legislate. If you don't have the ability, then adapt. Don't be twisted in the middle; it has no effect."

"Look at you, how could I forget my mother's birthday? July 21st!"

"No wonder your awareness is high."

She sighed again and asked, "Then what do you plan to do?"

"There is credit. Let me tell you, if we few young police officers do this case from start to finish, one Third-Class Merit and two commendations are no problem. The Third-Class Merit will definitely be mine, and there must be a commendation for Zhao Wei. The remaining commendations will fall among you. It doesn't matter if you don't get a commendation; after all, you participated in the case. I think the bureau will definitely reduce your internship period by three months.

"I can't be sure if they didn't kill Dongning Village directly, but I can be sure they have problems. At the same time, I am also sure Zhao Weihong didn't do it. Someone has to investigate, right? There are no other clues. If you say we don't investigate them, who else can we investigate?"

Zhao Weiguang, Li Dawei, and Yang Shu went to the Seventh High School. This was a high school in the Siwaihe jurisdiction. In the early years, its reputation wasn't very good, which was a very normal thing. Every city would always have a few lagging junior and high schools. However, with the development of Siwaihe in recent years, the teaching staff and quality have improved a lot, so it can be considered quite good.

Zhao Weiguang said the same thing as Zhao Wei: there must be evidence. This is certainly important; without evidence, there is no way to initiate a public prosecution. If people could be sent inside or even sentenced to death just by wanting evidence, then there would be quite a lot of unjust, false, and wrong cases, and it wouldn't be possible to stop sentencing a few to death every day. But this evidence is an 'evidence chain' that can prove the suspect's criminal motive and criminal behavior. It's not that there must be a murder weapon or bloody clothes; after all, they have long been disposed of and destroyed. That's not a hard condition.

So, combining the Saturday and Sunday, asking for a leave of four or five days isn't a problem. If you visit teachers and classmates, someone will always remember. Another important point is that Wang Yanhong's grades were good before, and she finally got into a second-tier university, so this matter must be the reason for her grade decline. The exam results before the summer vacation in July are the supporting evidence.

Brother Yan has always been generous. Believe in Brother Yan, and you will make progress. Taking care of the little brother, the name 'Brother Yan' isn't called in vain...

"But two requirements: first, you must protect Zhao Wei for me. If anything happens, I'll hold you accountable. Second, your investigation time cannot be too long. You also know that our station's manpower is very tight. If there's no result, don't force it. It hasn't been solved for nine years, so it's not in a hurry for this moment."

When hearing Long Qiang's question, the old man held the cigarette and pondered. He sighed: "I really have an impression. That year, I was celebrating my mother's 80th birthday. Zhenye's calligraphy is famous, and the couplets for the New Year in the past were all bought at their house."

Thanks to Brother (Little Zombie with Bare Butt) for the reward coins and continued support.

Thanks to nine brothers (Mumu 1995) (Yufang) (Fake Philosophy) (Low-key Back) (w Falling Leaves) (Xiao Baiyu) (Still) (—XW—) (Starry Sea of Bitterness) for continued support.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who voted for monthly tickets for their support.

Thanks to all the brothers who voted for recommendations for their support.

Thanks to the brothers who read silently for their support.