Chapter 79: That Mountain Village Has Another Name

The two waited a while longer inside the room.

That public security officer named Dong Bo indeed did not come up to find them.

About five minutes later, Yu Dazhang saw Dong Bo walk out of the inn from the window and return to that black sedan.

Watching the vehicle leave, Yu Dazhang knew the time left for himself was running out.

The other party had already begun to suspect; if they still could not find concrete evidence, what would happen next was no longer something he could predict.

How did the two missing officers finally determine that Shoushouyingzi Village had problems?

He had used the tactic of "knocking on the mountain to shake the tiger" to test it out; they would not, as time was not an issue for them.

So there was no need to commit such an act.

Since they had ample time, what would they do?

Yu Dazhang stared out the window, sinking into deep thought.

A moment later, he turned to look at Zhang Sen:

"Let's go, let's take a walk outside."

Arriving on the street, Yu Dazhang entered a small supermarket and bought two packs of cigarettes plus two lighters.

Coming out, he handed a pack to Zhang Sen:

"In a moment, we'll split up. Find those groups of elderly people chatting idly, give them cigarettes to get close, and then try to inquire about the situation in Shoushouyingzi Village."

This investigation method is not rare; it is a covert investigation technique often used by criminal investigators.

Just now, Yu Dazhang, approaching from the perspective of those two officers solving the case, felt that only this method was the most reliable.

Previously, he had inquired about the situation on the mountain in both the restaurant and the inn, but the information obtained was very scarce.

The most useful piece of information was simply knowing there was a village on the mountain called Shoushouyingzi Village.

Every time he tried to chat about something specific, the other party would always make an excuse to brush him off.

Later, Yu Dazhang also figured it out.

Merchants open their doors to do business, and naturally, it is better to avoid trouble than to invite it.

How many people in business have dull brains? They deeply understand the principle that disaster comes from the mouth.

Therefore, important information is very difficult to coax out of their mouths.

The two missing officers, wanting to obtain important clues, could only go find ordinary local people to ask.

Especially the elderly people gathering in groups to chat idly.

They have lived in this place the longest and are the group that loves to gossip the most.

Probing for information from their mouths is the best choice.

At the same time, the two agreed on a time: regardless of whether they found any news, they must return to the inn within half an hour.

After the two separated, Yu Dazhang walked toward another street.

Before long, he discovered several elderly people gathered around a stone table in a small square.

Walking over to look, they were surrounding a chessboard on the stone table, arguing with many voices at once.

"This move is the horse, the horse!" An old man with gray hair jumped his feet in anxiety.

"Move the chariot sideways, capture that cannon!" Another old man was also very anxious.

"Block the center with the horse, can't you see the opponent has an iron door bolt?!"

Seeing this scene, Yu Dazhang nodded in satisfaction.

No matter where you are, there is always this group of chess enthusiasts; no matter their skill level, as soon as they arrive nearby, they frantically offer advice.

Offering advice is good; the more like this they are, the more their mouths leak.

Getting them to keep a secret is harder than climbing to heaven.

To inquire about news, you must find people like this.

"Grandpa, grandpa, don't get excited."

Yu Dazhang squeezed his way in, simultaneously opening a pack of cigarettes and pulling out a few to hold in his hand:

"Smoke up, everyone smoke up, come on, come on, let's go around the circle."

The grandpas were stunned for a moment; none of them noticed when this fat man squeezed in.

Two grandpas immediately lost their footing, nearly falling, and one bumped into Yu Dazhang.

"Hey, what's wrong with you..."

Just as he was about to scold, seeing the cigarettes Yu Dazhang offered, he immediately swallowed his words.

You don't hit someone who is smiling, let alone someone who is offering you a cigarette.

After going around the circle, Yu Dazhang, with a face full of smiles, said to the grandpas:

"Sorry to disturb, just asking, I heard there is a village on the nearby mountain; I wanted to ask, roughly how many households are in the village?"

Chatting with these grandpas didn't require hiding anything.

Cigarettes have been distributed; asking about something is normal.

"From out of town?" one grandpa asked.

"Yes," Yu Dazhang quickly replied:

"My family wants to rent a plot of land on the mountain to build a farmhouse combining breeding and accommodation."

This was something he had made up on the spot, Du Zhuan, without even considering its rationality.

But it didn't matter; he believed these grandpas didn't know whether farmhouses could be built on the mountain anyway.

Sure enough, not one of these grandpas suspected anything.

One even advised, "Where can't you do business? Why come here specifically? This town is very chaotic and can't keep people."

There's a chance... Yu Dazhang immediately replied:

"Tell me in detail."

"What else is there to say?" That old man looked very angry:

"Most businesses in this town are run by locals; it's hard for outsiders to get a foothold here without connections."

How did this get dragged into the town... Yu Dazhang found he couldn't quite keep up with the old man's train of thought.

"Is it the same on the mountain?" He pulled the topic back.

"You mean the Sailors' Camp, right?" Another old man interjected:

"That village has only a dozen or so households, and they are extremely xenophobic; we locals can't even get close to them."

No wonder you have to chat with old men.

They open their hearts in just a few words, saying what they know without hiding any ulterior motives.

"Light another round!"

Yu Dazhang took out cigarettes from the pack again and handed one to each of the old men.

Please... collect... 6... 9... Book... now....!

"Ah, no need, I haven't finished mine yet."

"Too polite, too polite."

This made all the old men feel embarrassed.

"It's fine, it's fine, just keep them in reserve," Yu Dazhang insisted, shoving them into their hands.

After some polite refusal, each old man had a cigarette tucked behind his ear.

"Um..." Yu Dazhang thought for a moment and asked:

"Why is the village called Sailors' Camp? That name sounds strange."

He asked this purely to steer the conversation toward that village.

As for why it's called Sailors' Camp, he had no interest in knowing.

That's how gathering information works.

You never know which topic might yield an unexpected discovery.

"I know this," one of the old men immediately replied:

"It seems to be around '85; back then, the villages on the mountain were abandoned. Some of the elderly passed away, and the rest moved away with their children."

"A few years later, probably..."

The old man stopped there, looking as if he were recalling the specific year.

"No need for too much detail; a brief explanation will do," Yu Dazhang quickly said.

He was afraid the old man would go on and on.

Time was limited; he only had half an hour, and fifteen minutes had already passed.

Unexpectedly, that old man was quite persistent, insisting on recalling the exact year.

"It was probably 1990, yes, it was 1990. I was forty-two that year, just moved back from out of town."

"At that time, a group of people who claimed to be full-time sailors arrived."

"They heard there was an abandoned village on the mountain and settled there."

"Perhaps because they were all former sailors, they named the village Sailors' Camp."

"However, these people hardly interacted with locals, only occasionally coming down to buy some Daily necessities."

After this explanation, the old men who had been watching the chess game became interested.

They no longer focused on the chessboard but began discussing while smoking.

"What do you know! Those people on the mountain even fought a few battles with us locals."

"I heard that too; apparently, someone from the town went up the mountain for a stroll, and somehow a fight broke out."

"Those people on the mountain are wild; the folks in the town simply can't beat them."

"Yes, look, who dares to go up there now?"

By the end of the chat, Yu Dazhang was no longer involved at all.

The old men got more and more excited and simply left him hanging on the sidelines.

Seeing that time was almost up, Yu Dazhang turned and left, returning to the inn.

Upon entering the room, he saw Zhang Sen already waiting for him inside.

As soon as he saw Yu Dazhang return, Zhang Sen quickly stood up, pulled him into the room, and glanced outside to check if anyone was watching before closing the door.

"Why are you being so furtive?" Yu Dazhang asked.

"Listen to me first," Zhang Sen said in a very cautious manner, his voice lowered:

"That village on the mountain has another name."

"What is it?" Yu Dazhang immediately became interested.

Zhang Sen swallowed:

"Crook Village."

(End of this chapter)