Chapter 248

Click-click-click-click.

Jiang Yuan held a brick in one hand, lightly scored it twice on the plane, then turned it over, picked up the plane, and chopped off two fen of the brick along the scored line.

The resulting seven-fen brick fitted perfectly against the cemented wall, without the slightest gap.

Jiang Yuan proudly spun the plane, which startled his two dogs and made them retreat two steps.

"Cowardly dogs! Come here!" Qiang Jiu squatted nearby, helping mix cement—he had become the family's dog trainer—and seeing the two dogs run off without looking back, he immediately cursed.

Er Gou lowered his head and shuffled back, step by reluctant step.

"What are you afraid of? It's just a plane!" Qiang Jiu grabbed both dogs by the neck with one hand and waved the plane in front of their faces with the other.

The two dogs buried their heads, refusing to look.

"I'll give these two a proper training session soon," Qiang Jiu said, feeling his pride wounded, and quickly offered an explanation.

Jiang Yuan laughed and said, "As long as they can guard the house, that's best. If they can't, we'll just buy new ones. These two can be pure pets."

"No, they just haven't been trained well," Qiang Jiu said, pointing at the plane in Jiang Yuan's hand. "This thing really is scary. Back then, in many places across the country, people used it to rob and kill."

Jiang Yuan also knew the story Qiang Jiu mentioned later.

A plane is a small tool with one flat end and one wedge-shaped end. The metal head is usually no bigger than a fist; the wedge side can be used for chiseling, and the flat side can serve as a hammer.

The plane as a whole isn't large—the metal head is fist-sized, and the wooden handle is barely shorter than a forearm, making it easy to carry and conceal. When caught, it looks like just a tool, so in the mid-1990s, many places saw robberies committed with planes.

The robbery method was wild and reckless: the criminal would spot someone on the street he thought was wealthy, quietly follow behind, and when close enough, pull the plane out from his sleeve, swing it with full force, and smash it into the victim's occiput.

The plane's size is small, but its striking power is real. If you wandered through a museum, you'd find its basic shape is nearly identical to Tang and Song dynasty bronze hammers like the top-gourd hammer or the six-lobed hammer.

Since ordinary people didn't wear eight-lobed, six-faceted bronze helmets during daily travel, one blow to the head was enough to knock them out, often causing serious injury or death, leading to widespread panic.

Jiang Yuan idly tossed the plane in his hand, thinking: now that video surveillance exists, this thing isn't nearly as dangerous as it once was.

Approaching from behind, a single strike, quick disengagement, weapon easy to hide—if you're unlucky, the victim won't even know what the attacker looked like. Precisely because of this, this type of crime acquired its own name: Plane Gang or Plane Crew.

Of course, the plane is still useful for bricklaying. Jiang Yuan used it to lay two bricks, then switched to a trowel to spread cement.

Qiang Jiu watched the flower bed rise on the balcony, feeling slightly odd but praising: "You're better than the best masons in our village. If you were still in the village, every family building a house would beg you to come over as the master mason."

Jiang Yuan had also lived in the village; he smiled: "Master masons get cigarettes. I don't smoke, so that'd be a waste."

"Three days' worth of cigarettes, you could just take them without smoking. Master masons are expensive now—they even bring their own assistant, who earns 150 yuan a day. Too bad you're from Jiang Village; your bricklaying skills are wasted."

Jiang Yuan laughed: "Then since we've got time today, let's lay more bricks."

"If you really want to lay more walls, go downstairs and build a big, solid one," Jiang Fuzhen came over with a ladle.

"Build a big wall… for what?"

"Just make a wall for medals and certificates. Whenever you earn an award in the future, I'll hang it on that wall. Like when you were in school, the white wall in our living room. The front door's too small—your Second-Class Merit Family plaque's already up there."

"What wall?"

"Any wall. Just so people can see it." Jiang Fuzhen grew increasingly pleased, grinning: "Build it right in front of our building's entrance. Everyone in the compound can see it."

"People will talk," Jiang Yuan said.

Jiang Fuzhen snorted: "Talk about what?"

"Boasting?"

"It's not about boasting. Who posts on WeChat Moments? They're allowed to boast on WeChat Moments, but I can't boast on my own certificate wall? Our ancestors let descendants hang plaques in the ancestral hall—why should I fear showing off our family's glory?"

"Afraid of… envy?"

"We got so much compensation from demolition. Don't you think others are jealous?" Jiang Fuzhen chuckled. "If they're jealous, they can just hold it in."

Jiang Yuan thought it made sense, yet also didn't quite make sense. He pondered: "Then build one inside the house. Outside, it'll get rained on and windblown… but we already have walls, so why bother…"

"You can build a cover, like a pavilion. Add a roof."

"What about wind?"

"Add a window?"

"Then it's just a room," Jiang Yuan thought. I don't even know how to build a house—I just learned bricklaying.

Jiang Fuzhen slapped his forehead: "Forget it. I'll find a room on the first floor of the compound and set it up there."

Qiang Jiu reminded him: "If you hang all the certificates and plaques over there, what's left to display at home? When visitors come, how will you show them?"

Jiang Fuzhen fell silent, his mind suddenly filled with anxiety and hesitation.

Jiang Yuan reminded him: "The meat's done, right?"

"Oh, I'll stir it," Jiang Fuzhen hurried back to his task.

Jiang Yuan then calmly continued laying the flower bed.

Feeling at home was far more relaxed than being on a business trip.

He did construction work outside too—mainly pumping water from mine shafts, digging out buried mine waste, and finally clearing collapsed mine entrances.

That kind of work carried heavier pressure, especially when you were always hoping to gain something from it—your mindset was different.

Coming home was so easy: just lay flower beds. Jiang Yuan didn't even need to plant winter melons—he could just leave the bed empty. If he got bored, he could put a table inside and write official documents, then burn them for his ancestors. The older generation who liked learning could read more documents in the afterlife, then pass exams to become better underworld civil servants and help their descendants—it made perfect sense.

When tired from bricklaying, Jiang Yuan scrolled through his phone.

The dozen or so new groups he'd joined were all actively discussing the Zifeng Mountain case.

In groups without Liu Jinghui, they discussed both Liu Jinghui and the case together.

In groups with Liu Jinghui, they focused only on the case.

Jiang Yuan casually opened one group and saw someone sharing an experience:

Daily Depressed: 【Once, on a call, I encountered someone who fell into a latrine. The pit was deep—up to an adult's chest. Standing straight, only the head was visible, but he couldn't climb out himself. The scene back then…】

One Battle, Famous: 【Did he die?】

Daily Depressed: 【He didn't die, but he probably died socially. He was a village kid who'd passed exams and left, came home for the New Year with his kids, and this happened. When we pulled him out, his belt was still Gucci.】

Trace Evidence Li Rui: 【Rich return, shit-chilled?】

Jiang Yuan vaguely remembered Trace Evidence Li Rui—he'd been an active chatter in Zifeng Mountain. This group might even be the one Li Rui had invited him into.

Daily Depressed: 【No joke—the feces water is extremely corrosive and bad for skin. Don't recommend soaking in it. In hot weather, it's dangerous with lots of toxins; in cold weather, it's uncomfortable and risks frostbite.】

Trace Evidence Li Rui: 【Hot weather I get, but cold weather should be the most comfortable scenario, right?】

Daily Depressed: 【Explain in detail how a cold latrine is comfortable!】

Jiang Yuan was chuckling when another familiar face appeared:

Forensic Wang Lan: 【Real story: I once encountered someone who fell into a latrine in winter. Night temperature was slightly below zero, so there was light freezing. After falling in, ice shards cut his skin, causing widespread ulcers. Also, hypothermia sets in fast in winter, so I got to see this…】

Daily Depressed: 【So if you're just a withered flower, you're already lucky.】

Trace Evidence Li Rui: 【Three portions' worth? Definitely won't drown you.】

Forensic Wang Lan: 【Thanks to Jiang Yuan, without him, Withered Willow would've stayed in that hole another week.】

Daily Depressed: 【Shocked. if, another week? He probably couldn't even pee anymore.】

Trace Evidence Li Rui: 【I've seen Jiang Yuan's fingerprints—they're truly exceptional. I've never seen anything like them.】

Forensic Wang Lan: 【His crime scene investigation is so meticulous, it's like a dog licked it clean.】

Daily Depressed: 【Meticulous… dog?】

Jiang Yuan couldn't keep reading.

Forensic Wang Lan was usually very serious in person—now his wording was too careless.

But the worst offender was "Daily Depressed." Jiang Yuan clicked his avatar but didn't recognize him.

Jiang Yuan switched to other groups, then switched back to the main page and saw "Qinghe Skill Sharing Group" had just @ed him.

Daily Depressed: 【@Water Worker, that's Jiang Yuan, right? I've got a fingerprint—can you process it?】

Trace Evidence Li Rui: 【I can do fingerprints too…】

Daily Depressed: 【Then do it. If you succeed, I'll recommend you for merit.】

Jiang Yuan shook his head but stood up anyway, washed his hands in the bathroom, returned to his room, and turned on his computer.

Jiang Yuan copied the fingerprint, zoomed it in on screen, and studied it carefully.

It was indeed a difficult, incomplete fingerprint.

Jiang Yuan tried marking it twice, both attempts failed.

Two hours had already passed.

Jiang Yuan wasn't in a rush. He tried a few more times, and before dinner, he matched it.

Compared to simple full fingerprints, he'd spent much longer—but for an incomplete one, matching it was highly meaningful.

This kind of thing couldn't wait. Jiang Yuan pulled out his phone and reopened "Qinghe Skill Sharing Group."

Water Worker: 【@Daily Depressed, I'm Jiang Yuan. Matched the fingerprint. How do I send it to you?】

Daily Depressed, who had just been chatting in the group, suddenly vanished.

After a long pause, he finally asked: 【No joke? This is a murder case!】

At these words, the entire group fell silent.

Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow but typed without hesitation: 【Matched for sure. Suspect is a repeat offender. How do I send you the data?】

Daily Depressed: 【Wait a moment—I'm sending a friend request, and I've already knelt down. Once you accept, I'll receive it.】