Chapter 275: Secret Investigation

"Boss Jiang, take a look at this plot here—it's already leveled, and the price is cheap. If you're building a cold storage facility, you'll even get subsidies; over a year, it won't cost much…" The real estate agent in a leather jacket rattled off his pitch, glancing at the tall man in the group.

"Don't call me boss—I'm not even sure I'll go through with it." Jiang Yuan, dressed casually, played his part naturally. "I'm just scouting first. I want to see how easy it is to deal with the villagers here."

"Boss Jiang, you're from Jiang Village—I won't lie to you. Whether they're easy to deal with depends on your relationships here. Also, whether you're willing to hire people from the village…" The land agent chuckled twice, his shiny bald head practically screaming "sincerity."

"Alright, just leave it at that for now. We'll head into the village." Jiang Yuan said. The agent hurried to reply, "I'll take you—I know people here…"

"I don't trust anyone you show me. I'll have to come back alone anyway—why bother? Don't you think so?" Jiang Yuan had dealt with too many agents to waste time on flattery—he spoke plainly.

The agent nodded eagerly, smiling. "Fair enough. I'll head back. When you're done looking and need a ride, just call me—I'll come pick you up."

"Alright." Jiang Yuan said goodbye and led Wei Zhenguo and the others toward Dawan Village ahead. Wei Zhenguo's face was dark and wrinkled—he felt awkward having misled someone. Once they were far enough, he whispered, "We're not even buying land. Isn't it wrong to make the agent show us around?"

"Not at all. Even if they know you won't buy, agents still want to show properties." Jiang Yuan remained calm. "They answer to both buyers and sellers. If they don't bring in viewings, sellers get unhappy. Some agents even hire fake clients just to keep the seller happy—and pay them out of pocket."

"There are agents like that?"

"The more clients they bring, the more leverage they have with sellers. If they want exclusive deals, they need even more clients." Jiang Yuan paused, then added, "If you still feel uneasy later, just slip them a red envelope."

Wei Zhenguo hurried to say, "It's not that uncomfortable."

As they chatted, they entered Dawan Village.

The roads here were narrow. On both sides, some buildings had been turned into factories, others into shops converted from homes—mostly noodle and rice porridge stalls, with a few tea houses and stir-fry restaurants mixed in.

This setup resembled Jiang Village after its first demolition. Jiang Yuan walked into a tea shop without hesitation and said to Wei Zhenguo and the others, "Let's use this as our base. Everyone scatter and investigate?"

"Sure." Liu Jinghui agreed immediately.

Wei Zhenguo glanced around—villagers were already eyeing them. He sighed bitterly. "I've been doing investigations for years, but never one this openly."

With that, he left to do his work.

Jiang Yuan and Mu Zhiyang also strolled out slowly.

Villagers here were wary. Outsiders asking questions got no honest answers. Jiang Yuan knew this, so he'd deliberately chosen the cold storage excuse—now, inquiries went smoothly.

To Dawan Village's residents or migrant workers, anyone willing to invest and build a factory was warmly welcomed.

Even if someone planned to exploit newcomers, they'd wait until after the factory was built.

Before any construction, everyone's expressions were friendly.

Jiang Yuan entered a small grocery store, bought a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, and asked, "Boss, do all the markets here sell fresh pork? Do people eat frozen pork?"

"Locals only eat pork slaughtered that morning. By afternoon, it won't sell." The shopkeeper handed Jiang Yuan the cigarettes. "You're the guy planning to build the cold storage, right?"

"Word spreads fast?" Jiang Yuan had only met the agent yesterday and waited a full day before coming—yet everyone here seemed to know already.

Jiang Village was much the same. Even news of Jiang Yuan receiving a second-class merit award reached overseas relatives by mid-afternoon.

The shopkeeper chuckled. "We locals love to chat. Boss, you're from Jiang Village—why not build it there?"

"Cold storage must be near big cities. Jiang Village's geography can't compare. The products from the cold storage will ultimately be consumed in Changyang City." Jiang Yuan smiled.

"Jiang Village has nice scenery and good transport. You've been relocated several times—didn't you get a lot of compensation?" The shopkeeper asked, as if it were routine gossip.

"Not much." Jiang Yuan smiled. "I'm not even sure I'll do it. I'm just here ahead of time, sent by family to check things out."

The shopkeeper immediately said, "Building here is definitely the right move. Locals don't eat frozen pork, but migrant workers do. Take that braised noodle stall across the street—they buy frozen pork for a few yuan per jin, while fresh pork sells for over ten. They'll definitely go for frozen."

"I wonder how much frozen pork your area can absorb… By the way, how many local butchers are there?"

"Just the few at the market. Only two sell frozen meat, and they also sell frozen chicken."

"Are the market butchers locals or outsiders?"

"Both. Nowadays, many vendors come from 'Dian Dian Ti Heng Shu Gou Shu Heng Zhe Gou Heng, Heng Pie Shu Heng Zhe Gou Dian Pie Heng Heng Shu'—some even sell meat."

Jiang Yuan nodded. "What about the factories? Don't they all buy frozen pork? Their cafeterias can't possibly use fresh pork."

"Of course not. That's why we use a ton of frozen pork here. If you build the cold storage, even local demand won't use it all."

"Whether we build depends on the incentives. By the way, if you hire disabled people here, do you get any benefits? Does the village offer subsidies?"

As he spoke, Jiang Yuan opened the pack of Zhonghua and offered one to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper took it without hesitation, lit it with a lighter, passed it back to Jiang Yuan, took a deep drag, and began explaining in detail.

A squad of detectives, all posing as factory investors, fanned out to ask questions.

After a while, Liu Jinghui returned first, sat at the tea house, sipped tea, and began sketching a mind map.

Wei Zhenguo and the others circled back, reported findings to Liu Jinghui, received new instructions, then went out again.

The villagers had no idea the people asking questions were detectives.

An eleven-year-old cold case was a distant challenge to the detectives. To the villagers, it was nearly forgotten memory.

Precisely because of that, any information they offered linking back to eleven years ago had already been filtered through their memories.

But precisely because of this, all the information everyone provided that could be linked to eleven years ago had already been filtered through their memories.

The group moved to a private room in another restaurant. Once the dishes arrived, they dismissed the server and began talking.

Liu Jinghui pulled out his notebook, written all day. "Let me summarize today's findings. I think there are three key points—I'll start."

"First: Dawan Village once had a slaughterhouse—about ten people, semi-automatic. It had machines for dehairing, but disassembly was mostly manual, with overhead hoists—something like that."

"Second: There are three larger factories here with dedicated cafeterias. They source meat from Changyang City, and there's staff movement between them."

"Third: Dawan Village developed early. Eleven years ago, butchers from outside villages still brought pigs here—and they even fought with Dawan's slaughterhouse."

Liu Jinghui waited for everyone to absorb this, then continued with other details.

By the time he finished describing everything, half the dishes were gone. Liu Jinghui didn't mind—he picked up chopsticks, ate as he spoke: "Check it out—any additions?"

"Besides slaughterhouses, wood factories, logging sites—those should be watched too." Jiang Yuan said.

"Agreed. Next, assign a team to follow up on those."

"Clinics too."

"Mm."

Jiang Yuan expanded the target range again, then narrowed it: "Of all these factories, cafeterias, or industry companies, did any suffer major changes eleven years ago?"

"Of the three I mentioned, two changed: the slaughterhouse and the outside butchers. They're connected." Liu Jinghui tapped his notebook. "The slaughterhouse shut down first. Its equipment was sold off. Then more outside butchers came. Later, someone was caught injecting water into meat and got cracked down on… But no one's ever mentioned a lame butcher."

Jiang Yuan took out the case photos again and studied them.

In the photos, the victim's head was severed from the neck—the killer had slit the throat first, then dismembered, leaving multiple knife marks that revealed his technique.

Jiang Yuan studied them carefully, ate a few bites of fatty intestine, then said: "I think we should focus on these two leads."

"Agreed." Liu Jinghui answered easily—but behind that, at least a dozen detectives had already set off on their trails.

Jiang Yuan carefully studied it for a while, then ate a few more bites of fatty intestines before saying, "I think we should focus on following these two leads."

"Agreed." Liu Jinghui replied easily, unaware that behind this decision, at least a dozen detectives had already set out on a grueling chase.