Chapter 590

"An Zhiqiang, that kid's no good—he dyed his hair yellow from way back and used to get into fights; the police even showed up once, and his mom panicked, running around trying to bribe people and spending money..."

"His mom's had it rough too—raising a kid alone, and the man she hooked up with's a slob who just plays mahjong all day, even using Zhang Yi's money for it. She once counted on her son, but he's just as useless. No help at all."

"Zhang Yi used to be pretty fiery—her husband worked at the factory too, and she'd walk around with her head held high, always bragging about how great their factory was. Then the factory collapsed, and everything went to hell." Jiang Yuan and Mu Mu Zhiyang listened as they took notes.

Mostly Mu Mu Zhiyang did the writing, Jiang Yuan just watched. Taking notes was tiring—new cops often spent their first year doubting their life choices just from writing statements.

So when people ask, what's the point of copying textbooks in school? So you won't quit your job the moment you start working!

Mu Mu Zhiyang had already moved past finding note-taking exhausting—his job had far more draining tasks than that.

Downstairs, the old folks couldn't help but join in, watching Mu Mu Zhiyang's serious demeanor.

They were all retired state enterprise workers, truly fearless of heaven or earth—just endlessly bored.

Seeing Mu Mu Zhiyang wanted to hear

about the lives of "Zhang Yi and An Zhiqiang," they all started talking at once.

Jiang Yuan listened quietly, gradually piecing together Zhang Yi's situation six years ago. Afternoon.

Mu Mu Zhiyang, having filled a whole notebook of statements, returned to the police station with Jiang Yuan. The group reconvened in the conference room.

Of course, the main point was for everyone to feed information to Liu Liu Jinghui, who would process it and return it refined—they'd already brought in the deduction master; why waste the team's brainpower? That would be disrespectful to Director Liu.

Liu Liu Jinghui's job was precisely this—and he chewed fast. He'd reviewed the statements from the old folks, Zhang Yi's coworkers, and even the mahjong partners of Zhang Yi's lover, Li Gan... Soon, he wrote as he spoke: "From the current information, six years ago, at the time of the incident, Zhang Yi was already cornered. On one hand, her son was growing increasingly useless; on the other, she herself failed at everything, had no money, but high expenses. She looked to her man, but he just played mahjong all day."

"At that time, Zhang Yi was desperately searching for an escape. But her boyfriend, Li Gan, just wanted to drift day by day."

"Her son, An Zhiqiang, was hustling on the streets, hoping to one day make it big—but in Zhang Yi's eyes, that too was part of her despair."

"Zhang Yi herself was frantically looking for work, trying jobs she'd never done before—like cashier at a supermarket. She lasted a week, then quit. She tried street vending but sold almost nothing. She even worked as a restaurant server—a job she'd previously refused—only lasting half a month."

"Similarly, analyzing the timeline, Zhang Yi's attitude clearly changed after the incident."

"She stopped looking for jobs as often, and began seeking sales or beauty/hairdressing positions instead."

"Li Gan also became slightly more generous with his mahjong games. Neighbors recalled he'd never treated people to meals before, but during that period, he treated his mahjong buddies twice—though only after winning. Still, it was unusual enough to be memorable."

"From all this, we can first confirm that Zhang Yi and Li Gan likely gained financial benefit from this case." Liu Liu Jinghui paused, lifting his cup and taking two light sips of tea.

The tea was premium Yǔqián Longjing, brought by Jiang Yuan—seemed genuine, making Liu Liu Jinghui's brow unconsciously relax.

Mentally taxing work required extra fuel. Jiang Yuan and the others received Liu's "feeding" and each gave a slight nod.

Liu Liu Jinghui's logic was crystal clear—if the evidence base held, his deductions could be considered

"obvious." Of course, normal people rarely figured it out before he said it aloud.

Liu Liu Wenkai took a sip of water and added, "I have one thought—Zhang Yi and Li Gan's total expenses didn't rise much. At least from what we've gathered, they spent only a few thousand more per month during those months. Not insignificant, but after committing murder and dismemberment, wouldn't their spending habits have changed? Might they have tapped into savings?"

"No cash withdrawals recorded." Liu Liu Jinghui said, "We checked the bank records of Zhang Yi, Li Gan, and An Zhiqiang—no large cash withdrawals or transfers. Meaning they had another channel to obtain money. Not much—maybe ten or twenty thousand yuan? In essence, they spread this sum across several months' income. It was likely the victim's personal cash."

No one spoke. Compared to Liu's modest reasoning, this felt a bit speculative.

But Budebushuo, if Liu Liu Jinghui's deduction was right, the case suddenly became clear.

"A missing person carrying over ten thousand yuan in cash? That's rare." Wang Wang Chuan immediately started digging through files.

Liu Liu Jinghui called after him, "Not necessarily from Ningtai County." Ningtai had few missing persons cases—by timeline, only a handful total, all of which Liu had reviewed.

Wang Wang Chuan caught the hint instantly, expanding the search nationwide. The number ballooned—filtering by time alone was impossible, but adding "carried cash when missing" eliminated most teenage disappearances.

Liu Liu Jinghui flipped through more statements and invited further input. The group relaxed slightly, chatting casually...

When Wang Wang Chuan returned, they all snapped back into work mode.

Wang Wang Chuan rubbed his eyes, weary: "I found six missing persons matching the criteria..."

"Show me." Liu Liu Jinghui immediately took the list. Jiang Yuan joined him in reviewing it. The list resembled resumes; they leaned close, scanning side by side. By the second name, they both nodded without speaking.

"From Jianjiang City, collects used clothes door-to-door—that requires cash on hand. Zhang Yi once tried something similar, didn't stick with it?" Liu Liu Jinghui's tone was questioning, but he already had the details memorized.

Collecting and reselling used clothes was a relatively hidden trade. People now had so many clothes, they'd constantly declutter. Collectors could buy garments cheaply from "clothing collection bins" in neighborhoods or from cleaning ladies.

Then sell them at a few hundred yuan per ton.

These clothes were either resold as secondhand in third-world countries or recycled into fiber or pulp.

Because of the huge markup, this business was virtually guaranteed profit.

But due to the volume and weight of clothes, high physical demands, and constant street-level interaction with many people, it was an exhausting job overall.

Zhang Yi originally hoped Li Gan would join her, but he refused. After endless arguments, she gave up.

Still, some contact was possible—especially since, among the other missing persons, #2 had significantly higher probability.

Jiang Yuan checked the time: "Let's start investigating this person first. It'll take at least a day. What about Zhang Yi?" Liu Liu Jinghui looked at Tan Jing.

Tan Jing cleared his throat: "I had her wait in the holding room, confiscated her phone—but she won't hold out much longer."