Chapter 699

Zhanggang Village.

Cui Qishan sat in front of a fire, roasting the fire with a smile, occasionally flipping the ribs on the fire, sprinkling some salt, and taking a sip of beer, feeling quite leisurely.

After staying in one place for a long time, one will slowly adapt. Zhanggang Village is indeed a poor place, and the local temperature is even 10 degrees lower than in the capital, but after accepting its poor setting, one can also discover good things.

For example, the local pork is delicious. Of course, there is no beef or mutton locally, let alone seafood to buy; the pork has to be specially slaughtered by a butcher. But regardless, the annual pig raised by the villagers themselves is very fragrant even without waiting for the New Year to eat it.

For parts like the ribs, marinate them casually with ordinary seasonings, sear them over high heat, and then place them by the fire to roast slowly until fully cooked, or even slightly overcooked. It still sizzles with oil when eaten, tasting better than what is made in many large hotels in the capital.

Hotels in the capital don't have such conditions either. They have to maintain consistent quality, which means even if they occasionally have something particularly good, they can't use it.

Besides this, the river food in Zhanggang Village is also worth mentioning.

Crucian carp soup is good, and frogs caught at night can be eaten the next day; as long as you don't watch the process, it's incredibly delicious. Eel and loach are food from another dimension; Cui Qishan himself doesn't like to eat them. He didn't eat much of these when he was a child, and he didn't want to eat them when he grew up. But Li Jiang in the team is willing to eat them, and he can cook them himself. He gathers a few people to have a small pot, and it tastes great.

The business trip allowance is just spent.

But Cui Qishan thinks it's quite good. It is relatively difficult to maintain the team's morale in such a harsh place. It is more important than anything for everyone to find something they are interested in.

The reason why everyone is unwilling to go on such business trips is that outside of the eight-hour working time, the free time is harder to endure than the working time. Now at least there is fragrant farm pork to eat and local Xueyong beer to drink, which is quite good.

Buzz...

As soon as the phone vibrated, Cui Qishan hurriedly got up to answer it, and went to the bathroom to relieve himself by the way.

"Reinforcements have been sent to you, they should be arriving at Zhanggang Village soon. You are responsible for receiving them. Cooperate with each other, prioritize completing the mission, protect your own safety, and report any situation at any time..." Tao Lu finished speaking in a few sentences, and the phone hung up with a "beep."

Cui Qishan couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. Such an advanced smart phone, as the most high-end electronic equipment in the whole village, actually hung up after chatting for just these two sentences. It wasn't even enough time for a pee, which was a huge waste. Usually, no one calls, and the home phone isn't suitable for daily calls. The team members are all around; if you say you miss home, the team members might burst into tears with a "waa." What should he do then? Hold his 190-pound big boy and coax him?

Splash, splash...

"It's raining!" Xiao Si's shout came, and large raindrops fell on Cui Qishan's face.

"It's raining, that's quite... oh crap, the ribs!" Cui Qishan put away his phone and ran to the courtyard.

The rain fell fast and hard, as if it were being held back by a teenage Dragon King. When Cui Qishan arrived in the courtyard, he saw that the previously pleasant and lively bonfire had been extinguished by the sudden rain. Xiao Si and the others were standing under the eaves, each holding one or two ribs, their faces as black as a dog whose food bowl had been overturned and discarded.

Morale and such were truly a mess.

Cui Qishan walked silently into the shelter of the eaves and wiped his face, truly afraid that a team member would shout, "Captain, I miss my mom!"

If that happened, in order to preserve the establishment of this team, wouldn't he have to get married and have children in Zhanggang Village? The partner might even be an 18-year-old suspect!

"The meat is all soaked in the rain, I'm afraid it won't taste good." Xiao Si shook the ribs twice, intending to throw them away.

Cui Qishan said "Hmm" and asked, "Too late to take them down?"

"It was very hot, so I used a cloth to take two down. The rest were soaked in the rain before I could take them down." Xiao Si sighed: "When it rains, it pours; this ghost place!"

"Keep your voice down, don't let the locals hear you." Cui Qishan sighed. He temporarily agreed with Xiao Si's evaluation of Zhanggang Village; it really is a very poor place. Staying in such a place, he also has to think of some way out. If there is one.

"The good news is that the rice is cooked." Li Jiang held the ribs in his hand, which looked miserable, and added: "When the rain stops in a while, burn them again, and they should be edible."

"Better than nothing." Xiao Si muttered: "In the capital, if any restaurant served me ribs like this, I would have called the police on the spot."

"Let's braise some pork or something in a while. There are reinforcements arriving today." Cui Qishan updated the team members with the news he had just received.

Xiao Si clicked his tongue twice: "Does that mean this rain just happened to wash them onto the road?"

Cui Qishan thought about it, and it really was.

This is a trouble. When they came to Zhanggang Village, they had to push the car halfway. Cui Qishan himself even got a mouthful of mud because of it. Now that it's raining so hard, who knows what kind of suffering the people coming will have to endure.

"Get some hot water, maybe they can take a shower later." Cui Qishan arranged.

They rented two houses in the village, both with solar water heaters. If they save a little, they can barely take a hot shower.

Wang Chao nodded and ran to make arrangements.

Cui Qishan went to the kitchen himself to arrange for the hired cook to make some meat dishes.

When the curling smoke rose again, Wang Chao ran back.

"The rain washed away the pipe, and the roof is leaking. We can't take a shower today, and sleeping is also a problem." Wang Chao spread his hands, looking completely resigned.

"Fine. It's their bad luck." Cui Qishan paused, then shook his head: "It's our bad luck; we don't have a hot shower either?"

"Boil some water to wash?"

"Too much trouble."

"Then forget it, we still have to clear a room for them tonight." After a few people discussed in the kitchen for a long time, Cui Qishan's phone rang again.

The call was from the village chief.

"The road to the village has been washed away, and there might be a mudslide. Tell your people not to get washed away." The village chief's voice was loud and urgent; he was truly afraid that the cadres from the capital would be buried here.

"I know, thank you very much." Cui Qishan hung up the phone and was stunned for a moment. Only then did he remember to call Tao Lu. After telling him the situation here, he asked: "The exiled... no, the reinforcements coming, who are they? Do I know them? I'll call them directly."

"Hmm, it's Qi Changye bringing his team, so I didn't tell you just now." Tao Lu explained, and roughly recounted Liu Jinghui's reasoning.

"I understand, then I will cooperate well." Cui Qishan didn't ask before for the same reason; police are disciplined forces after all, and there must be a reason why superiors didn't say anything. Like this case, once it involves such non-compliant religions, it must be the work of Qi Changye and the others.

After hanging up the phone, Cui Qishan felt relieved.

"It's Qi Changye and his team coming. It looks like they won't be here for a while, let's eat." Everyone didn't have much interaction anyway, and he didn't summon this teenage Dragon King rain, so let it be.

Everyone gobbled up the braised pork and such, imagining the hardships of Qi Changye and the others along the way, and went to sleep peacefully in a house that didn't leak.

The next day.

It was almost noon when Zhanggang Village welcomed Qi Changye and the others, who looked like mud monkeys.

"The car broke down on the way." Qi Changye smiled bitterly and explained to Cui Qishan: "The road was broken. The bridge collapsed. There was a mudslide when we took a detour, so we walked a bit further."

He tried to minimize the description of the hardships in between. Qi Changye knew in his heart that no one would sympathize with you for this; they would only mock you.

Cui Qishan endured it quite seriously and said: "We were also affected by the heavy rain here. The roof is leaking a bit, the water heater is broken, but there is enough food for now. Shall I get you some?"

"Okay. Thank you." What could Qi Changye say? Judging by yesterday's experience, it was good enough to be alive.

There have been more cases recently, and life and work have become exceptionally difficult.

Qi Changye gritted his teeth. If there was any trait he was proud of, it was his strong resilience.

Solving cases under harsh conditions is just a daily routine.

Zhengguang Bureau.

Jiang Yuan looked at the large amount of fingerprint, DNA, and footprint evidence and fell into deep thought.

Liu Jinghui's approach was good, and the resources provided by Tao Lu were also sufficient, but if they couldn't find the people, it was all in vain.

"Such a group of people, neither seen alive nor dead, is not a good sign." Tao Lu was also a little anxious. Not long after, he wandered into Jiang Yuan's office.

He wouldn't usually come so frequently, preferring to call people over to report to him. Now, however, Tao Lu was a little worried about affecting Jiang Yuan's work.

Liu Jinghui sat on the side, not playing with his phone, but looking like he was thinking. Hearing Tao Lu's words, he said slowly: "Escaping the world, or collective suicide, belongs to a common upgraded form of cults."

Many non-mainstream sects abroad have embarked on these two paths. Famous ones include the Amish who reject modern technology, and the tragic 900-person massacre of the Peoples Temple.

Liu Jinghui and Tao Lu didn't think the problem was that serious, but as police officers, a defensive mentality is indispensable.

Moreover, this possibility was too terrifying; Tao Lu didn't even dare to think about how shocked the superiors would be if he dug up such a case!

Reimbursing three times the expenses would be an understatement.

"Jiang Yuan, if you have any thoughts, you can share them." Tao Lu knew that Jiang Yuan had many methods, and compared to Liu Jinghui, he trusted Jiang Yuan more.

Liu Jinghui speaks empty words and doesn't have to be responsible, just like a strategist in ancient times. Jiang Yuan is different; he leads a team with the premise of solving the case. Huang Qiangmin wouldn't ruin his own or Jiang Yuan's reputation either.

Those who have paid are more reliable. This was roughly Tao Lu's thinking.

Jiang Yuan had also been thinking for a long time. At this moment, he said: "Assuming we follow Liu's line of thinking, if it is indeed a religious act, if these people are all dead, that's another matter. But if they are alive and there is no information at all, I'm afraid it's like Qingling Mountain, having a separate residence and a separate living circle."

Tao Lu nodded solemnly. This is a very natural choice. There is no reason for an organization that could build such a mansion before to become decadent later.

Especially those with the word "evil," they usually don't lack money.

In modern society, if you don't lack money, there are still many ways to escape the world.

"Shall we look for them along the lines of living supplies?" Tao Lu naturally put forward a point of view.

Jiang Yuan looked at Liu Jinghui and thought for a moment: "If we are conducting an investigation, I would like to recommend a candidate. Xu Taining from our Shannan Province, a first-class senior police officer, is very excellent at investigations. We often cooperate with each other."

"Okay, I will invite him through the ministry and talk to the Shannan Provincial Department." Tao Lu agreed immediately. Although the ministry itself has experts specializing in investigations, experts don't have their ranks written on their faces, so it's hard to say who is better than whom.

Since it was Jiang Yuan's recommendation and a senior police officer he was familiar with and cooperated with, Tao Lu naturally had no objection.

On the other hand, everyone knows that investigations are expensive. Tao Lu felt that if it was a police officer from Shannan Province, at least he would be a bit more frugal.