He sighed: "We were all shocked when we learned of Tong Jiaojiao's death. That afternoon, Lin Guanghui didn't know where he went. When he came back, he went to sleep in the dormitory under the covers. Later, when the news of Tong Jiaojiao's murder came, he was quite surprised and seemed a little sad. I don't know if it was because Tong Jiaojiao had pursued him and been good to him before."

Lin Zhiheng said "oh," guessing that Wang Qiang must have understood his true intentions, which was why he had said so much to him.

He chatted with Wang Qiang and Shen Tengfei for a while longer before saying goodbye and leaving.

After that, he went to the brigade leader's house to find Lu Zhengting and told him what he had found out.

“Brother Lu, I asked Wang and Shen, two educated youths at the educated youth settlement, and they are both quite honest and reliable. They said that Lin Guanghui has been pursuing Chen Lu, and when I went to the educated youth settlement, he was wary of me talking too much with Chen Lu.”

However, both Wang and Shen, the educated youth, said that Lin Guanghui hadn't gone out at night, so the person who rolled around in the haystack with Tong Jiaojiao wasn't Lin Guanghui. So, who was the real person who caused Tong Jiaojiao's pregnancy?

"Just because he didn't go out at night doesn't mean he was innocent during the day. This means there are too many contradictions surrounding him. He's pursuing that female educated youth named Chen Lu, so what's his relationship with Tong Jiaojiao really like? If he didn't like her, would he have gotten Tong Jiaojiao pregnant? If Tong Jiaojiao is pregnant with his child, he would definitely kill the child for Chen Lu's sake."

“Wang, a sent-down youth, also said that on the afternoon of the day Tong Jiaojiao died, Lin Guanghui went out. When he came back, he covered himself with a blanket and went to sleep. Later, when the news of Tong Jiaojiao’s death reached the sent-down youth settlement, he showed surprise and sadness.”

“Surprise and sadness could also be feigned. He went out that afternoon, and even if the police report says he went somewhere else, it could be faked.”

"By the way, Brother Lu, although he doesn't like Tong Jiaojiao, he has a pretty good relationship with her."

"Hmm?" Lu Zhengting seemed to have grasped the key point: "If the relationship is good, some things are easier to do. They may have had a child by accident, but Lin Guanghui did not want the child, while Tong Jiaojiao insisted on giving birth. So Lin Guanghui tricked Tong Jiaojiao into going to the back mountain, wanting to help Tong Jiaojiao abort the child."

Unexpectedly, Tong Jiaojiao was very reluctant to part with the child and put up a fierce resistance, even shouting for help.

Fearing that Tong Jiaojiao would attract others, Lin Guanghui tried to cover her mouth with his hand, but accidentally blocked her nose as well, ultimately causing Tong Jiaojiao to suffocate and die.

Lin Zhiheng suddenly understood after listening to Lu Zhengting's analysis.

"Brother Lu, what you said seems to be true."

"This is just a hypothesis. I wasn't there to witness it firsthand, so I can't be 100% sure. But it's a very likely possibility. Of course, there are other hypotheses, such as Tong Jiaojiao getting pregnant from an affair with another married man, wanting to use the child to force him to abandon his wife, but the man refused, so he made her miscarry, unintentionally killing her."

Now that Lin Guanghui, this suspicious individual, has surfaced, we must keep a close eye on him and see if we can find any more compelling evidence from him. In addition, we should also investigate privately whether Tong Jiaojiao has any affairs with others; we should try to pursue both sides and not overlook any possibility.”

"Okay, Brother Lu."

After Lin Zhiheng visited the educated youth settlement, the police also came to the settlement and asked Wang Qiang, Shen Tengfei, and Niu Kuncheng about Lin Guanghui's evening outings. They all told the truth and said that there was a rule at their educated youth settlement that the educated youth would not go out at night unless the village cadres came to find them.

The police then questioned the female educated youth about the situation, and she gave the same answer.

However, when the police questioned Shen Man, she clearly guessed that Lin Guanghui was already being watched by the police, and she even suspected that Lin Guanghui might be the murderer who killed Tong Jiaojiao.

If Lin Guanghui is the murderer and is arrested by the police, then Lin Qingyan will be released. She is still eyeing the position of village doctor. If the police cannot convict Lin Guanghui, then Lin Qingyan will still be the prime suspect, and may even be convicted of murder, in which case she will never be released.

She was considering whether or not to help Lin Guanghui.

After questioning Lin Guanghui, the police were unable to determine whether he was the murderer and the investigation would continue.

The next morning, Lin Zhiheng went to the county town again, specifically to visit Lin Qingyan and her mother-in-law. He first went to the state-run restaurant to buy some hot meat buns before going to the police station.

He couldn't find Lin Qingyan and Granny Lin after entering, so he asked the police about their general situation. Then he handed the meat buns to the police officer to give to Lin Qingyan and Granny Lin, and left.

Lin Zhiheng didn't go to the black market to move grain yesterday, nor did he ask for leave in advance. Today, he went to greet the black market boss and said that he didn't know when he could come back to work.

The black market boss didn't force him. Seeing that he was a reliable and capable person, he agreed that he could come anytime.

After leaving the black market granary, Lin Zhiheng went straight back to the brigade.

He also needed to keep an eye on Lin Guanghui and, incidentally, inquire among the commune members about any romantic relationships between Tong Jiaojiao and other members.

He had only been gone from the black market for a short time when Helan Lan went to the black market granary.

She didn't see Lin Zhiheng again today, and she was so angry that she started pulling her braids and stomping her feet.

"Lin Zhiheng, you didn't come again today. What were you doing? If you don't come tomorrow, I'll have Dad fire you. You'll be hired here again if you ever want to work again."

She was just saying things out of anger because she couldn't see Lin Zhiheng.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!