Chapter 497 Intricate Connections

After lunch, Song Dong took Zhou Xiye and Jiang Zhizhi to the old man's courtyard to take a closer look and examine the knife marks on the door.

He shook his head and said, "Look at this. It's obviously the work of someone who isn't strong enough. The cuts aren't deep, and he missed many times."

Zhou Xiye leaned down and took a look, agreeing with Song Dong's words: "From this angle, he should be a person who is not very tall."

Song Dong nodded: "Yes, all three victims were of normal male height, so there's something fishy about this case. Okay, I'll have them reinvestigate it later."

As the three were about to leave, the neighbor from the front yard who had been asking Jiang Zhizhi about the news suddenly came out.

Seeing Song Dong in his uniform, he mustered his courage and came over: "Comrade, are you here to look at this courtyard? Is someone coming to stay here?"

Song Dong shook his head: "No, we're just taking a look."

The neighbor sighed, "You need to deal with this yard quickly. Three people have died suddenly, and it was this old man too. We're all terrified."

“We don’t feel at ease being neighbors every day. If we had somewhere else to live, we would have moved away long ago.”

“I’ve reported this to the village many times before, but when they come to check, they find nothing. I can tell this old man isn’t a normal person.”

Song Dong asked, "This old man doesn't have any family either? Do you know where he's from before?"

The neighbor shook his head: "Judging from his accent, he seems to be from the Yunnan-Guizhou area, but I'm not sure exactly. This old man became strange and eccentric afterward, so we don't dare to associate with him anymore."

Song Dong nodded: "Okay, we understand. If you have any new developments, remember to let us know."

The neighbor was very friendly: "Yes, yes. By the way, when he lived here before, people would always come to see him, many of them from out of town, whom we didn't know."

"Then he'll go out for a while. He never locks the door when he goes out, and no one goes in. Everyone knows his yard smells bad and has poisonous snakes and such, so who would dare to go in?"

After thanking his neighbor, Song Dong walked out of the alley with Zhou Xiye and Jiang Zhizhi, remarking as they went, "This case is quite interesting."

He then asked, puzzled, "How could Aunt Jiang and Shen Luojia have been poisoned by such a strange poison?"

Jiang Zhizhi was also unsure: "I don't know. We finally got a clue, but then it all fell apart again."

Song Dong comforted him, "Don't worry, since there's such an extraordinary person, there must be a second one. I'll go and inquire about him later."

He then offered to take Jiang Zhizhi and Zhou Xiye back, but Jiang Zhizhi waved her hand and refused: "No need, it's very convenient for us to take the bus back from here. You've already wasted most of your day, so you should go and get back to work."

Song Dong glanced at the time and didn't stand on ceremony any longer: "Okay, I'll go take care of things now. Bring the kids over to play sometime."

After Song Dong drove away, Jiang Zhizhi looked worried and sighed heavily.

Zhou Xiye gently patted her shoulder: "Don't worry, Shangshang will definitely be fine."

Jiang Zhizhi frowned: "But I'm worried that Shang Shang's superpower will bring her danger."

Zhou Xiye comforted her, "Shangshang is growing up now, and we remind her every day not to show off this skill."

"As for those inexplicably appearing poisonous snakes and toads, tell her to ignore them."

Jiang Zhizhi sighed again: "When I got to the entrance of that courtyard, I don't know why, but I had a very oppressive feeling, it's just..."

She vividly remembers that feeling—the despair, oppression, and resentment of being betrayed by the leader she trusted most.

It's strange, why would she have such a feeling?

Zhou Xiye put his arm around her shoulder: "Don't think about it anymore, let's go home first."

He felt that Jiang Zhizhi was particularly sensitive because of Shang Shang.

The two went to take the bus. Seeing that there was still time, Jiang Zhizhi suggested going to Fuwai Shopping Mall to buy some small cakes for Shangshang and Xiao Zhouji, and then bought a larger cake for Shen Luojia as well.

"My sister-in-law is pregnant, so I'll buy her a cake to cheer her up."

Seeing Jiang Zhizhi smiling as she went to choose a cake, Zhou Xiye finally breathed a sigh of relief. After looking around, he took the initiative to suggest going shopping at the mall.

Jiang Zhizhi thought it was a good idea. Since having a child, the two of them had hardly had time to go shopping.

She's either at home taking care of the kids or in the yard.

The only time the two of them could be alone together was in bed.

The two strolled around carrying small cakes, and Zhou Xiye pointed to a red top: "This suits you, shall I buy you one?"

Jiang Zhizhi glanced at it and suddenly remembered the red scarf Zhou Xiye had given her the first time, and the red hair accessory he brought back for Shang Shang when he returned from his business trip.

It seems she has a particular fondness for red.

She chuckled and said, "Red? That's too much. I'm not a bride. I prefer more understated colors, or gray or black would be fine."

Zhou Xiye didn't quite understand; he just thought red was a festive color.

Seeing that Jiang Zhizhi didn't like it, he pointed to the black coat next to him and said, "How about this one?"

Jiang Zhizhi chuckled and pressed his hand down: "I'm not in such a bad mood, it's okay. I'm just a little worried, after all, our Shangshang is different from others."

Zhou Xiye nodded: "I'll teach Xiao Zhou some martial arts later, so he can protect Shang Shang when he grows up."

Jiang Zhizhi couldn't help but laugh when she thought about her son's energetic spirit, like a little wild bull: "Our little Zhou is already very powerful without learning martial arts. If he learned some martial arts, he would be a little tyrant."

Zhou Xiye didn't care: "Boys should have some masculinity, as long as they have upright thoughts."

The two chatted as they looked at the clothes in the display case.

After leaving the mall, Zhou Xiye bought her a roasted sweet potato: "Want to go see a movie?"

Jiang Zhizhi exclaimed, "You're acting strange today. What are you trying to do?"

Zhou Xiye chuckled softly: "I'm just trying to coax you. You're not happy, are you?"

Jiang Zhizhi smiled and her eyes crinkled: "No, let's go see a movie."

Anyway, with Fang Hua and Zhou Chengyu at home, there's no need to worry about the two children.

Moreover, even if the two children miss their parents right now, they don't have cell phones and can't bother them at all.

The two of them took roasted sweet potatoes and bought a bag of sunflower seeds for five cents before going to see a movie.

When I came out of the movie theater, it was already completely dark.

Jiang Zhizhi was afraid of missing the last bus, so she didn't even eat dinner and dragged Zhou Xiye to catch the bus.

I got home after 9 p.m.

The two little ones were not asleep; they were sitting upright on the living room sofa watching TV.

Even if they don't understand the TV content, it doesn't stop them from watching attentively.

Seeing her parents return, Shangshang turned her little head and pouted angrily: "Mom and Dad went out to play without taking Shangshang and Xiaozhouji."

Fang Hua laughed from the side: "While you two were out, these two were so worried at home, asking every now and then, 'Where's Mom? Where's Dad?'"

Shang Shang was slightly annoyed, then ran to Zhou Xiye for a hug: "Daddy, hug me, let's go catch Lai Baobao..."