Chapter 91

Tang Qingqing returned home, and Su Rong asked her about the progress of the family-annihilation case.

"Why did I hear that the Zhang family's murder case was related to Section Chief Zhang's sister-in-law?"

Ever since the murder of a family, people have been paying close attention to the case, wondering what kind of person could be so brutal and murderous.

Therefore, everyone was aware of any movement. The news that Zhao Lixiang had been arrested and had not been released had already spread everywhere.

Although we haven't determined who the murderer is, we also know that this sister has been crying the loudest since the accident happened to her sister's family, clamoring that her family cannot be buried unless the real murderer is found. She is also the first sister to discover this tragedy. It was actually related to this murder case.

Tang Jianguo and Su Rong knew Zhang Xingli and had met him several times. Su Rong also had a good relationship with Zhang Xingli's ex-wife, so she paid special attention to this case.

Su Rong was well aware of Zhao Lifen's situation, especially after the murder, and she was even more aware of Zhao Lixiang's situation, so it was even more unbelievable that this murder case was related to Zhao Lixiang.

Now that the case has progressed to this point, it is no longer a secret that Zhao Lixiang is involved in the murder of the entire family, so Tang Qingqing nodded and said:

"Well, she is probably the mastermind of the whole case."

Su Rong gasped, "How is this possible?! Section Chief Zhang's family has helped her a lot. If it weren't for them, she and her children would have nowhere to go, not to mention being able to live in the city, and the children wouldn't be able to go to school in the city!"

After the opening up, population mobility is faster than before, but it is still very difficult for rural people to make a living in the city.

It is especially difficult for someone like Zhao Lixiang, who is quite old and has two children.

Not only is life difficult, but children's schooling is also a big problem.

But Zhang Xingli helped his sister-in-law to solve all the problems and even opened a small shop for her to run. This allowed the three of them, mother and son, to gain a foothold in this city.

Although it is not possible to convert agricultural land into non-agricultural land, it has nonetheless achieved a leap-forward change.

Her sister's family has been so good to her, she cannot express her gratitude enough. What kind of person could do such a horrible thing!

Tang Qingqing took a sip of water and said, "Let's repay kindness with hatred."

According to the description of Zhao Lixiang's daughter, Zhao Lixiang was indeed very grateful to her aunt at the beginning, but gradually became dissatisfied.

It all started in that small shop.

Although the store is not big, due to its good location and a school across the street, it has a large flow of people, so it can earn hundreds of dollars a month!

Zhao Lixiang was busy running the canteen, but she only earned fifty yuan a month.

This salary amount is already very good for many workers. Zhao Lixiang was very grateful at first. When she was most well-off, she only had more than 30 yuan.

Now, I can earn fifty in a month!

This was something she had never dared to think about before, so how could she not be excited?

She was particularly grateful to her sister at the time and often ran over to help Zhao Lifen clean, cook, etc.

But as time went by, she gradually became dissatisfied.

She felt that she worked herself to death every day but earned only yuan a month, while Zhao Lifen did nothing and earned a few fifty hundred yuan for free, which made her psychologically unbalanced.

Su Rong couldn't help but frown when she heard this, and she managed to hold back her curse words: "How could this person be like this!"

Hearing this, it seems that Zhao Lifen does behave like a capitalist.

The hard-working workers can only get a small share, while the "capitalists" who do nothing take the lion's share and exploit the workers' surplus value.

However, this convenience store was funded by the Zhang family, and the storefront was acquired due to the Zhang family's connections. If the Zhang family had not worked hard to secure the supply channels, it would have been difficult for Zhao Lixiang, a country person from another place, to get the goods.

If it weren't for the Zhang family's efforts, Zhao Lixiang would never have been able to earn the 50 yuan salary.

Even though you are sisters and relatives, why would others take so many risks for you?

Although the policy is different now, it is still unclear sometimes.

Furthermore, doing business involves the risk of loss.

The canteen is making a profit now, so everything is fine. But if it loses money, can Zhao Lifen share the loss? This is definitely not possible, because Zhao Lifen is just an employee and does not need to bear the risk.

It seems that Zhao Lifen did not contribute, but in fact the capital and network channels she invested were all the results of previous struggles. She just paid in advance, so she cannot see it in the later stage.

The conflicts between the two were not limited to this. The bullying of Zhao Lixiang's younger son by Zhao Lifen's eldest son was also an important fuse.

Zhao Lixiang's daughter also said that her mother said Zhao Lifen looked down on her and wanted to remarry, but she always introduced some ugly people to her.

Moreover, even though her husband is so capable, her aunt still fails to find a good job for her niece.

If you can eat government food, it will be much easier to find a partner in the future.

If not for this, my daughter wouldn't have found such a stupid and poor man.

Zhao Lixiang had previously asked Zhao Lifen to help find a date for her daughter, but none of the people she introduced were good; some were even just temporary workers!

This made Zhao Lixiang feel very uncomfortable. She felt that Zhao Lifen looked down on their family and was not at all attentive when introducing them.

Su Rong sneered: "They can only survive by relying on my sister's family. They are registered as rural residents, yet they look down on others! They forgot all the help my sister gave them! They are such ungrateful people!"

The more Su Rong listened, the angrier she became. "How can there be such a shameless person in this world?"

When Tang Qingqing first heard it, she also found it unbelievable. Now that she has repeated it, she has calmed down a little.

She had experienced several homicides, and many of the murderers' motives were extremely absurd, but this time she was still shocked by Zhao Lixiang's cruelty.

What a deep hatred! He wants to kill my sister's whole family!

Tang Qingqing also found it difficult to understand why Zhao Lixiang had such great hatred. The whole case made her feel creepy and reminded her of a sentence in the book - the human heart is scarier than ghosts.

Seeing that Tang Qingqing was not in a good mood, Su Rong swallowed the curse on her lips and changed the subject:

"What do you want to eat tonight? Mom bought half a pound of pork belly today."

Before Tang Qingqing could say anything, Tang Zhenzhen's voice came from the stairs.

"Mom——"

As soon as Su Rong saw Tang Zhenzhen, she ran over and supported her.

"Zhenzhen, why are you up? Didn't I tell you not to move around? Be careful of the headache again."

Tang Zhenzhen clung to Su Rong, resting her head on her shoulder and said, "Mom, I'm fine now, you don't have to be so nervous."

"How can I not be nervous? I almost scared my mother to death that day! You are usually a very well behaved child, but I don't know what you were thinking that day to get involved in those things!"

Tang Zhenzhen raised her chin and pouted, "I just want to help my dad. So much money was lost in the factory, and I want to do my part."

Su Rong couldn't resist her daughter's coquetry and couldn't help pinching her face.

"What can I say to you? The cultural performance is about to begin. If something happens to you, all the preparations during this period will be wasted!"

Tang Zhenzhen only suffered a mild concussion and will be able to continue dancing after a few days of rest. It will not affect the performance.

Su Rong went to the art troupe in person to ask for leave for Tang Zhenzhen. She did not explain the details, only saying that Tang Zhenzhen was injured while catching a thief. Such a heroic deed made the leaders of the art troupe promise her that as long as it did not affect Tang Zhenzhen's actions, she would not be replaced.

Tang Zhenzhen could stay at home and recuperate peacefully without having to train hard every day like everyone else.

It is now September, and it is only a month away from November. The art troupe requires everyone to live in the dormitory and not go home unless necessary. They must concentrate on rehearsals to ensure a smooth performance on the day of the art fest.

"Mom, how is the investigation going in the factory? I don't think this matter is that simple."

Su Rong paused and said, "Don't worry about adults' affairs. Just take good care of your health."

Tang Zhenzhen didn't understand why her parents didn't let her ask about this matter, which prevented her from sharing the information she had "analyzed" and letting everyone know how great she was.

But every time she brought it up she was interrupted, which made her feel depressed. Why did she solve the case and lead people to catch the criminals, but now she didn't tell her anything?

Tang Zhenzhen didn't continue to dwell on this question, and asked Su Rong:

"Mom, what are we having for dinner? I really miss your homemade stir-fried pork. I've been eating bland food these past few days and my mouth is tasteless."

"You, nothing tastes good without chili. Okay, mom will make it for you tonight."

After Su Rong said this, she suddenly remembered that she had just asked Tang Qingqing what she wanted to eat.

She bought half a pound of meat and couldn't cook it in two different ways.

Su Rong looked at Tang Qingqing in embarrassment: "Qingqing, how about having hometown stir-fried pork tonight?"

Tang Zhenzhen saw that Tang Qingqing looked like she suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly said, "Mom, it depends on what my sister wants to eat. I have eaten a lot of good things before. My sister's needs are more important. I can eat anything."

Tang Qingqing raised her eyebrows and said, "Then let's have braised pork."

Tang Zhenzhen's eyes twinkled, "Mom, let's change it to braised pork. It's okay if I don't eat spicy food."

Su Rong was stuck in the middle and didn't know what to do for a moment. She had two daughters and they were all her own flesh and blood.

Normally, Su Rong would make braised pork for Tang Qingqing, but now that Tang Zhenzhen was injured, she wanted to whet her appetite.

"I'm going upstairs to read."

Tang Qingqing went straight upstairs without caring about the lawsuit that would follow.

Su Rong looked at Tang Zhenzhen apologetically: "Next time Mom buys pork belly, I'll make you home-cooked stir-fried pork."

"Mom, don't worry about me. My sister's happiness is the most important thing."

"What nonsense are you talking about! You are all my daughters, I will not favor any of you. I still have meat coupons at home, I will make sure you can eat pork belly tomorrow."

Although Tang Jianguo is the factory director, he doesn't get to eat meat every day, and only a few times a week. But it is much better than many other families.

Many people can’t buy meat more than twice a month. Not only is meat expensive, it also requires a ticket, and you may not be able to get it even if you want to buy it.

Especially for good places like pork belly and fatty meat, if you don’t queue up early, there won’t be any left for you.

Tang Zhenzhen pulled Su Rong's arm and shook her: "Mom, you love me the most. You are the best mother in the world."

Tang Qingqing went upstairs and vaguely heard the conversation between the two people. She pursed her lips and closed the door to block out the noise.

She had no interest in "competing for favor," nor did she have any interest in getting involved in such a boring fight with Tang Zhenzhen.

In the book, Su Rong dotes on the heroine in particular, with both motherly love and guilt for sending her child to grow up in the countryside when she was four years old.

Although in some places, Su Rong seems to like to interfere too much in the heroine's life, she is really good to her and will try her best to meet her needs.

Most parents today are like this. They think they have more life experience, so they feel they know what is better for their children and can help them avoid some detours, but they forget to take into account their children's psychological needs.

After Tang Qingqing's fate was changed, many of her thoughts became different from those of the heroine in the book.

She was unable to follow Su Rong's arrangements like the heroine did, and the injuries she had suffered before prevented her from getting too close to Su Rong.

This distance, neither too far nor too close, is best, so that Su Rong can respect her wishes.

Behind Su Rong's gentle appearance, she is extremely strong. If you get too close to her, you will inevitably be controlled by her.

As for Tang Zhenzhen, Tang Qingqing was a little disappointed to be honest.

Although she had a bad heart in the past, she was also a very smart and capable person.

Now, I don’t know whether it was to win favor or to be lazy, but after being promised that there would be no role change, he insisted on staying at home for such a long time.

Her injuries had long since healed, and her steps were steady. She was lively and energetic when no one was around, but looked weak when people were around.

Tang Zhenzhen thought that no one would know that she was pretending to be weak, but Tang Qingqing had already seen the truth from her steps and footprints.

Eating and drinking every day without moving is a big taboo for a dancer.

One minute on stage is the result of ten years of hard work off stage.

If you don’t practice for one day, you will know it; if you don’t practice for three days, the audience will know it.

No matter how talented you are, you cannot slack off, otherwise your body will quickly protest. You cannot also arbitrarily stop training.

Such self-deceiving behavior is nothing but a waste of talent.

These thoughts flashed through Tang Qingqing's mind in an instant, and she quickly put them behind her and sat at the desk to read quietly.

She still had a lot of information to look at, and her reputation was gradually spreading in Yang City. Every now and then, people from various public security bureaus would come to deliver footprint photos, hoping that she could provide some clues through analysis to help them better solve the case. This made her very busy every day.

School is about to start, and high school courses are more difficult, so I will have less time to spend on these books.

Two days later, Tang Qingqing took the appraisal results to the Public Security Bureau and learned that Zhao Lixiang had pleaded guilty.

"Another story of a farmer and a snake."

Shi Pengfei summarized the case in one sentence.

"We went to Zhao Lixiang's hometown and her former husband's family to investigate. Zhao Lixiang is not what many people think she is. She has been very aggressive since she was a child and is a competitive person.

She was beautiful when she was young and always thought highly of herself. She later married into a good family. However, she had a bad temper and quarreled with people everywhere since she got married. She offended all her husband's brothers and sisters-in-law. Her mother-in-law fainted from anger during a quarrel with her. Since then, her health has not been good and she died not long after.

So after her husband passed away, everything in the house was taken over by her husband’s brothers, and no one spoke up for their family.”

Zhao Lifen is the youngest sister of Zhao Lixiang. Her elder sister got married when she was very young, so unlike her other brothers and sisters, she was not beaten or yelled at by Zhao Lixiang.

Zhao Lixiang's husband's family lived in a relatively good place in the countryside. Every time she went back to her parents' home, she would bring candy to Zhao Lifen, and Zhao Lifen took note of it.

When Zhao Lifen heard that her elder sister was in trouble, she couldn't bear it and begged her husband to help her sister.

Zhang Xingli is a smart man and has always wanted to open a store.

But his identity certainly made it difficult for him to do this. Zhao Lifen was his wife, and it would be embarrassing for him to open a small shop. When he heard that his sister-in-law was coming, he readily agreed.

Zhao Lixiang had suffered a lot since her husband's death. At first she was very grateful to Zhao Lifen, but as time went on, her picky and stubborn nature came back.

She saw that her brother-in-law was so outstanding, and that her sister, who was not as pretty as her, had married so well and became the wife of a section chief. Those young men were all respectful to her. When she saw how mean she was, she felt very uncomfortable.

She had previously hinted to Zhao Lifen to ask her brother-in-law to find a partner for her among his circle of friends. Zhang Xingli is a local. His father was a state cadre in the past, and his position was not low. His mother is a leader in a factory, and his family is very well off.

The people he knows are basically the same as him.

There are many widowers these days and single men who got divorced for special reasons. Zhao Lixiang thinks that if she cleans herself up, she can marry a good man.

If Zhao Lifen can find such a good husband, I can do the same.

It's true that I'm not a virgin, so I can find someone older.

As a result, Zhao Lifen didn't take the matter seriously.

At this point, Shi Pengfei said, "She herself felt that Zhao Lifen was not attentive. Zhao Lifen did arrange things for her and dated several men, but she just didn't like them. Those she liked, they didn't like her."

The person introduced by Zhao Lifen was actually quite good, but Zhao Lixiang was comparing herself to Zhao Lifen, so she was very dissatisfied. She felt that Zhao Lifen was very perfunctory and was afraid that she would marry better and surpass her.

This matter had originally made her feel uncomfortable, and when her daughter got married, Zhao Lifen was still like this, and her dissatisfaction turned into resentment.

"Zhao Lifen's eldest son bullied her youngest son, which offended her. She felt that her younger sister was treating her family as slaves."

Zhao Lifen did handle this matter inappropriately. Zhang Xingli has the final say in this family. She is a girl from the country who can barely read and write and has a soft personality, so she has no say.

The people around Zhang Xingli didn't look up to her very much. They were generally well-educated and well-connected people. This made her even more insecure and she was always cautious at home.

Adults' emotions will affect children, and the children don't have much respect for Zhao Lifen.

Especially the eldest son, who was spoiled by his grandparents and didn't listen to Zhao Lifen at all. If you didn't know her attitude, you would think Zhao Lifen was a nanny and not his biological mother.

Zhao Lifen's eldest son bullied Zhao Lixiang's youngest son. She tried to intervene but it was useless. She did not dare to mention it to Zhang Xingli, for fear that he would say that she could not even take care of her own children.

Therefore, Zhao Lixiang thought that Zhao Lifen did not take care of the children at all and felt that they were looking down on people.

The resentment in her heart was accumulated bit by bit because of things like this, and what made her want to kill was because of money.

Zhao Lixiang was not satisfied with how little she earned, so she secretly hid a hundred yuan every month.

Zhao Lifen didn't know about it at first and didn't check the accounts until Zhao Lixiang's appetite grew bigger and bigger. Zhang Xingli realized something was wrong and checked and found out what Zhao Lixiang had done.

Zhang Xingli was very angry at the time and threatened to kick Zhao Lixiang out. Zhao Lixiang was worried that if she really broke off relations with her sister's family, her son might not be able to go to school.

When she saw her daughter and the guy she was dating standing in front of her, Zhao Lixiang had a bold idea.

When Zhao Lixiang got the key home and cleaned the house for Zhao Lifen's family, she secretly went to get a copy and designed a trick to mislead the detection direction.

The law is strict and she was eventually caught.

"She originally thought that if the case was solved and her daughter's boyfriend was arrested, she could find a better man for her daughter."

Tang Qingqing couldn't help but laugh: "Didn't she think she would be implicated?"

"This kind of people have a low legal awareness and do not know the power of interrogation. They think that since they did not do anything, as long as they do not admit it, it has nothing to do with them and nothing will happen to them."

Zhao Lixiang had already thought of a reason to frame the man, saying that Zhao Lifen and his wife did not agree with their daughter marrying this man, so this man retaliated.

But Zhao Lixiang underestimated others too much. Her daughter was the first to sell her out, and her partner also opened his mouth.

Zhao Lixiang could not have imagined that she had mopped the floor clean and checked carefully, but found no traces before going out to call for help.

As a result, because of this action, he actually got himself into trouble.

"She is the mastermind. She can be sentenced to death, right?"

The court is qualified to sentence, but since Shi Pengfei has had contact with the person, he can make a rough guess.

"Neither she nor the murderer will be able to escape. Her daughter knew about the crime but did not report it. She is also suspected of aiding and abetting. Her sentence will not be light. As for the young son, he is still young and does not know about these things, so he will not be implicated."

"After this incident, he can't continue to study in the city, right?"

Although he was not involved in the murder, it would still have a huge negative impact on him, especially since his family was a bunch of ungrateful people who looked down on them.

No one knows whether this ungrateful little girl will become like her family when she grows up.

"We will send him back to his own home and let local officials fight for his property, so that he will not be left with nothing."

"Although Zhao Lixiang is a difficult person to get along with, the person who stole their family property is not a good person either. It is not a great achievement to bully orphans and widows."

Even if Zhao Lixiang had not come to the city, her distorted values ​​​​might have brought her fatal disaster, but let's put it this way.

Tang Qingqing was deeply saddened by the family extermination case. She wrote in a letter to Zhai Hongyi:

"People can be so terrible. Every time I encounter such a serious case, I am shocked. I can't understand why there are such people and why they have such thoughts."

The day Tang Qingqing stuffed the letter into the mailbox was also the first day of school.

Su Rong carefully asked if she needed her to take her to school.

Tang Qingqing declined politely. Nowadays, few high school students need to be taken to school by their parents, especially since this school is affiliated with a machinery factory and is very close.

Although Tang Qingqing has been in Yang City for several months, she is not familiar with people of the same age as those in the machinery factory. Instead, she has formed close friends with the old men and women who like to do morning exercises.

When she entered the school, she could clearly feel that many people were pointing fingers at her, as if they all knew who she was.

Some people's eyes were full of curiosity, some people's eyes were full of scrutiny, and some of the looks were not very friendly.

Tang Qingqing pretended not to see anything and was not very interested in studying their eyes. She preferred to watch their footsteps, their walking postures, etc.

She found her class according to the class division table. There were ten classes this session, and Tang Qingqing was in Class Nine.

Currently, classes are divided according to scores. The bigger the number, the worse the grades.

Tang Qingqing didn't expect that she would be assigned to Class 9. She secretly sighed that the teaching quality in the city was really good. Her grades were the best in the commune junior high school, but now she is nothing here.

Although the exam papers of both sides are similar, the difficulty should not be much different, and theirs may be even easier.

These insights filled Tang Qingqing's heart with fighting spirit. She must keep up with the performance of the big team!

When Tang Qingqing walked into the classroom, many people had already found their seats.

Many of them were from junior high school or they were from the same factory. They knew each other very well and became friends very quickly.

The teacher hasn't arrived yet, so you can just sit anywhere.

There were no individual seats left at this time. Some tables were empty but people still used their school bags and other belongings to take up the seats.

Tang Qingqing walked over to a friendly-looking girl and asked, "Is there anyone here?"

“Yes…No!”

Tang Qingqing frowned: "Is it true or not?"

The girl glanced behind Tang Qingqing and shook her head quickly: "No!"

Tang Qingqing didn't say anything and continued to walk to the back. But before she could open her mouth, the girl at the same table said:

"There's someone here!"

Tang Qingqing continued to walk, and everyone received the same treatment. Some people even threw themselves on the table, indicating that there were people here.

It was not until Tang Qingqing walked to the last row that she was no longer rejected and finally found a place to go.

Tang Qingqing greeted her deskmate: "Hello, my name is Tang Qingqing."

My deskmate is a very fat girl. It is the first time that Tang Qingqing has seen such a fat person. Nowadays, most people are thinner.

The girl has a round face. Although she is fat, her eyes are not squeezed too small by the fat on her face. Her eyes are bright and she looks very cute.

The fat girl was a little timid. "Hello, my name is Tang Xiaoxiao."

"Puff——"

As soon as the fat girl finished speaking, a boy at the table in front of her started laughing.

"Tang Xiaoxiao, you are not ashamed to call yourself Xiaoxiao given your body size. Why haven't you changed your name yet?"

Tang Xiaoxiao's face turned red and her lips trembled slightly, but she didn't dare to say a word.

"This is the name given to me by my elders, so why should I change it just because you asked me to? Who are you?"

Tang Qingqing directly retorted.

When the boy saw Tang Qingqing's face clearly, his face suddenly turned red. He turned away quickly and didn't dare to say anything more.

Tang Qingqing didn't intend to let it go just like that. She wanted to say something but was stopped by Tang Xiaoxiao.

"It's okay, I'm used to it. I don't want to be fat. I was sick before, and the medicine I took made me gain a lot of weight all of a sudden, and it's very difficult to lose weight." Tang Xiaoxiao said distressedly.

Tang Qingqing didn't know how to comfort her, so she could only change the subject and said, "Our names are quite compatible. Tang and Tang are just different in tone, and both names are reduplicated words."

Tang Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up and she smiled happily.

"Yeah, hehe."

Tang Xiaoxiao is a very talkative girl, with a soft voice and personality, and Tang Qingqing quickly became friends with her.

When the bell rang, the last remaining seat at the front table was taken at the last minute.

Tang Qingqing knew this person, and his eyes widened when he saw her.

"Why are you here?!"

Tang Qingqing said calmly, "Come to school."

Shi Zhan saw her conflicted expression, and the conflicting feelings of wanting to despise her but also wanting to kneel down in front of her were fighting in his mind.

It was not until the head teacher walked into the classroom that he turned his head away, but he kept twisting and turning and could not find peace.

Speaking of which, I went to find her before the show, furious. But before I could tell her what the matter was, Shi Pengfei arrived.

What on earth does this guy want to do?