Chapter 94 You're surrounded!

Almost everyone in Tuanjie Village was on the mountain helping with the "Hongmei County Peach Blossom Festival." Chen Zhenzhu was guarding the entrance to the mountain, looking around and checking against the roster.

Tourists who came to visit saw the olive-green uniformed guards at the intersection, with weapons on their waists, and they all quickly went around them.

"They're so uncooperative, they won't even take the time to ask a few questions." To avoid being seen as a troublemaker, Zhao Qiqi put on a police uniform, but no one paid any attention to her.

Lu Ye came out of the village committee office with a bag full of "Work Attendance Logs". He opened it and showed it to Chen Zhenzhu: "Tuanjie Village still maintains the habits from the collective economy era. Everyone earns money together and does work together. This is an attendance book they made a few years ago for the development of Peach Blossom Mountain. I think we can use this as a basis to conduct a preliminary investigation."

Shen Zhenzhu counted on her fingers and said to Lu Ye, "Focus on Li Mancang, Li Xiaomin, Li Dao, Li Jian, and Li Feng. Also, observe whether there are any small groups or family alliances with close personal relationships in Tuanjie Village. In addition, ask more questions in the statements about whether they have seen strangers coming and going in the village."

"Understood." Zhao Qiqi took out the Cherokee key and said, "They won't even sell us food. I'll go to the next village and see if I can buy some."

Lu Ye said, "If no one sells them, there are plenty of vegetable patches in the village. The three of us can go pick some in the middle of the night. A living person can't let themselves die from holding their pee, can they?"

The words may be rough, but the meaning is sound. After eating a snack, Chen Zhenzhu felt her mouth was burning.

She and Lu Ye returned to the old house and wiped the broken table. Lu Ye didn't notice for a moment and couldn't find Chen Zhenzhu. Later, he found her on the roof of the old house.

"The view is good here, and it's well-hidden." After observing for a while, Shen Zhenzhu lightly jumped down without making much noise.

"Let's go, let's further screen the suspects." Shen Zhenzhu pulled Lu Ye into the house.

After looking around, Chen Zhenzhu pointed to the name "Li Mancang" on the crossed-out list and said, "Did you see his attendance record?"

Lu Ye glanced at it, then looked up at Chen Zhenzhu and said, "His family collects scraps. It's said they don't have any contracted land on the mountain, so their attendance doesn't count towards their work points."

“Then there’s no alibi.” Shen Zhenzhu tapped on the three characters “Li Mancang” and clenched her fist tightly, saying, “Let’s start the investigation with him.”

“Okay,” Lu Ye said.

With Chen Zhenzhu having determined the direction of the investigation, Lu Ye breathed a sigh of relief. Having a clue was better than having no clue at all; he felt like he was about to see the sunrise.

"Damn it! People from Tuanjie Village are saying behind our backs that we came to ruin the 'Peach Blossom Festival,' and the neighboring village is united against us, so they won't even sell me any vegetables!" Zhao Qiqi parked his Cherokee in the yard, the deep ruts showing his anger: "I bet it's because no one in their own family died!"

Lu Ye laughed and said, "I went to the village restaurant and asked. A plate of stir-fried bok choy would cost me 50 yuan. That's blatant robbery."

Zhao Qiqi said angrily, "I was helping them solve the case, how can they not understand!"

Shen Zhenzhu reached over the snack bag on the cabinet, took out a bag of crispy sausages and gave it to Zhao Qiqi: "Have a bite to tide you over, then we'll go steal some vegetables tonight and cook. Anyway, I'm not leaving, do whatever you want."

"Okay!" Zhao Qiqi immediately calmed down. She glanced out the window and noticed that there were still children standing guard at the door, perhaps following the instructions of the adults.

After making arrangements, Shen Zhenzhu went out to call Lu Ye to follow her, and then said to Zhao Qiqi, "You rest for a while, then compare the attendance records with the time the victims went missing. We'll go ask them for their statements."

Zhao Qiqi nodded and said, "Okay, be careful, this is their territory."

After changing into casual clothes and tidying herself up, Chen Zhenzhu strolled around the village with Lu Ye.

They first went to Sun Suisui's house, pretending to ask Sun Suisui's second aunt for food, while secretly observing the situation at Zhao Tianshan's, also known as Li Mancang's, house.

Just like last time, Old Lady Zhao was still cursing: "You damned prostitute, you rotten whore! You deserve to die a horrible death! You slut, you're a jinx!"

"That's some pretty filthy language—hey!" Lu Ye was momentarily distracted and almost got his nose hit by Aunt Sun Suisui's door slamming shut.

Shen Zhenzhu covered her mouth and chuckled to herself.

Lu Ye rubbed his nose and said helplessly, "Old Mrs. Zhao is being served too well, she's full of energy. This second aunt doesn't even show any consideration."

Shen Zhenzhu turned her head and walked a few steps toward Li Mancang's house. She sniffed and the stench in the air was indescribable. There seemed to be more garbage than before. As the weather warmed up, bacteria and insects were having a wild time in the sewage.

"Stop smelling it, you might get poisoned." Lu Ye grabbed Chen Zhenzhu's shoulder and pulled her back, saying, "Let's go to the village committee, they'll be off work soon."

The stench made Shen Zhenzhu sneeze, and she rubbed her nose before following Lu Ye away.

When they arrived at the village committee, there were only two staff members on duty, guarding the landline phone.

"Why are you here again? Return the attendance book as soon as you've finished looking at it, or the secretary will criticize us." Little Li, the clerk, received a pack of good cigarettes from Lu Ye and gave it to the attendance book, but regretted it immediately afterward.

Just as another chubby officer, also surnamed Li, was about to speak, Shen Zhenzhu stopped him, took out a packet of high-quality Yunyan cigarettes from her pocket, stuffed it into his hand, and said with a smile, "We won't cause trouble, we just want to ask a few questions."

The chubby officer glanced at Officer Li, who then looked at Yunyan, nodded, stood up, and walked to the door to look around.

"Speak, what is it?" The chubby officer opened a pack of Yunyan cigarettes, took one out, smelled it under his nose, and then handed one to Officer Li, saying, "Keep it short, it's not good if others see this."

Shen Zhenzhu then cut to the chase: "What are your impressions of Li Mancang?"

The chubby clerk nearly burned his hand with the lighter, laughing loudly as he said, "You guys don't suspect him, do you? After all this investigation, you're actually suspecting him?"

"Hahaha, cough cough cough... cough cough cough..." Officer Li couldn't help but laugh, and accidentally choked on his smoke, coughing violently.

Shen Zhenzhu didn't say "Why can't we have doubts?" as that would easily reveal her purpose. Instead, she asked indirectly, "What are you laughing at?"

After coughing, Officer Li wiped away his tears and said, "He's known throughout the surrounding area as an honest man. He wouldn't dare do anything wrong, and he always bows and scrapes to everyone. He did a lot of work on the mountain this time, but the village didn't give him any work points. They only gave him a few dozen yuan to get rid of him, and he didn't dare ask for more. You actually suspect such a spineless coward? Is it just because you see him as a coward and want to use him as a scapegoat?"

"Don't talk nonsense. We will never let an innocent person take the blame." Shen Zhenzhu said seriously, "He's rarely home? I heard that collecting scrap metal is very lucrative, how come he's living like that?"

The fat clerk said, "His mother is sick in bed and her medical expenses are a lot of money every month. In addition, he dotes on his wife and can't bear to make her suffer in terms of food, drink and toileting. All of this makes it impossible for him to save any money he earns."

Xiao Li casually remarked, "Have you ever heard how badly his mother scolds her daughter-in-law? Such a vicious mother-in-law has such a good daughter-in-law serving her for so many years. That's why he's so good to his wife."

Remembering what Old Lady Zhao had said about Hao Chunzhi, Shen Zhenzhu inquired, "Hao Chunzhi is so beautiful, is she really as promiscuous as her mother-in-law said? Have you seen any strangers coming and going from Li Mancang's house?"

"Nonsense, she spends all her time at home serving her mother-in-law. She may not look like much on the outside, but her house is spotless. I wouldn't believe she's having an affair," said Officer Li. "Most of the people who come to her house are acquaintances from her old days selling scrap; strangers are rare."

The chubby clerk also said, "Hao Chunzhi rarely goes out. In earlier years..." He suddenly stopped and paused before continuing, "Anyway, she doesn't like to go out, so she never comes into contact with other men. Her mother-in-law is just mean; she likes to torment her. She has a weak personality, and she and Li Mancang are both pushovers, easily manipulated. Sigh, it's such a pity to think about it."

Shen Zhenzhu then asked, "Where is Hao Chunzhi's hometown?"

Xiao Li, the staff member, said, "I don't know, I arrived late."

The chubby clerk dodged the question, saying, "I don't know. Who remembers something from so many years ago? Anyway, Li Mancang and his daughter-in-law couldn't possibly be the murderers. They couldn't even kill a chicken together, let alone murder."

Shen Zhenzhu said seriously, "I didn't say they killed people."

Officer Li said, "We heard that we're going to investigate missing persons cases. The only reason people haven't come back all these years is that they've died."

Shen Zhenzhu asked a few more questions about Li Mancang, but unfortunately, the young Li officer didn't know the details. The fat officer seemed to know a little, but he didn't say anything more.

"Hurry up, someone's coming," Officer Li called to Chen Zhenzhu. "Let's go."

Shen Zhenzhu walked to the door and said quickly, "Hey, how much are two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes?"

Xiao Li, the cadre, was taken aback. He raised his hand and sniffed his sleeve: "How did you know my family cooks communal meals?"

Shen Zhenzhu said, "You have the smell of cooking pots on you; people in this line of work can sense it."

"Still talking about wok hei? City officials really know how to talk." Little Li urged, "I'm sorry, but our village secretary said we can't let you affect the 'Peach Blossom Festival.' I'll treat you to a meal in a week. Even if you give me money today, I can't give you a meal. You should leave early."

After leaving the village committee, Lu Ye said, "That fat man is hiding something."

Chen Zhenzhu nodded slightly: "Li Mancang's family is poor, burdened by his paralyzed mother and unemployed wife, and he himself is in poor health. Yet he can buy his wife expensive red leather shoes, and his mother listens to the radio while watching TV on the kang (a heated brick bed), not caring about electricity consumption at all. It's not like the behavior of a poor family. No matter how much he loves his wife and mother, he wouldn't be so extravagant in these details."

“But their meals are very simple,” Lu Ye said. “I didn’t see any meat.”

Shen Zhenzhu nodded, then scratched her head: "Check again."

Afterwards, the two of them went door to door to visit people. They thought that it was easy to argue with the young and strong people in the mountains, so it was better to ask the elderly, weak, sick and disabled who stayed behind, as they might know more.

After visiting more than ten households, no further useful testimonies were obtained. The last household was occupied by an elderly woman in her sixties who lived alone and was blind in one eye. She mainly relied on government relief funds and the care of villagers.

She lived in the northernmost corner of Tuanjie Village, the furthest point from Peach Blossom Mountain, seemingly forgotten by the entire village. She spent her days sitting alone on her doorstep, gazing at the distant Peach Blossom Mountain.

"Full granary?" The old woman, with only a few teeth left, sat on the threshold, sloshing around a bowl of rice porridge that contained very little rice. "Zhao Tianshan and Li Xiangxiu's son."

"Grandma, you remember correctly." Shen Zhenzhu squatted down in front of the old woman, her obedient appearance being the most endearing to the elderly.

The old woman patted her hand and said, "What do you want to ask? It's been so long since anyone has spoken to me. Has something happened in the village?"

Shen Zhenzhu said, "I want to ask about Li Mancang's family situation, especially about Hao Chunzhi."

The old woman withdrew her hand, looking warily at her and Lu Ye behind her, and asked, "Are you Hao Chunzhi's family? Are you here to take her back?"

"What do you mean?" Shen Zhenzhu asked. "Is there something wrong with Hao Chunzhi's background?"

The old woman said, "He's a college student. We spent a lot of money to get him. Everyone in the village knows that."

Shen Zhenzhu turned around sharply and glanced at Lu Ye. Just as Lu Ye was about to step forward, the old woman waved her hand vigorously to shoo him away: "Stay away from me!"

Lu Ye had no choice but to sit at the stone table in the middle of the courtyard, with the old hen and a group of chicks running around him.

Shen Zhenzhu lowered her voice and said, "Was she abducted?"

The old woman said nonchalantly, "What's there to be afraid of? Everyone in the village knows it cost two hundred yuan. Before my husband died, Zhao Tianshan and Li Xiangxiu even borrowed money from my family to raise funds. After my husband died, they refused to pay me back, refusing to pay me back the full thirty yuan! But she deserved it, she got her comeuppance, karma!"

Chen Zhenzhu asked softly, "Auntie, what kind of retribution?"

The old woman squinted at Chen Zhenzhu with her cloudy eyes, observed her carefully, and said, "You don't look like Hao Chunzhi. You're probably not lying. You really aren't family. Even if you are, this old woman isn't afraid anymore. I've lived enough anyway."

Shen Zhenzhu then asked again, "What happened to Li Mancang?"

The old woman's throat seemed to be pumping bellows. She laughed wildly for a while before slowly saying, "Li Mancang, he's incompetent. Li Xiangxiu's family line is dead."

As she spoke, she poured the last bit of rice from the bowl in front of her, and the old hen clucked and rushed over to pick up the grains of rice.

"Li Xiangxiu's husband died, and she became paralyzed. She not only refused to return my money but also mocked me for the fate of causing my husband's death!" The old woman hadn't spoken to anyone for a long time, wiping the white foam from the corner of her lips with her sleeve.

Shen Zhenzhu then asked about Li Mancang's family situation. The old woman knew about the past, but knew nothing about recent events.

"What's my relationship with her? I'm her older sister, Li Xiangju!" The old woman's cloudy single eye flashed with intense hatred: "I'm a widow, and I'm having such a hard time. She, on the other hand, has a son and daughter-in-law who flaunt their wealth to me all day long. Now she's getting her comeuppance, isn't she?"

Chen Zhenzhu asked her several times, and the old woman Li Xiangju insisted, "The day Hao Chunzhi was bought back, the whole village was in an uproar. Everyone said that Li Mancang was lucky to be able to have two chubby boys in a year. But several years later, Hao Chunzhi's belly did not show any signs of pregnancy. I heard that Li Mancang even went to the hospital and spent a lot of money on treatment. It was because he was incompetent that Li Xiangxiu's family line ended."

After confirming Shen Zhenzhu's statement, the old woman Li Xiangju, who couldn't write, pressed her fingerprint on it and said confidently, "Anyway, I've lived long enough. Come find me anytime, come find me! If you beat me to death, it's my own fault; if you don't, it's because I'm lucky!"

Shen Zhenzhu stood up to say goodbye to the old woman Li Xiangju. After walking a few steps, she didn't see Lu Ye make a move. Turning back, she saw Lu Ye staring at four or five eggs in the old hen's nest.

"Want some? I'll give you a discount." Li Xiangju said with a smile that didn't reveal her teeth, "One yuan a piece."

"That old man is so heartless! He's too experienced in the ways of the world and he's not easily swayed by emotions. He's just extorted money from me and Sister Pearl." Lu Ye complained to Zhao Qiqi, carrying the ten precious eggs he had bought with a single yuan: "I could have bought two roast chickens with that money."

Standing at the door, Zhao Qiqi asked blankly, "Do you need an invoice?"

Shen Zhenzhu nearly dropped the bucket she was carrying, but Zhao Qiqi rushed over and took it from her, saying, "Let me do it, let me do it. Is it for boiling eggs?"

Shen Zhenzhu unexpectedly pulled half a bag of millet from her pocket and said, "Eggs with millet porridge."

"Where did this come from?!" Lu Ye and Zhao Qiqi were so hungry their eyes were practically green!

Chen Zhenzhu said with a smile, "I traded it with a kid for half a bag of crispy sausages. We agreed to continue the transaction tomorrow night."

"It still has to be Sister Pearl." Lu Ye gave a thumbs up.

With food to fill their stomachs, the three of them squatted in front of the rural stove, lost in thought.

Zhao Qiqi recalled the phone call from earlier and told the two of them, "Xizi called and said that the person from the Municipal Bureau who was originally supposed to go to Hong Kong to learn about computers had to cancel at the last minute, and he volunteered to go and learn instead. It might take a year, but he'll be leaving soon."

Chen Zhenzhu sighed, "Ah, even this way I can't give it to him."

Lu Ye was quite optimistic: "It's not like we'll never see him again. This is an opportunity for him to improve. He's always been interested in computers, and he can help us solve more cases when he comes back."

Shen Zhenzhu nodded: "That's right, it's a good opportunity for him. I'll get his address later so we can keep in touch."

The pot boiled, and Lu Ye poked at Chen Zhenzhu, saying, "Go on."

Shen Zhenzhu nudged Zhao Qiqi with her elbow: "You come here."

Zhao Qiqi glared at Lu Ye and said, "You're the oldest."

"Alas, one monk carries water to drink, two monks carry water together..." Chen Zhenzhu lamented their misfortune: "Three monks, no water to drink."

Ring ring—

Ring ring.

The cell phone rang, and Chen Zhenzhu took the opportunity to run into the house to answer it, leaving Lu Ye and Zhao Qiqi staring at each other.

To everyone's surprise, after finishing the phone call, Chen Zhenzhu came out with her shoulders slumped and said in a muffled voice, "Points were deducted."

"What points? A 'grand competition'?" Lu Ye exclaimed in surprise, "Don't we get a point for finding clues? Why are we losing points?"

Zhao Qiqi also said, "That's right, what mistakes do we make that will result in points being deducted?"

Shen Zhenzhu was furious: "The Tuanjie Village Committee filed a complaint, saying that we were disturbing the peace and hindering the 'Peach Blossom Festival'! They actually complained about me!"

Zhao Qiqi recalled the scene of the three of them squatting at the entrance to the mountain road. Indeed, some tourists avoided them when they saw the three of them, who were big and burly.

"It's okay, we still have one point left. We'll deduct the most points after that. I'm used to getting points after all this time. It'll be fine once the case is solved," Zhao Qiqi tried to comfort Sister Pearl.

"What a zero!" Shen Zhenzhu's throat tightened: "Two points were deducted for one complaint! I heard Song Xinchen congratulating us on the side, saying that in all these years of the 'Grand Competition,' our Liancheng group is the first team to get a negative score, sob sob."

"..." That's definitely a bit embarrassing.

Lu Ye and Zhao Qiqi also fell silent.

"Damn it, why is the whole world against me? All I want is to solve a case!" Lu Ye cursed as well.

"Leaders..." A knocking sound suddenly came from outside the door, and the furtive noise made them not notice it for a while.

Lu Ye strode over, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "I'm going to see who dares to mess with me!"

He flung open the door and was surprised to see Li Mancang!

Li Mancang and Hao Chunzhi each carried a dish and a meal, and quickly entered the courtyard.

Hao Chunzhi glanced shyly at Lu Ye's face and whispered, "I heard you had no food, so I secretly cooked two dishes and brought them over."

Upon hearing the news, Chen Zhenzhu came out and said with a smile, "Oh my, the food smells so good, I'm too embarrassed to eat it."

Li Mancang said politely, "You are all good comrades of the people. I know you came here to solve the case for the peace of the people. Please understand that the village spent a lot of money to hold the 'Peach Blossom Festival.' Please forgive my mistake. I apologize to you on behalf of Tuanjie Village."

Lu Ye's gaze lingered on his expression, unaware that Hao Chunzhi was also looking at him.

Shen Zhenzhu noticed Hao Chunzhi's gaze but didn't warn Lu Ye immediately: "Thank you for your understanding, Brother Li. To be honest, we were also complained about by your village. I don't know how it got to the provincial department, and we were even criticized for 'affecting people's livelihoods'."

Li Mancang, carrying the food, said apologetically, "You are all important people from the city, and it's good luck that you've come to our village. They are focused on making money and mainly want to improve everyone's lives. We can only try to understand each other in this situation."

Hao Chunzhi chimed in, "Farmers have a hard life, toiling in the fields all year round, barely making any money. I sincerely hope you understand."

Shen Zhenzhu smiled and said, "Sister-in-law is right. We have no choice. Other comrades have come several times. If we don't come, we'll lose face, and the leaders will say we're not serious. To be honest, when I came here, I knew that everyone was a simple working person. How could we do something so heinous? We're just doing our job to get by."

Lu Ye chimed in, "We'll be leaving in a few days. We'll just wander around the village when we have nothing to do. Tell the villagers not to mind us."

Hao Chunzhi said with difficulty, "I have no say in the village. If you're just trying to appease the leaders, you might as well go live in the county town. There's plenty of food and drink there."

Li Mancang also said, "That's right, the conditions over there are much better than in the village. You can just find any excuse to go there."

Shen Zhenzhu belatedly said, "Oh dear, you're right. I regret coming here now. It's a pity I submitted the investigation report. I have to get through these few days, right? Otherwise, the leaders will think I'm a good-for-nothing who goes back on his word."

Seeing that she couldn't persuade them, Hao Chunzhi held up the food and said, "I'll bring it to your house. This is clam soup made with kelp strips that Mancang bought in the county town yesterday, and the blanched spinach here is especially sweet."

Shen Zhenzhu followed behind her and said casually, "Sister-in-law, your accent doesn't sound like a local. Where are you from?"

Hao Chunzhi froze for two seconds, then immediately smiled and said, "Let's not talk about my family; we don't have a good relationship with them."

"Alright then." Chen Zhenzhu pulled out a stool and said, "Sit down for a bit? I'd like to ask you what fun things there are to do around here?"

Speaking of fun things, Hao Chunzhi breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself that this young policewoman must have connections in the city and was really just here for fun.

“Peach Blossom Mountain is very beautiful.” Hao Chunzhi had just opened her mouth when Li Mancang interrupted her, saying, “It’s nothing special. What haven’t the city leaders seen? It’s crowded up there, and the mountain road is difficult to walk on. If you fall, you’ll be in trouble.”

“That’s true. I’ve seen mountains covered in azaleas and rhododendrons,” Chen Zhenzhu recalled. “Those were truly beautiful.”

Li Mancang said, "There's a reservoir on your way here. You can go fishing there when you have time. There's also a fish restaurant run by people from Fujia Village nearby. Oh, and Wujiagou has free-range chickens. They sell clay pot chickens every day. You can go check it out."

Shen Zhenzhu nodded with a smile, understanding their meaning; they didn't want them to stay there.

Knowing that Shen Zhenzhu and the others weren't truly committed to solving the case, Li Mancang and Hao Chunzhi walked back with much lighter steps.

After seeing the couple off, Shen Zhenzhu couldn't bring herself to eat the food. Zhao Qiqi and Lu Ye were starving and stared blankly at the dishes. In the end, Lu Ye tasted the food first to make sure it was okay before they ate.

That night, Shen Zhenzhu kept checking their breathing, and was eventually driven into the small house.

But Chen Zhenzhu can't sleep! Negative score!

The laughter grew louder, but Chen Zhenzhu's determination to solve the case only grew stronger.

This mountain of negative scores weighed heavily on her. Although she knew that Gu Yanzheng would not blame her and would even comfort her, she was still anxious and troubled, tossing and turning and unable to sleep!

So he decided to go all the way and climbed onto the roof to continue squatting there, like a little owl, staring wide-eyed and quietly observing the night in Tuanjie Village.

"You villains, you're surrounded!" Shen Zhenzhu huddled in a corner of the roof, trembling as she spoke arrogantly.

The villagers of Tuanjie Village stayed up late tonight, busy preparing for the weekend. During the day, they were responsible for the mountain, and at night they carried supplies up the mountain.

As Shen Zhenzhu watched, she unknowingly spent the entire night squatting there.

The following day, the owl continued its duties during the day while investigating the case, and at night it continued to work.

For three consecutive days, the case made no progress, but I ended up with a pair of huge dark circles under my eyes.

"Where's the eagle?" Lu Ye got up in the middle of the night, went to the hut, glanced inside, and called out as usual, "Change of personnel?"

A hiss came from the rooftop eaves, and then a little owl poked its head out from under the eaves and said quickly, "Someone's going up the mountain on a different route! Let's hurry and follow!"

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The author says: Gu Yanzheng stared blankly at the "Grand Competition" results sheet in front of him, and then he laughed.

So cute!

The junior official who worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk to handle cases ended up with a negative score.

***

See you tomorrow, there's a red envelope coming! [hugs]