"Captain, how do we investigate?"

Bai Jiaojiao looked at Zheng Xu.

Zheng Xu said, "And when you asked me? Aren't you supposed to have a lot of ideas?"

"What you're saying."

"You don't need to worry about that, I'll investigate. However, there's something I need to trouble you with," Zheng Xu said.

"What's up?"

Zheng Xu lowered his voice: "When Shen Heng comes back today, ask him if he has any connections to check if anyone on the black market wants piglets. Doesn't he go there often?"

This is not something that can be presented in public. Bai Jiaojiao said, "Captain, you know that Brother Heng is counting on this. If it is bought by someone he knows well on the black market, wouldn't it be the same as betraying that person if he inquires about it for you?"

To put it bluntly, this is how their family makes a living. Since this business is illegal, if these middlemen don't unite, none of them will be able to continue.

"You dare to say anything."

Zheng Xu glanced at Bai Jiaojiao, but didn't really blame her: "I didn't ask you to report them. Here, you don't need to tell me who bought it. Just find out who sold it."

"If you don't have evidence, how can you arrest someone?"

“Now that we know who it is, leave the rest to me. I'll also investigate. That kid Fugui didn't tell the truth today, so I'll go and question him privately.”

Huang Fugui is the young man the child pointed out was the one who went into the woods with another girl last night. Today at the meeting, he said he didn't see anything, but based on Zheng Xu's years of experience in judging people, this kid might know something.

“Okay, I’ll talk to Brother Heng about this when I get back. We’ll definitely do our best to help you find out, but there are so many people in the black market, Brother Heng might not be able to find out anything.”

“It’s alright, having you ask is just an extra precaution. Um,” Zheng Xu couldn’t help but add a few words of advice, “What is your third brother doing now? Tell him to keep a low profile a bit. Quite a few people in our village have seen him leaving this morning. Our village doesn’t care about this, but you mustn’t let the speculation get to the office.”

"Understood, thank you, Captain. Don't worry."

Zheng Xu was unaware that Bai Shibao had already been reported once before.

Seeing Bai Jiaojiao so calm, he sighed.

If only everyone could go into business, look at the life the Bai family is living now. How wonderful it would be if every family in Shili Village could live like that.

Zheng Xu felt for the first time that there was a problem with the current situation, but he dared not say it, nor could he say it. As the brigade leader of the commune, he had to play a positive leading role.

Zheng Xu said goodbye to Bai Jiaojiao and went to the field. He pulled Huang Fugui out, and the two talked behind a big tree.

"Captain, all I'm doing is dating. My family and Honghong's family don't get along. My mom disapproved and gave me a lecture, but why are you criticizing and lecturing me?"

Huang Fugui had just been scolded by his mother and looked ashamed.

"Who cares if you're dating? Let me ask you, did you really not see anything unusual on the street last night?"

"Captain, didn't I say I didn't?"

“Let me tell you, this is a private conversation between the two of us. You can say whatever you want, and I won’t tell anyone, even if it involves private matters. But if you lie and get caught, the team will call you in, and you’ll not only have to tell the truth, but you’ll also have to read a self-criticism in front of everyone.”

Why do I have to read a self-criticism?

"If you don't tell the truth, you're protecting a criminal, do you know that?" Zheng Xu was good at intimidating people, but Huang Fugui was young after all. He clenched his fists and blurted it all out.

“When I took Honghong home last night, I saw a man walking towards the pigsty. I didn’t recognize him.”

"A man?"

"Um."

"Why didn't you say so during the big meeting?" Zheng Xu thought there was something shameful going on.

"Isn't it because I'm afraid of offending people?"

"If you don't know him, what are you afraid of offending?"

"If I knew him, I could be more careful in the future. It's scary if I don't know him. Who knows what he might do to me behind my back?"

Huang Fugui's words were quite true. Zheng Xu took a breath: "What are the man's characteristics? How tall is he? Is he strong or thin?"

"He's about the same height as us, lean, and looks quite old."

"How could you tell his age in the dark?"

"With the movie lights shining from the side, I could see his face a little better. The main thing was that his body was a bit hunched over. I think it's because he's old and his back is bent."

"Okay, I understand. I'll come back to ask you again later. Go back and think about it. If there are any other details, come and tell me as soon as possible."

"Captain, could you please not tell anyone that I provided the clue?" It was suspicious that an outsider was in their Shili Village late at night. He was probably the pig thief, so Huang Fugui was a little uneasy.

"Don't worry, I said I'd keep it a secret, and I'll keep it a secret!"

Zheng Xu assured him.

"That's good, Captain. You must catch this person."

"When you saw him, he was walking towards the pigsty, right? Do you even know where the movie is in the credits?"

Zheng Xu thought for a moment and decided to confirm the time.

"I don't remember, Captain. I had no interest in movies back then."

"..." Zheng Xu was speechless. "I have to say, you're really something else. There are so many beautiful girls in our village, why did you have to go for Honghong? Don't you know that your mother and her mother are mortal enemies? When I was your age, they were already fighting each other."

Huang Fugui said with a bitter face, "Captain, I've fallen for her. What should I do? My mom definitely won't agree."

Zheng Xu said, "I'm not the matchmaker, I can't control this. With your mother's temper, you should just prepare yourself and Honghong."

Although Zheng Xu's words were a bit cruel, they were not wrong. That was why Huang Fugui dared not tell his mother.

After finishing work, Zheng Xu went to Bai Jiaojiao's house and told her about it.

Shen Heng had just returned home and poured hot water from the thermos to drink when he heard a knock on the door. He tilted his head back, took a sip of water, and went out into the yard to open the door.

"Captain, you've arrived."

"You're back quite early. Don't the farms have any objections?"

"I've done all the work for them, what are they complaining about? What are you doing here?"

"Let's go inside and talk."

Zheng Xu and Shen Heng went into the house together. Bai Jiaojiao came out of the kitchen after washing her hands: "Captain, I haven't had a chance to tell Brother Heng yet."

"What are you telling me?"

Shen Heng hadn't expected that he would be involved, since Zheng Xu usually came to discuss the pigsty with Bai Jiaojiao.

Zheng Xu then told Shen Heng everything that had happened that morning: "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to sabotage your partner. I just want you to find out who sold them. I just asked Fu Gui, and he said he saw a man, about my height, hunched over, and very thin. I don't know if he was there to steal pigs or buy them. I'm giving you this information so you can help me find out."