Chapter 37 Fishing for Liu Hongying

Hu Taohua, the eldest cousin of the Hu family, is one year older than Lin Xiangnan’s brother Lin Xiangdong. She is 23 years old this year. She was lucky. One year before the educated youth went to the countryside, her family spent some money to arrange for her to work as an operator in a pharmaceutical factory.

Because her job cost her family money, she only kept 1 yuan for pocket money every month and gave the rest to her family.

Two years ago, she found a boyfriend in the factory, but her family didn't like the temporary worker and also wanted their daughter to earn money for the family, so they delayed the marriage. As a result, the marriage was delayed.

Hu Taohua is old now, and if she continues to stay at home, she will be gossiped about by others. So her aunt finally agreed and let her go on a blind date and get married.

When Lin Xiangnan rushed to the Hu family, Hu Taohua had just returned from get off work. She washed her face, went back to her room, changed into slightly newer clothes, and came out.

"Let's go. I'll treat you to dinner at the state-owned restaurant today." Hu Taohua took Lin Xiangnan's arm and walked out in big strides. "Aunt said you're too young and have never been in a relationship, so she asked me to teach you. But why don't I believe it? You look like this, and none of the boys in your class are interested in you?"

Lin Xiangnan shook his head, "No. Anyway, I didn't notice it."

"It's okay if you didn't have a boyfriend in high school. You still haven't settled down at that time. Many students have to go to the countryside after graduation. If you are not determined and follow them to the countryside, your aunt will definitely cry to death."

Hu Taohua also sighed when talking about this, "My third brother sent a letter home just two days ago, and my mother burst into tears after reading it."

There are five children in their family. She was lucky and was arranged a job before going to the countryside. Her eldest brother's job took over his grandfather's job. The second brother went to the countryside, and the third brother also went to the countryside. The youngest brother is still in school.

The family sent the two younger brothers to the countryside, and did not ask Hu Taohua to give up her job.

Just because of this, Hu Taohua didn't blame her family for keeping her for so many more years.

Even now, she is not in a hurry to get married. She wants to live in the new house for a while, save more money for the family, and if possible, buy a job for her younger brother.

Although she was not in a hurry, Hu Taohua still treated the blind date seriously.

Lin Xiangnan came to watch the fun, not to be a light bulb. As soon as she arrived at the door of the state-owned hotel, she let go of Hu Taohua's hand and took a step back.

"You go ahead and I'll follow behind."

During the meal, Lin Xiangnan also took the initiative to say: "You two sit at the same table. I'll sit next to you."

"Then bring this dish over."

Lin Xiangnan refused bluntly, "No, I want to eat noodles."

Perhaps she was very satisfied with this blind date, Hu Taohua was shy and blushed throughout the whole process, and spoke very gently. It was completely different from the carefree chat she had with Lin Xiangnan when she came.

Lin Xiangnan stared at her for a long time, but couldn't see any difference. When she was on a blind date, she was almost the same except that she was not shy.

Just as she tilted her head and watched intently, two strangers sat down at her table.

"Comrade, let's share a table."

Lin Xiangnan didn't even look at them, just nodded.

There were few tables in the state-owned restaurant, so people had to share tables. They were too embarrassed to disturb Hu Taohua and her husband, so they had to disturb her.

But now it was dinner time, and soon, Hu Taohua and the other person's private time was interrupted. The two of them began to eat honestly and stopped talking.

Lin Xiangnan sipped his noodles regretfully and muttered softly, "You really don't know how to choose a place. How can you choose a restaurant when you meet for the first time? We can't even say a few words."

"Little girl, you don't understand this." The man who just came to share the table whispered to Lin Xiangnan, "See what he ordered? Braised pork, shredded pork with green peppers, two meat dishes, how can it show off his financial strength. Even if the girl doesn't like him as a person, can she not like the meat he ordered?"

Lin Xiangnan tilted his head to look at it. This meat walnut flower is really delicious. He eats it in a gentle manner, but he eats a lot.

"Look again, that man has a pen on his chest. He must be a small leader. He has a high salary and is generous. It's easy for him to please a girl."

"You are a very careful observer."

Lin Xiangnan turned her head and looked at the two people who were sharing the table with her, and found that the two guys were actually quite good-looking. When two such handsome guys came in, she was so focused on looking at Hu Taohua that she didn't even notice them.

It’s just that the person who was speaking had a scar on the corner of his eyebrow, and the other one who was silent had a rebellious look in his eyes, and they didn’t look like serious people.

The other party wanted to talk to him, but Lin Xiangnan felt that they were not good people, so he just started eating noodles.

After dinner, she was taken away by Walnut Flower and became her little tail.

Seeing the three of them walking together, the scarred man slapped his mouth awkwardly, looking regretful, "Why didn't I notice that the three of them were together?"

His companion couldn't help laughing, "What a fool. Didn't you see that although the girl was eating noodles, the toppings were braised pork and shredded pork with green peppers?"

"What a shame! You didn't even remind me! No wonder you didn't say a word."

"Didn't I step on you twice?"

"Who knew you meant that? I thought you were encouraging me to talk to pretty girls. You didn't even say a word."

"Still making noises? I know the lesbian on the blind date, and I also know the girl eating noodles. If they recognize me, I'll be the one who's embarrassed."

Regardless of their muttering behind his back, Lin Xiangnan and the others had already walked away.

Hu Taohua was very satisfied with this blind date, and the blind date was also very considerate and took the initiative to send them home.

"Send my cousin back first."

Only after sending Lin Xiangnan away did they feel comfortable saying other things. When Lin Xiangnan was around, both of them felt quite embarrassed.

Having seen enough of the excitement, Lin Xiangnan didn't want to disturb them any further, so when she went home, she took a shortcut.

The alley was remote and usually few people walked there. Today, by coincidence, as soon as they approached the alley, they saw a person in the corner, blood all over the ground, his face pale, and as quiet as a corpse.

Lin Xiangnan and the other two were immediately frightened and froze; even the air became quiet.

There was a clang sound, coming from somewhere, like two knives colliding, and the hairs on the ears stood up.

Walnut Flower's voice trembled, "I'm so scared..."

Before she could finish her words, her very satisfactory blind date left the two women behind and ran away.

Walnut Flower put away the shyness on her face and started to curse, "Coward. There are three of us, and I don't believe that the murderer dares to use a knife on us."

After cursing, she also pulled Lin Xiangnan and ran away.

"Cousin, didn't you say you weren't afraid?"

"I wasn't afraid before. But now, aren't we the only two female comrades left?"

Only after they ran out of the alley did Lin Xiangnan breathe a sigh of relief and took Hu Taohua to the police station to report the case.

After going to the scene with the police on duty and recording his statement, Lin Xiangnan returned home.

She originally thought that the matter was over and that the rest could be left to the police, but who knew that the police would come to her house the next day to inquire about the situation.

The person who came was an acquaintance, the one with the scar on the corner of his eyebrow whom I met while having noodles yesterday.

When they met again, Lin Xiangnan blurted out "Scar Brother".

With a chuckle, the other party just laughed.

"No, I'm from the police, not a gangster. You can just call me Ma Pingchuan. I came here this time to get some information from you."

Lin Xiangnan was puzzled: "Hasn't the matter of yesterday been investigated yet?"

"It's not that fast. The victim died last night after failed rescue efforts. We are now investigating the victim's interpersonal relationships."

"Then why did you find me? I've said what I should have said yesterday." Lin Xiangnan frowned and said, "You came to me in uniform, the ladies in the yard must have suspected that I had done something wrong."

Unemployed street urchins like them were the easiest targets for gossip. Lin Xiangnan stood in the room and looked out of the corner of her eye, and saw many children peeking at her.

"No. When an old lady asked me just now, I told her that he was my friend."

Lin Xiangnan was now satisfied and said, "Ask whatever you want. That's all I know anyway."

"Hu Nut Blossom said that before you left, you heard a clanging sound. Do you know which direction the sound came from?"

"Right front."

"We checked the surroundings and found no blood or footprints, and we didn't find the knife used in the murder. Can you come with me and take a look?"

"OK."

Lin Xiangnan had nothing to do anyway, so he agreed readily, closed the door, and followed Ma Pingchuan away.

Before, no one asked about Lin Xiangnan's comings and goings, but today everyone came over to ask.

"What are you doing outside, Xiaonan?"

"Just walk around the streets."

"Oh~~" The eyes of the aunties were meaningful.

Lin Xiangnan curled her lips. She was afraid of trouble and didn't tell Hu Meili about it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have received such a teasing look.

When she and Ma Pingchuan walked to the crime scene, Lin Xiangnan stood there and looked around. She turned around and saw someone leaning on the wall and looking around stealthily, which scared her.

"What's wrong with you? Are you scared?" Ma Pingchuan asked curiously, "My colleagues told me that you were quite calm yesterday, weren't you?"

"There was a person on the wall just now, and now he has disappeared again."

Ma Pingchuan was also a little helpless, "I guess they are just here to watch the fun."

"Someone died here. Normal people would think this place is unlucky."

"He wasn't dead at that time. He died in the hospital," Ma Pingchuan corrected.

"Many murderers will return to the crime scene after committing a crime. Some return to clean up the scene, and some return to see the reactions of the investigators." Lin Xiangnan said after realizing it, "I shouldn't be targeted by a perverted murderer, right?"

Ma Pingchuan was speechless. "Where did this perverted murderer come from? Don't worry, we will catch the murderer soon."

"Do you have any clues?"

“Not yet.”

Now it was Lin Xiangnan's turn to be helpless. Without cameras, DNA, fingerprints and other auxiliary detection methods, the speed of investigating cases was much slower than in later generations.

She didn't want to get involved in this kind of murder case at all. Who knows what kind of trouble it would bring. She just hoped that the case would be solved as soon as possible.

So she answered whatever Ma Pingchuan asked, doing her job conscientiously. After finishing her work, she was sent back by Ma Pingchuan.

At home she just slept in and read books, and she even didn't go to the construction site of the new house. She planned to wait until the case was solved before going out for a stroll. Anyway, she didn't have anything serious to do outside.

But she hadn't stayed at home for two days before Ma Pingchuan came again, but this time he came in casual clothes and didn't attract any attention at all.

"Um..." Ma Pingchuan was a little embarrassed to speak. He hesitated for two seconds before asking, "What you said last time, was it true or false?"

"Which sentence?"

"The murderer might come back to see the scene." Ma Pingchuan scratched his head awkwardly. "We haven't found any useful clues in this case yet. So I want to ask what the person you saw that day looked like."

"I only saw a head of hair. I didn't see the lower half of his face."

"Then come with me to the Public Security Bureau and look at the photos to identify the people. We have several suspects, but we have no evidence," Ma Pingchuan suggested.

"You can go and identify him. But I really didn't see his face, so I can't recognize him for sure."

Lin Xiangnan did not say anything nonsense and went to the Public Security Bureau. She looked at the five photos and found that three of them were suspicious because all three had long hair.

Let's not talk about Ma Pingchuan. Lin Xiangnan also felt that this accusation was unreliable and suggested: "How about you make some fake evidence and use it as a trap to enforce the law after making a big fuss?"

"But our director doesn't want to make a big deal out of this, for fear of causing panic among the people. Apart from a few households living here, many people don't know about this." Ma Pingchuan scratched his head.

"Then you can do it privately. Only leak the false information to the suspects, and then take the police officers you are familiar with to stake out the place."

Lin Xiangnan hoped more than anyone else that Ma Pingchuan and his team could catch the murderer as soon as possible, and he actively offered suggestions.

Anyway, the case was stuck, so Ma Pingchuan was willing to give it a try no matter what the idea was. After sending Lin Xiangnan back, he started fishing.

As a result, he did not catch the murderer, but he did catch Liu Hongying.

Ma Pingchuan frequently went in and out of the Lin family, so Liu Hongying also kept an eye on him. Liu Hongying didn't know what murder case it was, but she knew that Lin Xiangnan had a close personal relationship with him, so she wanted to give it a try.

Ma Pingchuan was wearing plain clothes and a hat, painting slogans on the wall when Liu Hongying fell at his feet, and the firewood in her hands fell to the ground.

After this fall, Liu Hongying couldn't help but break down and cry in front of Ma Pingchuan.

"Where did you fall?" Ma Pingchuan put down what he was holding and went to help the person.

When he went to find Lin Xiangnan, Liu Hongying had talked to him, so after Ma Pingchuan helped her up, he enthusiastically and proactively helped her pick up the scattered firewood and tie it up.

"I sprained my ankle. Can you take me home?"

"I can't. I'm busy here."

Hearing this answer, Liu Hongying cried even harder, "If I go home late and don't have time to cook, my dad will beat me again. You are a police officer, can you help me take care of him?"

As she spoke, Liu Hongying rolled up her sleeves and showed Ma Pingchuan the purple marks on her arms, trying to arouse Ma Pingchuan's sympathy.

Ma Pingchuan only heard the word "Public Security" and wished he could shut her mouth.

"I have something else to do here, so I can't help you for now. Please go back quickly."

"Aren't you a police officer? Why can't you help me?" Liu Hongying continued to act crazy and stupid. She didn't just roll up her sleeves, she lifted up her clothes and said, "Look at the wounds on my body. They were all caused by my dad."

Seeing her taking off her clothes, Ma Pingchuan was almost scared to death and screamed like a groundhog. He just grabbed Liu Hongying and pushed her to the ground.

Two colleagues who were lying in ambush not far away came running over excitedly upon seeing this, "Is it her? Is it her? Let's go, take her to the police station for questioning."

Ma Pingchuan said solemnly, "There must be something wrong with her. Let's take her back for questioning first."