Officer Liu sat upright at the first seat, holding a document tightly in his hand. He lowered his head slightly, staring intently at the paper, as if trying to see through the densely packed text to find the hidden truth.
The whole room was filled with a tense and depressing atmosphere, and no one dared to easily break the silence.
Seeing Officer Liu's serious expression, everyone felt nervous. They walked cautiously to their seats and sat down quietly, fearing that any noise would upset this calm and composed officer.
Everyone's eyes revealed worry and fear about the unknown situation, and at the same time, they were full of awe for Officer Liu.
Time passed minute by minute, and finally, Officer Liu raised his head. His eyes were as sharp as an eagle and he quickly scanned the surroundings.
After confirming that everyone was in place, he slowly said, "The food is missing."
These words were like a thunderbolt that split the sky, making the already tense atmosphere become solemn in an instant.
"What? Food is missing?" Upon hearing the news, everyone looked up suddenly. This was serious news. It concerned the entire city and was of interest to everyone.
The food in the city has been stolen, so what should they do? In this weather, whether spring planting can be carried out is a problem. Now the food has been stolen. If the people know about it, there will be an uproar.
The county town now sells a little grain every day in order to stabilize the people's hearts. Now that the grain has been stolen, what should everyone do?
When Cheng Jiawen heard the news, his brows furrowed. The food had been stolen, and this matter concerned people's livelihood. If it wasn't handled properly, not only the director and his men, but even the soldiers like them would be in trouble.
No wonder Officer Liu looked so bad when he returned to the police station. If this matter wasn't handled properly, everyone would be fired.
Cheng Jiawen lowered his head and thought for a while, then slowly said, "Could this matter be related to the 'rumor-mongering' incident?"
"What do you mean?" Officer Liu looked up at Cheng Jiawen, wanting to hear his thoughts.
Cheng Jiawen closed his eyes and carefully sorted out his thoughts, connecting the dots of information he had gathered over the past few days. He took a deep breath, then slowly opened his eyes and began to recount his findings to the group.
"We went to investigate the source of the rumor these days and found out it was a woman at the steel plant who heard it at the train station. She said the woman who spread the rumor was a woman in her 40s, with a headband and a scarf wrapped around her face. She was about 1.55 meters tall and overweight."
Officer Liu nodded and looked at him seriously, "Well, go on."
Cheng Jiawen paused and continued, "Our current situation is that the rumor just started spreading, and then the food disappeared. Wouldn't that just confirm the rumor? Even though we sent people to explain, people might have believed it at the time. But if we suddenly hear about the missing food, won't everyone be even more convinced that this is 'retribution'?"
"Yes, we just went to explain, and right after that they said the food was missing. Isn't that pure retribution?" Everyone thought along these lines, and it was indeed the case.
Jiang Ziwen nodded. "If you put it that way, the criminals' minds are truly terrifying. One thing leads to another, catching us off guard."
Officer Liu lowered his head, his face expressionless, and it was unclear what he was thinking. After a while, he finally raised his head and said, "Well, let's combine the two cases and investigate them together. Jiawen, you, Ziwen, and Xiaofan will continue to investigate the rumormongers. Xiaochen, come with me to the granary to see if we can find any clues."
"I understand." Everyone stood up at the same time and answered in unison.
Officer Liu took a deep breath and stood up. "Alright, let's go. Remember, this case concerns every one of us. We must do our utmost to investigate it, otherwise we'll all be gone."
"clear."
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Here, Cheng Jiawen, Jiang Ziwen and Police Officer Xiao Fan came to the steel plant's family compound again. This time, they deliberately changed out of their police uniforms and came to investigate in plain clothes.
Before, they were wearing police uniforms, and everyone was a little afraid of them. When it came to their questions, everyone would talk about them, but they would only talk seriously. This time, they were not wearing police uniforms, just to see if they could get some clues from their few words.
As the three of them entered the family compound, a kind-faced, short, plump woman approached them with small, gentle steps. With a kind smile on her face, she softly asked, "Young men, who are you looking for?"
They looked at each other, and Jiang Ziwen stepped forward and said with a smile: "We are looking for Liu Hongjie, she is my aunt. We just happened to be here this time, so we came to see her."
This was an excuse they had agreed upon. It just so happened that Jiang Ziwen's aunt lived in this family compound, so they said they were looking for her, which just happened to dispel everyone's suspicion.
When the old lady heard that they were looking for Liu Hongjie, Director Liu's nephew, she immediately smiled enthusiastically, "Hahaha, you are looking for Director Liu? She is at work now. Do you want me to take you to the factory to find her?"
Jiang Ziwen pretended to check his watch, shook his head and said, "It's okay, there's no need to disturb my aunt. We can just wait here for her to get off work. It's almost time to get off work."
"Hahaha, is that so? Then why don't you come to my house and have a drink of water?"
Hearing this, several people looked at each other, and Jiang Ziwen immediately said: "Okay, okay, thank you, Auntie. We just happened to bring some biscuits and melon seeds. Let's chat together. It's almost time."
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