Chapter 181 Village Chief
"Finally, a villager accidentally found a bag hanging on a tree branch on a cliff less than three miles away from Wushanao. It was later confirmed to belong to the missing person."
"There is a deep stream below the cliff. Judging from the traces at the scene, one person must have slipped off the cliff, and the other tried to save him, but they both fell to the bottom of the cliff."
"Because the cliff is too deep, the stream below is turbulent, and it has been so long since the crime occurred, it is impossible to salvage the body. In the end, the case can only be classified as missing, and it has not been closed to this day."
Everyone's faces turned solemn after hearing this, except Ma Liu, who was half paralyzed on the ground, who snorted coldly.
Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he pointed at the roast chicken listlessly and said in a long voice:
"It's time to flip it over - it will burn if you bake it any longer!"
After watching someone turn the roast chicken over one by one, he changed his posture and lay down slowly, muttering:
"Two people dying in the wilderness is totally normal. What's the big deal? Let me tell you. I can tell you eight or ten stories like this..."
Lin Li immediately rushed towards Ma Liu and said:
"Come on! Sixth Master! Why don't you tell us all the stories? We are worried that you won't tell us!"
Ma Liu snorted coldly again, turned over and remained silent.
Since entering the mountain, Ma Liu has been speaking in a sarcastic tone. No one was too lazy to argue with him and turned their attention back to Qin Yi.
Qin Yi didn't say anything more, just said:
"The mission has already begun since we entered the mountain. Everything along the way is uncertain. Everyone should stay alert and proceed according to the plan. The precautions and disciplines have been repeatedly emphasized before departure. I won't say much. Let's eat!"
The days are short in winter, and by five or six in the afternoon, it is already dark in the forest.
The team's pace was not too slow, but they still had to travel on the mountain road for another hour with flashlights in the cold wind before they finally saw the sparks ahead.
It is true that you can't escape the old saying that if you run too fast you will die.
I walked until almost eight o'clock in the evening, when the jumping and flashing lights finally came into view.
Even though Su Tong has insisted on exercising every day for a long time, he is now a little overwhelmed.
Ma Liu's face was even paler and he looked exhausted. Zhao Xin and Cheng Gang dragged him back and forth, but fortunately he did not collapse on the road.
"Are there so many lights in this mountain village at night?" Su Tong asked.
I didn't notice it when I looked at it from a distance, I thought it was a light. But now that I'm closer, I don't think it's a light. If it's a light, it's probably too bright.
"There is no electricity in the village and everyone goes to bed early at night. Where does all the light come from?" Li Song was also puzzled.
"It's a bonfire. Something must have happened in the village." Qin Yi said in a deep voice.
The people in the front stayed where they were for a while, waiting for the team members behind to gather together. Of course, they were mainly waiting for Ma Liu who was left behind and was half-dragged and half-pulled by Zhao Xin and Cheng Gang.
After walking down the mountain road one day, Ma Liu looked like a torn sack, but at least he was still alive.
When the team entered the village, Qin Yi walked beside Su Tong and whispered:
"From now on, stay close to me."
Su Tong nodded: "Understood!"
According to Jiangping County's data, there are 46 households and 321 people registered in Wushan'ao Village, but staff specifically explained that this data may not be true.
Because the government gives these two villages a certain amount of poverty subsidies every year based on household registration information. Although it is not much, the population of these two villages has only increased over the years.
Except for the initial establishment of household registration when staff went door to door to register, due to various reasons in later years, it was not possible to verify in a timely manner, and the twists and turns involved can be imagined.
Even if it is just an approximate number, it is already a very large group in these deep mountains and dense forests.
The entire village of Wushanao is located halfway up the mountain.
After entering the village, you will follow a smooth bluestone path winding up. On both sides, you can see scattered houses built on the mountainside, with old and mottled walls.
The further you go in, the more you can feel the ancient and heavy atmosphere.
As the houses gradually formed a group, you could see that the doors of some of them were wide open. There were oil lamps or torches lit on the lamp holders next to the doors, emitting black smoke with a pungent smell of grass and trees. It seemed that they were burning tung oil or some other tree oil.
But there was no one in sight.
After continuing upward along the bluestone road and turning a corner, the view in front of you suddenly opens up.
But the situation before me was somewhat unexpected.
The terrain here is flat, and it is rare to find such a wide area halfway up the mountain. At this moment, it is densely packed with people, silently surrounding a tall bonfire burning in the middle.
The villagers were not sleeping late at night and seemed to have gathered here. Although there were many people, they were trying their best to keep quiet, as if they were afraid of disturbing something.
Qin Yi raised his hand, and the people behind him stopped and looked at the slightly strange scene in front of them.
But before they could figure out what was going on, the villagers standing on the outskirts spotted them and immediately cried out in surprise.
The originally stagnant atmosphere was suddenly broken. The villagers turned around and looked at the group of people who suddenly appeared. They were immediately terrified, as if they were facing a great enemy.
The scene was silent for a while, with only the cold winter night wind whistling past with a slight whimpering sound.
At this time, the crowd moved aside, and an old man with a goatee walked out from the middle, looking angry and shouting at them:
"Who are you? You come to our Wushanao in the middle of the night!"
Qin Yi gestured to Li Song, who nodded, cleared his throat, and walked over with a smile, speaking loudly in a dialect:
"Oh! Isn't this Village Chief Ge? I've heard of your great name for a long time. You look so energetic!"
Village Chief Ge is old, his face is covered with wrinkles and his eyelids droop severely, but his eyes are sharp and shrewd, and he has the air of a village leader.
He was stunned when he heard the words, and took a few steps forward. He glanced at Li Song with his bright eyes, and then turned behind him. Seeing this, the people next to him hurriedly handed the torch forward again.
Perhaps it was because Qin Yi's temperament was too eye-catching. Village Chief Ge looked at him several times, and then glanced at Su Tong twice before moving to Li Song and asking:
"Who are you? I don't recognize you!"
Li Song smiled and moved closer to Village Chief Ge, saying:
"Oh! Village Chief Ge, you don't recognize me, but I recognize you! My cousin's husband is Director Sun Daping from Jiangping County, and he has mentioned you to me many times!
He also showed me your photo. You were in the newspaper. I recognized you right away. You look much more energetic than in the newspaper!"
Li Song had indeed met Village Chief Ge more than ten years ago. More than a decade had passed, and he had changed a lot from the image of a young man who had just started working. It was impossible for Village Chief Ge to remember the entourage who he had only met once that year.
Just in case, they had to hide their police identities from the moment they entered the mountains, and bringing Sun Daping was also discussed in advance.
Because the department that Sun Daping was in charge of was responsible for distributing subsidies to these two villages, he had placed advertisements in newspapers to help the villages raise funds for the subsidies. He had also visited the villages several times and provided a lot of substantial help.
Every year, villagers need Director Sun’s signature to receive subsidies, so Village Chief Ge may not know others, but he cannot fail to know Sun Daping, and he will do them this favor.
Village Chief Ge was stunned for a moment when he heard this. The muscles on his face trembled, but he finally suppressed his anger and forced a perfunctory smile on his wrinkled face.
"Oh...um, you are Director Sun's relative! What's your name?"
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