Chapter 31
Tang Qingqing jogged along the way, stopping from time to time to observe, and then started running again after a while.
Zhai Hongyi, Qin Sa and the security guard said nothing and followed in pursuit.
Tang Qingqing ran a long way, but later she couldn't run anymore, so she changed to brisk walking.
The four of them walked for at least two hours. The security guard couldn't help but ask Qin Sa:
"Comrade Qin, do you think you can find it?"
After walking such a long way, Qin Sa remained calm and composed: "Just follow me and you will know."
After walking and stopping for more than two hours, Tang Qingqing stood by the roadside without moving.
After walking for such a long time, Tang Qingqing's face was slightly flushed.
Qin Sa: "Are you tired? You need to take a rest after walking for so long. There is no need to rush."
Tang Qingqing shook her head. Her physical condition was not as bad as before.
"Look, the footprints are right here. The thief is in this village."
Tang Qingqing pointed to the village next to them. It was a big village with rows of houses that could be seen from a distance.
Qin Sa took a look and said, "This is the Huangzipo Brigade."
The security guard said, "There are quite a few people in this brigade. We can't search every house, right?"
"There were two thieves, both men. One of them was wearing rubber-soled shoes and was short, only as tall as Sister Sa, about 1.723 meters, about 20 years old. The other one was wearing cloth-soled shoes, was stronger, about 1.8 meters tall, about 25 years old."
Security guard: "There are probably quite a few people who meet these conditions."
Qin Sa rolled his eyes at him in anger: "The scope has been reduced so much, and we still can't find it. What else do you want to do? Do you really have to catch the person in front of you?"
The security guard scratched his head in embarrassment: "That's not what I meant. I just thought it was too amazing, as if I had seen a criminal."
"It's good to have these. At least we have locked them here. When we enter the village, we will investigate every household with the brigade officers. I don't believe we can't catch them."
It's not easy to steal so much stuff quietly.
Tang Qingqing spoke again: "If the criminal was in front of me, I could recognize him."
The security guard took a step forward, but stopped when he heard this.
"Can you recognize it? How?"
Tang Qingqing nodded affirmatively: "Everyone's walking posture and shape will affect their footprints. As long as I can see them, I can know who they are."
Qin Sa paused and waved at them.
"Let's go into the village first."
Qin Sa led a few people into the Huangzipo Brigade. Qin Sa was wearing casual clothes, but the security guards were wearing uniforms.
As soon as he entered the village, children playing outside gathered around him.
"Public security, public security!"
The children's eyes were full of envy and yearning, and they looked up at the security guard's big hat.
The security guard found the oldest child and asked, "Kids, where is your captain's home?"
"I know, I know!"
A group of children jumped up and down, all wanting to be the leader.
The child who was asked for directions was even more excited, "Uncle, follow me, I know where it is!"
Along the way, the children kept asking, "Uncle, are you here to investigate a case?"
"Uncle, are you here to catch the disobedient child?"
"Uncle, are you a relative of the captain?"
A group of children were making a lot of noise, and they also had the ability to gather other children. Not long after they entered the village, a group of children surrounded the security guard.
The child attracted the attention of the adults in the family again. A villager came up to ask what happened and why he came here during the New Year.
Qin Sa, Zhai Hongyi and Tang Qingqing, the three of them unkindly fell behind, with no intention of sharing the burden at all.
Tang Qingqing looked around, watching every young man who came out to join in the fun.
As soon as they arrived at the captain's house, the news of their entry into the village had spread everywhere.
This is how it is in the countryside. Once someone from another village comes, he will be known to others very quickly.
Tang Qingqing couldn't help but say to Qin Sa, "The criminals won't just run away after hearing the news, right?"
"It's just right that he ran away. I caught him every time."
Tang Qingqing thought about it and agreed that this was tantamount to confessing one's guilt.
Zhai Hongyi: "I'm afraid they'll hide everything and there won't be any evidence."
Before the few people entered the captain's house, the captain had already received the news and walked out to greet them.
The captain recognized Qin Sa and was startled: "Public Security Qin, why are you here during the Chinese New Year?"
Qin Sa often went to the village to conduct investigations. She was a rare female police officer on field duty, so almost all the brigade chiefs in the commune knew her.
Qin Sa glanced at the onlookers, and the captain understood what was going on, and quickly drove those villagers away.
"What are you all doing here? Go back to your work."
Then, he led the group into his main hall.
When the captain saw Tang Qingqing, he was a little surprised. He didn't understand why she brought such a girl with her. Was she not here to investigate a case?
Qin Sa did not beat around the bush and went straight to the topic of the theft of the supply and marketing cooperative.
"We have now tracked down your team and need your cooperation."
The captain was incredulous: "That's impossible. Everyone in our team is honest. No one has the habit of stealing."
"We have tracked you down so far. We have already told you the situation. We now need the team leaders to cooperate with us."
"I will definitely cooperate."
The captain said this repeatedly, but he couldn't help muttering in his heart, who has done such an immoral thing that makes people uneasy during the New Year!
The team leader immediately called together the team leaders and asked them to gather all the members to the sun-drying field for a meeting.
The brigade officers took gongs and drums and started beating them, notifying every household.
Except for children, the elderly and women, everyone else has to go to the sunbathing ground.
"Emergency notice, every household has received it, all the masters put down their work and go to the threshing ground."
On the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month this year, it was a busy time. When the people of the Huangzipo Brigade heard the brigade cadres shouting, they couldn't help complaining.
"Really? How can there be so much going on during the Chinese New Year? Meetings every day. Can't we just have a peaceful New Year?"
"That's right. It's freezing cold out here. We can't wait until after the New Year to talk about anything."
"You probably didn't hear that the police just came into our village."
"Public security? What are they doing here?"
"Who knows? Anyway, not long after we arrived, we gathered everyone together, and we all went to look for the big bosses."
"Could it be that someone has committed a crime?"
Everyone was guessing what had happened, and although they were unhappy, they did not dare to remain silent.
Some people even dropped what they were doing and ran over to join in the fun, wanting to know what was going on and why there was such a big fuss.
When Tang Qingqing was sitting on the kang and almost dozed off, the captain came into the room to inform everyone that they were all there.
She then walked out of the house, with her hands tucked into her sleeves, letting her clothes wrap her tightly.
Tang Qingqing went there without saying anything. People who didn't know thought she was the younger sister following Zhai Hongyi, and didn't know that she was the protagonist today.
This was something Qin Sa had discussed with her in advance. She was too young and would easily arouse everyone's distrust.
If people knew that she was the one who identified the criminal, many would definitely be dissatisfied and cause unnecessary trouble.
Moreover, being able to hide Tang Qingqing behind him is also a way to protect her.
Tang Qingqing had no objection, and even changed the address from "Brother Yi" to "Brother", acting as if she was here to play with her brother.
Although Zhai Hongyi has a young face, his height and demeanor make everyone think he is also a public security officer.
Although I was curious why he was bringing a little girl with him, I didn't think much about it.
The captain and officers quickly gathered everyone together and divided them into groups according to age.
One group for those under 18, one group for those over 35, and one group for the rest.
Dividing the groups into groups was a hassle. A villager who was watching the show couldn't help but ask:
"Captain, what are you doing?"
The security guard stepped forward and shouted:
"Comrades, fellow villagers, I am sorry to bother you today. Please cooperate with us."
An old woman shouted, "What kind of cooperation do you want? What happened in our brigade? It's Chinese New Year, can't we wait until after the New Year to discuss it? We are all busy."
They had a good harvest this year and were able to have a good year. Who knew that they would encounter these things at the end of the year? It always feels unlucky.
The captain snorted coldly: "If you want to blame someone, blame those crooked people. Don't think that you have done such a big thing and others don't know it. Be honest and stand up yourself. We can still deal with it leniently. Otherwise, hmph, we will deal with it severely!"
When everyone heard this, they became even more confused.
"Whose family committed a crime, and what crime did they commit?"
There was a particularly fierce old lady who yelled, "Whoever did this, come out now! My son has been feeling unwell these past few days, and he will definitely get sick if he continues to be exposed to the wind like this."
"Old lady, your stone is so hollow."
"You're such a weakling, can't you have a headache or a fever if you're working hard?"
"If you confess, you will be treated leniently; if you resist, you will be treated severely. If someone else's family commits a crime, don't cover up for your family. If you get caught, your whole family will be disgraced."
"Yes, if you kill your relatives for the sake of justice, you will be looked upon with respect and your family will not be affected. But if your family members help to keep it a secret, they may also be imprisoned."
The brigade cadres kept doing ideological work among the masses, but no one stood up.
"What on earth did you do wrong?"
The captain glanced at Qin Sa, and Qin Sa did not hide anything. He stood on a high place and scanned the people below.
"What happened last night, if any of you know which house someone sneaked out last night, please come out and tell me. If you think it's inconvenient, you can secretly find someone to pass a message to me later."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone started discussing again, and the scene became quite lively.
Qin Sa just scanned everyone's expressions, his eyes were sharp, as if he could see through people's hearts.
很快，她就發現有人的表情不大對。
秦飒只是朝着那個人微微一笑，并沒有說些什麽。
有那扛不住的，找了個借口就離開了。
也有的人，繼續站在哪裏，沒有當一回事。
秦飒的目光又挪向了其他方向，繼續下面的話。
“大過年的，大家都想過個好年，都想穿新衣，吃個肚兒飽，可以有禮送娘家親家。可也不能跑供銷社不花錢拿東西，大家夥說，是不是這個理。”
社員們聽到這話，一片嘩然。
“有人竟然偷到供銷社了！”
“哎喲我的娘也，這也忒大膽了！”
秦飒又揚手示意大家安靜，“為了滿足自己私欲不算，還将值班人員打傷了，現在還躺在醫院裏。如果在我們揪出這個人之前，沒有人過來自首，那麽情節将會相當嚴重，牢底坐穿。包庇的人，也同樣受罰。”
“如果主動自首，交出贓物，可以不連累家人，還能從輕處罰。”
這話更是炸開了鍋，偷東西不算還傷了人，這可就很嚴重了。
“誰幹的這缺德事啊，咱們大隊的名聲都被這人搞壞了。”
“你們可別為了包庇自己孩子啥都不說，回頭可就丢大臉了。”
“你說啥話呢，你咋不說可能是你家的呢。”
“我家肯定沒這種人。”
“那我家就有這種人啦！”
一群人吵吵嚷嚷好不熱鬧，看對方的眼神都充滿了懷疑。
唐青青示意翟弘毅，讓年幼和年長兩個組的人，挨個在自己面前走一圈。
翟弘毅向大隊長提出了要求，大隊長拿起大喇叭，讓大家安靜，先讓年長的那組人從幾人面前走過。
“一個個來，不用着急，跟平常一樣來回走一圈就行。”
大家不明所以，卻也照做。
“老張頭，你腿腳咋回事，昨兒還不是好好的，今天怎麽瘸了？”
“老張頭，你緊張啥啊，不會你就是那偷兒吧？”
老張頭本就緊張，聽這話頓時破功。
“偷你丫的，平白這麽走，我緊張不行嗎。”
“你沒偷你緊張個啥？”
“有本事你過來這麽走走，別扭死個人了。”
老張頭這麽罵罵咧咧，反倒放松了下來，沒有再一瘸一拐。
很快大家的注意力也不在他的身上，因為很快就有人緊張得同手同腳，自己絆自己。
圍觀的村民們，哈哈大笑起來。
秦飒看着，不由擔心地皺起眉頭：
她不動聲色的朝着唐青青的方向傾，“這會不會影響你？”
唐青青搖了搖頭。
雖然有的人因為緊張，跟平常的走路姿勢有所不同，可依然無法從根本上進行改變的。
而且每個人走兩圈之後，也差不多恢複了正常。
年少組和年長組很快走完，并且全都被放回了家。
圍觀的人莫名其妙，不明白這是在搞什麽。
“走兩圈就完啦？怎麽不多走一會？萬一有漏網的呢。”
“是啊，這也太草率了吧。”
治安員還沒聽說過有這種要求的，“你們要是想讓自己孩子、老爺們多走幾圈，就在一邊等着。”
大家一聽這話，頓時又開始打哈哈。
“沒有的事，這不是在積極配合公安同志的工作嗎。”
“我們大隊的人都特別懂理，除了個別人家不行，都是組織說啥咱們幹啥。”
“沒錯，所以那厚臉皮幹壞事的，識相的，趕緊出來自首！”
剩下這一組人，大約有三十來個人。
大家明顯感受到，對于這一組的人要求要比之前高很多。
有些人得來回走好幾遍，然後被叫到一邊等着，有的人當場就放走了。
“那小夥子是幹嘛的？他在看什麽呢？”
“不知道啊，這讓走來走去的，就能抓賊了？”
翟弘毅完全都沒有隐藏自己，一直在那指揮：
過，一邊站着，再走一遍。
他個子高大，将唐青青遮了一半，沒人注意到唐青青。
唐青青也一直沒有吭聲，只是暗地裏扯他的袖子，傳遞消息。
兩人非常有默契，這麽相互合作着，別說一旁的圍觀群衆，就連黃子坡大隊長和幹部們，都不知道這一切都跟唐青青有關。
大家都以為這個小姑娘是跟着一塊來湊熱鬧的，沒有把她放在眼裏。
經過一個多小時，有二十個人被淘汰，還剩下十二個人。
有一些圍觀群衆，看着都覺得無聊了，而且大冬天的外面凍得很，就回家去了。
不過更多的人，站在原地不肯離開，想知道到底咋回事。
沒多久，唐青青将人給鎖定了。
被鎖定的人叫孟金明，是那個小個頭的。
孟金明被揪出來，先是一愣，然後大聲嚷嚷着：
“你們這是幹啥，我啥都沒幹，憑啥抓我！”
秦飒眯了眯眼：“到現在還不老實交代！”
“你們說我偷了東西，證據呢！”
“你在現場留下的腳印就是證據！”
孟金明覺得冤枉極了：“我昨天确實去了供銷社，可我是大白天去的啊。咋的，難道去了供銷社就是小偷了？”
圍觀的人聽到這話也忍不住道：“是啊，公安同志，昨天孟金明白天确實去了供銷社買東西，是不是搞錯了？”
“孟金明是個老實孩子，我們是看着他長大的，幹不出那樣的事。”
“沒錯，他們家也沒窮到揭不開鍋，哪裏就用得着去偷。”
別看之前大家夥好像互相懷疑對方，可真的把小偷抓到，村民們又擰成了一股繩。
秦飒：“大家放心，我們不會冤枉一個好人，也不會放過一個壞人。”
孟金明哭喪着臉，“公安同志，你們不能冤枉好人啊。我真的是啥都沒幹，不信你們去我家裏找，要是能找到贓物，我一頭撞死在大門口！”
這話語氣篤定，秦飒心裏不由咯噔一下，面上卻不動聲色。
“放心，我們一定會去調查的。”
孟金明還跟旁邊的人在那抱怨：“早知道遇上這些事，我就不去供銷社了。供銷社啥地方，是賊最愛去的，去了就被當賊，太冤了。”
“可不是嗎。”
“公安同志，大過年的沒有證據可不能亂抓人啊，你們帶人回去審問，這年就沒法過了。就算回頭放出來，那也不吉利啊！”
不僅是群衆這麽說，就連一些大隊幹部也出聲幫孟金明說話。
“公安同志，你們是不是搞錯了？孟金明是個好同志啊。”
“是不是好同志，我們會繼續調查。”
唐青青看到這個場面，心裏也不由發毛，開始有些懷疑自己。
她會不會認錯了？
可是按照足跡分析，确實是這個人。
其實很早的時候，她就已經認出來了，只是為了萬無一失，故意讓他們多走幾圈以免搞錯人。
可弄出了這麽大陣仗，要是再弄錯，壓力也變得更大。
唐青青心裏惶恐，額頭上都冒出了冷汗。
一只手抓住了她的手腕，低低的聲音在她耳邊響起：
“相信自己，就算錯了，有我頂着。”
這話猶如天籁，讓唐青青瞬間冷靜下來。
她仿佛有了靠山和底氣，讓她不再畏懼風險。
即便會錯，她大不了站出來認，就算很多人指責她咒罵她，可依然有人在支持她。
得知這一點，心中的那點惶恐也消散了。
唐青青給秦飒投去一個肯定的眼神，秦飒收到之後，就帶着孟金明一同前往他的家中。
孟金明的家人也都已經得到了消息，一看到他們過來，就有那老太太開始哭嚎着。
“公安同志，你們不能找不到偷兒，就胡亂拿我家金明說事啊！他這孩子從小就老實，怎麽可能會幹這偷雞摸狗的事情，你們肯定是弄錯了。”
“你們要是把他帶走，我們就去公社，不帶這麽冤枉人的。”
還有那脾氣暴躁的小媳婦将大門拉開：“你們進來找，要是找到一件贓物，我們全家都給你們磕頭。要是你們找不到，必須要給我們道歉！”
孟金明也嚎嚎大哭起來：“奶，媽，妹妹，是我的錯。我就想着讓你們過年時有糖甜甜嘴，所以才去了供銷社，誰知道供銷社是豺狼窩去不得啊！”
一家人這表現，讓不少人更加覺得，肯定是弄錯了。
“公安同志，你們瞧瞧，這哪裏像是偷兒。”
“他們家就那麽大點，哪裏有地方藏東西哦。”
确實，孟家人并不多，房子也修得小，屋子裏也沒啥東西，一打開門就能看個清楚。
大約提前得到了消息，家裏所有櫃子也都敞開着，就連地窖也被他們主動打開了倉門。
這樣子，坦坦蕩蕩的，根本沒有一絲心虛。
秦飒此時也不由皺起了眉頭，供銷社丢的東西可不少，如果藏在家裏，這麽敞開肯定就能看見了。
如果找不到贓物，光憑腳印定罪肯定是不可能的。
甚至于，都沒法帶嫌疑犯出村。
這種情況，要麽是搞錯了，要麽就是孟金明壓根沒有帶贓物回家，而是把贓物藏在了別的地方，又或者在另一個嫌疑犯那裏。
但是目前，并沒有找到另一個嫌疑犯的蹤跡，也就難以判斷。
The security guard was even more puzzled, wondering if Tang Qingqing had made a mistake.
After all, Tang Qingqing is still too young. Although she has performed well before, it does not mean that she is always right. It is inevitable that she will make mistakes.
A group of people spoke up for Meng Jinming, and the captain couldn't help but speak up:
"Comrade Qin, are you guys mistaken? It's not that we don't cooperate with your work, but now it's Chinese New Year, and we can't let you take the person away without evidence."
This undoubtedly put Qin Sa in an awkward position. If he was taken back for interrogation, ordinary people would easily reveal their flaws during the interrogation process, thus breaking through the defense and finding out the truth.
But now I can't take it back, so I'm stuck here.
It is more troublesome to arrest people in the village than in the city because everyone is related to each other and if something goes wrong the whole village may come out to protest.
Sometimes, even if the evidence is solid, bringing someone out requires cooperation from all parties, not to mention that there is no actual evidence now.
At this time, Tang Qingqing slipped away from behind Zhai Hongyi and walked to the side of Meng Jinming's sister.
She is getting fairer and fairer, and has a pretty face. It's easy to let people down when looking at such a pretty girl.
"Sister, do you have a sister?"
When Meng Xiaomei saw Tang Qingqing, she nodded without thinking: "Yes, how did you know?"
"Did she marry into the Zhoujia Village Brigade?"
"No, are you mistaken? My eldest sister married into the Goutoushan Brigade."
"Ah? Didn't she marry a tall man who was about the same height as him, or even stronger than him?"
"He looks just like you described, but he is definitely not from Zhoujia Village Brigade. My brother-in-law came here yesterday, but he left early this morning."
Zhai Hongyi had been paying attention to Tang Qingqing. When he heard this, he said loudly:
"Did you have any guests over yesterday? Where are they now?"
Before the Meng family could reply, the enthusiastic onlookers responded for them:
"Their eldest son-in-law just left this morning. Otherwise, it would be said that the eldest daughter of the Meng family married well. The son-in-law is so filial that he often goes to his father-in-law's house to help out. He even came over before the New Year."
When he heard this, Meng Jinming's frank expression cracked a little, but soon recovered.
Qin Sa narrowed his eyes slightly, "What's the son-in-law's name? Where does he live?"
"The son-in-law is from the Goutoushan Brigade. His name is Zhang Guangyi."
"Zhang Guangyi?" Qin Sa couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. "An old acquaintance."
Zhang Guangyi likes to steal and has been caught several times.
After he got married, he behaved himself a lot and didn't get into trouble again, but Qin Sa still heard of his name.
The Meng family members looked unhappy. Old Lady Meng said:
"That was all in the past. Ever since my eldest daughter gave him a big fat boy, he has stopped doing those dirty things and has been living an honest and upright life."
"You are such a dishonest person. Let's investigate first. I'll make it clear in advance that if the person confesses first and reports his accomplice, he will be dealt with leniently, but the other person will be dealt with severely.
If it's really not your fault, then that's fine. If you are involved, then you have to consider whether Zhang Guangyi is the kind of person who is strict and doesn't like to throw the blame onto others."
Qin Sa thought of something and smiled immediately.
"There are so many things, and the stolen money must be worth a lot of money. The guy has connections, and I don't know if he can deal with it. He ran away by himself. He has done this before. It was only because we recovered the stolen goods that he didn't run away."
After these words were spoken, Meng Jinming's expression became even more tense, and both Mrs. Meng and her mother looked a little strange.
Qin Sa had been observing them. When she was at the drying field, she had already noticed that something was wrong with Meng Mu's expression.
She had just seen how resolute the Meng family was, and she had been shaken, but she trusted her own judgment more.
But when she was still thinking about how to break the impasse, Tang Qingqing had already stepped forward.
Qin Sa seemed to be chatting with the security guard casually, discussing with him how many years of imprisonment he would receive if he voluntarily confessed and if he was reported by someone.
Every word he said made the Meng family members break out in sweat.
The captain could see the problem, and while he was frustrated and angry, he cooperated with Qin Sa's work and went to find Mrs. Meng to do ideological work.
"Auntie, your family only has Jin Ming as a laborer. If he is locked up for more than ten years, it will be the end. If he just stole something, it would be fine. If he turns himself in, it won't be a big deal.
But if it’s too late, your son-in-law will blame your son for the death, and then everything will be ruined. This is murder!”
Mrs. Meng, who had been relatively calm, shuddered when she heard this.
Although stealing is a serious matter, it is at most just a dirty act.
But it’s different if someone kills someone. That person is a bad person and there is no hope for him.
"You, what nonsense are you talking about? Our Jin Ming didn't kill anyone!"
When the captain heard this, his eyes flashed.
"He didn't kill anyone, but he stole something, so he's not innocent of this matter! It's not easy for the police to arrest Jin Ming during the New Year, but Zhang Guangyi is different. He can be taken away because he has a criminal record. Are you sure he's a tight-lipped person?"
Mother Meng couldn't hold it in any longer and started crying:
"It really wasn't our Jin Ming who did it. This has nothing to do with our Jin Ming. It was all that Zhang Guangyi who instigated it!"