Chapter 112 Following the Clues "Stop crying, you won't look good if you keep crying..."
In the interrogation room of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, a bright white light shone in the center.
Hoga's hands were handcuffed to a chair, and the light was so bright that he couldn't open his eyes.
They wouldn't let us eat, drink, or use the toilet; we just had to endure it like that.
Under intense questioning from Ji Yu and several colleagues, Hoga finally admitted that Amira's child was indeed "goods" he had given her.
But he really didn't know where the "goods" came from; he was only responsible for shipping them out.
This is also the rule in their line of work: they are not allowed to inquire about the source of the "goods" and are only responsible for their own part.
They didn't even know the names of the people in the previous ring; they only knew each person's code name.
His code name is "Grey Bird," and his superior's code name is "Sister Red."
Ji Yu was furious when she heard them call a living child a "goods".
Hoga continued to provoke, "Officer, why are you so agitated? I didn't steal those kids. If I hadn't found them a new home, they would be dead by now."
“I’m a good person. Besides, some children aren’t even lost; they’re sold by their own parents for money.”
Ji Yu slammed her fist on the table, her eyes sharp, wishing she could have punched Huo Jia instead.
"Watch your words, these things will be recorded in the statement."
He got up and went out, intending to call Sadiq over to have his portrait drawn. Since they didn't know each other's names, they must have seen each other's faces before.
Sadiq previously worked at the same police station as Ji Yu. Because of his excellent sketching skills, he was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department of the Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier than Ji Yu.
In Sadiq's writing, the appearance of a middle-aged woman gradually becomes clear: long curly hair, almond-shaped eyes, and high cheekbones.
According to Hoja, "Sister Red" always dressed very fashionably whenever they met, often wearing bright red lipstick and high heels.
They would negotiate the price for the goods first, and then he would have to pick them up at a designated location himself.
After quickly finishing the drawing, Sadiq held it up to Hoga: "Is this the person?"
“It’s her.” Hoga nodded. “Not bad, brother.”
Sadiq, with a cold expression, tossed the drawing paper to Ji Yu and turned to leave: "I'm off work."
Ji Yu hurriedly caught it, but called out to Sadiq just as his hand was about to touch the doorknob.
"Wait a minute, we're already here, there's still one person here, let's finish drawing together before we leave."
Sadiq stepped back, glanced at his watch, and said, "It's 5:03 now. Remember to give me my overtime pay."
When he was transferred to the municipal bureau, his only requirement was that he could not work overtime and that he would disappear precisely at 1 to 5 o'clock every day.
"It's because your wife cooks so well."
Ji Yu forced a smile: "Thank you for still thinking about my wife."
He continued to interrogate Reheman about the pesticide poisoning: "Who exactly ordered you to do this? How could you do such a thing? That was your own grandfather."
Hoja was also puzzled. He had indeed taken on one job, or rather, two jobs.
But before he could even get started, his grandfather went to a restaurant to buy food and, unfortunately, got pesticide poisoning.
Hoja argued, "Even if I had no conscience, I would never harm my grandfather."
It was his grandfather who didn't want to go to the hospital. He just happened to notice the restaurant's name printed on the bowl, and went along with it, causing a scene at the restaurant.
Ji Yu questioned, "Is reporting it to the health bureau just a convenient excuse?"
“If you’re going to put on an act, you have to go all the way,” Hoga said with a defiant look. “That guy told me to ruin your wife’s shop and a clothing store too.”
"You know, I can't do anything about this restaurant, but it's just a clothing store, and a women's clothing store at that. What can I complain about? Do you think the clothes are too small and too tight?"
"A women's clothing store?" Ji Yu felt something was off. "What's the name?"
Hoga: "It seems to be called something like Wu Er, a very strange name."
Ji Yu felt inexplicably familiar with the name, as if she had heard it somewhere before.
What's the name of the person who contacted you?
"I've already told you that."
When did you say that?
Hoga: "Just now, didn't we finish drawing them all?"
Ji Yu was still going through the previous transcripts, thinking she had misremembered. Sadiq had already left, and this time she could really go home.
Ji Yu picked up the portrait that had been placed on the table again and carefully examined "Sister Hong's" appearance.
Interestingly, two completely unrelated things were somehow linked together by the same person.
Ji Yu: "When Sister Hong came to see you, did she mention any conflict between her and the owners of these two stores?"
Hoga thought for a few minutes and then answered definitively, "No."
“We’re all just doing our jobs for money, we don’t care about these things,” Hoga said. “In our line of work, the more you know, the faster you die.”
Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of Hoga, Ji Yu told her colleague to continue asking Hoga how many children he had sold over the years and where they had gone.
He then drove to the hospital, but the ward was empty.
Reheman didn't want to stay in the hospital and has already been discharged and gone home alone.
At Reheman's home, Ji Yu uncovered the truth about the pesticide.
He happened to be home the day Sister Hong arrived and overheard their plan.
Hongjie not only made Huojia ruin both of his shops, but also said that she had gotten her hands on a batch of top-quality "goods" including children and young women, and asked Huojia how much he could handle.
Reheman burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably: "I knew my grandson was a good-for-nothing, but I never imagined he would be doing such a harmful thing."
“I’m sorry to his parents. It’s my fault for being incompetent and failing to raise him properly, which led him down this wrong path.”
Reheman knelt on the ground, "I put the pesticide in myself, it has nothing to do with Hoga."
He unexpectedly learned of the sins his grandson had committed over the years, and since he already didn't want to live anymore, he planned to take his grandson with him and die together.
Hongjie wrote the restaurant's name on a slip of paper for Huo Jia; he didn't know the specific name.
On his deathbed, he thought he would die with a full stomach, so he went to a restaurant for the first time, spent all the money he had, and bought a few dishes to take home.
Unexpectedly, he started having diarrhea after only a few bites, and Hoja didn't eat the meal either.
Ji Yu helped him up from the ground: "Do you know that the store where you bought your food is the same store your grandson is planning to target?"
"And that shop is owned by my wife."
Reheman's legs went weak, and he wanted to kneel down again.
He stammered, "Officer, I...I really didn't know it was your shop. If I had known, I wouldn't have dared to go there even if you gave me a hundred lives."
Ji Yu: "Does that mean you can just go to other people's shops? Do you know how much trouble your actions will cause others?"
"Isn't it good to be alive?"
Reheman thought of his grandson's crime: "Officer, is my grandson even alive?"
Ji Yu: "It depends on how many children he has sold over the years. The more he has sold, the heavier his crime."
Seeing the old man's sorrowful expression, he thought for a moment and added, "If the situation isn't too serious, his life can still be saved."
Reheman slowly sat back down in his chair and let out a long sigh, "It's good that I'm still alive..."
The following morning, Chen Mianmian and Ji Yu went to the Municipal Public Security Bureau together.
After listening to Ji Yu retell the whole story last night, her intuition told her that this "Sister Hong" was Chen Zhelan.
Today, she went to identify the suspect as an enthusiastic member of the public. Coincidentally, Li Hongmei and Wu Wei also came.
With the joint confirmation of the three and Hoga's confession, the police finally named the dozens of child trafficking cases that had occurred in Wumu City in recent years as the "Sister Hong Case".
Police across the city launched a simultaneous manhunt, with local police stations conducting a thorough search to bring Sister Hong to justice as soon as possible.
In Hoga's latest statement, another familiar face also appeared.
According to him, there was a baby boy he sold who was probably less than a year old at the time. He didn't make a sound for several days after he got his hands on him.
Other children, when suddenly separated from their parents and placed in a strange new environment, will cry and fuss excessively, and only sleeping pills can help them.
Only that child never cried or fussed; he just obediently blinked his dark eyes and looked at you.
Hoja was afraid he was born mute, so he unpacked his clothes and carefully examined him. Apart from a red mole on his right thigh, there was nothing else unusual.
He had no choice but to pinch the mole hard, and the child cried a few times before stopping.
Sadiq has been extremely busy these past few days, and he has painted countless portraits.
He mechanically reconstructed the boy's facial features based on Hoga's narration.
After finishing the last stroke, Sadiq paused, leaving a faint black line on the paper.
This is the child of Zigaidi, Aji, he remembers the woman who cried so pitifully.
After Zhijiayi was able to earn her own money, she moved out of the Chen family's house and rented a place to live on her own.
After she came to confirm the portrait, Sadiq drew a new portrait, taking into account the appearances of Ziga and her husband, as well as the changes in the child's bone structure.
This portrait will be handed over to the police station, and they will work together to find Aji's whereabouts during the investigation.
Hoga still showed some goodwill by telling them the buyer's address, but the family moved away soon after buying the child.
Looking at the portrait on the table, Zhijia couldn't help but burst into tears. Two years had passed, was she finally going to find her child?
"If my Aji hadn't been lost, he would probably look like this now..."
Sadiq silently took out a neatly folded handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to Ziga.
“Stop crying, you’ll look ugly if you keep crying.” Sadiq said incoherently, “What I mean is, I will help you find your child, I’m very good at it.”
Seeing his helpless expression, Zhijia burst into laughter through her tears, "Okay, I believe you, officer."
With the new portrait in hand, she was ready to take action.
In the past two years, whenever she had free time, she would wander around various parts of the city, hoping that God would open his eyes and send the child back to her.
Children grow up so fast, changing every day, and the longer time goes by, the slimmer the hope becomes.
With Sadiq's help, the flame of hope in her heart was rekindled.
When Chen Mian learned about this, the peach orchard in her home had just been restored.
Each peach tree underwent debridement surgery, and the wounds were treated with a medicine prepared by Professor Shen. Freshly mixed fertilizer was also applied.
She didn't have time to rest and ran all over the city with Zhijiayi.
They were looking for both Aji and Chen Zhelan.
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