Chapter 150 Xiang Dong
◎It hurts his self-esteem and inferiority complex◎
Thinking of what his colleagues in the union had just said about the leader of the Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau and the big boss of Hong Kong City, Zhao Xiangwan turned around and asked Qian Minqiang softly: "What was the situation last September?"
Qian Minqiang gave a brief introduction.
Zhushi Transmission Machinery Factory is an old factory in the province. The transmission machinery it produces, especially the automobile transmission shafts, are well-known throughout the province for their quality. This year, a deputy director named Ai from the Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau took the lead in attracting the famous automobile tycoon Ou Dewang from Hong Kong to cooperate with it. A contract worth several million was signed in one go, and the entire factory was extremely excited.
Zhao Xiangwan asked: "Are there any photos?"
For such a big event, the union must have archived it. Qian Minqiang immediately found a photo, which was a group photo. He enlarged it and put it in a frame.
Among the leaders in the front row, Zhao Xiangwan recognized Qian Guofu, Qian Minqiang, and Xiang Dong. The orange woman standing in the middle was tall and slender, with her body slightly tilted, her lower jaw retracted, her posture upright, and her charm. She must be the deputy director Ai. Hong Kong businessman Ou Dewang had a big belly, wore a short-sleeved white shirt and plaid trousers, and smiled.
As the head of the technical department, Xiang Dong stood in the front row, second from the left. He was tall, well-maintained, handsome, and mature with an artistic air.
Zhao Xiangwan asked Qian Minqiang: "Does Xiang Dong know Deputy Director Ai?"
Qian Minqiang shook his head: "I haven't heard of it."
After asking a few more questions, Zhao Xiangwan saw that Qian Minqiang didn't know clearly, so he said to Zhu Kang: "When you go back, check the resume of Director Ai of the Provincial Investment Promotion Bureau and the basic information of Ou Dewang, and give it to me after you have sorted it out."
Zhu Kang responded: "Okay."
Qian Minqiang asked in confusion: "Why are you asking about this?"
Zhao Xiangwan said, "It's better to be prepared. After all, Qian Yanyan started to love dressing up after meeting Director Ai."
Qian Minqiang was a little skeptical.
[Women, of course, love to dress up. Red skirts were popular on the street a while ago. Good boy, a lot of lesbians in our factory wore red skirts. Seeing that Director Ai was dressed up nicely, it was quite normal for Yanyan to learn to buy clothes from her. What is there to investigate?
I have seen Director Ai before. Actually, if you look closely, she is not young. There are light wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She is just well-maintained, has a good temperament, and knows how to dress, so she looks a little more outstanding. Director Ai.】
Zhao Xiangwan has his own style of doing things and will not be affected by Qian Minqiang's few grumbles.
When going out on business to help other municipal bureaus investigate cases, it is more convenient to bring a few of your own people with you.
Zhu Kang is not only proficient in footprints, but also has a lot of experience in information collection and organization, so he is very suitable for searching for information. Zhu Feipeng is agile and quick to react, and is good at fingerprints, interrogation, investigation, and witness protection. Ji Zhao is even better, he is one of the best in scene reconstruction and forensic portraiture.
Then, Zhao Xiangwan asked several women in the union office: "Has Qian Yanyan shown any strange behavior recently? It doesn't matter, just say whatever comes to mind."
Zhao Xiangwan smiled, her smile was friendly and gentle. As a female police officer, she brought herself closer to several women in the union and made them willing to talk more.
"I heard, just heard, that Cheng Xinru, the announcer assigned to the radio station a few years ago, was very close to Xiang Gong. I don't know if it's true or not."
"Yes, I heard about it too. It was spread with details, and it was said that Qian Yanyan rushed to the radio station and beat up Cheng Xinru. Yanyan was tall and strong, and Xiang Gong was so scared that he dared not associate with her anymore."
Zhao Xiangwan turned around and looked at Qian Minqiang again: "Is it true?"
There were relationship problems between my sister and her husband, and there was a third party involved. So many people in the factory knew about it, there was no reason why the two brothers wouldn't be aware of it.
Qian Minqiang's face didn't look good, but he nodded: "That's true."
Huo Zhuo was a little surprised: "Why didn't you tell the police about this?"
Qian Minqiang explained: "This happened five years ago. At that time, Yanyan and Xiang Dong had a fierce quarrel and they fought at home. Yanyan has a hot temper and can't tolerate any sand in her eyes. She knew that Xiang Dong and the young announcer were flirting with each other and she was not willing to listen. She rushed to the broadcasting station and slapped the Cheng guy twice. This matter caused a big fuss at that time."
Huo Zhuo asked: "And then?"
Qian Minqiang said: "My eldest brother and I tried to mediate the quarrel, and we all sat together to negotiate. Cheng Xinru cried and said that it was not true, and that Yanyan should not hit anyone, and asked her to produce evidence. Yanyan said that someone saw her and Xiang Dong hugging each other, and she also gave Xiang Dong a scarf and hot soup. Yanyan was swearing non-stop, and her momentum was amazing. Xiang Dong knew he was in the wrong, wrong so he had to apologize, saying that he should not accept gifts from unmarried women, and should not get too close to Cheng Xinru. However, he and Cheng Xinru said the same thing and refused to admit that he had done anything that was not good for the family or Yanyan."
At this point, Qian Minqiang glanced at Zhao Xiangwan and said, "Do you understand what I mean?"
Zhao Xiangwan nodded.
Xiang Dong meant that he had at most cheated on her emotionally, not physically. Unless he was caught in bed, he would firmly deny having an improper relationship with Cheng Xinru.
Huo Zhuo stamped his feet in anger: "Such an important clue, why didn't you tell me? In this way, at least Xiang Dong and Cheng Xinru have a motive to kill."
Qian Minqiang said: "At that time, Xiang Dong signed a confession and bowed to Qian Yanyan in front of us two brothers to apologize. His attitude was very sincere. He said that he was only temporarily confused by Cheng Xinru's youth and beauty, and his vanity was at work, so he allowed Cheng Xinru to approach him. He said that he would never associate with Cheng Xinru in the future, and would keep his distance from other women. He would be loyal to Yanyan and responsible for him family to the end."
At this point, Qian Minqiang sighed, "We are men too. Killing someone is not a crime. Xiang Dong has even signed a confession and apologized so sincerely. What else can we say? Xiang Dong and Yan Yan are married and have a son. Are they really going to get divorced? In life, everyone makes mistakes sometimes. It doesn't matter if you make a mistake. You can still be a good comrade if you correct it, right?"
Zhao Xiangwan asked in a somewhat stiff tone: "So, you let Qian Yanyan forgive Xiang Dong? There was no punishment?"
Qian Minqiang nodded first, then shook his head: "Forgiveness, yes forgiveness, but there is also punishment. My eldest brother transferred Cheng Xinru from the factory to the sales point in the county. As for Xiang Dong... after all, he is Yanyan's husband and Chengsi's father. We can't do it too badly. We punished him by sending him to the workshop for training for half a year, and he was promoted to section chief after he came back."
Zhao Xiangwan looked at Qian Minqiang: "Is Qian Yanyan happy?"
Looking back, Qian Minqiang didn't know how to answer this question. He spent a long time before saying, "There was a period of time when Yanyan lost a lot of weight and learned to play mahjong. As soon as she got off work, she would play mahjong with a few sisters to pass the time. But during that time, Xiang Dong still behaved well. Even if Yanyan ignored him, he would greet her with a smile, pick up Chengsi, help him with his homework, and learn to cook and mop the floor. No matter how late she came back, he would wait for her."
There was a hint of sadness in Zhao Xiangwan's eyes.
When a man cheats, it is the woman who bears all the psychological pressure. The man may think that he has returned to his true love and the woman should forgive and let it go, but he does not know that once this thorn is planted, it is difficult to pull out.
Qian Yanyan seems to be playing mahjong for fun, but in fact she is avoiding being with Xiang Dong. She doesn't know how to be in the same space with her husband, and she wants to escape from the suffocating and painful home.
Zhao Xiangwan asked Qian Minqiang seriously: "What I'm asking is, is she happy?"
The death of his sister almost caused Qian Minqiang to have a mental breakdown during this period. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could only see Qian Yanyan's round face.
Before Xiang Dong cheated on her, Qian Yanyan had a bright and cheerful smile, her laughter was as clear as a silver bell, and she had no worries. After Xiang Dong cheated on her, even if Qian Yanyan smiled, her eyes always showed her worries, as if she had grown up a lot overnight.
Facing Zhao Xiangwan's eyes that seemed to see through people's hearts, Qian Minqiang felt a pang of pain in his heart. He closed his eyes and forced himself to suppress the sadness in his heart: "No, she is not happy."
Yes, just as Min Chenghe said, Qian Yanyan is not happy.
Even though the family conditions are good and they have no worries about food and clothing; even though they have two older brothers who are in charge and Xiang Dong can't make any waves, but... love is love, and not love is not love, and you can't pretend.
After being betrayed, Qian Yanyan no longer trusts Xiang Dong.
If there is not even the most basic trust between husband and wife, living together is really a torment.
Zhao Xiangwan's casual words touched Qian Minqiang's heart with guilt. If it weren't for the fact that he was in the union office and if it weren't for the fact that he was surrounded by colleagues, Qian Minqiang really wanted to cover his face and squat in a corner to cry.
His sister is dead!
Killed inexplicably.
But he didn't even realize that his sister hadn't been truly happy in recent years.
He thought that by criticizing Xiang Dong and letting him return to his family, Qian Yanyan would be happy and they would live happily together until old age. However, he ended up killing her.
Qian Minqiang took several steps back until his back was leaning against a desk before he could stand firmly.
His face turned pale, and his lips trembled for a long time before he uttered: "I didn't expect it, I really didn't expect it..."
It is hard to buy early knowledge in this world.
If I had known that Xiang Dong's cheating would make my sister so miserable, I would have let them divorce and kicked Xiang Dong and Cheng Xinru out of the factory together, leaving them to fend for themselves.
It is better to suffer a short pain than a long one. Even if Qian Yanyan is sad and reluctant at that time, even if there may be some discussions in the factory, but... after getting through it, the strong and cheerful Yanyan will definitely find the happiness of life again.
Zhao Xiangwan actually had no intention of blaming Qian Minqiang.
In the 1990s, people were relatively traditional in their thinking, and stability was the top priority for marriage. Ups and downs were inevitable, and cheating was forgivable. As long as one returned to the family and had a stable marriage, it meant that one's life was successful.
The brothers Qian Minqiang and Qian Guofu definitely had good intentions and loved their sister sincerely. However, they misjudged Xiang Dong and did not understand Qian Yanyan.
Zhao Xiangwan looked at Qian Minqiang deeply and said, "Turn your grief into strength."
Qian Minqiang felt inexplicably comforted, and he felt relieved. He nodded and said, "Okay." There was no point in regretting, so he might as well try to bring the murderer who killed his sister to justice to comfort his sister's soul in heaven.
Zhao Xiangwan said to him: "Cheng Xinru is an important clue. Tell Zhu Kang about her basic situation and we will go to meet her together."
Having something to do gives you peace of mind.
Qian Minqiang quickly accepted Zhao Xiangwan's instructions, pulled Zhu Kang aside, gave him all the information, and started to call the county sales point to ask whether Cheng Xinru was working in the store.
After leaving the union office, Huo Zhuo subconsciously asked Zhao Xiangwan: "Where are we going next?"
Even Huo Zhuo himself did not realize that Zhao Xiangwan had quickly taken control of the initiative, and even he, the captain of the criminal investigation team, began to actively inquire about Zhao Xiangwan's arrangements.
Zhao Xiangwan said: "Let's meet Xiang Dong."
The person involved has heard so much that his ears are ringing. It’s time for him to see the truth.
The office of the chief of the technical department is very large. Xiang Dong, who was wearing a black turtleneck sweater and a brown leather jacket, asked everyone to sit down and asked his assistant to bring hot tea. When he saw that there were several unfamiliar faces in uniform besides Huo Zhuo, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Xiang Dong respected Qian Minqiang very much. After calling him "Second Brother", he asked him to sit on the single sofa and stood beside him.
Huo Zhuo casually asked a few questions related to Qian Yanyan's life and death, and Xiang Dong answered them one by one.
Xiang Dong had a sad look on his face, and his voice was filled with sadness and nostalgia.
His voice was steady and his eyes were clear. Compared with the flustered and stammering Min Chenghe, it was obvious that Min Chenghe was more suspicious.
Zhao Xiangwan sat in a chair, looked up at Xiang Dong, and carefully observed his every move.
As seen in the photo, Xiang Dong does have a face that does not show his age. His face is slightly long, his eyebrows are delicate, and his hair is thick and black. When I shook hands with him just now, his palms were soft, and it was obvious that he seldom did housework.
——This is a man who has not experienced much hardship and vicissitudes of life. Similarly, he is also a beneficiary of marriage.
It makes sense. The Qian family has a strong background in Zhushi Transmission Machinery Factory. Qian Yanyan's father is the only eighth-level clamper in the factory. He is warm-hearted and kind-hearted. His apprentices are all over the province and he is very prestigious. Qian Yanyan's two elder brothers also benefited from their father's blessing and became leaders in the factory.
Although Qian Yanyan is the youngest in the family and is very spoiled by her family, she is not spoiled. She is efficient and capable, has excellent cooking skills, and takes care of Xiang Dong and his son with all her heart. Therefore, Xiang Dong can easily pursue his professional title and career, be rated as a senior engineer, become a section chief, live in a three-bedroom and one-living room apartment in the factory, and still find time to have affairs.
Xiang Dong's lips are thin and without edges, and the corners of his lips are slightly downwards. When he is not smiling, he gives people a feeling of being indifferent and ungrateful.
The tone of his voice was steady and somewhat deliberate.
When Qian Yanyan's name was mentioned, Xiang Dong's pupils shrank slightly, which showed disgust.
——As Min Chenghe said, Xiang Dong dislikes Qian Yanyan.
This is so sad.
It is obvious that Xiang Dong is the beneficiary of the marriage, and it is obvious that Xiang Dong’s current situation is inseparable from the help of the Qian family, but he looks down on Qian Yanyan.
After knowing each other and getting married for more than ten years, Xiang Dong is not interested in money or Yanyan.
However, Zhao Xiangwan did not hear Xiang Dong's thoughts.
This is a man with deep thoughts, who will not easily reveal his inner thoughts in front of others.
The questions Huo Ze asked were not sharp, and Xiang Dong did not feel any burden when answering them.
"I am also very sad that Yanyan was killed."
"These past few days, whenever I get home and see everything at home, my mind is full of her and I can't stop crying. So I come to work to change the environment and feel better."
"Have you found out anything? Is Min Chenghe the murderer? It's true that you can't judge a person by his appearance. Min Chenghe is Yanyan's junior fellow apprentice and my father-in-law's top student. Normally, if Yanyan has any problems, he will come to help as long as she says hello. Who knows... Alas!"
Qian Minqiang listened to Xiang Dong's flawless answer, and at the end he did not forget to splash dirty water on Min Chenghe. He could not suppress his anger: "Xiang Dong! You should speak with conscience. Min Chenghe is an honest man, just like my brother. How could he kill Yanyan? But you, who knows what dirty thoughts you have!"
Xiang Dong let out a long sigh.
"Brother, I can understand why you guys are so protective of Min Chenghe. In fact, I don't want to believe that he did it. Everyone is very sad about Yanyan's death, but... can we as a family not blame each other like this? It will not help, but will only make the relatives sad and the enemies happy.
What dirty thoughts could I have? Yanyan and I have been married for fourteen years. We have built our home little by little. Don't you know how I feel about her? I don't have any other relatives in Zhu City. My second brother and my eldest brother, you are my closest relatives. Now that the police have come to our door, we should work together to provide the police with more clues to solve the case and bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible, right?"
Well said.
If it weren't for Min Chenghe's intuition, if it weren't for the fact that Xiang Dong had cheated, everyone would have been moved by Xiang Dong's words.
Qian Minqiang had already determined that Xiang Dong was the murderer, so he was not willing to listen to his sweet talk. He shouted, "Xiang Dong! Tell the police, do you have someone else outside, so you want to kill Yanyan?"
Huo Zhuo glanced at Zhao Xiangwan.
[Is it okay to let Qian Minqiang shout it out like this? Will it affect your interrogation? ]
Zhao Xiangwan waved his hands gently and mouthed: It's okay.
As the saying goes, a random fight can kill the old master, so let Qian Minqiang take the field himself and see if he can get Xiang Dong to reveal a little bit of his true feelings.
Xiang Dong's heart skipped a beat.
"Brother, are you too shocked? How could I possibly kill Yanyan? She is my first wife and Chengsi's biological mother!"
Xiang Dong raised his eyes and looked towards Huo Zhuo. His calm expression finally showed a crack, and his inner voice was revealed.
[The police suspected me? ]
[I have an alibi...]
They have no evidence.
Hearing this, Zhao Xiangwan lowered his eyes. It was him! It was Xiang Dong who did it!
However, there is no evidence.
The urgent task is to find evidence.
Qian Minqiang is not a policeman, he doesn't care about evidence or not, he suddenly stood up and punched him.
"Bang——"
Xiang Dong was knocked back by the punch, with half of his face turning purple.
“Second brother!”
He looked at Qian Minqiang in disbelief, covered his face and shouted, "Why did you hit me? I said, it wasn't me!"
Qian Minqiang turned all his anger today into this punch, and cursed: "I don't care if it was you who did it! I just want to hit you. We trusted you so much and married Yanyan to you. She gave birth to your son, took care of your household affairs, bought you clothes and shoes, and dressed you up as stylishly as a young person in her twenties or thirties. But what about you? How did you treat her? Give Yanyan back to me, and you have to compensate my sister!"
Such a big commotion startled the people in the administration building.
A crowd of people stood at the door of the technical section chief's office. Seeing Qian Minqiang beating Xiang Dong, they all felt relieved and started to discuss quietly.
"It's time to hit!"
"His wife was murdered, yet he still dresses so exquisitely to go to work every day, looking like nothing happened."
"It's a pity for Qian Yanyan that she married a heartless man."
"From now on, women should be nicer to themselves and stop treating men like treasures."
Facing these fiery gazes, Xiang Dong's face turned red, and the tightly closed door of his heart opened a crack again.
【Just burying my head in housework! 】
【The Qian family is powerful and strong, and once you get involved with them, you can’t get rid of them.】
[Get lost! Die! ]
Deep in Xiang Dong's heart, he harbors hatred for the Qian family.
This is his darkest side, and he never shows it to others easily.
It's time to strike!
Zhao Xiangwan stood up slowly.
She stood straight, her hands clenched into fists, and her eyes were sharp.
"Xiang Dong, what are your family conditions like?"
Xiang Dong looked at Zhao Xiangwan and did not reply immediately.
After being beaten by Qian Minqiang and talked about by his colleagues, Xiang Dong was no longer calm and he became uncooperative when facing the police's questions.
"Who are you?"
Xiang Dong didn't like the look of Zhao Xiangwan.
Huo Zhuo said unhappily, "Don't worry about who she is, just answer her questions properly!"
Xiang Dong finally spoke patiently: "Comrade police officer, what exactly do you mean by family conditions?"
Zhao Xiangwan said, "I heard that your father was a worker in a towel factory in a small county town, and your mother was a housewife. There were five children in the family, three sons and two daughters. You were the second child, right?"
Xiang Dong took a deep breath: "Yeah, what's wrong?"
Zhao Xiangwan glanced at him.
This look was filled with deep contempt, causing Xiang Dong's eyebrows to twitch and his chest to feel stuffy.
Zhao Xiangwan said, "In a small county town, such family conditions are considered bad, right? The accommodation in the towel factory is limited, and a family of seven is squeezed into a small house, and it is difficult to turn around. Can my father, who is paid by himself, feed seven people and have enough food?"
Childhood memories flooded into Xiang Dong's mind and he clenched his teeth.
In a crowded bedroom, three brothers slept in one bed. They could smell smelly feet every day. The half-grown boy had an appetite like a bottomless pit. He was never full, and only reading could make him forget about hunger temporarily.
Later, when educated youth were sent to the countryside, Xiang Dong thought that at least he could have a full meal in the countryside, so he took the initiative to sign up.
However, he had not anticipated the hardships of rural labor.
He lived in a cowshed, drank pond water, ate sweet potatoes, and there was always endless work to do: plowing the fields, cutting grass, planting rice, harvesting rice, planting sweet potatoes... His back was burnt until the skin peeled, his hands were covered with blisters, and his whole body ached. He never wanted to endure such hardship again.
After much difficulty, the college entrance examination was resumed in 1977, and Xiang Dong was successfully admitted to university.
After being assigned to the Zhushi Transmission Machinery Factory, Xiang Dong met Qian Yanyan. Seeing her admiring eyes and hearing that her father was the only eighth-level clamper in the factory, he knew that the opportunity to change his destiny had come.
He never wanted to live the same way he had before.
Zhao Xiangwan continued, "Marry Qian Yanyan, and now you have a financial supporter in the transmission machinery factory. Your life will be getting better and better, right?"
These words, like a steel needle, pierce Xiang Dong's self-respecting yet inferior heart.
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