After the door closed, Feng Yulan's legs gave way and she slumped down into a chair. Zhang Shumin quickly walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain, and peered downstairs.
She didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the police car drove away from the community. When she turned around, her face had returned to its usual sternness.
"Pack your things," she ordered. "Check all of Zhang Shuo's belongings."
"What are you looking for?" Feng Yulan asked.
"Anything that shouldn't be there." Zhang Shumin's expression became complicated. "The police wouldn't come to my house for no reason."
For the next few hours, the two carefully screened every item left by Zhang Shuo like archaeologists.
Feng Yulan was in charge of clothes and daily necessities, while Zhang Shumin handled documents and electronic devices. On the surface, this was a major cleanup, but in reality it was a tacit destruction of evidence.
While tidying up the bedside table, Feng Yulan found a USB flash drive hidden in the compartment.
She quickly stuffed it into her underwear while her mother-in-law wasn't paying attention - this was a habit she had developed recently, keeping anything that might be evidence close to her body.
There was already a piece of paper with phone numbers written on it and a bloody shirt button in the lining of her bra.
"Yulan!" Zhang Shumin suddenly shouted from the bathroom, "Come here!"
Feng Yulan ran over and saw her mother-in-law standing next to the toilet, holding a sealed bag containing several small packets of white powder.
Feng Yulan's breath hitched - this was exactly what she saw in the abandoned factory.
"Flush it off." Zhang Shumin ordered, her voice tense.
Feng Yulan took the sealed bag and trembled when her fingers touched the powder.
Is this what Zhang Shuo calls "overtime"? Is this the secret to his sudden wealth? Trembling, she tore open the sealed bag, poured the white powder into the toilet, and felt a strange sense of relief as she pressed the flush button.
"Anything else?" she asked in a low voice.
Zhang Shumin did not answer, but walked to the balcony, took out a key from under the flower pot, and opened the locker that had been locked all year round.
Feng Yulan followed and saw more than a dozen identical sealed bags neatly stacked in the cabinet, as well as a stack of cash and a black notebook.
The two exchanged a silent glance, then sprang into action simultaneously. Feng Yulan found a garbage bag to collect the powder, while Zhang Shumin leafed through the notebook.
Feng Yulan glanced at the densely packed numbers and names on the paper, and one of the names circled in red stood out particularly - Lao Jin.
"Flush it all." Zhang Shumin closed the notebook, her face dark and gloomy. "Leave nothing behind."
Feng Yulan went back and forth to the toilet more than a dozen times until the last packet of powder disappeared into the sewer.
When handling the cash, Zhang Shumin hesitated for a moment, took out two stacks and put them in her pocket, and asked Feng Yulan to wrap the rest in newspaper, preparing to find an opportunity to throw it away.
"Mom..." Feng Yulan mustered up the courage to ask, "What did Zhang Shuo...do?"
Zhang Shumin's eyes flickered, revealing for the first time fatigue and fear. "Stupid question. You know the answer."
These words were like a key that opened the tightly closed door between the two people.
Feng Yulan took a deep breath, walked to her bedroom, and pulled out an envelope from under her mattress. Inside was the evidence she had secretly collected over the past few months: secretly filmed photos of the transaction, a note with the address, screenshots of Zhang Shuo's phone records...
Zhang Shumin's fingers trembled slightly as she flipped through the materials. When she saw the photo of the abandoned factory, she suddenly looked up and asked, "Are you following him?"
Feng Yulan nodded, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes: "I'm afraid... He's been acting too abnormal lately..."
To her surprise, Zhang Shumin did not get angry, but took out a shoe box from her room - inside was the bloody tie and the Kiton tie box.
"I found it while picking up trash," my mother-in-law said in a surprisingly calm voice, "the night Jason was killed."
The two women sat in silence, and the evidence in their hands pieced together a horrible truth: Zhang Shuo was not only involved in drug trafficking, but was also likely involved in murder.
"Will the police find him?" Feng Yulan asked in a low voice.
Zhang Shumin shook her head. "My son isn't very smart, but he's a master at escaping." She paused, her eyes sharp. "The question now is, what should we do?"
"We?" Feng Yulan looked up in surprise. This was the first time her mother-in-law had used the word "we" in three years.
"Don't play dumb," Zhang Shumin sneered. "Do you think the police will believe we didn't know? Those drugs, that money..." Her voice trailed off. "We have to protect ourselves."
The rain began to fall again, pounding against the windows like countless tiny fingers scratching the glass. Feng Yulan suddenly realized that this was the first time she and her mother-in-law were in the same boat—a sinking ship.
"That USB drive," Zhang Shumin suddenly said, "that you hid. What's in it?"
Feng Yulan's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected her mother-in-law to see it. After a moment's hesitation, she took out the USB drive and plugged it into the TV. Several folders appeared on the screen, one labeled "Delivery Records."
Clicking on it revealed a series of transaction photos and detailed accounts. The last video made both of them hold their breath—Zhang Shuo was arguing with a man wearing a gold watch, with the abandoned factory in the background.
"...This batch of goods is not pure enough," the man with the gold watch said sternly. "Old Jin is very dissatisfied."
"The test report was done by your people," Zhang Shuo retorted, his voice tinged with fear. "I've already paid..."
"The money isn't the problem," the man with the gold watch interrupted. "The problem is people talking too much." He pulled out a gun. "Jason is the role model."
The video ended abruptly. Feng Yulan trembled all over. Now she understood where the bloody tie came from.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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