Chen Hao and the other policeman surnamed Zhang stayed at Chen Dachuan's house, preparing to search thoroughly to see if Chen Dachuan had left any clues.
Chen Xiaoqiu waited in the kitchen for a while, but her sister didn't come back. She ran out and tugged at Chen Xiaoxia's sleeve: "Sister, I'm hungry."
"Okay, I'll go make breakfast for Xiaoqiu right away," Chen Xiaoxia reassured her younger sister.
"Haven't you made breakfast yet?" Chen Hao asked.
Chen Xiaoxia hesitated for a moment, then said, "I made it, but Dad ate it all."
Chen Hao: "..."
"When your father left, he didn't even take care of you?" Chen Hao asked.
The two little girls nodded together.
Chen Hao and Officer Zhang exchanged a glance, both utterly speechless. What kind of father does this? Stealing food from his own child's mouth?
"We haven't eaten yet, so I'll go to the state-run restaurant and buy some breakfast to eat together," Chen Hao said after thinking for a moment.
Zhang Gong'an did not object and even gave Chen Hao two ounces of grain coupons.
Chen Hao declined at first, but Zhang Gong'an refused, and in the end he accepted it.
This breakfast was probably the best the two little girls had ever eaten since they could remember. It was a thick, fragrant porridge and big meat buns. Their family had bought them before, but they had never eaten them before. Their parents always said that little girls don't need to eat so well and that they should give way to the adults who work hard to support the family.
Seeing that the two girls loved steamed buns, Officer Zhang gave each of them another one: "If you like them, eat more. Young girls are growing, so you should eat more and eat well."
The two little girls looked at each other, both looking confused. That's not what their parents said. Their understanding was a bit muddled.
After breakfast, the two little girls listened to their father and went back to their room to pack their things.
Chen Hao and Zhang Gong'an entered Chen Dachuan's house and began a thorough search.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, followed by someone calling, "Chen Dachuan? Is Chen Dachuan home?"
Chen Hao and Zhang Gong'an paused abruptly, exchanged a quick, wary glance, and then nimbly darted away.
"Who is it?" Chen Hao asked.
The voice outside paused, then asked with a hint of doubt, "I'm Director Liu from the neighborhood committee. You're not Chen Dachuan. Who are you? Where is Chen Dachuan?"
Chen Hao and Zhang Gong'an immediately relaxed, and regret appeared on their faces.
Chen Hao went over and opened the door.
"You are..." Director Liu recognized Chen Hao immediately. "Comrade Chen Hao?! What are you doing here? I thought you had already returned to Beijing. By the way, where is Chen Dachuan?"
As Director Liu spoke, he noticed Officer Zhang standing beside him. Upon seeing the police uniform, his expression immediately hardened, and he asked, "And this gentleman is...?"
"The police officers from the province are here to investigate the case in Qingxi Town," Chen Hao explained.
Director Liu was immediately alarmed and asked with a serious expression, "Hasn't Chen Dachuan already been released? There shouldn't be any problems, right? Why are you still coming to investigate?"
“Although the investigation into Chen Dachuan’s issues has been completed, the case is not yet fully resolved. We’ve just discovered some new leads and came to ask him for his assistance in the investigation. However, we couldn’t find him when we arrived. There were only two young girls at home. Did Director Liu find him and ask where he went?” Chen Hao asked.
Director Liu felt relieved when he heard that it wasn't Chen Dachuan's problem. He glanced into the room, frowned, and asked, "Isn't Chen Dachuan home? He came to the neighborhood office to see me earlier, saying he wanted to sell the house and asked me to ask if anyone was interested. He also said he was going to sell the house and go back to his hometown in the next couple of days. I saw that he was in a hurry to sell, so I quickly went to find someone to look at the house. Why isn't he here?"
"Is this the young man who came to look at the house?" Chen Hao asked, looking at the young man standing next to Director Liu.
Director Liu nodded and said with a smile, "My aunt's grandson, my nephew, is getting married soon. He's really short of room at home and is looking for a place to live. I didn't expect to run into Chen Dachuan, who was selling his house, so I quickly went to call him over."
"When did Chen Dachuan come to see you?" Zhang Gong'an asked after thinking for a moment.
“Just this morning,” Director Liu said, “and he was still wearing a military uniform.”
As Director Liu spoke, he looked at Chen Hao and said, "It must have been given by Comrade Chen Hao, right? It looks quite new. If it were given to someone else, they probably wouldn't have been willing to part with it."
Chen Hao's lips twitched slightly: "That military uniform is indeed mine." However, it wasn't "given" to him.
Director Liu looked like he knew it, and he was also a little distressed. Such a nice military uniform, worn so sloppily on someone else, what a waste.
"Although Chen Dachuan isn't here, can we take a look at this house first?" Director Liu asked. "My nephew works at the food factory and took a temporary leave. He has to go back soon."
Chen Hao quickly stepped aside: "Of course." Anyway, Chen Dachuan definitely wouldn't be staying in this house for long.
Director Liu took his nephew inside to look at the house. Chen Hao and Officer Zhang stood at the gate, each lighting a cigarette, frowning, and starting to worry.
"Where do you think Chen Dachuan will go? Could he really go back to Qingxi Town to break him out of prison? Does he have that kind of ability?" Zhang Gong'an said with a headache.
Chen Hao shook his head: "I think it's unlikely. Based on my understanding of Chen Dachuan, he's very selfish. To protect himself, he would put all the blame on women. He would never do something like break someone out of prison for a woman. I suspect he'd love to get a new wife."
"So what do you think those two kids meant when they said their dad was going to pick up their mom?" Officer Zhang asked.
Chen Hao was also completely baffled: "I really don't understand what this means."
"Damn it," Zhang Gong'an cursed under his breath, "Couldn't you give me just a little more clue? Even just a tiny bit, at least let me know where to find that guy Chen Dachuan..."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the door of the old principal's house opened two doors down, and Old Mrs. Qin hurriedly came out.
Officer Zhang recognized Old Mrs. Qin at a glance; she was the old woman who had just been dragged around and criticized by those soldiers. Hearing that there was no more noise from that side, the soldiers must have left. The old woman had changed into clean clothes, and her previously messy hair had been neatly combed. However, the haggard look on her face showed that she had not yet recovered from what had just happened.
Where is she going at this time?
Zhang Gong'an vaguely saw a familiar figure in Old Mrs. Qin, and felt inexplicably uneasy.
Is she thinking of doing something drastic?
Just then, Xiao Qinshi chased after her from home and caught up with Grandma Qin: "Grandma, I'll go with you."
Grandma Qin shook her head and did not agree: "No need, I can go by myself. You stay at home with Grandpa. Grandpa's leg is injured and he has difficulty moving around. He needs someone to take care of him."
“Grandpa said he can manage on his own at home, and he wants me to come with you,” Xiao Qin said.
Grandma Qin still refused: "I told you, I can do it. You just need to stay home and keep Grandpa company."
Without saying a word, Old Mrs. Qin pried open Xiao Qin's hand and hurriedly tried to leave.
As Zhang Gong'an looked at Old Mrs. Qin, he felt increasingly uneasy.
It's so similar, so much like his childhood friend's mother, also an elegant old lady who was dragged out and criticized by those soldiers several times because of her family background. She couldn't bear it and jumped off a building. Before she left, she sent away her childhood friend who was worried about her, just like this.
Without a second thought, Officer Zhang rushed over and stopped Old Mrs. Qin, advising her, "Grandma, please don't do anything rash. Think of your little grandson. What will happen to him if you leave?"
Grandma Qin looked at Officer Zhang with a bewildered expression: "What are you talking about? Who's thinking of doing something drastic?"
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