Ji Kangyong nodded and said, "If you get along well with him, he will help you if you encounter any difficulties in the future."
These words serve as both a reminder and a warning.
It's unclear whether Yu Shui understood the implication, but he seemed to be in a good mood, chatting and laughing the whole time.
In truth, Ji Kangyong didn't know that people like Yu Shui, who grew up in a simple environment, really didn't have any bad intentions. His question about Shen Yanming was just a casual remark. As for the meaning behind Ji Kangyong's words, he didn't understand them at all.
However, Yu Shui knew that befriending Lao Shen was definitely the right thing to do! This was probably just the instinct of a simple person.
Not long after, the group arrived at the police station.
Shen Yanming parked the car at the entrance of the office building and let Qiao An get out before driving to the parking lot. Yu Shui and Ji Kangyong, however, were less particular and walked directly from the parking lot into the building.
As soon as the two entered, they noticed many people secretly staring at Bi Qiaoan. Her appearance was almost identical to that of a masked bandit.
If they hadn't confirmed that the person in front of them was a girl, with no trace of hostility, and standing there obediently without saying a word, they, the officers, would definitely have stepped forward to question her.
One of the policemen was worried that Qiao An was standing at the door because she didn't know who to ask for help. Just as he was about to go up and ask, Ji Kangyong arrived with a young man, and all three of them were waiting at the door.
Okay, now I understand. They know him and are waiting for someone.
So everyone went about their own business and stopped paying attention to this.
Joan was somewhat surprised by the scene inside. Apart from the uniformed police officers, everyone else was a disheveled person.
She quietly asked Ji Kangyong, "What's going on here? Why are there so many people? Are they all victims or perpetrators?"
Ji Kangyong didn't hide anything, but he didn't explain it too clearly either, "Yes, it's like this every day during this period."
Bi Qiaoan nodded, not pressing the matter further.
After Shen Yanming arrived, the group followed Ji Kangyong to the police officer in charge of the Qingningshan case.
Without much effort, the policeman took out a statement and asked Shen Yanming to sign it.
Comrade Shen was not surprised. After carefully reviewing the description and finding it to be detailed and without errors, he signed his name.
"Alright, you can leave now," the police officer said after taking the statement.
Bi Qiaoan was a little surprised. She asked, "Is that all? We've only been here for less than five minutes!"
The police officer smiled. "This case has both witnesses and physical evidence, it's very clear. The perpetrator will come over and confess everything, there's no need for us to do any questioning."
"Oh, oh!" Bi Qiaoan expressed her admiration for the police's efficiency, but still asked, "Then why did they go to Qingning Mountain to rob someone?"
"Robbery?" The policeman paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "What else could it be? Grain! The group that committed the crime were villagers from Sihe Village. It's a small village about two kilometers west of the main road at the foot of Qingning Mountain."
Due to the geographical environment, the torrential rain at the beginning of the month flooded the village's wheat fields, and even most of the houses were destroyed by falling rocks from the mountain. They had no choice but to search for some food.
"That reason is plausible, but why did they target Qingning Mountain? Also, there should be many villages near Sihe Village, and plenty of farmland along the way. Why did they go to Qingyu Community, which is at least a two-hour walk away, instead of going closer?"
The police officer paused for a moment, then said, "According to the suspect, many areas in their region suffered from the disaster. Although other villages didn't experience a complete crop failure like Sihe Village, they were still bound to see reduced yields. We're all neighbors, so everyone knows each other's situation."
If they steal grain from nearby villages, they will certainly be caught unless they refuse to eat it themselves.
As for the grain in the other fields along the road, they were worried firstly that the other families had also suffered from the disaster, and this was their lifeline. Secondly, they were concerned about the surveillance cameras along the roadside.
"Aren't they worried about the security cameras on Qingning Mountain? And are they worried about other people's homes being damaged, so they're targeting Qingyu Community?"
"Well, they didn't know there were security cameras on Qingning Mountain! Besides, they think the residents of Qingyu Community are all capable and wouldn't be bothered by a little bit of food. Maybe those residents don't even care."
The policeman sighed and continued, "At first, they only dared to do small things. After discovering the entrance to Qingning Mountain, a few villagers went up and stole some vegetables. After two days when no one came looking for them, they got bolder and had their families dig up everything in other people's fields."
Yes, it was the first time a theft was discovered in your neighborhood, and you called the police, right? It was them who did it.
These villagers used to be honest and law-abiding, but they were desperate because they had nothing to eat. After waiting all day and finding that no police came looking for them, they became bolder.
They went to steal wheat from someone's field in the middle of the night with sacks, but they were discovered after only ten minutes. Terrified, they ran home and dared not steal again.
But with food shortages looming, they had no choice but to steal. And it was only after stealing the wheat that they realized the two plots of land they'd found the first time were nothing compared to what they'd found in the mountains. The real treasures were in the mountains.
Being discovered meant that someone was guarding the mountains. They dared not act rashly, yet were unwilling to give up, so they sent people out daily to scout the area. Until the residents of Qingyu Community began harvesting their wheat, these men knew their opportunity had arrived.
“Yeah, lots of people, good for taking advantage of the chaos,” Shen Yanming said.
"Yeah, since you don't know each other anyway, they can just openly pretend to be homeowners. Who's going to stop them? Unless they're unlucky enough to run into the real deal."
After staking out the fields for two or three days, they finally identified which fields hadn't been harvested in advance. The farmers were waiting in the shadows, and once the patrolling farmers left, they would openly go up and start harvesting.
"If it weren't for the neighboring farmers noticing that they were transporting their wheat in the wrong direction after harvesting, we probably wouldn't have caught them red-handed."
After hearing this, none of them knew what to say.
How can this be explained? Does it mean natural disasters corrupt people? Or that lazy homeowners gave bad people an opportunity? Or that hardworking homeowners paid the price, ultimately protecting the wealth of the lazy?
Why does that sound so unsettling?
"Did they have to be so ruthless? They almost killed someone! I heard that some homeowners even attacked my husband, Shen. What happened to them?" Bi Qiaoan's tone hardened as she thought of Shen Yanming's wounds.
“The villagers resent you because your husband ruined their plans. Also, since they have no food at home and stealing food is a serious crime under the current law, they’ve just given up.”
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