Chapter 101: Casting the Line, Fishing
None of the other members of the team returned midway, except for the two female educated youth who had returned due to an unexpected incident. These two women, both from outside the village, had never even met Zhou Shazi and had no motive to kill him. On the surface, they didn't appear capable of killing. Lin Chenghai had examined Zhou Shazi's body and discovered he had been struck to death by a hard object. The back and top of his head were a bloody mess, clearly from more than one blow.
There were no suspicious signs around, which was very puzzling.
No matter how stupid a fool is, he knows what it feels like to be hungry, cold, and in pain. If he gets hit by someone and it hurts, doesn't he know how to resist?
Lin Chenghai and Huang Gongan were both retired from the military and were very serious about their work. Regardless of whether there was a motive or not, there was always something suspicious about the person being singled out, so they would naturally be closely watched.
This attention actually discovered the problem.
The educated youth named Deng Hongjuan was nervous and frightened. Her body was tense as she spoke, her eyes evasive, and she was clearly panicked. The woman named Zhang Yun was also frightened, but her gaze was different.
A person's eyes cannot deceive you, unless he is a habitual criminal who is good at hiding his true intentions.
So, Lin Chenghai deliberately called her, and this call made it even more obvious. She took these few steps as if she was going to the execution ground. Although she tried her best to stay calm, she still couldn't stop shaking.
But he was quite courageous. Even in such a situation, he went to Lin Chenghai and asked, "What do you mean? You cadres also suspect me?"
Lin Chenghai smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. It's not doubt." It's affirmation.
"We heard from members that you and that woman left alone yesterday, so we're asking for details. This is our job, and we hope you'll cooperate. After questioning you, we'll naturally question her. Without solid evidence, we won't wrongly accuse anyone."
"About what time did you go back yesterday? Don't be in a hurry, think it over and tell me slowly."
Perhaps because his attitude was too kind, Deng Hongjuan actually breathed a sigh of relief. "Yesterday I fell in the fields and got soaked. It wasn't long after we started working, and it was our first time pulling rice seedlings. We were trying to move the seedlings, but our feet got stuck in the mud and couldn't get out. Zhang Yun and I tried to help each other, but she lost her balance and sat down, which caused me to lose my balance and fall with her."
"I was covered in mud and couldn't dry myself, so I decided to go back and change into clean clothes. Not long after I walked, I saw some men carrying rice seedlings coming. I felt something was wrong, so I decided to hide away." She pointed to a field ridge not far away and said, "It was probably right there. I climbed down the ridge over there, intending to wait for them to pass before I went on. But after they passed, I couldn't climb up. I had no choice but to walk back along the creek, washed myself by the pond, changed into clean clothes, washed my dirty clothes, and wanted to go back to work. But the morning was already gone, and I couldn't work for long. So I simply cooked at the educated youth camp, and after dinner, I went to the fields with them."
Lin Chenghai nodded, but before he could say anything, Zhang Yun exclaimed, "No, you're lying. How could you have returned from the ditch? I fell so hard, I was covered in mud. I washed in the pool below for a long time before getting up and walking back. I also walked from the ditch. I didn't see any mud at all, but you returned much later than me."
Deng Hongjuan was so angry that she turned around and scratched her: "Zhang Yun, are you a bitch? What do you mean? If it weren't for you, would I have fallen? Would I have left work so early and ran back? Not only did I lose my work points, but I'm also being suspected. And now you're slandering me. I'm going to tear your mouth apart today!"
Zhang Yun was so scared that she quickly shrank back from the crowd.
With so many female comrades present, how could they possibly let the two of them start fighting in front of the higher-ups? Gao Xiulan turned around and pulled her back, "Comrade Deng Hongjuan, we have our reasons to reason, but we can't resort to violence. If we do, even the reasons we have might become unreasonable."
Deng Hongjuan gasped for breath and looked at Zhang Yun with gritted teeth, wishing she could eat her flesh and drink her blood.
Bitch! She seems to be good at putting on airs normally, but when she bites someone, she's more vicious than anyone else. If it weren't for her, would I have ended up like this?
She had a premonition that she was suspected. How could she conceal the truth?
She didn't know what to do. She would go to jail, or even be shot. She didn't want to go to jail, and she didn't want to die.
Just when she thought Lin Chenghai was going to continue questioning Zhang Yun, Lin Chenghai asked Zhang Yun: "She has already confessed. What about you? Tell me about yourself."
Zhang Yun didn't have much to say, so she pieced together what she had said before and repeated it again.
Lin Chenghai and Public Security Huang exchanged a glance. "That is to say, both of you left work early and went home. There are no witnesses to prove that you went somewhere else after leaving here."
Zhang Yun hurriedly said, "Minister Lin, I didn't kill anyone. This matter really has nothing to do with me. I'm not very courageous to begin with, so how could I do such a thing?"
Lin Chenghai nodded. "Alright, let's leave it like this for now. It won't delay everyone's work. Secretary Lu, let's go to the members' homes and ask more questions. We need to get evidence to prove it. We need to investigate everything thoroughly."
Lu Dongping responded, said a few words to Lu Minghai, and then followed them.
After leaving that place, Lu Dongping asked Lin Chenghai: "Minister, what should we do next?" There was a problem with Deng Hongjuan, so it seemed unnecessary to visit her again.
Lin Chenghai said: "Let's play the long game!"
Lu Dongping was gone for the whole morning, and when he got home from work, he had already prepared dinner.
As soon as he got home, Zhang Hongying asked him, "When did you come back? Have you finished your investigation?"
Lu Dongping responded, "Yes, the investigation is completed." After they returned from the fields, they visited Zhou Mingqing, Zhou Minghong and Zhou Guicai's homes. They heard some interesting things from the children. It was said that Zhou Mingqing often beat Zhou Shazi, making him scream, so Zhou Shazi did not dare to hang around in the team. He hid in the mountains most of the time and only ran down when he was extremely hungry.
Zhou Shazi is stupid and lazy, and he will indeed take action when Zhou Mingqing can't order him around. This is no secret in the team, but Lu Dongping always feels weird when he hears it from the mouths of the Zhou family's young and inexperienced children.
Zhou Mingqing's eldest grandson secretly imitated him and said that his grandfather had told the fool that if killing people wasn't against the law, he would have killed you long ago.
Now that he is finally dead, has Zhou Mingqing fulfilled his wish?
After dinner, while there was still time, he carried his backpack and went to his private plot to dig some potatoes.
Wen Wan followed him like a tail.
"Not tired?"
Wen Wan shook her head: "Not tired!" She was curious at the moment and didn't want to rest even though she was tired.
Okay, follow me if you’re not tired.
When they arrived at the field, Lu Dongping used a sickle to cut a section of the potato seedlings forward, then took a hoe and started digging the ground. Wen Wan followed behind him to help pick up potatoes.
After a while, she couldn't help but say, "Lu Dongping!"
"Um!"
"Tell me, are there really problems with Deng Hongjuan and Zhang Yun? They arrived later than me, and they didn't even know there was such a person on the team. How could they kill someone when they had no grudges against each other in the past or present?"
"I don't know either, but we'll find out later."
He went to work as usual in the afternoon. When he got off work, Lu Dongping went to the educated youth site and helped Wen Wan tidy up the things on the bed.
Xu Qingming stood in front of the two people with an extremely grim expression on his face. He looked at Wen Wan and asked, "Have you got the marriage certificate?"
Wen Wan shook her head: "No, I'll go after I finish these few days of work."
"You took your bedding to someone else's house without getting the marriage certificate?" It would be fine if it works out, but if something unexpected happens in the future and it doesn't work out, will you still be able to keep this reputation?
On the road outside, with only the three of them, Lu Dongping didn't hesitate to say, "She used to live with Chun'e, and I'm worried about her living here."
Xu Qingming understood what he meant immediately. Someone had died in the team, and two female educated youth at the educated youth point were suspects. It was indeed inappropriate for An Bao to live there, but it was equally inappropriate for him to live in Lu Dongping's house.
This bastard Lu Dongping definitely did it on purpose. He was really calculating and never forgot to coax this silly girl in their family.
"I'm next door. I'm not dead. What's there to worry about?"
Lu Dongping was too lazy to waste time with him: "If something really happened, would you still be able to rush out in time?"
Xu Qingming:——
Why are people from the mountains so difficult to deal with? Especially since his own girl is a bit naive and biased, it makes it even more difficult for him to deal with her.
I watched helplessly as Lu Dongping kidnapped the person.
Because of what happened during the day, the atmosphere at the educated youth site was particularly strange.
It was time to eat as usual, but no one spoke, and everyone looked like they were preoccupied with something.
Deng Hongjuan couldn't eat a single bite but had to force herself to put the food into her mouth.
After dinner, she fetched some water, went into the house, wiped herself, changed into clean clothes, and snuggled into the quilt early.
Xu Wenfang walked into the room, looked at her, then looked at the empty bed board left by Wen Wan, and while there was still some light, he simply moved his quilt over.
He clearly showed his disgust and didn't want to be close to Deng Hongjuan anymore.
In the past, Deng Hongjuan would have made a fuss if she was despised like this, but today she really didn't have the energy. When she changed her clothes, she secretly packed the money and tickets. She didn't plan to take anything else. She just wanted to leave here as soon as possible and find a way to go back. As long as she went back, her parents and brother would definitely find a way to help her.
She went to bed early with something on her mind, but couldn't fall asleep. She finally waited until it was completely dark, and until the breathing of the two people in the room became steady. She gently lifted the quilt, got up, groped her way out, put on her shoes, and opened the door.
He held a flashlight in his arms but didn't dare turn it on. He ran towards the commune along the same route he had come.
Looking back while running, the dark haystacks and trees under the moonlight looked like monsters with bared fangs and claws, and it seemed like someone was following her.
She was extremely scared, but she didn't dare to look back and couldn't look back.
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