Chapter 147 Xiao Qi
"Excuse me, sir, is this the home of the village party secretary of Sanpo Village?" Chen Yan stepped forward and asked.
The old man took two puffs of his pipe, glanced at them and asked, "What do you do?"
"We are from the Public Security Bureau, and here are our IDs." Chen Yan took out his ID and showed it to the old man.
Chen Yan and Zhou Yi can wear plain clothes on a daily basis, and the Santana of the Third Brigade does not look like a police car, so you can't tell from the outside that they are police officers.
Unexpectedly, the old man took one look and said, "Oh, a policeman, so you're not working on poverty alleviation?"
Chen Yan was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "Poverty alleviation work is the responsibility of the local poverty alleviation office. We are two different systems from them."
The old man didn't even raise his eyelids, just said "oh" indifferently and stopped talking.
Chen Yan was originally quite polite, but the old man's attitude made him a little embarrassed and he didn't know how to continue asking.
Zhou Yi patted Chen Yan's shoulder and gestured for him to ask.
"Are you the village party secretary? If not, call out the village party secretary and don't delay our investigation." Zhou Yi said seriously.
A good attitude is reserved for people with good qualities. When dealing with an old man like this, just be businesslike and there is no need to be polite to him.
Zhou Yi's tone was very serious. The old man couldn't help but raise his head, but glared at him and said, "What are you yelling about? If you have something to say, just say it. I'm not deaf."
Hey, the people here are so tough.
Zhou Yi said, "So, you are the village party secretary here?"
"Yeah." The old man answered, breathing out through his nose.
"We want to find Jiang Aqing. If it's convenient, can you take us there?"
Zhou Yi actually regretted coming to see the village party secretary. If he had known that the other party would have this attitude, he might as well have directly asked where Hu Zi's house was and went there himself.
I thought that with the help of the village cadres, things would be easier to talk to, but I didn't expect that this old man would be so aggressive.
When the old man heard this, he looked at Zhou Yi warily and asked, "Why are you looking for Jiang Aqing?"
"Some cases are related to his family, but I can't disclose the details."
Zhou Yi discovered that the old man's reaction was obviously a little off when he spoke just now.
Seeing Zhou Yi's serious expression when he spoke, the old man suddenly turned his head and said, "I... I don't know where his home is, don't ask me..."
Chen Yan was anxious: "Hey, aren't you the village party secretary? How could you not know where Jiang Aqing lives?"
"I'm old and my memory is not good. Go away, don't ask me." The old man said as he took the pipe in his hand and drove the two people away.
Chen Yan was about to argue with him, but Zhou Yi grabbed him and said, "It's okay, we can find out by asking ourselves."
Zhou Yi pulled Chen Yan out, but Chen Yan still wanted to go back unwillingly.
"Brother Yan, don't be anxious, just hold on." Zhou Yi said as he pulled Chen Yan into the car. This time he sat in the driver's seat.
Then Zhou Yi stepped on the accelerator and the car drove straight forward.
"Zhou Yi, is that all? What's his attitude? How can such a person be a village cadre?" Chen Yan said angrily. In his impression, people in the system are all polite. This is the first time he has encountered such a person.
After turning a corner, Zhou Yi saw a bamboo forest in front of him, so he turned the steering wheel and drove towards the bamboo forest.
Chen Yan felt strange, "Zhou Yi, where are you going?"
"Hide the car, and then strike back." Zhou Yi said, drove the car behind the bamboo forest, and got out.
Chen Yan also quickly got out of the car and asked, "Do you also think there's something wrong with this old man?"
Zhou Yi nodded.
The two men immediately walked back, but did not get too close to the old man's small building. They hid behind a haystack, just in a position to observe the old man's house.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, the old man came out stealthily, looked around to see that there was no one around, and then walked in another direction.
Zhou Yi waved to Chen Yan and whispered, "Follow me."
The two men kept a certain distance from the old man and followed him closely.
"Zhou Yi, how could such a person become a village cadre?" Chen Yan asked in a low voice.
"Village cadres are neither civil servants nor members of public institutions. They are generally elected by the village committee or directly appointed by higher authorities. Village committees are grassroots self-governing organizations, so they are inevitably composed of local people. Even if they are appointed by the local government, in remote areas like Sanpo Village, they generally choose local people who are highly respected or have sufficient experience to serve as village cadres, which facilitates management."
"This is outrageous. How can such a person do a good job?" Chen Yan said indignantly.
"It's perfectly normal. Local governments have to compromise to maintain stability. In remote and underdeveloped places like these, people's mindsets are very closed and rigid. If we send an outsider in as a cadre, they'll be met with xenophobia and targeted, and we won't be able to carry out our work."
"Brother Yan, this kind of thing is nothing. There are so many things that are shocking."
Zhou Yi also knew why Wu Yongcheng asked Chen Yan to come with him.
The two followed the old man for five or six minutes, and then saw him turn a corner and walk along a small path. At the end of the path there were two houses, backed by a mountain.
The house looked dilapidated at first glance, with earthen walls and broken tiles. Firewood was piled in front of the door, and the couplets pasted on the door had long since become mottled and faded.
The old man knocked on the door and a short, sloppy man with a crutch opened it.
The old man went straight into the house and closed the door.
Zhou Yi and Chen Yan looked at each other and went straight over to knock on the door.
"Who is it?" the old man's voice inside asked nervously.
After a while, the door opened, and the person who opened it was the short and sloppy man.
Zhou Yi and Chen Yan saw that the man was leaning on a tattered cane and one of his trouser legs was empty.
"Are you Jiang Aqing?" Zhou Yi asked.
The room was dim, but the furnishings were clearly visible: a dirty stove and a few tattered chairs. Against the wall, a few wooden boards were used to form a large bunk bed. The bedding on it was so dirty that it looked like it had been burned by fire and was shiny with oil.
The slovenly man nodded doubtfully.
Besides him and the old man, there were several half-grown children in the room, all dressed in dirty clothes.
Zhou Yi discovered that their eyes were as dull and lifeless as the whole house.
The old man looked at them with surprise and hostility, but did not dare to speak. After all, the two people outside the door were policemen.
"We need to find out something from you. Jiang Hu, is he your son?"
When Jiang Aqing heard the name Jiang Hu, he immediately shouted angrily, "I don't have a son like him. He has been dead outside for so long and has not come back. I don't have a son like him anymore."
Chen Yan said, "Don't get excited yet. Jiang Hu is fine now and is undergoing reform in the juvenile detention center."
"What, he was arrested? Then his affairs have nothing to do with me, so don't look for me." Jiang Aqing was extremely excited and was about to close the door.
Zhou Yi stretched out his hand and held the door. "Jiang Aqing, we're not here to ask for compensation or responsibility. It's just that Jiang Hu has reformed well now, and he really wants to see his sister Xiaoqi. For the sake of the child, I hope you can bring Xiaoqi with us to see him."
Unexpectedly, Jiang Aqing's face suddenly became a little nervous.
Zhou Yi's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked inside. There were three children in the room: an older boy lying on the bed, and two other children, a boy and a girl, lying on the floor, all skin and bones.
But judging from their age, they should be slightly older than Jiang Hu.
The only thing I didn't see were any younger children.
Zhou Yi's expression changed, and he asked sternly, "Where's Xiao Qi?"
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