Chapter Thirty: Police Arrive at the Door
Lin Baozhu nestled into her mother's arms, her voice trembling with tears, and said, "When we went to Wanghu Village to pick up Hu Zi, we saw wild ducks by that pond."
The boy thought he'd collect some wild duck eggs.
She sniffed, pretending to have snot, and continued, "Who knew that before we even got there we smelled a stench. I thought there was a dead wild boar there, but when we got to the pond, we saw corpses floating on the surface, all so big... Waaah..."
Lin Erlang stood aside, looking at Lin Baozhu's aggrieved appearance, and frowned with heartache.
He glanced at Lin Sanlang beside him, who was wiping away tears with a pained expression. His face darkened immediately, and he pulled out two somewhat tattered ten-yuan bills from his pocket, saying, "Don't do anything tomorrow. Take your little sister to the department store. She was terrified today. Going out for a stroll might cheer her up."
Lin Sanlang looked at the two tattered ten-yuan bills with a surprised expression: "Second brother, is this your secret stash of money that you've been saving for a long time? Look how worn it is!"
"Stop talking nonsense! If you don't want to go, just give it back to me!"
As he reached out to grab it, Lin Sanlang quickly took two steps back, clutching the money tightly in his hand, and chuckled, "I've already given it, how can I ask for it back? I'll take my little sister to the department store first thing tomorrow morning."
After saying that, he grinned and stuffed the money into his pocket, then patted it down...
While Lin's mother was still shaken, she removed the leaves from Lin Baozhu's head and said, "Look how scared my darling was. Today, I'll stew some meat for you to nourish you."
Lin Baozhu shook her head like a rattle-drum: "That scene was so disgusting, I'm not going to eat any meat today!"
Lin's mother paused in patting her back, then exhaled silently and said, "You have to eat something. Today, I'll make you some bitter melon with fermented soybeans, with plenty of oil and chopped green onions. You used to love these the most."
Lin Baozhu stepped out of her mother's arms: "Then add more minced garlic, otherwise it won't taste good."
"Okay, okay, smash a couple more cloves of garlic."
As she spoke, Lin's mother took a basket off the wall and stuffed it into Lin Sanlang's arms, saying, "Third son, go to the private plot and pick some bean pods. While you're at it, see if the eggplants and peppers are ready to be picked. We're having vegetarian today!"
"Understood." Lin Sanlang picked up the basket and strode outside...
No sooner had Lin Sanlang left than someone knocked on the door of his confidant.
Lin Baozhu lifted her leg to open the door and saw the captain leading several police officers in blue uniforms and peaked caps standing at the gate. The leader was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes.
The captain pointed at Lin Baozhu and said, "Police officer..."
Zhi, this is Baozhu Tong
"Zhi, that's the body she found."
Upon seeing this commotion, Lin's mother's heart sank, and she instinctively shielded Lin Baozhu behind her, saying, "Captain, the police..."
Why did Zhi come to my house?
Seeing her like this, the leading policeman quickly spoke up to reassure her, "Sister-in-law, don't be nervous. We're here to talk to Xiaolin..."
"I need to know something about this!"
Lin Baozhu peeked out from behind her mother, her voice clear and crisp, "trying" to appear calm and composed: "Police officers..."
Zhihao! Don't hesitate to ask me any questions; I'll answer to the best of my knowledge.
The middle-aged policeman scrutinized her: "Xiao Lin Tong"
Zhi, how did you find the body in the pond? Tell me in detail.
Lin Baozhu repeated the prepared statement: "Yesterday, when I went to Wanghuzhai to pick up my nephew, I passed by there and found wild ducks there."
"Son, I had nothing to do today, so I thought I'd try my luck and see if I could find a few wild duck eggs. But from far away from the pond, I could smell a really pungent, rotten stench. I figured maybe some dead wild animal was rotting there… so I went to check it out… and when I got to the water's edge… I was almost scared to death!"
After she finished speaking, her body trembled involuntarily!
The middle-aged policeman exchanged a glance with a younger policeman beside him, and then asked, "Okay, did you encounter any unusual people on your way to Wanghu Village..."
Lin Baozhu's heart tightened instantly; this was exactly what she had been waiting for! She pretended to frown and think seriously for a moment before speaking: "A special person?... Oh! Yes! Near the fork in the path by the pond, I met a man! Tall and strong, dressed in tattered clothes, looking like a hunter."
How did you determine that he was a hunter?
"When he passed by me, he smelled strongly of blood. If he wasn't a hunter, how could he have such a strong smell of blood on him?"
"Do you remember what that person looked like?!" The middle-aged policeman's voice suddenly rose a little.
The courtyard suddenly became eerily quiet, as if the air itself had frozen.
Lin Baozhu seemed a little nervous due to the police's urgency, but she still nodded vigorously: "I...I remember. I...I can try to draw it!"
Upon hearing this, Lin's mother hurriedly brought out the pencil stubs and notebooks that Hu Zi used for studying from inside the house!
Lin Baozhu held a pencil, thought for a while, and then lowered her head again...
The pen scratched across the paper, and everyone stared intently at the notebook in front of her, not daring to breathe...
Half an hour later, a simple yet expressive portrait of a middle-aged man appeared on the paper.
"It's him?!"
A young policeman standing nearby couldn't help but exclaim, "Chief Zhuang! Isn't that... isn't that Zhang Bai Kui, the wanted criminal with the bounty on his head?! Weren't we told that he was on the run in Guangdong and Guangxi? How did he suddenly appear here?!"
"A wanted criminal? Good heavens!"
Lin's mother was terrified, her legs went weak and she almost collapsed to the ground. Her voice suddenly became shrill and distorted: "Amitabha! Bodhisattva, please protect me! My daughter is so lucky! She managed to come back unharmed after running into that heartless bastard! ...Third son! Third son! Did you hear me! From now on, if your little sister wants to go out, no matter where she goes, you have to follow her every step of the way! She's our only precious daughter! If anything happens to her, I'd rather kill myself!" She shouted anxiously at Lin Sanlang, who had just returned from the private plot and was still at the gate of the courtyard.
Lin Baozhu quickly patted her trembling mother's arm and gently comforted her, "Mother, it's alright, it's alright..."
Then she turned her gaze intently to the police chief surnamed Zhuang, eagerly inquiring about crucial information: "Police Chief..."
"Zhi! So... if we catch a wanted criminal like this, is there... is there a reward?"
Director Zhuang looked at the girl blinking her big eyes and said in a deep voice, "This man is named Zhang Baikui, nicknamed 'Hundred-Man Killer.' He's been on the run for many years, carrying numerous appointments, and is the ministry's number one wanted criminal! You were lucky yesterday, otherwise..."
"When we get back to the bureau today, we'll notify all the communes and brigades to post notices: everyone must go out in groups! Especially on secluded paths, never walk alone! If anyone else encounters him, there probably won't be another Xiao Lin Tong."
Zhi is so lucky.
Lin Baozhu persisted in asking, "Then... if we can really catch Zhang Baikui, how much reward will we get?"
Although Director Zhuang was curious about her persistent question, he patiently explained, "Back when the nationwide manhunt was first launched, the reward was five hundred yuan. Many people organized a massive search of the mountains, but this person was as slippery as an eel; there was no trace of him. Things have been quiet for almost three years now, and the reward has steadily increased…it's now a thousand yuan!"
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