Chapter 14
Sadness appeared on Zhu Zangmo's face: "Is it Qiu Yue... I dare not guess."
Chang Ting asked again: "Do you hope it's her?" His tone was inexplicably sharp.
Zhu Zangmo sighed, "How can I put it? Although Teacher Feng has paid the price for her actions, Qiu Yue's matter has always been a thorn in my heart.
"If she is no longer alive, I hope the remains are hers, so that the poor child can return home as soon as possible and not be left exposed in the wilderness. Of course, I hope she is not dead, but I hope she is alive and well somewhere."
Chang Ting was silent. Zhu Zangmo's mention of Teacher Feng reminded him of another detail.
Although no concrete evidence has been found that Teacher Feng kidnapped or killed Qiu Yue, it is basically confirmed that she set fire to the building.
Zhu Zangmo suffered heavy losses from the destruction of his base, but afterwards, he did not hold Teacher Feng responsible and did not demand compensation.
At that time, Zhu Zangmo said that Teacher Feng's family was ordinary, with many old and young people in the family, so he couldn't bear to pursue the matter.
This incident made people respect this highly respected painter even more.
Today, whether Zhu Zangmo talked about Chen He or Qiu Yue, he showed his care as a teacher.
Chang Ting would not easily let go of his doubts, but considering the matter at hand, he still had to show due respect and politely said his goodbyes.
After leaving the complex, Chang Ting recalled his meeting with Zhu Zangmo and his phone call with squad leader Liu Qiang. Everything made sense, but something was amiss.
Chang Ting was usually quite nervous, but when he was extremely focused, he would become very sensitive, such as when he was on the phone with Liu Qiang, and noticed the pauses between his words and the changes in his breathing rhythm.
If you want to verify further, a phone call won't solve the problem, you must meet in person.
But Liu Qiang wasn't a local; he was in another province, and the round trip by high-speed rail would take three or four days. Traveling thousands of miles for a single suspicion was unrealistic. Not only would it be time-consuming and uncertain, it would also delay the investigation.
The sense of daunting progress, the chaos of the fire five years ago, the scattered students, and the refusal of parents to cooperate, is returning.
A thought suddenly came to my mind: Is this difficulty caused by objective circumstances, or is there an invisible force that is hindering me?
He thought about it over and over again, and the confusing cartoon floated to the top of his mind.
First check Chen He and see what kind of drama she is acting in.
While driving, he called his apprentice to find out about the progress and arrange the work.
"Zhou Zhengzheng, have you found anything over there?"
"I'm here in the community. I'll call you back."
“What community…”
Zhou Zhengzheng has already hung up the phone.
Chang Ting muttered angrily, "No respect for elders or younger brothers."
*
Xu Candong lives in Xiangyang Community, an old community in the city. Zhou Zhengzheng was sitting in the community neighborhood committee office, holding a notebook, claiming to be on a daily visit.
Several older sisters from the neighborhood committee went out to participate in some activities today, and only Director Wu was in the office, who personally received Zhou Zhengzheng.
Grassroots police officers make such visits very frequently, and Director Wu of the neighborhood committee is used to it. Seeing that she was wearing a police uniform, he did not ask which police station she was from.
Director Wu is nearly sixty years old, bald, and very good at his job. He knows the list of people in need in the area by heart.
Zhou Zhengzheng originally planned to pretend to ask about Xu Candong's situation unintentionally, but he didn't expect that Xu Candong was on this list.
She started the conversation: "What's going on at Xu Candong's house? Do you know?"
"Xu Candong, his situation is indeed difficult. Divorced and with a daughter..."
"Wait, Xu Candong has a child?"
"Yes. My daughter is two or three years old."
Zhou Zhengzheng glanced at the resident information: "He's so young, his daughter is only two or three years old?"
"She's in her twenties now. I think she had a child when she was in college."
"Oh, I see."
Xu Candong is only 24 years old, but he has already completed the three steps of getting married, having a daughter, and getting divorced. It's really fast.
Director Wu is very talkative, and Zhou Zhengzheng doesn't have to take the initiative to talk, he just talks nonstop.
It can be seen that no matter whether it is an uncle or an aunt, as long as they are in the neighborhood committee, they will be the center of gossip.
According to Director Wu, Xu Candong attended junior college and began dating a classmate. They had a daughter before graduation. After graduation, he married the child's mother. They divorced six months later. The child was less than two years old at the time, and according to the Civil Code, the woman was in custody.
Director Wu lamented, "When they divorced, I tried my best to mediate. Sadly, I couldn't persuade the child's mother. Some women just can't settle. As a result, I failed to achieve my goal of having no divorces in the entire community that year."
Zhou Zhengzheng couldn't help but frown. "Marriage is like drinking water; only the person who drinks it knows whether it's hot or cold. It's inappropriate for you to make this your work goal."
"Officer, you're still too young. A stable marriage is the foundation of a stable society. Although the child was awarded to her mother, she refused to raise her. She ran off with another man and left the child with Xu Candong, refusing to pay child support. Officer, tell me, how could a mother be so cruel?"
Director Wu grew increasingly indignant as he spoke. "Xu Candong was a very down-to-earth person. He thought, 'Why would the adults have a conflict?' The child is innocent. After all, he's his own child. He couldn't bear to abandon him, so he kept him. But who knew misfortunes would never come singly, and the child got leukemia?"
Zhou Zhengzheng was surprised: "Leukemia?"
"Yes," Director Wu said, combing his shiny bald head with emotion. "The child is pitiful, and her father is even more pitiful. Xu Candong didn't have a stable job to begin with, and to take care of the child, he can't leave the house, making it even harder for him to find a job."
"Then how do they live?"
"Sometimes I see him going out at night and ask him what he does. He says he goes out to drive a ride-hailing service while his daughter is asleep, finishes work at daybreak, and comes back to make breakfast for the child."
"Then the child will be left at home alone at night?" Zhou Zhengzheng asked in surprise.
"That's right. What can we do? The child is probably used to it." Director Wu's tone was full of sympathy. "Life is really not easy."
"This is too unsafe." Zhou Zhengzheng frowned. "Can the income from driving a ride-hailing service support both father and daughter?"
"Oh... Speaking of this, Xu Candong is really too stubborn. Our community wanted to apply for minimum living allowance for him, but he refused, saying he didn't want to burden the country.
"Also, his daughter's situation qualifies for major illness poverty subsidies. I contacted him and suggested that he go through the paperwork for the child, but it was unsuccessful."
Zhou Zhengzheng didn't understand: "Why?"
"Xu Candong said the child's mother disagreed. Although he was taking care of the child, the custody rights belonged to the mother. If the guardian didn't cooperate, the matter couldn't be handled."
“Why doesn’t the child’s mother agree?”
"Who knows? She's just evil! Officer, you say her mother wants her child dead, right? How could she be so cruel?"
"Can the child's treatment be guaranteed? Where will the medical expenses come from?"
"I don't know either. He probably relies on his family's wealth. This disease costs so much money. I'm worried about him."
"Did he do a fundraiser or something like that to get water for the kids? I'll donate a little too."
"No, men need to save face, so they don't do those things. But men can take on responsibilities, and there will always be a way. Xu Candong is very good with the children. He drives an online taxi at night and takes care of them at home all day. He rarely goes out."
Zhou Zhengzheng's heart was in turmoil after hearing this. She felt that even if she was mentally strong, she still deserved social welfare and help.
She wanted to visit and learn more about the situation, but she remembered her master's instructions to "conduct an external investigation" and decided not to go there rashly.
Zhou Zhengzheng flipped through the record book and suddenly remembered something: "Oh, right, I have a police record about Xu Candong. Do you know what happened?"
Before Zhou Zhengzheng came here, he searched the unit's system and found an alarm record involving Xu Candong.
Someone reported him to the police for child abuse.
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