Chapter 100 The Calamity Star: Whoever Gets Close Will Be Unlucky
Xiaoyu's grandfather also had the surname Zhang, and his name was quite imposing: Zhang Zhanshan. That's right, Zhanshan, meaning "to occupy a mountain and become king."
My grandmother's name has a very rustic feel to it; it's Wu Chuncao.
During his stay in Yanshi, Zhang Zhanshan lived in the old tenement building that the Peony Towel Factory had allocated to his son. Both Zhang Zhanshan and Wu Chuncao felt uncomfortable moving from their rural brick house to the tenement building.
The house is out of touch with reality, too cramped, and the neighbors are unfriendly...
In short, Zhang Zhanshan felt that city life was just so-so, and it was much more comfortable to live in the countryside. If it weren't for bringing his "golden grandson," who could collect patent fees every month, back home, he would never have stayed in this dilapidated house for half a month.
Zhang Zhanshan's son, Zhang Minghui, was in detention, and his grandson had no one to take care of him. His grandparents took him back home—something Zhang Zhanshan thought would be easy, but it turned out to be incredibly difficult.
First, the towel factory leaders put on airs and said they would fire Zhang Minghui and leave his property to Xiaoyu.
Then it was Wen Xiufen downstairs who produced some kind of "Temporary Care Authorization Letter" issued by the Civil Affairs Bureau, saying that she was now a licensed caregiver and could not entrust Xiaoyu to them.
The two young officers at the police station took sides, saying that Xiaoyu was suffering from severe psychological trauma and needed to go to the provincial capital every week to see a specialist for psychological treatment, and that his guardian could not be changed without authorization.
The most despicable person was the policewoman named Jiang Ling from the Public Security Bureau. She even produced an evaluation report from a psychological expert, saying that for Xiao Yu's mental health, he needed a stable and warm upbringing. She even claimed that Zhang Minghui's long-term domestic violence from his father had led to his psychological distortion, which was why he had embarked on his current path of crime.
This is absolutely outrageous!
Which father in the countryside hasn't hit his son? If it weren't for Zhang Zhanshan's strong-willed education, how could he have raised Zhang Minghui, such a promising college student?
Zhang Zhanshan completely forgot that Zhang Minghui only got into a technical school, and his later ability to attend a junior college was entirely due to An Xiaohui's guidance and support.
Zhang Zhanshan also conveniently ignored the fact that his proud "college student" son was now facing three charges—murder of his wife, child abuse, and plagiarism—and was in detention awaiting trial.
After half a month of running around and spending a lot on transportation and food, Zhang Zhanshan was getting anxious because he hadn't gotten any benefits.
That day, Wu Chuncao returned from grocery shopping, her tone slightly mysterious: "Honey, do you think we've offended something? Should we find a shaman to perform a ritual?"
For once, Zhang Zhanshan didn't yell at her. He sat on the sofa and adopted a condescending attitude: "Nonsense! City people don't do this." He was actually a little tempted, but because he was in an unfamiliar environment, Zhang Zhanshan was hesitant.
In rural areas, superstition is prevalent. Whenever a family encounters difficulties, they will seek out a shaman to perform rituals to exorcise evil spirits. But in the city, with its high-rise buildings and countless unfamiliar faces, where can one find a shaman?
Wu Chuncao and Zhang Zhanshan had been husband and wife for decades. She could tell whether Zhang Zhanshan was in a good mood or not just by the slightest movement of his eyebrows. She poured Zhang Zhanshan a cup of cool tea before daring to pour herself some water to quench her thirst. After completing this routine with effortless grace, Wu Chuncao sat on a bench, looking up at Zhang Zhanshan.
She was terrified of being beaten. Zhang Zhanshan sat on the sofa with a swagger, and she didn't dare to sit next to him at all. Even on a stool, she only sat halfway, afraid that she wouldn't be able to dodge the beating in time.
Wu Chuncao could tell that Zhang Zhanshan was interested, so she whispered, "Today when I went out to buy groceries, I overheard a few guys whispering. Guess what they were saying?"
Zhang Zhanshan, with a cold face, continued to puff on his pipe: "Speak."
Wu Chuncao lived in this unfamiliar place for a while and felt uncomfortable everywhere.
The countryside is so much better. There are village women chatting idly, familiar pots and pans and stoves, and an endless supply of vegetables and grains. In the city, neighbors live their own lives, never visiting each other. People aren't used to the gas stoves in the kitchens, and everything has to be bought. If it weren't for Zhang Zhanshan's insistence, Wu Chuncao would have gone home long ago.
Therefore, whenever she heard others mention asking a shaman to perform a ritual, Wu Chuncao wanted to take a shortcut and get her grandson's matter settled as soon as possible.
Zhang Zhanshan wanted to take Xiaoyu back, but Wu Chuncao was unwilling.
Zhang Zhanshan made it sound so easy. He kept the money, but Xiaoyu just handed it over to her to take care of.
There are several grandchildren in the family, all of whom were raised by their grandmother, Wu Chuncao. In her lifetime, she raised three sons, two daughters, three grandsons, and one granddaughter. Her youngest daughter-in-law is pregnant with another one. She's really had enough.
Wu Chuncao just wanted to go home as soon as possible.
"I heard there's a general store owner in the north of the city who's actually a very skilled master. He can predict good and bad fortune, and even life and death. He's incredibly powerful. And he doesn't charge much, only twenty yuan a divination. Should we go find him and pay him a little money to ask him a question?"
Zhang Zhanshan didn't immediately respond. Instead, he took a deep drag on his cigarette and finally spoke through the swirling smoke: "Which general store? How do I find it?"
A hint of joy flashed in Wu Chuncao's eyes, and she hurriedly told him what she had found out that day: "I asked around, and it's about two bus rides away, near Yintai Plaza, not too far..."
And so, Zhang Zhanshan and Wu Chuncao were tricked into going to the small grocery store opposite Shunlai Restaurant.
The grocery store owner, surnamed Li, was known as Grandpa Li. He wore a sleeveless linen jacket, was barefoot, and swayed back and forth in a bamboo chair, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. He had a rather ethereal and otherworldly air about him. Liang Jiushan sat next to Grandpa Li, massaging his shoulders and cricketing about Zhang Minghui's crimes.
When he was young, Grandpa Li traveled all over the country and had a chivalrous heart. In addition, Liang Jiushan had been helping him with the shop recently and was indeed likable. After hearing about Xiaoyu's experience, he agreed without hesitation.
Zhang Zhanshan was a local tyrant in the village, and he didn't stop causing trouble even after coming to the city, but he had one thing in common: he was very superstitious.
Because someone died at Shunlai Restaurant, the whole street was deserted, which made Zhang Zhanshan feel a little uneasy.
Arriving at the general store under the blazing sun, Zhang Zhanshan saw Grandpa Li, who was resting with his eyes closed and a handsome young man beside him, and bowed respectfully: "Old sage, do you tell fortunes here?"
Grandpa Li snorted, slowly opened his eyes, looked Zhang Zhanshan up and down, and said slowly, "Your face... doesn't look right. Is someone in your family going to jail?"
Zhang Zhanshan was immediately intimidated.
He truly is an old sage; he can discern good fortune and misfortune at a glance.
He immediately leaned closer and handed over 20 yuan: "Please, could you tell me what we should do now?"
Grandpa Li shook his head and refused to take the money: "My fate of going to jail is sealed, there's nothing I can do."
After all, he was his own son, and Zhang Zhanshan didn't want to see his son executed, so he continued to plead with a bitter face.
Liang Jiushan chimed in, "If my master says there's no way, then there's no way. Do you see that restaurant across the street?"
Following the direction of his finger, Zhang Zhanshan looked at the Shunlai Restaurant, which was cordoned off by police tape, and a sense of awe unconsciously appeared in his eyes: "What happened to this restaurant?"
Liang Jiushan sighed: "My master examined the owner of this restaurant and said he was destined for a bloody disaster and must cultivate his character and abstain from killing, otherwise he wouldn't live past September. And guess what? The day before yesterday, they found the owner had been murdered. Tsk tsk, the kitchen was covered in blood, and the body was stuffed in a sack—it was horrific!"
Zhang Zhanshan shuddered, his heart pounding with panic: "Old sage, please go to your troubles and help us calculate whether there's any way to avert disaster? We'll pay any price!"
Seeing that the atmosphere was quite right, Old Man Li got down to business: "Your family has a jinx. As long as this jinx is around, there's nothing you can do..."
Zhang Zhanshan's heart pounded, and he hurriedly asked, "Old Immortal, please enlighten me again, which one is the calamity star?"
Grandpa Li pretended to do some calculations with his fingers: "The jinx in your family is still relatively weak and probably not very old. But because of his birth, he has affected the fortunes of those around him. Your mother is already dead, and your father... will be soon too."
Zhang Zhanshan and Wu Chuncao exchanged a glance, both seeing terror in each other's eyes.
According to the old sage, Xiaoyu was their family's jinx.
It seems that with the birth of Xiaoyu, Zhang Minghui's life, the son they were so proud of, has become increasingly worse. His marriage is strained, his work is going poorly, and when Xiaoyu was five, An Xiaohui fell to her death. When Xiaoyu was seven, Zhang Minghui went to prison, accused of murdering his wife and deserving the death penalty.
Zhang Zhanshan hurriedly asked, "Then, what do we do?"
Grandpa Li shook his head: "There's nothing we can do. As long as this jinx is around, your family will never have peace. Whoever gets close will suffer."
After saying that, Grandpa Li looked Zhang Zhanshan and Wu Chuncao up and down, and sighed deeply: "Have you been getting too close to a jinx lately? I see your faces are dark, disaster is not far away."
Zhang Zhanshan and Wu Chuncao were terrified and kept begging.
Liang Jiushan casually remarked, "Since getting close to the jinx will bring disaster, why not just send the jinx away?"
After pondering for a moment, Grandpa Li slowly said, "It's not impossible. However, this calamity star is of the fire element and needs to be suppressed with water."
After saying this, Grandpa Li gave Liang Jiushan a meaningful look. This kid is really clever; he's got a knack for persuasion and is a natural businessman.
Zhang Zhanshan immediately pressed, "How do we suppress it?"
Grandpa Li said, "Water represents wealth, as the saying goes, losing money can avert disaster."
Having said that, Grandpa Li gracefully withdrew, closed his eyes, lay back in his bamboo chair, and continued to fan himself with his palm-leaf fan.
Zhang Zhanshan wanted to ask more, but Liang Jiushan stopped him: "My master is tired, don't disturb him anymore. My master has already said what he could and should say. You should go back quickly and send the jinx away."
Liang Jiushan glanced quickly at the Shunlai Restaurant across the street: "If it gets too late, disaster may be imminent. The owner of that restaurant across the street refused to believe my master's words and insisted on taking in and killing dogs. His sins were too heavy. And look at the result, tsk tsk tsk."
Zhang Zhanshan nodded hurriedly, "Okay, okay, we'll send the jinx away as soon as we get back." Although it hurt a little, the old sage had said that losing money is a way to avert disaster. What's the point of having so much money if you can't live to enjoy it?
Liang Jiushan held the two ten-yuan bills that Zhang Zhanshan had desperately shoved into his hand. He looked up at the retreating figures of Zhang Zhanshan and Wu Chuncao and smiled slightly.
A selfish, domineering old man like Zhang Zhanshan would be eager to get rid of Xiaoyu as soon as he believed that raising him would not only bring him no benefit but would also bring disaster.
Fighting for custody of the "jinx"? Impossible! Zhang Zhanshan is absolutely not going to abandon Xiaoyu to Wen Xiufen right now; he'd be willing to pay her some money.
Different people require different methods.
Reasoning and legal arguments won't work, but by playing the mystic, this custody problem of Xiao Yu, which even Jiang Ling is struggling with, can be solved... right?
I wonder if Jiang Ling will criticize him for being pretentious and not following the right path after she finds out.
Thinking of this, Liang Jiushan put the money in the counter and said to Grandpa Li, who was pretending to be asleep, "Grandpa, you must keep your mouth shut."
Grandpa Li opened his eyes a crack, looked at Liang Jiushan who had placed the money on the counter, and closed them again with satisfaction: "Alright, Grandpa's mouth is tight."
At this moment, Jiang Ling was completely unaware that Liang Jiushan was making underhanded moves behind her back, and was analyzing the five suspects with her teammates.
Liang Jiushan saw Wang Youfu before 1 p.m. on August 24, but did not see him again from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. When the customer arrived at 6 p.m., Mao Dali was the one who greeted him. Therefore, based on the time, Mao Dali, who was serving food and clearing the table, and Liu Biao, the chef who was busy cooking in the kitchen, are the most suspicious.
However, the restaurant faces the street to the east and connects to a side alley to the west. From the grocery store where Liang Jiushan works, one can only see the front of the restaurant, not the back or sides. Therefore, it is possible that someone turned into the alley from the west side and then quietly entered the kitchen through the back door, where they had an argument with Wang Youfu.
After identifying five suspects, Liu Haoran offered his own idea: "Is it possible that the thief sneaked into the kitchen when there were fewer people in the afternoon, was discovered by Wang Youfu, and the two got into an argument? If so, we need to broaden our investigation scope and not limit ourselves to these five suspects who have a grudge against Wang Youfu."
Jiang Ling always encouraged everyone to speak freely, and immediately affirmed Liu Haoran's statement: "A crime of passion, that possibility cannot be ruled out."
“But…” Jiang Ling changed the subject, pointing to the crime scene photos posted on the wall, “Haoran, take a close look at the scene. If a stranger with no prior grudges suddenly broke in, and was caught stealing by Wang Youfu, leading to an argument, what would be Haoran’s first reaction when Wang Youfu collapsed, covered in blood, and not breathing?”
Liu Haoran reacted quickly, immediately realizing his mistake: "Run!"
Jiang Ling nodded: "Yes, he would have fled quickly. It's impossible that he would have disposed of the body out of fear of being discovered. It's even less likely that he would have quickly found a sack to put the body in or chosen a construction waste dump where he could bury it."
Upon hearing this, Liu Haoran nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes. Only someone who has a grudge against Wang Youfu would try to cover up a death as their first reaction."
After resolving this issue, everyone focused their attention on analyzing the five suspects.
The first suspect is the shop owner, Ge Cuihua. According to the investigation, their marriage was in name only; Wang Youfu had a history of infidelity, and the two constantly argued about money and the shop. After the incident, her eagerness to take over the shop may have led to her acting out her emotions.
However, compared to the robust and obese Wang Youfu, Ge Cuihua lacked strength and height, raising doubts about her ability to commit murder and dispose of the body alone. She may have had accomplices, and it is necessary to thoroughly investigate her recent contacts and financial dealings.
The second suspect is chef Liu Biao. He had the deepest grudge against Wang Youfu, and their conflict became public. According to the investigation, Liu Biao had violent tendencies, possessed the ability to commit the crime, and claimed to be resting at home at the time of the incident, with no witnesses present.
However, his continued work after the incident does not align with the typical panic and escape psychology following a crime of passion, unless one possesses exceptional mental fortitude or feels emboldened.
The third suspect is Mao Dali, a handyman. According to shop owners in the surrounding area, Mao Dali had only been working at Shunlai Restaurant for a little over two months. Wang Youfu frequently beat and verbally abused him, and often deducted his wages. Moreover, according to Liang Jiushan, Mao Dali rescued a dog that had been crippled by Wang Youfu, but the dog was now gone, possibly killed by Wang Youfu. This incident created a grudge between the two, leading to the argument.
However, Mao Dali was an honest man, and the neighbors all said he was kind and good. Moreover, he was only seventeen years old, still a child, and thin. Where would he get the strength to kill someone and bury a body? After Wang Youfu died, Shunlai Restaurant was still open for two days. Why didn't Mao Dali run away at that time, and only left when Ge Cuihua chased him away?
The fourth suspect is Zhao Laoliu, a loan shark. Wang Youfu had a gambling addiction and owed more than a thousand yuan in high-interest loans from casinos. Zhao Laoliu had brought people to Wang Youfu's house to collect the debt, claiming that if Wang Youfu did not repay the money, he would come and kill him. If Zhao Laoliu and Wang Youfu had a dispute in the kitchen, he certainly had the ability and the motive to kill Wang Youfu and bury the body nearby.
However, loan sharks are after money, not lives, so their motive for murder is insufficient. It's necessary to investigate his detailed movements between 2 PM and 6 PM that day. Can anyone confirm he was near the Shunlai Restaurant? Did he have a deeper conflict with Wang Youfu?
The last suspect was Sun Xiaojun, a former handyman at Shunlai Restaurant. Before Mao Dali arrived, Sun Xiaojun worked odd jobs at Shunlai Restaurant, but was fired by Wang Youfu for theft. However, according to neighbors, the theft charge against Sun Xiaojun was a frame-up; Wang Youfu deliberately framed him to embezzle his wages. Given the enmity between the two, Sun Xiaojun did indeed have a motive for murder.
However, Sun Xiaojun's whereabouts are currently unknown, and given his cowardly nature, the possibility of him seeking revenge again after two months is low.
Zheng Yu stood in front of the whiteboard with the names of five suspects written on it, and looked up at everyone: "So far, we have identified these five people who have both the opportunity and the motive for the crime. Let's discuss and rank these five people."
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Chapter 100 is here! Thank you all for your company and support, my darlings! A red envelope will be given away in the comments section of this chapter!
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