Chapter 70 Chapter 70 Owner of the Footprints

After get off work, Zhao Meixia checked the bills in the office for a while before going home. Mrs. Tang had already prepared dinner and was sitting on the sofa sewing clothes. When she saw her daughter-in-law coming back, she smiled and said, "Meixia, you are back. Dinner is ready. I made smacked cucumber tonight. I remember that this is your favorite dish."

Zhao Meixia nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Mom."

Mrs. Tang turned around and shouted to the room, "Your mother is back. Come out and have dinner."

"Oh, you're here!" Hou Kangmei responded in a loud voice. Then she heard footsteps. She ran out of the room and called out, "Mom, you're finally back."

Zhao Meixia asked her, "Have you finished your homework?"

Hou Kangmei nodded and said, "I've finished writing it. If you don't believe me, ask me."

Hou Yuanchao walked out of the room slowly and nodded, "Yes, it's done."

Zhao Meixia said: "Yuan Chao, you should pay more attention to your sister's math recently. This girl is careless, don't let her slack off."

"Okay." Yuan Chao nodded obediently.

Mrs. Tang said, "Why are you in such a hurry to go to primary school to fight against the Americans? If she can't continue her studies, she can just take over your job. If that doesn't work, let her father send her to the army."

Zhao Meixia frowned in disapproval when she heard this. Hou Kangmei said with a smile, "Grandma, my brother and I are going to take the college entrance exam. Then we will have two college students in our family. It will be so proud to tell others about it!"

Mrs. Tang laughed and said, "That really is smoke rising from the ancestral tomb of the old Marquis family."

At the dinner table, Zhao Meixia suddenly asked, "Mom, have you heard about Wei Shufang?"

Mrs. Tang said, "You mean she lost her job because she was found to have used a backdoor? Everyone in the family compound knew about it. When I went to Captain Cao's house to do needlework this afternoon, everyone was talking about it."

Zhao Meixia said: "Not only did she lose her job, but Xiao Wu, who received the benefits from the personnel department, also lost her job, and it was recorded in the file. No unit will want her in the future."

"Is it so serious?" asked Mrs. Tang.

"What do you think? Accepting bribes, abusing power and using power for personal gain will not only make her lose her job, but also affect her husband, Captain Wang's future promotion in the army." Zhao Meixia said seriously.

Hearing her serious words, Mrs. Tang stared and said, "How can this have any influence on him when the battalion commander doesn't know about it?"

Zhao Meixia glanced at her and said, "If he can't manage his family, the organization will definitely question his personal ability. Isn't there a saying? What's it called..."

"If you can't even clean your own room, how can you clean the world?" Hou Kangmei replied with a smile, "right?"

Zhao Meixia nodded, "Yes, and husband and wife are one body. If one makes a mistake, the other will definitely be affected."

"By the way, Mom, you must be careful when you get along with other people in the family compound in the future. Don't accept things easily if others give you gifts for no reason." Zhao Meixia suddenly turned around and looked at Mrs. Tang.

When she looked at her, Mrs. Tang was startled and said hurriedly, "No, no one gave me anything. Who would give something to an old woman like me to curry favor with me?"

Hou Kangmei said, "That's not necessarily true, grandma. We have two cadres in our family now. Not to mention dad, mom is also the director. You are the mother and mother-in-law of the leader now, not just an ordinary old lady. So, you have to pay attention to your words and deeds in the future."

Zhao Meixia nodded and said, "Kang Mei is right, Mom. If someone gives you something in the future, you must tell me and don't accept it on your own. If you are reported, our family will be in trouble."

Mrs. Tang said embarrassedly, "I know, but I would never do such a thing." She lowered her head and rolled her eyes.

Zhao Meixia looked at Mrs. Tang's expression and said thoughtfully, "It's good that you know. If you accepted it, you must return it to the person immediately."

Mrs. Tang: “…I know, I know.” She muttered softly.

After Xia Junshan finished washing the dishes and came out of the kitchen, Meng Yufei asked him with a smile, "With so many people in this family, is it more laborious to wash the dishes than usual?"

"It's okay, it didn't take much time. Fortunately, we only have one child. If we had more, washing dishes would be okay, but washing clothes, shoes, bed sheets and quilts would be a lot of work." Xia Junshan wiped his hands and smiled.

Xia Qinqin, who was playing Sudoku in the living room, overheard her parents' conversation. She stopped playing and ran over to ask, "Dad, are you going to give me another brother?"

Xia Junshan was a little surprised: "How could that be? Dad was just joking with Mom."

Xia Qinqin complained: "Today, my mother and I went to the cafeteria, and an aunt told me that you have to give me a younger brother, and said that after I have a younger brother, you will not like me anymore and will like my younger brother more."

Xia Junshan squatted down and looked his daughter straight in the eye and said seriously, "That's impossible. That aunt is talking nonsense. Dad and Mom only have you as their only child, and you are their favorite."

Xia Qinqin said: "Then Dad, if you want to have another child, you can give me a sister, um... a brother is also fine."

Xia Junshan turned his head and glanced at Meng Yufei, then smiled and touched his daughter's head and said, "Mom and Dad can't do that."

Then he looked at Lu Yannan who was sitting on the sofa in the living room and said with a smile: "Don't you have a brother now? Brother Yannan, he goes to school with you every day and plays games with you. You are not only good friends, but also good siblings."

Xia Qinqin thought about it, smiled and nodded: "Yes, I have Brother Yannan and Sister Fangfang, she is also my good friend."

Meng Yufei said, "Okay, didn't we say we were going for a walk? Let's go out now, and then we can send Yannan home together after the walk."

"Okay~" Xia Qinqin nodded happily, ran over and took Lu Yannan's hand, "Brother Yannan, let's go for a walk together."

Lu Yannan looked down at his hand that was being held, then looked up at Xia Junshan and Meng Yufei who were standing at the door with a smile on their faces, nodded, stood up and followed Xia Qinqin.

Brothers and sisters, are we a family?

The rain two days ago was like a bath for the flowers and plants on the roadside, washing away the dust on them and making them look fresher.

The gravel road had dried up, but the muddy ground on both sides of the road was still a little wet. Meng Yufei shouted to Xia Qinqin, who was running happily with Lu Yannan in front, "Don't run on the muddy ground, understand?"

"I know." Xia Qinqin responded loudly.

She agreed readily, and after walking for a while, she couldn't help but run over to pick flowers. She accidentally stepped on the mud, but fortunately she was wearing navy blue cloth shoes today, so it wasn't so obvious.

Lu Yannan pulled her back to the gravel road and said, "What kind of flowers do you want? I'll pick them for you."

Xia Qinqin pointed at a small blue flower not far away and said, "I want that one."

"Then you stand here and don't move." He stepped into the mud and picked the flower back.

"Thank you, Brother Yannan~" Xia Qinqin took the flowers and thanked him with a smile.

Meng Yufei hurried over, looked down at Lu Yannan's dirty white sneakers, and said, "Yannan, next time don't go to the mud to pick flowers for Qinqin. Look at your shoes, they are all dirty. Teacher Li will criticize you when you go back."

Lu Yannan said, "Uncle Li won't blame me. I'm not his child, so he would be embarrassed to blame me."

Meng Yufei paused, looked at his calm expression, opened her mouth but didn't know what to say.

Xia Junshan tapped Lu Yannan's forehead lightly and said with a smile, "You kid, you think your commander is embarrassed to scold you, so you act like a troublemaker. Look at how dirty your shoes are, how hard it is to clean them."

"There is a service attendant to clean it, so Uncle Li and Aunt Huang don't need to scrub it." Lu Yannan said as a matter of course.

Xia Junshan lowered his head and said, "If your shoes are dirty, it will be troublesome for anyone to clean them. You can't cause trouble for the attendant."

Lu Yannan said: "Oh, I see."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "But I still want to thank you for picking flowers for Qinqin. You are such a good brother."

Xia Qinqin held Lu Yannan's hand, tilted her head and smiled: "Yes, Brother Yannan is a good brother."

…

When the Fang sisters returned home, Fang Lai Di pulled her younger sister to sit at the dining table, took out her homework book from her schoolbag, spread it out on the table and started doing it.

After doing her homework for a while, Fang Xiangdi couldn't help but become dazed and started playing with her pencil.

"Xiangdi, what are you doing? Do your homework well!" Fang Laidi knocked on the table to remind her sister.

Fang Xiangdi whispered, "Sister, I don't want to do my homework."

Fang Lai Di frowned and said seriously, "No! If you don't study hard, your mother will snatch your milk away from you every day and won't give you snacks or meat. Only if you study hard can we leave here and eat whatever you want. Do you want to eat peach cakes?"

Fang Xiangdi nodded and said, "Yes!"

Fang Lai Di put down her pencil, ran to the master bedroom, opened the closet, and took out a large bag. Inside the bag was an iron box, which contained peach cakes.

This was what Tong Caifeng hid for herself to eat. Fang Lai Di had secretly seen it several times.

She took out two pieces of peach cake, closed the box, tied up the bag, and put it back in the closet.

"Okay, eat it. You have to do your homework well after eating, okay?" Fang Lai Di handed the peach cake to her sister and reminded her.

"Okay, got it." Fang Xiangdi took the peach pastry and agreed.

The two sisters happily finished their peach cakes, clapped their hands and started doing their homework seriously.

When it was getting dark, Chen Xiaohua from next door came over and saw them doing their homework. She smiled and said, "Oh, you two sisters are really sensible. You do your homework as soon as you get home. You are not like those naughty boys at your aunt's house. They just play as soon as they get home."

Fang Lai Di greeted: "Hello, Aunt Chen."

Chen Xiaohua said, "You guys do your homework first. I'll go and heat up some water for you to take a bath. After you take a bath, go to bed early."

"Okay, thank you Aunt Chen."

—————

Director Wang reported to the troops the incident in which Tong Caifeng claimed that someone had deliberately released a snake to bite her, as well as the lime stain in Tong Caifeng's home.

The military attaches great importance to this. After all, it involves the safety of officers and their families in the family compound. If outsiders can come in at will, wouldn't the armed forces of the entire army become a joke?

If he is an insider, he must be found out, otherwise I won’t be able to sleep well tonight.

After the division commander learned about this, he naturally handed the matter over to Xia Junshan, the commander of the 1st Regiment whom he trusted the most, to investigate.

When Xia Junshan heard this, he recalled the night he sent Tong Caifeng to the hospital and said, "I remember the snake that bit Tong Caifeng that night only appears in freshwater areas. I'll take people to check the lakes on the island first."

In fact, the first person he suspected was Wei Shufang.

Teacher Li nodded and said, "Okay, hurry up and give everyone an explanation as soon as possible so that the people in the family compound can rest assured. Otherwise, they won't be able to sleep well at night."

Political Commissar Yu said cautiously: "Division Commander, why don't you stay in the army dormitory for the next few days and not go home for now. What if it's someone from outside..."

"No need." Commander Li said, "It couldn't be someone from outside. There are so many military officers in the family compound, but this person chose to find Tong Caifeng, and used a non-lethal venomous snake."

"Just in case..." Political Commissar Yu still wanted to persuade.

Commander Li raised his hand to stop him from saying anything. "I won't leave. Deserting from the battlefield is nothing. And this is just a minor incident. It doesn't matter."

Xia Junshan said: "Division Commander, Political Commissar, rest assured, I will investigate the matter as soon as possible."

"Okay, I believe you." Commander Li nodded.

Xia Junshan took a few people to check several lakes on the island, and as expected, they found a footprint by the previous lake.

"Captain, there are a few footprints by the bushes here. It looks like they were made in the past two days." Zhao Zhengliu said.

Xia Junshan walked over to check, and it was still in that familiar location.

Zhao Zhengliu pointed at the footprint and said, "Captain, look, this footprint is quite deep. Because of the rain nearby, the previous footprints have been washed away and are no longer clear. Only this footprint is the clearest. It should have been left in the past two days."

Xia Junshan nodded, "Indeed, it was printed in the past two days." He then asked him, "What else did you see?"

Zhao Zhengliu continued to analyze: "Well, according to the length of this footprint, the height of the owner of the footprint should be around 1.75 to 1.8 meters, most likely a man. Also, the right side of the footprint is deeper than the left side, it seems that he walks with his feet turned outward. If he is heavier..."

He held his chin with one hand, thinking, and muttered: "The weight should be around 90 kilograms... This, this is too thin!"

Captain Yan, who was walking over, said, "Captain Zhao, this tall and heavy man would have attracted too much attention if he was on the island. Now, all that's left is a pile of bones."

Captain Zhao was puzzled and said, "Tsk, maybe I miscalculated, but the length and depth of this shoe print are just like this..."

Xia Junshan squatted down and looked at the footprints carefully, saying, "You are right. The owner of the shoes is indeed over 1.75 meters tall, and the weight is also correct, about 90 kilograms."

"That's true!" Zhao Zhengliu heard Xia Junshan say the same thing, and turned to Captain Yan behind him and said, "Immediately take people to check the tall and heavy man on the island. Um, check the woman as well."

According to his impression, there were no such men or women in the family compound. Naturally, he thought of the residents on the island.

"Wait a moment," Xia Junshan said, "I still have a few things to add."

Zhao Zhengliu asked: "Captain, what else?"

Xia Junshan pointed at the footprints and said, "Look, the front of this footprint is much deeper than the back, and the middle is deeper than the sides. According to normal people's walking habits, the points of force are the soles and heels, so these two points are the deepest, but the distance between the soles and heels of this footprint is wrong."

He speculated slowly: "It's like someone wearing a pair of shoes that are too big."

Zhao Zhengliu also squatted down and took a closer look, then nodded and said, "Yes, based on the distance between the sole and the heel, the owner of the foot should be... about 1.6 meters tall?"

Xia Junshan nodded in agreement.

Zhao Zhengliu said: "That makes sense. The owner of this footprint is 1.6 meters tall and weighs 90 kilograms. It is very likely that she is a woman."

Captain Yan said: "In this case, the scope will be expanded."

Xia Junshan said: "There is another characteristic."

"Outward-facing feet!" Zhao Zhengliu immediately thought of his previous speculation.

Xia Junshan nodded: "Yes, this will reduce the scope. Besides, there is a person over 1.75 meters tall in this person's home."

Xia Junshan stood up and looked at the lake beside him. "This place is quite far from the residential area. Normally, the residents on the island would not come here for washing clothes or using water. After the family compound was connected to running water, no one came here anymore."

Zhao Zhengliu touched his chin and said, "Then why is this person running to the lake? And he is wearing a pair of shoes that don't fit him well. It's very suspicious."

Captain Yan pointed to the bushes by the lake and said, "Captain Xia, Captain Zhao, there seems to be a rope there." As he said that, he went over and took the rope.

A 20-centimeter-long, dark green rope was hanging in the grass. If you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't notice it.

"This looks like a rope." Zhao Zhengliu took the rope and touched it. "Oh, it's made of silk. The material is good."

Xia Junshan said: "It is very likely that the owner of the footprints left it. Let's keep it for now. Next, we will check the lime. Let's go to Captain Fang's house first."

Zhao Zhengliu nodded and said, "Okay, didn't I say before that the only people who bought lime recently were the three families in the family compound?"

Captain Yan said, "It could be that some people have some leftover lime."

Xia Junshan shook his head and said, "It's unlikely. The air here is quite humid, and it's hard to preserve the lime after it's been opened. The warehouse of the supply and marketing cooperative also stores the lime on wooden shelves. Ordinary people rarely store extra lime."

As they were talking, they walked towards the family compound and happened to meet a group of militiamen who were running and shouting slogans. When they passed by the three of them, the instructor leading the team recognized the military titles on their uniforms and saluted.

The militiamen behind also saluted.

The three of them nodded in return.

Xia Junshan said, "Hey, Xiao Yan, aren't you also an instructor of the militia? Why didn't you lead them in training today?"

Captain Yan said, "Reporting to Captain Xia, the militia I led is undergoing maritime combat training today, and there are other instructors to teach them."

Zhao Zhengliu laughed and said, "Xia Tuan, you don't know that Captain Yan is leading a female army this time. I heard that those girls ran to the division commander and got the opportunity to form a female militia. They are really brave."

Xia Junshan said: "I went to see it two days ago and even did some target shooting there."

"Oh, that's because I was late in getting the news. This batch of militiamen is lucky to have Xia Tuan to teach them marksmanship." Zhao Zhengliu joked.

Xia Junshan laughed and said, "It's too early to give any guidance to a group of kids who just started to use guns."

"Then what are you going to do?" Zhao Zhengliu asked.

Xia Junshan pointed at Captain Yan and said, "Isn't Xiao Yan a member of our regiment? Go and see his work."

Captain Yan said hurriedly: "Thank you for your guidance."

Zhao Zhengliu laughed and said, "That's my fault. I fell behind the leader. I'll go check it out tomorrow."

Captain Yan said: "The battalion commander is always welcome to come and give us guidance."

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "Let's finish the task at hand first. The commander is waiting for you."

While the three of them were talking, they arrived at Tong Caifeng's home. The two children had already gone to school, and the gate was ajar, but it opened with a push.

The door of the house was locked. The three did not go in, but checked in the yard. Xia Junshan found lime on some grass in front of the windowsill and called them to come and have a look.

They checked around the bushes again and found several footprints. In addition to Meng Yufei and Director Wang who had been there yesterday, there was also a strange footprint.

"He's 1.6 meters tall and weighs 90 kilograms. Most importantly, he walks with his feet turned outward. The footprints are highly consistent with the ones by the lake." Zhao Zhengliu said as he looked at the footprints.

Xia Junshan said: "First, check the three households that bought lime from the supply and marketing cooperative in the past two days."

"Okay." Zhao Zhengliu and Captain Yan nodded.

…

Wei Shufang prepared dinner at home and was about to pick up Han Jianbao, but she saw three men in military uniforms standing at the gate of the courtyard, looking at her seriously.

"You, are you looking for Lao Han? He hasn't returned home yet." Wei Shufang said while keeping calm.

Zhao Zhengliu said: "Sister-in-law Wei, we are here to see you."

"Looking for me?"

"Yes, I have something to ask you. Can we come into your house and sit for a while?"

"Oh, oh, okay, come in."

Wei Shufang guessed their purpose in her heart. Could it be that they came to her because of the previous bribery incident?

After entering the room, Captain Yan looked at the shoes placed on the ground, squatted down, picked up Wei Shufang's shoes, turned them over and looked at the soles. The outside was more worn than the inside.

"What are you doing with my shoes?" Wei Shufang asked curiously.

Zhao Zhengliu asked her, "Sister Wei, I just noticed that you walk with your feet turned outward."

Wei Shufang was confused. "Yes, yes, what's the matter? What's the matter?"

Captain Yan picked up the shoes of Captain Han that were placed next to him and looked at them. He stood up and took a look in the kitchen, then turned to the small room in the north, opened the door and saw that the wall on the other side of the window was covered with new lime.

"Hey! What on earth are you trying to do? Let me tell you, my Han is the head of the group after all, how can you just come into my house and rummage around like that?" Wei Shufang said angrily.

Captain Yan walked up to the two men and said, "The small room has been painted with new lime."

Xia Junshan and Zhao Zhengliu looked at each other and nodded. Xia Junshan said, "We are just here to confirm a few things. Now that we have confirmed them, please come back to the unit with us. We have something to ask you."

Wei Shufang immediately said anxiously: "What do you want to ask? Haven't we asked all of this before? I just delivered a few tickets, returned the job, and wrote a self-criticism. What else do you want?"

Zhao Zhengliu said, "Sister Wei, we are not here for this matter. We have other things to do. Do you know Tong Caifeng?"

As soon as the name came out of his mouth, Wei Shufang's face flashed with guilt and surprise, but she quickly regained her composure and said, "I know him, of course I know him, he's Captain Fang's family."

Naturally, her expression could not be hidden from the three people. They looked at each other and then became more certain.

Zhao Zhengliu asked, "You've also heard about this Tong Dasao being bitten by a snake, right?"

"I heard it," Wei Shufang nodded, lowered her head to avoid their sight and said, "It's pretty scary. It's all because of the rainy day. The snake ran to her house and bit someone."

Zhao Zhengliu said: "Mrs. Tong's explanation is quite different. She said she was bitten by a snake."

"Bite by a snake? How is that possible!" Wei Shufang said with eyes wide open: "You don't think it was me, do you?"

Zhao Zhengliu said: "Is it you? We need you to cooperate with us and go back to ask a few questions."

"I won't go!" Wei Shufang protested strongly, "Why do you suspect me? Do you have any evidence?"

Captain Yan pointed at her shoes and said, "We found a set of unfamiliar footprints in front of the window of Tong Caifeng's house. Based on the traces of the footprints, we inferred that the owner of the footprints was 1.6 meters tall, weighed 90 kilograms, and walked with his feet turned outward. These are all consistent with you."

"No, it's impossible!" Wei Shufang just shook her head and said in disbelief: "Are you guys mistaken? It can't be my footprints!"

Zhao Zhengliu said impatiently: "We didn't say it must be you, we just said that the footprints match your characteristics, and we just suspected you. As for whether it is true or not, you can go back to the unit and talk to us first."

Wei Shufang said anxiously: "Your footprints must have been miscalculated. It's impossible for him to be 1.6 meters tall!"

Xia Junshan asked: "Oh? Then how tall do you think it is?"

Zhao Zhengliu smiled and said, "Mrs. Wei, you're not going to say 1.75 to 1.8 meters, are you? Hmm... this height is about the same as your captain Han."

Wei Shufang was speechless and stunned.