Chapter 71 Chapter 71 Questions

Today's militia training was about sea combat, and the one with the best performance was of course Qi Zhuzhu, who beat everyone else to take first place, even their instructors couldn't beat her.

It would be difficult to continue training at sea after dark, so we ended earlier than usual today.

Han Jianhong ran home in wet clothes, her hair still dripping with water.

When she arrived at her home, she happened to meet Captain Han who was coming back from get off work. He asked her, "Did you have the sea combat training today?"

"Yeah." Han Jianhong nodded and followed Captain Han into the house.

Captain Han wanted to continue giving his daughter some advice, but when he arrived at the door, he saw three people in military uniforms and Wei Shufang who was trying her best to defend herself.

This situation looked a little strange, and Captain Han's expression changed.

"Captain Xia, I wonder what brings you here today?" Captain Han asked in a deep voice.

When Wei Shufang saw that Commander Han had returned, she quickly turned around and pulled his arm, saying, "Old Han, they want to take me to the army without any reason! Please make the decision for me."

Zhao Zhengliu listened to her words and frowned, saying, "Sister Wei, you can't just talk nonsense. We just explained for a long time why we want to take you back. What do you mean by being indiscriminate?"

Head Han patted Wei Shufang's hand, looked at the three people in front of him and asked, "Excuse me, why did you take my wife away?"

Xia Junshan explained, "Captain Han, this is what happened. The division commander gave us a task today to investigate why Captain Fang's lover Tong Caifeng was bitten by a snake."

The fact that Tong Caifeng was bitten by a snake was big news in the family compound, and Captain Han naturally knew about it.

"Wasn't she bitten by a snake while she was sleeping at home?"

Xia Junshan said: "Everyone thought so before, but the day before yesterday, when Director Wang from the Women's Committee went to the hospital to see Tong Caifeng, she insisted that someone had set a snake on her and bit her. She also said that she saw a shadow outside the window that night."

Wei Shufang stood next to Captain Han with her head down, wondering in her heart: How is it possible? Tong Caifeng was clearly sleeping soundly that night. She even heard her snoring outside the window. How could she have seen a human figure!

This Tong Caifeng is definitely lying!

Xia Junshan continued: "Director Wang reported the matter to the commander. It concerns the safety of everyone in the family courtyard. The commander took it very seriously and sent us to investigate."

After hearing what he said, Captain Han said, "I have no objection to your investigation, but what does this have to do with my family?"

Xia Junshan said: "I took the snake to the hospital that night. The doctor said that this kind of snake only appears in freshwater areas. Even if it rains, it is unlikely to crawl too far away from the lake."

"We checked all the lakes on the island today. We found a series of suspicious footprints near the lakeside grass closest to the family compound."

"Footprints?" asked Captain Han.

"That's right," Xia Junshan nodded and said, "Based on the traces of the footprints, we infer that the owner of the footprints should be a person who is about 1.6 meters tall and weighs about 90 kilograms, and she walks with her feet turned outward."

This feature... Captain Han glanced at Wei Shufang and felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he saw that she kept her head down and didn't speak.

"There are so many people on the island, there should be quite a few who meet this condition." said Captain Han.

Wei Shufang also said: "That's right, you just speculated these based on a footprint, who knows if it's right? Maybe you speculated wrong, didn't you just say that the height was 1.75 meters... How come it has changed to 1.6 meters now!"

Xia Junshan said: "Captain Han knows whether the footprints are correct or not."

It is a basic tracking method to guess the owner of the footprints based on the footprints, and Captain Han has naturally learned some of it. The best person in this area in the entire division is Xia Junshan, who has made several achievements in this area before.

Captain Han nodded: "I trust your judgment."

Zhao Zhengliu cleared his throat and said, "And this footprint also appeared in front of Tong Caifeng's window. Excluding Tong Caifeng herself, it is very likely that it was the figure that Tong Caifeng saw that night. In addition, we also found a few white spots on the grass in front of Tong Caifeng's window. They are lime."

"We also asked the supply and marketing cooperative, and your family happened to be one of the families that bought lime in the past few days."

Several suspicious points point to Wei Shufang, so it can't be just a coincidence.

Wei Shufang immediately retorted: "My family is not the only one that bought lime. Why did you come to my house? Besides, the lime is for Han Jianhong's room. What does it have to do with me?"

"By the way, Han Jianhong knows how to catch snakes. She has caught one before..." She now began to push the responsibility onto Han Jianhong.

When Captain Han heard her words, his face darkened and he glanced over with sharp eyes. Wei Shufang lowered her voice and shut her mouth.

Zhao Zhengliu looked at the two of them and said with a smile in his eyes, "Sister Wei, didn't we tell you just now that your height, weight, and the way you walk with your feet turned outward are all highly consistent with the person speculated from the footprints. This is the main reason why we want to take you back for questioning."

Leader Han asked, "Can I go and see that footprint?"

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "Of course you can. I left two soldiers to guard the footprints by the lake." Then he turned his head to Captain Yan and said, "Xiao Yan, take Captain Han to check it out later."

Captain Yan: “Received.”

Captain Han said, "Go now, but don't take the person away until I confirm the footprints."

Although he and Wei Shufang no longer have much affection for each other, he will still do his best to protect his own people in front of outsiders.

After hearing what he said, Xia Junshang nodded and said, "Okay, Commander Han, I will go with you."

He turned to the two people beside him and said, "Captain Zhao, you and I will accompany Commander Han. Captain Yan, you wait here for us to come back."

"Okay, got it." The two responded in unison.

After the three of them left, Han Jianhong, who had been silent just now, said, "Instructor, sit down and rest for a while."

Before Captain Yan could say anything, Wei Shufang glared at Han Jianxing and said angrily, "You didn't say anything just now, but now you're turning your elbow outward and colluding with outsiders to frame me. Are you hoping that I will suffer the consequences? You are such an ungrateful person."

Captain Yan frowned. He had not expected Wei Shufang to treat her stepdaughter so badly. He said, "Comrade Wei Shufang, we came to you for official business. We are not targeting you personally, and no one is framing you. We found you based on evidence. If you did not do it, we will find out the truth and clear your name."

Wei Shufang's eyes widened: "What evidence? Just a few footprints? You can say whatever you want."

Captain Yan said sternly, "Tracking suspects based on footprints is a reliable means of investigation. Your husband, Captain Han, also agrees."

Wei Shufang: "You..."

Han Jianhong spoke up at this time: "Aunt Wei, some things should be discussed after my dad comes back. It's useless for you to argue with Instructor Yan here. You might as well think about how to tell my dad later."

Wei Shufang glared at the two of them fiercely, then turned and went back to the house.

Han Jianhong smiled at Captain Yan and said, "Aunt Wei has this kind of temper. Please bear with me."

Wei Shufang used to say this to others about herself, giving herself the impression of being eccentric and withdrawn. But now that I say it myself, I do feel an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

Captain Yan said: "It doesn't matter. This is none of your business."

Han Jianhong poured him a glass of water and handed it to him, "Instructor Yan, please sit down and have a drink of water and take a rest."

Captain Yan took the water, nodded, and asked, "How was your sea training today?"

"It's okay. Our women's militia team took first place in the swimming relay competition, and Qi Zhuzhu took first place in several individual swimming events." When she said this, the corners of her mouth raised, and her tone was full of pride that could not be concealed.

Captain Yan smiled and encouraged, "Not bad, you are worthy of being a women's army. Keep it up."

"Yes, I will definitely live up to the instructor's expectations." Han Jianhong nodded with a smile.

Captain Yan saw that her hair was still dripping with water and said, "Go change your clothes first, or you'll catch a cold."

"Oh, okay, I'll go back to my room first, instructor, you sit down by yourself."

On the other side, Captain Han squatted by the lake and looked at the footprints. "You mean someone deliberately wore oversized shoes to come here?"

“Yes.”

Zhao Zhengliu pointed to the footprints and explained to him Xia Junshan's previous speculation.

A sudden thought flashed through Captain Han's mind. That night, he returned home and saw that his old shoes had been brushed by Wei Shufang.

At that time, he asked why she suddenly thought of brushing the shoes. What did Wei Shufang say? She said the shoes were a little moldy, so she brushed them.

Xia Junshan asked: "Captain Han, do you want to go and see the footprints left by Tong Caifeng's family again?"

Captain Han exhaled, stood up and said, "No need, let's go back first."

Wei Shufang sat on the bed, thinking quickly about what to do. She didn't expect that they would find her based on the shoe prints. How...how could this happen?

After changing her clothes, Han Jianhong came out and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was already past six o'clock. Then she remembered that Han Jianbao had not returned yet and Wei Shufang did not go to pick him up.

She said something to Captain Yan and went out to pick up Han Jianbao from the kindergarten.

As soon as she walked out of the door, she saw Zhou Wenqian bringing Han Jianbao back. When Han Jianbao saw Han Jianhong, he immediately opened his mouth and burst into tears: "Wuwuwu...you didn't come to pick me up! You just left me alone in the kindergarten!"

Zhou Wenqian lowered her head and said, "Han Jianbao, stop crying. We are home now, aren't we?"

Hearing her cold voice, Han Jianbao stopped crying.

Han Jianhong walked over and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou. I had something to do at home today and forgot to pick him up. Please take him back."

Zhou Wenqian said: "It's okay, don't forget it next time. Han Jianbao cried so sadly today."

Wei Shufang heard her son crying in the house. She looked at her watch and then she remembered that she had forgotten to pick up her son.

She didn't care about what to do next, she immediately stood up and rushed out, hugged Han Jianbao and asked: "Jianbao, how did you come back?"

Han Jianbao pointed at Zhou Wenqian and said, "Teacher Zhou sent me back. All the kids in the kindergarten had left, and I was the only one left."

The more he spoke, the more aggrieved he felt. He opened his mouth and burst into tears: "You all don't want me anymore! Wuwuwu..."

Wei Shufang hugged him and said, "Jianbao, it's not that mommy doesn't want to pick you up, it's that someone doesn't allow me to go..."

She started crying, confusing right and wrong.

Zhou Wenqian looked at Han Jianhong in confusion, and then saw Captain Yan coming out of the house. He saw her and called out, "Hello, sister-in-law."

"Hello, what's going on?" Zhou Wen Qian asked. He recognized Captain Yan as the company commander under Zhao Zhengliu, so why did he come to Captain Han's house?

Captain Yan said, "Come over and carry out your mission."

Hearing that it was a mission, Zhou Wen Qian didn't ask any more questions. She nodded and turned around to leave.

"Qianqian, why are you here?" Zhao Zhengliu was delighted when he saw Zhou Wenqian. He ran over to her and asked, "Are you here to see me? Have you had dinner?"

Zhou Wenqian said, "I'm here to take Han Jianbao home. His parents forgot to pick him up from school today."

"Oh, is that so?" Zhao Zhengliu was a little disappointed, and then he said, "I have to go back to the army to work overtime tonight, so you can eat by yourself first."

"Well, you go ahead and do your work. I'll leave first." Zhou Wen Qian nodded and went back.

Zhao Zhengliu watched Zhou Wenqian leave, then turned to Wei Shufang and said, "Sister-in-law Wei, come back to the unit with us first."

Wei Shufang looked up at Captain Han and saw that he agreed with a sullen face. The sense of relief in her heart completely disappeared.

Gritting her teeth, she continued to hold her son and cried, "Jianbao, someone wants to take your mother away. You will be motherless. We are so pitiful..."

After hearing her say this, Han Jianbao cried even harder. His originally coquettish crying turned into howling tears of fear.

Head Han gritted his teeth and said, "What nonsense are you telling the child? I just asked you to cooperate with the investigation. If you didn't do it, no one can wrongly accuse you."

Looking at the crying mother and son, Captain Han turned around and said, "Captain Xia, I'll go with her."

"Okay." Xia Junshan nodded in agreement.

Wei Shufang wanted to continue resisting, but Captain Han said in a stern voice: "If you know your place, cooperate with us. Now they are giving us face, otherwise how will we behave if we take you there?"

Wei Shufang choked and knew she couldn't resist, so she could only follow them to the army.

......

After get off work, Meng Yufei went to pick up her two children from school. After eating in the cafeteria, she went home. When she got home, a little warrior came.

"Sister-in-law, Captain Xia asked me to tell you that he has to work overtime tonight and will not be back for dinner."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you for your help." Meng Yufei said with a smile.

Xia Qinqin was playing chess with Lu Yannan in the living room. When she heard the noise, she quickly put down her chess pieces and ran to the door to ask, "Mom, isn't Dad coming back for dinner again?"

"Yes, he has to work overtime."

Xia Qinqin asked again: "Are Sister Dafang and Sister Xiaofang coming?"

"Come on, they will be out of school soon. Go play with Brother Yannan first, and I'll make you some steamed eggs, okay?"

"Okay, Mom, remember to sprinkle the eggs with fragrant oil." Xia Qinqin asked.

Meng Yufei smiled and nodded: "Okay, I understand."

Xia Qinqin returned to the living room with satisfaction and continued to play chess with Lu Yannan.

The Fang sisters came straight home after school today. The door was open, but Fang Lai Di still knocked politely.

Meng Yufei heard the noise in the kitchen, poked her head out and said, "You guys are back."

Fang Lai Di said politely, "Hello, Aunt Meng."

My younger sister Fang Xiangdi smiled and whispered, "Hello, Aunt Meng."

Meng Yufei said: "You guys go to the living room and play, we'll have dinner later."

Xia Qinqin happily pulled them to the sofa together, "Do you know how to play chess?"

The two shook their heads, and Xia Qinqin said, "Then let's play with the dolls together. You wait here for me." Then she ran to her little room and took out her favorite doll.

"Look, this is my little girl. We can braid her hair and change her clothes."

Fang Xiangdi looked at the doll, her eyes lit up and she stared at it intently.

Xia Qinqin put the doll directly in her hand and said with a smile: "Sister Xiaofang, let's play together. You can braid her hair. Do you know how to braid hair?"

"Yes, I will." Fang Xiangdi nodded with a smile.

The three little girls were happily playing with their dolls. Lu Yannan, who was sitting on the side, held the chess piece in his hand and couldn't help but ask, "Xia Qinqin, you haven't finished playing chess yet?"

"Can I go down later?" Xia Qinqin continued to play with the doll with her head down and was changing its clothes.

Lu Yannan pursed his lips, a hint of anger appeared on his handsome eyebrows. He looked down at the chessboard, and the fingers holding the chess pieces turned slightly white.

After a while, Meng Yufei came out of the kitchen with a dishcloth under the plate, carrying a steamed egg, and said with a smile, "It's time to eat. Go wash your hands."

Fang Lai Di asked: "Auntie, aren't you going to wait for Uncle Xia?"

Meng Yufei smiled and explained: "He is working overtime today and won't be back for dinner."

The children washed their hands obediently and sat at the dining table. Meng Yufei served each of them a bowl of rice and scooped two spoonfuls of eggs into each person's bowl, just enough to divide the whole plate of eggs.

Xia Qinqin said to the new friends at the table: "My mother's steamed eggs are especially delicious. Come and try them."

Seeing them eating, she couldn't wait to ask, "Is it delicious?"

Fang Lai Di nodded: "Yeah, it's delicious."

"It's delicious." Fang Xiangdi nodded.

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "It's delicious. Auntie will make it for you next time."

After dinner, Lu Yannan picked up the schoolbag on the sofa and said, "Aunt Meng, I'm going back first."

Meng Yufei was cleaning the table. When she heard him, she asked curiously, "Hey, are you going home so early? Play at home for a while, and I'll take you home later."

Lu Yannan put on his backpack and said, "No need, I already know the way, I can go back by myself."

He turned slightly to look at Xia Qinqin, who was playing with dolls on the sofa with the Fang sisters, and said, "I'm leaving."

Xia Qinqin turned around and asked doubtfully: "Brother Yannan, are you going home?"

"right."

"Why are you going home so early today? Don't you want my mom to take you home?"

"No."

Meng Yufei said: "No, Auntie is worried about you going back alone, let me take you back." As she said that, she put down the rag in her hand.

When Xia Qinqin heard that her mother was leaving, she stopped playing with the doll and said hurriedly, "I want to go with you."

Fang Lai Di followed up by saying, "Aunt Meng, my sister and I have to go back to do our homework. We'll leave first."

Meng Yufei said: "Why don't you play for a while before going home, we will be back soon."

Fang Lai Di shook her head: "No, Aunt Chen from next door will come to my house to accompany us after dinner, we will go back first."

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "Okay, go back slowly and come back after school tomorrow. By the way, what do you want to eat tomorrow?"

Fang Lai Di said, "It's all fine. My sister and I are not picky eaters."

A few of them packed up and left the house together.

In the military interrogation room, Wei Shufang was still trying to defend herself: "Why do you think that footprint is mine? I have never been to the lake, let alone Tong Caifeng's home. You have found the wrong person."

Zhao Zhengliu took out the green rope and asked, "Is this yours?"

Wei Shufang's eyes flickered and she denied it, "It's not mine. I don't have such a hair tie."

Han Jianhong was also called in for questioning. When the hair tie was shown to her, she nodded and said, "It's Aunt Wei's hair tie. Her mother is a worker in a textile factory. Last year, she gave Aunt Wei a roll of silk fabric for the Mid-Autumn Festival. She gave half of it to Aunt Wei. She made a short-sleeved shirt for Han Jianping and a vest for Han Jianbao, and used the remaining fabric to weave this hair tie."

When Wei Shufang heard this retelling, she yelled angrily: "How is that possible? I didn't even wear this hair tie that day. I..."

She paused, acknowledging that the hair tie was hers.

Zhao Zhengliu said coldly, "Comrade Wei Shufang, I advise you to confess as soon as possible. If you continue to lie and mislead our investigation, it means that there is something wrong with your political attitude. You should consider the consequences yourself."

Wei Shufang was stunned, her heart turned cold in an instant, and she knew she could no longer hide it.

......

When Xia Junshan came back in the evening, Meng Yufei had already given Xia Qinqin a bath and was telling her a story on the bed.

Hearing the sound of the door opening in the living room, Meng Yufei stopped talking. Xia Qinqin's eyes lit up, and she got up and asked, "Mom, is Dad back?"

"Dad, are you back?" Xia Qinqin shouted loudly.

Xia Junshan, who was in the living room, heard his daughter's cheerful voice and quickly responded loudly, "Yes, I'm back."

He walked towards the room while talking and laughing. He leaned against the door and looked at the mother and daughter on the bed. His stern brows softened and there was tenderness in his eyes.

He smiled and asked softly, "Why hasn't our Qinqin gone to bed yet?"

Xia Qinqin sat on the bed and said with a smile: "I'm going to wait for Dad to come back."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "She is listening to a story. She is in a particularly good mood tonight. I have read her two stories and she is still not asleep."

Xia Junshan walked to the bed, touched his daughter's hair, and said with a smile: "Aren't you sleepy today?"

Xia Qinqin smiled and said, "Hehe, I want to listen to daddy tell stories."

Xia Junshan picked up the storybook and flipped through it, saying, "How about Daddy tell you a story about a shepherd boy?"

"Okay~"

After coaxing their daughter to sleep, Xia Junshan and Meng Yufei tiptoed out of the room.

Meng Yufei lowered her voice and said, "Director Wang told me this afternoon that the commander has given you the matter of Tong Caifeng being bitten by a snake to investigate. How is your investigation going?"

Xia Junshan said: "I estimate that there will be results in the next two days." He did not elaborate on the details of the afternoon's investigation.

Meng Yufei didn't ask any more questions, just nodded and said, "That's good. Catch the person who released the snake as soon as possible, so that everyone can sleep peacefully. In the past few days, many people in the family compound are afraid to sleep at night, and the noise has made people panic."

Xia Junshan said: "Don't worry, the matter will be resolved soon."

…

The Fang sisters were lying on the bed, and Chen Xiaohua also squeezed into a bed with them. Fortunately, Chen Xiaohua was very thin, and the two children were not big either, so they could barely fit in.

Hearing Chen Xiaohua's snoring, Fang Lai Di slowly turned over. Fang Xiang Di whispered, "Sister, you're not asleep either?"

"Yeah." Fang Lai Di said softly.

Fang Xiangdi said, "The dolls at sister Qinqin's house are so fun."

Fang Lai Di said, "When I save up some money, I'll buy you one too."

"Aunt Meng is so gentle. I wish she was our mother."

"…Our mother is in the hospital."

"Sister, I don't like our mother."

"There's nothing I can do if I don't like it. It's getting late. Go to bed."

"oh……"