Murder in a locked room bed and breakfast (21)
The ashes belonged to Long Shihua, but who was Long Shihua? All this made Meng Siqi very suspicious.
If Long Shihua is Long Shanwen's relative, such as her father, then what is the point of her leaving her father's ashes and hiding them in the B&B?
After handing the death certificate to Feng Shaomin, the two squatted under the osmanthus tree and fell into deep thought.
"It seems that we need to find out who Long Shihua is first. Why is this case becoming more and more suspenseful?" Feng Shaomin rarely complains, but this time he really feels something unbelievable.
Feng Shaomin handed her the death certificate and put it away. He stood up and said, "Take the evidence back first. We will clean up the scene next time."
Meng Siqi felt exhausted and slowly stood up. She held a flashlight in one hand and the letter containing the death certificate in the other. She felt even more confused.
On the way down the mountain, she lay in the chair, still not understanding what Yu Long Shanwen said on his birthday. She said treasure, but this was not really a treasure. Long Shanwen worked so hard, but left behind a death certificate of his "father". What did that prove?
She didn't believe that the message left by Long Shanwen was so vague. At this moment, she suddenly remembered that when Zeng Wen Huizhi received the letter, the other party also left a message in the letter, which was written on the inside of the envelope.
She quickly picked up the envelope, shone the flashlight inside, and sure enough, she saw the handwriting.
She was a little excited for a moment, and quickly tore open the envelope. After opening it completely, she finally saw the words left by Long Shanwen: Thank you for reading this letter. I may have died, and my ashes belong to Kong Qushan. I believe you will understand why the death certificate says it is my uncle!
Gui Xiangyang and I killed someone by mistake. We did something wrong and we both deserve retribution. I have been living in regret for the past few years. My life has long been meaningless. I hope to come here every year to confess to you!
Long Shanwen. February 1986.
"I confess to you", that must refer to Kong Qushan.
Meng Siqi seemed to understand everything Long Shanwen said.
*
It was around seven in the evening, on the road outside a residential community.
Zhang Hui had just come out of Han Changlin's house. She complained all the way about Han Changlin's cold-bloodedness and good-for-nothingness. At the same time, she urged Gui Xiangyang to draw a clear line with Han Changlin in the future.
She, Gui Xiangyang and Xu Lanfang were walking on the side of the road. Han Changlin's community and Xu Lanfang's community were not far away, only about a mile apart.
Gui Xiangyang came here today in an imported Mercedes-Benz, but he asked the driver to drive back because he decided to walk back with his family.
After all, life in the police station was not easy, and he also wanted to breathe some fresh air, stroll on the free streets, and listen to his wife's complaints, feeling very comfortable.
“Woo woo woo…”
Just as Zhang Hui was complaining, in the distance, sirens blared long and long. The alternating red and blue lights were extremely dazzling in the dark night, and her steps suddenly became heavy.
Three police cars stopped in front of the three people in an instant, and seven or eight policemen quickly got out of the cars. Among them was a female police officer. She had seen her before. She had visited Xiangyang in the hospital that time.
The policewoman looked solemn. In the red and blue flashes, her eyes were like burning fire and sea. She stood straight and displayed the arrest warrant: "Gui Xiangyang, we are the criminal police from the Municipal Bureau. We have solid evidence regarding your suspected murder of Kong Qushan. Please follow us!"
In Gui Xiangyang's eyes, not only was reflected the stern face of the female police officer, but also an ironclad arrest warrant.
His face turned pale and he broke out in a cold sweat. He said in defense, "What are you doing? How could I kill someone? My brother-in-law is right here. You can ask him. Ask him as much as you want..."
The middle-aged policeman said sternly, "Gui Xiangyang, it's almost done, let's go back to the police station and talk."
A pair of silver handcuffs were immediately fastened on Gui Xiangyang's hands.
Xu Lanfang was dumbfounded and stunned the whole time until her daughter Zhang Hui suddenly fainted and fell to the ground, then she reacted.
"Hui, Hui, what's wrong with you..." Xu Lanfang fell to the ground and burst into tears.
"Master, we need to call an ambulance," the policewoman reminded.
At around nine o'clock in the evening, Gui Xiangyang sat in the interrogation room without saying a word. Meng Siqi presided over the interrogation, Feng Shaomin and Tang Xiaochuan sat beside her, and Zhao Leiting took notes.
After being asked three times, Gui Xiangyang remained silent. However, this time he was not as arrogant as last time. His eyelids drooped and his eyes lacked luster.
Meng Siqi said, "Our forensic team has already opened the coffin and performed an autopsy. As long as it is proven that the body in Long Shihua's tomb is his, then the ashes are undoubtedly Kong Qushan's. Do you still want to wait for the forensic certificate before you confess?"
In that era, there was no DNA technology to confirm, so Kong Qushan’s ashes could not directly prove that it was him, but one death certificate could not have two remains, and this was where the evidence lay.
After testing by the technical department, it was confirmed that the handwriting on the letter was undoubtedly Long Shanwen's own, and the handwriting on the death certificate was exactly Gui Xiangyang's handwriting. Combined with Long Shanwen's own statement, the evidence against Gui Xiangyang was solid.
Meng Siqi added: "The death certificate also has three people's fingerprints, one is yours, one is Long Shanwen's, and the other one is probably someone you know, who should be the crematorium worker who cremated Kong Qushan's body. Without the death certificate, cremation was not allowed."
Seeing that Gui Xiangyang still didn't speak, Meng Siqi said sternly: "Don't be complacent. Under certain circumstances, fingerprints on paper can be preserved for many years."
Gui Xiangyang raised his drooping eyelids, with a bitter smile on his lips: "I can explain... explain..."
Gui Xiangyang lost his original arrogance. With a blank expression on his face, he began to recount the past events. In his mouth, he mostly called him "Shanwen" instead of "Long Shanwen".
In the spring of 1984, Long Shanwen, who had just turned 17, came to join the big family of Dandelion Textile Factory with a small schoolbag on his back and full of energy.
At that time, she was taller than other girls. Her pair of black braids draped over her back made her look particularly beautiful. Her small face was a little thin and yellowish, but it had the kind of beauty that made people remember it at first sight. She had big, bright eyes, a small and delicate nose, and lips that looked like they were dotted with cinnabar.
She looked at the large dandelion logo on the factory gate and felt extremely excited. She envisioned a bright future, wanting to be the most hardworking worker in the textile factory and a skilled worker that everyone praised.
The Dandelion Textile Factory is the largest light industrial factory in the northern part of Jinyang City. With the development of the economy, the scale of the textile factory has gradually expanded, with more than a thousand workers, becoming a famous factory known far and wide.
Long Shanwen lost both her parents when she was young. She has lived with her uncle and aunt since she was eight years old. They raised her. Her uncle, Long Shihua, has been a worker in a textile factory, so Long Shanwen and Long Shihua have always lived in the factory's family building. Because the living area is very close to the textile factory, it is also commonly known as the Textile Compound.
At the end of 1983, Long Shihua retired from the textile factory due to poor health, and the extra vacancy naturally fell to Long Shanwen.
Long Shanwen was grateful for the kindness of his uncle Long Shihua, and also made a promise to his aunt Xu Lanlan that he would make good money to take good care of them in their old age.
In the textile factory, she met her roommates Ding Qian, Xia Sulan and Sun Yuanyuan. Ding Qian and Xia Sulan were a little older than her, while Sun Yuanyuan was a little younger than her, but they also became her best friends throughout her life.
Her beauty in the textile factory soon spread, and many factory workers came to see her.
Liuliu was one of them. He was the son of an old factory leader and was a tyrant in the factory. He brought a few people to block the four people returning from the cafeteria. He was short and rude. He grabbed Long Shanwen's braid and said, "Oh, it looks so good, Long Shanwen. I am very satisfied with you. Be good to me and I will not treat you badly."
Long Shanwen had very little social experience, and she stood there in a daze for a moment, her big round eyes filled with moist mist. This made Liuliu like her even more, and she reached out to touch her little face.
"What are you doing?" A hand knocked Liu Liu's hand away, and it was Ding Qian's scolding voice.
"Ding Qian, don't refuse my toast and drink the wine for punishment." Liu Liu roared, "How dare you stop me!"
"Why? Just because you are the leader's son," Ding Qian sneered, "you can do whatever you want and bully others."
"What do you mean? You don't want to do this here anymore. Brothers, drag him out for me." Liu Liu waved his hand, and his brothers rushed forward immediately.
Long Shanwen was so scared that his face turned pale. However, at this time, Xia Sulan and Sun Yuanyuan both stood up and followed Ding Qian to fight with a few hooligans.
They were all little girls and could not endure the beating. Immediately, they all had bruises on their faces. Sun Yuanyuan was the youngest and she burst into tears immediately.
Long Shanwen hugged Sun Yuanyuan and cried loudly: "Stop hitting me, I beg you..."
"What's going on? Stop it!" Colleagues from the security department ran over and started a fight.
Half an hour later, Long Shanwen and Ding Qian were called to the security department. The four of them stood in a row, and the head of the department asked sternly, "What's going on? Why did you fight?"
Ding Qian said: "Why don't you ask Liu Liu? He was the one who bullied Shan Wen first."
"Wouldn't you hide when he bullied you? This factory is so big, and you still won't run away. What's the matter? You have to make some trouble and get punished before you are happy, right?"
All four of them felt extremely aggrieved, but in a textile factory, the leader is everything, and the head of the security department would not help these four little girls without any background.
After returning to the dormitory, Long Shanwen took out iodine and alcohol and wiped the bruises on Ding Qian and the others' faces and bodies.
Sun Yuanyuan looked at herself in the mirror and said coquettishly, "Am I disfigured?"
Long Shanwen felt guilty, "Yuanyuan, when I have money in the future I will buy you the best cosmetics."
However, Ding Qian smiled at this time: "Shanwen, it's not about cosmetics. Don't worry, it will be fine in a week at most."
"Sister Shanwen, please be nice to me in the future." Sun Yuanyuan said to her with tears in her eyes.
"Yes." Long Shanwen nodded heavily. She planted a seed in her heart that she must repay them in the future.
Time passed quickly, and in the textile factory, Long Shanwen spent the happiest time of his life under the protection and love of his three sisters.
In the blink of an eye, it was 1986, and all kinds of rumors came out of the textile factory, saying that the textile factory's economic performance was not good and it might have to lay off a large number of employees.
This news was like a sudden disaster, making the workers in the factory unable to sleep or eat. They had all worked in the textile factory for many years. Once they left the textile factory, what would happen to their future lives?
This news was soon confirmed, and the textile factory held a staff meeting, saying that the textile factory was going to carry out technological innovation. In the next period of time, the workers' wages would be greatly reduced, and the money saved would be used for the textile factory's scientific research work. The factory director promised that once the research and development was successful, everyone's salary would be increased.
The factory is committed to technological reform, and all the workers have mixed feelings. At least they don't have to leave their jobs, and they have kept their jobs. As long as they share the hardships with the factory, they will surely be able to overcome the difficulties and usher in spring.
Even though the wages were meager or even stopped, the enthusiasm of the entire textile factory did not diminish. Everyone hoped to stay here during the most difficult period of the factory through their own performance and stay here for the rest of their lives.
However, the so-called scientific research is just a joke in the textile factory. The factory director Gui Wenjin knows that the fate of the textile factory has come to an end. Times are changing and it is time for him to let go. But this is not something he can decide alone. He started this giant ship in the beginning, and today he has no say in turning around, changing direction, or stopping the voyage.
He watched helplessly as the factory leaders conducted absurd and disturbing "scientific research".
The main leaders of the factory began to look for external assistance, looking for wealthy companies to invest or inject funds to revive the factory.
But all these come at a price. The ugliness of human nature gradually emerges in the face of money. In order to achieve cooperation, the main leaders of the factory began to engage in various money-for-sex transactions.
There are a large number of young female workers in textile factories. They are the labor force when the textile factories are operating normally, and they are also the last straw before the factories are about to close down.
As long as they dress them up and send them to the table to drink and sleep with them, their scientific research plans will continue.
Without wages, many families faced difficulties and could not get treatment for major and minor illnesses. Some female workers were forced to work as bartenders, where they would receive a meager reward, and thus became the gravel crushed by the wheels in this disaster.
Long Shanwen was also soon involved in this catastrophe, but she didn't want to do that. She knew what it meant to be a hostess. She had her own ideals and wanted a good life. She would never sell herself out; that was her bottom line.
However, things were not as she imagined. She heard the news that her elder brother Long Shihua fell ill in the hospital. The hospital notified her that she could either get a kidney transplant or wait to die.
A kidney transplant requires a large sum of money, which is not something an average family can afford in this day and age, and there is no guarantee that the operation will be successful.
She was called into the room by Aunt Xu Lanlan. The two sat on the bed. Xu Lanlan held her frail hands. "Shanwen, uncle and aunt are sorry for you. You suffered a lot in our family. You thought that after your uncle retired and you got a job in the factory, life would get better and better. Sigh... You also know that uncle and aunt have no children. We raised you to take care of you in your old age. Now the factory is in trouble and you have no salary. Your uncle is suffering in the hospital bed. Aunt is so upset."
Xu Lanlan wiped her tears and started crying.
"Auntie, don't be sad." Long Shanwen's name contains the word "Shan" (goodness). She was born a kind child. When she was a child, she would even avoid ants passing by on the ground for fear of stepping on them.
Such a big thing happened at home at this time, she was heartbroken, but she had no choice. This happened just after she joined the factory, and it was not something she could control.
Seeing that Long Shanwen did not reply, Xu Lanlan grabbed her hand again, knelt down in front of her, and cried, "Shanwen, you must save your uncle. It was your uncle who watched you grow up. If he dies, our family will be gone..."
Long Shanwen was startled and quickly picked up Xu Lanlan, "Auntie, what do you want me to do?"
Xu Lanlan got up with tears in her eyes. "Don't you have many female workers in your factory who can make money? You should also think of a way. I don't care how much money it is, but at least you can make your uncle's death less painful."
Long Shanwen's face turned pale. She knew what the old lady was talking about. Recently, the factory leaders had held several talks with her, hoping that she would help the factory to progress and overcome difficulties, but Long Shanwen refused every time.
But today, she seemed unable to decide her own life. Amid the old lady's crying, Long Shanwen was forced to nod his head.
When Long Shanwen decided to send herself out, she knew there was no turning back, but she had no choice. When the director of the factory women's federation learned that she agreed, she smiled and made arrangements for her.
Soon a banquet was held, and Long Shanwen became the most beautiful hostess at the banquet. The partner liked her very much. She drank a lot of wine for the first time that day, but after drinking she was sent back to the textile factory.
After receiving the twenty yuan, Long Shanwen began to feel that there was hope in her life. This was almost equivalent to her one month's salary. She wrapped the twenty yuan in an envelope and asked someone to deliver it to Xu Lanlan.
Immediately afterwards, Long Shanwen started the second banquet, where she and two female workers served the wine.
This banquet was much more grand than the last one. It was held to entertain several wealthy Hong Kong businessmen. Except for the factory director, all the main leaders of the factory attended.
Long Shanwen was arranged to sit next to a big boss of Hong Kong businessmen, who was probably in his forties, with a neatly combed back hair, a shiny face, and a single golden tooth visible when he smiled.
Jin Ya seemed to like her particularly. He didn't care about the toasts from the factory leaders, but toasted her alone. Long Shanwen didn't dare to say anything, but just sat there passively, feeling very uneasy. When Jin Ya toasted, he told her to say a few words and drink it all.
Long Shanwen agreed and drank a glass of wine in one gulp. She felt uncomfortable and covered her mouth with her hands.
Jin Ya was very satisfied and said in Cantonese: "That's right, I don't like raising goldfish, I just like girls like you, great!"
After three rounds of drinking, Long Shanwen was already drunk, her vision a little blurry, and Jin Ya grabbed her little hand.
At that moment, Long Shanwen came to her senses. She wanted to escape and struggle, but Jin Ya was very strong and she had no choice but to let him rub and caress her.
After the banquet, the group saw the Hong Kong businessmen off. In front of several Mercedes-Benz cars, the other two girls were pushed into the Mercedes-Benz cars while walking drunk and returned to the hotel with the Hong Kong businessmen.
Jin Ya held Long Shanwen's hand and led them to the door of the Benz. He smiled and waved to the several factory leaders who were all smiling happily, "Go back, I'll take Miss Long back to the hotel to get some documents."
"Boss Jin, I'm going to trouble you," the deputy factory manager said, bowing his head in front of him, "Please consider it seriously. You must consider our factory seriously."
"Don't worry, I'm a very generous person."
The deputy factory manager nodded repeatedly and reminded Long Shanwen: "Boss Jin is the savior of our factory. You must take good care of Boss Jin today. You are a hero and the factory will reward you."
The night breeze blew, and Long Shanwen was half sober. She suddenly felt despair. She didn't want to get into that car, and she didn't want to be with President Jin. She knew what the outcome of tonight would be if she went back with him.
When President Jin pulled her hand and wanted to help her to the back seat, Long Shanwen held on to the car door tightly.
Her eyes were red and tears were falling.
Mr. Jin was a little unhappy for a moment. The factory leader panicked and quickly stepped forward to persuade him: "What's the matter, Long Shanwen? Are you planning to desert the textile factory now?"
"I won't go, I won't go..." Long Shanwen burst into tears, confusing everyone for a moment.
President Jin shook off Long Shanwen's hand and said angrily, "Is this your sincerity?"
Several factory leaders immediately took action on both sides. Two of them advised Mr. Jin not to be anxious, while two others advised Long Shanwen to consider the overall situation.
The situation was a bit embarrassing for a while.
Suddenly, a tall man with long arms came over, grabbed Long Shanwen's wrist, and said loudly: "If you don't like it, then follow me!"
Everyone looked and realized that the man was none other than the son of the factory director Gui Wenjin, Gui Xiangyang.
At this time, he was 26 years old, in the prime of his life. Moreover, because his father was the factory director, he had been promoted to office director and held great power in the factory.