"What's the situation now?" Xiao Fan asked.
Yu Shaoheng replied, "Brother Yuan and the brigade leader and accountant are both guarding the cowshed. Maodou has already gone to the commune to pick up the police."
"I'll go take a look too," Xiao Fan said.
"Oh, aren't you tired? Why are you still going to watch the fun? I'll go too."
Yu Shaoheng also followed along to the cowshed.
At the cowshed, Lu Guoan, Zhang Yongan, and several brigade cadres were guarding the body of the old man in the cowshed.
Lu Yuan looked around.
Lin Xiaofang sat on the ground, hugging her legs and huddled in a corner, trembling slightly.
There were also quite a few onlookers whispering among themselves.
Xiao Fan and Yu Shaoheng pushed through the crowd and saw the old man's body lying under the eaves outside the cowshed.
This is right on the roof steps, and it looks like he slipped and fell down the roof steps, hitting his head on a sharp stone by the roadside.
Blood was everywhere, and the person was gone.
"Brother Yuan!" Xiao Fan called out.
Lu Yuan turned his head. "You're back."
"Yeah, I'm back. I heard something happened here, so I came to check it out. What's the situation now?" Xiao Fan asked.
Lu Yuan glanced at Lin Xiaofang, who was huddled in the corner, and said, "The old man's death was probably not an accident, but rather something deliberate."
Xiao Fan followed his gaze, frowned, and nodded.
I have no doubt about Lu Yuan's judgment.
Soon, the police station arrived. Upon hearing that something had happened at the Changhe Brigade, the station chief, Song Minghao, personally led the team over.
Since they were all old acquaintances, there wasn't much small talk. After exchanging greetings, they got straight to the point.
"Can anyone tell me what exactly happened?" Song Minghao asked.
Lu Guoan quickly recounted the events.
“When I got off work today, Lin Xiaofang, a former educated youth, ran to our house in a panic and said that the old man living in the cowshed had accidentally fallen to his death. When Accountant Zhang and I came over, we saw the old man lying in the cowshed like this, already dead.”
"So you mean the person was already dead when you arrived, and no one has touched the scene since, and it's been like this ever since?" Song Minghao asked.
Lu Guoan nodded, "Yes, we didn't disturb the scene. Afterwards, we sent someone to call Lu Yuan. After he came over and examined the scene, he suspected it was tampered with, so we immediately sent someone to report the case."
Song Minghao asked Lu Yuan, "Why do you suspect it was deliberate?"
Lu Yuan pointed to the corpse and asked, "Didn't Director Song notice that the old man's lying posture was wrong?"
Song Minghao looked at the position of the person lying with the back of their head on the ground, but didn't think there was anything wrong with it, so he could only shake his head.
"No, please clarify, Comrade Lu."
Lu Yuan said, "Judging from the current situation, it seems that the old man fell down the steps, then fell backward and hit the back of his head on a stone, injuring his head and dying."
Everyone nodded in unison, "That's right, that's exactly it."
Lu Yuan continued, "Now let's assume the old man is going up the steps to enter the cowshed. Think about it, if someone trips while going up the steps, which direction would they fall in?"
“Of course it will fall forward,” Yu Shaoheng said.
Lu Yuan nodded, "Yes, normally you would fall forward, especially since this old man always walks with his back hunched, so if he tripped while going up the steps, his posture would be incorrect."
Everyone suddenly realized.
"Yes, the old man didn't fall forward, but backward. It looks like someone pushed him from the front."
"So, the old man's death really was caused by someone."
"It's probably true."
Some people have raised questions, such as, "Could he have fallen while going down the stairs?"
Lu Yuan nodded again, "That's entirely possible."
Then the conversation shifted abruptly, "But have you ever thought about what posture you should adopt when you fall down the stairs?"
Some people say, "Lean back."
Some people say, "It might be lunging forward."
"Yes, it's possible to slip and fall backwards while going down the steps, or to step on the edge of the steps and lose your balance and fall forward, but it's unlikely to fall forward and land on the back of your head."
The crowd erupted in uproar, nodding in agreement and agreeing that Lu Yuan's words made perfect sense.
Song Minghao agreed with Lu Yuan's analysis and hurriedly stepped forward to carefully examine the body.
A moment later, he discovered other clues.
"There were scratch marks on the back of the deceased's hands."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Yuan keenly noticed that Lin Xiaofang, who was huddled in the corner, subconsciously withdrew her hand.
With a slight narrowing of his eyes, he said directly, "Director Song, Lin Xiaofang is highly suspicious."
Lin Xiaofang immediately became agitated, "Lu Yuan, you're talking nonsense! This is purely retaliation. Just because we have a conflict, you're slandering me like this."
Then he said to Song Minghao, "Director Song, you must not believe Lu Yuan's nonsense. I have no grudge against this old man and there is no reason for me to kill him."
"Besides, how could I, a girl, possibly have the guts to kill someone? Chief Song, you must do justice for me."
Song Minghao looked at Lin Xiaofang, then at Lu Yuan, and finally fixed his gaze on Lu Yuan, asking, "Comrade Lu, why do you say Lin Xiaofang is a strong suspect?"
"There are two reasons. Lin Xiaofang was recently punished to work in the cowshed and lives here. Given her personality, she must look down on the old man who was sent down to the cowshed and will definitely cause trouble for him often. As a result, the two are likely to have a conflict, and it is not impossible that she might push him down."
"What is the second reason?" Song Minghao asked.
Lu Yuan continued, "The second reason is Lin Xiaofang's behavior just now. When Director Song mentioned that the deceased had scratches on his hands, Lin Xiaofang subconsciously tried to hide her hands."
"I didn't," Lin Xiaofang glared at Lu Yuan and retorted loudly.
Song Minghao waved to his subordinates, "Have you taken him back for questioning?"
Several police officers rushed forward to arrest her, but Lin Xiaofang threw a tantrum and acted unreasonably.
"Let me go! Let me go! It wasn't me! He fell and died on his own! It has nothing to do with me..."
The police officers remained unmoved and dragged the man onto the tractor.
Lin Xiaofang was on the verge of collapse, glaring at Lu Yuan with resentment and hysterical screams, "Lu Yuan, you'll die a horrible death! You took Mo Lijuan's life back then, and now you want mine too!"
"You are so vicious, I will never let you go, I will haunt you even as a ghost."
"Behave yourself!"
The police reminded her, and pressed down hard on her hand while holding her down.
Lin Xiaofang was in pain, but remained unmoved and continued to curse.
Xiao Fan was furious. How dare they insult the head of the Xiao family like that? They must be tired of living.
He looked around and finally looked at Yu Shaoheng.
"Take off your socks."
Yu Shaoheng was confused. "Why do I have to take off my socks?"
Xiao Fan: "Just take it off when I tell you to. Why are you talking so much nonsense?"
Yu Shaoheng said "oh" and obediently took off his shoes and then his socks.
Xiao Fan held his breath, grabbed the sock, and stuffed it into Lin Xiaofang's mouth.
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