Chapter 080 Ebony Basin
No one expected that Qiu Paner would be jealous of the anti-trafficking work.
Tian Jiaguang was filled with disgust, but he managed to keep a smile on his face as he coaxed her, "She's just a paper tiger. No matter how cocky she is, she's no match for you. You were pregnant, yet you still managed to work for such a long time. In my heart, no one can compare to you."
Seeing Qiu Pan'er's expression soften, Tian Jiaguang continued, "How's the search for a replacement going lately? Have you found anyone suitable?"
Qiu Paner frowned, a worried look on her face: "It's not that easy."
She lost interest in watching the fun and supported Tian Jiaguang as they walked back: "Jiaguang, I did as you said and found a few people with suitable conditions, but they..."
The two of them left, but it didn't affect the other onlookers at all.
Old Mrs. Su squeezed into the crowd and said earnestly, "Xiao Nan, isn't it dangerous for you to be so prominent now? Look, although it's good for a girl to be a police officer, it's very dangerous. And when you get married to the boy from the Zhou family, you won't have time to take care of the family. How can this be possible? Girls should still take care of the family and put the family first. Give birth to children, be considerate to men, and take care of parents-in-law. This is what we women should do, right? Grandma Su is doing this for your own good. You, don't be a police officer. Leave this job to my Dazhi..."
Before Old Lady Su could finish her words, someone snorted, "I'm talking to the Su family. Even if Xiaonan didn't want to be a police officer, this job wouldn't have fallen into your family's hands, right? Why, you're unwilling to let your daughter-in-law give up a high salary, but you also want your grandson to have a job and not go to the countryside. You want everything. Why don't you want to go to heaven?"
"Exactly. How can some people be so naive? A few days ago, they were saying that Cheng's Gaigai was getting married and shouldn't be working. They wanted Gaigai to work, but they didn't even take a piss to look in the mirror. How can they be so shameless!"
Old Lady Liu snorted, "She's not shameless, she's shameless! If she dares to covet my Gaigai's job again, I'll beat her Dazhi every time I think about it. Humph, who's afraid of who!"
Grandma Su snorted angrily: "How can you be so heartless? Dazhi is my only grandson, how can you bear to see him suffer in the countryside? Xiaonan doesn't want to work, so you should let him work. Gao, Yuan, Dong, we have good relations, please have pity on my Dazhi. Hey, why are you leaving..."
Everyone was shocked by Grandma Su's shamelessness. This was a complete rogue act. Since they were not related to her, no one would tolerate her. They all said "Puh" and walked away with rolled eyes.
Grandma Su cried but no one paid any attention to her. Singing, reciting, acting and fighting all require an audience. She felt bored after performing her monologue for a while, so she put on a frown and went home to think of a solution.
Just when everyone thought the farce was over, the next day, when Jiang Nan got off work, she heard that Su Dazhi was getting married! And to a lesbian who had a job, and that lesbian had promised to give him her job after marriage!
Jiang Nan definitely couldn't miss such an outrageous thing. After work, she didn't rush home. She stayed downstairs with a group of gossiping uncles and aunts, listening to gossip for an hour.
Old Lady Liu: "What's wrong with that girl's brain? She agreed to something so outrageous? Is she pregnant?"
She slapped her thigh, and the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. "That must be it, otherwise why would she agree to give the job to that brat Su Dazhi! She must be pregnant with someone else's child, and she's looking for Su Dazhi to take over!"
Old Lady Sui laughed. This kid wants to learn the splits like their Qiangzi, right? He deserves it! She gloated, "This is 99% exactly what Sister Liu said. Think about it, Su Dazhi has no looks, no family background, and what's the point of marrying him and giving him a job? He's definitely not just bored, there must be a reason."
"Yeah, I never know."
"What's the guarantee? It must be the case."
This matter was too outrageous. Even Jiang Mancheng and Chen Jinhua who had just returned from get off work, as well as a group of younger people such as Fang Nanshan, Wu Jianguo, Qiu Paner and others, could not help but stop and want to see the brave female warrior who bravely stepped into the fire pit.
Jiang Mancheng was a friend of women, so he was amused by what he heard. He asked with a smile, "Aunt Liu, have you seen that man? What does he look like?"
Old Lady Liu looked disdainful: "What? You look so stupid! You look miserable, like you just came out of a medicinal soup, like you've been tortured by the old society for decades. You don't look like you come from a good family."
Jiang Mancheng: "Aunt Liu, you are really biased."
Old Lady Liu squinted her eyes and said, "What prejudice do I have? Pah, what she did is not worthy of my prejudice. If I had a granddaughter like this, I would chop her into pieces."
Jiang Mancheng laughed: "Oh, Aunt Liu, you are here! You have seen this before, why are you still waiting here? It's time for dinner."
Old Lady Liu snorted, "Isn't this a rare fool? I'm waiting for my daughter Gaigai. I have to see her. If Gaigai dares to imitate her, I'll beat her."
Cheng Gaigai was embarrassed: "Grandma, what are you talking about?"
"Grandma, you're serious!" Old Lady Liu said sternly, "You got this job on your own. Even if you marry Aihua, you can't listen to his family's nonsense and give the job to Aihua's brothers. Do you hear me? They're all good-for-nothings. They don't have jobs themselves, and yet they still want to be his sister-in-law. What a wishful thinking!"
Cheng Gaigai nodded and said firmly, "Grandma, I know everything."
As I was educating my granddaughter, more and more people gathered around. Fortunately, it was winter time and we were off work at 5:30 pm, otherwise it would have been even later.
Everyone waited until almost 6:30 when they finally saw Su Dazhi escorting two women downstairs. One was clearly a matchmaker, with a typical business-like smile on her face. The other was today's heroine, about 25 or 26 years old, with only delicate features, dark skin, and a slightly rough appearance. Her thin figure detracted from her already ordinary appearance. Her clothes were so simple that she didn't look like a worker, but rather like a common young wife in the village.
Jiang Nan was stunned, thinking that every evildoer needs another evildoer, and the Su family has finally met its match.
As soon as Jiang Mancheng saw his daughter's expression, he knew there was something going on, and hurriedly pulled Jiang Nan upstairs. Zhou Zhixing and Chen Jinhua, the two gossipers, of course followed immediately.
As soon as the door closed, Jiang Nan said, "That woman is an educated youth who has been stranded in the commune and hasn't returned home yet. She's trying to get married by deception."
Jiang Mancheng understood, but he was curious: "Why did she stay? Was she pretending to be sick? Does she have someone in the hospital?"
Jiang Nan glanced at Zhou Zhixing and whispered, "This female educated youth has an uncle who is the deputy director of logistics at the workers' hospital. He helped her get a month's sick leave."
Zhou Zhixing shrugged. "This kind of thing is inevitable. My uncle isn't involved, is he?"
Seeing Jiang Nan shaking his head, Zhou Zhixing felt relieved.
Jiang Nan continued, "His family heard about the Su family's affairs, and also heard about the incident with the Sui family. They thought that the Su and Sui families were in similar situations, and that Su Dazhi would have a job sooner or later, so they thought of deceiving her into marrying into the family. Coincidentally, her sister-in-law was a postman at the post office, and she pretended to be a postman. Postmen are usually out and about anyway, so she could put on her sister-in-law's clothes, and the post office bosses wouldn't know, and she could still deceive the Su family."
Jiang Mancheng laughed heartily: "Isn't this tailor-made for the Su family? Let's wait and see."
Jiang Nan remained silent. This sort of thing was basically a family matter. If no one reported it, she wouldn't risk exposing it. Grandma Su had been coveting her job just a few days ago; she still held a grudge.
While everyone was discussing Su Dazhi's marriage, the four of them secretly bought some fruits to try, as a way of celebrating the success of Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing's presentation.
There were many people at the operation site. After the lecture in the FRP community, lectures were given in Courtyard No. 1 and Courtyard No. 2, Xihe'an Brigade, and Kaoshantun Brigade, in an effort to make everyone aware of the human traffickers' scams and avoid being deceived.
The Operations Department's four promotional events had been very effective, so the Oilfield Headquarters sent someone to invite Group 6 to give a presentation. Shen Mingguang agreed and, along with Lan Qingshan, went to talk to Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing.
"Xiao Nan, Zhi Xing, you two have done a great job in your publicity work. I called you here this time to ask about your plans for future work. Xiao Nan, you are a female field officer trained by the police station. If you want to continue your publicity work and switch to office work..."
Jiang Nan immediately said, "Director, I don't want to switch to office work."
Understanding the two directors' intentions in calling her, Jiang Nan immediately said, "Director, I've been wanting to talk to you for a while. I've already given four or five presentations, and with this trip to headquarters, I think Sister He Lin can completely replace me and handle the rest of the presentations. I want to continue working in the field, solving cases and catching thieves!"
Lan Qingshan heaved a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he didn't want Jiang Nan to be in the spotlight, but it was too difficult for their police station to train a female field officer. Especially someone like Jiang Nan, who not only had kung fu skills but also had a high sensitivity in investigating cases. It would be a shame if she were to switch to office work.
"Okay, I'm glad you think that way. I know everyone has concerns about female field officers and thinks they're dangerous. But since we've chosen to be police officers, we can't be afraid of such things. You're still young, and this is the time to strive for your career. You can't be picky about your job. Besides, although field work is hard, it has a bright future, right?"
Shen Mingguang continued to make promises: "As long as you do well, your future is bright. Field team leader, deputy director, director, even the director of the General Administration, look, which one of them didn't come from our field work? You work hard, Director Shen and I are watching, and we will definitely not let your sweat be in vain."
After making a big promise, he began to offer practical solutions: "Don't worry, the police station will still let you go to the headquarters for this presentation. But from then on, He Lin will be in charge. We will be on the field, so we can focus on the scene and solve the case."
Jiang Nan immediately became happy. She didn't like doing repetitive work, and she was happier than anyone else to let others do the presentation.
When going to the headquarters, they had to bring some things for Grandpa Chen Wanli, as well as their eldest and second uncles. After work, Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing rode their bikes to the department store and the supply and marketing cooperative to see if there was anything they could buy as gifts.
Jiang Nan said happily: "I'm going there the day after tomorrow. I have to buy something that can be stored."
Zhou Zhixing nodded: "Cloth?"
He whispered, "If we want to buy fabric, we can go to Grandma Lan instead of going to the department store..."
As the two were talking, they saw from afar that the front of the department store was crowded with people, all talking in a flurry, their eyes full of excitement.
Jiang Nan jumped out of the car, trotted over, and sweetly asked the aunt next to her, "Auntie, what's going on? Can't we enter the department store?"
The aunt, who was over forty, was so delighted to be called "Big Sister" by a little girl that she giggled. "Oh, little girls are really good at talking! Let me tell you, gold was found in the department store. Everyone wants to see it. I heard there are several kilograms of it. My God, several kilograms of gold! I'll be rich!"
"What?! Gold?!"
Well, without the police uniform, Jiang Nan is just an ignorant gossipy person.
"That's right." The aunt clapped her hands, more excited than if she had actually seen gold. "They say the Revolutionary Committee sent secondhand furniture to the third floor after they ransacked the house. I heard they brought in a bed this time, a very ordinary wooden one, but with an ebony headboard, which looks quite substantial. Guess what?"
"What's the matter? Big sister, please tell me quickly."
The old lady laughed heartily, feeling quite proud of her own eloquence. "Oh, that bed was so heavy! When the two young men were carrying it up to the third floor, they accidentally let go and it fell down with a thud, cracking the headboard! Oh my god, it's full of gold! I heard it weighed several kilograms."
"What do you mean by several kilograms? The gold on the bedside table must be several kilograms. The Revolutionary Committee is rich now."
Jiang Nan asked with concern, "So the department store is not letting you in now. Are they checking out those old furniture?"
"Of course they did. They found so much gold, I heard they'd tear even a bench leg apart to see what it was. The department store will definitely be closed today, so if you want to buy anything, go to the supply and marketing cooperative."
"Thank you, Auntie. I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative."
Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing got on their bikes and waited until they were far away from the crowd before Jiang Nan whispered, "It was Niu Er who led the raid this time, not Wan Hu. There's no information from him."
Zhou Zhixing thought for a moment and said, "That lady just now said the headboard was made of ebony?"
"Yes, ebony bedhead."
Zhou Zhixing scratched his chin and asked, "That ebony foot basin you bought last time, could it also have gold in it?"
Jiang Nan's eyes lit up, she screamed, bent down and quickly got on her bike, wishing she could fly home right now to check on her golden basin.
Zhou Zhixing smiled and said, "Okay, if you really want to see it, go slowly and don't bump into anyone."
"Don't be such a pessimist, I'm not like you. I've seen gold, silver, and jewelry in my past life, but I've never seen so much gold." Jiang Nan whispered, "Do you think the salesperson will remember that we bought the ebony basin? Will the Revolutionary Committee come looking for us?"
"No," Zhou Zhixing affirmed. "First, we bought it long ago, so this batch of ebony furniture and the ebony basins we bought are clearly not from the same family. Second, the department store clerks are working for the Revolutionary Committee for free, so they're not dedicated enough to keep track of who bought what. Most importantly, you have a system. We have the Revolutionary Committee's affairs under control, so what's there to be afraid of?"
Jiang Nan was happy. Yes, she had a system, so what was she afraid of?
"Let's go!"
The two returned home excitedly. Jiang Mancheng had already started cooking. Seeing Jiang Nan rushing straight to the bathroom upon arriving home, he asked curiously, "What's the rush? There's a public toilet downstairs. If you can't hold it in any longer, just use it and come back. Tell me, why are you being so pretentious? If you keep doing this, you'll get sick."
Jiang Nan brought out the ebony basin and motioned Jiang Mancheng to go into the house. After closing the door, he whispered to his parents about what happened in the department store.
Chen Jinhua was surprised: "You mean, this basin might be a golden basin?"
Jiang Nan nodded vigorously: "Oh, this is a lucky find I picked up, isn't it amazing?"
Jiang Mancheng grabbed the basin and said, "Stop talking nonsense and check if there is any gold in it."
The four of them stopped talking nonsense and watched Jiang Mancheng put the ebony basin on the table. The four of them kept circling around the basin.
The ebony basin was carved from a whole tree trunk, its walls two centimeters wide and very thick. Of course, it was also quite heavy, and every time Jiang Nan washed her feet, she was exhausted. But precisely because the basin was carved from the entire trunk, there wasn't even any wire to hold the barrel together, and the seams were invisible, making it impossible to tell how the gold was hidden there.
Chen Jinhua couldn't move it anymore. She scratched her head and said, "I don't see any mechanism. How about just splitting it open?"
Jiang Mancheng shook his head: "No, we have to be careful of those people from the Revolutionary Committee coming over, let's see."
Zhou Zhixing turned the basin upside down and pointed at the bottom. "Look here," he said, "this texture stretches from the top to the bottom. I've seen it before, and it's the largest crack in the basin. Could this be the seam?"
Jiang Mancheng lowered his head to take a closer look and nodded, "It's possible. Jinhua, go get the fruit knife. Let's try carefully and see if we can pry it open."
Chen Jinhua sighed and hurried to the cupboard to retrieve a thick fruit knife. Jiang Mancheng took the lead, carefully inserting the tip of the knife into the gap. The four of them held their breath, watching Jiang Mancheng's movements intently. There was a click, the unmistakable sound of the knife tip touching metal. The four of them exchanged glances. Gold! Iron hitting wood wouldn't make that sound.
Jiang Mancheng was encouraged and turned the knife handle more carefully. Zhou Zhixing, Jiang Nan and Chen Jinhua stretched out their hands to block the wooden basin to prevent the outer wall from suddenly cracking and falling to the ground with a noise.
Soon, the fruit knife made the gap in the wooden basin bigger and bigger. When golden color could be seen from the gap, Jiang Mancheng carefully took out the fruit knife and signaled Zhou Zhixing to grab the other side of the wooden basin. The two of them exerted force at the same time, and the outer wall of the wooden basin was opened. The golden basin, glittering with golden color, appeared in front of the four people. Jiang Nan and Chen Jinhua widened their eyes and hurriedly covered their mouths to avoid making exclamations like bumpkins.
Jiang Nan jumped twice silently. Haha, she washed her feet in a golden basin for several days. The ladies in the harem didn't have a better life than her, right? Hahaha.
Jiang Mancheng and Zhou Zhixing did the same thing, removing the ebony from the inside. Jiang Mancheng shook it and said, "At least three large yellow croakers."
Although the golden basin was large and looked impressive, it was polished to a very thin layer, so its overall weight was limited. However, Jiang Nan was already very satisfied. She had obtained it through luck, not by relying on the system.
Chen Jinhua swallowed her saliva and said, "What should I do with this basin? Xiaonan, are you really going to use this to wash your feet in the future?"
"Of course I use it." Jiang Nan said as a matter of course, "Of course I use it after I buy it. Dad, let's put it back and pretend nothing happened. We'll still do what we need to do in the future. Anyway, no one will know this is a golden basin."
Chen Jinhua muttered, "You're not afraid of shortening your life."
"Hehe." Jiang Nan smirked. "Others can't even shorten their lifespans. Mom, do you need it? I'll lend it to you to wash."
Chen Jinhua waved her hand: "No, I have a foot basin, I don't need this."
Jiang Nan giggled. Jiang Mancheng and Zhou Zhixing had admired it enough, so they carefully followed the grain and put the wooden basin back.
After admiring the golden basin, Jiang Mancheng opened the door and continued cooking, while Jiang Nan discussed with Chen Jinhua about going to the oil field headquarters.
"Mom, do you have anything to bring to Grandpa? I'll bring it over for you."
Chen Jinhua went inside and took out six pairs of cloth shoes. She handed them over and said, "These are the shoes I made for your grandfather and two uncles. Please take them over. Your grandfather and his uncles are always running around outside, and their shoes are worn out. We need to prepare a few more pairs of replacements."
Jiang Mancheng came in carrying a frying pan, frowning and asking, "Zhou Zhixing, what are you bringing? Have you found the tiger skin and tiger penis wine?"
Zhou Zhixing had a bitter face: "No, Xiaonan, is there anything for sale in the system? If not, let's buy it in the system. This thing is not easy to exchange."
Jiang Nan shook his head: "The alliance where the main system is located has animal protection laws and does not sell these things."
The two had no choice but to remain silent again.
Chen Jinhua said with a smile, "Okay, Dad was just teasing you two. He doesn't like drinking, so just give him something else."
Although they were so worried about the gifts that their heads went bald, time did not stop for them for a second, and the day to go to the headquarters soon arrived.
The 10th Operations Office is located in the eastern suburbs of Baishui City, while the oilfield headquarters is located in the southern suburbs. The journey takes nearly three hours. To facilitate travel between oilfield employees, Baishui City launched a long-distance bus route last year, with two daily trips. This time, I could go to headquarters without a car and simply take the bus.
Early that morning, Team 6, along with He Lin, Lan Qingshan, and Shen Mingguang, headed directly to the Operations Office building. After meeting with the office leadership, they took the bus to headquarters. Both police station chiefs were also there, as there had been new progress in the human trafficking case. Yesterday, headquarters had reported that a concerned citizen had provided the station with information about the human traffickers, and they were there to investigate.
Because it wasn't the first stop, there were no seats left when everyone boarded. They stood for three hours, and just when Jiang Nan was about to vomit from the bumpy ride, the bus finally arrived.
As soon as the car door opened, Jiang Nan rushed out with a pale face, holding onto a tree and retching.
Zhou Zhixing patted Jiang Nan on the back, unscrewed the military green water bottle, and handed it to him: "Drink some water."
Without vomiting anything, Jiang Nan straightened up and took a few deep breaths. "It's okay, it will be fine in a while. The car is too crowded and the air is not circulating. It's too uncomfortable."
He Lin was also retching beside him, and nodded when she heard this: "Yeah, that's why I don't like coming to headquarters. It's okay in the summer, the car windows are open, but it's really uncomfortable in the winter."
The two drank some water and finally felt better. It was almost eleven o'clock, and the Operations Department leader led everyone to the Publicity Department at headquarters. Jiang Nan had expected to see Section Chief Song from last time. The last time they'd checked the files, everyone had cooperated and not only had they apprehended Zong Fengxian, but Section Chief Song had also abducted the old team leader, Guan Shun. He wondered what Guan Shun was doing now.
However, Jiang Nan was obviously overthinking it. Section Chief Song was just making a guest appearance as the head of the Propaganda Department, but he didn't really work in the Propaganda Department.
The head of the Publicity Section, surnamed Fu, who greeted them warmly, took them to the headquarters cafeteria for lunch. Since it was an invitation from headquarters and they had sufficient funds, Section Chief Fu went directly to the cafeteria's small kitchen and ordered ten dishes, which everyone enjoyed well.
The lecture began at 2:00 PM. After lunch, the group headed to the venue. It was held in the open space in front of the Workers' Cultural Palace. A platform had been erected in the center, with the words "Chaoyang Oilfield Anti-Trafficking Campaign" waving in large letters above it. People began to arrive, carrying stools. Jiang Nan checked his watch. It was 12:30 PM. It seemed everyone was enthusiastic about the lecture.
They didn't rush to the stage, but instead, as usual, began "experimenting." Time ticked by, and leaders from headquarters and Baishui City arrived one after another. Among them, Chen Wanli, dressed in a Mao suit and holding a thermos cup, nodded reservedly at Jiang Nan and took a seat in a corner of the podium.
Jiang Nan chuckled, what an old cadre style.
Everyone was familiar with the presentation, and despite the presence of leaders from headquarters and Baishui City, Jiang Nan and the others didn't fret and delivered their speeches smoothly. Of course, the effect was excellent, as evidenced by the enthusiastic applause from the audience.
Because he still had to go to the Oilfield Public Security Bureau to inquire about the human traffickers, after the speech, Jiang Nan trotted over to say hello to Chen Wanli, hurriedly said he would stay at his home that night, and quickly followed the others to the Public Security Bureau.
Because the trafficker's portrait had been published in the newspaper, Jiang Nan's police station, other police stations in the Operations Department, the General Administration, and even the city police station all received tips from the public. But many of the tips sounded unreliable. Imagine someone reporting that they knew Tiger Brother and that Tiger Brother was actually a woman, who had only called Tiger Brother to deceive outsiders.
At first, Jiang Nan didn't rule out this possibility, even thinking it had opened up a new avenue of thought. But Matchmaker Huang's neighbor had seen Brother Hu and was certain he was a man, so Jiang Nan gave up the investigation. This time, the lead from headquarters was much more reliable. Someone said they had seen Brother Hu and could lead them to him.
Without delay, the group asked colleagues from the General Administration to take them to the person who reported the crime, Sun Jianshe. Sun Jianshe, a cleaner, had already finished work and was resting at home when they were found. When asked about the characteristics of the Tiger Brother he had seen, he clearly described his "hooked nose," but said the Tiger Brother he had seen had no beard and was a young man in his twenties.
Everyone looked at each other, hoping this trip wasn't in vain. Sun Jianshe saw the police were anxious, so he stood up and led everyone to look for someone. He said, "Yin Hu is the toilet cleaner. He..."
Sun Jianshe was a little embarrassed and whispered, "Everyone says that he's a devil kid born from a local woman when he was young! But his mother was already married to his father at the time and had sex with him. Then the devils came, so no one can explain it. But everyone is usually afraid to deal with this guy. He's a quiet, gloomy person, and it's uncomfortable to get along with him."
He pointed to the public toilet next to the guesthouse and said, "Yin Hu usually stays in a small room next to this public toilet. This public toilet is newly built. They say it's for leaders who come from the guesthouse on business trips, so they say they need to clean it more frequently. They even built a small room specifically for storing miscellaneous items. He had nowhere else to stay, so luckily he stayed here."
Shen Mingguang signaled He Lin and his colleagues from the General Administration to watch over Sun Jianshe. He then led the others to a large tree and began assigning tasks. He laid out detailed plans for how to capture Yin Hu if he resisted arrest. The eight men split into four groups and quietly surrounded the cabin from different directions.
Wen Qiang took a deep breath, and seeing that everyone was ready, he clutched his stomach and ran to the bathroom in great pain. Less than ten minutes later, he came out humming a comfortable song. But before he had gone far, he ran back to the bathroom again, groaning. This happened four or five times. The last time, he knocked on the door in exhaustion and shouted, "Is anyone there? Do you have toilet paper? I'm out of toilet paper. Can I borrow some? Is anyone there?"
It was almost six o'clock. It got dark early that day, and the room was already pitch black. Wen Qiang knocked twice more with a pained look on his face. Just when everyone thought the room was empty, a faint candlelight lit up. However, the person inside still didn't open the door, only slightly opening the window and handing out a small piece of straw paper.
"Thanks, buddy."
Wen Qiang nodded to everyone and kicked the door open forcefully. "Don't move. The police are investigating."
Facing the police rushing in, Yin Hu was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. He looked very weak, with a thin face and a prominent hooked nose. No wonder Sun Jianshe recognized him at a glance.
Yin Hu raised his hands, lowered his eyes, and said sinisterly, "Finally found them. Haha, don't bother, those women have been sold, you will never find them again, ever."
Jiang Nan, Zhou Zhixing, and the others rushed in and overheard this. Jiang Nan didn't expect him to admit to human trafficking so readily. She asked in surprise, "You're admitting it so readily?"
Yin Hu chuckled twice, his laughter was very cold. "So what if you admit it? You don't acknowledge me as your own, even my mother doesn't recognize me. What's wrong with me taking revenge? She's just a slut. I sold her off, so what's there to be afraid of?! It was all my fault. Matchmaker Huang, she's just a dog I found. I killed her a long time ago, and now she's feeding the fish in the river."
He stared at everyone like a wolf: "I don't want to live anymore. If it weren't for revenge, I would have died long ago. Come on, catch me. Death is the most satisfying thing."
After saying that, he shut his mouth and never spoke again. Even when he was interrogated for two days and two nights, he remained silent.
Of course, that was a story for later. At this point, Jiang Nan pulled out handcuffs, brought Yin Hu to justice, and first detained him in the General Administration's detention room.
After leaving the General Administration, Shen Suo led the others back to the guesthouse first. Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing said goodbye to everyone for the time being because they had to go to Chen Wanli's house.
When only the two of them were left, Jiang Nan whispered, "Yin Hu isn't alone. He knows several people with similar backgrounds, including two in the human trafficking ring. In his mind, there's a man named Ying Ge, the "Ying" in Japanese, who probably has the same background as him. Judging from how he and Yin Hu get along, this Ying Ge should be the leader of this group. However, Ying Ge is more cautious and always disguises himself when he sees Yin Hu."
She continued, "But his height hasn't changed much. Ying Ge is about 1.73 meters tall, not tall. His other features are different every time, so they can't be used as a reference. Moreover, Yin Hu's human trafficking was concealed from Ying Ge."
Zhou Zhixing was stunned for a moment, and finally spoke: "This place was occupied a long time ago, and Yin Hu's background is not uncommon. We can talk about the other traffickers after we interrogate Yin Hu. Don't be so helpless as to say anything. Chief Lan is very good at interrogating people, so you have to trust him."
Jiang Nan nodded and looked at Zhou Zhixing twice. Seeing that he was thinking about something, he didn't ask any questions. The two of them walked towards the Geological Institute where Chen Wanli was.
The housing estates at the General Administration were named after occupations, with names like Geological Exploration Institute, Drilling Institute, and Well Repair Institute. But they were just names; as long as they met the housing requirements, anyone of any occupation could live there.
Chen Wanli, the chief engineer of the Geological Exploration Bureau, lived in a small villa within the institute. Because he respected the instructions of the oilfield technicians, Chen Wanli's accommodations were even better than those of the director of the Exploration Bureau. The villa had two floors and six rooms, more than enough for Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing to stay.
The cold weather hadn't thawed yet, so Chen Wanli, Chen Jinhai, and Chen Jinyang hadn't left their exploration trips yet. The family was packed with over a dozen people, big and small, making it a lively place. Actually, Chen Jinhai and Chen Jinyang had already moved out, and it was Jiang Nan's turn to visit, so the two uncles had brought their families to see their niece. The two aunts, meeting Zhou Zhixing for the first time, smiled much more cheerfully than Chen Jinhua did, even giving him generous red envelopes for the Lunar New Year. They were delighted to see such a handsome nephew-in-law.
Aunt Ye Caiyun had a round face and was very pleasing. She pulled Jiang Nan to sit with her and said, "Xiao Nan, you two haven't eaten yet, right? Come, we've left some food for you two, come and have some. We wanted to wait for you two to eat together, but you two were too busy and came back so late. Your cousins are young and can't stand being hungry, so they ate first. Xiao Nan, don't be too greedy."
Jiang Nan giggled and petted her little cousin, Chen Xinghao, who came running over. The ten-year-old boy had heard that his cousin was a police officer, so his eyes sparkled when he came in. He didn't see Jiang Nan in a police uniform, and he pouted in displeasure.
"Aunt, if there's nothing delicious left for me, I'm going to stay and eat a few more meals of meat before I leave!"
Ye Caiyun smiled: "That's great."
She turned to Chen Wanli and said, "Dad, don't give the braised pork we left to Xiaonan. It's just right for Xiaonan to stay for a few more days so you don't have to nag about it every day."
Chen Wanli was sitting on a single sofa reading a newspaper. He snorted and shook the newspaper in his hand. He glanced at Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing's backpacks seemingly casually and said, "How could I mention it every day? Xiaoxing, you came here in a hurry this time?"
Zhou Zhixing straightened his back, opened his backpack, and said flatteringly, "No hurry, no hurry. Old man, what do you think this is?"
He took out a bottle of wine and handed it over carefully.
Chen Wanli put down the newspaper with dignity, took the bottle, and squinted his eyes to examine it carefully: "Deer penis wine?"
"Yes." Zhou Zhixing whispered, "I spent a long time searching for this. Old man, please keep it and drink it slowly."
Chen Wanli chuckled twice: "Your product has been severely downgraded, right?"
Jiang Nan was trying to stifle a laugh, and Zhou Zhixing assured him, "Look at what you're saying, old man. Tiger skin and tiger penis wine are hard to find. Hey, that guy who said he had them suddenly disappeared. I'm lucky. I went to someone I know and was able to get some deer penis wine yesterday. Don't worry, as long as there's any news about tiger skin and tiger penis wine, I'll definitely get it for you. Don't worry."
Chen Wanli then picked up the newspaper again and nodded his chin: "Okay, let's go eat. From the old family, take out the braised pork and other things. Don't be so stingy. In a family like ours, we don't want to tease our grandson-in-law."
Zhou Zhixing finally breathed a sigh of relief. Jiang Nan chuckled and gave Chen Wanli a thumbs-up. She took out the shoes and three bolts of cloth from her bag. "Grandpa, uncle, and second uncle, these are the cloth shoes my mom made. You can wear them. This is the defective cloth I bought through some channels. One bolt for each of you. Aunt, aunt, don't forget to make a set of clothes for Grandpa."
Ye Caiyun touched the soft corduroy fabric and smiled, "Don't worry, I won't forget it. Leave it to my aunt. She will make the most fashionable coat for the old man."
Second aunt Wan Xiufen also patted her chest and said, "Don't worry, Xiaonan, your cooking skills are not bad either. You will definitely not forget it."
My eldest uncle's little cousin, Chen Xinghao, and my second uncle's little cousin, Chen Xingju, were both ten years old, still children. They stared at Jiang Nan with eager eyes, blinking, looking so pitiful. Jiang Nan couldn't bear to tease them any more, so she quickly took out a bag of White Rabbit and handed it over, saying, "Here, this is what my cousin bought. Go share it with everyone. Don't forget to save some for Xinglan and little Zhiwei."
The two little guys nodded repeatedly: "I won't forget it."
Chen Xinglan, the second daughter of her second uncle, is fourteen years old and rather shy, so she smiled shyly upon hearing this. Little Zhiwei, the child of her eldest cousin Chen Xingtian, is only one year old and has just learned to walk. He nestled in Chen Xingtian's arms, pointing at the White Rabbit candy and constantly wailing, "Candy, eat candy!"
Jiang Nan's business trip was brief, and he had to return to the office early the next morning. His eldest and second uncles had both brought gifts. His eldest aunt, Ye Caiyun, pointed at some rice cakes and said, "This is something new from the headquarters supply and marketing cooperative this year. They say it's some kind of Korean rice cake, and it tastes pretty good. Your eldest uncle got some food coupons for him, so take some home and try some."
Jiang Nan took it with a smile. She loved eating glutinous rice cakes the most. They were soft, sticky and sweet. Her uncle really loved her.
Not to be outdone, my second aunt Wan Xiufen pointed at the nut candy she brought and said, "Xiao Nan, this is the nut candy your second uncle specially exchanged for. Look, there are quite a lot of walnuts, almonds, and melon seeds in it. It's delicious. Take it home and enjoy it slowly."
The Chen family was filled with laughter and joy. Meanwhile, back at the Oilfield Public Security Bureau, Shen Mingguang and Lan Qingshan, after dinner, urgently interrogated Yin Hu, only to discover they had a tough opponent. No matter what they asked, Yin Hu refused to speak, and even Lan Qingshan, a seasoned expert, couldn't pry him open. The two men, helpless, decided to wait out the night. If he still didn't speak, they would have to hand him over to the security authorities. After all, this was a matter involving foreign countries, and they had no choice but to hand him over.
Time passed quickly. The next morning, Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing woke up from their respective rooms, hurriedly ate breakfast, and boarded the bus back to the work office.
Shen Mingguang and Lan Qingshan stayed behind to hand over Yin Hu. Whether he had killed Matchmaker Huang, the location of her body, and the whereabouts of the trafficked women would have to wait for the security department to investigate. The two of them didn't stay long, leaving the oilfield headquarters by bus that afternoon, returning to the operations office with Team 6, one in front and one behind.
Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing returned to the family compound and received unprecedented attention.
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