After a few drinks, Yuan Datou loosened up: "Little girl, being a police officer is hard and tedious, we don't want to do any of the interviews, why are you so interested? You have good stamina, you followed me all afternoon without complaining of being tired, and the way you walk is like someone who's trained, you must come from a martial arts family, right?"
Zhu Fanfan shook her head: "My grandfather was also a soldier. He taught me some martial arts so I could protect myself."
Yuan Datou chuckled: "There is a difference between a martial arts practitioner and a soldier. Although you are young, you have the aura of a martial arts practitioner, which soldiers do not have."
Zhu Fanfan didn't understand: "Aren't they all practicing martial arts? What's the difference?"
Yuan Datou remained silent, his expression inscrutable. However, Zhu Fanfan didn't seem to care: "Let's not talk about this anymore. What's going on with the Jing family? Should we still investigate?"
After having another drink, Yuan Datou shook his head contentedly and said, "Ask me anything you want to know. I know quite a bit about the Jing family."
Zhu Fanfan asked directly, "Is it true that all of Inoue Frog's wives died in childbirth, and he later married his wife's younger sister?"
Yuan Datou said while chewing on his meat, "Yes and no."
Zhu Fanfan interrupted directly: "Don't play games with me, just tell me directly. I'm going back to my grandfather's house for dinner tonight, so I'll just eat a little to fill my stomach. You can pack up any of the food and wine you can't finish."
"He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding," Yuan Datou explained in detail: "The Jing family came from other places before the founding of the People's Republic of China to look for work. At that time, no one in the family had a job. They did odd jobs and were bullied. The women in the family never left the house. At that time, women also had to come out to support their families, otherwise the family could not survive. No matter how hard the Jing family was, no woman came out to work, which made many women envious."
Zhu Fanfan felt that Yuan Datou had drunk a bit too much and seemed eager to confide in her, so she obediently listened.
Yuan Datou continued slowly, “After liberation, wasn’t it said that women could hold up half the sky? The women of the Jing family went out to work for two days, but they got injured and went back. The Jing family used this as an excuse to stop the women from going out to work. The women of the Jing family were not like the rural women they were described as. They were all fair-skinned and plump, and their posture was like that of ancient women on TV, with their heads bowed and their eyes downcast, and they were extremely docile.”
Everyone envied the men of the Jing family for being so lucky, marrying women who were beautiful, gentle, and took excellent care of the family. However, the women of the Jing family did not get along well with other women and basically did not associate with them.
That makes sense, though. We're all modern women. They follow the traditional values of obeying their fathers at home and their husbands after marriage. They keep saying that their husbands are like gods, serving them is their duty, taking good care of them is an honor, and bearing children for them is the greatest glory. Who wants to talk to them?
As for the claim that she died in childbirth, that's not true at all. There was only one woman left from the older generation of the Jing family, and in his view, she was simply fulfilling her duty to teach women how to be proper women of the Jing family.
The wife of Inoue Frog's father did not have a difficult childbirth and the delivery went smoothly. However, she was sent away after giving birth. He had many friends who saw her being sent to sea, but they did not know where she was sent.
He claimed that after the difficult childbirth, he brought back several women from his hometown, saying they were his wife's sisters. However, they were all dark-skinned and thin, completely different from the previous women. But since they had no connection with them, no one dared to expose him.
The dark-skinned, thin woman recovered and became fair-skinned, but after giving birth, several of her children were sent away, supposedly due to difficult childbirth. This made everyone think the Jing family was unlucky and didn't want to associate with them. The Jing family also seemed to dislike associating with them, and although they were neighbors, they were quite distant with each other.
Zhu Fanfan asked, puzzled, "Where could they possibly send people?"
Yuan Datou glanced at Zhu Fanfan, and after seeing Zhu Fanfan take out another bottle of baijiu from her backpack, he had no more reservations and started talking rapidly: "Of course, the person has been sent overseas. It is said that foreigners overseas especially like Chinese women. Women are worthless here, but they are worth a lot overseas!"
Zhu Fanfan was confused again: "Wouldn't it be better to sell a virgin? Why would you need someone who has already given birth?"
Yuan Datou shook his head and said, "I don't buy people, how would I know what they're thinking? But the Jing family's girl should be back soon."
Zhu Fanfan still had doubts: "The Jing family's woman is back, and there's a new daughter-in-law in the house. Is she trying to enjoy the blessings of having two wives?"
Yuan Datou was amused: "What? It's because the Jing family gave birth to a girl and then sent her away. These girls who were sent away are coming back."
Zhu Fanfan asked again, "Why come back after they've all been seen off?"
Yuan Datou glanced at the old baijiu and explained, "The Jing family has had daughters. Only women who have given birth to daughters can be taken away. The daughters are basically sent overseas. These past few days, some have been smuggled back by sea, and it just so happened that people from the Jing family came to pick them up. That's how I found out."
Zhu Fanfan expressed his admiration, saying that if he were as open and honest as him in the police station, there would be practically no case that could go unsolved overnight.
Yuan Datou continued, "Let me tell you, little girl, stay away from the Jing family. The Jing family is poisonous. Any girl who runs into them is doomed. They'll either die or disappear, especially if they're cute."
Zhu Fanfan: "I know martial arts."
Yuan Datou said nothing more. He had already given her a warning; whether she listened or not was up to her. The situation in Shanghai was complicated! He was already quite old. As long as he worked hard for a few more years and didn't cause any trouble, he could work peacefully until retirement. He generally didn't talk much.
Yuan Datou stretched out his hand: "Little girl, I've told you everything I know, Lao Bai Gan..."
Zhu Fanfan didn't respond: "Is there anything else you haven't finished talking about? What's going on between Uncle Qi and the deputy director?"
Yuan Datou glanced around; there weren't many people yet. "As you know, Director, he was transferred from Beijing. The Deputy Director is also a native Shanghainese; his ancestors have lived here for generations. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he assisted the People's Liberation Army in liberating and stabilizing Shanghai, making many contributions. He has high prestige and great influence, but he is also quite self-serving, and his actions are somewhat different from the People's Liberation Army's ideology."
The deputy director wanted to seize power and sideline the director, but the director was no pushover; he was sent from the capital and the deputy director couldn't do anything about it.
The deputy director was driven by personal motives and wanted to cultivate his cronies, but he hadn't broken any laws, and the mistakes he made were minor and insignificant. He couldn't catch the major mistakes, and the director was helpless. The two remained at an impasse.
"The previous director was also appointed by the state. At that time, the security here was in complete chaos, and it took a lot of effort to stabilize the situation. After Director Qi took over, he also worked very carefully. However, this is, after all, the home of the deputy director."
If not handled properly, chaos will ensue, especially now that the country is experiencing widespread drought. If there is no harvest and people go hungry, chaos could easily spiral out of control.
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