Chapter 89

The investigation into the case had entered its fourth day. They had uncovered Chen Yanqiu’s method of faking his death but still knew nothing about his actual death. At this point in the investigation, no suspect had been identified.

In the morning, several people met at the City Bureau and exchanged progress updates. Song Wen then arranged the next steps: “Fu Linjiang, Lao Jia, you continue with your direction. Zhu Xiao, you follow up with the Traffic Bureau.” Then he turned to Lu Siyu and said, “Let’s start with the downstream investigation. We’ll go meet the family of the accident victim. We arranged to meet them yesterday, so around ten o’clock, we’ll pay them a visit.”

What they could confirm now was that there was a problem with the accident, and it was a significant one. If they couldn’t find any leads to the real culprit of the accident, they would have to temporarily skip this step. Currently, the only people they could directly contact were the relatives of the accident victim, Zhao Youlan.

Nancheng was too vast, covering an area of seven thousand square kilometers with a population of millions. In such a city, the disappearance of a cleaner went unnoticed, and people only thought about why no one was cleaning when they saw the garbage on the roadside.

Zhao Youlan was responsible for cleaning the section of Changshou Road in the west of Nancheng. The total length was over a thousand meters, with tall phoenix trees on both sides. It was the end of summer now, and the leaves were still green. In autumn, the streets would be filled with phoenix leaves, requiring cleaning two to three times a day.

Every morning, this area was divided into two by a road. At one end, there were several lively bars, where the party continued until three or four in the morning every night, making it a paradise for young people. On the other side of the road were several dilapidated buildings from the Republican era, long abandoned. Passing by here at night felt like ghosts and spirits could appear at any moment.

Such extreme places, separated by just one street, appeared in Nancheng, resembling hell and heaven.

While humans strive for convenient transportation, they also pay the price for it. Among various forms of death, car accidents are particularly tragic and painful. They also bring immense grief to the victims’ families, which is difficult to overcome.

On the early morning of December 25th last year, sanitation worker Zhao Youlan encountered a car accident. She was dragged and killed on the spot, without even having the chance to be taken to the hospital for rescue.

From those archival records, her life can be seen. Zhao Youlan, female, 54 years old, with a junior high school education, was a female cleaner at the Nancheng City Sanitation Bureau before her death. She was of average height and appearance. Passing by, people wouldn’t even give her a second glance. Apart from “average,” Song Wen couldn’t think of another word to describe her. She was like one of the thousands of ordinary workers living in Nancheng, ordinary yet diligent.

Zhao Youlan’s home was in the Jianghuai Tree Community, an old community. It wasn’t bustling here. Looking south from the community, you could see the Nancheng Tower from afar. Only at this moment did you feel that this place was part of a city alongside those modern high-rise buildings.

Song Wen could hardly remember the last time he visited such a place. Unlike modern, bright elevators, the windows of these old-style houses were small and delicate, almost taking up the entire space, as if they were forming a small “sun” or “field.” They divided people and families.

Zhao Youlan’s husband was named Zhang Congyun, a few years older than her, now 60 years old. He and their daughter Zhang Lili worked as cashiers at a supermarket. Zhang Lili divorced her husband two years ago and had a daughter. Today, she happened to be off work and was at home. She was the one Zhu Xiao had contacted earlier.

As soon as Song Wen entered, he stated his identity.

The area of this house was not large, probably less than fifty square meters, mainly consisting of a living room and a bedroom. The living room was cluttered with all kinds of rubbish. The chairs and tables were old, and there was even an old globe on the table. The decorations were varied in style, some Chinese, some European, and even some Southeast Asian.

Seeing Song Wen and Lu Siyu examining those things, Zhang Lili sneered, “They were all picked up by my mom in the past. I’ve told her countless times not to pick them up, but she likes to turn the house into a junkyard. And she’s reluctant to throw away a lot of things, always telling me that some things may come in handy someday.”

As Zhang Lili spoke, she seemed to realize that she might have given Song Wen and the others the wrong impression, and smiled awkwardly, “Until now, even though she’s gone, I still can’t bear to throw them away. Don’t underestimate it, some of these things are really useful. Once, my daughter’s schoolbag broke, and I didn’t have time to sew it, nor did I have anything suitable at hand. I took a large safety pin from my mom’s treasure trove, and it was just right.” Then she added, “Let me get you some water. My dad is getting old and a little hard of hearing. Speak louder when you talk to him.”

After saying that, she got up to pour water, leaving them to sit in the living room. The living room and balcony here were connected, with no sound insulation or heat insulation. You could even smell the lunch being cooked by the neighbors. At the junction of the balcony and the living room, there was a double bed and many bottles and jars on the floor.

On the windowsill was a model of the Nancheng Tower, with the morning sun shining directly on it, making the model more exquisite.

At this time, Zhang Congyun was sitting on the edge of the bed, working in the light coming through the narrow window.

Lu Siyu tilted his head and noticed that he was repairing a stool. It was more accurate to say that he was making one using two old stools. The old man’s hands were somewhat rough but very nimble.

Just as Song Wen was about to speak, Zhang Congyun raised his eyes from behind his reading glasses and glanced at them, his gaze somewhat alert. “Lili just said you’re police officers? What are you here for today?”

Song Wen said, “Hello, uncle. Um, regarding your wife’s accident from half a year ago, we need to verify some information.”

The old man raised his head, seeming to reminisce for a moment, and asked, “Was my wife’s cleaning truck found?”

Song Wen patiently explained to him, “You’ll need to ask the traffic police in charge about the cleaning truck. We’re from the criminal investigation department.”

The old man’s mouth seemed stuffed with something, and he spoke unclearly, “We compensated the sanitation bureau 280 yuan for the truck.” Then he spat something out, and Lu Siyu noticed that he had a nail in his mouth.

Song Wen tried to explain the case clearly, “This time, we found a deceased person who may be related to the car accident from half a year ago, and that accident may have hidden details. So, we came to the family to understand the situation.”

The old man lowered his head to continue studying the broken stool in his hand, measuring it with a ruler, “What hidden details? People are dead; can they come back to life?”

Of course, people can’t come back to life after death. Song Wen felt a bit embarrassed, “We’re not talking about that kind of hidden details. The driver provided by the traffic police at the time may not be the perpetrator who hit your wife.”

The old man furrowed his brows and looked up, mumbled unclearly, “Huh? Didn’t the traffic police say the perpetrator was already dead?”

Song Wen thought about how to explain the convoluted relationship to him, “The person who died at the time was not the perpetrator, and the actual perpetrator may have helped someone else to take the blame…” As he said this, he felt it was a bit off. It sounded like a tongue twister. Song Wen could only add, “We’re still investigating the specifics.”

The old man lowered his head, seemingly giving up on understanding, “Ah, it’s all so confusing. What does this have to do with us?”

Song Wen cleared his throat awkwardly, feeling a bit caught off guard. It seemed that Chen Yanqiu’s death had little to do with them. He might not be the direct perpetrator who killed Zhao Youlan but just someone who took the blame temporarily. He continued to ask, “Do you remember anything else about the accident? Anything you recall could be helpful for us.”

The old man said, “It’s been so long; I don’t remember.”

Song Wen took out a photo of Chen Yanqiu and placed it on the table, “Have you seen this person before?”

The old man didn’t even lift his head, “Never seen him.”

Then he spat out a nail from his mouth and began nailing it onto the chair.

Meanwhile, Zhang Lili brought over a few cups. These cups were like the other furniture in the house, each with its own appearance, and one of them had a broken edge. Seeing this, Lu Siyu showed no intention of reaching out, and Song Wen said, “Thank you,” as he took the cup handed to him and placed it aside.

Zhang Lili took the cup with the broken edge and sat on a nearby stool, bowing her head nervously.

Next to them, the rhythmic sound of the old man nailing the stool echoed. Song Wen briefly summarized the case for Zhang Lili and began asking about the specific details of the accident.

Lu Siyu, while opening his notebook to record, raised his head at an angle where he could see a photo of Zhao Youlan with the Nancheng Tower in the background. He was curious about the photo and took advantage of a break in the conversation to ask, “When was that photo taken?”

Zhang Lili looked and said, “That was taken when my mom was young. At that time, the Nancheng Tower had just been completed, and visitors weren’t allowed yet. She took this photo under the tower. It’s quite embarrassing to say, my mom always wanted to go there. She felt that if she didn’t visit the Nancheng Tower, she couldn’t consider herself a true resident of Nancheng. But every time she wanted to go, she missed it due to various reasons, and in the end, she never made it to the tower.”

In the eyes of outsiders like Zhao Youlan, that tower symbolized the city. It seemed that if you hadn’t been up there, you weren’t fully accepted. Until her death, this became a regret.

Song Wen cleared his throat and began to ask, “Did Auntie go to work as usual that morning?”

Zhang Lili withdrew her gaze and nodded, “…Yes, my mom went to work as usual that day. She left around two forty in the morning. She woke me up in the middle of the night. She had said she wanted to come back to attend my daughter’s school event. My daughter had been practicing dancing for two months and wanted her grandma to see, but I never thought…”

“What time did you receive the phone call?”

“It was probably just before five in the morning. The police called, and they had already taken her to the hospital. She had passed away. The traffic police at the time said they had never seen someone dragged so badly…”

“Did the other party’s company come forward at the time?”

“Yes, they said it was the company’s driver who hit her and then fled. The company sent someone in charge to discuss compensation with us. They were quite polite about it. Later, the Traffic Bureau told us that the driver died of an illness…”

“Did you believe their explanation at the time? I mean… didn’t you find it suspicious?”

“Of course, we found it suspicious. How could it be such a coincidence? He died just in time, hitting my mom and then dying? I said at the time that something was fishy…”

As Zhang Lili was saying this, Zhang Congyun suddenly stood up, a bit impatient, “Why talk about this now? She’s already gone. What’s the point of discussing all this?”

Upon hearing this, Song Wen was about to explain, but Lu Siyu beside him tugged at his sleeve, indicating not to interrupt.

Zhang Lili seemed ignited by something, stood up, and said, “There’s nothing to discuss. My mom died under such unclear circumstances. The driver who caused the accident hasn’t been identified, and you just took their money and agreed to settle it privately! Did you even ask me when you signed? Now the police are investigating again, and you don’t want me to speak up. Don’t you want to know who really killed my mom?”

The old man countered her, “What difference does it make if you know now? This matter has long been over. It’s in the past! It’s been half a year!”

Zhang Lili replied, “At least we would have clarity in our hearts. I haven’t even seen that bastard’s face. If I had, if I had seen him…”

The old man snorted and retorted, “What if you had seen him? What do you want to do?”

Zhang Lili bit her lip, stared fiercely at her own father, and after holding back for two seconds, she couldn’t contain it anymore and burst into tears, “There’s a culprit for every wrong, at the very least, he should apologize to my mom, and kowtow at her grave.”

The old man snorted again, “What good would that do?”

Zhang Lili stiffened her neck, “Anyway, it’s a good thing that the police are here now. Without knowing who the real culprit is, I just can’t swallow this anger!”

The old man stared at her, “Do you even know what it means to swallow anger?”

“At the very least, when burning offerings for my mom, he should be able to say something for her! My mom served you for decades, and when she died, you weren’t even sad…” Zhang Lili’s tears couldn’t be stopped. Despite the family’s impoverished condition in the past, she never felt that anything was lacking at home. But since her mother’s death, her father seemed like a different person.

Already having lost her own mother, her father’s indifference intensified Zhang Lili’s pain. These words had been bottled up in her heart for too long. “Dad, … when I was young, I was always bullied by my classmates, ridiculed for my mom being a street sweeper. At that time, didn’t you tell me that as long as we stand tall, there’s nothing to be ashamed of? We must hold our heads high, we won’t lose to anyone, we won’t bully others, but we must seek justice. Now that you’re older, have you forgotten all the things you taught me? You really… really disappoint me.”