Chapter 53
Engraving model

Before the car even entered the county, the police cars from Lishan County Bureau met them on the road, and both parties stopped by the roadside.

A middle-aged man got out of the leading car, enthusiastically extending both hands, “Hello, Captain Tan, I am Liu Jie, captain of the Criminal Investigation Team of Lishan County Bureau. The leaders have all gone home for the New Year; they are not in the county; sorry for the delay.”

The two shook hands.

Tan Yi said, “No need to apologize, Captain Liu. Today is New Year’s Eve; we are clearly the ones disturbing you.”

Captain Liu looked at the strong men being held down on the police car, with a bit of embarrassment on his face, “No disturbance at all, it’s our duty. It should be us who are sorry for alarming you. Come on, get in the car, let’s go back to the bureau for a hot meal first.”

Tan Yi said, “Captain Liu, let’s catch the suspects first.”

Liu Jie laughed, “Captain Tan, don’t worry, our men have already gone there. There won’t be any delays.”

In the 1990s, the restaurant business wasn’t as flexible as it is nowadays; most of them were closed during the New Year, so they had to eat at the county bureau canteen.

Liu Jie probably had it arranged. As soon as Tan Yi and his team sat down, steaming tea and a couple of small dishes were served.

Liu Jie said, “These two young ones, I’ve never met them during my training at the city bureau, Captain Tan, please introduce them?”

Tan Yi turned to Ren Yaguang, “This is Officer Ren Yaguang from our second team.”

Ren Yaguang stood up, “Hello, Captain Liu, I joined the city bureau two years ago, still a newbie.”

“This young man looks quite energetic, promising indeed,” Liu Jie praised politely.

Tan Yi then introduced Xie Qing, “This is Dr. Xie, our new forensic doctor, she just graduated this year.”

“Forensic doctor?!” The criminal police officers from Lishan County Bureau exclaimed in unison.

Liu Jie glared at his men, “What, never seen a female forensic doctor?”

“Indeed, we’ve never seen a female forensic doctor, let alone such a beautiful one,” an old criminal police officer, who was pouring tea for everyone, said to Xie Qing, “Dr. Xie, sorry if we’ve offended you.”

“You’re too kind, female forensic doctors aren’t that petty,” Xie Qing said with a smile, “Forensic doctors are just forensic doctors, whether male or female, it’s the same, everyone will get used to it.”

Liu Jie praised, “Dr. Xie is magnanimous, a true heroine.”

Hearing the last four words, Tan Yi looked at Xie Qing, his thin lips curved up.

Some people don’t like to talk much, but they never miss a good laugh.

Xie Qing wanted to glare at him but was afraid the people from Lishan County Bureau would think she was “arrogant,” which would be hard to explain. She could only curse “stinky Tan Yi” in her heart.

She smiled at Liu Jie and said, “Captain Liu, you’re too kind.”

“Not at all, it’s well deserved!” Liu Jie raised his teacup, “Come on, we can’t drink alcohol on duty, let’s use tea instead, wishing Captain Tan a successful mission.”

“Thank you, Captain Liu, for your warm hospitality,” Tan Yi clinked cups with him and drank up.

…

After drinking the tea, the stir-fried dishes were served. Since they still had a task, they didn’t dare to delay. They quickly finished eating and put down their chopsticks within fifteen minutes.

There was still no news from the criminal police of Lishan County Bureau.

Liu Jie put down his teacup and said, “After receiving a call from Captain Huang, we investigated Chang Youxin’s family situation. His elder brother, Chang Youjian, has a criminal record; their family has been in the tomb-robbing trade for generations, and we’ve arrested him several times. This family doesn’t have many good people.”

“No wonder they dared to commit murder,” Tan Yi said, “Is the Chang family far? We’ll wait for news on the way.”

An old criminal police officer said, “The Chang family is in the urban-rural fringe, it’s a thirty-minute drive from our bureau.”

Tan Yi stood up, “Then let’s go.”

With his order, Liu Jie naturally wouldn’t object, and the group got back in their cars.

Three police cars and Xie Qing’s jeep sped toward the west of Lishan County.

Tan Yi and Liu Jie shared a car. As they were leaving the county, Liu Jie finally received a message: the two brothers had returned.

The two brothers naturally referred to the Chang brothers.

Liu Jie said to Tan Yi, “Not staying home for the New Year, do you think they went tomb robbing or looking for a buyer for the big money?”

Tan Yi said, “Big money is involved in a murder case. I think tomb robbing is more likely.”

Liu Jie was a bit excited, “Then it becomes our case.”

Tan Yi nodded.

A few minutes later, the car stopped outside the town. The town was large, with many residents, but there were few people on the streets, with the sound of firecrackers everywhere, the New Year atmosphere was strong.

Two plainclothes police officers approached, and one reported, “Captain Liu, the target is quite large, should we wait?”

Tan Yi asked, “Will the villagers here try to take the suspects?”

The officer said, “They wouldn’t dare.”

Tan Yi asked again, “Where is their house?”

The officer pointed north, “The second house in the third row, that’s the one.”

The terrain of the town was uneven, with the road at the lowest point, and the higher you go, the higher the houses are. The rooftops of the third row were clearly visible.

The distance was less than a hundred meters, just a few seconds away.

Tan Yi said, “Let’s not wait. While there’s no one on the street, one team goes this way, the other goes that way, and we’ll disperse and move in.”

The local police officers looked at Liu Jie.

Liu Jie said, “It’s unrealistic to act after dark. Let’s follow Captain Tan’s plan.”

Xie Qing stayed in the car. She watched Tan Yi and Ren Yaguang lead a team quickly along the left path, soon reaching the third row of houses. After turning right, they disappeared from view.

A few seconds later, cries and shouts were heard from the alley.

“Help! The police are beating people!”

“Damn it, can’t have peace even during the New Year. Arrest me, arrest me, I don’t want to live anymore.”

“Dad, Dad, I want my dad!”

Xie Qing’s heart was in her throat. She thought for a moment and started the car, driving towards the third row.

People were coming out from both sides of the alley, men, women, and children, but none with shovels or sticks.

Xie Qing breathed a sigh of relief. A few young boys pushed each other, and a boy about ten years old came to her car. He was wearing hand-me-down clothes, looking timid, “Sister, who are you people? What happened to the Chang family?”

Xie Qing took out the remaining half bag of White Rabbit candies from her bag, kept a few pieces for herself, and handed the rest to the boy, “We are the police. Someone from the Chang family committed a crime.”

“Candy, White Rabbit candies?” The boy’s eyes lit up, “Are they for me?”

Xie Qing nodded, “Yes, all for you, it’s New Year, enjoy them.”

A middle-aged woman ran over and snatched the plastic bag from the boy’s hand, “Kid, don’t accept things from strangers.”

Xie Qing showed her police badge, “Don’t worry, ma’am, we’re not bad people.”

The woman breathed a sigh of relief, “So you’re really police. This Chang family is always causing trouble.” She patted the boy’s head, “Thank the police officer?”

The boy thanked her and went back with the candy, sharing it with his friends.

Xie Qing felt quite comforted. There were still more good people in the world.

About ten minutes later, Tan Yi and Ren Yaguang came out, each holding one person.

One was a tall man, about 185 cm; the other was a woman of average height, obviously Bai Yun, Wei Fenfang’s colleague.

Liu Jie and his men were holding another person, and the police officers were each carrying jars and wooden boxes.

Tan Yi put the two in the back seat and said to Liu Jie, “Captain Liu, we’ll head back now. Call the city bureau before you come. I’ll host everyone.”

Liu Jie said, “Sure, take care.”

“Okay,” Tan Yi got into the back seat, sitting between the two suspects.

Ren Yaguang got into the front passenger seat.

Xie Qing poked her head out, said goodbye to the people from Lishan County Bureau, and drove out of the alley first.

Around four o’clock, Xie Qing drove to the crime scene.

The overlapping mountains of Lishan blocked the sky, and it was already dark. The road was quiet, with no one around.

Captain Tan asked Xie Qing to stop the car, “Go down and check the road surface.”

Ren Yaguang said, “Captain Tan is wise.”

Xie Qing understood and teased, “Does Captain Tan always assume the worst intentions?”

Captain Tan replied, “Better safe than sorry.”

Xie Qing turned on the headlights and got out of the car with Ren Yaguang. They angled the lights and looked ahead, immediately spotting twenty or so shiny nails on the road.

Ren Yaguang cursed, “These scoundrels should all be arrested.”

Xie Qing said, “A rabble, there’s nothing Lishan County can do about them.”

The two braved the piercing northwest wind and picked up the nails one by one. The village was indeed poor, with a limited number of nails. Once they picked them all up, there were no more.

Xie Qing successfully navigated the mountain road and left Lishan County, arriving back at the Anhai City Bureau before eight o’clock.

Tan Yi immediately organized an interrogation.

Xie Qing listened in on the interrogation while eating an orange.

With the culprits caught red-handed, there was no point in denying it.

As soon as Tan Yi entered, Chang Youxin confessed.

“This big coin is the one Wei Fenfang tied to the light cord, right?”

“Yes, it’s from her house.”

“Bai Yun told you about it, right?”

“Yes.”

“How did you get into the Lu family’s courtyard?”

“I scouted the place a few times, knew there was a pile of bricks in the alley, moved a few bricks, stepped on them, and went down from the coal chute.”

“Bai Yun thought this big coin was valuable?”

“Yes, I taught her that this is a ‘diao mu’ coin, very valuable.”

“Then why didn’t you just buy it or deceive Wei Fenfang?”

“Bai Yun mentioned the antique to her, and as soon as she heard about buying it, she knew it was valuable.”

“Robbing is one thing, but why did you kill her?”

“I didn’t mean to kill her. When I had just untied the big coin and was about to screw the nut back on, she came out. I got nervous, pulled the light cord tight, and the light came on. She recognized me, and in a panic, I grabbed a knife from the stove. I didn’t mean to, I really didn’t mean to!”

Chang Youxin cried for a long time.

Just when Xie Qing thought the interrogation was over and was about to leave, Tan Yi spoke again. He said, “Your skills are not up to par. This coin is not a true ‘diao mu,’ but a cast model coin.”

Chang Youxin went crazy, “You don’t know anything. This coin has no casting marks. It’s heavier and thicker than a model coin, the carving is exquisite, it is definitely a ‘diao mu.'”

Tan Yi said, “Clean the grease off it, and you’ll find that the characters on this coin are not wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, and the three-dimensional effect is much weaker.”

Chang Youxin said, “You’re talking nonsense; you want to deceive me; you need more practice. I’ve been in this business for fifteen years, don’t I know what a ‘diao mu’ is? You just want to make me regret it. I’ve already regretted it. I’m deeply regretful! What more do you want?”

Chang Youxin broke down.

Tan Yi walked out with a satisfied expression.

Xie Qing gave him a thumbs up, “Captain Tan, you’re impressive.”

Tan Yi looked innocent, “I wasn’t lying. This coin is really not a ‘diao mu.’ If you don’t believe me, we can have an expert evaluate it.”

Xie Qing: “…”