Chapter 8: Investigating Woniu Village

“If it was someone familiar, then our investigation range can be narrowed down significantly,” the cool and composed young woman said, glancing at Luo Fei, who seemed slightly surprised.

“Does anyone have anything else to say?” Zhao Donglai asked the group. Seeing no response, he turned to Zhou Weimin. “Chief Zhou, do you have anything to add?”

Zhou Weimin shook his head and smiled. “Solving cases is your investigation team’s speciality. I’ll follow your lead.”

With that, Zhao Donglai did not hesitate either. “Since no one has anything to add, I’ll assign the tasks now. Wang Dong, Xiaoyue, you two go to the business halls and check who the victim has been in contact with in the past month and clarify their relationships.”

“Yang Su and Zhang Fan, your task is to go door-to-door and inquire among the residents of the community. Find out if anyone saw strangers between yesterday and seven this morning. Also, record the details of men aged between 20 and 40 who are over 1.75 metres tall.”

“I’ll go with Zhao Cheng to the silk factory where the victim worked to gather more information.”

After assigning tasks to the team members, Zhao Donglai looked at Zhou Weimin and asked, “Chief Zhou, could you lend me two people? Liao is currently leading a team to investigate a missing persons case, and I’m short on manpower.”

“No problem, it’s all for work,” Zhou Weimin smiled, pointing to Zhang Haiyang and Luo Fei beside him. “How about Haiyang and Luo Fei?”

“That works.” Zhao Donglai nodded, then turned to the cool and composed young woman. “Yang Mei, take Haiyang and Luo Fei to the victim’s hometown and gather information. Find out if the victim had any conflicts or close relationships with anyone.”

Luo Fei finally learned that the cool and composed policewoman’s name was Yang Mei.

Zhou Weimin instructed Zhang Haiyang and Luo Fei to follow Yang Mei’s lead. Both nodded in agreement.

At 10 a.m., after Zhao Donglai had assigned the tasks, the three of them drove to Woniu Village—the hometown of the victim, Su Xiao.

Yang Mei was driving her own high-end Land Rover. Luo Fei figured she was likely from a wealthy family, as children of officials typically would not flaunt their wealth so openly.

The drive from Ningjiang County to Woniu Village was not far, but the winding mountain roads made them drive slowly. They did not arrive at Woniu Village until noon.

Woniu Village is situated halfway up a mountain, nestled against its slopes. The entire village consists of around two hundred households.

Upon arrival, Luo Fei and the others decided to visit the village chief’s house first—they would undoubtedly be the best person to consult to understand the situation in the village.

Guided by villagers, the three of them quickly found the village chief of Woniu village.

The village chief, named Wang Youfa, was in his sixties, thin and frail in stature, but with a sharp and spirited demeanour. He had been a member of the party for over forty years and served as the village chief of Woniu Village for over thirty years.

“Come, come, officers, have some tea.” The village chief warmly invited the three of them into his hollow-brick house. As he poured the tea, he called out to his wife in the kitchen, “Dear, do we still have any of those watermelons we bought a few days ago? It’s scorching hot today, and they’ll turn bad if they’re left out. If we have any left, cut one up for our fellow officers to enjoy.”

“Chief Wang, there’s no need for such formality. We’re just here to ask you about a few things,” Yang Mei said, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Zhang Haiyang smiled and chimed in, “Exactly. There’s no need for you to be so polite with us.”

The village chief chuckled and said, “Oh, it’s nothing. I know how hard you police officers work. My son is also a policeman, but he’s not stationed in Ningjiang County like you. He works over in Luoya County.”

Just then, his wife brought over a plate of sliced watermelon.

“Here, officers, have some watermelon. I’ve kept it cool in the water tank, so it’s nice and chilled!” she said as she handed a slice to each of Luo Fei, Yang Mei, and the others.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Since the watermelon was already offered, Luo Fei did not hesitate to accept it. With such hot weather, enjoying a slice of chilled watermelon was truly a delightful experience.

At this point, Yang Mei and Zhang Haiyang also stopped declining and each took a slice of watermelon to eat.

“What’s there to thank for? A slice of watermelon is nothing. By the way, officers, are you here about Old Su’s daughter, Su Xiao?” the village chief asked.

“How did you know we were here for that?” Yang Mei asked curiously, looking at the village chief.

The village chief replied, “At around eight o’clock this morning, Old Su received a call from the police station, saying that his daughter, Su Xiao, had encountered some trouble in town. They were asked to go there, and just shortly after they left, you arrived to inquire about the situation. So, I figured you must be here because of this matter.”

“Officers, did Old Su’s daughter, Su Xiao, pass away?” asked the village chief’s wife, who had been standing nearby.

“Why are you asking that? Didn’t you say you were going to feed the pigs? Go on, then.” The village chief gave his wife a stern look, thinking that she should not have asked that question.

“I just wanted to know, what’s the matter?” The village head’s wife grumbled discontentedly, but she still left the living room.

Once she left, the village chief continued, “Officers, I understand that you have discipline as police officers, and there are things that shouldn’t be asked or said. I won’t ask what shouldn’t be asked, and I won’t say what shouldn’t be said. If you have any questions, feel free to ask directly.”

It cannot be denied that, as a senior party member, the village chief possesses a high level of personal integrity and consciousness.

Yang Mei asked, “Chief Wang, can you tell us about Su Xiao?”

The village chief’s face grew into a puzzled expression, evidently not understanding the question.

Yang Mei then clarified, “I mean, what was Su Xiao usually like? Did she have a boyfriend? Who was she close to? Or if she had any conflicts with anyone? Basically, anything related to Su Xiao.”

The village chief understood her now.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, “Officers, let me be honest with you—I’ve watched Su Xiao grow up. Since she was young, she’s been a well-behaved child. Her father, Old Su, is lazy and spends all his time playing Mahjong^[1]TL’s note: Mahjong is a four-player tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China.at the gambling den. Her mother is unreliable too, always following Old Su to the gambling den and neglecting their work in the fields. But they’ve raised this girl to be incredibly obedient and sensible.”

“Su Xiao has been working at the silk factory for two years now. She comes back home almost every week, bringing groceries for her parents each time. Despite earning just over 3000 RMB a month, this filial daughter still hands over 1500 RMB to Old Su and his wife.”

“Of course, although Old Su and his wife aren’t well-off, they really dote on their daughter. Su Xiao didn’t perform well academically and didn’t get into high school. To prevent her from toiling in the fields, her parents sent her to work at the silk factory. I heard they spent a significant amount of money—over 50,000 RMB—to secure her job there. Old Su even sold both of his cows for this.”

“After Su Xiao started working at the factory, many suitors came knocking. Several families in our village expressed interest in her. After all, Su Xiao is beautiful and known for her good manners. Now that she has a stable job, many people are interested.”

“Li Daqiang from our neighbouring village is considered well-off in our area. His younger brother is the deputy director of the Finance Bureau, while he runs his own construction business, owning trucks and excavators. He has two houses in town, and his son works at a bank. When Li Daqiang’s son came to our village for a banquet, he took a liking to Su Xiao.”

“Later, Li Daqiang and his son came to propose a marriage, offering a dowry of 500,000 RMB on the spot. You see, with such a high dowry, coupled with Li Daqiang’s family conditions, if it were other parents, they would have already forced their daughter to marry over, regardless of whether she agrees and likes it or not.”

“But what was unexpected is that Mr. and Mrs. Su actually declined them because Su Xiao didn’t like Li Daqiang’s son. Honestly, in the countryside, facing a well-off family like Li Daqiang’s, how many parents would listen to their children? So, I really admire Mr. Su Laohan’s love for his daughter.”

(End of chapter)