Chapter 018: Under Suspicion

Liang Kefeng returned from Liangji after finishing her finance studies, and the sun had already set.

The flowers by the vegetable patch were in full bloom, and small birds were secretly pecking at the vegetables.

Aunt Liu, with her sharp eyes, shouted loudly, startling the birds into flight.

Liang Kefeng greeted Aunt Liu and entered the kitchen through the side door.

Auntie had prepared extra dishes tonight to celebrate Liang Kefeng finding a job.

As she plated the last dish, Auntie said to Liang Kefeng, “Don’t worry about the introduction fee; you can pay me after you get your salary. Others usually give half a month’s salary for a job introduction, so just fifty is fine.”

Fifty Hong Kong dollars for an introduction fee was quite generous. Liang Kefeng thanked her, saying, “Thank you, Auntie. I’ll give it to you as soon as I get my salary.”

She washed her hands and went over to help Ah Huan serve the rice. Since they shared a “common secret,” their relationship had improved dramatically, as close as sisters.

Ah Huan tugged at her sleeve and whispered, “I went to check this morning, and that gold chain has been taken away.”

Liang Kefeng pretended to be surprised and replied softly, “That’s good; it puts everyone’s mind at ease.”

At the dining table, the barber who had just returned sat down and immediately exclaimed, “I heard they found the killer of Ah Dan! It’s that Li Baozai who came here that day, acting so arrogantly!”

Zhutou Wei looked at Brother Xiao and said, “I’ve heard that too. Apparently, Ah Dan was secretly helping Fei Qiang in the North District sell drugs behind Uncle Zhongzhi’s back. The profits were huge, and he wanted to go solo, which led to conflicts with Fei Qiang. So Fei Qiang sent Li Baozai to kill Ah Dan. The news is spreading like wildfire outside.”

Brother Xiao had already dealt with the matter earlier that afternoon. He said, “Li Baozai is from the investigation team. East District wants to replace him, but Fei Qiang is protecting him and adamantly refuses. Now we’re waiting for Master Ku to come back tomorrow to make a decision.”

Zhutou Wei added, “He definitely needs to be replaced, and then investigated. We need to search his room and turn his house upside down; that gold chain might be hidden in there.”

“The people from East District are thinking the same thing. Uncle Zhongzhi has sent someone to surround Li Baozai’s room.”

Afterward, Auntie chimed in, “I always said that Li Baozai looks shifty; he doesn’t seem like a good person at all! Aunt Liu, don’t you think he has an untrustworthy face?”

Aunt Liu, who wasn’t home that day, said, “Which Li Baozai? I heard everyone talking about Li Baozai today, but I didn’t know which one they were referring to.”

Zhutou Wei made an exaggerated expression, sucking in his cheeks: “He looks like this, with a skinny face and no flesh, like a weasel.”

Everyone burst into laughter.

“I don’t know him,” Aunt Liu continued eating her meal.

Ah Huan suppressed her laughter and teased, “Brother Wei, you really have a talent for acting.”

Zhutou Wei didn’t realize Ah Huan was mocking him. When he heard her call him Brother Wei instead of his nickname, he immediately beamed with a grin: “Right? When I walk down the street, talent scouts hand me their business cards.”

Ah Huan continued, “What role do they want you for? A flying thief or a flying burglar?”

“What flying thief or burglar? They definitely want me to play a handsome guy!” Zhutou Wei replied confidently.

In reality, Zhutou Wei was called Zhutou Wei not because he looked ugly, but because he had a pair of prominent ears that resembled Zhu Bajie’s. Honestly, Zhutou Wei was even a bit handsome, just not very tall, and he was extremely narcissistic.

Ah Huan laughed even harder.

Liang Kefeng gently nudged her with her foot. Ah Huan couldn’t help it and fell against her, laughing so hard she couldn’t get up.

Auntie scolded, “Eat your meal properly; what’s all this laughter about?”

Sister Man smiled gently, “Ah Wei really is quite good-looking; he resembles Aunt Liu.”

Aunt Liu, feeling proud, remarked, “I did look a bit like that when I was younger.”

Everyone chatted animatedly. Liang Kefeng noticed that Sister Man and Brother Xiao hardly communicated at the table; it wasn’t the normal relationship between a man and a woman.

After dinner, while they were still digesting, Auntie cooked a large pot of sweet soup. Everyone served themselves a bowl of red bean paste, sitting in the living room watching TV and chatting.

Aunt Liu suddenly asked Liang Kefeng, “I almost forgot; what did you come to the elderly center for this morning?”

Liang Kefeng replied, “Someone wanted you to interpret a fortune; didn’t you go?”

Aunt Liu suddenly realized, “Oh no, I completely forgot! I lost track of time while playing mahjong. I knew I forgot something; I lost two dollars for nothing.”

Liang Kefeng joked, “Then have another bowl of red bean soup to make up for it.”

Ah Huan leaned over, “Sister Feng, my mom said you can fight. Can you teach me sometime?”

Before Liang Kefeng could respond, Zhutou Wei turned around and interjected, “Hey, Ah Huan, if you want to learn self-defense, learn from me! I know a bit of martial arts and judo. If you want to find a master, you should definitely find someone powerful.”

Zhutou Wei was confident he was much better than Liang Kefeng, viewing her as someone who only knew some flashy moves but was just a novice compared to him.

Ah Huan gave him a disdainful look: “Who would want to learn from you!”

Zhutou Wei felt embarrassed, “I’m not charging you any money. I’m just doing you a favor. It’s tough being a good person.”

Liang Kefeng asked Ah Huan, “Aren’t you going back to school soon? When will you have time to learn fighting?”

“I’ll learn on the weekends.”

“If I have time this Saturday or Sunday, I can teach you,” Liang Kefeng said, not minding teaching Ah Huan some self-defense. A girl knowing a bit of self-defense would help her protect herself better in the four-sided city.

Seeing Liang Kefeng agree, Ah Huan smiled brightly, “Then it’s settled!”

“Okay.”

Just as they were chatting, they heard someone talking outside the door. Liang Kefeng turned around to find it was Brother Facai.

Brother Facai called the siblings outside to talk. He had found leads on Wu Zhichai and Wu Biyun.

“They were previously sharing a subdivided flat in East District with several people. I heard Wu Zhichai was a gambler, and Wu Biyun got a job at a laundromat but only worked for two days before suddenly disappearing. It seems they didn’t have money to pay the rent, and she was going to pawn something. After that, they both went missing.”

Pawn something and then vanish?

Liang Kefeng asked, “Do you know what Wu Biyun pawned?”

Brother Facai shook his head, “I don’t know. I didn’t find out.”

Wu Biyun probably didn’t have anything valuable on her; it was most likely her cousin’s watch she pawned.

That watch had her cousin’s mother’s name engraved on the back, and with Liang Dalong’s influence in Hong Kong, that pawned watch might end up in his hands…

Making someone disappear quietly was just a trivial matter for Liang Dalong.

It seemed Liang Dalong had taken the Wu siblings away.

“Did you find anything?”

“Most likely.”

“What would Wu Biyun say when she sees Liang Dalong? She definitely wouldn’t dare admit the watch was stolen. She’d probably claim Liang Ke’er sold it to her or that she accepted it as payment for a debt.”

“Whether Liang Dalong will believe her or not, that’s hard to say.”

“Given that, we’ll have to put the search for Wu Biyun on hold for now.”

“Any other news?”

“Nope. Just getting this information alone was a real feat. Let me tell you, no one else in this area besides me, Li Facai, could manage this.” Facai grinned, “How much do you think this intel is worth?”

Cheng Yaojin put his hand on Facai’s shoulder. “How much are you asking?”

Facai held up one finger. “One hundred! Look, I may not have found her, but I got you solid information. I spent both time and money, so a hundred isn’t asking too much.”

A hundred wasn’t too steep, but since they were pretending to be low on cash, casually offering a hundred wouldn’t fit.

Cheng Yaojin continued the act, “We only have thirty. Or you could wait until I get paid…”

Reluctant to risk them not repaying a debt later, Facai agreed, “Alright, thirty it is.”

He pocketed the thirty and shamelessly hung around for a bowl of red bean soup before leaving.

—

On her first day of work, Liang Kefeng mainly familiarized herself with her surroundings. She was a fast typist and quickly took over most of the typing tasks at the candy factory.

She was efficient, easygoing, and introduced by Ah Wei, so her coworkers welcomed her warmly. They all got along well.

Thanks to her sharp senses, by the end of the morning, she had already gathered the general layout of the neighboring union office.

As they were about to break for lunch, the woman seated next to her came back from the union office with a stack of files, clearly stressed out. “The union’s assistant accountant just started a few days ago, and now she suddenly quit this morning. Xiang is on leave, and Sister Zhen is too busy. I can’t find anyone to balance the books. Young people these days are ridiculous. They just up and leave without a thought!”

Someone asked, “Did that girl named Lin leave?”

“Yes, she left without a day’s notice. It seems she found a more promising job outside. Sister Zhen and Director Ma are both furious.”

“Well, if she found a good job elsewhere, of course, she’d take it.”

As everyone chatted and packed up for lunch, Liang Kefeng was surprised at Uncle Kun’s efficiency. Within just one day, he’d poached the assistant.

The woman next to Liang Kefeng looked over at her. “Ah Feng, didn’t you study accounting? Would you want to transfer to the union to be their assistant accountant? The pay and benefits there are quite a bit better. But if you want to go to the union, you’ll need someone to vouch for you.”

Another coworker chimed in, “Didn’t Old Yan want to introduce his nephew for that assistant accountant position? It might be tough for Ah Feng to get it.”

“Is the union assistant accountant position that popular?” Liang Kefeng asked.

The woman replied in a whisper, “Once you get familiar with the job and become a full accountant, you might gain Mr. Ku’s trust. Then you could handle two sets of books: one for the public records and one private one for Mr. Ku. The private account is where the real profits are.”

“Then why did the previous assistant leave?”

“Getting Mr. Ku’s trust isn’t easy. The prospects outside are far more straightforward.” The woman grabbed her bag and said, “Let’s go, time to clock out.”

Ah Wei came over with a comic book in his hand. He knew Liang Kefeng wanted to be the assistant accountant, but he shrugged, “I’m afraid I’m not in a position to vouch for you.”

Kefeng lowered her voice, “What about Brother Xiao?”

“Brother Xiao? Oh, he’d definitely have enough sway! But I’m not sure if he’d be willing. If he is, though, you’ll definitely get the interview.”

“I don’t know him well,” she replied, feeling uncertain.

Ah Wei thought for a moment and offered, “Let my mom talk to him.”

Aunt Hao was familiar with the tenants at North Corner Building. After lunch, she approached Brother Xiao on Liang Kefeng’s behalf.

Brother Xiao seemed to have a good impression of Liang Kefeng. Living on the same floor, she was quiet, never causing any trouble or drawing attention to herself.

Hearing that she knew accounting, he wrote her a note instructing her to take it to Director Ma that afternoon.

“Just tell them you’re my cousin. They won’t give you a hard time.”

Cousin!

This was a pleasant surprise that went far beyond what Liang Kefeng had anticipated.

In her time here, she’d barely exchanged a few words with Brother Xiao. She knew he held the highest status among the tenants at North Corner Building. People like him who had climbed to the top usually preferred straightforward individuals, so she had kept a polite distance from him, treating him as she would any other tenant.

Since Brother Xiao was willing to help her in such a big way, she felt it was only polite to thank him. It was also a chance to get closer to him.

“Thank you, Brother Xiao. My brother and I will treat you to dinner sometime.”

Brother Xiao didn’t have the demeanor of a streetwise person; he looked more like a scholarly advisor. He capped his fountain pen and smiled, “Wait until you’re better off financially.”

After lunch, Ah Wei took her to meet with Director Ma in the union.

Director Ma, still groggy from a nap, looked up at her. “Your name is Hu Feng? What’s your relation to Brother Xiao?”

Without missing a beat, Liang Kefeng replied, “He’s my cousin.”

Brother Xiao was Mr. Ku’s most trusted confidant, handling many things that Mr. Ku had no time for. He rarely interacted with anyone, making him the sort of person that even mid-level managers like them wanted to curry favor with but found hard to approach.

Director Ma instantly perked up, gesturing toward the chair across from him. “Sit, sit! No need to stand. Do you understand accounting?”

“I studied accounting in the mainland and took night school classes here, so I know the basics.”

“Great, that’s perfect.”

Director Ma walked to the doorway and called to the finance office, “Ah Zhen, come here a moment.”

Soon, a middle-aged woman with curly hair hurried over, pen in hand, clearly busy.

“Ah Zhen, this is Brother Xiao’s cousin, Ah Feng. She’s transferring from the candy factory to be the assistant accountant. She studied accounting in the mainland. Check if she’s good to go. If so, she can start today.”

Director Ma’s words left Ah Zhen with no room to refuse.

Though she urgently needed help, she had been hoping for a more qualified candidate. This new arrival, claiming to have studied accounting on the mainland but lacking certification, looked dubious.

However, she dared not refuse.

So, Ah Zhen nodded and led her into the finance office, though her face showed no warmth. “Follow me.”

The finance office had three desks—one for Ah Zhen, one for the cashier, and one for the assistant.

The cashier wasn’t around, and the assistant’s desk was a mess. Ah Zhen, a straightforward person, grumbled, “Just like you, another hire by connections. Left without notice and didn’t even tidy up.”

Swiftly, Liang Kefeng began organizing the documents on her new desk, well-practiced in dealing with people like Ah Zhen.

“Sister Zhen, if there’s any work you need done, just let me know,” Liang Kefeng offered.

Sister Zhen pulled out a chair and sat down, resuming her work. “That Lin Shuangxia—just as I taught her, she left. Wasted so much of my time. I have too much to do and not enough time to teach anyone. How about… you start by cleaning up the office?”

Liang Kefeng glanced at what Sister Zhen was working on and quietly said, “I can handle small tasks like registering original documents.”

“Small tasks?” Sister Zhen looked up at her, slightly skeptical. “Have you done it before?”

It was a basic accounting task, and Liang Kefeng nodded. “Yes, I can do it.”

Half-believing, Sister Zhen handed over some files. “Show me. This stack is last month’s reimbursement receipts from each district.”

“Should I sort them by district and time?”

“Yes. No mistakes, no missing words, and don’t write in simplified characters. Practice with scrap paper first to replicate the format, then show me. If it’s correct, I’ll give you the actual ledger.” She stood up to head to the restroom.

When Sister Zhen returned, Liang Kefeng had already completed a sample for her to review.

“That quick?” Sister Zhen was a bit surprised as she took the paper. Liang had drawn a very neat table, and her meticulous work left no errors, plus her handwriting was excellent.

Much better than Lin Shuangxia.

“Not bad.” Though reluctant to show it, Sister Zhen was clearly pleased. “Alright, let’s get back to work. Ah Xiang broke his leg and is recovering, and Lin Shuangxia quit. My head is spinning.”

Liang joked, “I specialize in curing headaches.”

“I’ll write a transfer request right now to bring you over from the candy factory.” This was her way of showing approval.

“Thank you, Sister Zhen,” Liang said, smiling obediently.

With someone to handle simpler tasks, Sister Zhen could finally catch a break and focus on more important work. Throughout the afternoon, Liang became familiar with the financial records of the Shuanglong Labor Union through her work on expense registration. Each district contributed fees to the guild monthly, and the guild reimbursed a portion, which meant each district found ways to use up their allocated expenses.

Beyond routine administrative costs, the guild’s funds were untouchable until the new leader took office. Though she didn’t see the full accounts, Liang guessed the savings were substantial for a place like Sifang City.

Quick and efficient, Liang completed all of Sister Zhen’s assigned tasks and even helped with additional paperwork.

Sister Zhen couldn’t help but praise her, “You don’t seem like a rookie—you’re more like an experienced accountant.”

“Not really…”

Just then, there was a commotion outside, and four or five people gathered in the hallway. Someone asked, “Where’s Hu Feng?”

Recognizing the voice, Liang quickly went out and saw members of the “218 Incident Investigation Team.” A man pointed at her. “Hey, here she is!”

The group’s leader, Liu Changan, approached, his forehead visibly bruised. His tone was harsh. “Are you Hu Feng?”

“I am.”

They’d met previously at the North Corner Building, so Liu remembered her face. “I’m Liu Changan, leader of the ‘218 Incident Investigation Team.’ We suspect you’re involved in Ah Dan’s death. You need to come with us.”

Liang Kefeng’s mind raced. Where had something gone wrong? This couldn’t be right. She feigned ignorance, “What do you mean?”

“It means either you come quietly, or I’ll drag you out after giving you a beating!” Liu Changan barked, practically spitting with anger.

Hearing the noise, Director Ma came out of the office. “Anzi, do you have any evidence? How could a girl be involved in Ah Dan’s death? And Hu Feng is Brother Xiao’s cousin and our financial assistant. Without proof, I won’t allow you to take her.”

Sister Zhen, clearly angry, added, “Speak properly. This is the union office. Who are you trying to scare with threats?”

Liu, equally irritated, said, “We just went to arrest her brother. See this bruise? Her brother hit me and then ran off…”

No wonder he was holding a grudge.

Director Ma questioned, “Is it her brother involved in Ah Dan’s death, or her?”

Liu replied, “I’m just following orders. Both siblings need to come with us.”

“But isn’t Li Baozi the suspect?” Director Ma pressed.

Others in the office agreed, “Yeah, everyone’s saying Li Baozi’s the killer.”

“Li Baozi was arrested and is under interrogation. Brother Xiao is aware of this; he knows I’m here. It’s just a few steps to the Zhonghua Hall, where they’re questioning him.”

The Zhonghua Hall, just behind the elders’ center, served as an administrative office for the Shuanglong Labor Union.

“Come on!” A man from the team grabbed Liang roughly, trying to cuff her hands behind her back to vent Liu Changan’s anger.

Seeing that playing dumb wasn’t going to work, Liang swiftly countered, grabbing his arm and pinning his face against the wall.

“What’s going on?” the others shouted, ready to intervene.

“I’ll go myself,” Liang said coldly.

Sister Zhen was startled, not expecting this seemingly delicate girl to be so strong and fast! Worried about her, Sister Zhen stepped in front and warned the team, “Don’t mess around! This is the union office. If you big men dare to gang up on a girl, I’ll report you to Lord Ku!”

Having known her for only half a day, Liang was touched that this seemingly hard-to-approach colleague was standing up for her. “Sister Zhen, I’ll go with them. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

Director Ma added, “No need to get rough. She’s just a young girl, after all.”

Having suffered at Cheng Yaojin’s hands, Liu was in no mood for more trouble. “Let’s go.”

The walk to Zhonghua Hall was only about a hundred meters. The hall shared the same building as the elders’ center but faced opposite directions.

The large hall served as the assembly area for district meetings. The group headed to a side room, which resembled a training gym. In the middle of the hall was a statue of Guan Gong, with chairs lined up against the walls, leaving the central space open.

At that moment, two men stood in the middle—Li Baozi and Cheng Yaojin.

So, Cheng Yaojin had been caught. Or perhaps, knowing his skills, he had turned himself in after stashing his gun somewhere.

“Now that everyone’s here, let’s begin,” someone announced.

The man, around fifty years old with a small ponytail tied at the back, was likely Ah Dan’s boss, known as Uncle Zhongzhi, the head of the East District.

The bald man sitting next to Brother Xiao showed a face full of disdain—this was most likely Fei Qiang. Fei Qiang glanced backward. “Fang Fang, come here.”

The only woman present stood up. She appeared to be about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with a long braid, tight leather pants, and high boots. Her phoenix eyes had a sharp, lofty gaze as she walked over to Liang Kefeng and asked, “Have you known Ah Dan from before?”

Liang Kefeng shook her head. “No, I don’t know him.”

“But,” Fang Fang continued, “the barber said that the first time Ah Dan saw you at North Point Building, he said it seemed like he’d seen you somewhere before.”

Liang Kefeng couldn’t deny this part. “He did say that, but a lot of people try to strike up a conversation with me like that when we first meet.”

Some people in the room chuckled. Fang Fang sneered, “Pretty sharp-tongued, aren’t you… The night Ah Dan got into trouble, he was having dinner at Peng Ji with me and Li Baozai. He said he’d met a woman he found intriguing and planned to meet up with her later that night.”

“I asked him what was intriguing about her. He said that despite this girl being only twenty and from the mainland, she had impressive skills, and he wanted to win her over.” Fang Fang fixed her gaze on Liang Kefeng. “A twenty-year-old girl from the mainland, the only one he’d been in contact with recently, is you! I heard from Anzi that the moment you made a move just now, you pinned Xiao Wen against the wall. You’re not simple.”

Upon learning that Fang Fang had seen Ah Dan that night, Liang Kefeng initially felt uneasy. However, after analyzing Fang Fang’s words, it seemed that Ah Dan hadn’t mentioned their so-called familial relationship to her, which reassured her.

Indeed, if Ah Dan had intended to win her over, he wouldn’t have told others that he was her maternal uncle.

With little emotion on her face, Liang Kefeng said, “It’s true that my brother and I know a few martial arts moves, and we didn’t intend to hide it from everyone. If I were really capable of killing Brother Dan, I wouldn’t have revealed my martial arts abilities just now. I would have pretended to be weak and pitiful. But I didn’t kill Brother Dan, so why would I hide it? That’s the first point.”

“Second, I neither had the time to kill Brother Dan nor the weapon to do it. So how could I have killed him?”

“Moreover, Brother Dan said he was going to meet a woman, a twenty-year-old girl. Whether it was me or not, there’s no evidence to prove that this girl killed him. Because Brother Dan said he was planning to meet the girl, note the wording: he *was planning to*… But as I heard, after he bid you farewell, he went straight home and didn’t even have the time to find the girl before someone killed him. Isn’t that the logical conclusion here?”

The logic was sound. This young woman was not only articulate but also clear in her reasoning.

Clearly, most people present were more inclined to believe Liang Kefeng’s line of reasoning.

And Liang Kefeng directed her final statement at Uncle Zhongzhi.

Uncle Zhongzhi, influenced by rumors, had already concluded that Li Baozai was the murderer. He respected Liang Kefeng’s words and picked up from where she left off.

“Yes, that’s the reasoning. I just want to know, when can we search Li Baozai’s room? I’ve stationed people outside his dorm since yesterday. You’d better not try anything sneaky. Your refusal to let us search only proves you’re hiding something!”