Diary of a Criminal Investigator

"Officer, it’s him, Zhang Xiaohu. I told you this guy was no good! See? How about that? Turns out he’s a robber!"

Chen Xiaojuan’s father had never liked the look of this Zhang Xiaohu.

When he saw the photo Song Mingguang took out, he immediately pointed to the second robbery suspect.

"Then... then I didn’t know either... boo-hoo..."

When Chen Xiaojuan’s mother found out that Zhang Xiaohu was actually a robber, she just sat there crying nonstop.

Last year, when Chen Xiaojuan was working out of town, she met Zhang Xiaohu, and the two of them started dating.

Her father sighed. "Right before the New Year, Xiaojuan brought this Zhang Xiaohu home once, and we talked about the two of them getting engaged."

"Actually, we weren’t asking for much in bride price around here, just fifty thousand, but even that fifty thousand, Zhang Xiaohu didn’t have."

"So you tell me, if he can’t even put together fifty thousand, and I marry my girl off to him, how’s she supposed to have a good life with that Zhang Xiaohu? So I was against this marriage from the start."

"Our daughter made a fuss with us for quite a while back then, but her mother and I both stood firm on this, and slowly she let it go. Later I was afraid they’d start it up again, so after the New Year I just didn’t let my daughter go out to work anymore."

Although Chen Xiaojuan’s father was a farmer, he was a reasonable man and held in high esteem in the village.

In these years most people in the village had gone out to work, the young working till they were old, the old working outside till they died.

But Chen Xiaojuan’s father had never gone out.

"I just didn’t have a choice. So many girls who go out to work come back with a big belly."

"The husbands they find are all from other places, and plenty of them end up divorced."

"It’s all just sweet talk, they get tricked."

"I just wanted my daughter to find a local boy, do something steady, farming’s fine too."

"These days I’d almost talked my daughter around."

"But the day before yesterday, that Zhang Xiaohu of theirs came again."

"This time... he brought a hundred and fifty thousand in cash, said his family’s house was being demolished and they got compensation, came with the money to propose, said he could give Xiaojuan a good life."

"We... aye..."

Song Mingguang knew that for the sake of the money, the old couple had agreed.

On the other side, Li Donglin and the others were rushing as fast as they could...

Still too late.

By the time their car reached the road, there was no one left there waiting.

"Down there! Keep going down, it’s just been a bit, they can’t have gotten far, they’re on the bus!"

Chen Dong hurriedly said, "There’s another stop two kilometers ahead, quite a few people get on there too, it’s another village."

"This bus leaves from Shanggu Town and has to stop at four stations before it reaches the neighboring county. We’ll definitely catch up."

They didn’t need Chen Dong to say it; of course they were going to give chase.

Five vehicles floored the gas, roaring off in the direction Chen Dong pointed.

This time, in less than two minutes, they spotted a bus in the distance on the road.

Chen Dong was a local, he recognized the bus at a glance.

"Leader, that’s the one! That’s the bus!"

The driver stepped harder on the gas, and in a few breaths they’d caught up.

They boxed in the bus and everyone jumped out at once.

"Police! Police!"

The bus driver saw their IDs and hurried to open the door.

Lu Chuan went up first, and at a glance he spotted Zhang Xiaohu sitting three rows away.

A young girl was sitting beside him.

"Zhang Xiaohu? Time to get off."

These past few days could be called the highlight of Zhang Xiaohu’s life.

When he walked into his ex-girlfriend’s home with a hundred and fifty thousand in cash, he held his back so straight he couldn’t have been prouder.

Last year, right over the New Year, he hadn’t even gotten a meat dish when he came, but this time he brought a hundred and fifty thousand as bride price, three times the usual amount around here.

That very day, Chen Xiaojuan’s parents killed a chicken for him.

For the meals after that, whatever they cooked, they’d ask his opinion first, and there was never a shortage of big fish and meat.

So this was what it felt like to have money.

When you’ve got money, everyone treats you like a person, everyone respects you, everyone takes you seriously.

When he’d just gone out robbing with Li Chuan and the others, Zhang Xiaohu had been a little scared, and afterwards he’d even regretted it a bit.

But seeing how enthusiastic Chen Xiaojuan’s parents were with him, he felt it had all been worth it.

This time, even when he said he was taking Chen Xiaojuan away with him, her parents didn’t object, they saw him off happily.

And besides that hundred and fifty thousand, he had over two million in cash stashed outside.

If he was careful with it, that money could last him a lifetime, right?

After all, based on his old salary, he could only earn fifty or sixty thousand a year.

Ten years of not eating and not drinking would only be five or six hundred thousand.

To save up over two million...

Would have been impossible in this lifetime.

He just hadn’t expected the police to find him this fast.

Those first two days after the robbery, he was terrified the police would come for him, he couldn’t sleep at night.

But after two days went by and nothing happened, he started to relax.

He figured he’d been fully covered up at the time, and nobody had recognized him afterwards, maybe the police would never find him in this lifetime.

He’d already decided that after these couple of days, he was going to change his phone number and everything, and never contact Li Chuan or Chen Zheng again.

He was going to take that money and run away with Chen Xiaojuan.

Today was the first day he was putting that plan into action.

And he never imagined that the moment he stepped out the door, he’d be caught.

"Who are you? Why are you grabbing my husband?"

Chen Xiaojuan still didn’t know.

She knew that Zhang Xiaohu really did love her.

But there was nothing she could do. The old Zhang Xiaohu had been dirt poor, his family had no money, he was just a security guard, and then he got laid off over the New Year. He could barely support himself, how was he supposed to support her? If she went with him, there’d be no good days ahead.

Slowly, she’d already given up, and over the past half year she’d gone on a few blind dates arranged by her family.

There was a young guy in the neighboring town who didn’t look bad, his family was well off, his parents farmed a few hundred mu of land, earned a hundred to two hundred thousand a year, they’d bought an apartment in the county seat and even had a car.

In Shanggu Town, that was already a pretty good situation.

The two of them had been about ready to get engaged, but then Zhang Xiaohu suddenly came back, and he even brought a hundred and fifty thousand in bride price.

He’d secretly told her that his family’s house had been demolished and they’d given him two million in compensation!

Could it be that she was going to become rich too?

With that money, they could buy an apartment in town, then buy a car, and with what was left, start a small business. She could live like a city person.

These days, Chen Xiaojuan had felt incredibly happy.

She never thought it would all turn out to be nothing but bubbles in the water, castles in the air.

"We’re the police. You’re Chen Xiaojuan, right? You come with us to another car. Zhang Xiaohu, get up!"

Zhang Xiaohu didn’t resist.

There was no point.