Chapter 1827
"Can’t watch the movie tonight."
Song Guanchao had just driven into the county town when he received the message from Liang Jiajia.
After asking, he learned that they had to stake out in the village tonight.
Song Guanchao said, then watch it on the phone.
Watching movies, the important factor is never the movie itself, but who you watch it with, where, and how you watch it.
However, it’s indeed not very convenient in the village.
Despite all the village houses being two-story buildings, every household is packed during the New Year. With three carloads of people, there’s definitely no place to stay; most likely they’ll have to make do in the car for the night.
As dusk approached, Song Guanchao bought some meals in the county town and headed to the village.
Halfway, the phone kept ringing.
He held the steering wheel with one hand, slowed down the car, grabbed the phone to glimpse at it, and found it was Leader Hong from the inspection team.
This was quite unexpected.
He parked the car on the roadside and answered the phone.
Leader Hong had already returned to Beijing to report back, and was waiting there for the new post appointment after the New Year.
The call was for New Year’s greetings, quite an honor for a monitoring team leader to call and greet a local deputy director-level cadre like him.
Song Guanchao understood; it was still because of the Su Rong incident. He didn’t make an issue of it; otherwise, Leader Hong would’ve had a rough New Year.
While chatting, Leader Hong was surprised to learn that Song Guanchao was also in Beijing, and immediately extended an invitation. Song Guanchao politely declined, mentioning he had matters on hand.
After a few more exchanges, they hung up.
Arriving at the village, it was nearly six o’clock, and it was already dark.
As soon as Song Guanchao’s rented car entered the village, it caught the attention of the officers tailing them, who immediately notified Wei Li.
Two officers watched through the car window as Song Guanchao got out of the car, deeply disappointed.
They had seen Lin Siyuan’s photo, and the man getting out of the car was clearly not him.
Song Guanchao carried a big bag of food, looked toward a police car nearby, and called Liang Jiajia: "I’ve arrived."
In less than two minutes, Liang Jiajia appeared from another direction.
"How much did you buy?" Liang Jiajia stared at the bag in his hand, a bit dazed.
Song Guanchao said, "Call over your colleagues to join and eat a bit."
In the county, it wouldn’t matter, but in the village, there’s only a small shop, the only food being instant noodles and sausage.
At another time, they could pay the villagers money to cook a few dishes with help.
During the New Year, everyone’s busy, no one has the leisure to cook for them, at most offer a cup of tea.
Liang Jiajia held onto the walkie-talkie: "My boyfriend bought food, everyone come over to eat."
Wei Li’s face immediately turned sour on hearing this.
He hadn’t expected Song Guanchao to follow here.
He initially thought to maintain moral high ground and keep everyone stationed under the guise of work, but felt that might offend people, so he remained silent.
Adjusting his emotions, he joined them.
In the morning, everyone heard about Liang Jiajia’s boyfriend from Wei Li in the meeting room, curious about Song Guanchao.
Upon meeting him, they realized her boyfriend indeed had an impressive image, Wei Li couldn’t even compare.
He bore an extraordinary aura.
"Officer Wei." Song Guanchao greeted him with a smile, Wei Li nodded and smiled back, took a meal box, and ten or so officers gathered together, placing food on the car roof, eating with laughter.
While eating, they discussed the case, with Song Guanchao listening but not speaking.
It’s their investigation, him being an outsider, it’s inappropriate to intervene.
"Brother Wei, if tonight’s stakeout doesn’t work, are we continuing tomorrow?" an officer asked.
They visited Lin Siyuan’s family in the afternoon, only two left at home, a crippled father and a mentally unstable wife.
It’s said that his mother fell gravely ill when he became a wanted man and passed away.
Lin Siyuan’s father denied contact with his son, no matter how they persuaded, it was futile.
His wife was even less reliable, a mentally ill person, her words couldn’t be trusted.
"We’ll see tomorrow." Wei Li said.
"This kid’s too impulsive, couldn’t things be properly discussed, had to pull a knife."
"I asked around the villagers this afternoon, there’s more to the story in this case." an officer mysteriously said.
The others were intrigued: "Tell us."
"You’ve seen Lin Siyuan’s mentally unstable wife, right? How does she seem?"
"What do you mean how?"
"Isn’t she just mentally ill?"
The officer shook his head: "She was normal before, and her looks, have to admit, right? Without makeup, she’d still be a seven out of ten beauty, could be a minor internet star in the city, let alone the village, clearly a renowned beauty in the area."
No one denied this, having seen her this afternoon. Around twenty-seven or eight years old, quietly sitting in the courtyard, she had a striking, imposing appearance, tall stature.
Though wearing a tattered cotton coat, her features and figure were impeccable.
The officer lowered his voice: "I heard, this whole thing started because of this woman. Secretary Liu’s son, relying on his father being the town’s top official, acted wantonly. Lin Siyuan’s wife caught his eye."
"Both university graduates, Lin Siyuan’s couple were originally developing in Beijing. His wife, suddenly laid off, soon pregnant, sent back to the village for prenatal care, while Lin Siyuan remained in Beijing working."
At this point, everyone quietly speculated but remained silent, waiting for him to continue.
"Last year... oh no, should be the year before, Secretary Liu’s son came to the village one noon, claiming to buy their chickens, sent Lin Siyuan’s parents away, took advantage to assault her."
Someone’s chopsticks made a snapping sound: "Raped?"
The officer shook his head: "No, the bastard knocked her out, just pulled his pants down and was about to proceed when Lin Siyuan’s parents returned, carrying chickens. On seeing this, anger overtook them, grabbing the spade instantly."
Upon hearing this ending, everyone heaved a sigh of relief, then their thoughts turned to the fugitive Lin Siyuan, faces turning grim again: "What happened afterward?"
"His wife, traumatized, miscarried."
"Damn!"
This group of borrowed officers, every single one fuming.
Though hailing from various parts of the country, being recommended by the local city bureau to study and train in Beijing didn’t necessarily mean they were highly moral, at least their reactions were aligned on such matters.
Only Wei Li remained expressionless, not a hint of anger.
"So Lin Siyuan stabbed him?" someone asked.
The officer shook his head again: "Villagers claim it was Lin Siyuan’s mom who did the stabbing. During the time, the bastard brought people to silence them with money, forbidding them from escalating things. Lin Siyuan couldn’t hold the anger, cursed them a bit, was beaten by the son’s men, his mom charged with scissors, stabbed the bastard."
"Said she stabbed, but actually just grazed his arm."
Instantly, someone asked: "Was it really his mom who stabbed? Can we trust the village folks entirely?"
Despite the righteous rage over such matters, the officers understood the pitfalls of hearsay.
The officer said: I think it’s real, it was noon, the situation was quite public, plenty of villagers witnessed.
Someone asked: "If it wasn’t Lin Siyuan, why is he wanted?"
Right after asking, everyone silently looked at him, knowing he asked a redundant question.
Obviously, Secretary Liu’s son wanted to deal with Lin Siyuan’s family.
In such village and town places, a tiny official could ruin a regular family.
Why else do poorer places prefer sons over daughters?
Isn’t it because having more male members in the family deters outsiders from bullying?
After hearing the officers’ account, Song Guanchao had just finished eating, closed the meal box, took out a cigarette to light, and walked ten meters away to squat on the concrete, quietly smoking.