Chapter 2423 2424 In-depth Investigation
Chapter 2423: Chapter 2424: In-depth Investigation Chapter 2423: Chapter 2424: In-depth Investigation Following Zhang Hui’s instructions, Lin Yi drove the car to the town police station.
They had already discussed the case over the phone, but they still needed to pay a visit.
Matters of relationships and courtesy could not be neglected.
One was from the branch office, the other from the local station. Though affiliated with different areas and with a gap in ranks, the three of them received enthusiastic reception.
They expressed willingness to actively cooperate, even offering to send someone to assist, but Zhang Hui politely declined, planning to check out Jindou Village on their own.
After briefly discussing the case, the three bid their farewells and prepared to head to Jindou Village.
When they stepped out, the sight of the Alfa car Lin Yi drove left the folks at the town police station stunned.
They knew Zhong Hai was wealthy, but to have an Alfa?
The three drove away from the town, heading to Jindou Village.
Compared to the relaxed mood on the way there, all three grew much more solemn.
Perhaps the secrets buried in Jindou Village were key to unraveling all mysteries.
By the side of the highway, there stood a festive red sign that read “Jindou Village.”
Lin Yi turned the car around, driving onto a side road, which was smooth and fairly easy to navigate.
On both sides of the road were vast expanses of land with many people busy at the fields, getting ready to start sowing.
Faintly, about two hundred meters ahead, one could see a cluster of houses.
According to the map, that was Jindou Village.
Soon, Lin Yi drove the car into the village.
Similar to Xiangyang Village, the road leading into the village was paved with cement, and there were many large brick houses.
“Doesn’t seem as poor as they said,” Zhu Junchi remarked.
“Times have changed,” Zhang Hui said:
“Back then, aside from Northeast, Yanjing, and Zhong Hai, no other places in China were wealthy. Now things have improved, the Yangtze River Delta region has developed, the standards around Jinling have risen, and naturally, the rural conditions have also improved.”
As the two conversed, Lin Yi drove leisurely.
His gaze wandering to both sides of the road.
Rural life seemed to bear a certain uniformity; to Lin Yi, this place felt quite similar to Xiangyang Village.
Many elderly people could be seen sunbathing by the roadside, but there were not many young people; either they had gone out to work or to tend the fields.
At this time, the younger generation wouldn’t just be idling at home unless they were up to no good.
Although many aspects were similar to Xiangyang Village, something strange stood out.
“Brother Hui, Brother Zhu, do you find it strange that the villagers are looking at us with an odd expression?”
“Strange?”
Both instinctively looked outside, “Seems normal. The village people have no other form of entertainment, seeing strangers naturally draws extra attention.”
Lin Yi didn’t say anything further, but kept observing for a while longer.
Since his hometown was a village, Lin Yi was somewhat familiar with the people here.
It was natural to be curious about outsiders, but it was just curiosity.
However, the looks from these villagers were filled with wariness.
The two were completely different.
“Lin Yi, turn right at the junction ahead, then keep going. We’ll go find the village chief.”
“Okay.”
Following Zhang Hui’s directions, Lin Yi turned the car at the right junction and stopped in front of a large brick house.
Seemingly hearing the noise from outside, a middle-aged man came out from the courtyard after the car stopped.
Seeing the white Alfa, his expression showed some hesitation.
The three got out of the car one after another, and Zhang Hui flashed his credentials.
“You must be the village chief. I am Zhang Hui, the head of the criminal police of Zhonghai Xinshan Branch. We have contacted each other on the phone before.”
The middle-aged man standing in front of them was named Li Baolong, the chief of Jindou Village.
Upon knowing the identities of Zhang Hui and the others, his demeanor relaxed, and he quickly extended his hand.
“Hello, hello. You came in such a nice car; I almost didn’t recognize you.”
Zhang Hui smiled, “It’s sponsored by friends; we can’t afford such a car ourselves. Let’s go inside and talk.”
“Good, good, good.”
There was a small square table in the courtyard with brewed tea on it.
It was clear that Li Baolong had been waiting for them.
Under the enthusiastic hospitality of Li Baolong, the three sat down, and the atmosphere wasn’t too formal; it was rather casual.
“Have some tea first and let’s talk slowly; I will cooperate as much as I can.”
Zhang Hui took a sip of tea and habitually handed cigarettes to Li Baolong and Zhu Junchi.
“Then I’ll get straight to the point. Recently, there have been several cases in Zhonghai. The victims are all from Jindou Village, so we are here to check out the situation.”
“They are all from our village? How old were they? What were their names?”
Li Baolong looked slightly surprised since Zhang Hui had only mentioned over the phone that they wanted to gather some information but had not disclosed the specifics.
Now hearing this news, he was somewhat surprised.
Zhu Junchi handed over the files that were prepared beforehand.
“It’s all here, please take a look.”
Li Baolong read the details carefully, taking five to six minutes to go through them.
“It says here they left Jindou Village twenty to thirty years ago.”
“Yes, indeed, it has been a long time,” Zhang Hui nodded and said:
“Moreover, these people know each other; they left the village together, and now they have all died under mysterious circumstances, so we wanted to understand their situation back then.”
“This…” Li Baolong smacked his lips, “This is a bit difficult, I need to think of a way.”
“Is there something inconvenient?”
“Not to hide it from you, I am forty-six this year and came to Jindou Village over a decade ago, so I’m not very clear about the past events.”
“What brought you to Jindou Village?”
“My family is from the town; conditions were okay back then, and then we started leasing land in the rural areas. We made some money over the years, leasing more and more land; over time, I didn’t return to the town, built a house here, and settled down,” Li Baolong explained:
“And people of our age like to live in the countryside, having a house and a yard is much better than living in the city.”
Zhang Hui and Zhu Junchi nodded, that wasn’t false; they also liked this type of lifestyle.
“Could you help us contact the local villagers? We need to clear up these matters.”
“That’s easy; I’ll take you to my uncle,” Li Baolong said:
“My father-in-law’s family has always been in Jindou Village; my uncle has lived in the village these years, knows a bit about big and small matters. I’ll call him over, and you can ask him any questions.”
“Okay.”
Li Baolong took out his mobile phone, ready to call his uncle.
Creak—
At that moment, the door was pushed open, and a middle-aged woman poked her head out, her expression somewhat cold, and her tone not very pleasant.
“Come in for a moment.”