Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

While listening attentively, Wang Shuai quickly took notes. Liu Mei's description of Li Yongbao's height, build, clothing, and physical characteristics perfectly matched the deceased's features. Moreover, Li Yongbao had a conflict with the construction site foreman and coworkers six months ago. The last time he called, he said he wanted to settle his wages and come back as soon as possible, after which he lost contact. Combined with Li Feng's report that Li Yongbao went out to work last year and should not have returned, all these suspicious points further confirmed that Li Yongbao was very likely the deceased.

“Sister Liu, we have another matter we would like to ask you for help with,” Wang Shuai said in a heavy tone. “Recently, we found a male corpse in an abandoned farmhouse in Lucao Gou Village. The deceased’s characteristics closely match those of your husband, Li Yongbao. Therefore, we would like to collect your DNA sample and send it to the forensic identification center for comparison with the deceased’s DNA to confirm whether the deceased is your husband, Li Yongbao. We hope you can cooperate with our work. Thank you.”

Upon hearing Wang Shuai's words, Liu Mei instantly broke down, tears streaming down her face. Her legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed. Wang Shuai and his team members rushed forward to support her. "No...it can't be, officers, it can't be my husband. He can't be dead. He said he would settle his wages and come back soon. He wouldn't abandon me, my elderly mother, and our child," Liu Mei choked out, her emotions running high. "Something must have happened to him. He must have been murdered. Officers, you must find the killer and avenge him. Please, I beg you."

“Sister Liu, please don’t get agitated. We completely understand how you feel,” Wang Shuai comforted her gently. “We also hope the deceased isn’t your husband, but in order to confirm his identity, to find the truth as soon as possible, and to give you and your family closure, we must conduct a DNA comparison. Please trust us; we will do everything in our power to find the truth, locate the murderer, and bring justice to you and your family. If you agree, we will collect your DNA sample now, and we will have the results soon.”

With Wang Shuai and his team members' patient comforting words, Liu Mei gradually calmed down. She nodded and said, choking back tears, "I agree. I will cooperate with your work. As long as we can confirm whether the deceased is my husband, and as long as we can find the murderer, I am willing to cooperate with anything."

Subsequently, Wang Shuai instructed his team members to collect Liu Mei's oral mucosa sample according to standard procedures, place it in a sealed bag, and label it with the collector, collection time, and subject. At the same time, Wang Shuai also inquired about the situation of Li Yongbao's elderly mother and son from Liu Mei. He learned that Li Yongbao's elderly mother was in poor health and bedridden for many years, making it inconvenient to collect a DNA sample. Li Yongbao's son was attending high school in the city, making it inconvenient to collect a sample immediately. Therefore, Wang Shuai decided to first send Liu Mei's DNA sample to the forensic identification center for preliminary comparison. If the comparison results matched, then DNA samples from Li Yongbao's elderly mother and son would be collected for further confirmation.

After collecting the DNA sample, Wang Shuai continued to question Liu Mei about Li Yongbao's interpersonal relationships, hoping to find some suspicious clues to investigate the motive and suspects. "Sister Liu, please think back carefully. How was your husband Li Yongbao usually? Were his interpersonal relationships good? Did he have any conflicts with anyone? Besides the conflict he had with the foreman and coworkers at the construction site six months ago, did he have any other conflicts with others, especially financial or emotional disputes?"

Liu Mei calmed herself down, thought carefully for a moment, and slowly said, "My husband, Li Yongbao, is usually introverted and not good at communicating or arguing with others. He is honest and dutiful, and he is very filial at home. He is also very good to me and the children. He has no bad habits; he doesn't smoke, drink, or gamble. He has a simple social life and rarely interacts with outsiders. In the village, he has a good relationship with the villagers and has never made enemies with anyone."

“As for the financial dispute,” Liu Mei frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, “I remember that before he went out to work, he borrowed money from two people for building a house. He borrowed a total of 30,000 yuan. One was his classmate, Zhao Lei, who lent him 10,000 yuan, and the other was his fellow villager and coworker, Sun Hao, who lent him 20,000 yuan. They agreed that he would pay them back after he went out to work and received his wages. But after he went out to work, he never received his wages, so he never paid back Zhao Lei and Sun Hao. Half a year ago, when he called me, he said that Zhao Lei and Sun Hao often called him, urging him to pay back the money. Because he didn’t have the money, he had argued with them several times, and their relationship became very strained.”

"Zhao Lei and Sun Hao?" Wang Shuai's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Sister Liu, could you tell me more about these two people? Their age, height, build, occupation, contact information, their relationship with your husband Li Yongbao, their usual interactions, and the specifics of their debt collection efforts, such as whether they threatened your husband, or said anything like, 'If he doesn't pay back the money, we'll do something to him'?"

“Zhao Lei is my husband Li Yongbao’s classmate. He’s also 38 years old this year, about 170 centimeters tall, and a bit overweight. He usually farms at home and occasionally does odd jobs at nearby construction sites. His home is at the west end of our Lijia’ao Village, not far from ours,” Liu Mei said. “Sun Hao is from the same hometown as my husband and is also a fellow worker. He’s 37 years old this year, about 168 centimeters tall, and a bit thin. He also works at construction sites in the south, but not at the same site as my husband. I don’t know which site he works at. His home is in Wangjiawan Village, north of our Lijia’ao Village.”

“Zhao Lei and my husband don’t interact much normally. They only visit each other during holidays. Their relationship is just average. This time, my husband borrowed money because his family was building a house and he had no other choice,” Liu Mei continued. “Sun Hao and my husband interact more often. They grew up together, are from the same hometown, and went to work together. Their relationship is fairly good, so my husband borrowed 20,000 yuan from him. But since my husband couldn’t repay the money and had an argument with them, they’ve rarely been in contact. Zhao Lei even came to my house to demand repayment, saying that if my husband didn’t pay back the money, he would sell our house and threatened to make things difficult for my family. Although Sun Hao hasn’t come to my house to demand repayment, he often calls my husband in a very rude tone and has also threatened him, saying that if he doesn’t repay the money, he will break his legs.” (End of Chapter)