The train driver in the courtyard

Because there were too many people to interrogate, the case was not handled by the security department.

Instead, they took all the people who needed to be interrogated to a large war reserve warehouse in the Changxindian Locomotive Factory.

There are more than a dozen rooms inside, with wooden doors, which can be used as interrogation rooms.

When Li Aiguo arrived at the warehouse, a long queue had already formed inside.

Although the leaders and technicians were puzzled, they all behaved themselves when they saw the fully armed railway soldiers.

But there's no shortage of troublemakers everywhere. Before Li Aiguo could even take two steps, another group of people was brought over.

"What's going on! Ah, you want to investigate me? Do you have an order from the ministry? Have the ministry leader come here in person."

A fat, big-eared factory leader wearing a woolen Zhongshan suit deliberately lagged behind and was pushed by the meteorologist, which immediately made him angry.

He was sitting in his office, drinking tea, reading the newspaper, and working diligently, when he was suddenly dragged out. What kind of situation is this?!

Section Chief Qin was maintaining order inside the warehouse when he heard the commotion and quickly came out.

"Aiguo, this is our factory's deputy director Liu. He's a veteran leader and is in charge of the trade union and women's federation work," Section Chief Qin quickly explained in a low voice when he saw Li Aiguo turn his head to look.

Li Aiguo understood what he meant.

The older leaders are considered to have seniority and seniority.

He was in charge of the least valued job, which shows that he had no intention of advancing.

In factories, it's very difficult for workers to be fired, and even more so for factory leaders. This has led to the saying: "If you don't want to improve, nobody can do anything about it."

This is the current situation for Deputy Factory Director Liu.

He's already in his fifties and will be able to retire in a few years, so he's not thinking about becoming a factory manager.

He was extremely arrogant at the locomotive factory. Anyone who dared to provoke him would cause a huge uproar, giving the factory leaders a real headache.

Now that Deputy Factory Director Liu has started making a scene, it has immediately sparked discussion among many factory leaders and technicians, since no one wants to be interrogated for no reason.

Suddenly, the previously orderly situation became somewhat chaotic, and a voice came from the crowd: "Director Liu is right, why are we being interrogated?"

Li Aiguo turned his head and recognized the middle-aged man who had called out as Zhou, the deputy head of the technical department.

When Deputy Section Chief Zhou met Li Aiguo's gaze, for some reason, his heart tightened suddenly, and the rest of his words were stuck in his throat.

He felt a bit pathetic and wanted to shout it out, but in the end he could only squeeze out a strange sound and had to hide back in the crowd.

Li Aiguo ignored Deputy Section Chief Zhou and strode over to Deputy Factory Director Liu.

"Any objections?" Li Aiguo asked directly.

"I... I do think your methods are inappropriate," Deputy Factory Director Liu said, forcing a smile as he faced Li Aiguo.

He pointed to the technicians and said, “I don’t know what happened, but it’s clearly inappropriate for you to interrogate us factory leaders and technicians together.”

"??"

Seeing that Li Aiguo still didn't understand, Deputy Factory Director Liu raised his voice and waved his hand: "It should be higher-ranking officials interrogating higher-ranking officials, leaders interrogating leaders, that's the proper procedure. I request that Section Chief Qin interrogate me."

Well, even here we have to expect special treatment.

From now on, if this guy gets sick, he should just go through the expedited channel.

Since everyone dies eventually, he doesn't need a doctor. Just send him straight to the crematorium and find the best crematorium worker for him.

Li Aiguo's face hardened, and he said coldly, "Go and line up right now!"

Deputy Factory Director Liu thought he had already backed down and given Li Aiguo face, but the kid was still relentless.

"Otherwise what? Consultant Li, I'm a factory leader. Even if a ministry wants to punish me, they'll have to hold a meeting to discuss it. Who do you think you are!"

"I'm warning you one more time, if you go back now, I can pretend nothing happened!" Li Aiguo emphasized.

Deputy Factory Director Liu, with his large pregnant belly protruding, said: "I told you, I need the leaders to interrogate me. Can't you understand human language? These young people nowadays are becoming less and less respectful of the rules."

"You want to be interrogated by the leaders, right? Okay, I'll grant your request."

Hearing this, Li Aiguo didn't argue with him and waved to Lao Mao: "Team Leader Mao, this guy is yours. Find out everything about his ancestors. If there are any problems, detain him directly."

"Hehe, I love doing this kind of thing. Last time, a factory manager fell into my hands, and now he's smashing rocks in the Northwest." Old Cat was also amazed by Deputy Factory Manager Liu's thought process.

This was the first time he had ever seen someone make such a request, so he granted it.

Although Lao Mao wasn't wearing a uniform, his imposing aura was undeniable. Deputy Factory Director Liu's expression changed drastically, and he immediately shouted, "No, I was having Section Chief Qin interrogate me, not this person. You've misunderstood."

“No misunderstanding, he is the leader, even higher in rank than Section Chief Qin. Take him away.” Li Aiguo didn’t argue with him anymore, called over a few railway soldiers, and dragged Deputy Factory Director Liu away.

"Old Qin, Old Qin, hey, say something! Stop them!" Deputy Factory Director Liu shouted as he was being pulled and dragged.

Qin, the head of the security department at Changxindian Locomotive Factory, looked somewhat embarrassed.

"Patriotism, this..."

Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes slightly.

He initially thought that Deputy Factory Director Liu was just being disrespectful to his elders and wanted to enjoy special treatment.

In retrospect, we underestimated Deputy Factory Director Liu.

This guy wants to be interrogated by Section Chief Qin or a leader in the security department.

Even if something is found out during the investigation, these people will help him cover it up for the sake of the overall situation.

Young people who have just started working have the most upright thinking, don't have many concerns, and like to make a big fuss when something happens.

This is probably why the other factory leaders at Changxindian Locomotive Factory didn't stop Deputy Director Liu; they also wanted to communicate directly with the "leaders." Li Aiguo looked up at the factory leaders.

When those people saw Deputy Factory Director Liu being taken away, their faces turned ugly.

They realized that this interrogation was completely different from any other.

They turned their attention to Chief Engineer Wang, who was the only one in the factory who had the best relationship with this scoundrel.

“Aiguo, this…” Chief Engineer Wang took a deep breath and stepped forward: “Our locomotive factory has a heavy workload. If we stop work for even a day, it will cause order delays. Aiguo, please consider this issue.”

Li Aiguo nodded slightly to him: "We are not interested in those messy things. We are just investigating a leak case. But if anyone dares to obstruct us, we don't mind taking care of them."

There are all kinds of birds in a big forest, and every factory has its share of troubles.

Li Aiguo doesn't have the ability to manage everything, nor does he intend to, but if anyone happens to cross the line, he wouldn't mind firing a shot.

Having understood Li Aiguo's intentions, Chief Engineer Wang quickly made a decision. He went over and emphasized the locomotive factory's support for the investigation, dispelling the leaders' ulterior motives.

The interrogation officially began. Due to the large number of people involved, it was impossible to conduct a very detailed interrogation, so a fixed questioning pattern was adopted. The main questions were about the whereabouts of these people, down to the hour, and whether they had recently traveled to other places.

The last question was who they thought was most likely to leak information among the people they knew.

After the interrogation began, Li Aiguo observed Lao Mao interrogating Deputy Factory Director Liu.

"Name?"

"Liu Dexiang".

"age."

"58 is old."

Where did you go after get off work yesterday?

"Working overtime in the office."

Upon hearing this, Old Cat took out a logbook recording the entry and exit of the factory.

"According to the gatekeeper's records, you stayed in the factory until 11:30 p.m. before leaving. Were you working overtime?"

Deputy Factory Director Liu looked flustered and stammered, "I love my job, is there a problem? You can ask around the factory; I'm the most hardworking leader among the factory leaders, I..."

The old cat interrupted him: "Stop, stop! Answer whatever they ask you!"

After Deputy Factory Director Liu shut his mouth, Old Cat looked up at Li Aiguo, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed: "Aiguo, what do you think?"

Li Aiguo walked over and stood in front of Deputy Factory Director Liu.

He was already tall, and since Deputy Factory Director Liu was sitting on a stool, lowering his head was almost like looking down at him, putting a lot of pressure on Deputy Factory Director Liu.

"You've been working so long overtime, you must have handled a lot of work, right?"

As Li Aiguo spoke, he lit a cigarette. "If I send someone to your office to investigate, I should be able to find the documents you've processed, right?"

Upon hearing this, Deputy Factory Director Liu's forehead broke out in a thick sweat. He tried to unbutton his collar, but his hand slipped.

Li Aiguo said coldly, "As you know, we are investigating a leak case. You should know the seriousness of the matter. If you don't honestly explain what you did last night, then you are highly suspicious."

"I... I was indeed processing documents in the office. Don't try to pin this on me." Deputy Factory Director Liu now regretted offending this troublesome person, but he remained stubborn, insisting that he was working in the office.

"It seems you intend to resist to the end. Very well, Team Leader Cat, send him back to the station and set up an expert group for interrogation."

"Please don't! I really didn't leak anything! I'm innocent!"

Seeing that Li Aiguo was about to send him away, Deputy Factory Director Liu panicked and tried to stand up, but was pushed back down by two railway soldiers.

However, no matter how Li Aiguo questioned him, Deputy Factory Director Liu, despite repeatedly proclaiming his innocence, refused to disclose his whereabouts the previous night.

Seeing that he couldn't find a breakthrough, Old Cat still had someone take him away, to be dealt with later.

After Deputy Factory Director Liu was taken to the detention room, Section Chief Qin looked at Li Aiguo and asked, "Is he highly suspicious?"

“It shouldn’t be him.” Li Aiguo shook his head: “If Deputy Factory Director Liu really is Dieter, he should make up an alibi for himself, even if it’s unreliable, it’s better than refusing to confess.”

Section Chief Qin agreed with Li Aiguo's statement and asked, "Then shouldn't we release him?"

"What do you mean 'let go'? He's a prime suspect now. Old Qin, this matter is in your hands. After the interrogation here is over, go and investigate thoroughly." Li Aiguo gave Section Chief Qin a deep look.

Section Chief Qin also realized something, and after a moment of silence, he nodded and said, "Don't worry, I'll investigate."

Old Cat looked up at Section Chief Qin, completely unaware that Li Aiguo's actions were inappropriate.

If it were him, he wouldn't mind cleaning up some trash while dealing with Dieter.

Sometimes, compared to Dieter, these scumbags are more harmful.

Throughout history, fortresses have often been breached from within.

Meanwhile, other interrogators also began their work.

By noon, a large number of interrogation transcripts had been delivered.

Li Aiguo ate the food delivered from the canteen while flipping through the records.

Most of the people interrogated were able to give a clear account of their whereabouts last night. Some went home to cook after get off work, while others went to see a movie. There seemed to be nothing suspicious about them.

As for the third question, the answers are all similar: it's unclear who Dieter is, and even the suspicions are unclear.

Even though they answered the questions from several angles, they repeatedly emphasized during the interrogation that they only found it suspicious, that they might have made a mistake, and that they hoped it wouldn't affect the person.

These records seemed to have no problems, and Old Cat was somewhat discouraged.

"It seems that this crude interrogation method has not achieved the desired effect."

"Don't worry, there's another group this afternoon."

Li Aiguo put down the iron-waisted lunchbox, picked up the thermos, poured in some hot water, shook it, and ate the remaining rice grains, oil and all, cleaned it up.

Old Cat was a little envious of Li Aiguo's big heart; no matter what happened, this guy was never in a hurry.

The work continued in the afternoon, and the first person to be interrogated was Zhou, a familiar face and deputy section chief.

Li Aiguo glanced at his file.

This man's original name was Zhou Risheng. He is 33 years old this year. His ancestral home is in Northeast China. He was originally a technician at the Dalian Railway Research Institute. Two years ago, he was transferred to the Changxindian Locomotive Factory.

He was married before the liberation, but had no children, which is somewhat unusual, unless he was a congenital eunuch like Yi Zhonghai.

“Sunday Sheng, tell me what you did after get off work last night?” Li Aiguo asked routinely, without even looking up.

Seeing this, Deputy Section Chief Zhou secretly pinched his thigh, propped himself up, and said loudly, "After get off work, I went home first. I got home at about six o'clock. After eating dinner at six-thirty, I planned to work overtime, but I found that I hadn't brought a document with me, so I went back to the technical department."

Li Aiguo squinted and asked, "What time did you get back to the technical department, and what time did you leave?"

"I remember returning to the technical department at 7 p.m. and leaving at 8:30 p.m. I signed the form at the gate when I entered and left the factory. You can check it and you'll know." Deputy Section Chief Zhou's answer was very fluent.

Li Aiguo didn't dwell on the question, and instead asked, "Who do you think might have stolen the factory's classified blueprints?"

"It's hard to say," Deputy Section Chief Zhou said, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Just tell us what's on your mind, and we'll keep it a secret," Section Chief Qin interjected.

After hesitating for a while, Deputy Section Chief Zhou gritted his teeth and said, "If we're talking about who's the most suspicious, then it has to be Chen Xingyi from our technical section."

(One more chapter tonight) (End of this chapter)