Break out of the courtyard

That night, a black hybrid sedan with the brand name Heping, carrying Zhang Heping who had just finished a meeting, slowly drove along the gray and white icy road towards Zhang's house on the north bank of Houhai Lake.

It wasn't that a banquet hadn't been prepared at the venue, but the driver and bodyguards Zhang Heping brought weren't part of the system and couldn't dine with the other drivers and guards. Zhang Heping used this as an excuse to go home early, since he didn't like socializing anyway.

Today's meeting is a seminar on the procurement of Soviet-made weapons and equipment. Zhang Heping felt that Hua Lao and the others had brought him here to refute those who were eager to buy Soviet-made weapons.

Because Zhang Heping spent the day refuting and explaining one by one the equipment, including aircraft carriers, warships, airplanes, and tanks, sometimes having to explain repeatedly, in order to dispel the stubborn belief of some people that Soviet-made weapons were superior.

If anyone is to blame, it's because the weapon blueprints submitted by Zhang Heping were still classified, and few people knew that China already possessed more advanced weapon technology.

Tomorrow's meeting will discuss the various heavy industrial equipment left behind by the former Northern Soviet Union.

The heavy industrial equipment industry in mainland China has actually developed quite well. Whenever Zhang Heping needs to produce something, if there is a lack of certain equipment in mainland China, he will provide the manufacturing blueprints of that equipment to the relevant factories in mainland China free of charge and guide them in manufacturing it.

However, just because Zhang Heping knew doesn't mean that the others above him knew. After all, there are so many factories in the mainland, and not everyone has the time to find out what equipment those factories have or what they can produce.

Just like in the past life, without a comprehensive industrial survey, how would we know that there are so many private enterprises in the mainland that have broken international monopolies in technology? This is the limitation of our understanding.

Even though Zhang Heping's knowledge base is already very broad due to the cheat code, he still has blind spots, such as that guy trembling like a leaf at the Yinding Bridgehead.

When Zhang Heping was driving across Yinding Bridge, he couldn't accurately tell whether the person was shivering from the cold, had trembling hands due to the aftereffects of a stroke, or was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

This question was immediately forgotten by Zhang Heping after he rolled down the car window and saw the guy's face.

That guy is Sha Zhu!
Even if he was wrapped up tightly, Zhang Heping could recognize him at a glance by his eyes and eyebrows.

When Zhang Heping first transmigrated, he was always targeted by Yi Zhonghai and Sha Zhu!
Although it didn't cause any real damage to his family, it was still disgusting enough.

So when Zhang Heping returned home and heard that Sha Zhu had followed him to the door and wanted to see him, Zhang Heping didn't hesitate and told his bodyguard to go out and chase him away.

Hearing this, Ma Xiuzhen, who was making dumplings with Tang Xin by the courtyard, handed the soup ladle to a female bodyguard who had been trying to help, and then sat down next to her son Zhang Heping.

“I heard that Sha Zhu was hospitalized with a stroke in mid-October. Although he didn’t suffer from hemiplegia, he was left with tremors and weakness in his hands as a sequela.” Ma Xiuzhen gossiped from the side, “Sha Zhu’s skill is all in his hands.”

"Now that he can't handle the pots and pans, no one will hire him as a cook."

"When Sha Zhu was hospitalized, the doctor said he could be saved. At first, the Jia family members were still somewhat conscientious. They took turns going to the hospital to take care of Sha Zhu and even helped pay the treatment fees."

"When Sha Zhu woke up, the Jia family members, upon learning that Sha Zhu's hands could no longer hold a ladle and work as a cook, tsk tsk..."

Ma Xiuzhen shook her head, a mocking look on her face. "After the Jia family found out that Sha Zhu couldn't make money as a cook, their disdain was practically written all over their faces."

"Shazhu was kicked out by the Jia family?" Zhang Heping casually replied, which was a disguised form of supporting the joke.

The main problem is that Zhang Heping hasn't even had a chance to speak more than a few words with his mother since he returned.

"Of course!" Ma Xiuzhen sneered. "Shazhu wanted to get back the house and the wages he had given to Qin Huairu, but the Jia family refused to acknowledge it."

"The neighborhood committee and the police station have both tried to mediate this matter, but they couldn't do anything to the Jia family. In the end, they could only let Sha Zhu sue in court."

At this point, Ma Xiuzhen changed the subject, "Shazhu came to see you tonight, probably wanting you to treat his hand!"

"He's overthinking it!" Zhang Heping said coldly. "The fact that I didn't settle old scores with them is the greatest mercy I can show them."

"If he wants me to heal his hand, he might as well go find a place to sleep and maybe it will work in his dreams!"

Hearing Zhang Heping's unfriendly tone, Ma Xiuzhen abandoned the idea of ​​speaking well of Sha Zhu.

Ma Xiuzhen is kind-hearted, especially now that she's older and has a lot of extra money, she's become more open-minded about many things.

However, she cares a lot about her son Zhang Heping's feelings and will not let outsiders upset him.

In Ma Xiuzhen's mind, outsiders only saw the Zhang family's glamour, but they didn't see how rich her son was and how busy he was with work all day.

Nowadays, no normal person eats this late, which shows how hard her son works.

The next morning, when Zhang Heping went out for his morning exercise, he found a dead body curled up under the Yinding Bridge. Judging from the clothes, it looked very similar to Sha Zhu from the previous night.

Zhang Heping didn't know why this idiot didn't go to the nearby police station to warm up, or even just huddle in the public toilet next to Zhang's house, which was built by the Lou family, would be better than the ice under the bridge.

Putting aside his chaotic thoughts, Zhang Heping stopped thinking about Sha Zhu and went straight home to cook noodles.

As for Sha Zhu's body, let whoever wants to care, care. Zhang Heping certainly won't invite trouble upon himself. It would be ridiculous if someone suspected that he killed Sha Zhu.

After having breakfast with his driver and bodyguards, Zhang Heping went to today's meeting to discuss whether or not to import the heavy industrial equipment left behind by the former Northern Soviet Union.

When Zhang Heping returned home late at night, Ma Xiuzhen sat down next to her son with a gossipy look on her face and told him about the incident that morning when she found Sha Zhu dead under the Yinding Bridge.

……

Office of the Criminal Investigation Division, Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

"Nonsense!" Chang Sheng, who had been inexplicably invited to the meeting, suddenly stood up and shouted angrily, "You suspect my brother-in-law Zhang Heping of killing He Yuzhu, where is the evidence? Where is the motive?"

"Do you even know who invited my brother-in-law back?"

Do you know what his current status is? And what He Yuzhu's status is?

"you……"

"Director Chang!" Seeing the deputy director's grim expression, the criminal investigation captain hurriedly interrupted, "Director Chang, please calm down and let Lao Geng finish speaking!"

After stating his position, Chang Sheng frowned and looked at the section chief surnamed Geng diagonally across from him.

He remembered this old Geng!

After Chang Sheng was transferred to the household registration department of the municipal bureau, some people approached him and revealed a lot of relationships between people in the bureau.

Old Geng left a very deep impression on Chang Sheng.

Because Lao Geng used to be the director of the Houhai police station, but after being transferred to the municipal bureau for more than ten years, he is still only a section chief.

Old Geng pulled a lot of strings to get Chang Sheng transferred to the Municipal Bureau as the deputy director of the household registration department!
Chang Sheng naturally knew why he was able to take on this deputy director position. Zhang Heping made it very clear when he came back last time that he would repay this favor with a life-extending 120-yuan potion in the future.

That's why Chang Sheng reacted so strongly when Lao Geng suggested that Zhang Heping was a suspect in the murder!
"I'm not personal, I'm talking about the issue!" Old Geng said with a dark face and an air of official business. "If we don't even dare to raise our suspicions, how are we supposed to solve the case?"

Old Geng ignored Chang Sheng, who had been parachuted in and taken his position as section chief, and focused only on the deputy director above him, who was also a temporary appointee. He said:

"On the night of February 13, 1963, Zhang Lin and Lin Ercai, residents of No. 6 Courtyard on the north bank of Houhai Lake, died under the Yinding Bridge and under the ice of Houhai Lake, respectively..." Chang Sheng stared coldly at Old Geng, his face grim, as he recounted the old case.
Coincidentally, when Chang Sheng was young, he wanted to get promoted by solving major cases and had heard about another major case that happened in Houhai.

Later, he married Zhang Zhaodi, the eldest sister of the Zhang family, and moved into the Zhang family residence in Houhai. There, he inquired more deeply about the major case in which more than a dozen people died in one night.

His thoughts at the time were simple: first, to solve the case; and second, to prevent his family from suffering the same fate.

Only after making inquiries did he learn that two of the people who died that night were Zhang Lin and Lin Ercai, tenants of the neighboring No. 6 courtyard!

"My suspicion that Zhang Lin and Lin Ercai were killed by Zhang Heping is based on two main events."

"Firstly, Zhang Heping had a conflict with Zhang Lin and Lin Ercai. When Zhang Heping was 13 years old, he was able to easily dislocate the limbs of Zhang Lin and Lin Ercai, two adults, and knock them to the ground."

"Secondly, several of Hu Youde's thugs did not die from carbon monoxide poisoning that night because of other matters; according to them, they had also drunk alcohol before, similar to the night of February 13, but had never experienced carbon monoxide poisoning before."

"In addition, several of Hu Youde's men mentioned that Hu Youde had his eye on the two rifles Zhang Heping had and wanted to take them away!"

“Deputy Director Chang wants evidence, which I can’t provide, but I can provide some information about the motive.”

"He Yuzhu, like Zhang Lin and Lin Ercai, had multiple conflicts with Zhang Heping's family..."

"You're talking nonsense!" Chang Sheng roared again. "According to your bullshit logic, everyone who has had a conflict with Consultant Zhang and is dead must have been killed by Consultant Zhang!"

"That's the case, I've finished!" Old Geng ignored Chang Sheng, as if the other person was talking about someone else.

In reality, what Lao Geng found most disgusting was that he mentioned "Zhang Heping's family" at the end, subtly including Chang Sheng in the mix.

However, Chang Sheng is not stupid. He had previously used "brother-in-law" to express his stance, and just now he reminded others with the term "Advisor Zhang".

The deputy director frowned and looked at the head of the criminal investigation team, staring at him with a cold gaze, as if demanding an explanation.

Given Zhang Heping's current status, regardless of his reputation at home and abroad, the Lifespan 120 potion he created alone has given him an invincible aura. Now, anyone who dares to mess with him has to ask those retired old men for permission first.

"This is He Yuzhu's autopsy report!" The criminal investigation captain took out a stack of papers, distributed one pile to each side, and then continued, "The deceased suffered a sprained left ankle, which could be caused by a fall from a height."

"There are signs of intracranial hemorrhage, which could be caused by a fall from a height."

"After visiting the area this afternoon, some people claimed that they saw Zhang's bodyguards chasing people away at the door last night, and there were pushing and shoving movements."

"Director, do you think we should continue investigating this matter?"

"Investigate! Investigate all you want!" Chang Sheng roared. "Now that you've brought this up, anyone who dares to cover it up is an accomplice to murder!"

Chang Sheng was at home last night, so he naturally knew the whole story.

He Yuzhu went to Zhang Heping's house seeking treatment for his hands, but Zhang Heping was too lazy to see him and simply had his bodyguards kick him out. It was that simple.

Even if we take a step back and assume that it was a bodyguard who pushed He Yuzhu onto the ice of Houhai, it has nothing to do with Zhang Heping; it was purely the bodyguard's private act.

Of course, such words cannot be said, lest it be implied that Zhang Heping instigated someone to commit a crime.

As for the deaths of the two old thugs that Lao Geng just mentioned, and the deaths of Hu Youde and his gang in Pigeon City, if there were evidence, the cases would have been solved long ago. Why bring them up today?

The key point is that if the troublemakers can produce evidence after this matter blows up, that's fine. But if they can't, there will be plenty of people to deal with them!
Therefore, Chang Sheng was fearless!

Upon hearing this, the deputy director in charge of criminal investigation frowned so deeply that ink seemed to be oozing from his brows!

He wasn't afraid of being investigated, because of the Lifespan 120 drug, many people now wanted to get involved with Zhang Heping's family.

If Zhang Heping uses this case to pressure the Municipal Public Security Bureau, no matter how the case is ultimately resolved, Zhang Heping will owe a lot of favors!
"Deputy Director Chang!" the deputy director frowned. "You were with Consultant Zhang last night, weren't you?"

Chang Sheng had a problem with the criminal investigation team leader and Lao Geng who had stirred up trouble, but he had no problem with the deputy director who was three levels above him.

Then Chang Sheng replied in a deep voice, "He finished his meeting and went home at 10 p.m. After the gate was closed, I didn't hear anyone open the gate and go out."

"What about 5 a.m. this morning?" Old Geng suddenly interjected. "Someone saw him jogging this morning, around 5 a.m.!"

"Hmph!" Chang Sheng snorted coldly, but offered no explanation.

When he answered the deputy director earlier, he didn't explain why He Yuzhu had asked Zhang Heping to treat his hands. So why would he explain it to Lao Geng now?
Chang Sheng was just hoping they would follow this line of thought and investigate further, so as to attract the attention of those above and make these troublemakers wait to be held accountable!
Unfortunately, this deputy director was shrewd and, in front of Chang Sheng, spoke highly of Consultant Zhang, verbally suppressing Lao Geng's suspicions by saying that there was no evidence and one should not speculate recklessly.

After seeing Chang Sheng off, the deputy director called the criminal investigation captain and Lao Geng into his office and asked in a cold voice, "What do you mean by this?"

"If you have any doubts, then investigate!"

"If you have no evidence, then go find it!"

What's the meaning of tonight's meeting?

"Should I take the blame for you? Or should we tell Chang Sheng to go back and alert the enemy?"

……

Zhangjia, on the north bank of Houhai Lake.

"Why do you think the low sales volume of Peace Motors is due to its high price? Why don't you consider the issue of range?"

As Chang Sheng entered the courtyard, he saw Zhang Heping making a phone call by the railing on the second floor, with his mistress Chen Shuting standing next to him.

Because Chang Sheng was called to the municipal bureau for a meeting after dinner, no one asked him if he had eaten when he came back so late.

He went up to the second floor and waited for Zhang Heping to finish his call before approaching him and telling him about the content of the municipal bureau's meeting that evening.

After listening to Chang Sheng's account, Zhang Heping frowned slightly and asked, "Your bureau chief didn't participate?"

"No!" Chang Sheng shook his head. "Only one deputy director in charge of criminal investigation participated."

Zhang Heping raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "It seems they want to tell me through you that they're planning to investigate me!"

"If I were to find someone to put pressure on them tonight, it would mean I have a guilty conscience, which would increase the suspicion against me from a psychological perspective."

"So, don't worry about their little tricks. I reckon that deputy director isn't on your director's side. Just keep an eye on their relationship in the future."

...(End of chapter)