The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 467: Murder in the Family Quarters of Red Star Factory
As the sun sets, the afterglow fills the entire east courtyard, giving this quiet corner a golden hue.

In the kitchen, Ge Xiaohong was busy frying dishes. As the food was steaming, she turned to her mother Du Juan and asked, "Mom, how about I give Dad a call and ask him when he can get home tonight?"

Du Juan nodded slightly, thought for a moment and replied: "Okay, I'll call his unit right away."

While the mother and daughter were talking, a tall figure appeared at the door. He was wearing a neat white police uniform and had an upright figure. As soon as he entered the door, he took off his police hat and shouted cheerfully, "Mom! Xiaohong, I'm back!"

Du Juan looked over and smiled, "Aiguo is back! He's back pretty early today!"

However, Ge Xiaohong did not immediately go forward to greet her husband Li Aiguo. Instead, she stood on tiptoe, looked past him, and looked out the door, as if looking for something.

Li Aiguo was puzzled when he saw this. He scratched his head and looked at Ge Xiaohong in confusion: "Xiaohong, what are you looking at?"

Ge Xiaohong rolled her eyes at Li Aiguo, her tone filled with dissatisfaction and confusion: "Why did you come back alone? Where's our dad? Isn't he with you?"

Li Aiguo defended himself with a wronged look on his face: "Look at what you said. My father is the leader of the Municipal Bureau, and I am just the captain of the criminal investigation team of a branch. The nature and responsibilities of our work are different. How can we go to get off work together?"

Ge Xiaohong frowned and said doubtfully, "That's not right! Haven't you been with our dad a lot these past few months? Every time I called you, you said you were busy and dealing with things with dad."

Li Aiguo sighed and said helplessly: "We were working on a case together, and we met often in order to solve that difficult case as quickly as possible.

Now that the case has been officially solved, I will return to the police station to continue my work."

When Du Juan heard the news, a happy smile instantly bloomed on her face. She quickly asked, "Aiguo, are you saying that the case has been solved? In that case, does your father no longer have to work so hard day and night?"

Li Aiguo smiled and nodded, responding, "Yes, Mom! As the director of public security, my dad's work will be much easier as long as there are no more difficult and major cases. He won't be as busy as before."

As night fell, Ge Shuping finally arrived and walked into the house.

Du Juan came forward, with a bit of dissatisfaction in her tone: "Didn't you say the case was solved? Why are you back so late?"

Ge Shuping was stunned when he heard this, and frowned slightly, "How did you know?" He immediately reacted and turned to look at Li Aiguo beside him, with a reproachful look in his eyes: "What's going on? You talked nonsense about things at work when you got home. Have you forgotten the confidentiality regulations?"

Du Juan protected her son-in-law Li Aiguo and said, "Don't blame Aiguo, he didn't say anything, he just said the case was solved.

Do you think I don’t know what case you are working on? The families of the Red Star Factory have spread the news…”

Ge Shuping thought about it carefully and realized that it was indeed the case.

After so many years, a murder occurred again in the Red Star Factory. It would be strange if the workers' families were not shocked. The entire factory was in an uproar!

Speaking of this murder case, we have to start from June 6th of this year.

That day, the Public Security Department of the Municipal Bureau suddenly received a report call from the Security Department of the Red Star Factory, claiming that a murder had occurred in the factory workers' dormitory and that the Municipal Bureau needed to intervene in the investigation immediately.

This is how the case went:
At four o'clock in the morning on the 18th, in a small room on the east row of the Red Star Factory dormitory outside Dongzhimen in Beijing, the old woman Zhang Zhihua woke up from her dream.

She turned over and reached to her side as usual, but was surprised to find that her husband Sun Chaofeng, who was supposed to be lying beside her, was nowhere to be seen.

In the quiet night, she suddenly heard a faint, intermittent groan coming from the outer room.

Zhang Zhihua turned on the light, put on her clothes in a hurry, and rushed to the outer room in two steps.

She looked through the dim light and saw Sun Chaofeng lying on the ground at the door, covered in blood. His face was pale, his eyes were closed, and he could no longer speak.

She hurried to her son's room and shook him hard to wake him up.

The mother and son ran to the Security Department of the Red Star Factory for help. With the help of the security officer on duty, they quickly got a car and sent Sun Chaofeng to the factory hospital.

However, Sun Chaofeng's injuries were too severe. Although the doctors at the factory hospital tried their best to save him, they were ultimately unable to save his life.

Someone is dead, this is a murder!
Because the murder occurred in the family quarters, the factory security department quickly contacted the municipal bureau's public security department and requested a joint investigation.

These days, murder cases are major cases, and the director of the Municipal Public Security Department, Ge Shuping, takes them very seriously.

This task finally fell on the shoulders of Li Aiguo, captain of the criminal investigation team of the branch, who personally led a team to investigate the crime scene.

Sun Chaofeng's home was located in the east row of the Red Star Factory's family dormitory. Near his home, there was a small alley running north and south.

Seven or eight meters north of the southern entrance of the alley, there was a pool of blood on the ground, with an area of ​​about 45×20 centimeters. Around the blood, there were bloodstains extending about 2 meters to the south.

About 20 meters away from the bloodstain, there should have been two poplar trees stored by the Garden Bureau.

The poplar tree was more than 30 centimeters in diameter and about 5 meters long. Li Aiguo found that one of the trees was missing and the other was thrown 6 meters away, which was obviously moved by humans.

After careful investigation and interviews, Li Aiguo learned that the deceased, Sun Chaofeng, 62 years old, was a retired worker of the Red Star Factory and also a street safety inspector.

He is upright in character, works actively, and is deeply loved by the masses.

According to the recollections of the neighborhood committee staff, when the first poplar tree was lost, Sun Chaofeng told him that he would take good care of the remaining two trees even at the cost of his life.

After on-site inspection and interviews with investigators, it was concluded that Sun Chaofeng had most likely discovered someone stealing wood at night, and when he stepped forward to stop them, he was violently attacked by the criminals and unfortunately died.

According to the analysis of the on-site situation, the stolen poplar wood is 5 meters long and weighs more than 600 kilograms. The perpetrators should be at least 3 people, and they are likely to use transportation tools such as carts or flatbed tricycles.

Judging from the brutality of the methods used to commit the crime, the criminal is likely to be a young man under 30 years old who is known to commit LM and theft.

This group of people were very familiar with the situation at the scene and chose to come here late at night to steal wood, which means that they probably lived nearby, or at least had a connection with some residents around the scene.

In order to find the key clues, Li Aiguo decided to start the investigation from the stolen poplar wood.

However, the capital city is so large and populous that finding a specific piece of wood in this vast sea of ​​people is as difficult as looking for a needle in a haystack.

Faced with this dilemma, Li Aiguo decisively reported the problems he encountered to the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The Municipal Public Security Bureau also found this issue quite difficult and could not find an effective solution for the time being.

At this time, the director of the Public Security Department, Ge Shuping, made a suggestion: "Why don't we try to mobilize the power of the masses and participate in the search for Yang Mu?
Back then, wasn’t it the power of the masses that enabled us to achieve the final victory in the War of Liberation?”

The leaders of the Municipal Bureau thought this was a good idea and immediately adopted Ge Shuping's opinion.

Sure enough, there is strength in numbers.

Not long after, people came forward to report that the stolen poplar wood was found outside the wall of a member's house in a village in Chaoyang District.

Li Aiguo immediately led the investigators to the scene, only to see that the poplar tree was 5 meters long, about 27 centimeters in diameter, and weighed more than 600 kilograms.

It was placed horizontally outside the courtyard wall, and bricks were placed underneath to prevent it from rolling.

At the case analysis meeting organized by Ge Shuping, Li Aiguo's investigation team made a preliminary judgment that this was a case of theft and murder.

The crime process was likely as follows: a group of criminals stole the first poplar tree and then returned to prepare for the second attack.

Just as the group was moving the second poplar tree, they were discovered by Sun Chaofeng, who rushed forward to stop them.

Although Sun Chaofeng was old, he never backed down.

One of the criminals took advantage of Sun Chaofeng's inattention, picked up a blunt object such as a stick, and hit him on the head. Sun Chaofeng fell in a pool of blood, and the criminal took the opportunity to escape.

At this moment, a member who was watching provided a clue to Li Aiguo.

On the morning of the incident, Lu Xiaoxia, a female worker at their village's pig farm, anxiously went to Wang Chang's home in Row 8 west of the Red Star Factory dormitory to inquire about the theft of wood and the beating of the old man.

Lu Xiaoxia works diligently and is sincere.

In August last year, introduced by Wang Chang, she established a romantic relationship with Yuan Enyi, a worker at the ceramic factory. They registered their marriage more than three months ago, rented two rooms in Wujiachang Village, and planned to hold their wedding in October this year.

The public also reported that on the morning of the incident, Lu Xiaoxia seemed restless and in an abnormal mood after going to work.

At about ten o'clock, she went out on the pretext of asking for leave and her whereabouts were unknown.

In the following days, she was depressed, cried often, and showed great psychological pressure.

After Li Aiguo learned of this important clue, he immediately sent investigators to secretly investigate Lu Xiaoxia.

The investigation results showed that Lu Xiaoxia was usually active in work and an honest person. Li Aiguo decided to have a face-to-face conversation with her in order to enlighten her and clarify her doubts.

After explaining her purpose, Lu Xiaoxia bluntly stated that on her way to work on the morning of the 18th, she heard that someone had stolen wood and beaten an old man on the evening of the 17th. Because Yuan Enyi had mentioned that he wanted wood to build a house, she became suspicious and went to Wang Chang's house to inquire.

After learning that Wang Chang was not aware of the matter, she was still worried, so she took leave and went to Yuan Enyi's home to verify it.

Yuan Enyi denied having anything to do with the matter, which made her feel a little relieved. After answering, Lu Xiaoxia looked at Li Aiguo with doubt, and then Li Aiguo did not ask any further questions, so she left.

To determine whether Lu Xiaoxia's statement was credible, the task force led by Ge Shuping analyzed the content of her conversation and her recent behavior.

Many members of the task force raised questions: Why did Lu Xiaoxia strongly suspect Yuan Enyi from the very beginning?

From a common sense perspective, her suspicion seemed to lack sufficient basis.

Although Yuan Enyi was about to get married, he had already rented two rooms in the village and was not in a hurry to prepare materials for building a house.

In addition, there are many households living around the place where the poplar wood is stored, which cannot directly prove that Yuan Enyi did it.

But why did Lu Xiaoxia suspect Yuan Enyi so firmly? Are there some details hidden behind this?

"I think Lu Xiaoxia is not honest!" Ge Shuping judged that Lu Xiaoxia was not telling the truth at all.

So he immediately ordered Li Aiguo to bring someone to find Lu Xiaoxia for another talk.

When Li Aiguo talked to Lu Baoxia, she changed her words without changing her expression and said, "Yuan Enyi told me that he really didn't do it, so I felt relieved, so I didn't..."

Although Lu Xiaoxia looked calm when being questioned by Li Aiguo.

However, according to public feedback, Lu Xiaoxia has been restless and nervous these days, and she burst into tears whenever she talked about this matter, which is also abnormal.

Li Aiguo thought: "What exactly is she worried about?"

In order to solve these mysteries, Li Aiguo decided to have an in-depth conversation with Lu Xiaoxia again to eliminate her concerns.

After some ideological work, Lu Xiaoxia finally let down her guard and told Li Aiguo and others in detail what she knew.

It turned out that at nine o'clock in the evening two days before the incident, Yuan Enyi came to Lu Xiaoxia's house and told her that someone had given him two pieces of wood from the Garden Bureau and planned to find someone to transport them to her place and store them.

Not long after, the poplar wood was stolen and the old man was beaten, which made Lu Xiaoxia strongly suspicious of Yuan Enyi.

On the morning of the 18th, Lu Xiaoxia took leave and went to Yuan Enyi's home, where she happened to meet Wang Chang, who was also there. The two were talking in a low voice.

When Lu Xiaoxia asked Yuan Enyi whether he took the wood, Yuan Enyi initially denied it, but after her questioning he admitted that he had taken the wood and revealed: "The old man didn't let us leave, so my buddies hit him twice." However, Yuan Enyi did not disclose the specific number of people involved in the theft or who actually did the beating.

The information revealed by Lu Xiaoxia was very important and had great significance for the progress of the case. Ge Shuping immediately instructed the task force to launch an investigation into Yuan Enyi and his social relations.

Yuan Enyi was an employee of a ceramic factory and had been dealt with by public security authorities for theft and LM activities.

The night before the incident, witnesses confirmed that there was a flatbed tricycle parked in front of his house and he left home late at night.

In addition, Wang Chang was Yuan Enyi's colleague in the same workshop and had committed acts of stealing in the past. After the incident, Wang and Yuan had frequent contact.

Yuan Enyi also has a younger brother named Yuan Enming, who was sentenced to re-education through labor in May of the previous year for fighting and injuring someone with a knife.

Yuan Enming took leave and returned to Beijing on the 16th, and returned to the farm on the 17th.

Farm managers reported that Yuan Enming was depressed and behaved abnormally after returning to work.

Given Yuan Enming's past behavior and the fact that he happened to be at home when the crime occurred, Li Aiguo and others believed that there was a high possibility that he was involved in the crime.

Li Aiguo decided to make a key breakthrough against Yuan Enming first.

However, investigators who went to the farm to examine it quickly returned without making any substantial progress.

Why is Yuan Enming so tight-lipped? Is he really unrelated to the case?
The task force conducted another in-depth discussion, and most members believed that since he had been hit before, he had his own ways to deal with the public security organs.

If someone has dared to stab someone with a knife in the past and has a vicious heart and cruel hands, he is very likely the main culprit.

It is estimated that due to the seriousness of his crime, he will not confess easily without direct evidence.

Therefore, in order to open a gap, you must choose another breakthrough point.

Ge Shuping decided to adjust his strategy and start from Yuan Enyi's other social relationships.

After investigation, it was discovered that Yuan Enyi's uncle Yuan Enping was a potential suspect.

Yuan Enping was a worker at the bus manufacturing plant. In early May, he helped Yuan Enyi build a house and went out on a tricycle at night to steal construction materials.

The task force believes that Yuan Enping may be related to the case.

Yuan Enping had just started working and was relatively young. No problems had been found with him in the past, so Li Aiguo decided to choose Yuan Enping as a breakthrough point.

On the morning of August 8, Li Aiguo led a team, accompanied by security personnel from the Xuanwu Bus Manufacturing Plant, to find Yuan Enping for a talk.

At first, Yuan Enping seemed extremely nervous. He only confessed that when he was helping Yuan Enyi build a small house in early May, he went out at night to steal bricks and tiles.

When Li Aiguo pointed out that he still had other questions to answer, his face turned pale instantly, revealing obvious panic and uneasiness.

Li Aiguo took advantage of the situation and patiently explained the policy to Qian Heping, telling him that if he confessed, he would be treated leniently, while if he resisted, he would be treated severely.

With Li Aiguo's patient persuasion, Yuan Enping finally let down his defenses and confessed the entire process of his involvement in the crime.

According to Yuan Enping, on the evening of May 5, Yuan Enyi called him and his neighbor Yu Hongliang to his house.

When asked about his purpose, Yuan Enyi said bluntly: "To get wood."

It was almost eleven o'clock when Yuan Enyi, Yuan Enming, Yu Hongliang and Yuan Enping, four of them, rode on a flatbed tricycle, carrying shovels, wooden sticks and a green backpack strap, and set off towards Dongzhimen.

Next to a pig farm, they found two logs.

They first loaded one, pushed it for more than two miles, and dropped it off at the door of Yuan Enyi's girlfriend, Lu Xiaoxia's house.

After resting for a while, we set out again to get the second piece of wood.

However, when loading the tricycle, an old man suddenly appeared and stopped them. He grabbed the handlebars and asked Yuan Enyi to push the tricycle and follow him.

When they reached a small alley at the west end of the row of houses, Yuan Enyi refused to go and an argument broke out between the two sides.

The old man shouted, as if calling someone.

At this moment, Yuan Enming suddenly picked up the handle of a shovel from the car and hit the old man hard on the head. He hit him several times in a row, causing the old man to fall to the ground.

Seeing this, the four of them immediately jumped on the tricycle and fled the scene in a hurry...

According to Yuan Enping's confession, on the afternoon of August 8, the Municipal Bureau detained Yuan Enyi and Yu Hongliang in accordance with the law.

The next day, Yuan Enming was brought back from the farm for interrogation.

After interrogation, the confessions of these criminals were exactly the same.

On August 8, Wang Chang, who had advised them to steal the poplar wood, was also detained according to law.

Until two days ago, the Beijing Intermediate People's Court sentenced the main culprit Yuan Enming to death in accordance with the law and executed him immediately.

The other four criminals also received due punishment.

Today is August 15th, which is supposed to be the day for families to reunite.

Under the auspices of the Deputy Director of the Municipal Bureau, Director of the Public Security Department Ge Shuping, and Director of the Security Department of the Red Star Factory Sun Li, Comrade Sun Chaofeng, a retired worker who sacrificed his life to protect state property, was awarded the title of martyr.

…………

From the moment he stepped out of Sun Chaofeng's house, Ge Shuping's mood was like a lake blown up by a strong wind, and it took a long time for it to calm down.

The scene at the home of the martyr Sun Chaofeng kept replaying in his mind: Sun Chaofeng's wife Zhang Zhihua, her face full of traces of time and filled with endless sorrow.

This deeply hurt Ge Shuping's heart, as if a huge rock was pressing on his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.

The lights in the distance were just coming on and sounds of laughter could be heard from some people's homes.

This kind of life is not easy to come by, some people are bleeding and sacrificing, some people are carrying the burden forward...

(End of this chapter)