50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 717 Poverty Makes People Short-Sighted
In those days, there were no surveillance cameras; finding people relied entirely on extensive door-to-door investigations.

If the person has no obvious distinguishing features, the effectiveness of such a visit is predictable.

He had no clue what to do, so he decided to go to Lushi County first and start the investigation from Li Cong's hometown, Xiaoyuegou.

There is a sentence in "The Book of Master Guigu: The Art of War" that Sun Zhiwei strongly agrees with: "Those who have evil intentions will always leave traces in their actions."

Unless Li Cong died in an accident, if he was indeed murdered, there must be undiscovered clues.

In this era, ordinary people who wanted to travel from Xishuangbanna, a remote area on the border of the motherland, to Sanmen City, 1700 kilometers away, could generally only travel by road or rail.

If you have your own car, it will probably take you about a week to reach your destination, though whether you can arrive safely is another matter.

If you don't have a private car and instead take an intercity long-distance bus, it's relatively safer, but the number of transfers along the way can be terrifying; you'd be lucky if it took you half a month to get there.

If you want to take the railway, you need to go east along the Shangkun Railway, transfer in Zhuzhou, and head north to Shangdu.

Taking the train is slightly faster, but you need to be able to get a sleeper berth; otherwise, you'll only be able to sit in a hard seat.

Anyone who took a train in the 1980s should have had this experience: when waiting for the train, people were packed together, and queuing was simply not an option.

If you have a lot of luggage or are traveling with children, it's best to buy an extra platform ticket and get on the platform early to wait for the train. Otherwise, you definitely won't be able to outrun the migrant workers.

When the train arrives, if you're at the front of the line, that's fine. But if you're at the back, forget about getting on the train; the throng of passengers will push you aside.

The quickest way to get on the bus is to spot which window is open, throw your luggage or children onto the bus, and then climb in through the window. Once you're on board, you can find a seat.

Even if you manage to get on the train and are lucky enough to find a seat, the troubles are far from over.

Along the way, you'll not only have a sore bottom from sitting, but you'll also have to keep an eye on your belongings at all times.

At the same time, when you go to the toilet, you should ask your neighbor to watch your seat to prevent someone from taking it.

If you really encounter a situation where someone takes your seat, in most cases you won't be able to get it back, and having a ticket won't help.

Because the person who takes your seat is likely a woman holding a child or an elderly person, the kind you can't hit or yell at.

Even if you tell the flight attendant, they can only try to persuade you, but it's basically useless.

But if you dare to forcibly take it back, you'll face the accusations of everyone in the carriage, and there might even be some meddlesome burly men who will come and teach you a lesson.

If you want to reach your destination safely and quickly, the fastest way is by plane. However, not only do you need a letter of introduction, but the price is also very expensive, and there are very few flights, which is not an option for ordinary people.

Knowing full well the current state of domestic roads, Sun Zhiwei had no intention of squeezing onto a train.

He contacted the city hall directly and asked them to help him arrange a flight.

For a big spender who had just invested several million in the city, the city hall's service was satisfactory, and soon Sun Zhiwei boarded a flight to Shangdu.

A day later, Sun Zhiwei, who had just arrived in Shangdu, went straight to the long-distance bus station and took a bus to Sanmen City.

Once in the car, Sun Zhiwei didn't sit idle; instead, he began observing the road conditions.

Li Cong needed to travel from his hometown to Hong Kong Island, and this long-distance bus route was his only way. From Shangdu to Sanmen, the entire route was almost entirely mountainous.

Long-distance buses often travel on dangerous roads where towering cliffs lie on one side and a plunging riverbed on the other.

He had already witnessed the dangers on the road, but what truly caught his attention were the things he saw when he encountered villages and towns along the way.

Along many of these roads with villages and towns along the way, he could see idle people, hands in their pockets, watching the vehicles on the road.

Their eyes were greedy yet cautious, as if they were carefully selecting their prey.

Moreover, not far from them, one can often see piles of wooden stakes, tree trunks, or stones.

Sun Zhiwei could also scan the space behind them and see what was inside the small house.

He quickly realized it.

Because long-distance buses are also their own means of transportation, if things get too out of hand, the bus company might suspend flights, and they would also be in trouble.

Rabbits don't even eat the grass near their burrows; they prefer long-haul trucks or private cars used for hauling goods.

The first type of car, although it won't make you a lot of money,
The latter type of car not only carries people with money, but also carries the least risk in committing a heist.

When Sun Zhiwei saw these people, he wondered if Li Cong hadn't taken a long-distance bus, but instead flagged down a truck on the road to Shangdu.

This is quite possible. When truck drivers are driving long distances, they often pick up short-distance passengers along the way when their trucks are empty to earn some extra money.

If the truck Li Cong is riding in encounters the situation on the way, a conflict could very likely occur, leading to unforeseen circumstances.

The reason why the police here couldn't trace Li Cong's movements is very likely because he didn't even reach Shangdu before the accident happened on this mountain road.

However, there are many such sections along the way, and he plans to survey all the villages along the route again when he returns.

The long-distance bus took a whole day to reach Sanmen City, which is more than 200 kilometers away. Because the bus was swaying back and forth, Sun Zhiwei almost broke his back.

The journey from Sanmen City to Lushi County and then to Xiaoyuegou is even more arduous.

Lushi County is located in the more remote mountains, and Xiaoyuegou is even further into the mountains by following the forests and rivers.

If you come here decades from now, this area will be very lively.

Lushi County is poised to become a nationally renowned rafting destination, with its tourism industry booming and attracting millions of tourists annually.

Moreover, Lushi County itself is a very distinctive ancient city.

It is said that it became a county town as early as the Xia and Shang dynasties, making it one of only two "two-thousand-year-old counties" in the country. It is an important source of Heluo culture and the ancestral home of the Lu surname in China.

In short, Lushi County has a very prestigious reputation in the field of ancient culture.

But now this place is a poor and remote area. Because it is located deep inland, even though there are many mineral resources, they are difficult to develop, and the local economy is in dire straits.

(End of this chapter)