You're supposed to be a security officer, what case are you solving?

Chapter 164 The Fourth Victim!
Finally, the No. 6 bus passed through twenty-seven stops and stopped at the last stop.

Outside the bus was a desolate dirt road, meaning that the furthest point a city bus could reach, which was a smooth asphalt road, depended on the city's development zone.

This area is already a peri-urban zone; further ahead lies Shuitianba, the largest town in Jiaxing District.

The town is located on the outskirts of the city, and its flat terrain and fertile land make it the largest vegetable supply base in Annam.

Decades ago, city dwellers often went hungry, and many would come here to steal vegetables.

Back then, farmers had more confidence than city dwellers.

At this moment, only Yang Jinwen remained in the carriage.

"Zi!"

The car door slid open, and Zhao Jianxin stood up and glanced at him.

"Comrade Yang, we've arrived."

Yang Jinwen nodded, stood up, and walked to the front of the carriage.

Outside the vehicle, several vegetable farmers carrying baskets on their backs were preparing to go to the city. The baskets contained vegetables, chickens, and ducks.

"Comrade Yang, do you have relatives here?"

After Yang Jinwen got out of the car, Zhao Jianxin followed him out.

"No."

When should I pick you up?

Yang Jinwen shook his head: "You don't need to wait for me."

"Okay," Zhao Jianxin replied, "The last bus will be at 6:30 at the latest."

"Understood." Yang Jinwen stood on the platform.

Zhao Jianxin turned around and helped several vegetable farmers get on the truck; they were all carrying heavy loads.

He asked an elderly woman carrying a bamboo basket, "Coming to town so late?"

"It's so cold, it's even snowing. Is today Saturday? You're going too early; the city folks aren't even up yet."

"Be careful, I'll help you carry it up."

"Thanks, Xiao Zhao."

After the woman got on the bus, she glanced at the child and said, "Oh dear, Yangyang is asleep."

Zhao Jianxin smiled and said, "I just cried myself to sleep."

"Dress her warmly; girls shouldn't get cold."

Just then, a vegetable farmer came running from afar, carrying a basket on his back, which was full of vegetables.

Zhao Jianxin stood in front of the car door and shouted, "Slow down, I'll wait for you."

The other person laughed and said, "I was afraid of interfering with your work."

"It's alright, come on, turn your back to me, I'll help you lift the basket down."

The vegetable farmer turned around, and Zhao Jianxin helped him put down his basket. The farmer felt relieved and smiled, "By the way, it's been a long time since I've seen Sun Weidong. Little Zhao, have you seen him?"

Zhao Jianxin stiffened, glanced at Yang Jinwen, and immediately shook his head: "He's probably sick."

"Yeah, it got cold so suddenly. I even saw snowflakes falling just now."

After the passengers boarded the bus, Zhao Jianxin sat in the driver's seat and started driving.

Yang Jinwen stood at the bus stop, and after the bus had gone far away, he looked at a row of motorcycles parked in the distance.

These motorcycle drivers were joking around; they were all a bunch of hooligans from the paddy fields.

Yang Jinwen hailed a motorcycle, and as soon as he got on, the young motorcycle driver asked, "Where are you going?"

"Shuitianba Police Station".

The young man frowned and said, "Get down."

"What do you mean?"

"Are you making fun of me?" the young man said angrily.

Yang Jinwen frowned: "No, I really want to take a car. How much will it cost?"

The young man pointed forward: "See that? It's right behind that row of cypress trees. That's the police station."

"Thanks." Yang Jinwen got out of the car, put his hands in his pockets, and walked forward.

As soon as he left, several motorcyclists behind him started laughing.

"Hey kid, you're making a profit even on 200 meters. Charge him five yuan, do you think he'd dare refuse?"

"Damn it, you think I won't recognize him just because I'm young? This guy's a policeman! I can smell him."

"That's all nonsense. What can you possibly smell?"

"Didn't you see the briefcase he was carrying under his arm? The zipper is so nice, it looks expensive."

"Let me tell you, those police officers all carry their bags like this, under their left armpit, where they keep their guns for easy access."

"real or fake?"

"My uncle is a policeman, don't I know that?"

Let me tell you, that's how my uncle holds his handbag.

Once, during a mission, his bag was of such poor quality that the zipper got stuck, preventing him from drawing his gun, which made him very anxious.

When I got back, I gave my aunt a piece of my mind, saying she was stingy and only bought inferior goods.

From then on, my uncle's handbag always had its zipper zipped up constantly, and he even oiled it every few days, just to make it easier to draw his gun. That guy was definitely a policeman; I wouldn't dare mess with him.

After entering the Shuitianba Police Station, Yang Jinwen went directly to the deputy director and explained his purpose.

As for the director, he generally won't stay at the office unless a leader visits him.

"Sun Weidong? Forty-two years old? Just those two conditions?"

Yang Jinwen nodded: "It might not be called that, but it's better to check anyway."

"Okay, I'll have someone check the household registration. You wait here for a bit."

Yang Jinwen nodded and found a seat.

After a while, the deputy director came over and said, "There is such a person, a vegetable farmer."

"That matches up. Could you find two people to come with me?"

The deputy director nodded: "Since it's a task from the Municipal Bureau, I'll go with you."

"Excuse me."

"You're welcome."

The deputy director went to get the car keys, accompanied by a policewoman.

The three of them took a car to Sun Weidong's house.

Less than half an hour later, the deputy director drove the car to a dirt road and stopped. Below the dirt road were large vegetable fields. The vegetables grown in An'nan City during winter were usually Chinese cabbage and carrots, which were growing well and were supplied to the city.

The deputy director said, "The car can't go in; we'll have to walk a bit."

Yang Jinwen nodded and got out of the car with him.

Sun Weidong's house is right next to the vegetable field, and there is a pond in front of the door, but the water has dried up.

Go up the stone steps and you'll find a row of earthen houses, the better ones being red brick houses.

"There it is." The deputy director pointed to the red brick building with his bag.

The yard was full of free-range chickens and ducks, and the ground was covered with chicken and duck droppings, making it difficult to walk.

Several women sat on small stools in front of the door, knitting sweaters.

Upon seeing the police officers in uniform, the women quickly stood up.

One of the middle-aged women with short hair asked, "Who are you looking for?"

The deputy director asked, "Is Sun Weidong home?"

The women's expressions changed, and one of them, a slightly older middle-aged woman, stepped forward and asked, "It's my husband. What happened to him?"

The deputy director was unaware of the situation, so Yang Jinwen walked up the steps and said, "Let's sit down and talk."

The middle-aged woman seemed a little bewildered, while the other women stared with curious eyes.

The deputy director, being experienced, immediately said, "Which company are you from? It's almost noon, don't you need to cook? This is none of your business, you should leave now."

The women rolled their eyes, holding their knitting needles, somewhat reluctant to leave, but a moment later they took off running, probably to inform their neighbors.

Seeing them leave, Yang Jinwen sat on a small stool and looked at the middle-aged woman: "What's your name?"

"Li Qiaoqiao".

"Who is Sun Weidong to you?"

"My man."

"where is he?"

Li Qiaoqiao shook her head: "I don't know."

"How could we not know? Has he disappeared, or where did he go?"

"He ran off with some other woman."

Yang Jinwen frowned: "What do you mean?"

Li Qiaoqiao sobbed, "Just a few nights ago, he sent me a letter with some money in it. He said he was going out to work and would come back in a few years. All the women in the compound are saying that my husband ran off with another woman."

"Where's the letter? Where is it?"

"I'll take it to you." Li Qiaoqiao stood up.

A moment later, he took out a brown envelope.

Yang Jinwen quickly put on the leather gloves that Wen Ling had given him, rubbed them against his jeans for a while, and then took the envelope and opened it. Inside was only a folded piece of paper.

"Besides you, who else has taken this letter and the paper inside?"

Li Qiaoqiao replied, "I read it to my parents-in-law, but they are illiterate."

Yang Jinwen looked at the postmarks; they were all from An'nan City. There was no sender's address, only the recipient's address.

The top half of the letter paper was torn off, but a blue horizontal line can be seen, indicating that it was paper from a certain organization. The torn top half of the paper should be the name of the organization.

The letter contained only a few sentences: "I'm going away to work. Don't worry about me. Take good care of your parents and children. Enclosed is five hundred yuan. I will send money home every six months from now on."

Yang Jinwen squinted and asked, "Is this your husband's handwriting?"

Li Qiaoqiao shook her head: "I don't know, I've never seen my husband write."

"What about the five hundred yuan?"

"I left it there."

"Listen, I'm from the Municipal Public Security Bureau. This is my identification, and my name is on it."

I'll write you an IOU. I need this 500 yuan for a while, and I'll pay you back later.

Li Qiaoqiao looked at the deputy director standing to one side; she felt more trustworthy with someone in uniform.

Yang Jin took out his wallet and found that he didn't have that much money, otherwise he could have exchanged it.

The deputy director also thought of this problem. He and the policewoman pooled their money and came up with more than 300 yuan, which they handed to Li Qiaoqiao.

"I'll bring you the rest of the money this afternoon, okay?"

Li Qiaoqiao nodded, went back into the house and took out the five hundred-yuan bills.

"You're the only one who took this money, right?"

"Yes, I saved it to pay for my child's tuition next year, so I didn't dare use it."

How tall is your husband, Sun Weidong?

"A little over 1.7 meters tall."

"Has he been carrying loads on a shoulder pole for a long time?"

Li Qiaoqiao nodded: "Yes, he needs to fertilize the crops in the field and also take the vegetables to the city to sell."

"Did he pick on the left shoulder or the right shoulder?"

"The right shoulder."

"What date did he leave home?"

"He left on the morning of the 9th."

Did he say anything to you before he left?

Li Qiaoqiao paused for a moment and replied, "He said he had the money for the child's college education. I asked where the money came from, and he just laughed and didn't tell me."

Did he mention that he was going to get a job?

"No."

Do you have any photos of Sun Weidong at home?

"We took photos when we got married."

Sun Qiaoqiao got up and went into the house. When she came out again, she handed Yang Jinwen a photo frame.

In the photo, Sun Weidong is wearing a suit and a red tie, looking quite honest and simple.

Sun Qiaoqiao asked, "What exactly happened to my man?"

Yang Jinwen replied, "I will let you know in a few days, but don't overthink it until then."

He looked up from the photo; the snow was falling heavier and heavier in front of him, and the fields were covered in a vast expanse of white.

(End of this chapter)