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

Chapter 170 Murder Case!

January 10th, Saturday, cold weather.

The staff dormitory of the fertilizer plant in Lingmeng County.

The staff dormitory and the family quarters are separate, belonging to two different buildings, separated by a red brick wall for easy identification.

The staff housing is mainly allocated by the work unit, and it is usually occupied by long-serving employees or family members of leaders.

In 98, during the wave of layoffs, not to mention housing, even jobs were not guaranteed.

The staff dormitory is for workers with less seniority and shorter tenure.

Most of them are single or a couple, living together or in mixed-gender households.

There used to be an old locust tree in the middle of the wall, but because the fertilizer factory family members had been committing thefts and had lost many things, the police station came to investigate after the report was filed, but they couldn't find out the cause.

Therefore, the staff in the residential building suspected that it was done by people in the staff dormitory.

After all, being laid off also means being laid off workers on the other side of the wall. Without jobs and income, it's inevitable that they might resort to petty theft.

So the factory cut down the old locust tree behind the wall.

This happened in the first half of last year. When it was cut down, the old locust tree was in bloom, and clusters of snow-white flower buds fell to the ground.

Like the fate of the major state-owned factories in Annam, it collapsed with a crash.

The snow-white flowers fell on both sides of the wall.

In addition, barbed wire was erected on the more than three-meter-high wall, raising the wall by more than four meters.

Sure enough, the security situation improved a lot in the second half of the year, and nothing was stolen from the residential building anymore.

Li Xiumei's husband is a high-ranking leader at the fertilizer plant, serving as the office director.

No matter how many people are laid off, it won't happen to my husband.

Therefore, unlike other employees' family members, Li Xiumei did not live in constant fear and trepidation.

In terms of money, she spends it when she needs to and never skimps on her life, but she is also not extravagant.

It was already 5 p.m., and the sun rarely shone in winter; the weather was chilly.

She rode her bicycle back from the department store and bought a scarf for each of her husband and daughter.

She stopped her bicycle in the alley outside, and as she walked over, she saw that the guard on duty was not in the guard post.

Security guards are also laid-off workers, so of course they won't be diligent in their duties.

Li Xiumei called out twice, but there was still no one inside.

So she gently pushed the iron gate, and it was open.

Li Xiumei didn't mind, she helped the bicycle inside and parked it in the bicycle shed.

The carport is on the left side of the fence. It's a shed with family members' cars parked underneath.

One of the cars was a brand new Audi 100, which the fertilizer plant manager had just bought. I heard it cost several hundred thousand yuan.

This car is very conspicuous. After the factory manager bought it, he didn't dare to drive it out, fearing that someone would smash it.

For the workers who are about to be laid off, this car is an eyesore, like a knife stabbing into their hearts.

But the people living in the family building thought that the factory director had money to buy a new car, an Audi, and that there were several Audis in Lingmeng County.

This undoubtedly gave them a strong boost of confidence, assuring them that the factory manager was resourceful and capable of protecting everyone's jobs.

But this only applies to the residential buildings.

Li Xiumei's husband, Wang Jian, held this view.

One of his favorite sayings is, "The factory manager is capable!"

Li Xiumei parked her car, picked up a nylon basket, and prepared to go upstairs.

Across from her was the wall with barbed wire. The staff building outside was quiet; you couldn't hear any sounds, not even the sounds of basketballs or ping-pong balls.

In those early years, the basketball court on the other side of the wall was very lively every weekend afternoon. People were not so confused about the future, nor did they worry about three meals a day. People played basketball, children rolled iron hoops, and retired workers chatted.

At that time, there was no difference between the people living in the family dormitories and the staff dormitories, and the relationship between the two sides was very good.

If someone goes back to the countryside and brings back fresh vegetables and fruits, they'll ask their friend on the other side to wait at the fence. Then the friend will climb the old locust tree and deliver the vegetables and fruits over.

Li Xiumei remembers that when her husband was young, he often climbed the old locust tree with the young men in the family building, either to go drinking or to play basketball.

When the fertilizer plant was doing well, Li Xiumei would take her daughter up this old locust tree and chat with her close female friends for an entire afternoon.

But now, all of that is in the past.

Li Xiumei sighed and walked into the stairwell.

Her home was on the third floor; the higher the floor, the higher the position in the factory.

The factory manager lived on the fifth floor and occupied the rooftop, overlooking the entire fertilizer plant.

Now, the factory manager only comes to stay occasionally. He owns several houses outside, and he even bought a new house in An'nan City for his son's wedding.

Li Xiumei took out her key and opened the door to room 301.

There are only four families on one floor, and their doors are quite far apart. Also, it's Saturday now, and the other two families have bought houses elsewhere and are staying in their new homes for the weekend.

At this moment, only an elderly couple who are both retired and working are at home.

But Li Xiumei didn't often interact with them. The old couple had very bad habits; they would leave their garbage outside the door every day and never take it downstairs.

It would sit there for days on end, especially in the summer, and the stench seemed to seep in through the cracks in the door, making it very unpleasant.

As soon as I entered the house, my daughter, who was doing her homework at the dining table, immediately put down her pen and came to greet me: "Mom, what delicious food did you buy?"

Li Xiumei's daughter, Wang Yu, is in her third year of junior high school. She is about the same height as Li Xiumei, around 1.6 meters.

"All you think about is food. I bought you a scarf, try it on."

Li Xiumei put down the basket and took out a plastic bag from it: "The blue one is yours, and your dad's is brown." Wang Yu frowned: "Why isn't it cashmere? This polyester one has static electricity."

"Dream on! Cashmere? Didn't you see that people on the other side of the wall are starving?"

Do you have a few classmates over there? I saw He Xiao, who's in your class, yesterday morning. It's the dead of winter, but she was wearing summer sandals. It must have been so cold; she wore two pairs of socks to keep warm. Be grateful.

"Oh, I know."

"We bought eggs, tomatoes, and a fish. We'll just have two dishes for dinner."

"Fish? I don't like eating fish, there are too many bones."

"It wasn't made for you."

"You only love my dad."

"Your dad supports our whole family, works hard, and has been good to both you and me. What's wrong with rewarding him?"

Wang Yu laughed and said, "It's Saturday today, why would my dad go to work? I didn't see him when I woke up this morning."

"He went to a meeting in the city with the deputy factory director and should be back soon."

Wang Yu curled her lip: "They must be using the pretext of a meeting to go to the city for food and drinks, without even taking me with them."

"You just love to go against your dad."

Li Xiumei smiled, took off her coat, and hung it on the coat rack next to the door.

Next to the clothes rack was a wooden shoe rack.

Li Xiumei took off her shoes and was about to put them back when she suddenly noticed that the new shoes her daughter had bought before winter were missing.

She looked up; her daughter had turned away and was putting on a scarf.

Li Xiumei frowned: "What about the new shoes your dad bought you? They're Double Star brand, lined with fleece."

Wang Yu, with her back to her, tilted her head and asked, "Did you wash it?"

What should I wash after I just bought it?

"Mom, I'm hungry. Oh, and the scarf you bought me is really nice."

Just as Li Xiumei was about to say something, there was a knock on the door.

“Your dad is back. You’ll have to explain things to him later.”

Li Xiumei turned around, opened the door, and saw a woman in a red coat standing outside.

"Excuse me, ma'am, do you need dish soap at home?"

The young woman took a white bottle of dish soap from the basket: "Our brand is very good. It cleans very well and is healthy and hygienic."

"Sorry, we have that at home."

“Our city of Anan has no heating or hot water supply, so washing dishes in the dead of winter is very inconvenient, and it’s hard to get the grease off. But with our brand, it’s much easier to wash.”

"Really, it's not necessary, thank you."

Seeing the woman looking into the house while speaking, Li Xiumei walked to the door and said with a smile, "Go upstairs and ask them; they should need it."

"Okay, then I won't bother you anymore."

Li Xiumei closed the door, glanced at the living room, and saw that no one was there; her daughter had gone back to her room.

There was another knock on the door next door. It wasn't easy for that saleswoman to make a living.

Li Xiumei sighed softly, changed her clothes, and went to the kitchen to cook.

The kitchen is to the right of the door, and there is a small window on the washbasin that offers a view of the basketball court below the staff dormitory.

At that moment, several children were rolling iron hoops on the basketball court, but there were no adults around.

No one knows where these people went; they all seem to have vanished in an instant.

The once bustling fertilizer plant is now much quieter.

Just as Li Xiumei was about to cook, she suddenly saw a small figure walking out of the staff dormitory corridor.

She looked closely and saw that it was He Xiao, her daughter's classmate.

What is this child doing?

Li Xiumei leaned closer to the window and took a closer look. She saw that He Xiao was wearing the same pair of Double Star shoes that her daughter, Wang Yu, was wearing.

Immediately, blood rushed to Li Xiumei's head.

But then she forced herself to calm down. Did Wang Yu give her these shoes herself, or did she steal them? She had to find out the truth.

Li Xiumei cleared her mind of all distractions, thinking that she would question her daughter when her husband returned.

She calmed down and prepared to cook dinner.

Winter days are short, and it gets dark quickly. The streetlight that used to shine on the basketball court in the staff dormitory is no longer working.

It was 7 p.m. and my husband, Wang Jian, still hadn't come home.

Li Xiumei had just heated up the food in the pot when she went to the living room. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Her first thought was that her husband had come home, but no, her husband had a key.

But instinctively, Li Xiumei opened the door.

Two men appeared at the door.

Immediately afterwards, a large hand wearing work gloves pressed down on Li Xiumei's face, pulled her back, and then her mouth was covered, with a knife held to her neck.

"Don't make a sound, or I'll stab you to death!"

"Youngest brother, there's another woman inside! Drag her out!"

(End of this chapter)