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

Chapter 421 Chen Family Village!
Ten o'clock in the morning.

Chenjia Village, Danan County.

A dusty Mitsubishi car was parked on the roadside about a kilometer from the village entrance.

Yang Jinwen and his three companions got out of the car and walked along the dirt road to the village entrance.

It was after New Year's Day, and it was the off-season for farming. There were no farmers to be seen in the fields on both sides, but as we approached the village, we began to see people strolling around the village entrance.

Maozi is quite familiar with Dannan County; his hometown is just over a few mountains away.

He pointed to the mountain north of Chenjia Village and whispered, "That's the Panying Coal Mine. Chenjia Village used to be very wealthy. The village secretary and village head led the way in illegally mining coal, and people including those from the township government got involved. They even built a dirt road down from the coal mine."

The villages in our county are all poor, so villagers from nearby areas come to Danan County to work in the coal mines, doing short-term jobs.

My dad also worked there. Back then, many people walked along the coal-carrying railway tracks, carrying baskets and poles, specifically picking up coal dust that fell from the train cars and selling it for money. I did that when I was a kid.

Yao Weihua held up his binoculars and carefully examined the hilltop to the north: "Now a cement road has been built."

Maozi nodded: "After Panying Coal Mine was contracted by Zhu Gui, the cement road was built, which is better than the dirt road in the town."

Cai Ting said, "Zhu Gui really makes money from Panying Coal Mine. His older brother Zhu Hu's convoy is located at the coal mine."

Yang Jinwen could see with the naked eye the red brick buildings constructed on the coal mine, as well as a whitewashed wall stretching across the mountainside.

Yao Weihua said, "There are still trucks carrying coal coming out. Don't these people at the coal mine know that Boss Zhu is dead?"

Yang Jinwen shook his head: "Zhu Gui was killed the night before last. In order not to alert the suspect, the task force did not notify his family first. Anyway, Zhu Gui only had his older brother Zhu Hu at home. We came to Annam to investigate Zhu Gui's murder just to see how these people would react."

Yao Weihua put down his binoculars and responded.

Cai Ting asked, "Old Yao, can you see the villa on the mountain?"

"Isn't it on the back mountain? You can't see it from this position."

"The road to the back mountain definitely has to go through the coal mine. We're currently to the east, so we have no choice but to go around it?"

"There should be a path," said the cat.

Cai Ting: "Do you know where the path is?"

The cat shook its head: "I'm not familiar with it, I'll have to ask the villagers."

After the four people entered the village, they saw a flagpole standing at the entrance of the village, behind which was the Chenjia Village office, next to the village clinic and the village store.

A dozen or so people sat in the courtyard, basking in the sun and playing cards.

Upon seeing four strangers enter the village, the people immediately put down their cards and looked at Yang Jinwen and his companions warily.

Yao Weihua stepped forward, took out a pack of jade cigarettes from his pocket, and handed them out one by one while introducing himself: "Hello, we are from the city's research institute, and we came here specifically to survey the geological conditions around Chenjia Village."

An old man wearing a cap similar to a Liberation Army hat asked, "Technician?"

Yao Weihua nodded: "Yes, yes."

"I didn't hear from the township government that any technicians were coming."

"And you are?" Yao Weihua offered him another cigarette.

"I am the village's security officer."

Faced with the other party's question, Yao Weihua was at a loss for words.

Cai Ting stepped forward and smiled sweetly: "Grandpa, hello, it's like this, we came with the permission of the county government, the township government may not have received the news. This is a staff member from our county's geological bureau..."

Cai Ting pointed at Yang Jinwen.

Upon seeing Yang Jinwen's appearance, these people immediately began to believe him to some extent.

Cai Ting continued, "Isn't Dannan County a major coal-producing county? Over the past few decades, the surrounding geology and ecology have been damaged. Especially in recent years, when the summer rains come, there have been geological collapses and landslides."

That's alright. The most important thing is the impact on our crop production. We are a major agricultural country, and grain is our foundation. How is the grain production in Chenjia Village? Compared to previous years, has it declined significantly?

As soon as she said this, some villagers who had gathered around started smoking and discussing: "My family's wheat yield this year is really not good, and the corn harvest is not good either."

"You need pesticides, but you're unwilling to spend the money to buy them. Whose fault is that?"

“It’s not a problem with pesticides. This woman is right. There are coal pits everywhere around our village, which really affects our farmland. This summer, I felt the land behind my house was sinking.”

Cai Ting nodded: "So, for the sake of our agricultural production, our Geological Research Institute came here specifically to investigate the situation. If there is indeed such an impact, we can report it to the county government."

"We must report this!" the security guard said. "They're mining coal every day, digging up land left by our ancestors, and there are blasting sounds every month. How can this not affect the geological conditions?"

"That's right!" other villagers chimed in. "That bastard Zhu Gui has made a fortune, and all we can do is watch."

"That son of a bitch stole the Panying Coal Mine from our village."

Cai Ting said, "When we came here, we heard that Chenjia Village and Zhu Gui had a conflict in 90?"

"What do you mean by conflict? Someone died!" the security guard said indignantly. "Chen Likang from our village was beaten to death by Zhu Gui's gang, and two others were seriously injured as well."

Cai Ting raised an eyebrow: "It's gotten this big? Aren't Chen Likang's family heartbroken?"

"What else can be done? The man surnamed Zhu paid a sum of money, and his men went to jail. That's the end of it. Chen Likang is also unlucky. If there were more able-bodied men in the family, this matter definitely wouldn't have been settled like this."

A villager nearby sighed, "Old Chen, you make it sound so easy. Our village secretary, village head, and all those people in the township government—who hasn't taken bribes from Zhu Gui..."

The security guard glared at him: "Don't talk nonsense."

The villagers quickly fell silent, glancing at the better-built farmhouse in the distance.

Without a doubt, that house belonged to either the village secretary or the village head. Seeing that these people were unwilling to continue the conversation, Cai Ting pointed to the hill to the north: "Gentlemen, is there a shortcut from Chenjia Village to Panying Coal Mine?"

"You can just go up from that side, isn't there a highway?"

Cai Ting smiled and said, "We're going into the mountains to take photos, and we're also afraid of being beaten up by the people at the coal mine."

The security guard hesitated and remained silent.

Yao Weihua said, "In that case, it would be best if someone could help us find the way. We won't let anyone help for free; we'll give them thirty yuan for the service."

"Fifty," the security guard countered.

“Give me thirty yuan, and I’ll take you there,” a thin villager shouted.

The security guard frowned: "You're willing? Did I agree to this?"

The villagers smacked their lips and their faces fell.

"Then fifty."

"Give me the money first."

"Brother Cat," Yao Weihua called out.

"No..." Cat had a toothache and turned around with a pained expression. He walked to the side, unzipped his pants, and rummaged around for a while before finally pulling out a handful of change, which he then counted for quite some time.

Yao Weihua took it and handed it to the security guard with a look of disgust.

The security guard smiled, took a handful of still-warm change, counted out twenty yuan, and threw it to the skinny man from before: "Chen Pingwa, you son of a bitch, take them over there."

"Alright." The skinny man chuckled. "Gentlemen, please wait a moment. I'll go home for a bit and be right back."

The skinny man named Chen Pingwa took off running. The security guard stopped looking at Yang Jinwen and his group. He took out fifteen yuan from the thirty yuan he had confiscated and handed it to the boy next to him.

"Go buy me a few packs of good cigarettes and send them to the village secretary, the village head, and the accountant. The rest you can use to buy candy."

The child grinned and took the money, then ran to the village store.

Seeing his money being divided up like this, Cat sighed deeply.

Soon, Chen Pingwa returned to the village entrance, carrying a basket on his back, holding a machete in his hand, and wearing a pair of army green liberation shoes.

He greeted Yang Jinwen and the others and led the way.

Yao Weihua walked alongside him, took out a cigarette and offered it to him: "Your name is Chen Ping?"

"No, my name is Chen Pingwa."

"Back in 90, your village had a fierce fight with Zhu Gui, right?"

"That's right, my great-uncle even brought out his hunting rifle, and my fifth uncle and a few others, they were all carrying weapons."

Our village used to be a coal mining village. The tools used for coal mining were very powerful; they tied those things together and made a lot of noise.

We just followed the miners and fought back. But I was only a teenager then, still very young. A few of us kids stood on the roof and saw the people from our village fighting with those guys surnamed Zhu on the highway.

"Who is Chen Likang to you?"

"From the same family tree, but beyond the fifth degree of kinship."

"He was beaten to death by Zhu Gui and his gang. How could his family be appeased?"

"What else can we do? After the fight, all the village officials were replaced. Before, they were all from the Chen family, but now they are from the He and Li families."

Has anyone from your village served in the military?

"Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious," Yao Weihua smiled.

Yes, there are plenty.

"Have any veterans returned recently? Have they been given jobs?"

"I don't know about that."

"Do any of Chen Likang's or the two men who were injured in the fight have family members who have served in the military?"

"No." Chen Pingwa shook his head.

Yao Weihua didn't believe it: "Really? Joining the army is also a way out."

“It’s true. People who got into fights in 90, how could they be qualified to enlist? I wanted to join the army, but my dad also got into fights, so I couldn’t go.”

After saying that, Chen Pingwa sighed, "It's a pity that I can only farm and be a farmer."

"What's wrong with being a farmer? Let's not go back too far; decades ago, which family wasn't a farmer's family?"

Yao Weihua offered a few words of flattery, then changed the subject: "When your village fought with Zhu Gui and his gang, who hated him the most?"

Chen Pingwa was just finding his words pleasant, but upon hearing this, she suddenly became suspicious: "Wait, why are you asking so many questions?"

Yao Weihua chuckled: "Everyone says that the Qin people are all fearless, and your Chenjia Village is really something else."

Hearing the praise, Chen Pingwa was delighted: "That's right, we had a general more than two thousand years ago. By the way, where would you like me to take him?"

(End of this chapter)