1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 80 Astral Projection (Please Subscribe!)
In the winter of 1979, my country had just begun its reform and opening up.

In the north, there is a city steeped in the smell of coal smoke and steel; this place is called Jianghai City.

The leaden sky pressed down heavily on the Hongguang Machinery Factory's rows of factory buildings and towering chimneys, the thick smoke billowing out like an everlasting sorrow. The cold wind swirled coal ash and withered leaves along the empty factory avenue, lashing at the faces of passersby.

Building No. 3 in Hongguang Compound, a row of tenement buildings, resembles a giant concrete honeycomb, crammed with hundreds of families. The stairwells are perpetually filled with the sulfurous smell of coal stoves, the greasy odor of leftover food, and the musty smell of someone's baby diapers.

Chen Jing turned on the peeling green iron door of her house, and a familiar, sour smell mixed with cheap tobacco and alcohol hit her, which made her face darken.

"Mom..." Lingling, who was curled up on a small stool in the corner doing her homework, heard her mother's return and called out to her with a sob in her voice, but her eyes glanced at the inner room in fear.

Chen Jing followed her daughter's gaze and looked into the inner room.

The door to the inner room was ajar, and a muffled snoring sound came from inside.

Chen Jing went to the door and glanced inside. It was her nominal husband, Zhang Weidong, who had returned.

The reason it's only nominal is that they're no longer together, but in this day and age, divorces are easily subject to gossip, so they haven't officially gone through the divorce proceedings.

In fact, given Chen Jing's personality, if the man she married wasn't such a scoundrel, she would have accepted her fate for the rest of her life.

However, the man she married, Zhang Weidong, not only drank heavily, gambled, and fought outside, but also frequently beat and verbally abused her and their daughter at home, which is why their relationship has come to this point.

Chen Jing stood at the door and sighed heavily. She had no way to deal with this man and just wanted to avoid seeing him and finding peace of mind.

So he reached out to close the door to the inner room.

As a result, the door hinge, being rusty, produced a piercing and sharp scraping sound in the quiet room when she swayed it, startling both mother and daughter.

Even more terrifying, the man in bed who had been drinking was still woken up by the noise...

……

As Chen Fusheng was writing this, he heard his daughter crying after waking up in the bedroom. His hand was getting a little tired, so he stopped writing.

As mentioned before, China also remade "The Devotion of Suspect X," with Su Youpeng (who played the Fifth Prince) directing the remake. However, Chen Fusheng did not directly use Su Youpeng's version but adapted, or rather, created his own. The main reason is that Su Youpeng's version was set in a modern urban environment, while this was still in 1981. He couldn't simply adopt it directly; it had to undergo a series of processing and adjustments.

He'd be better off 'creating' something himself with that kind of effort.

After his wife finished feeding their daughter, Chen Fusheng noticed that the weather outside was quite nice, with some sunshine, but it was still April and not very hot. So he took his daughter downstairs for a walk.

At the same time, he also cleared his mind.

My daughter just woke up and seems to be in good spirits.

After going downstairs, I was like a curious child, looking around and seeing everything, full of wonder about the world.

It should be the time when elementary school students get out of school. A few children living in the neighborhood, carrying their schoolbags, passed by the father and daughter, humming a children's song that Chen Fusheng also knew.

Then he saw his daughter staring at the older boys and girls with curious eyes until they walked away. The father, unwilling to admit defeat, immediately said, "It's just singing, I can do that too."

"So you like listening to songs, huh? Then Dad will sing you a song."

Chen Fusheng didn't deliberately rack his brains; he started from zero frames and directly sang the children's songs that the children had just sung.

"Just a tiny cloud."

"Walk over slowly"

Please take a rest.

"Temporarily stop"

The wildflowers on the mountain are blooming.

"I just arrived at the mountain."

"So you're going up the mountain too?"

Look at the wildflowers in bloom.

"..."

Seeing that his daughter was listening attentively, Chen Fusheng sang the entire song "Treading the Waves" for her.

The song "Treading the Waves" was originally released in 79 by a Taiwanese singer named Shen Yan as the theme song for the movie "I Came Treading the Waves". It became popular in mainland China last year because of Zhu Fengbo's cover version.

In fact, during this era, China covered many classic songs that were very popular in Taiwan. In addition to "Treading the Waves", there were also "Country Road", "Grandma's Penghu Bay", "If There's No Wine to Sell", "Hometown Clouds", "A Fire in Winter", and so on.

Of course, some of these songs have not yet been released.

Moreover, although it is called a cover, it was neither approved by the original author nor authorized with copyright.

Just pick it up and start singing.

However, from a legal perspective, this does not constitute an infringement.

After all, at that time, my country did not have a law concerning song copyright.

Walking on a country road

The old ox returning home at dusk is my companion.

"Blue sky and a sunset in my heart"

"The colorful clouds are the dress of the sunset."

When Chen Fusheng discovered that his daughter liked listening to songs, he took out some of the children's songs he was familiar with and sang them to her.

After singing "Country Road," Chen Fusheng saw his parents coming home from get off work, so he picked up his daughter, went over to greet them, and then went upstairs with them.

Chen Fusheng had already prepared his parents for the possibility of bringing his wife and daughter to live with him in the capital.

So when they heard that their son was coming back this time and would be taking his wife and granddaughter with him, they were somewhat reluctant, but they were also mentally prepared.

"Mom and Dad, you can come and stay during summer vacation. I bought a two-courtyard house with plenty of rooms, so you don't have to worry about not having a place to stay."

"We'll talk about that later." Yang Hongmei then asked, "Son, how much did you pay for that house?"

"Ten thousand!"

Actually, this renovation cost another thousand, and the subsequent purchase of furniture will also cost a lot of money, but there's no need to mention those.

So that we don't have to take out the little bit of pension money that the two elderly people have worked so hard to save over the past year to subsidize them.

Nevertheless, they still felt that Chen Fusheng's wealth was about to be depleted.

"Do you still have any money?" Old Chen asked with concern.

"Yes, Mom and Dad, you don't need to worry about money. I have script royalties, filming subsidies, and a basic salary of 70 yuan per month. Oh, and there's also the monthly print run royalties for 'The Adventures of Shuke and Beta.' The money is more than enough."

Upon hearing this, the two professors exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of disappointment mixed with their relief and pride in each other's eyes.

After that, they stopped talking about money and started talking about other things.

For example, with housing so scarce in Beijing, how did he manage to find that courtyard house?

For example, what should be done with this house if they move to Beijing...?

During the meal, we chatted about many everyday things.

However, the two elders did not stay overnight. After helping Liu Xiaoli clean up, the mother went back with Lao Chen.

Chen Fusheng went downstairs to see them off and to digest his food.

When he got back, he found that his wife had already put their daughter to sleep, but it was still early, so he sat down at his desk again and picked up his pen...

-

"Where's the money?" he asked, reeking of alcohol, as he approached Chen Jing.

"I used up all my salary this month to pay off your gambling debts from last time, and all I have left are some meal vouchers..."

"What good are meal tickets?" Zhang Weidong sprayed his alcohol and anger onto Chen Jing's face, and with a sudden wave of his hand, all the medicine he had bought for his daughter on the table was scattered all over the floor, and their nine-year-old daughter screamed in fright.

Zhang Weidong showed no remorse whatsoever. Instead, he said with a look of disgust, "What a fuss! It's bad luck! It's a waste of money to keep this good-for-nothing. If she keeps crying, I'll sell her to some backwater village to be a child bride."

Chen Jing's daughter was her Achilles' heel, and these words enraged this submissive woman. She glared at Zhang Weidong and said, "You bastard, if you dare to touch Lingling, I'll fight you to the death."

"You? Don't think I don't know you and that stinking old man surnamed Shi next door are always exchanging glances..." "Zhang Weidong, you bastard, you're out there having a good time, what right do you have to slander me and Teacher Shi?"

"Heh, getting desperate, huh? So you're protecting her now, aren't you? You filthy bitch, has he already slept with you?" Zhang Weidong said, dipping his finger in the Chinese medicine powder he'd just knocked over on the table, sniffing it, and sneered, "What kind of Chinese medicine is this? It's pretty expensive, isn't it? Didn't you say you had no money? So where did the money for this medicine come from? Did you use the dirty money you got from that stinking old intellectual next door to support this money-loser? Huh, is that it? Answer me!"

"Shut up! I borrowed this money from Teacher Shi for the medicine. Zhang Weidong, I won't allow you to slander Teacher Shi's innocence!"

Chen Jing was so enraged by this shameless man that she almost lost her mind, and finally raised her hand to slap him.

slap~
Zhang Weidong didn't expect this woman to actually hit him, and since he had been drinking, his reactions were already a beat slower than usual, so he couldn't dodge the slap.

However, this slap completely enraged Zhang Weidong.

He grabbed the woman's hair and began punching and kicking her while hurling insults at her.

At this moment, Lingling, the eight-year-old girl who was trembling in the corner, saw her mother being beaten. She didn't know where she got the courage, but she rushed over and bit Zhang Weidong's arm that was holding Chen Jing's hair.

"Ah—you ungrateful good-for-nothing, you dare to bite me, just like your mother, you're a little slut. I'll have someone take you away tomorrow."

"Zhang Weidong, how dare you!"

Chen Jing believed that her bastard husband was truly capable of such a beastly act. At that moment, her maternal instincts overwhelmed all her fear. She saw a shovel in the corner, grabbed it, and seeing her husband still abusing her daughter, she smashed it down hard on the back of his head.

bang~
A muffled thud sounded particularly clear and heavy in the small room, like a hard watermelon being smashed.

Zhang Weidong froze. He slowly turned his head and looked at the woman who was still tightly gripping the shovel. In addition to astonishment, his eyes also showed a hint of bewilderment at impending death.

Thick, dark red blood, mixed with some white stuff, gushed out from the wound on the back of Zhang Weidong's head, quickly staining his alcohol-smelling clothes.

ho ho~
Zhang Weidong wanted to say something, but only a strange hoarse sound came from his throat. His body swayed in place, and the next second, he collapsed to the ground like a piece of rotten wood that had been chopped down.

After a few twitches in its limbs, it became completely still.

But his eyes were still wide open, staring intently at the low, greasy ceiling.

Dead silence.

It was as if the whole world had been reduced to a deathly silence.

Just then, Shi Hongzhe had just gotten off work and was on his way home when he suddenly heard a clanging sound coming from inside Chen Jing's house.

He stopped in his tracks, puzzled, and then stepped forward and knocked on the door.

There was no response from inside.

However, Shi Hongzhe noticed that the door was not closed. Knowing that there was a scoundrel in this house, he couldn't help but worry about Chen Jing and her daughter. So he gently opened it a crack...

Standing at the door, Shi Hongzhe first saw the mother and daughter, one big and one small, staring at him in terror inside the house. Then he noticed the man lying in a pool of his own blood on the ground. Finally... his gaze fell on the shovel still stained with blood at Chen Jing's feet.

……

Having written this far in one go, Chen Fusheng rubbed his aching wrists, glanced down at his watch, and realized that it was already midnight without him noticing.

"Damn, does time fly by so fast?"

Chen Fusheng thought it was still early.

There was still a lot of plot to come, and as he wrote, he started writing according to the formula of a novel. Even if he stayed up all night, he wouldn't be able to finish it. Besides, he didn't need to stay up all night, so he put down his pen, got up, and prepared to go to sleep.

When he turned around, he was so frightened by his wife standing behind him that he almost lost his mind.

"I'm so sorry, honey, I scared you. I'm so sorry..."

Chen Fusheng paused for a while before saying, "Luckily I don't have a heart condition, otherwise you would have been sent to my death right now."

Seeing his wife's guilty expression, Chen Fusheng didn't want to be too harsh on her, since it was all a misunderstanding. But he continued, "When did you stand behind me? How come I didn't know?"

"After I put my daughter to sleep at ten o'clock, I came to call you to rest, but you were writing so intently that I was afraid of disturbing your train of thought, so I thought I would call you when you were distracted, but..."

"So you got engrossed in it yourself?" Chen Fusheng finished his wife's sentence.

"um, yes."

"I was wondering why you didn't notify me even though it's already 12 o'clock."

Chen Fusheng smiled wryly; now he understood the reason.

"Sorry……"

"Alright, what's the point of constantly apologizing between husband and wife? You didn't mean it, but you really gave me a fright just now."

After a pause, Chen Fusheng added, "It wouldn't be like this normally, but I was just writing the murder scene, and my emotions were still with that part, you know?"

"Um……"

Liu Xiaoli nodded. She was eager to know what would happen next, but she was a little embarrassed to ask since she had just startled her husband.

However, as her husband, Chen Fusheng could easily guess his wife's thoughts from her expressions.

Since he couldn't sleep at the moment, Chen Fusheng dictated the rest of the story to his wife.

The story framework is, of course, similar to that of "The Devotion of Suspect X".

Next, Shi Hongzhe used his mathematical formulas and meticulous logic to help Chen Jing and her daughter turn an unsolvable problem into an 'equation' with a unique solution.

The first step in this equation is to process the body.

The second step is to create the 'fact' that Zhang Weidong died elsewhere and at a different time.

"What is the third step?" Liu Xiaoli pressed.

"The third step is to create a perfect alibi for Chen Jing and her daughter."

After Shi Hongzhe had arranged everything, it was time for the police to make their appearance.

Luo Ming is a key member of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Jianghai City Public Security Bureau. He is young and promising, with sharp thinking and a strong sense of justice. He insists on solving every murder case.

He also has another connection: he was classmates with Shih Hung-che in college.

Because Shi Hongzhe used his mathematical formulas to meticulously set up a scam for the police, the police's investigation made little progress.

However, Luo Ming knew his old classmate too well. As the investigation deepened, he gradually approached the core of Shi Hongzhe's meticulously planned scam.

In the end, Luo Ming found the unique solution to the equation set up by his old classmate.

It turns out that in order to clear Chen Jing and her daughter's names, Shi Hongzhe also secretly killed a thug whose physique matched Zhang Weidong's, thus completing the second step of his formula, which was to fabricate the fact that Zhang Weidong died elsewhere at a different time.

By this point, Chen Fusheng was practically unable to keep his eyes open.

But Liu Xiaoli, who was in his arms, was listening to the climax and certainly didn't want her husband to fall asleep at this moment, so she kept urging, "What's next? What's next?"

"In the interrogation room, Shi Hongzhe took all the blame himself, but Luo Ming almost guessed the truth. Seeing that Shi Hongzhe wouldn't budge, at the end of the interrogation, Luo Ming leaned close to Shi Hongzhe's ear and whispered, 'Was it worth it?'"

Shi Hongzhe thought for a moment before replying, "Their survival is the answer. As for me, I'm just a useless formula that has long been proven ineffective. Using this useless formula to obtain an optimal solution is a logical necessity and its only value."

"Luo Ming saw that he could not find a breakthrough from Shi Hongzhe, but the time pressure from above was getting closer and closer. He had no choice but to set his sights on Chen Jing and her daughter."

Liu Xiaoli interrupted, "Isn't this the result everyone was hoping for? Why is Luo Ming still investigating?"

"Because Luo Ming is a policeman, he also has things he must uphold!"

After explaining for a moment, Chen Fusheng added an ending to the story.

"Luo Ming found Chen Jing and told her about all the sacrifices Shi Hongzhe had made for her."

"Although Chen Jing was timid her whole life, she had a kind heart. She thought that if Teacher Shi went to the execution ground because of the mistakes she made, she would live the rest of her life in self-blame and pain. So, at the end of the story, Chen Jing chose to turn herself in."

"Shi Hongzhe had remained calm and composed until now, when he saw Chen Jing, whom he was protecting, turn herself in, and his psychological defenses finally crumbled..."

"The story ends here. As for the outcome of their trial, I still need to communicate with the actual judge about that."

Liu Xiaoli nodded, then said with a blessing: "I hope they can be sentenced lightly."

The only response she received was Chen Fusheng's snoring.

(End of this chapter)