Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 617 News

Following Xiao Liu's directions, the car drove to the edge of the city and arrived in front of a residential area. It consisted entirely of large, single-story brick and tile houses, each with a small courtyard in front of it; this area was considered a shantytown in Fengtian.

Xiao Liu said, "That's it. Our task today is to check this area thoroughly. Leave one person to watch the cars, two people per group. Let's go."

Xiao Wei said, "The short guy should watch the cars and shout if he sees anything wrong."

The five people split up, with the shorter one standing guard by the car, where the view was better so he could spot anyone running immediately. Xiao Wei and the other three entered the residential area.

The investigation involves knocking on doors and entering houses to inquire about the situation. It's a time-consuming and energy-intensive task, but it has to be done. Being a police officer is indeed not easy.

"Hello, we're from the police station. We're here to ask a few questions. Do you know Qin Aihua? Have you seen her before?"

Twenty minutes later: "Hello, do you know Qin Aihua? Have you seen this person before?"

Twenty minutes later: "Do you recognize me?" (Holding up a photo)

Xiao Wei's throat was burning. He never knew that talking could be so tiring. His legs felt so heavy that he could hardly lift them. He looked up and realized he had only walked a quarter of the way.

……

Two hours later, it was already dark.

Xiao Wei, dragging his heavy legs, came out of a house's courtyard with Xiao Liu. Looking around, he said, "What's the point of searching like this? We already know who it is, so let's just go to their house, their relatives' houses, their friends' houses, their comrades' houses—what's the point of this order?"

Xiao Liu said, "Are you the only smart one? This time, quite a few people were mobilized, at least a hundred or so. People went to his house, his relatives' houses, his comrades-in-arms, and so on. Aren't we looking for his friends? How else can we do this? His friends aren't even listed on his household registration."

Xiao Wei asked, "How was this target set? For this area?"

Xiao Liu walked to the next shop and said, "We found out. He used to be active in this area."

Knock on the door and enter the courtyard.

"Well, I'm a bit confused. Let me think, I can't quite remember. Go to the back, the second house on the seventh row, I think his son was hanging out with this guy, but I can't quite recall. Don't tell anyone I told you, or I'll offend someone." Finally, an old man said something that excited Xiaowei and Xiaoliu.

Xiao Liu looked up at Xiao Wei with a look of relief in his eyes. Xiao Wei smiled and said to the old man, "Thank you, sir, you're a good citizen." The two of them went straight to the house the old man had mentioned.

"Don't tell anyone I said that, we can't afford to offend you," the old man warned from behind, followed by a woman's cursing.

When they arrived at the house the old man had mentioned, Xiao Wei knocked on the door. After a while, someone came out and opened the door: "Who is it? We're eating."

Xiao Wei glanced at the man. He was over 1.8 meters tall, with a stubble beard, and looked to be in his fifties. He had thick eyebrows and a big mouth, the kind of person with a menacing appearance. You couldn't say that such a person was a bad guy, but he was definitely hot-tempered and good at fighting.

Xiao Liu asked, "Is your son home?" His tone was a bit sharp. Xiao Wei didn't say anything. He knew that when it came to dealing with people, he wasn't as good as Xiao Liu at it.

Because they were both tired, neither of them was wearing hats, and it was getting dark. The person who opened the door only then noticed their clothes, frowned, and asked, "Are you there? What's up? Did this kid cause trouble again? Damn it, I'll break his legs." He then turned and walked into the house.

Xiao Wei and Xiao Liu followed behind. Xiao Wei said, "Hey, don't get angry yet. We're looking for your son to find out about some other things."

The man turned to look at Xiao Weimin: "Didn't he commit a crime? Don't try to fool me."

Xiao Liu was flipping through household registration documents in his hand: "Your surname is Hao, right? Hao Liansheng, and your son's name is Hao Dawei?"

Hao Liansheng nodded: "Yes, it really wasn't him who caused the trouble?"

Xiao Wei said, "Why are you so eager for your son to cause trouble? Ask him about other people's situations."

Hao Liansheng seemed to relax immediately and said, "Let's go inside and talk. Aren't you going to eat? Want to eat something here?"

The three people went into the house, which was a large and a small partitioned room, connected to a small hut. This kind of partitioned house is common in Northeast China.

There were three other people in the room. A simple woman was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and on the kang were a man and a woman, who should be Hao Liansheng's two children. The man looked a bit like Hao Liansheng, with a burly face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. The girl was pretty, delicate and quite pleasing to the eye.

Upon seeing the two policemen enter, the woman and the girl turned their heads with concern to look at the young man holding the rice bowl, Hao Dawei.

Hao Dawei slowly put down his rice bowl, his gaze slid from Xiao Wei and Xiao Liu to his father: "Dad, I haven't caused any trouble lately." It was clear that he wasn't afraid of the police, but he was genuinely afraid of his father.

Hao Dawei's wife had already put down her rice bowl and stood up, clearly intending to block her husband from rushing over.

Hao Liansheng said to his wife and daughter, "You two eat, it's nothing. Come downstairs, if someone wants to talk to you, just say what you need to say. If you lie, I'll break your legs." The first sentence was very gentle, but the second sentence immediately turned violent. It seems that Hao Liansheng is quite good to his wife and daughter.

His wife was still a little worried and said to him, "There are people here, don't do anything." Hao Liansheng nodded, lit a cigarette and sat down to the side. He said to Xiao Wei and Xiao Liu, "Comrades, please sit down, sit on the kang. Xiao Juan, pull the table further in."

Hao Dawei got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and put on his shoes. Standing up, he was much taller than his father, easily over 1.9 meters. Xiao Wei looked like a child next to him, looking down at him and asking, "What's up?"

Xiao Wei couldn't help but turn to look at Hao Dawei's mother. She was about the same height as Xiao Wei, fair-skinned and not fat. How could she have given birth to such a big man? Hao Juan also got off the kang and stood next to her brother, separating him from her father. He was at least 1.7 meters tall, probably even taller, a whole head taller than Xiao Hong.

Xiao Wei couldn't help but laugh, turning to Xiao Liu and saying, "I feel like I've entered a land of giants, this is so discouraging!"

Xiao Liu was also sizing up the brother and sister, saying, "They're definitely strong. Hao Dawei, do you know Qin Aihua? Tell me the truth."

Hao Liansheng said from the side, "Just say what you think. Think about your sister too, she still has to go out and meet people."

Hao Dawei nodded and said, "I know him. What's wrong with him?"

Xiao Wei asked, "Hao Dawei, how old are you?"

Hao Dawei said, "I'm twenty-four."

Xiao Wei asked, "Qin Aihua is older than you, right? How did you two meet?"

Hao Dawei said, "He's older than me. I worked on the railway for a few days; he was a railway worker. That's how we met. What's wrong with that?"

(End of this chapter)