Siheyuan: Starting from the Police

Xu Guangfu rode his bike to the station, greeted everyone, and then sat in the Criminal Investigation Department office smoking and reading files, chatting from time to time.

After lunch, Xu Guangfu walked to Zhang Feng’s office, lay down on the sofa, and prepared to take a nap.

Suddenly we received a report that someone had died in the steel mill.

Xu Guangfu immediately turned over and sat up, thinking that he would not be able to sleep any more.

Xu Guangfu and several people from the Criminal Investigation Department went straight to the steel mill.

Zhou Kai, head of the steel rolling mill's security department, and Deputy Director Yang, who is in charge of production and safety, were already waiting at the factory gate.

When he saw the police arriving, Deputy Director Yang shook hands and greeted them warmly.

"Excuse me, fellow police officers!"

"Director Yang, hello! I am Xu Guangfu, the head of the Criminal Investigation Section of the Red Star Police Station. What is the situation now?"

"Don't mention it, no one knows! He hasn't been to the factory for several days. Today he was found dead. His body was buried in the wasteland behind the factory. The security department was patrolling today and noticed a foul smell, and that's how they found the body."

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangfu asked, "Where is the scene?"

"Xiao Zhou, take Chief Xu to the scene!"

Zhou Kai from the Security Department heard this and took Xu Guangfu to the wasteland. He introduced the situation as he walked: "The dead man was named Lv Cheng, a purchaser from the Logistics Department. He hadn't been to the factory for more than a week. Today, the Security Department was patrolling and noticed a foul odor. When they looked over, they found a piece of land had been turned over, so they found the body. It looks like the body was killed by a heavy blow to the head."

"Who is Lu Cheng on good terms with? Who does he have a conflict with?"

Zhou Kai hesitated for a moment and said, "This guy usually goes on a procurement mission and has a good relationship with everyone. I haven't heard that he has had any conflicts with anyone. I heard that he had a quarrel with his brother-in-law a few days ago."

"Oh? What's his brother-in-law's name?"

"Wang Dayong, a blacksmith in the third workshop."

"That's it!"

"Has anyone been here before?"

Zhou Kai scratched his head, "Yes... I heard that a body was found, and many people came to watch the excitement."

Xu Guangfu frowned when he heard this, but said nothing more. He looked at the big hole on the ground and thought silently.

Deputy Factory Director Yang came over and asked, "Chief Xu, how is it?"

Xu Guangfu turned his head and said, "This is not a murder scene."

Deputy Director Yang was a little confused, "Oh? What do you mean?"

"There's not much blood on the soil, so it should be where the body was dumped. The traces at the scene have been destroyed, so there are no clues. Let's wait for the results of the interrogation!"

Deputy Director Yang nodded when he heard this, but his face was not very good. Several people returned to the security department.

Xu Guangfu looked at Deputy Director Yang, who looked worried, and said, "Call someone who is familiar with the deceased and we will ask him first."

"Okay! I'll arrange it right away."

Xu Guangfu said to the criminal investigation department, "Zhao Sheng, you guys go to the deceased's home to inquire about the news and see if the deceased has any abnormal behavior recently. Also, the deceased's brother-in-law is called Wang Dayong. The two had an argument before, so you should pay special attention to him."

"Yes!"

Soon, everyone arrived at the Security Department, and Xu Guangfu immediately began to interrogate them.

"Don't be nervous, I'm just asking casually. What's your name?"

"Liu Bo"

"What is your relationship to the deceased?"

"We are colleagues, and I am also a buyer."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Uh...last Thursday. There was no purchase task that day, so I stayed in the office the whole time. Lu Cheng came back to the office after finishing his task in the afternoon. We chatted for a while. After get off work, we went our separate ways. I haven't seen each other since then."

"How is your relationship with Lu Cheng?"

"Well... we're all in procurement, and we're all running around all the time. We've only had a few drinks together. I guess we have an average relationship."

"So what hobbies does Lu Cheng have?"

"Nothing much, he seems to like playing cards. But I heard this from Mr. Cai in the office."

"What have you been doing these past few days? Where have you been? Who have you been with?"

"I went on two shopping trips recently to several nearby communes. After that, there was nothing to do. People in the commune and the hospital knew about going to and from work every day."

"Okay, then you go out first. Call that old Cai over."

"Name?" "What's your relationship with the deceased?" "The last time you saw him..." "Where have you been these days? What have you been doing? Who can testify?"

……

"Name?"

"Wang Dayong."

"Lü Cheng is your brother-in-law?"

"Correct."

"Did you have an argument the other day?"

"Yes, I asked him to borrow some money, but he refused and we had a quarrel."

“Why borrow money?”

"My mother is sick and can't make ends meet, so I thought about borrowing some money, but..."

"These past few days..."

……

It was already dark when the interrogation ended. Xu Guangfu stretched himself and looked at the listless security staff. He said:

"Thank you for your hard work, let's stop here for today! I'll go back to the institute first."

Xu Guangfu rode his bike back to the police station and saw several people from the Criminal Investigation Department there.

Xu Guangfu poured a cup of tea and knocked on the table, "Meeting!"

"Tell me about the situation."

"Lü Cheng likes to play mahjong, and he is often not at home because he has to go shopping. His family didn't take it seriously when he didn't go home for a few days. When we went there, they didn't know what happened to Lü Cheng yet."

"Wang Dayong has been addicted to gambling recently. He lost all his family fortune in just over a month, and his wife ran away in anger. Half a month ago, someone came to collect debts, and his mother fainted and was hospitalized. I heard from the neighbors that they had to sell the family heirlooms to cure his mother. She was discharged from the hospital the day before yesterday. I heard that although the old lady survived, she has been in low spirits, and I guess she won't live long!"

"I heard that Lu Cheng's wife Wang Xiaocui doesn't have a good relationship with her in-laws and has rarely returned home since she got married. Lu Cheng, on the other hand, has always had a good relationship with Wang Dayong."

After listening to everyone's news, Xu Guangfu slowly lit a cigarette and said, "I think this Wang Dayong is quite suspicious. The result of my interrogation is..."

Qian Dong hesitated when he heard this and said, "No way! Just because he didn't lend the money, he killed Lu Cheng?"

Sun Fei agreed and nodded, "That's right. Besides, Wang Dayong is gambling, so no one would lend him money! Gambling is a bottomless pit, no matter how much you lend, it will never be enough!"

Li Guang agreed with Xu Guangfu's statement and said, "Wang Dayong only started gambling in the last few months, and he lost all his family fortune in less than two months. There is something wrong! Wang Dayong has been working for nearly ten years, and he lost all this money in just over a month. This is not a simple matter!"

Xu Guangfu nodded, "That's right. I suspect he was deceived, and it is very likely that he was deceived by Lu Cheng. Wang Dayong found out and the two had a conflict, so he killed someone."

"Okay, Zhao Sheng and Li Guang, you two go find Wang Dayong's wife tomorrow to find out what's going on. Qian Dong and Sun Fei, you two go find those debt collectors. I'll go find Wang Xiaocui. We'll meet in the office at 3 pm tomorrow."

"It's almost 9 o'clock. That's all for today. Go back and rest. We'll talk about everything tomorrow!"