NOS Chapter 80

Chapter 80: Rhododendron Peak (1)

Chapter 80: Rhododendron Peak (1)

Sorry for what?

Guan Yao didn’t say, and Yu Chunming didn’t ask. The two stood quietly in the living room. After an unknown amount of time, Guan Yao slowly released his arms.

“Is it snowing outside?” Yu Chunming asked in a low voice.

“Yes, light snow,” Guan Yao replied.

“The heating isn’t working well tonight; it’s always cold in the house,” Yu Chunming added.

“I’ll find you a new quilt,” Guan Yao touched his nose, suppressing the desire that had surged within him. He stepped past Yu Chunming and walked into the room. “The heating has been a bit problematic these past two days. I’ll call the heating company when I get to work tomorrow.”

Yu Chunming’s left hand, which had been resting on Guan Yao’s back, lightened and hung in mid-air. He didn’t turn around, remaining in place, waiting for a long time until Guan Yao had made the bed before slowly returning to the room.

“Tonight… what exactly did Qin Tian say?” Yu Chunming asked.

Guan Yao paused in the act of bending down to pull up the quilt. “Nothing much, just managed to get some information about Li Ying from him.”

“Information about Li Ying?” Yu Chunming frowned. “Are Qin Tian and Li Ying close?”

“According to him, yes, they are.” Guan Yao replied. “Qin Tian talked about working with Li Ying at the Far East Department Store a dozen years ago, and also confessed that Li Ying had inquired about Aunt Jiang’s source of income.”

“Source of income?” Yu Chunming’s eyes flickered slightly.

Guan Yao held back half of what he wanted to say.

Yu Chunming, however, had already guessed the truth. His lips trembled as he uttered a few words, “It’s related to Qian Guowei, isn’t it?”

Guan Yao hesitated for a moment, then nodded. “Yes.”

Yu Chunming leaned on the table, sitting down on the bed with a little weakness.

“You actually thought of it a long time ago, didn’t you?” Guan Yao asked softly. “Like me, you thought that Aunt Jiang probably always knew Qian Guowei was still alive, and that she had maintained contact with him all these years.”

Yu Chunming pressed his forehead hard.

“As for… what role Aunt Jiang actually played in these two cases, we can’t say for sure yet,” Guan Yao didn’t make a definitive statement, putting it delicately. “Moreover, according to Qin Tian, the money wasn’t actually sent to Aunt Jiang, but to Wu Laosan. After Wu Laosan died, the person receiving the money became Qin Tian himself.”

“Wu Laosan?” Yu Chunming was surprised.

“Qin Tian also said that Aunt Jiang probably didn’t know she had this money, because from beginning to end, the people who pocketed it were him and Wu Laosan,” Guan Yao replied.

Wu Laosan, the small team leader of the mechanical and electrical group at the Za Mu Er Boiler Factory in his early years. He wasn’t very capable, so after the boiler factory was restructured, he became an unemployed drifter, eating and drinking at the homes of various cronies and friends, and even did the dirty work of forcing Jiang Min to work as a hostess at a clothing city bar.

Although Qin Tian and Wu Laosan were not related by blood, the current Qin Tian was simply a replica of Wu Laosan back then. The two looked exactly alike in their rascal-like appearance, especially their ability to ask people for money.

“About twenty-one years ago, the second year after you left, Wu Laosan caused a big incident,” Guan Yao said. “At that time, the country had just proposed the concept of forestry and afforestation. One Zero Three Forest Farm stopped work for about half a year for this reason, and the money couldn’t be paid out. Not only Aunt Jiang’s family was in a hard position, but our family also couldn’t make ends meet. Wu Laosan had a crooked idea. At that time, he had been running large cargo trucks to He Cheng with several small leaders from the No. 2 Timber Factory’s labor union. Along the way, some people would occasionally steal something to sell for money. Wu Laosan was greedy and became dissatisfied after running a few trips. So he came up with a way to swallow a whole truckload of goods alone.”

Saying this, Guan Yao pulled a box from under the bed. Inside the box was a set of hardware tools. “This is something that came out of that batch of goods. The reason it ended up in my hands is because Wu Laosan’s plan… went wrong.”

“What went wrong?” Yu Chunming asked.

“Wu Laosan’s original intention was to take advantage of a dark night, after the two people traveling with him were asleep, to pretend that the steering wheel had failed and crash the whole truckload of goods into a roadside pier. Then, as the truck overturned, he would run away with the most valuable items from the cargo box,” Guan Yao said. “However, he didn’t expect that after the crash, the village next to the road would be alerted. Villagers who had been hungry for more than half a year rushed forward and looted all the goods. One of the people in the truck with Wu Laosan died under the villagers’ clubs because he resisted too fiercely. Wu Laosan himself also suffered serious injuries.”

“What happened later?” Yu Chunming didn’t understand what this had to do with the money Qian Guowei sent.

“Later,” Guan Yao continued, “later, these goods were taken to the big market and sold to Za Mu Er. When my grandmother and I went to the market, we saw Wu Laosan and the seller arguing. Because of this, Wu Laosan was finally locked up in the Linchang Detention Center. The administrative office’s leaders at the time believed that this was a major group case that had to be dealt with severely. But who would have thought that Wu Laosan would be sent back in less than half a year after being in Linchang, and no one ever mentioned what he had done again.”

“No one mentioned it again? Why is that?” Yu Chunming asked in confusion.

“According to a patrol team member in the compound, someone had used connections in Linchang to bail Wu Laosan out. On the way back just now, I suddenly remembered that the person was called Qian Xiangqian. Aunt Jiang said that he was a comrade of our Linchang Deputy Secretary.” Guan Yao paused.

Yu Chunming’s heart tightened. “The person who bailed out Wu Laosan was Qian Guowei’s father?”

“That’s right,” Guan Yao said. “I checked Qian Guowei’s parents and relatives before. After he was reported missing, his father, Qian Xiangqian, was favored by the administrative office’s leaders and promoted from the forest farm to the administrative office’s Forestry Bureau. Although this person died in office in less than two years, this old man was still alive when Wu Laosan had his accident.”

Yu Chunming frowned tightly. “Why did Qian Xiangqian want to bail out Wu Laosan? Could it be…”

“There’s only one possibility, and that is that Wu Laosan knew Qian Guowei’s secrets, knew what this beast had done back then. In order to protect his official career, Qian Xiangqian had to find a way to get Wu Laosan back. Otherwise, if such a time bomb remained in Linchang, Qian Xiangqian could be promoted because his son died, but he could also be completely dismissed because of what his son did,” Guan Yao shook his head. “In Northeast China twenty or thirty years ago, what law was there to speak of?”

If Guan Yao’s guess was correct, then Wu Laosan should have known long ago that Qian Guowei had violated Jiang Min. He could use this to blackmail Qian Xiangqian, and he could use this to blackmail Qian Guowei, who was still alive.

But how did he contact Qian Guowei?

Unfortunately, Wu Wei, who was full of evil, was already dead, and there was no way for him to sit in the interrogation room and confess leniently like his stepson.

There was only one way left, and that was to ask Jiang Min.

“Tomorrow, I have to go to Qianjinping to see the comrades on duty there, and… investigate the scene.” Guan Yao said, “Today, Na Fei asked for leave and left, and there is one less person in the task force. I have already spoken to Shu Wen. After I come back, I will take her to Aunt Jiang’s house to take a statement.”

“I can also do it; I don’t need to wait for you,” Yu Chunming said without hesitation.

Guan Yao wanted to refuse, but hesitated for a long time, and finally agreed. He said, “Okay, I believe you.”

The next morning, Yu Chang, having eaten and slept well, insisted on leaving.

Yu Chunming had no choice but to buy him a plane ticket for the evening and send him to the train station in the snow to take the shuttle bus to the airport.

Guan Yao didn’t wait for the snow to stop before heading to Qianjinping with Li Xiaotian. The road was sparsely populated, and even roe deer were rarely seen by the roadside. When they reached the outside of Qianjinping, the snowdrifts blocked the road again. After a lot of trouble, the two squeezed into this small village in the mountain depression.

“It’s freezing to death,” Li Xiaotian said, shivering in his cotton coat, “If Xiao Meng were thrown into this wilderness, how could he survive?”

Guan Yao didn’t say anything, only focusing on moving forward.

Soon, the two passed through the village and arrived at the mountain pass where the footprints were discovered last week.

“That’s the place,” Li Xiaotian said. “After we withdrew, we didn’t manage the mountain anymore. These days, I don’t know if there will be any new clues.”

Guan Yao squatted down and looked carefully. “An unknown DNA was extracted from the rubber shoes and cigarette butts found in the abandoned patrol station over there. Unfortunately, the arc of the shoe’s edge didn’t completely match this footprint. The criminal technicians are still analyzing it, but I don’t know what the result will be.”

Li Xiaotian scratched his head and also squatted down to look. “What can be analyzed from this thing? If you ask me, it’s better to search every house to see which family has a problem.”

Guan Yao sighed, stood up straight, and looked towards the direction of Qianjinping.

It was noon, and several families were clearing the fire walls that had burned dry overnight. Wisps of black smoke floated into the sky above the village, and the faint smell of sulfur permeated the forest.

The two walked out of the mountain pass, bypassed the village, and walked towards the patrol station cabin.

“When we found the blood-stained cloth on the mountain earlier, some villagers in the village heard the noise and ran over to watch the fun. Officer Han said that we couldn’t let them know, so as not to scare the snakes and stimulate the criminals again,” Li Xiaotian sniffed. “But just staying here safely isn’t a solution. If Xiao Meng is really alive, how desperate must he be now?”

Guan Yao stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Li Xiaotian also stopped.

“You go to the patrol station first; I’ll walk around in the village,” he said.

Li Xiaotian was puzzled. “What are you going to do in the village?”

“Nothing; I suddenly remembered something,” Guan Yao patted Li Xiaotian’s shoulder. “You go; I’ll be there in a while.”

After speaking, he turned his head and went to Qianjinping.

In the village, the door of every household was piled with snow that had just been cleared yesterday. When Guan Yao passed by, two stray dogs darted out from behind the snow pile and barked loudly at this visitor.

“Go away, go away!” an old man standing at the door shouted.

Guan Yao looked closely, and the old man was actually Li Ying.

“Oh, where did you get these two door gods?” he asked with a smile.

Li Ying was originally chasing away the stray dogs. When he saw Guan Yao, his expression instantly became a little embarrassed. He answered timidly, “I’m not sure; I don’t know why these two animals keep squatting in front of my house recently.”

Guan Yao deliberately stretched his head to look into Li Ying’s yard. “Is it because you’re stewing meat every day, attracting them?”

“Where would I be? I, I just boiled a pot of pickled cabbage vermicelli…” Li Ying explained.

“Pickled cabbage vermicelli?” Guan Yao sniffed. “It smells pretty good.”

Now that he had said this much, it was inappropriate for Li Ying not to invite the person in to sit down, so the old man had no choice but to put on a smiling face and say to Guan Yao, “Police Comrade, are you here to patrol the mountains in Qianjinping again? Come in and rest for a while and have a cup of hot water.”

“Okay,” Guan Yao didn’t refuse and walked into the house.

Li Ying’s house was still the same as before. The door was piled with all kinds of waste products, the sunroom was full of rotten firewood and broken wood, and there was still a greasy smell in the house.

But Guan Yao didn’t care. He took the hot water that Li Ying handed him and took a big gulp.

“Everything’s been pretty good recently, right?” After he warmed up, Guan Yao asked.

Li Ying smiled happily. “Everything’s good, everything’s good. After all, it’s snowing heavily outside now, and I can’t go out, so I can only stay at home every day. There will be tofu sellers passing by in the nearby villages in the morning, and I’ll stew some pickled cabbage vermicelli, pickled cabbage tofu, and things like that for lunch.”

“Your son is doing well too?” Guan Yao asked casually.

Li Ying didn’t seem to be suspicious and answered very happily, “My son is doing well. He even sent me some money a few days ago, saying that it’s winter and I must prepare vegetables and food. He mailed me a box of red sausages last week, saying that the local red sausages in Da Muqi are better than those in Songlan. I haven’t been to Da Muqi much, so I opened it to try it today.”

Guan Yao looked in the direction Li Ying was pointing, and sure enough, there was a box in the corner. The mailing address on the box was indeed a supermarket in Da Muqi, but the shipping time was blurred by oil stains, and only a “22nd” could be vaguely seen.

“Your son has you in his thoughts; you’re very lucky,” Guan Yao said in conversation. “I remember… it seems like Li Qie hasn’t returned to Za Mu Er much over the years.”

Li Qie…

Hearing this name, Li Ying’s hand trembled slightly, but immediately, he smiled and said, “He’s making money. He’s at a mine in Da Muqi. He doesn’t have many holidays throughout the year.”

“Then will he come back for the Chinese New Year this year?” Guan Yao asked again.

“Chinese New Year…” Li Ying’s expression was momentarily dazed. “Chinese New Year is still early. Who knows for sure? He should… he should be back.”

“It’s good if he comes back,” Guan Yao looked around and said, “It’s good to have him back to help you tidy up this house. Oh my, look at the dust on the table. Or else…”

Saying this, Guan Yao stood up. “Or else, I’ll wash and scrub for you first, so that your son doesn’t nag you, old man, for not being organized.”

“Oh no, no need!” Li Ying hurried to stop him. “I can clean up myself.”

“Don’t be polite,” Guan Yao smiled enthusiastically. “It’s almost the end of the year, and it’s supposed to be the community’s visit to comfort you lonely elderly people. This morning, Liu Sheng from our police station also said that the people in the forest farm community don’t care and push everything to our police station. Just right, I’m here, so they don’t have to go through the motions. I’ll help you tidy up the house.”

“This…” Li Ying couldn’t say anything more.

So, he stood aside, watching Guan Yao busy himself with some restraint.

“Where is there a place to rinse the rag?” Guan Yao got his hands dirty when moving the box. He stuck his head out and said, “I’ll wipe this… coffee table, cabinets, and things like that for you.”

“The bathroom is over here,” Li Ying hurriedly pointed.

“Ah, good,” Guan Yao waved his hand in response.

He worked quickly, and it didn’t take much effort to clean up the main room a lot. It was at this time that Guan Yao discovered a box of old newspapers stacked messily on the tall storage cabinet.

He didn’t pay attention to it at first, only glanced at it briefly, but who knew that this one glance would make the hair on his head stand on end.

——Among this stack of old newspapers, there were many strangely printed characters that looked like scribbles. Some of them were written in ink, and some of them were obviously written in blood!

And under these old newspapers with blood characters, a black and white photo was pressed. In the photo was a little girl about ten years old.

Guan Yao gasped. He quickly closed the lid and returned the box of old newspapers to its original position.

At this time, Li Ying was squatting on the ground tidying up the cardboard boxes, completely unaware of what Guan Yao had just discovered. He also asked kindly, “Police Comrade, why don’t you stay for dinner today?”

“I won’t eat,” Guan Yao suppressed his thumping heart, forced a normal smile, and he replied, “I’m going to check out the mountain over there. Our comrades from the station are wandering around there.”

“Okay, drive safely!” Li Ying followed Guan Yao out the door.

This visit should have come to an end, but just as Guan Yao was about to step out of this small courtyard, Li Ying suddenly shouted, “Police Comrade, I heard that there was an accident on the road out of the mountain a few days ago, and someone went missing. This person… have they been found yet?”

Guan Yao stopped and turned back to look at him.

At this time, the two stray dogs that had been chased away returned and began to wander outside Li Ying’s yard again. One of them barked wildly at the cellar under the wall at the door.

“Oh dear, Grandpa Li,” Guan Yao saw the problem at a glance. He smiled and stepped forward, saying, “No wonder these animals like to hang around your yard. The cellar isn’t covered tightly. You have to be careful that they don’t come back and gnaw on the grain stored inside!”

After speaking, Guan Yao kicked the lid lying on the cellar shut.