NOS Chapter 32
by VolareIn the Jin A Lin Mountain area, ethnic minority hunters can legally possess firearms. The Linchang Police Station has registered quite a few, and Guan Yao personally inspected them during the annual inspections. In other words, he has a memory of almost every gun in the jurisdiction.
But Jin A Lin Mountain is so large, no one can say for sure whether there are illegal hunters among them, or whether there are still prohibited items left over from before the gun ban of the last century.
Therefore, as soon as the words “homemade gun barrel” came out, Guan Yao immediately perked up with all his attention.
“Where is it?” he asked in a low voice.
“It’s under the pile of groceries in front of the door,” Meng Changqing replied. “It looks very old, and the outer tube is damaged. I can’t guarantee it’s really a gun barrel.”
“Let’s go, I’ll go take a look with you.” Guan Yao got up and said.
Meng Changqing led him all the way to the wall outside the small courtyard. The gun barrel that had just been cleaned out was standing next to it. Guan Yao squatted down and scanned the thing up and down, and finally nodded: “It is a homemade gun barrel.”
“Then what should we do?” Meng Changqing immediately became nervous. “Master, should we call for backup?”
“Call for backup my ass,” Guan Yao hissed. “The closest police station to Qianjinping is our station. By the time backup gets here from our station, what time will it be?”
“But, but this is…”
“Uncle Li!” Before Meng Changqing could finish, Guan Yao straightened up and called out generously. He said, “Come out and take a look, why does this thing outside your door look so much like a gun barrel to me?”
Before long, Li Ying, covered in water, ran out, peering and shrinking his head, with a look of doubt: “What gun barrel?”
“Take a look for yourself.” Guan Yao pointed. “This thing is definitely a homemade gun barrel, how can you have it at your house?”
Li Ying’s face changed at first, but then he immediately realized: “Oh, how would I know what this is? I used to go into the mountains to collect scrap, these are things I collected from hunters, I piled them at the door and didn’t take it seriously…”
This is not a perfect explanation, and it doesn’t wash away Li Ying’s suspicion.
But Guan Yao said to Meng Changqing with a smile: “I said, what would Uncle Li want a gun for? He’s seventy or eighty years old, can he still go into the mountains to hunt roe deer?”
Li Ying also laughed along.
Meng Changqing stood there with a silly face, not understanding what Guan Yao meant.
“Alright, it wasn’t easy for us to come here, and we even helped you clean up the yard. Don’t make it so messy in the future, be careful of being reported for illegally possessing a gun.” Guan Yao pretended to be serious and educated him.
Li Ying nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: “Yes, yes, what the police comrades say is right.”
“If there’s nothing else, we’ll go back, we’re very busy over there, not gonna chat with you.” Guan Yao said and was about to leave.
Li Ying didn’t see them off far, he stood at the door of the yard and shouted: “Not staying for a meal?”
“Going back to eat in the cafeteria.” Guan Yao waved his hand.
Meng Changqing followed behind, only to see his master walking faster and faster, and after turning the corner in front of Li Ying’s door, he almost ran all the way to the car.
He opened the car door and said without looking back: “Quick, let’s go.”
Meng Changqing didn’t dare to ask more questions, started the car and drove away. After the two of them drove for two miles, he cautiously asked: “Master, weren’t you going to inquire about the situation? Why did we leave like this?”
Guan Yao breathed a sigh of relief: “You idiot, you didn’t even bring a baton when you went out in the morning, now you want to inquire about the situation with someone who might have a gun in his hand, in the remote mountains and ridges, you don’t even know how we would die.”
Meng Changqing’s face turned pale: “This, it can’t be…”
“You kids are born in a new era, growing up under the red flag, you don’t know how chaotic our era was.” Guan Yao wiped his forehead and sighed, “Heard of the saying ‘If you don’t kill someone in three days, you’re not from Chunhe’? Chunhe refers to our Za Mu Er’s Ning Nie Li Qi River. More than twenty years ago, private guns were rampant in this place. If there wasn’t a murder case in three days, the police station would have to check the almanac to see if there was a problem.”
“Then, then Master, we just left like this, that gun of his…”
“He will hide it carefully, and then come up with a more complete statement next time, so that we who are trying to find clues from him will have nothing to say.” Guan Yao’s eyes gradually cooled down, “And the only thing we can do now is to keep an eye on him.”
Meng Changqing murmured: “So, this Li Ying, really has a problem?”
“Whether there is a problem, or what kind of problem, is not something we can conclude at this time. But you remember this for me, you must not rush up recklessly when you encounter this kind of thing in the future, understand? If you can run, give me time to run.” Guan Yao ordered.
Meng Changqing nodded repeatedly, not sure if he remembered it in his heart.
At three o’clock in the afternoon, the two finally rushed back to the Za Mu Er city area. When passing by Factory Street, Guan Yao seemingly casually asked Meng Changqing to drop him off at the intersection, saying that he wanted to go to the market next door to buy some daily necessities for Guan Ning, who was about to go to training camp. But immediately afterwards, as soon as he got out of the car, he dialed Yu Chunming’s phone in Meng Changqing’s gaze.
Yu Chunming was sitting at the door of a coffee shop on the side of the road smoking. Across half a street, he saw the person getting out of the car and looking around. Although he found it funny in his heart, he still answered seriously: “We are diagonally behind you on your left hand side.”
Guan Yao turned around and saw the smoke floating around Yu Chunming from a distance. The man frowned immediately, strode forward, and opened his mouth to scold him, but Yu Chunming took the lead in extinguishing the cigarette.
“Na Fei is inside.” After extinguishing the cigarette, he said nonchalantly, “Organizing the information from the morning.”
Guan Yao glanced at Na Fei, who was sitting by the window typing on the keyboard, turned his head and continued to ask: “Didn’t I tell you to come out in two days?”
Yu Chunming raised his eyebrows and took out a few crumpled sheets of paper from his pocket and handed them to Guan Yao: “Self-criticism, hand it over to the instructor after you sign it.”
Guan Yao frowned and read the self-criticism, and said with some disgust: “Your handwriting is so messy…”
“Then the leader can copy it for me again.” Yu Chunming said shamelessly.
“I’ll copy it for you again?” Guan Yao said angrily, “I might as well copy you on paper.”
Yu Chunming ignored him, already assuming that Guan Yao would definitely copy it again properly. He stood up, flicked off the cigarette ash, and said: “This morning, we got something strange out of Ai Hua’s mother’s mouth.”
“Strange things?” Guan Yao asked as he collected the crumpled sheets of paper that Yu Chunming had folded, “What’s so strange?”
Yu Chunming paused and replied: “Ai Hua’s mother said that after Li Ying was released from prison, there have been rumors among the old workers of the Forest Farm that he did not commit arson due to improper operation, but intentionally set the fire because of a conflict with the old director of the No. 2 Timber Factory, Zhang Nan.”
Guan Yao’s movements froze.
He had also heard this rumor.
Ai Hua’s mother, Ai Xiuhong, said this: “Actually, it’s all groundless, but Li Ying and Zhang Nan did have a bad relationship back then, even we teachers at the children’s school heard about it.”
“Why was their relationship bad?” Na Fei asked.
Ai Xiuhong sighed softly: “Isn’t it all about making a living? Li Ying was in charge of the warehouse. Although he didn’t have power, he had connections. He could often take things out of the warehouse and sell them to supplement his family. Zhang Nan discovered this once.”
“And then?” Na Fei knew nothing about the past of the No. 2 Timber Factory, she asked curiously, “Did Zhang Nan punish him?”
“The key is here,” Ai Xiuhong said, “Zhang Nan not only didn’t punish him, but also suppressed the matter for him, but… but everyone knew what it was for. Zhang Nan himself was not a good thing, his eyes lit up when he saw money. Knowing Li Ying’s way of making money, he wanted to get rich through him.”
Na Fei was a little surprised: “Is that so?”
“Moreover, I heard from Teacher Wei, who taught mathematics with me back then, that Zhang Nan also used this matter to threaten Li Ying. If Li Ying didn’t help him with his work, he would leak the matter out and let everyone know.” A faint disgust appeared on Ai Xiuhong’s face, she said, “Teacher Wei’s second brother worked as a secretary in Zhang Nan’s office, so I know it very well. If it weren’t for their secret affairs, would everyone spread such words later?”
Yu Chunming asked at this time: “Did Zhang Nan himself also die in the 9.24 fire?”
“Of course,” Ai Xiuhong replied, “If he was still alive, who would think that the fire was set by him? You can ask the old people of the No. 2 Timber Factory or the One Zero Three Forest Farm, everyone has heard of that matter back then.”
“So, have you heard of it?” Yu Chunming asked.
Guan Yao took a breath of cold air, his expression as usual: “I’ve heard of it, Ai Hua’s mother is right, the old people of the Forest Farm have all heard of that matter.”
“What do you think?” Yu Chunming began to examine Guan Yao’s expression.
“What do I think? What can I think?” Guan Yao unconsciously concealed the momentary gaffe on his face, he looked absent-minded, “It’s been rumored for so many years, no one can find any evidence. Without evidence, Li Ying can only be found guilty of accidental arson, it’s not what I think it is.”
Yu Chunming raised the corner of his mouth and stood up: “Let’s go, come in and warm up.”
Na Fei had already recorded the content of the conversation with Ai Xiuhong in the morning into a table. She moved the mouse, turned the screen of the laptop, and pushed it in front of Guan Yao: “Take a look too, do you have any questions?”
Guan Yao flipped through the record table from top to bottom, and unsurprisingly, he caught the word “Xiao Min” at a glance.
“Ai Hua and Qian Guowei both know Aunt Jiang?” Guan Yao asked.
“Not only that, but also this Xu Wen, who was mentioned many times in Ai Hua’s diary.” Na Fei added from the side.
“This is really a coincidence,” Guan Yao smiled, “This Xiao Min, who is Aunt Jiang, happens to live across from my house, thirty-year-old neighbors.”
“Is that so?” Na Fei also smiled, “This is the benefit of small places, you can easily meet acquaintances.”
Speaking of this, she deliberately asked Yu Chunming: “Right, Senior Brother?”
Yu Chunming crossed his arms and didn’t speak, his gaze always stayed on the word “Xiao Min” on the screen.
Guan Yao didn’t notice anything, he directly suggested: “Why not go to my house directly, see if Aunt Jiang is there, but it’s hard to say whether she is awake or confused at this time, what if…”
“I’m hungry,” Before Guan Yao finished speaking, Yu Chunming interrupted him appropriately, “Have you eaten lunch? Let’s go back to the station for lunch first.”
Guan Yao’s attention was drawn away by Yu Chunming’s words “I’m hungry”, and he immediately forgot about going to Jiang Min to find out the situation. He asked Na Fei: “Is that police officer coming with us?”
Na Fei smiled: “I won’t, I’m going back to the Municipal Branch Bureau. At noon, Han Chen asked me to refine the trace detection report in the San Kuang Family Compound again.”
After speaking, she smiled: “Moreover, your station’s Officer Meng is really too enthusiastic.”
These words made Guan Yao feel ashamed too. On the way back, as Meng Changqing’s master, he couldn’t help but think to himself in front of Yu Chunming: “That kid Meng Changqing knows that that police officer has a family, why is he still rushing up every day?”
Yu Chunming smiled silently.
This smile was immediately seen by Guan Yao, who immediately pulled the person over and asked: “What’s so funny?”
Yu Chunming looked at him: “Being able to ask such a question is enough to prove that you have never been in love.”
“Why haven’t I been in love?” Guan Yao took these words as “humiliation”, he had to put down his old-fashioned and conservative style, and enduring his embarrassment, he said openly, “I have had several emotional experiences.”
“Is that so?” Yu Chunming replied casually, “When you really like someone, you can’t help but think about him, look at him, and get close to him, no matter if this person is married or has children, the physiological reaction is something you can’t hide, Captain Guan, don’t you understand?”
Guan Yao really didn’t understand.
Although he was not lying about whether he had been in love, Guan Yao himself was not very sure whether he had ever loved someone.
He had seen Li Xiaotian chase his wife to the death in his early years, seen Shu Wen make a fuss when she divorced her ex-husband, and also seen Fang Wang walk into the palace of marriage with his wife from childhood sweethearts. But he had never experienced these earth-shattering or mundane love affairs, or rather, even if he had experienced them, he didn’t feel much.
A few years ago, Wang Zun introduced him to an elementary school teacher, who taught music, with a bright personality and was also beautiful. Guan Yao dealt with her for half a year lukewarmly, and in the end he didn’t understand how to have this love affair, or how to love this woman.
Because he would never uncontrollably think about her, look at her, let alone get close to her involuntarily, he didn’t have her in his mind at all.
So, he really didn’t understand.
Yu Chunming couldn’t help but find it funny when he saw Guan Yao in deep thought. He teased: “Officer Guan, how old are you this year? You can still be confused about this kind of thing.”
Guan Yao’s old face turned red, he couldn’t help but glared at Yu Chunming, and retorted: “Your theory is too crooked, what does it mean that you can’t help but think about her, look at her, and get close to her is love her? When you were lying in the hospital, I couldn’t help but think about you, so I fell in love with you too.”
Okay, now it was Yu Chunming’s turn to be stunned.