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Thursday, October 28, 2010
Zhou Ning arrived at the office early in the morning, humming a song with his headphones on, and cleaning the office in a good mood. When his mop reached the door, a leather shoe stepped on it.
Following the shoe upward, Zhou Ning looked up to see Xu Dayuan staring at him.
Zhou Ning hurriedly took off his headphones and greeted him with a smile, after all, he had just left like that yesterday, and he guessed that Cheng Li would probably go back and tattle!
"Good morning, Xu Da!"
"Morning my ass!"
Zhou Ning shrank his neck.
Xu Dayuan strode into the office, leaving several black footprints on the floor. Zhou Ning didn't dare say anything, placed the mop at the door, closed the office door, and waited for Xu Dayuan's outburst.
"Why didn't you turn on your phone?"
Zhou Ning was taken aback, only then remembering that he had not turned it on after shutting it down last night. He quickly took out his phone to turn it on, sneakily stealing glances at Xu Dayuan with a bit of a guilty conscience.
Xu Dayuan gave him a look.
"Hurry up and grab your investigation kit, follow me to the crime scene. We'll talk about your personal stuff later."
Upon hearing that there was work, Zhou Ning immediately perked up.
He grabbed his police jacket, his investigation kit, and camera, then thought to pick up a large backpack. Inside was everything he had prepared anew for the crime scene investigation. He didn't know if it would come in handy, but it was always good to be prepared. He quickly followed Xu Dayuan out of the office.
If it were any other time, Zhou Ning would definitely have followed up with a question, "What case is it, Xu Da?"
But now he didn't dare to. Rushing down to the second floor, two police cars were already waiting below. Zhao Xinli was sitting in the driver's seat, grinning at Zhou Ning.
"Hurry up and get in the car, Doctor Zhou, heard you went on a blind date?"
Zhou Ning glanced at Xu Dayuan, who was sitting in the back, and climbed into the passenger seat. He then glared and gritted his teeth at Zhao Xinli.
Zhao Xinli might be a bit slow, but he was definitely not stupid. He realized he might have said something he shouldn't have.
He quickly shifted gears, turned on the siren, and with the wail of the police siren, they sped off.
Zhou Ning sat down obediently, and Xu Dayuan coughed.
"This morning at 7:10, someone in Jiushanggou Village reported finding two bodies at Liu Wangcai's home in the east of the village, a man and a woman. The woman was hanged from the beam, and the Tieshan Police Station went to check. The door was locked from the inside and they didn't dare to disturb the scene, so they contacted us immediately."
Zhou Ning nodded incessantly, but after thinking for a moment, he looked up in horror.
"They didn't describe the male victim's condition? Moreover, if they could tell they were dead bodies without even entering, the condition must be gruesome, or... they are already highly decomposed, turned into a 'giant spectator' [1]?"
Xu Dayuan laughed and gave Zhou Ning a look.
"Early morning, a neighbor went to borrow a wheelbarrow from their house, found the yard gate ajar, and saw the door was locked. Peeking through the window, they saw the woman on the beam and the male body on the ground, and immediately called the police.
The male victim was lying in a pool of blood, his head toward the door, pants not worn, his body covered with maggots and flies. You don't need to go in to know he's dead through and through, so they simply didn't pry the door open.
The female victim is Liu Wangcai's wife, Zhu Meifeng, 32 years old. Liu Wangcai works on construction sites and is not home all year round. According to the neighbor who reported the incident, there were often strange men lingering at Zhu Meifeng's home, and there was a lot of gossip in the village."
Zhou Ning nodded slowly, understanding that this was how things were in the village. If any family had a young widow or a woman left at home alone, especially one with a bit of a look, there was no shortage of stories about her. He knew he couldn't jump to conclusions and would need to see the investigation results first.
"Alright, that's enough of the serious stuff, now tell me, my boy, how did you manage to ditch your dinner date and leave your second aunt to be complained at all-night? You've also learned to turn off your phone, haven't you? Whether you're involved or not, you're sending the money to that girl tonight."
Initially caught up in the case, Zhou Ning bristled at this change in tone. Stiffening his neck, he turned in his seat to face Xu Dayuan in the back and said:
"I'm not going, that Cheng Li set me up. She's not a decent person; otherwise, I wouldn't have run off and turned off my mobile phone!"
Xu Dayuan was taken aback.
"Tell me what happened."
Zhou Ning didn't hold back this time and told everything that happened the night before, from being late to the expensive outfit, even to the waiter stopping Cheng Li from leaving, not missing a detail.
After recounting the events, it seemed as if Zhou Ning had lost all his strength and leaned back in his seat. Zhao Xinli, who had been trying to restrain his laughter the entire time, occasionally sneaked peeks at Zhou Ning.
"That's the whole story. If you don't believe me, Xu Da, you can check the surveillance from Kaihua Western Restaurant to see if I'm lying. I did a rough calculation, just those six dishes come to over four thousand, not including the service charge. I don't have the money!"
Xu Dayuan pursed his lips tightly; the outcome had surpassed his expectations. He dialed a number and began to chat with someone on the phone.
"Hello, it's me. I want to ask you something..."
Zhou Ning listened in for a moment, surprised to find out that the person on the line was the owner of Kaihua Western Restaurant, and it seemed that he was already aware of the situation.
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Xu Dayuan grunted twice, hung up the phone, sent a text message, and then dialed another number.
Zhou Ning didn't try to listen in this time. Since he had already proven what he had said, it was enough to listen obediently. After all, he wasn't the only one feeling indignant.
After the ringing, the call connected, and to Zhou Ning's surprise, Xu Dayuan was using the speakerphone.
"This is Xu Dayuan from the criminal police squad."
The other party seemed startled for a moment before a woman's voice rose, bearing a similarity to Cheng Li's, especially in tone.
"I wondered who it was, Xu Da, what is it, you want to be a mediator and stick up for this young man, right? Let me tell you, we have the upper hand regardless of where we take this issue. Someone like this young man is no match for my daughter Daman. You tell him to hurry up and bring me 5,000 yuan, or else I'll report him for fraud and see if he wants to lose his iron rice bowl, the ungrateful bastard!"
The woman's rapid-fire tirade filled the car, and Xu Dayuan's face instantly darkened.
"If you want to call the police, go ahead and do it now. I've already obtained the surveillance footage, and I've spoken to people from the Western restaurant. Cheng Li didn't even start introducing herself at the restaurant before she ordered dishes worth over four thousand. Zhou Ning left because he didn't want to pursue this matter, and your daughter didn't let the food be served before leaving as well. Now you demand 5,000 yuan - are you trying to extort us?
I'm telling you, this amount already constitutes the crime of extortion. It falls under the category of extorting public or private property, a substantial amount, and could result in a fixed-term imprisonment of up to three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and may also involve a fine."
Xu Dayuan's onslaught brought considerable satisfaction to Zhou Ning. The woman on the other end didn't expect Xu Dayuan to speak so boldly. She was stunned for a good while before responding:
"Don't scare me. If you won't prosecute, you won't prosecute. I was just saying those things in anger. Alright, I won't bother with you any longer. If he wants to sue me, let him. I want to see who ends up embarrassed in the end!"
After this, the call ended, and when Xu Dayuan tried to call back, the woman had already turned off her phone.
Zhou Ning quickly turned around and looked at Xu Dayuan.
"Xu Da, let's not get angry with her. It's not like I ran fast and didn't get scammed!"
Xu Dayuan gave Zhou Ning a look and then threw back his head and laughed.
"You sly kid, you sure ran fast. If someone like her became your mother-in-law, your second aunt would die of regret. Anyway, it's a good thing you're not dealing with her anymore."
Zhao Xinli pursed his lips hard, his shoulders shaking, and Xu Dayuan slapped him on the back of the neck.
"Quit enjoying the show and focus on driving. You're the same age as Zhou Ning, even a few months older, but less educated than him, not as good-looking as him, though your weight is nearly twice his. What exactly gives you the right to laugh?"
Zhao Xinli immediately made a bitter face, looked at Zhou Ning and complained:
"Why am I a casualty in Zhou Ning's matchmaking tale now?"
Zhou Ning looked apologetically at Zhao Xinli who blinked and then pressed his foot heavier on the accelerator, causing the car to speed up rapidly.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived outside Jiushanggou Village.
It wasn't that the road was particularly long, but the coastal road was being repaved, cutting off the direct route into the village. A large pile of dirt blocked the path. Driving into it meant pressing onto the farmland next to it.
Seeing that the Tieshan Police Station's car was parked there as well, Zhou Ning and his group got out of the car.
Xu Dayuan gestured with his hand, and everyone followed him over the pile of dirt and walked into the village. He left one person behind to find the construction crew in charge of the roadwork. Without discussing anything else, at the very least, they needed to create a gap in the dirt pile as there were still two bodies that needed to be sent back to the autopsy room.
Zhao Xinli helped Zhou Ning carry the investigation kit while Zhou Ning carried a large bag on his back and hung a camera around his neck. The group entered the village and without needing to ask, headed toward where there was the biggest crowd, where a house with a black gate came into view.
Zhou Ning followed Xu Dayuan and Zhao Xinli, lifting up the cordon to enter. The rest of the people were tasked with dispersing the crowd outside.
There were quite a few people in the yard; the cemented courtyard was fairly neat. Xu Dayuan greeted the officers on site while gesturing to Zhou Ning with a nod of his chin.
"Doctor Zhou, go check out the scene. Should we break down the door or the window?"
Zhou Ning paused, not because of what Xu Dayuan said, but because as he got within three or four meters of the main house, a stench wafted to his nostrils, making the hairs on his body stand on end instantly.
Damn, that's the smell of a cadaver!
...
PS:[1]Giant Cadaver Observation: Bloated cadaver/giant cadaver, begins 5 to 8 days after a person's death if the body has not been treated with preservatives. The body transitions from rotting to highly decomposed, producing a large amount of putrefaction gases that inflate the soft tissues, turning it into a massive entity.
Important note:
Do not search for images of a giant cadaver on Baidu!
Do not!
Do not!