The red object was brought ashore and covered with a white cloth. Qin Yu fainted first, followed by Yang Yong, and finally, the utterly exhausted Huo Dali.
The villagers who had been searching along the river had traveled as far as twenty kilometers downstream. Upon hearing that the body was found fifty kilometers away, they regretted not going further, as they missed out on the chance for a large reward and only earned some meager compensation for their efforts.
While Huo Dali searched the river, the Jiangzhou Criminal Police Brigade's major crimes unit investigated numerous leads. Ultimately, they tentatively concluded that the case was likely a crime of passion. Yang Fan had a very regular routine, going directly from home to school every day and never interacting with men outside of school. If it was a crime of passion, the most likely suspects were students. Five students, including Huo Dali, had expressed romantic interest in Yang Fan and required further investigation.
The forensic autopsy revealed the following characteristics of the body: slight traces of water in the mouth; dilated pupils with signs of hemorrhaging in the mucous membranes; ruptured eardrums with bleeding; water in the lungs; sand in the mouth and nose; and abrasions on the body's protruding areas, with irregular edges.
Conclusion: Yang Fan drowned.
After sleeping for an entire day, Huo Dali got up and went to the criminal police brigade to find Zhu Lin.
Zhu Lin examined the young man, who had lost a significant amount of weight, and his expression softened slightly. He said, "You're brave, drifting on the river for three days."
In just a few days, Huo Dali had lost seventeen or eighteen pounds and now looked ten years older. The sight of the red object floating in the river had deeply traumatized him. "Yang Fan was always very meticulous. When she crossed the Shian Bridge, her bicycle wheels were always about a meter from the edge of the bridge, almost without deviation. I used to tease her about it, saying she was too timid." He paused briefly before continuing in a firm tone, "If nothing unexpected happened, Yang Fan would never have fallen into the river."
"Preliminary investigation rules out suicide. So far, there's no evidence pointing to homicide either. The most likely scenario is an accidental fall. As for the cause of the fall, given the circumstances, it's hard to determine," Zhu Lin explained patiently, his opinion of the young man in front of him subtly shifting.
"I know Yang Fan. She must have been harmed. Otherwise, she wouldn't have fallen into the river. For example, if someone deliberately pushed her into the river, it would look a lot like an accidental fall."
"This is a 'Report Requesting No Filing.' It's about to be submitted to the deputy director in charge. The autopsy doesn't support homicide, and no other clues have been found. The detectives questioned several bus drivers who passed by. Only one driver noticed the bicycle lying in front of the railing, but there were no further findings."
"A bus driver saw the bicycle?"
"The driver saw the bicycle in the same position as where the investigation team later found it. Based on the scene, if someone wanted to harm Yang Fan, they would have thrown the bicycle into the river as well, making it even harder to trace."
"Many villagers pass by Shian Bridge. Why didn't anyone pick up the bicycle?"
"The rainstorm. That's probably why."
"There should be fingerprints on the bicycle, right?"
"Fingerprints can be sweat-based, adherent, or partial, and any of them could be lost due to movement, pressure, or vibration. Rainwater could also wash away fingerprints. The forensic technicians only found partial fingerprints on the bicycle's handlebars. After comparison, they were identified as Yang Fan's."
With a gloomy expression, Huo Dali left the criminal police brigade and went to Shian Bridge. He sat on the bridge and closed his eyes, picturing Yang Fan riding her bicycle across the bridge. He then imagined all the possible scenarios that could have led to an accident.
A motorcycle or car could have collided with her bike, causing her to lose control in panic.
Someone could have been chasing her, making her bike veer off course.
Several people could have blocked her path, and in her attempt to pass, she lost control.
Someone might have called out to her, and when she got off the bike, a conflict could have occurred for some reason.
The images in his mind were so clear that it was as if these events had actually happened. Huo Dali wasn't just imagining but rather replaying the "facts" in his mind.
Based on the final location of the bicycle and Yang Fan's usual cycling route, Huo Dali repeatedly played out different scenarios by the bridge. No matter how he analyzed it, he couldn't accept that Yang Fan would have fallen into Jiangzhou River without any external force. Passersby, seeing this seemingly deranged young man, remembered that someone had recently fallen into the river and quickly hurried away from this unlucky place.
After hours of reenactments, Huo Dali was physically and mentally exhausted. He sat on the stone railing, pressing his temples with his hands. Memories flashed through his mind like a movie, and everything related to Yang Fan was vividly clear.
Murder in Plain Sight
Shian Factory was a Third Front factory, located halfway up Bayue Mountain, about four kilometers from Jiangzhou City.
The factory's living facilities and workshops were scattered along the mountain's base, resembling a long, serpentine line. The factory grounds were filled with camphor trees, surrounding rows of white brick houses. These houses had a ceiling height of over five meters, with doors and windows larger than those of ordinary homes. All the residential complexes were numbered, with Complex No. 6 being known as the No. 6 Courtyard.
The No. 6 Courtyard was situated on a small hill, about five hundred meters from the front gate of the factory.
On the third floor of one of the four buildings, Yang Yong carried their luggage while Qin Yu held their daughter's hand, knocking on the door of their neighbor, Li Yongmei.
Li Yongmei opened the door.
Yang Yong said, "We'll be gone for five days this time."
"Don't worry about Xiaofan. Just focus on your work. It's not easy to go home," Li Yongmei said as she held Xiaofan's hand and called into the house, "Dali, Xiaofan is here."
Huo Dali put down his Rubik's Cube and stood at the bedroom door, waving at Xiaofan.
Without following her parents to the car, Yang Fan simply said, "Come back soon," and then walked straight to Huo Dali's room.
The Yang family and the Huo family had been neighbors for many years and knew each other well. Yang Yong and Qin Yu had urgent matters to attend to back in their hometown, and they felt completely at ease leaving their daughter in the care of the Huo family.
Inside the bedroom, Huo Dali whispered, "I have a new Rubik's Cube. Let's have a competition later."
Xiaofan rolled her eyes at him and said, "You must have practiced a lot. That's not fair."
Huo Dali picked up the new Rubik's Cube, quickly scrambled it, and then just as quickly solved it.
Xiaofan watched, her eyes dazzled, but then she countered proudly, "I don't play with Rubik's Cubes anymore; it's childish. I read fairy tales now. Oh, I almost forgot, you can't read many characters, so you can't read fairy tales."
Huo Dali replied, "You tell me a fairy tale, and I'll teach you how to play with the Rubik's Cube."
Xiaofan nodded enthusiastically.
After seeing off Yang Yong and Qin Yu, Huo Guolong and Li Yongmei's smiles vanished. Back in their bedroom, Li Yongmei's face grew tight, not a trace of a smile remaining as she said, "If you quit and start your own business, and if the business fails, we'll have nothing left."
Huo Guolong picked up a newspaper from the table, pointing to an article marked with red lines.
"This article, 'Spring Comes with the East Wind,' was first published in the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily on March 26, 1992, and now newspapers across the country are reprinting it in full. Do you understand what this report signifies? The great leader said it best: if we don't stick to socialism, don't reform and open up, don't develop the economy, and don't improve people's lives, we'll be on a dead-end road. Can't you smell the opportunity here? I've been working in the supply department at Shian Factory for so many years, I know the market and what it needs. Instead of just waiting around in the factory, it's better to go out and make something happen. Don't worry, with my skills, I can easily make ten to twenty thousand a year. When our son marries Xiaofan, I'll make sure they have a grand wedding."
The mention of this infuriated Li Yongmei. "Yang Yong is the top doctor at the factory hospital, and a very proud intellectual. If you quit and become unemployed, Yang Yong and Qin Yu will most likely refuse to let Xiaofan marry Dali."
As the two were talking, an old man with graying hair burst into the room, angrily saying, "Huo Guolong, you've really let me down! You were a promising candidate for management. After another couple of years, you would've been the head of the supply department. Why would you quit? Do you only care about money and have no sense of loyalty to Shian Factory or collective honor?"
Huo Guolong looked up and saw that it was the old factory director. Before he could speak, his wife, Li Yongmei, had already jumped up, "Huo Guolong, you submitted your resignation behind my back? Do you even care about this family anymore? Life was going well, and you just had to throw yourself into a pit of fire!"
She hadn't expected her husband to pretend to discuss whether to resign when he had already made the decision. If the old factory director hadn't been there, she might have lashed out at him physically.
Hearing the commotion outside, Huo Dali and Yang Fan curiously stood at the doorway, watching.
Yang Fan, ever thoughtful, handed a tissue to Li Yongmei and said, "Godmother, don't cry."
Li Yongmei replied, "Xiaofan, go back to the room. I'm not crying; something just got in my eye." She wiped her tears with the tissue, then gently led Xiaofan into Huo Dali's room and quietly closed the door.
The old factory director had always valued Huo Guolong's diligence and competence, holding him in high regard. Now that the decision was made, he let out his anger, then handed over some contact information of former business partners, written on a piece of paper, to Huo Guolong. With a stern face, he left the Huo family, hands behind his back, still fuming.
After the old factory director left, Li Yongmei quietly sat in the living room, wiping her tears. Meanwhile, Huo Guolong busied himself in the kitchen, preparing a hearty meal to try and lighten the mood.
When the food was ready, Huo Guolong smiled as he put his arm around his wife's shoulders and said, "Don't be angry anymore. If the business doesn't work out, with my cooking skills, we can always open a small restaurant."
Li Yongmei angrily swatted his hand away from her shoulder and said, "The kids are in the next room. Sigh, you just can't stay still, can you? Now that you've quit, you're an unemployed man. You had some standing in the factory's supply department, and I could hold my head high there. But now that you've resigned, I can't even show my face at the factory. I must have terrible luck to have married you."
Huo Dali and Yang Fan, still young and unaware of the impact of quitting a stable job to start a business, didn't fully understand the gravity of the situation. They were just excited to witness the rare occurrence of adults arguing and hid behind the door to watch the drama unfold.
During dinner, Huo Guolong kept cracking jokes to lighten the atmosphere, even going so far as to attentively serve his wife food. However, Li Yongmei remained stone-faced, silent, and didn't touch her food.
The dinner was more lavish than usual, and the two children were too busy enjoying the feast to pay any mind to the adults' earlier argument.
After dinner, Huo Guolong eagerly took on the task of washing the dishes, while Li Yongmei continued to sit in the living room, her face still tense with anger.
As the Xinwen Lianbo news program started, Li Yongmei went to the bedroom and said, "Xiaofan, Auntie and Uncle have something to do and need to go out for a while. Will you two be okay staying home alone?"
Yang Fan was a little scared, but Huo Dali puffed out his chest and said, "Don't worry, I'll protect Xiaofan."
The No. 6 Courtyard was within the factory area and very safe, so Li Yongmei's question was more out of habit than concern. She then left with her husband to visit the old factory director again, seeking advice on how to run a factory.
With the adults gone, the children felt free to do as they pleased. Huo Dali first brought some comic books into the living room and then proudly showed off a tin box full of fruit candies in front of Yang Fan. As the deputy head of the supply department, Huo Guolong often traveled around the country, and their home always had an ample supply of candy. The two children indulged in a couple of pieces of Shanghai fruit candy, followed by some lobster candy, thoroughly enjoying the treat.
After the candy, eager to show off, Huo Dali led Yang Fan into the inner room to watch a videotape. As soon as the TV was turned on, a strange melody played, and the title "Dream of the Red Chamber" appeared on the screen. Yang Fan, more mature than Huo Dali despite their young age, already knew how to read simple fairy tales. She recognized "Dream of the Red Chamber" as a famous literary work and sat down on a small stool in front of the TV, ready to learn. However, what appeared on the screen were images of naked men and women. Shocked, Yang Fan quickly covered her eyes and shouted, "What is this? Turn it off, turn it off!"
Huo Dali, initially confused by what he saw, realized from Yang Fan's reaction that this was not something children should be watching. He frantically turned off the VCR.
Ashamed and upset after seeing something she shouldn't have, Yang Fan retreated to the bedroom and refused to speak to Huo Dali.
By 9 p.m., Huo Guolong and Li Yongmei still hadn't returned home. Yang Fan, unable to keep her eyes open any longer, was ready to go to bed. But as per her father's strict instructions, she needed to use the bathroom before going to sleep. The only problem was that the bathroom was located in a public facility outside the No. 6 Courtyard.
The No. 6 Courtyard was undergoing renovations to add bathrooms and kitchens to the buildings. The project had been approved by the factory's administrative committee, with plans already drawn up and construction set to begin that year. Until the renovations were completed, residents still had to use the public restroom outside the courtyard. To reach the restroom, one had to pass through a dark grove of trees, which was rumored to be haunted by the spirit of someone who had hanged themselves there years ago. The women's restroom was particularly eerie, with dim lighting, ten large squat toilets, and the wind howling through at night, making it a terrifying place. Normally, Yang Fan's parents would both accompany her at night, with her father standing outside the restroom and her mother inside, the three of them chatting through the wall—a small but important part of their family routine.
With her parents not yet home, Yang Fan didn't dare go to the restroom alone, even with Huo Dali waiting outside.
As her discomfort grew more unbearable, Yang Fan realized she might be facing a very embarrassing situation if she didn't do something soon. Thinking quickly, Huo Dali spread some newspapers on the floor of the bedroom for her to use in an emergency. Initially, Yang Fan refused, but as her need became more pressing, she blushingly accepted the idea.
After relieving herself, Yang Fan packed the waste into a plastic bag. She adamantly refused Huo Dali's offer to accompany her and went alone to dispose of the bag in the courtyard's garbage pit.
"Today's events are not to be mentioned to anyone. If you tell, we're through!" Yang Fan's eyes avoided meeting Huo Dali's, but her voice was firm and fierce.
Huo Dali grinned and replied, "I'm not afraid to use the bathroom at night, so we don't have a chamber pot at home. But you guys should get one."
Yang Fan retorted, "We don't use chamber pots at home. They're too dirty, and they stink up the room."
The next morning, before Huo Dali and Yang Fan had woken up, Huo Guolong and Li Yongmei were whispering in the kitchen.
Li Yongmei gave her husband a punch and said, "I told you to take out that videotape, but you were too lazy. Those two little rascals must have watched it. How can I face Xiaofan now? I feel so guilty every time I see her."
Huo Guolong laughed, "What's there to feel guilty about? We were just spicing up our married life, perfectly justifiable. Your son hasn't even hit puberty yet; he wouldn't understand any of it."
Li Yongmei warned, "Xiaofan is a little girl, she's sensitive. Let's pretend it never happened."
At 8 a.m., the four of them sat down for breakfast. Yang Fan, remembering the embarrassing images from the TV, kept her head down, avoiding eye contact with everyone.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
The cleaner, Old Du, stood at the doorway with a stern face, holding a newspaper with two fingers. "Chief Huo, this is too much!"
Old Du was a regular factory worker, responsible for cleaning up trash. He was known as the "stone in the toilet"—stubborn and smelly—and wasn't afraid to offend anyone. Despite his lowly position, no one in the factory dared to cross him.
Huo Guolong asked, "Old Du, what's the matter?"
Old Du raised the newspaper and complained, "Two stray dogs got into the garbage pit today and tore open a bag. And what did they find? Feces. Dogs can't resist eating feces, so they dragged it all over the courtyard."
Yang Fan blushed deeply, wishing she could disappear into the ground.
Old Du continued his complaint, "The newspaper with Chief Huo's name on it was in the bag, so I'm here to discuss this with you. Revolutionaries may have different roles, but there's no high or low, noble or humble. Chief Huo, you need to respect my work."
Seeing his name on the newspaper, Huo Guolong realized this must have been the work of the two kids. He quickly apologized and offered to help Old Du clean up the courtyard.
"No need for Chief Huo to clean up. Just be more careful in the future," Old Du replied, satisfied with venting his anger, and walked back to the courtyard with the soiled newspaper.
Huo Guolong took his son aside and asked him what had happened. Huo Dali, with his chin held high, took full responsibility, resulting in five lashes with a feather duster. His legs were left with five swollen red marks. After punishing his son, Huo Guolong and Li Yongmei headed to their newly opened small workshop, leaving Huo Dali and Yang Fan at home.
On the way, Li Yongmei said, "I don't think it was our son who threw the bag. He's brave and never afraid of the dark."
Huo Guolong replied, "Yang Fan is a girl, more mature and sensitive. We need to give her some face. By punishing our son, we preserved Yang Fan's dignity."
Back at home, Yang Fan looked at the red welts on Huo Dali's legs and, with tears in her eyes, asked, "Did you tell on me?"
Huo Dali proudly replied, "I'd never betray you; otherwise, my dad wouldn't have beaten me."
Yang Fan threatened, "You must never speak of this again. If you do, I'll never talk to you again!"
The two played together for a while, then left a note and joined the older kids from the courtyard to head into the city to watch the sports meet and cheer for the Shian Factory team.
The Jiangzhou Summer City Games were held annually, with participants from various city systems and large units. Shian Factory, being a large entity, always fielded its own team and typically performed well. The factory had a retired soldier who was an expert at throwing grenades and had won the hand grenade throwing championship multiple times. The hand grenade competition was in the morning, and the Shian Factory cheerleading team gathered near the competition area to support their champion.
When Shian Factory's champion, Xiao Liu, entered the field, he confidently strolled around like a tiger surveying its territory, swinging his arms and bending over in preparation. When it was his turn to throw, the Shian Factory cheerleaders erupted in cheers.
Yang Fan asked, "Can Uncle Liu win?"
Huo Dali, who had always idolized Uncle Liu, replied, "Uncle Liu will definitely win. No one has been born yet who can beat him."
The grenade flew in a perfect arc through the air, landing with a flag stuck in the ground by the spotter. Uncle Liu's red flag was at least five or six meters beyond the others. The Shian Factory cheerleaders were sure they had the gold medal in the bag and cheered loudly.
The last competitor stepped up to the line. This athlete, with his muscular chest, wore a sports vest with the word "Bank" emblazoned on it. Without any warm-up, he casually tossed the grenade, which flew through the air like a cannonball, landing far beyond Xiao Liu's red flag.
After throwing the grenade, the competitor didn't bother with the remaining throws. He simply turned and walked away.
The other competitors threw two more rounds, but none came close to the distance marked by the bank competitor's red flag.
The Shian Factory cheerleaders felt a deep sense of regret as the gold medal, seemingly within their grasp, was snatched away. Despite their disappointment, they all acknowledged that the bank competitor was truly exceptional, far surpassing their own Xiao Liu in skill. The broadcast announcer's enthusiastic voice rang out: "Bank system competitor Shi Qiuyang has broken the grenade throwing record, extending the previous record by four meters."
The Shian Factory cheerleaders collectively agreed: a monster had emerged from the bank system, and it would be years before Shian Factory could reclaim their dominance in the grenade throwing event.
Huo Dali and Yang Fan, however, were there just for the fun of it. The outcome didn't affect them much. They spent the day with the cheerleaders at the sports ground, thoroughly exhausted by the time they returned home at six o'clock.
On the table, there was dinner and a note that read: "Mom and Dad have something to do and will be home late. Eat dinner on your own and go to bed early." Having learned her lesson, Yang Fan hurried to the public restroom outside the courtyard after dinner. But another problem arose: when it was time to sleep, Huo Dali's parents still hadn't returned home, and Yang Fan didn't dare sleep alone. Huo Dali initially sat by the bed, keeping her company by talking to her, but soon enough, both of them were overcome by sleep, their eyelids heavy as mountains. When Huo Guolong and Li Yongmei finally returned home, they found the two children fast asleep on the bed.
Li Yongmei looked at the sleeping children and said, "They've been close since childhood, growing up together. I wonder if they'll end up together in the end." Huo Guolong, yawning, replied, "You're worrying too much about nothing. What matters now is what kind of business I'm going to start." Li Yongmei retorted sarcastically, "Who was it that quit their job without telling me, and now you're starting to worry about the future? If you knew this was coming, why did you do it?"
From the time he resigned until now, the couple had been bickering about it, with Huo Guolong unable to defend himself. With nothing left to say, he picked up his sleeping son and moved him to another room.
The saying "choices determine destiny" couldn't have been more true.
Huo Guolong's decision to leave Shian Factory marked a turning point. He first brought in engineers from the factory on weekends to get through the most challenging times, then spent a significant amount of money to poach several key technical staff from Shian Factory, putting his business on the right track.
The technicians at Guolong Factory disassembled various brands of motorcycles and repeatedly reassembled them. After countless times of disassembly and reassembly, the Guolong brand motorcycle was born. A few years later, Guolong motorcycles became a well-known brand in China, capturing a significant market share in Southeast Asia.
On the other hand, Yang Yong remained steadfast at the Shian Factory Hospital, eventually becoming the deputy director, earning a stable income with his skills, and leading a peaceful life.
During the early days of starting the business, Huo Guolong was in desperate need of talent and made several attempts to recruit Yang Yong. However, in Yang Yong's eyes, Guolong Factory was just a small private enterprise that could go bankrupt at any time. He found Huo Guolong's invitation laughable; why would a respectable deputy director want to work at a small private factory?
As Guolong Factory grew and expanded, Huo Guolong began to address the issue of the high proportion of Shian Factory veterans in the company and stopped inviting Yang Yong. Over time, the Huo and Yang families drifted apart.
In the 1990s, the business scene in Jiangzhou was like the Warring States period, where simple and brutal competition often escalated into violence, similar to gang territorial wars. After a tragedy involving the daughter of industry leader Ding Chenguang, the emerging Huo Guolong was intimidated by Jiangzhou's underworld and quietly moved his business to the provincial capital, Yangzhou. He also transferred his son, Huo Dali, to the most expensive private school in Yangzhou. Determined to keep his family's whereabouts confidential, he tightly controlled his son's information, preventing anyone from Jiangzhou from contacting him.
While everyone's development is heavily influenced by society and family, individual personality traits also play a role in growth. Huo Guolong hoped his son would excel academically, attend a prestigious university, and eventually take over the family business. However, Huo Dali, an independent individual with his own personality and thoughts, was much like his father and entered a rebellious phase during his teenage years. In the provincial capital, he mingled with a group of wealthy second-generation heirs, leading a life full of excitement and drama.
During this time, the Guolong Group was experiencing a golden age, and the couple devoted all their energy to the business, neglecting their son's growth. They believed that by spending a lot of money to send him to an elite school, their son would naturally turn out well.
It wasn't until an incident where a second-generation heir in Yangzhou quarreled over a romantic dispute that resulted in a death that Huo Guolong realized his son had become a well-known figure in the provincial capital's playboy circle. Fortunately, on the day of the incident, Huo Dali was delayed by other matters and did not participate in the fight, barely escaping disaster.
After the incident, several friends advised Huo Guolong to send his son abroad, suggesting that after studying overseas, he could return to take over the business. However, Huo Guolong did not want his son to become a "banana," appearing Chinese on the outside but westernized on the inside, so he decided to bring his son back to his hometown for high school, away from the provincial capital's playboy circle.
In August 2001, just a few days before the new school year began, Huo Dali returned to Jiangzhou. He had just placed his luggage in a room at the Jiangzhou Grand Hotel, owned by the Huo family, when his mother called.
"Dali, I asked Gu Ying to prepare some gifts. Take them to visit Uncle Yang."
"Mom, I just arrived in Jiangzhou. I'll go another day."
"When you were little, it was Uncle Yang's herbal medicine that treated your illnesses. Now that you're back in Jiangzhou, you should go see him. You have time before school starts. Once school begins, you'll be busier."
"Alright, alright, I'll go. I haven't seen Yang Fan in many years. I wonder what she looks like now."
Following Li Yongmei's instructions, the hotel's deputy manager, Gu Ying, prepared some local specialties as gifts.
After taking a nap, Huo Dali took the gifts and walked towards Courtyard No. 6 of the Shian Factory.
As he knocked on the door, he imagined what Yang Fan might look like now. Yang Fan had always been the little princess of Courtyard No. 6, and teenage girls change a lot during adolescence. Now that she was in high school, she should look pretty decent, he thought. Images of various beautiful girls from the provincial capital flashed through his mind, and he speculated that Yang Fan might be of a similar level.