CS: K9 GF | Chapter 8 – Investigating the Case in Woniu Village

"If this was a crime committed by someone the victim knew, then our investigation can be narrowed down considerably."

After speaking, the cool and composed female detective glanced at Luo Fei, seemingly a little surprised by his analysis.

"Does anyone else have anything to add?" Zhao Donglai asked the room.

When no one spoke up, he turned to Zhou Weimin.

"Chief Zhou, do you have anything you'd like to add?"

Zhou Weimin shook his head with a smile.

"Solving cases is your Criminal Investigation Unit's specialty. Just tell me what you need, and I'll cooperate."

Hearing that, Zhao Donglai didn't stand on ceremony.

"Since no one has anything else to add, I'll assign the tasks."

"Wang Dong and Xiaoyue, go to the telecommunications office and pull the victim's call records for the past month. I want a complete list of everyone she contacted and an investigation into her relationship with each of them."

"Yang Su and Zhang Fan, your job is to conduct door-to-door interviews throughout the residential complex. Find out whether anyone saw unfamiliar individuals between yesterday and seven o'clock this morning. Also, register all male residents between the ages of twenty and forty who are taller than 1.75 meters."

"As for Zhao Cheng and me, we'll head to the silk factory where the victim worked and gather information there."

After assigning the Criminal Investigation Unit's duties, Zhao Donglai turned toward Zhou Weimin.

"Chief Zhou, can you lend me two officers? Old Liao and several members of the team are currently working on a missing persons case, and we're short-handed."

"That's no problem at all," Zhou Weimin replied with a grin. "We're all working toward the same goal."

He pointed at Zhang Haiyang and Luo Fei.

"What about these two?"

"That'll work."

Zhao Donglai nodded before looking at the cool-faced detective.

"Yang Mei, take Comrade Zhang Haiyang and Comrade Luo Fei to the victim's hometown. Find out whether she had any conflicts with anyone, whether she was particularly close to someone, or if there were any issues in her personal life."

Only then did Luo Fei learn the female detective's name.

Yang Mei.

Before they left, Zhou Weimin reminded Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang to follow Yang Mei's instructions throughout the investigation.

The two readily agreed.

At ten o'clock that morning, after the assignments were finalized, the three set off for Woniu Village, Su Xiao's hometown.

Yang Mei drove.

The vehicle was her personal car—a fully loaded Range Rover.

Judging from the price tag alone, Luo Fei guessed she probably came from a wealthy family. If she were the daughter of a high-ranking government official, she likely wouldn't be driving something so conspicuous.

Woniu Village wasn't particularly far from Ningjiang County, but the journey consisted almost entirely of winding mountain roads.

Unable to drive quickly, they crawled along at a cautious pace.

By the time they arrived, it was already noon.

Woniu Village sat halfway up a mountain, built against the slope itself. The village contained roughly two hundred households.

Upon arrival, the trio decided to visit the village chief first.

After all, nobody understood the village better than he did.

With directions from several villagers, they quickly located him.

The village chief's name was Wang Youfa, a lean man in his sixties with bright, energetic eyes. He had been a Party member for over forty years and had served as village chief for more than three decades.

"Come in, come in! Officers, have some tea!"

Inside his simple hollow-brick house, Wang Youfa enthusiastically poured tea for the three visitors.

Afterward, he called toward the kitchen.

"Wife! Do we still have that watermelon we bought a few days ago? It's scorching hot outside. If there's any left, cut one up for our guests."

"Village Chief, you don't have to trouble yourself," Yang Mei said somewhat embarrassed. "We're only here to ask a few questions."

Zhang Haiyang nodded in agreement.

"That's right. Please don't go through so much trouble for us."

The old chief chuckled.

"It's nothing. I know how hard police work can be. My son is a police officer too."

He paused proudly.

"Though he's not stationed here in Ningjiang County. He works over in Luoya County."

At that moment, the chief's wife emerged from the kitchen carrying a plate of freshly sliced watermelon.

"Here, officers. Have some watermelon."

She smiled warmly.

"I kept it soaking in the water vat all morning. It's nice and cold."

"Thank you, Auntie."

The moment the chilled watermelon was placed into his hand, Luo Fei abandoned all attempts at politeness.

The weather was brutally hot, and an ice-cold slice of watermelon was pure bliss.

Yang Mei and Zhang Haiyang likewise accepted their portions.

"Oh, it's just watermelon. No need to thank me."

Then the chief suddenly asked:

"You're here because of Su Xiao, aren't you?"

Yang Mei looked surprised.

"How did you know?"

The chief laughed.

"At around eight this morning, Su Laohan received a call from the police station saying something had happened to his daughter in the county and that he and his wife needed to come immediately."

"They left not long ago."

"Then the three of you show up asking questions."

"It wasn't difficult to connect the dots."

The chief's wife, who had been standing nearby listening, couldn't help herself.

"Officer… has Su Xiao died?"

Before anyone could answer, Wang Youfa shot her a glare.

"Why are you asking that?"

"Weren't you going to gather pig fodder? Go on."

His wife muttered unhappily.

"What? I was just asking."

Still, she obediently left the room.

Once she was gone, the chief turned back toward the officers.

"I know police work comes with rules and confidentiality."

"So don't worry."

"I won't ask questions I shouldn't ask, and I won't talk about things I shouldn't talk about."

"If there's anything you want to know, just ask."

Luo Fei couldn't help but admire him.

As a longtime Party member and village leader, Wang Youfa possessed both discipline and wisdom.

Yang Mei nodded.

"Then let's start with Su Xiao."

The chief looked confused.

Yang Mei elaborated.

"Her personality, relationships, whether she had a boyfriend, who she was close to, whether she had conflicts with anyone—anything related to her life."

Understanding immediately dawned on his face.

After a moment of thought, he began:

"To be honest, I've watched Su Xiao grow up."

"She was one of the most well-behaved girls I've ever met."

"Her father, Su Laohan, is lazy and spends all day gambling in the mahjong hall."

"Her mother isn't much better. Instead of keeping him in line, she joins him there."

"The two of them neglected both their fields and their responsibilities."

"But somehow they raised a daughter who was remarkably sensible and considerate."

"Su Xiao has worked at the silk factory for two years now."

"She comes home almost every week."

"Every time she returns, she brings rice, vegetables, and household necessities for her parents."

"Her salary is only a little over three thousand yuan a month, yet she gives fifteen hundred yuan to her parents every single month."

He sighed.

"Now, Su Laohan and his wife may not be particularly admirable people, but they truly love their daughter."

"Su Xiao didn't score well enough to get into high school."

"Not wanting her to spend her life farming, they arranged for her to work at the silk factory instead."

"I heard they spent over fifty thousand yuan pulling strings to get her that position."

"Su Laohan even sold both of his cattle to make it happen."

The chief took a sip of tea before continuing.

"After she started working at the factory, countless people came proposing marriage."

"Several were from our own village."

"She's beautiful, hardworking, kind, and has a stable job."

"Of course plenty of families were interested."

He leaned forward.

"There was one man in particular."

"Li Daqiang from the neighboring village."

"Everyone around here knows his family is wealthy."

"His younger brother is a deputy director at the Finance Bureau."

"Li Daqiang himself owns construction equipment, including trucks and excavators."

"He owns two houses in the county."

"And his son works at a bank."

"His son saw Su Xiao at a banquet one day and immediately fell for her."

"Not long afterward, Li Daqiang brought his son to formally propose marriage."

"The dowry they offered was five hundred thousand yuan."

The chief shook his head.

"Five hundred thousand."

"Combined with the family's wealth, most parents would have forced their daughter to accept on the spot, whether she agreed or not."

"But surprisingly, Su Laohan and his wife refused."

"Why?"

"Because Su Xiao didn't like the young man."

The old chief smiled faintly.

"In the countryside, very few parents would reject a family like that simply because their daughter wasn't interested."

"So regardless of their other shortcomings, I genuinely respect Su Laohan and his wife for that."