SFTD -Chapter 389 White Spots Reappear (Part 30)

Zhou Hai and Xu Biao quickly leaned closer. Written on the receipt stub was:

April 11, 1969 — Su Liya’s family of six was collectively sent down to the Lianhua Mountain Farm in Jiulong Town for labor reform.

Zhou Hai remembered that Su Liya had been born in 1923. By the year he was sent down, he should already have been forty-six years old. His four children ranged from their twenties down to around ten years old. Since their names and the later transfer addresses of their household registrations were recorded, tracking down subsequent information should not be too difficult.

Without needing Zhou Hai to say anything, Xu Biao hurriedly photographed all the information, especially the names and identity details of the four children. He knew Zhou Hai wanted to determine whether any of them might resemble Yang Duxiu.

Zhou Hai looked toward Sister Peng with complete sincerity.

“ Sister Peng, please help us investigate these four people. Where did they go? Who were their children? I want every piece of household registration information that can still be found.”

There was a trace of confusion on Sister Peng’s face, but since she had already agreed to help Huang Zhongsheng, she merely smiled. There were many things involving criminal police and forensic doctors that were better left unasked—because asking too much only brought trouble upon oneself.

She copied down the information for the four individuals, then led the two men out of the archives room and directly back to the household registration hall.

With names and addresses available, the search became much easier. Sister Peng had a young clerk vacate one of the computers; apparently these computers could now access related registration records.

After entering the names and beginning the search, results quickly appeared. Sister Peng printed them one by one. Watching the printer continuously spit out sheets of A4 paper, Xu Biao could not help staring in amazement.

“So many pages? How much information is this?”

Sister Peng walked over holding the stack of papers. Seeing Xu Biao’s astonished expression still frozen on his face, she burst out laughing.

“Relax. It only looks like a lot because there’s one person per page. The rest will need Captain Huang’s team to verify afterward, because I can’t be sure these are all the correct people.”

Zhou Hai took the stack and flipped through it briefly. Sure enough, there were people with the same names. Furthermore, after the Cultural Revolution, Su Liya’s children had all changed their ethnicity registration to Han Chinese, which naturally led to even more duplicate names.

The current household records all included photographs as well. After only flipping through a few pages, Zhou Hai found several people who looked extremely similar. Their features stood out immediately: unusually pale skin, somewhat high cheekbones, and very thin lips—especially the upper lip, where only the cupid’s bow was visible.

Seeing this, Zhou Hai rapidly continued sorting through the papers. Before long, he pulled out seven sheets and frowned slightly. In that era, each of those four families should have had at least two or three children. Yet the information they found seemed rather limited.

Watching Zhou Hai repeatedly flick through the papers, Sister Peng immediately understood what he meant and covered her mouth as she laughed.

“Alright, stop flipping already. These are only the household records of people still living in Southeast City. The computer is still searching for records of people who moved away. It’ll be done soon.”

As she spoke, the printer started working automatically again. More pages soon emerged.

These new records contained information on Su Liya himself as well as the families of his second and third sons. They had migrated south during the 1990s. Their registration records were even more complicated—some had emigrated abroad permanently, some had gone overseas to study, and others had settled in the Pearl River Delta region.

After reading them, Zhou Hai instantly felt these people were unlikely candidates. They had moved away far too early. After more than twenty years living in the south, their skin tones and facial appearances had changed so much that it was difficult to judge anything from photographs alone.

He set those files aside.

So far, many people looked somewhat similar, but none gave him that immediate sense of striking resemblance to Yang Duxiu.

Placing the printouts on the desk, Zhou Hai supported his head with both hands and closed his eyes slightly.

After a while, he picked up the information again on the seven members of the Su family who still resided in Southeast City. Their records were also quite complicated, but one person’s photo caught his attention—it was taken in 2004, during the first issuance of the new-generation national ID cards.

The man’s name was Su Mule, the second son of Su Liya’s eldest son. He was the same age as Yang Duxiu, and judging from the photo, the facial contours did seem rather similar.

However, the ID photo was extremely blurry, and besides, it had been taken eleven years ago. What he looked like now was impossible to tell.

Most of the others had obtained their IDs after 2007. Since China had first begun promoting second-generation ID cards around early 2004, did that mean this man had still been living in Jiulong Town back then?

“Alright, let’s head back first. Later, Captain Huang can send people to contact the local police and investigate them directly. Every household needs to be checked one by one.”

Xu Biao had not been idle at all. He had already photographed everything they had just reviewed. After thanking Sister Peng, the two left the household registration hall of the East District Public Security Bureau and headed into the Criminal Investigation Division’s two-story building nearby.

Zhou Hai did not go inside. Xu Biao alone was enough to relay the information.

Standing downstairs, Zhou Hai looked at the vines climbing across the covered corridor. Supported by the framework above, the vines had completely wrapped around the entire passageway.

It reminded him of the Su family.

Even after labor reform, the family had remained safe and intact, eventually spreading out and flourishing with descendants. That in itself was fortunate.

But what about Yang Duxiu?

For reasons unknown, his parents had been forced into dying on the very same day. His uncle’s family, though large in number, had already been sent down to the Lianhua Mountain Farm in Jiulong Town for reform through labor. Communication had been severed, and they could barely protect themselves.

At that time, Yang Duxiu had only been eleven years old. There was no way he could have survived alone.

So later, some kind-hearted person must have adopted him. Then his name was changed, and all traces of his previous identity were erased.

As for how he later discovered the secret of his origins—and learned about the overseas financial accounts—that would have to wait for Huang Zhongsheng’s investigation.

Just as Zhou Hai extinguished his cigarette butt, Xu Biao came running downstairs.

“Let’s go. Everything’s been arranged. The whole division’s practically empty now—everyone’s already been sent out.

But Captain Huang said he’ll contact the Jinzhou police shortly and have them go directly to Jiulong Town to find people. They’ll also investigate everyone connected to the case. At the very least, we need to know what exactly happened to Yang Duxiu and his parents, and why all of them died overnight.”

Zhou Hai nodded. Xu Biao had already explained in detail everything Zhou Hai himself had left unsaid.

“Good. Let’s head to the Information Center now.”

Xu Biao immediately looked miserable. He darted in front of Zhou Hai and blocked his path.

“It’s almost noon already! By the time we get there, everyone will be off eating lunch. Besides, Doctor Nan’s old flame—or old buddy—probably hasn’t arrived yet. Let’s grab some food first, alright? I only had a couple steamed buns earlier, and I’m starving so badly I’m practically shaking.”

Suppressing a smile, Zhou Hai patted Xu Biao on the shoulder.

“Don’t exaggerate so much. Show me this ‘shaking all over’ you’re talking about. Fine, we’ll eat first, then head to the Information Center. But when I see Doctor Nan later, I’m definitely going to find out whether the guest he invited is an old flame or just an old friend.”

Xu Biao rolled his eyes but did not dare protest too much. After all, Zhou Hai would still be paying for lunch later, so enduring humiliation for the moment was the wiser choice.

He dragged Zhou Hai into the car, gave Old Wang an address, and they headed toward a narrow alleyway.

Watching the route, Zhou Hai felt completely unconcerned—because Xu Biao was basically a human food detector.

Xu Biao spread his arms over the seatback, crossed his legs, and looked at Zhou Hai.

“Hai Zi, let me tell you something. I’ve got leverage over Doctor Nan. If he doesn’t cooperate properly, I might just use it next time.”

Zhou Hai looked up at Xu Biao’s smug expression and truly could not bear to shatter his illusion.

“How about we go back to the East District Criminal Investigation Division and eat at their cafeteria instead?”

Xu Biao instantly uncrossed his legs and looked at Zhou Hai with complete seriousness. He surrendered on the spot, turning away with a pitiful expression and lowering his head like an obedient child.

“Alright, alright, I got carried away. Let’s just discuss what dishes we’re ordering later, okay?”