SFTD -Chapter 43 Mystery of the Dry Bones (Part 7)

Zhou Hai frowned in confusion. “What would anyone even want to search for in a house like this?”

Xu Biao chewed his gum loudly and popped a bubble with a sharp snap, then pointed toward the roof.

“There is something valuable. Old houses.”

Fengzi walked over and continued Xu Biao’s explanation in greater detail.

“All the villages and towns around Southeast City are going through land acquisition and development projects right now. I heard they’re planning to build a 4F-grade international airport in the border area between Duping and Southeast City. That’s probably creating a ripple effect around the region. Industrial parks, bonded zones, road construction, all kinds of projects. A lot of villages that have existed for centuries disappeared overnight. Some people even rebuilt their old homes into two- or three-story ‘Western-style villas.’

The urban management bureau is so busy monitoring illegal construction that their feet barely touch the ground.

Some people demolish and rebuild repeatedly—four or five times over. No matter how the local township officials try to educate them, they ignore it all, always hoping to exploit loopholes in government policy.

When we entered the village earlier, there were several courtyards on the north side.

Those two-story buildings looked especially strange. The upper and lower floors were different colors and sizes. You could tell at a glance the second floors had been added later.

Looks like a place like Bianjia Village has also been included in the redevelopment area.

As for the specifics, you can ask the village committee.”

Zhou Hai wasn’t very familiar with these matters. He understood that Fengzi was giving him a rundown of the current situation in China.

Their conversation wasn’t exactly private, so one of the village committee members hurried over.

“Our Bianjia Village is still quite far from the center of the airport site selection. But we’ve been included within the overall Aviation City development zone. At the town meetings, the leaders said the villages would eventually be uniformly planned and fully relocated. As for the timeline and compensation prices, nobody knows yet.”

Property?

Zhou Hai glanced once more at Yu Hongyu’s father’s room before turning and walking out.

The room was pitifully bare.

There was only a tattered cotton quilt on the heated brick bed, and at the foot of the kang sat a long wardrobe for clothes. Its doors hung slightly open, and even a casual glance revealed it was completely empty inside.

Captain Hu came over.

“Come on, let’s go to her uncle Yu Jianrui’s house.”

After walking around one street corner, they arrived.

The tightly shut iron gate, painted bright red, formed a striking contrast to Yu Hongyu’s home.

The moment someone knocked, furious barking erupted inside, followed by an extremely impatient woman’s voice.

“Who is it?”

The woman spoke in a thick Duping dialect. A village committee worker quickly answered, “Jianrui’s wife, open the door. We need to verify something with you.”

A moment later, the dog stopped barking, apparently locked away somewhere.

Through the bars at the bottom of the gate, they could see a pair of thick, fleshy legs wobbling closer in a pair of plastic slippers. After a series of unlocking sounds, a small side door in the iron gate opened.

A large woman, no smaller than Xu Biao himself, stuck out her head and looked outside impatiently.

“What now? Every time Secretary Bian comes shouting around, it’s never anything good. What are you collecting money for this time?”

The village committee member looked awkward.

He turned sideways and pointed at the group behind him.

“Stop talking nonsense, Jianrui’s wife! These are leaders from the Public Security Bureau. They want to ask about Yu Hongyu.”

Only then did the woman notice the group of police officers behind Secretary Bian. Instantly, all her earlier aggressiveness disappeared.

She stepped aside to let everyone enter the courtyard.

The yard was large, fully paved with concrete, and extremely tidy.

Under a shed on the south side sat four or five crates of beer, along with numerous sacks of grain stacked over ten bags high. The family was obviously living quite comfortably.

Following her inside, they found the house appeared recently renovated. The smell of fresh paint still lingered heavily in the air.

A circle of wooden sofas surrounded the room, and a massive flat-screen television hung on the west wall.

Zhou Hai and Captain Hu sat on the south-side sofa, while the woman and Secretary Bian sat opposite them. Her eyes kept darting nervously across the group.

“The house is kinda cramped. There’s not enough room for everyone. Want me to bring in some stools?”

Captain Hu waved his hand.

“No need. Sit down. We just have a few questions.”

Zhou Hai looked toward Xu Biao and subtly raised an eyebrow, glancing toward the staircase.

Xu Biao immediately understood.

He quietly backed away and headed upstairs with Xiao Liang.

Meanwhile, Captain Hu cleared his throat.

“Ahem! Where’s your husband?”

The woman lowered her head, becoming far more submissive as she cautiously looked at Captain Hu and Zhou Hai.

“He drives freight trucks. This trip, he went to Yungui Province and’s been gone almost a month already. Should be coming back soon, I guess.”

While the woman lowered her gaze, Zhou Hai slipped Captain Hu a sheet of paper covered with questions.

Captain Hu glanced at the paper, then at Zhou Hai, before asking,

“What’s your name?”

“Cui Hong.”

“When was the last time you saw Yu Hongyu?”

“Uh… Last… last month around the middle, I think. She said she was going to some kind of training program and asked me to help look after her father. Said I just needed to give him something to eat. She even brought me a basket of eggs.”

“Were you the one who introduced Yu Hongyu to her boyfriend?”

“Huh? W-why?”

The flesh on Cui Hong’s cheeks trembled.

“Just answer the question.”

“Yes, I introduced them.”

“Tell us about him.”

“Hongyu’s boyfriend is named Bian Mingyong. He’s a quality inspector at Dongxing Steel Structures over in the east part of the village. Handsome guy, decent family too. The two of them had been together for quite a while.”

“How long is ‘quite a while’?”

“They met at the end of 2013, before New Year’s. Didn’t take long before they officially started dating.”

Though Cui Hong spoke in the local Duping dialect, Zhou Hai understood her perfectly.

What he hadn’t expected was that the fourth suspect turned out to be Yu Hongyu’s boyfriend.

The discovery caught him off guard.

Captain Hu had already begun admiring Zhou Hai’s judgment.

In only a few minutes, Zhou Hai had predicted most of the woman’s answers, and every question had been perfectly targeted.

Collecting himself, Captain Hu continued, “Has Bian Mingyong come looking for Yu Hongyu recently?”

Cui Hong clearly hadn’t expected that question.

She blinked repeatedly, her fleshy face scrunching up as she struggled to answer.

“How would I know? They’re dating. Why would they tell us everything?”

Captain Hu knocked hard on the table.

“Answer directly. Did he come or not? Stop wasting words.”

Cui Hong nodded quickly.

“No, he didn’t come.”

Captain Hu’s booming voice and fierce tiger-like eyes were incredibly intimidating. That was exactly why Zhou Hai had wanted him to do the questioning.

“Where is Yu Hongyu’s father?”

“My eldest brother-in-law? He wanders around everywhere. Usually he leaves after breakfast and comes back around dinnertime.”

Secretary Bian stared at Cui Hong.

“Seems like nobody’s seen Old Yu for several days.”

Cui Hong immediately became agitated and pointed at Secretary Bian.

“He doesn’t eat at your house! How would you know anything?”

Captain Hu shot her a glance, and she instantly lowered her hand.

He continued, “You’re the one helping take care of Yu Hongyu’s house?”

“Yes. Whenever I have time, I go over and tidy things up for her.”

Smack!

Captain Hu suddenly slammed the table with tremendous force, glaring at her furiously.

“Are you still not going to confess? Why was Yu Hongyu’s house tossed into such a mess? What were you searching for in her wardrobe?”

Cui Hong trembled violently in fright and waved her hands frantically.

“Th-that wasn’t me! It had to be her older brother! It definitely was!”

Captain Hu stared directly into her eyes without blinking.

“Do you know that once you touch something, you leave traces behind? Fingerprints, skin flakes, sweat residue—those are all evidence you can’t argue your way out of. Yu Yongliang! Take the suspect back to the station. Run a DNA comparison, then interrogate her properly.”