Chapter 768: Li Yi’s Conjecture!

Jiangjia Village is located southeast of Yong County, just 15 kilometers from the county seat.

Although the road conditions weren’t great, Li Yi and the others still reached their destination within half an hour.

Upon reaching the village entrance, Xiao Zhanwu immediately asked Li Yi, “Jiangjia Village is right up ahead. Should we go to Jiang Lin’s house first, or to Xiao Ya’s grandfather’s house?”

“You decide—whichever is closer. We’ll have to visit both places anyway!” Li Yi replied.

“Alright, let’s go to Jiang Lin’s place first. His house is right at the western end of the village!”

Following Xiao Zhanwu’s instructions, the car drove straight into the village.

Since Xiao Zhanwu and his team were driving a police car—with the word “Public Security” clearly visible on the side—the vehicle attracted quite a bit of attention as soon as it entered the village.

The villagers were all speculating among themselves about who in the village had gotten into trouble to have drawn the attention of the police.

When they saw the car finally pull up in front of the Jiang Lin residence, the villagers let out a collective sigh.

After getting out, Xiao Zhanwu told the two sisters to stay in the car and asked his colleague, Xiao Wang, to keep an eye on them.

Then, accompanied by Li Yi and Zhang Ziqiang, Xiao Zhanwu strode purposefully toward the Jiang Lin family’s courtyard.

He pushed open the gate, but there was none of the usual clucking of chickens or barking of dogs he had expected.

The entire courtyard was deathly quiet; there was no sign of people or livestock.

This was an unusual sight in the countryside; generally, farming families in the village kept livestock such as chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs, which served as an important source of income for the villagers in addition to farming.

It’s not unheard of for people not to raise poultry or livestock, but generally speaking, there are only two reasons for this:

One is that policy prohibits it, and the other is that the family cannot afford to raise them.

In the past, it was indeed prohibited by policy, but now the household contract responsibility system is being implemented nationwide, and people are encouraged to raise poultry and livestock. The Jiang family’s situation, however, was somewhat unusual.

With some curiosity, Li Yi followed Xiao Zhanwu into Jiang Lin’s home.

Upon opening the door, the first thing that caught their eye was a main hall with a kitchen attached. Beside the stove was another door, likely leading to the main living quarters—a common layout in northern homes.

Hearing the commotion in the main hall, a slightly weak voice called out from inside: “Husband, are you back?”

Li Yi and the others immediately quickened their pace and entered the main room.

Upon entering, in the dim light, Li Yi saw that the room was somewhat cluttered; aside from the burning stove, there wasn’t a single piece of decent furniture.

Meanwhile, a woman in her fifties or sixties lay on the earthen bed, apparently ill.

The woman was startled when she saw Xiao Zhanwu, but then struggled to sit up, saying, “Comrade Xiao, why are you here? Is my little Lin going to be released?”

Xiao Zhanwu immediately stepped forward and said, “Auntie, you’re not feeling well—you should lie down right away!”

“Comrade Xiao, I’m fine. Just tell me, how is Little Lin?” Jiang Lin’s mother asked, her face full of anxiety.

“Jiang Lin… Jiang Lin is fine. I just came by to see how you’re doing, Auntie,” Xiao Zhanwu replied.

“I’m doing fine. I just had surgery a while back. The doctor said with a year or so of recuperation, I’ll be back on my feet and able to work again!” Jiang’s mother said hopefully.

“You had surgery, Auntie? When was that?” Xiao Zhanwu asked, somewhat surprised.

“About a month ago!”

“Auntie, where did you have the surgery? It must have cost a pretty penny!” Xiao Zhanwu asked again.

Mrs. Jiang sighed and said, “I went to Chang’an for it. It cost a total of over three thousand yuan!”

“That’s a lot of money. Where did you get that much for the surgery?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.

“We had to borrow it all from others. It’s over three thousand yuan—I don’t know when we’ll ever be able to pay it all back!”

As she spoke, Mrs. Jiang couldn’t help but wear a look of deep worry on her face.

Hearing this, Xiao Zhanwu and Li Yi exchanged a glance, and a suspicion immediately formed in their minds.

These days, let alone three thousand yuan—even borrowing three hundred yuan is incredibly difficult. Given the Jiang family’s situation, who would be so generous as to lend them such a large sum?

Just as Xiao Zhanwu was about to ask more questions, a series of hurried footsteps sounded from outside.

Immediately afterward, a man in his fifties, looking rather disheveled, pushed open the door and walked in—it was Jiang Lin’s father, Jiang Dafu.

Upon seeing Xiao Zhanwu, Li Yi, and the others, his expression shifted slightly.

He first glanced at the woman on the kang, then turned to Xiao Zhanwu and said, “Comrade Xiao, my wife is unwell. If you have any business, just speak to me directly!”

Xiao Zhanwu was well aware of Jiang’s mother’s condition, so he nodded immediately and said, “Alright…”

Just as he was about to speak, Jiang’s father interjected again, “Comrade Xiao, my donkey cart isn’t tied up yet out front. Let’s talk outside.”

Both Xiao Zhanwu and Li Yi knew he didn’t want to speak in front of Jiang’s mother, so they didn’t say much and immediately followed Jiang’s father out the door.

Once they reached the front gate, Xiao Zhanwu said in a grave tone, “Uncle Jiang, tell me the truth: did the Tan family provide the money for Aunt Jiang’s surgery? And was Jiang Lin’s prison sentence extended after his escape specifically to secure a reduced sentence for Tan Cheng?”

Uncle Jiang’s expression shifted slightly, then he said, “Comrade Xiao, you can’t just make things up. I don’t know anything about the Tan family or any sentence reductions!”

“Uncle Jiang, Auntie just told me that her surgery cost three thousand yuan in total. Be honest with me—where did that money come from?”

“Well… I borrowed it from someone… yes, I borrowed it!” Jiang’s father said.

“Who did you borrow it from? Do you have an IOU?”

“Comrade Xiao, you don’t need to worry about who I borrowed it from. The fact is, I borrowed it. Besides, my son Xiaolin has already had his sentence extended by four years. What’s the point of you harping on this?” Jiang’s father glared at Xiao Zhanwu.

“Uncle Jiang, you know full well what your family’s situation is—there’s no way you could have borrowed that much money in such a short time!”

Xiao Zhanwu continued, “So you know better than anyone where Auntie’s life-saving money came from. But you must understand that what you’re doing is a criminal offense.”

“Once the truth comes out, not only will Jiang Lin face additional time in prison, but you yourself will be punished as well!”

“I… I’m not afraid…”

As soon as Xiao Zhanwu and Li Yi heard this, they knew their suspicions were correct—this case was definitely a collusion between Tan Cheng and Jiang Lin.

One was responsible for making the report, while the other voluntarily confessed to the prison break.

This way, Tan Cheng secured the chance for a reduced sentence and early release, while Jiang Lin raised the life-saving surgery fees for his mother.

Precisely because it was a case of “one willing to strike, the other willing to be struck”—and because the two had been plotting this in their cell for quite some time—Xiao Zhanwu and his team hadn’t uncovered their scheme during their initial investigation.

Just then, Li Yi suddenly said, “Uncle Jiang, have you thought about this? If you go to prison too, will Auntie be able to take care of herself all by herself?”

“Besides, given Auntie’s health, could she even handle such a blow?”

“Well…”

Seeing Jiang’s father hesitate, Li Yi continued, “If I’m not mistaken, Auntie still doesn’t know that Jiang Lin’s sentence was extended. If she found out that the money for her surgery was paid for with Jiang Lin’s four years in prison, how do you think she’d feel?”

Hearing Li Yi’s words, Jiang Dafu fell completely silent.

After a long while, he clenched his teeth and said, “I don’t know anything, and I don’t want to say anything. You guys should leave. I’ve got things to do!”

With that, Jiang Dafu walked straight into the house, closing the wooden gate behind him as he went—clearly showing he didn’t want Xiao Zhanwu, Li Yi, and the others there.

Seeing this, Xiao Zhanwu was about to step forward to speak, but Li Yi stopped him.

“Don’t bother. It’s no use!”

Jiang’s father had spoken with such firm resolve just now; once a man like him made up his mind, it was usually very hard to change it.

Besides, Li Yi didn’t want to disturb the elderly couple, especially since Jiang’s mother had only recently undergone surgery.

“So what should we do now? Even if we know Tan Cheng and Jiang Lin staged this false report of a prison break, we don’t have a shred of evidence, and there’s no way to overturn the verdict!” Xiao Zhanwu said.

“Don’t worry. I know how to get Jiang Lin to talk. Let’s head to Xiaoya’s grandfather’s house first!” Li Yi said.

“Sounds good!”

With that, the group left Jiang Lin’s house…

………