After briefly outlining the basic facts of the case, Wang Anguo immediately said, “Brother Li Yi, that’s the gist of it. During these extraordinary times, even if we wanted to help, we simply don’t have the manpower to spare!”
However, to Wang Anguo and Li Gang’s surprise, Li Yi didn’t seem disappointed upon hearing this; he merely smiled.
Just as the two were feeling baffled, he said calmly, “Does that mean once this gold theft case is solved, you’ll have time to handle those educated youth cases?”
“That’s certainly no problem, but…”
Before Wang Anguo could finish, Li Yi cut him off: “That’s all it takes. This gold theft case is a piece of cake!”
“Easy to solve?”
Meanwhile, Li Gang, standing nearby, seemed to have a sudden realization. He asked cautiously, “Brother Li Yi, you… you haven’t figured something out again, have you?”
Hearing this, Wang Anguo was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Li Yi with a face full of hope.
That’s right—the man standing before them was a master in that field, having already pointed him toward clues to solve cases on several occasions.
Maybe it would work this time too!
After all, they currently had absolutely no leads!
Li Yi smiled and said, “Don’t worry about whether I figured it out or just guessed—in any case, this crime was committed by someone from inside that factory!”
Wang Anguo frowned and said, “That was our initial line of inquiry as well. But after screening every employee and manager in the factory, we found that only a few had alibis. And after interrogating those individuals…”
Before he could finish, Li Yi interrupted again, “No need to interrogate them. It has nothing to do with the people you’ve arrested. You haven’t identified the culprit yet!”
“But…”
Li Yi continued, “The crime was committed by an insider. Furthermore, this person is a senior official, not just an ordinary employee!”
“A cadre?”
“But we’ve already screened all the cadres, and everyone has an alibi!” Wang Anguo said.
“Hmph, that’s exactly why the culprit is so cunning—he’s managed to fool you all!”
As he spoke, Li Yi couldn’t help but think that the guy who stole the gold was quite a talent in this regard.
His cunning truly surpassed that of an ordinary thief, to the point that the case had been deadlocked from the very beginning, only coming to light ten years later when he couldn’t resist the urge to sell the gold.
If Wang Anguo and his team had continued with their original line of thinking, they wouldn’t have solved the case even if given another twenty years, let alone ten.
Because from the very beginning, they had ruled out the real culprit as a suspect.
Wang Anguo was a smart man, and upon hearing this, he immediately understood.
“Are you saying the so-called alibi evidence is fake and doesn’t hold up to scrutiny?”
However, Li Yi merely smiled and didn’t elaborate. He patted Wang Anguo on the shoulder and said, “I won’t get involved in solving this case—that’s your job as the police. Just remember, once the case is solved, make sure to handle that case involving the educated youth for me right away!”
With that, Li Yi pushed open the door to Li Gang’s office and strode out.
Li Gang immediately said, “Brother Li Yi, you really should explain yourself clearly…”
But Wang Anguo grabbed him by the arm and said, “It’s fine. I know what’s going on. Don’t bother Brother Li Yi with this!”
“You already know?”
“Mm-hmm!”
“But I’m still completely in the dark.”
“Because you’re too slow on the uptake!”
With that, without waiting for Li Gang to respond, he immediately returned to his office and addressed the others who were busy at work: “Everyone, stop what you’re doing. I have an idea. We should re-evaluate the people at Plant 812, especially the leadership…”
……..
After leaving the county bureau, Li Yi headed straight to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy the wheat starch needed to make liangpi.
In addition, since supplies of condiments like vinegar and soy sauce were running low these past few days, Li Yi planned to buy some more.
As for the case, Li Yi was confident that Wang Anguo and his team could handle it on their own.
After all, he had laid out the situation so clearly; if they still couldn’t crack it, they’d truly be letting down the uniform they wore.
In reality, this case wasn’t particularly difficult; the key lay in the fact that the culprit had established an alibi for himself from the very beginning.
According to the report Li Yi had read, the person who stole the gold was Hao Guanchang, the office director at the headquarters of Factory 812.
Hao Guanchang was considered a mid-to-high-level executive at Plant 812 and had originally had a promising future. Unfortunately, among the hardworking staff, Hao Guanchang was the exception.
Because his daily work involved handling large quantities of gold, his greed easily corrupted him, and he began to harbor ill intentions.
At first, Hao Guanchang didn’t dare to make any major moves; he simply quietly instructed his wife, Zhou Suzhen—who also worked at Plant 812—to take a little scrap gold home each day when no one was looking.
Zhou Suzhen, who was also money-hungry, obeyed her husband’s every word and brought home small nuggets of gold every day.
Since the amounts were so small each time, they did not attract anyone’s attention.
But Hao Guanchang, who was gradually becoming dissatisfied, hesitated for a long time before deciding to pull off a major heist.
His plan was to do it just once, ensuring a life of luxury and comfort for the rest of his days, with no worries about food, drink, or clothing.
Together with his wife, he devised a meticulous theft plan.
Every day, taking advantage of his position, Hao Guanchang would openly visit the factory to scout the area, identifying the location of the gold warehouse and the patrol routes.
One evening a few days ago, with everything prepared, Hao Guanchang arrived at Factory 812, where he worked, carrying the tools he had prepared in advance.
He was always a bit shrewd and knew he couldn’t act directly; otherwise, if anything went wrong, he would be the first to be suspected.
In those days, to save on water bills, employees at the mint would shower at the factory before going home, and Hao Guanchang was no exception.
He walked into the shower room with a straight face, greeted the people he knew, and created the illusion that he was taking a shower.
In reality, after just a quick rinse, Hao Guanchang had already slipped out of the shower room while everyone was distracted.
Following a route he had planned in advance, he quietly approached the warehouse where the gold was stored. It was already late at night, and Hao, keeping his movements concealed, managed to sneak into the gold warehouse without incident.
The gold was stored in boxes. He selected four boxes containing individual gold bars that were not sealed with lead seals.
He then skillfully cut through the wire wrapping the boxes, quickly pried open the wooden panels, and retrieved the gold.
He picked up two bars of gold, wrapped them loosely with a rope, and hung them around his neck—all within just two minutes.
And this guy had particularly good luck—it had just started raining outside.
He naturally put on a raincoat to conceal the rope marks, left Factory 812, and rushed home.
His anxiously waiting wife hurried to meet him and hid the gold at the bottom of the coal basket in their home.
Meanwhile, Hao Guanchang took off his wet clothes, changed into dry ones, and rushed to the factory’s dance hall not far from home, where he stood among the crowd, swaying to the music.
Furthermore, to establish an alibi, he deliberately sought out acquaintances to greet them, even offering cigarettes to the factory director and deputy director and lighting them for them, ensuring everyone noticed him.
The next day, factory staff discovered a broken-into box with the gold missing and immediately called the police.
Upon receiving the report, the police rushed to the scene. After a thorough investigation, they concluded that this was an inside job, and the culprit was an employee of the factory.
They immediately conducted a thorough interrogation of all personnel, and as one of the leaders of Factory 812, Hao Guanchang was a key suspect.
Facing police questioning, he calmly stated that he had merely arrived at the factory around 6:00 p.m. to take a shower. Afterward, he went to the dance hall to dance and did not return home until after 10:00 p.m.
Thanks to his careful planning, the employees in the bathhouse all testified on his behalf, and his acquaintances at the dance hall confirmed that Hao Guanchang had indeed been there dancing.
Having so easily cleared himself of suspicion, the police did not investigate his whereabouts further.
The meticulous Hao Guanchang had his wife dispose of the leather shoes he had worn on the day of the crime, while he himself took the sledgehammer and discarded it in an abandoned school in a remote area.
The investigation subsequently reached a dead end, and the police were never able to catch the killer.
Afterward, Hao Guanchang became even more proactive at work and enthusiastically helped his colleagues. Everyone trusted him implicitly, and thanks to his flawless disguise, no one ever suspected him of being the gold thief.
In reality, if the case had been thoroughly investigated, Hao Guanchang’s alibi would not have held up to scrutiny.
However, Wang Anguo and the others had been blinded from the start, assuming that someone in his high-ranking position would not risk everything for a mere amount of gold.
Now that Li Yi has pointed out the key to solving the case, they’re sure to unmask this cunning criminal!