Yong County, Jiangjia Village!
Back in the car, Xiao Zhanwu took the driver’s seat himself, but he didn’t start the engine.
Instead, he looked at Li Yi and said, “Things have gotten a bit complicated!”
“What’s the problem?”
“Neither Jiang Lin nor Jiang Dafu is willing to talk, and we don’t have any evidence. Even if we know there’s something fishy going on, we can’t arrest Tan Cheng!”
Xiao Zhanwu continued, “Most importantly, it was clear from our conversation that the Jiang family—father and son—are grateful to Tan Cheng. Getting them to identify him won’t be easy!”
Li Yi largely agreed with Xiao Zhanwu’s analysis.
If the truth of the matter was indeed that Tan Cheng had paid Jiang Lin three thousand yuan to help him earn merit, then regardless of Tang Bing and Tan Cheng’s motives, that sum of money had effectively saved Jiang’s mother.
They say one should repay even the smallest kindness with great gratitude—so how could one possibly repay a debt of life-saving grace?
So, it makes perfect sense that the Jiang family wouldn’t betray Tan Cheng!
As for the fact that Jiang Lin’s sentence was extended by four years because of this, what does that amount to compared to 3,000 yuan?
After all, even if Jiang Lin had actually been released from prison, he couldn’t have earned three thousand yuan in four years—and even if he could, his mother wouldn’t have survived that long!
With that in mind, Li Yi immediately said, “It’s fine. It doesn’t matter if they don’t speak up. Now that we’ve deduced the truth, we’ll find a way to uncover the evidence.”
“Do you have an idea?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.
“I have a few ideas, but they need some refinement. For now, let’s head over to Xiaoya’s grandparents’ house!” Li Yi said.
“Sounds good!”
With that, he started the car and drove toward the back of the village.
Before long, the car came to a stop in front of a low, dilapidated courtyard.
Just as Li Yi was about to get out, Xiao Zhanwu stopped him.
“Brother Li Yi, I know exactly how those old folks act. If you go inside, you might get other ideas, so you’d better stay out of this!”
Hearing this, Li Yi nodded and said, “Alright, then we won’t get out. You take Xiaoya and the others inside!”
“Alright!”
Xiao Zhanwu then got out of the car with the two sisters and walked into the courtyard.
After Xiao Zhanwu and the others got out, Li Yi fell deep in thought.
There was definitely something fishy about the case involving Tan Cheng’s release from prison for meritorious service. The truth was likely not far off from what they had suspected, but the only problem now was finding evidence.
After all, suspicion alone isn’t enough to convict someone—only evidence will do.
Evidence admissible in court includes both witness testimony and physical evidence. As for witness testimony, aside from confessions, there are also eyewitness accounts and the like; physical evidence, of course, is the money.
If they could just find the evidence mentioned above, they could send the suspects to prison.
Since the Jiang family—father and son—remain indebted to Tan Cheng and are unwilling to speak up, we’ll have to start with Tan Cheng or Tang Bing.
After all, this case involves three parties: Jiang Lin in prison, Jiang Dafu and Jiang’s mother in the village, and Tan Cheng, Tang Bing, and others. Among them, Jiang’s mother clearly does not know the truth.
In other words, they are not a united front.
I believe that with careful planning, we can tackle them one by one and find the evidence.
Just as Li Yi was deep in thought, he suddenly heard footsteps and the chatter of children outside.
Looking up, he saw Xiao Zhanwu emerge from the Jiang family’s courtyard, smiling as he held the younger child in one arm and led the older one by the hand.
Following behind them, at a moderate distance, was an elderly couple in their sixties.
Once back in the car, Xiao Zhanwu immediately started the engine, waved to the elderly couple, and turned the car around to leave Jiangjia Village!
Once the car had turned around and was back on the road, Li Yi finally asked, “Did they agree to let you adopt Xiaoya and the others?”
“Yes, they’ve agreed. From now on, Xiaoya and Yueyue are my daughters!” Xiao Zhanwu said happily.
“No wonder you’re so happy. Congratulations!” Li Yi said.
“Hahaha, I’m not just happy because I successfully adopted Xiaoya and Yueyue—more importantly, there’s a new lead in the case!” Xiao Zhanwu said.
“Oh, what kind of lead?” Li Yi asked eagerly.
“It’s pretty much what we suspected. The Tan family did indeed pay 2,500 yuan for Jiang Lin’s mother’s surgery, and Jiang Lin was just creating an opportunity for Tan Cheng to earn merit!” Xiao Zhanwu said.
“Is the lead reliable?”
As he spoke, Li Yi couldn’t help but glance back at the elderly couple standing at the Jiang family’s front gate.
Xiao Zhanwu hadn’t known about this earlier, but he’d found out shortly after going inside—the source of the information was obvious.
“Xiao Ya’s grandfather told me personally—it should be accurate!” Xiao Zhanwu said.
“How would he know all this?”
“He said Jiang Dafu told him. By the way, Xiaoya’s grandfather is Jiang Defu—he’s a cousin of Jiang Lin’s father!” Xiao Zhanwu said.
“Even if they’re cousins, Jiang Dafu wouldn’t have any reason to tell Xiaoya’s grandfather about this, would he?” Li Yi said.
Xiao Zhanwu immediately replied, “Jiang Defu said that a while back, Jiang Dafu went to his house to ask for a loan, claiming he needed it for his wife’s surgery. Worried that Jiang Dafu might not be able to pay it back, he told him he already had 2,700 yuan and was only 300 yuan short!”
“Jiang Defu naturally didn’t believe him, since he knew exactly what his cousin’s family situation was like. So he asked where the 2,700 yuan had come from. And Jiang Dafu, desperate to borrow the money, made up part of the story!”
“According to him, 2,500 yuan came from a friend of Jiang Lin’s, and his family had saved up 200 yuan on their own. Then Jiang Defu lent him 100 yuan, and a few other members of the Jiang clan chipped in another 200 yuan for Jiang Defu. That’s how Jiang Lin’s mother was able to undergo the surgery successfully.”
Li Yi nodded and said, “That does sound reasonable. But why would Jiang Defu tell you all this? Isn’t he afraid this might implicate Jiang Defu and make his 100 yuan go to waste?”
Just as Xiao Zhanwu was about to speak, Xiao Ya pouted and said, “It was Uncle Xiao who gave them 300 yuan!”
The little girl’s tone wasn’t very pleasant; clearly, she wasn’t happy about the whole situation.
“Money?”
Xiao Zhanwu smiled and said, “To keep them from bothering Xiaoya and Yueyue in the future, I gave them 300 yuan. You could say I’m fulfilling a filial duty on behalf of Xiaoya and Yueyue toward their biological father!”
“Maybe it was those 300 yuan that did the trick. When I asked Jiang Dafu about his family, he hesitated for a moment but then told me everything he knew. However…”
“But what?” Li Yi asked.
“But Xiaoya’s grandfather is only willing to tell me about it—he won’t testify in court!” Xiao Zhanwu said with a hint of resignation.
“Haha, no problem. Now that we know this, finding a breakthrough won’t be difficult at all!”
A cold smile then curled at the corner of Li Yi’s mouth as he added, “And this whole thing might even bring us an unexpected bonus!”
“What kind of unexpected bonus?” Xiao Zhanwu asked immediately.
“This whole affair is so meticulously orchestrated—it’s clearly been carefully planned. At the time, Tan Cheng and Jiang Lin were both in prison, and Jiang’s parents aren’t very educated. There must have been someone acting as a go-between. Who do you think that person could be?” Li Yi said calmly.
“Tang Bing?”
Li Yi nodded and continued, “Besides, Tang Bing herself just got out of prison. Where on earth would she have gotten 2,500 yuan?”
“If I’m not mistaken, that money must have come from Tan Cheng’s parents. And they wouldn’t have handed over such a large sum to Tang Bing—a woman who’s served time—without knowing anything about the situation. Do you know what that implies?”
“Whoa!”
Xiao Zhanwu sucked in a sharp breath and immediately said, “That means Tan Cheng’s parents are involved in this too. You… you want to send them to prison as well?”
“They brought it upon themselves—who else can they blame?” Li Yi said coldly.
“So what should we do now?” Xiao Zhanwu asked.
“Simple. Just take some men to meet with Tan Cheng and Tang Bing this afternoon. While you’re at it, drop a hint about your suspicions regarding this case, then have someone keep an eye on them!” Li Yi said.
“Lure the snake out of its hole?”
“No, this is called testing the waters!” Li Yi said.
“I know what to do. I’ll make the arrangements as soon as I get back,” Xiao Zhanwu said.
“Alright…”
………
PS: There’s one more chapter before 10 o’clock!
I’ve had some family matters to attend to these past few days, so updates have been a bit irregular. But as long as I have time, Lao Cang will keep updating and do my best to avoid any hiatuses.