Unlike other government departments,

Customs is a directly affiliated agency.

This means the organizational personnel power of Customs is held by the higher-level Customs office.

And the superior leading organization for Wen'an City Customs is Rongjiang Customs.

Leaders in Customs being transferred to local positions, comparatively speaking, was rather simple.

But for local leaders to move into directly affiliated institutions was not that easy; first, the local organization departments have to release them, and second, approval from the higher-level Customs is necessary.

Therefore, Chen Fang's transfer needed both the approval of Wen'an City Organization Department and the approval of Rongjiang Customs. Within the system, not having any connections really wouldn't do.

Fan Xian smiled gracefully, saying, "If you had taken up the Best Student award back then, it might have been easier. Transferring you over took quite a lot of effort on my part."

Hearing this,

Chen Fang was momentarily stunned and wanted to say something.

But Fan Xian had already brought the dumpling to his mouth.

He swallowed it in one bite.

Fan Xian asked, "Is it tasty?"

"Tasty."

Chen Fang nodded and said.

Fan Xian smiled slightly, saying, "If it's tasty, eat a few more. After tonight, getting to eat dumplings made by me won't be easy anymore."

"Xian, aren't you eating?"

Seeing that Fan Xian was just staring at him and had no intention of touching her food, Chen Fang curiously asked.

Fan Xian shook her head, saying, "I'm full, you eat more."

"Alright then."

Chen Fang didn't hold back.

He wolfed down the food.

He finished a large plate of dumplings all by himself.

After belching contentedly, he relaxed and lay down on the sofa.

After Fan Xian cleaned up the table,

she pulled out a notebook from her bag, asking, "Do you still remember what you are supposed to do in Customs?"

"Of course, I remember."

Chen Fang sat up and said.

Fan Xian handed the notebook to Chen Fang, saying, "I've already done your homework in advance. Customs is somewhat different from our local institutions. This contains some basic information on several leaders in Customs; study it well. It will help you gain a firm footing in your new environment."

Chen Fang put the notebook aside.

He asked seriously, "Xian, are you sure you want to do this?"

"What?"

Fan Xian asked.

Chen Fang paused, then said, "You know that the smuggling and counterfeiting of cigarettes are connected to... to your husband, and yet you are having me investigate this case. Shouldn't you not do this?"

Fan Xian smiled knowingly.

She asked, "Do you think that my purpose in doing this is to break away from that family, to escape my husband's control, right?"

Chen Fang didn't hide his thoughts, nodded, and said, "That's how I see it."

Fan Xian chuckled, saying, "It's no wonder, having witnessed the humiliation I've endured, you would think so, which is reasonable. But if that's what you think, why did you agree?"

Chen Fang smiled and said, "Because our meeting was coincidental, and moreover, this matter is inherently right. As long as something is right, I naturally am willing to do it. Besides, if the outcome truly helps you, why would I not be pleased to do it?"

"Aren't you afraid that I'm using you?"

Fan Xian asked.

Chen Fang spoke frankly, "Afraid, facing Chou Goushi's death made me more afraid. However, if even you, a woman, dare to take risks, what is there for me not to dare?"

This statement

moved Fan Xian.

Somewhat inexplicably, her eyes suddenly reddened.

Chen Fang was somewhat at a loss.

He quickly asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

Fan Xian shook her head, saying, "No, you didn't say anything wrong. It's me... it's my own reasons."

Having said that,

she sniffed hard.

She said, "Can I tell you a story?"

Chen Fang nodded.

Fan Xian then took a wallet out of her bag.

She opened the wallet and drew a very small photo from a compartment, handing it to Chen Fang.

Chen Fang took the photo and looked at it.

It was a picture that seemed quite venerable.

In the photo were four people, a middle-aged couple, especially the middle-aged woman, who had a foreigner's face, along with a young woman in her twenties, who was indeed Fan Xian in her younger days.

Back then, she was even more beautiful than she is now.

Standing next to Fan Xian was a boy younger than her, appearing only about seventeen or eighteen years old.

"These are my parents, and the handsome young man next to me is my younger brother, Fan Peng,"

Fan Xian said.

Chen Fang nodded and said, "I see, you strongly resemble your father."

"My father's name is Fan Zhongkuan. Have you heard of this name?"

Fan Xian asked.

Chen Fang suddenly tensed up.

He asked, "Fan Zhongkuan? The Fan Zhongkuan who was massacred ten years ago?"

Fan Xian nodded and sighed heavily, saying, "It's been ten years, and even a stranger still remembers him. How could I ever forget?"

The reason Chen Fang remembered the name was that the case had been huge a decade ago.

It had almost caused a sensation across the entire province of Yong'an.

Even Changming County had carried out a large-scale investigation at the time.

Even now, Chen Fang's memory of it was still fresh.

Fan Zhongkuan was no ordinary person; he served as the committee member and secretary of the Disciplinary Committee in Rongjiang City.

However, Chen Fang had never imagined that Fan Xian was Fan Zhongkuan's daughter.

It happened on a rainy night ten years ago.

That evening, a very heavy rain had fallen.

The rain had stopped early the next morning.

When a neighbor next door went out to buy groceries, they saw Fan Zhongkuan lying in the mud, stabbed several times.

They immediately called the police.

When the police arrived at the scene, they found that it wasn't just Fan Zhongkuan who had been harmed.

Inside the house, there were two more bodies.

After confirming their identities, one was Fan Zhongkuan's wife, Natalia, and the other, Fan Zhongkuan's seventeen-year-old son, Fan Peng.

The cause of death for all three was multiple stab wounds.

Especially Fan Zhongkuan, who had been stabbed seven times, and each stab had been fatal.

After the murderer left,

Fan Zhongkuan managed to crawl out of the house for help.

Unfortunately, he ultimately succumbed and couldn't escape his fate.

The Fan family's house was thoroughly ransacked, and a vast amount of valuables were missing, prompting the police to believe it was a burglary gone wrong.

The suspected criminal had not left any definitive evidence at the scene aside from a bloody handprint with four fingers.

Thus, the police deduced that the suspect was missing the little finger on his left hand.

Given the victim was a city leader in the capital, the situation was considered very serious.

Thus, the Provincial Public Security Department issued an order to check all individuals with missing fingers across the province.

Upon hearing this,

Chen Fang asked, "I remember this case was solved at the time, and the murderer committed suicide by hanging at home. Also, the stolen goods were found in his home, right?"

Fan Xian nodded.

She said, "Yes, but he wasn't the murderer; he was just the chosen scapegoat."

Chen Fang was taken aback and asked, "How do you know?"

Fan Xian said, "Because before my father was killed, he had told me that if he ever died, it would definitely be at the hands of Zheng Chang."

Zheng Chang?

Upon hearing this name,

Chen Fang tensed up again and asked, "Zheng Chang... isn't he your father-in-law?"

Fan Xian looked up at Chen Fang and nodded, saying, "Yes, he is my father-in-law."

When Fan Zhongkuan died, Zheng Chang was the Deputy Mayor, and a member of the committee in Rongjiang City.

A Deputy Mayor orchestrating the massacre of a secretary of the Disciplinary Committee, and the victim's daughter eventually marrying the murderer's son—such a plot could hardly be conjured even in an outlandish novel.

Chen Fang swallowed, asking, "Do you have evidence?"

"If I had evidence, I wouldn't have needed to marry into their family."

As she said this, Fan Xian's expression grew sorrowful.

She began to tell Chen Fang that the whole matter started with something as trivial as tobacco...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.