Chapter 852: Chapter 842: Planting a Flag

"Mom, I’m back, Mom!"

Su Qing stood at the door, knocking and calling out, and quickly, the door was opened by none other than old Comrade Su.

"You’re back!"

"Yeah, where are Mom and Xiao Yi?" Su Qing asked.

"They’re cooking in the kitchen; Xiao Yi insisted on helping. Your mom couldn’t say no to her. Luckily, Xiao Yi is here; your mom’s cooking shouldn’t be too bad, and I get to enjoy the privileges of having a daughter-in-law, haha!"

Speaking of Shen Yi, even old Comrade Su couldn’t help but praise her. Now that she’s in college, she looks radiant every day, her whole demeanor becoming more confident.

Since Su Qing planned to come home today, he had sent Shen Yi a message, letting her know he’d be home for dinner tonight, and indicating he might not return later.

But Shen Yi was a bit worried about him, and directly said she’d come over tonight as well. Naturally, Su Qing couldn’t refuse.

The two of them are meeting each other’s families next month, so their relationship is naturally close. Visits to his home now can help foster a better future relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Besides, he really has no say in this matter. As long as Shen Yi wants to come to his house, his mom would rather have him leave than Shen Yi. That’s just the reality.

He’s worked hard to earn money, changing how his parents view him and raising his status in the family, but Shen Yi wins just by standing there.

"Your mom and I heard from Xiao Yi that the police station called you again today?"

The father and son sat on the sofa as old Su spoke up.

Su Qing winked at Shen Yi standing at the kitchen door, then turned his head and smiled: "Yeah, there was a case, from our hometown side!"

"Our hometown side?"

"A corpse was found at the entrance of Qingshu Village this morning!"

Upon hearing this, old Su was stunned: "Really? Qingshu Village isn’t far from our hometown! Wait, are you allowed to talk about this?"

Hearing this, Su Qing smiled and waved his hand: "Dad, I don’t know if I can talk about it. Besides, it’s not a secret; it’ll be known to everyone around the hometown by tomorrow. Just some details I can’t disclose!"

Hearing this, old Comrade Su nodded: "True, society seems peaceful, but it’s always been like this. Any leads?"

Su Qing scratched his head in response: "A bit, maybe."

"Alright, with your brain, I don’t know you? Just follow along and listen to Junjun; they’re professionals, more reliable than you. Don’t overdo it!" old Su advised.

Even now, the elders in the family don’t understand the kind of influence their eldest son has in the station. They still think he’s just tagging along for nothing.

After all, Su Qing signed a contract as a non-staff worker, not part of the organization, not in the system, not a proper civil servant; what else could he be?

"Got it, Dad, don’t worry!" Su Qing replied with a smile.

He didn’t mention getting involved in the matter himself because, although old Su is a university teacher, he’s just an ordinary person. Knowing about it wouldn’t help and would only make him worry, unable to sleep well at night.

His only solution would be to insist his son stays home all the time, not allowing him to go anywhere. Instead, he might as well handle it himself.

Quickly, under the cooperation of Shen Yi and his mom Zhou Hui, a table full of dishes was prepared.

Because the future daughter-in-law was present, Zhou Hui was extremely careful with her cooking today, and it tasted noticeably better than usual. Though not exceptionally tasty, it was at least well-balanced. Clearly, it’s not that she’s incapable of cooking, just usually too lazy to do it.

"Here comes the last dish, braised pork ribs. You two, hurry up and wash your hands before eating!" Mom Zhou Hui glared at the father and son on the sofa.

In response, the two Su family members dared not say anything; they quickly washed their hands and sat at the table for dinner.

"Wow, Xiao Yi’s skills are impressive; you can’t tell!" Mom Zhou Hui tasted the vegetarian dish Shen Yi made and started praising her endlessly.

The praise left Shen Yi somewhat embarrassed: "Auntie, I’m glad you like it!"

"I like it, I really do! But don’t cook in the future. Our stinky boy can cook; let him do it. You should focus on your important tasks!"

"Mom, your son also does important tasks. I now..."

Before he could finish, his mom shot him a cold glare, shutting him up immediately.

"What important tasks do you do? I don’t know you? You’re always just hanging around at home. How much time do your little tasks take up?"

Hearing this, Shen Yi lowered her head, her shoulders slightly shaking, clearly struggling to hold back her laughter.

Old Su remained calm, focusing on his meal, enjoying the taste of a nicely cooked dinner, a rare opportunity he had to seize.

"Brother, how was the police station today? Are you going again tomorrow?" Shen Yi couldn’t help but ask while eating.

She was genuinely worried, even knowing his job wasn’t dangerous, but she couldn’t help but wonder.

"Yes, the case is big, it’ll take a while to deal with!"

Hearing this, his mom interjected: "I don’t care how busy you are; you must make time next month. Did you hear me?"

To this, Su Qing could only smile bitterly and nod. He hadn’t said he wouldn’t go, was it necessary for such a big reaction?

"Son said it’s from our hometown side, Qingshu Village found a corpse at the entrance, how scary! If you have a chance, call your uncle’s family and tell them to be careful!" old Su suggested.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hui was taken aback, "Qingshu Village?"

"Isn’t it?"

"What’s wrong with that village? Is it cursed or something? Why do so many things keep happening?" Zhou Hui muttered as she served Shen Yi a piece of pork rib.

Su Qing was stunned by this, "Mom? Did something else happen in Qingshu Village?"

"Recently, I heard someone say a girl over there jumped into a well and committed suicide. I heard she was mute and seemed to have some mental issues. But I heard the girl was tormented by two scumbags, and instead of her family reporting it to the police, they tried to extort money. One of those men seems to be from Yushu Village!" His mom, Zhou Hui, recounted the story, sensing what they had found out in the village today wasn’t greatly different.

"No, Mom, how do you know this? Who told you?" Su Qing hurriedly asked.

"Oh, what’s the big deal? Don’t underestimate your mom staying home all day, news from our hometown is well-informed. Your aunt told me about this a while ago, and I also have a WeChat group with our hometown. Small things are seen in the group, but for big issues, we rely on private messages. What’s wrong? Is there something up?"

After saying this, his mom asked worriedly.

Su Qing felt numb from the news. Have rural intelligence networks started using WeChat to communicate news? The times really are changing.

"No... nothing, Mom, what else do you know? Tell me everything!"

Once Zhou Hui heard there was nothing wrong, she felt relieved and shared everything she knew. She knew more detailed information than Li Zijun and Du Qiang learned from their inquiries, including the amount of private compensation and the time and place the incident occurred.

Upon reflection, he realized the reason. Since news like this had already spread, the villagers were reluctant to discuss things in detail with them for fear of bringing trouble onto themselves. After all, Du Qiang and others were in police uniforms.

If something happened later, living in the same village with people seeing each other every day, how would they face others?

So most people spoke ambiguously and wouldn’t elaborate.

Moreover, since even the girl’s family hadn’t said anything about reporting to the police, why would outsiders trouble themselves? It was lucky to gain such information.

"Scumbags, what kind of guardians are these? How could they be like this? Just because she wasn’t biologically theirs?"

After hearing this, Shen Yi couldn’t help but curse with a look of righteous indignation on her face, while also feeling sorry for the girl who jumped into the well.

"Nothing can be done, as it’s a family matter after all. Besides, in cases of rape, if the people don’t accuse, the authorities won’t investigate, right?

The girl was mute, had some mental issues, and her family didn’t report it. If others went to report, if the family didn’t admit it, what then? Even the police probably would be at a loss!" Old Su lamented from the side.

Upon hearing this, Shen Yi looked over to him for more information.

Su Qing nodded, "Although I don’t want to admit it, the truth is as follows. In such cases, if the victim doesn’t report it themselves, police won’t file a case based just on rumors. Moreover, it’s likely reported to local township police; without the victim or parents stepping forward, who would care?

This time, it’s only because someone died and it’s considered a homicide that we received the news from them there! Otherwise, it wouldn’t be our responsibility to handle it."

East City Public Security Bureau is the headquarters of Jiang City’s police. Unless it’s a major case, they don’t cross jurisdictions.

With these words, the room fell into a heavy silence, seeing this, Zhou Hui quickly tried to lighten the mood:

"Alright, alright, why talk about that stuff? Let’s eat, keep work at work and not bring it home!"

At nine-thirty in the evening, the two left the community and drove towards their own neighborhood.

In the car, Shen Yi was driving and looked at Su Qing sitting in the passenger seat, asking:

"Why did you suddenly want to look at your elementary school graduation photo? Isn’t it related to this case?"

Hearing this, Su Qing was startled and looked over in surprise, holding his elementary school graduation photo.

How to put it, he returned today mainly for this. After all, some things need his pondering.

"Don’t look at me like that. All your thoughts are written on your face. Are you okay? I feel you’re under a lot of pressure this time. If it really isn’t working out... can we resign from this job?

Don’t worry, if you resign from the police department, your sister will take care of you!"

Shen Yi said with a smile.

After a long silence, looking at the deep worry in Shen Yi’s eyes, Su Qing nodded:

"Alright, after I finish with this case, I’ll resign!"

"Bah, bah, bah, don’t make such promises, just stay safe, stay safe! Quickly, curse for me!"

Upon hearing this, Su Qing’s face turned embarrassingly red. If Shen Yi hadn’t said it, he wouldn’t have realized.

This was exactly the kind of line given by a character marked to exit in movies.

Waiting to get married when I return, but never do. Just three days to retirement, and the person dies.

Before big trouble, don’t look at photos of children, wife, or parents, otherwise, it’s nearing death.

Thinking of this, Su Qing himself felt scared. Luckily there was no narration hinting at it, otherwise, he’d have nowhere to cry.

"Bah, bah, bah, I’ll resign tomorrow!"

...

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