Courtyard House: Railway Police at the Start

Chapter 32: The Taste

"Old Lu, we've brought the person back. Should we call your apprentice over to listen in?"

The visitor was Fan Chongguang, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team of the Railway Public Security Bureau.

The Railway Public Security Bureau does not have local law enforcement power, but it had a "tradition" before it was transferred from the Ministry of Railways to the Tenth Bureau. It was a separate faction, and Tang Zhenghong was one of their own, so his involvement in the investigation was justifiable in terms of procedures and formalities.

"Oh? So soon. I won't inform him. Young people are impulsive; I'll keep an eye on things for him."

"Everyone says you, Old Lu, are cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Why are you so attentive to this new apprentice?"

Lu Zhang picked up the enamel mug and took a sip of tea: "It's not easy to cultivate a young comrade. It's necessary for young people to maintain their passion, but we can't let them go astray in a moment of impulsiveness. I am his mentor and his leader, so I have no choice but to take on this responsibility."

trial room.

Xu Fugui was somewhat dazed when he was first taken away, but once he arrived at the destination, he realized that Tang Zhenghong had made the move.

He kept shouting his innocence to the railway police officers guarding him, until Fan Chongguang and Lu Zhang came in and he stopped, looking somewhat guilty.

"Keep going, why did you stop?"

Xu Fugui's eyes darted around, and he said forcefully, "You're obviously a leader. What mistake have I made? How did you bring me here? It seems the railway police don't have jurisdiction over our cinema, do they? I have to show a movie for the leader this afternoon. If I delay his business, I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain, won't it?"

"Do you know where this is?"

"I know."

"Good to know. I brought you here to ask about something, but you seem very uncooperative. Ding Shao, call the cinema manager in a bit. This person can't go back; let's show the movie and find someone else."

Seeing this, Xu Fugui could only plead with a mournful face, "Boss, please ask me anything, I will definitely cooperate, but please don't tell our unit, I rely on this job to support my family."

"We don't care about your dirty business of getting kickbacks for showing movies. We've called you here for something else, and now we're asking you some questions. Can you talk the truth?"

"What's wrong?"

Team Leader Zeng slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Can you speak honestly now?"

Xu Fugui was startled and quickly nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Yes, I will definitely cooperate. Please ask."

"Xu Fugui, right? Do you know Du Yu?"

As expected, Xu Fugui's body went limp: "I know him."

Do you know Tang Zhenghong?

"know."

"Now you know why I called you here, right?"

Xu Fugui was speechless. Are you guys so protective of your own? I just did some calculations, and you've already arrested me for questioning?

Looking dejected and listless, he replied, "Now I know."

"Tell us about this in detail. If you can't explain it clearly, don't even think about going back. I'm not joking. No matter how many important people you know, it's useless here, understand?"

"Boss, could you give me a heads-up? I'm really clueless. I just... cough, I just schemed against that kid a little, but I didn't cause any real harm. It shouldn't have come to this, right?"

Lu Zhang, who had been listening in, interjected, "First, tell me why you plotted against Tang Zhenghong."

Team Leader Zeng had a loud voice but a kind face. Xu Fugui wasn't nervous when he replied, but when he saw Lu Zhang's unsmiling expression and his eyes that seemed to see right through him, he felt a chill run down his spine.

"My son, Xu Damao, told me that he went back to the city and became a railway policeman. I was thinking of using his position to help me get revenge on a few people in the compound."

"Who are they? Why are they retaliating? Explain everything clearly, one by one. If you lie about even one thing, you can imagine the consequences."

Xu Fugui shrank back: "The deaf old lady, Liu Haizhong, Yi Zhonghai, it was all a spur-of-the-moment decision. These three people used to play dirty tricks on me behind my back when I was in the courtyard. I've already moved away. My son, Xu Damao, is of marriageable age, but every blind date he goes on is ruined. They're trying to wipe out my Xu family line! Boss, do you think we can tolerate this?"

"Did these three ruin your son's blind date?"

When the topic came up, Xu Fugui was still furious: "That deaf old lady spread rumors about my son everywhere. Liu Haizhong's eldest son also mentioned it to the girl's parents once, and Yi Zhonghai never missed a single one."

"So, instead of confronting the person directly, you're dragging innocent people into this? Tell me... who instructed you to have someone say those things to Tang Zhenghong?"

Xu Fugui was startled and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Nobody, really nobody, I was just imagining things. If there's anyone in the compound who can stand up for me, I've thought about it and the only one is Tang Zhenghong. He's a railway policeman now, so he has that kind of status..."

Lu Zhang particularly disliked the person in front of him and interrupted directly, asking, "So, you're saying you had Du Yu deliberately spread those lies? There's no evidence?"

Xu Fugui was a man who had seen a lot in life, and by this point he understood why he had been brought in for questioning. It seemed that Tang Zhenghong had taken Du Yu's words to heart and reported them to the organization.

"Sir, although I'm just guessing, there's definitely something wrong with this. Who is Old Man Tang? How could he get lost wandering the streets? I specifically asked the eldest son of the Liu family afterward. He said he got lost that day because his deaf old lady had a stomachache and was in a hurry to go to the toilet. She was wandering around aimlessly when she ran into the enemy agents. How could it be such a coincidence?"

"This deaf old lady's real name is Jin Huizhu. Originally, she was a concubine of some man, but her husband's family was taken to the Northeast during the war. The courtyard used to belong to her, but she wisely donated it to the new government."

Fearing the two wouldn't believe him, Xu Fugui continued, "If you don't believe me, you can go to Zuojiazhuang and ask around. Her husband's family used to have a cemetery here. This isn't a place just anyone can get their hands on. You two are definitely familiar with this place name. That person died at the Zuojiazhuang cremation site. Who would believe it if there wasn't some explanation? She used to spread rumors that her husband's family was in Jiuxianqiao, but I went to inquire, and while there are a few graves, they're all empty."

"Being a remnant of the old regime doesn't matter. As long as you don't sabotage our revolution, you can still live a good life. Say something useful."

"She's very good at hiding things. As an ordinary citizen, I really can't find out any useful information. However, a few years ago, she had Yi Zhonghai and his wife release some information, saying that she used to send straw sandals to our troops and that her son had died on the battlefield."

Team Leader Zeng opened the deaf old woman's file, tapped the table, and asked, "To your knowledge, does she have a certificate of being a martyr's family member?"

"No, she donated the courtyard back then, and the neighborhood committee, considering that she was an elderly woman living alone and it wasn't easy for her to live, gave her a monthly subsidy, but the claim that she was a martyr's family member has never been confirmed. Moreover, I suspect that He Daqing's departure from Beijing was orchestrated by her. You two don't know, but He Daqing used to work at her residence."

Liu Guangqi, who was in class that afternoon, was also taken away for investigation, which confirmed Xu Fugui's words.

That day, Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu were working overtime at the factory, so the deaf old lady asked Liu Guangqi to help her buy coal briquettes from the coal shop. The money-grubbing second aunt agreed to do the errand for her son.

Along the way, the deaf old lady kept telling people to buy this and that, and eat this and that. Her mouth never stopped. Sure enough, she got a stomachache later and directed Grandpa Tang to take a long detour to find a toilet.

According to Liu Guangqi, when they encountered enemy agents, he was looking for a toilet for the deaf old lady and was not on the scene. He later heard that Grandpa Tang sacrificed himself while helping to intercept them.

The two looked at the records, exchanged a glance, and both sensed something was amiss.

"She looks perfectly normal, but it's precisely because she's too normal that it seems like it was all meticulously planned. This old lady has been hiding her true colors quite well. Old Lu, I'll take this job. Tell your apprentice not to alert her."

Lu Zhang took a drag of his cigarette, his expression unreadable through the swirling smoke: "The breakthrough should still lie with that enemy agent who was startled that day."

"Hmm, otherwise how could they have broken through the encirclement? Although they were killed, I think there should still be clues. What should we do with these two?"

"Just a warning, let him go."

"Alright, I'll release Liu Guangqi now. As for Xu Fugui, keep him locked up for now. His attempt to undermine unity among the people and his attempt to frame our young comrades are enough to get him into serious trouble."

Lu Zhang understood immediately: "I thank you on behalf of my apprentice; he's the one who owes this favor."

"Old Lu, you owe me a meal, don't forget."