Chapter 6: Whose Home Has No Smoke from the Kitchen?

  After dinner, Lu Zhong said to Xia Tianxing: "I feel stuffy in the chest, I want to go out for a walk, Uncle Xia, come together?"

  After traveling for so many years in the summer, I haven't met anyone who is willing to chat with me. However, I have a good impression of this young man, so I nodded my head in agreement.

  Seeing Lu Zhong and Xia Tianhang getting together, Lu Xiao Ping whispered: "A pair of counter-revolutionaries!" At this time, the remnants of the turmoil were being cleared up, and young people deeply resented the counter-revolutionaries. Lu Xiao Ping naturally regarded Xia Tianhang as a class enemy, and Lu Zhong was not much better. Originally, she had always thought that Lu Zhong, who had been raised in her home, was inferior to her since he had eaten and drunk at her family's expense.

  Lu Zhong and Xia Tianhang had just left the courtyard when they heard footsteps behind them. It was Tong Su who also came out, pointing to the south street alley, saying: "Uncle Xia, it's too dark, I'm going to the sales point to buy something, can you accompany me?"

  Xiatian Hang had a good impression of Tong Suxin, the daughter of a high-ranking official in the city. She was kind and gentle, without any airs, and never looked down on rural people.

  Xia Zheng was about to agree, but Lu Zhong pointed north and said: "Uncle Xia, let's go for a walk by the river." He also told Tong Su: "Su, call Brother Zhou to accompany you, we're not going in the same direction."

  As he spoke, he didn't care about Tong Su's reaction and headed north. Xia Tian hesitated for a moment before following him.

  The residential area had only a few streetlights, but every household was lit up, and the alleys weren't dark either. Xiayetian said: "That girl Susu isn't bad, Zengzi, it seems like you're resisting her?"

  Lu Zhong sneered in his heart, but didn't expect that Xia Tian's silence and few words were actually a sign of his meticulous observation skills, which was no surprise after more than 20 years in the public security bureau.

  But in summer, he naturally didn't think that what he was resisting wasn't Tong Su, but rather resisting Tong Su joining the two of them, which would make conversation inconvenient.

  He sighed and said, "When I was young, I was a rebel, and even led other kids to criticize her. Now she's so popular, I think it's better if I don't have much contact with her, Uncle Xia, what do you think?"

  When he heard the three words "rebel faction", Xia Tian's eyelid twitched, and he nodded silently with a somewhat heavy expression.

  "Uncle Xia, I heard you're married now?" Lu Zhong asked tentatively.

  Xiatian shook his head, clearly uninterested in this topic.

  Lu Zhong tried to probe a few more sentences, wanting to steer the conversation upwards, but Xia Tianxing remained silent.

  The two of them gradually arrived at the northern end of the family area, separated by a limestone road, and there was the moat. The riverbank was planted with weeping willows, and a bright moon was reflected on the water's surface, shimmering with ripples.

  Lu Zhong took out a cigarette and handed it to Xia Tianxing, then took out a lighter and helped him light the cigarette.

  Two people smoked in silence.

  Lu Zhong had originally hoped to get the old man to talk, but now it seems that he will have to change his strategy. Lao Xia is unexpectedly sensitive and vigilant, and it's not easy to get him to talk. Lu Zhong had thought that this rebel would be more impulsive, and the blow to his career would make him cautious and afraid to bring up past matters again. But unexpectedly, this person is completely different from the image he had drawn of him.

  After a moment of consideration, Lu Zhong broke the silence, "Uncle Xia, I actually came today not only to visit relatives but mainly to pay my respects to you."

  Summer walked over but didn't expect this, paused for a moment, and asked in surprise: "You want to meet me?"

  Lu Zhong nodded slightly, "Uncle Xia knows about the 615 case, right? You must have heard of it. We've been blocking the news to avoid panic. Actually, starting from last summer, there have been three cases of dismembered bodies being thrown away. And judging from the modus operandi, preliminary investigations suggest that it's a serial murder case committed by one person."

  "I'm Lu Zhong, the deputy head of the 615 task force, and also the deputy director of the county bureau's political department and head of the public security section. You should know me, shouldn't you, Uncle Xia?"

  In front of this old public security, there must be more or less attachment to the position. If there are old friends in the county bureau, they may also mention themselves half a mouthful, after all, when they came to Guangning last year, it caused a great shock within the public security system.

  Stunned by the series of messages, Xia Tian stared blankly at Lu Zheng. After a while, he nodded slowly, "Ah, right, Lu Zheng, I thought this name sounded familiar. So it was you. But what do you want from me?" He furrowed his brow slightly as he said this: "Did you think I'm a suspect?"

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "How could that be, Uncle Xia? You've forgotten, I was also a rebel back then, I won't demonize our own kind."

  Summer travels in silence.

  Lu Zhendao said: "It's like this, Uncle Xia. Our special case group has now found a breakthrough, which is Principal Zhang Guoliang of No. 1 Middle School. I reviewed Zhang Guoliang's past files and found that you also investigated him back then. I hope you can help me out, Uncle Xia, and tell me about the situation back then."

  Xia Tian walked away, then shook his head and said: "As for the past, I have nothing to say. If you want to know more, you can check the archives."

  Lu Zhong knew he still wouldn't say, thought for a moment and said: "Uncle Xia, you are an old public security officer, I believe in your heart there is a sense of justice, to catch the criminal and protect one side's safety, that crazy era, who was wrong with whom we don't need to mention, it was all a tragedy caused by political climate, but because we look forward to everything can't make us avoid mentioning the things of that era, especially when there might be a murderer escaping punishment.

  A flash of confusion crossed Xia Tian's eyes, but he simply shook his head and flicked the cigarette butt into the river, saying: "Let's go back."

  Lu Zhongxin was anxious in his heart, and unexpectedly, the summer trip was as unpalatable as a stone in a latrine - both smelly and hard.

  He reached out to stop Xia Tianying, who was about to turn back and leave. Lu Zhong hesitated for a moment before saying: "Uncle Xia, I'm not hiding anything from you either. Zhang Guoliang is someone I've been investigating myself. The suspect identified by the task force is Li Weijun, and they're now preparing to send him in for trial. But he might be innocent."

  "Uncle Xia, after so many years in public security, you understand that although Li Weijun is just three words, behind these three words is a living person with flesh and blood, with family members who are heartbroken for him. Can you watch as he becomes a wrongly accused ghost while the real culprit hides in the darkness, sneering?"

  Xiatianxing was really stunned this time, sizing up Lu Zhong and saying in a disbelieving tone: "You want to investigate Zhang Guoliang yourself?"

  Lu Zhong smiled wryly and said, "To be honest with you, my current situation in the bureau is not good. Although I'm listed as the deputy head of the special case group, it's just a nominal role and I don't have any real influence on the progress of the investigation. But I find this case too suspicious, so I've been secretly investigating on my own."

  "In the summer, Xing gazed at Lu Zhong and said lightly: 'Don't you know that even if the investigation yields results, offending all your colleagues in the bureau may not lead to a good outcome? Sometimes, the truth is not important.'"

  Lu Zhong nodded slightly and said, "I know."

  Xia Tian's eyes lit up with a smile as he looked at the young man in front of him, who reminded him so much of himself when he first joined the police force - full of passion and eager to uncover the truth.

  "Alright, what do you want to know?"

  ……

  Xiatian went back first, and Lu Zhong smoked a few more cigarettes by the river before slowly heading back.

  According to Xia Tianhang, there were many suspicious points about the death of Principal Zhang's wife back then. During the autopsy, a large number of undigested sleeping pills were found in Principal Zhang's wife's stomach. It is hard to believe that someone would use two different methods to commit suicide. Moreover, Principal Zhang's wife had an affair with someone, and Principal Zhang also had sufficient motive to kill her.

  Actually, when interrogating Principal Zhang, Principal Zhang would sometimes burst into laughter and sometimes break into loud sobs, scolding his son for being inhuman. He had already become somewhat deranged and began to confess. Although the words he spoke were incoherent and didn't make sense, it was entirely possible to further breach his psychological defenses from the vague threads of language. However, just then society suddenly underwent a change, and with it, all work came to a temporary standstill, and the special case group naturally disbanded. In the end, the case was left unsettled.

  Now, Principal Zhang's suspicion is getting bigger and bigger, but all of this is speculation. Where is the evidence? And where should he start from?

  Lu Zhong returned to the courtyard house when people in the yard were watching TV. The three households now have TVs, but as usual, Lu Guobin moved his family's TV to the courtyard, and the three families sat on small stools watching TV, just like watching outdoor movies in the countryside was lively.

  "Open your eyes and take a good look, who is willing to be a captive?"

  The familiar theme song was heard clearly outside the yard, CCTV was playing the Hong Kong TV series "Huoyuanjia" every night for three episodes. Looking at the screen with a ha-ha fight action, Lu Zhong's heart splashed with ripples. When he first saw this TV series that year, how fascinated he was?

  Lu Zhong didn't watch TV with everyone, but went to the outhouse. The whole courtyard had two outhouses, originally shared storage rooms, now Ma Cuihong took out the east room for Lu Zhong to live in.

  There's a slight musty smell, but obviously Ma Cuihong has made an effort. The room is spotless and the bed is thickly covered with a brand new blue duvet cover embroidered with peonies and cranes.

  Ma Cuihong soon followed, saying with a hint of apology: "Zhengzi, you'll have to put up with it for one night, tomorrow I'll tidy it up properly. Now that the weather is warm, living here is quite good ventilation, wait until winter, I'll think of a way."

  Lu Zhong hummed in response and said: "Let's take another look, I have a place to live now."

  "Really? Where do you live?" Tong Susu appeared from behind Ma Cuihong, looking at Lu Zhong with a hint of a smile.

  "Guest house."

  Lu Zhong and Xiao Du shared a room in the dormitory building of the bureau, but the sanitary environment of the entire dormitory was poor, especially since their room was adjacent to the shared bathroom on the floor, which had a strange smell during the summer. Xiao Du didn't mind it himself, but since Lu Zhong's mother had entrusted him to take care of Lu Zhong, he wanted to book a double room at the county committee guesthouse. However, Lu Zhong had always disagreed until a few days ago when he changed his mind and moved with Xiao Du to the county committee guesthouse.

  Xiao Du naturally didn't know the reason and thought that Lu Zhong was driven out last summer, so this summer he hurriedly moved house.

  Ma Cuihong heard that Lu Zhong was staying at the reception office, and her eyes were slightly red. Now in Guangning, apart from state-run hotels and guesthouses, there are also many small private hotels near the train station, but they are particularly dirty, not even a place for humans to live, Ma Cuihong naturally thought that Lu Zhong was staying at one of those small hotels.

  "Zhuangzi, listen to your aunt, why don't you move back home? When your mother was leaving, she kept holding my hand and asked me to take care of you... I, I owe it to your mother, can't I get a chance to make up for it? Don't go... okay?" Ma Cuihong was almost begging Lu Zhuang, and started wiping away tears, thinking about the past and feeling guilty towards her late sister for not taking good care of Zhuangzi, it was all her fault.

  "Cui Hong Auntie, actually, I'm doing quite well now. I live in the county committee's guest house, and the environment is pretty good." Looking at Cui Hong Auntie's appearance, Lu Zhong felt a pang of sadness in his heart, thinking of his foster mother who had worked herself to illness and passed away early for his sake.

  Outside came Lu Guobin's shout, seemingly calling Ma Cuihong.

  Ma Cuihong wiped away her tears and said: "I'll be back in a while." She hastily left.

  Tong Su didn't follow him and instead moved a three-legged stool to sit down, asking "You're staying at the county committee guest house, which room?"

  Looking at this beautiful girl sitting on a broken chair, Lu Zhong really felt strange in his heart. This kind of sharp contrast was too dazzling. Why did it feel like a dark and cruel program from the future?

  The house was originally a storage room, and there were some old furniture, but they were all very old. Ma Cuihong picked out the usable ones and left a few, such as this three-legged chair, which she wiped clean.

  "Tell me, you're not lying to San Shu, are you?" Tong Su's delicate chin rested on the back of the chair, her big eyes scrutinizing Lu Zhong.

  A conservative era-style black suit dress, a beautiful woman with slender silk stockings under the knee-length skirt hem, tied with small black cloth shoes, and a black ribbon wrapped around the delicate white silk stockings covering her ankles. The luxurious and simple combination is so harmonious, bringing a fresh sense of sensuality, making people feel refreshed and delighted. In the quiet appreciation, perhaps deep down in one's heart, there will be a surge of desire to conquer this lovely beauty.

  "I'm not lying, I live in room 309." Lu Zhong also left his real address with Liu Xiaohui.

  Tong Su nodded and stared at Lu Zhong again, making Lu Zhong's heart feel hairy.

  "Hey, tell me the truth, do you have something against me?"

  Lu Zhong was taken aback and said: "No, it's been many years since we last met, and when we were kids, I didn't even talk to you, did I?"

  Tong Su pursed her lips and said, "You're a person who doesn't have any strength, you don't speak the truth."

  Lu Zhong found that Tong Su Su actually had a pretty rich expression, unlike earlier when there were many people around, she was always very mature and reserved.

  "You said you had no opinion about me, so why are you avoiding me like the plague? Am I a virus or something? Or does Xia Shu's body have gold on it?" Tong SuSu said discontentedly.

  Lu Zhong is not good at facing girls, and in his previous life, he was a rough man who had been a bachelor for half his life. Although there was always a beauty who supported him unconditionally, he only had one-night stands with women he met at social events, and never had a relationship that went beyond friendship with any of them.

  So, faced with Tong Su's interrogation, he had no choice but to remain silent.

  Tong Su saw Lu Zhong not making a sound, and only then did she feel that bullying an honest person was not right. Moreover, Lu Zhong was no longer the arrogant boy he used to be in his youth. Perhaps due to the heavy pressure of life, this young man who once led his "subordinates" to cause chaos in heaven had lost his former flair and became a humble gourd that others could trample on at will.

  Tong Su had a thread of inexplicable loss in her heart, she said softly: "Also, what you said is not right, you told me before that life is for fighting against, and tears only represent weakness."

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "Really?" He really didn't remember anymore.

  Tong Su said: "And another time many fierce and evil people wanted to catch me, it was you who scolded them away."

  Lu Zhong couldn't help but laugh again: "It's all just kids messing around, it's not that serious, what evil spirits?"

  Tong Su's lips moved, but she didn't say it out loud. She had wanted to say it, but you know how terrifying they were in my eyes at that time? And you, just like a hero descending from the sky.

  Tong Su didn't say anything else and left a letter before quietly walking away.

  The next morning, Lu Zhong discovered the envelope secretly placed on the chair by Tong Su, which contained a stack of 10-yuan bills. Lu Zhong wanted to return it to her and asked Zhou Dawei, only to find out that she had already left, taking the 6 o'clock bus back to the city.

  Lu Zhong felt a wave of dizziness in his heart, and he knew that Tong Su was repaying kindness. After so many years, she still remembered it clearly, and it turned out to be a sentimental and righteous little girl.