Chapter 430: Chapter 405: Cutting off Descendants_1
As he said this, Liu Yongxin was drinking water and choked on a sip, prompting Zhou Ning to quickly pat his back.
Liu Yongxin waved his hand, signaling to Zhou Ning that it wasn’t necessary to pat.
"No big deal, are you telling me even old ladies require a dowry now? Just like that, twenty thousand, and in Dayao City, this is truly more surprising than I would’ve expected."
Mr. Zhao grinned with a show of teeth.
"You know, I’ve actually seen this kind of thing on a TV dating show, where an old lady asked for twenty thousand from the man she was matching with, but those two were over twenty years apart in age. The family really got themselves a free caretaker, totally different situation, this one is indeed a bit too much."
Meanwhile, in the interrogation room, Huang Youdao was very polite to Yang Liang; in fact, as long as you speak politely, the police won’t make it hard for you – after all, following procedures is sufficient, and the facts can’t be changed anyway, so clearing things up is good for everyone.
Yang Liang was given a cigarette, and he didn’t refuse. Glancing at the brand on the cigarette butt, he sighed.
"This brand of cigarette must cost over ten yuan, right? I’ve never had the luxury to buy it myself. Not to mention today, I’m getting a treat with you. Let me continue, after that incident we cut ties, no contact for two months. I thought that would be the end of it."
Then, in April my son had an accident, and Feng Shujuan somehow learned the news and showed up on the day I was arranging the wake. Everyone knows there’s no making up for a funeral, and she came as a guest, so I couldn’t very well send her away. After the meal, she didn’t rush to leave; she helped me tidy up, taking charge of the situation.
At that time, my mind was a mess, and I didn’t pay much attention. I didn’t know what she told the clerk, but she took the ledger and the money for the funeral gifts. I only found out that evening when I called the clerk, I was stunned. I said it was my family matter, how could she take it just by saying so?
The clerk was also scared silly, coming to my place that night, insisting on reporting it to the police with me, as the amount was not small – it was over thirty thousand. This wasn’t just a matter of the cash gifts; it involved social obligations I still had to fulfill.
Thinking about the fiasco during the Spring Festival, I hesitated. I said I’d go myself because I knew the person from before, not understanding how things had come to such a pass. After calming the clerk down, I was afraid of losing face and didn’t dare go immediately. Two days later, after attending the market in Heping Zhuang, I went straight to her home.
To my surprise, Feng Shujuan was not home. When a neighbor asked what I was doing, I said she had called me to place an order for vegetables; I couldn’t say that she ran off with my money. With that explanation, the neighbor was puzzled too, mentioning she left early the previous morning to stay with her son.
In that moment, my heart sank halfway. I tried calling her but got no response. After much thought, I didn’t go to report it to the police, deciding to swallow the loss and headed home. In the following period, Fu Chunyu visited twice in relation to my son’s house, getting lawyers involved and contacting my son’s friends – it was a hectic mess.
At the time, I was angry and, due to the money being taken, refused to sign any papers. Truthfully, even without her saying so, I would’ve given her the house for the sake of my grandchild – the flesh and blood of the Yang family. It was unthinkable not to care. Later, I even made a trip to the city, only to find Zhang Hongwei opening the door. I grumbled and left in a huff.
On the evening of August 18th, Feng Shujuan suddenly visited, using the key I’d previously given her to prepare a full table of dishes and bought a bottle of wine in my home. I was very surprised by this unexpected visit. She said that she truly came to help the last time my son was in trouble.
However, her son called suddenly, saying his wife had a high fever and asking for her help. She left without explaining to anyone, and she was so busy packing her things that night she didn’t even notice her phone was out of battery. She went to the train station early the next morning.
When her son was fixing her phone, he noticed she had a text message – it was from me, trying to call her when her phone was off. She didn’t rush to explain; after all, she thought they’d be family soon enough, and it’d be time to discuss everything upon her return.
A few days ago, her daughter-in-law got better, and she returned to Dayao City, wanting to talk to me about how to live together in the future. After some thought, I downed the wine silently; I told her to firstly give back the money she took, and secondly, that there was no ’us’ anymore, let alone living together – we were not the same kind of people.
Upon hearing this, she began to cry, accusing me of being heartless. We got along so well, she said, and here I was speaking such cruel words. I replied that I couldn’t afford a house for a dowry – my grandchild, be it a boy or girl, was soon to be born, and I at least had to live well for a couple more years to help them out.
I’m just destined to be a bachelor, not looking to take a single step forward. No more words needed, just give me back the thirty thousand from the cash gifts for the funeral; after all, I still have favors to repay. The village clerk knows about this; they were about to call the police at the time but held off. If you don’t give it back, I’ll go to the authorities tomorrow."
After my firm stance, she got upset and started fighting with me. She raised her voice suddenly and came at me head-first. I fell right to the door, and she ran into the yard. There was a basket on the ground with a dagger inside, which I use for cutting radishes.
With the dagger held to her throat, she screamed at me, claiming I was shaming her with my words. If that was the case, then she didn’t want to live anymore. She’d die right at my home, let the neighbors come out to see, see what kind of man I really was – nothing but an old lecher.
In that moment, I panicked, and it took a while to catch up to her. But as she ran toward the dog kennel, she was tripped by the lid of the vegetable cellar and fell right there, kicking the lid open. I was truly infuriated; I went up to her and kicked her.
Feng Shujuan tumbled headfirst into the vegetable cellar, and the dagger dropped onto the pile of sand next to it. It was pitch-dark inside, and as she clawed at me, the pain made me angrier. I groped for the dagger and, picking it up, I stabbed her with it.
Then she fell silent, and I was stunned, sitting on the ground for ages without recovering. I thought about calling 120 or going to the police, but after thinking it over, I didn’t do it because the situation was unclear. I got up and turned on the light in the cellar.
Seeing that Feng Shujuan was still breathing, I hurriedly found a piece of iron wire, doubled it over, and looped it around Feng Shujuan’s neck, twisting it a few times. Then I buried her under several bags of sand and soil next to her. I could see the sand shifting as she moved underneath it. After a long time, she stopped moving.
I was very scared and didn’t know what to do. I went back to my room and drank the whole bottle of alcohol. I drank so much that it seemed like someone knocked on my door. I staggered to open it, exchanged a few words, and then the person left. To this day, I still don’t know who it was.
The next day when I woke up, I found my front door wide open, and my dog was gone. My spine was drenched in cold sweat. I hurriedly closed the front door and went to check the cellar. Feng Shujuan’s body was still there, but the dirt on her head had been scraped away. I didn’t know if it was her own struggle or if someone else had tampered with it.
After some thought, I realized I couldn’t just leave things as they were. From that day on, I went to the market to buy vegetables as normal during the day, and in my spare time, I started hauling sand from the riverbank. After all, buying sand was expensive, so I went to the village gate to dig it out by myself, filling a tricycle a day. I kept at this for almost two months until the cellar was filled.
Afterwards, I prepared some cement and hired some workers. On October 20th, I compacted the cellar, and on October 22nd, I started working on the ground. That very day, some surveyors came by, saying they would start measurements from my house. I sent them away, but I grew even more anxious. If there was a demolition, wouldn’t the body hidden underneath be dug up?
After all that was done, you guys showed up. Actually, at the end of October, I can’t remember the exact date, I called Fu Chunyu, but the phone was turned off.
I counted the days and guessed that maybe her due date was delayed, so I didn’t pay much attention to it, not realizing she had run into trouble. Ah, it’s fate. My son is gone, my daughter-in-law is gone, and my grandson is even more so. I have sinned, making me lose my descendants; it’s all because I didn’t accumulate virtue for my children and grandchildren."
Mr. Huang patted Yang Liang’s shoulder. The old man was unfortunate enough to come across such an incident.
"If you had called the police the moment Feng Shujuan took the money, none of this would have happened. Thinking more about it now is pointless. Regarding Fu Chunyu, I have some questions for you."
Yang Liang let out a long sigh. Having harbored a secret for so long, the moment to reveal it was also when he felt relief. He nodded towards Mr. Huang.
"Ask away."
"During the time Fu Chunyu went to your house with the lawyer, who else accompanied her? Do you recognize them?"
Without a second thought, Yang Liang answered directly,
"Zhang Hongwei, that kid is just a troublemaker. He was a classmate of my son and not a decent person. I don’t know how he got mixed up with Fu Chunyu. I was also angry because I saw Zhang Hongwei holding Fu Chunyu’s hand. It was obvious there was something going on. How could I not know what he was up to?"
Mr. Huang glanced at the paper in his hand. It contained some pieces of evidence and details listed by Zhou Ning, with several question marks drawn between Zhang Hongwei and Yang Guochang, and a small note with many details unknown to the police.
At this moment, Mr. Huang felt even more in awe of Zhou Ning’s abilities.
"So, you knew Zhang Hongwei before, and Fu Chunyu was not familiar with him, right?"
Yang Liang nodded.
"The entire region knew this kid was up to no good, involved in petty thefts and the like. Though his family was not lacking in money, he took pleasure in bullying others. I advised Guochang to stay away from him, so there wasn’t much interaction. I have no idea how they got in touch.
The first time I saw him this year was during Guochang’s funeral. I couldn’t say anything then, because here in Ludong, we have a custom: no matter the grudge, if someone comes to your door during a wedding or a funeral, they are a guest. His dad does construction; their family isn’t short on money, but he cheats around, and many people know about this.
I could tell his intentions towards Chunyu weren’t pure. I tried to warn Chunyu over the phone, but Zhang Hongwei was the one who answered. I didn’t say much, knowing some things were beyond my control.
Children and grandchildren have their own fortune, I suppose. If I had said too much, Chunyu would have thought I was trying to stop her from getting the house. But after that, they didn’t ask for my signature, and I’ve no idea how they handled the house."
Liu Yongxin rubbed his chin and kicked Cao Pingzhang’s foot.
"Send a message to Mr. Huang asking him to think back carefully about the night of August 17th—was it Zhang Hongwei who went to his house? Also, on the night of October 20th, did he drink alcohol? Where is the alcohol kept in his house?"
