Chapter 683 - 568: Shovel

Chapter 683: Chapter 568: Shovel

This villager was an older man, bald, with deep wrinkles on his forehead.

He took the cigarette from Zhao Tianxing, thought carefully for a moment, and said, "That’s right, it was him. He had a bag on his back, was carrying a plastic bag, and looked pretty clean-cut."

"I was coming back from working in the fields to eat and had just reached the west end of the village when I ran into him. He stopped me and asked if I knew Li Suhua’s family."

"I said, ’Of course. They’re from our village.’ But I told him they’d all moved away, that he wouldn’t be able to find them now."

"He didn’t seem to say what he wanted with Suhua’s family. Then he asked if I knew where Li Suhua’s grave was."

"That’s the very reason I remember it. I asked him right then and there, ’Why are you looking for someone’s grave?’"

"He said he was a friend of Suhua’s. He hadn’t been able to come pay his respects when she was buried, so he was making a special trip to do so now."

"When he put it like that, I didn’t press him. I just figured he was asking around because he couldn’t find Suhua’s family, so I pointed him in the right direction."

"I helped out when that kid, Suhua, was buried, so I knew where the grave was. After that, he left."

"Officer, is there something wrong with that man?"

He asked curiously.

Ding Yuwei suppressed her excitement. ’It seems I was right. After killing his target and getting his revenge, Lu Weihong made a special trip to pay his respects to Li Suhua.’

With this discovery from their canvassing, Ding Yuwei immediately had Zhao Tianxing set up the camera to take a formal statement.

She asked for more details.

For instance, Lu Weihong’s attire and every word he had said.

"Right, you said he was carrying a plastic bag. Do you remember what was in it?" Ding Yuwei asked, probing a detail.

In front of the camera, the old man was clearly a bit nervous, but he nodded at once and said, "I remember. It was joss paper ingots for visiting a grave."

Ding Yuwei jotted it down and continued to press for details.

She asked some questions repeatedly until the old man grew annoyed, saying it had been several years. If Lu Weihong hadn’t asked about the grave, he probably wouldn’t have remembered the incident at all.

Ding Yuwei had no choice but to stop for now. She left her contact information and asked the old man to call her if he remembered anything else.

On the way back to the hotel, Zhao Tianxing couldn’t help but pour cold water on things.

He pointed out that even if they knew Lu Weihong had come to pay his respects to Li Suhua, so what?

The key was still finding evidence to convict him.

His state of mind through all of this wasn’t really that important.

"I know."

Of course, Ding Yuwei understood this logic. She said, "Brother Xing, it’s getting late. Why don’t you head back to the hotel and rest? I’m going to look around on my own for a bit."

Along the provincial highway, there were quite a few shops on either side.

Ding Yuwei thought, ’Lu Weihong must have bought the joss paper ingots after arriving in Chezhuang Village. This is just a small village; there’s probably only one shop that sells funeral supplies. Maybe the owner will remember him.’

Zhao Tianxing quickly objected. "Hey, don’t say it like that! It sounds like I’m trying to slack off. We’re close partners in this. No need to be so polite."

"When we actually dig something up, we can shock those two, especially Lao Yang. That guy always looks at me like I’m an idiot."

"Come on, where are we checking? You say the word. Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it."

Ding Yuwei laughed to herself. Yang Zeran did often complain that Zhao Tianxing was slow on the uptake, but it wasn’t as if he looked at him like he was an idiot.

So, she had Zhao Tianxing drive, and they made a circuit along the provincial highway.

As it turned out, they didn’t find any shops that specialized in funeral supplies.

After all, it was just a village; it’s not like people were dying all the time. A dedicated funeral supply shop owner would starve to death.

The businesses along this highway were mostly restaurants, small convenience stores, and auto repair shops.

"One of those general store-type supermarkets, the ones that sell everything. They might sell funeral stuff," Zhao Tianxing said, pointing across the road.

Ding Yuwei realized he had a point.

At this hour, most of the shops on both sides were still open.

The shop across the street sold daily necessities, as well as incense and joss paper, but not the paper ingots. That stuff had to be folded, which was a hassle.

But the owner pointed them in the right direction, saying there was only one wholesale supermarket nearby that sold them.

When they went to check it out, they found it was mainly a general store. The owner was a middle-aged woman with the surname Huang.

It was past nine o’clock and there were no other customers. She took Lu Weihong’s photo, held it up to the light for a long time, and said uncertainly, "Isn’t this Li Suhua’s boyfriend?"

Ding Yuwei froze, then quickly asked, "You know him?"

"Of course," Sister Huang nodded. "My husband’s surname is Li. We’re from the same clan. Technically, Suhua would have had to call me ’auntie’."

"I remember she was dating a boyfriend in Anjing and they were planning to get married. I even saw him when he came to the village back then."

"It’s a shame that Suhua jumped off that building later. I have no idea what she was thinking, what made her lose hope like that."

Li Suhua’s family was too ashamed of the real reason for her suicide to publicize it.

Ding Yuwei was inwardly ecstatic. In a village like this, everyone knew each other’s business. She quickly asked if Lu Weihong had come to Chezhuang Village in August 2015 and bought joss paper ingots and other funeral supplies from her.

"That’s right, I do remember."

Sister Huang put down the photo and said, "And I’ll tell you why. I think it was in the morning. He came to my place and asked if I sold joss paper ingots and joss paper."

"He also asked what our local customs were for burning offerings at a gravesite. To be honest, I thought he looked familiar at the time, but I couldn’t quite place him."

"It wasn’t until after he left that it slowly came back to me that he must be Suhua’s boyfriend. I even mentioned it to my husband when he got home that night."

"You know, those two were about to get married back then. Her mom told us they were preparing for the engagement and the wedding, and that they were thinking of buying a house in Anjing. She kept telling us how expensive houses in Anjing were."