Free Web NovelChapter 623: Chapter 593: Plot_1
Evening.
Qindao. freewebnovёl.ƈom
On Shilaoren Square, at the dim edges of the square, there were red tents that emitted the aroma of barbecue along with the white smoke.
On the grill, several oysters were placed with their lids flipped open, continuously twisting due to the charring of the charcoal fire.
A hand sprinkled barbecue seasoning over them, and as some juices were cooked out, he quickly used tongs to move the oysters away from the charcoal fire.
"What’s the matter, you waiting for me to feed you?"
"It’s hot, let it cool for a bit. I say, Mr. Hu, it’s the National Day holiday now, and I’ve just finished two days of shift work. You call me out in the middle of the night, what’s the matter? If there’s any arrangement, just spit it out. Don’t play that ’toast to the general with a drink’ trick on me; it’s making me nervous."
Hu Guangjian glanced at Xu Dayuan opposite him, grunted, and tested the temperature of a grilled oyster. Wearing gloved hands, he grabbed one, sucked out the juices, squinted his eyes in satisfaction, and then ate the flesh.
"Delicious, eat one quickly, or I won’t say a thing."
Left with no choice, Xu Dayuan picked one up himself, elegantly sipped the juice, and ate the flesh which, despite being hot enough to make him gasp, really caught him off guard with its flavor.
"Wow, leadership really knows how to eat. We would just steam them. I’ve never eaten them this way before, and indeed it seems no matter how you cook seafood on the grill, it always has a unique flavor. Hey boss, don’t be so stingy, give me two more."
Hu Guangjian cast a glance at Xu Dayuan, handed him a few more, though the plate was already quite full. Then he ordered some grilled leeks and a variety of meat skewers from the boss. Xu Dayuan, realizing he wouldn’t get any information, didn’t press further and instead ate his fill. Seeing that he was almost done, Hu Guangjian handed Xu Dayuan a bottle of beer.
"Come on, let’s drink up."
Xu Dayuan wiped his mouth and looked Mr. Hu up and down. The man had high uric acid levels and normally didn’t even drink when dining with colleagues, let alone with provincial and municipal leaders. Today, however, he was proactively arranging things, which felt wrong and exuded a sense of being not quite right.
"Drinking is fine; even if we drink a case each, I’m game. But what’s going on with you today, leader? Calling me out late at night to eat barbecue, and in such a secluded place. You meet up and say nothing, just let me eat my fill first, and then start preparing to drink. Skip the preliminaries. I’m uneasy; just tell me directly." freeweɓnøvel.com
Hu Guangjian opened the beer in his hands, tilted his head back, and drank it in one go, then placed the empty bottle in the beer case in front of him.
Xu Dayuan followed suit and finished a bottle. He knew Hu Guangjian was not feeling well. When the Guanghai Group case occurred, so many people from the department were purged, and Hu Guangjian had ascended directly to the top. None of those days compared to today’s unease, indicating that the matter to be discussed was extremely unsettling, even profoundly disturbing, for him.
This time, Hu Guangjian did not make Xu Dayuan wait for long and handed him another bottle of beer, saying:
"After the 3/27 case in Xinghua City, I have been asking around about Zhou Ning’s parents’ affairs. Only recently did I discover some inside information. According to the household registration, his father Zhou Xiangrong was a seaman, and his mother Bai Mei was a doctor, with very vague annotations for work units.
However, based on the details you described, such as the hospital staff’s apartment building, the family being victimized on New Year’s Day, the male being a police officer, the female being a doctor, I asked around nationally and found that on January 1, 1994, a tragic incident occurred in Ganzhou City, Longyou Province.
In the family quarter of Ganzhou City People’s Hospital, a family of three was murdered. The male was the deputy captain of Ganzhou City Criminal Police Brigade, Mr. Zhou, the female was an internal medicine doctor at Ganzhou City People’s Hospital, Mrs. Bai, and the boy was a third-grade student at Ganzhou City Third Elementary School, Mr. Zhou. As for the details of the incident and more specific information, all of that remains unknown.
To investigate an eighteen-year-old case across provinces without anything but the name of a deceased suspect, Wang Guanli—it’s even uncertain whether these two are Zhou Ning’s parents. If we had a case related to that place in Ganzhou, we could get involved, but now it’s very awkward.
This is the information from official channels. I asked a friend from the National Security Department, and my inquiry was rejected immediately. They said the clearance level was too high, not accessible to ordinary personnel, but it was confirmed that Zhou Xiangrong and Bai Mei were once personnel of that department.
I questioned my friend, and he said that even if their personnel died, they would not disclose their real identities but would handle everything according to their public identities. For such a high-level file, either it involves a major investigation that has not been cleared up, or it’s related to the cause of death."
Upon hearing the last sentence, Xu Dayuan raised his head, staring at Hu Guangjian.
"That last part, what does it mean? Don’t tell me it’s treason, or are you suggesting that the two of them were suspected of leaking secrets?"
Hu Guangjian shook his head.
"I don’t know, but my thoughts match yours. But based on Zhou Ning’s memories, if it were about leaking secrets, would they allow their whole family to be so brazenly murdered?
Selecting the day when the building had the fewest people to act, knowing Zhou Xiangrong’s schedule, familiar with the family details, aware of the neighborhood layout, knowing that escaping over the northern wall could lead to freedom, even taking into account the time the police would take to arrive—if you tell me these two were suspected of leaking secrets, I wouldn’t believe it.
However, the Zhou Family end failed to provide a proper explanation and just sent over the ashes of the child and the two individuals; this contradicts our analysis. It seems more like my friend’s analysis. So, I’m also quite puzzled and feel like someone is deliberately hiding something."
Xu Dayuan nodded, sighing.
"When I first heard Zhou Ning talk about the complete memory, I felt something was off. Logically, if people from the National Security were carrying out a mission and both lost their lives, although they couldn’t be acknowledged due to their identities, the family, especially the child, should have received some care, some compensation."
Hu Guangjian clinked his beer bottle with Xu Dayuan’s and let out a sigh before tilting his head back to down the beer.
"Do you remember my predecessor?"
"Sister-in-law’s previous... you mean there was someone before her; I didn’t know that?"
Hu Guangjian shot him a look.
"Can we talk about it? I’m referring to work, my predecessor Mr. Ren."
Xu Dayuan grinned.
"Of course, I remember Mr. Ren Fangliang. He was in cahoots with the Liang Family, the actual controllers of the Guanghai Group. Regardless of how involved he was, he definitely had a part in it. After all, part of the reason he was pushed into that position was to protect the family’s interests. Without doing so, he wouldn’t have been promoted.
What puzzles me now is why Wang Guanli was so resolute in seeking his own death. He did want to kill Zhou Ning at the time, but just as we’d clarified Zhou Ning’s identity, the operation had already commenced. That information channel must be more efficient than yours, right?
Also, according to what you said, Zhou Ning’s parents had an accident in Ganzhou City, Longyou Province, so what’s their connection to Wang Guanli and the others? Could the investigation that Zhou Xiangrong and others were involved in have something to do with Ludong, and might it be related to some issues in Ganzhou?
The more we talk about it, the more confused I become. If even you don’t have the authority to investigate properly, how can we get to the bottom of it? Those who provided information to Wang Guanli, getting him out of the death row and whitewashing him into a Sapporo identity... That’s not something an ordinary person could do.
Eighteen years ago, these people had already reached a position and had the capability to do so—how about now? At least they hold positions much higher than yours and have much stronger capabilities, right?"
Hu Guangjian didn’t get angry but nodded along instead.
"So, uncovering this information gave me chills. From Qindao to Ganzhou, there’s a straight-line distance of more than 2000 kilometers, with four provinces in between. Economically and in terms of development, they are two provinces that are almost unrelated. Why then, concerning the incident with Zhou Ning’s parents, does there seem to be an intricate connection?
However, we can neither confirm whether the family annihilated on New Year’s Day in 1994 was Zhou Xiangrong’s family, nor can we access the detailed archives of that year. That’s where we’re stuck now."
Xu Dayuan threw his beer bottle into the crate with a clunk and started searching on his phone.
"I don’t care. You promised to help, so this has to be done. If we don’t have the conditions, we’ll create them. Zhou Xiaozhou and his team have that software. I’ll contact Mr. Lu in a bit, using the name of Qin University, to touch base with them. Who wouldn’t want such support for free?
As far as I know, Ganzhou’s economic development ranks towards the bottom nationally, without the high-tech aerospace industry of Jiuyuan next door or the cultural and historical conditions of the provincial capital, ranking only eighth within Longyou Province. If Qin University extends an olive branch, there’s no reason to refuse.
Let’s not be reserved here. Isn’t there a policy for assistance? Mr. Xia could coordinate with the local authorities. We could help improve the police force’s technological capabilities in Ganzhou City; this is what it means to create conditions when there are none. What do you think, boss?"
Hu Guangjian looked at Xu Dayuan with some surprise. Normally, Mr. Xu was known for his foul temper and impatience throughout the department, so it was unexpected to see him come up with such a clever plan that was indeed very appropriate.
At Qin University, if Zhou Ning were to be involved, they wouldn’t hesitate. Not just providing support, but even investing funds would be a no-brainer for them, considering Mr. Lu was a fervent admirer of Zhou Ning, and without Zhou Ning, he would just be a sidelined doctor awaiting retirement.
As for the city’s support plan, although Mr. Xia was mainly responsible for culture, education, and health, he placed great importance on the technological development of the police force because of Zhou Ning. Any proposal from Hu Guangjian was met with his full support.
Stroking his chin, Hu Guangjian nodded.
"Not only is this possible, but I’ll also go talk to Mr. Xia tomorrow. Let’s get this on the agenda. It’s been eighteen years, and just thinking about it makes me feel stifled. I wonder how Zhou Ning managed to get by all these years. There’s not much else I can help with, but I want to investigate this matter to the end."
Xu Dayuan playfully punched Hu Guangjian’s leg and then quickly brushed it off as if realizing his gesture was a bit too familiar.
"Sorry for getting a bit carried away, boss. Don’t mind me. But I do think now’s the best time to make that phone call. They have nothing to do tonight, and Zhou Ning and his spouse are on their honeymoon. The old couple must be missing their kid the most right now, so if you mention it, they’ll be even more concerned, right?"
Hu Guangjian narrowed his eyes and sized up Xu Dayuan from head to toe.
"Tell me the truth, have you been placing spies around me? You seem to know precisely why I came to see you today. So, have you been putting on this act with me all along?"
Xu Dayuan spread his hands.
"I swear, you know what kind of person I am. Besides, I’ve pondered over Zhou Ning’s situation hundreds of times in my mind, analyzing every possible scenario. That’s how I managed to keep up with you, boss. And now you think I’m scheming. It’s hard to be a good guy!"
Hu Guangjian huffed and pulled out his phone, dialing Xia Shouchang’s number. After four rings, the call was answered, and Hu Guangjian straightened up instinctively.
"Good evening, Mr. Xia. This is Mr. Hu."
