Chapter 256 - 256 241 Downward

Words : 2092 Updated : Sep 29th, 2025

256: Chapter 241 Downward 256: Chapter 241 Downward After the meal. Dazhuang and Heizi each had their tasks and went off to work. It was Jiang Yuan who stayed behind, with no pressing matters to attend to. Now, with personnel reinforcements coming from various places, they were at least acting as squads. Only police dogs remained scarce, with every place applying for them. Returning to the large communal sleeping quarters at the dormitory, Jiang Yuan was feeling somewhat reluctant. He went straight to the local vegetable market in a car, found a vegetable stall, bought a large quantity of vegetables and meat, and then inquired about renting a house with the female stall owner. The stall owner looked at him uncertainly and said, “Aren’t you just staying for a few days? Hasn’t the Mining Bureau arranged accommodation for you all?” Those still working in this small town almost all had relatives and friends in the government and state-owned enterprises, where internal news circulated faster than the internet’s adult videos. Jiang Yuan didn’t answer her question, but simply said, “I’ll rent for two months at market rate, plus one extra month’s rent.” In other businesses, Jiang Yuan might not be very knowledgeable, but as a landlord, he understood the ropes perfectly. An offer 50% above the rent was already a major killer in the rental market, especially when phrased as ‘one extra month,’ which sounded very attractive. The stall owner hesitated for a moment and then inevitably asked, “What kind of house do you want?” “One with a yard, where cooking is possible, the rooms are suitable for sleeping in, and can be tidied up enough to sleep in,” Jiang Yuan stated before adding, “The location shouldn’t be too far from the town. The price can be a bit flexible.” With that last sentence, the stall owner responded, “I have a relative who has a vacant old house. Shall I give them a call for you?” “Good,” Jiang Yuan responded, as this was exactly what he wanted. Based on yesterday’s investigation results, Jiang Yuan estimated that he would need to stay here for several days. Pumping out water wasn’t something that could be done in a single day, and the outcome of the follow-up investigation was still uncertain. As for Liu Jinghui... The only thing that could be done now was to conduct a wide-reaching search, a task Xu Taining was relatively skilled at. Jiang Yuan just hoped he could maintain his performance. After communicating on the phone for quite a while, the stall owner returned to Jiang Yuan and said, “My relative’s old house is empty, with a good location and plenty of space. It was prepared for his parents, but they found the town too noisy and were not too keen on living there...” Although Jiang Yuan thought Zi Feng Town was already desolate enough, he nodded in agreement. “All the furniture and appliances are included. The monthly rent is 6000 yuan. With two months’ deposit, and according to what you said, staying for two months and paying for three, that makes five months in total, so 30,000 yuan in all...” The stall owner watched Jiang Yuan closely, fearful that he would find it too expensive. In Zi Feng Town, where there were very few renters, the rental rates were hard to raise. 6000 yuan was more than many people’s monthly income. “That’s fine,” Jiang Yuan said, showing no intention to haggle over the price. Seeing how easy Jiang Yuan was to talk with, the stall owner quickly realized, “You’re renting this for your leader, right? Should we rent it in your name, or in the name of your department? We only have receipts, actually, if you are willing to claim a bit more...” Jiang Yuan casually agreed, went to see the house, and found that the living conditions were indeed acceptable. There was a yard of over a hundred square meters, not to mention the privacy of having a standalone entrance. Furthermore, it had a structure similar to a courtyard house; a building with two floors on all four sides, with just the large rooms spanning dozens of square meters, there were more than a dozen. At each room’s door, wooden signs were hung with their intended use: rice storage, noodle-pressing room, miscellaneous grain room, cured meat room, entertainment room, mahjong room, poker room... The variety of furniture was limited, with functionality being the primary focus. The mahjong room simply had a mahjong table with four chairs. The poker room was just a regular table with six chairs. The noodle-pressing room had a plain folding table with a noodle press... This courtyard seemed to be showing Jiang Yuan one thing: Chinese people could live as extravagantly as Americans, so long as their houses were big enough. There were five bedrooms fit for living and sleeping, each with a size that could match an entire apartment in Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou. Jiang Yuan chose a room with a bathroom and signed the agreement on the spot, transferring four months of his salary to the landlord. After that, remembering what the stall owner had mentioned earlier, Jiang Yuan called Huang Qiangmin, Liu Wenkai, and the others. The house was large enough to comfortably fit everyone from the Ningtai County team, provided they were willing to share rooms between two or three people. That was Jiang Yuan’s suggestion as well, it was just a matter of buying a few extra beds and it would be more comfortable than staying in a guesthouse. After making the calls, Jiang Yuan also messaged his father on WeChat to report his safety and to describe his house renting experience. Mr. Jiang felt immensely proud and expressed his feelings with a transfer of 100,000 yuan. Had Jiang Yuan comfortably settled in the courtyard to wait for others to arrive and opened his notebook to jot down some notes, recording today’s expenses: Expenses: groceries, 380 yuan; Rent, 30,000 yuan (3 months’ rent, 2 months’ deposit) Income: Dad’s support of 100,000 yuan (for building good relations with colleagues). Today’s net income: 69,640 yuan. ... An hour later, Huang Qiangmin arrived at Jiang Yuan’s newly rented courtyard with the detectives. After experiencing the large communal sleeping area, this multi-room two-story house pleased everyone immensely. Huang Qiangmin asked Jiang Yuan to bring out the lease, then immediately called the office inside the bureau, instructing them to transfer the lease and grocery funds to Jiang Yuan. Official business definitely couldn’t be paid for by individuals. Jiang Yuan graciously accepted and returned to his initially chosen large bedroom, revising today’s expenses: Today’s net income: 100,000 yuan. As a forensic doctor, this must be considered an extremely high income. ... Another day. The water rescue team Xu Taining had found brought in over a dozen water pumps to start draining the water in the mine shaft. The Zifeng Mountain Mining Bureau is a national establishment responsible for dealing with abandoned mine shafts, usually by filling them in or blasting them closed. If left unattended, the large quantities of groundwater would lead to changes in the geological structure. Continued mining operations could then become even riskier. For instance, the disaster at a certain ridge was caused by a new mine shaft breaking through to an old, abandoned one, resulting in a flood that killed several people. As for those who imagine a detailed mapping of the mine tunnels within the shaft, such stories exist only on paper. The excavation of mine tunnels is the job of specialized excavation teams. But these teams are made up of blue-collar miners, without the ability to draft maps on paper. Of course, in today’s competitive industry, some high-standard coal mines may have engineers. But to expect everyone to work diligently and mark everything accurately is quite demanding. The mine shaft near the parking lot didn’t even have any records to speak of. Of course, the police had no particular demands regarding this matter either. The water, however, was several tens of meters deep and not at all easy to pump out. This mine shaft wasn’t dug straight down like a well. From the outside, it first appears as a rectangular pool with a flat and upright appearance, its sides cleanly cut, spanning the size of a sports field in cross-section. The infiltrating groundwater had accumulated over the years, nearly overflowing the pool. More than a dozen pumps worked furiously around the vast pool, yet the water level dropped slowly even amidst the roar of the machines. Upon seeing this, the water rescue team immediately contacted Xu Taining and secured 10 more pumps, which were swiftly delivered to the site. Luckily, the shaft narrows as it goes deeper, and at a depth of forty meters, it is estimated to be about the size of a room. Huang Qiangmin brought several people and set up tents directly beside the mine shaft. He too agreed with Jiang Yuan and Xu Taining’s judgment. With so many recruited for the auxiliary work, there’s no telling if the perpetrator could be among them. Upon self-reflection, anyone who has committed such a serious crime, and learns of an investigating team setting up in their area, would most likely try to get involved. To prevent damage to the mine shaft or equipment, Huang Qiangmin started arranging for people to be on duty as soon as the water rescue team arrived. The officers from the second team had nothing to do at the moment, which made it a good opportunity for them to investigate the area around the mine shaft. At this time, Jiang Yuan seemed slightly anxious. The mine shaft in front of him was, in his opinion, the most likely place to have hidden a body. Not only because many other places had already been searched, but also because he was reminded of the reservoir body-hiding case. Wangguoshan, the murderer in the reservoir case, chose to hide the body in the water, certainly influenced by his childhood memories. At the same time, it could also be because he had a reverse memory that hiding a body in water was safer. Criminals’ behaviors are traceable. Or rather, people’s behavior patterns are traceable. In the process of committing crimes, many deliberately create unconventional behavior patterns, but there are always some that cannot be changed. Even the scholars of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and generals in the military have certain norms in their actions. Criminal psychology studies such matters. Jiang Yuan’s understanding of this was very superficial, but when he saw the large body of water, he thought of a reservoir. He was now pinning his hopes on this place. If no body or evidence turned up in the mine shaft, then Liu Jinghui would really be in danger. Quite possibly, he would be lost forever. Thinking this, Jiang Yuan didn’t speak but silently watched the water level continue to drop. It wasn’t until the next day that the water was finally fully drained. The divers began to search underwater. Jiang Yuan personally cooked a meal for the police dogs using a Kas stove. This time, there was not only Dazhuang’s portion but also Heizi’s. Heizi ate with such excitement. If it weren’t for still having some sense, it would probably have laid down and rolled over in front of Jiang Yuan right there. Dazhuang, on the other hand, was slightly unhappy, but after being soothed by Li Li, quietly finished his meal. By the afternoon, when the water level was below eight meters, Xu Taining couldn’t help but come over to take a look. Amidst the humming of the water pumps, large concrete blocks and old garbage appeared at the site of the mine shaft. To an outsider like Jiang Yuan, it looked like the mining bureau’s illegal landfill. Very likely against regulations. But the thing everyone was eagerly anticipating had yet to surface. “Continue digging down,” Huang Qiangmin said without waiting for Jiang Yuan’s feedback and immediately made a suggestion to Xu Taining. Having come this far, not continuing was out of the question. The leaders of the mining bureau silently mobilized several of the bureau’s vehicles to assist. Joining the help were a few miners from the mining bureau as well. Together, they began removing concrete blocks from the bottom. They hadn’t moved many before a smell began to waft up. Before even getting a chance to enter the fray, the two police dogs started barking excitedly.

Chapter 256 - 256 241 Downward

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