Chapter 359 - 359 326 Freedom

Words : 2196 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

359: Chapter 326 Freedom 359: Chapter 326 Freedom Jianyuan Pharmaceutical. In the factory area, everything was still working normally, but the office area was in complete disarray. Members of the Yuan Family from every level had gathered; some belonged to a parasitic class that rarely visited in hundreds of years. The atmosphere was already bizarre, but with the arrival of the criminal police from Changyang City and their individual questioning, it’s no wonder the office area was tense. Some Yuan Family members, rarely seen on normal days, were now forced into awkward conversations. However, most of the distant relatives were quite pleased to see Yuan Jiansheng’s family in trouble. After all, aside from getting jobs at Jianyuan Pharmaceutical, some still hadn’t gained employment and could only do business around Jianyuan Pharmaceutical. They earned less than one percent of what Yuan Jiansheng made in a year, working themselves to death. Naturally, they resented watching Yuan Jiansheng’s family squander money extravagantly. If Yuan Jiansheng’s family were all wiped out and the Jianyuan enterprise’s assets were divided among them, that would be cause for celebration. Team leader Meng Chengbiao was feeling quite frazzled. He specialized in preliminary investigations and trusted his ability to discern truthfulness and emotional states in people’s speech. However, this round of questioning had brought him nothing but frustration. Just like the Yuan family members of Jianyuan Pharmaceutical, he was depressed. Many seemed unaware of what had transpired. And as for Yuan Jiansheng, who was most closely linked to the female victim, he had almost forgotten about this mistress. “Yin Fei, huh. That was eight years ago. I was good to her back then,” Yuan Jiansheng sighed deeply as he spoke, his face filled with reminiscence and regret. Meng Chengbiao frowned, “A couple for a night shares a hundred days of grace. Yin Fei was with you for about seven or eight years, wasn’t she? And you can’t even remember clearly?” “Not that long. It should have been just three or four years. Usually, after three or more years with me, they would be let go,” said Yuan Jiansheng naturally. Meng Chengbiao, listening to the content alone, felt Yuan was lying. But looking at Yuan’s expression, he couldn’t help but get serious. “What do you mean by let go?” “That warehouse was what I gave her, along with a long-term contract with the company. I arranged everything so if she didn’t want to be bothered, she could just live off the profits every year, which are quite decent,” he explained. Meng Chengbiao was worldly but still frowned deeply, pressing further, “So you mean to say, you supported her for three or four years, and after that you ceased contact?” “How could that be possible?” Yuan Jiansheng laughed aloud, “If I thought of her, I would have her come back for a visit. But that was rare, only a few times a year at most.” Meng Chengbiao persisted, “What if she didn’t want to?” This was a critical question. In murder cases, sexual relationships are the most common motives for killing. Though Yuan Jiansheng was old, he was still sharp-minded. He glanced at Meng Chengbiao with a smirk, “That was all agreed upon in advance. If she no longer wanted to or decided to get married, she would just have to return the warehouse to me.” “And if she neither wanted to come back nor return the warehouse?” “Then I would terminate the long-term contract,” Yuan replied calmly. “That warehouse made so much money simply because it handled shipping and storage for Jianyuan. Without the contract, it wouldn’t be nearly as profitable. Moreover, there’s a deposit on it, and we could fine her according to the contract if needed — there are plenty of ways to handle it.” “After all, the contract is signed,” Meng finally understood and couldn’t help but point out, “But isn’t this just like giving away money? Then why go through all the trouble?” Yuan Jiansheng merely smiled in response. Meng Chengbiao looked at him seriously, “Chairman Yuan, I’m asking you these questions very seriously as they relate to a murder motive. If you can’t clarify here, you’ll have to explain back in Changyang with me.” Yuan Jiansheng wouldn’t be taken away that easily; he had his political status to consider. However, he also wasn’t going to cause conflict with the detective in front of him. After thinking, Yuan Jiansheng said, “Firstly, after working in my company for a few years, most girls are reluctant to continue. The relationships among colleagues and between different levels are complicated, their desires drift, and they no longer wish to work. Personally, I don’t want them to disturb the normal production and business order of the company.” “Secondly, it’s better for their future to go out and experience the world. Many girls lack a platform; providing them with one, letting them navigate the business world, make money with their own capabilities — they will no longer covet my little patch of land.” Yuan Jiansheng’s explanation was indirect, yet Meng Chengbiao understood the gist of it. After asking a few more questions, Meng Chengbiao left the room feeling downcast. He had seen how the rich lived, but the lifestyle of the great capitalists, the ways these people who controlled the means of production operated, still made it hard for him to adjust. “Team Leader Meng,” an office worker called out to Meng Chengbiao as they emerged from the interior. Meng Chengbiao’s mood instantly shifted; he alertly checked his surroundings and asked, “What is it?” “Just to clarify a few things,” the worker said with a smile, “Most of the girls associated with Chairman Yuan actually leave willingly.” “What do you mean?” “Like Miss Yin, for example. Her warehouse isn’t limited to storing goods for Jianyuan Pharmaceutical, she could also find her own deals, store goods from other companies. Sometimes, we from the office would refer some business her way.” “Oh?” “So, after working for a while like Miss Yin did and becoming familiar with this way of doing business, once they technically knew how to manage, they would propose to leave Jianyuan Pharmaceutical. Though they might earn less, they’d be less constrained and avoid potential dangers. Moreover, they wouldn’t have to obey Chairman Yuan’s orders.” “And Chairman Yuan is okay with this?” “Of course,” the worker replied with a wink and a chuckle, “Only mature women who have grown up and want to strike out on their own in business would delight him.” Meng Chengbiao completely understood, then said aloud, “So he uses this method to break up with them?” “If the woman doesn’t break up, Mr. Yuan is willing to wait,” said the staff member indifferently, “after all, the company will be paying for everything later on anyway.” The more Meng Chengbiao thought about it, the more annoyed he became, and he frowned and asked, “Did Mr. Yuan tell you to say all this?” “I’m just explaining things clearly to you. Miss Yin has basically left Jianyuan Pharmaceutical, and she plans to buy that warehouse, with Mr. Yuan agreeing to let her pay it off over three years. Even if she can’t pay it off, it’s very likely she’ll get it for free. However, that means no more orders from Jianyuan Pharmaceutical. To that end, Miss Yin must have met with quite a few people back then to renegotiate contracts.” Meng Chengbiao said annoyedly, “Why didn’t Mr. Yuan mention this earlier?” The staff member smiled, “Well, now you know, right?” Meng Chengbiao asked, “Do you know which contracts she signed?” “I have a rough idea of several companies.” The staff member handed over a piece of paper and said, “The detectives back then also asked about this, but it just never went anywhere.” Looking at the A4 paper, Meng Chengbiao saw a total of seven companies listed, which also involved two logistics companies. Meng Chengbiao’s frown deepened as he roughly counted – among those involved were the Yuan Family, related businessmen, unavoidably some employees and individual entrepreneurs, and what about Yuan Jiansheng’s other mistresses? What were their attitudes? Thinking of these people and issues gave Meng Chengbiao a massive headache. No wonder Shen Yaoguo chose the warehouse management line of investigation back then; dealing with Yin Fei was like untangling a ball of yarn, surrounded by complex relationships. If one were to ask how she died, Meng Chengbiao could instantly think of several possibilities. But each one was hard to prove. Meng Chengbiao stayed at Jianyuan Company until 10 p.m. before returning to the hotel. The next morning, after further questioning some people and disappointedly finding no one had sent him any letters, he reluctantly returned to Changyang City. In the office of Jiang Yuan’s Accumulated Case Team, the atmosphere was generally oppressive. The basis for a secret investigation was no longer there, and those who wanted to be informed could now easily be so, but the case had fallen into a quagmire, with no direction for a breakthrough in sight. Jiang Yuan continued to examine those photos. With a Level 6 skill in Tool Trace Identification, almost every photo could provide him with a wealth of information. Nevertheless, identifying the murderer from this information was still extremely challenging. Meng Chengbiao had already shared the intelligence he collected and inquired about with Jiang Yuan, who now looked intensely focused. Meng Chengbiao said, “Cold cases are tangled messes to begin with. We’ll sort through it slowly, and if it’s really unmanageable, we’ll just let it go and switch to another case. We can’t expect a 100% success rate on solving cold murder cases.” “It’s not that bad,” Jiang Yuan said, shaking his head, before asking Tang Jia, “Did you find the records I asked you to look for?” “I searched. But no luck,” Tang Jia spread her hands. “How about the records for minors?” “None either.” Meng Chengbiao asked suspiciously, “What kind of riddle are you guys playing at?” “I had some doubts about Yuan Jiansheng’s fourth daughter, Yuan Yubin, and had Tang Jia look into her criminal record,” Jiang Yuan didn’t conceal this. In TV dramas, cops who hide key information from their teammates and investigate alone—if they’re not the protagonist—they often end up dead. Meng Chengbiao didn’t even have Yuan Yushan in his mind, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you checking her? What’s the issue?” “I felt something was off about her during the last case,” Jiang Yuan explained. Meng Chengbiao didn’t press further. Veteran detectives often sense something “off” about a person, and while Jiang Yuan isn’t old in tenure, he has enough experience with cases to be considered seasoned. “Now...” Jiang Yuan looked at the somewhat listless detectives in the office. The detectives in the Cold Case Squad were mostly young, and their spirits had dampened with setback. Jiang Yuan shook his head. “At this point, let’s try the brute force method.” Tang Jia immediately perked up, “Any method is better than none.” “Yes, it’s just a bit tedious,” Jiang Yuan paused, then said, “Pull up the records of burglaries and home invasions from a few months before and after the day of the incident, especially the ones involving lock picking with a slider, and organize the photos of the lock’s core for me.” Jian Yuan paused again, then continued, “If there are no photos of the lock core, send the photos of the lock. Or if there’s involvement with knives, find the photos of the knives, the photos of the knife marks, and check the evidence if it’s still accessible...” Tool trace evidence could also be matched for consistency. However, the trouble with it is that the repositories for tool trace evidence are quite limited. Normally, detectives would bring the weapons they found to the forensic center for comparison to see if they had been used in any cases. Of course, one could also do as Jiang Yuan suggested: bring in a batch of photos and see if the traces match. If they do, then two cases can be linked. However, what Jiang Yuan proposed was a bit unscrupulous. His Level 6 skill in Tool Trace Identification would allow him to tell at a glance whether two marks were made by the same tool, a technique difficult for other forensic examiners to replicate. Meng Chengbiao also thought it was a good idea, assuming Jiang Yuan just wanted to burn off some of the team’s energy and passion to keep them from becoming too depressed sitting in the office. Thus, Meng Chengbiao gathered everyone together, gave them a pep talk, and expanded the scope to nine months before and after the incident. “Take detailed pictures and as many as possible,” Meng Chengbiao tasked the detectives, then those who needed to use the computer did so while the others got on the move.

Chapter 359 - 359 326 Freedom

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