Chapter Ten: Inquiry

A plate of twice-cooked pork contained nearly half a pound of meat, costing eighty cents.
The tenderloin in sauce weighed three taels, priced at ninety-five cents.
The crispy sweet and sour pork was a bit more expensive, with half a pound of pure meat costing one yuan.
The sautéed liver tips used half a pound of fresh liver, costing sixty cents.
One tael of rice cost three cents.
Look how affordable everything was.
Li Yancheng and Jin Zhihai each ordered a bottle of Jing City White Label beer, produced by the Jing City Brewery. They also got a bottle of Arctic Ocean soda for Xiao Ningning. Despite the freezing winter, they didn’t seem to mind the cold, even the restaurant staff joked about it.
Halfway through the meal, Old Duan, who had gone back to fetch the ration coupons, arrived. He refused to sit and eat with them, handing over ten pounds worth of ration coupons to Li Yancheng before leaving—probably afraid he’d drool over the food.
The three of them ate ravenously, finishing the dishes so clean that not a trace of grease was left on the plates—one could say the plates didn’t even need washing.
“Shall we take a bus from Qianmen?”
Before leaving, Li Yancheng also took five large steamed buns with him—they were his dinner.
In the end, Jin Zhihai footed the bill for the meal. After paying and stepping outside the restaurant, he lit a cigarette by the roadside, then turned to his childhood friend and asked,
“Hmm, you’re going back to work, right? I’ll take the bus from here.”
“Brother, you go ahead. I’ll see Da Cheng off.”
“Alright, just make sure you get home quickly after that. Don’t wander around—it’s chaotic outside.” Jin Zhihai warned, a hint of concern in his voice.
“Got it, brother. You know I’m hardly ever out; I’m basically home all the time.”
“I’m not sending you off. I know the way. You guys just go home.”
“No worries. Let Ningning walk you a bit. Think of it as a chance for her to get some fresh air.”
Having said that, Jin Zhihai was about to leave, but then seemed to remember something and turned back.
“Oh, Da Cheng, when we were eating earlier, I just realized I forgot to mention something. Do you remember Cui Haiyang?”
“Who? Cui Haiyang?” Hearing the unfamiliar name, Li Yancheng paused, searching his memory.
“Yeah,” Jin Zhihai nodded.
“Oh, I remember now. That Cui Haiyang you mentioned is the team leader from Dianhai, the one who came to talk to me earlier this year, right?”
Just after the New Year, his ex-wife’s family suddenly left Jing City without notice, and the authorities naturally investigated the matter.
Cui Haiyang was the team leader from Dianhai responsible for the investigation.
He was taken directly from the hospital and held for three days. It was from Cui Haiyang that Li Yancheng learned his wife, who supposedly returned to her parents’ home, had actually left Jing City with her family.
Although detained for three days, no harsh methods were used during the investigation.
After recounting all he knew, Li Yancheng was allowed to eat, drink, use the restroom, and sleep as usual, just confined to one room.
Three days later, once they verified his story and found no connection to the case, they released him.
They contacted him a few more times afterward, but only for ideological and political education sessions—no further measures were taken.
Seeing that Li Yancheng remembered Cui Haiyang, Jin Zhihai nodded again.
“Yes, that’s him.”
“What’s wrong with him? What did you want to say?”
“A week ago, someone slashed his throat—almost severed it.”
“What?”
Li Yancheng was genuinely surprised, his mind involuntarily replaying the scenes when Cui Haiyang interrogated him.
“I heard since he became that so-called team leader last year, he’s made plenty of enemies. The officers investigating his cases at the Dianhai precinct compiled a list of over a hundred people who might want to harm him.
So far, no murderer has been caught. If they can’t find any leads soon, I think they might come looking for you too. Be mentally prepared.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Li Yancheng shrugged indifferently. “If you don’t do anything wrong, you don’t fear the knock at the door. Let them come.”
In fact, Jin Zhihai’s prediction was spot on. Only a day after their conversation—on Monday, December 18th—the morning after the routine educational session at the Mulin Town Health Clinic, detectives from the Dianhai District Public Security Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Department arrived by car.
“Comrade Li Yancheng, hello. I’m Zhang from the Dianhai District Criminal Investigation Department of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. This is my colleague, also surnamed Li. Here are our work IDs.”
“Comrade Zhang, Comrade Li, please have a seat.”
After checking their IDs, Li Yancheng calmly invited them in. Zhou Guotao, who shared the consultation room with him, had already stepped aside.
“Comrade Li Yancheng, you don’t seem surprised by our visit.” As they sat down, Zhang spoke directly.
“Indeed, I’m not surprised. I know you’re here about the Cui Haiyang case.”
“You’ve been working here in Mulin Town as a medical support, right? How did you learn about this case? As far as I know, while it’s not classified, the information wouldn’t have spread so quickly.”
“I didn’t hear it here,” Li Yancheng replied evenly, handing each officer a cigarette and lighting one for himself.
“The day before yesterday, I went home to handle some matters. At lunch, I was eating with a childhood friend who told me about it. He’s also in your line of work—he works at the Meishan Police Station.”
“You mean Zhihai?”
“You know him too, Comrade Zhang?”
“I studied with his father at the Municipal Bureau before. Yes, you two seem to live in the same courtyard.”
“Exactly, number twenty East Hu Tong, Meishan.”
“Since you know why we’re here, then—”
Before Zhang could finish, Li Yancheng interrupted,
“Here’s the thing, Comrade Zhang: if Zhihai’s timeline is correct, I have an alibi. Since II'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.