Street Hustler and His Policewoman Wife-Chapter 168: Scalp Tingling

Chen Xiao felt it was necessary to sort out the timeline of everything since Cheng Qing's murder.

He now suspects someone, or perhaps several people in Chen Yuan's family, might be involved in this case.

Because from the information revealed by Han Zai, after much deliberation, he concluded that almost no one in Songshanping could have propelled these events.

Except Chen Ding!

At that time, Chen Ding was truly successful!

He had money, and back in the early '90s, he managed to have his unemployed father possess a significant sum of two hundred thousand yuan.

That sum was accumulated bit by bit by Chen Yuan through handling matters and then skimming it little by little.

So Chen Ding might not have been among the wealthiest in Lanshan County at the time, but he was definitely the most willing to sacrifice for his family.

For him to have given his father enough for doing business and still saving two hundred thousand, the amount he offered can be imagined.

Could it be that he propelled the sudden emergence of many dog meat restaurants in Songtan Town and even extending into the county town, this couldn't be done without money, right?

Absolutely impossible!

Chen Xiao walked aside, as if Han Zai and Zhang Xian were not there, immersed solely in his thoughts.

Old Chen intended to call out, but Han Zai immediately stopped him: "Brother, you better not disturb him, Chen Xiao must be thinking about something very important right now."

"I just wonder if this would…"

Before Old Chen could finish, Han Zai said, "It won't, not at all! Moreover, his reaction truly surprises me. I just mentioned it casually, yet he immediately entered a state of dialectical reasoning; such a person is a genius, a prodigy in the field of criminal investigation!"

Han Zai was genuinely delighted.

He understood that Chen Xiao was contemplating, but there's a huge difference between merely thinking and arriving at an answer first, then deducing all the intricacies from it.

Chen Xiao was the latter!

In his mind, at this moment, the chronological order was being unraveled piece by piece.

"April 5, 1991, Qingming Festival, morning!"

"Cheng Qing brought offerings to Tiger Mountain and was subsequently murdered there."

"On the same day, April 5, 1991, Uncle Wan De also went to pay respects at the graves, possibly appearing on Tiger Mountain around the same timeframe!"

"In the afternoon/evening of April 5, 1991, or the next day, he intended to report to the town but encountered me playing on the bridge midway. Finally, he retraced his steps and gave up on reporting. In doing so, he left several notes stuffed into a pen."

"After April 5, 1991, Uncle Wan De boarded the southbound train but disembarked before the train departed, leaving behind luggage and clues."

"June 16, 1991, Dragon Boat Festival, the Chen family placed a pair of stone lions, within which was Cheng Qing's skull!"

Upon reaching this point in his thoughts, Chen Xiao looked up and asked Old Chen, "Dad, when did dog meat restaurants start emerging so rapidly?"

"I honestly can't remember." Old Chen shook his head.

Han Zai, however, commented, "For such matters, it's impossible to pinpoint an exact day. If it's a man-made maneuver, it surely requires planning, execution, and a rollout process. But I can confirm that when I came to your Songshanping in May of '92, there weren't any dogs."

"Based on this reasoning, it's likely that in the first half of '91, the spree of capturing stray dogs and stealing domestic ones began, and subsequently, the dog meat restaurant market was revitalized here, which is why Songtan dog meat is still quite famous today."

Chen Xiao narrowed his eyes: "Teacher Han is right, such things need time and financial strength to accomplish. But if there's funding to support it, it could indeed yield results in the shortest time. As for the brand of Songtan dog meat, it seems that unintended actions bore unexpected results."

"I agree, but another thought just occurred to me: can dogs smell the skull hidden inside the concrete lion? Or let me depict a scene: when the stone lion in Chen Yuan's house contained a skull, would that attract many domestic and stray dogs to gather?"

"If there were gatherings, this might induce someone's fear, thus driving the entire dog meat event forward."

Han Zai unfolded a scenario for Chen Xiao.

However, just as this scenario unfolded, Chen Xiao immediately shook his head in denial.

"From April 5 to June 16, it's less than two and a half months. Moreover, I doubt anyone would be meticulous enough to foresee dogs sniffing out the scent while hiding a body. If one could anticipate that, it means their situational awareness is out of this world!"

Han Zai paused briefly, then gave a thumbs up: "That's a brilliant deduction, while such individuals might exist, they are rare, and such an example cannot serve as our basis for reasoning. But since you've said so, you must have thought of other possibilities, right?"

"Yes, but before I state that possibility, Teacher Han, I'd like to ask you a question."

"Please go ahead."

"Who in their right mind would hide a corpse inside a stone lion?"

Han Zai frowned deeply, and Zhang Xian and Lin Xi also fell into contemplation unwittingly.

Especially since Chen Xiao emphasized the word 'corpse' heavily when speaking!

After pondering for a long time, Han Zai suddenly looked up: "Goodness, we've been deceived!"

After Han Zai spoke, Zhang Xian and Lin Xi finally woke up to the word 'deceived'.

"So it wasn't about hiding a body at all, or rather, in the murderer's mind, they never intended to purposefully hide the skull in the stone lion!" Zhang Xian said in a deep voice.

Chen Xiao nodded: "Precisely, I never thought much about the skull because I believed it to be just an act of corpse disposal by the killer. For instance, tossing the head into the stone lion while disposing of the rest of the body elsewhere. But after Teacher Han's remarks, I suddenly realized that this isn't a minor issue, it's a major one!"

"Yes, if this issue is clarified, we can almost certainly identify the murderer!"

Han Zai indeed deserved his reputation as a great figure in Dongzhou's police community.

His quick thought process commanded even Chen Xiao's admiration.

However, when Chen Xiao looked at him with fervent eyes, Han Zai felt as if he saw that annoying kid from over a decade ago waving flags.

"Don't look at me like that, you thought of it first, then I did, so there's no need to pretend to worship me."

Han Zai stated directly, and Chen Xiao gave a wry smile: "Then let's continue discussing the main point. As Teacher Han and Captain Zhang said, there are only active and passive scenarios for hiding the skull inside the stone lion. Leaving aside proactive hiding, if the murderer was forced to throw it into a stone lion being crafted due to helpless circumstances, then he must be the initiator of the entire series of events!"

"And for such circumstances to arise, the site can only be one location!"

"The Stone Carving Factory in Songtan Town!"

After Chen Xiao finished speaking, Han Zai started clapping.

Lin Xi, realizing it, couldn't help but shiver as she said, "It's unimaginable, what a terrifying and chilling scene that must have been!"

However, Zhang Xian sneered: "More than just chilling, when that dog appeared with the head in its mouth, I bet it scared the soul out of him!"