Lu Linjiang’s eyelids were half-raised as he looked down at him. "Mr. Ma, your memory doesn't seem very good. Let me give you a hint: during these past two days on Liucheng Island, did you try anything... exotic?"
Ma Yadong’s eyes instinctively began to dart around. He tried his best to avoid eye contact with Lu Linjiang. "I—I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Oh?" Lu Linjiang gave Ma Yadong a mirthless smile. "Mr. Ma, do you really think we went to all the trouble of bringing you here just to have a chat and listen to you give us vague, non-committal answers?"
He cleared his throat. "Let’s get one thing straight. Right now, I’m giving you a chance to 'cooperate with the investigation.' Once I lay everything out for you myself, it becomes a 'conviction without a confession.' How this situation is defined depends entirely on your performance!"
Sweat poured down Ma Yadong’s face. The oppressive aura Lu Linjiang radiated made it hard for him to breathe. His legs had been shaking ever since he entered the interrogation room.
Lu Linjiang displayed a clear sense of impatience. He didn't seem worried that Ma Yadong might stay silent; his attitude was almost casual. He twirled a pen on the table, not even bothering to spare Ma Yadong a glance. It was as if he were only sitting there to fulfill a formality—and once that formality was over, he could go out and convict Ma Yadong regardless of whether he spoke or not.
Lu Linjiang’s patience finally seemed to run out. He gave a slight nod to Yang Bo, tossed the pen onto the table with a sharp *clack*, and braced his hands against the desk as if to stand up and leave. Ma Yadong’s psychological defenses finally crumbled. "I'll talk! I'll talk!"
Ma Yadong looked utterly defeated. He recounted everything in detail: how a friend had introduced him to Cui Shihai, and how he had specifically stayed an extra day to eat some wild game.
"Introduced by a friend?" Lu Linjiang asked. "Which friend?"
"Was it just you?"
"There were a few other friends. One person couldn't finish it all. Officer, I..."
"Do you have photos on your phone?" Lu Linjiang asked. "What did you eat?"
Ma Yadong shook his head repeatedly. "No photos. The owner said that to avoid causing trouble for everyone, we should just satisfy our cravings and not leave behind that kind of evidence." He struggled to recall. "We had... I think it was braised masked palm civet, 'Dragon and Tiger Fight,' and 'Three Squeaks'..."
Yang Bo, who was taking notes, looked up and gave Ma Yadong a look of pure disgust. Ma Yadong looked embarrassed. "I didn't dare eat the 'Three Squeaks.' I just looked at it."
"You people certainly have guts. Eating sashimi like that—aren't you afraid of catching a disease?"
Ma Yadong pulled his mouth into a grimace that looked worse than crying. "Just trying something fresh, just trying something fresh..."
Lu Linjiang’s expression truly darkened. He finished the questioning with a grim face and immediately moved to interrogate Cui Wenxing.
Before being locked up that morning, Cui Wenxing had looked as if the sky were falling. Now that half a day had passed, he had miraculously recovered most of his composure. Lu Linjiang handed over Ma Yadong’s statement with a cold face and asked, "Anything you want to say?"
Cui Wenxing crossed his arms and sneered. "I grill three to five hundred scallops a day. Where would I find the time to make 'Dragon and Tiger Fight' or braised civet? Besides, you're relying on some guy who popped out of nowhere, claiming he ate at my place? If you want to frame me, you shouldn't be so sloppy about it."
"So, you're saying this definitely has nothing to do with your restaurant?"
"Of course not. Officer, in the early years on Liucheng Island, almost every household cooked wild game. But there's been a crackdown lately; the higher-ups won't allow it, and we don't have the nerve to go against the Bureau of Industry and Commerce. I won't deny that Yawei Ju has wild-caught food, but that's all sea fish. Anything from the land, whether it has four legs or two, we buy from the agricultural market. It all has inspection and quarantine stamps."
Lu Linjiang carefully observed Cui Wenxing’s mental state. The reason he had rushed over to break Cui Wenxing was that the man had suffered a blow that morning; theoretically, it should have been the easiest time to crack him. Yet, in just a few hours, his despondency had vanished. He seemed as if he’d been injected with a stimulant, possessing a sort of reckless, "all-in" defiance.
Lu Linjiang watched him in silence for a long time, then signaled to Yang Bo to end the interrogation.
Seeing the two of them come out so quickly, Zhao Zhijie asked curiously, "What happened? Why did you stop?"
"Something's up. Did anyone come to see him this afternoon?" Lu Linjiang asked.
"I was out this afternoon. I left Old Liu on duty," Zhao Zhijie said. He looked around. "Old Liu, did anyone come to see Cui Bin this afternoon?"
Old Liu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yes, the Old Village Chief. He came to see Cui Bin, and when he heard Cui Wenxing was locked up next door, he dropped by to see him too."
Lu Linjiang: "Did he say anything to Cui Wenxing?"
Old Liu looked a bit embarrassed. "It was quite chaotic this afternoon, so I didn't stay with them. But I was there the whole time he saw Cui Bin. The Old Village Chief didn't say much, just that Cui Bin was too impulsive and gave him a bit of a scolding. Then, before he left, he heard Cui Wenxing was also being held and just took a quick look. There was no one at the door at the time, so I stayed outside and didn't follow him in."
Old Liu wasn't a formal police officer; he was an auxiliary officer and a local of Liucheng Island. It was inevitable that he would show the Village Chief some deference.
Lu Linjiang looked at the apologetic Old Liu and asked mildly, "Old Liu, you're a local?"
"Eh, yes," Old Liu replied.
"Then do you know what happened with Cui Shihai’s family back then?"
"You mean the business with the house?" Old Liu shook his head. "That was a real mess."
Lu Linjiang handed him a cigarette. Old Liu declined a few times but eventually took it and lit up. "The Cui family had three siblings. Cui Shihai is the eldest. Cui Bin’s father, Cui Shifeng, was the youngest. There was a sister in the middle named Cui Juan."
"The eldest grandson and the youngest son are the grandfather's lifeblood. Old Man Cui... he cherished Cui Shifeng like a treasure. While he was around, everything the Cui family had went to Shifeng. Over time, the eldest and the middle child grew resentful. After they grew up, they barely had any contact with their parents."
"There was a history like that?" Yang Bo said in surprise.
"Everything has a cause and effect. It wasn't really Cui Shifeng’s fault; it wasn't his mistake that his father favored him. As for Shifeng himself, you couldn't say he was a bad person, but you couldn't say he was perfect either. He was smart, a bit arrogant, and could be sharp-tongued when he thought he was in the right. But he was very willing to help people. After we grew up, he helped out many of us old brothers quite a bit."
"Later, the middle child, Cui Juan, got sick. Her husband’s family didn't want to pay for treatment. It was Cui Shifeng who stepped up and forced them to send her to the hospital. He put up a large sum of money himself, but he offended a lot of people because of it."
"How could that offend people?" Lu Linjiang asked, puzzled.
"Cui Juan’s in-laws were too calculating. The illness she had was bad—to be honest, it was the kind of illness where you lose both the person and the money. The in-laws had their reasons for not treating her, but Shifeng had his reasons for demanding it. Back then, this was just a small fishing village; where was the money supposed to come from? Her in-laws were forced by Shifeng to borrow money everywhere. At the time, many people had benefited from Shifeng’s help, so because he was the one mediating, everyone chipped in a little."
"In the end, Cui Juan only lived a few more years before passing away. Her in-laws simply defaulted on the debts. They went around saying that Shifeng had forced them to borrow the money. Now that she was gone, they claimed Cui Juan was a Cui, and if anyone wanted their money back, they should go find Cui Shifeng."
Old Liu sighed. "Cui Shifeng actually paid back a lot of it. Unfortunately, before he could finish, his boat capsized at sea and he was gone, leaving only Cui Bin behind. That’s when the eldest, Cui Shihai, made his move." Old Liu snorted. "At the time, many people thought the money was gone for good. But Cui Shihai stood up and said he should take care of his siblings' affairs; as the eldest, he had to help pay the debts. On the other hand, he told Cui Bin that the debts had to be paid and used the boy's house as collateral."
"To be honest, that kid Cui Bin is just like his father—kind-hearted. He was just a student back then; if he had refused to pay, no one could have done anything to him. But he listened to Cui Shihai and mortgaged the house to him so he could pay the debts. Cui Shihai had taken the account books early on, so no one knew exactly how much was owed. Cui Shihai just went around saying he had covered a huge amount himself, and that even mortgaging the house to the bank wasn't enough."
"Cui Bin is an honest kid. He said he found a savings book and could use that money. Cui Shihai didn't stand on ceremony; he took that money too." Old Liu shook his head repeatedly. "Later, Cui Bin lived at Cui Shihai’s house for a while. Cui Shihai’s wife told everyone she met how poor they were and how hard it was to raise a half-grown child. Cui Shihai also kept saying he’d borrowed a lot of money for his siblings' debts and would be paying it off for a long time. Cui Bin couldn't take it anymore, so he dropped out of school and went to work elsewhere."
After listening, Lu Linjiang asked, "Old Liu, do you know exactly how much was owed?"
"That..." A cryptic expression appeared on Old Liu’s face. "I'm afraid only Cui Shihai knows for sure. I heard a rumor that when a few of the creditors got together, it wasn't even twenty thousand yuan."
Yang Bo couldn't help but let out a sharp whistle. Lu Linjiang thought for a moment and realized something was wrong. "Didn't anyone look into this back then? Like the Village Chief?"
"The Village Chief had his own family troubles back then. His mother-in-law was sick, and he had to keep running back and forth; he couldn't look after this matter," Old Liu said helplessly. "It was all too coincidental, everything happening at once. There were a few people on the village committee who were also creditors; they had their own selfish interests, so naturally, they turned a blind eye."
"By the time the Village Chief was done with his business, Cui Bin had already gone off to work. That’s why as soon as he came back this time and said he had nowhere to live, the Village Chief immediately cleared out a room for him."
*That room where it’s hard even to turn around?*
Lu Linjiang felt that something was off. A moment later, Cui Shihai was brought back. Lu Linjiang nodded to him politely. "Mr. Cui, we meet again."
Cui Shihai gave a cold laugh. "Indeed, we meet again. All this back and forth... what do you want to ask this time?"
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
果子狸 | Masked Palm Civet | A common wild game animal in some regions.
龙虎斗 | Dragon and Tiger Fight | A traditional Cantonese dish, typically made with snake (dragon) and cat or civet (tiger).
开宝三声 | Three Squeaks | Also known as "San Zhi Er." A controversial dish involving live newborn mice that "squeak" when picked up, dipped in sauce, and eaten.
老村长 | Old Village Chief | The elder leader of the local village on Liucheng Island.
崔石峰 | Cui Shifeng | Cui Shihai's deceased younger brother and Cui Bin's father.
崔娟 | Cui Juan | Cui Shihai's deceased younger sister.
协警 | Auxiliary Police | Non-formal police officers who assist with local duties.
零口供定罪 | Conviction without a confession | A legal situation where a suspect is convicted based on evidence despite refusing to confess.
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