investigative chronicle

"You are talking about Zhang Tieniu's family." The old man who was basking in the sun at the gate of the village committee couldn't help but talk to him when he heard their conversation.

"Yes, it's Zhang Tieniu's house. Master, do you know the situation of his house?" The master bent down and asked.

"People from the old Zhang's family moved out long ago, and the old house left has been unoccupied for a long time." The uncle picked up his pipe and took a puff of smoke.

"Do you know where they moved?" asked the master.

"Hey, it happened 40 years ago, I can't remember it for a long time." The uncle answered a bit out of the question.

"Do you know Zhang Tieniu's son? Can you help me see if it's him?" the master asked the uncle as he handed the photo.

"How can I see that. When Tieniu moved away, the doll was only a little bit big, and his mother was still holding it."

Even so, the old man took the photo from the master.

He looked at it for a long time, then sucked his teeth and said: "This baby looks very similar to Tie Niu when he was young, so it should be his child."

Uncle's answer disappointed them.They had come all the way to find this place, and it was impossible for them to only want such an ambiguous answer.

"Master, are there any old residents like you in the village? Especially the ones who are friends with Zhang Tieniu's family, neighbors." The master asked in another direction.

"Xiulan's house lives next to the Zhang family's old house. That old aunt is very nice, go and ask her." After speaking, the uncle smoked his pipe again with gusto.

As soon as the master finished thanking him, a young cadre from the village committee came over.The previous inquiries did not help them, so this time, they have to lead the way and lead them to Xiulan's house.

Under the leadership of the village cadres, they walked for about 20 minutes, and this is the westernmost end of the village.Some of the houses in Yishan have been dilapidated. The courtyard walls made of stones have already collapsed. The low stone houses have cracked a few gaps, and the wide space can fit an adult's fist.

The old-fashioned window frames are covered with black spots, and none of the yellowed window paper is good.Only the wooden door looked solid, and the iron lock on the doorknob made clanking noises from time to time when the wind blew through it.

"This should be Zhang Xin's house you can find." The village cadre said, pointing to the brand new house number on the door frame.

"Zhang Xiulan's family is the one in Shangba."

Following his gaze upwards, an ordinary red brick house came into view.

This house should be quite old, but compared with Zhang Xin's house below, it looks much better.

Zhang Xiulan is not tall, and she is very fat. Due to her leg disease, she seldom goes out for a walk.

Today, the village cadres came to her with two criminal policemen, which made her very excited.Perhaps it was because she hadn't talked to anyone for a long time, she talked a lot, and she talked about the prosperity of the village in a few words...

Speaking of the past, the old man talked a lot.The master moved a small bench and sat in front of the old man, listening intently to the old man's talk about ancient times. He was a very good listener.

Fortunately, the topic of the old man did not extend much. After expressing his feelings about the prosperity of the village in the past, he talked about Zhang Tieniu's family.

"It was poor at that time. A few people just pointed to that spot to live. In the disaster year, they would not have enough food and clothing. It was easy to meet a bumper harvest year, and the food was cheap. Those second-hand dealers suppressed the price. Not much better."

"The year when Tie Niu's father died was also such a heavy snow day. His funeral was arranged with the help of our neighbors. Once his father left, he completely lost his mind about this place, and he took it with him in the spring of the new year. My wife and children have gone out to work.”

"Is their child named Zhang Xin?" the master asked.

"I don't know the name, but the nickname is Shishi." The old man said.

"How many children are there in their family?"

"That was the only child when they moved away." The old man's words disappointed the master and Muzi Li.

"Does Zhang Tieniu have siblings?"

Wang Qiang and Zhang Xin look so alike, the master suspects that they are related by blood.

"No... the old Zhang's family has only one seedling from Tieniu." The old man said with certainty.

"But we met a person who looks exactly like Zhang Xin outside..." Li Muzi said directly.

"It looks the same as Shi Shi..., impossible, there is only one child in his family. Maybe it was born later..."

The old man muttered and suddenly slapped his leg and said: "I remembered, when Tieniu's wife gave birth to a child, some people in the village said that he sold a child..."

"Ever sold a child?" The old man's words revived them immediately.

"I remember that Tieniu's father was not in good health at that time, and he was supported by medicine. Some people gossip that Tieniu's wife gave birth to twins, and the couple sold a child to treat the old man's illness."

"However, this story has been spread for a while, and no one believes it. People in the village are rare in sons, and no one will sell their sons."

……

The purpose of this trip has been achieved, the master and Li Muzi stopped for a while before embarking on the return journey.

In order to relieve the tension brought by taking the minibus on the road, Li Muzi chatted with his master.

"Master, this is interesting. Who would have thought that Wang Qiang and Zhang Xin are brothers. But next, we have to find out the whereabouts of another person."

"No. We'll go directly to the guy in the prison with this information."

"Do you think the one in the prison is Wang Qiang or Zhang Xin?" Li Muzi's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"What do you think?" The master threw the question back to him.

"I guess it's Wang Qiang."

"Tell me the reason?" Master knew that Li Muzi wanted to share his judgment with him, so he asked along the way.

"The name and appearance may be wrong, but the fingerprints are not wrong."

"I have read relevant materials. Identical twins not only look alike, but also have the same DNA. The only difference is the fingerprint." Speaking of excitement, Muzi Li stretched out his fingers and gestured.

The master smiled and said nothing, diverted his attention from this matter, and an hour passed quickly.

Then Li Muzi realized the desperate effort of the master in what his colleagues said.They didn't rest on the way, and drove back to the prison overnight by car.

After getting off the train, Li Muzi was shocked by the cold wind, and the sun near noon just fell on him, as if the heavy snow last night was a dream.

Zhang Xin didn't expect the two criminal policemen to find him again so soon.The anxiety in my heart hasn't stopped since I entered the door.

"We went to Zhang Xin's hometown, and found Zhang's neighbors at the time... We all know about your situation."

"What? Why don't you tell me? In fact, we can find out whether you say it or not. After all, the two ID cards are real. Finding someone is not difficult for us."

The master came straight to the point and didn't give him any chance to breathe.

"I... I said." Zhang Xin lowered his head.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Wang Qiang."

"Why pretend to be Zhang Xin?"

"Because I have a previous criminal record..., I am afraid that the judge will punish him severely. If he is a first-time offender as my younger brother, he will be given a lighter sentence."

After giving up resistance, Wang Qiang told the truth smoothly.

"It's good to use your crooked thoughts in the right way. Why do you have to do such illegal and criminal things?" Li Muzi couldn't help but educated.