Chapter Seventy-Five: Captain Zhang

Thank you to “The Forgotten One” for your generous reward!

After the unexpected incident involving Liu Guihua and her husband, regardless of how strained the relationship between the two families might be, blood is still thicker than water. Out of both emotion and reason, Zhang Wei’s family could not simply stand by and do nothing. So, the four of them put away the remaining one hundred thousand yuan, closed the windows, locked the door behind them, and hurried downstairs.

As soon as Zhang Wei stepped out of the stairwell, he saw Liu Guihua sitting next to the Ji O438 car, crying and making a scene, which had already drawn a crowd of neighbors. Zhang Baoguo had finished his phone call and was crouching beside Liu Guihua, gently trying to calm her down.

“Baoguo, what on earth happened? From the way my sister-in-law is screaming, were you robbed?” Zhang Jianguo jogged up to his younger brother, looked him over from head to toe, and asked anxiously, “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Big brother, Guihua and I are both fine. It’s just that the hundred thousand yuan was snatched away.” Zhang Baoguo sighed, his face full of worry.

“You were sitting in the car the whole time and didn’t even see the robbers’ faces, so of course you’re fine. I was the one who was nearly killed!” Liu Guihua wailed, her voice hoarse from crying. Usually fond of looking her best, her makeup was now smeared all over her face, making her look like a clown.

In the early 2000s, a hundred thousand yuan was by no means a trivial sum for a family in a second-tier city—it could even buy a small house in the suburbs—so it was only natural that Zhang Baoguo and Liu Guihua felt heartbroken.

“Uncle, did you call the police just now? Did you get a good look at the robbers?” Zhang Wei asked with concern.

“I already dialed 110. The public security bureau said they’d send officers right over. As for the two robbers, both were wearing helmets, so we couldn’t see their faces at all. They were both tall and burly,” Zhang Baoguo replied clearly. Although he was usually rather timid, he appeared calm now, even more composed than Liu Guihua.

Hearing this, a flicker of realization passed through Zhang Wei’s eyes. He suspected that the two men who robbed Liu Guihua were likely the same motorcycle riders he’d noticed earlier, but since the incident had already occurred, saying anything now was pointless.

“Sister-in-law, why don’t you come upstairs to my place for now? It’s no good staying out here. When the police arrive, we can come back down,” Li Huilan suggested, noticing that more and more people were gathering to watch the spectacle, most with looks of idle curiosity.

“I’m not going anywhere! I’m staying right here. I must see those two robbers caught,” Liu Guihua replied incoherently, refusing to get up from the ground.

“Auntie, my mother is just thinking of your well-being. Kicking up a fuss out here before the police arrive serves no purpose; you’re just making yourself a laughingstock,” Zhang Song said, both amused and exasperated by Liu Guihua’s antics.

“If you’re so embarrassed, you can leave! Don’t pretend to care. If I hadn’t come to your house to collect the debt, would I have been robbed the moment I stepped outside?” Liu Guihua snapped, like an angry bull, lashing out at whoever crossed her.

“Auntie, that’s not fair. My brother specifically reminded you before you left to keep the money safe and to be careful of robbers. Do you remember what you said back then?” Zhang Song retorted sarcastically.

“What did I say, huh? What did I say?” Liu Guihua asked angrily, her face flushed with embarrassment.

“Since you can’t remember, I’ll repeat it for you. You said, ‘In this city of Baocheng, there’s no one yet born who could dare to rob me, Liu Guihua!’” Zhang Song patted his chest and jutted out his chin, imitating her swagger to perfection.

“You little rascal! After I’ve been robbed, you dare to mock me? See if I don’t teach you a lesson!” Enraged by Zhang Song’s spot-on impression, Liu Guihua took off her leather shoe and hurled it at him.

“Auntie, hitting me won’t help! I wasn’t the one who robbed you, nor did I give you a swollen face,” Zhang Song dodged easily and replied cheekily.

“Zhang Song, stop provoking your aunt. Go stand over there,” Zhang Jianguo scolded.

Seeing how unreasonable Liu Guihua was being, no one else wanted to bother talking to her anymore—not even Zhang Baoguo, who stood silently aside. The silence continued until the sound of approaching police sirens finally broke it.

Two police cars arrived. From the first stepped out two uniformed officers, while from the second came four plainclothes detectives. It appeared they weren’t from the same unit.

“Everyone, step aside, please. Who called the police to report a robbery?” asked a middle-aged officer in uniform as he entered the crowd.

“Director Li, it was me who called. My wife and I were carrying a hundred thousand yuan and had just come out of the building when two men on a motorcycle robbed us,” Zhang Baoguo hurried forward to explain.

The man addressed as Director Li was an officer from the local precinct, recognized by many residents. Zhang Baoguo immediately identified him and went up to shake his hands.

“Sir, don’t worry. Let me introduce you—this is Captain Zhang from the Criminal Investigation Division. He’ll be taking full charge of your case, so you can speak directly to him,” Director Li said, stepping aside to introduce a young man in plain clothes.

“Sir, I’m Zhang Wenyuan from the Criminal Investigation Division. Our superiors are treating this case with utmost importance, and it’s now officially under our jurisdiction. Please just tell me the details,” the young detective said.

“Captain Zhang, thank you for coming so quickly, and thanks to your leaders for paying attention to our case,” Zhang Baoguo replied gratefully.

“Serving the people is our duty—no need to thank us,” Captain Zhang said, patting Zhang Baoguo’s arm reassuringly.

Seeing both the precinct officers and the Criminal Investigation Division arrive together and with such efficiency, even Zhang Wei was surprised. The government departments in Huaxia were famous for their sluggishness, so the cooperation and promptness of two departments working together was truly unexpected.

“Officer, I’m the victim in this case and had close contact with the robbers. Let me tell you what happened,” Liu Guihua, invigorated by the arrival of the police, stepped forward from the crowd.

“Ma’am, don’t worry. Let me arrange the scene first, and then we’ll find a quieter place to talk,” Captain Zhang said kindly to her, then turned to the other officers. “Director Li, please have your colleagues maintain order and clear the bystanders.”

“No problem,” Director Li replied crisply, and with another officer, began dispersing the neighbors.

“You three, examine the scene carefully. Pay special attention to any tire tracks left by the motorcycle—make sure the public doesn’t destroy any evidence,” Captain Zhang instructed the three plainclothes detectives with him.

“Don’t worry, Captain, we’re on it,” the eldest among them replied, leading the others to start investigating the area.

“Ma’am, you can now describe to me in detail exactly what happened,” Captain Zhang turned back, a faint smile softening his otherwise stern expression.