Leichenbergung - Kapitel 44
Yang Ming laughed when he saw her sad expression:
"Who said that? Even if all the bad guys are caught, it won't drive away the darkness of the night. As long as there is darkness, I'm willing to be your protector forever!"
Story: It's impossible for everyone to contribute even a little love.
The weather in July is certainly very hot, but many residents haven't dared to open their windows for more than a month, fearing that the perverted killer would break in. Now, every household is busy opening windows to ventilate, and the depression and fear in their hearts have been swept away. They can finally sleep peacefully at night.
The first case occurred on May 31, 2003, at the home of Zhao Yajuan in Room 602, Unit 1, Building 37, Mudan Lane, Gujing District. Three buildings away from her home, in Room 604, Unit 2, Building 34, a single woman named Xiao Zhang also lived. During those days, she was so scared that she had nowhere to hide every night and couldn't sleep well.
On the second floor lived a couple. The husband said to his wife, "Zhang looks so pale, it's frightening. Is she sick?" The wife replied, "You men have no idea how hard it is for a single woman like her! What woman isn't afraid of a psychopath these days? She's living alone on the sixth floor, of course she's even more afraid!" The husband thought for a moment and said, "We still have another room. How about letting her stay for a couple of days?" The wife said, "I've already thought about that, but I was afraid you'd find it too much trouble." The husband said, "We should talk about things according to the situation. Why be so formal at a time like this!"
Unexpectedly, when the wife went upstairs to talk to Xiao Zhang that evening, Xiao Zhang cried and refused to come to their house, saying she was too embarrassed to cause them trouble. She said that if it were just a few days, she would definitely come to their house to stay, but who knows when this kind of thing will end? How could she have the nerve to stay there for an extended period?
When the wife came back, she told her husband what had happened. The husband sighed and said, "That's true. They're not related, so they were just embarrassed to trouble you." The wife said, "You men are so careless! The main reason she didn't come is because of you!" The husband said, "What do you mean? Didn't you say it was our idea?" The wife said, "How could I not say it? After all, we're from two different families."
During dinner, my wife said, "I've come up with a solution. We'll each stay at our own homes during the day, and when it's time to sleep at night, let Xiao Zhang come down to sleep at our house, while the two of us will go to hers. She can bring her bedding to our little room, and we can bring our own bedding to hers. Wouldn't that be much easier?"
The husband thought for a moment and said, "Good idea! Go and talk to her properly. Right now, safety comes first, and her life is the most important thing. She doesn't need to think about anything else!"
The husband was watching TV at home. More than an hour had passed with no sound. He thought, "It seems that even if you try to help someone with good intentions, they might not understand. People are becoming more and more distant these days, unlike when we were sent to the countryside." When he was a sent-down youth, he would always bring back things for a girl whenever he returned to the city. That girl would often come to his rural camp to wash his clothes, bedding, and mend his clothes. They became close through these interactions, and even after returning to the city, they continued to see each other. That pretty girl later became his wife. As he was reminiscing about the past, he heard someone banging on the door. He quickly got up and opened it to find his wife standing there, carrying bedding in both hands! He took the bedding, and his wife hurriedly went to the small room to tidy up the single bed before making Xiao Zhang's bedding.
My wife said she's too shy to come downstairs. She suggested I go downstairs and wait while she calls me from the sixth floor.
The husband said, "I'll go wherever you want to wait for me, just don't forget to check on me properly when the time comes!"
My wife said, "Go away! Stop talking nonsense!"
For more than twenty days, the couple took turns staying with Xiao Zhang every night. Now, they were no longer afraid of the perverted killer. The two families moved back to their own homes. When Xiao Zhang was leaving, he looked at his two neighbors for a long time and didn't know what to say. He felt that no words of gratitude could express his feelings.
The deranged killer has been caught and will surely be severely punished. People are overjoyed and spread the news, clapping and cheering. However, some are not happy.
Mr. Jia, the general manager of the technically strong New Century Modern Doors and Windows Company, was devastated. On July 30th alone, more than ten people came demanding refunds, no longer waiting for the installation of the security windows. He explained, his throat dry, that the pre-fabricated security windows for them had already been made, and what would happen if they didn't want them? He said that if they really wanted a refund, then 30% of their deposits would be deducted to compensate for their losses. Mr. Jia shouted and yelled all day, skipping lunch, and by evening his voice was so hoarse he could barely speak. He didn't even call the restaurant to order food. However, the restaurant, showing Mr. Jia respect, prepared and delivered his usual favorite dishes. Upon seeing the food, Mr. Jia jumped up as if his pants were on fire: "Aren't you taking advantage of my misfortune? Aren't you extorting me? I didn't order any food, why did you deliver it to me?" His tirade brought the young waitress who delivered the food to tears.
Feeling unlucky, Mr. Jia didn't offer incense, fruit, or steamed buns to Guan Yu that night. It seemed he simply wanted to starve Guan Yu and deflate his arrogance—after all, Guan Yu wasn't efficacious. Actually, businessmen like Mr. Jia who worship gods and Buddhas don't truly believe in them; they've done too many bad things and are afraid of ghosts knocking at their door in the middle of the night, so they entrust the gods and Buddhas to guard their doors. If they didn't have guilty consciences and fear retribution, they wouldn't waste money on gods and Buddhas; they only believe in money. Mr. Jia, no longer caring about Guan Yu, looked at the mountains of burglar bars on the street and wished a few more psychopaths would emerge and slaughter the entire city. Otherwise, how would he turn his worthless possessions into money? After thinking it over, he decided he couldn't go out and kill people. He'd better hide tomorrow so those who came for refunds couldn't find him. So he went back inside and told his wife that the installation of burglar bars must not stop tomorrow, and that the migrant workers should continue working according to the list. He would return in the evening, and if there was anything urgent, she should call him.
Jia Damen secretly hid for two days, but people kept coming to him every day demanding refunds. The number of people causing trouble increased, which aroused suspicion among the migrant workers who had been working for him day and night for over a month without receiving a single penny! They all went to the boss's wife to ask where Mr. Jia had gone, but she said she didn't know. Everyone became even more frightened, put down their welding torches, and waited for Mr. Jia to return and demand their wages. Later, the migrant workers who had gone out to install the equipment also returned to wait and demand their wages.
The proprietress was terrified. She hid in the bathroom, locked the door, and called her husband. Mr. Jia was furious and cursed his mother for a long time, but still didn't dare to come back to see them.
The migrant workers understood that if they waited for him openly, his wife would inform him, and they would definitely not see him. After a brief discussion, they said they were going out for a meal and dispersed. Sure enough, not long after, Jia returned in a taxi. As soon as he got out of the car, he was surrounded by the migrant workers, who said that if they didn't pay him his wages today, Mr. Jia wouldn't be moving an inch.
Later, some people said that Mr. Jia went to the suburbs to discuss a joint venture in dog breeding, but was unfortunately bitten by a rabid dog. Because of his ignorance, he didn't get vaccinated and contracted rabies, quickly dying from it. Others said that on his way back to the city from the suburbs, Mr. Jia was beaten by migrant workers he owed wages, and then dumped in some river. However, the farmers owed wages by Mr. Jia said that it was all fabricated by Mr. Jia's wife, a complete fabrication. They claimed that Mr. Jia had hidden himself to avoid paying their wages, and then falsely accused them of harming him. They argued that if someone had truly harmed him, why didn't his wife report it to the police? For a time, everyone had their own version of events, and in the end, it remained unclear whether Mr. Jia was still alive or dead.
Upon hearing that the heinous murderer had been caught, He Fangmei's first thought was to go and comfort her sister Chen. Coincidentally, it was the 21st day after her mother's death (the 31st day after her death), so she called Tingting to ask if she wanted to burn ceremonies for her mother. Tingting said she wanted to burn them at home; she was too afraid to go to the crematorium alone.
He Fangmei said, "Wait here, Auntie will go with you."
Traffic police officer Lao Ma was playing mahjong when he received a call from He Fangmei, who said she was going to burn ginseng for Sister Chen and asked if he had time to go with her. Lao Ma readily agreed, saying, "Sure, sure! I have plenty of time!" As soon as he put the phone down, his three buddies protested, saying, "Lao Ma, you're such a womanizer! You've got a girlfriend and you've abandoned all your boyfriends! We've been working ourselves to the bone for almost two months, and we finally get a couple of days off to relax, and you're abandoning us?"
Old Ma said I can't eat a hundred beans without feeling the fishiness. I was sorry to my wife in the past, so she left me. Now, I should know to cherish our relationship and protect our love. As long as she treats me sincerely, I must cherish her!
Old Ma finished speaking and left, leaving the three men wondering who else they could find to start a card game.
Old Ma has many friends, and when they heard he was going to try and win over his girlfriend, someone immediately drove him a car. Old Ma drove to He Fangmei's building. He called her on the phone, but it took her ages to come downstairs. Seeing her crying uncontrollably, Old Ma was startled. He realized he was being incredibly dense. Since she hadn't come down for so long, why hadn't he gone upstairs to check on her and comfort her? He was just worried she'd be anxious, thinking waiting downstairs would make him leave faster. Stupid!
Old Ma hurriedly opened the car door for her, helped her into the car with both hands, and then sat in the driver's seat. He didn't dare to drive off immediately, waiting for her to calm down before saying, "Do you think there's anything else we need to buy? Where should we buy it?"
He Fangmei nodded and said, "Brother Ma, let's go. We'll have everything there. Let's go to the suburbs to pick up Tingting first."
When they arrived at the crematorium, Lao Ma wanted to buy paper money, but He Fangmei said, "Why are you buying it? You don't even know Sister Chen. This is between Sister Chen and me. No one else can buy it! I have to buy it myself!"
Old Ma then realized that he was there to observe, not to interfere with their cremation ceremony. So he hid far away to watch them take the urn containing the ashes to the altar to burn paper money. He saw Tingting kneel down and kowtow to her mother, and his heart ached with sorrow and anger. A young girl, her mother murdered for no reason by a complete stranger, a twisted demon. Now the murderer had been caught and would certainly be sentenced to death, but what good would that do for Tingting, her grandparents, and her deceased mother? Wasn't their accidental misfortune a permanent one? Lost in thought, his vision blurred, when he noticed a man lurking behind He Fangmei and Tingting. He hurriedly took a few steps forward and saw more clearly that the man was standing firmly behind them, refusing to leave.
Old Ma tensed up, locked the car door, went around to the other side to find a convenient spot, and looked at the man again. His face was full of gloom. He couldn't help but get furious. He rushed over, grabbed the man's arm, and asked, "What's wrong with you? What do you want?"
The man was startled and became flustered, looking at him with a pale face, unable to speak.
Hearing Lao Ma's shout, He Fangmei and Tingting both turned around. Tingting suddenly burst into tears and fainted on the ground.
Old Ma grew increasingly angry and grabbed the man, ready to attack.
Unexpectedly, the man also started crying out, knelt down on the ground, and struggled to crawl towards Tingting.
Tingting woke up, cried out, and rushed into the man's arms. The man also hugged her and cried, repeatedly saying, "I'm so sorry to your mother! I'm so sorry to your mother! I'm the one who hurt your mother! This time, Daddy won't go anywhere else; I'll stay with you forever."
The man released Tingting, crawled to the tombstone, hugged it, and cried out, "Mom, I'm so sorry, I've ruined you. I'll come back and raise Tingting..."
He Fangmei also recognized Tingting's father. With tears in her eyes, she walked to Lao Ma's side, took his arm, and leaned against him, looking at the father and daughter kneeling on the ground.
Old Ma finally couldn't hold back his tears.
Unable to Breathe (Part 9, 1)
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December 17, 2006 00:32 32h Bookstore
Serialized: Unable to Breathe Author: Gu Yi Publisher: Changzheng Publishing House
His colleagues were already used to his gaze and wouldn't notice anything unusual; in his wife's eyes, he was a husband and lover; in his daughter's eyes, he was a lovely father; in his friends' eyes, he was a man who would go to great lengths for her; in the eyes of strangers, he was just an ordinary policeman. Because of this, no one could see the extraordinary quality in his eyes like Qu Baoyuan did.
On-site: I get scared when I see your eyes.