Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Miao Xiaohui rushed back, his long limbs propelling him swiftly.

Qin Sa and her group did not dare to lag behind, sprinting closely, but they still fell slightly short.

Just as Miao Xiaohui reached Zhou Qiang's house, Qin Sa heard two gunshots. Upon arriving, she witnessed the scene.

Even without seeing what had transpired, the sight alone was enough to deduce what had happened.

Not just the trio, even Qin Sa broke out in a cold sweat.

The gun was snatched from the militiaman guarding Zhou Qiang's wife and son. The commotion in the kitchen alerted the militiaman, who quickly rushed over.

But the kitchen was in chaos; he hesitated to fire for fear of hitting someone by mistake, holding the gun up for a long time without pulling the trigger.

Miao Xiaohui ran over and swiftly grabbed the gun before the militiaman could react. Zhou Qiang was shot almost immediately.

The entire action was fluid and decisive, without a moment's hesitation, which saved Tang Qingqing from harm.

Wang Heizi kicked Zhou Qiang, who was pinned to the ground: "This guy came home straight for us instead of going to the main room!"

Zhai Hongyi casually stepped on the gun, causing Zhou Qiang to gasp in pain.

The police pretended not to notice; even the trio was nearly fuming with anger.

Zhou Qiang was not only cunning but also ruthless, and some of them were injured because of him, though fortunately, no lives were lost.

Qin Sa said, "I bet when he ran home and saw you three, he guessed what was happening and decided to attack."

That night, Zhou Qiang was taken away.

The trio returned home with the Rongshan Brigade, despite the hardship of traveling at night. Tang Qingqing did not want to stay in Baitou Mountain Brigade.

Miao Xiaohui accompanied them back to Rongshan Brigade, silent throughout the journey.

No one knew how to comfort him, merely offering condolences.

On the way back to the city, everyone was quiet, even the usually talkative Wang Heizi remained silent.

Although Tang Qingqing had shaken off her fear, she felt drained and had no desire to speak.

She kept a piece of candy in her mouth, its sweetness sustaining her until she arrived home.

After a quick wash, she went straight to bed.

She slept until late morning, feeling fully refreshed and energized.

"Sis, you're awake?" Tang Qiaoqiao pushed the door open.

"Qiaoqiao, why haven't you gone to class yet?"

Tang Qingqing could tell from the brightness outside that it was already late.

Her situation was special, so she didn't need to attend classes every day. She could take leave whenever there was a case.

"We've already finished school and had lunch."

Tang Qingqing was stunned; she knew she had overslept but not this much.

Her stomach growled, reminding her how hungry she was.

Tang Qiaoqiao smiled, "Sis, get up quickly. Your food is still warm."

Tang Qingqing hurriedly got up, washed up, and headed to the kitchen.

Opening the pot lid, she found two white steamed buns and a plate of tomato and egg stir-fry, enough for at least three eggs.

"Aunt, today's meal is too lavish. Have you all eaten?"

Aunt was slicing vegetables nearby and smiled, "We've all eaten."

"Then why is there still so much tomato and egg stir-fry left? And these white steamed buns?"

Uncle's family was frugal, even more so after the separation. They never touched anything Tang Qingqing brought, leaving it all for her, occasionally giving a bit to Tang Qiaoqiao if Tang Qingqing insisted.

Even then, they wouldn't make such pristine white steamed buns.

They were accustomed to frugality, always trying to save whatever Tang Qingqing brought back.

Aunt had privately advised Tang Qingqing not to be so extravagant, saying that as a girl, she should be careful with money since the family couldn't rely on her.

Tang Qingqing agreed but continued as she pleased.

She understood their concerns, knowing they had experienced famine and thus were always cautious, fearing any unforeseen changes.

However, Tang Qingqing foresaw better days ahead.

Thus, her priority was to take good care of herself, sparing no expense.

This confidence in her future made her believe she could earn more, hence focusing on the present.

Of course, she wasn't wasteful or extravagant, just slightly above the village's average.

Aunt smiled, "You've done such a big thing these past few days; you must be exhausted. Today, you should indulge yourself."

"I won't hold back then!" Tang Qingqing smiled, taking out the buns and calling for Tang Qiaoqiao.

"She's eaten already, so you just eat yours."

"There are so many eggs; I can't possibly finish them all by myself."

"You can definitely finish them; you're growing, and you can handle more. Don't keep thinking about her; she doesn't lack food."

Hearing this, Tang Qingqing didn't hesitate any longer and started eating.

She was indeed hungry, as she hadn't had a proper meal the day before.

Auntie saw her eating happily and felt both joy and heartache.

"Qingqing, you can continue investigating cases, but don't go along to apprehend suspects anymore. It was so scary yesterday."

The events of yesterday had spread throughout the village. Auntie's legs went weak when she heard that Tang Qingqing almost got hit by a large hammer.

Even though Tang Qingqing was fine, just thinking about it made her uneasy.

Zhou Qiang was a stone quarry worker; one strike from his hammer could shatter a big rock. If that hammer had hit Tang Qingqing's head, even the gods couldn't save her.

Tang Qingqing smiled nonchalantly, "Auntie, don't worry; look at me now, I'm perfectly fine."

"This time you're fine, but what about next time? For petty theft cases, it's okay if you go, but for murder cases, you shouldn't get involved. You almost lost your life last time too, didn't you? Look how dangerous it is."

Reflecting on it, Tang Qingqing agreed.

If it were just theft or arson, criminals wouldn't endanger their lives even if caught, so generally, the danger wasn't significant.

But for murderers, once caught, they would likely face execution, making them extremely dangerous.

Killing one or two makes no difference to such people.

"I understand, Auntie."

Seeing that she took it to heart, Wang Simei felt slightly relieved.

After finishing her meal, Tang Qingqing stepped out of the house, and Tang Xingsheng and Tang Xingqiang appeared.

Tang Xingqiang hugged her arm directly, "Sis, it's great that you're okay. I heard what happened and almost died of fright."

Tang Xingsheng, being less articulate and feeling grown-up, didn't act like Tang Xingqiang but looked at Tang Qingqing with concern.

Tang Qingqing smiled, "I know you care about me, but I can't die, can I?"

Tang Xingqiang: "Sis, starting tomorrow, I'll practice boxing to protect you!"

"Me too!"

Tang Qingqing patted their heads, "Good, I'll wait for you to protect me. But if you don't study hard, you won't be able to come to the city, and thus won't be able to protect me."

As an older sister, Tang Qingqing never forgot to encourage her brothers to study hard.

Tang Xingqiang was confident, "Sis, don't worry; I won't let you down."

Tang Xingsheng lacked such confidence. Although his current teacher taught well and his grades were decent, he had to work much harder than others to achieve this.

Comparing himself to his brother was even more discouraging.

Tang Xingqiang absorbed knowledge too quickly, and Tang Xingsheng couldn't keep up.

If not for the encouragement from his teacher and Tang Qingqing, he might have given up long ago.

Still, Tang Xingsheng said, "Sis, I will try my best."

Tang Qingqing was heading to Old Liu's place, and her brothers watched her with anticipation.

Tang Xingqiang knew that Tang Qingqing disliked being asked to do things, so despite having a good relationship with the trio, he didn't insist on going with her to Old Liu's place.

Old Liu's place was Tang Qingqing's secret base, hiding many of her secrets. Tang Xingqiang knew she didn't like outsiders intruding.

Usually, she brought people there herself and didn't like uninvited guests.

Seeing their hesitation, Tang Qingqing smiled, "I'm going to cut vines today; do you want to come along?"

"Yes, yes!"

They both exclaimed in unison, immediately cheering up.

Tang Qingqing found it hard to understand their excitement, as following her wasn't as fun as playing outside.

Knowing he wasn't unwanted, Tang Xingqiang became chattier.

"Sis, did you hear that the Miao family is in turmoil today?"

Tang Qingqing was surprised, "Why is there turmoil?"

"Uncle Miao got into an argument with Grandma Zhang."

Tang Qingqing stared wide-eyed; Miao Xiaohui was known for his filial piety, although he also cared about his own family.

"What happened? Why did they argue? Uncle Miao actually argued with his family?"

Despite Miao Xiaohui's decisiveness, he was always kind and gentle with the children.

"Well, Grandma Zhang kept saying that the police wrongfully accused Zhou Qiang and that he couldn't be the murderer of Teacher Sun. At first, Uncle Miao tried to reason with her, pointing out that evidence was found at his home. But then Grandma Zhang claimed it must have been Sun Qin who tempted him, which infuriated Uncle Miao, and they started arguing."

Hearing this, Tang Qingqing stopped walking, enraged.

"How outrageous!"

Tang Xingqiang nodded repeatedly, "Indeed, although I don't like Teacher Sun, she had no issues with her lifestyle. Now that she's gone, she's still being slandered."

Tang Qingqing was about to explode with anger: "Teacher Sun's murder is closely related to her. If it weren't for her spreading rumors outside, Teacher Sun wouldn't have been targeted! Even if it wasn't Zhou Qiang, it would have been someone else!"

The money Tang Qingqing and Zhai Hongyi found underground amounted to over eight hundred yuan, and Zhou Qiang had already used part of it for gambling.

For a woman to have so much money easily makes her a target.

Not flaunting one's wealth is a principle everyone understands, and Old Lady Zhang, at her age, should be even more aware of its importance.

But instead, she went around bragging about it.

That alone would be fine, but not only did people not hold her accountable, they even tried to pin the blame on Sun Qin, believing that Sun Qin herself was at fault for attracting trouble.

This was truly unfair!

"So, Uncle Miao got into an argument with Old Lady Zhang. Not only did she refuse to back down, but she also brought up old grievances and criticized Teacher Sun, even mentioning how Teacher Sun deliberately schemed to marry Uncle Miao."

Tang Qingqing's brows were tightly furrowed, and she was visibly agitated, walking faster and with larger strides than usual.

Back then, when Sun Qin and Miao Xiaohui got together, it was by chance. Sun Qin didn't know there were time restrictions for bathing in the river; these were village customs, and Jiang Pei'e, who knew the details, hadn't explained them clearly to her.

In the evening, Sun Qin thought it was too bright to go bathing and also had chores to do. That day, she was assigned to carry manure, which left her extremely dirty and smelly, and a single bucket of water couldn't clean her properly.

So, late at night, she went to the river to bathe, only to be seen by Miao Xiaohui, who had also come to bathe at that hour.

The specifics are known only to the parties involved.

Tang Xingqiang had only heard vague arguments but guessed the general idea.

Old Lady Zhang insisted it was a deliberate scheme, using this to conclude that Sun Qin had seduced Zhou Qiang, leading to subsequent events.

As for Jiang Pei'e's role in the matter, she completely ignored it.

"The person is already gone, yet she's still trying to shift the blame. No one has said anything against her, yet she acts this way—doesn't she feel guilty?"

Tang Qingqing arrived at Old Liu's house, where Wang Heizi was already present.

Seeing them, Tang Qingqing began to vent her frustration with Old Lady Zhang.

Wang Heizi was equally furious. They almost died at the hands of Zhou Qiang yesterday; were they supposed to have intentionally provoked him?

"This old woman is truly unreasonable! I used to think she was a nice old lady."

Old Lady Zhang was talkative but very warm-hearted and kind to children, speaking to them gently and patiently. Who would have thought she was like this!

Tang Xingsheng added, "When I was beaten up before, she helped me scold those older kids and even told their parents, who then punished them."

Her actions in this matter made anyone who heard about it think poorly of her.

Zhai Hongyi said, "She's always been someone who likes to talk. Now that she realizes she has some responsibility, she's trying to deflect it onto others so that no one will blame her, making her feel better."

Tang Xingqiang asked, "Is she a good person or a bad person?"

"It depends on the situation. In this matter, she's undoubtedly culpable. People are complex and multifaceted. We can't assume she won't do bad things just because she's done good ones in the past, and vice versa."

Tang Xingsheng scratched his head, confused.

Tang Xingqiang, however, seemed lost in thought, pondering something.

Tang Qingqing, fearing he might go off in the wrong direction, said, "In any case, committing crimes is absolutely forbidden. Old Lady Zhang's behavior is defamation, which is also unacceptable."

Wang Heizi asked, "Can't we hold her accountable? She's still defending Zhou Qiang, which is infuriating."

Yesterday, he nearly died from fright and had nightmares all night, dreaming of a hammer smashing down on Tang Qingqing's head, causing him to scream in the middle of the night.

Anyone who defends Zhou Qiang is his lifelong enemy.

Tang Qingqing and Zhai Hongyi remained silent, while Wang Heizi's face puffed up with anger.

Tang Xingqiang said, "Brother Heizi, don't be angry. Old Lady Zhang won't have it easy in the future."

"Why not?"

"Didn't you hear Brother Yi say that she's shouting loudly because she feels guilty? Now that she's arguing with Uncle Miao, what do you think will happen to their mother-son relationship?"

"But they're mother and son; they'll make up in a few days."

A son can't really stay angry with his own mother.

However, Tang Xingqiang disagreed: "It depends on the situation. Uncle Miao is stubborn; just wait and see."

Wang Heizi looked skeptically at Tang Xingqiang, though he was secretly hoping that Old Lady Zhang would be shunned by her son.

While it might be unfair to Uncle Miao, he couldn't stand seeing anyone defend Zhou Qiang.

What would happen to their mother-son relationship, Wang Heizi didn't know, but the next day, Old Lady Zhang was taken away by the police—

Zhou Qiang had confessed to killing Sun Qin and claimed that the entire incident was orchestrated by Old Lady Zhang.