The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1231 Suspect Zhang Lao 3

"For example, a strange tricycle, or people dressed in unusual clothes loitering nearby?" Li Erhu thought for a moment, "Yesterday afternoon I came to water the corn and saw a black tricycle parked by the edge of the field. The cargo bed was covered with a tarpaulin, but I didn't see anyone. I thought it belonged to some villager and didn't pay any attention. When I came this morning, the tricycle was gone. Now that I think about it, maybe it's related to this!"

"Was there anything special about that tricycle? Like advertisements, license plate number, or obvious scratches on the body?" Xiao Wang continued to ask. Li Erhu scratched his head: "The vehicle was black, looked quite old, and there seemed to be rust on both sides of the cargo bed. I didn't see the license plate number. The canvas was blue, and there was a small hole in it. I was far away, so I only glanced at it, and I can't remember anything else."

Just then, Xiao Yang's voice came from the cornfield: "Team Leader Wang, come here for a second, we've made a new discovery!" Xiao Wang settled Li Erhu down and quickly walked into the cornfield. Xiao Yang pointed to the soil that had just been cleared from under the body: "We found a metal object near the waist of the body, it looks like a keychain, buried in the soil, only a corner is showing." He carefully picked up the metal object with tweezers—it was a silver keychain with an unmarked brass key hanging from it. The keychain had obvious signs of oxidation, and a small amount of decaying residue clung to the edges, but no other items could be found to identify the person.

Xiao Sun added, "In the woods north of the cornfield, we found fresh trampling marks. There were several broken branches on the ground, and sap was still oozing from the broken ends, indicating that they had been trampled on recently. Near the marks, we found half a torn cigarette box with the words 'Hongtashan' printed on it. The edges of the cigarette box were covered in soil, which matched the composition of the soil in the cornfield."

Li Ming walked to the edge of the cornfield, looking at the progress of the investigation: "Our preliminary assessment is that this is not the primary crime scene. The body was transported here and buried by a vehicle (most likely a farm tricycle). The burial tool was probably a hoe or a shovel. The suspect is 180-185 cm tall, wearing size 43 leather shoes, so a farm tricycle was likely used." He turned to Xiao Wang, "You should confirm with Li Erhu again whether any strangers have recently entered the village, or if any tricycles have shown any unusual activity recently, such as having their cargo beds cleaned or their tarpaulins replaced."

Xiao Wang returned to the edge of the field and continued to ask Li Erhu, "Brother, have any strangers come to the village recently? Or do you know any families with black tricycles whose cargo beds have been cleaned or whose canvases have been replaced?" Li Erhu's eyes lit up: "Zhang Laosan at the east end of the village has a black tricycle that looks a lot like the one I saw yesterday! A few days ago I saw him washing the cargo bed by the river, washing it very carefully. Usually, his cargo bed is so dirty that he doesn't bother to clean it. Also, his canvas seems to be blue, but I don't know if it has any holes."

"Who is Zhang Laosan? How does he usually behave in the village? Has he made any enemies?" Xiao Wang pressed. Li Erhu sighed, "Zhang Laosan is in his forties, unmarried, and makes a living by hauling goods for others. He's quite reclusive and rarely interacts with people. I heard a while ago that he argued with Li Laosi from the neighboring village over the money for hauling goods, and they almost came to blows. I haven't seen Li Laosi much since then."

This information startled Xiao Wang. He immediately sent his team to the village to verify Zhang Laosan's situation, while simultaneously investigating the black tricycle. Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun continued their investigation in the cornfield, collecting shoe print models, tricycle tire print samples, metal keychains, and cigarette box fragments in evidence bags, preparing to take them back to the brigade for further testing.

As the sun rose higher, the mist in the fields dissipated, and a number of villagers gathered outside the police cordon, their voices rising and falling. Li Erhu stood on the edge of the field, watching the police officers' busy figures, still feeling lingering fear: "How could such a perfectly good piece of land become a place to bury people... I hope you find the murderer soon, so we can feel more at ease."

Xiao Wang patted him on the shoulder: "Thank you for the clue. It's very helpful to us. We may need your cooperation to verify some details later." After saying that, he turned and walked towards the cornfield to meet up with Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun. Although the identity of the deceased is still unknown, Zhang Laosan's unusual behavior and the tricycle clue have provided an initial direction for solving the case.

Standing beside the police cordon, Li Ming looked at the cornfield before him, knowing full well that the investigation into this case of a body dumped in farmland had only just begun. Who was the deceased? Why was he buried in the cornfield? Was Zhang Laosan connected to the case? These questions needed to be answered by examining the traces at the scene and conducting further investigations. But he firmly believed that with meticulous investigation and patient screening, the truth would eventually be revealed, and justice would prevail.

After leaving the cornfield survey site, Xiao Wang immediately led two team members to the east end of Lijia Village to search for Zhang Laosan's residence, following the clues provided by Li Erhu. The poplar leaves rustled in the wind along the country road, and a few villagers could be seen working in the distant fields. Xiao Wang, however, remained vigilant—Zhang Laosan's black tricycle, his unusual act of cleaning the cargo bed, and his conflict with Li Laosi—every clue made him the most suspicious person at the moment.

"That's Zhang Laosan's house up ahead." The village secretary, who was leading the way, pointed to a low-lying bungalow not far away. Sure enough, a black farm tricycle was parked at the entrance of the yard, with a blue tarpaulin covering the cargo bed. The edges were indeed rusty, which matched Li Erhu's description perfectly. Xiao Wang signaled to his team members to wait outside the yard, while he and the village secretary went into the yard.

Zhang Laosan was sitting on the doorstep repairing a hoe when he saw Xiao Wang in his police uniform. He was clearly taken aback, and his tools stopped in mid-air. "You...you want something from me?" His voice was a little hoarse, his eyes were wary, and he unconsciously wiped his hands on his pants.

"We're from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Division. We'd like to ask you some questions." Xiao Wang showed his badge, his gaze falling on the tricycle in the yard. "Is this your tricycle? Have you used it to haul anything recently?"

Old Zhang nodded, stood up, and pointed to the tricycle: "It's mine. I used it to haul corn for the neighboring village a few days ago, and it's been sitting in the yard ever since." He tried to keep his tone calm, but Xiao Wang noticed that his gaze kept unconsciously drifting towards the cargo bed.

"Could you lift the tarpaulin and let us see inside the truck bed?" Xiao Wang requested. Zhang Laosan hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward and lifted the tarpaulin—the inside of the truck bed had indeed been cleaned, with a few watermarks remaining at the bottom, but no mud or suspicious traces were found. Xiao Wang asked his team to bring out professional equipment to conduct a trace inspection of the truck bed, while also measuring the tire dimensions: "What's the tire width?"