Street Hustler and His Policewoman Wife

Chapter 372: Questioning Xu Fu Again

Qiu Huasheng was speaking.

Chen Xiao finally understood why in 1990 Zheng Xiang could raise five million yuan in donations for the welfare home.

Everything was because he helped Qiu Huasheng steal a formula!

That formula helped Qiu Huasheng establish himself securely in the family business.

Also, it allowed the welfare home to continue on!

But the theft of that formula led an enterprise to ruin!

Liu Dayou, listening from the side, instinctively blurted out:

"Then why didn’t you say so from the beginning!"

The question was immature.

However, Chen Xiao didn’t stop him and said bitterly:

"How could I tell outsiders? Say that I, Qiu Huasheng, am a thief? If it spreads, damaging my reputation is a minor concern; it’s the major blow to the Qiu Family’s honor!"

"But clearly, there was already a grievance, an enormous hatred!"

Chen Xiao still didn’t stop Liu Dayou.

Because Chen Xiao could feel that the latter was gradually learning to think and analyze the case logically.

It was a growth moment for Liu Dayou, and Chen Xiao absolutely didn’t need to stop him.

If he did, it might kill his growth.

Qiu Huasheng shook his head: "It shouldn’t be those people; they didn’t know how the formula was leaked until the end. Because after we got the formula, we improved it, making it better than the products they originally produced!"

"Moreover, their family didn’t collapse initially because of that formula. But their strength was far behind the times, coupled with information gaps and regional differences. Even if they suspected it looked like their formula, they wouldn’t suspect Zheng Xiang."

"Who would suspect a dead person?"

Liu Dayou couldn’t help looking at Chen Xiao.

He began to be a bit confused.

Chen Xiao signaled him with a look, then found a place to sit down in the welfare home before speaking:

"So, President Qiu never doubted Dean Zheng’s death?"

"No, I knew he had heart disease. Such a condition suddenly flaring up while alone is not uncommon."

"Then now that his grave has been tampered with, do you think it might be related to the formula?"

Qiu Huasheng shook his head: "I don’t think so."

Chen Xiao didn’t ask for the reasoning.

Because in his heart, he always believed that Zheng Xiang’s act of stealing the formula for Qiu Huasheng wouldn’t bring a fatal disaster to Qiu Tingfang.

Especially since both Qiu Tingfangs are dead!

So the key issues still lie with the twin sisters, Qiu Tingfang.

Chen Xiao fell into silence, his mind constantly pondering.

But just then, a policeman came over after taking a phone call:

"Mr. Chen, we just received a call from Sanshui Town. We’ve conducted a census of the Qiu family in Sanshui Town; there are 43 households totaling 217 people."

"Among them, there are ten households in the south of Sanshui Town, and most of the Qiu family are concentrated in the villages of Dafang and Bafang."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiao said: "Then ask Sanshui Town to invite a few respected elders to the town, and we’ll head over now to ask about Boss Qiu."

The police officer nodded and went off to notify them.

Chen Xiao was just about to have Qiu Huasheng make arrangements himself, but surprisingly, this time Qiu Huasheng took the initiative to say:

"Mr. Chen, may I come with you?"

"Sure." Chen Xiao didn’t hesitate and thus turned to leave the welfare home, getting into the car with Liu Dayou and Xiaoji.

In the car, Chen Xiao glanced at Qiu Huasheng’s vehicle and asked Liu Dayou and Xiaoji:

"What do you think is the most important thing for us next?"

Liu Dayou instinctively blurted out: "Aren’t we going to meet the elder Qius? We need to find out about Boss Qiu from them."

Right after he spoke, Xiaoji said: "This is something necessary to do now; further discussion is pointless. Brother Chen asked this question to see what we think we should do next if we don’t learn anything useful from the elders."

Chen Xiao silently nodded.

Liu Dayou thought for a while but couldn’t figure out what to do next.

However, after some thought, Xiaoji said:

"Brother, I think the elders might know something about Boss Qiu, but Boss Qiu’s matters might not be useful for solving the case."

Chen Xiao nodded again, and Xiaoji went on:

"Brother Chen said to solve the case in 24 hours, but from what I know about Brother Chen, you’ve left some room there, right?"

Chen Xiao couldn’t help but grin: "Just say what you think should be done next."

"Although I didn’t experience what you went through last night, I believe the suspect must have already appeared. But Brother Chen said if there’s no evidence to prove the suspect, they’ll always just be a suspect!"

"So, Brother Chen, if we want to catch the culprit within 24 hours, the most important thing right now is to find evidence, right?"

"Yes, but we haven’t even found the motive for the crime; how can we search for evidence? Both victims were strangled in the simplest way, and nothing useful was found from their bodies or fingernail dirt."

"How can we find evidence? It’s not like we can keep fooling others all the time and fool this time too?"

Chen Xiao asked Xiaoji.

The latter also fell into silence.

After thinking for a few minutes, Xiaoji still shook his head: "Sorry, brother, I really don’t know where the evidence might be!"

"I think if there’s evidence, it should be on the second Qiu Tingfang. Unexpectedly, she should’ve been living domestically, maybe even in Hai City."

"You mean we still need to wait? Wait until all her information is found by the police, then investigate for evidence!"

"Yes, Qiu Tingfang made a big noise about seeking relatives when she returned home. Not just Hai City, but even surrounding cities would know about it." Saying this, Chen Xiao suddenly fell silent, muttering:

"Huh, why did I mention surrounding cities?"

Chen Xiao himself didn’t react to his casual words, even including Xiuzhou.

And Xiuzhou now looks like a key place in the whole case.

Seeing Xiaoji losing focus while driving, Chen Xiao reminded: "Don’t think about it, it won’t be long before Qiu Tingfang’s identity appears, then make discoveries."

"Well, do you think the bag of Hsu Fu Chi candies left by the relative-seeking Qiu Tingfang has any deeper meaning?" Xiaoji asked again.

Chen Xiao instantly frowned.

If Xiaoji hadn’t reminded him, he had indeed nearly forgotten those three words, Hsu Fu Chi.

After pondering, Chen Xiao said: "Xiaoji, change direction, go check out Xu Fuji’s Diner at Night Market Street again, though it was a coincidence that we found it, it feels like we missed something!"

Upon hearing Chen Xiao say that, Xiaoji naturally changed direction to head toward Night Market Street.

But as the car stopped again at Xu Fuji’s Diner, Chen Xiao looked through the window at the scene inside, his face suddenly changed.

Inside the diner, why did it feel... smashed?