Under Han Bin's suggestion, Village Chief Lin called Cao Erhu's brother, Cao Dalong, over.
Cao Dalong was a man in his forties. He was wearing an old down jacket and looked very honest. "Village Chief, you were looking for me?"
"Dalong, these three are police officers from the city. They want to know more about you," Lin Qingguo said.
Cao Dalong was stunned for a moment. He looked at Han Bin and the other two and squeezed out a smile. "Officers, what can I do for you?"
"Don't be nervous. We're here to ask about your brother, Cao Erhu," Han Bin said.
Cao Dalong heaved a sigh of relief and mumbled, "I knew it. The weather has been cold recently. I don't go out much. Why would the police be looking for me?"
"When was the last time you saw Cao Erhu?" Han Bin asked.
"It should have been more than ten years."
"It's been ten years. You haven't been in contact?" Tian Li asked in surprise.
"Back then, he chased me through half the village with a sickle. After that, we didn't have much contact. Why would I contact him? I asked him to kill me." Cao Dalong snorted.
"It's been so many years. You still can't let it go?" Han Bin probed.
"I'm the elder brother, and he's the younger brother. They say that an elder brother is like a father, but he beat me like a grandson. I couldn't even lift my head in the village for so many years. After that, no one in the village took me seriously. This incident will never be forgotten. They'll treat it as a joke for the rest of their lives. How can I let it go?" Cao Dalong clenched his fists, his brows furrowed.
Han Bin had been observing him. He patted his shoulder. "Let's go. Bring us to Cao Erhu's house."
"Officer, I haven't been there for so many years. I don't want to go either," Cao Dalong said stubbornly.
"Alright, alright. What Dalong? Look at you. Hurry up and bring the police to take a look," Lin Qingguo urged.
Someone had to do the work. If Cao Dalong didn't go, it might be him. It was such a cold day, and he was old. Who would want to move?
Although Cao Dalong was unwilling, he still had to give face to the village chief. "Alright, I'll bring you there."
The four of them left the village committee. On the way to Cao Erhu's house, Han Bin asked, "Cao Dalong, does your brother have a good relationship with anyone in the village?"
"Yes, why not? They're just a bunch of scoundrels." Cao Dalong couldn't help but sigh.
Cao Erhu's current state had a lot to do with this group of scoundrels.
Back then, when Cao Erhu first met these people, Cao Dalong did not dislike them. He even interacted with these scoundrels a few times. In his opinion, the villagers bullied the weak and feared the strong. If he made some friends from the underworld, no one would dare to bully him in the future.
In the beginning, his thoughts were not bad. After Cao Erhu got to know these scoundrels, the villagers were a little afraid of him. Cao Dalong was also a little smug.
In the end, after his parents passed away, the two brothers got into a conflict when they separated from the family. Cao Erhu used all his unscrupulous energy on him.
"Cao Dalong."
Hearing someone call him, Cao Dalong came back to his senses. "Officer Han, what else can I do for you?"
"Tell me the names of Cao Erhu's scoundrels. Give me their full names."
"Okay." Cao Dalong responded and recalled for a while. "Those who are close to Cao Erhu are Zhao Sihai, Wang Baojiang, Yang Jiping, and Sun Yefei."
"Do you have their contact information?"
"I'm not sure about that, but you can ask the village chief. He'll definitely be able to find them," Cao Dalong said.
After walking for a few more minutes, they arrived at the gate of Cao Erhu's house.
There was a big iron gate surrounded by a brick wall.
Cao Dalong ran over and stood at the door. He touched the door and said, "Look, this is such a good house. This kid doesn't want to live in it. Why did he fight with me back then?"
"The conflict between you brothers was because of this house?" Han Bin asked.
"Our family has two houses. This house was built later, and the area is bigger. We agreed a long time ago that I will take care of my parents when they are old and die. This house will be given to me, and he will occupy the smaller house. Who knew what my father meant? This grandson became hostile and came to our house every day to make trouble. He held a sickle and wanted to fight with me. He forced our family to live in the smaller house. Don't you think this grandson is inhumane?" Cao Dalong said through gritted teeth.
"Open the door."
"I don't have the key." Cao Dalong shook his head.
Zhao Ming took out a big pliers from the trunk of the car and broke the lock on the door.
Cao Dalong couldn't wait to open the door and walked into the yard. He stood at the entrance of the yard and was stunned. He cursed, "This grandson is really f * cking inhumane. He made a good yard into a wasteland."
Han Bin walked over and glanced at the yard. There was a brick road in the middle, and yellow weeds grew on both sides. The tallest one was three feet high. It was not a problem to hide a few people.
"It's been more than ten years. You haven't come to see."
"See what? If that grandson finds out and chases me with a sickle again, I won't be able to live in the village anymore," Cao Dalong said helplessly.
The yard was covered with yellow weeds. There was nothing to see.
"Let's go into the house and take a look," Han Bin said.
"Officer Han, which house do you want to go into? Both the south and north rooms of this house can be lived in. My parents used to live in the south room. My family lived in the north room. The east room is a guest room or a storage room."
"Zhao Ming, open all the locks and look one by one," Han Bin ordered.
"Yes."
Zhao Ming opened the door of the south room.
"Achoo …" Tian Li sneezed. There was too much dust in the house. Every step left a footprint.
Cao Dalong hurriedly walked inside. He was pulled back by Han Bin. "Don't run around. Stay behind me."
"Okay," Cao Dalong replied.
The south room was divided into two rooms. The outer room was larger. It was used as a living room. There was a coffee table, sofa, and chairs. The inner room had a big kang bed. It could easily sleep five or six people.
"It's ruined. It's such a good house. When I left it, it was as good as new. After so many years of no one living in it, the walls are all gloomy and cracked. Why didn't this grandson live in it? Why did he fight with me?" Cao Dalong slapped his thigh and said angrily.
Han Bin walked around the house. There was dust everywhere. No one had been here for many years. There was nothing suspicious in the house.
After leaving the south room, the group went into the north room.
Cao Dalong was even more excited when he arrived at the house. This was the house that his family lived in. As soon as he entered, he pointed to the sofa in the living room.
"Look, such a good sofa. I had to save money to buy it. This grandson doesn't live here anymore. He doesn't even know how to cover the sofa. Son of a bitch."
Han Bin looked around. The furniture in this room was obviously more high-end. There was a big color TV, chandelier, air conditioner, and patterned floorboards in the living room.
There was a piece of the floor beside the sofa that was charred black. It looked like it had been burned.
"Oh my, such a good floorboard. Why did he burn it? This grandson is a prodigal," Cao Dalong shouted.
Han Bin frowned slightly. On the opposite wall, there was a calendar from 2009. However, this calendar was only half a meter off the ground. Han Bin felt uncomfortable looking at it.
"Your family's calendars are all hung so low?" Han Bin asked.
"No, this calendar wasn't here before. It was over there." Cao Dalong pointed to the opposite wall.
Han Bin looked in the direction Cao Dalong was pointing, and sure enough, he found a nail hole.
Han Bin walked to the side of the calendar. There was nothing unusual. He took the calendar down and found that there were scratches on the wall behind it.
"This grandson, why did he damage the wall like this? He did it on purpose." Cao Dalong was like a resentful wife when he entered the house. He didn't stop talking.
"Is there anything different about the furniture and decorations in this house compared to when you lived here before?" Han Bin asked.
"There's nothing else. This grandson doesn't stay at home. He doesn't cook or decorate at home. He's so lazy." Cao Dalong didn't give up any chance to complain about Cao Erhu.
Han Bin looked at the scratched wall, the disharmonious calendar, and the burnt marks on the ground. He was deep in thought.
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