"You have to say Zhang Tieniu's family." The uncle, who was basking in the sun at the gate of the village committee, couldn't help but talk when he heard their conversation.

"Yes, it's Zhang Tieniu's family. Uncle, do you know the situation of his family? The master asked, leaning down.

"The people of the old Zhang family have long since moved away, and the remaining old house has been uninhabited for a long time." The uncle picked up his pipe, took a puff of cigarette and said.

"Do you know where they've moved?" The master asked.

"Hey, it's forty years younger, and I can't remember it for a long time." Uncle answered some questions that were not what he asked.

"Do you know Zhang Tieniu's son? Can you help me see if it's him? The master handed the photo to the uncle and asked.

"How can I see that. When Tie Niu moved away, the doll was only a little bigger, and he let his mother hold it. ”

Despite saying this, the old man still took the picture from the master's hand.

He looked at it for a long time before he sucked his teeth and said, "This baby looks very similar to Tie Niu when he was young, and it should be his child." ”

The uncle's answer disappointed them. They had come all the way here, and it was impossible for them to just get such an ambiguous answer.

"Uncle, are there any old residents like you in the village? Especially those who are good friends with Zhang Tieniu's family, and those who are neighbors. The master asked in a different direction.

"Xiulan's family lives next to the old house of the Zhang family. That old lady is very nice, go and ask her. After saying that, the uncle smoked his pipe with taste.

As soon as the master finished thanking him, a young cadre came over from the village committee. They didn't help with the previous questioning, but this time they said that they would personally lead the way and lead them to Xiulan's house.

Under the leadership of the village cadres, they walked for about 20 minutes, and this was already the westernmost part of the village. Some of the houses in the mountains were dilapidated, the stone courtyard walls had long since collapsed, and the low stone houses had cracked a few cracks, wide enough to fit into an adult's fist.

The old-fashioned window frames were covered in black, and none of the yellowed window paper was good. Only the wooden door looked fairly strong, and the wind blew through the iron lock on the doorknob, making occasional clanging noises.

"This should be what you can find Zhang Xin's house." The village cadre pointed to the brand new house number on the door frame and said.

"Zhang Xiulan's family is the one in Shangba."

Following his gaze, an ordinary red brick house came into view.

This house should be some years old, but it looks a lot better than the Zhang Xin family below.

Zhang Xiulan is not tall and very fat, and because of her leg disease, she rarely comes out to move around.

Today, the village cadres came to her with two criminal policemen, which made her very excited. Perhaps because she hadn't spoken to anyone for a long time, she talked a lot, and in a few words she talked about the former prosperity of the village......

Speaking of the past, the old man talked about sex a lot. The master moved a small bench and sat in front of the old man, listening attentively to the old man's talk about the ancients, and was a very good listener.

Fortunately, the old man's topic did not extend much, and after lamenting the prosperity of the village before, he talked about Zhang Tieniu's family.

"I was poor at that time. A few people pointed to that bit of land to live, catching up with the disaster year to not have enough food and clothing, and it was easy to encounter a bumper harvest year, and the grain was cheap, and those second-class dealers pressed the price, which was not much better than the disaster year. ”

"The year when Tie Niu's father didn't have it was also such a heavy snowy day. His funeral was organized with the help of our neighbors. When his father left, he completely lost his thoughts about this place, and he took his wife and children out to work in the spring of the next year. ”

"Is their child's name Zhang Xin?" The master asked.

"I don't know the big name, but the little name is Stone." The old man said.

"How many children do they have?"

"That was the same kid when they moved out." The old man's words made the master and Li Muzi a little disappointed.

"Does Zhang Tieniu have any brothers and sisters?"

Wang Qiang and Zhang Xin look so similar that the master suspects that they are related by blood.

"No...... The old Zhang family is the only seedling of the iron cow. The old man said with certainty.

"But we met someone who looked exactly like Zhang Xin outside......" Li Muzi said directly.

"It looks like a stone...... It's impossible, there's only one child in his family. Maybe the child was born later......"

The old man muttered and suddenly patted his leg and said, "I remember, when Tie Niu's daughter-in-law gave birth to a child, some people in the village said that he sold a child......"

"Sold a child?" The old man's words made them feel refreshed immediately.

"I remember that at that time, Tie Niu's father was not in good health, and he was all supported by medicine. Someone chewed on the root of their tongue and said that Tie Niu's daughter-in-law gave birth to twins, and the two of them sold a child in order to treat the old man. ”

"But this matter has been passed on for a while. No one believes it, there are few sons in the village, and no one will sell them. ”

……

The purpose of this trip has been achieved, and the master and Li Muzi made a short stop before embarking on the return journey.

On the way, in order to relieve the tension caused by taking the small bus, Li Muzi chatted with the master.

"Master, this is a bit interesting. Who would have thought that Wang Qiang and Zhang Xin were brothers. But then, we have to find out the whereabouts of another person. ”

"No, I don't. With this information, we went directly to the one in prison. ”

"Do you think the one in prison is Wang Qiang or Zhang Xin?" Li Muzi's eyes flashed with excitement.

"What do you say?" The master threw the question back to him.

"I guess it's Wang Qiang."

"Tell me why?" The master knew that Li Muzi wanted to share his judgment with him, so he asked along the way.

"Names and looks can be wrong, but fingerprints can't be wrong."

"I've seen the material, and identical twins don't just look alike, they even have exactly the same DNA. The only difference is the fingerprint. Speaking of excitement, Li Muzi also stretched out his fingers and gestured.

The master smiled and said nothing, and because of this incident, the time of 1 hour passed quickly.

Next, Li Muzi realized the desperate efforts of the master in the mouth of his colleagues. They did not rest and rushed back to the prison overnight.

Getting off the train, Li Muzi was blown by the cold wind, and the sun fell on him close to noon, as if the heavy snow last night was a dream.

Zhang Xin didn't expect the two criminal policemen to find him again so soon. The apprehension in my heart has not stopped since I entered the door.

"We went to Zhang Xin's hometown and found Zhang's neighbor at the time...... We've got you covered. ”

"What? Don't you say it yet? In fact, whether you say it or not, we can find out, after all, both ID cards are real, and it is not difficult for us to find someone. ”

The master came up and went straight to the point and didn't give him any respite.

"I ...... I say. Zhang Xin lowered his head.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Wang Qiang."

"Why are you pretending to be Zhang Xin?"

"Because I had a criminal record ...... before, I was afraid that the judge would give me a heavier punishment. If I had been a first-time offender in my brother's capacity, he would have been given a lighter sentence. ”

After giving up resistance, Wang Qiang told the truth very smoothly.

"How good it is for you to use this crooked mind in the right way, why don't you do it, you have to do this kind of illegal and criminal thing." Li Muzi couldn't help but educate.

(End of chapter)