Chapter 10: Family of the Three
After completing the simple report on the corpses, Xu Yiman pushed the door open and left.
At this point, Jiang He turned his back on Xu Yiman. His eyes were staring off into the distance that he didn’t even notice when Xu Yiman approached him. Jiang He had his gaze glued on the crematorium in front of him while standing still like a sculpture at this moment. An individual’s physical journey came to an end there. The moment they departed from the crematorium, the individual will cease to exist. You can’t even keep a pair of skins in this world.
Xu Yiman was rather familiar with this procedure. It was determined whether the cause of death must be investigated after their death. A necessitated autopsy was not often conducted under the circumstances of natural death. A funeral parlor must perform an autopsy on the body when a hospital was unable to identify the cause of death in order to ascertain whether homicide or suicide was suspected.
The body was re-stitched once the anatomy was finished.
The corpse was given mortuary makeup and attired in new clothes thanks to the family members’ efforts.
The corpse would accept the reverence of its family and friends before concluding the cremation.
In the end, only a handful of ashes would remain as proof that this individual had ever existed.
After the initial processes were conducted in certain rural areas, the corpse was returned to the chosen burial site for burial and eventually became the nourishment of the earth.
Worship from family and friends should be taking place right now at the distant crematorium.
Their weeping was fairly intriguing because Xu Yiman can hear it from time to time as the relatives and friends entered the hall. Men and women, young and old, their voices were both melancholic and emotional. The wailing, though, subsided abruptly as soon as the relatives and friends left the hall, seemingly nothing had ever happened.
She wasn’t certain how great the sobbing scene was compared to the present small fresh meat should these people be actors.
Xu Yiman helplessly shook her head.
“I don’t grasp this kind of behavior,” Jiang He said, not looking back. “If you pay close attention to how the appearance of these people, their eyes were devoid of tears, yet their cries were the loudest. There’s an 80% chance that these people’s weeping was staged based on the manner in which they entered and exited. Can’t you see that the deceased’s family members are too stupid?”
Xu Yiman looked at Jiang He, and just as Jiang He couldn’t understand these people, neither could Xu Yiman.
“It’s not that they didn’t notice it. Everyone knew they were only faking it,” Xu Yiman explained.
Jiang He turned to face Xu Yiman: “So I don’t get why they were doing this. Why do they want to come here if there is no true desire to respect them?”
“Death is wonderful.” Xu Yiman was taken aback when she realized Jianghe in front of him was like a child that didn’t seem to grasp any human nature in this world: “People have died. They must always attend the funeral wailing as relatives, friends, former coworkers, or former pals. This works in this society’s favor since you would be shunned otherwise.”
Jiang He shook his head again: “I still don’t understand, so what is genuine crying?”
Xu Yiman looked at Jiang He, who had a doubtful expression on his face. Xu Yiman could tell that Jiang He was not making a joke of his own but simply didn’t understand.
‘What is genuine crying?’ For a long time, Xu Yiman looked at Jiang He and mulled over the question deeply. Xu Yiman was at a loss for words.
She had to ask.”Wait for the right moment. When you’re a forensic doctor or a criminal police officer, you can’t see anything else. You will understand sooner or later.”
Jiang He gave a nod.
Captain Wang Chao had just concluded his inquiry into Li Weiyi when Xu Yiman with Jianghe and the autopsy report arrived at the branch. Wang Chao came to the conclusion that Li Weiyi’s alibi could not be established.
Li Weiyi worked as a salesperson in a rubber factory. His primary responsibility was to manage outside businesses and attract clients, like tyre factories. Li Weiyi’s day-to-day work was simple yet complex at the same time. He would only need to run around different factories each day, and he was either inside the factory or on his way to it.
The bulk of these factories was situated in the suburbs, where the monitoring equipment was inadequate.
According to the person in question, he was on his way to the factory around eleven o’clock in the morning.
Li Weiyi had no evidence, nevertheless, implying that he could have returned home at noon.
When confronted with such a conclusion, suspicions permeated Li Weiyi.
According to Xu Yiman: “I am not a criminal police officer, but I am aware that in order to determine if a person is a criminal, their motive must be ascertained. Isn’t it impossible to kill for passion?”
“Killing with zeal?” When Wang Chao heard Xu Yiman’s words, he nodded seriously and said, “To say this passionate killing is actually really possible.”
“What were the findings of your investigation?” Jiang He inquired.
Wang Chao nodded and described what he knew so far: He Huijuan and Li Weiyi had been married for five years and he was an urban child. She worked as a salesman in a city clothing store after failing the college entrance examination. The pay was neither high nor low; it was barely enough for meals and renting a house. He Huijuan’s family started urging her to get married when she was twenty years old and had been working as a salesperson for two years.
The matchmaker introduced Li Weiyi, a man five years her senior, to He Huijuan in line with her family’s wishes. Li Weiyi was from the countryside. He had consistently put a lot of effort into working and studying diligently, and was eventually accepted to a second-tier university in Longcheng City. After a few years of hard work, his family smashed pots and sold iron to raise more than 100,000 yuan for his son’s down payment on an 80-square-meter commercial house in the city. Despite the space being small, there were two bedrooms and one living room. Despite its small size, the sparrow has all of its internal organs.
While He Huijuan was not from the countryside, she was likewise reasonably appealing. She couldn’t bear looking at the simple and unsightly Li Weiyi.
He Huijuan was persuaded by some friends and relatives that as long as he was honest, it didn’t matter whether he was unattractive. You can put off experiencing happiness until after you got married.
Therefore, Li Weiyi and He Huijuan tied the knot.
Others had foreseen that the marriage would result in adverse outcomes. He Huijuan basically opened her mouth at home with clothes and food, and Li Weiyi served her as if she were a Galeries Lafayette. So much so that for the first six months of her marriage, He Huijuan gave up her employment and stayed at home every day.
[ TN: Galeries Lafayette is the most luxurious mall in Paris ]
He Huijuan has never worked again ever since.
Her routine life started with her asking a couple of her friends to go shopping or play computer at home, followed by cooking at home by herself.
When Li Weiyi’s mother, Wu Guifeng, moved in three years ago, the situation was finally resolved.
So He Huijuan no longer had to cook by herself, and Wu Guifeng took over.
Wu Guifeng’s activities were consistent over the course of three years.
She made breakfast for the family and afterward, went out for morning exercises daily at six o’clock.
Wu Guifeng possessed one of the most distinctive traits of the era: she liked picking up some junk at home.
He Huijuan argued with Wu Guifeng frequently as a consequence, but Wu Guifeng never returned her mouth, discreetly tidying up as much as she could instead.
Even though she can only sell the junk for more than a dozen RMB each time, she continued to collect it.
Wu Guifeng was content to do it nonetheless, even if it took three years.
Subsequently, she took the rags and vegetables she had purchased and prepared lunch for He Huijuan.
She set out on her own journey again after lunch.
It was like a never-ending pendulum, day after day, year after year.
The neighbors praised Wu Guifeng and her son Li Weiyi for their honesty.
Parents of junior high school students on the opposite side often overheard He Huijuan yelling at Li Weiyi and even Wu Guifeng late at night, every now and then using foul language.
The general gist was that she detested Wu Guifeng for eating more and doing nothing but living in the family-purchased house, and she reproached Li Weiyi for earning less money.
At this stage, the two honest people were simply listening quietly without retorting.
Jiang He stated, “Wu Guifeng and Li Weiyi were both very simple people who can save money, but He Huijuan and these two people were diametrically contrasted. What does it demonstrate when He Huijuan’s mouse cost more than the clothes of two people? It reveals that these two people cared deeply about He Huijuan.”
“We can deduce something from your description” Jianghe stated.
“He Huijuan was jobless, which meant He Huijuan had no money and all expenses were borne solely by Li Weiyi,” Jiang He continued. “Do you know what Li Weiyi’s salary is?”
“The base salary is two thousand, and when the commission is added, it is estimated to be around three thousand to four thousand RMB a month,” said Wang Chao.
“Considering He Huijuan’s underwear is so expensive, the outerwear isn’t going to be cheap either.”
Jiang He remarked unequivocally: “The computer is estimated to cost tens of thousands of yuan, and the various cosmetics also cost 6,000 RMB. Income and expenditure do not appear equal for a family with a mortgage. Something must be wrong with it.”
Jiang He raised his finger as he spoke, “There is a 60% chance that He Huijuan has a channel to acquire money from other places.”
“She was the sole child. It could be family money,” Wang Chao speculated.
“That is incorrect.”
“There is another question,” Jiang He said again. “While I don’t completely grasp it, it is unusual for a couple to have no children after five years of marriage based on my observations. There would be three conclusions then: either one or both men and women experience reproductive issues. Both of them had agreed to refrain from having children after marriage. Or that one of them was unwilling to have children.”
Wang Chao shrugged: “So, which one of these is most likely?”
“How could I know this? This is a matter between husband and wife.” Jiang He shook his head.
“Can’t you tell it?”
“I thought you could tell everything,” Wang Chao sighed.
“I’m not a fairy,” Jiang He said innocently. “Only information allows me to infer probability. I can’t draw any conclusions without information, so we need to find out now.”