“Heiyo hei hei hei yo hei, heiyo heiyo hei you hei!”

The old Daoist shouted in rhythm as he shoveled the soil, one scoop after another.

Old Zhang, beside him, did the same, each shovel biting into the earth.

In the summer evening, both men were drenched in sweat, their clothes soaked through.

Zhou Ze sat on a stone block on the side of the road, silently smoking a cigarette.

This scene had become almost standard fare at the Late Night Bookstore.

Of course, wanting the boss to take the lead in any physical labor was impossible; the employees of the bookstore had grown accustomed to this.

In fact, the fact that the boss was even there was enough to be moving.

“Aiya…”

The old Daoist, clutching his old back, stopped and spat on the ground.

He said,

“Old Zhang, couldn’t we just call a backhoe from Lanxiang Technical School?”

Old Zhang shook his head and said, “No, that would make too much noise.”

“Isn’t it the same now?” the old Daoist said helplessly.

Old Zhang stopped and glanced at the boss. A faint miasma of baleful energy surrounded the boss's fingertips, enough to shield the perception of the three of them there.

Even if someone walked past, they wouldn’t notice anything amiss, so there was no chance of alerting anyone.

This was, in fact, the best cover. It could be said that the old Daoist might have coincidentally gained enlightenment, but sometimes he was so ordinary and mundane that he couldn’t see it.

“Keep digging. I think we’re almost there,” Old Zhang said.

“These old arms and legs of mine… I need to rest, or else you’ll dig out a pit and just bury me in it.”

The old Daoist plopped down on the ground, wiping away sweat with the sleeve of his Daoist robe.

He was truly weak, especially after almost being turned into an old fool by the attacking Jiangshi a while ago.

Old Zhang continued to dig, one scoop after another, as if he didn't know what fatigue was.

“I say, Old Zhang, it’s still early. You should rest too. Back when you were helping people in the fields, you’d still sit on the ridge and have a drink of water.”

“He’s been buried in there for sixteen years.”

“Sigh.”

The old Daoist sighed and said, “That fellow looked so peaceful when he was sent down. Maybe he had already seen through it all. To be trapped here for sixteen years and not become a vengeful spirit.”

Ordinary souls, if treated this way, would have become vengeful spirits long ago. The resentment accumulated over sixteen years shouldn't be underestimated.

But he came peacefully and left peacefully, free and natural, leaving a deep impression on the old Daoist.

“Old Daoist.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“What did you want to say?”

“I’m a police officer. After learning about this, I feel bad.”

“Aiyo yo, don’t feel bad, don’t feel bad. Sixteen years ago, you were still young. Besides, Tong City is so big, you’re not the City God, how could you know everything?”

“I’m thinking, if I had known sixteen years ago, what would I have done?”

Old Zhang’s question silenced the old Daoist.

The old Daoist had wandered for most of his life, so how could he not understand many things, many feelings, many principles?

There weren’t many absolutely good people in this world, nor were there many absolutely bad people. Most people were just muddling through life… just drifting.

But this question was too emotional, and discussing it was pointless. But after thinking about it, the old Daoist still said:

“Actually, this humble Daoist believes that if it were sixteen years ago, you would have helped him.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The old Daoist seemed to have caught his breath and stood up again, ready to help Old Zhang continue digging. He swung the shovel and pointed to the village boundary marker that had been dug up and tilted by the two of them.

He said:

“In the future, we can erect a statue here, with a couplet on either side.

On the left: ‘The Gentleman’s noble righteousness, his moral integrity will last forever.’

On the right: ‘A den of snakes and rats, birds of a feather.’”

“Hehe, eh, we dug it up, we dug it up!”

Old Zhang shouted and quickly dropped the shovel to use his hands to dig.

Below was a burlap sack, and a fishy smell permeated the air as soon as it was unearthed.

Fortunately, all three of them present had seen their share of big scenes, and no one really cared about that.

“I say, Old Zhang, how are you going to explain to the bureau how you knew there was a person buried down here?” the old Daoist asked curiously, leaning on the shovel.

Old Zhang was taken aback.

He pursed his lips and said:

“I went back and checked the files and found that the deceased’s family had reported to the local police station after the deceased went missing, saying that the deceased might have been buried under here, because the construction was going on here to install the newly purchased boundary marker when the deceased disappeared.”

The old Daoist licked his lips.

For a moment,

He really didn’t know what to say.

Zhou Ze silently got up,

Glanced at the excavated bones,

And said:

“Alright.”

………………

The police car drove into the village.

As luck would have it,

Today was the old village chief’s seventieth birthday.

Many guests had come from far and wide.

It was said that there were some prominent figures among them.

A row of luxury cars was parked in front of the village chief’s house, a sight that made people gawk.

The old village chief had three sons:

The eldest worked for the city government;

The second owned a construction company;

The youngest was the most unpromising, having taken over his father’s position.

Therefore, the current village chief of Chen Family Village was the old village chief’s youngest son.

The village chief’s house was built with great extravagance, and a continuous feast was laid out in the open space.

In fact, the crackdown on this kind of practice had been severe in recent years. Ordinary civil servants were required to limit the number of tables at their banquets and were not allowed to hold lavish affairs.

Of course, this had led to weddings that lasted for days. So many tables today, so many tables tomorrow, so many tables the day after tomorrow. Anyway, it didn't exceed the limit; they just multiplied it by the number of days.

But something like this, so blatant, was really surprising.

It was unclear whether they hadn’t understood the spirit of the regulations or whether they really thought of themselves as local overlords.

The police car entered with its siren blaring.

But only one car came.

The rest of the team had been arranged by Old Zhang to set up a cordon in the vicinity.

In fact, some subordinates had wanted to come in with him, but in cases involving organized crime, there was a real concern that the other party would take the risk.

But Old Zhang had directly refused.

The old man was sitting upright at the main table, having just listened to the younger generations come up one by one to say auspicious words.

He was smiling and handing out red envelopes, enjoying the joys of family.

There was also a master of ceremonies holding a microphone, singing the praises of the old village chief's great contribution and dedication to the development of Chen Family Village.

He had dedicated most of his life to the villagers of Chen Family Village. He was the patriarch of everyone in Chen Family Village. He couldn’t sleep or eat in peace because he was thinking about how to help Chen Family Village get rich and escape poverty...

The lively and noisy scene was like a "dreamlike" ukiyo-e.

In contrast, there were the withered bones buried under the village boundary marker for sixteen years.

Only now did Old Zhang understand the meaning of what the boss had once said: "Heaven is mostly blind."

The harsh siren broke the atmosphere here.

Old Zhang got out of the car, followed by two detectives.

The guests present were all looking at Old Zhang and his men, and everyone was a little confused about what was going on.

A bald man with a greasy face and a bulging belly walked over.

He said with a smile:

“Yo, isn’t this Captain Wu? What wind has brought you here? Come, come, have a drink, have a drink. Thank you, Captain Wu, for giving me this face.”

Old Zhang didn’t recognize the person in front of him, but it was clear that the other party knew him.

This was the old village chief’s eldest son, who worked for the city government. He couldn’t be considered a high-ranking official.

But as Grandma Liu said when she entered the Grand View Garden: "Even a hair pulled from your body is thicker than the waist of our small family."

The old village chief was still sitting there steadily, holding the hand of a great-grandson next to him, with the demeanor of a great general.

Old Zhang ignored the eldest son who had come up to curry favor and instead took out the arrest warrant.

He said in a deep voice:

“Chen Jiade, Chen Shunkang, Chen Jianguo, Chen Jianbin, you are now approved to be arrested by the public security organs for suspected intentional homicide. Now, please return to the police station with us to cooperate with the next investigation!”

The banquet immediately erupted.

It was the seventieth birthday, with distinguished guests in attendance, and the police came directly to arrest people. This was truly a bittersweet moment.

Most of the people inside were there to watch the fun, but some who had ties to the Chen family were also nervous at this time.

Old Zhang stepped forward, took out handcuffs, and personally handcuffed the old village chief.

He noticed that the old village chief's youngest son was standing on the side with his fists clenched, as if he was restraining something.

Old Zhang pretended not to see it.

To be honest,

He was hoping that the other party would attack.

Of course,

It would be even better if he used a knife.

It would be best if he could pull out a gun.

Perhaps this was the greatest concession that Old Zhang could make within the limits of his principles.

Unfortunately,

The old village chief grabbed his youngest son’s wrist and forced his youngest son to calm down.

Then,

The old village chief stood up unsteadily.

His face was full of wrinkles. Although he still looked strong, he really couldn’t hide the heavy traces of time on his body.

Everything indicated that

In fact,

He really didn’t have many years left to live.

“Last night I had a dream. I dreamed of him, and then I felt that something might happen today.”

The old village chief clasped his hands together and placed them in front of Old Zhang.

Very proactive,

Very proactive,

Really very proactive.

“Did something happen to him?”

The old village chief continued to ask.

Old Zhang narrowed his eyes and didn’t answer, but this was actually a tacit acknowledgment.

The old village chief laughed again.

“Sixteen years ago, he was fifty-two, and I was fifty-four.

Today I am seventy. If he was still here, he could have celebrated his seventieth birthday in a few years.”

Old Zhang silently handcuffed the old village chief.

The old village chief was very cooperative.

He continued:

“I’ve lived the life I should have lived, and I’ve enjoyed what I should have enjoyed. Do you think I lost out?

No, I really didn’t lose out, hahaha…”