Fire to the Abyss

After Zhang Chi was interrogated for the first time, he never confessed a word, and was soon handed over to the criminal investigation department of the District Public Security Bureau for management, which had nothing to do with the Chengzhou detachment.Xia Yan took sick leave for a week and returned to his original life at home alone.

During this period, Zheng Xing endured three large-scale criticism meetings, and there were countless minor criticisms. Fortunately, Liu Yaowen helped him say a few good words, which prevented him from dismounting immediately, but the decision implemented by the district was to stay on probation , Just like the delinquent teenagers who commit crimes in the school stay in school for observation.But Zheng Xing was more aggrieved, because he didn't do anything wrong, the most he could do was to hire a poor person.

Xia Yan, as the detachment leader, originally had to bear some joint and several responsibilities, but because he had meritorious deeds in solving the case, he was not held accountable for his merits and demerits, so he was inevitably criticized—that is, unilaterally scolded, and because he took sick leave to escape. up.However, the matter of him smoking in the lounge has to be investigated, because the smell of smoke in that room is too strong, and it hasn't been cleared for several days, which seriously affects the image of the district police.The only member of the Chengzhou Detachment who was commended was the hero Zhang Xiaowu, but he returned to his hometown the next day after receiving the commendation.

As for Liu Yaowen, he held a special funeral for Chen Zhifeng. The major media and even some little-known online media received invitations to the funeral.After the funeral ceremony, Liu Yaowen explained the progress of the case to the major media—the murderer had been arrested. After investigation, the murderer was a member of the Puppet Master. Then he read a eulogy in tears, describing how he and Chen Zhifeng met, how Brotherly love, and finally strongly condemned the criminal organization Puppet Master with an indignant tone.When the major media reported this incident, they all used words such as "the light of justice" and "No.1 who spoke out bravely" to describe Liu Yaowen, and successfully won a wave of votes for the district mayor election.

Comrade Xia Yan, the "blessed general" who really revealed the truth, was nestled on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket that was so old that the color could not be seen clearly, with only a pair of eyes exposed, staring motionlessly at the TV screen. Secretary Liu of the statement.

He originally thought that although the case was solved, there was no winner, but now it seems that this is not the case.

That night, Xia Yan put on his overcoat and drove quietly to the cemetery where Chen Zhifeng's bones were buried.The caretaker of this cemetery is much more conscientious than the caretaker of a certain urban-rural fringe area who only knows how to bask in the sun. The ground is spotlessly cleaned and the lawn is extraordinarily neat.Xia Yan walked in according to the administrator's instructions, but saw a familiar figure in front of Chen Zhifeng's tomb.

"Zheng Bureau?" Xia Yan called out tentatively, not quite sure in his heart, the clothes were familiar, the loose top of the head was familiar, but the figure was not familiar, the size seemed wrong, it seemed to be one size smaller than before.

The man turned around in response, and it really was Zheng Xing.

"Xia Yan, why are you here?"

"There are too many people during the day, I'm here to pay respects to Lao Chen," Xia Yan said while looking at Zheng Xing's stomach, and couldn't help but patted it with his hands, "Where are the things here?"

Zheng Xing didn't know, so: "What?"

Xia Yan: "Meat, meat!"

Zheng Xing: "Don't mention it, I'm full from being scolded every day, how can I care about eating? I've been here for a week, and I can't hold on to the meat, so worry."

Xia Yan's gaze shifted from Zheng Xing's stomach to his face: "Leader, I feel that you seem to be different today, you seem to be more...human?"

Zheng Xing half knelt down, lit incense and said, "Could it be that I'm usually indifferent?"

Xia Yan nodded, and squatted down with Zheng Xing: "It's not that you are indifferent, but the instructions you usually give are quite concise and concise. You don't even give me a chance to express my opinions."

Zheng Xing looked up at Xia Yan: "What's your opinion?"

Xia Yan quickly waved his hands: "Don't dare, dare not."

Looking at the pitch-black sky, Zheng Xing sighed: "Actually, I'm pretty good at chattering, but that's what a leader has to do. If you don't be cold, how can you hold down your big Buddha? Which leader do you see talking nonsense?"

Xia Yan: "Oh, the leaders I've met, except for you, seem to be full of nonsense." Especially a certain secretary surnamed Liu, but considering the identity of the sleeping person in front of him, Xia Yan swallowed the words back. .

Zheng Xing: "..."

Having said that, Xia Yan seems to be able to understand Zheng Xing's way of life, and he is respectful to his superiors, because he has no backer, and his whole body cannot support him to sit in this position. He sharpened the edges and corners to be as round as a belly, Only then can you go further in your official career.The backbone of the Chengzhou detachment is the young people headed by Xia Yan. Many of them are inexperienced and have many and complicated ideas. Appropriate alienation and indifference are easier to manage, otherwise he will be given ten sentences for a single order.

The two paid their respects in front of Chen Zhifeng's tomb, gave their former comrades an environmentally friendly "villa car", and talked a lot before getting ready to leave.Of course, Zheng Xing was mainly talking about the situation of Chen Zhifeng's family, including the big pagoda tree in front of his house. able to chat”, no wonder he can even coax Liu Xiuyun well.

As soon as Xia Yan got up, he heard Zheng Xing's "Ouch" behind him, and he looked back: "What's wrong?"

Zheng Xing: "My leg is numb, help me."

Xia Yan: "..."

Xia Yan struggled to lift up Zheng Xing, who was twice his size, and put him on the bench next to him to sit down. As the saying goes, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, even if Zheng Xing was reduced by one size, Xia Yan It's okay to be tired and out of breath.In order to express his apology, Zheng Xing decided to invite Xia Yan to his house for dinner.

Xia Yan panted heavily and asked, "Now?"

Zheng Xing: "Yeah, you probably haven't had dinner yet, and neither have I."

Xia Yan: "It's true that there is no..."

Zheng Xing looked down at his watch: "It's almost ten o'clock, if you don't go home, my old lady will scold me, so go to my house to eat, I'll tell her to cook more dishes."

Xia Yan: "It's so late, it's not good to trouble my sister-in-law so much."

Zheng Xing waved his hand: "It's okay, I have the final say on our family, I will call her now."

After finishing speaking, Zheng Xing took out his mobile phone and made a call, got up and walked outside the cemetery.Xia Yan was afraid that his leg would not recover well, if he bumped accidentally and had to carry it by himself, he quickly lifted his heel up.

Then Xia Yan heard Mrs. Zheng's extremely penetrating voice coming through the receiver: "Bah, old man, why don't you come home so late, and still want to order my mother to do something? Just starve to death outside!"

"It's just one meal today, please, I'll be responsible for the food for a month from tomorrow, okay?"

Even though Zheng Xing lowered his voice and covered his lips with his hands, Xia Yan could still hear clearly, and he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Zheng Xing said a few more good words amidst the other party's cursing, and Mrs. Zheng reluctantly complied.Zheng Xing hung up the phone, turned back and smiled at Xia Yan: "Hey, she has the final say on small matters, and I have final say on big ones."

Xia Yan nodded knowingly, and whispered: "Well, it's usually not a big deal."

In view of Zheng Xing's aloof image, the people in the detachment were not very close to him, and Xia Yan had never been to Zheng Xing's house.

Zheng Xing's house is in an old apartment building, which is about the same age as Xia Yan's house, but the inside is quite different from Xia Yan's kennel.The furniture in the house is simple and tidy, the marble floor is shiny, a cross talk is playing on the TV in the living room, the smell of food and the sound of the hostess busy coming from the kitchen.The whole room is illuminated by warm yellow lights, and there is an indescribable warmth and tranquility.

Hearing Mrs. Zheng's voice, Xia Yan thought she was a fierce and sturdy woman like Liu Xiuyun, even if she was not as round as Zheng Xing, at least she would have a strong back.After meeting, I found that she was actually a well-maintained woman with a kind smile, neither fat nor thin, and her figure was quite well-proportioned.She was wearing a light-yellow home dress, with thin eyebrows and almond eyes, and crow's feet at the corners of her eyes, which were not deep enough to be obvious when she smiled.Although the skin on his face was a little loose, he could vaguely see the charm of his youth - he was undoubtedly a beauty, with a simple bun on his head, which made him look particularly energetic.

When Xia Yan entered the door, she called "Sister-in-law", and when she heard the sound, her hands were still stained with wet water. When she saw Xia Yan, she immediately burst into laughter.

"Oh, I'm two rounds older than you, how can I afford you to call me 'sister-in-law'?"

Xia Yan scratched his head, sincerely surprised: "Two rounds? Impossible?"

Zheng Xing hung up his coat and led Xia Yan into the room: "She is the same age as me. My son is not at home, and we are the only old couple at home. You can sit wherever you want."

Xia Yan can't remember Zheng Xing's age clearly, but he has a son who is the same age as Xia Yan, so Mrs. Zheng must be fifty at least.Xia Yan couldn't help but look at this still charming woman twice, wondering if her mother would look like this if she was still alive.

Mrs. Zheng's words were swift and swift, and she acted swiftly and resolutely. In a short time, she cooked a large table of dishes with all the flavors and colors. Xia Yan ate a decent meal for the first time in a long time.

During the dinner, Mrs. Zheng peeked at Xia Yan from time to time, and stopped talking several times. Xia Yan finally couldn't help asking: "Sister-in-law, what do you want to say?"

Mrs. Zheng stammered and said: "...It's nothing, I just think...you look like an old friend of mine..."

After finishing speaking, Mrs. Zheng poked Zheng Xing with her elbow: "Hey, don't you think this young man looks a bit like Nian Nian?"

Zheng Xing put down his chopsticks, and showed a kind smile to his wife: "Let me ask you, who did Niannian marry?"

Mrs. Zheng: "Same as you, the policeman, the surname seems to be Xia."

Zheng Xing then asked: "Then let me ask you again, what is this young man's last name?"

"Nonsense, Xia Yan, of course the surname is Xia..." Mrs. Zheng suddenly realized, hey, wait a minute, is he Nian Nian's son? "

Zheng Xing patted her on the head lightly, and said insincerely: "You are so smart. You have never met his younger brother, that child is more like Nian Nian."

Mrs. Zheng punched him backhanded immediately: "Then why didn't you say it earlier? If I knew it was Nian Nian's son, I would buy more food and come back. I didn't send Nian Nian back when he left..."

Xia Yan finally knew how Xia Lin persuaded Zheng Xing to let him go to the detachment for an internship. It turned out that there was such a relationship, but Xia Yan himself didn't know about it. How did Xia Lin know?

Xia Yan: "Sister-in-law, do you know my mother?"

Mrs. Zheng: "It's not just about knowing each other. She and I were best sisters when she was still alive. We grew up together. I hugged you when you were just born...how come you are so big in a blink of an eye? Xiaoyan, how old are you this year?"

Before Xia Yan could answer, Mrs. Zheng replied, "It's almost thirty. Not long after Nian Nian gave birth to you, my child was also born."

Xia Yan nodded: "Well, 29, there are two months left to turn [-]."

"29, 30 years, so many years have passed in a flash..."

Madam Zheng's expression became a little dazed for a moment, and the brilliance in her eyes disappeared, leaving only a pair of cloudy pupils.It was only then that Xia Yan saw a senile look on her face that matched her age.

Zheng Xing served his wife a bowl of hot soup, and rubbed his hand on her face, "Old lady, why are you so sad? Nian Nian has reached the age of marriage after reincarnation, and is now happy."

"...Yeah, what the old man said is right, blame me," Mrs. Zheng sniffed, grinned, and the light in her eyes came back, "Xiaoyan, don't bark anymore. But I recognized you as a godson, you were only so young at that time..."

While she was speaking, she gestured in the air with her hands, Xia Yan felt that what she described was a ball.

After eating, Mrs. Zheng rummaged through the boxes and cabinets to find a few old photo albums, pulled Xia Yan to sit down on the sofa, and recalled the youthful years of the two little sisters in front of the yellowed photos.

I have to say that Xia Lin is really similar to her mother. There is a black and white photo of her in her teens. She has short hair that reaches her ears and stands stiffly in front of a house. This appearance is almost exactly the same as Xia Lin's when he was a child. When he was a child, he always had a stinky face towards everyone, and he only liked to smile when he grew up.

Xia Yan took old photos with his mobile phone. Before that, he had never seen his mother when she was young. Since she passed away, except for the group photo in his father's wallet, there was no one in his old home. Additional photos.And his father deliberately didn't mention his mother's matter, Xia Yan knew that it had become an untouchable permafrost in his father's heart, so he never asked.