novellhall Chapter 153 Searching for People Overnight
Chapter 153 Searching for People Overnight
Lu Congyue hadn't been at the factory and didn't know what had happened at the time, but when Shi Peiran mentioned it, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
Although Niu Jianzhong felt he was right and it was normal for him to suspect Zhuang Qingxiang, his mind went blank after hearing what Shi Peiran said.
Yes, why did we suddenly suspect Zhuang Qingxiang back then?
Haruka Akira wasn't there at the time...
Lu Congyue stared at Niu Jianzhong and said only one word: "Want!"
"You're so dense, think fast!" Niu Jianzhong frantically rummaged through the memories in his head.
Silence as death.
Finally, Niu Jianzhong managed to capture a glimpse of the scene.
"It seems someone said something like, 'How come something happened at the factory as soon as Zhuang Qingxiang returned...'"
As I recall this, the memory gradually becomes clearer.
That's right. At the time, everyone was clueless. Suddenly, someone mentioned it, and someone immediately inquired about Zhuang Qingxiang's situation. After learning that she had hurriedly left with her two children and a bundle early in the morning, everyone immediately turned their attention to Zhuang Qingxiang.
"So, who said that?" Lu Congyue asked in a deep voice.
Niu Jianzhong: ...
My brain is completely fried and I still can't remember.
"Niu Jianzhong!" Lu Congyue called out, and Niu Jianzhong stood up straight instantly, as if in response.
"People leave traces as they pass by, geese leave shadows as they fly by. Since someone mentioned it at the time, someone must have noticed! Go ask, go investigate! Find that person!" Lu Congyue said sternly.
Niu Jianzhong quickly agreed and rushed off to investigate.
There were quite a few onlookers at the scene, and it would take time to check each person individually.
All the security staff were mobilized, while Lu Congyue patiently waited for the person on night duty to arrive.
At seven o'clock, Xiao Sun, who was on duty, came over. He was a young and strong man.
"Reporting to the factory manager, I patrolled the factory after I took over my shift that night, and I didn't see anything," Xiao Sun replied in a loud voice.
"So you didn't see whether Zhuang Qingxiang went out or not, right?" Lu Congyue asked.
Xiao Sun nodded: "No, but I wasn't patrolling there the whole time. Brother Chen told me to patrol along the wall."
Therefore, he cannot be considered an innocent witness for Zhuang Qingxiang; he simply didn't see anything.
Lu Congyue frowned slightly: "Chen Qing? He ordered you to patrol along the wall? Did he specifically instruct you to do so?"
"Yes," Xiao Sun answered frankly. "Brother Chen said he was worried something might happen at night, so he told me to be more alert and walk around the wall a couple more times."
Why did he say that?
Xiao Sun scratched his head: "I don't know, isn't that what should be done?"
Lu Congyue told him to call Chen Qing over directly.
Xiao Sun ran out to look for him and came back saying, "Brother Chen isn't at the factory. He said he was called in by the county public security bureau for questioning, and he came back saying he needs to take two days off..."
Lu Congyue directly told him to find someone from the personnel department to open the office door, retrieve Chen Qing's file, check his personal information and address, and also asked Xiao Sun to ask if anyone knew where he lived.
At nine o'clock in the evening, Lu Congyue brought Xiao Sun to Chen Qing's house.
Chen Qing is from a nearby village. He joined the factory after taking up a quota of jobs from the village.
When they found Chen Qing's house, everyone in his family was asleep.
When they heard that they were looking for Chen Qing, his family was at a loss: "Isn't Chen Qing working at the factory? He said he's busy with work and his days and nights are reversed, so it's inconvenient for him to come back. He only comes back once a week, and it's not time for him to come back yet."
Lu Congyue immediately told Xiao Sun to go inside and find someone.
Chen Qing's family was initially stunned, then enraged: "Hey, what are you doing? How can you just barge into someone else's house like that?"
"Excuse me, I need to speak with him urgently. If he's not home, where else could he be?"
"Who...who exactly are you?" Chen Qing's father looked at the imposing man in front of him with some nervousness; he was clearly not an ordinary person.
Lu Congyue: "I am Lu Congyue."
"Director Lu!" Chen Qing's father exclaimed in shock, panicking. "Director Lu, what has my son Chen Qing done wrong?"
"No, no, I just got back from a business trip. I needed to talk to him urgently, but I heard he was on leave, so I came to look for him." Lu Congyue said calmly.
Seeing him like this, Chen Qing's father felt a little relieved, but he still felt that something was wrong. He knew how capable his son was, how could he have caught the eye of a big factory director?
Chen Qing's parents exchanged a glance, then hesitated for a while before saying, "Chen Qing's brother works at the county food factory, and sometimes he goes to stay with his brother for a couple of days..."
As they were talking, Xiao Sun ran back and shook his head: "Brother Chen isn't here."
Lu Congyue nodded slightly, apologized to Chen Qing's parents, and hurriedly left with his grandson.
Late at night, the jeep sped along the country road, and Xiao Sun's head kept hitting the roof of the vehicle, but he dared not complain.
"Factory manager, where are we going now?"
"The county food factory!" Lu Congyue said in a deep voice.
"So late?" Xiao Sun was surprised. "Director Lu, didn't you just get back? Why don't you go home and rest? You can go to the food factory tomorrow."
Who are they going to see so late at night? Factory Director Lu is really confused. Xiao Sun thought to himself.
Lu Congyue couldn't wait even a minute longer.
If Chen Qing really has a problem, the longer he waits, the greater the chance that Chen Qing will escape, and the longer Zhuang Qingxiang will be detained.
When the car arrived at the entrance of the food factory, the security personnel were alarmed and rushed out to see what had happened.
Lu Congyue politely inquired if there was a person named Chen Feng in the factory and where he lived.
The security personnel were very alert: "What did Chen Feng do wrong? He's a temporary worker at our factory. If he's done something wrong..."
"No, I just came to ask if he has seen his brother," Lu Congyue said hurriedly.
These days, it's not easy to find a temporary job, especially for people from the countryside. He didn't want Chen Feng's job to run into trouble.
Hearing that it was just a matter of finding someone, the security personnel took Lu Congyue to the family compound to find Chen Feng.
Chen Feng is already married. His wife is a capable woman who managed to get a room in the family compound.
Startled awake by a knock on the door in the middle of the night, Chen Feng asked if anyone was looking for his younger brother, Chen Qing. His face darkened. "He hasn't come to my place for days. Go look for him somewhere else. Let me make it clear, whatever he did has nothing to do with me. Don't come looking for me to clean up his mess."
"Haven't you come over recently?" Lu Congyue asked seriously.
"No, no," Chen Feng replied. After thinking for a moment, he whispered, "He used to come over all the time to freeload. My wife was unhappy about it, and she scolded him last time and made him leave. I guess he's holding a grudge against my wife, because he hasn't come over since."
His room was so small you could see right to the back. Lu Congyue nodded, "I understand. Besides his home and this place, is there anywhere else he could go?"
Chen Feng shook his head, but then immediately remembered something: "It seems he's dating someone, someone from your factory, but he didn't tell me who it is, only that he was afraid the girl wouldn't like him..."