The bald man's face instantly turned pale upon hearing Zhang Liunian's words, his mind in a turmoil.
What should he do? He hadn't spent or hidden the two thousand yuan Zhang Liuxing had given him yesterday. If they found it, how would he explain?
And he didn't know if the shoes had been burned. If not, he was finished if they were found.
"You're right. If direct evidence can be found to prove they were the ones who smashed the factory, no amount of eloquent talking will matter."
Ma Erduo, after hearing Zhang Liunian's suggestion, agreed wholeheartedly. He turned and instructed two people, "You two go in and take a look."
It would be best if they could find some evidence, but it didn't matter if they didn't. The bald man was the prime suspect anyway, and bringing him back to the police station for questioning was inevitable.
"Okay." The two nodded in agreement and turned to enter the house, only to be stopped by the bald man's wife.
"No! You want to search just like that? What kind of reasoning is that? I won't allow it! If you take our family's money, what will we do?"
Seeing that the police were actually about to go in and rummage through things, the bald man's wife absolutely refused. She rushed forward and blocked the courtyard gate, preventing them from entering.
Others might not know who was responsible for Zhang Liunian's pickle factory, but she, who had just gone in to help her husband burn his shoes, how could she not know?
If she let the police into the house, wouldn't they find the evidence with a single search?
Unfortunately, her words were of no use. Searching suspects was a routine operation for the police.
"Don't worry, your family only has a few bits and pieces. No one would covet them." Ma Erduo seemed to have heard a joke, a mocking smile on his face.
Taking their family's money? How ridiculous. Although their wages weren't high, they were still better off than farmers, and they weren't so short-sighted as to be tempted by such trifles.
"No, absolutely not. I won't agree, you can't go in and search."
The bald man's wife was also extremely panicked and absolutely refused to let them in.
Because she knew that once they entered, evidence would definitely be found, and then their whole family would be ruined.
Therefore, no matter what, she absolutely could not let the police through this door.
But the more she tried to stop them, the more suspicious Ma Erduo found the couple, and the more determined he became to search the house.
"Pull her away and go in to search. I want to see if you're hiding any unspeakable secrets." Ma Erduo gave the order, and the other police officers immediately complied.
Finally, they successfully entered the bald man's house.
Seeing this, the bald man's legs began to go weak.
Zhang Liunian noticed his change and teased, "Baldy, why are your legs trembling? Are you scared!"
"Who's scared? I'm just cold." The bald man replied, trying to maintain his composure and suppress his trembling legs, but with little effect.
"Is that so? But it's noon, and the sun is on your head. How can you be cold?"
Zhang Liunian was now almost certain that the incident was related to the bald man. Firstly, the traces on the shoes couldn't lie. Secondly, the bald man had already lost his composure, showing signs of guilt, but he didn't know if he had done it himself or if he was instigated by someone else.
"What does it matter to you if I'm cold? You mind too much." The bald man was extremely impatient. At this moment, his heart was in a turmoil, and he had no leisure to pay attention to Zhang Liunian.
Zhang Liunian was just teasing him. Seeing that he didn't want to talk, he also remained silent and waited quietly for the results.
Not long after, the two who had gone inside came out with items: a pair of liberation shoes with a small portion burned, and two thousand yuan tied together.
They handed the items to Ma Erduo and explained where and under what circumstances they were found.
After listening, Ma Erduo threw the two pieces of evidence on the ground and looked directly at the bald man, asking, "Tell me, why are there ingredients under the shoes, and why did you burn them? Also, where did this two thousand yuan come from?"
Boom!
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at the bald man in unison, waiting for his explanation.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down the bald man's forehead. His eyes darted around, and he blurted out, "This money was borrowed. I originally intended to buy a cow for my family, but I hadn't had a chance to spend it before you found it.
As for the shoes, I lost them several days ago. I don't know why they appeared in my house and were burned."
Ma Erduo laughed. The facts were right before their eyes, and it was the bald man who did it, yet he still refused to admit it.
"Borrowed? Borrowed from whom? I'll send someone to get them right now to confront you." Ma Erduo gave the bald man no chance, directly stating that they could verify it now.
Upon hearing this, the bald man broke out in a cold sweat. He stammered for a long time without being able to name anyone. The bald man's wife couldn't bear it and said, "It was borrowed from my parents' home."
The bald man heard this and thought, 'Yes, if the money was borrowed from my father-in-law, they would definitely help me cover it up when asked.'
"Right, right, right. It's the money borrowed from my old in-laws to buy a cow." The bald man immediately agreed, not realizing that a hastily made excuse could never hold up.
"Is that so? Who is your father-in-law, and where does he live?" Ma Erduo knew they were lying, but he still proceeded with his duties.
The bald man's wife immediately stated her parents' address, which was in the nearby village.
Ma Erduo sent someone to find the bald man's wife's parents and instructed them to interrogate them once before they could coordinate their stories.
His subordinate acknowledged the order and turned to leave on his motorcycle.
The bald man's wife was still a bit worried. Although her parents would unconditionally help them, they had no idea about the situation here. If the police directly went to them, they would surely be exposed.
What to do?
The bald man's wife couldn't think of a solution and her expression turned disheartened.
"Baldy, you just said you lost your shoes and didn't know why they appeared in your house and were burned one-third of the way, right?"
Ma Erduo, seeing that someone had gone to inquire with the bald man's in-laws about the loan, then asked about the shoes.
"Yes, who doesn't lose something?
Oh, I think I know who smashed the pickle factory! It must have been the shoe thief who did all this.
Look, he first stole my shoes, then went and smashed the pickle factory, and finally framed me. Wouldn't that be a perfect way to absolve himself?
Comrades, it must be like this. You must give me justice."
As the bald man spoke, he became very agitated, excited by how clever he thought he was for coming up with such a good way to exonerate himself.
But he clearly celebrated too soon, because Ma Erduo's next words left him speechless.
"Then can you explain how this shoe thief managed to hide in your house and burn the shoes without you noticing?
Let's also look at the condition of these shoes. They've only been burned for a short while. You were all at home at that time. Could you all be blind and deaf? Didn't you see the shoe thief burning shoes in your house?"
As soon as these words were uttered, the bald couple was instantly rendered speechless and couldn't find words to refute.
Hearing this, the villagers were 100% certain that the bald man was responsible for smashing the pickle factory.
"You good-for-nothing bald man, doing something like this! Are you worthy of what Liunian has contributed to our village?"