Chapter 1562 - 1560: Clues

Chapter 1562: Chapter 1560: Clues

The two of them playfully descended the mountain.

On the way, seeing no one around, Yang Chen reached out and grabbed Ye Xin’s small hand.

Ye Xin symbolically resisted for a moment, then let Yang Chen hold her hand.

Yang Chen looked at Ye Xin’s appearance, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

Hand in hand, the two arrived at the foot of the mountain and soon saw Stone Village.

At the entrance of the village, two muddy children were herding sheep, looking carefree and enviable.

Yang Chen approached them, took some candies from his pocket, and handed them to the two children.

Ye Xin was surprised; she had no idea when Yang Chen bought the candies.

Yang Chen asked the two children, "Have you two seen any out-of-towners come in lately?"

As soon as he spoke, Yang Chen used the local dialect.

With the candies in hand and hearing Yang Chen speak the local dialect, the two children immediately relaxed their guard.

"A while ago, some people came to the village and sold some stuff," one child said.

"Peddlers?" Yang Chen frowned, asking, "What did they look like? What were they selling?"

"Oh, they sold lots of nice things! There were TVs, gaming consoles, and refrigerators—so many great things!" the other child chimed in eagerly.

Yang Chen frowned, "Did anyone buy from them?"

"We weren’t allowed to buy; just trade things!" the child replied.

Yang Chen frowned, "Trade with things you’ve dug up from the mountain?"

"Yes!" the two nodded in unison.

Yang Chen frowned deeply.

Wasn’t this type of trade already banned?

The entire area has been investigated, and the traded artifacts have been reclaimed, so how can this be happening again?

Yang Chen sensed something was amiss.

"Besides those two, has anyone else come?" Yang Chen continued to ask.

The two children thought for a moment, then shook their heads.

Yang Chen pondered for a moment and asked again, "Which households traded?"

Upon hearing this, the children excitedly said, "Er Gou’s house! They traded for a big TV; you can watch movies and it’s really, really big!"

"Any others?" Yang Chen asked.

"Also Uncle Liu’s house; they traded for a big refrigerator!"

Yang Chen nodded, indicating he understood, then gave each child a handful of candies and entered the village with Ye Xin.

Yang Chen and Ye Xin stood out in the village, attracting immediate attention.

Some even recognized Yang Chen and Ye Xin as people who had visited the village before.

Yang Chen found the place where he had stayed last time and found that elderly man to inquire about some matters.

Afterward, he asked the elderly man to take him to Er Gou’s house, as mentioned by the children.

Er Gou’s home was quite rundown, typical of a village’s economic level.

However, as soon as they entered, the large TV was very conspicuous.

"These two are leaders from the city, here to investigate some matters," the elderly man said, following Yang Chen’s instructions.

The man named Dazhu heard this and his face immediately changed, looking a bit pale.

The child named Er Gou glanced at Yang Chen but continued folding paper cards.

Yang Chen stared at Dazhu, squinting slightly.

With poor psychological resilience, everything was written on his face, Yang Chen could see it at a glance.

But Yang Chen didn’t show this directly, instead smiling and saying, "Sir, hello. I’m from the City Investigation Bureau, and I heard you recently traded ancient artifacts for a TV. I’m just here to understand the situation."

"Who told you such nonsense? We bought the TV ourselves, not traded for any artifacts!" Dazhu replied.

Seeing Dazhu deny it, Yang Chen still smiled and said, "Oh, I’m just curious. If you paid for these, wouldn’t it be better to renovate your house instead?"

Dazhu’s face changed slightly, "What we spend money on and what we buy is our business! Mind your own business and get out! My house doesn’t welcome you!"

Seeing Dazhu trying to drive them away, Yang Chen’s expression turned serious, "We don’t need your welcome or unwelcome; we’re here to investigate. As a citizen, you must cooperate! Besides, some things won’t go away just by denying them! If you want no one to know, don’t do it! Everyone knows about the artifact trade; witnesses and evidence are there. Need me to bring the traders over to show what you traded? Don’t miss your chance!"

Dazhu was immediately intimidated by Yang Chen, turning pale and trembling, unable to speak.

"I’m curious, where did you get these artifacts? People who go up the mountain know them, right? I think you do because we collected artifacts once before. You holding them now is illegal! We told you the stakes before and no one dared to hide them! Yet, you have more now, is this private concealment? I can have you arrested and sentenced right now, ten or eight years!" Yang Chen continued.

Upon hearing this, Dazhu was so scared he immediately fell to his knees.

"Master! Spare me, Master! I swear I’m not hiding them; they were given to me by someone else; I swear I’m innocent!" Dazhu pleaded from the ground.

Upon hearing this, Yang Chen knew Dazhu’s psychological defenses had been breached, so he pushed further, saying, "You say they’re not yours? Who gave them to you? Speak with evidence; without evidence, it’s slander, and you’ll be prosecuted!"

Dazhu shook with fear.

"Master, what I say is true! You must believe me!" Dazhu cried.

The child and wife nearby were also terrified, trembling on the side.

Yang Chen didn’t want it to be like this, but to achieve the best results, there was no choice.

"I’ve said, speak with evidence! If we hadn’t gathered evidence, we wouldn’t have come to you! When you talk to me, also show proof! Otherwise, it’s libel and slander, which is an additional charge!" Yang Chen continued to threaten.

Dazhu trembled and hurriedly said, "I have evidence! I have evidence! It was Liu Erdan from the town who asked me! He gave me these things! Nothing else is related to me!"

"Liu Erdan?" Yang Chen squinted, turning to Ye Xin.

Ye Xin immediately understood, then turned and left the courtyard.

Yang Chen said to Dazhu, "Stand up and tell me about Liu Erdan. If it matches what I know, it could count as a good deed!"

Dazhu stood up as if pardoned, inviting Yang Chen inside.

Upon entering the living room, Yang Chen noticed that the old furniture and the brand new TV contrasted sharply.

What a mismatch!

This indirectly indicates that they are easily satisfied; just a little incentive and they risk it all!

This is still a lack of education!

Without a certain understanding of the law, they do such absurd things...