"So the fire broke out around ten oâclock, definitely not a little after nine. Thatâs the first lie they told. And the place where it started wasnât that corner where the kids always snuck off to play, it was in the staff quarters. Think about it, otherwise how could so many people have burned to death? If it started in that corner, they wouldâve had plenty of time to get out."
"So by what youâre saying, the suspicious points are actually pretty obvious?" Jiang Xiao asked.
"Very obvious. I wanted to investigate, but the higherâups kept putting pressure on me, wouldnât let me check into it."
"What about Chun Hong? And those people who came to fight the fire, where did they suddenly come from?"
"They ran, no one knows where they went. I searched for half a year and couldnât find them. Those people suddenly showing up was in itself another suspicious point, but no one was willing to back me up to investigate."
Gao Shan let out a bitter laugh and sighed. "Later I compromised too. I couldnât investigate this. I had no people, no power, no money. I just often wake up in the middle of the night and feel Iâve failed those kids and those young women. They all died unjustly, especially those childrenâdying unjustly and still having people say it was an accident caused by them playing with fire."
Jiang Xiao exhaled a long, heavy breath.
"This matter..." She bit down on her teeth. "Leave it to me. Iâll keep digging."
"Because of Red Bean?" Gao Shan asked.
"Because of Red Bean." Jiang Xiao didnât dress it up as anything noble. If it werenât for Red Bean, she indeed wouldnât have taken this on the moment she heard about it, insisting on getting to the bottom of it.
But, even if it was "by the way," she would, while finding out where Red Bean went, also bring the truth of this matter blazing into the light.
"Alright."
"If I have any questions, I might come to you again. Will that be convenient, Director Gao?"
Gao Shan nodded heavily.
"Ask me anytime! I donât have the ability to get to the truth myself, but if I can cooperate, Iâll do everything I can!" As he spoke, he picked up pen and paper and wrote down a string of numbers.
"This is the factory directorâs phone number. You can usually reach me through it."
"Iâll write my number down for you too. If you think of anything, tell me anytime."
Jiang Xiao wrote her own number down for him as well.
They drove Gao Shan back to the lumber mill. Watching him walk slowly through the factory gate, Jiang Xiao pressed her lips together.
She couldnât say theyâd come out today for nothing.
At the very least, she had confirmed that Qingshuang of Luofeng Institute was Shi Xiaoching, her biological mother.
And at least, for seven or eight years prior to two and a half years ago, she hadnât been drifting about homeless, but had been living together with a group of children in the welfare home.
However, from what Gao Shan had said, it was obvious that Shi Xiaoching hadnât lived happily in Luofeng Institute.
She had never interacted with people, living in a very closedâoff way.
Jiang Xiao didnât know how to tell her father about this, because she didnât know whether Shi Xiaoching was among those five people who died in the fire.
Just now, sheâd asked Gao Shan where those five were buried, and heâd given her an address.
It was a mountain some distance from Linchang Town.
The five children were buried there as well.
It was already past eight in the evening.
"Xiao Chiang, are we going back or what?"
They had been out the whole day. If they went back now, theyâd have to drive through the night.
Before they left, Ding Haijing had carefully instructed them that unless there was something especially urgent, they must try their best to keep Jiang Xiao in Capital City.
In Capital City, Hu Xiangyong and those people would be more restrained, so it would be safer.
If she left, who knew what moves they might make.
Jiang Xiao thought for a moment, then said, "Letâs go buy some tools."
Guan Tiezhu and Luo Yongsheng were both stunned. What tools were they going to buy?