Chapter 80: A Sense of Conviction
Old Man Zhao was puzzled by Su He’s sudden question, but still answered, “Yes, that man has a big wolfdog. He keeps it at night for protection.”
Su He listened, then pointed to a few claw marks on the ground. “Grandpa, are these dog paw prints?”
Old Man Zhao looked closely. “Yep, they’re dog prints. And big ones, too—must be from that wolfdog. See? Dogs are smarter than cows. All the paw prints are outside the test field, meaning it never went in to mess with the soybean plants!”
Su He’s eyes gleamed slightly. “It may not have gone in, but calling it ‘smart’ might be a stretch. Grandpa, which direction is the meadow you mentioned earlier?”
Still confused, Old Man Zhao pointed south. “That way.”
Su He immediately headed south, examining the ground as she walked.
Although it had been several days since the incident, few people had passed by, so there were still some traces left to see.
Especially near a small puddle along the way—around the muddy edges were a mix of cow hoof prints and dog paw prints.
Squinting, Su He quickly formed a hypothesis.
The herd must have been startled by the dog, panicked, and fled blindly—right into the test field.
Once they reached the field, the dog didn’t dare go further, which is why there were no paw prints inside the test area.
As for why the dog was near the meadow in the first place—that question would have to be answered by the test field’s guard.
After Su He shared her theory, Old Man Zhao slapped his thigh. “I knew it! How could the cows just randomly run into the field like that? It had to be that dog chasing them! So your uncle was wrongly accused?”
“Not entirely,” Su He replied. “But his responsibility could be lessened. We can’t just say this—we need someone from the office to come re-examine the scene.”
Old Man Zhao frowned deeply. “Su He, our family doesn’t have a good political background. Even if you report it, the people at the office will side with the Agricultural Station. I doubt they’ll agree to reinvestigate.”
Last time, the investigation team just took a quick look and asked the guard a few questions before taking Zhao Kaiwen away.
Su He’s eyes grew cold. “The law must always be based on facts, not on personal background. If we’re responsible, we’ll admit it. But we won’t let anyone pin false blame on us.”
Old Man Zhao silently shook his head. So young, so naïve. Still hasn’t seen the real world…
But he didn’t stop her. They had nothing to lose—might as well try anything at this point.
Worried for her safety, Su Yongguo rode his bicycle and took Su He to the township office.
At the station, Su He confidently pulled out her special correspondent press badge. “Comrade, I’d like to request an interview with your director.”
Su Yongguo swallowed nervously. Sweet girl, weren’t we coming to submit new evidence? Why does this sound like a press visit now?
Soon, father and daughter were led into the director’s office.
“Reporter Su, this is our Director Tang.”
Director Tang, a man in his 40s, greeted them warmly. “So, Reporter Su, you’re here to interview me? What would you like to know?”
Su He grinned. “To be honest, Director Tang, I’m sort of ‘borrowing a tiger’s skin to pull rank’ here. If I hadn’t said it was an interview, I doubt I’d get to see you.”
Director Tang froze, surprised not only by her blunt admission but by how shamelessly calm she was about it. “Pulling rank” wasn’t exactly admirable, yet she said it as casually as if she were talking about the weather.
And she’s not even afraid of me? He was the director, after all.
But Su He really wasn’t afraid—she’d done nothing wrong, so what was there to fear?
She continued, “I’m here about the test field destruction case at the Agricultural Station. Zhao Kaiwen is my uncle.”
Now understanding her true motive, Director Tang’s tone turned colder. “Reporter Su, we handle matters impartially. Even if Zhao Kaiwen is your uncle, we can’t bend the law for personal ties.”
Su He nodded. “You’ve misunderstood. I’m here because we’ve found new evidence at the scene—”
Director Tang’s brows furrowed. He’d handled this case himself. At the time, the evidence seemed conclusive, and with the guard Fan Zhen’s testimony, he’d closed the case quickly. Could he have overlooked something?
Su He continued, “Director Tang, I heard the incident happened at night. The station guard gave false testimony to shift blame and muddle the facts, which likely led to a flawed conclusion. Even if I hadn’t come today, I imagine your office would’ve soon reopened the investigation anyway, right?”
Director Tang blinked—then burst out laughing.
“You little girl, are you trying to give me an out? You think too little of me, old Tang!
If the mistake is ours, then we’ll own up to it!
Truth is, we’ve gotten a bit too comfortable over the years. Lost the sharp instincts we had back when we were real investigators!”
Hearing this, Su He felt a complex emotion stir inside. She was good at reading people—maybe too good. Sometimes she overthought things.
Like today—she’d expected Director Tang to care more about saving face, maybe even favor the guard over her.
Clearly, she had underestimated him—and his commitment to fairness and justice.
Su He immediately stood and bowed deeply. “Director Tang, I was too narrow-minded.”
“No harm done. You’re a clever one—no wonder you’re a reporter,” Tang said, chuckling as he clapped her on the shoulder, nearly knocking her over.
Su He laughed. “You’ve got quite the arm!”
“Of course! Back in the day, I had real strength…”
Watching the two joke and chat, Su Yongguo—who had been silent the entire time—was utterly confused.
Wait… wasn’t this supposed to be difficult? I thought she’d have to argue her case or ask Director Luo for help. But this? This was too easy…
