The Sweetness of the Seventies
Chapter 326 - 297 Pregnant, Take the Blame (Vote, Tip Request)_1

Chapter 326: Chapter 297 Pregnant, Take the Blame (Vote, Tip Request)_1

After making bold assumptions, Qi Ling and Old Wu continued to discuss the next steps of their strategy.

At this time, the city and county sent a few more police officers to assist with the investigation.

Having had two people die in succession, the city and county authorities were taking the matter very seriously and demanded that the case be solved within seven days.

The urgency was partly to alleviate public opinion pressure and reduce the fear among the citizens; on the other hand, the province was currently conducting inspections, and if this case remained unsolved, it would undoubtedly affect the leaders’ official positions.

Several police officers interrogated a few village officials over the course of three days and finally made a breakthrough.

An officer skilled in accounting noticed a discrepancy in Hujia Village’s finances, involving a shortfall of over a hundred yuan. Following the trail, they found Accountant Hu to learn about the situation.

Accountant Hu’s evasive answers only aroused further suspicion among the officers!

Late at night, Liu Lingli arranged a meeting with Accountant Hu.

"Brother Hu, what should we do?" Liu Lingli, caressing her belly anxiously, said, "My child, if... if..."

Previously, Liu Lingli had been having an affair with Accountant Hu, which was discovered by Hu Erlai, leading to frequent blackmail. Afterwards, they killed Hu Erlai, and Liu Lingli told Accountant Hu about her pregnancy, but were then discovered by Hu Goudan.

They had no money to give to Hu Goudan, so they stalled for time and looked for an opportunity to kill him.

Killing one person was a murder, and killing two was also murder.

Having started, they decided not to stop and went on to kill Hu Goudan as well.

They thought the police wouldn’t find any leads and would leave, but Hu Goudan’s father also knew a bit about the situation.

Based on these clues, the police got onto Accountant Hu. But at present, they only suspected something was wrong with the accounts. However, after a period of time, it was estimated that the investigation would uncover the murders because the ten yuan note, which he had given away, had a missing corner and couldn’t be used, thus it was still recorded in the accounts. He had given it to Liu Lingli to deceive Hu Erlai, not expecting it to fall into the trap.

It wasn’t until they came back that they realized the money had fallen in.

Dawn was breaking, and they didn’t dare to go and retrieve it.

When someone found Hu Erlai dead, Accountant Hu ran to the front, hoping to go down first and retrieve the money, but it was secretly hidden away by a young man from the village, Hu Damao.

He had thought that the money would be hidden away due to the need to lie low for a while, so he didn’t worry about it. Yet, unexpectedly, Old Man Hu actually took the money and turned it over with his son.

Now, during the audit, Secretary Hu knew about the bill with the missing corner, so it was only a matter of time before the investigation reached him!

Accountant Hu held Liu Lingli tightly, touching her belly, and said, "The police are already suspicious of me now, and since you are pregnant with my child, I can’t just watch our child die before being born."

Liu Lingli, with her head bowed, felt overjoyed. Hearing Accountant Hu’s tone, he wasn’t planning to turn her in.

"So what do we do?" Liu Lingli asked, "Shall we elope?"

Accountant Hu thought it over. With a pregnant woman in tow, they couldn’t possibly escape. Moreover, if he eloped with Liu Lingli, his wife and children at home would inevitably be drowned in spit by the villagers!

"How about this, you find someone to marry in the village and give birth to my child." Accountant Hu said, "I’ll surrender myself alone. When I’m dead, you must raise my child."

Liu Lingli covered her mouth, not daring to cry out loud, said, "We can just elope... I don’t want you to die..."

Although Liu Lingli was secretly pleased, she dared not show it on her face.

She didn’t want to die; she wanted to live!

As for Accountant Hu, it was he who had taken advantage of her when she was on the verge of starvation. Her family had taken all her money, and without it, she had no choice but to rely on Accountant Hu. There were some perks to this arrangement; for example, her share of the work got lighter, there was less of it, and she could sometimes sneak some meat to eat.

Liu Lingli did not want to live as miserably as before, so she went from being passive to being proactive.

What she hadn’t expected was that she would get pregnant!

Just as she was planning how to abort the child, she was caught by Hu Erlai.

"There’s no place for us in this vast world. If we elope, what about my two sons and my two daughters?" Accountant Hu said sorrowfully. He didn’t want to bear the crime of murder only to add the crime of being a hooligan and shame his family.

"Fine, Big Brother Hu, you saved my life. I’ll give birth to the child and raise him." Liu Lingli said with a choke in her voice. Compared to being shot, marrying a man in the countryside didn’t seem so bad.

As for the child in her belly, she wouldn’t give birth to it. After all, it had been over two months, and she might not be able to hide it.

Accountant Hu, astute and worldly, guessed Liu Lingli’s thoughts to some extent: "I know the way of the world: out of sight, out of mind. After I’m dead, if you haven’t given birth to my child, I’ll have you join me in the grave."

Liu Lingli shivered with fear, under Accountant Hu’s penetrating gaze, she dared not look up and said, "I will definitely have the child, I will, please spare me!"

Accountant Hu laughed miserably. If he had known this day would come, why did he ever start this affair? He was about to cuddle his grandson; why bother with a young girl? Although the body of a young woman was delightful, it meant nothing compared to his life!

But it was too late for regrets. There’s no cure for remorse!

"Just remember your promise; I am dying for you, and for my child," Accountant Hu said, "As long as you give birth to the child and raise him, nothing will happen to you. But if..."

The threat was left unsaid but understood.

Realizing Accountant Hu’s cunning and ruthlessness, Liu Lingli didn’t dare to double-cross him, said, "I will, I will definitely give birth and raise the child."

"I hope you’ll keep your word. I’ve left evidence behind. If you don’t do as I say, even if you aren’t sentenced, you’ll end up in prison." Accountant Hu said, then left.

The police, who had been checking the accounts overnight, brought Village Chief Hu and laid the torn banknote on the table. Qi Ling asked, "Your village is missing one hundred and thirty-six yuan. Did you know that?"

Secretary Hu wiped the sweat from his forehead and answered, "I really had no idea. I only check the accounts during the New Year’s. There was no problem last year, and it’s not yet New Year, so I wasn’t aware that so much money was missing."

Secretary Hu hastily explained, then his gaze landed on the torn ten-yuan note, and with widened eyes, he said, "I recognize this ten-yuan note..."

Qi Ling was taken aback and asked, "How do you recognize this note? It was found on Hu Erlai’s body."

"I don’t know how this note ended up on Hu Erlai’s body, but I know this note has been on our village branch’s books for several years. Nobody wanted it because it was missing a corner, so it stayed in the accounts. I’ve seen it several times when checking the books; that’s why I remember it," Secretary Hu said, "And Accountant Hu was in charge of the funds and accounts; it was always in his hands."

Upon hearing this, Qi Ling immediately told his colleague, "Go arrest Accountant Hu!"