This was a pair of trousers stained with grime and blood.
These were trousers with years of accumulated grime and bloodstains.
What did this signify?
It signified that the owner of these trousers engaged in a profession that directly dealt with blood and grime.
But what kind of occupation allowed one to move about in public without raising suspicion?
To unravel this mystery, Hu Jia observed meticulously by the well for a long time, eventually focusing his attention on a man named Cai Dingkun.
He was a butcher, who slaughtered pigs and sheep, and had a pork stall in the local market.
Hu Jia looked at Cai Dingkun. He was indeed wearing a pair of dark trousers, almost identical in style to the one in his hand, and also bearing deep grime and bloodstains.
Glancing around his stall, Hu Jia saw butcher knives and hooks, but no sharp object that matched the shape of Han Xiu's wound.
“Boss, how much for this meat?” Hu Jia approached to examine the quality of the meat.
Cai Dingkun, despite his elegant-sounding name, was burly and strong. Nevertheless, he maintained a smiling face, appearing rather simple and honest.
Upon seeing a customer, he enthusiastically introduced the meats on his stall. "Don't worry, all my meat is freshly slaughtered, very fresh."
As he spoke, Cai Dingkun gestured with his cleaver near a piece of pork. "See, is this piece suitable?"
Hu Jia nodded, indicating his assent.
"Alright!" Cai Dingkun said excitedly. He picked up his cleaver, then drew a black iron rod from beside the chopping block. He sharpened the cleaver against the iron rod a couple of times, then expertly sliced off a piece of lean meat.
Hu Jia's eyelids twitched involuntarily. "Boss, what is that?"
Hu Jia pointed at the iron rod.
"This? It's an iron skewer, for sharpening knives." Cai Dingkun then scraped the cleaver against the skewer again, producing a grating sound.
Hu Jia smiled subtly and paid before leaving.
An iron skewer?
It bore a strong resemblance to the murder weapon.
Lu Qingqing also re-examined her autopsy report from the time. Based on Han Xiu's wounds, he had been stabbed through the chest by a cylindrical sharp object.
The wound was wider at the back and narrower at the front, clearly indicating a stab from behind. Furthermore, judging by the shape of the wound, the tip of the cylinder was evidently quite sharp.
All these details were consistent with the iron skewer used for sharpening knives.
"Now, our problem is how to prove that these trousers belong to Cai Dingkun."
Ouyang Wen made a decision. He took the trousers and surreptitiously placed them in front of Cai Dingkun's door, while Guan Jinsong and Li Han maintained a constant watch.
Finally, the door of Cai's house opened.
A woman came out. She immediately spotted the trousers, picked them up, looked at them, and was about to go back inside.
"Sister!" Guan Jinsong quickly stepped forward. "Excuse me, these trousers are mine. I was passing by and they accidentally fell out."
The woman looked at Guan Jinsong in surprise, then unfolded the trousers and shook them. "No, these are our Lao Cai's trousers. Young man, perhaps you've mistaken them?"
Guan Jinsong appeared anxious. "Sister, how can these be your family's trousers? I'm visiting relatives from out of town, and I was just looking through a bundle I was carrying when these fell out by your door."
The woman, hearing Guan Jinsong's detailed explanation, began to have doubts. She examined the trousers again and then smiled. "Brother, I'm sure of it, these are our Lao Cai's trousers. Look, all these stains are from pig's blood. And these patches, I sewed them myself."
Hearing the exchange, Li Han also walked over, but he pretended not to know Guan Jinsong. "What's going on? Madam, is he bothering you?"
The woman waved her hand. "No, it's just a misunderstanding."
Seeing someone approach, Guan Jinsong seemed to find someone to appeal to and explained the situation. With Li Han speaking loudly, more onlookers began to gather. After hearing Guan Jinsong's explanation, they offered their own opinions.
"Brother, you might be mistaken. These trousers are indeed Dingkun's, I've seen him wearing them."
"Yes, look at the stitching on the patches, isn't that Dingkun's wife's handiwork?"
Seeing everyone defending her, the woman became more confident. "Brother, I have another pair of trousers made of the same fabric at home. Don't you want to see?"
With that, the woman went inside and brought out another pair of Cai Dingkun's trousers. "My husband is a butcher, he can't wear light-colored trousers, so I always make him dark ones. Look, the stitching style, and the texture of the fabric, they are clearly the same!"
"Sister, are you sure these trousers are really yours?" At some point, Hu Jia and the others had joined the crowd of onlookers.
"Yes!" The woman, seeing her claim still being questioned, became somewhat displeased. Looking at the attire of these people, she couldn't understand why they were so interested in these worn-out trousers.
"Do you happen to know who wore these trousers?" The person speaking was Yu Yi'an, who had also stepped forward.
"Ah? My Lao Cai's trousers, of course..." Suddenly, the woman stopped short. Her eyes widened with a hint of fear. "I was mistaken, these are not my Lao Cai's trousers."
Saying this, she tried to hand the trousers back to Guan Jinsong.
At this point, Li Han was not having it. "Madam, you were so insistent moments ago that these trousers were yours, but now that the police are here, you're changing your story. Doesn't that make us suspicious?"
"No, no, I truly misidentified them. Look how similar they are to my Lao Cai's trousers." The woman kept bowing to Guan Jinsong. "I'm sorry, these are your trousers."
With a few hurried words, the woman tried to slip away.
This time, not only Hu Jia and his group, but even the onlookers, sensed that something was amiss.
"Stop!" Hu Jia shouted. He stepped forward, took the black trousers from Guan Jinsong's hand, and displayed them to everyone. "These trousers were removed from the male corpse found in the well two days ago. The grime and bloodstains on them are remnants of pig's blood."
The crowd gasped, murmuring among themselves.
Hu Jia's statement was more than clear.
The trousers were removed from the murdered male victim, and Dingkun's wife had just adamantly claimed they belonged to her family. Furthermore, judging by the stitching and fabric, they were clearly Cai's family trousers.
Moreover, the residual pig's blood on them corroborated this point.
And then there was Dingkun's wife changing her story and trying to flee upon seeing the police. Could it be that the deceased man knew the Cai family?
Or perhaps, he knew Dingkun's wife?
In an instant, everyone looked at Dingkun's wife with changed eyes. Dingkun's wife was flustered, and besides repeatedly denying that these were her family's trousers, she could not utter anything else.
Soon, Cai Dingkun, having heard the news, returned. He had been running, his face covered in sweat, but upon seeing Yu Yi'an standing with Hu Jia, his arrogance vanished.
He was panicked.
His expression betrayed him.
"Yours?" Hu Jia's gaze was piercing.
"Speak!" Ouyang Wen, seeing his silence, shouted, making Cai Dingkun flinch.
"No! No!" Cai Dingkun tried to deny it.
Heh.
Hu Jia let out a cold laugh. "If they aren't yours, why are you so afraid? Also, why are there so many old pig's blood stains on them, and why are these patches the same gray cloth as the patches on your own trousers?"
Cai Dingkun looked down. Indeed, the patch on his knee and the patch on the trousers in Hu Jia's hand were the exact same color, clearly cut from the same piece of cloth.
In that instant, his legs went weak.