The third team recovered another gun and there were five remaining from the final goal. The day ended just like this

At noon the next day, the bureau received a call saying that gunshots and cries for help were heard in a certain neighborhood. The second team rushed to the scene immediately. The building was surrounded by a circle of residents, one of whom was covered in blood at his temples.

Lin Qiupu stepped forward and said, "What's wrong? Have you been shot?"

"No, no, I was so anxious when I went downstairs that I fell."

"What's happening inside?"

"Daughter-in-law, do you know?"

A woman next to him said, "It seems that the family in 314 is celebrating the birthday of their old mother. I don't know why, there was suddenly a quarrel in the middle of it. After some clings and clangs, there was a loud bang and the youngest daughter shouted that there was a murder through the window.”

"Does this family often quarrel?"

"They do. This house belongs to the old lady. They have three rooms and two living rooms. It’s said that her three children have been kicking the old lady around like a ball and no one wants to take care of her. One time, the old lady fell while going upstairs. I called the three children but they refused to come. It was the neighbors who sent her to the hospital. The old lady lives alone. It’s hard for her to buy food every day and climb upstairs. We felt a chill just looking at it. Just recently, I heard that the old house was about to be demolished and the old lady can get more than two million yuan in compensation. The attitude of the three children changed greatly. They often buy things to visit their old mother... This is the 70th birthday of the old lady today. They all came. I don’t know what happened halfway, but they began quarrelling."

Lin Qiupu said to Chen Shi, "Leave it to me this time!"

When he was ready, he went to the door of the house. There were the cries of women and children in the room, as well as the sound of cracking and burning. Lin Qiupu could also smell a bloody scent coming out from the cracks of the door.

He said over the radio, "Old Zhang, tell the SWAT team to come and stand by!"

Then, he knocked on the door and said, "I am a police negotiator. Can I come in?"

There was a voice inside saying, "Mom, the police are here. Let the police come in. If you don't let them in, they will force their way in."

Listening to this tone, it seemed that the gunman was the old lady herself.

After some coughing, the old lady said, "No one is allowed to come in. This is our family affair."

The children cried even harder. Lin Qiupu continued to knock on the door, "Old lady Wei, are those your grandchildren inside? This is a matter between adults. Don’t involve innocent children. Let the children come out first!"

After a moment of silence, the old lady said, "Fengfeng, you go out with the police uncle first."

"Grandma, please don't kill my dad."

"I won't kill him. Don't be afraid. Go with the police uncle... Go open the door!"

The door opened. A middle-aged man wearing glasses hugged a crying boy and thanked Lin Qiupu repeatedly. He was ready to go while holding the child. The old lady shouted, "Eldest, where are you going?"

"Mom, I will send Fengfeng down and come back."

"I told you already. If we don’t talk about this properly today, nobody can leave… Give Fengfeng to the police. You come back to me!"

The eldest son was sad as he handed the crying child to Lin Qiupu. An officer came to take the child. Lin Qiupu took the opportunity to enter the door.

In addition to the old lady with the gun, there were a total of five adults kneeling in a circle. There was a woman lying on the floor, shot in the chest with her eyes wide open. Her pupils had already become cloudy. Lin Qiupu’s heart palpitated. Someone was already killed.

Generally speaking, it would be difficult to resolve things peacefully once the person taking people hostage had already killed someone.

The old lady was wearing a grey cloth gown and holding a pistol in her trembling hand. There was an ashtray on the ground with a property title burning and emitting unpleasant smoke. The old lady pointed at Lin Qiupu with a gun. “Close the door!"

Lin Qiupu closed the door and showed his badge. "I am the captain of a criminal police team at the public security bureau. Old lady, we are here in hopes that this matter can be resolved properly. You can tell your troubles to the police."

The old lady glanced somberly at Lin Qiupu, then pointed at the eldest son and his wife with the gun. They screamed in shock. The old lady said, "You tell the police how you treated me!"

The eldest son said tremblingly, "Mom, if you say it like that, it’s easy to cause misunderstandings. Ever since dad passed away, I would come to see you as soon as I had time. I also let you live in my house for a while. My wife quit her job to take care of you. I am the eldest and I wanted to set an example for my brothers and sisters. I can’t say I’m the most filial son, but I’ve never owed you anything if I do say so myself… Do we have to make this happen like this?

"Listen to him bullshit!" The woman who was kneeling on the left side of the old lady interrupted the eldest son. "From when we were young, Mom would spoil you. When you looked for a job, Mom begged everywhere to pull in some relations and get you a bank job. But you? What have you done for Mom?"

"Don't speak rubbish! I give Mom 500 yuan a month!" The eldest son shouted.

The little sister said contemptuously, "Yes, I admit that you give money to Mom every month, but you have taken even more from her. She helped you buy a house and marry your wife. It was two or three hundred thousand that caused second brother to not have a dowry when he married and caused me to not be able to go to school. The best in the family was always yours. Officer, he just said that he took Mom to live with him. I can’t believe he has the gall to mention this matter. At the time, his wife was pregnant and didn’t have anyone to attend to her. That’s why you brought Mom over to help you. Later, she even helped you raise your child for four years. Do you know what our Mom ate and lived like when she lived with him? She wasn’t even treated as good as a nanny. She lived in his small, hot, attic room. She’s so old but she had to climb the stairs every day just to go to the toilet. Mom said she was getting old and was worried she’d fall at night, so she wanted to set up a toilet pail for herself. Your wife decided that it was too smelly and threw out the pail while she was out. When Mom lived there, she used her monthly retirement salary to help you. You constantly said you’d find a nanny to take care of Mom and said a lot of good things, but have you done a single thing of what you’ve said? I think you might as well join a pyramid scheme. What you said sounds better than singing!”

The elder brother's face looked ashamed hearing these words. Then, the younger sister pointed at the second brother and said, "Compared to second brother, our elder brother’s actions don’t amount to much! The woman you married was a complete hag[1]. When Mom was living with you, you’d work outside everyday. Second sister-in-law would harass Mom with unpleasant words at home all day. Mom called me several times and started crying over the phone. You’re scared of your wife and no matter what happened, you’d always say, 'We’re all a family. Let’s all take a step back.’ But Mom was the one who always had to make the concession. Second sister-in-law got even worse and on several occasions, she’d even hit Mom over trivial matters."

When the eldest son saw the gun shifting, he chimed in. "Yes, his wife is a complete jerk. She wears gold and silver every day, all glammed up, but Mom lived like a beggar. Even if Mom ate a bit more at the dinner table, she’d have something to say about it. One time, Mom got appendicitis while with them. The couple actually left Mom at home for a day screaming in pain and ran out to play by themselves. Later, I drove mom to the hospital. People like you are just wasting a piece of human skin[2]!"

Lin Qiupu had a headache just from hearing this. The problems of this family seemed to have been accumulated for a very long time.

1. I believe they were using the word in it’s most original sense – A witch. As opposed to describing an old, ugly woman.

2. He’s saying that the second brother is not human.