Chapter 74 Making a Name for Themselves in Shanghai 2 If it's a big case, then we'll have to handle it carefully...

Although Lao Wei had finished get off work, he still arranged for the criminal investigation team to come over immediately.

The criminal investigation team leader, Lao Liu, was out on a field mission and returned late. As soon as he got back to the station, he received instructions from Lao Wei to quickly lead his team to the scene. Lao Wei took a taxi to the nearest police station, borrowed a police car, and also rushed to the scene.

Old Liu was quite surprised to find that the "witnesses" were actually two dogs. Even more surprising was that Xiao Qiu could actually speak a few words of Shanghai dialect.

It's a bit clumsy, but it's better than nothing.

After questioning him about the evidence and clues, he spoke to Lao Wei over the walkie-talkie: "Director Wei, the evidence provided by this Xiao Qiu you mentioned is probably not credible. In short, for now, we can only arrest this man on charges of drug use. Please inform the anti-narcotics team, and we'll meet at headquarters later."

Old Wei comforted him, "Isn't that great? Now we have a legitimate reason to arrest him. He's definitely the murderer, there's no mistake."

Old Liu ended the call, turned to look at Qiu Xiaoman who was smiling. He was still too shocked to process the news, so he needed time to process it. He said in Mandarin with emotion, "Old Wei told me about you. I didn't expect you to give us such a surprise as soon as you arrived. If this case is really solved, Old Wei will be even more reluctant to let you go to Beidu."

Qiu Xiaoman shrugged helplessly: "Actually, it doesn't matter where I am. Even if I came here, I would still be traveling all over the country. It makes no difference."

"That's true, but it's always better to have talented people in your own police force." Old Liu understood Old Wei's thoughts. Shanghai is a big city after all. If they had the ability to solve the problem themselves, why would they want to ask Beijing for help?

On the contrary, if a truly outstanding talent emerges from Shanghai, it could attract the attention of Beijing, who would seek their assistance. The sense of accomplishment from such a talent would be far greater than any ordinary promotion or salary increase.

However, judging from Xiao Qiu's answer, it seems that Old Wei's wish will not be fulfilled.

As the two were talking, Chan Pak-wai walked over with the children. This was the city center, and parking was not allowed on the roadside; there were only parking spaces in front of the nearby shopping malls.

Although driving there is fast, walking there takes a lot of time.

Actually, Chan Pak-wai didn't want to come, but she couldn't resist her three children's constant chatter. Unexpectedly, when she arrived, the criminal police team had already arrived.

She was an acquaintance of his. Old Liu's family used to live in the alley, diagonally opposite hers. Later, they bought a house and moved away, leaving only Old Liu's parents behind in the alley.

Chen Baihui smiled awkwardly: "It's Brother Liu."

Old Liu nodded politely: "Oh, it's Xiao Hui. What brings you back?"

"Old Wei found foster parents for Xiaoman's friend, so we brought the child over." Chen Baihui was too embarrassed to directly call Qiu Xiaoman her daughter, so she could only call her by her name.

Seeing the unfamiliar way the mother and daughter looked at each other, Old Liu didn't want to upset Chen Baihui, so he just told her, "Keep an eye on your children. There are a lot of cars on the road, so don't let them run around."

Chan Pak-wai smiled and quickly called her three children over to call for help.

Because Lao Liu and she had always addressed each other as brother and sister, the children called him "uncle".

Old Liu chuckled, told the children to behave, and then called Qiu Xiaoman aside to talk: "Didn't you just say there was a gas delivery person helping out? Do you know their name?"

"One-Eyed said he didn't know his real name, only that his master called him Sanmengzi." Qiu Xiaoman had no choice; although it was just a nickname, it was better than nothing.

Old Liu immediately understood: "Then I know, it's Zhang Laosan, a drunkard, so people gave him the nickname 'Sanmengzi' (meaning 'Drunkard Zhang')."

Qiu Xiaoman nodded: "Then let's go, quickly send someone to investigate."

Old Liu understood: "Come with us to the bureau first. I'll ask if there's been any progress on the physical evidence. They took some fragments from the explosion site back for analysis."

Qiu Xiaoman turned to Chen Baihui and said, "You guys go eat. I'm still busy and I don't know when I'll be able to go back. Don't wait for me. Yan Yan and the others still have to go to school, so don't delay them."

Helpless, Chen Baihui had no choice but to take the children to the car and go to eat with Yang Ailing and the others.

Xiao Qiao originally wanted to come along, but Aunt Yang thought it would be better for them to go to the restaurant first and order the food, so that the others could eat right away without having to wait. So they have already arrived at the restaurant.

When Chen Baihui and the others arrived, Xiao Qiao learned that her older sister Xiao Man was not coming. The little girl could not hide her disappointment, but she was afraid that her adoptive parents would worry, so she forced a smile and took the initiative to help the elders pass chopsticks and distribute bowls, which was very diligent.

Yang Ailing couldn't bear to let such a young child do anything, so she quickly took the bowl and chopsticks from her, saying, "I'll do it, I'll do it."

Before dinner, Eileen Yang asked Chen Baihui, "Will Xiao Qiu be eating alone later? Should we pack some food for her to take home?"

"No need, she doesn't live with us." Chen Baihui smiled awkwardly. She didn't want Yang Ailing to know that she and her daughter hadn't recognized each other, so she didn't want to say anything more.

Yang Ailing was completely confused and wanted to ask what was going on, but Xiao Qiao tugged at her sleeve. When their eyes met, Yang Ailing understood something from Xiao Qiao's eyes and didn't say anything more.

After finishing her meal, Eileen Yang paid the bill and parted ways with Chen Baihui and the others.

As soon as I got into the car, my cell phone rang. It was Qiu Xiaoman calling. She needed to let Lao Wei meet Xiao Qiao so that she could feel at ease.

Yang Ailing quickly agreed and rushed to the police station with Xiao Qiao. On the way, Xiao Qiao reminded her, "Aunt Yang, shall we buy some food for Sister Xiaoman?"

“Okay.” Yang Ailing quickly asked her husband to stop at a steamed bun shop and buy a basket of soup dumplings to take with him.

Chen Baihui, on the other hand, took her three children to her old home in the alley. Her family's situation was similar to that of Lao Liu's family, with only the elderly left behind.

When she arrived, she was greeted by the dissatisfaction and reproach of her elders. She looked at the narrow living room in surprise and found that many of her aunts and uncles had come to see her eldest daughter and share in her joy.

Now that Chan Pak-wai has arrived, her eldest daughter, who is rumored to have joined the police force, has not come. Wouldn't the elders be disappointed?

Chen Baihui was quite helpless, but fortunately her eldest daughter had left to work on a case, so she explained with a smile, "It's not that Xiaoman didn't want to come, but she encountered a murderer on the way and went to work on the case. She'll come when she's done."

The aunts and uncles instantly became excited—

"Wow, what an amazing girl! She can solve a case right away!"

"Do you know what kind of case it is? If it's a small case, then forget about it. But if it's a big case, then we'll have to publicize it properly!"

"That's right, that's right, so that those snobs will know how successful the children of the Chen family are!"

"Baihui, your child is so capable. Why don't you persuade her to change her surname to Chen? Otherwise, when outsiders ask, 'Why is our daughter surnamed Qiu?' It doesn't sound good."

"Yes, Baihui, you should talk to your daughter nicely. Our Chen family will take good care of her. We're all family, so don't be distant."

Chen Baihui smiled awkwardly, not knowing whether to say no, so she just laughed it off.

Unexpectedly, Cao Yan was a straightforward little girl and immediately complained to the elders: "That's definitely not going to work. I heard from my cousin that my mother still hasn't acknowledged my older sister. On this trip back, my older sister didn't speak to my mother at all, let alone change her surname. There's no chance."

What?

Such a thing really happened?

This is outrageous! If she doesn't acknowledge her mother, she'll be laughed at to death. How can she ask that little girl for help if anyone needs it in the future? Seriously.

The elders immediately surrounded Chen Baihui, each one lecturing her for acting without thinking.

Someone else raised her daughter to eighteen, and she got a grown-up police officer's daughter with a respectable job for free. Only a fool wouldn't accept that.

One by one, they either cursed Chan Pak-wai for being out of her mind, or called her a idiot and a pig-headed fool.

Chen Baihui's face darkened, but she didn't want to argue with her elders, so she could only silently mutter to herself, "You are the real idiots, a bunch of idiots!"

Ultimately, it was the child's maternal grandmother who made the final decision: the girl had to be recognized. Chen Baihui couldn't bring herself to do it, so she, the old woman, went.

However, we can't just rush to the police station to claim our relatives, can we?

The child's maternal grandmother then asked Chen Baihui for Qiu Xiaoman's mobile phone number, went upstairs to the attic, and called her granddaughter.

Unexpectedly, the phone call couldn't go through, so the old woman had to wait and try again, thinking maybe the cell phone had run out of battery.

Qiu Xiaoman's mobile phone was indeed out of power, and she was at the police station giving her statement as the person who filed the report.

The detective in charge of taking the statement was named Chu Hao. He looked at Qiu Xiaoman with a blank expression: "Are you kidding me? A dog's words can be used as evidence?"

Qiu Xiaoman sighed helplessly, "You're the ones who asked me. Why don't you just write it like this: I noticed that this man was unsteady on his feet, his face was pale, and his eyes were unfocused. He had symptoms of drug use, so I called the police. Then you can go through the proper procedures to interrogate him. He must have spent money on drugs, right? Where did the money come from? If you follow that line, you can legitimately trace it back to the deceased, right?"

"Hmm, that makes a lot more sense." Chu Hao knew that he would have to focus on the source of the drug money later on, but the part about Qiu Xiaoman telling on him by saying that the dog was too surreal, and he didn't know how to write it.

This is the most appropriate approach right now; it's very materialistic—after all, it's based on the symptoms of drug users, which is perfectly reasonable.

After giving her statement, Qiu Xiaoman went to wait at the door. Soon, Yang Ailing and her husband arrived with Xiao Qiao, bringing her some food. They were so thoughtful. Lao Wei also came over to see Xiao Qiao.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Yang Ailing and the others were sent back. As for the transfer of household registration, Lao Wei had already arranged for a household registration police officer to handle the handover.

Old Wei turned to look at Qiu Xiaoman, his eyes filled with affection for her talent. He really wanted to keep this child in Shanghai, so he proposed an even more tempting offer: "How about this, as long as you are willing to stay here, I will make you the head of the police dog base."