Chapter 90 Chapter 90 “The cake I made wasn’t made by anyone…
Back to the present moment, Comrade Ji Yinhe, who was politely excluded from the family-massacre case by Deputy Captain Yu, scratched his forehead and decided to look through the pile of cases that had not been dealt with in time.
Lu Jitong's precautionary inoculation this morning was correct. The cases at the grassroots level were not only numerous but also complex, and 90% of them were trivial matters.
Street fights, neighborhood quarrels, theft, fraud, prostitution, gambling, and traffic crimes are so diverse and rich that it is simply staggering.
In short, almost all cases that the police station is unwilling to handle because it is too troublesome, and that are not sent to the municipal bureau for handling, are sent to the branch bureau.
Ji Yinhe looked at the case name on the brown paper and sighed softly.
A family annihilation case is a major case that rarely happens here in a year. No wonder Yu Jing is unwilling to give it up and doesn't even have the idea of investigating it together.
She picked out a few files and put them aside, then turned around and looked at the other corner of the office in broad daylight.
Yu Jing, Sang Xiangyang and Niu Dazhi gathered together and discussed the case in almost inaudible voices.
However, even if they couldn't hear anything, the three people's furrowed brows still revealed a lot of clues.
...It seems that this family murder case is quite tricky. At least Yu Jing has not yet figured out how to investigate it.
Ji Yinhe thought so in his heart, but he withdrew his gaze silently.
This wasn't her first time dealing with the grassroots. She still remembered how, just over a year ago, she nearly got into an argument with colleagues from the Beijiang Branch when she went to the Lijing Nightclub to investigate the cause of death of dancer Bai Mei.
Later, as her work progressed, she gradually came to understand the difficulties faced by the grassroots.
The large amount of trivial and complicated work exhausts their bodies and minds, but the promotion opportunities are far from comparable to those at the provincial and municipal levels.
There are many people who sacrifice themselves for justice, but after experiencing countless upside-down days and nights, most of them find it difficult to continue on the front line.
Everyone wants to climb the ladder, and that's understandable. Tang Ci once said that in this technologically advanced age, the criminal case clearance rate is less than 50%. Too many truths are buried in the darkness, and even five, ten, fifteen years from now... they might not see the light of day.
The efforts made by the front-line criminal police were in vain.
Comrade Xiao Ji exhaled, picked out a case, and said to Lu Zheng across from him, "Why don't we start with this street fight case?"
Lu Zheng agreed, and the two left the office and went to the technical department next door to organize the physical evidence, and then went to interrogate the suspect.
The case was very simple. It was just two young men fighting on the street because of a little disagreement. The injuries were quite minor.
However, Ji Yinhe still took the interrogation notes seriously and did not come out of the interrogation room until nightfall.
"There's not much to eat nearby, and the cafeteria is still lit." Lu Zheng looked around from the corridor, then looked down at Comrade Xiao Ji's slightly tired eyes. "I'll go get some food. You go back to the dormitory and rest first."
"Okay." Ji Yinhe just wanted to call Old Ji and Ms. Lian, so he nodded, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Lu Zheng chuckled, took out two aluminum lunch boxes from his desk drawer, and strode towards the cafeteria.
Ji Yinhe returned to the dormitory, stood in front of the window, stretched lazily facing the sparse lights outside, then took out his mobile phone from behind his waist and dialed the number at home.
Ever since Lu Zheng gave her this heavy, square brick-like thing last time, she had become increasingly suspicious of Ms. Lian's five-fold coin.
It's just that I've been busy with work and haven't found the right time to go home.
But now we are in Tiandu District, which is only more than an hour's drive from Meiqingyuan on Heye Street.
If I am not busy on the weekend, I can go home and bring some delicious food to the experts from Lu University who "insisted" on coming to the grassroots.
There were two beeps in the receiver, and then Comrade Lao Ji picked up the phone.
"Yinhe, how do you feel about your first day at the Tiandu Branch?"
"I'm doing fine!" Comrade Xiao Ji always reported good news, not bad news. "My colleagues are all very kind...Teacher Lu was transferred here too!"
"That's great. Your mom and I are worried that you'll be living alone in the dormitory and won't have anyone to help you if you run into any problems."
"Dad, I'm a powerful captain now. Is there anything I can't handle?" Ji Yinhe said with puffed cheeks. "Besides, the dormitory building is right behind the police station. It's very safe!"
Comrade Lao Ji laughed cheerfully, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then asked, "Do you want to say a few words to your mother?"
"Okay, okay!" Ji Yinhe couldn't help but soften her voice when she heard Lian Qiao's greetings from the receiver, "Mom, I miss you!"
"Your dad and I miss you too." Lian Qiao, holding the phone, listed the dishes to her daughter. "Tonight we had braised pork ribs with tea tree mushrooms, porcini fried rice, and dried bean curd in Huaiyang chicken soup... How about you?"
"Uh, let's go to the cafeteria..." Ji Yinhe wiped the saliva that was about to flow from the corner of his lips, "I'm so greedy, save some for me to eat when I go home this weekend--"
"The weekend..." Lian Qiao suddenly lost her words, "Your dad and I might have something to do these two days..."
"Ah?" Xiao Ji was bewildered. "What's going on?"
Ji Jianguo and Lian Qiao exchanged glances on the other end of the phone.
They were investigating the fusion of the two worlds, and had made an appointment with Gong He to visit Chenggong Ceramics on the weekend.
This matter is complicated and troublesome to explain, and there is no need to tell my daughter until more evidence is found.
Lian Qiao was not good at lying. After thinking for a while, she said, "Anyway, I have something to do. Don't worry about it. Just work hard in Tiandu. It's only a month away from the Chinese New Year. Come back then."
Ji Yinhe hummed suspiciously. Old Ji and Ms. Lian were rarely so secretive, so it was hard not to overthink things...
"Okay then." Ji Yinhe lowered his eyes and saw through the window a figure carrying two lunch boxes staggering back on the snow covered by the dim street lights. "I'm hanging up!"
Lian Qiao suddenly had an idea, "And——"
"Um?"
"If you can reveal the case you've been handling recently, could you please tell me and your dad about it?" Lian Qiao chose her words carefully. "You can even tell us after the case is closed!"
“…” Comrade Xiao Ji was a little confused, but he still agreed.
The branch office cafeteria is indeed not comparable to the provincial department cafeteria. There are few varieties, and only steamed buns and porridge are available in the evening.
Fortunately, the rose fermented tofu and dried chicken that Lu Zheng brought from Jingzhou made the dinner more delicious.
…
The next day, when Ji Yinhe entered the office, he found that Yu Jing, Sang Xiangyang, Niu Dazhi and Ge Weidong had already set off.
She was not in a hurry and took Lu Zheng to handle two more cases that were left over from before.
In order to help a neighborhood committee lady mediate a case in which a couple quarreled and their child hid in the sewer, she even took the lead in drilling a well in the cold weather.
When she washed off the mud on her body in the dormitory, changed into a clean and refreshing sweater, and dried her hair in front of the mirror, she suddenly remembered what day it was today...
A late night in the provincial department came to my mind. In the dark corridor, the eyebrows and eyes appeared on the golden and red candle flame.
The voice had said, "...My birthday is in December..."
Comrade Xiao Ji slowly stopped and glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall outside.
——It’s really today!
Ji Yinhe paused for two seconds, then quickly put down the towel and rushed out of the bathroom.
The time indicated it was still early, but it was definitely too late to order a thoughtful birthday cake.
Fortunately, I passed by a bakery when I came from Jingzhou yesterday. If I go there now and try my luck -
Half an hour later, Comrade Xiao Ji stood in front of the fragrant glass counter with half-dry hair.
Facing the smiling aunt, she took a deep breath, pointed to the last piece of plain red bean and cream bread left in the cupboard and said, "This will do."
"Okay!" Auntie happily helped her pack the bag and completed the last business of the day.
After leaving the bakery, Comrade Xiao Ji did not go back to the police station directly.
Instead, he turned and walked into the nearby vegetable market. After a brief look, he stopped in front of a fruit stall, pulled out a twenty-yuan bill from his wallet, pointed at the only ridiculously expensive strawberry in the market, and said calmly, "I'll take it."
"...I'm not just selling them." The boss shook his finger. "I still have seven or eight sweet potatoes here. You can take them all back. I just finished selling the strawberries and am closing up shop to go home!"
“…”
This is clearly a forced sale!
Ji Yinhe glanced reluctantly at the strawberries, then at the pile of twisted sweet potatoes on the ground, then at the shabby bread in his hand, and gritted his teeth:
"make a deal!"
*
Lu Zheng took the last glass slide out from under the microscope, finished writing the record, and then gently twisted his sore neck to close the notebook.
This whole afternoon, he helped Ge Weidong, the only technical police officer in Tiandu, to examine physical evidence.
This old man adheres to the concept of "there is never enough work to do" and moves slower than a snail.
But Ji Yinhe had long been accustomed to the pace of the provincial department. Lu Zheng didn't want her to delay the case because of this, so he couldn't help but personally help Ge Weidong finish the finishing work.
The old man stood by with his arms folded, smiling with a relaxed expression, "The experts from Public Security University are so efficient!"
"..." Lu Zheng was too lazy to pay attention to him. Seeing that it was getting dark outside and Ji Yinhe should have finished her field work, he picked up the report and walked towards the office, ready to ask her to go to the cafeteria for lunch together.
Unexpectedly, when I opened the door, I saw someone squatting in front of the coal stove, sniffing the aroma of roasted sweet potatoes with his frozen red nose.
"Why are you so cold?" Lu Zheng walked forward in surprise, subconsciously wanting to warm her cheeks, but withdrew his hand halfway.
"It's okay! I crawled into a sewer!" Ji Yinhe would never admit that he was so cold because he ran out with his hair wet.
“…” Lu Zheng frowned.
"It's really okay!" Ji Yinhe stood up and jumped on the spot, then clapped his hands, "The organization asked me to come to the grassroots, isn't it just for training!"
Lu Zheng lowered his eyes to glance at the foot of the table, "And then you went out and bought... eight sweet potatoes?"
"I'm just doing a good deed!" Ji Yinhe straightened his back. "It's so cold, you have to sell all these before you can go home..."
"Then why don't you just short the market?"
“…” Ji Yinhe was too lazy to argue with the serious and picky teacher Lu. She pouted and took out a cardboard box from the metal cabinet behind her.
Opening the lid of the box revealed a cream cake dotted with bright red strawberries on a clean white porcelain plate.
"Happy birthday."
“…” Lu Zheng was stunned for two seconds, and his slightly red eyes gave a reaction earlier than words.
He mentioned it casually that day, but Ji Yinhe remembered it firmly in his mind...
And where did she get the cake from in such a snowy and icy suburb with scarce supplies...
There are even fresh strawberries on top...
"Okay, okay, I know you're very touched. Stop being dazed!" Ji Yinhe stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers in front of his eyes, lit the candles, and ran over to turn off the lights. "Make a wish!"
"...Okay." Lu Zheng closed his eyes and blew out the fire after a few seconds.
When I opened my eyes again, Ji Yinhe had already turned on the chandelier.
Lu Zheng picked up the small spoon he had prepared and scooped a spoonful of cake into his mouth under her expectant gaze.
"Delicious." He ate half a piece before asking contentedly, "There seems to be... red bean bread underneath?"
"Yes, this is the only kind the bakery has. Luckily they have cream," Ji Yinhe said seriously, "so I added some strawberry chunks... I learned it from my mom!"
Lu Zheng's eyes flickered slightly. There was always forced buying and selling in the small market. It seemed that the sweet potatoes were probably bundled with the strawberries.
He finished the rest of the cake carefully, and suddenly asked vaguely, "If you knew it was someone else's birthday, would you help them celebrate it like this?"
"yes."
“…” Lu Zheng put down the plate, lowered his head and said nothing. A peeled sweet potato was suddenly handed to him.
Comrade Xiao Ji's clear voice came from my ears: "Well, not everyone can eat the cake I made."
Lu Zheng paused and suddenly raised his head.
Ji Yinhe opened his big, bright eyes, stuffed the sweet potato into his hand, then calmly put his hands behind his back and went to the next room to watch Ge Weidong's work.
“…”
Lu Zheng pinched the sweet potato that was roasted until it was oozing with oil, and the corners of his lips suddenly curled up.
*
Unexpectedly, the technical department next door was empty. With the help of Lu Da's experts, Ge Weidong had already left work early.
Ji Yinhe turned from the corridor and bumped into Deputy Captain Yu who looked dejected.
Behind him were two generals with their heads bowed.
Ji Yinhe stopped and looked at him with a smile on her face.
Yu Jing, feeling overwhelmed, took a deep breath and said, "Captain Ji, please stop looking at me in such a sinister way."
"No sarcasm." Ji Yinhe's smile deepened, and he pointed his finger towards the Criminal Investigation Team's office. "I roasted sweet potatoes for everyone."
It was really cold outside today. They didn't expect to be able to eat hot and sweet food as soon as they returned to the team. Sang Xiangyang and Niu Dazhi looked at each other with their sleeves in their sleeves, overjoyed, "Thank you, Captain Ji!"
Then they fell silent at the same time and looked at Yu Jing guiltily.
"Go ahead." Yu Jing waved his hand impatiently. "I'll go to Director Lu and have a chat."
After the two generals Heng and Ha ran away like monkeys descending a mountain, Ji Yinhe whispered, "Is there something wrong with the family annihilation case?"
"..." Yu Jing was still stubborn, "I can handle it."
"I know you can handle it. We're all colleagues. I just want to check on the status of the case on our team!" Ji Yinhe said with ease, "Is that okay?"
The word "colleague" made Yu Jing feel a little more at ease. He looked up at the high-spirited Ji Yinhe and said stubbornly, "There's no progress today, so I don't want to waste your time."
After saying that, he turned around and was about to enter the office, but Ji Yinhe looked at him silently.
…It seems that the problem lies in this “lack of progress”.
The worst thing about solving a case is having no idea where to start. Even if you reach a dead end, as long as you can turn around in time, you have eliminated a possibility.
Comrade Xiao Ji cast a glance at Yu Jing's figure disappearing behind the door, and gazed at the sunset, thinking slowly.
...Is it possible that there is not even a single suspicious person or investigation direction to be found in this family murder case?
Unfortunately, her current status is awkward. Even if she is anxious, she cannot grab others and ask them questions.
*
The next morning, Yu Jing went out with his two generals Heng and Ha early in the morning for another full day of investigation work.
Ji Yinhe and Lu Zheng worked in perfect harmony and at a fast pace, clearing out all the backlog of cases in the team.
It was almost time to get off work. Comrade Xiao Ji was sitting behind the table reading a book and thinking about tonight's dinner. However, Lu Jitong came in hurriedly and asked them to take Ge Weidong with them and go to Zi Teng Lane quickly.
"...Huh?" Comrade Xiao Ji raised his head in confusion. "Wasn't Captain Yu responsible for the family annihilation?"
Lu Zheng next to him had already quietly stood up and packed up his toolbox for going out.
"...Alas, just under the courtyard where my family lived, another body was found that had been buried for many years..." Lu Jitong said distressedly, "But that's not the point. The Jiangtan Municipal Bureau has sent people over to take over the case. Yu Jing almost got into a fight with them... Xiao Ji, you are very familiar with Tang Ci and the others, right? Please go over and help!"
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