Chapter 90 Duties: Protecting the weak and fighting crime
Emergency room at Nancheng District People's Hospital.
After a tense examination and initial treatment, the doctor removed his mask and walked into the corridor.
Jiang Ling, Wei Changfeng, and others, who were anxiously waiting in the corridor, rushed forward: "Doctor, how is the child?"
"Fortunately, the child was brought in in time. The child had a mild concussion, multiple soft tissue contusions, severe subcutaneous bruising, and several old fracture marks. The most serious issues were dehydration, malnutrition, and extreme psychological trauma."
After a brief pause, the doctor concluded: "He is out of immediate danger."
The crowd relaxed a little, but the doctor's next words made the atmosphere heavy again.
“Physical injuries can be treated, but psychological ones… This child is severely traumatized and extremely unresponsive to external stimuli. He has severe autism and phobias. He refuses to let anyone near him, including us doctors and nurses. He trembles like a leaf at the slightest touch, neither crying nor making a fuss, just staring blankly at the ceiling. Sigh!”
The doctor sighed deeply: "Who are the child's parents? He desperately needs their company right now. Where is his mother? Where is his father?"
The only response the doctor received was silence from all the police officers.
After a long pause, Wei Changfeng spoke with difficulty: "The injuries on the child's body were inflicted by his father. His mother has passed away."
The doctor shook his head; there was nothing he could do in this situation.
Night fell.
Xiaoyu was transferred to a regular ward.
The fluorescent tubes emitted a cool light, casting pale spots of light on the bluish-gray terrazzo floor.
On that large, iron-framed hospital bed covered with a stiff, starched blue and white striped sheet, Xiaoyu's presence seemed small and fragile.
He was curled up, almost like a baby returning to the womb, tightly huddled in the corner of the hospital bed against the wall. It was as if the cold wall, half-painted green, was the only protection he could find.
His thin body was wrapped in a hospital gown that was too big for him. Underneath the loose fabric, the outline of his bony shoulder blades and spine was clearly visible, silently telling the story of long-term hunger and neglect.
What was most heartbreaking was the trembling of his body.
It wasn't a violent tremor, but a continuous, subtle shiver, like a candle flickering in the wind. From his shoulders to his hunched back, to his thin, stick-like arms tightly wrapped around his knees, and finally to his small feet, similarly curled up beneath the wide legs of his hospital gown... every muscle and every nerve in his body seemed to be under immense, invisible pressure, uncontrollably emitting this high-frequency, near-collapse tremor.
This trembling was silent, yet it conveyed a deep-seated fear and helplessness more clearly than any cry.
At this moment, he was like a fledgling bird abandoned in a storm, its feathers soaked, its body heat gone, and it had even exhausted the strength to cry out, leaving only an instinctive, desperate shrinking.
The ward was quiet.
Jiang Ling sat on a small stool by the bed, her gaze gentle and filled with deep compassion. She knew that Xiao Yu had shut himself off at this moment, and any approach from the outside world would fill him with fear.
Jiang Ling thought of herself.
She was once abused by Zhao Hongxia and beaten by human traffickers.
She resisted being touched by others, she was unwilling to reveal her feelings, and she hid herself away.
But compared to Xiaoyu, Jiang Ling felt lucky.
Officer Jiang Shouxin rescued her and gave her fatherly care;
The director and teachers of the welfare home provided her with a stable life and support to continue her studies;
Her colleagues at the police station understood, affirmed, and accepted her, and supported her in embarking on a career in criminal investigation.
And so many kind-hearted people helped her find her biological parents.
How can we truly help Xiaoyu?
Perhaps only love and warmth can combat hatred and coldness.
"Officer Jiang."
A gentle voice interrupted Jiang Ling's thoughts.
Jiang Ling looked up and saw Wen Xiufen standing at the door, carrying a thermos, not daring to come in.
Jiang Ling waved to her, signaling her to come in.
Wen Xiufen tiptoed in, placed the thermos on the bedside table, and said in a low voice, "I made chicken soup to give Xiaoyu some nutrition."
Jiang Ling remembered what Wen Xiufen had once said: Xiao Yu used to refuse to eat anything she gave him, but one time he was so hungry that he finally ate the noodles Wen Xiufen cooked. As a result, he cried after eating the noodles and told her about his grievances.
Wen Xiufen possesses a motherly gentleness and love; perhaps she can help this poor child.
Jiang Lingchong nodded to Wen Xiufen: "Okay, thank you."
Wen Xiufen lowered her head to check on Xiaoyu's condition.
Seeing Xiaoyu curled up in a small ball, Wen Xiufen's tears fell like pearls from a broken string.
She slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to reach out and gently pat Xiaoyu's back through the blanket.
Strangely enough, when the nurse approached to examine him earlier, even the slightest footsteps or the rustling of clothing would cause Xiaoyu's subtle trembling to intensify, and his body would instinctively curl up even more. But when Wen Xiufen gently patted his back, Xiaoyu did not resist or tremble. Instead, he slowly opened his eyes and stared blankly at her.
Wen Xiufen's tears fell silently. She dared not use force, but could only pat him gently while whispering in the softest voice, "Don't be afraid, Xiaoyu, don't be afraid. Aunt Wen is here, Aunt Wen is here."
Xiao Yu's eyes gradually cleared, and he recognized the gentle woman in front of him.
He stopped trembling, slowly closed his eyes, feeling Wen Xiufen's gentle pats, and let out a soft murmur from his throat: "Mom..."
That "Mom" was so soft it was almost inaudible.
But it brought tears to everyone's eyes.
Li Qiuyun and Wu Jianbin volunteered to be on duty tonight and stayed in the ward.
They had been standing by the window the whole time.
Hearing Xiaoyu's cry, Li Qiuyun clasped her hands tightly in front of her, her knuckles turning white from the force. She couldn't look away, her gaze fixed on the thin, small figure on the hospital bed.
Xiaoyu closed his eyes because he wanted to pretend that his mother was still alive and that she was patting him to comfort him.
Xiaoyu is only seven years old.
They are at an age where they are attached to their mothers and need their parents' love and care.
However, he fell into a terrifying domestic violence, was terrified by his father's beatings, and suffered severe damage to his mental health.
Li Qiuyun recalled the first time she received a police report, when she wrote down the four conclusions "improper discipline" in her statement.
But the jagged bruises on Xiaoyu's back, the bandages that bled from her forehead, and her heartbreakingly empty eyes seemed to be silently accusing her of recklessness.
Is this still considered misdiscipline?
This is violent assault!
Li Qiuyun recalled her dismissive attitude when Wen Xiufen came to report the incident earlier that day. If she had taken the public's concerns seriously and responded to the police sooner, would the child have been spared such severe harm?
Li Qiuyun's cheeks began to burn, feeling ashamed of her ignorance and past shirking of responsibility.
At the same time, something unprecedented and weighty emerged from the depths of her heart—a sense of professional mission.
Li Qiuyun looked up at Jiang Ling's slender and upright back by the hospital bed.
The duties of a police officer are no longer just empty slogans in books, nor are they just routine procedures during internships. Instead, they are the cries of this tormented child to his mother, Wen Xiufen's repeated insistence on calling the police, and Jiang Ling's swift and decisive actions despite procedural difficulties and opposition.
Li Qiuyun finally understood that protecting the weak and fighting crime was the true meaning of her wearing this police uniform!
At that moment, Wu Jianbin, who was also deeply shocked, was another person who was assigned to the Jinwu Road Police Station along with Li Qiuyun.
He also heard the faint cry of "Mom," and was equally pierced by the tragic state of Xiaoyu in the ward. But unlike Li Qiuyun, he did not show his emotions outwardly; all the shock was contained in his tightly furrowed brows and his complex and turbulent eyes.
Wu Jianbin's gaze remained firmly fixed on Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling's profile appeared unusually serene in the cool light of the ward, but Wu Jianbin keenly noticed her slightly furrowed brows and the fleeting pity deep in her eyes—a profound and empathetic pain.
Wu Jianbin recalled what Lao Wei and other veteran police officers had said when he first arrived at the station.
"Hey, when Jiang Ling was around, our institute received more banners of appreciation than we do now."
"That's right, that girl has a sharp eye, a meticulous mind, and is also very bold. Some cases seem like a complete mess, but she can still manage to unravel them and make sense of them. When it's time to act, she doesn't hesitate at all."
At the time, Wu Jianbin took it as a senior colleague praising an outstanding colleague, and even thought it was a bit exaggerated.
Only now, having witnessed the case firsthand, has Wu Jianbin's thinking changed.
In the cafeteria, Jiang Ling instantly became alert and proactively went to the police station to inquire about the case; at Zhang Minghui's doorstep, facing procedural barriers and cunning denials, she calmly planned and cleverly broke down the door; downstairs in the dyeing factory's dormitory building, she defended Wen Xiufen, saying that silence was tantamount to condoning. In the hospital, by the bedside, facing the child's tragic condition, her quiet compassion...
He finally understood!
Why did the police station receive so many banners of appreciation when Jiang Ling was in charge?
It wasn't because Jiang Ling wanted to take credit, but because she could see the evil hidden under the guise of "family matters" and "discipline." What she demonstrated was not only keen insight, but also the courage to tear open the truth and protect the weak at all costs.
This courage transcends simple procedural execution; it is a righteous instinct deeply ingrained in the blood of police officers.
Jiang Ling imbued this police uniform with the most profound and passionate meaning through her actions.
Wei Changfeng's remark, "We haven't given you enough banners," no longer sounded like a joke to Wu Jianbin; it was a reminder to himself.
Wu Jianbin looked at Jiang Ling with a complicated expression.
There was shock, admiration, deep reflection, and an ignited desire.
He longed to possess that kind of insight, courage, and responsibility.
He longed to become a ray of light, illuminating every dark corner of the city, so that people like Zhang Minghui would have nowhere to hide, and people like Xiaoyu would no longer tremble!
The ward was quiet, and the lights were dim.
But in Wu Jianbin and Li Qiuyun's hearts, a bright flame was ignited by Jiang Ling's appearance.
Jiang Ling didn't preach; instead, she used her actions to teach these two inexperienced and naive police academy students a profound lesson that could reshape their faith.
The name of this lesson is "The Duties of a Police Officer".
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I've been very busy these past few days, and I've had to squeeze in time to write, so the word count is a bit low. I'll definitely update more once I settle down.
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