Chapter 376: Murder Case

Jiangsan City is a magical place.

It all began in 2003, when a man set foot in this city and met another man at a tofu pudding stand…

From that point on, Jiangsan City’s feng shui began to change.

How did it change, you ask?

Well, police departments from all the surrounding districts, and even from other provinces, were all desperate to send their own people to the Jiangsan City Police Department for long-term secondments!

Yes, the free kind.

In an era where every department was so broke they’d probably turn their underwear inside out to save money, this was simply unbelievable.

But, what if someone told you…

…that your rank-and-file officers could be trained into elite special forces with razor-sharp minds, all for free?

In that case, every unit would be so eager they’d probably try to send in their military dogs too.

And that was exactly the situation the Jiangsan City Police Department found itself in.

Even if an intern came in, just by following a single case and reviewing the files, their improvement would be nothing short of exponential!

Just look at Linlan City.

The officers in that little city’s police department had their stress resilience trained to the absolute max in just two or three months!

A caseload that would make an ordinary person’s scalp tingle just hearing about it.

A level of trouble that would make you black out just by looking at it.

But to these officers… ‘Huh? The workload is this light today? The higher-ups must be feeling merciful!’

And the source of all this was…

…the small gifts that randomly spawned on the streets of Linlan City and Jiangsan City.

Zhang Niu didn’t know why there was a gift but no gift-giver.

But judging by the look on Wang Chao’s face, the gift seemed to be quite a surprise. In that case, it must be…

A pleasant surprise?

“Tsk, kids these days, always so secretive.”

Zhang Niu searched the place high and low, but in the end, he couldn’t find this so-called “little gift.”

He could only lie back on the sofa and remark with a sigh.

“It’s not like back in our day. The matchmaker shows up, you take one look at each other, and if the old tortoise finds his green bean—a match!—you get married, have a kid. Life was good.”

Zhang Niu said, lost in reminiscence.

His wife, sitting beside him, rolled her eyes.

“You old tortoise, how are you planning to handle your own daughter’s business?”

“Her? She probably received a gift already. I just don’t know what kind of gift would make that girl have such a strange expression on her face.”

Zhang Niu stood up and began to wonder curiously.

Zhang Min wasn’t an ordinary girl. Her education, mindset, and experience were such that no common trinket could change her disposition. It would have to be something that could truly broaden her horizons.

That being the case, what in Jiangsan City could possibly have caused it?

Zhang Niu grew more and more curious, his heart itching as if a cat were scratching it.

But what he got for his troubles was a slap from his wife.

“Who asked you about that!? I’m asking about Xiao Min’s marriage! She’s pushing thirty, not a kid anymore, and she doesn’t even have a boyfriend.”

His wife glared at Zhang Niu, disappointed that he wasn’t living up to her expectations.

Zhang Niu paid her no mind. He racked his brain for a moment, then shook his head.

“If you were asking me about business, I could help. But this kind of thing…”

“I’m helpless.”

His wife frowned. “Can’t you just guide her? Pass on some of your experience? What kind of father are you!”

“What experience can I pass on?”

Zhang Niu retorted, disgruntled, “The experience of an old tortoise finding his green bean!?”

“You’re the green bean!”

His wife flew into a rage, pointing at his nose and shouting.

“Then does that make you the tortoise?” Zhang Niu paused, then asked hesitantly.

The two middle-aged people bickered for a while longer.

This was just one manifestation of their affection for each other.

After a long while, they finally got back to the topic at hand.

“Don’t worry, I think Xiao Wang is a pretty good kid.”

Zhang Niu thought for a moment. Recalling the look in his daughter’s eyes, he wasn’t the least bit worried about her marriage prospects.

It’s just that…

“What does Xiao Wang call our daughter?” his wife suddenly asked.

“Big Ni—”

Zhang Niu started to answer subconsciously, but before he could finish the word, he fell into deep thought.

He recalled the term the young man had used in their earlier conversation…

‘Didn’t I become sworn brothers with him at the beginning of the month?’

‘Oh, crap…’

“Forget it.”

“Let’s just let nature take its course.”

With that, Zhang Niu waved his hand dismissively, stopped thinking about the issue, and turned his attention to another, more immediate puzzle.

“First, let’s think about this New Year…”

“How are we going to get through it?”

…

…

The New Year’s celebration was on the 21st.

Well, to be precise, it should be the 22nd.

January 21st was New Year’s Eve, and the 22nd was the Spring Festival.

The closer it got to the New Year, the thicker the festive atmosphere became.

You weren’t woken up by an alarm clock in the morning, but by a “Sky Thunder” firecracker set off by some little rascal.

The evenings weren’t filled with the idle chatter and whispers of neighbors.

Instead, they were filled with the sounds of children running and laughing in the alleys, and the CRACKLE and BANG of exploding firecrackers.

The dusty gray streets were overflowing with the aggressive smell of gunpowder.

Children in bulky padded jackets, their cheeks red and noses running from the cold, would still reach out with the glowing tip of an incense stick toward a firecracker, then hastily scramble away at the SIZZLE.

On the 19th, a heavy, goose-feather snow began to fall.

The moment they saw the heavy snow, the three men from the Capital City—Zhang Liang, Zhao Gang, and Sun Jian—had what seemed like a traumatic flashback, their teeth starting to ache. Back at the Public Security Bureau, they prayed for the snow in the courtyard to let up.

Su Cheng from National Security sat smiling in the pavilion, reviewing documents. His already small eyes narrowed into slits, and no one knew what he was thinking.

The snow fell thick and fast.

The world was covered in a thick layer of cotton. Opening the door revealed a vast, white landscape of accumulated snow.

Fortunately, although traffic was congested, it wasn’t at a complete standstill.

Most workplaces had already shut down, and the majority of people had gone home for the holidays. Even the supermarkets were closed, so not many people were out driving.

The 21st.

New Year’s Eve.

Wang Chao was rushing about in a flurry of activity.

He had set the holiday pay for his employees at five times the normal rate, and if they exceeded their work hours, he would also provide additional overtime pay.