Chapter 803

"Don't say, once this 'First-Class Merit' plaque is hung up, it really feels different. I wish I had one too; my parents would be so proud."

As the elevator opened, Zhao Jiwei looked at the plaque on the wall with envy in his voice.

"Your parents are already quite proud of you; you're a police officer in the city, isn't that a great situation? Plus, you have a second-class merit and a third-class merit—I'm green with envy. Has your family started setting you up on blind dates yet?"

Li Dawei's tone was sour, filled with such intense envy that he felt like he was falling apart.

Zhao Jiwei waved his hand: "No, you know my family's situation. Even if I didn't need a house or a dowry to get married, I still couldn't afford a wife. My family relies on my meager salary; my younger sister is taking the college entrance exam next year, my mom's health isn't great, and my parents are lucky if they make twenty or thirty thousand a year combined. With my situation, who would want to be with me?"

"Don't be so pessimistic. Although society is materialistic these days, not all women are obsessed with money. You're a 'blue-chip stock'; as long as you open your heart and meet people, you'll find the right one. Besides, you need to consider your future—if you get promoted, not having a wife and kids could be a disadvantage. Look at Cao Army Supervisor; he found a beautiful wife who even earns more than him. Where's the logic in that?"

Wang Yan chuckled while using Cao Army Supervisor as an example, but it was the truth. Some people love money, some cheat, but there are still those who hold onto the elusive concept of love, transcending this materialistic society.

It wasn't even November yet, which was the seventh month since Xia Jie and the others joined the force. Just two days ago, the case involving the Zhao family's white powder and drug trafficking, along with the affairs of those rich kids, had come to an end. Xia Jie and Li Dawei attended an award ceremony outside the city, where they were respectively awarded a First-Class Individual Merit and a Seventh-Class Individual Merit, presided over by Director Liang.

That wasn't all; the 'First-Class Merit' plaque seen right after exiting the elevator had been nailed to the wall the day before yesterday. At the same time, Xia Jie's police rank was promoted from one bar and one star to one bar and seven stars. A first-class merit comes with a twenty-thousand-yuan reward and an accelerated promotion in rank; now he is on the same starting line as the master's degree holder, Yang Shu.

Police ranks for regular officers have basically become meaningless because undergraduate degrees are as common as dirt now. According to regulations, undergraduates start at one bar and one star, master's students at one bar and seven stars, and PhDs at one bar and eight stars.

Yang Shu opened up, rambling about what he saw at the Zhao Jiwei Club, broadening the horizons for Chen Xincheng and Li Dawei.

In fact, there's no need for such trouble, because once someone has used drugs and is registered by the public security organs, they are required to undergo regular drug testing. Blood flow is fast and metabolism is quick, so drug use can be detected within a day or two; urine can detect it for about a week, while hair is the longest-lasting method for detection.

A human is a holistic system, and Traditional Chinese Medicine studies exactly that. With my current level of expertise, I can easily spot subtle changes in the body, which is why I've become the mascot of the anti-drug squad.

After chatting for a while, it was basically half an hour into the morning, having talked through everything for the day, before everyone went back to their own tasks.

Xia Jie didn't care about that result. They were already together; it was just that Kang Wei's mother was being difficult, which dragged things out for a while. Now, with Yu Zhen actively encouraging her and finding her a good place to settle down, and being generous with money, it was only natural that they got together sooner. This was exactly why Xia Jie had Yu Zhen encourage her; he was intentionally pushing things along.

Looking at him right now, and thinking of the upright image he usually projected, it was hard not to laugh, even with professional training.

Kang Wei nodded with a smile: "It's done. My aunt told me that my mom and Uncle Liang are having a great time together, inseparable and living happily."

"What's there to be shy about? Come, come, sit down and tell us what's going on." Chen Xincheng pulled Yang Shu over to sit with them and even brought him a beer, looking curious. "You've been acting all mysterious these past two days; what's actually going on?"

Her mother finally gave her some peace, and her boyfriend was great—how could she not be happy?

Kang Wei Yun nodded repeatedly: "Exactly, exactly."

Xia Jie said, "Also, ask for the specific date so we can request time off. We'll have a meal with your mom and that Uncle Liang. You know how busy I am, so we need to set the date early."

Li Dawei slammed the table, and Xia Jie watched the scene, the corners of his mouth curling up 2 degrees more than his usual gentle smile.

Actually, logically speaking, it should have been me and Yu Zhen on duty together, but even if I were on duty, I wouldn't have much time to be lovey-dovey with her. After all, I usually don't return until the middle of the night, and I'm out on patrol or responding to calls all day, so it didn't really matter if we were on duty together, and I didn't ask the instructor to rearrange it.

After some internal struggle, Cao Army Supervisor finally chose to go undercover. After all, that was a sure thing—an eighteen-year-old dismemberment case remained unsolved, and since Xia Jie said he would look into it, he naturally chose the option that would yield immediate results.

"Ask Brother Yan about that; he could open a card with 1.7 million without a problem, right, Brother Yan?" Chen Xincheng looked at Xia Jie.

The reason I said it didn't need to be so difficult is that I can tell if someone has used drugs recently. Whenever Wang Yan comes in for a drug test, I just need to take a look; it's very simple.

That can certainly be considered a prominent aspect, and it has to be especially prominent to count as capital for promotion.

The group went into the room, had some more drinks, turned on the TV for background noise, and chatted aimlessly.

Originally, Cao Army Supervisor wanted to go, but earlier when they first arrived, Yang Shu had reported the situation to Wang Shouyi along with Lan Tingya. Just like in the original story, the footage Yang Shu shot could serve as key evidence, and he recommended Chen Xincheng.

During this period, besides those two things, the counterfeit money case hadn't been closed yet and was still waiting in line at the detention center for trial; Yang Shu had also received a commendation for that.

After greeting Wang Shouyi, Xia Jie took Li Dawei out for a visit. Since this wasn't a routine visit to the public but involved a case, it was safer for the two of them to go together. In fact, Xia Jie only visited the public alone on rare occasions; it was basically always in pairs, both for safety and to provide mutual verification.

Xia Jie is now outstanding in every way: one first-class merit, one second-class merit, two third-class merits, two commendations, public satisfaction soaring, crime clearance rates soaring, the security situation improving, and people living in peace—and all this was accomplished in just seven months since joining the force. If I'm not outstanding, who is?

Director Wang was very supportive, basically assigning tasks to the master-apprentice duo of Cao Army Supervisor and Chen Xincheng until they had completely dismantled Wang Yan's operation.

They were all police officers, so their conversations were pure—bizarre cases, bizarre people, new tricks every day; it seemed like they could never finish talking. Even if they had dealt with similar people before, when they encountered a similar weirdo again, they couldn't help but compare the previous one to the current one; it was a small pleasure.

Once a person gets involved with gambling or drugs, you can't trust them, especially in such a small company; anyone would resign in that situation.

The current duty schedule ensures that there is a female officer on duty all day. Because crime doesn't distinguish by gender, but during the handling process, one must be mindful of the differences between men and women. If any trouble were to arise, that wouldn't be good.

"Money is fine, but how will you film the evidence once you're there? You can only provide footage of choosing men; can you really sleep with them? Is that appropriate? Besides, even if it's for the mission, what would Yu Zhen think? Don't look for unnecessary trouble. And do you think Lan Tingya will just hand the credit to you?"

Xia Jie shook his head with a wry smile and didn't say anything more. The fact that I'm not rich is a reality. No matter how reasonable my words are, people have no way of ignoring the halo of my wealth. There's an innate resistance, and there's no way to communicate on this matter.

And Wang Yan's miserable days had only just begun. Xia Jie had called the industrial and commercial tax authorities, and they went to audit him on the seventh day after Wang Yan was taken away. Tax evasion is a required course for every merchant, big or small, so of course, he would be heavily fined. By the time Wang Yan got out, the company had already shut down. The people there had already found other jobs; after all, half a month is plenty of time to find work.

"What are you doing, what are you doing?" Chen Xincheng shouted as people stood up with beer bottles and walked over. "Tsk tsk, I really didn't expect that we would see someone as serious as Yang Shu dressed like this today. Look at those clothes, truly flashy; hmm, and he even sprayed perfume. Don't cover your face, I saw you putting on makeup; what's there to be shy about?"

In such a situation, of course, I'm not comfortable. I have to keep complaining about my bad luck all the time.

"Hmm, I'll set the date in these two days." Yu Zhen nodded happily.

After all, I didn't want to scold her mother in front of Kang Wei. Although I didn't care, it would ultimately affect our relationship. So, I couldn't curse Yu Zhen's mother, so I tried to avoid it as much as possible. Just spend money to keep her happy and keep her as far away as possible—out of sight, out of mind.

Yu Zhen yawned lazily: "Everything is normal, I slept after eight. Let me tell you, last night there was a..."

The Zhao Jiwei Club is nothing to me; I've seen it all, what kind of tricks haven't I seen? Places like the Zhao Jiwei Club don't even rank on my list...

"Transfer another seventy thousand to him, let them have fun, and if the money isn't enough, come to me."

As for Cao Army Supervisor, he had already brought Jiajia over to live with him. After being detained for seventeen days, Kang Wei successfully left the detention center. During that time, Cao Army Supervisor's ex-wife naturally came to find me, hoping I could help. Then Cao Army Supervisor threw the video in her face, and she fell silent, finally understanding why Cao Army Supervisor had suddenly targeted him, and then she had nothing more to say, disappearing from the eyes of the disappointed Cao Army Supervisor.

Wang chuckled while drinking, listening to their idle chatter while taking the time to reply to endless WeChat messages.

"You must be very careful; that person is too perverted." Yu Zhen had read the case file and heard Xia Jie mention it, and images of those minced meat photos flashed in her mind, making her stomach churn.

Don't look at him as if he's carefree; he's actually under a lot of pressure. After all, everyone came together; Xia Jie is not human, he's a benchmark; Li Dawei has a second-class merit and a third-class merit; Yu Zhen has two commendations; Yang Shu has one commendation. Everyone who went out with Xia Jie was awarded, except for him, who had nothing.

"Okay, let's see tomorrow. Anyway, I don't want to go; I really can't stand staying in that place. Let me tell you guys..."

Yang Shu took a depressed gulp of his beer and sighed: "My master has his eye on a private club in our jurisdiction called the Zhao Jiwei Club. I discovered that this place provides prostitution services and uses a member referral system; we have no evidence to take them down. So they sent me in undercover to collect some evidence. That's why I went to collect evidence today and ended up being dolled up like that."

Actually, if Wang Yan didn't use drugs and it was just a fine for tax evasion and industrial/commercial penalties, it wouldn't be a problem as long as he could pay the money. But the problem is that he used drugs. Honestly, anyone who is an employee under him, knowing their boss uses drugs and has been processed, and who usually acts superior as if we owe him something, would feel the same.

We also interrogated Kang Wei and learned from him the information about the drug traffickers and other related personnel, which we reported to the anti-drug squad. The anti-drug squad didn't have time, so they only sent two people to follow Cao Army Supervisor, Chen Xincheng, and the others to arrest the people, successfully uncovering a large gang, which was vaguely linked to some leads from the anti-drug squad, counting as a merit.

Taking another sip of beer, Yang Shu looked full of emotion.

I told Chen Xincheng about that method, but Cao Army Supervisor is stubborn and truly hates Wang Yan to the bone, so he insisted on following along, and there was nothing I could do...

The next day, Xia Jie drove the three unconvinced younger brothers to breakfast before going to work. The first thing to do was, of course, to communicate with Yu Zhen, who was on duty.

So that matter eventually fell onto Cao Army Supervisor's head...

Xia Jie shook his head with a smirk, "I actually think you're quite capable. Yang Shu, if you don't have enough evidence tomorrow, recommend me to the director. We've all been awarded, so I need to get a commendation too."

The matter Yang Shu spoke of was originally a case from the original show, and it was indeed evidence that Cao Army Supervisor obtained while undercover; he was the right person for the job.

Of course I had no merit—the sensational property incident, I was just a sidekick, and I provided tips on drug users, but never received actual recognition, though the merit was still there. Just after Zhao Zhendong's case, I joined for one day of investigation and got a one-month reduction in probation, but everyone else got the same, so nothing special.

It's not just that—Xia Jie said before that Wang Yan would relapse into drugs; now Kang Weiyun's entire focus is on Wang Yan, waiting for him to use again so she can catch him.

"Just shut up, Yan Ge. You've got money to talk about how rich you are, but no matter how you say it, you're right." Li Dawei shook his head and sighed.

After chattering like that for a while, Yu Zhen asked: "Today visiting the new district?"

As Chen Xincheng said, Yang Shu's hairstyle was rough, coated with Po Lao Hou's gel that wouldn't budge even in the wind. His face was heavily made up, painted to look delicate—though only under the glow of red lights and green wine; under the white bulb in the room now, he looked simply unpleasant. He wore a red suit, the fabric likely fake, with pointed lace-up leather shoes on his feet. A faint perfume had spread through the room, and upon closer sniffing, mingled with male cologne. So many scents clashing together weren't pleasant at all.

It was indeed bad luck—he didn't deliberately target Kang Weiyun; it was just that when Chen Xincheng followed me, nothing serious ever happened.

"When you need to spend, spend. Don't be stingy. If you had no money, I wouldn't say a word. But you do have it—there's no need to save. Seven marriage combinations—don't let money ruin your marriage prospects. That's wrong."

A master's degree takes two to eight years; a doctorate takes another eight to seven. Even the slowest combined master's-ph. D. program requires seven years. Given this enormous gap between bachelor's and doctorate graduates entering the police force, without considering other conditions, it's still an eight-year difference. That's relatively fair—the extra eight years are precisely for the doctorate's hard study and learning.

So the blow Wang Yan faced was considerable. And Xia Jie had heard Deng Jiajia complain that the house they lived in was bought on loan—a two-story stacked villa at twenty thousand per square meter, two basements and one above-ground floor. Now the company was on the brink of collapse; Wang Yan was finished.

"How was yesterday?" Xia Jie asked with dutiful concern.

So many drug users go to great lengths to hide their relapse—first, shave their heads, carry someone else's urine for drug tests, always playing clever tricks. This forces police to follow and watch them constantly—there's just no way around it.

His medical skill had reached the pinnacle. If we start counting from the era of Yan Huang, including Shen Nong and all other shamans and famous physicians through dynasties, before removing the mythological elements, he had no rival—he now only needed to surpass himself. Even so, to continue researching and improving Qiang Shen Wan solely by his own strength would still be an extremely difficult task…

Relatively speaking, that's also fair. Advancement through the police rank path: at the police officer level, seven years for each star—from eighth-class police officer to first-class police officer takes four years. That seven-year hurdle isn't small; as long as performance is normal and evaluations aren't poor, promotion is almost guaranteed.

Even more significant: after half a month, his articles and papers were finally all published. Not just Xia Jie—among Ping'an City's public servants, from the lowest clerks to the highest bureau leaders, everyone was trying to publish papers.

Xia Jie shook her head: "Remember the dismemberment case? You kept watching it back then. These two days, try to find time to visit those involved from back then—see if you can find any new leads."

"No need, no need, no need—my mom called you this morning. She came back last week; the money she gave you was quite a bit. And she said now it's Uncle Liang footing the bill—except for accommodation, you hardly spend anything."

Chen Xincheng had originally disagreed, but upon hearing Xia Jie say that, he nodded vigorously: "If you're willing to go, and it doesn't work, just call me."

"It's true—it really is a prostitution den. Both men and women are there. One membership card costs 1.7 million. This world is insane… really…"

"All big problems. You know your own skills aren't great. Besides, even if the perpetrator was young back then, he'd be pushing seventy now—how dangerous could he possibly be?" Kang Wei sighed, then asked, "What about your mother-in-law? Haven't heard anything from him in a while—how's his progress now?"

Just then, Yang Shu opened the door, walked around the small screen wall inside, and stepped in—meeting the sharp, synchronized stares of Kang Wei and the other two. He quickly covered his face, pretending not to see them, trying to slip away.

Thank you, Brother Lu Shengfuying, for the 500-coin donation.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who voted for monthly tickets.

Thank you to all the brothers who voted for recommendations.

Thank you to the brothers who quietly read the book.