Chapter 272: Patience

Hum.

Wuh…

Jiang Yuan's phone vibrated multiple times, finally drawing Heng Qiongsi's attention.

Heng Qiongsi said, "If you're busy, you can handle it first."

"It's fine, mostly just family worrying." Jiang Yuan quietly collected the red envelope sent by his father. He had just bought a house, so his savings had indeed dropped.

Heng Qiongsi smiled and asked, "Really family?"

"Of course. The usual aunts and uncles you hear about in stories."

"Wow! That's great—my side of the family hardly has any relatives left." Heng Qiongsi added, "My grandfather was a soldier; most of my family passed away early, and we lost contact with relatives back home. My father's generation only had three people, all only children…"

Heng Qiongsi naturally slipped into the conversation mode.

Jiang Yuan listened, occasionally replying. He had seen enough interrogations to know police weren't always aggressive—they often preferred to be listeners.

In practice, listening to suspects often yielded vast amounts of information.

Some suspects who appeared tough and unyielding would break down under gentleness, sobbing uncontrollably while confessing everything.

Jiang Yuan's mind flashed back to the four murder cases he had just solved.

The killers probably cried too.

Crying for themselves, for their families, for their own stupidity, for leaving the world, for the fear of death.

"What are you thinking about?" Heng Qiongsi noticed Jiang Yuan's distraction instantly.

Jiang Yuan cleared his throat twice. "I just remembered an old case."

"The monkey theft case?"

"No, one of the earlier ones."

"Can you tell me?"

"Not really. Sorry—it's all murder cases, and they're still active."

Heng Qiongsi understood. "It's fine. When I was home, my dad would sometimes bring up confidential topics and then not let me listen…"

Jiang Yuan chuckled. "It might not be confidentiality—maybe just topics unsuitable for you."

"What's unsuitable for me…" Heng Qiongsi paused, then realized, but didn't get angry—only lowered her head to sip her drink.

Glug glug glug…

…

After the meal, Heng Qiongsi was returning to Qinghe. Jiang Yuan called Jiang Yongxin, who sent an Elf vehicle to take her.

Heng Qiongsi didn't refuse, got in the car, and waved goodbye to Jiang Yuan with her long hair swaying.

Jiang Yuan walked back to his newly bought small apartment, spread paper and pen across the living room floor, and began sketching the surveillance layout of Jiangcun Community.

With a few uncles and elders agreeing, this would be easy to implement.

Installing surveillance wasn't bad for Jiangcun residents. Earlier, few were installed—not because people didn't understand, but because the community was built early, and surveillance wasn't popular then.

Now, Jiangcun's reputation for wealth had spread far, and demand for safety had grown steadily.

The fact that people in Jiangfuzhen all knew to hire Qiang Uncle as a bodyguard showed their concerns.

Level 3 technical surveillance tech was trivial for a single community.

Normally, Level 3 technical surveillance tech could cover an entire city like Changyang.

Besides, Jiangcun Community's budget was unusually generous.

Jiang Yuan drew the plans to the highest standard.

In just a few hours, he completed the drawings.

He washed up and slept. The next day, he reviewed the plans again, took a photo copy, and mailed another copy home.

Jiangcun Community matters could be decided entirely by the village committee—far more efficient than any homeowners' association.

With that settled, Wan Baoming couldn't wait to ask Jiang Yuan about his daily life.

No need to say—it was a nudge to get back to work.

Jiang Yuan contacted Liu Jinghui, set a time, and headed to the Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade.

At this point, Liu Jinghui no longer mentioned the "one week" thing.

His work at the provincial bureau had always been supporting local units, but previously focused on current cases. He wasn't uninterested in cold murder cases—he just knew they were too difficult, too often futile.

In truth, any cold murder case with even a faint lead was met with enthusiastic investment from local police.

The occasional special task force represented nothing more than a tiny, fragile hope.

But working with Jiang Yuan had been so effective that Liu Jinghui couldn't bear to return to the provincial bureau.

The provincial bureau didn't demand it.

Liu Jinghui had already solved a cold murder case during his leave—such dedication couldn't be ignored, let alone stopped.

The group gathered again in the cold case task force meeting room.

When Jiang Yuan arrived, the room held more people than before—not just the original elite team.

Clearly, everyone was eager to join a successful team.

Liu Jinghui understood the dynamics perfectly. He skipped any speech, treating it like routine work, and said to Jiang Yuan, "Shall we take on the second case?"

"Sure." Jiang Yuan had no objection.

The second case they selected was a taxi driver robbery-murder.

After confirming with Jiang Yuan, Liu Jinghui said, "Then we'll focus on Case 113 robbery-murder. Wang Chuanxing, you go first."

"Yes." Wang Chuanxing immediately responded. Since Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui had selected the cases, he'd been studying the top few.

Standing up, Wang Chuanxing didn't need notes: "Case 113 robbery-murder occurred eleven years ago. The female victim, Yan Lima, was found near Dawan Village in Shahezhen, decapitated, with multiple blood footprints at the scene. Her red Hyundai Elantra was abandoned on a slope five kilometers away…"

Jiang Yuan chose this case because of the blood and footprints. Even after so long, evidence revealing the scene's conditions still held value.

Liu Jinghui was far too familiar with taxi robbery-murders.

For a long time, taxis—carrying large cash amounts, offering isolated, convenient spaces, and driven solo—had attracted many criminals.

Liu Jinghui had handled multiple such cases and had developed some insights.

After Wang Chuanxing finished, Liu Jinghui turned to Jiang Yuan. "Shall I share my thoughts?"

"Go ahead." Jiang Yuan needed more time to process the evidence anyway.

Liu Jinghui said, "First, the killer likely had two to three people. The victim was killed in a controlled state. If only one person, he'd need to be extremely strong. But given the era, taxi drivers often refused rides if a passenger seemed threatening—so a very strong man requesting a remote destination wouldn't easily get a ride."

Everyone nodded. But this wasn't particularly surprising.

Then Liu Jinghui unexpectedly fell silent, smiling. "For now, please gather evidence, organize the case files, and accumulate more data before we meet again."

He didn't want to speak publicly—everyone quietly got to work, no one pressed further.

Even observers Yu Wenshu and Wan Baoming stayed silent, only watching Jiang Yuan.

They were a team that had already solved a cold murder case. That alone was enough to earn everyone's patience.

(End of Chapter)