Chapter 330: Stealing Sheep

@@ Criminal Investigation Brigade New Building.

Fourth floor.

The sign for Jiang Yuan's Cold Case Special Unit had quietly been hung here again.

Huang Qiangmin didn't notify anyone—he just had the clerical staff make a sign and hang it up, placed a few desks and chairs, and called the space ready.

As for who exactly would be assigned to this Cold Case Special Unit, Huang Qiangmin still intended to observe.

After all, personnel matters were a critical issue; he had just been promoted to Deputy Director and didn't want to move too fast or too aggressively—he wanted to show some restraint.

Moreover, Jiang Yuan had gone home to rest; the main person wasn't even present. Many in the county bureau had gotten wind and were stirring, but everyone moved slowly. Huang Qiangmin strolled around for two days, then picked only Wang Zhong, sending him first to the fourth floor of the new building to handle calls and open the door.

Today's Ningtai County, after Jiang Yuan's two major cleanups, had seen crime rates drop to an extremely low level—among the lowest in the province. This meant the originally allocated staff, even if not excessive, had suddenly become far less burdened.

Take Wang Zhong, the forensic technician, who was clearly surplus manpower.

Upon receiving the order, Wang Zhong hurried straight to the fourth floor of the new building to report.

The Cold Case Special Unit's office was empty, quiet, and clean, with no superiors or colleagues coming to inspect. That afternoon, Wang Zhong found a secluded spot, pulled out his phone, and started watching videos—documentaries or anything helpful for learning.

Near the end of the workday, Wang Zhong carefully cleaned the room and watered the several pots of pothos.

The watered pothos grew lush and sweet, their vines tenderly entwining each other.

Wang Zhong even planned his morning routine for tomorrow: a bowl of tofu pudding, a cup of soy milk, a set of jianbing guozi, and a steamer of soup dumplings—eat until full, feel pleasantly drowsy, then start an anime… or another learning video to improve his professional skills—and enjoy a comfortable morning.

The next morning, Wang Zhong followed his plan, went to Dong Market for tofu pudding and jianbing guozi, then to Xi Market for soup dumplings, and finally bought soy milk downstairs at the Criminal Investigation Brigade building, happily carrying it all back to the new office.

He took out the tofu pudding, spread out the jianbing guozi, picked up a spoon with his right hand and the jianbing guozi with his left…

Ding dong.

The doorbell rang, utterly out of place.

Wang Zhong didn't want to put down his jianbing guozi, so he looked up toward the door.

Through the transparent glass, he saw five or six large men and one beautiful woman, gazing at him with intense eyes.

If not for their shiny blue or black pants, Wang Zhong felt these people looked like they'd come to arrest him.

Wang Zhong glanced at the tofu pudding, then the jianbing guozi, then the soy milk and soup dumplings, and sighed deeply with regret.

Not even a single bite yet.

He set them down, went to open the door, and asked: "Who are you looking for?"

"We're from the Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade. We're here for Jiang Yuan, the team leader." The lead young man had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and was somewhat handsome: "We're all members of the Changyang City Jiang Yuan Cold Case Special Unit. I'm Wang Chuanxing."

After introducing himself, Wang Chuanxing pointed to the others behind him: "This is Team Leader Meng Chengbiao… this is Shen Yaowei… this is Miao Liyuan… this is Tang Jia…"

Wang Zhong stared blankly, slightly overwhelmed by the scene.

Eight or nine young, strong officers—here in Ningtai County's Criminal Investigation Brigade—that was the strength of an entire squad.

The unit had plenty of elderly, weak, or sick personnel; to assemble a full team, you could easily mix and match.

For Wang Zhong, a technician who'd spent years working in the county bureau, the Changyang City detectives carried a certain aura.

At this moment, Wang Zhong instinctively said: "Leaders, please have a seat… uh, who should I report to?"

In the county bureau, when encountering superiors from higher units—even if unfamiliar—you always called them "leader," and you'd never be wrong.

"You might want to find your Director Huang. We'll call Jiang Team Leader." Wang Chuanxing smiled, turned, pulled out his phone, and dialed.

Tang Jia and the others first surveyed the office, then quickly claimed desks and settled in.

Half an hour later, Huang Qiangmin arrived first.

He stared at the group of officers with the expression of an interrogator, especially noting that they'd already arranged their workstations.

"Yu Zhi didn't even call." Huang Qiangmin complained, then asked: "What's your intention in coming here?"

"We want to work under Jiang Team Leader," Tang Jia stood up immediately to declare.

Shen Yaowei and the others also stood, nodding in agreement. Shen Yaowei added shrewdly: "Director Huang, just give us any task directly."

Working under Jiang Yuan meant becoming Huang Qiangmin's subordinate—Shen Yaowei understood this relationship clearly.

Of course, after some time, they'd eventually return to Changyang City; they couldn't work for Huang Qiangmin forever for free. But how long this period lasted was flexible—when you thought about it, it was much like a normal leadership relationship—if Huang Qiangmin was willing to act as their leader.

"I'll call Yu Zhi." Huang Qiangmin hesitated. Reverse secondment was tempting, but the Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade wasn't easy to push around…

He was flipping through his contacts when he heard the elevator arrive.

Several more unfamiliar detectives came up.

"Old Meng."

"Little Tang's here already."

The newcomers greeted Tang Jia and Meng Chengbiao—no need to ask, they were also from the Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade.

Huang Qiangmin paused his finger hovering over the keypad and asked: "Do you realize our county's conditions aren't like the provincial capital? Not just meals and lodging, but even the cases you encounter may not get the same attention as in Changyang. Our equipment, our lab facilities—they can't compare to the capital's…"

"Director Huang, don't worry. We've all been on assignment before. Our thoughts are simple: we want to solve as many cases as possible in our lifetimes." Meng Chengbiao stepped forward to voice everyone's sentiment.

Huang Qiangmin smiled: "The Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade's case-solving efficiency is still very high…"

"But not compared to Jiang Yuan." Meng Chengbiao paused, then added: "I don't even expect promotion anymore—I just want to solve cases."

For police officers, promotion channels are extremely narrow. This is similar to teachers: no matter how well a regular grassroots officer performs, they'll typically remain a squad instructor or a squad leader in the criminal investigation unit. Becoming a police station chief requires immense effort and luck.

Of course, rank can still rise—every three years, a step up. At nearly fifty, Meng Chengbiao had reached the two-bar, three-star First-Class Inspector rank, identical to Huang Qiangmin's, though it meant little.

His desire to join Jiang Yuan's Cold Case Special Unit, even to follow it around, was pure: he wanted to solve more cases, and maybe earn a few more merits, so he could brag to his grandchildren later.

The younger ones, whether chasing the narrow path of advancement or sharing Meng Chengbiao's mindset, all ultimately sought to solve cases.

In this sense, detectives were at least relatively simple-minded.

"I'll make the call." Huang Qiangmin stepped out to communicate.

When purely promoting Jiang Yuan, he'd done so with full confidence. But now, with this new model, he still felt slightly unaccustomed.

Jiang Yuan had confidence, the Director had ideas—but Huang Qiangmin personally felt he was bearing too much.

After a few calls, Huang Qiangmin rubbed his temples and returned to the Cold Case Special Unit office.

He saw the group seated in a circle, and on the wall, a PowerPoint presentation had appeared.

"Director Huang." Jiang Yuan had arrived, greeting them: "They called me, so I came over."

The advantage of a small county: one foot on the gas and you're everywhere.

"Oh… you made this PowerPoint?" Huang Qiangmin looked up at the screen, vaguely recognizing the cases on it.

Jiang Yuan shook his head:

"They did."

Huang Qiangmin looked around the circle—except for Wang Zhong, everyone was from the Changyang City Criminal Investigation Brigade; Ningtai County's own selections hadn't even been decided yet.

But the cases on the screen—Ningtai County's cases—already had mind maps drawn up…

"This is… a sheep theft case," Huang Qiangmin stared for a few seconds, then suddenly realized: you've got over ten people, and you're focusing on a case worth only a few ten thousand yuan?

"I picked a few cases suitable for getting familiar with the local area. This sheep theft case is notable because it's occurred repeatedly over the past three years, concentrated entirely in Wenshang Township." Wang Chuanxing tapped through several slides: "I've tallied it—over the past three years, over twenty to thirty sheep, dogs, and geese have been stolen in Wenshang."

Twenty to thirty animals stolen over three years—if it's one person—still only a few ten thousand yuan case…

Huang Qiangmin asked: "Are you going to work on this case?"

Everyone looked at Jiang Yuan.

"Consider it team-building," Jiang Yuan thought any case was the same.

But Wang Chuanxing and the others began thinking deeper.

The previous case—the Jianyuan Warehouse murder and arson—was still being wrapped up. Was Jiang Yuan dissatisfied with it?

As participants in the last team-building effort, would Jiang Yuan now kick some of them out of the team?

As long as the mind doesn't slip, fear won't lessen.

While building up their mental resolve, they began seriously analyzing the sheep theft case.

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