Chapter 332: Absurd

@@ Morning.

Tang Jia opened her eyes on a bed two point four meters wide, staring at the ceiling for a long while.

The room's minimalist decor was anything but simple: with ceilings over five meters high, there was no loft or other trendy design—instead, elegant staggered levels used every square meter of the hundred-plus square meters for a single bedroom.

Tang Jia had never slept in such a spacious house before, but remembering this was a business trip, she found it surreal.

The police force's travel conditions were truly abysmal—why were there still so many small guesthouses thriving in the city if not for cops and salespeople living in them?

When she got up to wash up, the bathroom was luxuriously lined entirely with marble.

Tang Jia tidied herself up, thought for a moment, tied her hair into a bun, stepped out, pressed the elevator button, and rode straight to the top floor.

Jiang Yuan's home was indeed bustling with activity.

The officers staying here felt too embarrassed to sleep in, so most had risen early; meanwhile, over a dozen villagers from Jiang Village had come, partly curious, partly bored, to eat and watch the spectacle.

Jiang's father bustled about cheerfully, assisted by several aunts—among Jiang Village residents, today felt almost like hosting a banquet.

Breakfast had the air of a wedding feast: five or six cold dishes, seven or eight hot ones, plus three or four soups, filling every table in the dining room.

"Tang Officer, help yourself to chopsticks," Jiang Fuzhen greeted her as if hosting villagers, his tone simple and sincere.

After learning a bit about Jiang Fuzhen's background, everyone truly felt he was unpretentious.

Jiang Yuan merely nodded as Tang Jia approached—too much formality would make everyone uncomfortable.

Tang Jia took a bowl and chopsticks and sat down, seeing Wang Zhong, Mu Zhiyang, and others already digging in enthusiastically; across the table, Wang Chuanxing and Shen Yaowei still held back slightly, but their expressions showed they were gradually enjoying themselves.

"Eat your fill—Wenxiang's conditions are poor, so lunch will just be something simple," Jiang Yuan said, savoring the home-cooked meal.

Of all the difficulties of traveling, the hardest to adapt to was the stomach. Jiang Yuan's small apartment in Changyang City was cozy, but after a week or two, the food grew tiresome; after a month or two, he'd be miserable.

Now, back home, eating his father's cooking and the aunts' soups, he felt deeply at peace.

Tang Jia, by contrast, put down her chopsticks after a few bites and said, "Jiang Captain, staying here isn't bad… it's just that the conditions are too good. Isn't this inappropriate?"

Jiang Yuan shrugged. "Don't worry about it—it's just temporary housing. Afterward, you decide where to go."

By "where to go," he meant not just lodging, but whether to stay in Ningtai County at all.

If they stayed, they'd need permanent housing; if only briefly, Jiang Yuan had no objection—they were all human resources anyway.

If they wanted to leave, he wouldn't stop them—and couldn't, even if he tried. Unless they volunteered, how could Ningtai County's Criminal Investigation Unit possibly retain these elite officers from the municipal task force?

High-education officers who do PPTs may seem useless, but they're still scarce talent. Ultimately, in police work, those who sweat, labor, and pull all-nighters without eating are everywhere—and least appreciated.

Tang Jia was left speechless. Beside her, Shen Yaowei glared and said, "If you don't want to live here for free, just pay for your own accommodation."

After the last case, Shen Yaowei was determined to stick with Jiang Yuan.

If he didn't follow Jiang Yuan, he'd have to follow his cousin—but his cousin was already asking Jiang Yuan for help, so why go far when the close option was right there?

Besides, his cousin would always be his cousin, but Jiang Captain wouldn't always be Jiang Captain.

Shen Yaowei now longed to get tangled up with Jiang Yuan and couldn't stand Tang Jia's pretentious airs.

Tang Jia muttered to herself: "I can't afford such a nice house."

"Then move out yourself—don't drag us down. Can't afford it… hehehe…" Shen Yaowei almost made a lewd joke, but since he wasn't close with them yet, he held back.

Tang Jia had already planned this. She turned to Jiang Yuan: "I'll move out later." Jiang Yuan replied without expression: "Fine."

As a child of demolition wealth, Jiang Yuan had met many beautiful women—usually, they didn't take advantage of his money; women who insisted on splitting the bill or paying outright were common.

Besides, Tang Jia was only a colleague.

Seeing this, Shen Yaowei asked: "Jiang Captain, how long can I stay?"

"Sure," Jiang Yuan replied promptly. "These houses are empty anyway. If you hadn't come, my dad would've had to hire someone to live here occasionally."

"Exactly," Jiang Fuzhen said, carrying out a pot of meat with a smile. "Houses left empty go bad. You need people living in them—human energy keeps the renovation intact."

"If so many rooms are empty, why not rent them out? What a waste," Meng Chengbiao remarked, older and calculating the lost rent with visible regret.

"No choice," Jiang Yuan explained. "When we built this building, we planned short-term rentals. Jiang Village used to rely on Mount Sining and Taihe River. The demolition happened because the province turned it into a scenic area. But we were demolished multiple times. After this place was built, many villagers finally got relocated—and had nowhere to live. I got the most land, so I decided to let villagers live here, and I stayed too. We got used to it. Later, the scenic area built a new food street and lodging, so we stopped short-term rentals. It's safer and less trouble."

In short, Jiang Fuzhen had grown richer with each demolition, and his original dream of profiting from rentals had been completely dismantled—he could only focus on spending now.

Some officers understood; others didn't. But both groups fell silent after breakfast.

Everyone drove to Wenxiang.

At this point, the depth of Ningtai County's Criminal Investigation Unit became clear: the unit could only provide two vehicles—allocating two for a sheep theft case was already a special exception.

Officers who drove themselves had to use their private cars for official business.

Thus, the convoy to Wenxiang included a limited-edition Mercedes G63 with a V8, a 2. T Camry and Tiguan, but the mainstays were a four-year-old brand-new Great Wall Pao, a fourteen-year-old second-hand Santana, and a 1985 Jinbei with five hundred thousand kilometers on the odometer.

Thus, the convoy bound for Ningtai County included a limited-edition Great Wall V8, a 2. T Camry, and a Touareg, but the mainstays were still a brand-new Great Wall Pao from four years ago, a nearly new Santana from 2014, and a 1985 Jinbei that had clocked 500, 00 kilometers.

Song Jinyou, chief of Wenxiang Police Station, had specifically cleared his schedule to greet Jiang Yuan's cold-case team in the station courtyard.

Seeing the G63, Camry, and Tiguan enter the courtyard, Song Jinyou's expression didn't change. He knew Jiang Yuan was from Jiang Village and had brought officers from Changyang's Criminal Investigation Task Force. In fact, he'd heard Jiang Yuan's stories so often his ears were calloused.

When he saw the four-year-old brand-new Great Wall Pao, his expression flickered slightly. That car was Huang Qiang's prized possession—not something just anyone could borrow—clearly showing Jiang Yuan's standing in Huang Qiang's eyes.

Then he saw the fourteen-year-old second-hand Santana. His brow furrowed. A sheep theft case had already warranted Jiang Yuan's involvement—now the Criminal Investigation Unit had dispatched two vehicles? Song Jinyou couldn't make sense of it.

At that moment, the packed Jinbei slowly rolled into the courtyard. Song Jinyou drew a deep breath. Something was off.

Twenty years as a detective told Song Jinyou: such a large police deployment meant something extraordinary had happened.

"Everyone, stay alert," Song Jinyou ordered, then stepped forward solemnly to greet Jiang Yuan.

Liu Wenkai, who had ridden with Jiang Yuan, introduced them.

Liu Wenkai worked on major cases in the Criminal Investigation Unit, but lately there'd been none—he was even quieter than a regular squad leader—so Huang Qiang had sent him here.

Seeing Liu Wenkai, Song Jinyou felt his suspicion confirmed and asked immediately: "Is this a major case?"

Jiang Yuan blinked. "No. Just the sheep theft case we mentioned when we arrived."

"You can hide it from others, but not from me," Song Jinyou chuckled. "I can guess."

Liu Wenkai sighed helplessly. "Old Song, no hidden agendas here. Jiang Yuan's team is just practicing."

"Practicing? And they came to Wenxiang? With this many people?" Song Jinyou laughed.

"This…" Liu Wenkai fell silent.

"Tell me which case you're working on—I'll give full support," Song Jinyou said.

Jiang Yuan replied: "It really is the sheep theft case."

Song Jinyou's expression darkened. "If you keep hiding things, I can't help you."

Jiang Yuan didn't know how to explain and glanced at Liu Wenkai.

Liu Wenkai said slowly: "We used to say this during vice raids: two people who couldn't even say each other's ID names, checked into a hotel room, stripped naked, and the man was ugly—yet you say it wasn't prostitution? Who'd believe that?"

Jiang Yuan stared blankly, then turned to Wang Chuanxing: "Show them the PPT."

Fifteen minutes later.

Liu Wenkai said slowly: "When we used to bust prostitution rings, we often said this: two people can't even recall each other's ID names, yet they checked into a hotel room, took off their clothes, and the man was this ugly—so tell me, who would believe it wasn't prostitution?"

Judging purely by the PPT's content, he believed this sheep theft case had indeed received top-priority attention.

"I never imagined," Song Jinyou sighed deeply.

Liu Wenkai nodded solemnly. "It's true. Once I encountered a man—ugly, short, didn't know the woman's name, she was even kind of pretty—but he didn't pay a cent. It was insane…"

Just from the PPT's content, he believed this sheep theft case had indeed received attention commensurate with a major case.

"I never expected this," Song Jinyou sighed deeply.

Liu Wenkai nodded solemnly and said, "It's true. I once met a man who was ugly and short, didn't know the woman in bed, and she was actually kind of pretty—but he didn't pay a single cent. It was insane…"