Chapter 334

Tang Jia found a breakthrough lead, which somewhat stimulated her teammates.

Everyone followed Jiang Yuan, worked diligently and carefully, but leads are like treasure hunting—only when the treasure is found do all efforts get validated, the hunter's journey deemed successful, otherwise, it's all illusion.

Everyone hopes their efforts are recognized, especially those who have truly poured in immense labor.

Even Wang Zhong picked up his camera and began reviewing previously taken photos; more officers shifted their interest to the delivery driver.

The delivery driver, over fifty, was slightly past prime in a big city, yet almost young in the countryside; with a vehicle, he could handle deliveries for many villages.

This time, a group of young men took over deliveries for many villages to catch him.

Jiang Yuan returned directly to the police station with Song Jinyou and others to wait.

The suspect showed no signs of exposure or escape tendency; apprehension wouldn't be difficult—those few lads could easily hold him.

After all, it was just sheep theft.

Wang Chuanxing and Shen Yaowei's team brought back the suspect almost immediately; the only surprise was they returned with three people, not one.

"One tied up the sheep, one drove, and one kept watch and cooked the meat," Wang Chuanxing said as he ushered the men into the interrogation room, then came out to brief Jiang Yuan.

"Did they eat all the sheep?" Jiang Yuan wasn't entirely surprised, yet still slightly taken aback.

Nowadays, crimes stem mostly from emotion, then money; intentional crimes purely for food are exceedingly rare.

Of course, stealing sheep was still for illicit gain, but this direct consumption pattern was decidedly old-fashioned.

Wang Chuanxing nodded. "Standard opportunistic theft. They built a small compartment in the vehicle, welded a fifty-centimeter space just to hide sheep and dogs. At home, they found big pots, blowtorches for singeing hair..."

"Turned professional?" Song Jinyou's expression turned serious—this was a criminal gang operating under his jurisdiction. Wang Chuanxing said, "I don't know about the rest, but they were truly gluttonous. The meat smelled delicious—I walked in and they were roasting goose. Tasted great..."

"Did you find any tools?" Jiang Yuan didn't follow up on the goose.

Wang Chuanxing pulled out his phone, opened photos, and showed them to Jiang Yuan.

"The pliers match, the shoes match—no problem." Jiang Yuan glanced at just a few photos and relaxed.

As long as they hadn't arrested the wrong person, the rest was just standard procedure.

With Meng Chengbiao handling interrogation, Wang Chuanxing preparing the PPT, Jiang Yuan wasn't worried about any further complications.

Settling in for tea, shortly after, Meng Chengbiao came to report: "They confessed. These three stole sheep, dogs, or geese whenever they got hungry, just to snack, thinking petty theft didn't matter."

"Repeated thefts still don't matter?" Song Jinyou snorted. "If you add up the value of twenty thefts, it reaches 'huge amount.'"

Repeated theft and burglary fall under the same legal clause: stealing public or private property in substantial amounts, or repeatedly stealing, burglarizing, carrying weapons, or pickpocketing—all carry sentences of under three years.

Under three years sounds manageable—prosecution might end in just over a year, less than two years actual imprisonment.

But legal thresholds for "amount" differ from public perception.

"Substantial amount" in theft typically means a few thousand yuan; over thirty thousand yuan qualifies as "substantial amount."

The latter part of the same clause defines "huge amount" as three to ten years' imprisonment; "particularly huge amount," varying by region, usually means three or four hundred thousand yuan or more, warranting ten years or more, or life imprisonment.

In other words, if someone breaks in and steals a nautilus shell, they're already heading toward ten years or more.

These three sheep thieves were actually pitiful—twenty-plus sheep, dogs, and geese, if all confirmed, would barely cross the thirty-thousand-yuan threshold into "huge amount"; sentencing would start at three years, easily reaching four or five.

Meng Chengbiao continued: "They frequently come to Wenshang. Each time they deliver to a village, they scout locations in advance. When hungry, they take a delivery job here, drop off goods, steal a sheep, then return home to cook and eat."

"And they claim they never steal much. Their exact words: 'We never take more than we eat—it's theft with a code.'"

"The one who stole sheep and dogs used to raise sheep—his movements were expert, age, height, and weight all matched the footprints..."

"The lookout was a chef, the driver was the planner, and he owned the vehicle."

"They know cameras well—always take alternate routes."

Meng Chengbiao spat out all the interrogation findings in one breath, then whispered: "Is this case officially solved?"

"Of course, it's solved," Jiang Yuan said, then curiously added: "One person stealing one sheep is normal. Three people, each stealing just one at a time—why? Why not steal two and store them? Or go for a bigger haul, buy sheep later?"

"They're not short on money. They just want to eat," Meng Chengbiao rephrased. "Simply put, all three are henpecked—every penny goes to their wives, they have no spending money for snacks, so they steal to eat. They dare not take leftovers home, so they eat them over the next day or two—hence no incentive to steal more."

"No wonder," Jiang Yuan instantly understood—Yu Wenshu was henpecked too, nothing unusual.

Song Jinyou also clucked his tongue, then chuckled: "You've cracked twenty cases in one go, haha... Actually, counting it up, you didn't bring many people, yet you've got evidence to secure for over twenty cases..."

For prosecution today, confessions and physical evidence are both needed—though not strictly mandatory, they're highly advisable.

From Song Jinyou's experience, organizing evidence for twenty cases was an excruciating chore.

Like doing twenty homework assignments—not because you can't solve them, but because they still drain you, consuming massive time and energy...

Jiang Yuan now entered deep thought, nodding: "Evidence for over twenty cases is indeed a lot."

Song Jinyou shot Jiang Yuan a sharp glance, mentally preparing refusal phrases.

"Organize photos of all the tools you found," Jiang Yuan's thinking focused on how best to fix the evidence.

Tool marks were his strongest skill—he could now deploy it as the final move.

Many thieves use the same tool for years—a stark contrast to murderers.

Possibly because theft requires some skill, and thieves still value convenience.

Moreover, individual thefts yield limited gains; offenders rarely replace tools after each crime—that wouldn't be crime, it'd be working for the tool shop owner.

Soon, Tang Jia brought over all relevant case files and photos, especially the tools recovered from the arrest site—numerous items.

Jiang Yuan glanced at a few, then began numbering the tools in the photos.

Tang Jia understood at once and hurried over to help.

Once numbering was complete, Jiang Yuan began listing the tools row by row.

Song Jinyou, baffled by their method, asked: "What's the point of grouping all these numbers?"

"Each number represents tools used in one case," Jiang Yuan explained as he worked. "For example, Case 7—they used pliers, chains, ropes, and left tire tracks—all count as tools." He spoke and worked, finishing classification of evidence for all twenty cases in minutes.

"Just tools involved in the case. Like in this case, Case Seven—they used pliers, chains, ropes, and left wheel tracks; all of these count as tools." Jiang Yuan spoke as he swiftly divided

Song Jinyou watched beside them, deeply stunned, as if a struggling student watched a top student complete homework.

"Director Song, does your station have any recent cases we can help with?" Jiang Yuan said casually.

They'd come all this way—they couldn't just leave empty-handed.

Director Song, has your office had any recent cases? We can help you handle them.

They came all this way with such fanfare; they couldn't just go back like this.