Chapter 14: It’ll be too late if you don’t act now!
Jiang Xia didn’t accept the money.
But two days later, Chief Wu still brought her a high-quality sketchbook. It had a black hard cover with a long strap that fastened it shut, along with a box of Marie drawing pencils.
As long as it wasn’t too outrageous and could help solve cases, Chief Wu was generally supportive. When work wasn’t busy, he didn’t mind if his officers slacked off a little.
But Jiang Xia would rather crack sunflower seeds and sip tea than pick up that sketchbook.
Even if she starved to death—even if she had to jump out of the police station—she refused to practice drawing portraits ever again!
That, however, was a story for later.
At the moment, Jiang Xia was deep in thought.
Chief Wu did have a point.
No matter what kind of research you wanted to do, it usually came down to two words:
Burn money.
With the police station’s budget already stretched thin, it was only natural that they weren’t willing to support it.
That completely crushed her plan of using “research” as an excuse to practice lockpicking in front of her coworkers while farming System points.
This was a grassroots police station, after all. Jiang Xia understood why they thought the way they did and wasn’t about to force the issue.
But if that path was blocked, she’d have to find another.
At the moment, the only criminal skills she possessed were lockpicking and pickpocketing.
Since lockpicking couldn’t be demonstrated, that left only pickpocketing.
According to the System’s criteria, the fastest and most efficient way to earn points was to steal something and immediately return it.
But that was still theft.
It crossed a line she wasn’t willing to cross.
That idea was out.
As for other methods…
Jiang Xia couldn’t think of any.
If only there were something the System would recognize as a crime, but that wouldn’t make my coworkers suspicious and would let me do it openly…
Unable to come up with an answer, she idly twirled the ballpoint pen in her hand before her thoughts drifted back to lockpicking.
If it wouldn’t work at the local station…
It might work at the Municipal Public Security Bureau.
They had a Technical Division and dedicated trace evidence examiners. Their way of thinking was more progressive. Even if she picked locks every day, nobody would probably gossip behind her back.
The more she thought about it, the more appealing the idea became.
The Municipal Bureau…
It really did seem like an excellent choice.
Not only could she exploit the System’s loopholes to farm skill points, but there were also far more cases to work on.
Best of all, she wouldn’t have to spend her days dealing with the endless trivial chores that came with working at a neighborhood police station.
And with her abilities, getting into the Municipal Public Security Bureau wouldn’t actually be that difficult.
After thinking it over for a while, however, Jiang Xia dismissed the idea.
Ability was one thing.
Her family were ordinary people with no connections or influence. Pulling strings to get transferred would be both troublesome and expensive, and even if she succeeded, she’d still end up at the bottom of the pecking order.
Better to let things take their natural course.
With her skills improving every day, it was only a matter of time before the Municipal Bureau took notice of her.
Lost in thought, Jiang Xia suddenly realized Shen Huoda’s snoring had stopped.
After pulling an all-nighter, he slowly opened his eyes and sluggishly sat up.
“No wonder it smells so good. So Chief Wu brought meat buns, huh? Did you save one for me?”
Shen Huoda wiped his face, then vigorously shook his head, though he still looked half-asleep.
“Xiao Jiang, could you get me a basin of cold water?”
“Sure.”
Jiang Xia set down her ballpoint pen and stood up to fetch a washbasin.
As she did, the hem of her shirt brushed against a pencil, knocking it off the desk.
Whoops.
She smacked her forehead lightly and bent down to pick it up.
Before her fingers even touched the pencil, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
Could I steal this…
No.
Could I “borrow” it?
Jiang Xia’s eyes lit up.
A pencil wasn’t worth much. If she openly picked one up, nobody would really care. At most, they’d tease her a little.
More importantly, she could do it repeatedly.
That was far more practical than lockpicking, which she couldn’t openly demonstrate very often.
The only question was…
Would the System recognize it?
Why not find someone to test it on?
Once the idea occurred to her, Jiang Xia immediately started looking for an opportunity while going about her work.
That afternoon…
After sleeping the entire morning, Hu Wei was back to full strength.
Looking refreshed and full of energy, he took over his master’s shift and joined Deputy Chief Xu in interrogating the suspects arrested the previous day.
Seeing him emerge from the interrogation room carrying a notebook and pen, Jiang Xia picked up her own notebook and walked over.
“Well? Did you get anything new out of them?”
“No.”
Hu Wei shook his head, looking somewhat disappointed.
“Deputy Chief Xu says they’re definitely hiding more cases, but they’re keeping their mouths shut.”
“That’s only to be expected.”
Jiang Xia said, “They’re already looking at life sentences. If they confess to even more crimes, they might end up facing the firing squad. Why would they talk? Anyway, I’ve reorganized yesterday’s interrogation transcripts. Take these over and have them sign them.”
“Got it.”
Hu Wei accepted the notebook and handed her the one he was carrying.
“These are the new statements.”
“Let me take a look.”
Jiang Xia flipped through a few pages.
“This part’s a bit messy.”
“Oh, that’s a place name. It’s pronounced… Qi City or something? I didn’t know how to write the character.”
“I know it. It’s Qicheng—what’s now Qi County.”
She took the pen from Hu Wei’s hand and wrote the characters as she spoke.
“Oh, by the way, Brother Hu, did you ask around for me about good places to set up a street stall?”
“I was actually going to tell you the other day, but you weren’t around that morning.”
Hu Wei replied, “The guys I know said most street vending areas in their districts aren’t very peaceful. People’s Park is better since there are patrol officers, though you’ll have to pay a five-fen entrance fee. Hongxing Road is another good spot. The customers there are more generous because there are government offices nearby.”
“Great. Thanks, Brother Hu. I’ll head back to the office and get back to work.”
Jiang Xia let the pen hang naturally at her side in her right hand while casually waving the statements in her left as she walked toward the office.
The moment she had taken a single step away, the familiar voice of the System sounded beside her ear.
【Congratulations, Host. You have completed one minor crime. Experience +1.】
It worked!
Jiang Xia’s heart leaped with joy, and her footsteps became noticeably lighter.
Excellent.
From today onward…
She was going to become the ultimate pen-swiping maniac.
Chief Wu spent another full day interrogating the suspects over and over.
When it became clear that they weren’t going to confess to anything else and there was no additional evidence to pursue, he officially closed the case.
He also took the opportunity to call Section Chief Liu from the garment factory and told him to come collect the recovered goods.
Although He Tuzi had only possessed the stolen merchandise for two days, he’d already managed to sell off some of the bedsheets and pillowcases—some individually, some in sets. Recovering those would be difficult.
Fortunately, he hadn’t sold much.
More than eighty percent of the stolen goods were still intact.
The moment Section Chief Liu heard the news, he was overjoyed.
He had been convinced the stolen goods were gone for good.
If that had happened, he would certainly have been criticized at the end of the year, and his bonus would have gone up in smoke. Instead, things had taken a dramatic turn for the better. Not only had the thieves been caught, but almost all of the stolen goods had been recovered as well.
Now he could stop worrying about being reprimanded.
Overjoyed, Section Chief Liu prepared a few gifts. Bringing along two young workers, he rode over to the police station to collect the recovered merchandise.
“You’ve done our factory a tremendous favor!”
Inside the office, Section Chief Liu handed out bundles of neatly tied fabric scraps to everyone.
“I can’t thank you enough. I don’t have anything valuable to offer, so I brought some leftover fabric. They’re just scraps the factory can’t use anymore. Take them home to patch holes in your clothes, or if nothing else, glue a few layers together to make shoe soles. It’s better than letting them go to waste.”
“Here, Comrade Jiang. This bundle is yours.”
As he spoke, he handed Jiang Xia a stack of fabric scraps.
Textiles were still in short supply. Buying cloth required ration coupons, making fabric a precious commodity.
Scraps this small—most only the size of a palm—weren’t worth much, but they were undeniably useful.
Chief Wu didn’t stop anyone from accepting them.
With a smile, he said, “Looks like we’re getting a little windfall today. Go ahead and take them.”
Jiang Xia picked up her bundle.
Not only was it noticeably heavier than everyone else’s, but the pieces of fabric were also larger and far less tattered.
She raised an eyebrow.
Looking up, she caught Section Chief Liu smiling knowingly at her.
No wonder he’s a section chief.
The man really knows how to handle people.
After seeing him off, it was almost time to get off work.
Jiang Xia carried her bundle of fabric scraps home.
Her younger sister, Jiang Ying, was busy in the kitchen, while their mother wasn’t idle either. Zhou Mei sat beside the coffee table, carefully gluing together pieces of cardboard.
Jiang Xia dropped the bundle in front of her.
“Mom, guess what this is?”
“So much fabric?”
The moment Zhou Mei saw it, her eyes widened with surprise and delight.
“Where did you get all this?”
“Section Chief Liu from the garment factory gave it to us.”
Jiang Xia smiled.
“The station caught the thieves who stole from their factory and recovered the goods, so he brought these over as a thank-you gift.”
“No wonder.”
Zhou Mei untied the string around the bundle and happily began sorting through the pieces.
There was quite a lot of fabric—at least six or seven jin (about three to three-and-a-half kilograms).
Once the bundle was untied, the scraps spread across more than half of the coffee table.
Most were white, pink, blue, or gray. They varied in size, but the larger pieces were the majority, many about the size of a hand towel. There was enough material to make quite a few useful things.
Just look at my daughter. She’s really capable!
A surge of pride welled up inside Zhou Mei.
She picked out several of the largest pieces and began planning aloud.
“This fabric is really nice. If I piece these together, I could even make a shirt. But no one in the family needs new clothes right now…”
She thought for a moment.
“Oh, I remember your shoulder bag is getting worn out. These would be perfect for making you a striped cloth bag. As for the rest, I’ll think about what to make with them later.”
“Take your time, Mom.”
Jiang Xia smiled.
“I’m going to see what delicious food Sis is making.”
“Go on, you little glutton.”
Jiang Xia slipped into the kitchen.
The room was filled with the aroma of spices.
Jiang Ying stood in front of the stove, sprinkling chili powder into a pot. When she saw Jiang Xia come in, she said,
“There’s no snack for you today. I’m making seasoning, and the smell sticks to your clothes. You’d better go back out.”
“Hm?”
Jiang Xia casually closed the kitchen door behind her and protested,
“Sis, do you really think all I ever do is eat?”
Jiang Ying was silent for a moment.
“…Isn’t that true?”
Thinking back, Jiang Xia realized that the first thing she asked every day after coming home was what there was to eat.
She really couldn’t argue with that.
“Well, that’s because your cooking is just too good.”
She gave an awkward cough and changed the subject.
“I found out about those places you asked me to check.”
She repeated everything Hu Wei had told her about the recommended vending locations.
Then, after a brief hesitation, she asked,
“But Sis, are you really planning to have Cousin set up a street stall? It’s not exactly easy.”
People in the twenty-first century often liked to claim that the 1980s and 1990s were a golden age when money was lying everywhere on the ground, as though anyone could become rich.
But after actually finding herself in this era, Jiang Xia had realized just how difficult it really was.
For one thing, most goods were still rationed.
Just securing a source of merchandise was a huge challenge, not to mention the lingering controversy over whether private business amounted to “capitalist behavior.”
Most of the people who managed to make a fortune had at least some connections or influential contacts.
For ordinary people…
It simply wasn’t that easy.
“I wasn’t planning on having him run a street stall forever.”
Jiang Ying understood the situation even better than Jiang Xia did. This still wasn’t the era when private businesses were flourishing.
“This is just a trial run. We need actual sales figures before we can approach the commune and ask for funding to set up a workshop. Once it’s officially established as a collective enterprise, no one will be able to criticize it.”
That settled it.
Her sister clearly knew what she was doing, so there was no need for Jiang Xia to worry.
“In that case, Sis, I’m rooting for you. When your workshop grows into a factory, I’ll go around telling everyone, ‘The factory director is my sister.'”
“Oh, stop talking nonsense.”
Jiang Ying reached over and flicked Jiang Xia on the forehead.
“It’s still way too early for that.”
“I’m serious. Your cooking is so good—you’ll definitely succeed!”
“Now that’s something I like hearing.”
Jiang Ying laughed.
“Come on, say a little more.”
While the Jiang sisters were laughing and chatting at home…
…
The atmosphere at the Municipal Public Security Bureau was considerably gloomier.
Municipal Public Security Bureau — Criminal Investigation Division
Squad Leader Tan Bingyi sat silently in his chair.
He rolled up his sleeve, revealing twenty or thirty swollen mosquito bites covering his arm.
Every single one had come from staking out the countryside.
“Here, Captain Tan. Cooling balm.”
Chen Dong handed him a half-used tin of medicated balm.
“Still no luck?”
“No.”
The mere mention of it made Tan Bingyi’s temper flare.
“We’ve been staking out that place for three days and haven’t seen a damn thing!”
“The robbery-murder case is too random. There’s not much we can do.”
Chen Dong shook his head.
“We don’t have any leads, so we’re stuck using the most old-fashioned method.”
Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he added,
“By the way, remember that theft at the garment factory a few days ago? It’s been solved.”
“Oh?”
Tan Bingyi’s interest was finally piqued.
As he rubbed the cooling balm onto his arm, he asked, “Who solved it?”
“Jiang Xia—the one I mentioned before.” Chen Dong replied, “Apparently it was the work of a habitual traveling thief. He’d stolen more than ten thousand yuan in payroll money from a chemical plant in Qi County before fleeing here. Somehow, she managed to track him down and get him arrested.”
“I was wondering why you suddenly brought up that case.”
Tan Bingyi set the tin of cooling balm on the desk.
“So this is what you’ve been leading up to.”
“You want me to transfer her into the Criminal Investigation Unit, don’t you?”
“She’s talented. It’d be a waste to leave someone like that at a local station.”
Lowering his voice, Chen Dong added, “Besides, Second Squad’s been on a roll lately. If we don’t start bringing in some talent, all the good people are going to end up with them.”
“Even so, there’s no need to recruit a young woman.”
Tan Bingyi held up his arm.
“Take a look at these mosquito bites. This is the Criminal Investigation Unit. Our work is tough. Whenever a case comes in, we work around the clock. If a stakeout means spending an entire night in the wilderness, then that’s exactly what we do.”
He paused before continuing.
“Can she handle that? Even if she can, how many years is she realistically going to do it? Once she gets married, most of her energy will go toward her family. Then we’d have wasted one of the bureau’s staffing positions.”
That was a difficult point to argue against.
Chen Dong couldn’t really refute it.
Still, believing that talented people should be secured first and discussed later, he persisted.
“Then just transfer her here on a temporary assignment. We can figure out the rest afterward.”
“That’s even worse.”
Tan Bingyi frowned.
“She just started working. She’s still learning under her mentor.”
“If I borrow her now, she’ll end up in an awkward position. She won’t be fully settled at her original station, and there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to keep her here.”
“What’s she supposed to do then?”
“I don’t think that’ll happen.”
On that point, Chen Dong was surprisingly confident.
“With her abilities, I’m sure she’ll earn a permanent place.”
Tan Bingyi remained unconvinced.
A student who just graduated… how capable could she really be?
Sure, she was exceptionally skilled at tracking suspects from footprints.
But it wasn’t as though the Criminal Investigation Unit lacked people with that kind of expertise.
“We’ll keep an eye on her for now.”
He waved the matter aside.
“There’s no rush.”
Chen Dong couldn’t help rubbing his forehead.
Their captain was a genuinely decent man.
That was admirable.
But sometimes he was just too shortsighted.
If they didn’t move quickly now, then by the time Jiang Xia truly made a name for herself…
It would already be too late.
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