Chapter 30.1: Criminal Law and Royalties
It was only after Jiang Xia arrived that she realized the address Section Chief Liao had given her wasn’t the woodworking shop at all, but the neighborhood office.
The director of the neighborhood office warmly welcomed her and proceeded to ramble on at length about the woodworking shop.
Their woodworking shop had quite a long history. It had been established not long after the founding of the country, originally taking in four veteran woodworkers and six apprentices. They manufactured all kinds of household goods according to orders from above, and the business had once been quite successful. They had even received official commendations.
Unfortunately, a state-owned furniture factory was established later. They produced furniture directly with machines, which meant greater output and faster production. Before long, they were filling the woodworking shop’s orders as well.
As a result, the woodworking shop could no longer get any orders and couldn’t afford to pay wages. The woodworkers and apprentices had no choice but to find ways to leave and transfer to the furniture factory. In the end, only Master He and one apprentice remained, making a living by repairing furniture and taking custom orders, which was how things had continued until now.
On the other hand, because of this, Master He had honed his craftsmanship to an impressive level. He could repair practically anything and make practically anything, and he was fairly well-known in the area.
Jiang Xia was relieved.
Following the directions given by the neighborhood office director, she pushed her bicycle along and soon found the woodworking shop.
It was a small courtyard beside a residential area, though the courtyard itself was fairly large, with some sixty or seventy rooms built around it. On the left was a pile of timber that still had its bark on it. At the back was a large stack of old furniture, while more than twenty newly made little stools sat nearby.
On the right side of the courtyard stood an extremely sturdy-looking wooden worktable. A long piece of timber was secured to it with a bench vise, and a master craftsman with half-gray hair was standing beside it, repeatedly smoothing the wood with a plane.
With every push and pull of his hands, thin curls of wood, as delicate as strips of paper, continuously peeled away from the plane.
As Jiang Xia looked at all that old furniture, her eyes gradually lit up.
She excitedly slapped the handlebars.
That’s right! How could she have forgotten about old furniture? She could buy old furniture and use it as experimental material!
That would save her a huge amount of money!
But her excitement hadn’t even lasted two seconds before Jiang Xia took another careful look at the condition of the old furniture. In an instant, it felt as though someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her, chilling her from head to toe.
These old pieces of furniture were certainly a mixed lot. There were stools, chairs, tables, cabinets—you name it. But either all three legs were broken, or there was a crack running through the middle. Quite a few had even fallen apart completely. There was simply no way to use them.
Jiang Xia fell silent.
It really did fit the circumstances of the times.
Furniture wasn’t cheap these days, and it wasn’t easy to buy, either. Most families had to save for several years just to afford a complete set of thirty-six-piece wedding furniture. Unless a piece was damaged beyond repair, who would sell it off?
What a false hope.
Jiang Xia sighed. She stopped her bicycle and walked through the open courtyard gate. “Excuse me, are you Master He?”
Master He finally stopped working.
He raised his head, glanced at Jiang Xia’s green police uniform, and suddenly understood. “Oh, you’re the police officer Director Zheng told me about, the one who wants a custom-made box and a small mimeograph machine, right?”
“Yes.”
Jiang Xia nodded.
“Then come with me.”
Master He wiped his hands with a rag and led Jiang Xia inside.
After taking custom furniture orders for so many years, Master He had accumulated plenty of experience. The hardest part of the job was actually figuring out what the customer wanted in the first place.
More often than not, customers themselves didn’t know exactly what they wanted. They would have only a vague idea, and sometimes they couldn’t even put it into words. The craftsman had to ask questions and make guesses along the way.
This toolbox would probably be just as troublesome. They’d likely have to go back and forth discussing it for two or three hours at least.
Mentally prepared for a lengthy discussion, Master He picked up a notebook and pen from the table, which was covered in a layer of sawdust, and asked, “Officer, what are you planning to put in that wooden box? How big are the things you’re going to store in it?”
Jiang Xia perked up. “I made a special note of that.”
As she spoke, she opened her shoulder bag and took out her notebook.
After all, this was the equipment she made her living with, so Jiang Xia was taking it very seriously. She needed it to be as convenient to use as possible. Otherwise, going out on assignments with it later would be a real pain.
When it came to custom-made products, the biggest fear was poor communication during the early stages, which could make reworking the finished product difficult. That was why she had gone to the trouble of organizing all the tools she needed, drawing their shapes and marking down their exact dimensions.
And now it had indeed come in handy.
Jiang Xia pulled out the page with the drawings and measurements and handed it over as she said, “It needs to hold three hundred sheets of 16mo paper and printing plates, as well as bottles of ink and additives, an inking tray and scraper, a box of rolled-up wax paper, a stylus, a box of pencils and erasers… I’ve written all the dimensions and drawn all the shapes on here.”
“It would be best if each of these things had its own fixed place. Even if the box gets jolted around violently, they shouldn’t be able to knock against each other. Otherwise, the pencil leads could easily break, the wax paper might tear, and the ink and additives could spill. If that happens, none of it will be usable.”
Master He stared at the sheet of paper in astonishment.
Well, this wasn’t merely a matter of dimensions. She had even drawn the shapes of every item. The pictures looked practically identical to the real things. She might as well have brought all the items she intended to store with her!
Well, that rendered his own notebook completely useless.
“You really have thought of everything!”
Master He gave Jiang Xia several surprised looks. He set down his notebook, took the sheet from her, and examined it as he asked, “With this, it’ll be easy enough. Let me think… Comrade, how small do you want that mimeograph machine to be?”
Jiang Xia had already thought that through as well.
The machine’s dimensions needed to be compatible with the materials used with it. At present, the smallest available printing paper was 16mo, so the machine couldn’t possibly be any smaller than that size.
She glanced at the watch on Master He’s wrist and said, “The printing surface will be 16mo. Could you calculate roughly how large the outer frame would need to be?”
“Oh, then it’d be about eleven inches long and a little over nine inches wide.”
Master He quickly estimated the dimensions and thought for a moment. “It’d be best if this box were the same size as the mimeograph box. That way, they can latch together on either side and be carried as one. I’ll make fixed compartments on the left according to the measurements for the bottles, and on the right, I’ll make two removable levels. The bottom level can hold the paper and printing plates, while the upper level can be a compartmentalized tray for your pens and tools. How does that sound?”
As Jiang Xia listened, she quickly sketched a diagram in her notebook with a pencil. “Master He, do you mean something like this?”
Huh?
Wait, he had only just finished explaining it. She’d already drawn it?
Master He was a little dazed. He turned sideways and looked down.
Well, would you look at that? The drawing on the paper was divided into three levels. The mimeograph machine was at the bottom, the box in the middle, and the compartmentalized tray on top. Not only was every level clearly depicted, it was exactly what he had described!
“Uh… yes, that’s it.”
Things were progressing strangely fast today, and Master He suddenly found himself having trouble adjusting. After taking a moment to recover, he asked tentatively, “So… I’ll just make it according to this?”
Jiang Xia thought for a moment before saying, “Besides the handle, it’d be best to add a ring on each side as well. That way, I can attach a canvas strap and carry it over my shoulder. Also, leave some extra space inside the box. I’ll need to put more things in there later.”
After all, it was a wooden box, so it was already heavy to begin with, and it would only get heavier once she put things inside. Carrying it by hand for a short while would be fine, but over a longer period, it would definitely tire out her arms and interfere with drawing and engraving. Being able to switch between carrying it by hand and wearing it like a shoulder bag would be much better.
As for the extra space, she was currently making a transition into trace evidence work, and sooner or later she’d need to stuff more tools inside. It was better to leave room for them in advance.
“No problem.”
Those requirements were simple enough, so Master He immediately agreed. He asked, “Anything else?”
Jiang Xia shook her head. “Nope.”
Master He was dazed again.
Wait, that was it? They’d settled everything after just a few sentences?
Since when had custom furniture been this quick to design?!
He took a deep breath and said, “Well, you see, lumber is hard to come by these days. I mainly take old furniture apart and rebuild it into new furniture. I’ll be using the same kind of wood for your box.”
Seeing that Jiang Xia was young, and worried that she might not understand, Master He added, “Don’t worry. I’ll pick out the good pieces to use. It’s all solid wood, too, and since it’s been sitting around long enough for the moisture to dry out, it’s less likely to develop mold, cracks, or warping. It’s very durable. Once this box is finished, it’ll last at least thirty years!”
“I know that.”
Jiang Xia smiled and continued, “Just tell me how long it’ll take to make the box.”
Master He said, “As long as it doesn’t rain, I can have it done in five or six days.”
“Okay. I’ll come pick it up then. Here’s the deposit.”
Jiang Xia took some money from her pocket and handed it over. Her gaze drifted once again toward the piles of battered old furniture outside.
“By the way, Master He, do you sell those old pieces of furniture outside?”
“Huh?”
Master He froze for a moment, then asked in confusion, “But all the legs on those pieces are broken. What could you possibly do with them after buying them besides chop them up for firewood?”
The same thing you do. Piece them back together.
By now, Jiang Xia had also figured out how Master He’s little workshop operated.
The workshop was too small to obtain a timber allocation, so he relied on collecting damaged furniture from local residents and taking it apart and rebuilding it. Two or three sets that weren’t too badly damaged could more or less be pieced together into one new set, while the leftovers could perhaps be turned into little stools or benches.
The profit margin probably wasn’t bad. Otherwise, Master He wouldn’t have been able to afford a wristwatch.
But Jiang Xia had no need to start by collecting scrap furniture herself.
She thought for a moment, then said directly, “The bureau needs to conduct some tests, and we need a double desk with drawers. But the testing process will damage the desk, so we’re planning to get some used furniture. The cheaper the better, but it can’t be in too terrible a condition.”
“Oh.”
Master He nodded knowingly. “In that case, you’re really going to have a hard time finding any.”
People who still have usable furniture aren’t going to sell it cheaply. But if she paid extra for it, she’d be the one losing out. It would even be difficult for him to sell it afterward. After all, once he’d taken apart and rebuilt a double desk, sanded it down, and applied a coat of paint, he could practically sell it as new. If he sold it cheaply, he’d lose money; if he didn’t, she might as well pay a little more and buy a new one.
After mulling it over, Master He asked, “Comrade, how badly will this desk be damaged?”
Jiang Xia said, “The drawer latch, the edges of the drawer, and the edges of the desktop will be damaged, but overall, it should still be intact.”
The damage wouldn’t be that bad, then. It sounded like it could probably be used again after a little repair.
Master He pondered for a moment. “Comrade, how about this? I’ll take one apart and rebuild it, but I won’t sand it or paint it. I’ll sell it to you for sixty percent of the market price. Once you’ve finished testing it, bring it back and let me inspect the damage. As long as it isn’t too serious, I’ll buy it back from you for forty to fifty percent of the market price, or perhaps even more. How does that sound?”
That was a pretty good idea!
Jiang Xia quickly recalled the price of a double desk. This way, she’d spend at most eight or nine yuan per test, which would make the cost even lower!
“Sounds good.”
Jiang Xia agreed. “Then, Master He, please prepare one for me first. Oh, and could you also prepare some strips of wood for repairing window frames? I’ll come pick everything up when I have time.”
“No problem.”
Master He agreed readily.
“Then I’ll be going. See you in six days.”
With her research one step closer to completion, Jiang Xia was in an excellent mood. She waved goodbye, humming a tune as she got on her bicycle and rode away.
Master He looked over the sheet covered with drawings of the tools twice more. Once he had committed it all to memory, he placed the sheet on the table and weighed it down with a plane before going to pick out pieces of suitable-sized lumber from the damaged furniture he’d collected.
Standing in front of the furniture, Master He sorted through the wood. His eyes fell on a battered double desk, and the locations the police officer had just mentioned flashed through his mind.
The drawer latch, the edge of the drawer, the desktop…
Master He suddenly stopped.
Wait a minute. Those weren’t the right places!
What kind of double desk would get damaged in those particular spots?
It had clearly been pried open!!!
…
Jiang Xia looked up at the sky.
Without a watch, she had gradually developed a remarkable skill of her own: by looking at the sun, she could estimate what time it was.
Things had gone very smoothly today, and she hadn’t wasted much time. It wasn’t even half past nine yet.
There wasn’t much for her to do at the bureau either… Jiang Xia looked around and noticed that the supply and marketing cooperative happened to be right ahead. Suddenly, she had an idea.
She rode her bicycle over to the cooperative, parked it, locked it up, and walked inside.
“Hello, comrade.”
Seeing that the visitor was wearing a police uniform, the sales clerk at the cooperative took the initiative to ask, “Is there something you need?”
“We have a case that requires us to record different shoe-sole patterns and bicycle tire treads,” Jiang Xia said. “Could you take me to the storeroom so I can have a look?”
Shoe-sole patterns and tire treads were among the most common types of trace evidence, and they were also some of the easiest clues to use for narrowing down a suspect pool. Since she had some free time today, she might as well collect some samples.
The sales clerk looked a little troubled by the request. “Well… wait a moment. I need to ask the manager.”
With that, the clerk stepped out from behind the counter and went to the back to find the manager.
The manager wasn’t unfamiliar with this sort of thing. When it came to investigating a case, any distinguishing feature could potentially be useful. If the police wanted to take a look, then let them.
With the manager’s permission, the clerk immediately led Jiang Xia to the warehouse.
Squatting in the warehouse, Jiang Xia drew all the relevant characteristics of the items, carefully recording their brands and models as well.
As noon approached, Jiang Xia returned to the municipal Public Security Bureau on her bicycle, her haul of information quite substantial.
…
At the municipal Public Security Bureau.
Cao Haiyan was crouching dejectedly at the main entrance.
She was desperate to write an article good enough to submit for publication, and had even gone so far as to skip work for it. But once she arrived, she discovered that without an interview permit, the security officer wouldn’t let her inside to conduct interviews.
Since she’d already come all this way, Cao Haiyan didn’t want to give up. So she simply stayed outside, crouching there and trying to find a police officer coming out whom she could question for information.
But for some reason, the moment she started asking questions, the police officers immediately became wary. Not only did they refuse to answer, they also sternly demanded to see her press card. If she hadn’t produced her trainee reporter ID, she might well have been taken inside for questioning on the spot.
Why was it so difficult to write a simple article?!
It was noon now, and Cao Haiyan’s stomach began growling. She was thirsty and hungry, and she started thinking about giving up.
Maybe she should just forget it?
But she’d already waited this long. To leave just like this… Cao Haiyan couldn’t help feeling unwilling to give up.
One more. She’d wait for one more person, ask one more question, and then leave!
Just as she was thinking this, Cao Haiyan suddenly spotted a young female police officer approaching from a short distance away.
Young was good. Young people were easier to talk to!
Cao Haiyan immediately stood up and hurried toward her.
“Comrade, wait a moment! I need to trouble you for just a few minutes!”
Jiang Xia stopped.
She looked at the young woman hurrying toward her and frowned slightly. “What is it?”
“I’m Cao Haiyan, a reporter for the Changning Weekly. I’d like to ask you about something.”
This time, Cao Haiyan had learned her lesson. She quickly pulled her trainee reporter ID and the two portraits out of her bag. Showing them to Jiang Xia, she asked, “Do you know the person who drew the portraits of the child traffickers a few days ago and the suspects in this robbery and murder case? I’d like to interview this person and write a feature story about them!”
Uh…
Jiang Xia fell silent, her expression a little strange.
Comrade, you just happened to ask the very person you’re looking for.
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