Chapter 401: Chapter 329: So, This Commendation Ceremony Is for Poaching People
In the car on the way to the City Bureau, Shen Xin was talking a blue streak.
"We were so close. We had just found the murder weapon, and I reckon the forensics team hadn’t even made it down the mountain before it started to rain."
"You guys have no idea how hard it was raining. The sky just went dark in an instant. Over 100 millimeters of rain in an hour. Just imagine what that’s like."
"And then there was the mudslide! The guy had gone up the mountain—my God, can you imagine how dangerous that was? We were all getting ready to pull back, but then it was Ten Thousand. He must have heard something, and that’s how I found the guy."
Ding Yuwei curiously interjected, asking Shen Xin why Ten Thousand had such a name.
By all rights, he should have been called something like Blackie.
When they heard Shen Xin explain that he’d bought the dog for over ten thousand yuan, which was why he was named Ten Thousand, they didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Shen Xin continued, "At that moment, the guy was running like a scared rabbit, screaming ’Help me!’ at me. I could already see the mudslide. I mean, what was I supposed to do?"
"At that critical moment, I remembered that I am a glorious People’s Police officer, so..."
Up front in the passenger seat, Zhao Tianxing cut him off. "Alright, alright, the awards ceremony hasn’t even started yet. Save your whole song and dance for later."
Shen Xin ignored him and continued, "Without a moment’s hesitation, I charged back. But the guy couldn’t run anymore. Just then, piercing the darkness, a bray like a donkey’s cut through the night sky—Ten Thousand was back! He’d returned like a god descending from the heavens."
Zhao Tianxing shot him a sideways glance, astonished. "Wait, so he’s not an eyewitness, he’s a life-saving donkey?"
"No!"
Shen Xin waved his hand and shook his head. "He had the spirit, but not the strength. Think about it, we’re two grown men. How heavy are we? It’d be a feat for him just to carry us, let alone run."
"The mudslide was right on our asses. I was about to get off and let Ten Thousand carry the other guy to safety first. But just then, Secretary Dai showed up, did a drift, and stopped right in front of us."
A drift?
Zhao Tianxing’s eyes widened. A three-wheeler doing a drift? Wasn’t he afraid it would flip over?
Shen Xin leaned in conspiratorially and asked Zhao Tianxing, "And you know what he said?"
The driver, Chen Chao, glanced in the rearview mirror and ventured a guess, "Run?"
Shen Xin shook his head.
Zhao Tianxing, being young and up on his memes, thought for a second and said uncertainly, "Quick, get in the car?"
Shen Xin snapped his fingers, nodding repeatedly.
Zhao Tianxing exclaimed, "Holy shit, the secretary is one of us! He must play a lot of PUBG."
"PUBG?"
Beside them, Ding Yuwei was completely lost.
Zhao Tianxing was already piecing it together. "Tsk, tsk," he said. "I mean, the blue zone was already closing in, and his teammate still drove back to pick him up? Say no more. A true bro right there."
After finishing the mudslide story, Shen Xin moved on to the landslide.
"The house had mostly collapsed, leaving just this tiny crack, and I managed to squeeze my way in."
"And then I saw the little girl. She was pinned under a big wardrobe, and she reached out to me and said, ’Uncle, save me.’ Brother Xing, if that were you, what would you do?"
Shen Xin asked in return.
Zhao Tianxing slapped his thigh. "Is that even a question?" he declared with mock-heroic bravado. "Of course you go in!"
Shen Xin nodded. "At that moment, I wasn’t thinking about anything else. Just one thing: how to get that kid out."
Then he talked about Tian Kui.
He said that after he called out, all the nearby villagers came, a whole crowd of them rushing over to help with the rescue. The atmosphere was a textbook example of "when one is in trouble, help comes from all sides."
"In that kind of situation, you don’t even feel tired, you don’t feel any pain. And Tian Kui, his paw pad was torn up, but he didn’t even make a sound."
Tian Kui, lying in the middle, heard this and immediately raised his head proudly, subtly showing off his bandaged front paw.
His expression seemed to say, ’Please, say no more. It was just a paw.’
He went on for a while longer before Chen Chao cut him off. "Alright, you two can continue your double act later. We’re here."
They had arrived at the City Bureau.
Zhao Hongjie must have already gotten the news, so he came downstairs early to welcome the hero of the hour—Tian Kui.
And sure enough, he immediately spotted Tian Kui’s bandaged paw.
He quickly gave an order: the paw had to be treated properly, with no lasting damage whatsoever.
Then he turned to Deputy Director Xu Xinyao. "Oh, by the way, Old Xu, I saw a report the other day. It said some cities are starting to build high-standard kennels for their police dogs—one kennel per dog."
"They’re equipped with air conditioning, fresh air systems, air purifiers, and even separate wet and dry shower areas. I think that’s a great idea."
"Later, find a spot next to the training field out back and see about getting one built."
Xu Xinyao smiled and nodded.
He didn’t think it was an exaggeration.
Tian Kui’s heroic deeds had already been on the seven o’clock news and had gone viral online.
Wan Chao from the Provincial Department had already been in touch, saying he wanted to put Tian Kui in for a commendation.
And it wasn’t just the Ningjiang side recommending him; Ju Province was going to recommend him as well. So, if all went according to plan, Tian Kui would become Ningshan’s second First-Class Merit Dog, after Ace, and join the national ranks.
This so-called "First-Class Merit Dog" award was only established a few years ago, and to date, there were only 23 in the entire country.
Ningshan had two, Nanjiang had one. What a great honor.
"And Xiaoshen."
Zhao Hongjie looked at Shen Xin with a beaming smile.
’Shen Xin proposed the project, and I’m the one who pushed it through to completion. His success is a brilliant feather in my political cap. So this awards ceremony really had to be held.’
It was held in the City Bureau’s main auditorium, and many people came.
People from the K-9 base came as well.
Shen Xin, Li Mo, and Li Jiahui sat together. The project team was just the three of them, and they would be going on stage to receive their awards soon.
On stage, Zhao Hongjie played a video from the rescue site.
It was filmed by He Wen Yu.
The video showed a bustling crowd, and the moment Shen Xin pulled everyone together and suggested using their shoulder lamps for positioning was also captured.
Then, Tian Kui charged out with a shoulder lamp in his mouth, illuminating the night.
The devastation of the scene was also vividly presented to everyone through the video.
Li Jiahui nudged Shen Xin with her elbow and said softly, "Next time something like this happens, can you be a little more careful?"
Shen Xin heard the concern in her voice. He kept his eyes forward and said, "It happened on my watch."
’Since I was there, I couldn’t just chicken out, could I?’
After saying that, Shen Xin’s thoughts returned to Zhao Hongjie’s earlier arrangements.
’Why build a high-spec kennel for Tian Kui by the training field behind the City Bureau? What does this mean? Are they planning to transfer Tian Kui to the City Bureau?’
’The City Bureau doesn’t handle field operations. Leaving Tian Kui here would just turn him into a mascot, wouldn’t it?’
’He’s still young, he can still rack up more commendations.’
While his mind was racing, it was the trio’s turn to go on stage and receive their awards.
Of course, Tian Kui was there too.
He wasn’t the least bit stage-shy; in fact, he seemed to enjoy the atmosphere. He walked proudly onto the stage and first sat down by Shen Xin’s leg.
Then, after looking left and right, he actually took a step forward and sat down in front of the three of them.
CLICK. The moment was captured in a photo.
But it wasn’t over.
After the awards ceremony ended, Zhao Hongjie unexpectedly called Shen Xin over.
He also called for Lv Youwei and Sun Zhao.
They followed him back to his office, where Zhao Hongjie asked with a grin, "Xiaoshen, you’ve earned quite a few commendations since you joined the force, haven’t you?"
The question came out of nowhere.
Shen Xin subconsciously sat up straighter. ’What’s with that tone?’
But then he thought, ’Probably not.’
’It’s not like you get promoted in the police force just for earning commendations.’
And there was one thing that couldn’t be ignored: Shen Xin’s age.
You can keep solving major cases and racking up merits, but if you’re too young, promoting you could lead to problems with subordinates accepting your authority.
It’s more a test of management ability, which is precisely what the very young often lack.
Zhao Hongjie offered a few more words of praise, then took a document from his drawer and said with a smile, "Look. You weren’t even back yet, and the letter of thanks from the Huaiyi City Bureau had already arrived."
On his trip to Huaiyi, Shen Xin hadn’t just saved people; he had also helped the Shiyao Criminal Investigation Division solve a case.
It was only right and proper for Huaiyi to send a thank-you letter.
Lv Youwei stood up to take it, his smile growing wider as he read. "Director Zhao, Xiaoshen’s professional skills are excellent."
Zhao Hongjie nodded. "Exactly. So I was thinking, how can we best make use of his skills?"
Zhao Hongjie was well aware of all the cases Shen Xin had solved.
Lv Youwei’s smile slowly faded. ’Something feels wrong with the subtext of Zhao Hongjie’s words.’
It was as if he was implying that leaving Shen Xin at the Tingyang Branch was preventing his skills from being fully utilized.
Beside him, Sun Zhao had clearly picked up on the same implication, and he frowned slightly.
Zhao Hongjie said suddenly, "Old Lv, that Cold Case Task Force you guys established at your branch... I think it’s a particularly meaningful initiative."
"Think about it. Criminal investigation technology is evolving so rapidly these days, and all over the country, we’re seeing new tech being used to solve old cases."
"Just like those cold cases Xiaoshen solved before. I think that’s excellent. For the victims’ families, solving the case is the greatest comfort they can receive."
Lv Youwei nodded in agreement, but the more he listened, the more uneasy he felt.
Zhao Hongjie continued, "I have an idea, and I’ve been discussing it with Old Xu and the others in meetings the last couple of days. The City Bureau’s duty is, fundamentally, to provide operational guidance."
"Therefore, I think this cold case initiative shouldn’t be handled by just your branch. The City Bureau needs to take the lead."
"I’ve thought it over. I’m preparing to set up a Cold Case Office under the City Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Detachment, just like yours, and then transfer Xiaoshen over to run it."
"His specific duty would be to help the various branches below solve their unresolved cold cases."
"Old Lv, what do you think? Feel free to share any thoughts you have, let’s discuss it. Xiaosun can also weigh in."
Zhao Hongjie looked at the two of them with a beaming smile.
Lv Youwei’s smile had vanished completely.
He’d had a bad feeling ever since Zhao Hongjie started talking about building a high-spec kennel for Tian Kui at the City Bureau.
He’d even been wondering how to make arrangements for Tian Kui at his own branch.
’Now I finally get it. So Zhao Hongjie held this awards ceremony today just to poach my man.’
’Holding an awards ceremony only to lose a young, brilliant officer I had such high hopes for... this is a raw deal.’
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