Chapter 339: Chapter 328: Squid Ink Dumplings_1
Zhou Ning didn’t dare to delay and immediately went to the inspection department, rang the doorbell, and a young man opened the door, quickly stepping aside to let Zhou Ning in with enthusiasm.
"Director Zhou, you’ve arrived, please come in!"
Zhou Ning waved his hand.
"I won’t go in, call Mrs. Cui out for me, I have urgent business with her, ask her to put aside whatever she’s working on."
Hearing this, the young man hurriedly turned around to find someone, and when Cui Lili was called over, she was neatly dressed in isolation gear, seemingly engaged in some biochemical test. Zhou Ning pulled Mrs. Cui out, waved to close the door behind them, and the two came to the end of the corridor.
Seeing Zhou Ning acting so seriously, Mrs. Cui wore a worried expression and quickly tore off her gear.
"What’s wrong? Is this about Qin University?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Right now, you contact Cui Liwen and tell her not to say much to Zeng Like, but also don’t reject him outright; just say she’ll think it over. I just got off the phone with Doctor Lu; we’re starting an investigation immediately.
There are positions reserved for recommended postgraduate admissions, but only within the same field, and this Zeng Like is just a chemistry lecturer; he doesn’t have the qualifications to recommend anyone for postgraduate studies, nor does he have any laboratories he can be involved with. The university will have a screening process for recommendations next month, and Cui Liwen can try out for the forensic science graduate program."
Cui Lili nodded in a fluster, pulled out her mobile phone, and made a call, carefully conveying Zhou Ning’s instructions. After hanging up, Cui Lili patted her chest.
"Thank you, Director Zhou, I just felt something was off about this."
Zhou Ning also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Cui Liwen’s initiative to discuss it with you shows that the girl has noticed something amiss; she’s observant. Tell her to review hard, especially anatomy and biochemistry, as she hasn’t covered these topics in a while. These are crucial subjects for the forensic science field during the selection process."
Cui Lili smiled.
"I’ll visit her home this evening; we need to talk in person about these things. I have to go and finish the tests; another day I will have Li Wen come thank you. I’ve told her about you, the girl idolizes you to no end."
This remark made Zhou Ning a bit embarrassed; he scratched his head and waved his hands with a smile.
"Please, no need. If she needs reference books, I can give her some. You go ahead with your work; I need to see Director Xu, there’s more business to handle."
After that, Zhou Ning visited the laboratory on the fourth floor, only to find that neither Mr. Qu nor Liu Yongxin were present. Upon asking, he learned that Liu Yongxin’s blood pressure had risen, causing him some confusion in the morning, and Mr. Qu probably exhausted himself and now had a fever of thirty-nine degrees and was on an IV in the hospital.
Zhou Ning immediately dialed Xu Dayuan’s number, and the latter picked up quite promptly.
"Leader, I need to discuss something. Several of my team are down, either with high blood pressure or fever and dehydration. This high-intensity work is just too draining. How about we slow down the work pace and give everyone some time to breathe? I could give them a few days off, what do you think?"
Xu Dayuan coughed a few times and said in a hemming voice:
"Can’t you ask me first, why I didn’t assign you any workload, is it because you’re not feeling well?"
Zhou Ning froze, his words carried a tone as if he was pre-emptively accusing someone else.
"Leader, I’m not a worm in your stomach; who can withstand such exertion? I heard that Bai Xiangrong’s case has already been transferred. As for the police report by Zhu Kelin, you’ve passed it on to Tao Da; I thought you didn’t want to deal with it."
"Ah, talking about this just gives me a headache. I’ve told Mr. Hu; let the economic investigation team work with them on the investigation, but with kidnapping cases, where there is clear evidence and testimony, Bai Xinfeng can’t clear himself, and I also suspect Bai Xinfeng had a role in Bai Xiangrong’s case.
These two are ruthless people, and with their capabilities, getting to know a child’s social circle or the people and things they encounter isn’t difficult, yet they let everything happen. Perhaps Zhu Kelin has given up on Zhu Yunping; after all, comparing the two, Zhu Yunhai has greater ability, more brainpower, and excels in many areas.
Alright, no more of this; let Zhenshan deal with this. Our work team has been decimated; I’ll speak with Zhenshan in a moment. If the forensic department needs to cooperate, contact the other two groups directly. You can assign some work and then take a few days off; return to the team by next Monday."
Zhou Ning hung up the phone cheerfully and went straight to the offices of Zhu Zuozhang and Feng Zhijian. Both men were there, and upon seeing Zhou Ning, they were somewhat at a loss for words.
After all, since Zhou Ning was appointed director of the second department, he immediately joined Xu Dayuan in the task force, and although the sign on the door had changed, the nature of their work hadn’t, and Zhou Ning hadn’t called them for any arrangements. They used to be in comparable leadership roles, and meeting now was somewhat awkward.
"Director Zhou, have you returned?"
Zhu Zuozhang gave Feng Zhijian a blank look; the plump man was spouting nonsense.
"What ’returned’? Director Zhou came back yesterday; the second autopsy room has been lit up. Are you blind?"
Feng Zhijian was taken aback, his expression frozen, while Zhou Ning rubbed his nose and smiled.
"Let’s not stand on ceremony with ’director’ this and that. Externally, we’re the forensic department’s second team; internally, we all know the situation. We’re just the workers here. These past days, we’ve been following the task force down to the counties and cities. You must have been swamped here. I just came to check in.
The task force has been broken up, they’re looking into other cases, and we won’t be leaving in the short term. If anything comes up that you need my support for, or if you need the laboratory’s help, just say so. Also, the face reconstruction software has been installed in all autopsy rooms.
No need to rush learning the steps; someone responsible for training from Qin University will come over first next week, and I’ll let you know in advance. Our own people should get the hang of it first; after all, it can solve many problems. When the time comes, those who can learn on this side should follow along."
Joy was hard to hide on Zhu Zuozhang’s face.
"That’s fantastic, I’ve been coveting that software for a while now. Even though we haven’t encountered cases with facial damage, I’m all ears, this thing has many applications."
Zhou Ning nodded.
"In a bit, I’ll talk to Mr. Pang and suggest that the mechanics of traffic accidents would be more useful for him. I’ll have him send someone to study it as well. That way, even if people from other provinces come to visit, we can demonstrate it at any time."
Feng Zhijian nodded vigorously, his chubby cheeks trembling with the motion, no less than Mr. Zhao’s.
"That’s a good arrangement, but Director, now that you’ve been promoted, why haven’t you treated us to a meal so we can all share in the joy?"
That comment caught Zhou Ning off guard; what promotion was he talking about?
It seemed like just a few hundred more on his pay slip, but the workload that came with it was a headache. It really wasn’t something to be happy about.
Still, he thought it over and realized he had indeed never socialized with them, so it might be a good opportunity to strengthen their camaraderie.
"Fine, I’ll check my schedule and invite a few people from the squad. We’ll get together then. Ever since I came here last year, I’ve been so busy, we’ve never really had a chance to gather properly. Alright, I’m going to get some sleep. It’s been more than ten days since I’ve had a good night’s rest."
Feng Zhijian and Zhu Zuozhang saw Zhou Ning off. After a bit of chatter, their relationship seemed to have warmed up a little.
After watching Zhou Ning walk off, Zhu Zuozhang shook his head and sighed.
"I tell you, despite our age, neither of us has the capacity for work or the resilience compared to Director Zhou. We should get that training arranged properly, step up the pace on our cases, and make sure everyone who can learn attends next week, or there won’t be another chance like this."
After hearing this, Feng Zhijian nodded along.
"I’ll arrange it right now."
....
"I lost! But Grandpa, you cheated. How can you look at a chess manual while playing? Isn’t that bullying me?"
The old man took off his reading glasses, his face blooming into a smile as he waved a dismissive hand at Zhou Ning.
"You little rascal, you’re deliberately letting me win. Don’t think I can’t see through that. But when it comes to playing chess, Shancun is the best at it. Your tactics are too obvious—it’s no fun."
Zhou Ning pouted.
"I know you like Shancun, and even though it’s Friday, Mr. He is overloaded with work, and Xiaoyu just started school again. I asked on my way back; they won’t be coming this weekend. What, isn’t a grandson’s company good enough for you?"
The old man slapped Zhou Ning on the back, unable to hide his joy.
"You scoundrel, always teasing your grandpa. How can I not be happy seeing you? But you’ve lost so much weight in less than half a month since joining the work team."
Zhou Ning shook his head.
"Can’t help it; I’ve been working nonstop. I covered two county-level cities and dealt with five difficult cases. They were old and evidence was hard to gather. I only rested four or five hours a day.
I feel like I’ve gotten thinner, that’s why I hurried back to have Auntie whip me up a feast. I want Grandpa to dote on me a bit, too. Otherwise, you’d only have eyes for Mr. He!"
The old man chuckled again, but his face showed his concern.
"I heard from your second uncle that the city has set up a team to clear up backlogged cases, and you’re working with that team. It’s really a good thing.
Behind every case, there’s a family that can’t find peace. They’ve waited so many years to bring the criminals to justice. That’s their lifelong plea. Alright, let’s not talk about work at home. Don’t you have confidentiality rules?"
Zhou Ning nodded, preparing to set up the chess pieces again when Auntie quickly came over. She wiped her hands on her apron and patted Zhou Ning on the back.
"Weren’t you saying you were hungry? Dinner is ready. It’s all your favorites. And today I was able to get fresh cuttlefish, so I used the ink to make dough and prepared dumplings with a cuttlefish filling."
At that, Zhou Ning quickly got up and helped the old man up.
"I knew Auntie cared about me the most. Let’s hurry and wash our hands, Grandpa. My stomach is growling just thinking about it."
At this, both the old man and Auntie couldn’t stop laughing.
Auntie touched Zhou Ning’s head, her affection as clear as the old man’s. She gave a sideways glance at the second uncle watching TV.
"It’s like you don’t even notice Zhao Ning has lost so much weight; how can you be so blind? Help me bring the dishes in and pour some wine for dad, but remember, only one glass for him today. He’s been controlling his blood pressure, so we need to manage it strictly."
Second Uncle raised his hands in compliance, a look of obedience on his face as he smirked at Zhou Ning.
"See, Auntie rules the roost. I’ll go get ready; you all come eat quickly."
Once everyone was seated and faced with a table full of delicious food, Zhou Ning’s mouth watered uncontrollably. Though he could eat these dishes outside, his taste buds seemed to remember the flavors of home.
Like these cuttlefish-dumplings, Auntie liked to add a bit of half-fat, half-lean pork, Chinese chives, and diced lotus root to the filling.
With this combination, the tender and savory cuttlefish was accompanied by a crisp texture, enriching the taste beyond what could be bought outside.
The grandfather watched his grandson, his smile never fading, as he placed dumplings in front of Zhou Ning.
"Eat up, your Auntie made these especially for you, knowing you love this taste!"
