Chapter 344: Chapter 333: Pregnant_1
June 21, 2012
The meeting at the city bureau ended.
Zhou Ning had yet to stand up when Mr. Hu from next to him came over, patting Zhou Ning’s shoulder, his heart and eyes brimming with satisfaction.
"Not bad. I thought the cleanup of the dormant cases wouldn’t show results until at least the end of the year, but you guys finished them all in less than four months. That’s more than twenty cases, each one of them complicated and challenging.
I noticed Mr. Xu’s hair has turned quite white, but you’ve all done well and made us proud. When I submitted these to the provincial department yesterday, everyone looked incredulous. Alright, the Dragon Boat Festival holiday starts tomorrow; rest up well, and take some time to recuperate."
As Mr. Hu spoke, he laughed heartily, Xu Dayuan pouring cold water on the side.
"Come on, leader, are you trying to get people to poach us?"
Mr. Hu sighed with a sense of emotion.
"You don’t understand. If I don’t say it, I feel uncomfortable, but letting them feel a bit anxious makes me comfortable. As for Zhou Xiaozhou, he’s tied up with Qin University. Even if I could let him go, Qin University wouldn’t agree. But this means you’ll be restricted from working at the provincial department."
Zhou Ning laughed; he had never considered working at the provincial department.
"I’m just a worker, not leadership material. I wouldn’t fit in at a bigger unit. I’m quite happy at the city bureau, where we have cases to work on and everyone helps out. That’s not a problem; just give some perks. For example, our city bureau’s DNA testing system is a bit outdated. Maybe they could update that."
Mr. Hu was surprised, then his eyes lit up as he poked Xu Dayuan.
"Listen to him, listen to him! He’s young and has a good head on his shoulders. Why didn’t I think of this? I slipped up! Next time Mr. Liu asks, I’ll do a good job of putting it on his tab. As for what Zhou Xiaozhou mentioned about the equipment, file the request. We’ll tighten our belts if we have to, but we need to arm ourselves technologically."
Zhou Ning remained silent while Xu Dayuan nodded along.
"The last time people from Huining Province came here, they did mention that their equipment delivered results faster and could handle more samples at a time. If we had one more set, our various investigations would indeed become much more efficient."
Mr. Hu nodded and pointed at Xu Dayuan.
"Ask Mr. Peng about this. Why didn’t he mention it earlier so I could be in the loop?"
Zhou Ning had a headache. He had heard Mr. Peng mention this several times; it seemed the suggestion was raised but never feedbacked. However, Mr. Hu was too busy, and Zhou Ning couldn’t really say anything else. Following the cleanup of the dormant cases, all the divisions were adjusting, the aftershocks of Mr. Ren’s dismissal.
But the dormant cases were not really considered resolved. Zhou Ning glanced at Xu Dayuan, who showed no reaction. Zhou Ning tried puffing his cheeks, but Xu Dayuan looked puzzled, as if they were not on the same wavelength.
Mr. Hu noticed Zhou Ning’s gesture and coughed.
"Quit acting in front of me. Speak up. I came up from a managerial position at the brigade, what can’t I know? Don’t tell me you want to get married and are expecting a gift from us. That’s not a problem!"
Zhou Ning’s face warmed slightly. Although Mr. Hu was decisive and strict outside, he was genuinely good to them—him and his impressive ability to derail conversations.
"No, there’s one case that wasn’t included in the over twenty dormant cases prepared for investigation. Here’s what happened: after handling a case in Rudong, we met an old, chubby man during dinner..."
Zhou Ning recounted the visit to Fatty’s Noodle House, repeating exactly what Mr. Zhao had told him, Mr. Hu listened intently and fell silent for a while. When he looked up at Zhou Ning again, his gaze carried a meaning that Zhou Ning couldn’t fathom.
"Since you’ve all been given the go-ahead, then do it. But this case must be investigated in secret. I hadn’t started working in the city bureau in 2004, but I did hear about this case.
The issue of leaked investigation details was probed, but the bureau chief at that time clamped down on it and took no action. I will have someone cooperate with you to find the materials from back then, but it won’t be easy. If it was suppressed without accountability, naturally the evidence was destroyed."
Xu Dayuan sighed and rubbed his increasingly white buzz cut.
"Leader, you didn’t see that old man, Fatty. He smiled the entire time we were there, but behind that smile, there was so much sorrow. It’s heart-wrenching to think about. And with the murderer of this case still at large, if it happens again, our Qindao will become infamous. No past achievement could offset something like that."
Mr. Hu glared at him.
"Don’t try provoking me. Investigate however you need to, and just say the word if you need my support. Also, I will have someone pull up the city bureau’s personnel information from that year. As for evidence and materials, I remember when I first arrived, I came across this case, and there were very few evidence and materials."
Zhou Ning blinked; his leader’s words carried a lot of weight. It seemed that when Mr. Hu first arrived at the city bureau, he had wanted to start with this case, but there was too little evidence to establish a direction for the investigation.
"How ’very few’ is that?"
Mr. Hu pursed his lips, and Zhou Ning, believing his question was inappropriate, looked at Xu Dayuan with some worry, but Xu Dayuan waved his hand.
"Look, leader, we’re about to start the investigation, and you’re here being all melancholic. You’ve already got a handle on the cleanup of dormant cases, so is there some secret you can’t share? Come out with it. Zhou Xiaozhou knows Doctor He, so he can introduce you to a good urologist."
Hu Guangjian slapped Xu Dayuan on the arm, Xu Dayuan chuckled twice, and Mr. Hu then sighed deeply and said:
"There’s only the autopsy report, the crime scene inspection report, and photos related to the case. As for physical evidence, there’s almost none. And we have no idea where the three victims were abducted or how it was done. Their vehicle was found a month later by the seaside, completely corroded by seawater, yielding no information."
After listening, Xu Dayuan fell silent, but Zhou Ning was not discouraged. He was mentally prepared to handle the case; the absence of various pieces of evidence was within his expectations.
"No problem, just give us the access to pull the relevant evidence, that’s enough. After all, it’s been eight years, the technology back then was not what it is today. Even if there were oversight in the autopsy, without corresponding video recordings, we’ll search for them. I’m not being naive; I’ve always believed that the vast majority of our system’s personnel hold the original intention of punishing evil and promoting good."
Mr. Hu laughed, lightly placing his palm on Zhou Ning’s shoulder.
"My boy, you’re quite something! Seeing you today, you’re no less determined than I was back in the day. I’ll have someone prepare the relevant materials for you later. You can start the investigation after the holiday; a few days’ delay won’t make a difference."
After Mr. Hu finished speaking, he didn’t wait for their response, waved his hand, and walked away swiftly, as if escaping, leaving Xu Dayuan unable to hold back a laugh.
"Look at you, Zhou Xiaozhou, scaring the leader like that. Better clock out now. By the way, what are you planning to do during these three days off?"
Zhou Ning looked wary, examining Xu Dayuan up and down.
"If there’s something you want to say, Director Xu, just say it. Your opening remarks are making me nervous. During the past couple of weeks working through the backlog of cases in Rudong City and Hai’an City, it was a battle of brain cells; dealing with the cases from the seven districts in the city, it was a fight of hair loss. I’m genuinely exhausted, not even a production team’s donkey could be worked this hard."
Xu Dayuan gave him a dismissive look.
"Talking nonsense. You’re worth two men easily. I’m just asking if you’re going back to Qidong. I wanted to hitch a ride with you so I could sleep in the car instead of driving. What’s a young guy like you got to be tired about? As for me, a middle-aged man, if I don’t get some sleep, I’ll be going back just to get scolded by my wife. I haven’t been home for months and when I do, I just play dead."
Zhou Ning rubbed his nose and pointed towards the door.
"Mr. Zhao is heading back to Qidong. Seems like he’s going to his hometown for someone’s birthday. You should go with him. My second uncle has brought my grandfather and the others over to my place; we have some things going on."
Xu Dayuan rubbed his nose, eyeing the sly look on Zhou Ning’s face.
"No, that’s not it. Zhou Xiaozhou, you must have something else. Come on, are you meeting the parents-in-law, or setting a date?"
Zhou Ning looked surprised and, seeing Xu Dayuan’s relentless posture, shook his head and said:
"I bought a house right next to mine, in Wanghai Garden, adjacent to the sanatorium. There are a few small buildings inside, it’s a three-story house with a private entrance and a front and back yard where you can grow some vegetables. Many retired folks live around there. My grandfather has visited a few times and thinks the environment is nice. Now that we’ve finished cleaning up, we’re moving in!"
Xu Dayuan moved his lips, swallowing back all his words, and pointed at Zhou Ning with his finger.
"You’re 28 this year, right? My son is 18 this year. Damn, people really can’t be compared. Don’t even talk about ten years from now, even in twenty years, if he can manage not to starve to death and handle his own mortgage, I could wake up laughing from my urn."
While Xu Dayuan was still lamenting, Mr. Zhao came in through the door. Seeing Xu Dayuan’s excitement, he quickly came over with a grin.
"Wow, what’s the leader reflecting on so emotionally? Don’t get so worked up. Did you not take a close look at your physical exam report? Your blood pressure is heading towards 180. Just keep it under control, and without getting agitated, the blood pressure will naturally come down."
Xu Dayuan glanced at him.
"Cut the chatter. You’re no less of a worry yourself. Come on, take me back to Qidong."
Mr. Zhao was taken away, and Zhou Ning chuckled as he called his second uncle. This time, the call was quickly answered.
"Second Uncle, where are you?"
"It’s your grandfather. Your second uncle is driving. We’ll be at your neighborhood soon. Last time you took me to that building; we went through the south gate, right? I still need to go around to the south gate to find the way."
Zhou Ning couldn’t help but laugh; the old man was clearly excited.
"Don’t worry if you can’t find it. Just come to my house, you remember the password, don’t you?"
"No rush. Work comes first. Our family doesn’t fuss about all this nonsense. Drive safely; I trust your grandfather can definitely find that door."
After soothing his grandfather, Zhou Ning headed straight for home. The newly purchased small building was in a community next to the expert apartment complex. Separated by just one road, it was only a few hundred meters away in a straight line. Getting out of the car and entering through the north gate, he saw his aunt bustling in the kitchen. Hearing Zhou Ning’s voice, she hurried over.
"Xiao Ning, you really are doing big things on the sly. This house is so beautiful, but it’s such a large area. Let your second uncle and me chip in some money..."
Before his aunt could finish, Zhou Ning shook his head with a smile.
"Don’t worry, Auntie. I have the funds. I didn’t even take a loan for this house; I bought it outright. You’re retired now, and the air is good here on the mountain. It’s beautiful outside at night, and you can exercise by climbing the mountain; the environment is truly nice.
As for my second uncle, let him eat in the canteen. As for my grandfather, Aunt Liu has taken good care of him until now. I think it’s best he comes over too, to enjoy some comforts and see how I’ve arranged the place. Let me know if there’s anything missing, so I can get it."
The old man chimed in to support Zhou Ning, and his aunt seemed a bit swayed. Zhou Ning held up his phone to her.
"What’s there to hesitate about? You’re here to get used to your new role ahead of time, and to start taking care of Xiaoyu. Look, what’s this?"
His aunt stared for a long while at the image of a white plastic strip with one dark and one faint red line on it, puzzled by the partial view of the object.
"What is this?"
The old man took a quick glance, stood up immediately, and excitement was clear on his face.
"Xiao Ning, tell us quick, is Xiaoyu pregnant?"
