Chapter 522: Chapter 492: Spend Money Once, Get Two Things Done_1
Soon, the phone chirped twice, and it was a message from Xia Momo.
[Xia Momo: Done with work, thinking of you!]
Zhou Ning’s lips curved upward, feeling a warm glow in his heart from such an understanding girlfriend, who could reply with such tenderness even with just occasional contact.
[Zhou Ning: Can’t you finish up today? I miss you, too.]
[Xia Momo: It will probably take a few more days to finish. Zhu Xingxing got praised by Director Xu. When she gets busy, she really resembles you. But the case here is a bit complicated; we have a massive amount of DNA to compare and are waiting for Mrs. Cui’s report. Have you gone home?]
[Zhou Ning: I came back last night, just woke up, and am about to tidy up and go visit your house, especially since I haven’t been there for so long and you’re not there. I have to act the part of the future son-in-law.]
[Xia Momo: Just don’t show off your cooking skills, it’d backfire. They should be home today; when I called yesterday, they said they’re not going out. Don’t buy a bunch of stuff, Mr. Xia might feel burdened.]
Zhou Ning laughed. The anxiety and unhappiness that the nightmare had brought seemed to dissipate at that moment.
[Zhou Ning: Don’t worry, you go busy yourself. I’ll get ready and leave soon. Tell Zhu Xingxing to ask for help if needed, as I’m free now.]
[Xia Momo: Okay, then I’m off to work.]
Zhou Ning sent a waving goodbye emoji, and the two ended their chat. Glancing at his reflection in the mirror, Zhou Ning was quite satisfied. Today, dressed in a short-sleeved white T-shirt, jeans, and white sneakers without his police uniform, he still had a bit of a student vibe.
He grabbed his car keys and phone, went downstairs, locked the door, and drove to the market to buy some seafood and fruits like cherries. He called Mrs. Xia before driving to their residence. He didn’t know where he had lost the car pass, but as soon as he neared the gate, the barrier lifted and the guards saluted him directly.
Zhou Ning shook his head. Those guards really had a tough job, needing to remember the important car numbers of each family; a minor oversight could offend the leaders.
After finding a parking spot, Zhou Ning got out of the car with the items. Mrs. Xia had come out in slippers, smiling broadly as she took the things from him, her satisfaction and pride almost overflowing.
"Momo told me that you went on a business trip to Xinghua City and came back late last night. Why rush here without resting properly? We feel bad for you. Come in, I’ve cooked your favorite braised pork and seafood in clay pot. Mr. Xia is waiting for you, too."
Zhou Ning smiled, carrying the box of seafood as he followed Mrs. Xia’s steps indoors.
"With Momo not around and now that I’m finally free, I had to come and check on you. How have you been? Shall I get a doctor to examine you?"
As they spoke, they had already entered the room. After changing their shoes, Mrs. Xia took the seafood.
"I’m doing well. I just didn’t manage my blood pressure well because of being busy with work, but there’s nothing wrong now. Go wash your hands. Mr. Xia, come out and see who’s here?"
Zhou Ning peered and didn’t see Mr. Xia, so he headed straight to the washroom to wash his hands. When he came out, he saw Mr. Xia, Xia Shouchang, sitting in the living room, waving at him. Zhou Ning hurried over. Having visited many times before, he no longer felt as nervous.
Zhou Ning took over the teapot and began adeptly washing cups and making tea with calm efficiency. Placing the tea cup in front of Xia Shouchang, it was then that Xia Shouchang stared at Zhou Ning and spoke.
"I’ve heard about the Xinghua incident. You all have really got yourselves deep into quite a few complications because of that case!"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"We just handle the case. When Mr. Hu went there, he was accompanied by the leaders of the disciplinary committee. We only got the evidence we needed from them. I didn’t inquire about the rest—knowing too much isn’t good for the job.
Using a popular phrase from the internet, the world may be full of holes, but there are always people patching them up. I’d like to think of myself as one of those who can patch things up, especially since we’re faced with society’s darkest aspects every day."
Xia Shouchang was taken aback, looked at Zhou Ning with some surprise, and then smiled, clearly approving of Zhou Ning’s words.
"You’ve got a high level of awareness and a proper understanding, indeed. Each day, you all deal with all sorts of deceased victims and criminals. It’s truly not easy to unravel the clues and evidence to unveil the truth of the cases, and the psychological pressure is immense.
Just like this recent event, after hearing about it, I couldn’t sleep well all night. It’s completely unimaginable—among teachers and officials, there could be such people. Seems like we need to take serious measures to clean up within the group of educators and civil servants, ensuring self-examination and correction.
Additionally, those of you under high-stress and intense workloads should receive some economic compensation and support, as well as necessary psychological counseling. Furthermore, addressing concerns about the future is essential to help you all immerse yourselves more fully in your work.
Especially for the policemen who reach middle age at the grassroots level, they face huge pressures in both work and life. The government needs to take practical steps to address these difficulties and provide adequate support."
Zhou Ning nodded, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"I was just speaking off the cuff."
Xia Shouchang waved his hand and laughed along.
"Let’s not talk about that. By the way, I was at Qin University the other day and met with Professor Li Chengbin there. He gave a public lecture, which was well-received. He chatted with me for a while and mentioned that Mr. Hu had contacted him about recruiting some talent.
He’s already made the connection. The candidate is a dual doctorate holder, but his condition is to be affiliated with the Qin Da Research and Development Center. Of course, he can also teach. His work can be seconded to the municipal bureau to join your lab team. I don’t know what your opinion on this is, as Mr. Lu said he should ask you."
"Ah, I wasn’t aware of that!"
Zhou Ning blinked in surprise; indeed, he had been so busy these past few days that he hadn’t even checked any social media apps. He quickly opened MSN and sure enough saw many messages from his teacher along with the related file introductions.
Looking at the person’s profile, Zhou Ning was somewhat dumbstruck. Not only was the individual a genuine PhD holder, but they also specialized exactly in what he was looking for: entomology and botany. What was more interesting was that this person had also studied forensic knowledge, greatly admired Professor Li Chengbin, had worked as an assistant for half a year, and had even worked at the Mi Country Mason Laboratory for a year.
This place was like a gold seal of approval, tantamount to an authoritative forensic identification center in Hua Country. Zhou Ning’s eyes brightened as he finished reading; he immediately replied to Professor Li Chengbin. Xia Shouchang could tell at a glance that this completely met Zhou Ning’s expectations.
"Is he really that impressive?"
Zhou Ning nodded and quickly handed the profile to Xia Shouchang to take a look. Of course, he read the Chinese version, while he gave Xia Shouchang the English version—the reason for that he couldn’t clearly explain.
Xia Shouchang took off his glasses and looked it over carefully, a touch of puzzlement in his eyes.
"A Hua Country national?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Not everyone who studies in Mi Country wants to stay there. Finding someone so specialized and aligned with our needs is truly not easy. Does Mr. Xia’s Qin University have teaching needs for these two disciplines?"
Xia Shouchang laughed.
"Of course, there is a demand. I heard from Mr. Liu that the expansion plan for next year has been released. Seventeen new majors are being added, most of which are related to forensic science, criminal investigation, medicine, and biology. His timing is indeed perfect. I will ask Mr. Lu to talk to him."
Zhou Ning nodded and glanced again at the materials in his hand. The person’s name was Peng Shinian, thirty years old, indeed a very artistic name. He wondered if there was someone adept at poetry in his family, as surnames with the character "Shinian" were rare in family trees.
"I’ve been so busy these past days that I haven’t had the chance to discuss this with my teacher. Has Doctor Peng already arrived here, or is he still in Mi Country, awaiting our response before deciding to come over?"
Xia Shouchang rubbed his nose and this time, he laughed outright with his head thrown back.
"It seems you really haven’t been in touch with Li Chengbin. Professor Li came over to give lectures, and Doctor Peng came along with him. It’s precisely because he saw the scale of the Research and Development Center here, along with all the hardware and software provisions, that he proactively approached Professor Li with the desire to stay.
I’ve met him; he’s quite short and skinny, extremely enthusiastic about everything. He’s turned over the entire garden of the school, seemingly in search of some insect and plant samples—got that little bit of a researcher’s mania."
Zhou Ning was somewhat surprised; Xia Shouchang’s assessment seemed to strike a chord of recognition, yet Zhou Ning hadn’t perceived it at all.
He was about to speak when his phone rang. The caller was Li Chengbin, and Xia Shouchang glanced over, smiling and waving it off.
"That man really can’t help but nag. Just mentioned him a few times and there he is calling. Ask him if he has eaten, and if not, invite him over for a visit."
Zhou Ning answered the phone with a smile.
"Hello, teacher!"
"Zhou Ning, have you finished your work?"
Zhou Ning, afraid that he would bring up something else, quickly took the initiative:
"All done. I came back in the middle of the night yesterday. I’m currently at Mr. Xia’s place. We’ve just been talking about your student Peng Shinian. I was checking MSN when your call came through. Mr. Xia says he wants to invite you over for a meal."
"That’s not sincere. If you were inviting, you could have told me yesterday. Peng Shinian has dragged me to Tongshan; I’m sightseeing while he’s collecting various specimens. I don’t think I’ll make it back before nightfall.
By the way, have you looked at the materials I sent? I’m not sure exactly what kind of person you’re looking for—whether a specialist in plant science and entomology alone or someone for comprehensive research to be part of the development center?"
Zhou Ning felt somewhat embarrassed. His teacher’s assistant was a double PhD holder, not on the same level as his half-baked self, like how those full-English profiles seemed almost like an alien language to him, especially since he had given back all his English foundations from his postgraduate entrance exams.
"That’s why you’re the teacher. I’m looking for someone with forensic knowledge and research in entomology and botany, preferably with the ability to apply this knowledge to forensic inspection. This would be of great help not only to the education at Qin University but also to the research direction of the lab and the daily processing of cases."
Li Chengbin hummed in acknowledgment and laughed.
"I understand. You want to spend money on one thing and accomplish two tasks. Since you’re satisfied, let’s meet tomorrow. I don’t have class in the morning anyway; I’ll head straight to your technical department to have a look at your workplace!"
"Great, I’ll have someone pick you up tomorrow morning."
With that, he hung up.
Xia Shouchang leaned in a little closer, his gaze toward Zhou Ning now containing a hint of admiration.
"Tomorrow, I’ll have Mr. Lu take them. As for the salary issue, let him negotiate. We need to do everything necessary when bringing in top talent so that it can serve as a reference for future personnel arrangements. Alright, let’s have dinner; otherwise, your aunt is going to start scolding."
Mrs. Xia came out of the kitchen just then, giving Xia Shouchang a glance and looking at Zhou Ning with a warm gaze.
"Xiao Ning, come and eat!"
