Chapter 91: Chapter 91: Killing the Donkey After Grinding is Done_1
Twenty minutes later.
Two people sat at a barbecue stall opposite Hospital No. 8, with five bottles of beer, a bunch of lamb skewers, several lamb kidneys, and a few hairy eggs in front of each.
He Shancun glanced at the beer and various foods, then raised an eyebrow at Zhou Ning.
"Spill it, what exactly did you want to see me for?"
He Shancun knew too well what was going on; it was like when a high school classmate came to him for a household registration issue. Although they worked in the same institution, he was just a forensic doctor. He had no idea which way the door to the household registration department in the police stations opened—that was asking the impossible.
Zhou Ning didn’t beat around the bush; he briefly recounted what had happened to Zhou Xiaoyu that day. Without waiting for a question from Zhou Ning, He Shancun raised an eyebrow and looked at him.
"That kid just left with a slap on the face?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"There might have been some awkwardness, but something felt off to me. You don’t think he’s gone for a medical exam and discovered some genetic disease, do you?"
He Shancun scratched his messy hair, clinked his beer bottle with Zhou Ning’s, took a big swig from the bottle, and then said:
"For a teacher to lose his temper like that, I think it must be a disease related to male pride, such as the length of the foreskin, unilateral cryptorchidism, abnormally short size, hypospadias, epispadias, or stricture.
Of course, it’s also possible he’s gone for relevant medical examinations, like a low survival rate for sperm, congenital urinary system issues, poor prostate development, or diverticula, etc.
After all, if a man is still unmarried at thirty-two and not in our line of work, unable to delve deeper into such knowledge, they’re quite sensitive. Just a slight touch on such privacy by others could cause the situation you’re describing."
Zhou Ning was stunned. It seemed his intuition was correct and not just due to over-sensitivity from concern for Zhou Xiaoyu.
"How can I check into this?"
While munching on a skewer, He Shancun glanced at Zhou Ning.
"If it’s a visible problem, he’s definitely sneaked off to another city to see a doctor, certainly not under his own name. He might even go to one of those widely advertised men’s clinics for a diagnosis, get swindled, spend a lot of money, but solve nothing.
On the other hand, if it’s a problem not visible to the naked eye, then it’s discovered during a physical examination. But a standard exam wouldn’t reveal it, for example, normal X-rays can’t detect issues with normal organs, unless it’s foreign objects, stones, or calcified lesions."
At this point, He Shancun paused; the two of them raised their beer bottles, clinked them together, and each downed half a bottle. Feeling the cold rush of air, he continued:
"However, I once had a patient, a mother brought her in, got into a traffic accident and was rushed to emergency with a penetrating abdominal wound, comminuted fracture of the fibula, looked to be about eighteen or nineteen. I asked about her medical and menstrual history.
The mother said the child hadn’t had her period yet. I was shocked. In today’s society, with plenty of good food and lots of food with high hormone content, it’s common to see girls starting their periods at eight or nine, but not at this age.
After the CT and ultrasound, I took a closer look. I was stunned; this was no girl. It was a male with all the parts, just extremely undersized, not even as large as an adult’s little finger. The parents hadn’t noticed.
We had her undergo genetic testing, and as I suspected, she was an XXY hermaphrodite. The mother didn’t even want to sign the surgery consent form. We contacted the father; in the end, her life was saved, but what happened afterward, I don’t know."
Zhou Ning was taken aback.
In his mind, he involuntarily thought of the perpetrator of the 3.10 case, but just when he tried to explore why he had such an idea, he couldn’t grasp that fleeting thought. He didn’t even notice the beer spilling from his hand as He Shancun kicked him.
"Hey, if you’re not going to drink, don’t waste the beer, will you? This is from Factory No. 2. But I’ve noticed you’ve been off today. If your sister’s boyfriend isn’t the right fit, just break it off. Why do you seem so troubled?"
Zhou Ning waved his hand dismissively. Deep down, he was also feeling frustrated, since Cheng Chunyan’s case was still pending. Although the software had led them to a few people, they had to wait for the final DNA report for confirmation.
"It’s work-related, the case isn’t going well. We in this line have discipline and can’t share with others, so it feels even more suffocating. But let me ask you something else. Is it only through such accidents that someone suddenly discovers they have the genetic condition XXY?"
He Shancun was taken aback; he still had half a lamb kidney in his mouth, which he swallowed without much chewing, nearly choking and quickly taking several swigs of beer to wash it down.
"Damn, having a meal with you is not easy. What’s with all these convoluted questions? One moment it’s about a nearly explosive sensitive brother-in-law, the next it’s about hermaphrodites; what are you really suspicious about?"
"The pot calling the kettle black, you mentioned it first!"
"Cut it out, I was just giving an example. You’re not suspecting something about your soon-to-be brother-in-law?"
Zhou Ning gestured awkwardly.
"These are two separate issues. In the current case, we found a DNA on the victim that indicates the person has an abnormal sex chromosome, an XXY."
"During the autopsy, no traces of mifepristone were found inside the female victim, just lubricant from ’Smurfs,’ and scratch marks. With such conditions, do you think this person could complete the process of assault?"
He Shancun nibbled on a skewer of lamb, glancing at Zhou Ning.
"It’s not that you can’t talk about it, haven’t you just said it? Are you more curious about the abnormality or genuinely interested in the disease?"
"I’m talking about serious stuff. Right now, in my personal time, I’m treating you to a meal, okay? We’re at a deadlock in the investigation and I wanted to chat with you. Although we’ve studied clinical medicine, it’s only superficial. Isn’t this your specialty?"
He Shancun smiled contentedly and moved his chair closer.
"If you had just said that earlier, why act all high and mighty when asking for help? Ninety percent of intersex people have various issues, but this doesn’t mean they are mostly incapable of completing that process. It’s just the duration, sensation, and quality of the act that differ from a normal person’s."
"Like the emergency patient I mentioned, she looked more like a woman on the outside, but in reality, if you remove the excess stuff, and the hidden testes, she can live a normal life. It’s just pregnancy that isn’t advisable."
Zhou Ning almost lost his composure hearing ’quality of completion,’ and felt for He Shancun.
"It seems this case is even harder to investigate than I thought. According to what you said, many people wouldn’t even know they have this condition without a medical examination unless they go to a hospital for ultrasound, CT, and other related checks to discover their issue."
He Shancun nodded, and Zhou Ning continued.
"I had someone check for patients discovered to be XXY in the Qindao Area. We’ve verified each one, except for one in Yunlian Port who couldn’t be ruled out. The rest of them don’t have a motive or opportunity to commit the crime."
So, the investigation is at a standstill. We don’t know which angle to pursue or any other distinguishing features of this person. Even if they were standing right in front of us, we would be unable to tell."
He Shancun sighed and lifted his bottle.
"Let’s have a drink. Seeing you like this suddenly makes me feel not so tired after all. When work gets too overwhelming, I’ll come to drink with you."
Zhou Ning punched He Shancun playfully, and they laughed while drinking half a bottle of beer. Chatting and ribbing each other like this was quite stress-relieving. He Shancun wiped his greasy mouth and turned to Zhou Ning.
"As I said earlier, very few men with that problem would visit a legitimate hospital, especially not one in their hometown. So I think you’re looking in the wrong direction."
Zhou Ning looked up at He Shancun.
"You mean we should check the provincial hospitals?"
"That’s right. Turn on the TV tonight, watch the prime-time news and see which hospitals are advertised during the most expensive slots. Focus your investigation on these places. Even if the information they provide isn’t always accurate, they do leave phone numbers. And you know a phone number can always lead to an identity, right?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"Nowadays, real-name registration is required. They’re after profits, so they wouldn’t forgo follow-ups. The phone numbers are definitely real."
"Well, that’s settled then. Now that there’s a direction for the troublesome matter, shouldn’t you toast to me?"
Zhou Ning raised his bottle, and they clinked together, finishing off the last half in one go. Both burped, and then started laughing, heads thrown back.
He Shancun put his arm around Zhou Ning’s neck, pulling their heads close, and whispered:
"As for your future brother-in-law, why don’t you just ask your sister when you get back? They’ve met the parents and are planning a wedding, surely they have tried it out already? I’m telling you, you need to give a man a test run to know if he’s any good; you can’t marry without testing first!"
Zhou Ning pushed him away, raising his buzzed head to give He Shancun a glare.
"Don’t start with me. How am I supposed to ask her? Like you said, with some issues, the process can still happen. Do you expect Xiaoyu to test a few for comparison? But I have come up with a solution to this!"
He Shancun paused.
"What solution?"
Zhou Ning swayed as he stood up, tossed a hundred yuan to the owner, picked up the change without turning back, and waved He Shancun off.
"I’m not telling. I’m off to suggest a change in the investigation to the boss. Thanks, mate!"
"Zhou Xiaozhou, you ingrate!"
