Chapter 10: Case Reward

The two of them promptly arrived at Zhou Weimin’s office.

Then came the work report. Zhang Haiyang detailed to Zhou Weimin the situation they had learned about today in Woniu Village, as well as Luo Fei’s speculation about Su Xiao’s involvement with a man.

Hearing this, Zhou Weimin looked even more kindly towards Luo Fei. Without a doubt, among the four new recruits who had just joined this year, Luo Fei was currently performing the best, the most outstanding. This was something Zhou Weimin had never expected—Luo Fei had entered through the civil service examination, essentially starting from scratch in this field. However, his current performance has pleasantly surprised him.

“Luo Fei, you’ve performed very well. Keep it up.” Aware of having praised Luo Fei extensively in recent days, he restrained his inclination to heap further praise, offering only a brief acknowledgement to prevent Luo Fei from becoming overly conceited.

Luo Fei nodded, signalling his determination to continue working hard, and then waited for Zhou Weimin to dismiss them.

The next second, Zhou Weimin continued, “Both of you also came at the right time. I have some good news to share with you.”

Upon hearing Zhou Weimin’s words, Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang glanced at each other, both guessing that it might be about the reward for the Gu Youguo case.

Sure enough.

“Last time, you two cracked the homicide case of Gu Youguo, and commendations from the higher-ups have also been awarded accordingly. Zhang Haiyang is awarded a well-deserved third-class merit. However, considering Luo Fei is still a trainer officer with limited experience, Luo Fei’s reward this time is a personal commendation.”

After Zhou Weimin finished speaking, Luo Fei did not feel disappointed for missing out on the third-class merit. He found satisfaction in receiving a personal commendation. In truth, regarding the Gu Youguo case, Luo Fei felt that he was merely fortunate. There was no real breakthrough; the culprit did not even attempt to flee and instead awaited the arrival of the police at home.

However, Zhang Haiyang felt somewhat indignant for Luo Fei.

“Chief Zhou, you know very well that it was primarily thanks to Luo Fei that we were able to solve the Gu Youguo case. I personally didn’t contribute much. So, why am I receiving the third-class merit while Luo Fei only gets a personal commendation? How does that make sense? Liu Haiquan and the others will ridicule me to no end,” Zhang Haiyang said with a grim expression, feeling thoroughly discontented. It felt as if he was taking credit for his apprentice’s accomplishments.

“Mentor Zhang, please don’t say that. As you’ve seen, I didn’t do much in this case either. Our contributions are equal, and I believe you received the third-class merit mainly because of your years of dedicated service. The Gu Youguo case was merely a pretext,” Luo Fei interjected from the side.

With that, Zhou Weimin looked at Luo Fei once again and thought to himself: This kid’s got a lot of perspective. Then, he turned to Zhang Haiyang and added on with a hint of dissatisfaction, “You’ve been a policeman for so many years, yet your mentee understands things better than you do! You’ve been performing well in your work all these years, and the idea of awarding you a third-class merit has been under consideration for a while now. The Gu Youguo case was just an excuse.”

Hearing Luo Fei and Zhou Weimin’s remarks, Zhang Haiyang’s mood finally eased a bit. As long as he was not overshadowing his mentee’s achievements, he felt relieved.

After comforting Zhang Haiyang, Zhou Weimin turned to Luo Fei again. “Luo Fei, don’t be too disheartened. If you didn’t get the third-class merit this time, we’ll aim for it next time. I believe you have the ability.”

The Criminal Investigation Division

In contrast to the atmosphere at the police station, the Criminal Investigation Division was bustling with activity. Despite the workday nearing its end, everyone appeared busy—no one seemed to have any intention of leaving.

In the office of the captain of the Criminal Investigation Team, Yang Mei had just finished reporting her work to Zhao Donglai.

“Luo Fei’s speculation makes sense. The fact that the victim bought expensive phones and jewellery worth tens of thousands does raise suspicion. This was something all of us overlooked this morning since we assumed it was normal for a young woman to have these items,” Zhao Donglai affirmed Luo Fei’s idea after listening to Yang Mei’s report.

He then instructed, “This information is crucial. Perhaps the mysterious person who has always been close to the victim is the perpetrator of this case. Our focus now is to quickly identify this person. After this, investigate the victim’s spending, shopping, and bank transactions. Since this person appears to have a close relationship with the victim and has purchased both a phone and jewellery, it’s likely that there has been financial interaction between them.”

“Okay, I understand, Uncle.” Yang Mei nodded.

Hearing this, Zhao Donglai immediately frowned and said, “How many times have I told you? In the workplace, you call me Captain Zhao.”

“Okay, Captain Zhao, I got it.” Yang Mei smiled, clearly not taking Zhao Donglai’s words seriously. In front of elders, Yang Mei becomes much more relaxed and cheerful, almost like a child.

Zhao Donglai had no choice but to indulge her. After all, she was his only niece.

“By the way, Yang Mei, you went with Luo Fei to Woniu Village for the case investigation today. How do you think of him?” Zhao Donglai asked seriously.

Yang Mei’s face immediately fell upon hearing this, looking incredulously at Zhao Donglai. “Seriously, Uncle? Today was the first time I met that guy, and I’m only twenty-four. Why do you keep trying to set me up with someone? Do I really look like I can’t find a boyfriend?”

“What are you thinking! I meant, how do you think of him as a police officer if he were to join the Criminal Investigation Team?” Zhao Donglai knew Yang Mei misunderstood and explained.

Realising her mistake, Yang Mei’s face flushed bright red. Thankfully, being in front of her uncle made the situation less embarrassing.

After a moment of thought, Yang Mei replied sincerely, “He seems okay, but as a civilian police officer, his professional capabilities in the Criminal Investigation Team might be lacking. However, his observational skills and logical reasoning aren’t bad, and apparently his sense of smell is keen, although that’s debatable. But, Uncle, he’s not exceptional enough for you to request him from the police station, is he?”

Yang Mei was quite surprised. Transferring Luo Fei from the police station to the Criminal Investigation Division was not a simple matter. Setting aside whether the police station would even agree to release him to them, the process itself was complex and cumbersome. To Yang Mei, it hardly seemed worth the effort.

Instead of directly answering Yang Mei’s question, Zhao Donglai said, “Honestly, this kid, Luo Fei, is pretty good. He seems quite sharp, and his nose and intuition in solving cases are remarkable. In both the Gu Youguo case and today’s case, he was able to find the crucial points for solving the case, which is not easy. You know very well that a case can have numerous leads, and finding the key one among them requires a certain skill.”

“And you don’t know this yet, but this kid didn’t graduate from a formal police academy. He got into the Songxin Town Police Station through this year’s civil service exam. If there’s an opportunity, I would like to transfer him to our Criminal Investigation Division. But, of course, not right now. We need to observe him for a while, at least a year or two.”

“Graduating from the civil service exam to become a policeman? What’s this guy thinking, wanting to be a policeman without going to a police academy?” Yang Mei was flabbergasted.

(End of Chapter)