Chapter 12: Identifying the Suspect

Next, the other colleagues chimed in one by one, congratulating him and asking for a treat. The congratulations were sincere, and so was the request for a treat.

“Alright, alright. After work today, we’ll head to Ma Shi’s Private Kitchen. I’m announcing it here so I don’t have to notify everyone individually. We all know each other well enough,” Zhang Haiyang agreed with a smile. For him, receiving a third-class merit award was indeed worth celebrating.

Only after Zhang Haiyang agreed to treat everyone to dinner did they let him go.

As for Luo Fei, no one asked him to treat. Perhaps, as Sister Zheng had mentioned earlier, everyone knew he was a newcomer who had not received his first paycheck yet, so they did not want to burden him.

This was fortunate for Luo Fei, as he would have felt a bit awkward if asked to treat. It wasn’t that he minded spending a thousand or two, but his financial situation was indeed tight.

At 9 a.m., Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang took a ride with Chief Zhou Weimin to the Police Security Bureau.

By the time they arrived, the conference room was already packed with at least a hundred people.

Ningjiang County is home to a large minority population, and the different customs and traditions among these groups lead to a higher incidence of criminal cases compared to other counties.

This is reflected in the manpower at the Ningjiang County Public Security Bureau, which has over 800 active-duty officers and more than 2,000 auxiliary officers, totalling around 3,000 personnel—significantly more than in typical counties.

Upon finding their seats in the section designated for Songxin Town Police Station, Chief Zhou Weimin was busy greeting familiar faces, as was Zhang Haiyang. Luo Fei, however, not knowing anyone, could only sit quietly in his place.

At 10 a.m., the commendation ceremony began. The leaders present were quite distinguished: Ningjiang County’s top official, Cheng Zhi, and Jiangzhou City’s Public Security Bureau Chief, Zheng Changjun. With these two in attendance, Ningjiang County Public Security Bureau Chief, Wu Cheng, had to play the role of host.

Of course, the main focus for the day was not Cheng Zhi or Zheng Changjun, but the frontline officers who had distinguished themselves through their work, including Luo Fei.

However, Luo Fei’s role today was more of a supporting one. From the moment he was called on stage to receive his personal commendation certificate and a check for two thousand RMB from Jiangzhou City’s Public Security Bureau Chief to the moment he stepped down, only a few minutes had passed. His presence barely attracted any attention. The only notable point about him was that he was the only intern police officer to be honoured.

Luo Fei also saw a familiar face, Detective Squad Captain Zhao Donglai, who went on stage twice—first to receive a collective commendation for the detective squad, and then a personal third-class merit award.

Yet, Zhao Donglai was not the star of the day either. The spotlight was on Wang Sanqian, a 42-year-old captain of Ningjiang County’s Anti-Narcotics Unit. His record was adorned with accolades: two second-class merits, one third-class merit, three personal commendations, being named one of the Top Ten Anti-Narcotics Police in Anyuan Province, and being awarded the Outstanding People’s Police of Anyuan Province. He had cracked major cases like the Large-Scale Armed Drug Trafficking Case on April 23rd and the Large-Scale Drug Trafficking Case on February 15th.

When Chief Wu Cheng finished recounting Wang Sanqian’s illustrious career, Ningjiang County’s top official, Cheng Zhi, presented him with a first-class merit. As Wang Sanqian took the stage, the conference room erupted in thunderous applause. This moment of honour belonged entirely to Wang Sanqian.

Watching Wang Sanqian bask in the spotlight, Luo Fei felt a surge of emotion and thought that a true man should aspire to such heights.

“Wang Sanqian is truly incredible,” Zhang Haiyang could not help but exclaim in admiration beside Luo Fei.

At 1 p.m., the commendation ceremony concluded.

As Luo Fei, Zhou Weimin, and Zhang Haiyang were about to head back to the station, Zhou Weimin received a call, excusing himself for some matters to attend to and instructing Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang to take a cab back.

Then, Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang headed to the entrance to hail a cab.

“Luo Fei, Haiyang,” Zhao Donglai called out, approaching them along with Wang Dong.

“Are you taking a cab back? Where’s Chief Zhou?” Zhao Donglai asked curiously, as he noticed Zhou Weimin was not with them.

Zhang Haiyang replied: “Chief Zhou had something urgent come up.”

“In that case, we’re going the same way. I can give you a ride,” Zhao Donglai offered.

After some polite refusals from Zhang Haiyang and seeing that Zhao Donglai was insistent, they accepted his offer. Luo Fei, naturally, followed Zhang Haiyang’s lead and got into the car.

In the car, Luo Fei could not resist asking, “Captain Zhao, any progress on the Su Xiao case?”

Luo Fei knew it was somewhat inappropriate for him to ask, given that he was just a junior officer, but the system reward was on his mind, and he could not ignore it.

Even though catching the culprit would not be credited to Luo Fei directly, he had contributed to the case. He hoped that once the case was solved, the system would still reward him in some way.

Upon hearing Luo Fei’s inquiry, Zhao Donglai did not withhold information and explained, “The suspect has been identified. His name is Tang Hu, the owner of Yumin Supermarket. He’s married with two children—a son and a daughter. Yesterday, through our investigation of the victim’s bank transactions, we found that Tang Hu had transferred 5,000 RMB to the victim. Following that, we reviewed Tang Hu’s bank records and discovered that he had made purchases at the Apple Store and Daxing Jewellry Store, buying an iPhone and gold jewellery that matched the items found at the victim’s home.”

“Once we confirmed Tang Hu’s connection to the victim, we immediately launched an operation to apprehend him. However, he wasn’t in Ningjiang County. His wife said he left for Jiangzhou City to restock supplies at 8 a.m. yesterday. We suspect he’s on the run.”

“So we quickly reached out to Jiangzhou City’s police. They have already started pursuing Tang Hu, and we expect to catch him soon.” At this point, Zhao Donglai’s expression became noticeably more relaxed. This murder case had taken only two days to crack, a remarkably swift resolution. This speed had even earned him praise from Chief Wu Cheng.

Hearing that the suspect had been identified and would soon be apprehended, Luo Fei felt elated, as this meant he would soon receive rewards from the system.

“This case was cracked so swiftly, largely thanks to the significant contributions of both of you—Haiyang and Luo Fei. While it’s a victory for our detective squad, once this case is closed, rest assured, you both will be duly rewarded. I’ll make sure to advocate for some extra bonuses for you two,” Zhao Donglai continued.

At these words, both Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang were overjoyed. It was an unexpected delight for them.

Salaries at the police station were not high. After asking around among his senior colleagues, Luo Fei learned that, as a newcomer, he would take home around three thousand RMB after deductions for social security and taxes. Zhang Haiyang might earn slightly more, but at most, it would be around four thousand.

Living requires sustenance, and sustenance requires money. In such circumstances, police work becomes more than just a pursuit of justice; it also becomes a means to sustain basic necessities.

(End of Chapter)