Chapter 172 - 172 165 No Sickness, No Disaster, Achieving Merits on the Front Line

Words : 1678 Updated : Sep 21st, 2025

172: Chapter 165: No Sickness, No Disaster, Achieving Merits on the Front Line 172: Chapter 165: No Sickness, No Disaster, Achieving Merits on the Front Line Jiang Village, which is seldom lively, came alive in an instant. The main reason was that there were too many idlers in Jiang Village, just too idle indeed. “Qi brother, what should we do?” The police officer following Qi Shanwei also got out of the car, then listened to the various “mourning” sounds around him, and was baffled. It was the few elderly men and women, over seventy, blocking the front of the car who, although they couldn’t use WeChat, still made time to take out their feature phones, dial a number, and yelled: “Jiang Yuan really has sacrificed, I saw it myself, why would I lie to you?” “There’s no misunderstanding, that daughter-in-law from someone’s family has better eyes than me, she saw the wreath.” “A wreath can’t be fake, it’s just like the one the fat police officer brought over last time.” At this time, the police from the car behind also got out, with the same bewildered expression, listening to the voices all around. The driver from the car behind couldn’t help but step forward in panic, reminding Qi Shanwei, “What are we going to do about this? Let’s not stir up trouble.” “Ah,” Qi Shanwei sighed deeply and said, “Don’t worry, I’m familiar with this bit.” “Huh?” “All of you, come and shout with me.” Qi Shanwei gathered everyone together and took various items out of the trunk. Within a moment, the little team they had formed was holding up the sign “Home of the Second-Class Merit Citizen,” shouting in unison: “Comrade Jiang Yuan is healthy, free from illness and calamity, making meritorious deeds on the front line!” “Comrade Jiang Yuan is healthy, free from illness and calamity, making meritorious deeds on the front line!” After shouting several times, the Jiang Village people in front of the small supermarket all calmed down. Indeed, not only was Qi Shanwei familiar with this section, but they were also quite used to it. “So, little Yuan isn’t dead?” One elderly man stepped forward, wanting to confirm for himself. “Not dead, he made meritorious deeds. Just like last time, free from illness and calamity,” Qi Shanwei replied to the elderly man, not daring to raise his voice. Then, hand over the phone to my brother. I told him, but he didn’t believe me,” the elderly man handed over a senior’s mobile phone, looking very earnest. Qi Shanwei subconsciously took the phone, sighed involuntarily, and then said into the phone, “Elder, Jiang Yuan isn’t dead. Comrade Jiang Yuan performed exceptionally in Wu Long’s case, played a key role several times in solving the case, pointed the direction for the investigation, and during the subsequent arrest, bravely fought the armed criminal to protect his teammates, exemplifying justice...” Qi Shanwei finished a long spiel in one breath, easing his mind, and gave the phone back to the elderly man. The elderly man thanked him, took the phone, and shouted loudly and proudly, “See, I told you so...” Before Qi Shanwei could catch his breath, another elderly woman handed her phone to him and said, “Tell my sister as well.” Qi Shanwei paused for a second, then sighed and said, “Anyone else need to be told? I’ll say it all at once.” A bunch of senior’s mobile phones fell into Qi Shanwei’s hands. ... Qi Shanwei and several police officers walked woodenly at the front of the procession. Behind them was the agile fifty-year-old square formation team, their chattering and laughter indicating that they were racking up lots of likes on social media. The sixty and seventy-year-old mixed square formation team followed closely behind, one hand clutching a senior’s mobile phone and the other often vigorously waving in the air, mixing up the history of Jiang Village with their personal struggles. Jiang Village people under fifty, often collectively referred to as “landlords,” walked with their hands behind their backs, busily moving between different rental properties, not only showing new clients around with agents but also paying for utilities, fixing problems, cleaning houses, and disposing of trash. If they didn’t own enough properties, they’d have to work as security guards or cleaners to ensure a full workload, which naturally wasn’t very satisfying. Therefore, the younger property owners in Jiang Village usually opened supermarkets or small restaurants, or bought storefronts to run hardware or curtain stores, which were broad contact jobs that also allowed them to sit tight. And in the event of a significant incident in the village such as this, the small supermarket and small restaurant owners often were the first to disappear into the crowd. Now that the sign “Home of the Second-Class Merit Citizen” had been put out, they’d partake in the village-wide festivities, which were clearly more profitable than just bustling for cash. ... Jiang Fuzhen did not sleep today, but its mood was stable. Because the son was asleep at home, and all the messages popping up on his mobile WeChat were simply telling Jiang Fuzhen one thing, it was time to cook meat. Jiang Fuzhen took a sheep out of the fridge, didn’t bother to clean it, hung it from the kitchen rack with hooks, and pulled it along the track to the stove where it was placed to be filled with water later. The sheep, chosen with great care, came from a friend’s ranch, delivered at set times and then butchered by the local butchers of Ningtai County. After they were skinned and peeled, they were sent to the household. Because of the skinning process, as long as the butchering was clean, the meat would be spotless—before any human interaction, the meat adhered to the fascia and the skin; why would it be deemed dirty? Even the freezers used by Jiang Fuzhen were quite particular, being large upright models from big brands. Whether the sheep were processed earlier for fresh meat, or later for meat that had gone through rigor to become tender, the technique varied slightly, but the flavor was consistently excellent. Once the pot was full of water, Jiang Fuzhen leisurely lit the stove and prepared the green onions, ginger, and garlic, adding about half a basket of each. When the scum began to surface, Jiang Fuzhen leisurely skimmed it off, and by then, the outside folks had almost reached his doorstep. The newly installed early-warning defense linkage system at home—two Dobermans—were already barking impatiently. These two young dogs had been online for a while, and the villagers were well accustomed to them, greeted them without surprise, and entered. Jiang Yuan got up and personally greeted the villagers. “Jiang Yuan did pretty well, snagging another second-class merit,” someone commented. “Now he has two second-class merit plaques.” The villagers bustled around the entrance, looking here, tasting there—having fun and enjoying themselves. It had been quite some days since they had feasted, and now they had found another opportunity. What was even more rare was that the guest of honor was still present. Everyone was very happy, now and then sending Jiang Yuan to fetch salt, now and then shouting that there wasn’t enough meat. Anyway, having the merit winner do something felt like a real bargain. It would be even better if they could take some nice photos to share on WeChat Moments. Jiang Yuan was busy but not annoyed. In Jiang Village, it was the greatest waste if no one ate the cooked mutton. Qi Shanwei and others were also invited to share the mutton meal, slowly brightening up as they ate. Because many people came, one sheep naturally wasn’t enough, so people brought food from their own homes. And without needing help from Jiang Yuan or Jiang Fuzhen, they set up a sumptuous feast by themselves, featuring spiced beef, braised beef, dressed mini seafood, mature pickled seafood, barbecued pork neck, and stewed pig’s head meat... Differing from last time, the people of Jiang Village didn’t make offerings to ancestors this time. Grandpa San specifically sought out Jiang Yuan and explained, “Ancestors are rather busy too. Since we’ve already obtained a second-class merit this year, if we go offering sacrifices again, the ancestors might think we’re reporting the same matter twice, which wouldn’t be good. Better to wait till the end of the year and give a unified report.” “Alright,” Jiang Yuan agreed. “Some of the old ancestors passed away quite confused, and who knows if they’ve recovered down there. Next year, if you earn another merit, we’ll report again. This year, we’ll report only if you receive other merits,” Grandpa San further explained, concerned that Jiang Yuan might not understand. Jiang Yuan personally set off a string of firecrackers to properly express his emotions. Seeing that he was truly happy, Grandpa San then went off cheerfully for a stroll. Jiang Yuan was naturally happy. Who wouldn’t be elated to be recognized with an award? And more so, since at the award ceremony the day before, he had gotten the chance to select a new skill: Forensic Pathology (LV4) This was the skill Jiang Yuan had chosen for himself. Technically, he could have opted for a more specialized subset of skills to achieve a higher rank, like LV5. But after much deliberation, Jiang Yuan restrained himself. No matter what, he, Jiang Yuan, was a bona fide forensic doctor, and forensic pathology was the most important skill for a forensic doctor. Having a comprehensive grasp of forensic pathology was evidently vital for a forensic doctor. As for those more specialized LV5 skills—in all honesty, after working on cases for this long, Jiang Yuan felt that these high-end skills were not very practical. For the average criminal suspect, there was no need for LV5 skills to catch them easily. Holding onto extra skills would be too wasteful. Regardless, Jiang Yuan had his new skill ready...

Chapter 172 - 172 165 No Sickness, No Disaster, Achieving Merits on the Front Line

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