Chapter 237 - 237 228 Materialism

Words : 1663 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

237: Chapter 228 Materialism 237: Chapter 228 Materialism Criminal Police Squad. A dark black pickup truck, silently parked at the main entrance of the courtyard. Huang Qiangmin, with a cigarette in his mouth, stood on the steps about two or three meters away from the pickup, deeply appreciating it. The instructor had bad luck and got caught, so he had no choice but to join Huang Qiangmin in admiring the truck. Soon, he got bored and said, “Captain Huang, if we’ve seen enough, let’s head back.” Instructor Pei Xiang was a humble gentleman, educated and with academic credentials. He didn’t rush when pressured by Huang Qiangmin, resembling a resilient blade of grass, stubbornly surviving. Huang Qiangmin laughed and said, “Go back to do what? Hurry to write reports? Let’s not worry about that now. Just look at this truck, that muscle feel, truly amazing!” Pei Xiang remained unfazed by his persistence and calmly said, “You’re all about cracking cases, but someone has to write the reports, right? Not to mention the various data the higher-ups demand, week after week, must be compiled.” “Let the youngsters help you with that.” “They don’t have the computer permissions I do.” “In any case, first look at the truck; I personally picked it from the Qinghe Bureau’s parking lot...” Huang Qiangmin’s hands gestured in the air, as if fondling it, and said, “It has a 2.0t power engine, diesel, a first-hand new car from four years ago, perfect, isn’t it?” Pei Xiang made an “oh” sound and said, “So it’s a four-year-old second-hand truck? How many kilometers?” “Ten something, just over twenty.” “So that’s over two hundred thousand kilometers? Twenty-something?” “Twenty-five, not quite twenty-six.” Huang Qiangmin paused, then said, “I know, if this was your family car, you wouldn’t be interested, but this is for our squad, and moreover, I tested it on the road, overtaking with the air conditioning on, without a single problem.” Pei Xiang sighed and said, “It’s better than nothing.” “That’s way better than nothing. This truck can handle rough roads, and when the time comes, throw two bodies in the back and drive out to the wild. That atmosphere, it pops right up.” Huang Qiangmin imagined that vast, desolate scene, feeling an eagerness rise within him. Pei Xiang said, “Two bodies a year, I find even that too much. Are you planning not to live a decent life? This year’s case handling budget is almost completely used up by you.” “How could that be. We now have Jiang Yuan, right? If we run out of local cases, we’ll just drive this truck anywhere we need, pick up a couple of cases, and we’ll have everything we need.” Huang Qiangmin said, placing his hands confidently on his hips. Pei Xiang stated, “Criminals probably think the same way.” Huang Qiangmin broke into a hearty laugh, laughing four times, and said, “This time they even added extra funding for us.” “How much did they add?” Pei Xiang finally showed some interest. For a crime squad, an entity of pure expenditure, funding is its lifeline. In the past years, to secure funding, everyone had to make do by apprehending gamblers and those involved in prostitution, wasting time and energy, not to mention the negative shift in the team’s attitude and focus. Now it’s different. There’s a public security squad, and the criminal police don’t even have the right to crack down on gambling and prostitution. Huang Qiangmin looked around and whispered, “They added 600,000.” “Wow!” Pei Xiang was delighted. “That’s a good sale, you really did well this time.” “What are you talking about...” Huang Qiangmin lifted his chin in pride. Pei Xiang expressed his thoughts, “I don’t mind saying that in the past when you went out to ‘sell,’ spending thirty to fifty thousand to bring back seventy or eighty thousand seemed like doubling the earnings, but it didn’t even account for the staff wages. This time is the real deal.” Huang Qiangmin, flattered and happy, let it slide, saying, “This time we brought the whole first squad with us.” “It’s just a matter of tens of thousands. The accommodations and meals were still covered by the city bureau,” Pei Xiang added, “In short, you did well, and keep it up for future, even more brilliant sales.” “Fine, fine.” Huang Qiangmin gestured with his hand, not dwelling on it. Expenditures and funding are two different concepts. Within expenses, a major element is staff wages and benefits. Considering the six insurances and two funds for police officers, it easily costs over 200,000 per person per year. Add the maintenance of various devices, equipment procurement, refueling, and vehicle repairs, the total expenditure of a crime squad is very high. A common example is the DNA laboratory, which easily has an annual expense of at least 3 million. Expenditures were something Huang Qiangmin couldn’t control, nor was he interested in controlling. What he really cared about was the operational funding that could be actually used for solving cases, the cash in hand. The amount of this money varies, and there are many ways to calculate it. A more basic method is to divide it per capita; for instance, some poorer counties stipulate an average expenditure of 15,000 per person, meaning a police officer’s annual spend on case-solving tops out at 15,000 yuan. Wealthier cities, like Changyang City, have a per capita budget of 30,000 to even 40,000 yuan, but Changyang’s high expenses are justified. In Ningtai County’s detective squad, the average annual budget is just a little over 20,000 yuan per person, with the total team budget being just over 3 million yuan. If all this money were used to handle theft cases, it would only cover a little over a hundred cases. Therefore, every time the county or city bureau carries out tasks or inspections, they often bring some funds with them. It’s a subsidy for the grass-roots units. Having an extra 600,000 yuan all at once made Huang Qiangmin very comfortable. Besides that, there was a Great Wall pickup truck that was brand new four years ago, two brand new investigation kits, a set of miscellaneous gadgets, and an almost brand new indanedione fingerprint fuming cabinet. The latter items were all prepared for Jiang Yuan. Huang Qiangmin pointed at the shiny new second-hand pickup, his voice filled with bravado, “As long as this funding is in place, even if Qinghe City has two more homicide cases, I won’t be scared!” If it wasn’t for his many years of staunch materialism, Pei Xiang would have spat blood on Huang Qiangmin’s face right then and there. ... No sooner had Jiang Yuan sat down in his office than people began to seek him out. Technicians with particularly good skills actually have no free time. This is just like a very attractive woman with a particularly short period of being single, when one relationship ends, another begins. Sometimes when it’s incredibly busy, one project will already be starting while another is yet to end. The first two looking for Jiang Yuan were carrying fingerprints and footprints. Currently, Jiang Yuan is most famous for fingerprints, footprints, bloodstains, and crime scene investigation. Ordinary detectives don’t have the audacity to pull Jiang Yuan away for crime scene investigations. It’s not easy to bother a forensic doctor for the several hours of work such tasks require. In comparison, dealing with fingerprints and footprints seems easier. Jiang Yuan provided answers to each of them, sent them on their way, took a couple of sips of tea, and then saw Wei Zhenguo coming up. “Captain Wei, long time no see,” Jiang Yuan immediately greeted, then invited Wei Zhenguo to sit down. Captain Wei’s face was always dark and tanned. But his beard and hair were clean and neatly trimmed, which made one wonder if he lived outdoors all year round. Upon seeing Jiang Yuan, Wei Zhenguo was visibly pleased, took a seat, drank two cups of tea, made small talk and then said, “Lately, our team six is only catching petty thieves. Those who steal electric bikes, mobile phones, and there was one who robbed a shop...” “Those aren’t easy to catch, are they?” Jiang Yuan had previously caught someone stealing electric bikes, and although the method of theft was primitive, it wasn’t easy to apprehend them.” Captain Wei nodded, “That’s why I’ve been thinking that with the current situation, there have been considerable changes in society.” “Hmm.” “Actually, we should rearrange the surveillance video, update whatever needs updating, upgrade whatever needs upgrading, and establish a Surveillance Analysis Squad or something. That way, it would be easier for us to catch thieves and improve public safety.” Wei Zhenguo looked at Jiang Yuan, suggesting, “You should mention it to Captain Huang and the others.” “Video surveillance systems are way too expensive; it won’t matter what I say.” “Just let Captain Huang bring it up to the higher-ups. Who knows, they might be wondering where to spend the money.” Wei Zhenguo didn’t come today to discuss only this matter. After saying this, he changed the subject, “I’ve got a thing, kind of a case, and I need your help.” “Oh, tell me.” “I have a friend...” Seeing Jiang Yuan’s skeptical look, Wei Zhenguo quickly added, “It’s really a friend.” “And this friend?” “He’s a zoologist. He has some photos and videos that are quite blurry and would like someone to enhance the images. Uh, he’s willing to pay, but it seems that regular companies can’t handle it...” “Sure, bring them over. I’ll work on them at home; the computers at the station are a bit outdated,” Jiang Yuan agreed readily.

Chapter 237 - 237 228 Materialism

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