Chapter 282 - 282 260 Happy

Words : 2435 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

282: Chapter 260 Happy 282: Chapter 260 Happy Saturday. Morning. The egg-filled pancake stand in front of the county bureau is still open for business as usual. Office workers seeking breakfast come in an endless stream, forming a queue long enough to fill two prison vans. Jiang Yuan is also lining up at the end of it. In Jiang Village’s own canteen, there are indeed snack stalls in operation, where items like soy milk, fried dough, and tofu pudding are regular fixtures. Other options such as spicy soup, pot porridge, and meat-stuffed breads are frequently rotated. However, the egg-filled pancake stand at the entrance of the county bureau is obviously a cut above the village’s captive snack vendors. Jiang Yuan watched the pancake lady’s craft like it was a show. It was a way for him to clear his mind as well. The lady’s technique was so skilled, it could even make one’s head spin. Egg-filled pancakes and crepe rolls are entirely different paths. Making crepe rolls is something a spy could practice for three days and then have a go at entering the business. But making egg-filled pancakes is a high-difficulty project that requires over three weeks of training. Not to mention the special kneading technique and high demands, just the difficulty of operations on-site is very high. First, you have to put the dough in the frying pan, let the outer ring puff up like a balloon, then seize the moment to slice open the dough skin with chopsticks. While the dough is still puffed up from the hot air, you pour a beaten raw egg right into the middle of the skin, and it must be spread evenly... Jiang Yuan found it very therapeutic. If making crepe rolls is akin to fingerprint matching, making egg-filled pancakes is more like performing an autopsy. Fingerprint operations are based on a flat plane, whereas the complexity of an autopsy is three-dimensional, both inside and out. However, it’s not always the case that the more difficult or complex it is, the easier it is to solve a case. In the case sought by Wan Baoming, the conclusions of the autopsy may be many and detailed, yet they might not greatly aid the investigation. On the other hand, because of the presence of multiple eyewitnesses, fingerprints could play a much more significant role. “Young man, double eggs, nothing else inside, just a bit spicy?” the pancake lady asked as she looked up at Jiang Yuan with a hint of recognition. “Yes, please, thank you.” Jiang Yuan smiled and began to scan for payment. “Everyone comes to test my skills,” the pancake lady said while her hands nimbly cracked two eggs into a bowl. Taking advantage of the time it took for the dough to puff up, she vigorously stirred them before a swift cut and toss mixed the double portion of eggs into the pancake. The pancake lady then flipped and pushed, changing the pancake’s side. The yellow-orange egg mixture softly spread into every inch of the pancake’s space, gradually solidifying. Jiang Yuan took out his own food container, extended it forward, and let the pancake lady pack the pancake into it. This move, in front of the gate where the rugged detectives of the criminal police team were majority, was quite individualistic and drew many curious glances. But Jiang Yuan didn’t much care; he drove a big G, so why worry about standing out? Back in the office, Jiang Yuan fished out a tiny barbecue grill from beside the incense burner under his desk. He lit it with the easily inflammable charcoal used for burning joss paper and then took out two sausages from another lunchbox he had brought along, placing them on the grill to heat up. When the sausages started sizzling slightly, he took out tomato slices and lettuce leaves he had brought from home. He wrapped the tomato slices and sausages with lettuce, enveloped the lettuce with egg-filled pancakes, and stuck a few slices of pickled cucumber in the middle, completing the fusion of Eastern and Western flavors in this superb breakfast. Jiang Yuan held up the egg-filled pancake with one hand, devouring it ravenously. To him, this was a breakfast of significant ceremony, devouring so much in one go signified that he intended to get a substantial piece of work done today. Delivering the death knell to a murderer, something like that. Click. Wu Jun unlocked the door and as he entered and sensed the smell of cooking inside, he immediately locked the door again from the inside. On seeing the barbecue grill that Jiang Yuan had lit, he let out a sigh of relief and said, “I thought you had come across another body.” “I need to do a fingerprint analysis for the Criminal Science and Technology Center in Changyang City,” said Jiang Yuan, eating his pancake and feeling blissfully happy. One benefit of having mastered core technology in the workplace is that you can make the office environment exceedingly comfortable. With a bit of skill, you can even make work feel particularly joyous. A prime example was the senior office lady in state-owned enterprises, familiar with the ins and outs of the unit, understanding all the workflow, privy to certain small secrets, hasn’t offended the current leadership, and, if she has a couple of good friends, she finds working days more comfortable than at home. If she had some connections as backup, the office lady could take a stroll, drop by others’ offices, and the happiness she could get inside the company would surpass what the village aunties could enjoy. Of course, when some people have it easy, others are bound to bear the brunt, carrying the load forward—the weaker departments are usually filled with young people eager for promotions and titles, as well as freshly promoted youngsters with ties. In stronger departments, it’s the seconded personnel who are diligently forging ahead. Within the criminal police team, forensic doctors are considered the crème de la crème of those who have a relaxed role. However, Wu Jun was never particularly interested in eating or drinking before, and any added responsibilities seemed to be targeted at ‘the other world’. It’s pretty much the same now. He wasn’t interested in Jiang Yuan’s pancake. In the past, when Jiang Yuan shared it with him, Wu Jun was disinterested. But speaking of the Criminal Science and Technology Center in Changyang City, Wu Jun snorted coldly, “So they have their day, too.” “Do we have a grudge against them?” Jiang Yuan asked, somewhat surprised. Wu Jun smiled and said, “We are from the Ningtai County Criminal Police Team, Criminal Science Squadron, and they are from the Changyang City Criminal Science and Technology Center. The on-site investigation and trace examination are part of the brigade’s personnel, and forensic scientists can even get up to the deputy department head level. What status do we have to hold grudges against them?” It took Wu Jun a great deal of effort to be promoted to a sub-section-level position; it was the team’s way of taking care of the old comrades. But in the provincial capital, this was nothing special, a resource everyone had. Jiang Yuan nodded in understanding and said, “This time it seems like a blessing in disguise. I saw Captain Huang and Wan Baoming chatting, and it seemed like the bargaining was pretty tough.” Wu Jun glanced at Jiang Yuan and said, “When has Captain Huang ever given you the impression of being anything but ruthless?” “Uh... I feel like he’s pretty reasonable most of the time.” “Back then, you were probably like the bird that cleans the teeth of a crocodile,” Wu Jun paused, then added, “Now you are part of the teeth.” Jiang Yuan wasn’t quite sure if this was supposed to indicate growth. “Make sure you do a good job with the fingerprint analysis. Director Wan surely isn’t relying solely on your results this time to let Captain Huang take a big bite,” Wu Jun paused before continuing, “Changyang City’s cases are numerous, with even more backlogged ones. If you can make a breakthrough on your end, they would be willing to break their bones to make you soup.” Only in counties known for their particularly rowdy local customs would the number of murder cases reach double digits. But for a provincial capital city, the number of murder cases in a single district would need to be double that of a rowdy town. This is still considering only current murder cases; going back 10 years, especially 20 years, the number of murder cases and various other major crimes would’ve been several times higher. The number of cases solved would naturally also be several times higher, but the number of unsolved cases piling up would have been several times greater as well. Police teams that had both the responsibility and the means would try to solve these cases when they could, but if it wasn’t possible, they could only continue to let them sit. Or they would wait for the ministry and provincial department to organize various operations each year in an attempt to solve them. In any case, for the middle and lower tiers of detectives, life was relatively simple; solving more cases and carrying out more operations were the most important things. Only frontline detectives knew how rare it was to have a little case-solving specialist like Jiang Yuan when funding and resources were fixed. People like Xu Taining were the higher-ups’ lifesavers. When big hats like time-limited case solving were pressed down, they were the last hope. On the other hand, senior inspectors like Liu Jinghui were more popular at the local level. After all, using the common saying, if the funding is there, there is no case that can’t be cracked. Having finished his pancake, Jiang Yuan turned on his computer and started processing yesterday’s fingerprints. He spent all of yesterday using his own computer to process the fingerprint images. Different people have different methods for handling fingerprints. After participating in a fingerprint conference, Jiang Yuan had clearly defined the direction for developing his fingerprint skills: image enhancement combined with fingerprint patterns. In terms of the ability to match fingerprints, his Level 4 ability was definitely not the strongest. Fingerprints that others could not handle, he probably couldn’t handle either. But once he gained proficiency in a certain area, his potential for breakthroughs would be extremely strong. Moreover, image enhancement was well-suited to deal with incomplete fingerprints. The fingerprints taken from textiles and similar materials are as if they’ve been processed a second time. A fingerprint, if taken from a smooth surface like metal or glass, would be clear depending only on the conditions at the time. But with textiles, it’s different. The surface of textiles is uneven, and in fact, one could think of it as having a certain granularity; the fingerprint is as if it were first assigned to the particles of the textiles and then extracted from there. The particles are round. Therefore, the fingerprint left on the textile is a result of pressing on the particles. The extracted fingerprint is a result of being pressed a second time. One can imagine that a surface obtained by pressing twice would certainly be different. As a result, much detail is lost. For a complete fingerprint, the impact isn’t significant, but for an incomplete one, a solution needs to be found to fill in some details from somewhere. Jiang Yuan spent all of yesterday trying to reassign the granular fingerprints back to their particles and then matching the fingerprints based on the particles of the fibers. This professional level of image enhancement was already very high; even specialists dedicated to imaging would not undertake such work casually. It could only be said that the culprit was out of luck! Encountering a fiercely determined Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan, sipping his tea, began running fingerprint analyses on the high-end computer in his office from three years ago. Finish one round, adjust the image, and run another round. Time passed away amidst the endless rounds of sweeping through data. By the time Jiang Yuan snapped out of his flow state, it was one o’clock in the afternoon, and his stomach began to growl with hunger. A super egg pancake could last just over an hour more. “Going out for lunch?” Wu Jun asked Jiang Yuan as he stopped working. “I brought my lunch. I will heat it up later.” Jiang Yuan had brought pilaf made by his father. Uncle Thirteen next door had slaughtered a sheep, so he sent a chunk of lamb belly and a leg over to Jiang Yuan’s house. This kind of food tasted great fresh and also delicious reheated. Paired with a few salty pickles, it made a tasty meal, fit for a workplace lunch. “I’m going to eat.” Wu Jun then stood up and left. Jiang Yuan continued to focus on processing the fingerprints. It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that Wu Jun leisurely returned to the office, announcing, “Director Wan is here, Captain Huang and Director Zhang are receiving him.” Director Zhang was the deputy director in charge of criminal investigations and effectively Captain Huang’s immediate superior. Considering the development of events, Director Zhang was likely aiming to take another piece of meat from Huang Qiangmin’s share. Putting it in high-end terms, this was probably also considered a kind of transfer payment. Jiang Yuan didn’t concern himself with such matters and simply asked, “What did Captain Huang say?” “Captain Huang asked if your work was going smoothly. If not, he’d ask for a deposit or something to delay things. If it is going smoothly, then don’t rush to submit it. Check it over a few more times and give him a call in advance,” Wu Jun explained clearly. Jiang Yuan casually said, “Well, it just so happens that I’m almost done.” As he spoke, Jiang Yuan took out his phone to call Huang Qiangmin and took a moment to sip some water. Huang Qiangmin answered the call and, after waiting a moment, used a voice far steadier than usual to say, “Hello, Jiang Yuan, is everything going smoothly?” “Smoothly, but for fingerprints in cases like these, it’s best to double-check after catching the person to avoid any mistakes,” Jiang Yuan said. “Haha, I understand. Don’t rush to submit them; just wait a little longer,” Huang Qiangmin replied with obvious delight in his voice.

Chapter 282 - 282 260 Happy

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