Chapter 73 - 73 72 Smoke Shop Robbery Case

Words : 1594 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

73: Chapter 72: Smoke Shop Robbery Case 73: Chapter 72: Smoke Shop Robbery Case Weekend. The rain was intermittent. Water in the ditches along the roads rushed forward, carrying fallen leaves, mud, and insects with it, towards the far-off land of dreams. Jiang Yuan shuffled in his slippers and raincoat, meandering through the small square to the nearby swimming pool. The people of Ningtai had a tradition of enjoying sports, so a Changyang businessman had invested in building a swimming pool and gym here. The people of Jiang Village were the main patrons within several kilometers and had gradually taken to this fashionable way of spending, with almost every household owning a membership card. Uncle Wu at the swimming pool had even reduced part of the rent to allow for more frequent water changes in the pool. Jiang Yuan had the day off and, reflecting on Zhou Lei’s various actions from the past few days, he simply threw himself into the pool and used the doggy paddle. His Level 4 crime scene investigation skills could locate every single hair in a bathroom. That same Level 4 doggy paddle, when employed in the pool, was like a rapid current, whooshing forward, almost as if a booster had been added behind him compared to his usual swimming techniques. The bigger the splashing, the more people took notice. And it was true that the doggy paddle didn’t look graceful. A few young people, probably there to hang out together, started pointing and laughing at Jiang Yuan. They were too far away for him to hear exactly what they found funny, but Jiang Yuan guessed it was probably his swimming style. Jiang Yuan continued to swim, with thoughts of Zhou Lei’s legacy in his mind. Being mocked for swimming was likely the part that Zhou Lei least understood and was least willing to accept—Jiang Yuan could relate to Zhou Lei’s feelings because he had experienced something similar when he first left Jiang Village. For Zhou Lei back then, it probably would have been hard to understand why people would mock something like the style of swimming, much like mocking an accent in Mandarin or in English. If it doesn’t hinder communication, what’s the point of mockery? But since everyone seemed to enjoy doing it, it vaguely proved that mockery did have significance, at least for those doing the mocking, it was of value. Whoosh. Jiang Yuan turned around and continued to swim rapidly with the doggy paddle. His own swimming proficiency, if the frog stroke was considered his most skillful, was barely Level 1. In contrast, the newly acquired doggy paddle greatly improved his swimming. This technical innovation might not be conducive to practicing for an Olympic championship, but it was certainly beneficial to his daily life. A few people from Jiang Village recognized that it was Jiang Yuan being laughed at in the pool and quickly surrounded the group of laughing young people at the poolside. Being a resident whose property had been subject to demolition came with its own troubles, such as being mocked. Usually, there was nothing they could do about being mocked outside, but it was a different story on their home turf. The dozen or so people from Jiang Village quickly gathered, including several idle middle-aged men twirling skewers, their necks craned to watch—if it weren’t for the demolitions, these guys would’ve been known as the village idlers. Now they were wealthy and idle folk. “Don’t fight now,” Jiang Yuan called out as he saw the crowd growing, poked his head up, took a glance, and climbed out of the pool. Three boys shielded two girls behind them, their thin chest muscles tensed, bravely confronting the dozen or so people from Jiang Village. The boys were not under the influence, their breathing a bit rapid due to emotions rather than drugs. The two girls had good figures, no tattoos, no track marks, no cosmetic surgeries. “Disperse. Come to my house later for some lamb,” Jiang Yuan called out, and the idle middle-aged bystanders all nodded and laughed. Father and son of the Jiang family had long been rooted in Jiang Village and highly valued neighborhood relations, hence they held considerable prestige. When Jiang Yuan spoke, everyone was too lazy to ask more, and the gathered crowd dispersed as quickly as it had formed. Jiang Yuan also ignored the young people who were still in shock, turned around, and dived back into the pool. He was still using the doggy paddle, but this time, no one laughed at him. Monday. The atmosphere within the Criminal Police Detachment had clearly relaxed a lot. In Jiang Yuan’s eyes, life in the detective squad was similar to village life; during major cases, it was like the farming busy season when the big animals were all valued, feasting and bustling about like calves; but when there were no significant cases, the big animals were like they were let loose to roam, the whip still being waved around, but mostly not in as much of a rush to crack down. The footsteps of these big animals would naturally slow down a bit. Wu Jun, for example, once again picked up his feather duster and tidied up his desk, not because of the almanac, but to “drive away the bad luck.” Jiang Yuan switched on his computer and began filling out the report from before. “How about cooking some red bean and coix seed porridge at noon? It can remove dampness and ward off bad luck,” Wu Jun said as he took out red beans and coix seeds from the corner of the room. Jiang Yuan’s eyelid twitched at the sight, “You have red beans in the office? And coix seeds too?” “Better safe than sorry.” “Aren’t you afraid the detachment leader will see them?” Jiang Yuan said helplessly. “If he really sees them...” Wu Jun simulated the scenario in his mind, sighed, and then said, “If it really comes to it, we’ll just invite him to have some together.” Jiang Yuan was speechless. Wu Jun chuckled and said, “It’s okay, as long as the two of us commit the ‘crime’ together, it’s safe.” “Master, you’re over fifty. We need to be more reliable,” Jiang Yuan said, feeling insecure about Wu Jun’s assurance. Wu Jun patted Jiang Yuan’s shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, when I retire, you’ll be even safer. It’s not easy to recruit a forensic doctor in our small county.” “Then when you retire, I’ll set up a barbecue grill in the office,” Jiang Yuan joined in the banter. After all, how could those who were compensated from demolitions lose at bragging? While they were joking around, Lu Jianfeng from the Criminal Science and Technology Center knocked on the door and came in. In larger units like Changyang City Criminal Police Detachment, there would be a Criminal Science and Technology Detachment with various squadrons within it, such as the crime scene investigation squadron, trace evidence squadron, and so on. Relatively speaking, the leaders of the Criminal Science and Technology Detachment or the directors of the Criminal Science and Technology Center would wield more power. But in a small unit like Ningtai County, the title of squadron leader was akin to the group leader in school—not something that held much weight. Lu Jianfeng’s attitude towards the forensic doctor was even warmer, and with a smile on his face, he said, “Thank you for your hard work these past few days. This recent unnatural death case was more complicated than a murder case, which no one expected. Thankfully you guys identified the deceased early on; otherwise, the whole team would have been exhausted...” Wu Jun nodded and said, “At the time, I thought it was a dismemberment case. I don’t know which ship was involved, but people are indeed bolder now. Twenty years ago, they probably would have called the police.” Lu Jianfeng didn’t continue down that line of thought, cleared his throat twice, and said, “Speaking of which... another case came up a couple of days ago. Jiang Yuan, why don’t you take a look at it?” “What kind of case do you need Jiang Yuan for?” Wu Jun directly asked. “It’s the robbery case at the tobacco shop from a few days ago. All the officers were sent out, and the crime scene wasn’t properly processed. Now that the homicide is out of the way, we really need to take a good look at this robbery case,” Lu Jianfeng said, clearly frustrated. Cases had their time sensitivities, but when a murder and a robbery occurred simultaneously, it was difficult for the robbery case to receive any extra resources at all. Wu Jun asked, “What about the ones from the crime scene investigation?” A couple were busy with other cases, one has a fever,My idea is to have Wang Zhong go along with Jiang Yuan,” Lu Jianfeng said, spreading his hands. “Running after cases in the pouring rain, everyone is worn out.” Having a forensic doctor and a trace examiner run a crime scene investigation was highly unreasonable, yet incredibly realistic. The staff at the county bureau was never enough. “Leaving now?” Jiang Yuan stood up. “Heading out now, I’ll find you a car...” Lu Jianfeng said in a rush. “No need, I drove here today,” Jiang Yuan said as he took out the keys of the big G from the drawer.

Chapter 73 - 73 72 Smoke Shop Robbery Case

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