National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 442 - 442 408 Miao He County

442: Chapter 408: Miao He County 442: Chapter 408: Miao He County Qian Ming Yu met Jiang Yuan at the provincial department.

He was a fingerprint expert from Miao He County, with a standard around LV2.5, qualified to participate in the fingerprint combat conferences organized by the provincial department.

He also performed very well in his duties, solving quite a few major cases.

However, in events like the fingerprint combat conferences, he seldom had the chance to shine.

But after Jiang Yuan matched the fingerprint from Miao He County, Qian Ming Yu had no qualms about contacting the captain of the county criminal police squad and completed the investigation of an old homicide case with great speed.

Because of this, Qian Ming Yu and his captain, Xu Xuewu, were both very impressed with Jiang Yuan.

This time, when Jiang Yuan let slip that he wanted to visit Miao He County to work on a few cases—the investigative kind—Xu Xuewu immediately became intrigued.

In these times, who doesn’t have old cases on hand?

Miao He County was like Ning County, with limited funding each year, and even then, they had to find ways to save some to tackle old cases.

If Jiang Yuan could help solve one or two old cases, Xu Xuewu would welcome him with open arms.

Coming to Luyang City counted for nothing.

If he needed him to have brains with folds, that was possible too.

Waiting eagerly for Jiang Yuan’s arrival, Xu Xuewu immediately showed great humility with a traditional Chinese gesture of respect from a distance.

Compared to the familiar criminal police captains Jiang Yuan knew, like Huang Qiangmin from his own county, Hou Lejia from Longli County, and others, Xu Xuewu’s appearance was the most striking.

Describing him as “imposing” was quite apt.

As everyone knows, in traditional Chinese etiquette, when a handsome and elegant person performs the gesture, the effect is particularly good, akin to a critical hit.

When someone who is average-looking but carries himself with grace performs it, the effect is also not bad, quite ordinary.

However, when someone with a lacking appearance does it, it’s considered disrespectful.

Therefore, in ancient times among officials, those with a “square-faced” (国字脸) appearance were considered top-notch, followed by “first-character face” (甲字脸) or “have-character face” (由字脸).

Those who had “stretched-character face” (申字脸), “field-character face” (田字脸), or “good fortune-character face” (福字脸) struggled even to become minor officials.

Xu Xuewu was one of those who were particularly suited for performing rituals.

Not only was his face well-shaped, but his physique was also good.

In ancient times, he could have been one of the top four immortals, under the category “sun-character body” (日字体)—meaning a well-proportioned and upright body type.

Jiang Yuan, from a distance, couldn’t help but smile when he observed Xu Xuewu.

Among the top four immortal body types, aside from the “bearing-character body” (贯字体) which is robust and bear-like, the other three are all well-proportioned, the type that forensic doctors like.

“Captain Jiang,” Qian Ming Yu called out from afar, then introduced, “This is our squad captain, Xu Xuewu.

Captain Xu heard you were interested in visiting Miao He County, and since we were coming this way, we thought to pick you up en route.”

Xu Xuewu feared that Jiang Yuan would be poached by someone else.

Such things are all too common.

Back when computers first began to spread, he happened to employ a computer science college student by chance.

Before he knew it, the Changyang City Bureau had recruited the student.

By the time he was brought back, the kid had already completed a correspondence master’s.

Jiang Yuan, such a good and free labor force, was like a robust work bull for the production team; useful for anybody who could borrow him, naturally the most advantageous for the one who managed to do so.

Of course, the family that uses the bull has to spend a bit more on fodder for the bull team—it’s only right.

Compared to solving cases, this little expense is completely negligible.

If it weren’t for the fact that Ningtai County’s cases were all brushed up and there was genuinely no work left for Jiang Yuan to do, Huang Qiangmin wouldn’t have considered using Jiang Yuan just for some fodder.

Jiang Yuan wanted to visit Miao He County to see the situation of Cai Yan’s child and sister; as for cases, he didn’t want to take on too much.

Jiang Yuan honestly said to Xu Xuewu, “I want to visit Miao He County first, whether I can work on a case or what case I might work on, I haven’t given it much thought.”

“No problem at all, even if you just come for a visit, we would be very happy,” Xu Xuewu spoke very pleasantly.

At that time, Zheng Tianxin and a group of criminal police brigade officers who had just had a drink came down as well.

None of them were in uniform, and in plain clothes, they just looked like a group of strong men, swarming over in a black mass and causing passersby to hastily dodge out of the way.

“Captain Jiang, you can’t leave,” Zheng Tianxin lunged at Jiang Yuan, who deftly dodged.

“Captain Jiang.” Zhou Yuanqiang also lunged but was avoided as well.

Officers from Luyang City were earnestly trying to make Jiang Yuan stay.

The 805 case might be considered quite ordinary across the province—given that only two mutilated corpses had been excavated.

But the attention the 805 case received in Luyang City was a different story altogether, with undivided public focus that was no exaggeration.

The details of the case, the entire process from beginning to end, were known by the officers present, as nearly all of them had been involved throughout.

Some participated from the periphery while others were directly on the front lines.

But no matter the role, the convoluted journey of the 805 case deeply demonstrated to everyone the powerful investigative capabilities and the formidable determination of Jiang Yuan and his team.

Jiang Yuan declined each offer one by one.

Being a detective is considered a rather simple profession; unlike those in local police stations or public security sectors, detectives live a communal life, act collectively when cracking cases, and their frequent contact with criminal cases sets them slightly apart in their views from the general populace.

Xu Xuewu and Qian Mingyu were also watching with great surprise.

From their perspective, it was somewhat akin to a surge of glowing reviews.

Being praised by every customer who had used their service—it was a certain kind of experience.

“Captain Jiang, let’s get in the car,” Xu Xuewu took advantage of the fact that several others were drunk to carve out a path, pulling Jiang Yuan and running.

…

Miao River County.

This was a very clean little city.

The main urban area was cradled by the Miao River, which curved around the city, forming the shape of a giant bent arm.

On one side of the main urban area within the arm, there were many parks constructed along the riverbank, while the opposite side featured mountains and depressions—a natural wetland surrounded by a vast expanse of farmland.

To Jiang Yuan, all these appeared as blind spots in urban security that would require a significant number of surveillance cameras to properly address.

Of course, the reality was that as a small county-level city, Miao River County did not have an abundance of surveillance; they could neither afford the hardware costs nor the labor, and as a result, the public security situation had always been quite severe.

In the previous fingerprint combat, Jiang Yuan had matched a print to a case involving a wandering rapist, but based on his brief understanding on the road, the accumulated cases in Miao River County clearly surpassed such levels.

Cai Yan’s elder sister, Cai Mian, lived in a city village in the outskirts of the city.

The city village of Miao River County also looked very clean, but the messy tangle of wires and pipes, the uneven roads, and the shoddy buildings did not allow one to appreciate the place’s cleanliness.

Cai Mian’s main job was a sanitation worker, cleaning the streets and dealing with temporary toilets on the roadside.

Her side job of selling scrap was not only unstable in income, but also subjected her to occasional fines.

She was only a little more than five years older than Cai Yan, but she already looked worn out beyond her years.

Upon hearing the purpose of Jiang Yuan and his companions’ visit, Cai Mian fell into deep thought.