National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 676 - 619 Weeds

Chapter 676: Chapter 619 Weeds

Jiang Yuan looked Pang Jidong up and down. To be honest, at that moment, he was not as confident in the functionality of forensic botany as Pang Jidong himself.

Pang Jidong looked at Jiang Yuan with an excited expression, as if to say, "See, I guessed right, didn’t I? I got it right!"

Out of a desire to encourage teaching, Jiang Yuan asked, "How do you think we can find the body burial site?"

"I saw how you handled that case in Litang Township before, wasn’t it by examining the vegetation that you found the buried body?" asked Pang Jidong.

Jiang Yuan was somewhat taken aback by the question and shook his head, "That was much easier, a judgment within a small area. Moreover, it was found by chance, not by actively searching for it."

"But a judgment should still be possible, right?" Pang Jidong had learned a lot in recent days, and it was not in vain. Furthermore, his main focus was on how to make use of a forensic botanist, not actually doing it himself.

Based on what Pang Jidong had learned, although he also knew it was difficult, with his current understanding, it seemed like something Jiang Yuan could accomplish.

Jiang Yuan took another look at the map, coughed twice, and hesitated slightly.

This task was comparable to a search operation; the difference was that a search was conducted by a group of people carefully, afraid that overlooking a single spot could ruin everything. In contrast, using legal botany to find a body meant he would have to search on his own, which was not only tedious but also unlikely to be very efficient.

The most crucial point was that this method was highly challenging, with few precedents, and it would be hard for Jiang Yuan to accept if he could not fully accomplish it.

"Jiang Yuan, give it a try," Liu Jinghui said upon seeing this, and then added, "If you don’t do it, we’ll have to turn to Director Xu."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh... How did this conversation go off track..." Huang Qiangmin, who had been quiet until now, could not stay silent any longer and quickly interjected, "This is our own Ningtai County’s money, don’t waste it."

According to the lines Liu Jinghui had drawn out, conducting a search operation was similar in intent to the one carried out over 100 kilometers of national highway in Luyang City, potentially even more difficult. The benefit, however, was that it was within the county, which made supplies more accessible, though the trouble would certainly be greater.

But no matter how simple the task, if the cost was even a tenth of the one in Luyang City, Ningtai County simply could not afford it.

Even though Jiang Yuan had done many deals, what he brought back were supplies; Ningtai County Bureau’s finances were still tight. If it came to a point where spending money was essential, there was no choice, but at the moment, it was clear there was no such urgency...

Huang Qiangmin grabbed Jiang Yuan with one hand and Liu Jinghui with the other, suggesting, "Let’s talk this over nicely and not waste money rashly. We’re a poor county in Ningtai, and it’s not easy to save a little nest egg. Jiang Yuan, can you make do with that botany of yours, will it work?"

"Even if we use drones to fly over the area, it would be too time-consuming to scrutinize each part, just by myself..." Jiang Yuan trailed off and looked at Pang Jidong, asking, "Have you tried reaching out to any botanists?"

"Yes," Pang Jidong nodded earnestly and offered, "Should we invite someone over to try?"

"It would be best if you could get someone," Jiang Yuan quickly said. With someone to help, the situation would be different.

"How many should I call?" Pang Jidong took out his phone.

"How many... the more, the better, of course. You can invite a lot?"

"I’ve found about four or five people so far, all researchers from botanic institutes or professors from universities—those with teams. Let’s see how many can come."

Jiang Yuan was surprised, "I’ve seen that it’s quite difficult for foreign police to hire experts; it’s also quite costly."

While texting and messaging, Pang Jidong laughed and said, "How can foreign police compare with us here at home? We are the people’s police. And despite how harshly people criticize experts, these competent botanists are still very idealistic. When I told them they could apply their knowledge, they didn’t care about the money at all; they even paid for their own round-trip tickets."

Jiang Yuan had never dealt with this aspect before and could only nod obediently.

The task force then got busy.

Following the lines drawn by Liu Jinghui, the police launched several drones for low-altitude photography. This part of the technology was already mature; common neighborhoods undergoing demolition would launch drones to capture everything on the ground, to prevent people from randomly building or even planting trees and reclaiming land after the demolition notice was issued.

Meanwhile, Huang Qiangmin called in the entire K9 unit, attempting to use them on-site.

The experts invited by Pang Jidong arrived as early as noon, racing against the clock.

By the afternoon, several botanists had arrived one after another at the meeting room of the Ningtai County Bureau—the meeting room at Zoumadao Police Station was too rudimentary; Huang Qiangmin did not want outsiders to misunderstand the working conditions of the people’s police.

Jiang Yuan arrived at the conference room early, watching the screen while taking notes. Whenever a botanist entered, he greeted them but didn’t engage in much social interaction.

Liu Jinghui had mapped out a total of five routes; the area to be surveyed was quite extensive, and each person would have a full workload.

The last botanist to reach Ningtai County Bureau was Sulei, a tall and slim female researcher dressed in a professional suit and stockings, with long, slender legs.

With her arrival, the number of people in the meeting room increased by quite a few. The botanists who had arrived earlier courteously briefed her, saying, "We’re currently in the initial screening phase. Each person takes a region or a route to review on the computer. Report any findings, but it’s recommended to record them in a notebook for a collective submission later. The body isn’t going anywhere."

"Okay," Sulei replied, then asked, "How’s your search going?"

"We found an isolated grave, buried three or four years ago. The timing doesn’t match; it’s probably a local who snuck it in. We’ve already dispatched officers to look for people," Jiang Yuan answered.

Sulei chuckled, "Is it interesting to work with the police like this?"

"I am a police officer," Jiang Yuan indicated his epaulettes and introduced himself, "I’m a forensic doctor at Ningtai County Bureau."

"I know, Officer Pang mentioned you understand legal botany. Actually, I’m quite skeptical. Does anyone really understand legal botany?" Sulei, being a true insider, posed a question that was deeply professional, adding, "I think legal botany is a bit of a pseudo-concept. Botany covers too much information. Being a part-time forensic doctor and botanist could be overly challenging, couldn’t it?"

In fact, it would be.

If Jiang Yuan didn’t have the system to help him, he would certainly not have chosen to challenge the field of legal botany.

This type of expertise genuinely requires systematic education to master. It’s one of those skills that if you haven’t grasped before graduating, there’s little hope of mastering it afterward.

Jiang Yuan couldn’t explain his own situation, so he could only spread his hands and say, "Legal botany is indeed difficult, and we are now looking for experienced botanists. My case is special."

"Indeed, special," Sulei said as she approached Jiang Yuan.

She hadn’t started working yet, but she walked over to look at Jiang Yuan’s computer screen, glancing at his notebook as well.

With one look, she saw Jiang Yuan had noted down a bunch of weed names like crabgrass, bermudagrass, purslane, lacquer tree...

She instantly understood and said, "Soil disturbance?"

"Right," Jiang Yuan nodded.

Soil disturbance can convey various environmental influences to the seeds in the soil, triggering their growth. This principle is also related to the "Seed Bank." The Seed Bank refers to the soil containing seeds from all nearby plants, but under unsuitable conditions, the seeds are merely stored like in a bank, inactive, waiting for the right moment.

When the soil is disturbed, the seeds within the disrupted soil believe the time has come, and they begin to sprout competitively.

This is also the principle behind vegetation changes at a burial site.

Initially, the burial site will become barren; afterward, a multitude of plants will spring up competitively.

As the most numerous and lowest maintenance plants in the seed bank are weeds, after the barren stage, the secondary indicator that appears at a burial site is weeds.

However, eventually, everything comes down to competition. Plants with greater competitive ability will ultimately cover the burial site.

One thing that must be clarified is that the plants near a burial site do not grow very lushly.

The variation pattern differs with each location and time, requiring botanists to observe and accumulate information.

That’s what Jiang Yuan was doing.

Sulei, just by looking at Jiang Yuan’s notebook, understood his work pattern, and her expression immediately turned serious.

"I’ll take this one. Route C," Sulei returned to her seat, chose her route, and began to work diligently.