National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 804 - 747 Stealing Home

Chapter 804: Chapter 747 Stealing Home

The autopsy was all finished, and Jiang Yuan returned home with traces of exhaustion and excitement, as well as a profound silence.

The inheritances from Beijing had been particularly generous, full of fine things not seen in Ningtai County, such as the French Language and Kunqu Opera. Even a Level 1 enthusiast of these would be hard to come by in Ningtai County. A Level 3 Kunqu Opera expert might not even exist in Changyang City, not to mention a top-tier Level 4 French expert.

Even Level 4 Italian pasta-making skills might be unrivaled nationwide.

In contrast, Level 2 guitar skills were a practical survival skill in Ningtai County. One could open a music shop or tutoring center in Ningtai, or use it to live a comfortable life as a kept man. It could likely make one the top influencer in Ningtai County, perhaps even dominating Qinghe City.

However, no matter how excellent one was, they would eventually leave this world with the pride of their lifetime, causing an unavoidable sense of melancholy.

Even if they left behind their most valuable knowledge, skills, and experiences, it was still hard to let go.

"I’m going to sleep first," Jiang Yuan, back in his Beijing home, greeted his father before stripping down and going to bed.

He had already showered at the autopsy center, and the clothes he was wearing were fresh. The smell of mites baked in the sun-dried quilt ushered him swiftly into sleep.

Hauling bodies from the reservoir was truly exhausting.

Jiang Fuzhen was originally in the living room having tea but now was a bit worried about his son.

Previously, when his son came home, he had seemed relatively relaxed, similar to the technicians commonly seen returning home from work in the county. But today was different; he looked as tired as an old farmer after plowing the fields.

In Jiang Fuzhen’s eyes, Jiang Yuan, who was already a minor leader, clearly shouldn’t need to be so worn out.

With that thought, Jiang Fuzhen silently took out his phone and called Wu Jun, describing the situation before saying, "I heard them talking over tea yesterday that the case was closed, but it seemed to involve some Heretical Teachings. And I heard they went to some bomb shelters or places like that, found a bunch of bodies or something. I don’t know the specifics, but seeing how soundly Jiang Yuan is sleeping today, I wonder if..."

"Explain it to me in detail." Wu Jun, initially lackadaisical on the other end of the call, immediately became alert upon hearing the keywords.

Jiang Fuzhen also turned serious, glanced at his son’s closed bedroom door, and said calmly, "I don’t know much, but I do know many people died, and their forensic doctors are very busy. Jiang Yuan even took an apprentice, also a forensic doctor. Otherwise, should I ask around?"

"That might not be good, it could cause misunderstandings. Let me find out," replied Wu Jun, who was already a deputy chief and theoretically had the right to know everything happening within the Ningtai County Bureau.

"What should I do now, then?"

After thinking for a moment, Wu Jun said, "You see..."

The next day.

Jiang Yuan woke up to the strong smells of alcohol and incense.

He pulled back the curtains to see the bright sunshine outside.

After brushing his teeth and hastily washing his face, he went out to see the living room foggier than a kitchen during steak grilling.

"Dad... ah, Master... huh? Wang Zhong?"

Jiang Yuan walked into the living room, his voice shifting within the short distance.

The living room had also changed noticeably.

One wall of the TV had projected a high-resolution image of a Bodhisattva’s statue, with incense offered below it.

The dining table was laid out with two rows of food, all offered with incense.

At the doorway was another offering table, also with incense.

Wu Jun was dressed in a Sun Yat-sen suit, looking very solemn, pinch of incense in his hand.

And there was Wang Zhong, wearing a white T-shirt, holding a Lingdang bell which he rang three steps at a time with a silver jingle, looking serenely composed.

Observing his steps, he was clearly walking in a Bagua pattern.

"Have some water," said Wu Jun, turning to fetch a glass of water for Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan hesitated before asking, "Incense water?"

"Saltwater. What use is incense water? Yellow paper turns to ash when burned, mainly consisting of calcium carbonate and potassium salts, so it’s better to drink saltwater directly," Wu Jun paused and added, "I heard you were busy all day yesterday; I suspect you’re a bit electrolyte imbalanced."

"Oh," Jiang Yuan, convinced, downed a glass of saltwater.

"Crazy you, dragging six corpses up from the reservoir in one go," Wu Jun continued. "Why not let the younger guys do it?"

"The reservoir environment is quite complex. If the initial investigation isn’t done well, a secondary investigation becomes even harder," Jiang Yuan explained pragmatically. Having worked many cold cases, he knew too well the difference between a first and second investigation; slacking off now meant paying it all back in potential subsequent inspections.

"You still shouldn’t be dragging the bodies yourself," Wu Jun shook his head, then pointed out, "Look at Wang Zhong, he can carry incense and candles weighing dozens of pounds with no problems. If you don’t put these younger forensic doctors to work, they’ll never grow."

"You’re right," Jiang Yuan gave up on the argument.

Wu Jun smiled again and said, "Take a seat for a while, we’ll just finish up the last bit."

As he spoke, Wu Jun got back to work, and Wang Zhong also gave Jiang Yuan a grin, continuing to turn the Lingdang.

"Are you hungry? It might still be a bit of a wait," Jiang Fuzhen came over to ask.

Jiang Yuan had a thought, "I’ll cook, let’s get some pasta."

Jiang Fuzhen didn’t know what he had in mind but followed Jiang Yuan to the kitchen to ask.

The head chef said, "We have some leftover pasta, it was prepared earlier, pretty standard. If you want noodles, I can ask the master to make some handmade hanging noodles..."

"I’ll make the pasta myself. You guys just prepare a sauce," said Jiang Yuan.

"Pasta sauce, right? What flavor would you like?" The chef was dubious about Jiang Yuan’s cooking skills. Cooking pasta wasn’t like boiling regular noodles; it was a bit more challenging. If it were them, professional chefs, they had to cook it perfectly al dente, and yet, Jiang Yuan was still talking about "sauce"...

Of course, the earthiness of the Jiang father and son didn’t hide their generous spirit. The chef really liked them, so he just smiled and started to cooperate.

Being a head chef, even though he was a local chef from Shan Nan, after becoming accustomed to working as a private chef, simple Chinese-style Western dishes were no problem at all.

Jiang Yuan took some pasta, sorted it a little, and after sprinkling some salt in the water, he started boiling it.

In a little while, a red pasta sauce was also prepared.

Jiang Yuan plated the pasta, placing it on dishes.

The ringing of the Lingdang stopped.

Taking the chance, Jiang Yuan called everyone over for the meal.

Wu Jun was given the seat of honor by Jiang Fuzhen, and everyone sat around, pouring their preferred sauce over the pasta, and began to eat with chopsticks.

Even in the Jiang Family, they occasionally had a simple meal like this.

But it was unexpectedly delicious!

Jiang Fuzhen, who had seen and eaten a lot, slurped and looked at Jiang Yuan several times, asking, "How did you cook this pasta so well?"

"I studied it a little when I had some free time," Jiang Yuan answered casually and then added, "Seeing the body in the reservoir yesterday made me think of pasta."

The chef who had just taken a bite and wanted to praise the dish put down his fork.

The Jiang father and son were sometimes not so likable!

"Today we have new crabs, I’ll make everyone a ’Eighteen Cuts’," the head chef stood up and smiled, "New green crabs, just frozen and put in the refrigerator downstairs."

’Eighteen Cuts’ is a method of cooking crabs, named as such because it involves chopping the crab into 18 pieces, each with some roe. It’s a dish that a chef can make only after reaching a certain level of skill in dissecting crabs.

However, unlike regular raw pickling, ’Eighteen Cuts’ requires freezing the crabs, so that each of the eighteen pieces will have a layer of ice crystals.

The benefits are clear: on one hand, the freshness demands for the crab are lowered, making the dish doable for most restaurants and greatly reducing food waste with a two-to-three-day margin of error. On the other hand, freezing the crabs to death also meets the requirements of some customers and laws, facilitating the dish’s wider acceptance.

The head chef had specifically learned this dish for the convenience of the Jiang father and son; otherwise, it would only be the two of them eating and they couldn’t be ordering fresh crabs daily.

The green crabs that had just arrived and were freshly frozen were expected to be especially plump and tasty.

After the chef mentioned it, he sent someone to fetch the crabs, starting the prep work himself in the meantime.

In a little while, the assistant chef who had gone to fetch the crabs came running up, reporting, "Master, the crabs are gone!"

"What?" The head chef furrowed his eyebrows.

"The green crabs that arrived today, along with the sea cucumbers, squid, bird’s nests from the other day, and the Dried Morels, Jinhua Ham, Xuanwei Ham and the like that were kept in the cabinet, and, and also the jar of dried abalones, they’re all gone!" the assistant chef said loudly, clearly agitated.

And agitated he had to be—never mind the ham worth thousands, the jar of dried abalones and sea cucumbers were assets worth six figures. No one would eat an entire jar of dried abalones in one go; it was money just sitting there!

The head chef was both angry and anxious, his hand holding the knife started shaking, "This is Beijing for goodness’ sake, this... it’s not even like Ningtai County, call 110..."

"I’ll call," said Jiang Yuan, already standing up quietly, pulling out his phone, and dialing Tao Lu.

Under the varied expressions of those around him, the call connected.

The anxious voice of Tao Lu came through clear and strong, "Jiang Yuan, what happened?"

Jiang Yuan stayed silent for three seconds, then slowly said, "It’s a small matter... My place was robbed."