Chapter 34: Really Planning To Catch The Culprit?
Seeing that the other party had already noticed, Xu Hancheng smiled awkwardly and sighed:
“Fine, it seems I’m really not suited for acting.”
“Alright then, we’re all brothers here, so I’ll just speak plainly.”
Duomen listened quietly.
“Brother, you have a neighbor who’s a patrolman in our bureau, right? I remember he’s in your squad, isn’t he? If I’m not mistaken, his name is Cao Weida?”
“He’s been at our bureau for seven or eight months now, right? How is it, is he used to it?”
Duomen finally understood why Xu Hancheng was looking for him—it was all because of Cao Weida!
It seemed Xu Hancheng knew Cao Weida had cozied up to Ono Shiota, so he wanted to indirectly connect with Ono Shiota through that relationship?
Glancing at the clear handprint on the other’s face, Duomen chuckled inwardly but kept a straight face on the surface, flattering him:
“Bureau Chief, you’re so busy with a million things every day, yet you still pay attention to the situation of us grassroots employees. No wonder you’re the bureau chief.”
Xu Hancheng blushed a bit, but fortunately the slap mark was even redder, so no change was noticeable.
“Haha, of course. I don’t pay much attention to others, but you, Duomen, I’ve always kept an eye on. As the strongest case-solver in our bureau, it’s only natural for me to pay extra attention to you. You’re a banner for our Outer Fifth District!”
Duomen sneered inwardly. What nonsense about case-solving ability? In these times, does case-solving ability matter for a patrolman?
Many times, not knowing is more important than knowing.
Take many cases, for example—do patrolmen even have the right to investigate them?
Do they dare to?
As for whether ordinary people live or die, does that matter?
Even if you solve cases for a thousand people, what then?
Nowadays Beiping is the little devils’ world. If the little devils say you’re good, you’re good—even if you’re not!
Do the little devils care about Chinese lives?
So, talk of strong case-solving ability is all bullshit!
Banner my ass—have you ever given me a proper look before?
Besides, you’re paying attention to me? Then why steer the topic back to Cao Weida? That’s just too obvious an attempt to cover up.
“Cao’er is pretty used to it. Beiping is quite stable under your wise leadership, and there’s not much to do every day.”
Xu Hancheng smiled awkwardly: “That’s good, that’s good. Actually, I think highly of that kid Cao Weida too. You can tell he’s clever and sensible at a glance, and after learning from you for so long, his case-solving ability must be pretty good. I really have high hopes for him.”
What relative stability? That’s because the police station is slacking off and doesn’t bother with those trivial matters.
After all, no matter how well you do, without the little devils’ approval, it’s all for nothing.
“Both of you are people I think highly of, especially Cao Weida—his future is limitless. It’s really a waste for him to keep being just a patrolman, so I’m thinking his rank should be promoted.”
“But you know, though I’m nominally in charge of the Outer Fifth District Police Station as bureau chief, I actually have to listen to Ono Taijun.”
“I heard Cao Weida is pretty close to Ono Taijun.”
“Bureau Chief, you’re asking the wrong person about this.” Duomen quickly waved his hands. “Though we live in the same courtyard, he hasn’t told me anything about that. It’s not that I’m not telling the truth—I’m really not clear on it.”
“How about this: I’ll call him over, and you can chat with Cao Weida yourself?”
“No need, no need. I was just asking casually, no other meaning. Mainly, I think Cao Weida has good ability, and it’s a waste to have him just as a patrolman. I couldn’t help being greedy for talent.” Xu Hancheng chuckled, but it tugged at the injury on his face, making him grimace immediately.
“Capable people should take on greater responsibility. You need to add some weight to your shoulders—pressure creates motivation.”
Heh, you guess if I believe that?
Your little scheme is as obvious as Sima Zhao’s intentions!
Seeing Duomen not taking the bait, Xu Hancheng felt a bit awkward, coughed, and changed the subject:
“Anyway, let’s set this aside for now. There’s one more thing.”
Xu Hancheng’s face turned bitter. “Two more Taijun got killed this time. As bureau chief, the pressure on me is huge. With those good-for-nothings, when will we catch the culprit?”
“You’re the top case-solver in our Outer Fifth District Police Station for this stuff. You need to put more heart into this matter.”
“As long as you find some clues, if Taijun is pleased, your patrol officer position and Cao Weida’s police chief spot—isn’t that just Ono Taijun waving his hand?”
Knock knock knock~~
“Cao’er, Cao’er?”
“Hm? Who’s there?” Cao Weida, who was in a deep sleep, heard the knocking and woke up groggily.
“It’s me, Duomen. I need to talk to you.”
“Coming.”
Cao Weida yawned, got out of bed to open the door, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and asked: “What’s up, Master Duo? What happened in the middle of the night… yawn~”
“You’re sleeping pretty soundly.” Duomen smiled wryly and shook his head, entered and closed the door, sat on the stool, took out a cigarette and lit it.
“Something happened tonight. We need to keep a low profile these next couple days.”
“What happened?”
“Two little devils got killed on Dongdan Paifang Street. The little devils’ consultant is furious and searching the whole city for the culprit.”
“Pfft, that’s it?” Cao Weida shook his head carelessly. “What’s so strange? Doesn’t someone die here every couple months?”
Anti-Japanese elements never stop resisting. In occupied territory, they often use guerrilla tactics to outsmart the little devils.
In the half year plus he’s been here, little devils getting killed happens every couple months—everyone’s used to it.
Like last time, when a little devil and two traitors died. They ramped up arrests on the surface, but it was all show.
A few days later, it blows over, and everyone goes back to business as usual.
“This time it’s different.” Duomen almost laughed. “According to the bureau chief, this time two little devils died, clothes stripped off, left in just loincloths, tossed naked onto the street—lots of people saw.”
“The little devils lost face big time, so this time they’re serious about catching the culprit.”
“Our bureau chief is really unlucky—Ono Shiota had nowhere to vent and beat him hard.”
“Don’t know which hero did it—it’s so satisfying!”
“.” Cao Weida laughed too. His original intent was just to piss off the little devils, but the effect was bigger than expected.
“The bureau chief is indeed unlucky, but this shouldn’t involve us, right? The search and arrest work isn’t on us anyway. Even if they don’t find anyone in the end, the blame won’t fall on us.”
“It should have been that way, but now it’s probably up in the air.”
“What do you mean?”
Duomen recounted everything that had just happened. Cao Weida listened, twitched his mouth, and said speechlessly:
“So, that bastard Xu Hancheng is dead set on dragging me into this, making a patrolman like me take charge of this case?”
Duomen nodded helplessly. “This time Ono Shiota is really pissed. He knows catching the culprit is basically impossible, but he probably found out about your relationship with Ono Shiota, so…”
“So he plans to shift the blame to me and make me take the fall.” Cao Weida laughed wryly. He had meant to stimulate the little devils and drag that irresponsible bastard Sang Liuji down too.
But now, he’s dragged himself down as well.
What the hell is this?
A boomerang hitting his own ass?
Xu Hancheng that bastard is really sly as a monkey.
“Of course, he wants to pass the buck, but I can’t catch it for you. I righteously refused, but assisting with the investigation is unavoidable.”
Duomen wanted to stay completely out of it too, but no way—higher rank crushes lower ones. Xu Hancheng was too sticky; couldn’t shake him off completely, so he settled for the next best thing: assisting in name only.
Cao Weida understood too—not giving him any involvement wasn’t realistic. He’s the bureau chief after all; you can’t deny him all face.
“So, what do we do next?”
“Put on some clothes and come with me to the scene.”
“Wait, Master Duo, you’re really planning to catch the culprit?”
“What are you thinking?” Master Duo rolled his eyes. “Whether we want to investigate or not, we have to put on a show. Whether we find anything doesn’t matter—if we don’t even show the right attitude, it’s hard to explain.”
“No wonder they say old ginger is hottest!” Cao Weida gave a big thumbs up.
Duomen laughed and cursed: “Are you praising me or dissing me? You kid, hurry up.”
“Alright, I’ll get dressed.”
While the two were teasing, not just the Fifth Branch Bureau—the Inner Seventh District headquarters was mobilized too. Countless patrolmen grumbled as they put on clothes and hit the street.
They’d finally gotten some peace, only to be called for overtime again—like modern office workers pulling all-nighters. Everyone was full of resentment.
With resentment, they had to vent—and the people being inspected became their punching bags.
“Bozi, we’ve been neighbors for years. You know my situation—how could I harbor the murderer of the Imperial Army? Distant relatives aren’t as good as close neighbors…”
The one called Bozi didn’t care about any of that and scolded him unceremoniously: “Yan Bugui, don’t try that buddy-buddy crap with me. Think you’re cultured, huh?”
“I’m telling you, those who resist the Imperial Army the most are you educated types!”
“Get out of the way now. If you block me again, believe it or not, I’ll arrest you for colluding with the culprit!”
Yan Bugui’s face twitched. He knew Bozi was doing it on purpose, wanting to extort him.
But he had no choice—mainly, he didn’t dare let Bozi in. The stuff inside was hard to explain!
Couldn’t rat out Cao Weida, could he?
Never mind offending Cao Weida—not to mention, as someone who considered himself intellectual, he had no face to do that.
Better to pay to avert disaster.
Gritting his molars, he painfully pulled a silver dollar from his pocket and quietly slipped it into Bozi’s hand:
“Bozi bro, you know my wife just gave birth and is in postpartum confinement. Can’t disturb her—the kid just fell asleep.”
“Please go easy, go easy. Don’t make things hard for me.”
Seeing Yan Bugui finally show some sense, Bozi—who knew him inside out—didn’t push it. He quietly pocketed the silver dollar, pretended to lift the curtain for a look, then grinned:
“Look what you’re saying, old Yan. We’re all neighbors—do I not know what kind of person you are?”
“Alright, it’s late. I won’t disturb your wife and kid’s rest. Go back inside.”
With that, he ticked off Yan Bugui’s residence in his little notebook, went to the next house, and pounded violently on the door.
“Open up! Everyone out for inspection!”
