Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 465 Your bureau chief is an old friend of mine

The entrance to the Yunshan County Public Security Bureau.

Zhou Yi stood in front of the large characters at the entrance, looking at them again and again.

I felt completely baffled.

Because only three of the six characters for "Yunshan County Public Security Bureau" remain.

The words "County" and "Security Bureau" are gone, but the marks on the wall show that these words were originally there, and they don't seem to have fallen off naturally.

There was an elderly policeman on duty in the guardhouse, over fifty years old, who kept a watchful eye on Zhou Yi from behind the window.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but walk towards the guardhouse and ask, "Comrade, may I ask what's the story behind this sign?"

The older policeman opened the window and asked, "What do you do for a living? Why are you asking this?"

Zhou Yi took out his ID and handed it over, smiling as he said, "We're on the same side."

The older policeman took it and looked at it; the wary expression on his face immediately softened.

"Oh, from next door. Wow, it's from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Division. Not bad, not bad."

The old policeman returned the ID to Zhou Yi and said helplessly, "Those few words were stolen."

"Huh?" Zhou Yi was startled. The police station's sign had been stolen? This was unheard of!

"Who would steal this for no reason?" Zhou Yi asked.

"Hey, you won't believe it, but a stupid thief. When he passed by here, he saw the words on the sign were shiny and gold, and he actually thought they were made of gold. So, in the middle of the night, he came and pried them off with a screwdriver."

Zhou Yi was both amused and exasperated upon hearing this. Could such a thing really exist in real life? Was it really that absurd?
"Then how come only those three characters were pried off, while the other three remained untouched?"

The old policeman said, "When we were interrogating that idiot, he confessed that those three characters had fewer strokes, and he thought they weren't as valuable as the three characters he stole, hehehe." He couldn't help but laugh out loud as he said this.

Zhou Yi couldn't help but laugh: "This stupid thief can actually read."

"you do not say."

After laughing, the older policeman asked, "Young man, you came all the way from Hongcheng, is there something you need?"

"Oh, no, it's not official business. I just happened to be passing by and came to look for someone."

"Who are you looking for? I'll call him for you," the old policeman said, picking up the phone on the table.

Zhou Yi said, "Looking for your new Director Ni, we're old friends."

"Bureau..." The old policeman was taken aback, quickly put down the phone, waved his hand and said, "If you're looking for the new Director Ni, you should call him yourself first. I can't call someone for you."

Indeed, the newly appointed director of the Yunshan County Public Security Bureau is Ni Jianrong, an old acquaintance of Zhou Yi and Wu Yongcheng, who was formerly the head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Hongcheng City Public Security Bureau.

Everyone knows that Ni Jianrong was disciplined for suspected violations in the Hongda case. However, the specific details of what happened afterward have not been made public; all that is known is that he was first suspended from his duties and then transferred.

Zhou Yi had subtly inquired about Wu Yongcheng's situation before, but Wu Yongcheng hadn't answered.

Unexpectedly, he was transferred to Wuguang, the neighboring county, to become the county bureau chief.

Theoretically speaking, this is indeed a demotion.

After all, one is a municipal bureau and the other is a county bureau.

But in reality, the reduction wasn't significant. It might not have even been a reduction in administrative rank, or it might have been a reduction of half a rank. At most, it was just being sidelined.

It's clear that the forces behind Director Ni are quite influential.

After all this turmoil, it seems unlikely that Ni Jianrong will be able to advance any further.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will likely have to retire in Yunshan County.

However, Zhou Yi didn't care about Ni Jianrong's future; he just wanted to take the opportunity to get closer to him, since Wu Yuemei's case was currently in Ni Jianrong's hands.

Zhou Yi didn't want to make things difficult for the veteran policeman, so he immediately took out his phone and started going through the records.

He had never saved Ni Jianrong's number. The last time they spoke was on the way back from Xiao Bing's house with Chen Yan that day.

After searching for a long time, I finally found the number, but I don't know if the other party has changed the number.

Zhou Yi pressed the call button and listened to the beeping tone on the phone.

No one answered until the very end, when the call finally went through.

"Hello, who is this?" Ni Jianrong asked on the phone.

Oh, so he didn't save his number either. Well, we're in the same boat then.

But he still pretended to be enthusiastic and said, "Team Leader Ni, this is Zhou Yi."

The person on the other end seemed to be taken aback for a moment before speaking again: "Oh, Zhou Yi, what brings you to call me?"

"Captain Ni, I've come to Yunshan County. I heard you were promoted to the county bureau here, so I thought I'd drop by and see you." Zhou Yi wasn't sure how the other person would interpret the word "promotion" in his words.

I meant to offer a compliment, but I was afraid the other person would think it was sarcasm.

Sure enough, Ni Jianrong was silent for a while, then said indifferently, "Okay, you're welcome to come and visit sometime."

Zhou Yi quickly said, "I'm right here in front of your county bureau."

Ni Jianrong fell completely silent, and Zhou Yi guessed that the other party's expression was probably not very pleasant.

"Okay, then come up here."

Zhou Yi sensed a sense of helplessness in Ni Jianrong's tone.

"Then, Captain Ni, could you please tell your people for me?" he said, turning on speakerphone.

Then, Zhou Yi and the old policeman clearly heard heavy breathing coming from the loudspeaker.

The old policeman looked at Zhou Yi with a puzzled expression, while Zhou Yi smiled shamelessly.

"Hello?" the older policeman asked, taking the initiative to answer the phone.

"I am Ni Jianrong."

"Hello Director Ni, I am..."

Before the old policeman could finish speaking, Ni Jianrong interrupted him, saying, "Let him in."

"Okay okay."

Click, the phone was hung up.

"You can go in now," the old policeman said.

Zhou Yi thanked him and went inside.

The county government office in Yunshan County is quite old. As Zhou Yi walked inside, he felt like he was in his elementary school.

It seems that the most impressive thing about the entire county bureau is its magnificent golden signboard at the entrance, but three words of it have been removed.

I don't know what the conditions are like in Wuguang City, but Wuguang's overall economic situation is probably not as good as Hongcheng's.

Hongcheng had a period of prosperity before, thanks to its steel industry, but later the development of the new district went wrong and messed up the urban planning.

Wuguang has never been glorious, mainly because it lacks a pillar industry.

Wuguang is located southwest of Hongcheng and is the lower reaches of the Nansha River. The Nansha River flows through Hongcheng, reaches Wuguang, and then continues south to the sea.

Therefore, the aquatic products and transportation industries are relatively developed, but only in the urban area through which the Nansha River flows and in Qingyuan County to the south.

His uncle was in the seafood business.

Yunshan County later relied mainly on the Yunxia Mountain Scenic Area as its mainstay, but that was many years later.

The situation at the county bureau clearly indicates that the economy is not doing well.

In this light, it seems that the psychological impact on Captain Ni was unavoidable.

He quickly found the chief's office that the old policeman had mentioned.

The door was closed, so Zhou Yi knocked on it.

"Please come in!"

Zhou Yi pushed open the door and saw Ni Jianrong, dressed in a police uniform, sitting at his desk.

The other person looked up at him, nodded indifferently, and said, "You're here. Have a seat."

"Director Ni, I'm sorry for the sudden arrival. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"Ah, it's nothing." Ni Jianrong lowered his head and wrote the report, looking very conscientious.

Zhou Yi looked around the office environment and realized it couldn't compare to before, since the Hongcheng City Bureau building was relatively new.

Ni Jianrong glanced at him and asked, "Are you here in Yunshan to handle a case? Why are you alone?"

"No, I'm on vacation. My maternal grandmother's home is in Yunshan County."

"Oh, yes."

"Yes, Yunlai Town."

"That's great, it's very close to Yunxia Mountain. We in Wuguang are going to develop the Yunxia Mountain scenic area very vigorously in the future." Ni Jianrong's tone was quite official, as if he had participated in the decision-making process.

Zhou Yi immediately went along with him, saying, "Yes, so it's really good that you were transferred here."

Ni Jianrong felt awkward again, thinking to himself that this person was doing it on purpose, bringing up the very thing he didn't want to talk about.

"Ahem, Xiao Wang!" He got up, walked to the door, opened it, and called out.

Someone next door responded, and then a young policeman ran over.

"Chief, you called me?"

"I have a guest here, could you make me a cup of tea?"

Zhou Yi quickly said, "No need to trouble yourself, I'll just have plain water."

Ni Jianrong turned his head slightly and glanced at him, then said to Xiao Wang, "Add another glass of plain water."

Zhou Yi scratched his head. Good grief, you were waiting for me here.

After a while, a glass of plain water was placed in front of Zhou Yi, and a cup of fragrant tea was placed in front of Ni Jianrong.

He scraped the rim of the cup with the lid, blew on it twice, and took a sip. Then Zhou Yi noticed that some sweat had appeared on his forehead.

Of course I'd sweat! It's July, and I'm drinking freshly brewed hot tea.

"Director Ni, I'm sorry to bother you today. I mainly came to visit you because I knew you were here and remembered how you took care of me before," Zhou Yi said with a smile.

Ni Jianrong reached out and pressed down, saying, "Zhou Yi, just say what you want to say. As long as Wu Yongcheng didn't send you to watch us make a fool of ourselves, it's fine."

Zhou Yi quickly said, "No, Captain Wu isn't that kind of person. He's actually only thinking about going back to his hometown to take care of his elderly parents. He's never coveted the position of branch captain."

"Really?"

"Really, if I'm lying, may I be struck by lightning..."

“Alright, it’s not important anymore.” Ni Jianrong sighed and said, “I was just having dinner with a friend. I never imagined that Chen Gengyun would actually be the murderer in the huge case.”

Based on those words alone, Zhou Yi knew that his attitude had become less assertive, not because he realized he was wrong, but because he had been demoted and sent to this place and was feeling frustrated.

He just felt unlucky and didn't realize his own problem.

Forget it, it doesn't matter.

“Director Ni, I think you’re doing quite well here now. There’s less work and it’s safe. Look at how many big cases there are in Hongcheng, one after another, without stopping. If you have to take the blame for any of these cases, wouldn’t it be the branch captain’s responsibility?”

Ni Jianrong thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "That makes sense. It's like seeing a ghost; how come Hongcheng suddenly has so many big cases? Hey, are there any other cases coming up lately?"

Zhou Yi gave a vague answer, then changed the subject: "Director Ni, I'm here today because I have something to ask of you. I didn't have any connections before, but then I heard that you're here to take charge of the work. Isn't that fate?"

After Zhou Yi showered him with compliments, Ni Jianrong assumed that one of Zhou Yi's relatives had asked him for something, so he put on his superior airs again and told Zhou Yi to speak first.

Zhou Yi quickly recounted Yao Huanhuan's case.

After listening, Ni Jianrong frowned and asked, "Is this Yao family your relative?"

Zhou Yi shook his head, "She's just from the same village as my maternal grandmother, but we're not related at all."

"Then you're just meddling in other people's business."

Zhou Yi could only smile and accept the insults, since this was someone else's territory.

"To be honest, I feel ashamed of myself. But what can I do? I'm a policeman. Yao Huanhuan was only four years old, so pitiful. His father and grandparents were uneducated rural people. This child died so mysteriously. I can't get over this." Zhou Yi wasn't lying. A four-year-old child, after dying, still had to bear the stigma of being an illegitimate child. He really couldn't sleep soundly until he found out the truth.

Ni Jianrong nodded: "I understand, I have children myself. But I think this case will be a bit complicated."

"Chaos? Director Ni, you're aware of this case?"

"I don't know, it's just that the cases in Yunshan County are all a bit chaotic."

"Huh? Everything's a bit messy?"

Ni Jianrong said helplessly, "Zhou Yi, you don't know the situation on Wu Guang's side, do you?"

Zhou Yi quickly shook his head; he truly didn't understand.

"The seat I'm sitting in now has been empty for almost half a year."

Zhou Yi was startled.

"Could this former director be that one?" Zhou Yi asked, pointing in the air.

Ni Jianrong nodded vigorously, then pinched his right thumb and forefinger together, making a gesture that everyone understood.

Zhou Yi was shocked. It was unbelievable that something like this could happen in a place where the signboard at the entrance had been stolen and hadn't even been repaired.

He finally understood why Yao Huanhuan's case had become such a mess.

Moreover, almost no one has come here in the past six months, and most people know that this place is a mess.

Ni Jianrong just happened to be in that situation and was sent down to clean up the mess.

In that case, Zhou Yi immediately had an idea.

"Director Ni, wouldn't it be difficult for you to carry out this work now?" If you want someone to help you willingly, you have to put yourself in their shoes and consider things from their perspective.

Ni Jianrong tried to pick up his cup to take a sip of tea, but burned himself and quickly pulled his hand back. "I'm so worried. Right now, I have no money, no manpower, and a mountain of debts."

Zhou Yi was both amused and exasperated; this was truly a case of misfortunes never coming singly.

If Wu Yongcheng were in this situation, he would probably have implemented sweeping reforms.

Given Ni Jianrong's abilities, he probably has the will but not the power, and in the end he will most likely just give up and let things slide.

However, Zhou Yi still had to agree, so he nodded and said that he had just seen the county bureau's signboard stolen at the entrance.

Ni Jianrong immediately nodded repeatedly: "That's right, it was stolen more than half a month ago. I only found out about the situation after I arrived and paid for the replacement out of my own pocket."

"Hey? It's not installed yet?" Ni Jianrong immediately ran to the door and shouted, "Xiao Wang, Xiao Wang."

Looking at him, Zhou Yi felt a pang of sadness, as if a fallen phoenix was no better than a chicken.

The arrogant attitude Qian Lailai displayed during the kidnapping case is a stark contrast to his current demeanor.

However, deep down, Ni Jianrong is not a bad person; he just has a lot of ulterior motives.

At least he knew to pay out of his own pocket to fix the county bureau's sign.

"It will be installed this afternoon," Ni Jianrong said as he sat down.

Zhou Yi nodded and got down to business: "Director Ni, although I haven't been with the Municipal Bureau for long and have always followed Captain Wu, I used to be one of your men. I want to help you clean up this mess in Yunshan County."

Ni Jianrong sighed deeply and said, "You're from Hongcheng, this is Wuguang, how can you help me?"

"I'm about to be transferred to Wuguang."

"Huh?" Ni Jianrong was taken aback. "You're transferring Wu Guang? To where?"

"The Criminal Investigation Division of Wuguang City Public Security Bureau."

"Wow, you got promoted already?" Ni Jianrong was taken aback, and a sour feeling welled up inside him.

Zhou Yi quickly said, "No, no, I'm just on duty in a different location. It was the decision made by the provincial department's support team for the Long Zhiqiang case last time."

Ni Jianrong was aware of this matter at the time.

He nodded repeatedly: "Oh, yes, yes, I remember now. I knew it, it couldn't be that fast. But to be fair, all the hard work you put in has been reaped by Wu Yongcheng."

Zhou Yi smiled but remained silent.

When are you arriving here? How long are you staying?

Zhou Yi said, "I'll report for duty on August 1st, and stay until the end of the year. So, Director Ni, when I arrive next month, I can help devise some solutions for the backlog of cases at the county bureau. It won't violate any regulations, right?"

“Hmm…that makes sense.” Ni Jianrong wasn’t stupid enough not to understand what Zhou Yi meant, but he really didn’t have many people available right now. He knew Zhou Yi’s abilities, and besides, he was going to the Municipal Criminal Investigation Division. It would be perfectly reasonable for him to “borrow” some of his old subordinates from the Municipal Bureau.

"Hmm... that's not impossible..." I still had to maintain my composure. "How about this, you take a look at Yao Huanhuan's case first, see if it's easy to handle. If there aren't any major problems, let's close it as soon as possible."

Zhou Yi immediately stood up and said, "Thank you, Director Ni. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Ni Jianrong also stood up, walked over, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Zhou Yi, do a good job. I've always had high hopes for you."

Zhou Yi quickly thanked him, thinking to himself that he felt a sense of "learning from the barbarians to control them".

"Xiao Wang, Xiao Wang!" Ni Jianrong called out.

The young policeman who had just been making tea immediately ran over again.

Although he was called a young police officer, he was actually a few years older than Zhou Yi, probably around twenty-six or twenty-seven.

“Xiao Wang, this is Zhou Yi. He was my most capable subordinate when I was in Hongcheng. Don’t let his youth fool you; his experience is no less than that of veteran detectives. He’s participated in the investigation of many major cases. I noticed we have a case here that’s been dragging on for a long time, and since Zhou Yi happened to be visiting me, I asked him to help out.” Ni Jianrong said with an air of importance.

“Zhou Yi, Xiao Wang is a young comrade in our county bureau whom I personally think highly of. He will cooperate with you. If you need anything, just tell him.”

Officer Wang, of course, knew nothing about Ni Jianrong's background, so he quickly agreed.

After leaving Ni Jianrong's office, the two introduced themselves. Officer Wang's name was Wang Tao, a local from Wuguang, and he had been working at the Yunshan County Public Security Bureau.

He admired their new Director Ni very much, because on his first day in office, Director Ni held a meeting to introduce himself, saying that he used to be in charge of criminal investigation in Hongcheng and had solved many major cases. He was sent here because of the special situation in Yunshan County, where everything was in need of development.

"Zhou Yi, isn't Director Ni a household name in Hongcheng as a detective?" Wang Tao asked.

Zhou Yi smiled broadly and nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, absolutely."

I thought to myself, no wonder he agreed immediately after I told him I was coming to Wuguang, he had already been bragging about it all along.

Since that's the case, Zhou Yi didn't stand on ceremony and asked Wang Tao to find the case files for him.

After reviewing the case file, some of the information was indeed similar to Zhou Yi's prediction.

First, after the Yunlai Town Police Station initially reported the incident, the county bureau brought Wu Yuemei to the bureau for questioning. During the interrogation, Wu Yuemei insisted that Yao Huanhuan's death had nothing to do with her. She claimed that her intention was only to discipline the child, and that she had hit her before without any problems arising, so why should she be accused of causing the death?

Because the case was classified as a civil dispute and the family did not agree to an autopsy, the county bureau released the person after the detention period expired.

Secondly, Yao Xi went directly to the county bureau to report the case for the second time, on the grounds that Wu Yuemei had abused Yao Huanhuan to death. There was also a letter with many fingerprints, which was a joint letter from the neighbors around Yao's family testifying that Yao Huanhuan had been abused.

After reading the letter, Zhou Yi realized that the writer was clearly Li Chong, whose vigorous handwriting Zhou Yi recognized at a glance.

It turns out that Li Chong was indeed helping the Yao family behind the scenes, so that report was probably written to facilitate another police report.

After receiving the report, the county police went and arrested Wu Yuemei.

During the interrogation, Wu Yuemei maintained the same story, insisting that she was only hitting the child normally and that there was absolutely no abuse involved. She also claimed that the Yao family, along with the neighbors, deliberately harmed her because she had asked for an 8,800 yuan dowry when they got married, and that the Yao family had held a grudge for many years.

Theoretically, this case should have been classified as a criminal case, but in reality it was classified as a civil case. Wu Yuemei was placed under administrative detention, but the detention period had long expired, and no one said she should be released. She has been detained indefinitely.

This shows how chaotic the work of the Yunshan County Public Security Bureau is.

"Officer Wang, why wasn't this case classified as a criminal case?" If it were classified as a criminal case, an autopsy could be performed.

Wang Tao scratched his head and said helplessly, "The leader in charge at the time said that the evidence in this case was insufficient and the facts were unclear, so we should treat it with caution."

"Treating it with caution? Then just ignoring it?"

Wang Tao said with a wry smile, "That leader retired last week."

Zhou Yi was speechless, looking bewildered under the electric fan.

"Why don't we go to the detention center? I'll ask Wu Yuemei a couple more questions."

(End of this chapter)