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

Chapter 482 You Are Not a Machine

These two incidents on the train left Zhou Yi with mixed feelings.

The arrest of Jiang Guiyou and his accomplices was a cause for celebration. Moreover, it was later learned from Zhu Mingxiang that in addition to theft and possession of controlled knives, Jiang Guiyou was also found to have so-called "aphrodisiacs."

That's why he set his sights on Lu Xiaoshuang.

Zhu Mingxiang said that the fact that someone could carry such a thing on their person meant that this was definitely not the first time they had done it, so they continued to investigate and dig.

He'll be punished for all his crimes and serve a few more years in prison.

But compared to this incident, the matter of the female drug dealer weighed heavily on Zhou Yi's mind, especially the stillborn baby that was used as a drug trafficking tool.

Although it cannot be verified at this time, it would be terrifying if the baby girl was indeed bought to be "used as a tool".

But for drug dealers who live on the edge, they don't care at all; 800 grams is enough to execute her several times over.

Adding another charge of murder wouldn't matter to this female drug dealer.

Lu Xiaoshuang could tell that he had something on his mind, and she knew it was because of the baby.

After all, such a commotion had caused a great disturbance, and the news quickly spread throughout the entire train. Lu Xiaoshuang learned about it from a conversation between the two men in the upper bunk.

Everyone had only a vague understanding of the matter, but they all felt deeply sorry for the innocent child.

But Lu Xiaoshuang knew that compared to the regret and sadness of ordinary people, Zhou Yi, a policeman with such a strong sense of responsibility, would feel an even greater sense of guilt.

So in order to distract her, Lu Xiaoshuang told him jokes.

The more Zhou Yi listened to these jokes, the more familiar they seemed. Finally, he asked, "Did you read all these jokes in Reader's Digest?"

Lu Xiaoshuang stuck out her tongue and said, "You found out."

Zhou Yi nodded: "When I was in junior high and high school, many of my classmates loved reading the jokes page in Reader's Digest."

"Because it's funny?" Lu Xiaoshuang asked.

"No, because there are few words."

Upon hearing this, Lu Xiaoshuang laughed and said, "Brother Yi, your joke is even funnier than mine."

Zhou Yi began to talk about her school days, saying that her grades were neither good nor bad, just so-so, and that she barely made it into high school.

Even after he entered police academy, his grades and overall performance were only average.

"But you're really good now. You're probably the best one among your police academy classmates, right?"

Lu Xiaoshuang's words startled Zhou Yi.

Recalling his memories of his previous life, he realized that most of his police academy classmates had rather uneventful lives, with many spending their entire lives working at the grassroots level.

They work silently as cogs in a machine, maintaining peace in their community.

Only I am lucky enough to be given a second chance at life and to walk an extraordinary path.

“Brother Yi, I’ve discovered that you’re actually a very sentimental person.”

Zhou Yi nodded with a wry smile: "Yes, that's my shortcoming. Police officers can't be too emotional; they should be as rational as possible."

Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Lu Xiaoshuang, who was sitting opposite him, shook her head.

"No, I think if we only focus on rationality, we lose all humanity. Police, police, what's that for?"

This question puzzled Zhou Yi, who replied, "Full name... People's Police?"

"That's right. Since they are people's police, they must first be people, and then police. People represent emotions, and police represent rationality. If they only have emotions, they cannot enforce the law fairly; but if they only have rationality, they become law enforcement machines. So, a truly good people's police officer must have warmth in their heart and rational strength in their professional ability."

Lu Xiaoshuang counted on her fingers and said, "It's not just you. Look at Captain Wu, Sister Qiao, Brother Biao, Brother Yan, and the others. They're all the same. You're living, breathing people, not cold, lifeless machines."

These words left Zhou Yi speechless.

"Where...where did you see that?"

"No, it's just some of my own insights," Lu Xiaoshuang replied earnestly.

Zhou Yi was astonished. This girl was not just good at studying and taking exams; she was a true academic high-achiever who could think critically.

Her insights perfectly align with the guiding principle she later proposed: "Law enforcement should be both forceful and compassionate."

Seeing that Zhou Yi didn't react, Lu Xiaoshuang thought he was still bothered by the baby, so she leaned in, opened her arms, and said shyly in a low voice, "Hug me."

Zhou Yi snapped out of his daze and hugged her tightly.

Outside the window of the green train, the night was deep.

Accompanied by the rhythmic scraping sound of the rails, the train moved forward along the established track.

In a more distant view, countless such tracks resemble blood vessels, continuously supplying fresh blood to this ancient land of the East.

Let this magical land be revitalized.

……

A train journey of over thirty hours, especially in a hard seat, can leave many people feeling like they're about to fall apart.

But a soft sleeper berth is much more comfortable, after all, the price reflects that.

Under normal circumstances, Zhou Yi would definitely not be willing to buy a soft sleeper berth. After all, for children from ordinary families, frugality is almost an ingrained habit.

Lu Xiaoshuang felt that the soft sleeper was too expensive, and said that she would pay him back for the ticket when she got her salary.

Zhou Yi waved his hands repeatedly, saying no, because he didn't pay for the ticket himself; his mother gave it to him.

"You know how sharp-tongued my mom is. If you ask her to pay you back, she'll nag you to death."

Lu Xiaoshuang thought about it and felt that Zhou Yi made sense, so she said that she would buy gifts for her uncle and aunt when she got her salary.

Zhou Yi didn't refuse; he just thought he would buy it in advance and then have Lu Xiaoshuang give it to his parents.

The two guys in the upper bunk didn't sit all the way down; I said goodbye to them halfway through the journey and they got off one after the other.

No one else came after that, so the room became just Zhou Yi and Lu Xiaoshuang, giving it the feel of a private room.

Once the train enters Northwest China, unlike the towering mountains and towns and villages along the way, the scenery outside the window is filled with vast, unobstructed wilderness.

It gives you a feeling of vastness and openness.

The bright sunshine instantly lifted Zhou Yi's spirits.

Perhaps because the drug dealer incident had caused such a big stir, they didn't cause any more trouble and the journey was uneventful.

The train attendant also brought them some food, saying it was specially arranged by Zhu Mingxiang.

After a long journey of more than thirty hours, the train finally began to slow down.

Zhou Yi dragged his suitcase with one hand and held Lu Xiaoshuang's hand with the other, following the flow of people off the train.

As soon as the two stepped off the train, a large crowd surrounded them, asking all at once, "Where are you going, boss? Do you need a ride?"

Zhou Yi shook his head repeatedly, protecting Lu Xiaoshuang from these people, and then went to take a regular taxi.

These unlicensed taxis are a mixed bag; they might suddenly increase the price or keep trying to trick you into going to specific restaurants or similar places.

Although Zhou Yi wasn't afraid of them, it was better to avoid trouble by bringing Lu Xiaoshuang along.

Moreover, he had already gotten off the train, and he could very well understand Lu Xiaoshuang's eagerness to return home.

So I took a taxi to the long-distance bus station because I needed to take a long-distance bus to a nearby small city, and then transfer several times to get to the town where Yangjiatun is located.

Due to communication difficulties, Lu Xiaoshuang could not immediately inform her parents of her return by phone; instead, she had to inform them in advance by writing a letter.

This resulted in Lu Guohua and his wife only knowing that their daughter was coming back, but not knowing when or when she would return.

A loving mother longs for her son's return; what an anxious feeling that must be.

Therefore, Zhou Yi dared not delay for even a moment longer.

Unfortunately, transportation in Northwest China was inconvenient in the 1990s, as the national Western Development Strategy was still two or three years away.

Therefore, long-distance buses to prefecture-level cities travel very slowly because the roads are difficult to travel and the ride is very bumpy.

Perhaps due to the long journey and some fatigue, Lu Xiaoshuang kept leaning on Zhou Yi's shoulder to sleep the whole way, while Zhou Yi would sleep for a while and then look out the window.

But most of the time, all you see outside the window is endless yellow earth and a few trees.

The scorching afternoon sun, along with the sand blowing in, reminded Zhou Yi of the phrase "barren land."

I couldn't help but admire Lu Xiaoshuang's parents even more, but I was curious about what kind of opportunity made them decide to settle down here.

It was already evening when the long-distance bus arrived at the destination.

Zhou Yi asked a station staff member for directions, only to be told that there were no more buses running at that time. However, the staff member was still very helpful, asking where they were going and telling them the route.

Zhou Yi and Lu Xiaoshuang exchanged a glance, smiled helplessly, and then dragged their luggage to look for a hotel near the station.

After looking at several places, Zhou Yi noticed that either the hygiene was poor or something was fishy.

The owner of a hotel said with a look of disdain, "If you want to stay in a nice place, go to the city center. This place is just for sleeping overnight and catching a train."

The two thought it made sense, and finally found a hotel where the landlady seemed kind and the hygiene was acceptable.

When it came time to book a room, Zhou Yi was a little stumped.

I used to stay in one room at my maternal grandparents' house because there were only three rooms. My maternal grandparents' room only had one bed, so we couldn't sleep separately. The other room happened to have two beds.

He was a little worried about letting Lu Xiaoshuang live alone.

He then asked the landlady, "Do you have any standard rooms?"

The landlady looked bewildered and asked, "What's a standard room?"

"It's just a room with two beds."

The proprietress looked the two of them over curiously, then asked Lu Xiaoshuang, "Miss, is this your boyfriend?"

Lu Xiaoshuang nodded.

"Hey, if you're a couple, why would you sleep separately? No, we all have one bed in this room, it's only 1.5 meters wide, we've known each other for ages." The landlady said, chuckling as she ate sunflower seeds.

Lu Xiaoshuang blushed and tugged at Zhou Yi's sleeve, saying, "Brother Yi, why don't we just book a room? We're leaving first thing tomorrow morning anyway. I've never stayed in a hotel alone before, and I'm a little scared."

Zhou Yi hesitated for a moment, then decided not to be so old-fashioned. He took out their ID cards and said to the landlady, "Okay, let's get one room then, something clean."

The landlady registers the client, collects the deposit, and gives them the key.

The two turned to go upstairs, when the proprietress suddenly called out, "Young man."

Zhou Yi turned his head and asked curiously, "Is there anything else?"

The proprietress waved to him, then took out a box from behind the counter and asked in a low voice, "Would you like this? It's ten yuan a box."

Zhou Yi looked down, quickly waved his hand and said, "No, no." Then he picked up his luggage and turned to leave.

As they went up the stairs, Lu Xiaoshuang asked curiously, "Brother Yi, did the landlady ask you if you wanted anything?"

"There's nothing there. Don't ask such questions, you're just a kid."

Lu Xiaoshuang immediately understood what was going on, blushed, and replied with an "oh".

The proprietress, cracking sunflower seeds, muttered, "Don't want it yet? You'll regret it once you've conceived. I was so foolish to believe that guy..."

The room was on the third floor. The whole building was quite old, and the stairs were made of wood, creaking underfoot as you climbed them.

The room was fairly clean, though rather basic; after all, staying near the station is all about convenience.

After putting his things away, Zhou Yi suggested they go for a walk around the neighborhood and grab something to eat.

As he was leaving, Zhou Yi casually tore off a small corner from the bikini-clad women calendar on the wall and stuffed the inconspicuous piece of paper into the crack above the door frame.

Looking back, he saw Lu Xiaoshuang looking at him with worried eyes.

Zhou Yi quickly explained, "Don't be nervous, this is just a professional habit of mine."

After wandering around the neighborhood for a while, I finally found a small shop, went in and ordered two bowls of he luo noodles, a small portion of mutton, and two bottles of drinks.

Just after paying, Zhou Yi's phone rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Wu Yongcheng calling.

Zhou Yi knew that Captain Wu definitely wanted to talk to him about what happened on the train, so he said to Lu Xiaoshuang, "Captain Wu, I'll go out and meet him."

Lu Xiaoshuang nodded.

Zhou Yi stood on the street and answered the phone.

Over the phone, Wu Yongcheng told him two pieces of information about the train drug trafficking case.

The first one is about the female drug dealer. After a thorough investigation, it was confirmed that the female drug dealer's surname was Wen, and she was originally a pharmacist at a pharmacy.

The reason she turned to drugs was because her husband had an affair with some shady people and became addicted to drugs, spending all the money the family had worked so hard to save on drugs. She felt this was too unfair, so in a fit of anger she also started using drugs and became addicted.

Her husband, surnamed Yang, was originally a security officer in a state-owned factory, with a bright future ahead of him.

As a result, in order to fund his drug habit, he repeatedly stole property from the factory. When he was discovered, in order to avoid being caught, he jumped down from the wall, slipped, and his head made intimate contact with a large blue stone, killing him instantly.

The woman brought her child to the factory and made a scene every day. In the end, to appease the situation, the factory gave her a sum of compensation.

As a result, the money all became Ms. Wen's drug money, and her child died from a high fever because of her drug use.

After becoming isolated, she began prostitution and drug trafficking to support her addiction in order to obtain money for drugs.

Until a "big job" came along.

Therefore, once a person gets involved with drugs, they can no longer be considered a human being.

The second piece of information was that Jiang Biao and his team found the source of the baby girl; she was indeed bought by a female drug dealer.

The baby girl was still alive when she was sold, but the time when she was killed is still under investigation.

Because the human trafficker implicated by the female drug dealer is still at large, the case information is not yet complete.

We'll have to wait until the human trafficker is caught to determine whether the child died at the hands of the trafficker or the female drug dealer.

As for the baby girl herself, the family initially lied and claimed that she had been kidnapped, but Wu Yongcheng discovered that their story was full of loopholes and many pieces of information did not match up. Even the details of where the child was lost were inconsistent.

The final interrogation confirmed that the baby girl was sold voluntarily by her family. It was the child's grandmother and father who, without the child's mother's knowledge, actively sought out human traffickers through villagers.

The reason given was that the child had a congenital heart condition and was a girl, so there was no need to raise her.

According to the old woman's confession, on the day the child was born, she asked around to see if the child could be sold for some money, since her daughter-in-law had spent a lot of money giving birth.

But the girl was a sick baby, and the traffickers said they immediately refused, saying she wasn't worth a penny.

As a result, one night a couple of days ago, the child traffickers sent someone to their door to ask if they were still selling the child.

Without hesitation, they answered, "Sell!"
They didn't even ask why the traffickers suddenly wanted to buy the child again.

Then, the old woman made an excuse, saying she wanted to take the child to the next village to see a very famous little fairy to cure the child's illness, and took the child away.

Once they left the village, they handed the child over to the traffickers, exchanging money for the child.

The trafficker gave the old woman 130 yuan. When the old woman returned, she lied and said that the child was lost. She also advised her daughter-in-law that the child was a sickly child who was not going to survive anyway, so it was okay if the child was lost. She should take good care of her health and give her a big, fat grandson next year.

It wasn't until the Third Brigade came to their door based on the clues that the child's mother learned the truth, and she fainted on the spot from crying.

“We found the hospital where the child was born and asked the doctor.” Wu Yongcheng paused and said, “I don’t know if saying this will make you feel better, but the doctor said that the baby girl’s congenital heart disease is very serious. If she doesn’t have surgery, she may only have three years to live under normal circumstances.”

This family certainly couldn't afford to have the surgery done for their child; such a surgery was beyond the reach of ordinary families in the 1990s.

Zhou Yi paused for a moment before replying, "Captain Wu, unfortunately, no."

On the other end of the phone, Wu Yongcheng nodded slightly as if he already knew the answer: "I understand. Don't even mention you, they're all furious. After all, we police officers are human, not machines. Okay, let's leave it at that for now. You go ahead and do your thing."

"Okay, goodbye then, Captain Wu."

"Be careful when you're out and about," Wu Yongcheng advised.

The incident of Wu Guang falling off the cliff last time really frightened him.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yi was about to return to the store when he turned his head and saw a red telephone on the counter of the convenience store next door.

Zhou Yi walked over, bought a pack of good cigarettes, and then asked the shopkeeper how much it would cost to make a long-distance call.

The boss said, "One yuan, we'll settle the bill after you finish. You just bought cigarettes, so I'll give you a two-minute discount."

After thanking the boss, Zhou Yi first dialed 114 to look up a number before making the call.

After the call was connected, a voice came through the receiver: "Hello, this is the Chongqing 110 emergency service center. How can I help you?"

Zhou Yi lowered his voice and said to the shop owner, who was watching TV behind the counter, with his back to him, "Hello, I want to report that Peng Hongju, the human trafficker you are looking for, I know where she is hiding."

Two minutes later, the operator on the other end of the phone asked, "Sir, thank you for your helpful tip. To ensure the validity of the information, please leave your name and contact information."

Zhou Yi glanced at the shop owner behind the counter, who was intently watching the television, and said, "This is the contact number."

"Okay, what's your name?"

Zhou Yi was about to make up a name, and as he was thinking about what name to use, a name suddenly popped into his head.

"My surname is Sun, and my name is Sun Xiaochuan."

(End of this chapter)