Era: Starting from the local police station

Upon arriving at the Taotiao Hutong Police Station, Jiang Zhenghua carried his belongings and walked towards the backyard.

Just past the hanging flower gate, I encountered a burly man, a rare sight in this era. He was in his thirties, with a fleshy face and his hair was neatly combed.

The burly man was taken aback at first, then immediately put on a smile: "You must be Deputy Director Jiang? I'm Niu Fu, the cook at our institute."

Jiang Zhenghua immediately extended his hand with a big smile: "Hello, Master Niu."

"Deputy Director Jiang, have you eaten? There's some food left for you in the pot."

Master Niu didn't dare to be negligent and quickly reached out his hands to tightly grasp Jiang Zhenghua's hands.

"I've already eaten at home."

Jiang Zhenghua withdrew his hand, took out the newly bought Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, pulled out two and handed them over: "Master Niu, have a smoke."

Master Niu quickly took the cigarette from the top, deftly took out a match from his pocket, struck it, and handed it to him with both hands.

Jiang Zhenghua raised his hand to shield his eyes, lit a cigarette, and asked, "Have the station chief and the others finished eating?"

"Everyone has finished eating. I just saw Chief Yu from Yu'er Police Station go to his office."

Master Niu lit a cigarette and gently waved his arm to extinguish the match.

"Okay, Master Niu, you go ahead and get busy. I'll go check on things."

"I'll go to the gatehouse and keep an eye out, so that someone can greet anyone who comes in."

Jiang Zhenghua nodded slightly and quickly went to the deputy director's office, where he saw Instructor Zhang sitting in his seat, yawning.

"You're back?"

"Um."

As Jiang Zhenghua put the things down, he asked with a smile, "Uncle Zhang, are you sleepy?"

Instructor Zhang took out a cigarette, lit it, and rubbed his eyes. "We're short-staffed, so a leader is on duty every night. Last night it was my turn. I managed to doze off for a bit in the first half of the night, but then someone reported a case in the second half, so two people went to the scene, and I went to keep watch in front. I didn't get any more sleep. I just finished eating, and I'm feeling a bit sleepy now."

"Uncle Zhang, which day is my shift? How is it scheduled?"

"I've discussed it with Old Joe. You're in charge of investigating the case now, and you need a clear head, so we'll temporarily waive your duty shifts. Once the case is closed, the three of us will take turns working the night shifts."

"Isn't this too much work for you two?"

"It's alright. Under normal circumstances, very few people report crimes at night. This way, the staff on duty can take turns getting some sleep, and the supervisor on duty won't have to get up."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. After the case is over, I can work a few more shifts, and then you two can rest for a few days."

Instructor Zhang nodded, stood up, picked up the notebook on the table, and carrying the enamel mug, said, "Let's go, assign the tasks. We'll be busy this afternoon."

The two arrived at the conference room, where a wooden sign on the door read, "Confidential Area, No Unauthorized Personnel Allowed."

Pushing open the door, I saw two incandescent lights on in the room, and both windows were completely covered by curtains.

On the original platform, there was a large, sturdy object wrapped in cloth.

The tables below are arranged neatly, with the two tables at the very front unoccupied.

The police officers were whispering among themselves in small groups. Among them, a middle-aged man with gray hair stood out in the middle of a group of young men.

Jiang Zhenghua guessed that the person in question must be Geng Jianwu, whom he had not yet met.

Upon seeing the two enter, everyone immediately stood up to greet them.

"Instructor, Deputy Director"

"Instructor Zhang, Deputy Director Jiang."

Jiang Zhenghua smiled and nodded to everyone.

Instructor Zhang raised his hand and gestured for everyone to sit down: "Please sit down, we're all family, no need to be so formal."

The two had just sat down at the table on the right when the office door was pushed open again, and Director Yu and Director Qiao walked in together.

"No need to stand up, we're all family, no need for formalities."

The two went straight to the table on the left, whispered a few words, and then Director Qiao stood up, scanned everyone in the room, cleared his throat twice, and said, "Now that everyone is here, let's begin the case discussion."

"This murder case occurred in our jurisdiction, and the branch office attached great importance to it. Deputy Director Jin made a special trip to the crime scene to guide the work. Under his instructions, the 809 task force was established, with me as the team leader and Director Yu and Deputy Director Jiang as deputy team leaders."

He paused briefly, then continued, "This case is entirely under the jurisdiction of our two stations; the branch bureau will not interfere. Comrades, this is recognition of our two stations by our superiors, but it is also a test. Are you all determined to catch the murderer, clear the victim's name, and deliver a satisfactory answer to our superiors and the people?"

"have!"

Everyone shouted.

Director Qiao nodded in satisfaction and said in a deep voice, "Next, please have Deputy Director Jiang briefly describe the details of the case and assign tasks. The direction of the investigation in this case will be entirely directed by Deputy Director Jiang."

Jiang Zhenghua stood up, straightened his clothes, strode to the front, reached out and lifted the white cloth, revealing a large blackboard with some words written on it in chalk.

He quickly skimmed through the contents and had already written down the basic information about the deceased.

He cleared his throat and announced loudly, "The deceased was male, age 24... with abrasions on his back."

He scanned the crowd: "These are all the clues we obtained from the crime scene. Does anyone have any questions?"

At this moment, Jiang Zhenghua's shirt was completely soaked, and beads of sweat kept dripping from both sides of his face.

He noticed that each of Director Qiao and the others had an enamel mug in front of them, and thought to himself, "They're still inexperienced. They actually forgot to bring a glass of water. In my past life, I thought the leaders' water mugs were just for show, but now I realize they could have been lifesavers."

Seeing that no one raised any questions, he picked up a piece of chalk and pointed to a place that read, "The deceased had injuries to his back, abrasions to his head, pressure marks on his face, and stones, weeds, and clods of earth hidden in his hair." He said, "Judging from these clues, the primary crime scene should be behind a mud wall..."

As he spoke, he wrote down the words "street-facing house, mud-brick back wall" heavily.

At this moment, Geng Jianwu raised his hand high.

Jiang Zhenghua asked with a smile, "You must be Comrade Geng Jianwu? Just say what you're thinking."

Geng Jianwu said loudly, "Reporting to Deputy Director Jiang, I am Geng Jianwu. I have no doubt about your previous deduction. I just have some doubts about the back wall of the alley facing the street. Some people use this sour mud plaster for plastering walls, both inside and outside their houses."

Jiang Zhenghua gestured for him to sit down before slowly saying, "My judgment is based on the fact that the murderer disposed of the body. If..."

He recounted his deductions from the scene once again.

"Do any of you have other opinions?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Judging from the abrasion marks, the deceased was pinned against the wall by the assailant and then deliberately stabbed multiple times, causing him to bleed to death."

After briefly recounting the case, Jiang Zhenghua felt his throat was parched: "Does anyone have any questions about the above?"

Cao Hui immediately stepped forward with an enamel mug and said in a low voice, "Deputy Director Jiang, have some tea to soothe your throat."

Jiang Zhenghua accepted it and thanked him softly.

Cao Hui is truly a shrewd and cunning person; no wonder Director Qiao arranged for him to be an office clerk.

The moment he picked up the enamel mug and drank, his parched throat felt as if it had met with rain in the desert, instantly feeling much better, and a faint sweetness lingered on his tongue.