Chapter 85: The New Year Has Arrived

  "Never mind Tian Miao's protests. Zhou Bin seemed to be talking to himself: 'I'm telling you, really. Think about it. Do you want me to set you two up? I have all the information: You're 23, after New Year's you'll be 24. He's 31, after New Year's he'll be 32. This guy is eight years older than the girl. A golden match ah.'"

  Tian Miao was thick-skinned in front of Gong Qian, but still tender-faced in front of Zhou Dui. He couldn't help but tease him a bit, feeling a little embarrassed. Curiously, he said: "So he's only 32? I thought he was 40... But 32 is not young either. Is he married?"

  "It's over. And then it fell apart..."

  "What. How could he leave. It must be his wife who wronged him first." Tian Miao's voice suddenly rose by eight degrees. As soon as she heard that Zheng Shiyuan was getting a divorce, Tian Miao almost jumped up. A fire suddenly burst out in her heart for no reason. Extremely arrogant, she put all the blame on Zheng Shiyuan's ex-wife without even investigating. She convicted the other person without trial.

  Zhou Bin gave her a strange look: "What else can we do? You've forgotten what our jobs are. Don't even mention him, my wife has threatened to leave me twice; this is a high-risk profession. People are in danger, and marriages are even more so. Marrying a police officer or marrying a policewoman is not a good fate for ordinary people. One is undercover outside, the other is unfaithful at home. They'll be divorced within a year. A woman guarding an empty house alone... it's not that easy to guard, alas..." After finishing speaking, both of them let out a long sigh.

  As the Spring Festival approaches, the usually bustling police station has become much quieter; those who live far away have returned home 1 to 2 days in advance. The remaining ones are either from the provincial capital or nearby areas. Unlike other types of police work that get busier as the New Year's Eve approaches, this type of police work is actually less busy at this time.

  Cases will never be finished. Just like doing work. Police also need to adjust their mindset. After the Spring Festival, relax a bit. Worked hard for a year. Except for cases supervised by superiors, the rest are temporarily put on hold.

  Gong Qian slowly walked into the courtyard, pulling a box behind her. She was troubled by the fact that she hadn't been able to contribute much to the investigation so far. In the large-scale forensic examination and on-site inspection, she couldn't find anything useful to do. She had followed Chen Gang twice before. At first, she also wore white gloves and followed the technical team's search for clues. As a result, she saw the deceased vomit in the dark sky. Her legs were so weak that she could hardly stand up. A group of police officers couldn't even bother to collect evidence anymore, they were all busy taking care of Gong Qian. As a result, the scene was completely destroyed; later on, Gong Qian was either busy setting up isolation lines outside or handing over evidence bags and other things as an assistant.

  It's not a good thing to be idle all the time. Later, the captain assigned her the task of DNA testing. The whole team couldn't do the DNA test by themselves. They had to go to educational institutions with laboratories: for example, the laboratory at the Provincial Police College was the largest DNA testing center in Shanxi Province. To put it bluntly, it was just a errand. Zhou Bin's purpose was also very simple. Gong Qian gave them a little pressure and they could get ahead of the queue to do the test first.

  Later, Gong Qian felt like a mere decoration. Probably the greatest gain from being in the big team was getting familiar with the criminal police's case handling procedures and reading a few case files.

  The whole team searched for Gao Xiang but he was nowhere to be found. It seemed like he had skipped out again. Since joining the team, Gao Xiang appeared to be intentionally avoiding being alone with himself. There were a few times when Gong Qian wanted to find an opportunity like this. He wasn't driving out, just doing chores in the cafeteria or getting all sweaty at the training center and joking around with the young police officers who were training together. It was said that Gong Qian was going home today, so Gao Xiang volunteered to send her off, but now he was nowhere to be found again.

  Gong Qian was secretly annoyed. She took out her phone and hesitated for a moment, but still didn't make the call. Just then, Gao Xiang returned in a police car.

  "Can't find me. Getting anxious?"

  "Hmph. You talk as if I couldn't go home without you. Do you know how late you are?"

  "Ah, never mind. The Jida I drove before was just a waste of oil, everything else was fine. This old man just gave me a little attitude on the road..."

  Got on the bus. Gao Xiang casually asked, "Where are you spending Chinese New Year this year? I'll be going into the mountains on the second day of the Lunar New Year. After the holiday, I'll bring back some local mountain specialties for you."

  "My dad said go out for a trip. To avoid the commotion..."

  "You city folks know how to have fun. Is it Dubai or Maldives? For more and faster updates, please follow."

  Gong Qian was sent to a small and inconspicuous residential area, not the provincial party committee compound he had imagined. As they were about to get out of the car, Gong Qian opened his mouth several times as if wanting to say something, but in the end only said "Happy New Year".

  This time back home for the New Year, Gao Xiang had a deeper understanding of the practical benefits this profession brought him. He drove an eye-catching police car and wore a crisp uniform. When he arrived at the entrance of the factory's living quarters, he suddenly honked the horn. The loudspeaker on the police car startled the security guard who was hiding in the gatehouse to warm up, and he hastily came out to open the door. The security guard, who usually didn't take the residents seriously, carefully walked to the window and said hello. Gao Xiang only rolled down the window a crack and, without waiting for the guard to speak, shouted, "Hurry up and open the door! I have something urgent!" After finishing speaking, he immediately rolled up the glass again. As soon as the gate was not fully opened, he stepped on the accelerator, and the police car rushed in. The two security guards didn't even dare look at him. In the car, Gao Xiang cursed, "What's with your attitude? You're usually so arrogant when you're on duty. Why aren't you acting tough today?"

  The police car stopped downstairs, attracting countless gazes. The trunk was opened, and big and small bags were carried upstairs. Some familiar faces even waved greetings. Gao Xiang responded with a hum, pretending to be busy. After entering the house, he put away the things he bought. His mother came over, scolding him for wasting money again. "We have everything at home," she said. Gao Xiang smiled and said he was tired before retreating to his room, leaning against the bed, lost in thought.

  The day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve. The hustle and bustle of the whole year is just for this day when the whole family can gather together. Let's spend a happy new year with joy and laughter. I didn't sleep until 2 am, tossing and turning. Gaoshang got up at 11 o'clock. Taking his parents to his uncle Gao Yimin's house for the New Year's Eve dinner. At the dinner table, Gaoshang's parents also had a sense of pride. Originally, they were disappointed with their children. They themselves didn't have much energy either. Later, when they joined the army and became auxiliary police officers, they followed in their brothers' footsteps; Gaoshang and his family spent a lot of money without saying anything. The whole family was also humbled. In previous years, at the dinner table, they could only listen to others boasting about how much salary they had increased or how they were preparing to take out another loan to buy a house somewhere. As usual, they would finally make fun of Gaoshang and say things like: "Aren't you a retired soldier? I'm familiar with an old boss. Why don't you go work as a security guard for him?" Or "You're not young anymore. Shouldn't you find a partner? But you don't have a car or a house." My wife's family has a woman in the countryside who wants to introduce her to you...

  This year is different. As soon as Gao Xiang entered the door, Uncle Gao Yimin immediately stood up from the sofa. Again, it's offering cigarettes and brewing tea; the arrogance of previous years has disappeared. The "grassroots civil police" that Gao Xiang used to look down on have been promoted. After doing it for half his life, he is still a civil police officer. His nephew is now a criminal police officer. Except for their seniority and juniority, the two men's identities are equal.

  The atmosphere at the dinner table was clearly different. The relatives were still the same, but they spoke more politely and less boastfully. They talked about their relationships in a roundabout way. No one mentioned their own small achievements anymore. The sisters-in-law seriously discussed introducing someone to Gao Xiang. As they clinked glasses together, Uncle proposed a toast and raised his glass slightly. This year, someone took turns offering wine. Growing up, having experienced so many years, except for when I was young, this is the most comfortable year I've had.

  After dinner, Dad was dragged away to play mahjong. Mom pulled Gao Xiang to sit on the sofa and started talking about family affairs. Gao Xiang also shared a few interesting things he encountered while handling cases. The atmosphere of the whole family has never been as good as it is today.

  Before 3 pm, Gao Xiang pulled his puzzled mother back home. He rushed into the kitchen and started chopping and stir-frying. His mother helped him out, still puzzled, saying "The sun is rising from the west! How many years has it been since you last entered our kitchen? Tonight we're in for a treat. Let's taste the skills of this national second-class chef!" Gao Xiang chuckled: "Today I'll definitely make you satisfied. I had to pull you back, I couldn't manage alone."

  The mother and son worked together in perfect harmony. The dishes were all exquisite: the chicken wrapped in lotus leaves, the heart-shaped tongue on a platter, the radish carved into flowers, and the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish; the braised turtle soup, the scallion-burst sea cucumber, the sautéed shrimp, and the spicy crab. One by one, these delicacies were born from Gao Xiang's hands. His mother looked at him with increasing curiosity, muttering to herself in her mind: "This kid must be up to something today... He's usually too lazy to even stir-fry potato shreds... Today, he's brought out all his skills..." She reminded him, not forgetting to nag: "Don't forget the Dongpo pork knuckle! Remember to add Sichuan peppercorns. If your father finds out that you made all these dishes and didn't include the Dongpo pork knuckle, you might as well not celebrate the New Year..."

  It's been a busy day. Before I knew it, it was already 6 o'clock in the evening. My dad came back and was startled too. Then he took out two bottles of good wine from the house. He sat directly at the table waiting for dinner to be served. My mom scolded him with a sentence: "You only know how to eat." The old couple wrapped dumplings together. Gao Xiang was on the phone and walked into the house.

  In the hospital. Tian Miao Miao stared at the TV, her eyes' focus long gone elsewhere. At noon, she had a reunion dinner at her uncle's house. Her parents called and said: "Baby, this is your first time spending New Year's away from home alone. Your uncle said it's also work-related. As a police officer, you have to make more sacrifices than others; we all understand that. Baby, don't miss home. Mom and Dad are fine. We're having a reunion dinner at your uncle's house. After dinner, I'll call you again. Your second aunt and third aunt are all doing well. It's just that there's one less person at the table... Mom feels uneasy..." Tian Miao Miao covered her mouth to hold back tears, but they kept flowing. Luckily, her uncle quickly took over the phone and comforted her with a few words, subtly telling her not to worry. He lied convincingly, saying that her family didn't know anything, and even promised to take her parents on a trip after New Year's Day to ease their minds.

  At noon, she cried. Tian Miao Miao, who had no appetite, thought of not eating at noon. The nurse on duty at the hospital remembered her. This young and overly little policewoman was injured on duty. She couldn't leave the hospital even during the New Year. The nurse admired her from the heart. So she specially sent dumplings to her. Several nurses on duty accompanied Tian Miao Miao. The atmosphere was quite lively with their accompaniment.