Chapter 67: Smelling Out Counterfeit Money

  Look at her sit properly. The deputy captain gave Ye a look, and the latter sat down accordingly. Then, from a black box, he picked up a stack of banknotes. His fingers moved in various styles, like shuffling cards, and with a swoosh, a stack of renminbi was scattered on the table. Laughing, he stretched out his hand and said: "Miao Miao, this is the first round, the preliminary round. Pick out 3 fake bills from these within 1 minute. The countdown begins."

  Ah, so fast. Tian Miao Miao turned around and saw that her teammates were all grinning from ear to ear. Only then did she realize what was going on. A hundred bright red 100-yuan bills looked very appealing. Real and fake mixed together. It would take at least a minute to pick out the three counterfeit bills among them.

  They are the economic detectives, specializing in handling economic cases in Daxian City and even the entire Shanxi Province, and even neighboring Henan Province. They have all versions of counterfeit currency samples since the reform and opening up. It's not an exaggeration to say that they have three fake currencies with three different versions today. No wonder a large team of police were stunned.

  Gao Xiang didn't know when he squeezed in. He just wanted to get closer to Tian Miao Miao. The policewoman in the middle remembered him, recalling that he had participated in a competition before. She stopped him in time and shouted: "Hey, hey, hey! No revealing answers during the competition, or you'll be eliminated!" Gao Xiang awkwardly rubbed his nose and retreated again. Gong Qian said with a sour tone: "Wow, you're really tense. Tian Miao Miao just sat down and you came in. Why didn't I see you when I was competing earlier?"

  Gao Xiang was even more embarrassed now. Humming and hawing, he didn't give a direct answer. Gong Qian stomped on his foot in frustration.

  Tian Miao Miao sat on the table, carefully feeling each stack of banknotes with her fingers. Perhaps she had made up her mind, and with a swift motion, she swept all the banknotes on the table into her left hand. Her right hand rhythmically snapped three times, without even touching them. She brought her right hand to her nose for a sniff, then pinched out three bills and tossed them onto the table, provocatively staring at Ye Duo.

  "Is this for real? Pretending, huh?" The people standing at the door were all stunned. Boom! The pot exploded. Especially Gong Qian, who was waiting to see a joke.

  "Kid, this girl hasn't printed counterfeit money before, right?" Li Quan had a grasp of Gao Xiang's arm, anxiously seeking an answer. Next to them, Gong Qian also perked up her ears.

  Inside, the three were even more surprised. The deputy captain in the middle couldn't believe it at all. Ye and another policewoman, Hua, hastily took out a thick notebook and checked the numbers one by one. It wasn't until later that they nodded to their leader. Then, they looked at Tian Miao like she was some kind of monster...

  The previously lackluster Captain Zhou suddenly sat up straight, his eyes wide with surprise. The leader next to him also stood up, stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, and pointed at Zhou Bin, saying: "I told you, kid. If it weren't for this 10,000 yuan prize, you wouldn't have brought out this treasure, would you?" Zhou Bin was embarrassed by his words and hastily forced a smile, saying: "Am I that kind of person? We're old comrades-in-arms. This is a new girl who just joined the internal affairs department this year. I really didn't know she had such skills." The leader of the criminal investigation team nodded thoughtfully, opened a pack of cigarettes, and lit one for Zhou Bin. The two of them leaned in close and started whispering to each other.

  The middle person in the assessment team was surprised and suspicious, gesturing to the female police officer on the right side, took out a stack of banknotes again, but did not give it to Tian Miao Miao, only suspiciously asked: "You don't even need to touch, just smell it with your nose and you can tell."

  "Ah, yes, yes! I'm very familiar with this money, the old man's favorite. Just smell it and I'll know if it's the one I recognize." Tian Miao Miao giggled mischievously, not being serious at all. Instead, she made the examiner laugh. This time, the deputy commander put the money in front of her. "This time, don't unwrap it. Can you pick it out?"

  "It's not just about finding three and passing, is it? How can you change the rules?" Tian Miao Miao said discontentedly.

  The deputy captain smiled and said, "Try again, then. Although you passed the first round, the final is different. The next few rounds are quite difficult. This is the second round. You were given a chance to prepare in advance, but you didn't take it. How much of an advantage do you want? We don't have any other tricks up our sleeves. Those who can count money...” The deputy captain dragged out the tone, implying that who knows if you just got lucky and passed by fluke. If that's all you've got, then it's better to leave early and avoid losing face.

  The trick really worked. Tian Miao said "I'll try it" with a smile, and took the money from Ye's hand. This time she didn't use her nose, but instead divided it into a neat corner, pinching one side with both hands and tapping quickly. The action was extremely familiar. With a rustling sound, she finished counting in an instant. Another quick pinch, and three light bills floated onto the table.

  "There are only three. Are you sure?"

  "These three are the least fake." Miao Miao replied with a non-sequitur.

  "What about the one in your hand? Is it counterfeit too?" The deputy captain asked curiously.

  "I'm telling you, it's not fake at all. It's so poorly made. They're all fake. Where's the real one? I heard your police have investigated various versions of counterfeit bills. And yet you're trying to deceive people with this kind of thing. Cut it out." Tian Miao Miao's sharp tongue was acting up again, while Ye Dui Er on the side had already opened her mouth wide in shock.

  The female police officer on the right, who had not spoken a word, reluctantly pulled out three cards from the small silver cabinet beside her with an air of resentment and said to her: "Then take a look at these three." Tian Miao Miao didn't even glance at them and said: "They're fake."

  "How did you know? You didn't even look." The entire detective team was thrilled. Today, they indeed encountered an unexpected surprise. When Ye reported back, everyone just laughed it off as a joke.

  "Hey, young comrade, you're still so young." As soon as Tian Miao Miao said this, the several leaders around her burst out laughing. The female police officer's face turned red and white in succession. Ye Du quickly whispered something in her ear, and only then did she not lose her temper. Seeing that everyone was staring at her, Tian Miao Miao could only explain clearly: "The thing is probably high-tech counterfeit money with a high content of advanced technology. It may be the latest discovery, but your expression has already told me it's fake. Seriously, take it out and let me see it. Isn't this trying to cover up one's own mistake?"

  Three female police officers were stunned by what she said. This is also too amazing, right? Before they could even speak, the leader sitting next to Captain Zhou on the other side applauded and shouted "good job". Then he patted Captain Zhou's shoulder heavily and praised him, saying that a strong general has no weak soldiers under his command. The whole team is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. One female police officer, Tian Miao, couldn't help but sneak a glance at Zhou Bin with a smile on her face. Sure enough, he was smiling smugly with narrowed eyes...

  Following the several people of Jing Zhen to the gate of a large team, Tian Miao Miao's inexplicable anxiety in her heart did not dissipate, but instead became more and more severe. How was it that after the preliminary round, only she passed? The entire large team couldn't find another person who could identify 3 fake banknotes out of 100.

  The entire detective team was overjoyed. They had found a treasure! Tian Miao Miao only then realized that the deputy captain's surname was Xia. Deputy Captain Xia and a young policewoman flanked Tian Miao Miao as they got into their high-end off-road vehicle. Behind them, the captain of the detective team pulled aside Ye and whispered with a sly expression, "Ye, your classmate is a treasure! Staying in the First Brigade would be a waste of talent. What's your relationship like? Think of a way to persuade your classmate to come over to our side."

  Got on the car. Two young policewomen, Tian Miao and Miao, were chatting excitedly after getting permission from their leader. Deputy Captain Xia even opened a can of drinks for Tian Miao. Tian Miao took it and looked at it, saying "Oh my god, isn't this that new 8-yuan-per-can drink?" She quickly drank two mouthfuls, feeling the warmth of the air conditioning in the car. No wonder this is the unit with the most benefits. Looking at others, they even have cars picking them up and dropping them off for a competition. And looking at our team, we can't even get some welfare without having to carry it upstairs ourselves. This is just unreasonable.

  Xia Zhibi saw that everyone was familiar with each other, and the words stuck in his heart could no longer be held back. He eagerly asked: "Tian Miao Miao, can you tell us how did you do it? The first level had 3 fake coins which were 3 different versions. The second level even included all 8 different versions of fake coins. Even banks wouldn't be able to identify them all without the help of instruments. I'm really curious, how did you manage to be so amazing?"

  The deputy captain's flattering words made Tian Miao Miao twitch her tail: "This... I've collected management fees at the comprehensive market." Tian Miao Miao replied, feeling embarrassed.

  "I used to be a cashier at the municipal bureau. Is there any inevitable connection here?" Vice Branch Xia asked with a smile.

  "Of course." Tian Miao Miao explained very seriously, as if afraid that several people would not believe her: "Oh, you don't know how serious those old men and women are. Once an old lady received a fake bill, the old version of the blue 100 yuan note. Oh, it was heart-wrenching. She cried in the vegetable market, almost having a heart attack. We were all very uncomfortable watching her. We found the stall owner, but even the stall owner didn't know it was counterfeit. The old lady had also received it from someone who bought vegetables."

  In this comprehensive market, everything is in short supply, except for counterfeit currency. In order to do a good job, I had no choice but to study hard and learn from everyone. I learned from the vegetable sellers, the buyers, and all sorts of people in the market. There was even someone named Liu Lao Liu who was particularly skilled. He could tell if a 100 or 50 yuan bill was real or fake just by smelling it; no counterfeit 20 or 10 yuan bills could escape his discerning eye. One time I heard him bragging that he could even identify the authenticity of several steel coins given to him.

  Later, I followed his method and touched real money every day. Day by day, I practiced and got better. Later on, when I received counterfeit money, although I didn't know why they were fake or which version you mentioned, but as soon as I touched it, I knew for sure that it wasn't genuine.

  "Practice makes perfect." Xia deputy commander sighed and said a few words that didn't make sense. His eyes showed even more appreciation for Tian Miao Miao. He turned his head and whispered something to the team leader.

  The Criminal Investigation Brigade's team leader made a "satisfy you" ultimate year-end grand welfare promise to Zhou Bin, and then they swaggered away with Tian Miao. After everyone dispersed, Gao Xiang sneaked back into the office and anxiously asked the team leader: "Master, what is the task? Can you reveal it? Miao has never been in contact with criminal investigation before."