Chapter 71: Casually Helped Solve a Case, Don’t Fawn
The banquet was only halfway through.
As the wine and dishes were passed around and the atmosphere grew livelier, Chu Xiong’s phone had already rung more than ten times.
With each ring, his expression turned increasingly grim.
Clearly, this case was a tough one. It was because of how troublesome it was that Chu Xiong hadn’t had time to pick up Chu Yuwei.
But a phone constantly ringing during dinner was bound to draw attention and annoyance.
Chen Wanying quickly grew dissatisfied.
“Chu Xiong, we invited Jiang Zhou’s family to dinner. Can’t you turn your phone off?”
Chu Xiong looked embarrassed. “Sorry, things have been too busy lately. We can’t crack the case, and the higher-ups keep breathing down our necks…”
Jiang Hongshan quickly waved his hand. “Sister-in-law, Old Chu is a cop. Being busy is inevitable. We should be understanding.”
“We’ve been married for over twenty years, and he’s always . He can’t even pick up our daughter. I sometimes wonder what I saw in him back then.”
“Wanying, there’s nothing I can do. If I had a bright young man like Jiang Zhou giving me leads like last time, I wouldn’t be this swamped.”
Chen Wanying shot him a glare. “You always have an excuse ready!”
Chu Xiong coughed. “Alright, alright. Enough already. Let’s eat.”
“Yeah, sister-in-law, let’s focus on the food. Let’s talk about something else.”
Jiang Zhou thought for a moment, then asked calmly while glancing at Chu Xiong, “Uncle Chu, is it about the dismembered body case at the Nanya River?”
Chu Xiong was slightly taken aback. “You’ve seen the news too?”
“I’ve been home these few days, and it’s on the news nonstop. Hard not to notice.”
“Ugh, this case has very few leads. The body isn’t even complete. We haven’t found a single clue that could identify the victim. The forensics team is losing their minds.”
Once he started venting, Chu Xiong couldn’t stop.
He drank and complained, nearly gnashing his teeth in frustration.
The case was incredibly messy with barely any clues. But the higher-ups didn’t care about that. They gave them a hard deadline of one month to solve it.
So far, they hadn’t found a single useful lead. They were wracking their brains.
Jiang Zhou paused for a moment.
“It was an incomplete female body, found on the riverbank, right?”
“Yeah. She only had a woven bag on her. Nothing else. We can’t even confirm her identity.”
“Did you trace the manufacturer of the woven bag?”
Chu Xiong slapped the table. “That’s just the most common kind of bag. You can find it everywhere!”
Jiang Zhou sipped some tea. “Any other clues? Like tattoos or scars?”
“Nothing like that. But we did find some avian feather protein fibers in her nasal cavity.”
“That’s what we thought too. But we visited several farms and still came up empty.”
Jiang Zhou nodded and thought for a while before speaking. “Feathers like that don’t necessarily only come from poultry farms.”
Chu Xiong still shook his head. “We even checked a bunch of backyard farms. Nothing came up.”
“Uncle Chu, mind if I try to deduce something for fun?”
“Sure, we’re gathering leads from the public anyway.”
Jiang Zhou, who already knew the solution, began to guide the conversation carefully.
“I remember when I used to visit a classmate, there was a down jacket factory in Huangma Village.
“My parents even bought some clothes from there. They said it was cheap and used real feathers.
“That factory is upstream of the Nanya River. And they also use woven bags.
“Processed feathers should be lighter, right? Easier to get lodged in places?”
His words seemed casual, but Chu Xiong immediately froze.
The cigarette in his fingers burned down almost to his hand.
Upstream of the Nanya River…
Holy crap. Holy crap!
Could there be a more perfect crime scene in Linjiang City?!
If Jiang Zhou hadn’t mentioned it, he wouldn’t even have known that Huangma Village had such a factory.
Chu Xiong took a deep breath, grabbed his coat, and left.
“You all eat, I need to head back to the station!”
Chen Wanying fumed. “There he goes again! What’s gotten into him this time?”
“It’s fine, Wanying. Let him go if he’s busy.”
“Sis, sorry to make a scene. I’ll treat you next time, without him!”
Yuan Youqin quickly patted her hand. “Next time, bring Yuwei over for a meal. I’ll cook myself.”
Jiang Hongshan nodded. “Yeah, your sister-in-law is a great cook, right, Rourou?”
“Definitely,” Han Rou chimed in graciously. “I fell in love with her cooking the first time I tried it!”
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhou raised his teacup and moistened his dry throat.
He quietly watched them chat away.
Of course he knew who the real killer in the Nanya River case was.
After all, he was a transmigrator.
But he couldn’t just blurt it out ‘That guy is the killer!’
That would be too shocking.
So instead, he feigned curiosity, asked some useful questions, and when the clues were enough to point toward the down jacket factory in Huangma Village, he casually brought it up.
It looked like an offhand remark, but in truth, it was intentional.
With that hint, Chu Xiong was sure to realize it. There was no better crime scene in Linjiang.
“Jiang Zhou, Han Rou, what are you two just sitting there for? Eat up!”
“Auntie, I’ve been eating nonstop this whole time.”
“Yeah, Auntie, I’m already stuffed.”
The gathering ended, and everyone went home.
On the way back, Jiang Zhou looked up at the starry night sky.
Sometimes people don’t act just for themselves.
Sure, coming back, building a business, chasing girls. Those were all his personal goals.
But helping solve a case? That counted as doing a good deed for society, right?