Volume 7: The Father is Actually a…?

Lin Qiupu handled several documents in his office, and there was a cup of black tea on his table. It was a calm morning, which was rare.

The peace did not last long, as he was interrupted by the intrusion of a police officer. The other party knocked on the door and came in. "Captain Lin, a male body was found in Wu Yi New Village."

"Okay, I understand. I will deal with it right away."

He dialed an internal telephone number to Lao Zhang but found that no one answered, so he dialed through to his mobile. "Lao Zhang, a body has been found at Wu Yi New Village, you need to bring someone to deal with it."

Lao Zhang apologized, "Captain Lin, my granddaughter has a fever today so I have taken the day off. Please find my apprentice, Xiao Li.”

Hearing this, Lin Qiupu made a phone call to Xiao Li. Xiao Li explained, "Captain Lin, I am currently assisting the fire department in handling a revenge arson case."

Xu Xiaodong’s voice came through on the phone as well. "I am also at the fire department."

"Okay, I’ll look for someone else."

After a round of calls, it seemed like the day was full of coincidences. Everyone had something to do. Finally, he dialed Lin Dongxue’s phone. No one answered the phone. He panicked and dialed several more times before he discovered that the ringtone was coming from outside the office.

It turned out that Lin Dongxue’s mobile phone was thrown in the unit to charge. He asked a police administrator and asked where Lin Dongxue went. The other party informed him, “She took a day off to participate in a traffic safety class.”

"Why did she go to... Oh, I forgot. Her driver's license is still being held in suspension!"

With the dilemma of having no subordinates available, Lin Qiupu pondered for a while. After some mental debating, he picked up his mobile phone to dial a number, but immediately hung up. He muttered to himself, "I really don't want to ask this guy!"

Finally, he sucked it up and dialed through. “Captain Lin, are you looking for me?"

"Where are you now?"

"People's East Road."

“People’s East Road... Is that close to Wu Yi New Village?”

"Five minutes away, why? Is there a case?"

"A young man’s corpse was found in Wu Yi New Village. Can you help me deal with it? It may take a while for my people to rush over."

"Everyone’s currently getting off work so the road is blocked. Don’t bother getting them to come over. I’ll bring the body back.”

"Hey, hey, you outsider! Don’t mess with anything!”

“Don’t worry, I know the process.”

Lin Qiupu shamefully said, "I owe you one; I’ll treat you once this is over.”

"Haha, no thanks to the meal; just the bonus will be fine."

Chen Shi hung up the phone. He had just taken Tao Yueyue to a school and talked to them about the transfer. He bought some dishes along the way to Wu Yi New Village. Tao Yueyue, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was not happy. Her lips were turned so far down, they could open a bottle cap.

She overheard the contents of the phone call. Tao Yueyue questioned, "Uncle Chen, you have to help the police handle a case again?"

"Yeah, is my face really big?"

"Hmph!" Tao Yueyue remembered that she was still upset, so she turned her head away.

Chen Shi turned the car into a little residential community and showed his ID to the property management - the cover of the consultant card. The security guard beamed with relief. "Oh, you came! The community is in chaos already.”

"Where should I park the car?"

"You can park over here."

As Chen Shi parked the car,Tao Yueyue pushed the door open and quickly got off. He advised, "You should stay in the car."

"No! I want to watch."

"What kind of police officer would have a child in tow when investigating a crime?"

"You’re not a policeman."

"Get back in the car!" Chen Shi ordered.

Tao Yueyue pointed to the security guard who wasn’t far away. "If you don't take me, I will tell him that you’re a fake policeman."

Chen Shi sighed reluctantly. "Yueyue, be good. How about this? I promise to let you raise a hamster at home, okay?”

"No!"

Threats and temptations were not useful at all. After having seen how unreasonable the little girl was, Chen Shi smiled helplessly. "You can’t run around everywhere or bump into things. It would be very troublesome if you leave fingerprints."

“Yes sir!” Tao Yueyue saluted respectfully.

Chen Shi took out fifty yuan and told her to go to the convenience store to buy some plastic bags and rubber gloves. Then, he walked over to the area where the security guard found the body, and briefly talked about the situation while walking with the security guard.

The corpse was found in a leftover waste bucket in a certain community restaurant. In the afternoon, someone had come to collect the waste water. When the bucket was found to be unusually heavy, they used a stick to stir it. They stirred up an arm, scaring them to death.

"What about the person who found the body?" Chen Shi asked.

"Well, we knew that you would want to talk to him, so we didn't let him go... How come you came alone?"

"Traffic jam; the other people will come later."

"Oh, I understand!"

When they arrived at the door of the restaurant, they found a group of people gathered. They were all customers who were eating there. When they heard that there was a body in a bucket, they had put down their chopsticks, found the manager, and asked for their money back. Thus, the manager was surrounded by a large group of people. He could only desperately try to explain.

The security guard inquired, "Should I bring the manager over?"

Looking at the scene, Chen Shi did not want to be the target of the public, so he shook his head. "No, we will go directly to see the body."

The kitchen had a back door, and the chefs who had stopped working all stood around there to smoke and chat. Their faces were filled with a kind of gloating joy even though they had just found a body. Chen Shi glanced at the dark kitchen where a short and chunky man was lying down on a waterproof towel.

Chen Shi asked, "Did you move him here?"

A chef replied, "Yes."

"Moved him directly by hand?"

"Would you use your feet?"

Chen Shi shook his head and sighed, "What about the bucket?"

"This is the one." There was a half-filled bucket next to the body.

"Why is the kitchen so dark?"

"The lamp is broken. I’m preparing to find someone to repair it. This is the result."

There was a noise in the crowd. "Children are not allowed to go in."

Chen Shi clarified, "She’s with me."

The chefs were surprised to see Tao Yueyue rushing through the crowd as she handed the gloves and plastic bags to Chen Shi. She bought herself a small pair and was already wearing it. She raised her hands and smiled cheekily.

"What are you doing with those?"

"To investigate the case!"

"Take them off. You need to help me take photos. Do you know how to do it? I need you to photograph wherever I tell you to.”

"Yes sir!"

Chen Shi connected to the WIFI there and dialed a video call with Lin Qiupu. The picture presented in front of Lin Qiupu was a man lying in the darkness. He complained, "It's too dark."

"There are no lights. Just bear with it."

"Why is the body so dirty?" Then the camera moved to Tao Yueyue. "Who is this child?"

"It was found in the bucket... Oh, she is Tao Yueyue."

"Who is Tao Yueyue? You’re bringing a child along? Can’t you be a bit more serious about this?"

"I can just solve the case for you then. Won’t it be alright then?"

"You can solve the case?" Lin Qiupu gave a look of disbelief.

"You don’t believe me? Let’s make a bet!"

"No... No gambling."

Chen Shi smiled. He called Tao Yueyue over to take a photo. Every inch of the surrounding ground could not be missed. Then, he turned to the person who found the body. It was the one who went to pick up the water. "What time did you find the body?"

"4pm."

"Do you come here every day to collect the waste water?"

"Yes, I have to run by three restaurants in total. The route and times are fixed. Because the pig farm is far away from here, I have to work hard to avoid peak traffic."

"Do you take all the water away every day?"

"Yes."

"And that’s the same with yesterday afternoon?"

"Yes, it was 4pm as well."

Chen Shi asked the chef again, "How long does it take to fill such a big bucket?"

The chef replied, "Don't look at how big the bucket is. After each food period, half of it would be filled. This is especially true for the dinner period. The guests usually order soup a lot more during dinner."

“Is the bucket usually placed outside?”

"Yeah, it’s smelly and heavy. How could we leave it in the kitchen? Nobody would steal it anyway… When I poured the leftovers inside at noon today, I found that the bucket was full, so I poured it into the other buckets. Who knew this bucket had a body in it.”

In the video call, Lin Qiupu said, "It seems like the body was put in the bucket last night. Retrieve the security footage!"