Lin Qiupu asked again, "Who sent this bowl?"

"A man. It might be a man, they were wrapped up tightly. They had wrapped this thing in newspaper, flung it on my counter, and then ran away."

Lin Qiupu looked at the small bowl on the counter. It was almost exactly the same as the one from Taiyang pawn shop. The workmanship of this item wasn’t complicated, so it wasn’t surprising that it was exactly the same.

Lin Qiupu said, "What if you had received a fake? I mean what if someone used this legend to scam money?"

"Never mind if it’s true or false, this bowl will only appear once in the same pawn shop. If it appears, you’ll accept your misfortune and hand over the money! If it’s truly fake, I can only curse 18 generations of their ancestors, but this legend only circulates in Long'an's pawn shop circles, so outsiders won’t know about it. I know everyone in this industry. I don’t think they could do this kind of thing. Who would do this kind of wicked thing for tens of thousands of dollars? If someone finds out, they wouldn’t be able to make a living in Long'an. The price is too high, do you understand?"

Lin Qiupu nodded. "I want to take this bowl back for appraisal. Is that okay?"

"Okay, okay. Take it away, don't return it. Keep it under control in your public security bureau." The boss was eager to get rid of this ominous object.

Leaving the shop, Dachang looked at his watch and counted, "Three, two, one... Okay, time to get off work! Let’s head back."

"But we only checked four of the shops!" Lin Qiupu said.

"It's 5:00 and time to get off work! The captain isn’t here, so who are you showing your earnestness to?"

"We have to summarize and report our information at tomorrow morning’s case discussion meeting. We can only produce information from four pawn shops. This is too little and has no reference value. Maybe the captain will give us a new task tomorrow, so today’s task must be completed."

"You want to go to all the pawn shops in Long'an in one day!?" Dachang sneered.

"At least a few more shops. Please."

"Are you dumb? There’s no need to dig deep into this lead. Investigating things is a long-term matter. Do you want to get fat in one bite? Your sister..."

"What are you saying?!" Lin Qiupu suddenly roared, pulling Dachang's collar.

"What are you doing?!" Dachang yelled back, "You’re upset just because I said a few things?"

Realizing his rudeness, Lin Qiupu hurriedly cooled his rage and said, "Brother Chang, don't insult my sister. You can even insult my mother instead..."

Dachang displayed an expression as though he had seen a weirdo and said disdainfully, "You can investigate it slowly by yourself. I’m going home to eat and watch Shun Liu[1]. I hope you die of exhaustion!"

He drove away and Lin Qiupu sighed.

He looked at the map and went to another pawn shop to investigate. When he got there, the boss and his family were having their meal in the shop. The stewed pig's feet and duck necks on the table were fragrant. Lin Qiupu had to swallow his saliva every time he asked a few questions.

Leaving the pawn shop, he bought himself a roujiamo[2], sat on the side of the road and ate it. The lamps came on in the evening, and the people who got off work plunged into the wonderful nightlife. Gaily dressed young men and women passed by in front of Lin Qiupu and saw this young guy dressed in a police uniform sitting on the side of the road gnawing on a roujiamo. They all cast curious looks at him.

He saw a grilled fish shop and told himself that he could take his sister to eat there if he got his bonus. When he thought of how joyful and excited his sister would be, he summoned up his enthusiasm and continued to visit pawn shops.

Before he knew it, it was 10:30 in the evening, and there were a decreasing number of pedestrians on the street. Lin Qiupu had already visited six pawn shops, and he planned to go to one more before the last bus.

There were some shady people loitering about. He was a little scared, and his feet were aching in his leather shoes.

It doesn't matter. I’m a policeman now. I’m not afraid of them. They should be afraid of me! Lin Qiupu said to himself.

He arrived at a pawn shop called Wantong. The shop was lit up but there was no one inside. Lin Qiupu yelled a few times at the front desk, and a voice came from a doorway saying, "Come in!"

Lin Qiupu walked in and saw an uncle in his fifties with a full face and a dark complexion soaking his feet. A young woman was washing his feet next to him. She was dressed in revealing clothes and glanced at Lin Qiupu out of the corner of her eye from time to time.

Behind the uncle were nothing but camphor wood boxes, piled up almost to the ceiling. There was a smell of walnut oil in the shop.

"Aiyo, such a young policeman. How old are you this year?" The uncle asked with a smile while picking at his nose.

"I'm twenty-two years old. I want to ask..."

"You’re a criminal police officer at such a young age? You must have a good family background? Is your father an official?"

"Can I ask some questions?"

"How much is your monthly income as a policeman? Is it enough for you to spend?" The uncle was still asking his own questions.

Lin Qiupu frowned. He slightly disliked the atmosphere there, but still hardened-up and asked his questions.

The uncle turned a deaf ear to his questions. He smiled ambiguously and said something to the woman who washed his feet. The woman went and brought over a card. The uncle smiled and said, "Come. Since we’re meeting for the first time, Uncle will give you some pocket money. It’s not much. It’s just two hundred thousand."

Lin Qiupu was taken aback when he heard this number. He had never made so much money since he started working in high school.

The uncle noticed this reaction, and he smiled, "Take it. Let’s be friends!"

"I'm a policeman!" Lin Qiupu frowned and said very seriously.

"I know you’re a policeman, and I am not trying to bribe you. It’s a small token of my appreciation. I like the police most of all. I’ve always wanted to be friends with a police officer... Do you think my daughter is pretty? Oh right, do you have a girlfriend? Shall I introduce her to you?" The uncle hugged the woman and said with a smile.

Lin Qiupu's nostrils kept flaring, and he restrained himself for a long time before he said, "Farewell!"

After turning around and leaving, the woman chased after him, grabbed Lin Qiupu's arm, rubbed her chest against his arm, and stuffed the card into his hand, saying, "Little handsome guy, take it. There’s no other meaning. It'll be difficult for me if you don’t take it!"

Lin Qiupu nearly died of embarrassment, but he was unable to push her away. The woman stuck to him like sticky candy.[3]

"Little Lin!"

A familiar voice made Lin Qiupu feel as if he had seen sunlight in the midnight darkness. He saw Song Lang standing across the road. He strode over, and his long windbreaker billowed behind him like a superhero's cloak. He said in a deep voice, "What are you doing? Let go of my man!"

The woman blushed and ran back hurriedly.

Standing in front of Song Lang, Lin Qiupu was nearly on the verge of tears. He restrained his emotions and said, "Captain, I'm here to investigate the lead. That boss tried to give me money inexplicably."

"Who told you to investigate the case alone?" Song Lang smiled and reprimanded him. "This shop must have met with trouble and wanted to find a policeman as a backer. Your little face is as tender as tofu, so of course they’ll take you for a soft persimmon."[4]

"Why are you here?"

"I'm also investigating the case!" Song Lang pouted, pointing to the pawn shop from just now. "Come, let's go in!"

1. The full name of the TV show is My Brother’s Name is Shun Liu or “我的兄弟叫順溜.”

2. Street food originating from the province of Shaanxi. It’s meat sandwiched in flatbread. The meat is most commonly pork that has been stewed in a soup. The meat used varies from province to province.

3. https://www.itsfun.com.tw/cacheimg/dd/85/52e08237cdc840d9e4055568033c.jpg

4. Someone malleable that they can manipulate into doing whatever they want.