Animal Detective-Chapter 54: Saved Twice
When he arrived at the Tingyang Branch, Shen Xin realized he had seriously underestimated the situation.
Right outside the main gate of the Tingyang Branch.
Wu Zhicun was dressed immaculately, standing right in the center with his blind cane, cutting a very imposing figure.
Behind him, someone was holding a large banner that read: "Justice for a Seven-Year Cold Case, Tingyang Branch—Guardians of the People."
But that wasn’t all.
They had even hired a lion dance troupe, who were creating a racket with clanging gongs and pounding drums.
Of course, there were also two young men proudly holding up silk banners.
One of them was for Shen Xin, inscribed with eight large words: "A Paragon of Justice, A Guardian of the People."
This drew a large crowd of onlookers, many of whom were filming with their phones.
The only thing missing was a call to the newspapers and TV stations.
Sun Zhao and Chen Chao were at the scene, as was Lv Youwei, who was trying to persuade Wu Zhicun to go inside first.
But he refused, insisting on waiting for Shen Xin to arrive.
And that was why they had frantically called Shen Xin and told him to come over.
So when Shen Xin’s car pulled up, Wang Xihai, the Deputy Director of the Tingyang Branch and concurrent head of the political department, quickly waved him over.
Although a seven-year-old cold case had been solved, a deeper look revealed that the branch’s decision to reject the case back then was also somewhat problematic.
Otherwise, why would they be holding internal meetings to reflect on it?
Besides, the fact that the murderer was a section chief didn’t look good either.
If that weren’t the case, would things have been so quiet for the half-month since the case was solved?
"Just get them inside first," Wang Xihai instructed in a low voice.
Shen Xin nodded, but also breathed a silent sigh of relief.
If they had made such a huge scene just to present him with a silk banner, he would have been mortified.
"Officer Xiao Shen is here," said a middle-aged man standing beside Wu Zhicun.
Shen Xin had seen him before at the memorial service. He had been officiating the event and seemed to be the village chief of Xianghong Village before it was converted into a community.
Wu Zhicun stirred and held out his hand.
Shen Xin quickly reached out his own.
"Officer Xiao Shen, thank you." Wu Zhicun gripped Shen Xin’s hand tightly. "Not only did you help me find Jia Wang, but you also saved my life twice. This old man truly doesn’t know how to thank you."
As he spoke, he took a step back, preparing to bow to Shen Xin.
Startled, Shen Xin quickly stopped him.
’An elder bowing to me... I can’t accept that.’
’And he said he saved me twice?’
’The time with the rat poison could count as one, but what was the second time?’
"Uncle, the sun is so strong. Why don’t we go inside to talk?" Shen Xin quickly urged.
"Alright, let’s go in."
As soon as Shen Xin arrived, Wu Zhicun became very agreeable. He even called out for Lele.
Only then did Shen Xin notice that Lele had come along too.
The dog wasn’t scared by all the commotion and was just squatting behind Wu Zhicun.
The group then hurried inside, simultaneously asking the crowd of onlookers to disperse.
As they walked toward the reception room, Shen Xin wanted to shrink back and yield his spot at the front.
’There’s an officer from the publicity department up ahead taking pictures.’
But Wu Zhicun was gripping his arm and wouldn’t let go, so Shen Xin could only brace himself and keep walking.
’Great. Now I’m really going to be famous.’
Once in the reception room, Shen Xin finally managed to break free. He glanced around and positioned himself next to Chen Chao.
"Captain Chen."
Shen Xin greeted him. It had been a while since he’d seen Chen Chao.
Chen Chao just smiled and reminded him in a low voice, "Don’t overthink it. You look like you’re heading to your own execution. This is a good thing."
Then, he lowered his voice to a whisper, "Who knows, you might even be able to use this opportunity to make your wish come true."
He winked at Shen Xin.
Something clicked in Shen Xin’s mind. He remembered what Chen Chao had told him before.
The fastest way to get transferred to the Criminal Investigation Division and become a detective was to perform a meritorious service. Then, when the leadership was praising you, all you had to do was say, "I want to become a detective." It was countless times faster than going through the official application process.
Shen Xin understood and nodded.
After helping solve Wu Jiawang’s disappearance case, Shen Xin’s desire to become a detective had grown even stronger.
Meanwhile, after Wu Zhicun finished speaking with Lv Youwei and the other leaders, he made a special request to say a few more words.
He first thanked the branch’s Criminal Investigation Division.
He didn’t mention how the case had been rejected back then, clearly understanding that the conditions at the time had been insufficient.
"Finally, I must once again solemnly thank Officer Xiao Shen."
In an instant, all eyes fell on Shen Xin.
Wu Zhicun couldn’t see where Shen Xin was, but he continued, "I know that Officer Xiao Shen played a huge role in this matter. He also saved my life twice. The first time was when my mind grew clouded and I decided to take my own life. It was Officer Xiao Shen who found me and sent me to the hospital, allowing me to survive to see this day of justice."
Lv Youwei’s eyebrow twitched, and he quickly exchanged a look with Wang Xihai.
This was the first time he was hearing about this.
"Then there was the second time."
Wu Zhicun sighed. "On the night of the memorial service, I didn’t want to live anymore. I wanted to go with Jia Wang. I was already lying in the coffin, ready to take rat poison, but it was Lele."
He held out his hand.
Lele immediately came closer, obediently nuzzling his hand with its head.
"Lele jumped into the coffin and stopped me. At that moment, I truly felt as if Lele was Jia Wang. It was Jia Wang, through Lele, who stopped me."
"He watched over Jia Wang for seven years. Even though he’s just a dog, I really feel like Jia Wang deliberately left him in this world to keep me company."
He murmured to himself, but the others present, especially Li Xiaoguang, the chief of the Huangtang Police Station who had rushed over upon hearing the news, broke out in a cold sweat.
No one had known about this!
If Lele hadn’t stopped him and made him change his mind, then right after the case was solved, a lonely old man lying in a coffin would have followed his son in death. That would have been a major incident.
And the local police station would have been the first to face the consequences.
’How could you fail to look after the victim’s family?’
Wu Zhicun continued, "Officer Xiao Shen was the one who found Lele for me, which is why I say he saved me a second time. Officer Xiao Shen, I’ve thought long and hard about how to thank you, and I have an idea."
He took a piece of paper out of his pocket.
"You see, I have no family left now. I’m old and sick, and I probably don’t have many years left. So I want to gift my residential plot in Xianghong Village to Officer Xiao Shen, free of charge. I’ve already asked the village council, and they’ve agreed."
Shen Xin was stunned.
Everyone else in the room was shocked as well.
"Uncle Wu, you can’t be serious," Shen Xin blurted out, so shocked that he even used slang.
’This is going to get me in so much trouble!’
’His house might be dilapidated, but the land itself is valuable.’
’Never mind if Xianghong Village gets redeveloped in the future. Even now, you could spend a little money to build a house on it, rent it out, and you’d have a guaranteed income of tens of thousands a month.’
’What police officer would dare accept a gift like that?’
"I’m not kidding. I’m serious," Wu Zhicun said, shaking his head.
"Director, I swear I knew nothing about this," Shen Xin said, looking pleadingly at Lv Youwei.
He didn’t want them to think he had somehow put Wu Zhicun up to this.
Lv Youwei gave Shen Xin a look of exasperation, then quickly stepped in to persuade Wu Zhicun, explaining that policy forbade them from accepting such gifts.
It took quite a bit of convincing, but they finally managed to talk Wu Zhicun out of it.
"You know what you just missed out on, kid?" Sun Zhao teased Shen Xin with a grin.
After all, how much does a police officer even make?
"Captain Sun..." Shen Xin didn’t even know how to respond.
Chen Chao came to his rescue, saying with a laugh, "Lao Sun, you don’t know this, but Xiaoshen’s family owns a factory. He’s not hurting for cash."
Shen Xin was even more speechless. ’You call that coming to my rescue?’
"Oh, right, Captain Sun, Captain Chen, I actually have a case I wanted to ask you two about," Shen Xin said, suddenly remembering the clinic case and quickly changing the subject.
