Chapter 5 Suspect

The body was discovered in the morning, and the autopsy was almost finished by afternoon.

After changing his clothes, Wu Jun pulled Jiang Yuan aside to a secluded spot and whispered, "Find some cardboard or something and make a fire."

"Make a fire?" Jiang Yuan's mind was still filled with images from the autopsy, and he couldn't quite grasp the idea right away.

"Find them and I'll explain," Wu Jun waved his hand.

Jiang Yuan went out without a word and came back with two cardboard boxes, which he handed over to Wu Jun.

Wu Jun tore up the cardboard and lit it with a lighter. Once the flames were up, he rubbed his hands together and said, "Let's jump over the fire to ward off the bad luck."

"This is...not necessary," Jiang Yuan hesitated.

"Don't be so skeptical, I've seen a lot of things..." Wu Jun said, and then he started trotting like a corgi, jumping vigorously over the fire.

"You too," Wu Jun beckoned, signaling Jiang Yuan to jump over the fire as well.

Jiang Yuan said reluctantly, "Today is my 'Uncle Seventeen', there's really no need... Uncle Seventeen is actually a nice guy, always smiling at everyone whenever he goes back to the village, whether he knows them or not..."

"What if he made some new friends last night?" Wu Jun stood on the other side of the fire, his face lit by the flames and his shadow flickering.

After considering it for two seconds, Jiang Yuan took a running start and leaped over the fire.

Only after both cardboard boxes had burned down did Wu Jun light a cigarette, staring pensively at the dying fires before telling Jiang Yuan, "I'm going to report to Captain Huang. You clean this up and then check if the cafeteria still has any food. If not, buy some instant noodles or something and bring it to the office next to the autopsy room, we'll make do with that for a meal. That's the life of a police officer, you'll get used to it."

"Alright," Jiang Yuan agreed without any fuss.

"The cafeteria is this way," Wu Jun pointed out the direction and connected a call. He nodded to Jiang Yuan and then held the receiver to his ear, saying, "Captain Huang, the cause of death is confirmed as a fracture of the second cervical vertebra, no other injuries. The estimated time of death is around 7 a.m.... There are no ante-mortem wounds, but there are signs of postmortem movement..."

After listening for a while, once Wu Jun finished reporting the autopsy findings, Jiang Yuan went to borrow tools to clean up the ashes, then headed to the cafeteria.

Autopsy work is physically demanding, and he was already famished.

The funeral home has a cafeteria, a restaurant, and a small supermarket.

The restaurant and supermarket are targeted at the relatives of the deceased, and the prices are steep. Many arrive early, coming up the mountain before dawn, and by noon there are plenty of people who can't hold out, ready to be fleeced.

The cafeteria, on the other hand, is for employees to dine in, it's not large and the charges are reasonable. The forensic doctor is considered an external staff member of the funeral home. Jiang Yuan went inside, flashed his badge, and received a temporary meal card.

When he approached the serving area, he saw that the one serving the food was a young girl with a long ponytail. She had just stood up, not wearing a mask, and greeted him with a smile, "This is all the food that's left. We didn't know you were coming. You're the new forensic doctor from the county bureau, right?"

"Yes. How did you know?" Jiang Yuan smiled briefly, then looked down at the available dishes — just some stir-fried greens and bean sprouts, both looking less than appetizing.

"I just heard the new forensic doctor was especially tall, and other than people from the funeral home, we only have people from the Civil Affairs Bureau and the Religious Affairs Bureau visiting our cafeteria, it's easy to keep track." The girl with the ponytail flashed her dimples with a smile, then added, "If you're not in a hurry, shall I cook some noodles for you?"

Jiang Yuan's gaze then fell on the small kitchen at the back of the cafeteria — just a couple of simple stoves and some side dishes stored in containers beside them.

Looking at the kitchen environment, Jiang Yuan felt an urge, "Do you have rice? Can I make some fried rice myself?"

The girl with the ponytail hesitated for a moment, looking up at the tall and neatly dressed Jiang Yuan, then quickly grinned, "Our little unit is not that formal, but not many are willing to cook for themselves. Are you sure you can handle this kind of stove?"

"Yes."

"Then come on in," the girl lifted the cover on the right side and looked up at Jiang Yuan with a smile, "Even if you're cooking your own fried rice, you'll still have to swipe for the price of egg fried rice."

"Alright." Jiang Yuan responded and entered the small kitchen, picked up the large spoon, and momentarily felt oddly adept.

The girl with the long ponytail brought over some rice and eggs, and Jiang Yuan used two eggshells to alternately scoop out the yolks and beat them before pouring into the rice for about four or five bowls' worth. Then he lit the stove, poured oil, and began to stir-fry...

At school, the most Jiang Yuan had ever done was add an egg to instant noodles, but now, as he played with the spoon, he was quite skilled.

The long-ponytailed girl watched his movements, frowning slightly. When she saw Jiang Yuan adding vegetables, she couldn't help but say, "It's okay to use more ingredients."

Jiang Yuan paused, swirled the spoon, and still picked up only a tiny bit of diced radish, saying, "No need, this is enough."

Long ponytail: "You don't have to be so polite."

Jiang Yuan: "I'm not being polite."

Their conversation ended somewhat abruptly.

Jiang Yuan focused solely on making fried rice. He himself had no real cooking skills, relying entirely on Uncle Seventeen's legacy, and at this moment, he was also using ingredients extremely sparingly, just as Uncle Seventeen would have done...

Watching him, the long-ponytailed girl felt a slight pang of sadness... such frugal egg fried rice must mean that past life was quite difficult. What a pity.

"I'll leave a portion for you to try." Jiang Yuan calculated and made three servings of egg fried rice, scooping out portions for himself and Wu Jun, and then served a bowl to the young girl.

"Actually, it's not necessary... I've already eaten," said the long-ponytailed girl, looking at the golden, translucent egg fried rice in the bowl and feeling even more moved. An egg fried rice that was enough for three people was quite incredible.

"Don't be shy." Jiang Yuan smiled and said nothing more, carrying his food container and leaving.

Watching Jiang Yuan leave the canteen, the girl with the long ponytail looked down at the fried rice and thought it actually looked quite presentable. She turned, took a spoon, scooped out half, and began chewing. Involuntarily, she found herself nodding.

"Didn't expect it to be quite tasty," the long-ponytailed girl mumbled to herself and decided to save a small portion for the cook to try. Once she made that decision, she happily hugged the other half and began to "taste" it voraciously.

...

"The flavor is really good, huh? Has the mortuary's cook improved?" Wu Jun took a bite of the fried rice Jiang Yuan brought back and praised it.

"There were only some greens left in the canteen, so I made the fried rice," Jiang Yuan said, scooping another couple of bites of the rice and lifting his bowl in the direction of the morgue as a tribute to Uncle Seventeen.

Wu Jun's eyes lit up, "You should have said earlier that you had this talent..."

"I only learned to make fried rice. It's from Uncle Seventeen," Jiang Yuan interrupted Wu Jun.

Wu Jun paused, looked at the fried rice again, hesitated for a few seconds, then shook his head and finished it off wolfishly, drinking two sips of tea before saying, "Let's go back later. You sort through the photos, fill out the autopsy report, and see if there's anyone coming back to help out voluntarily."

Jiang Yuan responded with an acknowledgment.

Wu Jun glanced at Jiang Yuan, then slowly said, "Captain Liu found traces of cleaning agents in the kitchen of the deceased's restaurant, and later found bloodstains. At the moment, the prime suspect is the deceased's wife..."

"Auntie Seventeen?" Jiang Yuan's face showed surprise, but it wasn't very intense.

The husband was dead, and the murderer was the wife. In any country, this was a likely scenario, and all Jiang Yuan could do was sigh.

Seeing that Jiang Yuan's emotions were relatively stable, Wu Jun nodded and continued, "The Second Team went looking for the murder weapon. All the colleagues at the precinct have gone to the scene. We have to stay at home."

"Okay," Jiang Yuan agreed, quickly finishing off the rest of the rice in his bowl.