Novice Forensic Doctor

Chapter 205: Chapter 204 The Job is Here_1

December 31

It began to snow.

Zhou Ning fastened the hood of his down jacket and rushed towards his car, just about to reach for the door handle.

Mr. Pang caught up to him, his face beaming like a chrysanthemum, and the hair plastered on top of his head seemed to be thinning day by day.

"Forensic Doctor Zhou, you’re moving too fast, a personal second-class merit from the entire provincial public security system, we wouldn’t have received the collective third-class merit without you, so don’t be in such a rush to leave. Whatever the leadership arranges, that’s their business, but I’m hosting today, let’s have a good gathering."

Zhou Ning smiled. He wasn’t opposed to such gatherings.

However, he had promised his grandparents that he would return to Qidong for New Year’s Day tonight; after all, they hadn’t all been together during the National Day holidays, and moreover, He Shancun would be visiting for the new year, and his uncle and aunt wanted to meet with him in advance, especially since the Spring Festival was not many days away.

"Mr. Pang, let’s have a proper meal after the holidays, I’ll treat. After all, we have to call the lab team together, and they aren’t here today. Even though I received this personal award, I understand that it’s the result of their collective effort."

Mr. Pang nodded vigorously, deeply moved. Despite Zhou Ning’s young age, the way he spoke and handled things was truly appropriate. freeweɓnovel.cøm

Not to mention anything else, just this one aspect was beyond what many could conceive.

With just over a year on the job, and already awarded a personal second-class merit—if he were any ordinary young person, he’d be over the moon by now, but here he was insisting on including the lab team members, and viewing his own abilities and achievements so lightly; it made Mr. Pang’s old face burn with embarrassment.

"You’re absolutely right. Actually, even though we were awarded the collective third-class merit, we all know what it’s for. It’s because you solved the Red Coat Serial Killer case that had been ongoing for five years. Without that, there would be no collective third-class merit.

But if you think about it, if Cui Haibin hadn’t been transferred, this award would have been a slap in the face for the city bureau, given that they had directly rejected the possibility of a serial case before. I don’t have any ambitions, and with you here, I feel even less pressure.

So Forensic Doctor Zhou, I really appreciate you. Go ahead with your business, and after the holidays, I must arrange a celebration, okay?

By the way, I can’t inquire about the rewards from the provincial department, but regarding the bonus from the technical department, I’ve already submitted a request, and Mr. Peng has approved it. It will be issued when we return from the holidays."

Zhou Ning nodded earnestly. This sincere analysis made him see Mr. Pang in a new light.

When he first arrived, he thought that once Cui Haibin had left, someone was hastily pulled in to fill the gap, someone to temporarily handle the work. But now, Mr. Pang’s greatest quality seemed to be his ability to recognize others’ strengths and tolerate the little tempers of his subordinates.

Such a leader made things most comfortable for subordinates.

Without any personal demands, doing good work, he’d already be fighting for your interests without being told.

"Thank you, Mr. Pang. No need for pleasantries, I’ll just focus on doing my job well in Team Two. Just give me your orders if there’s any work, I need to head back to my hometown in Qidong. My cousin Chunyang will be meeting her in-laws around the Spring Festival, and Grandpa instructed that I must go home and report back early, so I’ll take my leave first."

Mr. Pang waved his hand, with a satisfied smile, saying:

"Go ahead, it will get busier later with the traffic. Take a good break these few days, and after the New Year, I’ll try to arrange some extra leave for you guys."

Zhou Ning nodded and hopped into the car, honking once before driving off towards Qidong.

During the New Year’s short holiday, many people chose to return to their hometowns or go on road trips; the roads were very crowded.

Beneath the street lights, the snowflakes danced and glittered, shaking off the frustration of traffic congestion.

An hour later, Zhou Ning arrived at his uncle’s home. Before he could knock, the door was already opened; Xiaoyu smiled at him.

"Brother, you are so slow!"

Zhou Ning gave her a sidelong glance.

"Did your special someone drive you here?"

Zhou Xiaoyu nodded with a smile, her chin tilted up in pride.

"Full of love and neglecting friends; usually, when you arrange a bit of work for him, he gets fired up on the phone, eager to finish in a minute for fear of delaying his work. And now, look, he can make time to bring you home for the holidays?"

Zhou Xiaoyu hugged Zhou Ning’s arm and said coquettishly:

"Brother, don’t be jealous. You picked out your brother-in-law yourself, what is there to complain about?"

"This makes me want to punch Old He!"

Zhou Ning flicked her forehead and quickly took off his shoes to walk into the living room.

"Xiao Ning is back, come and warm up! I saw it snowing outside; get washed up for dinner!"

"Alright, Grandpa, I’ll go and wash up."

Zhou Ning took off his down jacket, freshened up, and then made his way to the dining room, where his aunt set a fish down on the table’s center.

"Sit down, the last dish is here. Your uncle told me you got a second-class merit from the provincial department today?"

Zhou Ning slightly nodded without showing much excitement, but the old man was already overjoyed, his mouth curved in a smile, gesturing to his aunt with his cup.

"Old Two’s wife, pour me a drink quickly, my grandson has made something of himself."

Zhou Xiaoyu also leaned in, full of interest.

"Which case was it for?"

Zhou Ning glanced at Zhou Xiaoyu and said indifferently:

"The Red Coat Serial Killer Case."

Zhou Xiaoyu just nodded, seemingly without any special reaction, which made Zhou Ning breathe a sigh of relief.

At that moment, his uncle stood up.

He poured drinks for the old man and Zhou Ning, and filled his own cup as well, then set down the glass as his eyes already turned red. He kept pursing his lips, seemingly controlling his emotions. After all, his uncle was in logistics, known for smooth speech and handling matters tactfully.

Such excitement—Zhou Ning knew exactly why it was stirring within him as he bowed his head slightly.

The old man glanced at his grandson’s expression and kicked his second uncle on the leg before glaring at him.

"Alright, get on with it," he commanded.

The second uncle nodded and clinked glasses with the old man and Zhou Ning.

"The second uncle is excited. Since you were a child, you’ve always been the most sensible one, never causing trouble for the family. I even had to tell the teachers to take special care not to let anyone bully you. When you first started working, I didn’t think much of it, but today, when I heard about your second-class merit, I suddenly realized—you’ve grown up. Second uncle congratulates you!

You are someone who takes your duties seriously. You were earnest when studying with Doctor Liu, never cut corners when handling cases, and you are able to maintain focus while conducting research with Qindao University. Not every child can do that. Second uncle is proud of you!"

Zhou Ning pursed his lips tightly and couldn’t say much for a while, but finally, he smiled.

"Second uncle, with what you’ve said, I don’t even know how to respond. I can only be as good as you and my second aunt have raised me to be!"

At that, everyone laughed.

After finishing their drinks, the conversation became livelier, shifting from Zhou Ning’s work to He Shancun’s past. Zhou Ning didn’t hide anything and explained why He Shancun had never married.

After all, Shancun’s ex-girlfriend had suddenly appeared, and it was a death by fire—Zhou Ning had performed the autopsy himself.

After sharing this, the second uncle and aunt seemed relieved, knowing that being appointed as the head of the emergency department at Qindao Central Hospital demonstrated solid professional skills.

Especially at his age, he still had great potential for growth.

"Career, appearance, education, family—there’re no problems there. They have no parents to worry about at home, and although their house is a bit small, it’s enough for the two of them. Actually, I was thinking of helping them out, buying a bigger house."

Zhou Ning waved his hand.

"Second aunt, I don’t think that’s necessary. The quality of a relationship isn’t determined by the size of the house. As long as the two of them have a good relationship, nothing else matters."

The second aunt laughed and patted Zhou Ning’s arm.

"Xiao Ning always knows what to say. Okay, then we’ll do as you suggest."

The old man laughed as well.

"I said you worry too much. Alright, the next step is to prepare for their wedding. Honestly, having no parents is actually better—it means Xiaoyu won’t have to deal with any mother-in-law issues. Let’s eat, the food is getting cold."

The meal was very enjoyable, and Zhou Ning returned to his old house for the night. After washing up, Zhou Ning fell into a deep sleep.

Perhaps it was the effects of the alcohol, but when he woke up, it was almost noon. After freshening up and changing clothes, Zhou Ning called Mr. Zhao.

"I’m asking if you’ve returned. Have you made arrangements with them?"

"Don’t worry. These are all veterans from the criminal police team. The leadership has said there’s a bonus for the group third-class merit this time. Over here at the Qidong Sub-bureau, Mr. Sun is throwing around money as if it’s nothing, so everybody’s as excited as if they’ve been injected with chicken blood."

Zhou Ning was surprised, but Mr. Sun had reason to be elated. After all, the pressure from the Red-Dress Serial Murder Case had been immense.

"Send me the location. I’ll come directly."

"Wait for me, I’ll come and pick you up. My car is parked in your complex, then we can go in one car."

...

Half an hour later.

Zhou Ning, together with Liu Yongxin and Xu Dayuan, arrived at the Xilaideng Hotel. Zhou Ning didn’t have good memories of this hotel—after all, Xiaoyu’s engagement party was held here last time, which ended in a mess.

Although not superstitious, it still left him somewhat uneasy.

Entering the private room, he saw many familiar faces.

He Chunyang, Liu Yong, Zhang Wanshun, Chen Yuhu, Zhang Haohao, and others—everyone rushed up, either embracing or playfully hitting each other, creating a bit of chaos for a moment.

Xu Dayuan gestured for everyone to sit down.

"Everyone take a seat. We really should have Mr. Sun come over to foot the bill since this affair has made him look good," he said.

At this, the crowd laughed.

With no regard for formalities, the jovial group began to drink and celebrate. Zhang Haohao, in particular, was pulling Zhou Ning this way and that, asking all sorts of questions, and showed no sense of disrespect due to Zhou Ning’s young age.

Of course, Zhang Haohao didn’t beat around the bush and mentioned right away that they had a case that had been dragging on for months without a breakthrough, simply because there were too few effective leads.

"...this case has left behind too few clues, just like the previous Red-Dress Serial Murder Case. We’ve been unable to identify the victim, no clothes were found on the body, and it was in an advanced state of decomposition, making facial recognition impossible. Doctor Zhou, could I send the skeletal remains to the city bureau for facial reconstruction?"

Zhou Ning thought for a moment. Recently, their team hadn’t had any cases, and he had focused on software development and case analyses from Professor Li.

"After the holiday, send it anytime. It’s not like before; facial reconstruction can be done quite quickly now."

He Chunyang perked up, likely having been troubled by the case for some time.

"You don’t know, we’ve been on this case for over two months without any progress. The body is in an advanced state of decomposition, partially skeletonized, making fingerprint extraction impossible, not to mention facial recognition. There’s not a single thing on the body to identify the victim, no distinguishing marks or belongings. It’s just impossible to get started."

Xu Dayuan put down his chopsticks upon hearing this.

"Not a single clue?" freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Zhang Haohao quickly responded:

"Does nail polish count?"