Chapter 827: Stirred by Rice

In the quiet of the night, two men stood smoking in a vast golden rice field. Man A said, “The rice this year looks really good!”

“Yeah, we can sell it for a good price,” replied Man B.

“After we finish harvesting this rice, I’m planning to quit and go back to my hometown to get married,” Man A revealed.

“What! You’re quitting? Did you talk to the boss about it?” asked Man B.

“No, do you think he’d agree? We’ve been harvesting rice for years now, saved up some money, but haven’t had a chance to spend it. I’m not getting any younger; it’s time to enjoy life a bit,” reasoned Man A.

“If you leave, I won’t be able to handle the business in these villages alone,” sighed Man B.

“Take it slow,” said Man A.

Suddenly, rustling noises came from the field. The two men looked at each other, then grabbed their tools and moved through the rice paddies. They found a small white creature nibbling on freshly grown rice ears.

Man B got angry, “You bastard, do you know what you’re eating?”

The creature tried to flee, but Man A swiftly caught it. It scratched him as it struggled, and upon closer inspection, Man A noticed it wore a silver collar. “It belongs to someone,” he remarked.

“We can’t let it go back!” insisted Man B.

“Hmph, if it eats someone else’s food, it owes a debt,” said Man A.

With a swift motion, the creature met its end.

“What should we do with this thing? It’s an omnivore; it’s bound to taste terrible,” pondered Man A.

“Ever eaten dog meat? Dogs are omnivores too, and their meat tastes great. This creature is probably similar,” suggested Man B.

“Could it have parasites?” wondered Man A.

“Boil it longer, add more garlic. Let’s go borrow a pot from Old Jia,” decided Man B.

The two found an elderly cadre from the village committee and set up a makeshift stove at the village entrance. They cooked the creature, peeled its skin, and gave it to the cadre to make a scarf for his daughter.

The aroma of cooking meat filled the air, and the three of them eagerly tasted the stew.

“Not bad at all. I thought this meat would be sour,” admitted Man A.

“Look at this fur, clearly well cared for. Good food makes good meat,” added Man B.

A group of people approached, shouting “Angela! Angela!”

They soon noticed the three men squatting on the ground and came over to inquire. One sharply dressed woman among them spotted the bloody skin on the wall and saw the boiling pot, screaming, “You’re monsters! I’m calling the police!”

On May 17th, singer Feng Xiaoqing’s manager rushed to the city bureau, claiming a murder had occurred. Lin Qiupu personally handled the case and struggled to maintain a straight face throughout the “incident.”

It turned out Feng Xiaoqing’s pet ferret, Angela, had escaped and nibbled on some rice, only to be killed and eaten by three farmers. The manager was beside herself, describing the “gruesome” event in vivid detail.

“No, no matter how bloody your description, we’re detectives. We don’t deal with this,” Lin Qiupu replied.

The manager exploded, “Angela meant everything to Xiaoqing, like a daughter. If your daughter were killed and eaten, wouldn’t you care?”

“She’s not a human,” Lin Qiupu retorted.

“She’s more important to Xiaoqing than any human!” the manager insisted.

Lin Qiupu sighed, “Don’t you have a 911? This should be handled by the local police station.”

“The police came, said a few useless things, and left. Xiaoqing pays more taxes annually than a medium-sized company. Are you going to ignore such a heinous act while being funded by taxpayers like her?” argued the manager.

“Just because she pays more taxes doesn’t make her more special…,” Lin Qiupu began.

“Are you saying you’d ignore this if it happened to anyone else?” the manager pressed.

“I’ll emphasize again, killing a ferret isn’t a homicide case. Sort it out yourselves: pay compensation where due, file a lawsuit where applicable,” Lin Qiupu stated.

The manager stood up, pointing a furious finger at Lin Qiupu’s nose, “We will sue, but not them— you, for negligence! Just wait!”

After the manager stormed out, Lin Dongxue entered, holding a report, curious about the commotion earlier. “Brother, what was with that guy who stormed out just now?” she asked.

“Nuts, don’t mind him… a ferret nibbled on someone’s rice and got eaten, and now they’re reporting it as a murder. Famous people sure are trouble,” Lin Qiupu lamented.

“What rice?” Lin Dongxue questioned.

“Just ordinary rice,” Lin Qiupu confirmed.

“Do you remember those seeds we found at Xu Fa’s house? Lao Chen took them home and planted them. Those seeds have sprouted these past few days, also rice. Lao Chen asked me to keep an eye out for rice-related cases,” Lin Qiupu recalled.

Lin Qiupu thought for a moment, saying, “Not worth wasting police resources on such a trivial matter. Local police can handle it…,” noticing Lin Dongxue’s slightly dissatisfied look, Lin Qiupu added, “Alright, I’ll call to confirm later. If there are any developments, I’ll let you know.”

With the middle school entrance exam approaching, Chen Shi had been accompanying Tao Yuen-yuen. On a Sunday, he treated her to a good meal, planning to take her to visit several prestigious high schools in the city that afternoon to get a sense of the high school atmosphere.

A phone call interrupted their lunch. Chen Shi’s expression changed as he listened to the conversation, then hung up and said, “Yuen-yuen…”

“Another case? You should go. I’ll say I’m visiting a classmate this afternoon and go to an internet café alone,” Tao Yuen-yuen said understandingly.

“Make sure you’re home before dark!” Chen Shi reminded her.

“You won’t be back before dark?” Tao Yuen-yuen asked.

“It’s far…” Chen Shi hesitated. “Understood, I won’t show my disappointment, though I’m a bit disappointed!” Tao Yuen-yuen said.

“I’ll make it up to you another day,” Chen Shi patted Tao Yuen-yuen’s head.

Lin Dongxue reported on the phone that the snow ferret, Angela, nibbled on a few rice ears and was killed and eaten by three farmers. This incident was reported to the police.