Grocery Store No. 514 Chapter 32

Notes:

Su Ke has been changed to Coroner Su, the ‘Ke’ in Su Ke is used to refer to his profession. As he carries out autopsies and such for the police, I’m gonna use Coroner, but it could also be Medical Examiner (according to google).

Looking at the instant noodles in front of him, Jiang Chengyan was amused: "Weren't you going to eat steak? Why did you bring me here for instant noodles?"

Su stirred the noodles in the bowl and took a bite: "I wanted to come and see what was so different with these instant noodles since Captain Jiang comes over to eat it every day."

Jiang Chengyan consciously glanced at the direction of the cashier, but it was a pity that the person he was longing for was not there during the day. He was disappointed and looked away, but just happened to meet Su's probing gaze. He felt inexplicably guilty and covered it up with a smile: "These instant noodles have many flavors, mala, sauerkraut, braised soy sauce, and bone broth. You can have a different one every day so that the flavors don’t repeat."

"You don't come here that often." Su looked at the cashier and measured up the cashier who was working. "This girl is only about 20 years old and she looks pretty good. She seems to be pretty and innocent. As for her stature, she’s 155cm tall and weighs 45 kilograms, and she maintains herself pretty well. My my, it seems like Captain Jiang likes this type?"

Jiang Chengyan couldn't help rolling his eyes and angrily spoke. "I like your type. Now, eat your noodles. If you look again, that little girl is gonna take you for a hoodlum."

Su blinked at Jiang Chengyan and smiled: "Is Captain Jiang confessing to me? I will take it seriously."

"Confess, my ass, you damned ghost. Hurry up and eat your noodles."

Su stirred the noodles, and spoke half-jokingly: "Then, that’s such a shame. I thought I could have an office romance with Captain Jiang."

Jiang Chengyan didn't bother responding to Su and quietly ate his bowl of noodles.

"Oh yes, every time you come to eat noodles, it’s night time. This little girl would’ve already gone home from work. Captain Jiang’s target is not her, but the night shift staff…… that little handsome guy?"

The moment this sentence left Su’s mouth, he succeeded in making Jiang Chengyan choke, "(COUGH COugh), (Cough cough)..."

Su immediately handed over some paper towels and laughed. "Even if I guessed it right, you didn’t have to be so excited."

Jiang Chengyan swallowed his saliva and cleared his throat, threatening: "Su, one more sentence and you don’t have to eat these noodles anymore. I’ll make you go back and do your work!"

Su was not afraid of his threats at all, and ridiculed: "Wow, Captain Jiang is so powerful, I'm so scared."

"Su!"

Seeing that Jiang Chengyan was about to fly into rage, Su quickly stopped and smiled: "Okay, okay, I won't tease you anymore. Hurry up and eat or else the noodles will go cold."

Jiang Chengyan gave him an angry glare and said softly: "Thank you."

Su just thought about something, but was cut off by Jiang Chengyan, “Shut up and eat your noodles.”

Su, shook with laughter, but didn’t say anything, and started to concentrate on eating his noodles.

12th December 3020, 9 am. Jiang Chengyan once again organized a meeting with his team members.

"The detailed autopsy report has been released. The purpose of this meeting is to report the current information that everyone has collected." Jiang Chengyan looked at Su and said: "Su, give us the rundown of the autopsy."

"The deceased is female, aged between 25 and 30, 165 cm tall, and weighed about 60kg. She had been pregnant for eight months. The cause of death was organ failure due to excessive blood loss. The time of death was at the very early hours of morning between midnight and 3 am on the 3rd of December. The murder weapon was suspected to be a medical scalpel. The deceased had no injuries that indicated she had struggled or was restrained. It is obvious that the murderer injected her with anesthetic when taking out the child. The deceased’s abdomen was flat and the child was taken out in a professional and accurate manner. I suspect that the murderer is a professional surgeon." Su paused for a while to let them digest the information, and then went on: "The deceased maintained herself well. There were no signs of diseases and her body was very healthy. The child in her belly was also very healthy. If she hadn’t been murdered, she would’ve given birth smoothly.”

Everyone looked at each other, with expressions of sympathy and pity in their eyes.

Jiang Chengyan asked calmly: "Other than these, was there anything else you found?"

"Yes, after dissecting her, the deceased had undergone cosmetic surgery before, and more than once. Bone trimming, nose lifting, double eyelids, etc., and also liposuction, breast augmentation, and hip padding. If someone hasn't seen her in the past six months, you wouldn’t be able to recognise her, not even her family can."

Yao Min had a weird look on her face: "That’s too much. Would she still look like herself?"

Liu Ran smiled bitterly: "Hey, aren’t you focusing on the wrong thing? With all the surgery she’s done, we should worry about how to determine her identity."

Yao Min finally reacted, "Oh, that’s true. In her current state, even her family may not even recognize her. If no one reports her missing, how can we find her identity?"

Jiang Chengyan looked at Liu Ran and said, "Did you find anything from the list of missing persons?"

Liu Ran shook her head: "The conditions were met, but no DNA match was found. Currently, it is impossible to determine the identity of the deceased."

Su intervened: "Actually, it’s not difficult to find out the identity of the deceased."

Jiang Chengyan's eyes lit up when he heard that and hurriedly asked: "How?"

Su smiled and said, "When I carried out the autopsy earlier, I found that she had breast augmentation surgery. The implanted prosthesis is a brand called GLD. I checked on the Internet and discovered that this brand is expensive, and that it’s only available in large plastic surgery hospitals. The prosthesis even has a serial number. You’ll just need to look for this plastic surgery hospital to find her identity."

Yao Min was excited ‌: "Coroner Su, you’re amazing!"

Liu Ran also followed along and echoed, "Yeah! Coroner Su saved us a lot of trouble!"

Jiang Chengyan smiled: "Su, when the case is resolved, I’ll treat you to that steak from that western restaurant."

"Wow, you actually dare to treat me? You all heard it, if your captain goes back on his word, you guys have to testify for me."

"What do we get in return? If there’s nothing good, then we’re not doing it."

"You animals are only looking for profit! Stop making trouble and continue with the meeting." Jiang Chengyan looked at Li Tong and said, "How’s the investigation at East Lake Park?"

"I questioned the manager of the fishing zone for East Lake Park. There was a net blocking the fishing zone from the other lake zones. A fish that is slightly bigger than the holes of the net can't get through, let alone a corpse. The place where the dead body is dumped must be in the fishing zone. However, it rained heavily a few days ago and any remaining traces should’ve already been destroyed."

"Blocked by the net? That is, if the murderer wants to dump the corpse in the fishing area, they’d have to pass through the only road, which has surveillance cameras." Jiang Chengyan thought about it: "There’s one thing that doesn’t make sense and that’s the fishing area. If the corpse is thrown there, there are higher chances for it to be discovered. Why would the murderer choose to dump the corpse there?"

Li Tong was startled, and immediately responded: "Yes, this is obviously illogical."

"Let’s split the tasks like this, Li Tong and Zhang Liang, you can go to the diving team and borrow a wetsuit to determine if there are holes in that net."

"Yes, Captain."

“The remaining people currently have only one task, which is to check the plastic surgery hospitals to confirm the identity of the deceased in the shortest possible time.”

Everyone responded in unison: "Yes."

"Okay, the meeting is over."

There were more than 30 plastic surgery hospitals, large and small, in Huacheng, and there were only ten plastic surgery hospitals that used GLD brand prostheses. While everyone was busying around, Jiang Chengyan and Yao Min arrived at Ling Mei Plastic Surgery Hospital.

The two went straight to the front desk and were greeted warmly by the receptionist: "Welcome, how may I help you today?"

Jiang Chengyan held up his ID: "Hello, we are the police. There is a case that I would like your cooperation in."

The lady at the front desk was a little nervous: "A case? What can I do to help?"

Yao Min looked at her work badge and smiled: "Your name is Chen Min, right? My name is Yao Min. We have the same name. Don't be nervous, we’re just paying a visit to ask you a few questions. You just need to answer it truthfully."

The lady at the front desk hesitated a bit, "Then, go ahead and ask. I’ll tell you if I know anything."

Yao Min took out a photo and asked, "Do you have this brand of prosthesis for breast enlargement surgery in your hospital?"

The lady at the front desk took the photo and looked at it, and she answered with embarrassment: "Sorry, I’ve only started working here a month ago and I'm only responsible for the front desk work. I’m unable to answer this question."

Jiang Chengyan and Yao Min looked at each other and said, "Is your President here?"

"I don't know, I am a minor staff working the front desk, how would I know where the President is?"

Seeing Chen Min’s evasive glances, Jiang Chengyan frowned slightly and his face turned serious: “We’re investigating a homicide case. You'd better cooperate with our work, otherwise we will sue you for obstructing justice.”

Chen Min’s expression changed immediately, and hurriedly said, "It's not that I don't want to cooperate, but I really don't know. How about I call the supervisor? She should know if the President is here or not."

"Where is your President's office? Take us there."

Chen Min looked at the expression on Jiang Chengyan's face and didn't dare to evade any more. She awkwardly said, "Come with me."

Under Chen Min’s guidance, the two arrived at the President’s office on the fifth floor. Chen Min knocked on the door and soon there was a response. Chen Min pushed the door open and walked in. Jiang Chengyan and Yao Min followed after Chen Min.

"Chen Min, is there anything wrong? Who are they?" The man sitting in the President's office was unexpectedly young and he looked only thirty.

"President, they are the police."

Jiang Chengyan took the initiative to take out his ID, "Hello, we are the Criminal Investigation Team. I came here today to ask for your cooperation in our investigation."

The man looked at Jiang Chengyan's ID and nodded: "Have a seat over there."

"President, I will return to work first."

The man responded and Chen Min left the office,  closing the door behind her.

Jiang Chengyan and Yao Min sat on the guest sofa and the man also walked over, frowning, "What do you need my cooperation with?"

Yao Min glanced at the man's badge, took out the photo again, and handed it to him: "President Wu, right? Have you ever used this brand of prosthesis in your hospital?"

Wu Zheng took the photo and looked at it. “This is a GLD brand prosthesis. Our hospital does use it. Is there any problem with this?”

"This brand of prosthesis has a serial number. Can President Wu help us check who the serial number is listed under?"

Wu Zheng was in a dilemma: “I’m afraid I can’t help you with this. There is a confidentiality agreement between our hospital and our customers. We cannot disclose any information about the customer to other people. Otherwise, we would be breaching the contract and would need to pay a large amount of penalty.”

"President Wu, you don't need to worry about this issue. Our police station also has regulations, we do not disclose any information regarding the case. Otherwise, it will be considered a violation of discipline."

"This does not only concern the issue of the penalty, but also the reputation of our hospital. Once the information is leaked, it will bring us immeasurable losses..."

Jiang Chengyan interrupted Wu Zheng: "This prosthesis belongs to someone who is already dead."

"Dead?" Wu Zheng's face showed a look of surprise, "How could this be?"

"We only came here because it’s related to the homicide. We hope that President Wu will cooperate."

Wu Zheng hesitated for a while, "Since it involves a human life, I will make an exception, but I would also like to ask you to keep this a secret. After all, it is not easy for a plastic surgery hospital to establish a good reputation."

"President Wu, don't worry, we promise to be tight-lipped."

"Then, please wait for a bit. I'll get the information." Wu Zheng got up and walked out of the President's office.

Yao Min smiled: "When I saw Chen Min being all secretive earlier, I thought that this hospital seemed shady. Now, it seems I was just being paranoid. The President is indeed the President, he does things better than the average person."

Jiang Chengyan ridiculed: "Why? Are feelings of love finally sprouting in that little girl’s heart?"

Yao Min was taken aback, and then said: "I didn't think about that, but when Captain reminded me, I suddenly felt that he’s pretty good. He looked about 30 years old, and although he’s not handsome, he’s still worth a second look. His figure was also maintained well. The most important thing is that he sits in the position of a President at such a young age. It’s enough to clearly show his strength. He really is a good target.”

"Many thanks to the police officer for the compliment." Wu Zheng pushed the door and walked in, holding two folders in his hand, and smiled politely: "But I’ll have to disappoint you, I'm already married."

Yao Min flushed with embarrassment and stammered: "That, I'm just kidding, don't take it seriously, President Wu."

Jiang Chengyan snickered and was glared at by Yao Min, and quickly changed the subject, “President Wu, are these materials related to GLD usage registration?”

Wu Zheng nodded and handed the materials to Jiang Chengyan, saying, “Although we are not the largest plastic surgery hospital in Huacheng, we are confident that the hospital has all sorts of equipment and will not lose to any other plastic surgery hospital. There is also an endless stream of people who come to our hospital for plastic surgery. However, the GLD brand prosthesis is expensive and most people can’t afford it. Thus, our hospital adopts the method of pre-ordering it. These files contain the information of those who pre-ordered the GLD brand for the past 2 years."

"Thank you, President Wu." Jiang Chengyan did not pick it up: "Yao Min, bring the photo here."

Yao Min handed the photos to Jiang Chengyan, and Jiang Chengyan memorized the numbers on the photo, comparing them page by page.

"Captain, pass me another book."

Jiang Chengyan handed over the information and exhorted repeatedly: "I've looked through it carefully."

"I know."

Wu Zheng got up and went to his desk, took out a sheet of data and looked at it. The office was quiet, with only the sound of the paper being flipped.

"Captain, I found it!" Yao Min was excited, and her voice seemed unusually loud in the quiet office.

"Where? Let me see." Jiang Chengyan put down the file in his hand and looked over.

Yao Min pointed at the serial number and smiled: "Look, Captain, this serial number is the same as the one in the photo, and its owner is Chen Xin."

Jiang Chengyan checked it carefully and it was indeed the same as the serial number on the photo. He got up and walked towards Wu Zheng, "President Wu, we’ve found the serial number. Could you please help look for Chen Xin’s data?"

Wu Zheng glanced at the information, turned on the computer and started to look it up, "Wait."

Without much effort, Wu Zheng searched for Chen Xin's information, "I found it, have a look."

Jiang Chengyan looked at the information on the computer. It recorded Chen Xin's basic information in detail and listed the plastic surgeries she had undergone in the past.

"President Wu, I’ll have to trouble you to print this. I want to bring it back to the bureau."

Wu Zheng was very cooperative and printed a copy of Chen Xin's information and handed it to Jiang Chengyan.

Jiang Chengyan put away the information and smiled: "This time, I really have greatly troubled President Wu."

"Don’t mention it, it is every citizen's duty to cooperate with the police. This is what I must do."

Jiang Chengyan did not leave and continued to ask: "President Wu, who was the surgeon responsible for Chen Xin’s cosmetic surgery?"

Wu Zheng seemed a little surprised, but soon returned to normal: "The information is all there. Since she has undergone many cosmetic surgeries, there is more than one surgeon for her, but most of them are my chief surgeons."

Jiang Chengyan nodded: "Then, when was the last time she came to the hospital?"

"Around March of this year? I can't remember the exact date, but her medical records should be in the information I gave you. You only need to look at it."

"Okay, then we won't bother President Wu any further, goodbye." Jiang Chengyan politely extended his hand.

Wu Zheng stretched out his hand to shake his hand and smiled: "Then, take care."

Jiang Chengyan walked away and suddenly replied: "Oh, yes, President Wu, we will come to visit in the future, so I hope you don’t mind."

"I will try my best to help."

Jiang Chengyan smiled and walked out, followed by Yao Min. The two did not stay and went straight back to the police station. With the victim's information, their work began to be more focused. After re-assigning the tasks, Jiang Chengyan and Yao Min left the police station again and went to Chen Xin's home to visit the victim's family. They were busy all day and finally returned to the station at night.

At 8 pm, the alarm rang and Jiang Chengyan appeared in the grocery store on time.

"Hua'an, I'm here, I'm so tired." Jiang Chengyan walked straight to the cashier, unconsciously acting like a spoiled child.

Ling Hua’an curled his lips, took out the thermos and handed it to him, "Has the case gone well?"

Jiang Chengyan took the thermos naturally and put it aside, his eyes falling onto Ling Hua’an’s hand. Perceiving Jiang Chengyan's line of sight, Ling Hua'an took the initiative to spread his hand and said, "Have a look."

Jiang Chengyan's face was hot, but he still looked at Ling Hua’an's hand carefully. After he was sure that he was not injured, he picked up the thermos and helped him sit in front of the glass window.

"Hua'an, I'm actually ordering takeout, you don't have to make it for me every day." Even so, every time he got to eat Ling Hua’an cooking after busying around for a whole day, Jiang Chengyan's heart felt sweet and satisfied.

Ling Hua’an naturally heard Jiang Chengyan’s duplicity, “Then, I will give the food to Sun Ming tomorrow.”

Note: duplicity - say one thing but mean another

"No."

"Okay."

Jiang Chengyan and Sun Ming practically spoke in unison.

"Captain Jiang, I have been drooling over Boss’s craftsmanship for a long time. If you don't eat it, then it’s fine with me." After working in the grocery store for more than a month, Sun Ming also noticed that Ling Hua’an treated Jiang Chengyan differently. Although he also had some expectations for Ling Hua'an, he quickly reminded himself of his place. It's just that Jiang Chengyan's EQ was really worrying and he was worried for Ling Hua’an.

Jiang Chengyan felt a little embarrassed, but in order to fight for his own benefits, he couldn’t care less about anything else. “Who says I’m not eating anymore, I’m just worried that Hua’an will get injured.”

Sun Ming teased: "Captain Jiang, you feel such distress for our Boss."

Jiang Chengyan's face heated up and stole a look at Ling Hua’an, feeling guilty, "Aren’t we friends? Of course I will feel….. distress when he is injured."

Jiang Chengyan's voice kept getting smaller and smaller, until finally, only he could hear himself.

Ling Hua’an smiled helplessly and thought when this fool would finally be enlightened and no longer trouble him, “Quickly eat, I made fish today, it will taste terrible when it is cold.”

Jiang Chengyan couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but he was a little upset. When he opened the thermos, the aroma of the food came out and instantly washed away that upset feeling, and he ate with satisfaction. After eating and drinking his fill, Jiang Chengyan got up to wash and rinse the thermos. After returning, he chatted with Ling Hua’an and went back to the police station.

In the middle of the night, Sun Ming was already off duty and the lights in the police station opposite were also turned off. The bell in front of the grocery store suddenly rang. Wang Lei appeared in Ling Hua’an's line of sight and approached the cashier with a smile: "Boss, I’m back."

"How is it? Has the identity of the deceased been determined?"

Wang Lei replied: "It’s been confirmed. The deceased is Chen Xin, 26 years old. Her family is well off. She is a typical Ms. Perfect. However, she is also very miserable. After listening to Captain Jiang’s team, Chen Xin's parents have been abroad this whole time and she lives with a housekeeper. They’re the typical kind of parents who only know how to give money but not their time."

Note: Ms. Perfect - someone who is fair-skinned, rich and beautiful

Ling Hua’an nodded: "Do her parents know that Chen Xin is missing?"

"Not long ago, Chen Xin dismissed the previous housekeeper and changed to a new housekeeper. The new housekeeper didn't know Chen Xin’s habits. In addition, Chen Xin often doesn’t go home for a few days, so she didn’t notice when Chen Xin disappeared, let alone notify her parents.”

"Since her disappearance has not been reported, how did the police find out Chen Xin's identity?"

"The investigation of Chen Xin's identity depended entirely on the coroner. When he did an autopsy, he found that Chen Xin was a cosmetic madman and had surgeries on her entire body, like shaving her bones, padding her nose..."

Wind suddenly rose in the store and interrupted Wang Lei. Wang Lei remembered that Chen Xin could hear him from inside the bell. He couldn't help swallowing his saliva in fear, and spoke simply and concisely: "The coroner found the serial number on Chen Xin's chest prosthesis. After discovering the serial number, Captain Jiang ran all over Huacheng visiting various plastic surgery hospitals and finally found her identity."

Ling Hua’an tapped on the little bell in his pocket and the abrupt yin wind disappeared silently. He indifferently asked: "Are you familiar with the name Chen Xin?"

Chen Xin was silent for a while, "Familiar."

Hearing her tone was wrong, Ling Hua’an bluntly asked: "Did you remember something?"

"It's just a few scattered pictures. I was wearing a school uniform and being bullied."

Ling Hua’an reiterated: "Chen Xin, whatever you think of, you must tell me the truth, understand?"

Chen Xin responded: "Okay."

Ling Hua’an took out his cell phone and gave Yan Yu a call, but he hung up the moment the call went through.

"‌Boss, why did you hang up?"

"It's midnight, Yan Yu should already be asleep. I’ll call him tomorrow."

"Then, I will continue to keep watch at the police station tomorrow?"

"No need, go to Chen Xin's house to see if you can find some clues."

Wang Lei felt conflicted: "I am a ghost, I can't touch anything, so how can I find clues?"

Ling Hua’an took out a paper talisman from his pocket, handed it to Wang Lei, and recited a spell by his ear: "Put the talisman on your body and recite the spell silently when you use it. It helps you temporarily possess items that have a material existence. But you have to remember that if you possess a material item, you can be seen by ordinary people, so absolutely don’t be discovered by anyone, understand?"

Wang Lei happily took the paper talisman and asked: "Boss, how long is the paper talisman effective for?"

"One hour, it should be enough for you to find some clues at Chen Xin's house."

"Okay, don't worry, Boss. I will look for clues carefully."

The night passed quickly. At 7 am, the female clerk came to take over. Yan Yu followed in after her. Ling Hua’an got into Yan Yu’s car. The two did not go home, but went to Chen Xin's villa.