Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 31 Heading to the Scene
On the way, Chen Shu took out his phone and called Zhu Chaoran.

"Brother Shu, what's up?"

Zhu Chaoran answered the phone quickly.

Hearing this long-lost voice, Chen Shu felt a pang of longing for the lovely people at the Sun Yat-sen Institute.

"Go to the duty hall and send me a copy of the on-site report form for a case reported by someone named 'Huang Siqian,' which is today's case."

“Okay, I know about this case. I was the one who went there this morning,” Zhu Chaoran replied smoothly.

"Oh, who responded to the call today?"

“Um…” Zhu Chaoran hesitated for a moment, then said, “It’s our shift’s turn to be on duty today. Li Chaoyang couldn’t handle everything by himself this morning, so I went to deal with this case.”

"You filled out the on-site police report form?"

"...I didn't do anything. I just went upstairs to take a look around, didn't find anything, and then brought the person to the station and had the interns take a statement."

After the statement was taken, did the intern tell her to go home and wait for further notice?

“Brother Shu, isn’t this how we always handle these cases? Besides, you’re not here right now, and the station is very busy. The phone is a VIVO, and its estimated value is less than 2000 yuan. The case-solving rate for these kinds of theft cases is too low, so no one has paid much attention to it.”

"You don't take this seriously! I'll let you experience what it's like to go a day without a phone." Chen Shu was a little angry.

He said sternly, "You've only been working here for a few months, and you've already picked up this bad habit so quickly? Does a low case-solving rate have anything to do with whether you've investigated or not? Interns are still students in police academy who haven't graduated yet!"

You're a real police officer, wearing a uniform and working! In all the time you've been on duty with the team, when have you ever seen Li Chaoyang and I treat a case so perfunctorily? Even if a case can't be solved, we have to try our best to do something. That way, we can have peace of mind, and the people will feel better too.”

"Brother Shu, I was wrong. I'm not used to you being gone."

Zhu Chaoran was also a newcomer to the police force, having only been in service for a few months. Chen Shu didn't want to take it too seriously, so he helplessly reassured him, "Alright, I'll take this case. If you're free now, drive over to the scene. I estimate I might bring a few people back to the station for questioning."

"Ok!"

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shu arrived at the property management company dormitory building that Huang Siqian had told him about shortly afterward.

Although they are called company dormitories, they are actually just a few remote and old residential houses that the property management company rents in the vicinity of the community they serve. They either rent the whole house or share the house, and then use it for their employees to live in.

Actually, this is still considered good, except that it's a bit crowded. At least it's a residence, with windows and doors, and a normal water and electricity supply.

It is said that some unscrupulous property management companies, in order to save costs, often find some nooks and crannies in the communities they serve that residents cannot see, tidy them up a bit, put in some beds, chairs and benches, and then use discarded cardboard or burlap sacks to partition them off before handing them over to their employees to live in.

We'll give the employees a small accommodation allowance later. The employees want more income, so they naturally won't complain.

Hopefully I won't run into anyone I know.
For some reason, Chen Shu, dressed in casual clothes, felt a little guilty standing downstairs in Huang Sixi's dormitory building.

He sent a WeChat message to Huang Sisi to let her know that he had arrived downstairs.

Yes, this is an older residential complex built many years ago. There's no gate, so anyone can come and go as they please. However, each building does have a door with a ring-bell security door, and the incident occurred in the morning, which basically rules out the possibility of an outsider committing the crime. It's likely that someone living in the same building or in the next apartment did it.
As Chen Shu pondered, he turned his head and saw a young woman with an oval face, big eyes, and delicate features open the security door and walk out.

Wow, such big eyes!
He recalled the scene at Tianjia Garden on Binhe Road a while ago and immediately went to greet him.

"Hello, are you Xiaoxi?"

"Officer Chen, hello, thank you so much for coming all this way in this heat."

Whether it was nervousness or genuine embarrassment, Huang Sisi blushed and spoke with her head down.

Chen Shu waved his hand, stopping Huang Siqian from speaking, and pointed upstairs with a smile: "Let's go, take me upstairs for a look around first. By the way, when we get upstairs, don't call me officer anymore. Yeah, just call me Brother Shu."

As he spoke, Chen Shu followed Huang Siqian into the dilapidated old building.

Judging from its appearance, this old building must have been built several decades ago. The exterior is dilapidated, and although there are no piles of garbage inside the stairwell, the floor is covered in dust and scattered pieces of junk.

"Doesn't this community have property management?" Chen Shu asked casually.

Huang Sisi, who was walking in front of him, seemed to understand the meaning behind his words. She shook her little head, which was tied in a ponytail, and said:
"No, but I heard that a homeowners' committee will be established soon, and a property management company will be arranged to move in, which will make the community cleaner and safer."

Chen Shu sensed the dejection in her voice, and after a moment's thought, asked, "I just saw some documents downstairs related to the establishment of a homeowners' committee, but the dates on them were all from the beginning of the year. What's going on?"

"Sigh, those homeowners who are planning to join the homeowners' committee are arguing every day. This matter has been dragging on for more than half a year and it's still unresolved..."

Generally speaking, homeowners in the homeowners' association can gain some benefits from the community, especially after relevant laws and regulations were introduced in China a few years ago, this situation is quite common.

In some large residential communities, the establishment or election of a homeowners' committee often leads to arguments, fights, and even occasional police interventions.

As they spoke, the two arrived at the third floor of the old building, the floor where Huang Siqian lived.

There were four rooms arranged along the east-west corridor on this floor, and strangely, all of their doors were open. A young woman, dressed in the same black business uniform as Huang Siqian, was standing in the door of one of the rooms.

"Are all the apartments on this floor shared?" Chen Shu asked, glancing at the entire corridor from the third-floor stairwell.

Shared apartments often house several tenants with different work schedules. Therefore, for convenience, the main entrance to the apartment is usually open during the day, and each tenant simply closes their own room door.

“Yes, our company rented a room in room 303 for me and Sister Xiaomin to stay in.” Huang Siqian nodded.

The two walked into room 303 together. As they passed Huang Siqian's colleague, a woman named Xiaomin, Chen Shu nodded to her without saying anything more.

Xiaomin remained silent, her expression indifferent. She glanced back at Chen Shu, seemingly without much hope.

Chen Shu shrugged dismissively, stood inside the door, and glanced around the house.

(End of this chapter)