Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 407 Corruption or Theft
Lin Ge never expected that Zheng Mingxing was troubled by such a big thing during this period.

His wife is already in jail, and his child still can't go back to school, yet he still has the mind to worry about all sorts of messy, trivial matters at the police station.

If it were Lin Ge himself, he certainly wouldn't have been able to be so selfless.

Furthermore, Lin Ge was wondering if Yu Zhengwei and Nie Guoqiang knew about this. They probably did, otherwise Yu Zhengwei wouldn't have gotten so angry at the meeting that day because Zheng Mingxing took the initiative to take responsibility.

And Zheng Mingxing, is he the kind of person who only actively seeks help when things get to this point where he has no other choice?
Of course, his decision to ask a cat for help is still puzzling. Lin Ge didn't think he could be of any help in investigating corrupt officials; he was only doing it because Zheng Mingxing had asked him to.

"The specific details are still confidential, and I can't and shouldn't inquire about them. However, the whole incident started with a subsidy that was distributed to farmers in the county, which suddenly disappeared. A total of more than three million yuan in cash vanished from the county finance bureau's safe."

On the train to Jixi County, Sichuan Province, Zheng Mingxing sat ramrod straight. Only someone with his personality could resist the 90-degree angle of the hard seat back; even though Lin Ge made room for him, he refused to change his posture for comfort.

Lingo also had a seat all to himself, complete with a special ticket and reimbursement receipt. It was only because the train wasn't crowded that there were so many passengers; otherwise, some jealous passengers might have tried to snatch the seat from Lingo.

Having seats isn't necessarily a good thing. These seats and the covers haven't been washed in ages, and the various smells, especially the stench of sweat, feet, and moldy food scraps, are still a huge test for Lingo's nose.

Left with no other choice, Lin Ge had to snatch Li Yiduo's coat and spread it on the chair before he could lie down more comfortably.

Across from Lin Ge, Li Siyu and Li Yiduo were dozing off, leaning against each other. Li Siyu was feeling a bit carsick, so she rested her head on Li Yiduo's shoulder and dozed off gently.

The two joined the team as police cat trainers and technical support staff. Incidentally, Li Siyu filled the auxiliary police officer position left by Xiao Yu. The girl finally got a formal employment contract with the police station, and Qian Wei finally went from being a cat owner to a regular police officer at Zhanghe Police Station.

"Why suspect the county head when the finance bureau's subsidy funds have gone missing? Shouldn't theft be suspected when something goes missing? Why are you so sure it's an inside job?"

Li Yiduo asked in a low voice, puzzled.

There weren't many passengers around, but Li Yiduo was still vigilant to prevent unrelated people from overhearing the case.

"Because of that finance bureau clerk who committed suicide out of fear of punishment."

Lin Ge, who was lying on the seat, opened his eyes.

"Because of the person who committed suicide by jumping off the building, there was a large transfer of 500,000 yuan into the account of his daughter who was studying abroad. The bank could not find the information of the person who transferred the money, and the owner of the account was a widowed old man in his seventies from the village."

Zheng Mingxing gave a nonchalant explanation.

Upon hearing this, Li Yiduo suddenly realized. Indeed, the case didn't show obvious signs of being committed by an outsider, but the probability of the victim being a scapegoat was extremely high. Trading a life for a broken link in the chain of clues—the person behind it was incredibly arrogant, and probably of high status. Moreover, was a mere three million yuan worth spending five hundred thousand to buy a life and kill a government official? Most likely, there was a compelling reason behind this murder.

"Ow!"

Lin Ge's ears twitched, and he suddenly shouted.

Zheng Mingxing and Li Yiduo immediately stopped talking. A few seconds later, footsteps came from behind, and a middle-aged man in a slightly wrinkled railway police uniform walked over with a smile, greeting Zheng Mingxing from a distance.

"Officers, you've worked hard. This train might be delayed; it'll take another four or five hours to get to Jixi County. If you really can't manage, I'll take you to the dining car to rest. The chairs there are more comfortable and spacious, it's a little better than just sitting here like this..."

The train police officer spoke with a smile, his attitude quite enthusiastic. He explained that since they were all colleagues in the police system, a little hospitality was only fair. Empty seats in the dining car were a waste, and it was just a small favor that also showed goodwill.

Zheng Mingxing nodded gratefully, but still declined, saying, "No need, this seat is fine. Comrade, please don't trouble yourself to serve us. We're all serving the people, there's no need for any special treatment."

"Hmm! Judging from that tone, this person is definitely an instructor or political commissar."

The train police officer quickly identified Zheng Mingxing, but remained calm and smiling. After being refused a couple more attempts to persuade him, he made an excuse and left.

Zheng Mingxing and Li Yiduo exchanged a glance and smiled together.

"Mimi, well done."

"Stop nagging!"

Lin Ge lazily flicked his tail and gave Zheng Mingxing an arrogant glance.

After that, everything went smoothly. After a full forty minutes of delay, the train arrived at the newly built railway station in Jixi County.

This train station was built under the leadership of County Head Fang after her arrival, a project she, a woman, even clashed with the provincial railway bureau for half a year. "To get rich, build roads first," she proposed a new development strategy for Jixi County, focusing on developing specialty agricultural products and creating a distinctive brand. A good transportation environment greatly promotes investment attraction, product sales, and the flow of people. With the construction of a dual-track railway connecting passenger and freight routes nationwide, and a major road linking the county to the provincial capital, previously unsellable agricultural products finally found a market, and the once impoverished Jixi County saw a glimmer of hope.

"The three million yuan stolen this time was a much-needed agricultural subsidy for farmers in Jixi County. Spring is just around the corner, and they need money for seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides! Without this money, many farmers who have finally seen their lives improve will suffer again."

Sitting in a three-wheeled vehicle, Zheng Mingxing was swaying uncomfortably, but he still lowered his voice to introduce the situation of Jixi County to the group.

Although the road beneath their feet was a beautiful cement road, five years ago, Jixi County was still a well-known impoverished county in Sichuan Province, and only a minority could afford a car. Even though, under Fang Yun's leadership, the main road had connected every village and household, tricycles and motorcycles remained the main modes of transportation in the county. For just two yuan, one could rent a tricycle from the train station to the county government, a price considered very reasonable.

The establishment of the train station not only created many jobs for workers, but also supported dozens of tricycle drivers who made a living by driving tricycles, as well as dozens of various shops in the surrounding area. In a sense, it transformed itself into the commercial center of Jixi County.

Unfortunately, Jixi County is located in a hilly area, and straight roads are very rare. After traveling only a few kilometers, the tricycle entered a roller coaster mode of ups and downs and swaying left and right, making Li Siyu very uncomfortable.

Seeing that her boyfriend was still focused on discussing the case with Instructor Zheng, she leaned against him and forced herself to endure it.

"Is everything okay?"

Lin Ge, who was lying on Li Siyu's lap, wasn't too bothered by the bouncy thigh cushion. However, seeing Li Siyu's pale face, he couldn't help but worry.

"Bear with me."

Li Yiduo had actually been paying attention to the girl beside him, but now was not the time to delay his schedule for her sake. Therefore, he could only hold Li Siyu's hand and gently pat the back of her hand to comfort her.

"I'm fine! The roads back home are just as bumpy as these. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."

Li Siyu responded to Li Yiduo with an awkward smile.

Jixi County isn't large, and we soon arrived at the county government building. It was an old building from the 1990s, clearly in a Russian style, with worn-out red bricks and cement. Yet, this very building housed all the government departments of Jixi County. On the other side of the courtyard were two newer buildings, but they were also over a decade old. The only striking feature was the excellent landscaping in the courtyard in front of the government building, with large trees lining the roads that appeared to be thirty or forty meters tall.

When Lin Ge and his group arrived, the county government building was very quiet. Apart from an old security guard at the gate, there was hardly anyone else in the courtyard. It was only a little past three in the afternoon; there should still be people working there.

"That's how it is in the county. There's basically nothing that can be resolved on the same day. The people work hard in the fields, so they generally don't need to come to the county to do anything. Of course, if they do come, it's probably something important." Zheng Mingxing hadn't actually been here many times, even though his wife was the second-in-command here, he rarely came to interfere with her work.

"father!"

Suddenly a familiar shout rang out, and then Zheng Jiacheng skipped down the stairs facing the main entrance of the office building and rushed into Zheng Mingxing's arms.

Are you alright?

Zheng Mingxing put his arm around Zheng Jiacheng but then paused, thinking that Zheng Jiacheng would be like Fang Yun, placed under investigation and forbidden from going out.

"Ow?"

Lin Ge looked towards the other side of the tree-lined path, where several figures were walking out.

Zheng Mingxing turned his head and saw a familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar person appear in his line of sight. Her appearance was different from what he remembered, and several other people were walking towards them together, which surprised everyone.

"Fang Yun?"

Zheng Mingxing frowned. Wasn't he supposed to be placed under investigation?

But seeing that Fang Yun's clothes and facial expression were both normal, Zheng Mingxing felt that things might not be so simple.

"Come on in! I received a call from the train station earlier, so I estimated you should be arriving around now. Zheng Jiacheng missed his father and made several trips back and forth. Oh! This is our county official, Secretary Kong Zhongpei. These two are Director Lu Dingping of the County Public Security Bureau and Officer Xiong from the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection. He is my wife, Zheng Mingxing. The two people next to him, and this cat, are all police officers from the Zhanghe Police Station in Zhangzhou City, Chu Province. They are also important support personnel that I specifically requested from the leaders of the Commission for Discipline Inspection."

Fang Yun led several county officials and Zheng Mingxing's group to introduce themselves, and then led the bewildered Li Siyu, Li Yiduo, and the thoughtful Zheng Mingxing to the conference room on the third floor of the government building.

After everyone politely settled down, Lin Ge finally had the time and the mood to slowly observe this special woman who had been praised highly by Yu Zhengwei and Nie Guoqiang, and who was also the reason why Zheng Mingxing gave up his career to stay at Zhanghe Police Station as a junior instructor.

She had short, ear-length hair, reminiscent of a 1950s or 60s movie look. However, her face was delicate, and even without makeup, she looked very young, not like a woman in her thirties. She possessed a refined air, spoke slowly, and maintained impeccable manners towards Zheng Mingxing and everyone else. At first glance, she truly seemed like a powerful woman, no wonder she had risen to the position of county magistrate at such a young age.

However, the dark circles under her eyes betrayed her anxiety and worry during this period.

"what is happening?"

Zheng Mingxing frowned as he looked at Fang Yun and couldn't help but ask.

"The main purpose was to lower the prisoner's guard and make them think that the special investigation team and the disciplinary committee were focusing on internal personnel. That's why we had to resort to this tactic. Zheng Mingxing, did you really think I would be placed under investigation?"

Fang Yun spoke calmly, a smile on her face. She seemed very pleased with Zheng Mingxing's hasty arrival.

"So, it wasn't an inside job? Or to put it another way, the county bureau and the discipline inspection commission have ruled out county government officials as suspects and placed the blame for the theft on outsiders?"

Zheng Mingxing guessed the truth of the matter based on just one sentence from his wife.

"That's basically it! I'm sorry, Officer Zheng, I asked Fang Yun to keep it from you. After all, it's a huge sum of three million yuan that has gone missing, so we have to be careful. If we don't find this money quickly, the county will be in trouble."

Kong Zhongpei spoke up for Fang Yun, then smiled apologetically at Zheng Mingxing.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Mingxing breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that no one in the government had broken the law, and that Fang Yun was safe and sound. As for the rest, he was confident he could get a reasonable explanation.

"That money was originally kept in the safekeeping room on the third floor of the Finance Bureau."

Lu Dingping stood up and turned the whiteboard around, revealing another side covered with drawings and writing. On the whiteboard was a simple house layout diagram, with an X marked inside one of the squares. Below the diagram were the names of over twenty people, some with photos attached. According to Lu Dingping, these were all the people who might have had access to the money. In addition, the names of several leaders from the county finance bureau were also written on it. They might not have been the perpetrators, but the fact that someone could so easily break into the county finance bureau's safekeeping room meant that the finance bureau leaders couldn't escape responsibility.

"Why is there so much cash? Wouldn't it be better to just transfer money directly? In terms of both efficiency and security, there shouldn't be any place where cash transactions are still necessary these days, right?"

Li Yiduo couldn't help but ask a question.

"Jixi County is, after all, a poor county, and it cannot yet achieve full coverage of online payment. In addition, there is only one Agricultural Bank and one credit cooperative in the whole county. It is simple for us to transfer money, but it is more troublesome for the people to withdraw money. Also, to be honest, the people in Jixi County are quite tough, and most farmers are not highly educated. They have limited trust in the rural passbook. In many cases, they only trust the cash in front of them and are somewhat skeptical of banks."

Kong Zhongpei nodded kindly to Li Yiduo and offered an explanation.

Fang Yun added, "This was my mistake. I intended to use the subsidy opportunity to gather the people, especially the heads of each household, to promote national policies and laws and regulations. I also considered bringing together agricultural machinery and seed merchants in the county town for face-to-face transactions and collective discounts. This would actually benefit both the people and the merchants, and promote the commercial development of Jixi County. But now that this has happened, things have become complicated. Once the people of the county know that the subsidies that were supposed to be given to them have been stolen due to the government's mistake, the people's trust in the government will be affected."

At this point, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Fang Yun's face, but her expression quickly hardened again.

With Lu Dingping and Xiong Chuanzhong from the Discipline Inspection Commission speaking again, the whole matter became clear. The Finance Bureau sounds prestigious and wealthy, but in a poor county, it's a bureau that spends money without earning any, barely accumulating any savings, and is constantly being extorted. It's not exactly a cash cow. The stolen three million yuan in cash was arguably the first time the Jixi County Finance Bureau had ever seen so much liquid cash, and amidst the discussions, it caught the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Then one night, the three large boxes of cash that were placed in the safe in the storage room all disappeared.

There were no signs of forced entry on the doors and windows, meaning the suspect entered the safe room directly through the main door, knew the safe's combination, and simply unlocked the door to take the money away.

At this point, the investigation shouldn't have been too difficult. However, an unexpected event occurred that same night: a staff member of the Finance Bureau jumped from the roof of the office building, adding a bizarre element to the incident. His daughter, who was studying abroad, received a deposit of 500,000 yuan into her account, making the whole affair seem increasingly perplexing. At least, the origin of this money couldn't be explained normally.

"Not murder?"

Zheng Mingxing looked at Lu Dingping.

"It wasn't murder."

Lu Dingping shook his head and calmly said, "There were only his footprints at the scene, and there were no signs of being held hostage on the body. Based on the traces left on the rooftop, his jumping posture suggests that he couldn't have been pushed from behind. Furthermore, we conducted a detailed examination of his phone and communication software after the incident, and found no unusual chat content in text messages, WeChat, or email. On the contrary, one thing that needs attention is that although his department is a relatively unused department, it happens to have a key to the safekeeping room. Therefore, we suspect that this may be a theft case involving collusion between insiders and outsiders, but we just can't find effective clues to support our investigation."

As Lu Dingping spoke, his gaze secretly swept over the cat that was sitting two seats away on a chair, yawning.

.

P.S.: The new map project is a bit of a challenge. It involves government departments, so we can't write too much about it. Just imagine the images and numbers in your mind, magnified tenfold.

Hmm, who's going to bet on how many words will be cut from the beginning to the end of this case?

PS is free.

(End of this chapter)