Lin Chuxia had no idea what her words had inspired the village chief to decide. Upon returning home and entering the courtyard, Mrs. Qin came out to meet her.
Seeing the grave expression on Mrs. Qin’s face, Lin Chuxia asked directly, “What’s wrong, Mom? Did something happen?”
Mrs. Qin took Lin Chuxia by the arm, pointing inside the house, “A few public security comrades have come looking for you. Your dad is entertaining them inside right now; we don’t know what the matter is.”
Lin Chuxia, seeing the worry on Mrs. Qin’s face, patted her arm, “Don’t worry, I’ll go in and see.”
It’s likely that the public security comrades are here because of what happened last night.
As expected, most of the officers inside were familiar faces: Chen Ping, Sun Hao, and an older one.
Chen Ping and Sun Hao stood up first to greet Lin Chuxia and then turned to introduce her to the older officer, “Director Wang, this is Mr. Lin.”
Director Wang got up and extended his right hand, “Mr. Lin, thank you for yesterday. I’ve heard all about it. Not only did you save Comrade Chen Ping, but you also helped us apprehend a criminal suspect. The case is being further investigated, and you really helped us out a lot this time. On behalf of our department, I thank you.”
Lin Chuxia shook hands with Director Wang simply and smiled slightly, “I was just doing what I should.”
Although she spoke lightly, everyone present, except for Mr. and Mrs. Qin, knew the gravity of the situation then.
Director Wang was not about to disregard Lin Chuxia’s merits just because she was modest.
“The case requires further investigation, but I have already reported Mr. Lin’s actions to the organization.”
This meant they were looking to give Lin Chuxia some reward, and naturally, she had no reason to decline.
After a while, Director Wang suggested it was time to leave. Sun Hao and Director Wang left first, but Chen Ping stayed behind.
Under the shade of the big tree in the courtyard, Lin Chuxia brought some fresh fruit for Chen Ping.
Chen Ping joked with a smile, “Such big grapes, I’m in for a treat today.”
The grapes were grown in Granny Su’s yard. Granny Su had a green thumb for flowers, and her grapevines were just as thriving.
Lin Chuxia pushed the fruit plate closer to her so she would eat more, “How are your injuries?”
“Not bad, won’t kill me. We’re a tough bunch, I’ll be fine after some rest.”
“Still, you can’t be careless. Women and men are different. You need to be careful when you should.”
Yesterday she had seen Chen Ping clutching the area of her stomach—that’s where women are most vulnerable.
Chen Ping certainly understood Lin Chuxia’s kindness and apologized again.
Ever since the public security officers had been in the house, Zhuangzhuang had been hiding far away, watching curiously with his big, grape-like black eyes.
Children are like that, admiring yet also in awe of the public security officers.
After Director Wang and Sun Hao had left, the house was left with a beautiful auntie wearing a public security uniform, and Zhuangzhuang felt a bit braver.
Now, not far away, he huddled around Yuan Bao’s neck, chattering away, though it was unclear what he was telling Yuan Bao.
Yuan Bao also cooperated by shaking his head and wagging his tail, occasionally making a humming sound or two.
This scene, watched from afar, was inexplicably harmonious and even a bit humorous.
“Your dog is really smart; it seems to understand what we say. Where did you get this little dog from?”
Remembering the scene from yesterday, Chen Ping saw Yuan Bao in a new light.
Lin Chuxia also knew about Yuan Bao’s intelligence, which she attributed to the spiritual spring water.
Ever since she found out that spiritual spring water was effective for its health and intelligence, she would occasionally give Yuan Bao some to drink.
But even knowing it was smarter than the average dog, she never expected that at the crucial moment, Yuan Bao would be such a great help to them.
At this moment, she just smiled lightly, “I didn’t beg for it, I found it. Picked it up right in the county, just this tiny, followed me all the way and wouldn’t leave no matter what. I guessed it was a homeless stray dog, so I kept it by my side.”
Chen Ping sighed, “No wonder it’s so smart. To be able to pick you as its owner from the bustling streets at a glance certainly proves how intelligent this dog is.”
Putting aside anything else, following Lin Chuxia, the owner of a bun shop and a deli, it at least didn’t have to worry about food and drink.
Seeming to know that others were talking about it, Yuan Bao wagged its tail and barked twice at the two people.
Lin Chuxia beckoned, and Yuan Bao immediately ran over.
When it ran over, Little Zhuangzhuang was dumbfounded, then Lin Chuxia beckoned again and called Little Zhuangzhuang over to her side.
It was Zhuangzhuang’s first time being so close to a police officer, and his little face was flushed with excitement.
Chen Ping also noticed that Little Zhuangzhuang was in awe of his uniform, and patted the little hand holding it.
Mrs. Qin was worried Zhuangzhuang would disturb Lin Chuxia and Chen Ping’s conversation. After Little Zhuangzhuang finished touching, she called to him, wanting to take him outside to play.
Little Zhuangzhuang held his hand up high, a look of pride on his face.
“Granny, I’m going to find Niuniu, let her touch my hand, I also want to wear my military uniform.”
“It’s too hot, be careful not to get prickly heat…”
Mrs. Qin pulled Zhuangzhuang along, chatting as they left the yard.
Chen Ping and Lin Chuxia both had smiles on their lips. Once people had left, the topic once again shifted back to Yuan Bao.
It turned out that Chen Ping had another purpose for coming. Their case involved many issues, and although a suspect had been identified, some items had yet to be found.
“It was after seeing how smart Yuan Bao was yesterday that we had a breakthrough idea. We’ve always heard that some police dogs can help solve cases. Our station has limited resources, and not just here, even the city doesn’t have any, so the station wanted to discuss with you, to see if we might borrow Yuan Bao’s assistance. Maybe it can help us.”
After saying this, Chen Ping seemed to remember something.
“Don’t worry, Yuan Bao’s safety is absolutely not an issue, we will take good care of it.”
Lin Chuxia had no worries about letting Yuan Bao help investigate, and she was also curious to see how far Yuan Bao could go.
However, she had to lay out the harsh truth, “Although Yuan Bao is a bit smarter than the average dog, it hasn’t been professionally trained. It might not necessarily be able to help you, and I just hope you won’t be disappointed.”
“No, we won’t be. The station is aware of these matters, and we’re just trying out the possibility. You don’t need to worry.”
The reason for keeping her to talk about this matter alone was precisely because of this consideration.
Now that things were clear, Lin Chuxia patted Yuan Bao’s head, “Yuan Bao, it’s time for you to make mommy proud. You’ll follow Mr. Chen these next few days, do whatever he asks, and make sure to be good and obedient, alright?”
Yuan Bao seemed to understand her words, raising its head and barking twice with its little tail wagging.
Then it stood up and walked over to Mr. Chen before sitting down again.
Having witnessed Yuan Bao subduing a criminal, Chen Ping knew of its intelligence, and seeing its behavior now, his eyes lit up even more.
Like Lin Chuxia, he extended his hand to pet its head, “Good job, Yuan Bao.”
Yuan Bao proudly rubbed its head against her palm, as if to respond to her.
Chen Ping was even more confident, “Then I’ll take it with me. Once we have results, I’ll bring it back to you.”