Hong Kong Detective [90s] 142

 

River crabs aren’t very popular in Hong Kong by the sea, where eating large sea crabs can be as satisfying as munching on chicken legs, with everyone relishing big mouthfuls of meat. Why bother with the tiny river crabs that require so much effort to eat?

 

However, unlike the tender or firm meat of sea crabs, river crab meat, though scant, is delicate and springy, offering a uniquely delightful texture. Moreover, the female river crabs in deep autumn boast incredibly full crab roe. Even a crab weighing less than 100 grams, once cracked open, is bursting with golden roe, a delicacy that size cannot define.

 

Cracking open a small crab, removing the “Fahai”, gills, and intestines, and then slurping up the rich crab roe and oil, you’ll understand why those who eat river crabs are reluctant to miss a single bit of roe or a drop of oil.

 

Such flavors are unmatched even by king crab meat!

 

So sweet, so richly oily, intoxicating indeed.

 

Sun Xin, from an inland city, particularly favored this taste, so he bought many river crabs from a stall that didn’t attract much attention.

 

Team B detectives tried hard to finish them but couldn’t manage to eat them all.

 

The next morning, as Jiayi jogged and accompanied her elder brother to buy ingredients, they arrived at Yi Ji. By then, Sun Xin had already gotten up, cleaned up the place, and arranged the tables and chairs.

 

The policewoman saw the river crabs tied up in a big basin on the kitchen floor and heard Sun Xin mention how these varied-sized crabs were so cheap, just a few tens of Hong Kong dollars for a big basin, practically the price of cabbage. Suddenly, her mind became very active.

 

River crabs!

 

In the future, even small crabs from Yangcheng Lake would have their own IDs, costing dozens of dollars each, not to mention the larger river crabs. And then there were those outrageously expensive crab roe noodles and drunken crabs that cost nearly a hundred dollars each!

 

As she brought her thoughts back, Jiayi looked at the bubbling little crabs as if they were golden ingots.

 

Without a second thought, she picked up the little blackboard previously used to display new dishes and discount benefits, sat down, and quickly crafted a story. It was about Emperor Qianlong who, in disguise, visited the south of the Yangtze River, tasted the exquisite crab roe noodles and drunken crabs, and proclaimed them a “true delicacy, a hundred times tastier than the imperial kitchen’s offerings.”

 

Finally, she wrote in bold, colorful chalk:

 

【Limited Supply at Our Shop: King Crab Roe Noodles: 80 HKD per bowl】

【Limited Supply at Our Shop: Royal Drunken Crab: 68 HKD each】

【The Only Place in Hong Kong!】

 

Yi Jiadong and Sun Xin looked over curiously, both almost popping their eyes out.

 

“A McDonald’s meal is only 20 HKD!” Yi Jiadong exclaimed loudly.

 

“8 to 10 oranges are only 10 HKD, and wonton noodles are just over 10 HKD!” Sun Xin also raised his voice.

 

“This noodle and crab, costing nearly a hundred?” Both Brother Yi and Tofu Boy exclaimed almost in unison.

 

How can it be so expensive?

 

“Scarcity makes things valuable!” Jiayi confidently placed the blackboard at the entrance, and after a pause, she added:

 

“I read about these river crab dishes in a book, they are quite troublesome to make. For crab roe noodles, you need to meticulously extract the meat and roe from those tiny crabs, which is really labor-intensive. Labor costs money, after all. And this dish, it’s unique to our restaurant in the entire port. So, what do you think, is it worth the money?”

 

After saying this, Jiayi immediately grabbed some paper and began earnestly recalling the live broadcasts and recipes about crab roe noodles and mature drunken crab she had watched in her previous life.

 

Back then, as a struggling student with no lavish means of entertainment or conditions to wander far, watching cooking tutorials and mukbangs from food creators across all online platforms became Jiayi’s greatest and almost only way to relax and unwind.

 

Although she couldn’t cook them herself, she was an expert at theory. Particularly because of her interest, she would even make notes on video recipes for dishes she was particularly keen on, thinking that one day she would definitely cook them for herself.

 

Now, even though she can’t cook them herself, doesn’t she have a brother who’s a great chef and a good friend who is a Sichuan cuisine chef?

 

After figuring out the recipes for the crab roe noodles and mature drunken crab, she took advantage of the ample time in the morning to drag Sun Xin to prepare the marinade for the drunken crab.

 

Soy sauce, washed orange peels, and other ingredients were boiled and then simmered on low heat for 10 minutes; finally, yellow wine was added, brought to a boil again, and then taken off the heat to cool. Even without adding the crab yet, the aroma of the wine and orange from the sauce was already tantalizing.

 

“Once the sauce cools, we’ll refrigerate it, then cook the crabs, let them cool, and submerge them in the sauce to seal and refrigerate together. After 4 hours, it will be ready to eat!” Jiayi clapped her hands in anticipation after explaining.

 

“Is it really that good?” Even Sun Xin, who is from the mainland, had never tried such a luxurious and complicated dish.

 

“It’s delicious! Even Emperor Qianlong said it was good, how could it not be?” Jiayi nodded vigorously.

 

“But our Yi Ji is mostly visited by local neighbors. Though there are many middle-class customers in Sham Shui Po, a bowl of noodles or a crab costing nearly a hundred bucks is still too expensive for most. Who would come to eat it?” Yi Jiadong was still skeptical.

 

“A crab is at most eaten in twos. A dish that costs over a hundred and can only be found in our restaurant is worth it!” Jiayi tilted her head and thought, then suddenly had an idea:

 

“Don’t worry, big brother. I’ll coax Team A’s Officer You to come eat at lunch. He’s really rich and loves trying different foods he’s never eaten before. Oh, and the forensic officer, Officer Xu, is also a huge food enthusiast!”

 

“In the evening, I’ll invite Officer Fang and our Team B detectives to come eat. If they find it delicious, they’ll spread the word to all the colleagues at the police station. Once our colleagues get a taste of something this good and unique, which they can’t find anywhere else, they might just come to try it.”

 

Jiayi tilted her head in thought for a moment, then said with a smile:

 

“Even if we can’t sell it, it’s no big deal, right? It’s food we haven’t tried before, so there’s no loss in trying it ourselves.”

 

“Tonight, we’ll let Jiajun and Jiaru have a taste of something new.”

 

“River crabs are best this season anyway. They’re such a hassle to prepare and take so much time and effort—it can’t get any cheaper.

 

“Sun Xin, next time you go to the market, if you see that granny selling crabs, buy them all.”

 

“I love eating them, and there are so many different ways to cook them. It’s no loss even if we can’t sell them.”

 

“If we do manage to sell them, we can pay granny a bit more next time we buy crabs from her. It’s a win-win situation.”

 

Thus, both Yi Jiadong and Sun Xin were persuaded. They had already enjoyed the most delicious roast goose, and the excitement over the tenderest lamb had passed; offering something new to the regular customers was simply adding more choice to the menu.

 

Filled with the freshest dreams of prosperity, Jiayi went to work happily, pedaling her bicycle with even more vigor.

 

As she passed each residential community, she would tilt her head and scrutinize it, mentally critiquing like a discerning leader of a homebuyers’ group.

 

Ah, in Fragrant Harbor, where even a modest flat of less than a hundred square meters in a low-end area like Sham Shui Po can cost several million—does she really have a chance to buy a house?

 

She wrinkled her nose, pedaling her bicycle harder against the sea breeze.

 

You go, girl!

 

Brave Jiayi, not afraid of hardship!

 

…

 

…

 

Lin Wangjiu, who usually arrived at the police station the latest, was the first to reach Office Team B today.

 

After burning incense in front of the statue of Guan Gong, he stood by the window, enjoying the soft, shallow morning sun, feeling quite relaxed.

 

He was about to rearrange the furniture and clean the whiteboard when he passed by Jiayi’s desk and noticed a book on footprint analysis.

 

He paused for a while, then put on his coat and went out. Under the crooked tree in front of the police station, he carefully picked the most intact and reddest fallen leaf, then returned and placed it in the center of her desk.

 

The beautiful leaf could serve as a bookmark, so the book wouldn’t have to be left open on the desk anymore.

 

And years later, when flipping through the book and finding this leaf, the color and shape of the leaf would remind her of the season she was reading this book.

 

Lin Wangji stretched his arms, changed the water for yesterday’s flowers, and then sat at his desk to organize all the documents related to the recent cases he was investigating.

 

Classifying, sorting, marking…

 

When Jiayi, with her hair made extra fluffy by the wind, stepped into the office, she immediately noticed Lin Wangjiu.

 

Uncle Ji looked up and met the policewoman’s eyes, and a smile spread across her face.

 

The office was suddenly filled with warmth, dispelling the chill in the air.

 

“Uncle Jiu, you’re early today~” Jiayi shed her coat, hanging it on the rack, and took off her bag. She quickly tidied her short hair with her hands before going to boil water for morning tea.

 

Only when she held the steaming tea did her fingers, stiffened by the wind, begin to soften. After gulping down two mouthfuls of water, her cheeks and ears, reddened and tight from the cold, gradually returned to normal.

 

“Elderly people sleep less,” Lin Wangjiu said as he accepted a cup of tea Jiayi had brewed, smiling. “Just now, Forensic Science’s Sir Chen called, saying he needs to collect everyone’s footprints for a paper on gait and footprint analysis. If you’re free now, you could go over and help him by stepping a few times.”

 

Jiayi raised her eyebrows; it sounded like fun.

 

“Sir Chen said it’s because you and Sir Fang pushed him to do the footprint investigation and dynamic tests, which really became crucial evidence in the Liu Fuqiang case, inspiring him greatly. He plans to frequently produce such papers and analyses and even has a grand ambition to write a ‘Hong Kong Forensic Science Practical Guide.'” Uncle Jiu, smiling, pulled a piece of chewing gum from his pocket, rubbed it a bit, and tucked it behind his ear, instantly feeling more comfortable.

 

“Ah, I see.” Jiayi laughed and cried at the same time. How did things suddenly escalate like this…

 

When they arrived at the Forensic Science department, it was indeed bustling, a stark contrast to its usual prohibition against noise. Many technicians were bending over with cameras, photographing footprints.

 

After someone finished, they would wipe the ink off their shoe soles, then head to Diane to pick up a lollipop before returning to work.

 

Jiayi approached, greeted Brother Da Guangming and the others, and then joined the queue to step into the ink.

 

Chen Guangyao stood at the front, observing the gait of those currently making their prints, while taking notes in his notebook.

 

Once someone completed their steps, he would match the described walking posture to the footprints, archive them, analyze them, and then incorporate them into a research case study to be included in the paper.

 

It seems that professionals abroad have conducted similar studies, but foreigners’ physiques, bones, lifestyles, and cultures differ significantly. If their podiatry studies were directly applied in Hong Kong, issues would arise.

 

Thus inspired by Jiayi, who tirelessly and earnestly encouraged him to conduct experiments, and Sir Fang, who dragged him around the neighborhood late at night to study footprints, Chen Guangyao suddenly wasn’t afraid of the tediousness and workload involved in researching these topics, deciding not to just make do with foreign research results anymore.

 

He’s creating an encyclopedia of podiatry tailored to the unique conditions of his own people, based on foreign research!

 

“Don’t hold back, just walk as you normally would,” Chen Guangyao said with a particularly warm smile to Jiayi when it was her turn, like a doctor gently coaxing a child to cooperate with treatment.

 

Taking a deep breath to recall her usual walk, Jiayi then started to move.

 

After making her footprints, as she passed Chen Guangyao, she saw notes on his pad: “Light gait, slightly outward toes, heels touching down first, pause of the foot mid-air for half a second before landing, toes curled upwards, second toe longer than the big toe…”

 

“Ah, Brother Guangming, my second toe really is longer than my big toe!” Jiayi immediately nodded in agreement.

 

Chen Guangyao checked off his guess and then smilingly said to Diane, “Give her a couple of lollipops.”

 

Jiayi couldn’t help but laugh and glanced at other gait details noted in Chen Guangyao’s pad before she left: “Bouncy walk, looking around,” “Inward toes, forceful foot placement, outer calf turn, developed calf muscles,” “Excessive arm swinging, long upper body, short lower body,” and many more detailed observations.

 

Jiayi could imagine that after completing the gait sketches and footprint collection, Brother Guangming would research whether these gait and footprint characteristics had a definitive causal relationship.

 

Only those confirmed to have a definitive causal relationship could be used for profiling individuals in cases based on their footprints.

 

Those uncertain relationships would be unusable.

 

Later, when proving these, they would need to collect even more cases of turning characteristics.

 

By then, the police station colleagues might not suffice, and Brother Guangming might even need to take forensic colleagues to Hong Kong streets to observe passers-by and collect more case samples, right?

 

What an enormous task indeed.

 

Clutching two lollipops, Jiayi glanced back at her busy forensic colleagues. Although it was she and Brother Yue who initially involved their colleagues in forensics, now the forensics team had pulled her into the mix as well.

 

Taking a deep breath, Jiayi decided she must go to Sister Yin’s place today to read through some files and take some notes.

 

Then to the shooting range for half an hour of practice.

 

…

 

Back at Team B’s office, Fang Zhenyue was sitting at his desk at the entrance, meticulously flipping through old cases picked out by Qiu Sushan for them.

 

“Take this file, get these six pieces of evidence marked here, and send them to forensics for re-examination,” Fang Zhenyue handed a document to Sanfu, who immediately left for the archives, just brushing past Jiayi.

 

Catching a glimpse of the young policewoman walking in, Fang Zhenyue called out, “Done with the footprint collection with forensics?”

 

“Yes, Brother Guangming said whenever anyone is free, they can go record theirs.” Jiayi suddenly remembered something and dashed to her desk, pulling out a small box from a drawer.

 

Fang Zhenyue’s eyes followed her, finally resting on the neat little box.

 

What is it?

 

“Brother Yue, this is a gift that Big Brother and I personally picked out for you.” Jiayi handed the small box to Fang Zhenyue.

 

The man, who had been sitting sloppily on the table, suddenly sat up straighter, and his casually swinging feet also touched the ground. He smiled awkwardly and said nonchalantly:

 

“Why so formal? What’s the need for a gift?”

 

“What is it?” Liu Jiaming peeked curiously.

 

“It’s a pair of sheepskin gloves, so soft and comfortable. Winter is almost here, and everyone is out on missions, always stuffing their hands in their pockets. But what if you don’t want to keep your hands in your pockets because it’s too cold? Just wear these gloves.” Jiayi’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Fang Zhenyue, eagerly waiting for him to unwrap the gift.

 

Fang Zhenyue’s lips suddenly curled up high, then he hurriedly pressed them down again. He straightened his lips, feigned calmness, and released just a little bit of pleasure to show he was knowledgeable and gracious yet reserved.

 

Just a little, pleasure could only be released a little.

 

Otherwise, his imposing aura would be completely swept away, and how could he continue to be a commander.

 

He quickly tore open the packaging, Fang Zhenyue’s fingers gently brushed over the box, lifting the lid, and inside lay a pair of glossy black, soft leather gloves.

 

They were all-black, cool in style, and very much suited his temperament.

 

“Brother Yue, try them on to see if they fit.” Jiayi smiled, showing a row of white teeth, her eyebrows raised high in excitement.

 

Gary and Uncle Jiu also came over to join in the fun, watching the gift Jiayi gave to Brother Yue.

 

“They’re beautiful,” Gary said enviously.

 

“They must be expensive,” Uncle Jiu nodded in agreement.

 

Fang Zhenyue met everyone’s envious gazes, his eyebrows quivering slightly, breaking open a sliver of his restrained demeanor, raising half a centimeter.

 

With the raising of his eyebrows, his eyelids were also pulled taut, causing his eyelashes to gently tremble, casting flickering shadows beneath his eyes.

 

Whether it was the corners of his eyes, his eyebrows, or his lips, all seemed eager to express emotion, but were brutally suppressed by their owner.

 

It seemed as though Fang Zhenyue was holding everything back, yet he couldn’t hide his facial expression; he felt the texture of the gloves with the tips of his fingers while quietly taking deep breaths to adjust his mood.

 

The gloves fit perfectly on his hands, comfortable for making fists or stretching, indeed very soft.

 

Although cool guys don’t wear gloves in winter, if it were these gloves, perhaps he could make an exception.

 

“Sister Eleven, I want new gloves too!” Liu Jiaming suddenly stretched his hands towards Jiayi, unable to hold back his envy and craving.

 

Jiayi let out a laugh, nudged him with her elbow, and explained:

 

“My older brother said we should sincerely and wholeheartedly thank Brother Yue for his guidance and the opportunities he has given us. That’s why we bought gloves as a gift for the best boxing coach, Sir Fang.”

 

“Ah, so they are gratitude gloves,” Liu Jiaming replied with a bitter smile, withdrawing his hands and tucking them inside his clothes against his stomach, “Without gloves, I’ll just have to warm my hands with my belly.”

 

“Pft!” Uncle Jiu couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

 

Fang Zhenyue smiled and nodded, thinking how truly wonderful Jiayi’s big brother was! Excellent!

 

Jiayi also smiled back at Fang Zhenyue and earnestly said:

 

“When I start making money, I’ll buy more gifts for Brother Yue. My brother is right; I should honor my mentor in the industry just like I honor my father.”

 

“…” Fang Zhenyue’s smile, which had been growing softer and broader, suddenly froze.

 

There was a crack, like the sound of a smile shattering.

 

What… what?