Detective Agency Opens for Business

Lin Xiaosu did not watch the second half.

He stood on the bridge, quietly watching the Yi River rush beneath his feet.

After seeing what had happened at the internet café, Lin Xiaosu came to understand his mother somewhat. As parents, wanting their son to have a proper job was not only about making a living; an even bigger reason was that society had too many idle hooligans.

His mother was afraid he would become one of them.

If Lin Xiaosu had not stumbled into an unexpected stroke of fortune, would he really have become one of them?

Who could say?

In modern society, the employment situation was far too harsh. Every field was fiercely competitive—competing with peers, competing across industries, even competing with machines. Technology kept advancing, robots were being widely used. In the past, people could not find good jobs; now, even ordinary people's jobs were being squeezed out by machines. With so many people unemployed and unable to make money, what else was left but to seek illusory satisfaction in the world of games?

He walked along the sidewalk, ate breakfast, and when he returned to Fengshan Police Station, he saw Zhou Mei and Miao Ruolan chatting in the reception room.

When she saw him, Zhou Mei smiled. "It's been confirmed. The great detective has scored another success!"

"So? You should make good on what you promised me now, right?" Lin Xiaosu said with a smile.

Zhou Mei said, "Sun Yang has already gone to handle it. Besides that, Captain Zhang called everyone at all the key offices. Your license should be fully processed within three days at most!"

"Captain Zhang personally stepped in?" Lin Xiaosu was a little surprised. In his impression, Captain Zhang always wore a cold expression. He had seen him several times, and the man had never given him a pleasant look.

It was hard for him to imagine someone like that asking favors of others.

Zhou Mei smiled so broadly that her eyebrows curved into crescents. "Captain Zhang has a face like a coffin, but that's part of the job. As the captain of a criminal investigation unit, he needs the special ability to suppress all sorts of demons and monsters with his face alone. In truth, he thinks very highly of you... Don't worry about the license. In three days, I'll deliver it to you myself!"

"Thanks!"

Zhou Mei said, "If you really want to thank me, help me solve a few more cases in the future..."

Lin Xiaosu scratched his head. "I suddenly realized this was actually our agreement—the proper reward for this case. At this point, it seems we're even."

Zhou Mei shot him a look and smiled. Miao Ruolan smiled as well...

After she finished laughing, Zhou Mei lifted her teacup. "Opening a detective agency requires more than just a license. Do you want me to introduce you to a storefront for rent?"

"You know somewhere suitable?"

"I know a place. Whether it suits you or not is for you to decide," Zhou Mei said.

She gave Lin Xiaosu a phone number.

When he called, a woman surnamed Cui answered. She had a storefront beside Duanjiaqiao Commercial Center. If he sincerely wanted to rent it, she could come out and let him see it in person.

At Duanjiaqiao, Lin Xiaosu and Miao Ruolan met the woman surnamed Cui. She was around forty, still quite charming, and she smiled warmly when she saw Lin Xiaosu. A storefront behind her had already been opened. Once they stepped inside, Lin Xiaosu and Miao Ruolan's hearts started pounding. It was perfect!

It was practically tailored for them.

The storefront did not look large from the outside, only four or five meters wide, but it extended deep inside. It was nicely renovated and very clean. There was even a computer on the desk. The second floor was for living, with three bedrooms, a bathroom, and even a kitchen.

It even had air conditioning!

There was even a kettle for boiling water!

It was truly the kind of place where they could move in with just their bags.

Sister Cui explained that the previous tenant had been a studio. They had started out in Fengcheng, but later their business grew too large, and Fengcheng could no longer contain their dreams, so they moved to Jiangcheng.

They considered this place the blessed ground where they had made their fortune and did not want to ruin it. So, in a generous gesture, they gave everything inside to Sister Cui, including the air conditioners and the computer. They had taken nothing apart.

Lin Xiaosu and Miao Ruolan exchanged a glance. Each saw the word satisfaction in the other's eyes...

Running a storefront was no easy matter.

Choosing a location, renovating, purchasing office and living necessities—it sounded easy, but in practice it was a complete mess.

With a ready-made place right in front of them, how much trouble would it save them?

The only problem now was the price.

This was an old commercial district, and rents had always been fairly high. In recent years, e-commerce had risen and brick-and-mortar stores had closed in batches, making storefronts harder to rent. But no matter how difficult things were, a place like this should still cost more than three thousand a month.

Sister Cui smiled lightly. "It's not easy for you young couple to start a business, either. I won't charge you much. The same as ten years ago—two thousand a month. How about it?"

Young couple?

Lin Xiaosu hurriedly explained, "Sister Cui, we're... classmates!"

"Oh, I got the wrong idea. Sorry about that..."

Miao Ruolan blushed as she bargained with her. Since the rent was obviously not high, she felt embarrassed to haggle too hard. She symbolically knocked off two hundred, and they settled on eighteen hundred yuan.

Once the contract was signed, their detective agency took another big step forward.

At lunchtime, the two made another discovery in the nearby mall. There was a cafeteria inside, open to the public. The dishes came in high-, middle-, and low-end tiers. The low-end option was an eight-yuan boxed meal, and it basically cost no more than buying groceries and cooking for themselves.

That was understandable. Cooking meant rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar—everything cost money. Here, though the cafeteria did not earn much per meal, it relied on volume and small profits...

Now even their meals were taken care of.

After they bought bedding at the mall and returned to the new place they had just rented, Miao Ruolan was very excited. She made Lin Xiaosu a cup of tea, rested her chin on her hands, and asked, "Will that license really be processed so smoothly?"

"It should be!"

Small counties were different from big cities.

Big cities emphasized management rules, while small cities were still largely societies built on personal connections.

When you went out shopping, you could run into acquaintances from nearly every profession overnight. Greeting each other and asking around for information was incredibly convenient. Why did some rural parents hope their children would enter the system? Sometimes, it was simply because it made getting things done easier.

The same matter could be as difficult as climbing to heaven for an ordinary person.

But for someone who understood the internal procedures, or who knew someone working at a government office, it was much easier.

This was not favoritism, nor was it some unspoken rule.

It was simply the basic logic of getting things done...

Think about it. They were familiar with the process, knew the important points of every position, gave advance notice, and avoided unnecessary detours. Could that count as favoritism?

It was simply handling matters properly!

That was why Captain Zhang's round of phone calls could get the license issued sooner.

That was also why one phone call from Zhou Mei could help Lin Xiaosu find the most suitable rental place. Other people had resources at hand, which made things much easier than blindly running around the streets.

Three days later, Zhou Mei delivered the business license. On the fourth day, Lin Xiaosu spent three hundred yuan on a sign and hung it up.

"Fengcheng Detective Agency," black lettering on a white background.

There were two flower baskets outside. One was from Zhou Mei, and the other had been bought by Miao Ruolan herself.

These days, she practically walked on air, because the excitement in her heart surged like the Yi River...

When registering the business, she had originally wanted it registered solely under Lin Xiaosu's name. She had always felt that it was enough for her to work for him. But after the business license arrived, she looked at the equity registration certificate inside. She held fifty percent of the shares. This was an official document, a proportion already fixed through legal procedures.

Zhou Mei said it had been Lin Xiaosu's insistence.

Now it was a done deal.

That meant this detective agency had become her new home!

She made up her mind that she would make sure her work was worthy of those shares.

She was not proficient in the detective agency's business, so she had to learn!

At the same time, the detective agency's finances, logistics, and internal affairs naturally fell to her.

From the very beginning, the detective agency had a very typical arrangement: Lin Xiaosu handled external matters, while she handled internal ones.

Looking at the registration form on the computer screen, Miao Ruolan still felt a little uneasy. Detective work was still uncharted territory even in the most advanced cities. Would there really be business in a small county like this?

What if not even a ghost came knocking?

Suddenly, a woman rushed inside. "My baby is missing! Can you help me find him?"

Miao Ruolan's heart leaped. "Ma'am, if a child is missing, you should report it to the police first."

For a detective agency, routine investigations—such as lost pets, cheating husbands, or secret incidents—were generally cases that were inconvenient to report to the police. But something as serious as a missing child could absolutely be handled by reporting it, so Miao Ruolan immediately gave the proper advice.

The woman became anxious. "I already reported it! The police said finding cats and dogs was a waste of police resources... They were the ones who suggested I come to you! If you refuse the case, I'll complain that you're passing the buck!"

Miao Ruolan frowned. "Ma'am, didn't you say your baby was missing?"

"My family's dog! I treat him like my son, is that not allowed? You little girl don't know anything, and your nagging is irritating. Get the person in charge out here!"

The woman plopped down onto the sofa. The flesh all over her body jiggled three times, while the necklace around her neck and the bracelet on her wrist displayed her dazzling wealth.

"Please sit for a moment, ma'am, and have some tea. I'll call him right away." Miao Ruolan poured her a cup of tea and placed it in front of her.

The woman glanced at it dismissively. "I only drink Fusang Tea. You can forget about this tea of yours!"

Fusang was an island nation neighboring Great Xia, one with a deep historical feud against Great Xia. Yet its tea was famous among wealthy women. Drinking Fusang Tea was practically a label reserved for affluent ladies, representing an exquisite and high-end lifestyle.

"Ahem!" Lin Xiaosu came down the stairs from the second floor. "Ma'am, we can take this case, but the price is a little high!"

"The price is high?" The woman sneered. "How high could it be? Here's five thousand yuan! Is that enough?"

She took out her small handbag and casually tossed down five thousand yuan. As she threw it, the red bills scattered across the table.

Lin Xiaosu said, "Five thousand really isn't enough!"