**Chapter 41**

  "Sixth Uncle, Uncle Zhang," Daniu greeted as she entered the front yard. In the east room, Song Yuncheng was talking with Ma Yunting and two middle-aged men, one of whom Daniu recognized—Zhang Xiang.

  "Shun, let me introduce you. This is Comrade Yang Hui, the director of our commune's police station," Ma Yunting said.

  "Director Yang, nice to meet you," Daniu said.

  "I've heard a lot about you. When Zhang Xiang was working on a case, I heard there was a remarkable person in our commune who could navigate deep forests with ease. This time, you helped the county catch a major criminal. Seeing you today is quite a surprise," Yang Hui praised generously.

  "Yes, Comrade Ma Shun really opened my eyes st time," Zhang Xiang added.

  "She's just a kid with a bit of talent," Ma Yunting waved it off, while Song Yuncheng smiled proudly.

  "We can't say that. Talents should be recognized. Comrade Ma Shun's abilities are evident to all. I came here today to ask for your opinion," Yang Hui said, gncing at Daniu.

  Daniu listened attentively.

  "Here's the thing. With your skills, you qualify as a special talent. I'd like to transfer you to our commune's police station. I know you're currently a forest ranger, but that job doesn't fully utilize your abilities. Our station is short-staffed, and I'd like you to join us and contribute to the safety of our commune's people."

  When Daniu entered the room earlier, she had already considered this possibility. To be honest, she still preferred going into the mountains. Being in the mountains felt free and unrestrained, which suited her just fine. Last time, Zhang Xiang had hinted at this idea, but on one hand, Daniu wasn't ready to leave home too far behind, and on the other hand, transferring directly to the county wasn't that easy.

  This time, it was the commune, which wasn't far from home. Thinking about how Lin Xiaoguang had reported her and Zheng Sen before, she had heard that Lin Xiaoguang had also been transferred and was now working at the committee. That guy had brought people to the vilge st time and found nothing, but who knows if he might harbor ill intentions? If he kept an eye on her, even her forest patrols might be monitored. And even if it wasn't him, there could be others. Going into the mountains would be more likely to cause problems, so going to the police station was also a good choice.

  With that in mind, Daniu nodded. "Thank you, Director Yang. I'd be happy to join."

  Yang Hui had heard from Zhang Xiang that Ma Shun wasn't too keen on going to the county, so he thought she might not be willing to come to the commune either. He was pleasantly surprised by her quick agreement. "That's great! I'll handle the transfer paperwork right away. Let's see, today is the 20th, so how about you report on the 21st, which is Monday?"

  Daniu nodded. "I'll be there on time."

  "Alright, then we'll head back now. We came today specifically for this matter," Yang Hui said directly.

  "Stay for a meal before you go," Song Yuncheng offered.

  "No, no, we have things to do back at the station. It was just a coincidence that we ran into Old Zhang when we were out, and he mentioned coming here, so we tagged along. We still have unfinished business," Yang Hui expined.

  "That's right, brother-in-w, we'll head back now. My business here is done, and I'll go back to the county with Old Zhang ter. Please inform the old man for me. I'll come visit him when I have time," Ma Yunting added.

  Hearing this, Song Yuncheng didn't press them to stay and saw them off with Daniu.

  "So, you've really decided to go to the commune?" Song Yuncheng asked.

  Daniu nodded. "Yes, I've decided. It's time for a change, and it suits me well."

  "I trust you, but I do have some advice. Be careful in your work. What you'll be dealing with from now on won't be ordinary people. Always stay alert and never let your guard down."

  "Got it, Dad. I'll be careful," Daniu assured him, though she smiled and added, "But our commune doesn't have any major cases, so it should be fine."

  Song Yuncheng gave her a look. "I told you not to be careless. You need to take this seriously from the start."

  Daniu nodded.

  Song Yuncheng sighed, unsure if his daughter's current path was the right one.

  * * *

  On Monday, the 21st of the first lunar month, Daniu reported to the police station. Yang Hui showed her around and introduced her to the environment. There were only five full-time staff members in the station, one logistics support person, and one security guard. For a commune, this wasn't a small number. With Daniu joining, they now have six full-time staff members.

  Yes, Daniu was already a full-time employee. She was originally under the forestry bureau, and after two years of work, she had become a permanent employee. This time, she was directly transferred, with a sary of 40.5 yuan at level 12—a raise.

  For an eighteen-year-old girl, she had already surpassed 90% of the girls in the county.

  "Our commune is retively well-staffed in terms of police force, mainly because our commune covers a rge area. All the vilges near the Great Green Mountain fall under our jurisdiction. However, our county only has a popution of 50,000, which isn't too rge," Yang Hui expined.

  Daniu was stunned. A commune with over 50,000 people was managed by just a few police officers? That seemed exaggerated.

  "But don't worry. Each vilge has its own militia, and if something really happens, they can help resolve it. Also, the vilge leadership can handle most issues on their own," Yang Hui said, not finding it exaggerated at all. Some communes only had one officer managing tens of thousands of people. Their situation was actually quite good.

  "Our station is short-staffed. Coincidentally, your vilge, Ma Family Vilge, Shuangmiao Vilge, Sun Family Vilge, Zhang Family Vilge, Kaoshan Vilge, and Nanling Vilge are all in a line. Right now, Comrade Zhang Cheng is temporarily overseeing these vilges. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the situation in these vilges. Zhang Cheng will take you around for a couple of days to get you acquainted with the routes. After that, you'll be in charge of these vilges."

  Daniu blinked. Why did it feel like there was too much work?

  But in reality, it wasn't that much. After spending two days at the station, Daniu realized how good public security was in this era. The biggest case in those two days was a yellow dog from Sun family vilge killing a neighbor's chicken. If it hadn't been for Zhang Cheng taking Daniu around to familiarize her with the situation, the matter might have been resolved on its own. Since they happened to be there, the issue was quickly settled. The vilge head decided that the dog owner would compensate the chicken owner with 50 cents. Daniu watched as the chicken owner happily took the money and went home with the chicken.

  "Usually, these kinds of issues are resolved by the vilges themselves. Most of the time, we deal with things like this. It's better for the vilge heads or secretaries to handle them," Zhang Cheng expined to Daniu. Zhang Cheng was in his forties, a seasoned police officer who took his work seriously. He wasn't tall, but every step he took was steady, and he knew the vilge situations inside out.

  "Is this all we do?" Daniu asked.

  "These kinds of things are the most common. In your jurisdiction, you need to pay attention to everything—floating poputions, troublemakers in each vilge. These unstable elements need to be monitored. There's a lot to do," Zhang Cheng said, pulling a few sheets of paper from his pocket and handing them to Daniu. "This is what I've summarized over the past couple of days about the things to watch out for in these vilges. Take a good look. When you patrol, match these informations. It will be fine when you are familiar with them."

  "Thank you, Uncle Zhang," Daniu said, taking the papers. They were filled with densely written notes, the handwriting not the best but very neat—each stroke carefully written, much like the man himself: meticulous.

  * * *

  Daniu spent six full days going through the household registrations of the entire commune. Fortunately, a popution census had been conducted the previous year, so the records for the vilges were quite comprehensive.

  On Sunday, she took a good rest at home. Over the past week, Daniu had not only memorized the information like a photography machine but also made connections between the data. She linked who was reted to whom, which families lived in which vilges, and drew lines connecting each name to others, creating a web of retionships.

  It might be because there were too many records, but even during rest, her brain was still active. Every day, she would read information during the day and organize, summarize, and connect it at night. The high-intensity workload put a lot of pressure on her brain. Fortunately, the spiritual water seemed to provide some nourishment to her brain, making it less unbearable.

  Eventually, all this information formed a cluster of stars made up of countless lines, and these clusters came together to create a massive star map. She found it fascinating—each line in the star clusters represented the blood retionships between people, and the connections between two individuals could pull out countless lines.

  The moment the star map of the entire commune was completed, a door appeared in her mind, and the star map went in. Then, with a swishing sound, the star map turned into tiny points of starlight, eventually forming a starry sky inside the door. With a thought, a star descended and opened up to reveal information about a person, quickly linking to a chain of reted individuals.

  With another thought, the door closed, and all that information no longer burdened her.

  On Monday, Daniu went to Yang Hui's office. "Director, I’d like to go down to the vilges."

  "Oh, you’ve already familiarized yourself with the situation in just a week?" Yang Hui asked.

  Daniu thought for a moment. "I’ve got a general understanding. Now I need to see things for myself."

  Yang Hui nodded. "Alright, go ahead. You don’t need to come to the office this week. Come back next Monday and tell me what you’ve observed."

  Daniu nodded. "Okay."

  After leaving the police station, Daniu didn’t head straight home. Instead, she wandered around the commune. It wasn’t market day, but there were still quite a few people around. Daniu walked slowly.

  "Zhang Er, what are you up to?" A middle-aged man called out to a younger man.

  Zhang Er, 34 years old, from Kaoshan Vilge, wife Wang Xiuli, son——

  Zhang Er, 45 years old, from Zhangjia Shack, wife—son—no, the age doesn’t match.

  A series of information fshed through her mind. Daniu took a closer look at the man’s appearance, quickly matching his face with the information she had. She gathered details like age and accent, combining them with the registered records.

  Daniu shifted her gaze, and the star in her mind returned to its original position, now carrying additional information like images, sounds, and even the man’s aura.

  Sun Chenghong—Sun Lijun—Yang Ping’an—Du Xique—

  She walked more slowly, each name corresponding to a star. If a name is repeated, she will quickly determine the correct information and discard the rest.

  By the time she left the commune, Daniu noticed that many of the stars in her mind had been updated. Had her brain mutated?