With the conclusion of the second house search, the haunted era of Huangliang Yimeng finally came to a true end.

At the hospital, the Shancheng Branch finally confirmed Lin Xiufen’s identity. After a series of examinations, besides malnutrition, Lin Xiufen was also suffering from moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Until the very end, she didn’t even know that Hu Wei had been arrested.

“Looks like I should retire. Such a big person right under our noses and we didn’t notice… In the old days, I’d have died two hundred times over for this.”

He Jian felt very guilty about not discovering there was another person in the house. At the hospital, he offered to treat me to a meal, but before I could even extort him, He Jian was called away by their chief for meetings and then completely disappeared for half a month.

Thinking about it, the case of Guan Yinli No. 29 involved four lives, plus the old Hu family case from over ten years ago. He Jian, as the task force leader, was under explosive pressure, so much so that when I tried to subtly inquire about progress through Wang Wei several times, the young lady’s replies were always crying cat emoji heads.

Apparently Deputy Team Leader He had already had them buy folding beds.

To thank the Shancheng Branch for their efforts in this case, Bai Liu suggested I should deliver takeout to the entire team once—the intention was good, but my sister had obviously forgotten that after this period of intensive media coverage, Huangliang Yimeng had already become one of the top ten internet-famous dessert shops on Yu Jiang’s Dianping, with daily reservation slots as hard to grab as Spring Festival train tickets.

With the shop short one person, this poor chef was so busy every day that I was half-paralyzed. Forget making takeout for the entire task force—I couldn’t even spare time to make sweets for myself and would rather order takeout from other places.

Obviously, hiring someone had become urgent.

Another half week passed, and He Jian’s work finally reached a temporary conclusion. To host the task force, I specifically chose the shop’s rest day, setting up some of my specialty desserts on the first floor, treating it as a cold buffet.

Although I had invited the entire team, less than half of the task force actually came. He Jian said the other half wasn’t unwilling to come—like Chen Yuan, who had been looking forward to this cake for two whole days, but collapsed as soon as he got home and couldn’t be woken up. By 3 PM, his phone still hadn’t been turned on.

“Have you been averaging six hours of sleep recently?”

I had Song Nanshi serve coffee to everyone. Looking at He Jian’s dark circles that were visibly about to hang down, I felt this question was rather redundant.

He Jian smiled bitterly: “Boss, here’s a fun fact—when there’s a case, police sleep isn’t calculated in hours.”

I sighed: “So has this case been concluded now?”

He Jian wanted to speak, but his voice was hoarse. Wang Wei, who was eating cloud soufflé nearby, interjected: “Team Leader He has had too many meetings these past two days. Let me explain. This case will soon be sent to the prosecutor’s office. We can confirm that the three previous incidents at No. 29 were actually intentional murders.”

My heart sank.

After all, regardless of the reasons, innocent people had died in No. 29—this was an unchangeable fact.

“So he confessed to everything?” Han Sha asked.

He Jian nodded: “Ever since learning we placed Lin Xiufen in a nursing home, Hu Wei told us everything… He also apologized to you, boss.”

“Apologized?”

“After all, he laid hands on you, and he also didn’t tell you that Lin Xiufen was still in that house.”

He Jian helplessly nibbled on a finger biscuit: “His not speaking was actually giving up in despair… Because Lin Xiufen was ‘dead,’ seeing doctors had been a problem all these years. This time when Hu Wei discovered she was having mental problems, he couldn’t take her to see a doctor. He just wanted to fulfill his mother’s greatest wish at the end and let her stay in that house.”

Song Nanshi sat beside me listening quietly for a while, then suddenly asked: “So that auntie often came to see me before…”

He Jian smiled bitterly: “First, because your room used to be Lin Xiufen’s bedroom, and second, because… Lin Xiufen seemed to quite like you. Hu Wei had remained unmarried all these years to care for her, but Lin Xiufen was still a mother after all. She naturally had expectations in this regard, wanting to find a daughter-in-law for her son…”

“I see…”

Song Nanshi’s face turned slightly red upon hearing this, and she said softly: “Other things would be fine, but this really won’t work, because I…”

“Because?” I asked curiously.

“Nothing… let me get them more coffee.”

Song Nanshi stood up somewhat suspiciously to get the coffee pot. Before I could react, Han Sha had already started his mockery mode on me: “I originally thought you, boss, were just missing a brain cell, but now it seems you’re missing more than one… Your wooden head really needs drilling.”

I rolled my eyes, thinking whether these Taoists’ poisonous tongues wouldn’t get them struck by lightning. Just as I was about to argue with him on the spot, Wang Wei sitting across from me gave me a look. I instantly remembered I had important business to attend to and immediately said: “Xiao Song, take out the cream cake from the very back of the refrigerator. We have more guests coming soon.”

“More guests?”

Now not only He Jian, even Han Sha was stunned.

I couldn’t help feeling smug. Previously, these people had always deceived me. It was rare for me to trick them once—this counted as revenge.

At this moment, as if receiving some instruction, the six or seven detectives sitting in the room suddenly stood up in unison. Wang Wei led them, saying: “Chief, it’s rare to have a day off. Can we go shopping around Guan Yinli?”

“You… want to go shopping in your jurisdiction? Haven’t you had enough shopping during patrols?”

He Jian was shocked. Obviously, this unreasonable request was as absurd as voluntarily working 996—even for people’s police, it seemed like their brains had been caught in a door.

However, Wang Wei clearly hadn’t planned to seek his consent. Without a word, she directly led the others away. In an instant, only I and my three unfortunate employees remained in Huangliang Yimeng.

“Boss, you’ve made it big—even mobilizing the task force?”

Han Sha, being so perceptive, immediately understood the situation: “Are you tidying up?”

“Tidy up quickly, the guest will arrive soon.”

I immediately got up and started cleaning, and before we could even mop the floor, the crisp sound of a bell rang at the entrance.

Huangliang Yimeng’s most important guest of the day had arrived early.

“Excuse me, is Boss Bai here…?”

The visitor pushed open the door. Just as He Jian turned around, after their gazes briefly met, He Jian immediately reacted and looked at me in shock: “Boss, you…”

“You’re in the right place, Miss Lei. My place is indeed hiring.”

Seeing the visitor frozen at the entrance, afraid she might turn around and leave immediately, I quickly went over and pulled her in.

Only when we truly met this time did I realize that He Jian’s romantic luck wasn’t bad at all. His wife had the same delicate baby face as him, with neat short hair. You could tell her past profession was probably similar to He Jian’s, but due to long-term overwork, you could see some deeply hidden fatigue in her brows and eyes.

Wang Wei had secretly told me before that He Jian’s ex-wife was called Lei Hong, his university classmate who used to be a technical police officer. Later, because of He Jian’s special work and having parents at home to care for, she had stepped down.

Now, although the two had separated, Lei Hong still went to He Jian’s house every weekend to do housework and cook while working temporary jobs. Therefore, in the eyes of Wang Wei and He Jian’s other subordinates, their divorce was a Schrödinger’s divorce.

“Boss, let me tell you, sister-in-law’s dumplings are so delicious. Since they divorced, we haven’t had them anymore. You must give it your all… I dare guarantee they have no relationship problems! Besides, sister-in-law was a famous top student at the police academy, but due to age and other issues, she still hasn’t found stable work… We all hope she can find a reliable workplace.”

Not long ago, Wang Wei had sent me a series of crying cat emoji heads in a secret group chat, specifically noting this was the voice of the entire first team. They had been missing Lei Hong’s dumplings for more than just a day or two. Now Huangliang Yimeng was their entire village’s hope.

“Come, Miss Lei, let’s sit over here. Let me tell you about our hiring conditions.”

I pulled Lei Hong to sit across from He Jian without explanation, placed the cream cake I had prepared in advance in front of her, cleared my throat, and brought out the words I had thought of days ago.

“I’ve already heard about your situation. First, our shop is now one of the city’s top internet-famous stores, so if you’re willing to work at Huangliang Yimeng, you don’t need to worry about salary. Second, not only do we provide five insurances and one housing fund, but employee benefits like cakes are available weekly. Also, our work hours are quite flexible—we open at 10:30 AM and basically close by 7 PM. You can choose to live in the shop or go home. We also have one shop rest day per week, so you can go shopping around Guan Yinli with someone.”

After I finished, Lei Hong still seemed dazed. She looked at He Jian, then at me: “So why would Boss Bai…”

I smiled: “One radish, one pit. Our shop can accommodate at most four people. After your ex-husband left, we’ve been short one person. After thinking it over, referrals from acquaintances are more reliable.”

After thinking, I added: “Besides, I’ve heard certain people boast before, saying his wife has great cooking skills and also likes baking. Compared to new employees I’d have to teach from scratch, someone with a foundation would definitely be better. What do you think, Miss Lei?”

“I should have known…”

With things put this way, Lei Hong, having been a police officer, quickly realized that Wang Wei’s introduction had impure motives. She said helplessly: “I wondered why they were all so enthusiastic…”

“After all, such favorable positions aren’t easy to find nowadays.”

Han Sha suddenly interjected: “High salary, foolish boss, flexible hours, room and board included, and you can go home anytime… Miss Lei, our shop really needs people.”

“That’s right! The boss is super nice! Sister, won’t you really consider it?”

Song Nanshi also looked at Lei Hong with hopeful eyes. After a moment of standoff, Lei Hong couldn’t help laughing: “If it weren’t for Wang Wei and the others’ recommendation, your hard-sell approach would really make me suspect I’d entered a pyramid scheme.”

Saying this, Lei Hong tasted a small bite of the cake on the table. Seemingly sensing the familiar flavor, she looked at He Jian mischievously: “I wondered why you suddenly brought home such a big cake… So He Jianqiu, your undercover work has extended to dessert shops now. Quite capable.”

Only upon hearing his full name did the long-silent He Jian get a chance to speak, looking thoroughly troubled: “So boss, you’re really determined to pay our family a salary…”

“What do you mean pay your family a salary?”

I righteously corrected him: “I’m paying Miss Lei a salary. Unlike certain people who are good-looking but useless, Miss Lei can make cakes. Huangliang Yimeng won’t miss out on such talent.”

“…”

The Shancheng Terror visibly began to worry: “Lei Hong, if you work here…”

“If I work here and don’t stay at home depending on you to support me, would you stop making trouble about divorce for no reason?”

Lei Hong’s opening remark left He Jian speechless.

A woman who could handle the Shancheng Terror was indeed extraordinary. In my opinion, Lei Hong was the super-doubled Terror, so much so that before I could further confirm her intentions, she glanced at her watch and seemed to have already been employed for half a year.

“Good thing it was just temporary work anyway. I’ll go pack up this afternoon and should be able to start work by the day after tomorrow at the earliest.”

“I don’t usually live in the shop. I hope you, boss, can pay me that room and board money instead, since I don’t want certain people paying me money to buy groceries anymore.”

Lei Hong finished speaking with extreme efficiency, already starting to send resignation messages to her current employer, while He Jian across the table finally lived up to expectations and covered his face.

Terror, you fucking have your day too!

I almost laughed out loud but still remembered Wang Wei and the others’ once-in-a-lifetime request: “Then there’s the matter of dumplings, sister-in-law…”

Before I could finish, my phone rang loudly. Picking it up, Bai Liu’s voice was extremely excited: “Yang Zi, have you sorted out the hiring situation? I’ve already negotiated the Huangliang Yimeng collaboration on my end.”