Early morning.
Jiang Yuan arrived at the forensic laboratory early in the morning, made himself a cup of tea, tidied up his desk, and then started his day's work—looking into the microscope.
The bloodstained clothing that served as evidence, had been cut into several pieces, for Jiang Yuan to pick out pollen under the microscope.
Contrary to what many people imagine, when forensic scientists face evidence, their goal is often not to preserve its original state. Common items like bed sheets and pillowcases from crime scenes are roughly cut when testing for blood or luminol, soaked in reagents, and further tested.
Similarly, pieces of paper stained with other substances are treated in the same way.
Some might feel uneasy about this destruction of original states, but from another perspective, many pieces of evidence aren't collected in their original state to begin with.
