Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 602 A Few Strands of Longing
Zhongshan Police Station, at the entrance of the compound.

As Chen Shu stubbed out his cigarette and prepared to leave, he was stopped by Yu Yu, a community police officer who had returned from a call and watched the commotion for a while.

"Director Chen, you're undertaking such a huge project and you didn't even notify me?"

He's a veteran community police officer. Although he's not usually responsible for cracking down on crime in entertainment venues, A_PARTY is in his jurisdiction, so they have some contact with each other on a daily basis.

According to usual practice, if police officers in the same station are preparing to deal with illegal or irregular activities of enterprises or institutions within the jurisdiction of other officers in the same station, they should inform the other party privately.

It had been a year since I last saw Yu Yu, and he had gained a lot of weight, with the hair on his forehead also moving upwards quite a bit.

Although he pretended to be angry and frowned, the smile he couldn't help but reveal his true thoughts: "Hey kid, you rarely come to the office, why didn't you let me know? Even though I'm on duty, you could at least squeeze out some time to have a working meal and a smoke together."

Upon seeing an old acquaintance, Chen Shu was genuinely happy and teased, "Yu Yu, how did you get so fat in just one year? If it weren't for your '666' jingle badge hanging on your chest, I really wouldn't have recognized you."

"Hey, this is called overwork obesity! The reason is working overtime every day, huge pressure, and irregular work and rest! Chaoyang, look at this guy, he became so smug as soon as he joined the SWAT team, and now he's starting to look down on us? Ugh, just thinking about it gives me a headache. Lately, it's been like this every day, one level higher, one level higher, higher than the grandma!"

"I heard that next time they're going to do a 'highest level of service'."

Yu Yu rolled her eyes at him, then wrapped her thin coat tighter around herself; the weather was getting chilly, and the autumn air was refreshing.

He tugged at Chen Shu and continued, "Don't rush off. Come in, have some tea, and chat for a bit."

Chen Shu wanted to decline, but suddenly noticed that Yu Yu's tone had become serious, and his expression was no longer as casual and teasing as before.

This was something he wanted to ask Xiao Qiang, after all, Xiao Qiang had been one of his community assistants. Chen Shu hesitated for only a few seconds before following Yu Yu and Li Chaoyang back to the office.

Yu Yu took out a jar of tea from the drawer, picked out some, and poured several full cups from the boiling kettle, distributing them to Chen Shu and Li Chaoyang.

Sitting on the sofa, Yu Yu leaned forward slightly, placed his hands on his lap, and listened intently as Chen Shu recounted the events in Southern Xinjiang.

When Yu heard that Xiaoqiang had traveled thousands of miles to southern Xinjiang to pass the civil service exam, just to fulfill his dream of becoming a policeman, Yu smiled gently.

When Yu heard that Xiaoqiang was patrolling the suburbs with the latest Type 95 rifle, looking very proud of himself, to maintain local security, Yu nodded and said softly, "He's a very accurate shooter."
Upon hearing that Xiao Qiang had followed Chen Shu in tracking down anti-X elements with his bare hands and had taken the initiative to volunteer to be the vanguard of the search team, Yu Yu clenched his fists nervously.
When Yu heard that Xiaoqiang had suddenly and silently collapsed, she couldn't help but tear up. She stood up and paced rapidly around the small office, repeatedly cursing that classic Chinese phrase.

Chen Shu offered a few words of comfort.

Li Chaoyang and Xiaoqiang have been working together on cases for many years, and Li Chaoyang is deeply impressed by this assistant administrator who actively tries to join the security team in addition to his regular community work.

Yu sat down again, picked up the teacup, and drank it all in one gulp, ignoring the scalding heat inside. After putting the cup down, his expression slowly returned to normal.

He smiled and said self-deprecatingly, "Chen Shu, you don't need to comfort me. I'm actually fine. Xiao Qiang and I were just colleagues for a few years. To say we had a deep relationship would be a bit pretentious. But I do admire him. After all, he bravely chose his own path in life. Although he died there in the end, I'm sure he won't regret it in the afterlife."

Yu Yu, a community police officer at the station, worked in the patrol and special police brigade for three or four years before coming to Zhongshan Police Station. Now, he has been working at Zhongshan Police Station for ten years. Seeing no hope of promotion, in his eleventh year, according to regulations, he had to be transferred to another police station in the branch to continue working as a low-level police officer to avoid conflicts of interest.

When he first joined the police force, he was full of ambition, dreaming of making a name for himself and maintaining peace in the community. But in reality, how many heroes and exemplary police officers are there?

Most of them are just busy working on the front lines, exhausting themselves without making any significant contributions or achievements. The only feeling they get is that the world keeps turning whether they're around or not. Over time, it really turns from a career into a job.

In this situation, he gradually forgot his once passionate heart.

But the sudden appearance of Xiao Qiang slightly cracked the desire that Yu had slowly buried deep in his heart, allowing a glimmer of light to shine through.

Chen Shu, who was about to regret it, stared at the tea in his cup that was slightly rippling because of Yu Yu's earlier excited actions. What came to mind was the image of Xiao Qiang's parents and grandfather helplessly leaning against the door of the mourning hall on the seventh day after Yu Yu's death in the southern border region, their bodies numb from crying too much.

Two generations of elderly people outlived their children.

I still remember the first night we met in southern Xinjiang. Xiaoqiang was holding a bottle of wine and excitedly telling Chen Shu that he had used his demobilization pay to celebrate his grandfather's 70th birthday at home in the first half of the year, and that he, as the only grandson, would also be in charge of organizing his grandfather's 80th birthday celebration.

However, loyalty to the country and filial piety cannot be fulfilled at the same time.

At this moment, Chen Shucai truly understood the poems he used to recite aloud in the bright classroom with the coffee table in elementary school.

The words we utter can only be truly understood through experience.

"A peaceful life is hard-won. The peace we have gained at the cost of hundreds and thousands of police officers' lives should not be forgotten."

"Senior brother, if Xiaoqiang were given another chance, do you think he would still choose to go to Southern Xinjiang? If you were given another chance, would you still choose to go to Southern Xinjiang?"

Chen Shu raised his hand to touch the old wound on his shoulder where he had been shot through when he was arresting anti-X elements, and said without thinking, "Of course, the southern border is so beautiful, no one should try to hurt it."

He picked up the teapot from the coffee table, poured another cup into the empty one, placed it in front of the empty seat on the west side, then picked up his own teacup, stood up, and said in a deep voice:
"Let's have a toast, the three of us, to Xiaoqiang."

"Yes, let's toast Xiaoqiang."

"boom."

Once back in his seat, Yu Yu regained his usual relaxed expression.

He refilled the four empty cups with tea, muttering about some trivial matters he had previously dealt with regarding the IC cards issued to female staff members of entertainment venues in his jurisdiction, and reminding Chen Shu of some key points that police officers should pay attention to when conducting raids.

In a daze, Chen Shu looked at Yu Yu, who was rambling on and on by the coffee table. This familiar figure now appeared somewhat hunched over.

Several years ago, the two of them also got into a lot of trouble at the institute, arm in arm.

After chatting for a while, it got late, and Chen Shu got up to say goodbye.

When I left the police station, it was late at night and all was quiet.

He glanced back at the instructor's office on the far east side of the third floor, and for some reason, a sense of longing arose in his heart.

(End of this chapter)