Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 636 The Current State of Journalists
"Recently, 'Little Days' started discharging nuclear-contaminated wastewater, and we've banned all their seafood from being imported. So, if you want to eat Japanese food, you should take advantage of this time. Tsk tsk, even if we didn't ban it, the average person probably wouldn't dare to eat these imported seafood anyway." Chen Shu casually mentioned a few news items that were trending on social media recently.

"Brother Shu, it's alright. Most of the ingredients used in these Japanese restaurants are produced domestically in our country, so in terms of ingredients, the impact is actually not significant."

Zhang Yang stopped mid-sentence, looked up at the waiter kneeling beside him pouring tea, and smiled sincerely: "Your food is still very good, it certainly won't be affected in the future."

The waiter didn't know how to answer either.

"It should be affected to some extent, but now that the embargo is out in the open, at least the prices will be cheaper, right?"

Sitting in the 'Yuanxi' Japanese restaurant, Chen Shu, who had always been bothered by its average price per person, took the opportunity to speak his mind.

"Haha, Brother Shu, they'll definitely come up with a different story then. Like, 'Dear esteemed guest, this is seafood from the Atlantic Ocean, which traveled halfway around the world to meet you,' and other such unreliable claims. As for the price, it'll definitely be more expensive."

Zhang Yang was so excited that he accidentally made eye contact with the waiter kneeling beside him.

Suddenly, she straightened her expression, smiled slightly, and said calmly, "Your family is still the best; maintaining stable prices is a victory."

The waiter fell silent.

At that moment, the sliding door opened, and a square-faced male waiter walked in, asking about the preparation of the king crab and any dietary restrictions.

Zhang Yang started her performance again: "Hey, Brother Shu, we should try to cook the king crab in a variety of ways. Who knows, in a few years, the king crab might drink its fill of 'nuclear water' and start eating us instead."

"Hahaha!"

This time, Chen Shu couldn't hold back any longer. His face flushed red, and he burst into laughter, clutching his abs. This laugh seemed to wash away all the frustration he had felt while handling the orange-sweeping case recently.

After the two frustrated waiters left the room, Chen Shu said frankly, "Yangyang, I think you look really different now compared to when you were working."

"Why is it different?"

"You seem very professional at work. You look very confident from a distance, and you can really feel your concern and care for the public."

"But have you noticed, like this special police live broadcast? A lot of people from the neighborhood came, and I must say, they all came specifically to see you, but out of hundreds of people, not a single one came close to talk to you."

"In short, he's very aloof."

"Cool and aloof? Brother Shu, everyone at work says I'm the most down-to-earth host in the station. And what happens after get off work?"

"I find you very interesting after get off work. You're really down-to-earth. You have unique ideas and a different perspective on things than most people. Most importantly, it's very interesting to chat with you."

"Haha, I'm just pretending to be young." Zhang Yang tilted his head slightly and said with a smile, "But which style do you prefer?"

The atmosphere suddenly became ambiguous.

This situation was beyond Chen Shu's control; it was even his weakest moment.

Chen Shu changed the subject, asking, "Yangyang, have you been busy lately? By the way, do you like this shop?"

"Busy~" Zhang Yang lowered his head and began to study the menu in front of him again, but his tone was playful, and he seemed to be quite satisfied with the restaurant that Chen Shu had chosen for him.

Chen Shu subconsciously asked, "What are you all busy with?"

Without a second thought, Zhang Yang replied, "I'm busy running around Quanzhou."

The room fell silent. Even the waiter, who had just entered and was about to serve tea with a kettle, noticed the abrupt quiet and hurriedly put down the kettle, bowing his head and backing out of the room. Zhang Yang carefully pushed the menu back to its original position.

She looked up, saw Chen Shu's serious expression, and suddenly burst into laughter, as beautiful as a peach blossom in full bloom.

She casually changed the subject: "What's wrong? Why do you look so serious? Are you worried about the cost here? Let me tell you, I didn't bring any money today."

Interrupting, Chen Shu said, word by word, "You're not going to Anxi, are you?"

Chen Shu's seriousness stemmed from his trip to northern Myanmar a year ago.

In order to raise awareness against fraud, Zhang Yang risked his life and went to Myanmar with only photographer Xiao Zhao to expose a fraud center.

Two people with no experience were naturally thrown into the fraud park like pigs to become so-called game customer service representatives, spending their days with "insider information" and "guaranteed wins".

Finally, Chen Shu arrived from Dongzhou and rescued the two. The dangers they encountered, such as shootings and chases, far exceeded what an ordinary policeman like him could imagine.

So when Chen Shu, who had worked in the police system for many years, heard Zhang Yang say that he was going to Quanzhou, he immediately thought of Anxi, which was the den of fraudsters!

Most people would run away as fast as they can, so why would they keep going there after witnessing the bloody violence in Myanmar?

Zhang Yang lowered his head slightly, holding his chopsticks, silently twirling the tips of his chopsticks on the table. After a long while, he softly said, "Brother Shu, do you know how people view us media people these days?"

Chen Shu thought for a moment and said, "Isn't it great? Look at today's live broadcast you organized, everyone enjoyed it. The people also learned a lot, both in terms of propaganda and..."

Ding.

Zhang Yang gently tapped the bowl and plate in front of him with his chopsticks, making a crisp sound, which stopped Chen Shuyan from giving an insincere explanation.

"Brother Shu, you know what I mean."

Chen Shu certainly understood what Zhang Yang meant. This was the same principle he, and many batches of students before and after him, upheld when they graduated from the police academy and went on to work: serving the people and the country.

Although it's cringeworthy and ridiculous, this thing just exists in my heart.

Therefore, he could only remain silent.

"Brother Shu, a few years ago, a torrential rainstorm occurred in a certain area, leading to... (A harmonious society, Zhang Yang excitedly cited the first example)"

Zhang Yang paused, then smiled wryly and said, "Yes, in the face of disaster, we media professionals do need to cheer on the public and report more positive energy. But this goes against our original intention as media professionals to expose the truth."

"Brother Shu, there's also that thing in the neighboring province. After the fire at the hospital, the local media (in a show of enthusiasm, Zhang Yang cited a second example)..."

"That's getting off-topic. You might not have paid attention to these things. Let me talk about something you know."

"Brother Shu, let's take last year's spaceship accident in Dongzhou as an example. (In a harmonious society, Zhang Yang excitedly gave a third example)"

As a police officer, Chen Shu had no way to define or evaluate Zhang Yang's words; he was completely helpless and could only listen silently.

When faced with the disaster, journalist Zhang Yang's first reaction was to investigate the truth behind it: Was there any human error? Are any organizations responsible? Should there be a retrospective investigation and accountability? Can such tragedies be prevented from happening again?

Chen Shu, as a police officer, was responsible for rescue and maintaining stability.

(End of this chapter)