Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 642 Chen Shu's Views on Marriage
The group finished their late-night snack chatting and laughing, and Xiao Zhao slowly woke up.

As we left the restaurant, a gust of wind made everyone sway a little unsteady.

"Hey, my Captain Chen~" Chen Chuan called out deliberately in a high-pitched voice, his eyes full of teasing.

"Hey, my great hero Chen~" Zhu Yiba then delivered a devastating blow, and after exchanging a glance with Chen Chuan, they both burst into laughter.

"Take a taxi, hurry up. Zhang Qing, where do you live? Oh, right, Xiao Zhao, where do you live? I remember you two are going the same way, right?" Chen Shu couldn't stand being ridiculed anymore, and now all he wanted to do was send these three people away so that his brain, which had been mocked all night, could rest for a while.

"I live in the new town area."

Xiao Zhao's unsteady gait made Chen Shu hesitant to let him leave alone. Upon learning that Xiao Zhao lived in Xincheng and happened to be going the same way as Chen Chuan and the others, Chen Shu quickly put the three of them in a taxi.

Since the implementation of the "joint liability for accidents caused by drinking," it has become an unspoken agreement that the organizer is responsible for handling the aftermath of drinking parties. Naturally, because everyone needs to be safely put into their cars, the organizer will deliberately remain sober throughout the entire event.

It's a good thing, at least people will be more restrained when it comes to urging others to drink. When a group of people are drinking together, their emotions are easily agitated, and if something happens, there will be someone sober enough to step in and resolve the issue.

In reality, there are currently no clear regulations in China regarding the punishment of those at the same table being held responsible for someone who dies from drinking. The general approach is to use safety and liability as a fallback. The idea is to appease the situation and avoid any outrageous behavior like crying, screaming, or threatening suicide.

This practice originated from the handling of traffic accidents.

Currently, a significant number of traffic accidents cannot be clearly defined in terms of the degree of responsibility between the parties involved through the "Road Traffic Law." In such cases, Article 22, which states that "motor vehicle drivers shall abide by the provisions of road traffic safety laws and regulations and drive safely and civilly in accordance with operating procedures," is used to forcibly interpret and determine responsibility.

Essentially, this clause is a correct but meaningless statement that applies to any accident; its purpose is simply to provide a reason for assigning responsibility. It primarily serves the idea of ​​"muddying the waters," which isn't meant negatively, but rather reflects a genuine need at the grassroots level.

After seeing the three off, Chen Shu turned around and asked, "Look at my memory! I was so busy seeing them off that I forgot to ask where you live!"

"It's alright, Chen Da. I'll take the bus back. If I check the time, I'll catch the last bus." Zhang Qing's complexion had eased considerably, no longer as flushed as it had been in the private room earlier.

“You’ve been drinking today, and you’re wearing police trousers. It’ll be troublesome if something happens on the way. Let’s go, or we can take a taxi together.” Chen Shu waved his hand and continued, “I’m going to Jiefang Street. How about that? Is it going in the same direction? Wait, I remember you live near Jiangxin Road, right? Hey, it really is going in the same direction.”

Things are different now. Whether it's going to get off work or not, everyone avoids wearing their police uniform if possible. The reasons are obvious, so I won't elaborate. However, this only applies to the upper body of the police uniform, including shirts and jackets. These upper garments are taken off immediately if possible, without any hesitation.

Even when going out to the small shop next door to buy a pack of cigarettes or a drink, people are willing to go through the hassle of going through this process.

However, the treatment of dress pants is worlds apart from that of the jacket. Police officers who have to wear a full uniform to work every day are used to wearing dress pants all the time. Since they're all the same color, unless they mention it, nobody knows how many days they've been wearing them.

Not only do they wear dress pants when on duty, when on field duty, when eating, but they also wear dress pants when they go home after work. They wish they could wear dress pants even when showering and sleeping, to the point that stray dogs on the street would be frightened away when they saw police officers in civilian clothes.

At first, people didn't understand and always attributed the incident to their own righteousness or the aura of punishing evil. The real reason was that the stray dogs were always hurt by the reflection from the back of their trousers, which was so bright that it blinded their titanium alloy dog ​​eyes.

Dress pants are a good thing, but Zhang Qing has been drinking, so we need to be careful. As the leader of the gathering, Chen Shu naturally bears full responsibility, so we should try our best to avoid any unnecessary situations.

A black minivan was parked on the side of the road.

Chen Shu glanced at the license plate and saw that it matched the one in his phone app. He waved and said, "Come on, the car's here. I've really gone all out today, I called a private car. If you don't come with me, you'll just be wasting this extra fare."

Zhang Qing nodded and got into the car. "Mr. Chen, I'm sorry." As soon as she got in the car, Zhang Qing apologized in a low voice, explaining the unrealistic reasons she had given when describing her marriage partner.

As a police officer, he should keep some things to himself, but he felt ashamed after his attitude towards others was so selfish and self-serving.

“What’s there to be embarrassed about? Most of the young people in our bureau are just like you. It’s not like you’re necessarily wrong. Maybe decades from now, those who marry for love will envy your life.” Chen Shu took a water bottle from the armrest, unscrewed it, took a few sips, and moistened his throat.

"Chen Da, don't try to comfort me. I've actually thought it through. My family isn't well-off, and I'm not very quick-witted, so I have to sacrifice love to achieve my career goals." Zhang Qing said with a smile and a calm tone, but his words sounded somewhat pessimistic.

“Zhang Qing, I’m not trying to comfort you, but this really depends on the future. You have to understand that love is a product of hormones, it’s only temporary. But if two people are together for a long time and have children together, then it becomes family. Love and family are not the same. If you had to choose, I would definitely choose family.”

Perhaps it was because he had drunk too much, but Chen Shu was talking a lot tonight.

As a man who has never been in a relationship or been married, he didn't know he could be so talkative about relationships, and he didn't know where his confidence and basis came from.

After a pause, Chen Shu tried to recall and slowly said, "In my parents' generation, there was no such thing as blind dates or dating. It was all arranged by adults from both families who knew each other well. Although it sounds a bit feudal and authoritarian, the problem is that their generation had a much lower divorce rate than we do now, who pursue free love."

Zhang Qing nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

Then, he couldn't help but ask Chen Shu what kind of woman he thought he should marry.

Thinking of the father who carefully planned his son's life, Chen Shu believed that although he only participated in tonight's scene, this was just the tip of the iceberg, and that the restaurant owner would continue to do his best for his son throughout his long life.

Then there was the landlady who arrived later and whom we met for the first time. She must have thought that her son, who had been taken by his husband to greet the guests, would drink too much and harm his health. So even though she hadn't shown up yet, she still came over to check on her family out of concern.

Finally, let's talk about the older boy. As a son, he doesn't need to shoulder family responsibilities at his current age. Although his academic performance isn't great, he still has the right values, and with a little guidance from others, he knows what to do.

Three people, three identities, yet they support a complete family.

Therefore, things like shared values, matching social status, maturity, and wealth and power are all valid, but from Chen Shu's own perspective, he suddenly felt that marriage cannot be decided solely from a personal standpoint.

Just like in the workplace, whenever there's a right or wrong, he tries to analyze and understand things from the perspective of others. Marriage should be the same. He shouldn't ask, "As a policeman, what kind of woman should I look for?" but rather, "Can we form a complete family together?" For a policeman, professional factors should be secondary in this regard.

Chen Shu couldn't help but laugh and blurted out, "You have to find a woman you hope will bear your children, and who is also willing to have children for you."

"what?"

Click!

The taxi slammed on the brakes, and the driver turned around, his eyes wide: "Officer, so all that build-up of emotion was just this?"

Chen Shu nodded and smiled calmly: "Yes, that's it."

(End of this chapter)