Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 784 Time
rustling.

Chen Shu stepped out of the elevator and onto the brown patterned, long-haired carpet. At the end of the corridor stood an antique-style long table with a blue and white porcelain piece on it.

The warm light hidden in the ceiling softly spilled onto the heavy carpet and exquisite wall decorations, draping the entire space in a golden veil.

I have to say, it feels really good to be rich.

Even walking is a pleasure.

After turning the corner of the corridor, Chen Shu saw Zhu Yiba and Jiang Hai standing at the door of his room. Knowing that they must have something to ask him, he quickly welcomed them into the room.

After the three sat down, Zhu Yiba sincerely expressed his gratitude for solving the murder case. After all, the fact that everyone took time out of their vacation to help Huang Mao was entirely because of him.

After the formalities of expressing gratitude ended, Zhu Yiba earnestly inquired about the intricacies of police investigations from Chen Shu, appearing as if he had genuinely come to seek guidance.

As the youngest person present, Jiang Hai didn't say anything, but his sparkling eyes were filled with a longing for criminal investigation.

“Hey, this can’t be rushed.” Chen Shu sat by the river and joked, “Xiao Hai, don’t be fooled by all the commotion we’ve caused these past few days. Real investigations aren’t like this. Don’t let us lead you astray.”

With a chuckle, Jiang Hai said confidently, "How could it not be like that? Brother Shu, I've worked on two big cases with you. Do you remember that steakhouse dismemberment case from last year? I can still picture it now when I'm eating braised pork—it was so thrilling!"

Chen Shu sighed and said, "I don't know whether to say you were lucky or unlucky. Although I've never worked in criminal investigation, real criminal police officers aren't like those in the movies, who pull out their guns all the time and like to brandish them close to their faces whether there are people around or not."

Zhu Yiba, who handled firearms extensively during his military service, quipped with deep feeling, "They're not afraid of accidental discharge; they'll just shoot themselves first. By the way, your police academy should offer firearms courses, right?"

The Donghai Provincial Police Academy does indeed have such arrangements; firearms training is a fundamental and important subject that is mandatory for all personnel.

However, due to safety considerations, the actual implementation can be rather dull, not as exciting as young people imagine.

Typically, students first attend half a semester of firearms theory classes, and then work on maintenance, disassembly, and aiming. There are not many opportunities for actual live-fire shooting.

I estimate that during his entire police academy career, he'll only fire a dozen or so bullets at most.

Therefore, most police trainees are still very much looking forward to shooting training after they officially start working.

Jiang Hai asked, "What should a criminal police officer be like?"

"The reality is that criminal investigators probably only fire a dozen or twenty bullets a year, including the mandatory training required by their units. Some people who are so busy with cases that their training time is not scheduled may not fire a single shot in a whole year."

"In reality, most criminal police officers are just errand runners who organize case files. They run a lot of roads and do a lot of complicated things, but they don't have the exciting experience of shooting."

Jiang Hai protested, "Really? How could the police not fire their guns?"

Chen Shu laughed, straightening Jiang Hai's collar as he did so, and said, "As long as you carry a gun on a mission, it's a hot potato. It's fine if you don't fire, but once you fire a shot, half of your police uniform is already off."

Jiang Hai said incredulously, "Everyone wears body cameras now. We're following procedures. How could we have to take off our clothes just because we're firing a shot?"

“Yes, law enforcement is all under the camera now.” Chen Shu nodded, affirming Jiang Hai’s knowledge of grassroots issues. “But this camera isn’t just on us police. There are also onlookers, gossiping public intellectuals, and self-media outlets that love to stir things up. If public opinion comes together, can you handle it?”

Jiang Hai stubbornly insisted, "There's video surveillance; it's crystal clear."

Why wasn't a warning shot fired?

"They stabbed me in the face with a kitchen knife, I didn't have time to warn them!"

"Why didn't you shoot the feet or legs when you fired?"

"The situation is urgent, and there's no way to aim."

"You did it on purpose, you wanted to kill someone!"

"."

“If the shooting procedure is followed correctly, then there’s no problem. But if there’s even the slightest problem—look, just the slightest problem—” Chen Shu brought the tips of his thumb and forefinger together, leaving a small gap, and said seriously, “You might have to change your police uniform into a prison uniform.”

Later, Chen Shu concluded, "That's why the older officers at the police station are not very willing to carry guns on patrol or on missions."

"Uh, is it that exaggerated? Never mind, shooting is fine, I prefer catching people!" Jiang Hai stuck out his tongue and decisively changed the subject. "So, Brother Shu, what's it like to actually handle a case? Hehe, I'd like to hear you tell me about your first experience handling a case."

"Ha, you just want to hear my snorting stories, don't you?"

Chen Shu shrugged, not paying any attention. He squinted as he recalled, his voice deep.

“I spent a few years at the provincial police academy, where the courses included ‘Criminal Investigation Techniques’ and ‘Criminal Investigation’ every year. With my straight A grades when I graduated, I should have been able to make a name for myself at the grassroots level. But reality gave me a big slap in the face.”

"Brother Shu, what happened the first time you arrested someone?"

"."

At the time, Chen Shu was young and ambitious. During his summer internship, he volunteered to join the security team at the police station, which was responsible for maintaining public order and handling criminal cases within its jurisdiction. The deputy director in charge of security assigned him a senior officer with one bar and one star to be his mentor. Like Chen Shu, the senior officer was also a graduate of the police academy, and the two brothers naturally developed a close relationship after a brief exchange of pleasantries.

After all, every year during winter and summer vacations when they returned home, local police academy student leaders would organize banquets for fellow townsmen, and the two had a camaraderie that included clinking glasses at the banquet.

When Chen Shu went to the police station, it was the final stage of the branch's summer offensive, and his senior brother was still two drug quotas short.

Chen Shu, who prided himself on his excellent criminal investigation skills and was ready to put his book knowledge to good use, happened to be single, so he rolled up his sleeves and got involved, sniffing around the bars, KTVs and hotels in his jurisdiction every day like a dog.

Putting aside whether or not anyone was caught to meet the targets, Chen Shu himself felt particularly good about this energetic work attitude.

Then, the operation was stopped by the deputy director.

Chen Shu wasn't really harmed, because he was only there for a short internship. After the two-month summer vacation, he would have to go back to the police academy to continue his studies.

However, his senior brother was called into the deputy director's office and given a severe scolding. He remained silent and aggrieved for a long time afterward, and Chen Shu didn't dare to ask him anything.

Later, at the farewell banquet for Chen Shu and other interns after the summer vacation ended, the deputy director, after drinking too much, revealed the reason behind it all.

It turns out that when Chen Shu was wandering around investigating drug-related clues, his colleagues from various departments in the bureau and his friends in the community would call him several times a day, all asking why the police officers in their station were not following the rules and causing trouble every day.

Chen Shu was somewhat surprised. He always disguised himself when he went out, so how could so many people have recognized him?

However, the key issue is clearly not whether his disguise was discovered.

During that summer offensive, my senior colleague ultimately failed to meet his quota on his own. It was the deputy director who intervened, making a phone call to a suburban police station where his classmate worked.

The quotas allocated over there were few, and there was usually a surplus at the end of the operation, so they bought two quotas there to complete their work at their unit.

thump.

Chen Shu placed the freshly brewed hot tea in front of Jiang Hai, who was closer to him, and said with a smile, "I originally thought that my efforts would definitely bring practical results, but I never expected that under the complex social relationships and administrative pressure, all efforts may turn into nothing."

"You have to understand that, whether it's handling a case or doing other things, sometimes the constraints of the system and the entanglements of personal relationships are more difficult to deal with than the case itself. As police officers, it's not a good thing to just bury ourselves in handling cases."

Jiang Hai didn't even glance at the tea his senior brother had brewed for him, and quickly asked, "Brother Shu, what would have happened if you had just investigated and shut down those bars and KTVs without thinking back?"

Chen Shu began pouring boiling water into the second teacup, saying as he poured, "Then we'll offend everyone, and the result will only be worse than what Huang Mao did."

After listening to Chen Shu's story, Jiang Hai's eyes revealed a hint of confusion: "Brother Shu, being a policeman is really tough. I originally thought that as long as we solved the case, we would be fine, but I didn't expect there to be so many other miscellaneous things to deal with."

"Haha, sorry to disappoint you, young man." Chen Shu placed the scalding hot cup in front of Zhu Yiba and joked, "Yiba, we're in the SWAT team, so we don't need to think about so much. Going to work is just exercise."

Zhu Yiba nodded and laughed, "Yang Chang from the Second Squadron said that you have to pay to go to the gym, and hiring a coach costs even more. Here, we don't have any specific work, but we can still exercise and improve our physical fitness. Our salary is about the same as those animals at the police station. It's totally worth it."

He paused, stroked his chin, and laughed: "If it weren't for the age limit, it would be a perfect place to coast along. If it weren't for the bureau's strict regulations, if you sent these old guys to the police station, they might fight the leaders to the death."

That makes sense.

Chen Shu took a small sip of the tea he had brewed, feeling the subtle bitterness of the tea leaves on his tongue, followed by a faint sweetness.

"Good tea."

Just as he finished speaking, Chen Shu suddenly remembered that a few years ago, when he worked at the Zhongshan Police Station, his favorite thing to do was to sneak into the office of instructor Zeng Hong and try to get some of his treasured tea.

And you know what? Every time, Zeng Hong would fumble around in the small cabinet under the table for ages before finally pulling out some tea leaves. Then he would go through a rather formal and time-consuming tea ceremony, and finally, like an old man, he would carefully pour a cup for the tea ceremony.

As a result, Chen Shu raised his teacup, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp.

Finally, he chuckled and deliberately wiped his mouth, repeatedly saying "Good tea."

Judging from the way he gulped it down, I reckon that apart from the temperature of the tea, you couldn't taste anything else.

Zeng Hong was so angry that he grimaced, feeling that all the precious tea he had collected and the effort he had put in had been wasted.

Chen Shu enjoyed seeing Zeng Hong's distressed expression, even though he was always nagged and criticized by the other party. However, whenever Chen Shu had free time, he would still go over for tea, and Zeng Hong would still brew a pot of good tea for him.

Thinking about it, so many years have passed.

When he first transferred from the special police to work at the Zhongshan Police Station, he knew nothing.

Back then, Zeng Hong, sitting behind the tea table, wondered if his mindset and expression were the same as how he looked at Jiang Hai and Zhu Yiba today.

time flies.

Chen Shu suddenly felt a little dazed, and the palm of his hand holding the teacup felt hot.

(End of this chapter)