Film and Television World Life Record

"From what I understand, many of our auxiliary police officers are from other places, and some are locals, but their homes are not close to our station."

"The cost of living in Qing City is not low. Renting a three-bedroom apartment nearby costs five or six thousand yuan. The auxiliary police officer's salary is not enough to rent an apartment. He could even share a single room with someone else and it would be gone."

“I was thinking, could we rent some houses in the name of the station as dormitories, and provide them free of charge to police officers and auxiliary police officers who cannot afford to rent houses?”

"It's convenient, allows for quick mobilization of manpower when needed, and also reduces everyone's burden."

Wang Shouyi frowned and thought for a moment: "Your idea is good, but our institute has limited funds and can't rent many rooms."

Li Mu said, “We have more than 20 police officers and more than 30 auxiliary police officers in our station, totaling 50 or 60 people. There are many people who need accommodation.”

“I think we can’t be too rigid about this. The neighborhood committee has been asking our police force to support their work every year and has promised all sorts of benefits, but we’ve never seen them deliver on their promises.”

“I remember there was a vacant two-story building not far behind our office. It belonged to the street office and wasn’t facing the street, so it couldn’t be used as a shop. It was just sitting there empty.”

"Chief, you know a lot of people. Go to the neighborhood office and coordinate with them to see if they can support our police station's work. They could lend us the small building or rent it to us at a low price. With a little tidying up, it would be a decent dormitory."

"Whether they are police officers or auxiliary police officers, those who are financially disadvantaged and need accommodation can stay for free. This is such a great benefit, it's even more useful than a raise."

Wang Shouyi frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh: "Okay, let's do it your way. I'll discuss it with the instructor, and we'll go to the street office together later."

"After all these years of saying they support our work, it's time for them to actually do it."

Li Mu smiled and said, "Then, Director, I won't bother you any longer!"

Wang Shou nodded and said, "Go ahead and get busy! I'll go find the instructor."

Chapter 361 Trivialities

That night, it was Li Mu's turn to be on duty. He received a call for help around 11 p.m. and drove there with Zhao Jiwei.

As soon as we arrived at our destination, before the car had even come to a complete stop, a woman rushed up to us in a panic.

Li Mu helped Zhao Jiwei out of the car and glanced at the police dispatch report: "Is this Ms. Ma? You're the one who called the police?"

Ms. Ma nodded and said, "Yes, yes! Officer, my husband and I had a fight, and he drove off in a huff and hasn't come back yet. I'm worried something might have happened to him, so please help me find him."

Li Mu felt this plot sounded familiar and asked, "What's his phone number?"

Ms. Ma said, "His phone is off. Comrade, he might have gone to our villa in the suburbs. Could you please go there and check if he is there? If he is, then everything is fine."

Zhao Jiwei asked, puzzled, "Ma'am, if you're so worried about your husband, why don't you go and check on him?"

Ms. Ma said, "I have children at home. Besides, I'm a little scared in the dark."

Li Mu nodded and said, "Okay, give me the address."

Ms. Ma handed over a note: "I've written down the address, his phone number, and his license plate number. He drives an Audi A6. If you see the car parked in the villa's yard, don't disturb him, just give me a call."

Li Mu said somewhat helplessly, "Ms. Ma, you're putting us in a very difficult position! What if he's in the villa? Shouldn't we knock on the door and go in to check?"

Ms. Ma quickly waved her hand and said, "No, officer, it's past midnight now, and it will be past 1 a.m. by the time you get there. He has severe insomnia, so please don't wake him. Just make sure the car is parked at the villa."

Li Mu said, "Ms. Ma, why don't you call him again and see if he turns his phone on? Don't worry, it will save us trouble."

Ms. Ma became anxious: "No. Didn't I say that as long as the car is parked in the villa's yard, that's fine. Making a phone call will disturb his rest."

Li Mu was speechless. She was so concerned about her husband, yet she argued with him, worried about disturbing his rest. Wasn't she afraid of disturbing the police officers' rest by making this trip in the middle of the night?

However, as a police officer, even though Ms. Ma's request was a bit bizarre, he couldn't ignore it.

She nodded and said, "Okay. Like you said, we'll go to your villa at the address you gave us. We just need to see your husband's car parked in the yard. Don't knock on the door or make any phone calls, just make sure he's in the villa, is that right?"

Ms. Ma nodded: "Yes, that's the idea."

Li Mu said, "Jiwei, have you written everything down? Let Ms. Ma sign it, then we'll go."

Zhao Jiwei handed over the record he had just written, had Ms. Ma sign it, and the two drove to a suburban villa.

Zhao Jiwei said, "She cares about her husband, but she doesn't care about ordering the police around. We're not her housekeeper; why should we run errands for her?"

Li Mu said, "How about it? You've experienced the difference between ideal and reality! The ideal policeman lives like a hero every day, doing great things, incredibly exciting, with flowers and applause. The real policeman is just so trivial and ordinary, completely different from what you imagine."

Zhao Jiwei smiled wryly and said, "It is indeed a bit of a letdown. I used to think that being a policeman was very prestigious, but we deal with trivial matters every day, and there are no big cases for us to investigate."

"Moreover, these are all invalid police reports, which is a waste of police resources."

Li Mu said, "You're right, but that's how it is at the grassroots level. There are very few big events or major cases. Most of them are trivial matters and public security cases."

"You seem to have a background in criminal investigation, right? Now you feel like you have all the skills to slay dragons, but have no place to use them."

Zhao Jiwei nodded in empathy.

"Yes! Brother Li, I studied criminal investigation at the police academy because I wanted to become a criminal police officer and punish evil and promote good. I never thought I could not even join the criminal investigation team."

Li Mu smiled and fed him a mouthful of poisonous chicken soup.

"This is the real reality, the norm for most police officers. There aren't that many miracles in reality. However, it is precisely because of the silent dedication of so many ordinary police officers that social order and justice are maintained."

"From this perspective, everything we've done is meaningful."

Zhao Jiwei nodded: "Brother Li, you're right. Everyone has to do the job. It's thanks to so many of us grassroots police officers that we maintain the normal order and operation of society."

The two chatted for a while and soon arrived at their destination. The police car slowly drove into the villa area. Li Mu looked at the small piece of paper in his hand by the light and muttered to himself, "Second row, fifth building in the East District. We're here, it's just ahead."

"But the lights aren't on."

Looking at the deserted villa area, Zhao Jiwei asked in bewilderment, "I doubt many people live in this area. I haven't seen any lights on in the neighbors' houses either!"

"Brother Li, is this the building in front of us?"

Li Mu checked it again and nodded: "It should be. Look, there's an Audi parked in the yard. Turn on the lights and check if the license plate and car model are correct."

Yang Shu turned on the car lights, illuminating the license plate.

Li Mu nodded. "It is indeed this Audi A6; the color, model, and license plate all match."

At this moment, Li Mu realized that this was the scene in the story. Since it was his turn to lead the team on duty today, the incident that should have happened to Cao Jianjun and Yang Shu had turned out to be his and Zhao Jiwei's.

This time, being dispatched in the middle of the night was nothing, and being subjected to all sorts of bizarre requests from Ms. Ma was nothing. The key point was that, according to the plot, Cao Jianjun and Yang Shu did exactly what Ms. Ma asked for.

The next day, Ms. Ma's husband was found dead in his car, having committed suicide.

Then, Ms. Ma blamed the two people for her husband's death and filed various complaints and reports with the city and bureau. Even the city bureau's inspection team sent people to investigate the matter.

Fortunately, Cao Jianjun and Yang Shu followed regulations completely when responding to the call, and the entire process was recorded by body cameras. All of Ms. Ma's requests were documented, and the two officers fulfilled them entirely. Therefore, the death of Ms. Ma's husband cannot be blamed on them.

Only then did he escape a disaster.

Actually, if you think about it calmly, didn't Ms. Ma know that the two people were innocent? She did know, but she just didn't want to admit that she was the source of everything, so she shifted the blame to the police and found a scapegoat to alleviate her guilt.

If possible, Li Mu really wouldn't want to bother with someone like that.

Think about it, the most pitiful one is her husband. He had a car, a house, and a villa; his family and career seemed quite good. Yet, this man was driven to despair by his wife, choosing suicide as a way to escape his suffering. You could only say that Ms. Ma was truly something else.

While thinking to himself, he simultaneously instructed, "Jiwei, call Ms. Ma. Ask her again if she wants us to go in."

Zhao Jiwei nodded and dialed Ms. Ma's number.

"Hello, Ms. Ma, this is a police officer from the Balihe Police Station. We are currently outside your villa. Your husband's car is parked in the yard. Should we go inside to check on him or make a phone call?"

Ms. Ma said, "No need, it's fine as long as it's his car. Thank you. Please don't disturb him or affect his rest."

Zhao Jiwei said, "Okay."

Turning to Li Mu, she said, "Brother Li, it's the same as before. She's afraid we'll disturb her husband's rest, so she doesn't agree to let us into the villa."

Li Mu nodded. Things hadn't changed; they'd come to this point after all.

Naturally, knowing that the person in the car had suicidal tendencies and would be found dead tomorrow, the police officer had to stop this behavior.

If we can't get through Ms. Ma's route to save them, we have to take direct action from here.

Li Mu took out a flashlight and headed towards the villa gate.

Zhao Jiwei followed behind, puzzled, and asked, "Brother Li, we've done everything Ms. Ma asked. She told us not to disturb her husband. Shouldn't we call it a day and go back?"

Li Mu said, "Let's take another look. Better safe than sorry."

As he spoke, he shone his flashlight carefully on the villa and the car again.

Suddenly, Li Mu said, "Jiwei, look, isn't there someone sitting in the car?"

Zhao Jiwei was taken aback. Following the beam of the flashlight, he stared wide-eyed at the spot, but couldn't see clearly through the car window.

However, with Li Mu's hint, he discovered that there did indeed seem to be a figure inside.

"Brother Li, there really is someone in the car. Is it Ms. Ma's husband?"

Li Mu said, "It should be him."

Zhao Jiwei asked curiously, "According to Ms. Ma, shouldn't he be in the villa? Why is he still in the car?"

Li Mu said, "I don't know."

Zhao Jiwei asked, "Brother Li, what should we do?"

Li Mu said, "Go and call the property management of the community to open the villa gate first."

Zhao Jiwei said, "Okay!"

Since it was a villa area, several security guards and the property manager on duty quickly rushed over.

As soon as the villa door opened and they stepped inside, the door of the Audi suddenly opened, and a man with a dejected look on his face got out.

Seeing Li Mu and the others, he said with a wry smile, "Officers, thank you for making this trip. I'm fine, you can go back now."