Transmigrated to 1994 (12)

Early the next morning, Du Zhi Qiang brought Chen Du to the Police Bureau again.

"I had no choice. The boy had nightmares all night. Brother Lian, do you think he could stay with you for a few days?"

After all, his savior was the best sedative.

Facing the child’s expectant gaze, Lian Chi smiled and said, "Sure."

"Then I’ll be troubling you."

Du Zhi Qiang placed the items in his hand on Lian Chi’s desk. "I’ll head back first."

Lian Chi saw him to the door.

After he returned, Chen Du had already jumped off the chair, ran to the desk, and opened all the items. "Godfather, Uncle Shen, Uncle Yang, everyone come and eat some pastries and grapes."

Shen Jian She and the others gathered around to look. "Oh, why did you bring so many things?"

"The pastries are from Sufang Zhai!"

Sufang Zhai was a century-old shop in Chang City and a local brand. It was said that the old signboard was personally inscribed by Emperor Qian Long. Legend has it that when Emperor Qian Long traveled incognito through Yang Province, he couldn't find any food to his taste for over ten days and lost several pounds. However, after tasting the pastries from Sufang Zhai, he was greatly amazed. He not only stayed in Chang City but also ate at least three large plates of Sufang Zhai pastries every day. By the time his attendants urged him to leave, he had not only restored his health but also gained several pounds.

Shen Jian She didn't know if this legend was true. After all, eight out of ten old shops claimed to have some connection to Emperor Qian Long. But he did know how expensive Sufang Zhai’s pastries were.

These two packages on the desk must have cost at least twenty yuan.

That was equivalent to three or four days of their salary.

Chen Du said, "No, only the grapes and peanuts were bought by Daddy. The pastries were a gift from the kindergarten principal."

Only then did Shen Jian She and the others remember that the boy had previously encountered trouble at the kindergarten on Anning Street.

Strictly speaking, that incident happened because the kindergarten’s management was lax.

But from this, one could see that Du Zhi Qiang was not only reasonable but also had a very good temperament, as he didn't blame the kindergarten excessively.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have accepted the pastries, and Little Du wouldn't be calling the principal "Uncle."

No wonder Du Zhi Qiang was able to make a fortune.

Shen Jian She said, "Then we won't be polite."

The boy pushed the chestnut cake he liked best in front of Lian Chi. "Godfather, please eat."

Shen Jian She said, "It just so happens that your godfather and I haven't had breakfast yet."

Two other officers in the office heard this and casually asked, "Huh? Why didn't you go to the cafeteria? Wake up late?"

Shen Jian She replied, "Well, haven't we been eating mung bean rice every morning lately? We’re tired of it."

Every time they went to the cafeteria, the lady serving the food would call them over. By the time they finished talking, an extra bowl of mung bean rice would already be on their tray.

The two officers: "..."

They said seriously, "You two absolutely must not say those words outside."

"Otherwise, you might get a sack over your heads."

"Though right now, I also want to give you both a punch."

"Do you know how much everyone in the Bureau craves that lady’s mung bean rice?"

Because the serving lady was very "practical"—only those who solved major cases would get to eat her mung bean rice the next day.

Hearing this, Shen Jian She and Lian Chi looked at each other and laughed.

By the time they finished the pastries, it was time to start work.

Fortunately, Mid-Autumn Festival had passed, and they didn't need to patrol the streets anymore.

But quite a bit of work had piled up over the past few days, so in the afternoon, Lian Chi’s team had to work half an hour overtime to finish everything.

Chen Du was still sitting on his small stool.

Yang Yi Ran and the others couldn't help but step forward and pat the boy’s head.

"This boy is so well-behaved."

"Before, the mother-in-law of Brother Chen from the command center fell and broke her leg. His wife had to go back to the countryside to care for her, so he brought his son to their office. Guess what happened? Two out of the three potted plants in our office were destroyed by him."

"Brother Lian, why don't you hand this godson over to me? I’ll trade you two sons and a daughter for him."

The boy immediately looked at Lian Chi with a bit of worry.

"Stop dreaming."

Lian Chi finished changing his clothes, picked the boy up, and placed him on his shoulders.

After all, who wouldn't like a well-behaved and adorable child?

"My son—I wouldn't trade him even if you gave me ten thousand."

The boy happily hugged Lian Chi’s neck.

Shen Jian She said, "To celebrate having tomorrow off, let's go, Little Du. Uncle will take you for barbecue."

Half an hour later, the two adults and one child were sitting at a roadside barbecue stall.

After choosing the dishes, Shen Jian She said, "Boss, sausages, one piece of tofu, taro, and five skewers of non-spicy pork."

The owner replied, "Got it."

Lian Chi looked around. He heard this barbecue stall had been open for two years. There were over a dozen tables, and they were almost all full. The table next to them was already getting drunk, with beer bottles scattered all over the table and floor.

Only now did he realize that the night economy had begun to flourish across the country.

Not long after, the owner brought the first batch of barbecue.

Lian Chi took a sausage skewer, used chopsticks to break it into small pieces, and put them in the boy’s bowl.

Shen Jian She tasted a pork skewer. "Little Yang wasn't lying; the pork skewers here are really good."

Lian Chi also tasted one. Even though his palate had experienced countless delicacies in the future, he had to admit the barbecue here was delicious, both tender and flavorful.

Shen Jian She immediately turned and called out to the shop: "Boss, twenty more pork skewers for this table!"

The owner replied, "Got it."

Just then, four more guests entered the stall.

"Boss, any seats left?"

A young girl among them accidentally stepped on a beer bottle while passing the neighboring table and stumbled toward it.

With a series of crashing sounds, the girl accidentally slapped a shirtless middle-aged man in the face before falling onto their table. A pile of trash on top, aided by the skewers, splattered all over the men sitting there.

The people with the girl hurriedly helped her up. "Are you okay?"

But before the girl could stand firm, the middle-aged man stood up and pushed her to the ground. "What do you think you’re doing?"

The girl’s companions saw this and got angry. After helping her up, a tall, thin man among them stepped forward and pushed the middle-aged man back. "We should be asking you that!"

"Didn't you guys throw the bottles everywhere? You threw bottles all over the place and made my friend fall. We haven't even settled the score with you yet; what right do you have to push her?"

The others chimed in, "Exactly."

"What right do you have?"

The middle-aged man replied, "Based on the fact that I have more people, how about that?"

Everyone sitting at his table stood up simultaneously.

Looking at the men covered in tattoos or with burly physiques, the young people’s expressions immediately stiffened.

At this point, they realized this middle-aged man was completely unreasonable and not someone to be trifled with.

The girl immediately said to the tall, thin man, "Forget it, let's just go."

Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man reached out to block them. "Did I say you could leave? Where do you think you’re going?"

The tall, thin man felt extremely wronged. "Then what do you want?"

The middle-aged man said, "This woman slapped me and dirtied all my brothers' clothes. Compensating us two hundred yuan for mental distress and dry cleaning isn't too much, is it?"

Lian Chi spoke up: "Two hundred yuan? Why don't you just go and rob someone?"

The middle-aged man slammed his hand on the table. "I’ll ask one more time: are you giving the money? If not, don't even think about stepping out of this street today."

Then he realized that the voice just now didn't seem to come from the group of young people.

He and his group turned their heads and saw Lian Chi and Shen Jian She at the next table staring at them.

Seeing they were even with a child, the middle-aged man looked down on them even more. "Didn't your parents teach you not to poke your nose into other people's business when you leave the house?"

Unexpectedly, Lian Chi didn't flinch. "What if we insist on poking our noses in?"

The middle-aged man was stunned, then burst out laughing.

He pushed the group of young people aside and walked toward Lian Chi’s group.

Then he pulled a dagger from his thigh and slammed it onto Lian Chi’s table. "I’ve never seen anyone so eager to die."

"Kid, do you know who we are?"

"I’m a veteran of the streets. I’ve killed more people than you’ve eaten bowls of rice."

Lian Chi and Shen Jian She were also stunned. "You’ve killed someone?"

The heavy smell of alcohol wafted into Lian Chi’s face. "A few days ago, I just dealt with a guy who didn't know his place, using this very knife."

"Scared?"

"If you’re scared, kneel down and kowtow to me. For the kid’s sake, I might spare your life."

Lian Chi and Shen Jian She looked at each other. "Actually, we’re also in the industry."

The middle-aged man was stunned again. "Which industry?"

Lian Chi and Shen Jian She pulled out their guns. "The police industry."