Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 126 Just Going Through the Motions
Late at night, on the second floor of Chanyun Commercial Building, Jiefang Street.

Chen Shu returned home close to midnight. He was long accustomed to working day and night. Consequently, his life skills were extremely poor.

He took the late-night snack that the delivery guy had left on the doorknob, brought it under his nose and took a deep sniff, a smile spreading across his face.

Pushing open the door and entering the house, I turned on the lights and saw that the room had suddenly become clean and tidy. I suddenly realized that I had made an appointment with my mother yesterday to have dinner together at my house tonight.

Since moving out to live alone, his mother often comes to Chanyun's place to cook for him and clean the house inside and out. Sometimes she will also wash the clothes that Chen Shu has thrown into the laundry basket in the toilet.

Whenever they talk about these things on the phone, Chen Shu always suggests hiring a housekeeper to clean the house. He lives alone, so the house won't get too messy, and the price isn't expensive.

But Mom just smiled and didn't reply. Occasionally, when she got impatient, she would scold Chen Shu for wasting money and not knowing how to save.

Chen Shu was busy with work and didn't pay much attention to his personal life. When they were lucky, the two of them could run into each other, chat for a while, and have a meal together.

Today, probably because Chen Shu was used to working overtime and being on duty unexpectedly, his mother didn't call him in the afternoon.

Chen Shu took a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet by the door, threw them on the ground, put them on, and carried the takeout bag to the restaurant, placing it on the table.

Sure enough, there were three plates on the table, each covered with a large bowl to prevent the food from getting cold.

Chen Shuyi removed the large bowls one by one; the three plates were filled with dishes he had loved since childhood.

Braised pork ribs, scallion oil yellow croaker, and stir-fried bok choy.

The food was cold, but Chen Shu's heart was warm.

He stacked three large bowls together and carried them to the kitchen sink. After thinking for a while, he opened the freezer door of the refrigerator and found dumplings frozen layer upon layer, neatly stacked.

She must have made the dumplings herself, and then placed them so neatly in the refrigerator. It must have taken her a lot of effort.

He felt extremely ashamed; he hadn't had a proper chat or a meal with his mother in a long time. He only remembered she had been there when he got home and saw the clean room and the refrigerator full of food.

He heated up the food on the table in the microwave, ate it all, and then cleaned up.

After taking a shower, lying on the cleaned sheets and blankets, inhaling the pleasant "sunshine smell," he suddenly understood why his mother hadn't called him in the afternoon.

She knew he had worked the night shift yesterday and was probably sleeping in his dorm today, so she didn't want to disturb him with a phone call!
Chen Shu, a 27-year-old man, is an outstanding and respectable police officer outside, but lying in his own bed at this moment, he suddenly feels that he is still a little boy in his mother's eyes.

He closed his eyes happily and fell asleep.

The following day, at the Zhongshan Police Station, in the instructor's office on the third floor.

Zeng Hong put the dark yellow Pu'er tea into a cup, and when he poured water, the water rushed into the cup like a miniature waterfall, and the tea leaves tumbled in the cup.

His expression was solemn and sacred.

Chen Shu was a little bored, so he took out a Liqun cigarette and lit it to keep him company.

A few minutes later, Zeng Hong placed the brewed tea on the table in front of Chen Shu.

Chen Shu opened the lid and smelled a strong aroma of hay. He took a sip; it was a little bitter. He took another sip, and it had a sweet taste.

He then drank it all in one gulp.

"Good tea!" Chen Shu wiped his mouth slightly and slammed the teacup down on the tea table.

Zeng Hong, unfazed, leisurely sipped his tea for a while before slowly saying, "The bureau's competitive selection process has begun. The institute has submitted your name; um, deputy section chief. Now, prepare well for the written test, interview, and presentation."

"It's such a complicated process for a section-level cadre who's only recognized within our unit. Only the Public Security Bureau does this," Chen Shu thought to himself.

"Got it. By the way, is Brother Wang still not going this time?" He casually mentioned it, knowing that this guy was now determined to stick to the family.

Zeng Hong closed his eyes, savoring the aroma of the tea he had just tasted, and said calmly, "Everyone has their own ambitions."

Chen Shu nodded. Ever since the provincial police academy sent someone to ask him to transfer, he seemed to have lost interest in any of his previous ranks, which were before deputy section chief.

Of course, the secondary and primary shares shouldn't be considered anything special.

"Professor Zeng, is there anything else?"

Zeng Hong opened his eyes and laughed, "What, can't you chat with this old man a little longer?"

Chen Shu shrugged, then sat back down, looking somewhat absent-minded.

After discussing Zeng Hong's usual topics—the food in the institute's canteen and the hot water and air conditioning in the dormitory—the two finally got down to business.

Zeng Hong said solemnly, "Ma Suo's transfer order has come down. He will be going to Fengshou Street to serve as the deputy director of the Party and Government Office."

Upon hearing this, Chen Shu quickly weighed the options in his mind: "Deputy Director of the Party and Government Office? Director Ma is quite capable! He managed to retain the deputy section chief position even after leaving the police force."

In areas below the county level, since bureaus, commissions, offices, and other units are classified as section-level units, which is the lowest level of leadership positions recognized by the state, their internal departments and corresponding subordinate units can generally only be designated as sub-district or section-level units.

Section-level cadres are not legally recognized cadre ranks and are not registered with the personnel bureau; they are generally only recognized within their own unit. Therefore, in inter-unit transfers like the one involving Director Ma, the section-level status is usually not retained.

Zeng Hong poured Chen Shu another cup of tea: "He's had a tough time too. He's thirty-eight or thirty-nine years old, and he's still just a deputy section chief. In this current climate of younger cadres, it's really not that meaningful."

Chen Shu laughed, taking this rare opportunity to lecture the instructor: "You're not Ma Suo, how do you know he finds it boring? Maybe he's secretly overjoyed."

Then he took out his phone, opened WeChat, scrolled to the "Zhongshan Public Security Group" chat group, pointed to the chat history and said:
"Look, he even arranged a group dinner for the team over the weekend. Tsk tsk, the Sijiqing Hotel, with about twenty police officers and auxiliary police officers, this meal must have cost at least seven or eight thousand. Do you think they're happy or not?"

"happy."

Zeng Hong readily picked up his teacup, making a toasting gesture.

He pondered for a moment: "By the way, although Chief Ma is still at the station, he's bound to be a little lax in his work these days. That's only natural, and I can't say too much about it. For now, you'll have to keep an eye on the security team and make sure nothing serious happens."

Chen Shu was taken aback: "Haven't we even started the competitive selection process yet?"

Zeng Hong swirled the teacup he was holding, then drank it all in one gulp.

Chen Shu found it hard to believe that Zeng Hong was drinking tea like this for the first time.

Zeng Hong put down his teacup, his eyes crinkling with a smile: "Just going through the motions."

(End of this chapter)