Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 139 The New Sheriff
As the year draws to a close, the weather is getting a bit cold, and a few snowflakes were even mixed in with the autumn rain this morning.

On this day, Chen Shu walked into the Zhongshan Police Station where he had worked for several years. The familiar building and colleagues made him feel a little different.

He could clearly sense that everyone's gazes towards him were somewhat complex, containing congratulations? admiration? or perhaps a slight sense of distance.

Chen Shu walked to the station's canteen and lined up behind several patrol members. He could clearly feel that as soon as he arrived, the people who had been chatting enthusiastically all quieted down.

"Good morning, Director Chen." The young man in front of Chen Shu greeted him quickly before turning around.

Chen Shu was somewhat bewildered, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say.

When it was his turn to line up at the window, even the kind kitchen lady started grumbling about "Director Chen." He couldn't explain to her that his "Director" was actually half a rank below the deputy director, so he could only force a smile and accept the large bowl of noodles and ribs.

I don't know if it's just my imagination, but it seems like there's an extra spoonful of pork ribs today.

After breakfast, Chen Shu was preparing to return to his office. As he passed through the duty hall on the first floor, even Xiao Wang, the usually talkative dispatcher, stood up respectfully and called out "Chief Chen" when Chen Shu stepped into the front desk.

The other party's deliberate formality made Chen Shu feel embarrassed to continue his usual joking and teasing. He was quite uncomfortable with this situation, so he glanced around, said a few meaningless words, laughed it off, and ran back to his new office.

This was the first time Chen Shu had truly experienced the feeling of being promoted.

Although he was given the additional position of deputy director, his actual role was still grid police chief. He wasn't actually entitled to an office all to himself; Zeng Hong, who verbally called him an "idiot," actually gave Chen Shu his former office with a stroke of his pen.

According to the cadre standards stipulated by China, Chen Shu, as a section-level cadre, corresponds to the rank of staff member, and his office space is six square meters. However, at the grassroots level, this is most likely already exceeding the standard.

Chen Shu's office on the third floor, where he was currently located, was about 15 square meters, 3 meters wide and 5 meters long. To the left of the entrance, against the wall, was a sofa and coffee table. Directly opposite the door was a desk and chair set and a bookshelf, next to which was a window.

There were several letters on the desk at that moment.

Hehe, now someone helps me carry the letters. Chen Shu walked to his seat and sat down, opening and reading the letters one by one.

The first letter was a white postcard with blue stripes, exclusive to the Provincial Police Academy. The front featured a photo of police officers on horseback saluting, the academy's signature image, while Zhou Qinghu wrote only one line on the back.

"Get over here right now!"

Chen Shu smiled and said self-deprecatingly: "There are so many white shirts at the Provincial Police Academy, wouldn't he feel uncomfortable looking for one? Unlike here, even a mere deputy section chief has changed so much."

The second one, however, was a handmade postcard that was immediately apparent. On the front was a cartoon policeman grinning at the camera, holding a rolled-up banner with the six golden characters "People's Police for the People" written on it.

Chen Shu turned the book over and a line of neat and beautiful handwriting appeared before his eyes: "I am also a citizen :)".

My heart warmed.

The third document, at first glance, was in the style of the South China Sea Province, with an endless blue sky, white clouds, and sea view on the front. Chen Shu was wondering if he had encountered something extraordinary during his trip to Fangdong City.
Turning it over, however, revealed the handwriting of our rich second-generation heir, Chen Chuan.

"So many beautiful women! This is how you use your annual leave! You have to come with me again next time!"

Chen Shu smiled knowingly as he looked at the elegant handwriting that reflected the man's personality.

"Knock knock knock!" A knocking sound.

Chen Shu composed himself and, for the first time in his private office, said in a deep voice, "Please come in."

I feel a little happy.

Kobayashi from the plainclothes team pushed open the door and walked in: "Chief Chen."

Chen Shu walked out from behind the large desk and sat down on the sofa next to the door: "Xiao Lin, have a seat."

After Xiaolin was seated, Chen Shu slowly asked, "Is there something you need?"

After hesitating for a long time, Xiaolin finally told Chen Shu about his visit that day.

It turns out that Xiao Lin, from X province, has three daughters to support back in his hometown. His wife also had to quit her job to stay home and take care of the three children and Xiao Lin's elderly mother. The burden of supporting a family of six fell entirely on his shoulders.

However, as an auxiliary police officer at the police station, Xiao Lin only earns a little over four thousand yuan a month after deducting insurance. Even if he lives and eats at the station, it's not enough to cover his family's expenses. Not to mention he still needs to save money for his daughter's university education or his elderly parents' medical treatment.

After much thought, he decided to approach Chen Shu, who was usually easy to talk to, to see if he could take on two shifts at the institute and earn more money to supplement his family's income.

In addition to their regular duty shifts, the police station's patrol team operates on two shifts per workday, namely...

The administrative shifts are from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM and from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM, which are eight hours long.
And the eight-hour off-peak shifts from 12 noon to 2 pm and from 6 pm to midnight.

Xiaolin meant that he would work two shifts a day and receive double the salary.

Chen Shu pondered for a moment, knowing that Xiao Lin's desperate efforts were out of necessity. Working overtime and on-call duties at the police station was commonplace, making it difficult for him to find a stable part-time job in his spare time, unlike other professions.

However, if Xiaolin were to take on two shifts by himself, it would easily lead to conflicts between on-call duties and overtime, and the mere eight hours of rest time each day would be far too short. Insufficient rest would also affect his work.

"Xiao Lin, I've just taken over the work at the horse station, and there are some things I'm not clear on yet. You go back and focus on your work today, I'll think about it and give you an answer in a few days, okay?"

Before Xiaolin left, Chen Shu suddenly asked, "Are you taking on any other work outside?"

"Yes. I deliver milk every morning now!"

After seeing Xiaolin off, my phone rang again.

"Dingle bell! Dingle bell!"

I took out my phone and saw that it was a call from Zheng Huihui, the office clerk.

Zheng Huihui: "Director Chen, there's an anti-fraud meeting at the bureau at 2 PM this afternoon. You need to go."

Chen Shu awkwardly reminded her, "Sister Huihui, I'm a grid police chief, not a deputy director."

"Oh, okay. Also, the special affairs allowance and your security travel expenses from last month haven't been approved by the police security department yet. You'll have to go and follow up on them."

"Ok."

"Then, well, Chief Chen, it's your turn to lead the checkpoint tonight, on Zhifang Road."

Well, it seems she didn't take it seriously.

"Okay, Sister Huihui."

Having already been reminded once, Chen Shu was too embarrassed to bring it up again, so he could only bite the bullet and agree.

After hanging up the phone, my mind went blank for a moment. It seemed like even if I wasn't working on any cases, things wouldn't necessarily be any less busy.

……

"Crack."

Chen Shu looked up and saw the door suddenly open, revealing a chubby face and a huge body that slid into the office with remarkable ease.

He crouched down and sat on the long sofa by the door, raising his hand to slap the wooden armrests of the sofa a few times.

"Brother Shu, this place is great, it's secluded and no one will bother us. Now I can finally play games in peace."

Seeing that Zhu Chaoran was no different from usual, Chen Shu felt extremely relieved.

Nodding, he smiled and echoed:
"Yeah, I can play around whenever I have free time."

(End of this chapter)