Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 434 Returning Home to Visit Parents (Part 1)

Shortly after being discharged from the hospital, Chen Shu felt ashamed of his parents who had caused him so much heartache, so he took the initiative to arrange a time to go home and visit them.

After parking his Golf sedan by the roadside, Chen Shu got out of the car and went downstairs to the old building where he had lived for more than ten years since he was a child. He looked up at the window of his bedroom.

Back then, he had spent ten years studying by the window day after day, dreaming of becoming a scientist, archaeologist, musician, and so on. But in the blink of an eye, he had become a police officer.

Time flies so fast it catches you off guard.

"Little Book, is it Little Book?" An elderly woman called out as she walked out of the stairwell, leaning on her cane.

Chen Shu looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was his old neighbor who lived on the third floor. He smiled and went up to her, taking her arm and saying, "Grandma Wang, it's me."

Grandma Wang recognized the little boy from back then, her eyes crinkling with laughter: "Oh my, you've grown so much! But I can still recognize you at a glance!"

"Grandma Wang has sharp eyes!"

"Have you been busy with work lately? I haven't seen you come home. Are you staying at the office?" Grandma Wang kept nagging, her words full of concern.

Chen Shu smiled and agreed as he helped Grandma Wang upstairs.

When they arrived at Grandma Wang's door on the third floor, Grandma Wang seemed to suddenly remember something. She held Chen Shu's hand and said gently, "Whenever you're not busy at work, go home and visit your parents more often. You have no idea how much your parents miss you. Every time we bump into each other in or out of the building and chat for a while, they can't stop talking about their policeman son."

Chen Shu felt guilty, realizing he had been so busy with official duties that he had frequently forgotten his aging parents. The public needed police officers, but his elderly parents also needed a responsible son.

Before entering the door, Grandma Wang turned back and said, "You, try to do less dangerous things in the future, and be more careful! A few times I've run into your mother, and she didn't react even after I greeted her several times. I could tell from her expression that something must have happened to you."

After saying that, he pushed open the door and went inside.

Overwhelmed with shame, Chen Shu remained outside the door.

When he got home, Chen Shu knocked on the door and called out "Mom" just like when he was a child coming home from school.

A short while later, the security door was opened from the inside, and Chen Ma smiled and took a pair of clean slippers from the shoe cabinet next to her and put them on the ground.

"Come in quickly, your dad is cooking in the kitchen. It's all your favorite dishes, and you'll be able to eat it soon."

Parents may forget many things and many people in their lives after living for decades, but they will never forget the dishes that their children love to eat.

Chen Shu took a deep sniff and found that it was indeed a familiar aroma; one of the dishes must be braised pig's trotters in wine.

The taste hasn't changed at all over the years.

After sitting down in the restaurant, Chen Shu looked at the four dishes and one soup neatly arranged on the table and wondered how long it had been since he had visited his parents at home, and how long they had been worrying about him during that time.

Chen's mother walked over to Chen Shu, helped him take off his coat, and put it on the coat rack next to the sofa in the living room. She lectured him just like she did when he was a child, saying, "Son, go wash your hands first."

"Okay!" Chen Shu agreed with great reluctance.

When he returned to the restaurant after washing his hands, his father had already opened two bottles of red wine: "Chen Shu, it's rare for you to come over today, have a drink with your father."

Chen Shu smiled and picked up one of the bottles to examine it: "Dad, this isn't just a little bit of wine. Hmm, it's 14-degree Argentine red wine, quite tasteful."

Mr. Chen filled his own glass first: "What taste? It's cheap! Everyone knows that French and Italian wines are good, but your old man can't afford them. Oh, by the way, don't waste your money buying me wine. I know exactly how much you have in your pocket."

Chen Shu put down the red wine in his hand, as if he had returned to the days when he was a child and would always argue with his father for no reason: "Dad, look at what you're saying! It's just a few bottles of wine, your son can afford it!" "Afford it? Then you should pay off your mortgage first!" Although Chen's father's words were full of disdain, the happy smile on his face was genuine.

As Mr. Chen poured the red wine into the decanter, he casually asked, "Are you busy at work lately?"

Being able to guide Chen Shu to the provincial police academy during his senior year of high school has always been a source of pride for Chen's father. Therefore, for Chen's father, who has a policeman son, asking about his work and workplace every time his son comes home is an unwavering habit.

"It's alright, nothing special. By the way, something interesting happened a few days ago. We found a kid while we were on patrol. As usual, we took him for a medical check-up. When I arranged for a colleague to send the kid to the orphanage, oh right, it was that guy named Chen Chuan, who was my classmate from the same police academy."

Chen Shu spoke vividly, knowing that his parents loved hearing about things related to his work. So he often chatted about related and interesting things, which brought his parents a little joy.

When Chen's mother heard that it was Chen Chuan, Chen Shu's close friend and classmate from the police academy, she didn't know what was going on in her mind. The first thing she asked Chen Shu was about Chen Chuan's single status, and then she squinted her eyes and muttered something.

This elder loves to play matchmaker, and Chen Shu witnessed it today.

"Chen Chuan? I remember he went to the Municipal Public Security Bureau after graduation, right? How come he's now with you in the Special Police?" Chen's father didn't understand the organizational structure of the Public Security Bureau, but he knew about the high and mighty Municipal Public Security Bureau and the backbreaking work at the branch bureaus.

Chen Shu explained why Chen Chuan, who originally worked at the Municipal Bureau, was temporarily assigned to the Special Police Brigade of the Branch Bureau. Seeing the focused expressions on his parents' faces and the joy of the little family of three's brief reunion, he was quite happy.

Chen Shu continued with a smile, "Chen Chuan sent the child to the orphanage, but when the orphanage said they needed to name the child, this freeloader found it too troublesome and simply used my name. Afterwards, he proudly told me that the name was auspicious!"

Chen Shu was chatting about interesting things at work, hoping to bring some joy to his family. However, his parents, who had been listening to him with smiles, fell silent when they heard his last word, "auspicious."

The two elderly people exchanged glances, both seeing the worry in each other's eyes. Turning back to their son, who was talking animatedly, they forced smiles and agreed.

Sometimes, Chen's father secretly wondered if it would have been safer to have followed Chen Shu's own wishes and gone to the archaeology department or military academy.
The proud father shook his head. The past was the past; now it was time to focus on the present.

He pushed a pitcher of red wine in front of Chen Shu, trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol: "Let's not talk about work anymore, let's sit down and have some drinks."

For many years, Chen's father had always enjoyed listening to Chen Shu ramble on about trivial matters at work. Today, for the first time ever, he took the initiative to suggest not talking about work, which surprised Chen Shu, who had just started talking.

He was just a little curious and didn't think too much about it. He chuckled a few times and sat down: "Dad, we can't drink on weekdays. We can only drink on holidays when we're not on standby."

"There's such a rule?"

"That's the rule!"

Mr. Chen said irritably, "Being a policeman is really not easy. A man who doesn't drink is wasting his life! Hey, having a drink on the weekend is enough, at least you can drink two days a week. Wait, with all that overtime, duty, and standby, if you take that off, how many days a year can you drink?"

Hearing his father worry about his drinking, Chen Shucai was truly at a loss for words, but he still prepared to seriously cooperate with his father.

He stretched out his right hand and flipped through it. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "The most miserable comrade in our branch has only had ten days left to drink since he started working after the New Year."

Thanks to the brothers' hard work, with everyone contributing their votes, Old Xiong managed to get nearly forty monthly votes yesterday, breaking the historical record. This made Old Xiong both happy and somewhat ashamed.

Thank you all, especially Duo You Naihe, who is an old friend. If I remember correctly, you've been a regular reader since the beginning of Lao Xiong's books.

Enough with the chit-chat, I must add an extra chapter tomorrow!

Finally, thank you to all the brothers who have been following along. It is because of your silent support that "Police Officer Chen's Letter" has reached over a million views.

Thank you!

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(End of this chapter)