Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 524 We will definitely live happily ever after
The next day, Director Liu from the Keshi City Public Security Bureau led a group of police officers to the hospital to offer their condolences.

Considering that the patient needed to rest, after taking a few photos necessary for publicity, Director Liu only kept Lao Cheng from the patrol team and sent the rest of the team to the corridor.

Lao Cheng took out a rather thick brown envelope from his pocket and, at Director Liu's instruction, placed it on the bedside table next to the hospital bed.

"Ahem." Director Liu, sitting on the edge of the bed, coughed twice and said, "This is a condolence payment from our bureau. It's not much money, just a small token of our appreciation."

Chen Shu didn't even look at the envelope on the bedside table, but simply hummed in agreement.

Then, Director Liu took a document from Lao Cheng and handed it to Chen Shu, his face kind and friendly: "Chen Shu, this is the document our bureau is submitting for your first-class merit award. Take a look."

First-class merit
Having worked in the public security bureau for eight or nine years, Chen Shu knew the difficulty and importance of this achievement, but for some reason, he couldn't muster any interest at this moment, and was too lazy to even utter a word of refusal or rejection.

He simply looked at Director Liu calmly without reaching out.

Julie coughed for a while, then couldn't help but secretly poke Chen Shu's back a few times, finally making him reach out and take it: "It should be given to Captain Yu and the others."

Director Liu quickly scanned the surroundings and, seeing that everyone was one of his own, lowered his voice and chuckled, "Team Leader Yu said you were the one who did it. If he shamelessly accepts the credit, he'll probably have his back ripped out."

Director Liu meant well, intending to ease the somber atmosphere in the ward with a joke, but his words inadvertently struck a nerve with Chen Shu.

"Alright." Chen Shu pushed the documents back and looked out the window.

The ward fell silent.

Could it be PTSD...? The experienced Director Liu immediately realized.

His previous behavior was undeniably correct. As grassroots units that have been fighting on the front lines against X for many years, their daily methods for dealing with such psychological trauma are simple: jokes and banter.

For example, comparing K molecules to "rats" was one of the tactics used during this period. Murder sounds horrific, but killing rats seems much more normal.

Although everyone knows what the word "rat" means, it is still relatively easy to accept on the surface.

Chen Shu, on the other hand, was a newly arrived coastal police officer, and his daily interactions were quite different from those of NX.

They came to provide support, and it was quite an achievement for them to adapt to the local working environment, let alone make any progress.

However, in this battle in the mountains, Chen Shu killed so many people by himself, which may have caused him to lose his mental balance.

Director Liu and Lao Cheng exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing bitterness and worry.

Chen Shu withdrew his gaze, turned his head and asked, "Can I not accept this first-class merit?"

Director Liu shrugged: "That's up to the ministry to decide. Secretary Chen, do you have any other ideas?"

“I have a friend who was an auxiliary police officer in your patrol team. He sacrificed his life during the operation. Could you give him the first-class merit award? He was a permanent staff member.”

Lao Cheng leaned down and whispered something in Director Liu's ear.

"I know, it's a young man named Zhang Qiang, right? Yes, the First-Class Merit Award can only be given to police officers, so... However, our bureau has prepared a separate compensation payment, which will be sent to his parents. If he has children in his hometown, he can be recommended to our NX Police Academy."

Chen Shu looked at Director Liu, sincerely thanked him, and then stuffed the envelope containing a considerable amount of money from the bedside table back into Director Liu's hand.

Everyone understands what this back-and-forth means.

The ward returned to quiet.

Seeing that Chen Shu was unwilling to say any more, Director Liu got up to take his leave.

Julie escorted the man to the elevator, and back in the ward, she kept criticizing Chen Shu for his rudeness, saying that a bureau chief had come to visit him, and he still had such a sour face.

He completely forgot that he had previously relied on his father's high-ranking position to treat those leaders in the public security system with a consistently indifferent attitude and an even more sour face.

In this situation, she looks just like a young wife hoping her husband will be successful.

Chen Shu simply leaned against the headboard, gazing out the window. "Thank you."

Julie paused, startled, and wondered if she had misheard. After a moment, she muttered, "Men's words are deceitful," and with a smile on her lips, picked up Chen Shu's clothes that needed changing and went outside.

Here, Director Liu and Lao Cheng got into the special car to go back to the bureau.

"Lao Cheng, polish this written report a bit more, and make the comrades' actions a little more radical. In particular, the selfless actions of Chen Shu and Zhang Qiang must be elevated to a higher level." Director Liu emphasized three "a little more".

Isn't this Chen Shu's application materials? How come it's being elevated to two different people now? Lao Cheng rubbed the file bag in his hand, pondering how to elevate it.

Both of them fell into deep thought.

"We need to elevate it!" Director Liu emphasized again as they approached the municipal bureau.

"Oh!"

"Oh?"

"Yes! Don't worry, Director Liu, it must be elevated!"

Liu's expression softened: "Lao Cheng, the day after tomorrow, our bureau's funeral service will be held according to the highest standards, regardless of whether it's for our bureau or other bureaus, or for police officers or auxiliary police. I will bring the leadership team with me. Please make sure the arrangements are well-organized; funding is not a problem. It's just to make the families feel a little better."

Lao Cheng straightened his back, bowed slightly, and solemnly said, "Yes, Director Liu."

Keshi Funeral Home.

At the entrance of a mourning hall, the couplets on either side in the center read: "The misty Tianshan Mountains bid farewell to the heroes in silence; the murmuring Tarim River chokes in praise of the loyal souls."

Xiaoqiang's parents and grandfather all came from Dongzhou.

The father was taciturn and, trying to appear calm, could only stand by the door, leaning against the frame, staring blankly at Xiaoqiang's portrait hanging at the back of the mourning hall, not daring to step inside.

My mother would shed tears from time to time. When she cried, tears would fall in a steady stream. When she wasn't crying, she would grab my father's hair and hit him wildly, uttering many foul words that were not at all like what a teacher should say. She would start crying again while she was cursing.

Grandpa was over seventy years old and suffered from heart disease and multiple cerebral infarctions, so no one in the family dared to tell him about Xiaoqiang's sacrifice.

But yesterday morning, when he saw a family pushing suitcases about to leave on a long trip, and being picked up and dropped off by police officers and police cars, he immediately understood.

It must have been his favorite grandson, Xiaoqiang, who got into trouble in NX.

At the funeral home, it was the oldest grandfather who represented the family and took charge of the overall situation.

He grasped the hand of the public security leader who had come to pay his respects and said in a deep voice, "Back then, I fought against these bastards with the army. At that time, when we charged forward, many comrades who were even younger than Xiaoqiang fell to the ground and never made it home."

“I’m lucky; I got home for them and enjoyed so many years of peace and comfort. Today, my grandson sacrificed his life for the other police officers so they could go home safely. So I don’t feel sad; on the contrary, I feel extremely honored!”

The surrounding police officers were all deeply moved, and some of the female officers even shed tears.

Grandpa led the way into the mourning hall, bravely refusing to shed a single tear. As he walked, he solemnly declared, "We are a family of Party members, a family of honor. We are conscious and will not cause any trouble for the organization. We will not bring shame to Xiaoqiang! Xiaoqiang must be extremely happy that you could come today!"

But when the procession approached the coffin where Xiaoqiang lay, Grandpa only glanced inside before fainting from heartache.

Chaos erupted in the mourning hall.

Standing outside in the rain, Chen Shu was soaked, cold water streaming down his face again and again, silently watching the room.

“He was also a family treasure…” Julie walked out of the mourning hall with an umbrella and stood next to Chen Shu to shield him from the rain. “The old man said something very good: Xiaoqiang died in our place, so we must live on to be stronger and happier for Xiaoqiang.”

"Yes, we must live happily."

Chen Shu said this with a smile, but the sadness in his eyes could not be hidden and flowed out in torrents, turning into rolling hot tears.

(End of this chapter)