Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 529 Street Vendors
The temperature was quite low on the cold winter night, but since the city opened up the nighttime street vendor economy, a lot of street vendors and open-air food stalls have suddenly sprung up.

With the increased pedestrian traffic on the streets, the special police brigade has to work overtime patrols at night, resulting in a significant increase in tasks and operations.

Tonight it was Chen Shu's turn to lead the shift. He was so bored at work that he kept thinking about all sorts of random things, so he decided to go with the night patrol team to Park Road, the most bustling street vendor area in the jurisdiction.

Wearing alternating red and blue shoulder lights and carrying newly issued Type 95 rifles, the fully armed soldiers marched in formation down the road, attracting the attention of many.

Occasionally, a child would wrestle off their parent's hand and run to the patrol team, giving the special police officers a proper salute. Their earnestness was truly amusing.

Chen Shu, who was leading the group, naturally returned the greeting solemnly, giving the children the respect they deserved.

Halfway there, Chen Shu noticed that the brothers behind him were constantly breathing out hot air. There happened to be a hot drink stall nearby, so he stopped to buy a few cups and sat down to rest.

Ma Bowen hunched his shoulders, took a few sips of the hot soy milk in his hand, and finally felt a little warmer: "Brother Chen, you're the only one in the whole brigade who dares to bring the brothers into this stall to eat, drink, and rest in public. Our admiration for you is like a surging river, never-ending!"

A guy from the next city, after working the night shift, rushed off work without changing into his civilian clothes and ate breakfast at a noodle shop in his police uniform.

A passerby filmed the incident and posted it on Douyin (TikTok), accompanied by the caption "Police officer eating noodles during working hours."

The social impact was enormous.

"Alright, drink your soy milk, stop talking so much nonsense." Chen kicked lightly under his desk and laughed.

"Officer, the dried tofu is here!"

The owner placed a metal plate filled with skewers of dried tofu on the table.

"Thanks. Boss, how's business?" Chen Shu asked casually as he distributed the food to his team members.

"Great! With people coming and going, we can make a lot of money in one night!" The boss grinned from ear to ear.

Ma Bowen became interested and pressed on, "How much money can you make in one night? Two or three hundred?"

The boss didn't respond, but his meaningful smile said it all.

After the shop owner left, auxiliary police officer Yan Song smacked his lips and sighed, "This soy milk is 2 yuan a cup, and dried tofu is 2 yuan a skewer. I can probably make two or three hundred yuan a night. Sigh, I don't even want to be a policeman anymore."

Ma Bowen confidently stated, "Look at how he laughed just now, it's definitely more than that!"

"How about we set up a stall at night from now on?"

"I suppose civil servants aren't allowed to run these kinds of profit-making businesses."

"Brother Ma, you police officers have quite a few rules. Listening to my colleagues at the station, it seems you guys aren't as carefree as those minor leaders in the neighborhood!"

"Of course! They can become department leaders with just a junior staff member, and they have some real power. Unlike us, even if we become deputy directors, we're still just deputy section chiefs in reality."

"."

Chen Shule watched the team members discuss without joining in. He slowly sipped his soy milk and waited until everyone had finished eating and drinking before getting up to go to the stall to pay the bill.

The owner was initially unwilling to accept the money, saying that the presence of police patrolling the area made their business much safer.

Chen Shu laughed without replying, took out his phone, scanned the payment code posted on the table, and paid the amount due.

Setting up a stall on the roadside late at night in the freezing cold, earning every penny is hard-earned money, and this money absolutely cannot be waived.

As Chen Shu resumed his patrol, he heard a commotion not far away. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the incident occurred at a roadside food stall that pushed a cart carrying fried noodles and rice noodles. It seemed to be a dispute between the stall owner and several customers.

There were quite a few onlookers at this time.

People were taking walks after meals, having dinner, shopping, and there was even an old lady pushing a stroller outside, squeezing into the crowd.

The little one in the stroller leaned forward, his chubby little hands gripping the stroller railing, his eyes wide with curiosity as he looked around.

Gossip is deeply ingrained in the spirit of every Chinese person. After all, since two thousand years ago, going to the theater or listening to storytelling in a teahouse has always cost money. If there's a free spectacle to be had and you didn't go, it would be a loss. That's even more painful than letting them make money.

Chen Shu instructed Ma Bowen, Yan Song, and others to disperse the crowd standing outside, while he went inside to mediate the dispute. The Zhongshan Police Station had handled many similar cases before, usually resulting in equal blame for both sides.

At worst, he could let the customers eat for free, and then use his own money to buy a dozen or so barbecues for the team members on duty. That would be a win-win situation for everyone.

"To try to smooth things over" sounds like a derogatory term, but in reality, it really does reflect that old saying.

The less trouble, the better.

Not absolutely, just generally speaking.

The stall owner was a middle-aged woman in her thirties or forties. She had an ordinary appearance, but there was an air of arrogance in her eyes. Even though she was still arguing loudly with customers, her tone and manner of speaking were unlike those of an ordinary street vendor.

Although she was just a woman, she was in no way inferior to her opponent in terms of presence.

The diners arguing with him appeared to be migrant workers who had just finished work. Except for the one who started the argument, who was dressed a little better and seemed to be the foreman, the others stood silently behind the foreman.

Chen Shu approached and separated the two groups of people, keeping them at a distance.

The foreman and his migrant workers sat aggressively on the small tables and chairs set up by the roadside, slamming their fists on the table and shouting that this matter was not over.

Chen Shu pulled the stall owner to the back of the cart, keeping the migrant workers outside, and asked her what had happened.

It turned out that the migrant workers found dead cockroaches in the beef soup that was served alongside their fried noodles, so they started making a scene and demanded compensation from the restaurant owner.

The proprietress counted on her fingers and said confidently, "These people also came to eat noodles last night. They said there were flying insects in the soup. I picked them out, took a look, and then gave them a free meal. I felt I was being a bit unfair to the customers, so I specially gave them a plate of stir-fried tofu skin."

"I didn't expect them to come back tonight saying there were cockroaches. I really can't guarantee whether there are cockroaches or not normally. But after what happened yesterday, I've been extra careful when I set up my stall. I've checked everything inside and out, and there's absolutely no way there could be cockroaches!"

The proprietress spoke earnestly, but Chen Shu couldn't make a hasty judgment on such matters. After all, you can't judge a book by its cover.

Chen Shu comforted the proprietress, advising her to prioritize business and suggest waiving the bill to let them leave so she could continue her business.

The landlady spoke kindly to the police officers who arrived, but suddenly burst into tears, showing none of the imposing manner she had displayed when she single-handedly stood against several burly men.

The proprietress pointed to a row of dilapidated electric scooters outside and said, her voice choked with emotion, "Officer, actually, I had the same idea at first. But they wouldn't have it, and they were making a scene at my stall, demanding compensation for emotional distress. I suspected these guys were there to cause trouble, and I was thinking of kicking my stall out."

Chen Shu immediately realized what he meant: "Among all the food stalls here, even if yours has the best business?"

"Um"

At this point, Chen Shu also became suspicious.

Logically speaking, since these people came here last night and found flying insects, and they came here again today for a late-night snack, most people would naturally think that they appreciate the owner's service and the taste of the food.

If they didn't approve, why would they come back a second time?
Unexpectedly, when they arrived tonight, they gave us a real shock, not only escalating from flying insects to cockroaches, but also directly demanding compensation for emotional distress.

Migrant workers have a tough time finding work, and they haven't been drinking. After a long day at get off work, they're all eager to go home and rest. If the boss is willing to give them a free meal, there's no reason for them to linger on the spot.

Chen Shu turned around and leaned half his body out to look in the direction where the migrant workers were sitting outside the cart.

There were no other customers in the stall at this time. The migrant workers sat quietly on the chairs, but the foreman stood on the roadside outside the stall, pointing at the cart inside and shouting something at the passers-by.

Anyway, it wasn't anything nice.

Logically, finding a cockroach in their food should have prompted a united outcry from the migrant workers. Instead, they sat silently on their benches, looking more like they were going to work and dealing with their boss.

Seeing this contradictory scene, Chen Shu couldn't help but side with the proprietress.

(End of this chapter)