Chapter 68

The police station of Kuanyang Township was located diagonally opposite the township government, in a large courtyard with a row of over a dozen rooms. A row of bicycles and a police motorcycle with a siren were parked there. Liu Tairan escorted Jiang San'er into the police station and saw several men in police uniforms but without ranks quickly come forward and say, "Chief Liu, you've caught this guy again!"

Liu Tairan glanced at the young man who greeted him and said sternly, "Jiang Xiao, lock this kid up and let him reflect on his actions!"

"Oh, this guy didn't really..." The young man hadn't finished speaking when Liu Tairan rudely interrupted, "Didn't you hear me clearly?"

"Alright, alright, I got it. Brothers, take Jiang San'er in!" Although Jiang Xiao spoke with a smile, a hint of malice flashed in his eyes.

From Jiang Xiao's appearance, he seemed to be a temporary worker. He couldn't compare to Liu Tairan, who was a formal police officer. Although Cheng Jemin wasn't very familiar with the Kuanyang Township Police Station, according to the situation, there weren't many formal police officers in grassroots police stations.

"Township Chief Cheng, come to my office. The station just issued some white sugar for the New Year, and I'll treat you to a cup of sugared tea!"

Cheng Jemin didn't hesitate and followed Liu Tairan to the office. After taking a few steps, he heard someone cursing loudly, "Pfft, what's so great about you!"

Cheng Jemin was taken aback and quickly glanced at Liu Tairan, who seemed not to have heard it and walked forward as if nothing had happened.

Inside the room, the coal stove was blocked. Liu Tairan quickly lit the fire, then picked up a thermos, washed a porcelain cup, and poured a cup of water for Cheng Jemin, saying, "Township Chief Cheng, you must be finding it hard to adjust to the rural life here, right?"

Cheng Jemin took a sip of the water and smiled, "I'm from a rural area and grew up in the countryside, so I'm not really uncomfortable."

After a few casual exchanges, Cheng Jemin learned that Liu Tairan was from the same county, his wife worked at the county high school, and they had a son who was over three years old.

Liu Tairan had been working for six or seven years but was still an ordinary police officer. He almost never believed in the nonsense about "choosing the right person to follow." In the past few years, the head of the county bureau had changed two or three times, but he treated everyone equally, neither getting particularly close to anyone nor particularly distant. He was afraid of becoming a victim of political struggles and refused to be anyone's confidant or opponent. His principles kept him stable in various political whirlpools, but it also came at a cost: he was never promoted.

Today, meeting Township Chief Cheng, Liu Tairan unexpectedly liked him. He sincerely created a pleasant atmosphere for their conversation. He knew that someone like Cheng Jemin, who came from the provincial level, must have extensive experience and the ability to read people. Being overly intimate or overly flattering would make him uncomfortable, but showing a bit of humility in front of him wouldn't be a problem.

Just as they were chatting happily, the door was pushed open, and a tall, thin police officer smiled and asked, "Old Liu, do you have time for lunch? Let's eat together!"

Liu Tairan casually threw him a cigarette and said sternly, "I've already made plans with Township Chief Cheng. You guys go ahead."

"Hey, that's not good. Everyone from the station, from Chief Li down, is going to join," the police officer said, glancing at Cheng Jemin and smiling, "This is the new Township Chief Cheng, right? Hello, our station is having a gathering today, and you're welcome to join us!" Without waiting for Cheng Jemin's response, he waved his hand and said, "I need to notify the others, I'll go ahead!"

As the man was about to leave, he suddenly turned around and said, "Old Liu, I've already let Jiang San'er go. It's almost the New Year, why waste time on him?"

The door closed, and Cheng Jemin noticed that Liu Tairan's face was grim. He slammed his hand on the table and cursed, "What a damn bastard, does nothing but meddle, making me hate him!"

"Township Chief Cheng, I'm sorry to have you see this."

Liu Tairan's straightforwardness made Cheng Jemin like him even more. He smiled and said, "Old Liu, some things aren't worth fussing over."

At noon, Cheng Jemin and Liu Tairan arrived at Zheng's Restaurant, not far from the police station. The restaurant had only one storefront on the street, but inside it was a different world. A row of well-decorated private rooms were all full.

When they entered the room, a large round table was already occupied by several people. A chubby man in his forties was sitting in the main seat, and the tall, thin man who had greeted Liu Tairan was lighting his cigarette.

Seeing Liu Tairan and Cheng Jemin enter, the man said to Liu Tairan, "Old Liu, everyone in the station says you have a big ego. I always thought they were exaggerating, but today I see it for myself. Chief Li said he won't order any dishes until you come!"

Liu Tairan glanced at the chubby man in the middle but ignored the thin man, saying to the chubby man, "Chief Li, this is the new Township Chief Cheng. We caught that Jiang San'er kid thanks to Township Chief Cheng's help!"

The chubby man looked at Cheng Jemin and laughed heartily, "Hello, Township Chief Cheng, please sit down."

Despite Chief Li's warm welcome, those familiar with him knew he wouldn't take the new deputy township chief seriously. Although Chief Li was only a section-level cadre in the system, he was in charge of the township's public security, which was more practical than being a deputy township chief!

The tall, thin police officer observed Chief Li's reaction and smiled meaningfully.

"Old Chen, have them bring the dishes!" Chief Li said to the tall, thin man after Cheng Jemin sat down.

The dishes came quickly, and within two minutes, four cold dishes were served. While the dishes were being brought, Cheng Jemin also observed the other people at the table. There were already thirteen people, mostly young men in their twenties, including Jiang Xiao, whom Cheng Jemin had met earlier.

"Come, let's raise our first glass to Old Chen. Old Chen, congratulations!" Chief Li was the first to raise his glass and said with a smile.

Old Chen's face lit up like a flower, "Chief, I can't drink the first glass. I think we should all raise our glasses under your leadership!"

Chief Li chuckled, "I might disagree at other times, but today is a special day, so let's all raise our glasses together!"

"Chief Li is right, let's all raise our glasses together," Jiang Xiao said, raising his glass to cheer.

Cheng Jemin quietly held his glass, observing Liu Tairan's reaction out of the corner of his eye. When Chief Li spoke, Cheng Jemin noticed that Liu Tairan's expression darkened.

"Since Chief has given the highest instruction, I, Old Chen, will certainly follow it." Old Chen raised his glass and respectfully saluted Chief Li, then drank it in one gulp.

With Old Chen leading the way, the others drank quickly. After drinking two glasses, Cheng Jemin felt a bit warm in his chest.

At this drinking session, Chief Li was the absolute main character, and almost all the topics revolved around him. Even a small gesture from Chief Li was understood and acted upon by someone.

"Chief Li, Township Chief Cheng is our honored guest. It's his first time drinking with our station's comrades. I and my brothers would like to toast Township Chief Cheng and report on our station's combat effectiveness."

After a few glasses, Cheng Jemin learned that Chief Li's name was Li Qiuli, and Old Chen's name was Chen Shengjie. At this moment, Chen Shengjie was speaking while looking at Li Qiuli with a smile.

Li Qiuli and Chen Shengjie had worked together for several years, and he knew Chen Shengjie's tricks well. Chen Shengjie and Liu Tairan didn't get along, and they had been secretly competing for the deputy chief position recently. Now that the dust had settled and Chen Shengjie had won, he was trying to make Liu Tairan look bad by toasting Cheng Jemin.

If it were a regular deputy township chief or a head of a powerful station, Li Qiuli wouldn't let Chen Shengjie get away with it. But yesterday, he had drunk with the township's old leader Lu Xiaoyang and learned a bit about Township Chief Cheng.

Lu Xiaoyang was quite drunk and spoke directly, secretly telling him that Cheng Jemin had offended someone higher up and that they planned to keep him in the county, leaving township affairs to others.

Li Qiuli was surprised but quickly forgot about it. After all, the police station was a separate system, and as long as he maintained good relations with the main leaders in the township, it was fine. As for the deputy township chief, there wasn't much interaction.

What he didn't expect was that this deputy township chief would get involved with Liu Tairan and even come to drink with them. This made him take it seriously. Because of what Lu Xiaoyang had said, he was a bit condescending towards Cheng Jemin. When Chen Shengjie spoke, he went along with it, saying, "Good, that's a good suggestion. Old Chen, you should toast Township Chief Cheng a few more times."

Liu Tairan's face changed, and he wanted to speak but ultimately held back.

"Brother Chen, the glass." Jiang Xiao, standing nearby, quickly handed him a glass.

"Meeting Township Chief Cheng for the first time, using such a small glass would make him think our station's combat effectiveness is lacking." Chen Shengjie waved his hand and said loudly, "Go get two teacups, I want to properly toast Township Chief Cheng."

Jiang Xiao looked at Cheng Jemin with a hint of anticipation and volunteered, "Brother Chen, I'll go get them!"

"Chief Li, Old Chen, Township Chief Cheng has work this afternoon. I think we should use small glasses and drink slowly," Liu Tairan said with a forced smile, standing up to suggest to Li Qiuli.

Li Qiuli hesitated for a moment without speaking, but Chen Shengjie said, "Old Liu, Township Chief Cheng isn't just your Township Chief Cheng. What's wrong with me toasting him?" He then looked at Cheng Jemin and said, "I heard from Jiang Xiao that Township Chief Cheng kicked Jiang San'er to the ground. You must be a brave and tough man. What's a little drinking? Here, I toast you!"

A glass filled with about two ounces of alcohol was placed in front of Cheng Jemin.

PS: I'm still seeking recommendations and votes. I hope for your continued support!

Page break for ads

End of page break for ads