Chapter 462 What do you mean?

Captain Zhu paused for a moment, glanced at Su Laosan a couple of times, and shook his head.

"I appreciate your kindness, but I can't accept something for nothing, so let's just leave it at that..."

Su Laosan grabbed him and held him down.

“Captain Zhu, you’re being too polite with me. My shops can operate smoothly in this area without anyone daring to cause trouble. For a long time, you and a few brothers have been helping out every now and then to keep things under control. You said that you usually cook something nice to avoid bothering your family, so you go to other brothers’ houses instead. You’ve never been to your house and didn’t know about your mother’s situation…”

Team Leader Zhu sighed softly and said, "It's all part of my job, you don't need to worry about it."

"I can still distinguish between my duties and personal relationships."

Su Laosan glanced at the group of people chatting and laughing with their arms around each other's shoulders, and clicked his tongue. "These guys are probably afraid of causing trouble for Captain Zhu, so they kept their mouths shut and didn't tell me anything. If I had known beforehand, I would never have let Auntie wait until now. Just listen to your brother and bring the person over without worry!"

Captain Zhu looked at Su Laosan, his brows relaxed, sighed, and patted him on the shoulder with a smile.

"Alright, thank you for your kindness, but patrolling is a job requirement. We're just going around anyway. When we go to your place, we can at least get some clean fruits and vegetables, and sometimes some chicken, duck, fish, or meat. If we really investigate, we're already in the wrong..."

"...Furthermore, the old lady's illness has been going on for more than just a day or two. She's been taking medicine every day, but there's been no improvement. I don't know how much money we're going to end up spending on her. It's a bottomless pit, and we can't just let you take advantage of us like this! Don't worry, with your advice, I'll check on your shops every other day from now on."

They are paid to serve the people; it is their duty.

But Su Laosan saw the effort he put into his work.

Team Leader Zhu was still somewhat moved.

Old Su frowned and said, "Captain Zhu, what are those little vegetable leaves worth? Not even a dollar or two! Besides, I'm helping my Brother Zhu, not Captain Zhu. Don't you think I should call the old lady 'Auntie'? A nephew who comes to visit is practically a son. Stop arguing with me. If you don't bring her along, I'll go with my grandfather, and then my sister-in-law will have to pay for it with two cups of tea..."

"You little brat! You're trying to bully me now?!"

Team Leader Zhu was both amused and touched by his words. "Fine, I won't argue with you anymore. It's not convenient to ask for leave today, but I'll ask for half a day off tomorrow morning and bring the old lady over."

"That's right!"

Su Laosan raised his fist and bumped it with Captain Zhu's. "See you tomorrow."

He greeted the people in front of him again, watched them walk away, and then turned back to the health center.

At lunchtime, Su Laosan told Li Banxia and Li's father about it.

Mr. Li nodded, "I'll remember that. I'll take a good look at the old lady when the time comes."

"Thank you, Grandpa." Old Su smiled and placed a piece of scallion-flavored pork rib into the old man's bowl.

Li Banxia said from the side, "Remember to set aside time tomorrow morning. When the person comes, greet them at the door and take them to the backyard, to the room where you usually have meals together. I'll have someone clean it up in advance and leave a separate space so your grandfather can go over and help the old lady with her consultation."

After saying that, he added an explanation.

"Now that you've said it, you should treat him specially so he remembers your favor."

While picking at the rice in his bowl, Su Laosan nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, that's what I think too. I don't have anything to do tomorrow, so let's get this done first. If I keep the old lady in mind, Captain Zhu can also keep my grocery store and Mom's health center in mind."

"Yes, that's the point of saying that a local official is more powerful than a distant one."

Li Banxia glanced at her son, smiled, and shook her head.

She had given him an unnecessary reminder; the third brother is now considering things more comprehensively.

"...They said he was a hero-level figure parachuted in from the military, and he snatched the deputy director position that was practically in Zhu's mouth. He's really unlucky."

Li Banxia frowned, disagreeing with him. "If it really came to his lips, the higher-ups wouldn't have assigned this position to the military for demobilization. I suspect someone tampered with it."

Su Laosan paused in his eating, looked up and exchanged a glance with Li Banxia, ​​then frowned.

"That's the guy surnamed Lü. The old man has always looked down on Captain Zhu and his bunch of cronies. The rest of the officers in the station are just clerical workers, they're not much of a threat..."

He swallowed the food in his mouth, smacked his lips, and said, "Old Lu is about to retire, why is he still picking on young people? What's he after?"

Li Banxia was unaware of the details and made no comment.

Su Laosan only made a complaint, and when he didn't get a response, he didn't say anything more. Anyway, Lao Lü hadn't affected his mother or his shop's operation, so he wasn't really concerned about why Lao Lü was messing with Captain Zhu.

It was almost time to leave work in the afternoon when Captain Zhu led a group of people back to the police station to clock out.

Lu, who had been watching them closely, called them into his office and then had someone notify Song Yuanzhi.

Pointing at Captain Zhu, he slammed his fist on the table and yelled, "Deputy Director Song, on your first day at work, you've already given him a hard time! Zhu Jialiang, do you think that with so many people under you listening to you, you can replace Deputy Director Song with me, Director Lü?!"

"That's not what I meant."

Team Leader Zhu remained expressionless, his eyes fixed on Chief Lu. "We left in a hurry after receiving a report from the public, and we didn't have time to hold a welcoming ceremony for Deputy Chief Song."

What kind of attitude is that?!

Lu Su was so angry his nose almost twisted. "Why are you giving me that look? Do you know how much face I've lost today? Twenty-odd people, and you took half of them! You've turned my welcoming ceremony into a joke, Zhu Jialiang, you..."

"Director Lü, it's our Captain Zhu who's making a fool of himself! You clearly promised our Captain Zhu that this deputy director position would be his, and now someone's suddenly parachuted in. What's going on here?"

"Yes, Chief Lü, everyone has witnessed the merits of our Captain Zhu. It's time for him to be rewarded. Why was a deputy chief suddenly parachuted in from above?"

Someone muttered under their breath, "It's because Director Lü can't stand our captain!"

"You, you all..."

Director Lü slammed his fist on the table. "Are you trying to rebel? Do you even remember who the director is and who the captain is?"

"Where's Chief Lu? Does he remember who handled all these cases in the station?"

Several people stepped forward, protesting.

Enraged, Lü shouted at Captain Zhu, "Keep an eye on your men!"

"Alright, everyone, say less and step back." Captain Zhu clenched his fists and frowned as he glanced at the group.

The group angrily shut their mouths and took two steps back.

Just then, Song Yuanzhi knocked and entered. Director Lü snorted coldly at Captain Zhu, but when he turned to look at Song Yuanzhi, he smiled broadly. "Deputy Director Song is here! Come in quickly, let me introduce you to our station's greatest contributor, Captain Zhu Jialiang..."

He then introduced the seventy or eighty men behind him and said something pointed.

"...These people listen to Captain Zhu very much, and they don't even respect me, the director. Deputy Director Song, you should pay attention to communicating with them properly in the future. They are all colleagues, so don't hurt their relationship."

The group clenched their fists, their eyes filled with hostility, and stared at Song Yuanzhi.

Song Yuanzhi nodded to Lü Suo, then extended his left hand to introduce himself to Captain Zhu, "Song Yuanzhi, Captain Zhu, I've long admired Captain Zhu's reputation, you..."

"What the hell do you mean?"