Chapter 146 The Uninvited Guest
The four teams returned to the office like ghosts.
"The crackdown will continue for another month." Lu Ye, a strong and robust man in excellent physical condition, slumped weakly on the sofa: "We need to crack down on murder and arson, highway robbery, and even prostitution, gambling, and drugs. Xiao Bai, did you know how dangerous Liancheng was before you came here?"
Xiao Bai lay weakly on the table, sobbing, "What can I do? I chose this path, I have to finish it even if I have to crawl on my knees."
Snowflakes were already falling outside the window; the first snow of 1993 was heavier than usual.
The four teams were completely drained of their energy and spirit, like walking corpses.
Shen Zhenzhu, however, was full of energy, eagerly anticipating their high knee exercises with her. She even demonstrated in the office, practicing back and forth with the rhythmic "da da da."
"Can you stay away from me?" Even someone as good-natured as Zhao Qiqi wanted to lock Pearl, who had been acting crazy lately and constantly pushing them to do extra training, outside the door.
Wu Zhongguo has recently improved his physical fitness a lot. Thanks to Chen Zhenzhu, the man who is almost fifty years old chased a burly thief in his late twenties through two alleys the day before yesterday and finally captured the street robber, which shocked Director Liu.
Shen Zhenzhu endured hardship and bitterness, yet they turned against Lü Dongbin like dogs.
Fortunately, Section Chief Shen was magnanimous. He went to the sofa, lit a small stove, and filled it with sweet potatoes, potatoes, chestnuts, and eggs, then continued hopping around.
"Our fourth team will start duty tomorrow night." Gu Yanzheng returned in a huff, saying with a forced smile, "Director Liu drew lots, and we'll take turns working the night shift this week, with at least two people in the office. We'll be on standby for any call."
The words had barely left his mouth when a chorus of wails erupted.
I'm already exhausted during the day, and I still have to keep working at night. I can't live like this anymore.
Chen Zhenzhu asked unwillingly, "What about the three teams?"
Gu Yanzheng neither compared nor got angry: "I was lucky that I wasn't assigned to their shift. I can just go home normally."
Hearing that they were so happy was worse than bad news.
Chen Zhenzhu stopped jumping around and was extremely sad.
Hitting a leader is wrong, but hitting a police station leader is even worse.
Chen Zhenzhu returned to the sofa and glanced at the closing time; there was enough time for her to bake these things. Everyone hadn't eaten lunch, so they should have something to eat before heading home.
Moreover, she felt a little guilty looking at the tired Xiaobai.
People came to her team and joined the fourth team, but she was leaving after the New Year. I always felt uneasy about it.
When it was time to leave work, everyone indeed didn't rush home, but first gathered in a circle to savor Chen Zhenzhu's craftsmanship.
"I still need to eat something warm; I feel freezing." Wu Zhongguo sighed, looking at the increasingly heavy snowflakes outside. "Yesterday it was five degrees above zero, and today it's dropped to minus five. Achoo!"
"You'd better be careful not to catch a cold. The heating's on in the house and it's not very ventilated. Don't let us all get wiped out," Lu Ye said carelessly.
"Don't worry, I'll just take a day off," Wu Zhongguo said shrewdly. "I'll just stay in my warm bed at home and not go anywhere."
“We can’t just stay here,” Lu Ye yelled. “Are you pretending to have a cold? If you keep this up, I’m going to take a cold shower in the back with my shirt off.”
“Yes, absolutely not.” Zhao Qiqi also said, “If you keep pushing me, I’ll go soak in the pond at People’s Park.”
The office was noisy and more than forty minutes late. Gu Yanzheng couldn't stand it anymore: "Go back and rest early. We'll start scheduling shifts tomorrow."
"Okay, goodbye, Brother Zheng." Thinking about her shift tomorrow, Chen Zhenzhu decided to bring her backpack to work tomorrow, along with food, drinks, and a change of clothes, so she could sleep here when it was her turn.
"Little Bai, are you really not going to eat?" Chen Zhenzhu asked before leaving.
Xiao Bai said sensibly, "The cafeteria is open, and it's fine to go there occasionally to improve our meals."
"Alright, don't leave the electric blanket on all night," Chen Zhenzhu instructed. "Call me anytime if you need anything."
Xiao Bai went downstairs with her, smiling and saying, "What's there to be afraid of living in the brigade compound? My colleagues are all upstairs and downstairs. I've been living in the dormitory for a while now, and I'm used to it. I've been here for a month now, so you can rest assured."
Shen Zhenzhu walked downstairs and said, "Then I'll go back first. What are we having for breakfast tomorrow? You can't refuse."
Little White said happily, "Vegetable buns. Don't worry about them being cold, we have a stove."
"OK." Chen Zhenzhu happily embarked on her journey home from get off work.
The Tiesi Commercial Street with its red walls covered in snow seems to be more popular with tourists; in the words of the past, it has a "feeling of atmosphere".
How did an ordinary old street with just a few shops become a must-see tourist spot in Liancheng?
Many small business owners who come from afar to learn from this experience don't understand the significance of this old street, nor do they know the warmth and coldness of human relationships it has accumulated over the years.
Brother Leng's coffin shop is still stubbornly operating amidst the wind and snow.
Their main business is coffins, with wood carving as a side business. It all started when Shen Zhenzhu suggested making "handmade round fans," and it quickly became an unstoppable trend.
Later, they carved eagles, ingots, Bodhisattva statues, grape platters, and so on. Now their skills have greatly improved, and they can even customize wooden statues of human faces based on photos.
Visitors who make reservations can have their headshots taken by Uncle Lu. After paying in full and including the photo, they will receive a custom-made headshot carving from Master Leng, a contemporary master of handmade wood carving, a month later.
"What are these people doing?" Chen Zhenzhu went to the counter and took two cups of hot milk tea to the patrolling police officers on duty. "Why are they acting so strangely?"
Old Zhang, one of the patrol officers on duty today, said, "It's good news. I heard that a big boss has his eye on this old street and wants to buy the land for development. He's now going door-to-door with gifts, trying to persuade people to relocate."
"Demolition?" Shen Zhenzhu's almond-shaped eyes widened in surprise. She rushed back to the shop and ran to the kitchen, saying, "Mom, Mom, why is someone going to demolish the commercial street?"
Shen Liuhe was troubled by this matter, and there were still cigarettes and alcohol given to her by the demolition team under the counter: "I was just about to tell you about this."
The shop has started to get busy, and Shen Liuhe can now confidently leave the kitchen to Xiao Li and his assistants. She took off her apron, sat down at the counter, pointed at the items, and said, "Not only do we have these, but your Aunt Yuan, Uncle Lu, and the couple's barbershop at the end of the street also have them."
"So what do you think?" Shen Zhenzhu was very glad that she bought the storefront last year. If she hadn't bought it, wouldn't she have put the lifeline of Sixth Sister's restaurant in someone else's hands?
“What can I think?” Shen Liuhe said, “I’ve been here for almost twenty years, and I’m not willing to move.”
Shen Zhenzhu didn't want to move either. The neighbors here were all so nice; she would have to get along with them all over again if she moved. If they were all easy to get along with, that would be fine, but if she encountered a bad neighbor, she would have a miserable time every day.
Besides, Sixth Sister's business is booming. This shop is just the right size for her to manage and operate. Regular customers have become old friends, and they come to have a bite whether it's a holiday or an ordinary day. Foodies and new diners also come by word of mouth to try it. It's not something you can just leave whenever you want.
“Then we’ve made up our minds not to move.” Chen Zhenzhu patted her chest and said, “After all, I’m a police officer, I can’t just demolish our shop.”
“If you don’t want to move, we don’t want to move either.” Yuan Jiangxue and Yuan Juan came together, followed by Uncle Lu, Brother Leng, and other merchants. Even Grandpa Zhang, who owns two shops, came with Zhang Xiaopang.
Yuan Jiangxue found a seat against the wall, poured herself a cup of hot tea to moisten her throat, and said, "Yesterday, Sister Qing did my hair at our place and suggested we turn the shop into an 'image studio.' I did my makeup and outfit coordination, Sister Yuan did my hair, and she permed and styled it. We just made the decision, and today a bunch of fierce-looking guys came and said they wanted to demolish the place. Is this something outsiders can decide on just like that? Sister Qing even said she'd introduce a film crew to come and learn ancient costume styling. Things are just starting to look up, and now they want us to move? I'm not moving."
Brother Leng said dejectedly, "My business has only just started to turn around. I've calculated that this place is the most auspicious for me. Moving away from here, nowhere else will work out. It just doesn't match my destiny."
Before Uncle Lu could speak, Zhang Xiaopang shouted, "This place is close to the school, and I can walk to school by myself every day. If I go somewhere else, my dad will have to take me. If my dad takes me, we'll definitely run into a teacher, and the teacher will definitely say a few words to me. Then I'll get a beating when I get home from school. I won't move, I won't move, I'd rather die than move."
"Heh, that's pretty logical." Chen Zhenzhu ruffled his big head and said, "Want a chicken leg?"
Zhang Xiaopang swallowed and turned to look at Grandpa Zhang.
Grandpa Zhang said, "Don't give him any. At least he used to pass physical education, but now he fails physical education too. His mother has declared that he's not allowed to have any extra meals besides the three main meals a day, and he has to lose weight."
Tsk tsk tsk.
“As long as we are of one mind, they will not come back if they know they can’t get it done.” Uncle Lu was still thinking about going sea fishing in the middle of the night. He glanced at the time and said, “I’ll have a bite to eat here first. Anyway, everyone remembers, so don’t let their small favors cloud your judgment.”
"You're right, let's stick together." The more than ten small business owners on the commercial street nodded in agreement. In fact, none of them were willing to leave this place.
Since everyone knew not to occupy their business space, they seized the opportunity during the off-get off work and dinner rush hours to return to their respective shops and continue running their small businesses.
Yuan Juan was still thinking about doing hair for the period drama crew, so she left first.
Yuan Jiangxue was packing up her food when she saw Yuan Juan leave. She pointed at her back and said to Shen Zhenzhu, "See that? A career-driven woman. Back then, the couple's hair salon didn't want her, but now they're so envious. Yesterday they even asked if she would be willing to go and help them out. But things are different now. Even if they begged us, we wouldn't go, haha."
"This is great news! Sister Qing is so kind."
“Of course, she’s making a special trip to help us.” Yuan Jiangxue was grateful and said with a smile, “I’ll make her some sauerkraut dumplings tomorrow and send them over, so she can visit the film crew.”
"My mom's pickled cabbage is ready too. If you want to wrap it, just go get it from the vat in the back." Chen Zhenzhu was also happy for them: "Has Sister Yuan finished moving her things?"
Yuan Jiangxue owns a house with government heating. In winter, she couldn't bear to see Yuan Juan freezing in the shop, so she recently cleaned out a small room for Yuan Juan to live in.
“They helped me move everything this morning, and there wasn’t much stuff,” Yuan Jiangxue said regretfully. “I never knew I could get along with her so well. It’s unfair that she’s been sleeping in the attic for half a year. But thinking about how your mother has raised you two for over ten years, I don’t feel too bad about it. Sigh, thinking like this makes me feel a little better.”
"Don't let the small size of the attic fool you, having a place to stay makes me feel at ease." Shen Liuhe brought over some stir-fried green beans from the kitchen, which had already been packed into Yuan Jiangxue's lunchbox: "The stir-fried twice-cooked pork will be ready soon."
The next day, Chen Zhenzhu went to work and teamed up with Lu Ye and Xiao Bai to go to the train station to investigate a case.
Soon, Lu Ye and Xiao Bai learned that the Tie Si Commercial Street had been targeted.
While handling the case, Lu Ye joked, "Liu Laicheng from Team Two got two houses of the same size as compensation for his family's demolition. Our Sister Pearl is going to become a nouveau riche."
Shen Zhenzhu said, "It's not about money. The Tiesi Commercial Street is a place we've been connected with for twenty years. We've become like family. We'd all miss each other if we went anywhere."
Xiao Bai, handcuffing the suspect who attempted to rob a passenger but ended up committing robbery, said, "What was their attitude like? I've seen a lot of news about forced demolitions in the past two years."
"So far, we're being polite, delivering gifts to each household." Chen Zhenzhu sighed and said, "I'm afraid that if we start with politeness, we'll resort to force later. It's like trying to catch a thief for a thousand days, but it's not like we can prevent a thief for a thousand days."
Despite her worries, a new case came along when Shen Zhenzhu returned to the team.
This time, it was Gu Yanzheng, Wu Zhongguo, and Zhao Qiqi who handled it.
Back in the office, Zhao Qiqi said angrily, "The drunk driver hit someone and ran over them repeatedly. When he was arrested, he said he was afraid the other person wouldn't die and would be paralyzed in bed, so he would extort money from him for life. Isn't that suspected intentional homicide?"
“Exactly,” Xiaobai said indignantly, “What kind of world is this? How can there be such beasts?”
Wu Zhongguo said, "It's like this every year at the end of the year. It's like all the monsters and ghosts come out to cause trouble, as if they're trying to meet their targets. Petty theft is one thing, but robbery is another."
“It’s the end of the year, and those who don’t have money always try to find ways to make some money to take home,” Shen Zhenzhu said. “They’re defying the crackdown during this period, and I don’t think they want to live a normal life.”
Shen Zhenzhu was diligent in her studies, while the demolition team arrived at the Tiesi New Second Street Commercial Village.
This time, it was Erhu, the squad leader of the demolition team, who came. They saw Chen Zhenzhu sitting by the counter in her police uniform yesterday, so they didn't linger.
Today, I came to Sister Liu's restaurant again with many gifts. It felt like coming home, and I greeted her warmly, "Sister Liu, I'm here again. Are you happy to welcome me?"
Shen Liuhe was teaching Xiao Li how to cook home-style dishes when she saw them arrive, and her heart skipped a beat.
Xiao Li called out from the kitchen, and five or six apprentices went looking for kitchen knives.
Shen Liuhe quickly stopped them: "Don't get so angry. I'll just go out and say a few words to them. You guys keep practicing. Xiao Li, you keep an eye on them."
Helpless, Xiao Li stood guard at the kitchen door, called out to his brothers, and decided to wait and see what would happen.
"Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth, right? Hey guys, want a smoke? I've got eight cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes, feel free to smoke as much as you like." Erhu, who was 1.8 meters tall and a bit muscular, had a shaved head and a very江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) air about him, both in appearance and speech.
He was followed by four henchmen, who placed their cigarettes and alcohol on the counter and greeted them politely, "Hello, Sixth Sister, and hello to the brothers inside as well."
"These people don't seem like good people," the aunt washing vegetables behind Xiao Li whispered. "They've probably got their hands on Sixth Sister."
The aunt was right. Not long after Erhu sat down, he took out a thick envelope from the black leather bag tucked under his arm: "Sixth Sister, this is a little something. There is ten thousand yuan inside."
"I can earn my own money, and I'd rather burn my hands than take other people's money." Even if Shen Liuhe's life were on track now, she wouldn't have accepted this money if she had lived in the attic before.
Seeing her attitude, Erhu's face, already showing signs of menace, grew even more menacing as he smiled: "This is nothing. If you help us persuade the people on the street to move out, we'll offer you a big gift."
"Thank you, but I still have work to do in the kitchen, so I won't see you off." Shen Liuhe realized he wasn't a good person and that they couldn't see eye to eye, so she simply stopped talking.
Erhu is around forty years old. When he goes out, people call him "Brother Hu," and younger brothers have to call him "Grandpa Hu."
He was dissatisfied with Shen Liuhe's attitude and grabbed her wrist: "Hey, don't rush off."
"What are you doing?" Xiao Li came out of the kitchen, with several gleaming kitchen knives behind him.
Erhu let go of her hand and said insincerely, "Since you're all out here, why don't you young brothers sit down and listen? I'm making this deal with Sixth Sister with all my heart."
Shen Liuhe didn't want to listen at all, but she couldn't let the situation get any worse, so she frowned and said, "I'll leave after I finish listening."
"If Sixth Sister is willing to listen, that's fine." Erhu took out a contract from his bag, spread it out in front of Shen Liuhe and said, "This is a demolition contract, and the demolition clauses inside are specially customized for Sixth Sister."
Xiao Li said coldly, "What terms?"
Sixth Sister doesn't even look at them; she won't let her guard down until Shen Zhenzhu returns.
Erhu, displaying his last bit of patience, said, "We'll compensate you three times the size of our restaurant's interior space, and two times the size of the courtyard. We'll also provide you with a resettlement house, fully furnished, guaranteeing you can expand your business and upgrade your life without spending a penny. You have to keep this a secret; no one else has such generous terms. They can only offer two times the size at most, and they don't even have a resettlement house."
"You still want me to trick the neighbors into demolishing the property and make this dirty money?" Shen Liuhe finally lost her temper, grabbed Xiao Li's kitchen knife and said, "You all underestimate me, Shen Liuhe! I've been in this commercial street for so many years, and everyone has said I have a conscience! Get out of here, get out of here right now!!"
"Hey, Sixth Sister, stop making a fuss." Erhu was about to say something when two patrolling policemen suddenly appeared outside the door.
One of them was Old Zhang from yesterday. They became alert as soon as Erhu and the others entered the restaurant.
Old Zhang placed one hand on his weapon, pointed at Erhu and the others, and said, "You come out here right now, don't make me say it twice!"
Erhu and his four henchmen walked out of the restaurant with their hands raised and grinning. Erhu didn't forget to tell Shen Liuhe, "I'll come back another day. I definitely won't give up until we reach an agreement. My motto is 'Never give up'."
Old Zhang shoved Erhu, pointed at his nose and said, "Where did you come from? Do you know where you are? This is a warning. If you do it again, I'll send you all to the city bureau for causing trouble!"
"Calm down, are you getting worked up from standing guard outside?" Erhu strolled over to the car, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and said, "Hey bro, wanna have one?"
"Get out of here right now!" Old Zhang's colleague, unable to tolerate this thug any longer, shouted, "Don't provoke the police!"
Erhu casually threw half a pack of cigarettes on the ground and stomped on it. His underling opened the car door and got in.
After they left, the neighbors gathered in front of Sixth Sister's shop and asked, "What happened?" "Were they trying to cause trouble?" "Did they threaten you?"
Sixth Sister looked at Old Zhang and his colleague gratefully and said, "Thank you both, police officers. Just now, this demolition team tried to bribe me with money, but when they failed, they refused to leave."
"Fortunately, everyone knows who you are. Even if they go door to door slandering you, we won't believe them." Uncle Lu frowned as he looked in the direction the car had left. "Everyone needs to be on high alert lately. Don't let those bastards take advantage of us."
Shen Liuhe comforted the neighbors for a few moments, then chatted with Yuan Jiangxue and the others for a while. Back in the shop, she picked up the phone and called Shen Zhenzhu.
"What? They actually dare to come here and cause trouble?" Shen Zhenzhu thought for a moment, worried that the patrol officers couldn't be on duty 24 hours a day, since they would be off duty when the commercial street closed.
“I’m not going home tonight. I’ve been working the night shift lately, so I’m staying at the shop.” Shen Zhenzhu said with a forced smile, “I’m waiting for them to cause trouble.”
Shen Liuhe said worriedly, "How about I stay with you?"
Shen Zhenzhu said, "No, you'll only hold me back if you come with me. But I don't think they'll do anything to me. They're just a few thugs. I've arrested much worse ones before. Besides, I have a gun. Don't worry."
After much deliberation, Shen Liuhe had no other options.
Xiao Li and the others came out of the kitchen and gathered around the microphone, saying, "We're not leaving after get off work; we'll put the table together and sleep on it like a bed."
This amused Chen Zhenzhu, who said, "You guys are like the hidden masters of the shop, only showing up when it's absolutely necessary. I'm just here to watch the shop; if there's a problem, I'll just run away, okay?"
Shen Liuhe thought for a moment and said, "Let's do it this way for now."
......
The following morning, in the parking lot outside the Iljimae Dance Hall.
Erhu lit a cigarette for his older brother Song Zhantao and stood respectfully to the side: "That street is different from other streets, they stick together too much. The first house has a female police officer who's very competitive and ambitious on the street."
Song Zhantao took a drag of his cigarette and said, "Nobody doesn't love money. Is it because you haven't given enough?"
"A full ten thousand yuan, and they didn't even give it a second glance."
Song Zhantao found it interesting and asked, "Which police station is that female police officer from?"
"I asked a chubby guy, and he said it was from the Tiesi Police Station."
Song Zhantao thought for a moment and said, "They can't even send out red envelopes, what a useless piece of trash. I'll go take a look. The boss upstairs is still waiting to buy land and make a fortune. Every day we delay is a day's worth of money lost."
“You’re right, we have to let them know how powerful we are.” Erhu couldn’t wait for his older brother to come and take a look, so he quickly invited him into the car.
Song Zhantao was over 1.7 meters tall and had a scar on his lower lip. He had three demolition teams with more than fifty people each under his command, and he had encountered all sorts of tough guys.
Once in the car, he sneered, "A few women scared you? You can't win a verbal battle, so you back down? Do what you did before, now."
Erhu's eyes darted around: "Big brother, let's give them one last chance."
Song Zhantao was decisive and efficient. He nodded, closed his eyes, and twirled the prayer beads in his hand: "Well, time is running out. This is the last time."
When Song Zhantao arrived outside the commercial street, two patrolling police officers approached him before he even got out of the car. As he carried the gifts to Sister Liu's restaurant, a young waiter in the kitchen poured a basin of dishwater at his feet.
"Hey, what's that?"
Song Zhantao squinted at him and said in a low voice, "Does this brat know who I am? Are you tired of living?"
"I don't know who you are, but I know who my sister is. Please leave now."
"You wait until I kill you." Erhu came over and said fiercely, "If you talk to my brother like that, you'd better never leave this house again."
"Which arm poured the dishwater?" Song Zhantao is well-known in the real estate industry for his pioneering work, often collaborating with two or three major developers. He is known for his ruthlessness and resourcefulness.
The kitchen apprentice pointed to his neck and said, "Want to chop off my arm? Come on, come this way. Go ask around the skating rink and see if anyone doesn't know me, Master Wu."
"Damn it, they won't listen to reason, so they'll have to suffer the consequences! Let's go, we'll make our move tonight."
......
Shen Zhenzhu was unaware of this incident, nor did she know that Zhang Xiaopang had casually sent her back to the police station.
I worked overtime until midnight, and after handling a home invasion robbery case, it was just before dawn.
Chen Zhenzhu has been working non-stop lately and is finally exhausted.
She could walk back to the shop with her eyes closed. Chen Zhenzhu rubbed her eyes, yawned, and then fell to the ground with a "Ah!"
After she got up, she took two more steps forward and fell to the ground again.
The dazed Chen Zhenzhu finally looked down at her feet, and what she saw shocked her: "Where...where is the road? Where is the road in the commercial street?"
Looking around, all that remains of the old cement slab road is the potholed foundation; a perfectly good road has vanished.
At 5 a.m., a scream echoed from Tiesi Commercial Street: "Which bastard broke up my road?!"
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Author's Note: Pearl: My chest feels so tight again, waaaaah, please give me some nutrient solution!
***
(Don't worry, we'll cover that in the next chapter.)
See you tomorrow, there's a 100 RMB red envelope! [Let me see]
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