Chapter 74 Grandpa Xu: Is it fun to be a coward?
"Haha, Liang Jiushan, you little rascal, you've stolen flowers from Grandma Liu's yard again?"
Li Zhenliang's voice broke Liang Jiushan's unease and brought Jiang Ling back to her senses.
Jiang Ling turned her head and saw that Li Zhenliang, Liu Haoran, and Zhou Wei had all arrived, with Luo Yunchen standing next to them.
Jiang Ling reached out and took the bouquet of gardenias, her eyebrows curving into smiles, her eyes brimming with laughter, but she said with a hint of reproach, "The high school entrance exam is just around the corner, why aren't you at home studying? What are you doing here?"
Liang Jiushan chuckled, raised his hand to scratch the back of his head, but remained silent.
Liu Haoran punched Liang Jiushan on the shoulder: "Kid, how's studying going? Any problems getting into No. 1 High School?"
Liang Jiushan was very confident: "No problem."
Zhou Wei was quite happy to see Liang Jiushan.
I was busy with the Geng Lihua case as soon as I arrived at the Municipal Bureau. I hadn't had time to communicate with my old colleagues at the police station. When I saw Liang Jiushan, who was doing his homework at the police station all day long, I felt a sense of kinship, like seeing an old friend for the first time.
Luo Yunchen walked to Jiang Ling's side and stood beside her, glancing at the gardenia in her hand: "Junior sister, you like gardenias?" In this season, there are gardenias for sale everywhere on the roadside. If she likes them, he can give her a whole bunch and fill the entire office.
Jiang Ling did not answer Luo Yunchen's question, but instead asked Liang Jiushan, "How long have you been waiting at the door?"
Liang Jiushan was covered in sweat on his head, face, and back, and his face and arms were sunburned red, but he just shook his head: "Not long ago, I just arrived."
Jiang Ling glared at him: "If you need something, just call. What are you waiting for?"
Liang Jiushan said apologetically, "You have to go to work. This isn't a police station, so I can't bother you."
Liu Haoran joked with a smile, "Oh, Liang Jiushan has grown up. He knows he can't disturb our work."
Zhou Wei laughed and said, "You're a decent guy, at least you know to come and check on us."
Li Zhenliang put his arm around Liang Jiushan's shoulder and said, "You're lucky today. We just finished a case and can leave work on time. Come on, your brothers will take you out to eat."
Liang Jiushan glanced at Jiang Ling, then turned to Li Zhenliang and the other two, grinning broadly. "I'm not eating anymore. I still have so much to memorize. I'm leaving—"
He waved his right hand and ran away.
He started running slowly, but gradually got faster and faster. The boy's agile and slender figure looked full of vitality in the setting sun.
After running about ten meters away, Liang Jiushan suddenly turned around, waved his hands, and shouted, "I will do well on the exam! I'll come see you all after the exam."
The sunset was beautiful.
Jiang Ling held the bouquet of gardenias in her hand, a slight smile playing on her lips.
That kid!
They run pretty fast.
Luo Yunchen glanced at the four smiling people and said, "Come on, I'll treat you to dinner."
Jiang Ling shook her head and refused: "I have to go home. My mom has cooked dinner and is waiting for me."
Li Zhenliang immediately chimed in, "If the team leader isn't going, we'll go!"
Liu Haoran and Zhou Wei joked with each other, "Yes, yes, it's Leader Luo's treat, we have to give him face."
Upon hearing the title "Leader Luo," Luo Yunchen glanced at Li Zhenliang and said, "You sure know how to talk fast!"
Li Zhenliang laughed heartily, pointing at Zhou Wei as he said, "From now on, let Zhou Wei go on missions, so that Leader Luo won't have to drive himself and end up going the wrong way."
When Li Zhenliang brought up yesterday's embarrassing incident again, Luo Yunchen became angry and embarrassed. He grabbed Li Zhenliang's arm and strode forward, saying, "Come on! I have to have a couple of drinks with you tonight."
The four men laughed and joked as they left, and Jiang Ling crossed the street to go home.
Since she rarely had to work overtime, she preferred to spend time alone with her mother.
The setting sun, like a ripe persimmon, sank heavily behind the red houses in Ping'anli, painting the entire old community with a light orange hue.
Jiang Ling walked briskly.
The gardenia in her hand emitted a refreshing fragrance that wafted into her nose, putting her in a good mood.
Just as she was about to turn into the path leading to her building, a loud argument pierced the evening's stillness.
"Useless! You're all useless!" a hoarse but powerful male voice roared. "You can't even manage things right under your noses, what are you cadres good for?!"
Jiang Ling looked in the direction of the sound.
In the center of the community, under the tall ginkgo tree with its gnarled branches, a dozen or so people were gathered, the central figure being an elderly man wearing faded old-fashioned police trousers and a white crew-neck undershirt.
The old man had gray hair and a thin but upright figure, like an old tree that had weathered many storms but refused to fall. At this moment, his wrinkled face was flushed with anger, and his withered fingers almost poked the nose of a middle-aged man pushing a bicycle across from him, who looked embarrassed.
The middle-aged man was Wang Deyang, an officer at the subdistrict office, whom Jiang Ling had met when she came to register her household registration.
“Uncle Xu, Uncle Xu, please calm down,” Wang Deyang pushed his bicycle back, the black faux leather briefcase hanging on the handlebars swaying with his movements. “The problem of waterlogging on the road is an old one. We’ve reported it, but the municipal government has to schedule it, right? This isn’t something our street office can solve immediately.”
Jiang Ling held the gardenia further away from her nose and, sure enough, smelled an unpleasant odor.
She smelled it this morning, but because she was in a hurry to get to work, she didn't pay much attention. It was only after hearing Grandpa Xu talking to the neighborhood committee today that she realized the shortcomings behind the lively atmosphere of this old neighborhood.
The community was built a long time ago, and many long-time residents from the political and legal system have moved away. What remains are either the elderly, the infirm, the disabled, or small business owners and young tenants. This mixed population and poor management have made the problems of the old community very prominent.
The tangled electrical wires create a dense network in the stairwells and outside the buildings. Combined with external electricity meters and aging wiring, this poses a significant fire hazard.
Residents have seriously violated regulations by illegally constructing additions and altering public spaces.
The roads have been in disrepair for years, and the recent rains have left many sections still flooded, especially the lower-lying sections in the north. This not only makes travel inconvenient, but also fills the entire neighborhood with a stench of rotting debris. No wonder Grandpa Xu lost his temper with the street office staff.
"Schedule? That'll take forever!"
When Grandpa Xu heard Wang Deyang mention waiting for the municipal government to schedule a timetable, he became even angrier. He stomped his foot, pointed at the waterlogged ditches and puddles on the road, and shouted, "Look! Look at this filthy mess! Flies and mosquitoes are swarming everywhere! Is this a place for people to live? The police station is right across the street! What are the police officers supposed to think of our Ping'anli neighborhood? It's a disgrace! It's a disgrace to the entire Yanshi city!"
"Old Xu, Old Xu, let it go, let it go." A gentle, somewhat helpless voice advised from the side.
The speaker was another elderly man, slightly plumper than Grandpa Xu, wearing a plain gray undershirt and loose blue cloth trousers, and holding a palm-leaf fan in his hand. His hair was also white, but because of his round face, he looked very kind.
He reached out and pulled on Grandpa Xu's arm, trying to calm him down: "Old Wang and the others have done their best. Don't get too angry in this hot weather. Come on, let's go to my house. I have some good tea to help you cool down."
Jiang Ling's gaze fell on the face of the old man who was trying to break up the fight.
He was an ordinary old man, with the gentle temperament common among elderly people of that era, whose edges had been smoothed by time. I saw him once this morning at the breakfast stall downstairs. The owner, whom everyone called "Aunt Liu," invited him to sit down and said she would bring him soy milk and fried dough sticks later.
Everyone has curiosity.
It was the first time Jiang Ling had seen a community cadre being verbally abused by an old man, so she couldn't help but look at Grandpa Xu with curiosity.
But in that instant, Jiang Ling's heart stirred inexplicably.
look familiar.
A vague, elusive sense of familiarity swept over me. It wasn't a specific facial feature, but more like a feeling, a distant, almost forgotten impression.
Jiang Ling was actually a little afraid of this sense of familiarity.
Since no criminal records in her mind have been triggered, she cannot be sure whether this Mr. Xu is someone she has met before, or someone she has seen in prison or in the records.
Jiang Ling frowned, trying to search through the dust of her memories.
Where had she seen him before? In real life? In a newspaper? On television? Or a long, long time ago, on some occasion she had almost forgotten?
But the interrogation had been too exhausting, and Jiang Ling's brain was tired, making it impossible for her to concentrate as usual.
She looked up at the balcony of her third-floor living room, where several pieces of clothing were hanging to dry and a newly planted potted plant stood, creating a lively atmosphere.
Jiang Ling bypassed the crowd of onlookers and went straight home.
The dispute behind them continued.
"Old Liu, don't pull me!" Grandpa Xu abruptly shook off Grandpa Liu's hand, the force so great that Grandpa Liu stumbled. "You're always so wishy-washy. Can you be ambiguous about matters of principle? You can't even solve a drainage problem, how can you talk about letting the people live and work in peace?"
Grandpa Xu's anger was mixed with an almost tragic disappointment. His gaze swept over the few neighbors who were peeking around: "You only know how to watch the show, why don't you fight with me! At this time, instead of addressing the problem and fighting for your own interests, you're just cowards. What's the point?"
Those who were just watching the commotion were inexplicably called out, and they were all a little unhappy.
"Hey, Grandpa Xu, why are you biting everyone you see?"
"Do you expect us to do what you're doing and point our fingers at the community officials and yell at them? If yelling could solve the problem, we'd all go to the neighborhood committee every day and yell at them."
"Road repairs cost money, pipeline upgrades cost money, and I guess the government doesn't have the funds. You still boast about being an old revolutionary? Is this all the ideological awareness an old revolutionary has?"
Seeing that no one supported him, Grandpa Xu could only glare at Wang Deyang, snort heavily, and turn to leave.
The setting sun cast a long, persistent shadow behind him.
Grandpa Liu, who was shaken off, wasn't angry. He shook his head with a wry smile, gave Wang Deyang an apologetic smile, sighed in the direction Grandpa Xu had left, and then slowly fanned himself with a palm leaf fan and strolled away.
Once the main character left, the crowd dispersed, whispering amongst themselves.
Wang Deyang wiped the sweat from his forehead, got on his bicycle, and rode away.
As soon as Jiang Ling opened the door, she smelled the aroma of food wafting from the kitchen.
I sniffed; it seemed to smell like stir-fried pork with chili peppers.
"mom!"
Jiang Ling called out.
Xiao Wenjuan's gentle voice came from the kitchen: "Hey, Lingling's back? There's mung bean soup on the coffee table, hurry up and have some to cool off in the summer heat."
Jiang Ling entered the house, changed into a pair of red plastic slippers, and took the gardenia into the kitchen.
Xiao Wenjuan was cooking, her forehead covered in sweat. The kitchen had many exhaust fans, but they weren't very effective at removing the fumes, and the smell of chili peppers was very strong. When she saw Jiang Ling come in, she quickly said, "Lingling, stay outside. It's too pungent in here."
Jiang Ling held up the bouquet in her hand: "I'll find a bowl to put the flowers in."
Xiao Wenjuan glanced at the flowers, took a large bowl from the cupboard and handed it over: "The gardenias smell quite nice, quickly put them in water, otherwise they'll wilt."
Jiang Ling took the porcelain bowl, filled it with water, placed the gardenia flowers stem-down into the bowl, and then placed the bowl full of flowers on the coffee table.
The ceiling fan blew gently, filling the room with a pleasant fragrance.
The mung bean soup was sweet and cool, and drinking it dispelled all the gloom in Jiang Ling's heart.
It's so good to have a home.
Once the food was served, the mother and daughter ate and chatted.
Xiao Wenjuan asked, "Are you tired?"
Jiang Ling: "It's alright."
Xiao Wenjuan raised her hand and stroked her daughter's head: "This child, she still hides her thoughts when she talks to her mother."
Jiang Ling swallowed the food in her mouth, thought for a moment, and then said, "I am a little tired. I interrogated a criminal today, and although he confessed, I still felt very sad."
Xiao Wenjuan looked at her daughter with eyes full of tenderness: "As police officers, you will always come into contact with many dark aspects. It's best to separate your life from your work. Mom knows you are a kind and good child, but you must remember that it's okay to sympathize with the weak, but avoid excessive empathy, otherwise it can easily affect your emotions and judgment."
Jiang Ling nodded thoughtfully, "Mm."
In her past life, she worked as a record clerk in a prison and never reached the front lines of criminal investigation. Now that she's a criminal investigator and part of the technical team, she'll inevitably encounter different victims and all sorts of criminals. Her mother is right; work is work, and life is life. Mixing them together is bad for her mental and physical health.
I've heard that police officers often seek psychological counseling after firing shots or experiencing dangerous situations, with the aim of adjusting their mindset, dispelling negative emotions, and strengthening their beliefs through scientific methods.
Jiang Ling thought that the sudden feeling of exhaustion and helplessness after completing the interrogation today was also a kind of negative emotion. If Liang Jiushan hadn't brought her gardenias, and if her mother hadn't been so gentle and caring, she probably would have remained depressed for a long time.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling turned her gaze to the bowl of gardenias on the coffee table in the living room.
The flowers are arranged in concentric circles with the center of the bowl as the center, the stems facing inwards and the petals facing outwards, creating a sacred and dazzling beauty.
Xiao Wenjuan noticed her daughter's gaze shift and smiled, "A gift from a friend?"
Jiang Ling said, "When I was at the police station before, I saved a brother and sister. This was brought by the younger brother."
Xiao Wenjuan had heard of these two people: "Oh, Liang Jiushan."
Jiang Ling: "Yes, it's him."
Xiao Wenjuan: "How old is he this year?"
Jiang Ling: "Fifteen, the high school entrance exam is coming up soon."
Xiao Wenjuan quietly observed her daughter's reaction: "Fifteen years old, still a child."
Jiang Ling nodded: "Yes."
At fifteen, he was indeed still a child, but Jiang Ling had seen what he looked like when he grew up. He was slender and tall, with a melancholy expression, and his beautiful eyes were filled with an unyielding sense of confusion and helplessness.
Looking at her daughter's relaxed expression, Xiao Wenjuan felt incredibly tender.
This daughter, whom she had lost and then found again, was her pride and her precious treasure. She hoped her daughter would have a smooth life and that she would be happy every day.
However, my daughter is a criminal police officer.
She is a criminal police officer, just like her husband, Lin Weidong.
This profession offers a strong sense of honor and accomplishment, but it involves constantly dealing with criminals, which can be dangerous and painful.
Although Xiao Wenjuan really wanted her daughter to be transferred to Kyoto so the family could be together and support and protect each other in case of trouble, she knew that once her daughter made up her mind, no one could change it. She could only choose to stay, spending each day with her as long as she could.
To be honest, Xiao Wenjuan was very concerned about her daughter's love life.
She hopes that when she is not in Yanshi, her daughter will have someone to accompany her, love her, and care for her.
She had just seen the bright look in her daughter's eyes when she looked at the gardenias, and thought there was hope, but when she asked, she was surprised to find out that she was only fifteen.
Thinking of this, Xiao Wenjuan asked Jiang Ling, "Lingling, what are your plans for the future?"
Jiang Ling was just picking up a piece of stir-fried pork with chili peppers and putting it in her mouth when she heard the question. Without thinking, she answered, "Be a policeman, to solve cases."
Xiao Wenjuan smiled, pursing her lips: "You were born on November 7, 1973, and you'll be 21 soon. When I was your age, people were already introducing me to potential partners."
Jiang Ling was stunned for a moment, then looked up at her mother: "Introducing someone to me? Is it my dad?"
Xiao Wenjuan shook her head: "It wasn't him."
The air was filled with the lingering aroma of home-cooked meals and a comforting scent that belonged to a mother. At this moment, listening to her parents' love story was quite interesting for Jiang Ling: "So how did you fall in love with my dad?"
Xiao Wenjuan's smile held a touch of sweetness, her gaze distant, as if piercing through the dust of time and returning to that special era.
“Your dad,” Xiao Wenjuan’s lips unconsciously curved into a nostalgic smile, “the first time he stood in front of me, he wasn’t some imposing policeman, but a naive student. Back then, I was his Chinese teacher.”
Jiang Ling's mouth suddenly opened wide.
Wow, my parents are in a teacher-student relationship? That's so unconventional!
“When I first met your dad, I had just graduated from teachers’ college and was only twenty years old. Your dad was a high school sophomore at the time, seventeen years old. He wasn’t the top student, but he had a strong drive, he was very upright and very stubborn. Once he made up his mind about something, not even ten oxen could pull him back.”
Jiang Ling smiled as she imagined what her parents looked like when they were young.
"Later, he joined the army. After being discharged, he was assigned to the Public Security Bureau. Wearing that police uniform, he suddenly became much more upright. After he returned to work, he always found various excuses to come to the school to see me."
Xiao Wenjuan laughed, her wrinkles around her eyes smoothing out: "She said she was visiting her teacher and reporting her thoughts. But her eyes were as bright as searchlights, impossible to hide. Every time she came, she was wearing that faded old police uniform, her back ramrod straight, sometimes carrying a few apples that could only be bought with ration coupons, sometimes a few White Rabbit milk candies that she had asked someone to get for her. She still spoke with a bit of the restraint she had in her student days, and she kept saying 'Reporting to Teacher Xiao'."
"And then? You two started dating?" Jiang Ling couldn't help but ask. Even if it wasn't a teacher-student relationship, it was still a relationship between an older woman and a younger man. She wondered what outsiders would think of them.
Xiao Wenjuan sighed: "I'm a single female teacher, and he's a young policeman who was once my student. There are many people gossiping behind our backs, and even the principal has subtly reminded me to be mindful of the impact. But love is an irrational thing."
"Once, he was chasing a bicycle thief when the man hit his arm with an iron bar. I went to see him at the hospital, and he was grimacing in pain, but he still grinned at me and said something like, 'Teacher Xiao, did I embarrass our school?' Seeing him with his arm wrapped in bandages and still trying to be tough, my heart softened and I made up my mind."
"And then what?" Jiang Ling listened intently, forgetting to eat her meal.
Xiao Wenjuan's smile carried a hint of composure born from weathering storms. "At first, we dated secretly. We didn't dare meet in public, we didn't dare go to the movies together. Our most frequent place was that deserted riverbank on the outskirts of the city. After he got off work, and after I finished preparing my lessons, we would walk there one after the other as it got dark. We would sit on the embankment, listening to the rushing water. He would tell me about catching bad guys and how tough their training was; I would read him poems I had copied in my notebook and talk about the naughty students I encountered in class. There wasn't much entertainment back then, so being able to talk quietly like that made me feel incredibly content, like I had the whole world."
She paused, as if she could still smell the scent of the grass on the riverbank and feel the young policeman's clumsy yet passionate approach.
"Later, we got our marriage certificate. We didn't have a proper banquet; we just invited a few of our closest colleagues and friends and had a simple meal at the police station canteen. Your dad wore his best police uniform, and I wore a newly made blue Lenin suit..."
Xiao Wenjuan's voice was soft and gentle, filled with nostalgia and cherishment for that simple wedding: "Life was poor, but our hearts were full. Your father was a good policeman and a good husband."
Looking at her daughter's quiet, listening face, Xiao Wenjuan's eyes were filled with boundless love: "Lingling, your father and I have been through thick and thin together, it hasn't been easy. But Mom has never regretted it. When you're tired, just think of home and the people who love you, and you'll have the strength."
Touched by her parents' love story, Jiang Ling sighed softly, "That's wonderful."
Xiao Wenjuan reached out and gently brushed the stray hairs from her daughter's forehead, her movements as soft as brushing away a feather: "Lingling, you are my daughter, you came into this world with love and expectations. I hope that you can also find a man worthy of your love, just like I did, and live a happy life."
Jiang Ling thought for a moment, then asked very seriously, "How do I know if the other person is worthy of my love? How can I be sure we can live a happy life together?"
Xiao Wenjuan felt a slight, dull ache in her heart.
Her daughter should have been carefree and unrestrained. Like Nianxiao, she should have known nothing of sorrow, and when she met a handsome boy who attracted her heart, she would smile and ask, "Can we be friends?"
But she had lost Jiang Ling, leaving her to face all the storms of life alone. Faced with love, she didn't embrace it with joy, but instead pondered carefully: Is he worthy of my love? Can I be happy with him?
Xiao Wenjuan reached out and pulled Jiang Ling into her arms, saying softly, "None of us can predict the future, so we must trust our hearts. If you encounter love, bravely go for it, don't be afraid. So what if it's not worth it? At least you've loved, experienced, and felt. So what if we can't grow old together? You're not alone. You still have family, friends, and a job you love, right?"
Nestled in her mother's warm embrace, Jiang Ling felt like a little bird returning to its nest.
As she pondered, she unconsciously repeated her mother's words: "When you encounter love, bravely step forward?"
Although it was a little hot holding her daughter, Xiao Wenjuan was reluctant to let go: "Yes! Don't worry about whether it's worth it or not, don't worry about whether we're a good match or not, as long as you like it, everything is fine."
Jiang Ling nodded again.
She seemed to understand what her mother meant.
My mother is encouraging me to date.
No matter who the other person is, if you like them, then be brave and confess your feelings.
Don't worry about family background, age, height, education, job... these worldly conditions. Just consider whether you truly like him.
Xiao Wenjuan added, "Back then, nobody thought your dad was a good match. They said he was too young and inexperienced, and that since I was so much older than him, it wouldn't last. But what happened? We've always been doing great."
Jiang Ling asked, "What if I don't want to date or get married?"
Xiao Wenjuan answered without hesitation: "Then it's okay not to date or get married."
Jiang Ling smiled.
The hard shell that covered her body, trying so hard to protect her from harm, seemed to have softened a lot.
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