Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 700 Southeast West

Listening to Nie Guoqiang's conversation with the old man, Lin Ge finally realized just how formidable the old guy really was.

Like Nie Guoqiang, he was also a former soldier. However, unlike Nie Guoqiang, who was engaged in anti-drug work in the south, his unit was stationed on the Tibetan border, one of the harshest and coldest border regions in China.

His more than ten years of life on the border were extremely tough, and he eventually broke down and had to change careers. After returning to his hometown, he was assigned to the Zhanghe Police Station, where he had worked before.

Back then, the police station only had seven or eight people, which doesn't seem like much less than now. But you have to understand, there were no auxiliary police officers back then. Everyone had to work hard to handle everything in the jurisdiction, which was much more tiring than it is now.

To put it bluntly, people's understanding of the law was also lower back then, and many people were used to solving problems with their fists or even knives.

People nowadays know to be afraid of having a criminal record, but back then, who was afraid of whom?
Occasionally, they would encounter life-threatening situations, such as the imitation and ignorance of unemployed young people after the rise of the Young and Dangerous movement.

In short, being a policeman in those days was an extremely dangerous thing.

But the old director wasn't afraid!
He summoned the courage and perseverance he had when he was in the army, and led his men in tireless efforts to maintain public order. Year after year, they worked diligently to reduce crime in Zhangzhou, cracking down on crime swiftly and decisively, thus maintaining order and social stability in Zhangzhou.

At that time, the people of Zhangzhou called the old man "King Tiger," meaning that when the tiger appeared, all beasts bowed their heads.

Such a majestic nickname made it impossible for Lin Ge to associate it with the lean, slightly hunched old man in front of him.

He worked hard until retirement, and then handed over his position to Nie Guoqiang.

Although he is now retired, he still keeps track of the situation at the police station.

The old police chief was undoubtedly satisfied with the current development of Zhanghe Police Station. It was just a pity that the successor he had chosen was sickly like him. He himself had at least managed to hold on until retirement age, but this guy was already considering a job transfer at a young age.

What the hell are you talking about?!

This little setback has defeated you? Getting sick doesn't mean you've lost your limbs or your life. Get better and keep going! You're from the military, how can you even think about backing down?
You can consider retiring when there is no crime in Zhangzhou.

"I understand!"

Nie Guoqiang nodded heavily.

He came here this time to seek support from the former director.

Although Yu Zhengwei suggested he change positions, Jiang Yan'er even hoped he would take early retirement, and his superiors came to talk to him and inquire about his situation, Nie Guoqiang still couldn't bear to leave the place where he had fought.

He had hesitated before, unsure of what to choose, but now that someone was supporting him, Nie Guoqiang felt reassured. Yes! His limbs weren't broken, and his eyes weren't blind; why couldn't he continue fighting on the front lines?

Everyone says they're worried about his health, but he's perfectly healthy!
As long as Zhangzhou City still needs me, I will never be a deserter!

With the encouragement and support of the old director, Nie Guoqiang quickly regained his confidence and fighting spirit. He had looked preoccupied before, but now that his worries were resolved, he immediately became full of fighting spirit.

"This is so true!"

The old director's attitude improved a lot, and he even invited Nie Guoqiang to his home for lunch.

Incidentally, his gaze towards Lin Ge improved considerably, and his comment, "This cat is so energetic, just like me back then," left Lin Ge speechless.

It was only then that Lin Ge finally understood what Nie Guoqiang had come for. He also finally understood the reason behind the seemingly impending argument between the two earlier.

To put it bluntly, both of them are awkward!

The old police chief was angry at his lack of ambition, while Nie Guoqiang was conflicted and resentful, yet he also believed that his departure was for the good of the police station, which is why they appeared so tense. Now that Nie Guoqiang had resolved his inner conflict, the old police chief was satisfied, and his attitude naturally improved again.

The old man ignored the cards scattered on the table, only picked up the chessboard next to him, and slowly led Nie Guoqiang down to a single-story old house at the end of the alley.

The house is surrounded by cultivated vegetable gardens, and the yard is filled with all sorts of flowers and plants. It's only because the house is old, with peeling paint on the walls and obvious signs of rainwater seepage that it lacks a secluded atmosphere.

Upon entering, Lin Ge found the floor to be cement, neither tiled nor wooden. In fact, due to its age, the cement floor was peeling and uneven. The furniture was quite complete, though old and with chipped paint; otherwise, it was in good condition. Although there was no air conditioning, there was a color TV, refrigerator, and washing machine. Lin Ge didn't smell any other person's presence in the house, suggesting the old man lived alone.

Nie Guoqiang accompanied the old director to pick vegetables outside, while Lin Ge wandered around the house alone.

To be honest, the house was quite simple, nothing special, and I wondered if the old man was comfortable living alone. But then I thought about how the neighbors were all elderly people of similar age, so I figured his daily activities must be quite varied.

But when Lin Ge entered the second bedroom, he suddenly noticed a five-inch photo frame leaning against the bedside table. The photo showed a young man in a white military uniform against a backdrop of the azure sea, with a beautiful steel warship at his feet.

"This must be the old man's son, right? He's in the navy!"

Lin Ge jumped onto the bedside table to examine the somewhat faded photograph up close. He saw that the photo was taken five years ago in September. In other words, the young man in the photo was only in his twenties, quite a difference in age from the old man.

However, the old man was a retired soldier, and his son actually followed suit and joined the army, even becoming a navy soldier, which made Lin Ge admire him.

“Wang Tianci was picked up by the old police chief. Since his biological parents could not be found, he was adopted. The old police chief never married. He was delayed in his youth when he was on the frontier. After retiring from the army, he was busy working at the police station and felt that he was too old, so he gave up his plans to get married.”

Nie Guoqiang appeared at the door, talking as he walked over, and looked at the naval photo with Lin Ge.

The young man in the photo is smiling, showing off his bright white teeth, but his skin is tanned dark.

The father once guarded the western border of the motherland, while the son now protects the southernmost sea frontier; the choices these father and son made when they joined the army are truly remarkable. As a naval officer, he probably rarely has the opportunity to return to visit his father, and it's unknown how many times he's come back in the past five years. Looking at the spotless picture frame and bedside table, it's clear the old officer comes to wipe them clean every day, perhaps out of deep longing for his son.

To be honest, that's quite remarkable. Lin Ge's opinion of the old director changed further, and by the way, the aroma of fish wafting from the kitchen was also rather enticing.

Just then, the community director suddenly knocked on the door and came in.

Behind him, two community workers carried an outdoor air conditioner unit and another carried the indoor unit, carefully placing it in the corner of the living room.

"Take it! I don't want it!"

The old director emerged from the kitchen, holding a knife in one hand and a spatula in the other; his dark face and menacing demeanor startled the community director, making him tremble.

“Old leader, this is what you deserve! As a military family member with no one to take care of you, you should have received care from the community. Besides, this air conditioner was originally a gift for elderly people living alone, and you are entitled to enjoy it.”

The community director quickly explained, pointing to the air conditioner packaging box, "And don't worry, it's not the same one as before. That one was given to Grandma Wei here; she's on welfare and doesn't have a pension, so she meets the criteria for a free air conditioner. This one is specially for you..."

"Get lost! I know that Old Lady Wei meets the criteria, but I have a pension and my living conditions are not bad. I don't need your charity! Do you think my family's situation makes me look like someone the government needs to worry about?"

The old director pointed to the color TV and refrigerator in his home and said impatiently, "I'm not short of money. I'll buy it myself if I need it! Besides, it's just a broken air conditioner. Are you trying to curry favor with me by using it? Aren't you underestimating me?"

"This... is simply because the community didn't do a good enough job in the past and failed to take care of retired senior citizens like you; it was our mistake, so we're considering giving you some compensation..."

The community director chuckled dryly, never expecting that this old man would show such complete disrespect.

And what kind of thing is it for you, the deputy director of a police station, to run away to this poor place and hide your identity? If Director Nie hadn't said it himself today, who would have thought that the old tiger Wang was hiding in this poor place?

"If you don't take it away, I'll call Old Sun and report you!"

The old director's attitude became even worse.

Seeing the old man about to attack with a kitchen knife, the community director had no choice but to order the air conditioner to be moved again. Before leaving, he glanced back at the expressionless Nie Guoqiang, muttered a few curses to himself, and walked away angrily. However… he felt a sense of relief. This old man didn't seem like the type to bully people because of his status; the community shouldn't suffer much at his hands in the future.

That's good, that's good...

The community director was very satisfied with the results of the trial, and his steps became much lighter.

The house quickly returned to calm. The old director went back to the kitchen to cook, while Nie Guoqiang went outside to buy two bottles of cheap liquor and then helped the old man put the dishes on the table.

The meal was quickly prepared, and the old man even prepared a plate of small fish especially for Lin Ge. He said he caught them in the river nearby, and although the locals thought the fish were inedible because of the factories upstream, the old man ate them with great relish every day.

"It's only because life has improved that people dare to complain about such good food. Back then, it was rare to even smell a hint of fish, but now people refuse to eat this or that..."

"..."

Hearing the old man's words, Lin Ge paused in his motion to shake his head. He did indeed think the fish didn't taste very good; he could vaguely smell a strange, oily odor.

But since the old man had said so, Lin Ge couldn't be willful anymore, so he could only chew slowly, one piece at a time.

"Hmph! I'll give you face because you're my former boss!"

Lin Ge grumbled inwardly.

"interesting!"

The old man clinked glasses with Nie Guoqiang and took another sip of wine; it was unclear what they were talking about this time.

After eating three or four pieces, Lin Ge couldn't eat anymore, but this time the old man didn't mind. He just slowly persuaded Nie Guoqiang a few more times, inquired about the current situation at the police station, and then focused on drinking and eating.

After Nie Guoqiang had spent half an hour with the old man and they had eaten and drunk their fill, before he could even say goodbye, the old man urged him to hurry up and leave so as not to interfere with his card game in the afternoon.

Before Nie Guoqiang could even leave, he went straight out the door, ignoring the dining table and the tidying up, and excitedly grabbed his large chessboard and headed out the door.

So the person and the cat could only smile wryly as they helped clear the table and wash the dishes before saying goodbye outside and slowly leaving.

Before they even left the community, a tricycle slowly drove out. The air conditioner inside was very conspicuous; the donation notice on it was still attached. It drove straight past Nie Guoqiang.

Lin Ge and Nie Guoqiang exchanged a glance and remained silent.

But as I said before, once the item is delivered, it's their prerogative to decide what to do with it. As long as the delivery process was compliant, there's nothing to criticize the community for. Frankly, this is a thankless task for the community. It's one thing for someone else to use the air conditioner, but to convert it into cash in less than half a day—who wouldn't have some reservations? Why should they get a few hundred yuan while we don't? We're all struggling financially; who's superior to whom?

The thought of dealing with such troublesome matters in the community made Lin Ge feel overwhelmed.

At this point, my opinion of that community director changed quite a bit; from that perspective, he really had a tough job.

Zhanghe Police Station handles numerous reports of neighborhood disputes every day. Considering that these reports are made after the community has already intervened and calmed the situation, one can understand that many more bitter consequences have been silently borne by community staff.

"I wonder if the one that was sold was the one that was given to that Grandma Wei, or the second one that the old director didn't want and gave to someone else?"

Lin Ge, somewhat curious, jumped into Nie Guoqiang's car.

Back at the police station, Lin Ge discovered that all seven little ones were home this time. However, the little guys all carried the leopard's scent, so much so that the underlings who came over for food and drink were a little afraid of them and even took a detour.

Even the little Ragdoll was a little afraid of its own kittens. When two of the kittens chased it, it ran away and quickly jumped to the top of the cat tree and wouldn't come down.

Lin Ge didn't know whether this was good or bad.

However, thinking that with the leopard's scent present, no cat, dog, or anything else would dare to bully the seven little ones. Furthermore, since the little hawksbill turtle wasn't affected by the scent and remained affectionate towards the seven little ones, Lin Ge decided to ignore it.

As time passed, both the zoo incident and the community outreach efforts faded away like willow catkins drifting in the air, quickly disappearing from Lin Ge's sight without a trace.

On the other hand, the atmosphere at the police station changed somewhat after Nie Guoqiang resolved his inner conflict.

Ultimately, with the pillar of strength choosing to stay, the morale of the police station was restored. Everyone stopped worrying about trivial matters, and in handling affairs and dealing with issues, they reverted to Nie Guoqiang's consistently tough approach.

Zheng Mingxing had some ideas about this, but after Nie Guoqiang talked to him in detail one night, Zheng Mingxing agreed and, as always, fully cooperated with Nie Guoqiang's work.

After the weather improved, Nie Guoqiang's leg ailment did not recur. He delegated some of his work to Zheng Mingxing, slightly reducing his workload to avoid overexertion and further relieving physical stress.

The two cooperated very well in this regard, and there was no rust in them even after not seeing each other for a month or two.

Soon the police station returned to its usual orderly state, working hard every day like an ordinary office worker, working 24 hours a day every week, with little change from before.

I just heard that the Municipal Bureau is going to recruit another 30 auxiliary police officers this time. I wonder how many people Zhanghe Police Station will be able to get, or maybe not even one?

Of course, this is not something Lin Ge should worry about.

Time flows like water, like a river.

The sweltering heat had barely subsided when a sudden downpour began. Lin Ge happened to be strolling outside the police station when it started raining, and was immediately trapped outside. He could only obediently squat under the eaves and wait for the rain to stop or at least lessen.

He could actually use the collar to contact people at the institute and see who was free to pick him up. But then he thought that since he had nothing else to do, waiting patiently for a while wouldn't be a problem.

There weren't many good places to take shelter from the rain around, so Lin Ge found a place that looked like a breakfast stall and squatted under the rain curtain in front of the stall.

In the mornings, they'll probably set up a few tables and chairs here, and then they'll engage in a battle of wits with the city management officers right on time. Anyway, the ground under Lin Ge's feet was covered with marks left by long-term contact with grease, and even his doormats were sticky, which made him quite helpless.

But by then the rain was pouring down, and it was too late to find another place to take shelter.

Lin Ge could only barely find a small, relatively clean open space. He stood quietly without daring to squat down, just watching the rain scene before him without moving.

‘Boom! ’

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, startling a food delivery worker who was sprinting across the road not far ahead with his head down.

His raincoat couldn't completely stop the rain, and his face and neck were already soaked. But even so, the phone hanging on the handlebars was still playing blasting music, making his work in the rain seem rather carefree.

Although being a delivery driver is hard work, this young man seems to enjoy it.

A little sparrow braved the heavy rain and rushed towards Lingo, seemingly soaked to the bone, and even performed a maneuver in mid-air.

It saw a cat crouching in its destination, hesitated slightly, seemingly afraid. However, no amount of fear could overcome the ruthlessness of nature, and it quickly flew over and landed not far from Ringo.

There were some noodle crumbs and bun scraps on the ground. The little sparrow looked at Lin Ge, then cautiously and stealthily pecked at one of them; it looked at Lin Ge again, then lowered its head and ate another bite.

Before he knew it, it had come right up to Lingo, and all Lingo had to do was lower his head and eat it.

(End of this chapter)