Police officer Chen Shu.

Zhu Chaoran drove the police car on duty, carrying the other three people, and headed to "Old Couple Barbecue" on Dongming Road with ease.

Upon arriving at their destination, the four found the store still bustling with business. Since they were wearing police uniforms and it was inconvenient for them to squeeze into the crowd, they found a small round table by the roadside and sat down.

Chen Shu took out his phone and started scanning the QR code to order food.

Zhu Chaoran rushed into the store and quickly returned with four sets of bowls and chopsticks and a 2L bottle of Coke. As he set the bowls and chopsticks and poured the Coke on the small round table, he frowned and said:

"Brother Shu, when I was checking the intranet the other day, I found out that the bureau awarded that brat Li Meng a second-class merit. Sigh, these office workers..."

Chen Shu chuckled upon hearing this: "Fatty, you've only been in the police force for a few months. But you sound like a veteran officer who's been with the force for many years."

Zhu Chaoran whispered, "Hehe, when I went on a police call with Old Zeng a while ago..."

"Senior brother, I heard from Fatty that you were the one who rushed in and caught the kidnapper all by yourself?" Li Chaoyang said apologetically, looking embarrassed.

"I'm a little curious. After you came back, Zeng Jiao personally took over the work with the Criminal Investigation Department, but he didn't mention this case at all in the station later."

Zhu Chaoran pursed his lips and remained silent, while Xu Lei put down the phone he was playing with.

Chen Shu nodded: "Given Zeng Jiao's penchant for publicity and reporting, he wouldn't fail to make a big deal out of this kidnapping case that spans thousands of kilometers. Especially since the police who ultimately arrested the perpetrators were officers from our own police station."

He raised his eyebrows, considered for a moment, and looked around at the three people around him who all had focused and eager expressions. He could only helplessly explain:

"The operation to capture the kidnappers was directed on-site by Ren Da from the Criminal Investigation Department. He ordered us to prioritize protecting the hostages, release the kidnappers, and not to make any rash moves. But seeing that the opportunity was too good to pass up, I disobeyed orders. When it came time to capture the kidnappers, I decided on my own to go and do it alone. Luckily, we caught them."

The three listened attentively. Although Chen Shu only spoke a few words about the final arrest, it was an undeniable fact that he had spent a month in the hospital.

The scene of the arrest must have been extremely brutal.

Zhu Chaoran smacked his lips and said disdainfully, "Brother Shu broke his ribs and got nothing. Someone else accidentally tripped and broke his leg, but ended up getting a second-class merit award."

Although he didn't name names, at the branch office level, it's a significant achievement for an officer to receive a second-class merit award. The branch office website, as well as the officers' own friends and colleagues, will mention it.

So everyone here knows that this person is Li Meng from the Criminal Investigation Department, and that he was injured during the capture of the kidnappers. As for whether he broke his leg or how he was injured, they don't know.

Chen Shu knew Zhu Chaoran was speaking up for him, so he took the large Coke bottle and filled his cup, pretending not to have heard him, and continued:

"Later I learned that the kidnappers were armed and mentally ill. Under such circumstances, our raid would have put the hostages in great danger. I acted impulsively and didn't follow orders. I guess Old Zeng cleaned up my mess later, otherwise I would definitely have received a disciplinary action or something."

"Catching the criminal and still facing punishment..." Xu Lei paused, then said dismissively, "In the Moscow theater hostage crisis, terrorists were simply shot dead. Hostage safety is important, but we can't let the criminals run rampant. Otherwise, how will we handle major cases in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Shu tapped the small round table with his knuckles and said with a serious expression, "Xu Lei, you're still young. You can say what you said today, but you can't say it carelessly outside. We are the people's police, and we must put the people first; that's fundamental."

As they were talking, the female owner of the barbecue restaurant came to the small round table carrying a large, sizzling iron plate full of barbecue.

Seeing this, Zhu Chaoran quickly stood up and helped the proprietress place the iron plate on the table.

Once the heavy load was off her hands, the proprietress caught her breath and said with a smile, "Officer Chen, it's been so long! I thought you'd been promoted."

"Haha, boss lady, thank you for your kind words. When you really get promoted, I'll book the whole place for a banquet!"

"Oh dear, I really don't want to set up this banquet then."

The moment the words left his mouth, the entire room fell silent.

The night was a bit chilly in late summer.

Realizing she had said the wrong thing, the proprietress quickly tried to make amends:

"Officer Chen, I didn't say you wouldn't get promoted. What I really meant was that the people around here really miss you. You're not like those other police officers who, every time we report something, take our statements, and then tell us to go home and wait for a call. Wait for a call like that!"

The proprietress, who hails from Northeast China, is a very bold and uninhibited person.

The pressure fell on Xu Lei, the provincial police academy intern who was in charge of daily interrogation records at the Zhongshan Police Station.

However, being born in the 00s, he lived up to expectations, picked up the disposable cup filled with cola in front of him, stood up, looked at the proprietress, and said without changing his expression:

"Boss lady, let me toast you. Thank you for waiting. We'll try to let you know earlier next time."

The proprietress was a little embarrassed, unaware that the person she was referring to was also sitting there. The people at the barbecue restaurant, who usually chatted with Chen Shu about everything under the sun, had long since come to regard this policeman as a friend, and sometimes spoke without thinking too much.

Xu Lei finished his cola in one gulp, sat down, and waved to the proprietress with a smile, saying, "Don't overthink it, proprietress."

Chen Shu nodded secretly, his goodwill towards this young police cadet born in the 2000s growing even stronger. He smiled and smoothed things over, saying, "The proprietress has a sharp tongue but a soft heart, which is a good thing. It shows she values ​​us. Don't we get a 20% discount every time people from the station come here for late-night snacks? We remember how kind you two are."

"No, no. You said it was a 20% discount, but in the end you didn't charge us anything, and even gave us extra money! Officer Chen, we've seen how hard you work day and night. Sometimes when things happen, we know we can't blame you. We were just venting and getting our tongues out. You guys eat first, I won't bother you anymore." With that, the proprietress fled.

"Don't worry about the outcome; as long as the intention is there, that's enough," Chen Shu said softly, watching the proprietress's retreating figure.

While the others were talking, Zhu Chaoran had already devoured five or six skewers of mutton: "If you don't eat now, there won't be any meat left."

Xu Lei, who joined the Zhongshan Police Station around the same time as Zhu Chaoran, put his left arm around Zhu Chaoran's neck and tugged at the tightly taut police duty belt around his large belly with his right hand, jokingly saying:

"Fatty, if you keep eating like this, the station won't have a suitable belt for you to hang your equipment."

Zhu Chaoran remained expressionless, biting off the last piece of lamb from his skewer, chewing and swallowing with satisfaction, saying, "Good meat. Stop talking so much nonsense and hurry up and eat. If the police come and call later, we won't have anything to eat."

"A wise and mature opinion," Li Chaoyang gently echoed.

He is the police officer on duty responsible for receiving calls, and he is particularly sensitive to daily 110 calls. He responds to calls as quickly as possible and relays the information to the public to reassure them. He believes this is the most essential quality that a police officer on duty should possess.

It was sometime in the early hours of the morning when four police officers in uniform sat quietly at a small round table by the roadside, eating their midnight snack.