Police officer Chen Shu.

The two returned to the police station close to closing time. Zhu Chaoran immediately rushed to the canteen.

Seeing his impatient look, Chen Shu found it somewhat amusing, but then he was reminded of his school days when all the boys in the class would rush out after the fourth period in the morning.

When he returned to his office, changed into his police uniform, and went to the canteen, he immediately saw Zhu Chaoran sitting in the first row, holding a large bowl of steaming noodles. He slurped a big mouthful of noodles with his left hand and took a big bite of the large pig's trotter placed on the small bowl with his right hand, eating while sweating profusely.

Chen Shu closed the cafeteria door behind him, ordered a bowl of egg noodles at the serving window, and sat down next to Zhu Chaoran.

Zhu Chaoran chewed on a pig's trotter and asked, puzzled, "Brother Shu, although Boss Zheng has helped us arrest people a few times, he doesn't seem like a good person."

Chen Shu swallowed the noodles in his mouth, took a small sip of soup, and said calmly, "He's definitely not a good person. Years ago, our station had a series of cases involving gangs stealing electric bicycles and motorcycles, and he was the main receiver (seller) of stolen goods in that gang."

"How many years was he sentenced to?"

"Because of insufficient evidence, they released him. However, at the time, I 'flailing the copper rod a few times' and recruited him as an informant."

In Dongzhou slang, "dancing with copper sticks" means to create a smokescreen, to bluff or deceive. It involves taking advantage of an information gap to make something out of nothing seem real, creating a convincing falsehood.

In the investigation of the electric bicycle and motorcycle theft gang case that year, it was extremely difficult for the police to collect evidence of the subjective intent of Boss Zheng, a seasoned veteran, to receive stolen goods.

On the other hand, he did indeed contribute significantly to the police investigation into the gang's criminal activities, providing some crucial evidence.

At the time, the police were primarily targeting the theft gang, so they turned a blind eye to Boss Zheng's cooperation. Part of the reason was also that there weren't enough police resources or manpower to simultaneously investigate another case.

Taking advantage of this momentum, Chen Shu used the pretext of the police's all-out crackdown on theft gangs to intimidate Boss Zheng by claiming to be a close associate and "get" him out of trouble.

From then on, Boss Zheng outwardly showed gratitude to Chen Shu and always granted his requests.

Chen Shu didn't care about his attitude and even went along with it. For example, this time Boss Zheng wanted to help his friend get his car out of the police station.

These electric motorcycles aren't actually worth much; you could get one for a few thousand yuan at most on the market. But if Boss Zheng could get the impounded motorcycle back from the police station...

This kind of social standing is very valuable and can be used to accomplish many things.

So when he asked Chen Shu to help his friend retrieve his car, Chen Shu not only agreed but also allowed him to openly bring his men directly into the police station to take the car.

Chen Shu's thinking was simple. For him, face was worthless. Solving cases and bringing criminal suspects to justice was the ultimate goal of everything he did.

He helped Boss Zheng gain face in the underworld, and Boss Zheng had to give back with something of real value.

"An equivalent exchange." Chen Shu placed one of the only two egg pancakes from his small bowl into Zhu Chaoran's large bowl. "Don't think that just because we police officers are informants or special agents, we can order them around for free. As long as it doesn't violate our legal bottom line, you either have to give them money or power."

Zhu Chaoran opened his mouth and nodded as if he understood but not quite.

"And we need to cover their unpredictable and dangerous future actions. Therefore, it is very important to conduct a comprehensive observation of informants in the early stages, with character and personality being the top priority."

Chen Shu picked up the last egg pancake from the small bowl and placed it in front of him:

"My initial goal was to get Lao Zheng to confess as quickly as possible, so I starved him and his shop worker for 24 hours. When I finally let them go, I casually gave them both a large bread. As I saw him out the door, he had barely stepped out the door when he tore off half a bread and handed it to the worker."

Zhu Chaoran put down his chopsticks and scratched his head: "After being hungry for 24 hours to get bread, I'd better stuff it into my mouth as fast as I can."

"That worker, like the kid we met at his shop today, is also disabled."

After saying that, Chen Shu put the egg pancake from his chopsticks into his mouth.

Zhu Chaoran suddenly realized: "I didn't realize Old Zheng was a good person after all."

After swallowing the egg pancake, Chen Shu picked up a pack of tissues from the table, took out two, and placed one in front of Zhu Chaoran: "I wouldn't call him a good person, but at least he has a bottom line. Although there's no evidence, I guess he's done some petty theft in secret."

"Brother Shu, why not just take them all out at once? Actually, I think Old Zheng looks like a thief! Now that I think about it, maybe all the cars in his shop are stolen!"

Chen Shu chuckled upon hearing this: "We police officers have to use our brains as well as our eyes. Old Zheng has been through a lot. Now, the cars in his shop are emptier than your pockets. But you're right about one thing: Old Zheng is a master thief."

Zhu Chaoran's eyes widened: "Then why don't we hurry up and arrest him!"

Chen Shu extended his left hand, made a fist, and slowly counted down the fingers one by one:

"Do you have any evidence? If you arrest your informants, who will tip us off in the future? Do you think taking down Lao Zheng will eliminate all the thieves in our area? Hmm, maybe they'll decrease in the short term..."

Could you take some time to look at the statistics on electric bicycle and motorcycle theft cases in our office over the past few years? I haven't seen them, but I know they've definitely been decreasing year by year. Do you know why?

Because Lao Zheng and his group follow the rules and know their limits.

Seeing Zhu Chaoran's stunned expression, Chen Shu chuckled, "Alright, I won't disturb your appetite any longer. You eat first, and we can chat later."

Zhu Chaoran hurriedly continued to burp and gnaw on the pig's trotter.

After finishing his dinner, Chen Shu walked to the entrance of the canteen, took out a pack of Liqun cigarettes from his pocket, and handed one to Ma Su, who had followed him out.

"Is the case solved?" Chief Ma took a deep breath and asked casually.

Chen Shu nodded: "It should be soon."

Ma thought for a moment and said, "I didn't see you and Xiao Li say those things just now."

"Chaoyang has a rather stubborn personality and isn't suited for these kinds of things. Unless he goes down the path of hard work in the future, he should be given more time to hone his skills, and it would be best if he could figure things out for himself."

Ma continued, "Zhu Chaoran is, after all, an auxiliary police officer."

He didn't say anything more. He understood that Chen Shu should understand what he meant.

Auxiliary police officers should not possess investigative techniques.

Chen Shu glanced at Ma Suo, threw the half-finished cigarette in his hand on the steps, and stomped it out.

"Zhu Chaoran is kind-hearted and courageous, tactful but principled. Most importantly, he is young and has a future."