Police officer Chen Shu.

In the stillness of the night, all things have drifted into slumber.

In addition to the duty hall of Zhongshan Police Station on Gongyuan Road.

Chen Shu watched the commotion and pondered something.

"Drink some more, because once you're in jail tomorrow, there won't be any more to drink."

"Fatty, how can you talk like that!"

"It's okay, it's okay, Fatty is just trying to help me. It's just that I really ate too much earlier! I really can't drink anymore now."

Li Yishan, who had already eaten a plate of fried rice noodles and pork rib noodles, was forced by Zhu Chaoran and Xiao Wang to drink another bowl of beef soup.

At this moment, they may no longer be police officers and thieves, but simply friends who have come together by chance and can talk to each other.

"One mountain..."

A soft call came from outside the police station lobby.

Upon hearing the sound, the "lame" Chen Shu couldn't help but prop himself up and stand up.

He turned and looked outside, saw the familiar white Doraemon cartoon cat T-shirt, and smiled knowingly.

"Wang Li, come in. It's autumn and you're still wearing a T-shirt, aren't you cold? You must be hungry, there's a bowl of noodles I've saved for you."

Wang Li looked at Chen Shu, his eyes filled with guilt and a hint of fear. But in the end, he still lifted his foot and slowly walked into the station.

......

The next morning, Chen Shu, Zhu Chaoran, and Xiao Wang, who hadn't slept all night, sat at the front desk of the duty hall, yawning deeply as they waited for the shift change.

Chen Shu said listlessly, "Fatty, when the brothers who went out to guard Wang Li all night come back and yell at me, you can yell at them too. Otherwise, you won't be able to get along well in the auxiliary police circle in the future."

Zhu Chaoran perked up upon hearing this: "Brother Shu, don't worry about that. They won't ostracize me. Because every time you organize overtime, I'm always the first to jump out and lead the charge in criticizing you afterwards!"

Everyone was speechless.

The first to come downstairs, Liu Zhongwu, looking energetic, saw the dejected trio and asked with a smile, "Was Wang Li here yesterday?"

Chen Shu said, "Yeah, they arrived not long after. They were very nice, and they're sleeping in their cage now. By the way, Brother Liu, the follow-up handling of this case is all yours. The quotas will remain the same as before."

The police officers at Zhongshan Police Station have monthly targets for combating crime. The specific targets vary each month. The branch bureau sets the tasks for each station, and then each station assigns these targets to its officers.

This month, the Zhongshan police station detained two officers. Chen Shu was responsible for the arrest, and Liu Zhongwu was in charge of the subsequent procedures. According to regulations, each officer was assigned one detention quota.

Liu Zhongwu nodded: "I checked on these two kids last night when I got back to the office. They're minors and first-time offenders, so they can get a lighter sentence, at worst a suspended sentence. If they can actively compensate for the damages, maybe the prosecutor's office will not prosecute them."

Chen Shu knew that Liu Zhongwu had been handling cases for over twenty years, and what he said was basically not far from the truth.

The procuratorate has a special department that handles juvenile delinquency. Generally speaking, there is a possibility of not prosecuting first-time offenders, those whose crimes are minor, and those who actively compensate for the offender's crimes.

Not prosecuting means the court will not sentence you; there will be no actual prison sentence or probation. However, a criminal record will still remain with the police.

The case involving Li Yishan and Wang Li was essentially closed, but Chen Shu still had some lingering thoughts. He stood up, picked up his cane, and said, "Brother Liu, there's something I'd like to discuss with you. Let's go to the cafeteria and talk as we walk."

Stepping out the gate, Chen Shu deftly descended the steps in a few quick movements. Standing beside him, Liu Zhongwu teased, "You've only been here a day, and you're already this skilled?"

Chen Shu sighed softly, "I've had bad luck these past few years, getting injured every now and then. So I haven't had a chance to throw away this crutch. By the way, Brother Liu, it's about Li Yishan's case. Those two were out stealing electric bikes every day for a while."

With car thefts happening so frequently, I suspect they must have a reliable receiver of stolen goods. I'll see if I can hook that person when I interrogate Wang Li later.

Liu Zhongwu shrugged: "No. I asked Li Yishan about this last night. Every time they steal a car, they just take it to the roadside and sell it to passersby for a few hundred yuan. Sometimes, for convenience, they've even sold it for two hundred yuan!"

Chen Shu was somewhat surprised. In the past, these car thieves would sell the cars to passersby. Firstly, the transaction price was too low; secondly, without the keys, passersby were unwilling to buy them.

He stopped and thought for a moment: "Brother Liu, we still need to contact the families of these two kids later to compensate some of the victims and try to avoid prosecution."

Liu Zhongwu nodded, reached out and put his hand on his shoulder, and the two went into the cafeteria together.

Today, the breakfast at Zhongshan Institute consisted of glutinous rice, meat buns, vegetable buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk.

Chen Shu had eaten some late-night snacks last night, and feeling a bit guilty while exercising, he asked Liu Zhongwu to bring him two vegetable buns and a bowl of soy milk.

Liu Zhongwu brought breakfast, placed it on the table, and said with a smile, "A full breakfast makes for a full day. How can young people eat so little? This old man can eat this much!"

Liu Zhongwu, who has been working at the grassroots level for many years, is only 41 years old, but looks like he is around 50.

Chen Shu took the vegetable bun and bit into it, the aroma of the vegetables filling his nostrils. He picked up the steaming soy milk, took a small sip, and then replied, "That's enough. The late-night snack I had last night is still making a fuss in my stomach."

"What's wrong? Didn't you sleep at all last night? Isn't Wang Li supposed to arrive soon?"

"Sigh, I have something on my mind and can't sleep. Plus, Xiao Wang and Zhu Chaoran are playing games together next to me and it's so noisy."

Liu Zhongwu placed a fried dough stick on Chen Shu's bowl and advised, "Late-night snacks are fine, but you still need to eat more breakfast. You haven't been in the office for very long yet. When you get to my age, you can fall asleep anytime, anywhere, whenever you have free time. Otherwise, you won't be able to handle it."

Chen Shu nodded, looking ashamed: "Brother Liu, you just finished your shift this morning, and now I have to trouble you to work overtime to help these two kids with their case. I'm sorry."

Liu Zhongwu swallowed the meat from the steamed bun in his mouth and waved his hand: "It's nothing, I'm used to it after all these years. But you, with so many bandages on your head, waist, and feet, are still sitting here worrying. Go back and rest. I'll have an intern come and help me with my statement later."

"I slept quite well after I got home last night," he added.

Chen Shu thought for a moment and realized that since the people who received the stolen goods were not fixed passersby, he didn't need to get involved in the subsequent handling of the case.

"Okay, I'll go back to my dorm and get some sleep. I'll leave the case to you. Oh, and I'll need you to mention it to the prosecutor's office as well."

The two had worked together for a long time, so he didn't stand on ceremony with the other party. Liu Zhongwu had handled cases for many years and knew many people in the procuratorate, so he should be able to give him some face.

Liu Zhongwu held his chopsticks, which he was using to eat glutinous rice, in mid-air for a long time before finally asking softly, "Chen Shu, these two have done this to you, don't you have any thoughts about it?"

After finishing breakfast, Chen Shu sat up straight, looked at the slowly rising sun outside the window, and said nonchalantly:

"What, are we still arguing with a child?"