Chapter 8

The woman in the woolen hat had truly poor composure. The moment she locked eyes with Lu Aimei’s husband, she was so startled that she turned and bolted toward the nearby fire exit.

Had she come a month earlier, that exit would have been locked and barricaded with vendors’ cardboard boxes, and the woman could have abandoned all hope of escape. However, on the day of the 119 fire safety inspections, the municipal fire department had conducted a surprise raid and issued heavy fines. Now, the fire exit was clear and unobstructed, allowing anyone to reach the main gate in seconds.

Xu Yong’s reaction was lightning-fast. He sprinted after the woman and caught up with her in the blink of an eye. He reached out and grabbed her collar; before he could even display his identification or speak, the woman suddenly unzipped her coat. As her collar remained in Xu Yong’s hand, the coat slipped right off her, and she let out a piercing shriek: "Help! Pervert!"

Everyone turned to look. The woman in the woolen hat pointed at Xu Yong: "He took off my clothes and touched me! He’s chasing me!"

With that, she bolted toward the fire exit again. As Xu Yong moved to pursue, a hot-blooded, muscular man stepped in and grabbed him: "What the hell? You’re still trying to chase her to harass her?!"

Ignoring the protocols of plainclothes operations, Xu Yong immediately flashed his badge: "I am a police officer."

The muscular man froze: "Oh? What did that woman do?"

"She was using counterfeit currency! And she has accomplices!" Lu Aimei’s husband shouted.

The commotion threw the vendors into a panic. Those who had received large bills that morning scrambled to open their cash boxes to check, and cries of alarm echoed one after another. Vendors who confirmed they had been swindled crowded around Xu Yong, wailing, "Officer, what are we supposed to do now!"

Pinned by the crowd, Xu Yong watched as the woman in the woolen hat slipped out of the South Building. He looked around for Wang Xuejiao, but she was nowhere to be seen.

The moment the woman had screamed "pervert," Wang Xuejiao had realized exactly what the woman was planning and had immediately given chase. As the woman exited the South Building, Wang Xuejiao shouted to Li Chaomei, who was busy serving food: "Chase her!"

Without a word, Li Chaomei dropped his knife and ladle, abandoned his expectant customers, and took off at a run. Within a hundred meters, he had the woman pinned down. She tried to use the same trick, screaming at the onlookers: "Help! They’re human traffickers! They want to kidnap me and sell me into the mountains!"

Two men actually walked over and pointed at Li Chaomei’s nose, cursing: "In broad daylight, how dare you be so arrogant!"

"Let her go!"

They began to pull at Li Chaomei, trying to force him to release her. Wang Xuejiao was convinced that normal bystanders would at most offer some verbal support, not get physical this quickly.

*No bystanders are innocent!*

She concluded that these two men were in league with the woman. As Li Chaomei’s hands were pried off by the two men and the woman seized the chance to run, Wang Xuejiao immediately stepped in. She grabbed the woman and began to wail at the top of her lungs: "I work so hard at this stall! I sleep at two and wake up at four! You brought five hundred yuan in fake money to ruin me!! I’ll fight you to the death!"

"Someone, please help me call the police! She’s absolutely heartless!!" Wang Xuejiao was so deep into her performance—and the wind had stung her eyes so badly—that tears were streaming down her face.

A passing member of the local neighborhood patrol ran to the nearest station, the Tianjin Police Station, to report the incident. Soon, Director Du dispatched officers to bring all the "involved parties" back, including the two "heroic" men.

This was the first time Wang Xuejiao had witnessed an arrest, and she was eager to hang around and watch the statements and interrogations. Director Du Zhigang was very pleased with her quick thinking and praised her, letting her tag along to learn how to register information.

"Does our station not have a computer yet?" Wang Xuejiao felt as though she hadn't held a pen in lifetimes. Discovering that she had to write so much by hand felt a bit jarring. Even in this world, her home already had a computer—an IBM home machine that Wang Jianguo had brought back from the south.

Du Zhigang chuckled: "We can’t compare to your family. Those things cost over twenty thousand yuan; even the municipal bureau doesn't have many."

Fortunately, Wang Xuejiao hadn't yet reached the point of forgetting how to write, and she didn't embarrass herself in front of her colleagues.

As it turned out, the two "heroic" men were actually just that—they were construction workers doing a job nearby, and their employer and foreman were there to vouch for them.

Xu Yong grumbled: "So annoying. If not for them, I would have had that woman in custody already."

Wang Xuejiao smiled: "Look at the bright side. It’s a good thing. If people were being murdered on the street and no one cared, society would be finished."

"Fair enough." Xu Yong pursed his lips. "Hey, where did you park the tricycle? Don't leave it parked randomly or the traffic police will impound it."

Wang Xuejiao suddenly stiffened: "The cart is still at the grand market! Director Du, lend me your bicycle!!"

Just as she was about to hop onto the old-fashioned heavy-duty bike, Xu Yong pulled her back: "Get down, I'll take you!"

The bicycle sped toward the grand market with both of them on it. Just one intersection away, Xu Yong suddenly exclaimed: "Jump off, quick!"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Wang Xuejiao was startled and scrambled off the back seat.

It was too late.

A female traffic officer in a green uniform and white belt strode toward them and saluted Xu Yong: "Comrade, you cannot carry a passenger on the back of a bicycle."

"Yes, yes, of course..." Xu Yong said with a sycophantic smile.

The officer stared at his face for a few seconds: "It’s you again."

"Ah, yes, it’s me again. I’m on a mission this time, it’s urgent!" Xu Yong pointed to Wang Xuejiao: "She’s my colleague, she’s a police officer too."

"Even when executing a mission, you must be mindful of appearances. If you ride past me like this with someone on the back, if I don't stop you, others will think I’m playing favorites."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it won't happen again!" Xu Yong apologized repeatedly.

The officer put away her ticket book and pen and rubbed her hands together. Her face was flushed red from the wind, and her cheeks and earlobes were chapped.

Xu Yong said ingratiatingly: "Your job is so tough, having to stand out here in such cold weather."

"It's just work. Go on now." The officer waved them off and returned to her post.

Riding off with a passenger right in front of her would have looked like a provocation, so Xu Yong pushed the bike and walked slowly with Wang Xuejiao.

"Do you like her?" Wang Xuejiao asked.

Xu Yong denied it flatly: "What? I’ve only seen her once before. Last time I was chasing someone on a motorcycle, she stopped me and said I was speeding. I showed her my badge, and that’s the only reason she let me go."

As he spoke, Xu Yong subconsciously glanced back at the traffic officer, and the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily.

Wang Xuejiao: "Her face is quite chapped. It looks painful."

"Yeah, that's just how it is for traffic police."

"She probably doesn't take much care of her skin. Women have less sebum than men; she needs to use a thick, greasy cream, otherwise it won't just be a matter of looks—it'll be painful even to wash her face."

Xu Yong blurted out: "What brand of cream is good? I saw an ad saying Dabao is good."

"What’s this? Giving up the act?" Wang Xuejiao laughed.

Xu Yong was stubborn: "I’m just trying to maintain a good relationship with the traffic department so I don't get stopped next time I'm working a case. Can't be like Director Du, who only offends people and doesn't build any bridges, right?"

"Then buy her some Phoenix Placenta Cream. My mom bought a jar; it’s thicker than Dabao and perfect for winter."

Xu Yong silently memorized the name.

When they reached the grand market, they found their stall and tricycle still there and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Cross-eyes," who was packing up his stall nearby, saw them and pointed at their setup: "Still here. What happened to you two? You asked me to keep an eye on things and then just vanished. I was about to turn the cart over to security if I didn't see you soon."

"Thank you, thank you, sorry for the trouble." After thanking him, Wang Xuejiao prepared to pack up. She remembered that when she left, there was still over half a bucket of meat left. Even after such a short time, there should have been at least half a bucket remaining—enough for everyone on duty to get a few pieces.

Wang Xuejiao happily lifted the lid and looked inside. The stainless steel bottom reflected her face, which was frozen in shock.

No... what happened!!!

Who! Who took my meat!!!

Wang Xuejiao’s first instinct was to suspect "Cross-eyes."

She started by pretending to be surprised, muttering to herself: "It’s all sold out?"

Then she turned to "Cross-eyes": "Did you help me sell it?"

"Cross-eyes" shook his head: "That man who helped you look after the stall later sold it. I wanted to buy some to take home, but I didn't get the chance. Your pricing is all over the place, though. You sell it for ten or thirty, and he was selling it for five. That’s not how you do business..."

In an instant, Wang Xuejiao felt what it meant to have her "heart ache so much she couldn't breathe." So much meat—good meat! She had already planned to add a dish to dinner. Now, all that remained was an empty bucket.

*Sigh. Whatever.*

The two packed up their stall and returned to the police station. When the others saw the empty bucket, they just asked calmly: "All sold out?"

No one had any expectations for food coming from the station cafeteria. The Tianjin Police Station cafeteria had a very notorious reputation: its dish combinations were highly psychedelic. Tangerine and green pepper stir-fried sausage was considered a standard level of absurdity.

The head cook was ruthless with the seasonings, leading the staff to believe he either had some profit-sharing deal with the spice vendor or owned the business himself.

Occasionally, there were some positive side effects: when Xu Yong first arrived, everyone saw a young man with a round, kind face and assumed he was gentle. When he couldn't crack big cases, they put him at the front desk to handle neighborhood disputes. He *did* handle them, but the solution usually resulted in both parties teaming up to spray him with complaints.

Whenever things got out of hand, others would step in to mediate: "Let’s go eat."

After eating the station cafeteria’s food, the masses would weep: "The police have it hard, too."

As long as it wasn't a serious conflict, people would just let it go. Under the "halo" of the cafeteria, Xu Yong finally gained some room to grow. He felt a sense of gratitude toward the cafeteria cook; he wouldn't let anyone say a bad word about the man!

However, today, he decided to temporarily betray the cook.

Xu Yong announced loudly: "It’s such a pity you guys didn't get to taste it. Little Wang’s braised meat was absolutely divine! Even Yang Si’s place in the south of the city isn't as good as hers! You didn't see it—we sold out at thirty yuan a serving!"

"Thirty?!!!"

Whether the meat was actually delicious, they didn't know, but in this day and age, selling a lunch portion for thirty yuan—and selling out—was nothing short of a fairy tale.

"So your stall must have made a thousand yuan, right?"

"Making half a year’s salary in a day—amazing!"

Xu Yong quickly explained: "Little Wang and I were chasing someone, so we left the stall to Old Li."

Someone shouted: "Old Li, you’ve struck it rich! You’re treating us to a meal!"

Li Chaomei looked at Xu Yong in shock: "You guys were selling it for thirty?"

"Yeah... how much did you sell it for?" Xu Yong asked, looking at him suspiciously.

Li Chaomei slowly held up a palm: "Five."

"What?!"

"Sigh!"

"Damn it!"

A chorus of sighs echoed through the office. Even the most mild-mannered Sister Liu couldn't help but chime in: "You wasteful man!"