Chapter 759: The Newcomer's First Day

The next day, after Wang Yan finished his workout and washed up, he drove Li Dawei and Yang Shu to the Wang Ji Steamed Bun Shop on Fengdan Bali Street—which Xu Yalin had called the best breakfast spot yesterday—to have breakfast. He even reenacted the scene of catching Xu Yalin for them before driving to the station.

By now, the station was already bustling. Gao Chao and the others had returned after working all night and were busy in the backyard. Wang Yan followed a black Santana into the station.

However, that black Santana parked directly at the back door, while Wang Yan drove inside, found a parking spot, and only then did he, Li Dawei, and Yang Shu get out of the car.

The three of them drew everyone's attention. Wang Shouyi smiled and said to Cao Army Supervisor, who was showing off a bit after catching two petty thieves who had stolen a motorcycle: "Today's young people are incredible. You weren't here yesterday, but when our station's new comrades arrived, they caught a fugitive with a ten-thousand-yuan bounty from the provincial department just while grabbing breakfast."

Wang Yan walked up with a smile, greeting everyone with a friendly face: "The station chief is too kind. Young people are easily conceited; if you praise me any more, I'll start floating." As he spoke, he glanced at Cao Army Supervisor.

This kid was eager for quick success, aggressive, impulsive, petty, liked to steal credit, and loved to show off, but his performance did indeed qualify him as a good police officer. After all, he was showing off in his capacity as a cop and enjoying the sense of honor that came with the job, which wasn't wrong. It was just that his character flaws made him look a bit annoying.

Wang Yan didn't show anything special, just nodded politely as a greeting.

"You kid." Wang Shouyi pointed at Wang Yan. "I heard from Station Chief Gao that you were told to go home last night. How come the three of you came together?"

Li Dawei answered: "Reporting to the station chief, Yang Shu and I stayed at his place last night. His house is big and close by, so we rented a room from him."

"Unity among colleagues is a good thing. It doesn't affect you, does it, Wang Yan?"

"Station chief, he's afraid to live alone, so we're basically looking after him."

"Li Dawei, your mouth! Did I tell you to speak? You're everywhere." Wang Shouyi glared and scolded him, then changed his expression, looking at Wang Yan with a beaming, amiable smile. "It doesn't affect you, right?"

Looking at Li Dawei, whose face was twisted, Wang Yan nodded with a smile: "It doesn't affect me. Dawei is right; I do feel a bit lonely living by myself. With them there, it brings more life to the house."

Wang Shouyi nodded, stepped forward, and patted Wang Yan on the shoulder without saying anything more; any further talk would get too sentimental. He turned and greeted the others: "Alright, you've all been working all night, hurry to the dorms and get some rest. Gao, Xincheng, Zhijie, Army Supervisor... wait, where's Station Chief Cheng?"

Zhao Jiwei, in the corner, weakly raised his hand to answer: "Station Chief Cheng took Xia Jie out this morning to familiarize herself with the jurisdiction."

"Station Chief Cheng was on duty yesterday," the instructor added.

"Alright then, let's have a meeting. The rest of you, get some rest if you need to, or handle your cases." Wang Shouyi waved his hand and strolled upstairs.

The others dispersed, leaving only the newcomers standing in the yard.

Wang Yan took out a pack of cigarettes, gave one to Li Dawei, and the four of them moved to a small flower bed in the backyard, which was filled with cigarette butts—the station's designated smoking area. As they chatted, they cleaned up the butts. They had only just arrived, otherwise, someone else would have cleaned it. Since the four of them had nothing to do, they just did it; young people should be proactive.

Zhao Jiwei enviously asked about the arrest Wang Yan and the others had made yesterday. Yang Shu wasn't in the mood to talk, and Wang Yan just smiled and didn't say much. Of course, they didn't need to say anything; Li Dawei started bragging, showing off his sharp performance from the night before.

Zhao Jiwei was incredibly envious; he also wanted to show off his power and fight crime, but he had been stuck watching surveillance videos at the station for a whole day and night. He had even gone to the station chief that morning, wanting to become his apprentice.

Children from poor families with ambition often stumble along like this, relying on sheer stubbornness, which leads them to do many things that others find ridiculous. Looking back on the journey, it's all filled with bitterness...

After finishing his cigarette, Wang Yan asked: "Where are you staying? Why don't you come stay at my place too? We're all newcomers, it'll be good to have company."

"Does it cost money?"

"Big brother, isn't that a stupid question?" Li Dawei retorted mercilessly, then shared excitedly, "But it's not expensive, just a thousand yuan. A house over seven hundred square meters, floor-to-ceiling windows on both the north and south sides. Pulling back the curtains in the morning to face the sea—the feeling is quite something."

A thousand yuan wasn't a problem for Li Dawei or Yang Shu. Li Dawei's mother ran her own construction contracting company; of course, she had struggled on construction sites in the past, slowly finding opportunities to pave her way before succeeding. Yang Shu's family background was also decent; his mother ran a small shop, and his father was a civil servant. Neither of them lived on their police salaries.

Police benefits in second-tier cities were better; with various subsidies and performance bonuses, they could make over five thousand, which was pure take-home pay excluding social security. As interns, they got eighty percent, which was still over four thousand.

But while a thousand yuan was nothing to Li Dawei and Yang Shu, it was very important to Zhao Jiwei. His parents were honest farmers, working a few acres of poor land, earning only twenty or thirty thousand a year. He also had a younger sister several years his junior who was still in high school. His tuition and living expenses for police academy were all covered by student loans, which he had to repay after starting work. A thousand yuan, while already very cheap, and living in Wang Yan's house was taking advantage, so he absolutely wouldn't consider it.

In the original story, this kid lied about having relatives in the city but kept crashing in the station's rest dorm, never getting a good night's sleep. There was even a plotline about it that looked funny, but looking closely, it was quite difficult.

So, before Zhao Jiwei could refuse, Wang Yan asked with a smile: "Want to stay for free?"

Zhao Jiwei couldn't help but widen his eyes: "Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay." Wang Yan nodded with a smile and patted his shoulder. "Just keep my place clean. Take some time to pack your things, and come back with me tonight."

With that, he strolled into the building.

Li Dawei and Yang Shu looked at each other, walked over, and patted Zhao Jiwei on the shoulder one after another. Li Dawei said: "I just said it, his place is over seven hundred square meters, right?"

Seeing Zhao Jiwei nod, he added: "Hard work."

Yang Shu joined in, nodding heavily at him: "Hard work."

Laughing and joking, the group all entered the building.

Wang Yan hadn't spent much time at the station yesterday, so today he looked around to familiarize himself with the environment.

The police station consisted of two two-story buildings. One was the office and reception building, where the public was received in the front and station personnel worked in the back. The other building had a cafeteria on the first floor and a warehouse on the second, piled with broken tables, chairs, and other junk.

The cafeteria provided three meals a day and was outsourced to a third party. If the station had an operation and couldn't make it for a meal, the cafeteria would leave some food, which they could heat up themselves later.

In addition, the main building had a basement. Detention, interrogation, and preliminary hearings were all held on the first floor underground. The decor was quite specific; the walls were wrapped in sound-absorbing materials. Staying inside felt very oppressive, and just sitting there gave one a sense of panic.

Of course, this only worked on ordinary citizens who didn't frequent the station. For those who were in and out every few days, they were used to it and didn't take it to heart at all.

Li Dawei and Yang Shu weren't assigned anything, but Wang Yan had work; he still had to watch over five hundred hours of surveillance video with Zhang Zhijie to find the thief stealing diapers in the residential complex.

"Jiwei, the surveillance is all copied, right?" Wang Yan sat in front of the computer, flipping through it.

"Yeah, it's copied. I basically watched for a whole day and night and didn't find anything. Watching it made me feel like a cat was scratching at my heart." Zhao Jiwei's words carried a hint of frustration and irritability.

Comrade Wang comforted the restless young comrade: "Why push yourself so hard? This kind of thing isn't that urgent. If we find them, great; if not, it doesn't matter. Diapers actually don't cost much, and it seems they weren't just targeting one family. It's like crowdfunding to raise a kid."

"That's one way to put it, but you still can't steal."

"Analyze specific situations specifically; we must not be arbitrary. Stealing is definitely wrong, but there are reasons for everything. Legal principles don't go beyond human sentiment. How could a normal person just target diapers? Let me see what's going on."

As he spoke, Wang Yan opened the surveillance, adjusted the interface, and fast-forwarded through eight videos at once.

This was what happened in the original story, so he knew what was going on. Of course, even if it weren't in the story, his observational skills were there; whatever the surveillance could capture, he would definitely be able to see.

After just seven or eight minutes, while Zhao Jiwei was watching the surveillance irritably, a voice suddenly came from beside him: "Isn't this it?" He was a bit stunned; after all, he had watched for a whole day and night, and this big brother had only been watching for a few minutes?

"Did you really find it?" He confirmed, not believing it, and pushed his swivel chair over. "Let me see."

"Look, look at this part. Isn't there a kid here? He circles around and takes a pack when no one's looking. And this surveillance at the courier station—this kid wandered around for a long time, recognizing the characters one by one. He probably remembered what the characters for 'diapers' looked like, and in the end, didn't he take a package? And this one, look at the one hiding behind people—isn't it this kid? This is also surveillance from the courier station; didn't he take another one here?"

Zhao Jiwei sighed: "Who would have thought it was a kid? I was just staring at the adults. You say a kid this small, and he's gone in a flash. You're still the best; I'm convinced."

"Actually, it's nothing; it's just about being calm and focused. The most important thing is to keep a stable mindset. You, you're just thinking about handling big, important cases, but in our small police station, where are there so many big cases? I said yesterday, if you want to handle big cases, you have to go to the Criminal Investigation Team. Even if there are big cases in our jurisdiction, the Criminal Investigation Team handles them; we're just doing odd jobs. Visiting the public, taking statements, watching surveillance, filing paperwork—it's all the same work.

However, there might still be some cold cases in our jurisdiction from years ago. There should be files in the station. If you find any key clues and restart the investigation procedure, and finally solve the case, you'll at least get a commendation. If you lead the investigation to solve it, I think you'd at least get a second-class merit."

"Forget it. I heard there are operations to clear cold cases every year. Everything that can be done has been done, and the rest are all dead ends. I know my limits; I wouldn't dare mess around blindly."

Wang Yan patted his shoulder: "Since you know your limits, then your current mindset is the problem. It's impossible to want to show off your skills, so what are you so restless about? Calm down and take it step by step, Comrade Jiwei."

While Wang Yan was giving this ideological education lesson to the confused young man, in the station chief's office on the second floor, several old police officers were having a work meeting. It was just daily talk about work arrangements, mainly revolving around personnel—specifically, how to arrange the new recruits.

It's necessary for police officers to mentor newcomers one-on-one. Many situations aren't something a new, arrogant young cop can think of or handle. In practice, what's learned in police academy is ultimately two different things. Without someone watching, it's easy to make mistakes, and if things go wrong, it could be a huge disaster. Not only would they get fired, but they'd also drag a string of leaders down with them.

In government units, once you're in a leadership position, it's not about reasoning, but about getting things done. If someone under you has a problem, it means your ability is the problem. Even if the leaders above are confused and don't know who committed the offense, the label of "incompetent leadership" must be slapped on, and joint disciplinary action must be borne.

The police force is a law enforcement department, so there are naturally extra issues to pay attention to. Mentoring is both to help them familiarize themselves with the work as quickly as possible and a form of protection for the newcomers. Recklessness is not allowed; after all, being a police officer is a dangerous profession. Dragging leaders down is a relatively acceptable minor issue, but losing one's own life would be bad.

You should know that across the country, including both sworn officers and auxiliary police, over three hundred people die in the line of duty every year, and thousands are injured. And the injured include both minor and serious injuries—meaning those in the ICU on ventilators or unable to care for themselves are also considered injured. In addition, there are various occupational diseases; staying up late and high levels of stress mean everyone has some issues...

The veteran police officers at the station reviewed the five newcomers together. Gao Chao, just like in the original story, emphasized praise for Li Dawei and indicated he was willing to mentor Wang Yan...

As for the other four, these veteran police officers didn't express anything and scrambled to leave. Mentoring newcomers is very energy-consuming; you have to worry about this and that. Moreover, most young people are overflowing with a sense of justice, but when enforcing the law on the front lines, there are many helpless situations. Hot-headed youths are hard to train, and if their tempers flare, they'll argue endlessly.

So this small meeting to arrange mentoring didn't go very well; everyone ran away, no one agreed, and it ended hastily. However, Wang Shouyi showed a confident smile; after all, he was the leader. If private discussions didn't work, he'd just announce it publicly—could they really rebel?

As the veteran police officers dispersed, Zhang Zhijie walked back, yawning. Before he could tell Wang Yan and Zhao Jiwei to continue watching the surveillance, he saw Zhao Jiwei say with a complex expression: "Officer Zhang, the diaper thief has been found."

"Not bad, you kid. I thought it would take half a month, but you found it in a day and night? Not bad, not bad." Zhang Zhijie patted Zhao Jiwei's shoulder.

"It wasn't me; Wang Yan found it. It only took him ten minutes or so." Zhao Jiwei was seeking progress, but he didn't have the thought of stealing credit. Of course, for such a small matter, there was no credit to speak of anyway.

"He found it in ten minutes?"

Facing Zhang Zhijie's surprise, Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "I just happened to see it."

"That's because you can calm your heart. Jiwei, you have to learn from this; you can't be too restless when doing work."

Grassroots police officers are all old hands; they don't know how many different kinds of people they see every day. Moreover, the entire requirement for grassroots law enforcement, which the show has always emphasized, is not to escalate conflicts and to resolve them at the grassroots level. Even if you're a quiet person, after working at a police station for a year or a year and a half, you become a smooth-talking old hand. They all have their own set of observational skills; they understand Zhao Jiwei's situation at a glance.

Casually pointing at Zhao Jiwei, Zhang Zhijie stepped forward and said: "Find the surveillance; let me see what's going on. Why would someone steal diapers for no reason..."

After watching the surveillance clips back and forth, Zhang Zhijie finally understood why Zhao Jiwei had a complex expression—he had seen a pitiful child. The child looked like he was four or five years old, not very big. To say he was born bad and just liked to be sneaky wouldn't explain why he was so purposeful in targeting diapers. Just thinking about it, it was a tragic story that made one's heart ache.

Zhang Zhijie had seen a lot, so he felt a little, but not much. He patted Wang Yan's shoulder: "Crop a full-body picture where we can see clearly, and a few of us will go visit to see what the situation is with this child."

Responding, Wang Yan fiddled for a while, cropped a full-body picture, and conveniently used the PS software he had downloaded before leaving yesterday and just finished installing to enhance it. The surveillance image quality wasn't very clear, especially since it was residential complex surveillance, which was even worse. He processed it, making it look much clearer; although it couldn't compare to professional photography, it wasn't too far off, at least enough to see what the face looked like.

"You can even do this? This is technical work. With this skill, you'd have no problem working in the technical department of the municipal bureau. I've seen the images they enhanced before; the station did a collaborative investigation at the time, and you did much better than them. I'll have to tell the station chief later; this is a practical skill that helps with many cases."

Zhang Zhijie looked at the picture Wang Yan sent via WeChat and clicked his tongue in wonder. "Where did you learn this skill? Didn't you study investigation in police academy?"

"I have a small hobby for photography, and I do a lot of image processing. Later, when I was exposed to image enhancement in police academy, I figured it out myself. With a foundation in photo editing, I learned quickly. And I heard this work is quite profitable; having more skills doesn't hurt."

"That's true. Nowadays, it's all about technical skills. As police officers, we emphasize technology even more. When DNA testing technology first came out, how many cases were solved, and how many people were caught? This is the benefit of technology. It leaves criminals with nowhere to hide and no way to escape. Alright, let's go."

Zhao Jiwei asked: "Should we go pick up the 'eight major items'?"

"We're just going to visit and understand the situation. Can we really handle a child that small? No need. But if you want to wear them, that's fine too." Zhang Zhijie shook his head, amused.

Wang Yan supported him: "Let's wear them. In case we encounter an emergency, we'll have our gear. Besides, once those eight items are hung on the waist, it looks mighty and handsome. Officer Zhao, let's go get them; we'll take my car later."

He knew Zhao Jiwei wanted to experience it; wearing them and not wearing them were two different feelings. After all, as a newcomer, everything looked fresh.

Zhang Zhijie didn't say much more and waved his hand, signaling the two to hurry up.

Soon, a beaming Zhao Jiwei walked out with Wang Yan. Under the envious gazes of Li Dawei and Yang Shu, they went out, got into the Golf, and drove out of the Balihe Police Station, heading toward the nearby Fujia Garden residential complex.

On the way, Zhang Zhijie pointed to both sides, constantly introducing various situations in great detail; the community work was done very thoroughly.

The community work of the Balihe Police Station was mainly done by Zhang Zhijie, with one auxiliary police officer assisting, and occasionally Wang Shouyi would help. Community work is very complex and not easy to do, and it overlaps with the functions of the community and the neighborhood office. Just like what Zhang Zhijie told Zhao Jiwei earlier, it was a huge pile of things—the work for over 120,000 people relied on these two people.

Moreover, when things got busy, Zhang Zhijie also had to go out for law enforcement, running around all day. Now, to deepen police-civilian ties, every residential complex had the responsible police officer and contact information posted. In the Balihe jurisdiction, all the buildings had Zhang Zhijie's information posted. Everyone said they couldn't see him, but it would be strange if they could.

The most relaxed people in the entire station were the internal affairs and household registration staff; their rest was basically guaranteed.

Zhang Zhijie was helping the two familiarize themselves with the situation. There were time requirements for responding to police calls; they had to be precise and fast. All the locations of the residential complexes and landmark buildings had to be firmly remembered to facilitate positioning for police responses.

However, before they reached the place, the instructor called, telling them to divert to the Sunshine Residential Complex, saying the residents there were causing trouble again.

"Officer Zhang, have we learned our lesson this time? We should still bring our gear when we go out in the future." Wang Yan turned the wheel with a smile, following Zhang Zhijie's directions.

"Learn from experience. We'll bring it next time we go out. Actually, our little gadgets aren't of much use. You say someone has a knife, but our batons and stun guns—none of them are easy to use. But it's just a comfort for the heart, and we can carry hot water to drink. Oh, by the way, you two should remember to buy a thermos or something. Drink more water, soak some goji berries. Young people have to cherish their bodies; otherwise, with the intensity of our work, there'll be nowhere to regret it."

"It's not that bad, right?" Zhao Jiwei shook his head.

"Not that bad? There will be a day when you'll suffer." Zhang Zhijie naturally had personal experience; after all, he was only in his thirties and had already started balding—it was all bitterness and tears.

He changed the subject: "Let me tell you about the situation at Sunshine Residential Complex. This belongs to a historical legacy issue. Back then..."

This matter was also in the original story—two villages that didn't get along were relocated to the same residential complex, and they couldn't stand the sight of each other, fighting whenever they had nothing to do.

This point was still a bit problematic; it's not that such things don't exist, but they are definitely rare. Because for relocation work like this, at the beginning of the relocation, when allocating work, the relevant leaders at all levels would have already digested these matters, eliminating various adverse effects as much as possible. In other words, according to common sense, these two conflicting villages would not be relocated to the same residential complex.

However, what was shown in the show did indeed happen.

People from the two villages started cursing each other because of a missing chicken. Wang Shouyi did all sorts of appeasement, bringing in the Planning Bureau and the village heads of both villages. In the end, a small child fell into a well, and Xia Jie went down to save him. The police's seriousness and responsibility moved the people of both villages, and the two village heads promised to go back and do ideological work on the villagers, resolving the conflict and shaking hands to make peace, and so on.

Wang Yan was a bystander throughout the whole farce, and then drove Zhang Zhijie and Zhao Jiwei to Fujia Garden residential complex.

Once there, Zhang Zhijie took the two to the property management office to understand the situation. If it were the parents, maybe the property management would know, but the child—they really didn't know. And there were many renters here, and the mobility of personnel was not small.

The three immediately dispersed to ask about the situation in the residential complex. This relied purely on asking; even for Wang Yan, it was the same—there were no shortcuts.

However, Wang Yan's luck was not bad, because he happened to see the child.

It was in the garden of the complex. A little boy stood in a corner, watching other children of the same age playing happily with their parents, even having all kinds of toys. What was revealed in his eyes was the timidity of wanting to play together but not daring to step forward.

Sending a WeChat message to Zhang Zhijie and Zhao Jiwei, Wang Yan walked up to the little boy and squatted down, smiling with a kind face: "Little friend, why are you here by yourself? Where are your parents?"

"Hello, Police Uncle." The little guy was very polite, spoke well, and had clear logic: "My dad is working outside and hasn't come back for a long time. My mom also went to work and left me at home to take care of my younger sister. Police Uncle, can you make my dad come back? I haven't seen him for a long time..."

"Your dad is earning money outside; he'll be back when the time comes. How old are you this year?"

"Five and a half."

"Have you started kindergarten?"

"I want to go to school too, but Mom says my sister is too young and can't be left without care. Mom also has to earn money, saying she'll let me go to school when my sister grows up."

Wang Yan nodded and rubbed his head with a smile: "You're a good boy. Look, they're still playing there, and you can already take care of your sister—you're really amazing. Then what about your grandparents?"

"I've never seen them; Mom says they're all dead."

"Then do you know where your mom works?"

"Selling jianbing guozi on Fengdan Bali Street."

The little one answered every question. Wang Yan asked: "Did your mom ever teach you to trust the police?"

"Yeah, she said Police Uncle is here to protect us, and also said if there are bad guys, find Police Uncle to catch them. Police Uncle, are you asking me questions because I'm a bad guy?"

Wang Yan raised an eyebrow; the little thing's brain was well-developed, but if it weren't for the pressures of life, who would want to be so precocious? He should be over there throwing sand, getting it in his eyes, and wailing.

"Of course not." He denied it without hesitation, then said, "But since you say that, did you do something?"

The little one picked at his hands, stealing a glance at the kind Police Uncle in front of him, and said carefully: "I took someone else's diapers for my sister to use. Do I have to go to jail?"

"A child who has the courage to admit mistakes is a good child. Of course, if you don't make mistakes, you're an even better child. Do you know you were wrong?"

"I know I was wrong; I won't steal other people's things again."

He rubbed his head again: "Good, admitting mistakes and taking responsibility makes you a good child. But I still have to talk to your mom. Do you have your mom's phone number?"

"I do." The little one recited the phone number. Wang Yan waved at Zhang Zhijie and Zhao Jiwei, who were walking over, and then contacted the child's mother, telling her to come back as soon as possible.

He transferred a hundred yuan to Zhao Jiwei, telling him to take the child to buy some snacks, and then explained the situation to Zhang Zhijie, emphasizing the precocious child.

"This child is pitiful; the more sensible they are, the more pitiful they are..." Zhang Zhijie shook his head and sighed. "How do you want to handle this?"

"We have to criticize his mom. The diapers were worn so obviously on the child; could she not see them? Since she saw them and still indulged this kid in stealing again and again, this is a problem with her thinking and must be criticized."

"And what if she's unreasonable?"

"Officer Zhang is testing me." Wang Yan smiled and said, "In this situation, ordinary people will nod and admit their mistakes, promise not to do it again, and then beat the child in front of us. We, in turn, will give a standard lecture and let it pass. However, if she really is unreasonable, plays dumb, and refuses to admit her mistakes, then I might contact the urban management and let them play the villain. Since she's already become a nuisance, one more thing won't matter."

"It's better to persuade patiently. I don't doubt you can find urban management to help, but this is her livelihood, and she has two children to manage; we can't push her too hard. Our police reputation isn't great to begin with; it's helpless if the public doesn't understand, but we can't be the ones to fan the flames. If you do that, the work will be even harder to carry out."

Wang Yan responded with a smile; when young people work, they always have to give veteran comrades a chance to offer advice.

However, according to his own view, if she really threw a tantrum, he wouldn't have any pity and would definitely have to deal with her until she was submissive. Small kindnesses can be like great evils; great kindness can seem heartless.

Parents are a child's best teachers. With the mother raising the child like this, and the child being so precocious, if this continues for a long time, it's really hard to say what kind of person he'll become in the future.

But in reality, this kind of thing is just as he said: when the child's mother comes over, she'll just nod and bow, making all sorts of promises. People who dare to throw tantrums and be unreasonable with the police are ultimately a minority, and a very small minority at that...

Seeing Wang Yan's good attitude, without any of the arrogance of a nouveau riche, Zhang Zhijie nodded with satisfaction: "When young people do things, don't be too rigid. But knowing how to be flexible is good. Our work with the public is still about persuasion; we must be patient. The purpose of our law enforcement is education, not just striking. Unless it's some stubborn criminals, that's when we, as the state's law enforcement department, use thunderous means."

Wang Yan listened patiently to Zhang Zhijie talk about how to enforce the law. Zhao Jiwei also returned with the child, carrying a large bag of things, watching the child eat. After a while, the child's mother ran over, panting.

This was a woman of average appearance, slightly plump, with rough skin and looking a bit old. Her name was Yang Meifang, a name that looked very plain nowadays.

"I'm sorry, Police Comrade. The child is too young and doesn't understand; I've caused you trouble."

As soon as Yang Meifang opened her mouth, it was standard moral kidnapping—the child is too young and doesn't understand is an excuse for many things. Running barefoot upstairs, wailing day and night, running wild and wailing on high-speed trains and trains, kicking people, squirting water guns at passersby, etc., etc. —it's all because the child is young and doesn't understand, so don't be like the child.

Sure enough, just as Wang Yan expected, as Yang Meifang spoke, she was about to go over and grab the child to beat him first.

Wang Yan grabbed Yang Meifang's arm and pulled her aside. Zhang Zhijie also followed, but he didn't speak. Since Wang Yan seemed steady enough, he wanted to let Wang Yan handle it; this was the meaning of him bringing these two newcomers out.

"Alright, don't beat the child every time something happens. We came here this time because residents of this complex reported that diapers were repeatedly lost, and packages were lost at the courier station from time to time. Surveillance showed it was your child, so we came to ask."

Wang Yan looked at Yang Meifang, who was nodding and bowing in apology, and said, "The situation is clear. Your son said you sell jianbing guozi on Fengdan Bali Street, your partner is working outside, and he takes care of his younger sister by himself. Seeing other children wearing diapers, he thought about getting one for his sister too. The child is a good child; it's just that his thinking is wrong. You don't need to find excuses; the facts are right here.

Next, let's talk about your problem. Your daughter is wearing diapers; could you not see them? Since you saw them, why did you let the child take other people's? What kind of behavior is this? Is this how you teach your child? Not to mention you as a mother setting a good example, but you can't teach the child to be bad. Besides, Fengdan Bali Street has a lot of traffic. Your son says you make delicious jianbing guozi; you must earn a lot in a month, right? If you're unwilling to spend this money, then who are you earning it for?"

"Yes, yes, yes, Police Comrade. I will definitely change. I'll go buy diapers later, and I guarantee this won't happen again."

"How much do you earn a month?" Wang Yan didn't answer and asked with a straight face.

"Over ten thousand when it's good, seven or eight thousand when it's not."

"And your partner?"

"He's tying rebar at a construction site in Jinan, also over ten thousand."

"Then I don't understand. Tying rebar is a technical job. There are many construction sites in Ping'an City, and he doesn't earn poorly. Even if he doesn't earn over ten thousand, eight or nine thousand is no problem. Why run so far away to work?"

After a moment of hesitation, Yang Meifang sighed: "He has a mistress over there and is determined to divorce me to be with her. I didn't agree, so he ran away and won't come back, and he doesn't care about the children. That bitch is not a good thing; all the money he earns is spent on that bitch."

Wang Yan frowned and asked: "Are they married?"

"I haven't heard; isn't that a crime? I've inquired, and they say bigamy is punishable by imprisonment." Yang Meifang shook her head.

There are several certification elements for bigamy: holding a wedding, living together as husband and wife for three months, etc. It's not that if you don't hold a wedding, it doesn't count as bigamy. But Wang Yan didn't say anything; no matter how you look at it, this kind of thing isn't very friendly to the children.

"I just asked your son, and he said both your parents have passed away? There are no other relatives here who can help?" Wang Yan said, "This can't go on. Your son's education is being delayed, and your daughter isn't being taken care of well. No matter how much money you earn, it's useless."

"I know, but there's no way. My parents are long gone, and I have a younger brother in college who's counting on me, but he's not much help either. I can't not earn money; otherwise, what will the four of us eat and drink?"

Reaching a sad point, with no one to rely on and a husband who wasn't reliable, Yang Meifang felt sorry for herself and started wiping away tears.

"Your partner doesn't give you a cent?"

"No, he spends it all on that bitch."

"Then what do you think? Are you going to divorce or not?"

"I don't want to divorce; at least it's still a home. Otherwise, why would I be holding on so hard..." Yang Meifang sighed.

"Waiting for him to have a change of heart?" Wang Yan shook his head. "Alright, I can't manage whether you divorce or not. The problem now is that your daughter needs someone to take care of her, and your son must go to kindergarten. It's a must, understand?"

"Yes, Police Comrade, I know, but I have no way." Yang Meifang was very helpless; why couldn't she make this police officer understand? Those are her children; if she could solve it, would she need him to lecture her here?

"Are you willing to spend money?"

Yang Meifang was stunned for a moment and asked: "How much?"

"Taking care of your daughter's food and drink will cost two thousand a month. For kindergarten, public kindergartens are probably all full, so your son can't get in. Finding an ordinary private kindergarten nearby, tuition and food will cost two or three thousand a month, right? Finding a cheap one should still be two thousand. Adding it up, it'll be four thousand yuan. Plus your rent and giving your brother some money, food and drink will be tight. Are you willing to pay four thousand yuan a month?"

Yang Meifang looked at Wang Yan suspiciously: "Police Comrade, do you mean you'll help solve it? I don't dare find a nanny; I'm not at ease, and besides, I can't afford it."

Wang Yan shook his head, appearing impatient: "You don't need to worry. I'm a police officer; if I say I'll solve your problem, could I trick you? Four thousand yuan a month, I'm just asking if you're willing to pay this money?"

After hesitating for a long time, Yang Meifang took out her phone: "I'll call his dad; he must pay this money."

As she spoke, she operated her phone to make a call and ran far away to talk. After a while, shouting and all kinds of foul language came from afar; this woman cursed her unfaithful man to the ground.

After a long while, Yang Meifang walked back, wiping her tears: "He said he's willing to give two thousand five hundred a month."

"You haven't applied for a residence permit, right?"

"No."

"Call your landlord later, get a photo of his ID, and go to the Balihe Police Station tomorrow with your rental contract and ID to apply for one."

Yang Meifang asked hesitantly and carefully: "Police Comrade, what about my son and daughter?"

"Just wait. Don't you have my phone number? I'll call you when it's done. Don't think I'm after your little bit of money; it's because I see your son is not bad and shouldn't be delayed. You must pay attention to this education problem. Let the diaper matter go, but it absolutely cannot happen again."

Ignoring Yang Meifang's promises, Wang Yan waved his hand impatiently, "Let's go, let's go see the situation at your home."

This Yang Meifang was someone without a mind of her own, and her character was relatively soft. It was just that now the problem was imminent, and the police had been called, and even the police couldn't stand it, so she finally got some drive and became ruthless...

However, Yang Meifang was actually not bad; the one-room apartment was kept quite tidy, and the six-month-old little girl looked quite fair and clean, sleeping very sweetly. The older brother was a good brother; the little thing, not very big, had already done his best—he was a little man.

After looking around and confirming the living environment, amidst the woman's thousand thanks and her wanting to ask but not daring to, Wang Yan and the two left and walked toward the outside of the residential complex.

Zhao Jiwei asked: "Brother Yan, do you really want to help them? Even if you have money, you can't help like this, right?"

"I don't need to spend my own money; I'm just helping to make connections." Wang Yan was very satisfied with his little brother's sensibility—calling him Brother Yan ensured peace. He looked at Zhang Zhijie, who had been silent beside him, "Officer Zhang, there should be private kindergartens near Fujia Garden, right? See if there are any suitable ones, with cheaper tuition and better conditions, and help make some connections."

"That's no problem." Zhang Zhijie nodded, "But her son going to school isn't the problem; I've seen it too. Yang Meifang is actually not bad; if she could afford school, she definitely would have let her son go long ago. The key problem is that her daughter is only six months old. Finding a nanny definitely won't work; not to mention whether they're attentive, you can't find someone to take care of a child for two thousand yuan. What do you plan to do?"

Wang Yan smiled: "Isn't there a welfare home here? It's not far. I'll go see if I can let them help take care of her. They receive abandoned infants from time to time, and it's safe to have them take care of children. If we give them two thousand yuan to help take care of her, I think it'll work."

"The welfare home is short-staffed, and their funding is never enough. How could they help take care of a child? Wouldn't that become a daycare center? If they could do that, wouldn't the welfare home have been filled with children long ago? Of course, I'm exaggerating a bit, but the fact is it's impossible. I think you'd better not make this promise. If you spend your own money, it's meaningless. I know you have money, but you can't keep sticking your neck out like this, right? There are too many pitiful people in this world; no amount of money is enough for you to spend."

Zhang Zhijie shook his head, feeling that Wang Yan was talking in his sleep.

Wang Yan raised an eyebrow and said with a smile: "What if I donate some money to the welfare home? That doesn't count as me sticking my neck out, right? I'm donating money to do charity and accumulate merit."

Zhang Zhijie...

Zhao Jiwei...

Silence, awkward silence. These words were indeed a bit choking; the damn aura of a rich person really left people speechless.

Wang Yan explained: "I'm not a bleeding heart, so I'm asking Yang Meifang to pay two thousand to the welfare home. This woman looks okay, and she's really having a hard time. She ran into such a man, is raising two children by herself, and has a younger brother in college she needs to help. If I didn't have the means, I wouldn't even ask, to save myself the trouble. But I have the means, and I was planning to donate money recently anyway. Yang Meifang is not bad, and her son is quite good; it would be a shame to waste them. Since I can solve it with a wave of my hand, I'll help if I can."

Zhao Jiwei was still immersed in the aura of the nouveau riche, and Zhang Zhijie asked: "Then how much do you plan to donate?"

"Let's start with a million." Wang Yan said it lightly.

Zhao Jiwei suffered another heavy blow. Zhang Zhijie, who was already speechless, didn't want to speak. There was no doubt this was a good thing, a benevolent act to accumulate merit. The nouveau riche's act of throwing money was also very handsome, but it just hurt him a little...

Thanks to brother (Bored Yin Yue) for the 500-coin tip for continued support.

Daily thanks to the good brothers who voted for monthly tickets for their support.

Thanks to all the brothers who voted for recommendations for their support.

Thanks to the brothers who read silently for their support.