I don't know when it started, but Ping County's public security management has a tradition - a small team is sent to patrol the county every night, 365 days a year, every day.
Most of the members of the patrol team are young people. The station stipulates that those over 45 years old no longer have to patrol at night, but Tan Yan is an exception.
He is 58 years old this year, and is an ordinary police officer in Ping County. Although he is almost at retirement age, he has maintained a good figure, with broad shoulders and narrow waist, and no fat on his waist and abdomen. Tan Yan's skills are said to be among the best. Every year, he ranks among the top in the internal competitions of the Yunnan Provincial Public Security Department. When people who have fought with him heard that he is almost 60 years old, they all almost dropped their jaws in shock. Some people once said that he would not exceed 40 at most. This age is still more because of his old face. If you only talk about physical functions, people would believe that he is only 18. Although Tan Yan is old now, he is good-looking. The new girls in the station secretly call him handsome uncle and are crazy about the young him in the historical photos of the unit. He is almost 60 years old and can still compete for the county girl of Ping County.
Although he is not inferior to young people in all aspects, he is old after all. His leaders have long advised him to retire to the second line and do logistics work, but Tan Yan refused.
Tan Yan is a recognized weirdo. No one knows what he is thinking, and no one knows what he wants.
He is not short of money, and the frontline allowance is dispensable to him. In the 1990s, all of Tan Yan's savings were borrowed by a colleague who went into business. As a result, the colleague lost money in business, so he gave Tan Yan his bungalow in his hometown to pay off the debt. Later, the colleague's hometown became a tourist development zone, and the house used as collateral was demolished, and Tan Yan was compensated with two storefronts. Now the annual rent is very considerable.
He is good-looking and has some assets, but he is still single and has never been in a relationship. He has quite a bit of savings, but he eats in the company cafeteria, wears ordinary sportswear, lives in a tube-shaped building that was allocated by the company in the early years, and rides on a 28-inch bicycle that is almost impossible to find on the market.
He could eat anything he wanted, could sleep on a wooden board, didn't smoke, didn't drink, didn't eat too much meat, didn't indulge in sensual pleasures, and even rarely watched TV dramas. He seemed to have no hobbies or interests, and lived a low-key and restrained life.
Since he started working at the age of 18, he would patrol Ping County every night on his bicycle. For forty years, he had never been away from his post for a single day, and he seemed to be tireless and insensitive to illness.
He rarely chatted with his colleagues at work. Even when he couldn't get together, he remained silent, like a mute who couldn't say a word. There was only one time when Tan Yan was forced to drink some wine. He seemed to have a low alcohol tolerance and became a little confused after taking a sip of wine. At this time, someone asked him if he had no wishes after living for most of his life. Tan Yan blushed and said after a long while: "I want to retire, and go out of town to relax after retirement."
So some people started to persuade him to retire early. According to regulations, he can apply for retirement after working for 30 years. Since he works so hard and has no shortage of money, why not retire early and rest
At that time, Tan Yan just shook his head, staring at the wall, as if his sight was looking through the steel and concrete to the far distance. Before anyone could ask him anything else, he fell straight down. He had a poor alcohol tolerance and fell asleep after just one sip.
From then on, no matter what others said, he stopped drinking, and no one ever heard his true feelings again.
In the early years, there was a shortage of police force and lax management. Although they said they patrolled in teams, in reality there was often only Tan Yan alone. He rode his bicycle all over Ping County every night, rain or shine, and never left his post. Although he looked tired, he himself was very energetic.
In recent years, he seems to have aged. Although the unit has equipped everyone with police electric vehicles, and there are more people patrolling together, the main work is done by young people. Tan Yan's pressure has been reduced a lot, but he looks more tired than before. The new team members in the station secretly said that every time Uncle Tan looked at them on patrol, they were creepy. It always felt that he seemed to think that the team members were in the way.
The team members also reported this to the leaders. Everyone felt that Tan Yan might be a bit too senior and looked down on young people like them. Tan Yan was too weird. No matter which team he was assigned to, it was difficult for him to fit in. The team leaders all hoped to kick him out of the patrol team.
Director Li of the Public Security Administration Office slammed the table on the spot and said to these young people: "What do you mean by taking advantage of your age? Do you know how many meritorious deeds Tan Yan has made and how many vicious criminals he has arrested? Do you know how hard he has worked over the years? The footprints he has left in Ping County over the years can circle the earth! You think he discriminates against you. Has Tan Yan ever said such a thing? Has he ever made it clear that he doesn't like you? He didn't! Do you want to convict people based on unfounded facts and mere speculation? Look at you, you don't know how to stand or sit, I can't stand it. Tan Yan's police appearance and discipline are the best in the office, and he is a model every year. Letting him lead you is to give you the opportunity to learn from the old comrades. Go back and be humble!"
Training is training, and after training, the old comrades' problems still need to be solved. In fact, every time Tan Yan goes out on patrol, Director Li is worried. He is old and has no one to take care of him. Even if he looks strong now, many people who are still healthy today will die of overwork tomorrow. He has not rested for forty years and has won the title of national model worker. Director Li thinks it is terrible. Is this the intensity of work that a person can bear? He is afraid that one day his strings will break and he can't hold on. He is worried that he is exhausted, so he persuades Tan Yan to retire.
But Tan Yan disagreed.
"Why, why?" Director Li was full of confusion.
"I have been working for forty years and will retire in two years. I want to fight on the front line until the last day." Tan Yan answered simply.
What else could Director Li do? If Tan Yan really had any physical illness, he could force him to step down. But Tan Yan's annual physical examination results showed that he was healthy, better than many sub-healthy young people in the institute. He couldn't discourage such a person with suitable physical conditions and enthusiasm for work.
So no matter what others think, Tan Yan insists on working on the front line until today.
He still worked diligently every day, but the fatigue in his eyes was getting deeper and deeper.
"Uncle Tan, it's already past nine o'clock. You should go back and have some rest. Older people go to bed early, and you should be sleepy by now." Captain Wang of the patrol team said worriedly when he saw Tan Yan's electric bike shaking.
"It's okay, I'm just not used to riding an electric bike." Tan Yan shook his head and pointed to a small alley with a broken street light. "The wires were broken during the pipeline repair there these days. The street light is broken. It's dark and I can't see anything. It's not safe. I'll go over there and take a look. I'll go back after I'm done."
"Okay, Xiao Liu, you go with him. After the visit, send Uncle Tan home. Make sure to send him home. Call me when you get there." Captain Wang looked worried. What's the point of going out on field trips when he can't even ride an electric bike properly
Xiao Liu glanced at the time on his phone, his expression a little embarrassed, but he still nodded and agreed. He turned the car around and followed Tan Yan all the way to the dark alley.
There was no light at the entrance of the alley, and Xiao Liu, a grown man, was a little scared. The electric bike seemed to be running out of power, and the headlights were a little dim. Even with the headlights on, he couldn't see the road conditions in the alley. Xiao Liu took out a high-intensity flashlight and was about to press the switch, but Tan Yan held his hand.
Tan Yan looked at him quietly, his hand firmly pressing down on his finger that was holding the flashlight switch: "You still have to pick up your wife from evening study, come back."
"Uncle Tan, how do you know my wife is studying at night today?" Xiao Liu asked in confusion, "It's really not safe here. According to regulations, there should be more than two people patrolling. I can't let you go in alone."
Tan Yan, who was usually taciturn, seemed a little anxious at this moment: "I have been in Ping County for so many years, I can walk around the entire county with my eyes closed, what can go wrong. Isn't your wife pregnant? Go pick her up quickly."
Xiao Liu thought about it and it made sense. When every household didn't even have electricity, Uncle Tan traveled all over Ping County. What could possibly happen now? And he was really worried about his pregnant wife and wanted to pick her up. After hesitating for a moment, his concern for his wife prevailed: "Well... Thank you, Uncle Tan, I'll treat you to a meal some other day!"
"Let's go." Tan Yan took the high-intensity flashlight from Xiao Liu, "I'm here."
When Xiao Liu saw him snatch the flashlight so swiftly, he estimated that the three of them might not be able to defeat Tan Yan. While secretly sighing that Tan Yan was still strong despite his old age, he was completely relieved.
Seeing Xiao Liu whizzing away on his electric bike, the fatigue in Tan Yan's eyes faded a little.
"Finally they left..." He breathed a sigh of relief and turned on a high-intensity flashlight towards the alley.
The other side was still pitch black.
This was clearly a residential area, so even if the streetlights were broken, there should still be light from the houses. But the alley in front of me was like a black hole, sucking in even the starlight from the sky, like some ferocious beast with its mouth wide open, quietly waiting for its prey to arrive.
Tan Yan put the electric bike aside and locked it, sighed silently into the darkness, and walked into the alley.
The darkness gradually swallowed him up, and the moment he was completely in, light gradually appeared in the alley and the street lights came on.
The alley in the dim light was empty and there was no sign of Tan Yan at all.