The policeman sat there flipping through a book, and from time to time he took out his cell phone to check the time.
To be honest,
His presence in the store was very stressful for both Zhou Ze and Bai Yingying.
There's a feeling of a thorn in the back.
This is a good policeman, full of integrity. In addition, the police uniform he wears can almost make all evil spirits retreat.
But Zhou Ze had no way to retreat, after all, this was his own store.
Fortunately, Zhou Ze and Bai Yingying were not low-level ghosts or mountain monsters after all. Although they felt a little uncomfortable, they were not substantially hurt.
On the contrary, Zhou Ze has a heartfelt respect for this person.
It is true that people’s hearts are hidden.
But as a ghost, I am more sensitive to this feeling.
So, when Zhou Ze first gave him the batch of books, he didn't mean to tease him, but because he had a preconceived notion that a policeman who could cultivate such a righteous character should also like to read some serious and valuable books.
But later Zhou Ze discovered that police officers are also human beings;
As a human being, we have our own interests and hobbies, just like the policeman in front of us, who is sitting there and is immersed in reading a novel.
"Uncle, have some tea."
Bai Yingying timidly brought the teacup over.
"Oh, thank you." The policeman took the teacup, looked at Bai Yingying, and asked, "Aren't you going to school?"
"Today is a holiday."
Bai Yingying didn't dare to say that she was not going to school and was just wasting time, to avoid any more trouble later.
Bai Yingying was a little afraid of the person in front of her, even more so than Zhou Ze.
Zhou Ze is a contemporary person and can put himself into this way of thinking. The person in front of him certainly makes him feel afraid instinctively, but on the other hand, it also means that the person in front of him is more worthy of respect.
Bai Yingying just felt her heart beating a little faster. After handing over the tea, she immediately ran to the second floor and didn't want to come down again.
"Boss, how much?" The policeman looked at Zhou Ze.
"It's up to you to decide." Zhou Ze said.
"That won't work. Never mind. Let's settle the bill when I leave. They will probably come to pick me up in half an hour." The policeman sat down again, touched his pocket, and was stunned for a moment.
As an old smoker, Zhou Ze understood and handed over a cigarette.
"Thank you."
The policeman thanked Zhou Ze for helping him light the cigarette, and then the two of them smoked together.
Cigarettes are indeed a bridge for men to socialize. They transform strangers into smoking buddies, and it is also convenient for them to brag a little.
"Isn't your business doing well here?" asked the policeman.
"Just get by." Zhou Ze replied.
"Oh, I remember who you are." The policeman patted his head and said, "During the last fire, you bravely rushed into the fire to save people, right?"
Zhou Ze nodded.
"Look at my memory. By the way, the bureau wanted to give you a silk banner last time. Why didn't you go to accept it?"
"It's just my job. I don't want to be in the spotlight." Zhou Ze replied.
The police uncle nodded and said helplessly: "Indeed, in the end no one expected that the arsonist was actually one of the heroes who rushed into the fire to save people."
"Damn it, taxis have really disappeared. It's hard to get an online taxi at this time. I can't get a taxi either. Old Zhou, it seems we really have to move. We can't even get a taxi in this remote place.
I'm missing a wire and I have to go back and buy a new one, otherwise I won't be able to assemble the console."
Xu Qinglang walked in while complaining, and then saw the policeman sitting in the bookstore.
"Hey, Director Zhao!"
Xu Qinglang obviously knew this policeman, and he immediately smiled and said kindly:
"Director Zhao, you seem to be in good health. Hiss, I remember seeing a news article about you a while ago. I forgot what it said, but it seemed that you had made contributions and received a medal. Yes, that should be the case. Congratulations!"
"You little thing, you are getting prettier and prettier." The policeman stood up with a smile and patted Xu Qinglang on the shoulder, looking very intimate. "Are you still stealing now?"
"How dare I? My house was demolished and I was given more than 20 houses. Now I am a legal tax-paying citizen," Xu Qinglang replied.
"You..." Director Zhao pointed at Xu Qinglang, "You finally got your reward after all the hardship you've endured."
"Director Zhao, your son is getting married soon, right? How about I give you a house as a wedding room for your son?"
"You little bastard, if you dare to say such nonsense in front of me again, believe it or not, I will take you to the police station again," Director Zhao scolded sternly.
"Hey, I just run a noodle shop here, and I'm not trying to bribe you. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have survived until the old house and the land were demolished. I should give you a house as a gift."
"Just live your life well."
"Do you know each other?" Zhou Ze asked.
Director Zhao nodded and said, "I know him, more than that, this kid has been stealing things on the street and stealing people's wallets since he was less than ten years old. I have caught him many times.
When I first caught him, I told my police officers that we caught a girl thief, but who knew it turned out to be a boy!"
"I was ignorant in the past, so don't mention it." Xu Qinglang didn't want Zhou Ze to hear his past ugly deeds.
"You have to mention it. You have done a lot of bad things in the past. You must not forget those mistakes. You must remember them in your heart and warn yourself not to make the same mistakes again. Good days don't come easily."
"Director Zhao, I understand." Xu Qinglang nodded.
"By the way, I sent you to Master Sun as an apprentice. How is Master Sun's health now?" Director Zhao asked.
"It's OK, but he passed the shop to his son, and I went out on my own."
It turns out that this was the reason why Xu Qinglang opened a noodle shop. At the beginning, his family had a change and he almost became a gangster in society. He was arrested and educated several times by Director Zhao, who was the chief of the police station at that time. Director Zhao finally arranged for him to be an apprentice in a noodle shop, which put him on the right track.
Otherwise, Xu Qinglang might have to add another house, which is a prison cell.
"Director Zhao, why are you here?" After saying that, Xu Qinglang whispered, "I'm telling you, don't come here. The feng shui is not good."
What this means is that there are far more dead people than living people who come to Zhou Ze's bookstore to read books.
Zhou Ze raised his eyebrows beside him.
What's the meaning
"You little brat, you still haven't changed your habit of playing tricks. I was born and raised under the red flag, so I don't believe in these crooked sayings.
Besides, if you are upright and have done nothing wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door.
Even if there are ghosts in this world, it is the ghosts who are afraid of me. I am not afraid of ghosts!"
Zhou Ze touched his nose and said, "You are right."
"Director Zhao, I'll cook a few dishes myself. We haven't seen each other for many years. Can I cook for two hours tonight?"
"I can't do it. Someone will come to pick me up later. I'm going on a business trip to another province. I just bought two novels to read on the way because I was afraid I'd get bored."
"You're the director now, but you're still so busy." Xu Qinglang felt a little regretful.
"It's better to be busy. I'm a policeman. If the police slack off, the people will not be able to rest in peace."
Director Zhao scratched his head, put his police hat back on, took out his cell phone to check the time, and said:
"It's almost time. They should come to pick me up. I'm leaving first."
"Have a nice trip."
Zhou Ze thought that he had finally sent away this brilliant god.
Director Zhao walked to the door and suddenly thought of something. He reached into his pocket and seemed to be preparing to take out his wallet:
"Look at my memory. I took the book and drank the tea, and almost forgot to pay."
"Look at how polite you are. I'll give it to you." Xu Qinglang immediately stepped forward and said, "The boss of this shop grew up eating my food. He is one of us."
“… …” Zhou Ze.
"That won't do. Why should I ask you to pay for the books I bought?" Director Zhao disagreed.
"Okay, I'll come to visit you in person in a few days and ask you to return the money for my books. I'll also have a meal with you. How about that?" Xu Qinglang begged, "You have to give me a reason to come back, right?"
"Okay, your aunt's cooking skills are pretty good. I might not be home by then, so let your aunt cook for you and you can learn from her and tell her what I said. We'll try to turn this noodle shop into a hotel in the future."
People always have to pursue something, don't just lie on those houses and wait for death, that's meaningless."
"Hey, what should I do when you're not at home?" Xu Qinglang said with a smile.
"Okay, I'm leaving now. Goodbye!" Director Zhao waved to Zhou Ze and Xu Qinglang, pushed open the door of the bookstore and left.
"Boss, there are so many cars outside." Bai Yingying, who was originally on the second floor, walked down the stairs and shouted to the people in the bookstore.
"What car?" Xu Qinglang asked, "Is it a wedding convoy?"
"A wedding car is not as impressive as a sedan chair carried by eight people." Zhou Ze teased Xu Qinglang.
"It's not a wedding car, it's taxis. There are so many taxis, the whole road is full of taxis." Bai Yingying said. She could see it clearly from the second-floor window.
"Taxi?" Xu Qinglang was stunned for a moment, and said, "Damn, why is it so difficult to get a taxi today? There are no taxis to be seen. Are they going to organize a strike and march?"
Suddenly, Xu Qinglang was stunned.
He seemed to have thought of something, and immediately took out his cell phone and started searching, and finally, he found it.
That was a piece of news from half a month ago.
The front page of the news had a large photo of Director Zhao, and the story below was about a car-stealing gang that had been roaming around in multiple provinces being captured in Tongcheng and discovered by a deputy chief of the police station who was returning home from work. During the struggle between the two sides, the deputy chief unfortunately died in the line of duty.
Three days later, the police caught the entire criminal gang in one fell swoop, without leaving a single one unpunished. This car-stealing gang mostly stole taxis, and they had also killed two taxi drivers.
Director Zhao died a long time ago.
"He's dead... I remember I was sad for a long time after reading the news, but when I saw him in front of me just now, I subconsciously felt that he was still alive and didn't think about this news at all."
After saying that, Xu Qinglang looked at Zhou Ze angrily:
"He's a ghost, he's not a living person. Why didn't you remind me just now? I still have a lot to say to him!"
Zhou Ze was also stunned and asked, "He is a ghost?"
"You didn't notice? You're a ghost messenger, didn't you notice?"
"I made a point of observing him when he came in. He is a human being."
"How could it be a human!" Xu Qinglang almost growled.
He could have said goodbye to the other person before, but he was just busy chatting about family matters!
"Why would I lie to you? I observed him carefully and I really didn't realize that he was a ghost."
"I didn't notice it either." Bai Yingying walked over at this time.
At this time, on the road in front of the store,
Taxis were lined up in two rows and moving slowly side by side. The line was so long that there was almost no end in sight.
Xu Qinglang pushed open the door of the bookstore and walked out, and Zhou Ze and Bai Yingying followed him out.
Nearly a thousand taxis spontaneously organized themselves into a convoy and drove forward. The taxi drivers changed their usual habit of speeding and constantly overtaking.
this time,
They drove very slowly.
At the rear of the fleet,
There was a hearse, and funeral music was playing in it.
At the same time, a large black-and-white photo was hung above the hearse, which was Director Zhao’s portrait.
"Is there a funeral today?" Xu Qinglang said sadly, "So he said he was going on a business trip and someone was coming to pick him up, and it was this funeral procession
But how could I not see that he was a ghost, and you couldn't see it either."
“Some people live, but they are already dead;
Some people died, but they are still alive.
Maybe it's because of this reason." Zhou Ze said.
"Oh." Xu Qinglang nodded after hearing that, then waved at the long convoy, saying goodbye.
At the same time, I felt a little relieved. No wonder it was so difficult to get a taxi in Tongcheng today.
Zhou Ze watched the car with the portrait slowly drive past.
I said in my heart:
“Have a nice journey.”
———
This story is based on real events.