Chapter 43 - 43 43 Jiang Village People

Words : 1592 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

43: Chapter 43 Jiang Village People 43: Chapter 43 Jiang Village People Because Wei Yin was coming, Wang Zhong specially chose a high-class restaurant. The kind with private rooms. And he ordered lots of beer. Playing with the department flower and her bestie used to be just in Wang Zhong’s daydreams, but now that it had come true, he was daydreaming even more. Before long, Wei Yin arrived with her bestie, gracefully greeting Jiang Yuan, then chatting with the few who had arrived early with great poise and openness. As someone who worked in administration and was also beautiful, she knew many people and could strike up a conversation with anyone. She’d talk with one group for a while, then laugh with another, quickly causing Wang Zhong to become distressed. “Hey, I think it might not work out,” Wang Zhong said, transitioning from dominating the dining scene to receding into an invisibility, as he sat down next to Jiang Yuan, beginning to seem listless. “What’s wrong?” Jiang Yuan asked. This was his first time attending a colleagues’ gathering since joining the company, so naturally, he wanted to appear as sociable as possible. Wang Zhong sighed, “With us being so outnumbered... I’m afraid I may never have my day in the sun, sigh...” Jiang Yuan followed up on his sentiment, casually saying, “Don’t be so pessimistic.” “How can I not be?” Wang Zhong had a sip of beer, his emotions becoming more agitated: “Just look at Huang, almost wearing tight shirts even in winter to show off his abs. And you, tall, handsome, and with good skills... And Guo Haitao, just you wait and see—soon the restaurant manager will be here to fawn over him...” Right as he was speaking, someone knocked on the private room door. “A rare guest, a rare guest. Captain Guo graces us with his presence...” The restaurant manager entered with a smile, pulling out a box of Zhonghua cigarettes and handing them out all around. Police officers often smash smokers, and even Wei Yin and her bestie started to smoke one, blowing smoke rings for fun. “Not captain, I’m just a gofer. It’d be a joke if others heard you; we’re just having private fun, no need for all this fuss,” Guo Haitao accepted the cigarette, lighting it for both of them. “How can I not make a fuss? If people knew, they’d think I have no manners,” said the manager, bending down to light a cigarette, and after a few more words with a laugh, servers brought in fruit platters and beers. The manager eagerly instructed them to place them on the table, saying, “A fruit platter and beers, just a small token of my regard, a small token of my regard...” Guo Haitao modestly declined, much like relatives handing out red packets during the New Year. “Just leave the fruit platter; we don’t need the beer, we can’t finish it all,” Wei Yin intervened, ending the back and forth. Guo Haitao became more resolute, ushering both the manager and the beer out of the private room, then turned back with a smile, “Shopkeepers are too shrewd, didn’t expect to be recognized... Alright, the formalities are done, let’s enjoy ourselves.” “Chief Guo has quite the network.” “Chief Guo is something else.” Everyone snacked on little watermelons and cherry tomatoes while teasing Guo Haitao. Wang Zhong joined in the praise, then turned back to Jiang Yuan to lament, “We tech guys really don’t have a role to play in these kinds of settings.” “We could try to lift the manager’s fingerprints; maybe he has a criminal record, and we could lock him up,” Jiang Yuan offered up a sensible suggestion. Just as Wang Zhong’s mood peaked, he burst into laughter, rendered speechless. Jiang Yuan also picked up a bottle of beer to drink. He, too, had only graduated recently, but found dining and chatting with classmates quite different from socializing with colleagues over a meal. As Wang Zhong drank more, he began to liven up, Wei Yin and her best friend seemed to fit in extremely well the whole time, and even when several male colleagues close in age coordinated with each other, their moods were still manipulated by her, like green rookies entering the interrogation room for the first time. The group ended dinner amidst laughter and chatter. Once they stepped out of the restaurant and felt the breeze, they all staggered slightly. “Let’s get a taxi. I’ll call taxis for everyone,” Guo Haitao, who loved the limelight, was also good at seeing things through to the end. Someone politely said, “No need, I’ll take the bus back, it’s all the same.” “You’re wearing pants. Take a taxi, it’ll be less trouble,” Guo Haitao was referring to police pants. Nowadays, unless on duty, police officers try not to wear their uniforms. Some would even change out of their uniforms just to go downstairs to buy a pack of cigarettes, or they’d throw a coat over it. However, most officers who wear the uniform are accustomed to wearing their police pants all day long. Not only do they wear police pants while on duty, during interrogations, on patrol, but also when going home after work, almost as if they want to wear them in the shower, to the point that even the police dogs in the station are bothered by the reflection of the pants, colloquially referred to as “blinding the dog’s eyes.” But wearing police pants while having had a drink still made people a bit more concerned, and everyone tried to avoid it as much as possible. The colleague in police pants waved it off, “No worries, the lighting is so dim at night, if someone stares at your pants, it’d be best if they recognized these are police pants.” Several people broke into laughter, and amidst the commotion, someone said, “If anyone should be wearing police pants, it should be Wei Yin.” “I have everyone here to protect me,” Wei Yin confidently rallied everyone to her side and added, “You guys should also keep your eyes to yourselves, spotting a white shirt is the real danger.” Guo Haitao laughed heartily, “The white shirts we see around here are probably all salespeople.” In the police force, only officers ranked as a third-tier police supervisor or above are allowed to wear white shirts. Those below that rank wear sky-blue shirts. And, as a senior police rank, one generally has to be the chief of a municipal bureau to be a third-tier police supervisor, while in Ningtai County’s bureau, even the chief wears a blue shirt. However, police academies and higher-level police departments have a relatively higher number of white shirts. To the officers from the county bureau, seeing a white shirt is like seeing an imperial envoy. Despite the slim possibility, the aura of fear was successfully amplified by Wei Yin, and everyone started behaving and looked down, ready to call a taxi. Jiang Yuan cleared his throat twice and said, “I’ll have a friend give you guys a lift.” “There are quite a few of us though,” Wang Zhong reminded him. “No worries, we’ve got cars in the county,” Jiang Yuan said as he made a phone call. The area of Ningtai County isn’t vast, and due to its location in a busy district, you’d only have to wait as long as it takes for a Didi to arrive, when a nice row of four Alphards pulled up in front of the group. Yuan, Jiang Yongxin got out of the lead car. He was considered a go-getter in the village, running a car repair shop and a car rental business while also offering shuttle services for the village people. Ever since Jiang Yuan solved the electric bike case and, despite not receiving a single penny in return of stolen goods, Jiang Yongxin started addressing him with respect as Yuan. “Count from the front to the back – the four cars will head in the directions of east, south, west, and north. Everyone can get in whichever car goes their way,” Jiang Yuan, who himself disliked driving, always called for a village car for transport. Wang Zhong and the others were still a bit awestruck by the Alphards. Seeing Jiang Yuan about to get in a car, Wang Zhong hurriedly stopped him, saying, “Isn’t calling these cars a bit too extravagant?” “They’re our village’s own cars, I usually just account for it, no worries,” Jiang Yuan said as he greeted Jiang Yongxin and got in a car. Wang Zhong couldn’t help but mutter, “That’s the Jiang Village people for you.” “There are rich and poor in Jiang Village too,” Jiang Yongxin came over to welcome the guests, smiling, “There are even those in Jiang Village who’ve squandered their wealth until they have only two or three houses left. But Yuan’s family is exceptionally wealthy; his dad being called the Wealth of the Town isn’t just by chance, it was decided at his birth.” “Get in the car, get in the car,” Wang Zhong urged without further ado, choosing the first car to sit in, while others murmured “Jiang Village” and filed into the cars one by one. The four cars started smoothly, taking everyone back to their homes and deeply engraving the concept of “Jiang Village people” into their minds.

Chapter 43 - 43 43 Jiang Village People

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