Daddy's Gourmet Shop-Chapter 282 - 273: Community Police Officer

"Officer Zhang is here..."

"Hey, good morning!"

Officer Zhang smiled and nodded, responding to the neighbors along the road.

As he spoke, he started moving the bicycles parked haphazardly on the roadside to the entrance of a nearby neighborhood.

Walking ahead, Jingyi suddenly realized her mentor wasn’t keeping up.

She turned around in confusion...

And saw her mentor busy moving bicycles!

She walked back and shouted, "Master..."

"Come, come, let’s move some bikes!"

Officer Zhang continued his work with a smile, responding to his apprentice Jingyi, and said to the neighbor who parked the bike carelessly, "Your bike is blocking the way a bit!"

"Oh, I know, I’ll be more careful next time..."

"Alright~"

Officer Zhang didn’t make it difficult for him, nodding before continuing to arrange the disorganized bicycles and e-bikes with Jingyi.

A neighbor saw this and smiled, saying, "Officer Zhang, you’re here again, sorry for the trouble we’ve caused you..."

"Morning!"

Officer Zhang greeted them with a warm smile, waving his hand and saying, "It’s nothing!"

"Okay, carry on then..."

"Alright!"

Officer Zhang noticed someone using a coal stove to boil water and smiled as he approached, pointing at the stove and asking with concern, "Are you boiling water?"

The resident nodded, "Yeah, just boiling some water."

He rubbed his hands, unable to resist reminding, "Hey, be careful with that fire."

"Sure, don’t worry... I’ll put it out once I’m done."

He nodded with a smile, "Yes, yes, then you’ll need to clean up a bit later."

"Alright, thank you!"

Seeing the familiarity of the neighbors with her mentor, Jingyi couldn’t help but smile and ask, "Master, do you know everyone on Old Street?"

Officer Zhang smiled, "As community officers, one of our biggest tasks is making friends."

Jingyi looked puzzled, "Making friends?"

"Yes, the more friends and acquaintances we have, the better we can assist the criminal police team and other departments when they come to us, understand?"

Officer Zhang looked at his apprentice beside him, continuing to instruct patiently, "Don’t be fooled by how trivial the community work usually seems; the importance lies in the daily accumulation of these little things, you know?"

"I understand, Master."

The intern officer Jingyi once dreamed of fighting on the front lines and catching bad guys.

But for some reason.

She was assigned to be a community officer.

She wasn’t happy about it at all.

Every day she saw the other interns from her batch busy responding to calls.

Catching bad guys!

Saving people!

Resolving disputes!

Busy out of their minds.

And she?

Could only stay at the precinct daily, watching various videos for clues.

The sense of disparity made her quite frustrated.

Maybe her mentor noticed her longing for field calls!

Today he purposely took her out for a stroll.

Under the guise of a patrol!

Seeing her mentor patiently advising the neighbors around, witnessing his work gaining community support.

She quickly understood.

Anything involving the people is not a small matter; grassroots safety is the foundation of national social security, solving big cases only addresses the symptoms, while good community policing addresses the root.

She no longer resisted being a community officer as much.

The mentor and apprentice walked along the street.

Suddenly they caught a whiff of an indescribable fragrance and looked in its direction...

Not far away, they saw a group of people sitting on folding chairs, each with a bowl of porridge and a bag or plate of pan-fried buns.

Eating with such relish!

Eating with such satisfaction and delight!

Jingyi: "..."

Why is everyone eating breakfast here?

Are they having breakfast in the open breeze?

But, this aroma...

Smells so good!

She couldn’t help but swallow.

Officer Zhang: "..."

This shop’s entrance sure has a lot of people!

Every time I come patrol this area, I see a line like a dragon.

Heard the taste is very good.

Those who’ve tried it all praise it!

Unfortunately!

I’ve never tasted it myself...

It’s not that I didn’t want to wait in line to buy and taste it, it’s just that the queue always discouraged me.

As an officer.

Our meal times aren’t like normal people’s.

We basically eat whenever we have time.

Sometimes, you’re halfway through your meal...

You get an urgent call and have to put down your chopsticks and respond immediately.

Sometimes when things get busy.

It’s common to skip one or two meals.

So, we don’t have the leisure time to queue!

Even though there’s a famous food shop here, we rarely get the chance to try it.

Even when work gets slightly easier, I’m still caught up with trivial community issues daily.

Busy out of my mind.

Like the other day, there was a diaper theft in the community.

To solve the case!

I had to sit with Jingyi by our computers, watching nearby footage, identifying suspects.

It was exhausting!

Finally, the case was cracked, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding.

No time to properly enjoy a meal here.

Plus, even after work, it’s hard to buy from here; we keep missing out. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Officer Zhang smiled and greeted, "Everyone’s eating!"

"Officer Zhang, have you eaten?"

"Yes, I have!"

Officer Zhang nodded with a smile, continuing with concern, "Sitting on the curb like that is quite dangerous, with cars coming and going, it’s easy to have accidents..."

As he persistently advised the neighbors, Jingyi’s phone suddenly rang.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She stepped aside and answered it...

It was indeed her mother, Xu Jiaohong.

She hesitated a moment before answering.

"Hello, Mom..."

On the other end came an anxious voice, "Jingyi, why did it take you so long to answer my call! I’m so worried..."

"Mom, I’m at work! It’s a bit busy today..."

Jingyi explained helplessly, but before she could finish, her mom interrupted, "Don’t say anything, I just called Wang Zhiheng..."

"Mom, why did you call my boss again? Can you stop calling people at the precinct? I’m doing fine."

With that, Jingyi’s tone involuntarily rose in volume.

"How can you talk to me like that!"

Xu Jiaohong frowned slightly, "Is someone saying things out there?"

"No one said anything, and they don’t need to, anyone can tell."

Jingyi helplessly rolled her eyes, expressing her displeasure, "Mom, I’m here to work, I don’t want everyone to think I’m a weirdo!"

"Being a weirdo, is that bad?"

Xu Jiaohong, unapologetic, insisted, "I’m just having them look after you specially."

She looked exasperated, "Mom..."

"Alright, Jingyi, come home early today!"

Ignoring her daughter’s protests, Xu Jiaohong said nonchalantly, "I feel like having seafood, bring back some fresh crabs for me!"

"I’ll try my best!" Jingyi replied, clearly irritated.

"No trying your best about it, if they make you work overtime, I’ll directly call Wang Zhiheng."

Xu Jiaohong’s attitude was firm and uncompromising, "Okay, that’s it!"

"Mom, how can you..."

Before she could finish, the line was already disconnected with a beep.

Jingyi was used to it but couldn’t believe it!

Feeling utterly drained.

She blankly stood there.

Memories flashed through her mind, echoing with her mother’s tearful words: "Jingyi, you don’t have a father anymore..."