Chapter 11: Renting and Moving

At 6 p.m., Luo Fei returned home from work.

His mother, Wu Yan, had already prepared dinner and was just waiting for Luo Fei to come home to start eating.

They ate in the room Luo Fei shared with his younger brother, Luo Hao. The room was so small that after setting up the table, there was only space for three stools, so Luo Hao usually sat on the bed to eat.

Fortunately, they had few relatives. Other than the occasional visits from his second aunt and uncle, they rarely had guests over. Otherwise, they would not even have enough space to dine.

After thinking for some time, Luo Fei turned to Wu Yan and asked, “Mom, now that I have a job and can contribute financially every month, shouldn’t we start looking for a new place to live?”

Luo Hao and Luo Xiaoxiao’s eyes lit up immediately. This house was too old, too shabby, and too cramped. They had dreamed countless times of moving into a bigger, cleaner house, preferably one where they each had their own room.

Luo Hao had an even stronger desire for his own room than Luo Xiaoxiao. He was extremely afraid of his brother, so sharing a bed with Luo Fei made him so cautious that he could hardly move at night, making it very uncomfortable for him.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yan’s face showed a relieved expression, and her eyes welled up with tears. Over the years, raising three children alone has been extremely difficult for her.

Especially after Luo Fei started university, she had to not only cover his tuition fees but also send him a monthly allowance. She remembered the toughest times when she was desperately trying to borrow money for Luo Fei’s tuition, but could not find anyone willing to lend. She even considered selling her blood.

She could not remember how many sleepless nights she had endured. If it were not for her three children, Wu Yan felt she might not have made it through. Fortunately, those days were behind them. Despite his rebellious phase, Luo Fei had become mature and responsible.

After hesitating for a moment, Wu Yan said, “You’ve just started working, and besides, we still owe your second aunt and uncle a lot of money. Maybe we should wait a bit before we think about moving.”

Luo Fei had already made up his mind to move, so he persuaded her:  “Mom, Luo Hao is about to start high school. High school courses are intense, and he’ll need his own room to study quietly. Now that I have a job, we can pay back Auntie and Uncle a little every month. It won’t be long before we can clear the debt.”

Hearing Luo Fei’s promise of giving him his own room, Luo Hao was thrilled, eagerly hoping Wu Yan would agree to move.

Wu Yan looked at Luo Fei, then at the hopeful faces of Luo Hao and Luo Xiaoxiao. Finally, she nodded.

“Yay!” The next moment, Luo Xiaoxiao exclaimed happily, while Luo Hao tried to remain calm and continued eating, though his excitement was obvious to Luo Fei, who found it amusing.

Having made the decision, Wu Yan also smiled and set a condition: they could move, but the rent should not exceed 1,000 yuan. Luo Fei agreed, knowing that with the housing prices in Ningjiang County, 1000 yuan could get them a decent rental place.

“Okay, I’ll ask my colleagues in the next few days. Mom, you can also ask Second Aunt if she knows of any rentals,” Luo Fei suggested.

“I’ll ask her tomorrow.”

After dinner, Wu Yan cleaned the room, while Luo Hao and Luo Xiaoxiao started on their homework, and Luo Fei continued reading “Evidence Law”.

“Brother, you’re already working; why are you still reading?” Luo Xiaoxiao could not help but ask curiously. In her mind, adults did not need to study once they had jobs.

Luo Fei smiled and replied, “Learning is essential no matter what stage of life you’re in. There’s a saying: ‘Learn as long as you live.’ It means learning has no end. No matter at which stage of life, you need to keep learning to progress and improve.”

Seeing this, Wu Yan, who was cleaning nearby, felt immense happiness bubbling within her.

The next morning, Luo Fei arrived at the office as usual at 7:30 a.m.

To his surprise, his colleagues Wu Wei, Zhao Le, and Jiang Xiaoxiao were already there.

“Good morning. You’re all here early today,” Luo Fei remarked as he took his seat.

Wu Wei gave him a look of exaggerated misery and said with mock resentment, “It’s all because of you.”

Luo Fei was puzzled. “What does that have to do with me?”

Jiang Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes and said indignantly, “Don’t you know you’ve become the model of our Songxin Town Police Station? Director Zhou asked us newbies to learn from you. Although you didn’t graduate from the police academy, you’re excellent and diligent. You arrive at the office before 7:30 a.m. every day. He asked us to learn from you. So, isn’t it because of you?”

After hearing Jiang Xiaoxiao’s explanation, Luo Fei finally understood what was going on. He felt a surge of satisfaction but kept it hidden. Being recognised by the higher-ups was a good thing, but of course, he could not show it on his face. He did not want his colleagues to resent him.

“Don’t look so gloomy. I’ll treat all of you to milk tea at noon,” Luo Fei said with a smile, knowing that the two were just joking.

“That sounds about right.”

“I’ll remember that. If there’s no milk tea at noon, I’ll be after you.”

Wu Wei and Jiang Xiaoxiao were finally satisfied.

As for Zhao Le, he had been reading at his desk the whole time. Ever since Luo Fei solved the Gu Youguo case and gained fame in the station, his attitude has been cold towards him.

Naturally, Luo Fei decided not to bother with Zhao Le’s aloofness. People can be any way they want; he would not cater to bad attitudes.

At eight o’clock, Chief Zhou Weimin entered the office with a broad smile.

“Everyone, please stop what you’re doing for a moment. I have an announcement to make. At 10 a.m. today, there will be a commendation ceremony held in the conference room at the Public Security Bureau. Our Songxin Town Police Station has two outstanding officers who have been commended by the city. One is Comrade Zhang Haiyang, who is receiving a third-class merit award, and the other is our new member, Luo Fei, who is receiving an individual commendation. Let’s give a warm round of applause to the two outstanding comrades of our station.”

After Zhou Weimin finished speaking, the office erupted in applause.

After the applause ceased, Zhou Weimin looked at Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang. “Haiyang, Luo Fei, tidy yourselves up. We’ll head over at 9 o’clock sharp.” Then he looked at the rest in the office and said, “Everyone else, if you don’t have urgent work, you can come to the Public Security Bureau to observe the ceremony and learn from these exemplary officers.”

With that, Zhou Weimin left the office, and the office buzzed with excitement.

“Haiyang, you and your mentee are doing great! The mentor receives a third-class merit, and the mentee gets an individual commendation. How are you going to celebrate tonight?” Liu Haiquan stood up and asked immediately.

“Yeah! We understand Luo Fei just started and hasn’t received his salary yet, but Zhang Haiyang, with your third-class merit, you’ve got to treat us, right?” joked Zheng Jie from the registration department. She was Jiang Xiaoxiao’s mentor and has been guiding her recently.

(End of chapter)