Chapter 13: Making a Name for Oneself

Back at the police station, congratulations poured in once again for Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang.

At noon, Luo Fei treated all his colleagues at the police station to milk tea. With the old and new members combined, there were only fifteen people, which was not enough to warrant a dinner treat, but Luo Fei could afford the milk tea.

At 2 p.m., Zhang Haiyang took Luo Fei to the bank to withdraw money.

During the commendation ceremony, they did not receive cash directly but were instead given checks that they had to cash at the bank themselves.

Luo Fei received a personal commendation with a bonus of two thousand, while Zhang Haiyang received a third-class merit with a bonus of three thousand.

With 2000 RMB in cash in his pocket, Luo Fei felt as though he had received a fortune. It was the first time in six months since he crossed over that he had so much money in his pocket. Thinking about it, Luo Fei found it amusing; perhaps he was the poorest among all the traversers.

“Mentor Zhang, do you happen to know of any houses available for rent?” Luo Fei asked Zhang Haiyang on their way back to the police station.

Zhang Haiyang looked at Luo Fei with puzzlement. “Why? Are you planning to move out and live alone?”

Luo Fei shook his head. “No, it’s just that the house my family used to live in is a bit small, and the sanitary conditions near the cement factory aren’t the best. Now that I’m employed, I’m thinking of moving to a larger place.”

Hearing that Luo Fei’s family lived near the cement factory, Zhang Haiyang did not probe further. He was familiar with the situation of the employee dormitories at the cement factory, which he bluntly described as dirty and messy.

“I’m not very familiar with the rental situation, but my wife has a friend who works as a rental agent. I’ll ask her to check with her friend, and let you know if there’s anything suitable.”

“Oh, by the way, do you have any specific requirements for the house?”

Luo Fei pondered for a moment before replying, “A three-bedroom apartment with a living room and kitchen, preferably near Songxin Town Middle School. As for the rent, anything below twelve hundred would be acceptable.”

He had adjusted the rent by two hundred, as discussed with Wu Yan. Regarding the preference for a location near Songxin Town Middle School, it was because Wu Yan worked in the cafeteria there.

During this time, since the students had not started school yet, Wu Yan was mostly at home. However, once school resumed in August, Wu Yan would have to prepare meals for the students. She would need to wake up at four or five in the morning to go to work, and since she did not know how to ride a bike, living far away would be very inconvenient for her.

“Okay.”

At 5 p.m., the police station ended work on time.

Once again, Zhang Haiyang informed everyone about dinner at Ma Shi Private Kitchen at six in the evening.

Seeing that there was still plenty of time, Luo Fei decided to make a quick trip home.

Passing by the market, Luo Fei bought two pounds of braised pig’s head meat, which Luo Xiaoxiao loved, as well as three pounds of ribs, three pounds of lean meat, and some fruits.

Previously, Luo Fei did not have much money on him. He had not bought groceries for the house since Wu Yan always did the shopping. Wu Yan was frugal and rarely bought meat; she usually went to the market in the afternoon to buy vegetables at discounts, like cabbage and potatoes, which were cheap and affordable.

In his six months of traversing, the three dishes Luo Fei ate the most were shredded potatoes, vegetable soup, and pickled peppers.

When he got home, his mother was already cooking, and there was a plate of stir-fried shredded potatoes on the table. Luo Hao and Luo Xiaoxiao were watching a cartoon.

“Why are you back? Weren’t you supposed to have dinner with your colleagues tonight? You said you weren’t coming home to eat.” Wu Yan asked Luo Fei as soon as she saw him.

“We’re not eating until six o’clock, so I came back first. I just passed by the market and bought some braised pig’s head meat and ribs. You can cook them later.”

Luo Fei placed the groceries he had just bought on the table.

Seeing that Luo Fei had bought so much, Wu Yan’s face immediately darkened, complaining, “There’re no festivities today; why did you buy so much food? There’s still food at home—you’re wasting money.”

Luo Fei did not mind and said with a smile, “Today is worth celebrating.” Then he took out the certificate of commendation and the award certificate from a bag on the table.

“What’s this?” Wu Yan asked hastily; she could not read.

Luo Hao and Luo Xiaoxiao also came out at this time. Luo Xiaoxiao quickly snatched the certificate from Luo Fei’s hand and began reading it aloud.

“Comrade Luo Fei, for your outstanding performance in the case on July 13th, you are commended with a personal commendation by the Jiangzhou Public Security Bureau.”

“Brother, is this your certificate?” Luo Xiaoxiao’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Luo Fei.

“Didn’t you see it? Why would it be fake? There’s even a bonus.” Luo Fei said proudly, simultaneously taking out the cash he had just withdrawn from the bank from his pocket. It was not that Luo Fei was showing off; he just wanted to share his joy with his family.

“Luo Fei, what’s going on? You’ve only just started working; how did you achieve merit so quickly?” Wu Yan was initially surprised to hear about Luo Fei’s commendation, but then she became puzzled. Luo Fei had only been working for a few days, and yet he had already achieved something significant.

Luo Fei did not hide anything from his family, and he briefly explained the case of Gu Youguo.

“Wow, brother, you’re amazing! I admire you so much.” Luo Xiaoxiao’s face was filled with admiration when she heard that Luo Fei had found the murderer by scent.

Wu Yan’s face was filled with astonishment at this moment. She worked in the cafeteria of Songxin Town Middle School, and over the past few days, her friends had been gossiping about the incident where the dean of Songxin Town School and a female teacher were caught having an affair by the female teacher’s husband and were killed at home. She did not expect that her son would be the one to solve this case.

However, after the shock wore off, what remained was a sense of pride. Her son had actually cracked such a major case, and she felt incredibly proud of him.

“Mom, here’s 1500 RMB for you. I’ll keep the remaining 500 RMB for emergencies.” Luo Fei did not give all the money to Wu Yan. After all, he was working now, and he needed to have some money on him.

“Okay, I’ll hold onto it for you. I’ll give it back to you when you need to buy a car, a house, or anything else.” Wu Yan accepted the money without refusing. She was afraid that Luo Fei, being young, might spend it recklessly. She felt more at ease with the money in her possession.

After giving the money to Wu Yan and instructing them to stew the ribs for dinner, Luo Fei hurried to the Ma Shi Private Kitchen for the meal.

At 6 p.m. sharp, the dinner officially began, with all the colleagues from the police station present except for one who could not make it due to a family matter.

Glancing at the fifteen dishes on the table and the two bottles of Wu Liang Ye^[1]TL’s note: Wu Liang Ye (Five Grain Liquor) is a white wine brand in China, made from sorghum, glutinous rice, rice, wheat and corn., Luo Fei could tell that his mentor had spared no expense for tonight’s dinner.

The dinner stretched from six in the evening until ten at night. Initially, everyone indulged in Wu Liang Ye, and once it was finished, they switched to beer. As the host, Zhang Haiyang had quite a few drinks, but as the night progressed, Luo Fei noticed that he was nearing his limit and stepped in to help him fend off more drinks.

Whether it was due to his reincarnation or his previously integrated genes, Luo Fei’s alcohol tolerance was somewhat too good. Despite several senior colleagues from the police station, including Liu Haiquan and Zhang Da, attempting to test Luo Fei’s limits, they all ended up being outmatched by him.

It could be said that at tonight’s drinking table, Luo Fei also made a name for himself.

(End of Chapter)