102 Director Xiao Does Not Have Rectal Cancer!

"Director Xiao, it's Chinese New Year. Are you planning on inviting me to the station for a sit-down?"

"..."

Hearing Li Jie speak, Xiao Yuanyin found himself having little desire to chat with this guy. It was suffocating.

"Mr. Li, shall we meet? I just arrived in Pingjiang."

"Sure. Order a pot of tea at 'Jiangdong Noodle Shop,' and I'll be there shortly."

"Fine."

Drinking tea at a noodle shop was perfectly acceptable; they sold both tea and noodles. The old men who came in the morning to listen to pingtan opera were quite wealthy, after all.

Boss Li was the only customer at Jiangdong Noodle Shop who would eat five bowls of noodles. Refills were unlimited, and as long as you could eat them, the owner wouldn't even bat an eye. After all, the old men ordering a pot of "Tieguanyin" to listen to opera had a spending power twenty times that of Li Jie.

*Slurp!!!*

He inhaled the noodles like a hurricane.

"These noodles are truly terrible."

*Slurp!!!!*

Boss Li grumbled while inhaling another massive mouthful, leaving Xiao Yuanyin and his assistant, Chen Yuanxiu, speechless. If they were terrible, why eat five bowls? If they were delicious, wouldn't you be straining your neck to get out the door?

The side dishes were also unlimited—pickled mustard greens, sour radishes, preserved vegetable bits, and other such small pickles. There was also free soup, which was just boiling water stirred with egg ribbons and seaweed. If you could stomach it, you could drink hundreds of pounds of it, and the owner wouldn't be angry; he’d just sit nearby, cracking melon seeds and watching to see what kind of supernatural power you possessed.

There was only one rule: no wasting food.

Why did Boss Li specifically choose Jiangdong Noodle Shop? Because the owner was the father of Mama Shu—Li Jie’s "cheap" grandfather.

His cheap grandfather, Shu Fengnian, had truly starved in his youth. During the Second World War, he drifted between the piers and alleys, earning the nicknames "Year-Rat" and "Year-Vermin." Those who called him "Year-Rat" were his fellow northern workers, while the local workers called him "Year-Vermin." They meant the same thing: essentially, "Jiangdong scum." Hence, the name Jiangdong Noodle Shop.

"It's good enough to have food to eat, don't be so picky..."

An old man, hearing Li Jie whining while eating, immediately tossed a piece of pan-fried pork chop onto his plate and asked, "Want some vegetarian chicken?"

"Keep it coming!" Li Jie gestured, then shouted, "Bring another pot of Longjing, the four-person table set."

A pot of Longjing for a four-person table cost 198 yuan, while a single person's serving was 80. Normally, Li Jie never drank tea; why would he drink that stuff? He was only eighteen. Tea was for adults—Director Xiao fit the bill perfectly.

Anyway, Director Xiao was paying for this meal.

Xiao Yuanyin’s face turned green. I came here to eat two taels of noodles and ended up paying over two hundred?

"Mr. Li, the service at this noodle shop is quite good." Assistant Chen Yuanxiu was pleasantly surprised, thinking that next time he came to Pingjiang, he could come here to fill his stomach.

"Good my ass, that's my grandfather."

"..."

"..."

Director Xiao’s knuckles turned white. So this kid was messing with him?! But he didn't dare blow his top, so he had to endure it.

Suddenly, Li Jie raised his hand and called out, "Auntie Zhu, play a segment of 'Blood Splattered on the Mandarin Duck Tower'; my friend from Jianye loves listening to it!"

"Li Dabao, listening to 'Blood Splattered on the Mandarin Duck Tower' during the New Year?!"

"You silly monkey, can't you listen to something pleasant during the first lunar month?"

Yet, Li Jie argued his case: "My friend is a police officer, a veteran cop. Listening to 'Green Peony' wouldn't be appropriate, right? 'Blood Splattered on the Mandarin Duck Tower' is much more fitting—thick eyebrows, big eyes, a square face, full of righteous spirit—he’s practically the brother of Wu Dalang. Yes, 'Blood Splattered on the Mandarin Duck Tower.' Let's talk price for the holiday: 120!"

"Alright!!"

The old men weren't about to turn down a show and immediately applauded and cheered. Once they heard the man was a police officer, they agreed it was truly fitting. Plus, putting aside the blood on the tower, even if the "Blood" was splattered in the "Jiangdong Noodle Shop," it would just be the "Jiangdong scum" getting what he deserved—who told him to have such a grandson?

Originally, Shu Fengnian’s mouth had twisted in anger as he carried over a dish of vegetarian chicken, but when he heard that the little brat wanted to listen to that "Blood Splattered" nonsense during the New Year, he thought, *Do you want me to splatter blood all over your face?*

However, hearing it was for a police officer from Jianye, there was nothing to say—it was 120, after all.

After setting down the vegetarian chicken, the old man nudged Li Jie’s arm. "Everything alright?"

"I killed someone in Jianye, and they've come to ask me how I did it."

"Can't you speak properly during the New Year?!" Shu Fengnian gave Li Jie a sharp rap on the head. With a *thud*, the old man quickly put on a smile for Xiao Yuanyin and Chen Yuanxiu. "Two gentlemen, please wait a moment, the Longjing will be here shortly."

*I don't drink Longjing!* Xiao Yuanyin wanted to say, but he finally squeezed out a smile. "Owner, no hurry. We aren't in a rush. Let's eat the noodles first."

*Slurp!!*

Director Xiao also took a big bite of the noodles. Just as Li Jie said: they were terrible. However, the toppings were quite good; the massive pork chop that covered the bowl was genuinely excellent.

After eating their fill, the three sat and drank Longjing. There was certainly no "pre-Qingming Longjing"—it was all last-season stock—but it would do. Beggars can't be choosers.

After some deliberation, Director Xiao asked Li Jie, "Mr. Li, may I ask, are you part of an organization?"

"Not an organization." Li Jie shook his head, pulled out his phone, and pointed to his "Ten Years of Grinding a Crab" group of "Ten-Year Haters." "A gang. It’s a gang." *If I get into trouble, you bunch of turtles aren't getting away either! You’re all accomplices!*

"..."

"..."

Facing Boss Li’s honest confession, Director Xiao was completely thrown off. After a long pause, Xiao Yuanyin asked again, "That 'Ghost Fire' motorcycle street-racing on Hexi Park Road..."

"Fans. All the news was sent to me by fans. I just helped repost it on Weibo. This credit, isn't it all due to your strategic planning, Director? We law-abiding citizens are just cooperating—it’s the bond between the police and the people, like fish and water."

Hearing this, Xiao Yuanyin’s eyebrows twitched. Because he loved hearing that.

Clearly, Boss Li was someone who could be reasoned with, not a lunatic. Of course, even if Boss Li were a lunatic, what did it matter? As long as he wasn't mentally ill, it was fine.

He thought about the upcoming Canglong District councilor election. That old bastard Su Yongzhi had poured over 20 million into it... damn it... at 200 yuan a vote, that could buy 100,000 votes. Perhaps when Su Yongzhi reached his seventies, he could even run for Governor of Sanjiang Province? That was the head of an entire province.

In recent elections for regional administrative heads, campaign funds had reached billions. If this guy in front of him threw away a hundred or two hundred million in a few years for fun, the elected Governor wouldn't be able to ignore him, would he?

He was just a district bureau chief. In the old days, that would be a constable, miles away from a county magistrate.

"I personally admire your high moral character and your kind deeds, Mr. Li. I hope we can communicate more in the future."

"What a coincidence. The moment I saw your upright temperament, Director, I knew you were a 'Crusher of Evil.' As a law-abiding citizen with a strong sense of justice—and last year's 'Advanced Individual for Righteous Acts'—I must learn more from you. If I see any criminal activity, I will definitely report it to you!"

Secretary Chen watched from the side, completely confused: *What just happened? The Director and Boss Li exchanged three sentences and they’re already sworn brothers? Should they 'behead a rooster and burn yellow paper' and kowtow to each other right here?*

They didn't ask to be born on the same day, and naturally, they didn't want to die on the same day; Boss Li felt he would live to be a hundred.

Both sides were quite satisfied. Li Jie saw at a glance that Director Xiao was a man who could accomplish big things. When a man reaches middle age, how can he not think about advancing?

As for Xiao Yuanyin, Li Jie had already had Guo Rong and Su Yongzhi investigate him separately. He had ideals and drive when he was young, and he was from a prominent Jiangdong family—though five hundred years ago they were indeed part of the same Xiao clan, but whose ancestors hadn't been wealthy once? It just lacked a bit of modern flair.

Xiao Yuanyin’s hard work and struggle were just missing that little bit of "noble support." Unfortunately, his family was weak, his wife’s family was ordinary, his mentor was too upright, and his superiors were retired... he was still years away from finding a good marriage alliance for his children, as his son wasn't even grown yet.

Reaching the top seat of the District Bureau through personal effort and struggle was already the ceiling for most elite individuals. To break through further, one had to look at the tides of history in addition to personal effort.

But because of the "Gourd Hero," "Black Cat Hero," or whatever other heroes there were, Director Xiao had an intuition: he wanted to "win half a game against heaven." Where would that brilliant move come from? He felt the "Black Cat Hero" was quite brilliant.

Brilliant, brilliant—even the cats thought so.

Most importantly, he discovered that eighteen-year-old Boss Li... actually had such an understanding with him. It was truly unexpected.

Oh, wait, nineteen. After all, a year had passed, and he was another year older.

"Director, let me add you to a group."

"Huh?"

"Makes communication easier."

Li Jie took out his phone, scanned Xiao Yuanyin’s business card, and added him to the "Ten Years of Grinding a Crab" group.

"Brother Guo" saw this, tagged @LanlingXiaoxiaosheng, and asked: "Welcome, newcomer. Happy New Year, wishing you good health."

"@Everyone, pay attention. This @LanlingXiaoxiaosheng is a cyber-police officer. Watch your language in the future."

Boss Li gave the "sons of utility poles" a completely useless heads-up.

"@LanlingXiaoxiaosheng, posting lewd pictures without spreading them shouldn't be an issue, right?"

"@LanlingXiaoxiaosheng, the files in the group were saved by Crab Brother. He's the group owner; I can't delete them, it has nothing to do with me!"

...

Watching the "99+" notifications on the screen, Xiao Yuanyin felt his phone was about to overheat and explode.

Meanwhile, "Sing 'Greatness of Heaven' to Brother Guo" private-messaged Xiao Yuanyin: "What stage has your friend reached?"

Xiao Yuanyin, completely bewildered, had no idea what was going on. Li Jie, with the speed of a lightning strike, snatched Xiao Yuanyin’s phone and quickly replied: "Terminal rectal cancer."

*You’re the one with terminal rectal cancer!*

Only then did Xiao Yuanyin realize that this group was *that* group.

Throwing the phone back to the Director, Boss Li looked calm, showing no signs of guilt, and sipped his Longjing. "Director, before 'Black Cat Hero' starts airing... how about the Canglong District Bureau and I collaborate on something?"

"..."

The blood pressure that had just spiked earlier suddenly dropped!