Chapter 67: Accepting the Invitation

  Although I haven't had white wine for a long time, it's still okay to drink two bottles of beer. Looking at the two old men, they should have been big eaters and drinkers in the army, but I don't know how long they haven't drunk since retiring, especially after entering the hospital. The two of them somehow got two stainless steel cups, and when they saw the wine brought by Bao Yulin, they didn't say a word, each poured themselves a cup, without even saying please or thank you, and downed half a cup in one gulp, which shocked Bao Yulin. Thinking back to when he and Wu Hongying drank rice wine and had Bao Siguang, now the two old men were drinking Maotai, and he was really worried that they would have problems. Fortunately, until they finished a plate of fried shrimp, a roasted chicken, and a dish of twice-cooked pork, and drank a whole bottle of Maotai without leaving a drop, the two old men didn't seem to have any issues, which finally put Bao Yulin at ease.

  "Wow, it's been a long time since I've eaten so full!" Mr. Xu was picking his teeth with a small grass stem he had pulled from beside him, while contentedly rubbing his belly.

  "That's it." Old Master Lin belched, leaning against the edge of the stone table, watching Bao Yulin "destroy evidence" while saying: "Honestly, do you think we've really gotten old? Think back to when we were in the army, not a single day was idle. Nothing seemed to be wrong, but after entering the hospital, all sorts of illnesses came one after another. You don't know, ever since I entered the hospital, my son gave orders to my attendant, nothing can be eaten except for the nutritional meals provided by the hospital. Wine is even more out of the question. You don't know, during this period, at night I dream of drinking and eating meat."

  "You're a bit better, but with three highs. At least eating some fruit is okay. Unlike me, plus diabetes. That nutritious meal is really bad-tasting, not salty or sweet, my mouth is almost numb." Old Master Xu said with a smile.

  "When we were young, who had ever heard of these diseases? It's all because life has improved in recent years and people have become more precious." Old Man Lin said with emotion.

  Bao Yulin finished dealing with things and came over to chat with the two old men. They didn't dare leave so early, or else they would definitely cause trouble with their drunkenness.

  A few people chatted and chatted, and talked about Bao Yulin.

  "Xiao Bao, you said you'll be retiring in a few months. What are you planning to do afterwards?" asked Old Man Xu.

  "I don't know what to say about this either." Bao Yulin scratched his head, he had thought about this question himself. But there was no clear answer. He thought for a moment and replied: "Actually, apart from being a soldier, I'm not good at anything else. The things I learned in the army are useless when I return to my hometown. Besides, I still hold French citizenship. Even if I go back, the government won't arrange a job for me. I really don't know what to do."

  Old Lin nodded: "That's also true, you're still so young, you have to think of something to do. Besides, what can you do with just that little demobilization fee?"

  "This problem is not big, our demobilization fee is very high, plus the bonuses I got when I was on a mission, it's enough for this life." When saying this, Bao Yulin's face turned a little red. Measured by foreign standards, his domestic living standard, even without counting the bonus, his demobilization fee is enough for him to live carefully for a lifetime. However, these things cannot be said.

  "In fact, the French army wanted me to stay and continue serving, as long as I signed another contract, worked for ten more years, I could retire. But I always miss my family, plus my mother is getting older, so I think it's better for me to return home." Bao Yulin added.

  "Yes, it's great abroad. But it can't compare to one's own home. Our roots are all here." As Old Man Lin said this, his eyes unconsciously looked towards the northeast. On that black soil, his ancestors were all buried there. He was worried in his heart, whether he should really take advantage of still being able to move around to go back once, he had already forgotten when he last went back.

  Bao Yulin's words made the two old men feel heavy-hearted. Their situation was similar, they had gone to war at a young age and left for decades, with little time to return.

  That night, Bao Yulin returned to the ward and talked to his mother about the two old men. His mother leaned on the bed, listening to her son's gentle narrative, while combing his hair with loving eyes. Unconsciously, Bao Yulin seemed to feel something, gently holding his mother's hand.

  After a long while, the old man sighed and said: "If it weren't for your mother's leg being broken, you would be able to go back home to see your father! The tombstone in front of your father's grave should also be replaced, we need to add your name and Xiaosi's name on it. Your mother is ashamed, when we erected the monument for your father back then, I didn't dare to write your name on it." As the old man said this, tears flowed uncontrollably from his eyes.

  While wiping away his mother's tears, Bao Yulin said softly: "Mom, this is not your fault, nor anyone else's. Think about it, this matter has fallen on your son's shoulders. If it were someone else, maybe we would be the same. It can only be said that my name is not good." As for these things, Bao Yulin had long been open-minded about them. He was not a person who got stuck in trivial matters, or he wouldn't have survived all those years.

  Listening to her son's sensible advice, the old lady's mood also improved: "Yes, why didn't I think of this before! Now everything is fine, you've been rehabilitated and have made a good life for yourself. You don't know that since your unit awarded you first-class merit, those two cadres from the unit read out your certificate of merit at your father's grave, our village head has been clamoring to replace the tombstone in front of your father's grave with one that includes your name. It was your sister who firmly refused, saying they had to wait until you came back before replacing it. Now everything is fine, not only will your name be added to the tombstone, but also your son's name. Your father must be delighted if he knows about this in the afterlife. You don't know how much money you've sent back home. The villagers are all envious of our family, saying that we, the old Bao family, have raised a filial son. With a son like you, I'm satisfied as your mother." The old lady's thoughts were simple and clear, without any deeper desires. She just hoped her children could live better lives. This is China's countryside, an ordinary mother.

  The next morning, Bao Yulin got up early as usual to exercise. However, he didn't dare go to the playground again. Yesterday, Bao Yulin took a look at the map and found that if he ran to the riverbank, it would be about 5 kilometers away. He could also swim in the river, and estimated that crossing the river back and forth would be around 5 kilometers as well. After running back, he would basically meet his exercise standards. Anyway, no matter what, he didn't want to be a spectacle for others again.

  Bao Yulin thought it was pretty good and implemented it that way. When he ran to the riverbank, the sky had almost brightened up, and there were people coming and going on the riverbank, with many exercising their bodies. Bao Yulin didn't think much about it and took off his clothes before getting into the water. The water was still a bit cool at this time, but that didn't matter to Bao Yulin. During usual training sessions, no one cared what time it was or what you were supposed to be doing - if it was time for winter training, then you had to get in the water.

  Unfortunately, Bao Yulin overlooked one thing - he shouldn't have worn a sports suit that couldn't be bought in the entire Guanglan City to go swimming. The result was obvious. When he swam back from the other shore, his clothes and towels on the beach, including his tourist shoes, were all gone. Now, wearing only his trunks, Bao Yulin was stunned, not because he was afraid of the cold, but because it was rush hour and he didn't dare imagine what would happen if he ran through the city like this. One thing was certain, however - he probably wouldn't be able to run back to the hospital, and someone would likely catch him soon.

  Thinking of being caught, Bao Yulin had an idea. He remembered that there was a police station not far from the riverbank, which should be the Jiangbin Road Police Station. If he lost something, shouldn't he go to the police station to report it? Even if he couldn't find his clothes, the police should be able to help him find a set of clothes first, and at worst, he could have someone send money over later.

  Taking advantage of the fact that there are still relatively few people on their way to work, Bao Yulin didn't care about anything else and ran towards the police station as fast as he could after getting out of the river. He had calculated that the place where he got ashore was not far from the police station, and if he ran quickly, he would probably arrive within 2 minutes.

  All the way, Bao Yulin didn't even dare to look around, he just ran desperately. After all, this was too embarrassing. Finally, in the distance, he saw the gate of the police station and hurriedly quickened his pace, wanting to get inside as soon as possible. Just at that moment, an accident happened. On the street, a beer bottle was smashed on the ground by someone who might have been drunk from the night before. Bao Yulin was already in a sorry state, didn't notice the thing on the ground, and when he passed through the glass fragments, his foot was cut open with a big gash, blood flowing out instantly.

  If he had been normal, Bao Yulin would have stopped to deal with the wound immediately. However, he now had nothing on him except for a pair of shorts, and even if he wanted to treat it, there was no way to do so. After feeling around, he didn't sense any foreign objects inside the wound. Bao Yulin knew that the glass probably hadn't been left in the wound. He gritted his teeth, thinking that as long as he could hold on a bit longer, everything would be fine once he reached the police station. As he cursed the thief who had stolen his clothes in his heart, he carefully made sure not to let the wound touch the ground and ran into the police station.

  Old Wang, who had been on night shift, had just woken up when a young man wearing only a very short shorts (at that time, almost no one sold triangular pants) and with a messy dog tag around his neck, covered in blood all over the place, suddenly came in from outside. This scared Old Wang, who was on duty, out of his wits. Out of professional habit, he thought it might be a robbery or something. In his heart, he cursed his bad luck, thinking that just as he was about to get off work, something like this had to happen, and now he wouldn't be able to leave on time today either.

  "Officer, I need your help." Before the policeman could even open his mouth, Bao Yulin spoke up. However, in his haste, he habitually used the French way of addressing someone.

  Lao Wang had originally wanted to habitually shout a couple of sentences, but Bao Yulian's way of addressing him made him become cautious. Very few people in the country live like this.

  "What's wrong? What happened?" Old Wang asked.

  "It's like this, I was swimming by the river and someone stole all my clothes and shoes. I had no choice but to come here to ask for your help." said Bao Yulin sincerely.

  "What's with all this blood on you?" Old Wang was more concerned about the bloodstain issue, which was the real problem.

  "Oh, I scratched the glass when I ran over just now. Excuse me, do you have a first aid kit? Can I borrow it to deal with this?" The wound on his foot also needed to be treated immediately, and seeing the police ask, Bao Yulin had no choice but to speak up.

  As soon as he heard it wasn't a robbery or a fight, Old Wang felt at ease. This way, it shouldn't delay his work. The police station often encounters people with head injuries and bleeding. There are still some necessary external wound medications available.

  "Wait a minute, I'll get you some medicine." Old Wang said, and went to the back to fetch the medicine.

  Taking advantage of this opportunity, Bao Yulin looked around and found that the room was decorated with brocade flags, making him think he had entered a traditional Chinese medicine clinic. Looking at these, Bao Yulin really wanted to laugh, as he hadn't thought much of it before. But after staying abroad for a few years, he indeed hadn't seen many police stations decorated like this.

  "Are you going to do it yourself or should I help you?" Old Wang asked, taking out the medicine box and looking at Bao Yulian's injured foot. Old Wang knew that he would probably have to help him apply the medicine himself.

  "Put your feet out!" Old Wang's tone was quite harsh. Generally, young people wouldn't wear a necklace, and this one didn't seem to be silver, but rather stainless steel, Old Wang couldn't understand why young people were into these things again nowadays.

  Bao Yulin was very grateful, after all, dealing with the wound under his feet required someone's help.

  Three knocks and five kicks, minus two. Bao Yulin's feet were bandaged up. Old Wang sat down at the edge of the table: "Name?" As he spoke, he took out a pen and paper for recording.

  Bao Yulin was surprised that he had only lost a set of clothes and hoped to get help from the police. He wanted them to provide him with a new set of clothes and shoes, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to go back home.

  "I'm not going to report it." Bao Yulin explained: "I hope you can help me buy a set of clothes and shoes, otherwise I won't be able to go back like this."

  "I'm not doing this to make a police report, I just need to record the medication usage. As for the clothes and shoes you mentioned, there's nothing I can do." The police station treated these small injuries as good deeds, so Old Wang thought he should make a note of it. He didn't want to go through the hassle of filing a report for a set of clothes. As for how to get back, that was Bao Yulin's own problem. Even if he wanted to, there wasn't enough money in his pocket to buy a new set of clothes and shoes. The key thing was, Old Wang couldn't help but look down on Bao Yulin as a modern young man who wore a stainless steel chain as a necklace - what a waste! Losing his clothes served him right! This was Old Wang's evaluation of Bao Yulin, though he wouldn't say it out loud.

  Now, Bao Yulin was stunned. If it wasn't for a set of clothes, he probably wouldn't have gotten his foot scratched either. The problem is that in this Guanglan City, he doesn't know anyone at all, and the only relative he has is his mother, but his mother is still in the hospital now, so how can he let his mother send him clothes?

  Thinking of acquaintances, Bao Yulin suddenly remembered that he might actually know one person who had a lot to do with the police - He Qinglong, the director of the Guanglan City Public Security Bureau!

  "Officer, it's like this. My name is Bao Yulin. I know Director He Qinglong. You can give him a call and he'll vouch for me." Bao Yulin said tentatively, worried that the police would think he was using his connection with the director to intimidate them.

  "Do you know our director? Then go find our director, I don't care about your business!" As expected, Old Wang was unhappy as soon as he heard this. He especially disliked people like this. Having spent a long time at the police station, he had seen all sorts of people. Not a few young hooligans would be brought in and then loudly claim to know this person or that person, all nonsense.

  Bao Yulin was anxious as soon as he heard it, now in Guanglan City, the only one he could rely on was He Qinglong.

  "It's true, I'm French. Look, this is my dog tag." To prove it, he deliberately picked up the stainless steel dog tag that made Old Wang most uncomfortable and said: "The day before yesterday, Director He sent a car to pick me and my mother from Panshi County to Guanglan City. You should call to verify."

  Bao Yulin's words took effect, and the public security departments throughout the province received a joint investigation notice to capture Bao Yuanchen, the former police officer of Panshi County Public Security Bureau. Just now when he didn't mention his name, Old Wang hadn't paid attention, but now he became vigilant.

  "You said you're French? What's your name?" Old Wang said as he opened the drawer with his key, inside which were not only wanted notices but also his gun.

  "My name is Bao Yulin, a French military officer. Director He Qinglong went to Panshi County probably because of my dagger being stolen by Bao Yuanchen from the Panshi County Public Security Bureau." As soon as the police opened the drawer, he saw the pistol he had placed inside and knew it was for his protection. So he told them everything he knew.

  Old Wang took out the joint investigation notice and started reading it after hearing Bao Yulin's articulate speech. The content was not necessary to read, after all, it was an incident that occurred in the local public security bureau. For the past two days, everyone has been discussing it, what he wanted to see were the photos.

  Compared with this, it turned out that it was not one person. Adding what Bao Yulin said, the situation is almost the same, and Old Wang couldn't help but disbelieve.

  Running into something like this, it's definitely necessary to report to the director. As a result, Bao Yulin got an oily military overcoat, and Old Wang also contacted Director He Qinglong. It wasn't that he didn't want to find clothes for Bao Yulin. There simply weren't any.

  He Qinglong couldn't help but laugh when he heard that Bao Yulin had encountered such an embarrassing situation. It seemed that this Bao Yulin was indeed not just an ordinary unlucky person. He had only been back in the country for a few days and had already run into so many unfortunate events. However, there were no clothes here that fit Bao Yulin either. Of course, this wouldn't stump Director He. After asking Bao Yulin's clothing size, Director He took a detour to the Wujiang Police Station on the way to Jiangbin Road Police Station, where they had all sizes of clothes. In fact, taking police uniforms was also an option. But now it was still early and the person in charge of uniforms hadn't arrived yet. Even if they were open for business, there might not be any clothes available - the Public Security Bureau recruits a large number of people every year, so there's no need to stock up on uniforms.

  Old Wang at the Jiangbin Road police station helped Bao Yulin make a detailed report. The matter has now blown up, so of course it had to be recorded. He also hoped to see the director, which wouldn't do any harm. Wang Qiang, the commander of the Wujing Guanglan branch, was very surprised and hadn't even started work yet. Director He Qinglong of the Municipal Public Security Bureau came running over, making him think something had happened.

  "It's nothing big, just need your help with a small matter." Although the armed police are under the public security bureau when executing tasks, they do not have a subordinate relationship with the public security bureau in peacetime. Director He was still very polite to Commander Wang Qiang.

  "Hey, stop being so polite with me. Tell me, do you want men or guns?" Captain Wang had nothing to say, after all He Qinglong was the leader of the Public Security Bureau.

  "It's not that, there is a judge. He was swimming by the river and his clothes and shoes were stolen. He went to the riverside police station. His clothes don't fit me, and the stores are not open yet, so I thought of coming here to borrow a military uniform first." Director He explained.

  "This is a small matter. I'll let the warehouse manager give him a set, that's all. Who knows what this judge will look like when he wears our uniform?" Wang Qiang still thought He Qinglong was talking about Big Nose.

  "He's not a foreigner, originally from the Wuhan Military Region, he went to France after the counterattack and joined some special forces unit, I heard he made great contributions, so he became an officer," said He Qinglong.

  "It turned out to be one of us Chinese people. I thought it was a foreigner! Anyway, it seems that our Chinese soldiers are just awesome, casually sending one out and becoming an officer in France. It looks like their special forces are just like that." Wang Qiang said as he walked away.

  "This isn't like what you said, I heard that this kid has some skills. Wang Hong from the Military Region Reconnaissance Brigade said his hand-to-hand combat level is quite high." Bao Yulin and Wei Ping actually fought for a few rounds, He Qinglong only heard about it later from Wang Hong.

  "You're talking about Wang Hong, the captain of the Guanglan Military Region's Reconnaissance Battalion? There aren't many people who can catch his eye." Wang Qiang's attitude became serious.

  "It's either him or nobody," said He Qinglong.

  "It seems that this kid is going to be in trouble again!" Wang Qiang muttered to himself, the troops and armed police had never gotten along, each disdaining the other. Due to their different natures, from the armed police's perspective, perhaps when it came to life-or-death techniques, the troops were a bit stronger, but when it came to hand-to-hand combat, the armed police trained in this every day and should be a bit stronger than the troops.

  "Director He, can you get that French special forces officer to come over and exchange ideas with us? Let's take a look at the level of the French special forces." Wang Qiang suddenly made this suggestion.

  "This I also can't say well, or you follow me to Jiangbin Road police station for a trip, personally tell him?" He Qinglong knew that Wang Qiang had some meaning with the Military Region Reconnaissance Brigade. However, some words were not suitable for himself to say, and it was better to let Wang Qiang go and say them.

  "Come on, I'll go with you!" Wang Qiang had thought it through, and when the time came, he would let Bao Yulin wear a French military uniform to the detachment, and no matter what, they would just call it mutual exchange.

  Bao Yulin put on the armed police uniform at the same time, he received an invitation from Wang Qiang. Looking at his military uniform, Bao Yulin couldn't refuse.

  "How about this? My mom is in the hospital for a few days, and I won't be leaving Guanglan for a while. Once my foot injury heals a bit, when I return your clothes, we can play around. But first, let me declare that I'm actually quite skilled at sniping and special operations. Hand-to-hand combat isn't really my thing." Bao Yulin was telling the truth - he was originally an instructor for special operations and sniping at the 29th Action Bureau.

  Wang Qiang was delighted when Bao Yulin agreed. He had already decided that he would report this matter to the headquarters as soon as he returned.

  Bao Yulin wore a People's Armed Police uniform back to the hospital, which made his mother feel extremely surprised. Recently, especially after Bao Yulin returned, Lu Xiyun looked at everything with joy. The old lady was amused by her son losing his clothes and didn't show any unhappiness. She laughed with an open mouth until she saw the wound on her son's foot, then she became worried and rushed to find a doctor everywhere. Bao Yulin quickly calmed down his mother. In fact, the wound on his foot wasn't big, it was just bleeding a bit more. To be safe, he still got a tetanus shot. All that was left was to re-bandage it.

  Bao Yulin's acceptance of the invitation to "play" at the Guanglan detachment is taken very seriously by the Northwest Provincial Armed Police Corps. After all, Bao Yulin is now a judge. If they were to lose despite having home advantage, it would be embarrassing. So, the corps leadership didn't have time to criticize Wang Qiang for acting on his own initiative and hastily transferred several top players to the Guanglan detachment.

  In the next few days, Bao Yulin met with the commander and political commissar of the Northwest Provincial Armed Police Corps in the hospital, which surprised him greatly. He had never thought that his agreement with Wang Qiang would turn into such a big deal. Things had come to this point, and he was forced to take action.