Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1058 - 33 Repairing the New Partner_2

Chapter 1058: Chapter 33 Repairing the New Partner_2

"Sorry, I’m a policeman, not a cleaner!" If Old Joseph had been a good officer, Tang Zheng wouldn’t have minded putting in a little extra effort, as that’s what newbies are supposed to do, but their first impression of each other was just too terrible.

"Kid, you’ve got guts!" Old Joseph turned and walked away.

"Looks like I’ve got myself a new target," Tang Zheng shrugged his shoulders and went downstairs, where he found the enthusiastic middle-aged policewoman and subtly inquired about the officers’ intelligence.

For lunch, Tang Zheng ordered takeout for all the officers present, which earned him some points for his influence.

"I’m telling you, Leon, you haven’t been out all morning, had a dispute with Joseph, right? Don’t worry, that guy is a weak miser, only bullying newbies with no status and extorting money from others, you just need to stand firm, and he will shrink away," the middle-aged policewoman advised Tang Zheng.

"Thank you." Tang Zheng wasn’t foolish; he could tell she had a conflict with Joseph and obviously wanted to use him to get back at him.

Joseph thought that by cold-shouldering Tang Zheng all morning, the guy would know better and apologize. Yet, after taking a nap, he returned to the police station only to see Tang Zheng having lunch with a group of colleagues, still seemingly the center of the circle, which irritated him.

"Leon, there’s a call, what are you eating for? Skipping one meal won’t kill you." Joseph took a few large strides over to Tang Zheng, reached out to slap his wrist, hoping to knock the fast food from his hand and assert his dominance in front of his colleagues.

Tang Zheng flipped a plastic fork and stabbed towards Joseph’s palm.

Joseph recoiled in fright, but still got nicked, leaving a small cut on his skin.

"I’m done with this portion, if you’re hungry, here, have a new one." Tang Zheng handed one of the extra fast food orders to Joseph. He didn’t intend to beat the old man in front of his colleagues, otherwise Joseph’s hand would not have been able to dodge in time.

Joseph froze, his face turned red with anger. Seeing Tang Zheng’s ruthlessness, not only him, but even the other officers’ complexions changed, instinctively pausing their mastication.

"What? Not eating?" Tang Zheng’s tone was indifferent, as if nothing had happened.

"Out on a call, eat in the car." Joseph thought of a way to deal with Tang Zheng, feeling somewhat pleased with himself, and he glanced at the fast food, swallowing saliva. He was stingy and wanted to take advantage of every little benefit, so he reached for it.

Boom, Tang Zheng was one step ahead, tossing the fast food box into a plastic trash bin beside the table.

"Not hungry, then forget it." Tang Zheng shrugged nonchalantly, stood up, and left, "I’ll treat you next time."

Everyone could see Tang Zheng did it on purpose. Joseph lost face and went pale with anger but held it in. It wasn’t the place to throw his weight around, and there was no excuse. However, Tang Zheng was dead meat; if Joseph didn’t set him straight, his own prestige in the police station would have hit rock bottom.

"You drive." Joseph tossed the car keys to Tang Zheng, seating himself in the passenger side like a boss, treating him like a lackey.

Tang Zheng didn’t talk back. Looking at the black and white police car, though a bit worn, with the word POLICE painted on it, it still exuded a formidable power.

"Never driven a police car before, huh? Exciting, isn’t it?" Watching Tang Zheng stop in the rain and gaze at the police car, Joseph was reminded of his own first day at the police station. But he quickly cut off the memory, beginning to plan where he could make some extra cash today and how to deal with the kid.

"I just think you don’t deserve to sit here," Tang Zheng said bluntly, and started the car.

"What did you say?" Joseph was about to get angry, but then the police car suddenly shot forward, inertia causing him, who hadn’t fastened his seatbelt, to lean back and bite his tongue.

An afternoon’s work was quite relaxed, just patrolling around in the car. Joseph was a coward, and since he had previously bribed the director, his jurisdiction was in South City’s most bustling area, with not much violent conflict, which suited him perfectly.

"Park the car over there, I’ll get a newspaper," Joseph pointed to a newspaper stand. Once the police car drove over, he reached out, popped open the car window, and picked two newspapers, "Drive on."

Joseph flipped through the magazine, showing no intention of paying, while Tang Zheng glanced at the smiling newspaper stand owner and started the car.

"This chick’s boobs are definitely fake," Joseph spouted trash, picked up the newspaper next to him, flipping to the stock pages, and cursed loudly, "fuck, how did it drop again?"

At this moment, both of them were thinking about how to deal with each other!

As evening approached and the drizzle intensified, they passed a Chinese restaurant. Joseph instructed Tang Zheng to stop the police car outside.

"Wait here, I’m going to buy something." As soon as he finished speaking, Joseph didn’t give Tang Zheng a chance to object, opened the car door, and ran towards the restaurant.

"Officer, please come in, what would you like to eat? Are you getting it to go?" Assuming that Joseph was just picking up some food to take away, the waitress at the door, seeing another person in the police car, was surprised when Joseph shook his head.

"No, I’ll eat here, and as for what to eat, ask your boss, he knows." Joseph swaggered to a seat by the window, from where he could see Tang Zheng, took out his mobile phone, and dialed some hooligans’ numbers; for a policeman, knowing these kinds of people was not strange.

"Hey, Pike, bring your guys, the more, the better, and come to the front of Red Dragon Chinese Restaurant to beat someone up."

"Officer Joseph, I’m tied up with something. I can’t leave," Pike pleaded. Doing that guy’s bidding brought no benefits, and might even cost him money.

"Shut up, if you can’t get here in ten minutes, be prepared to spend ten months in prison, and don’t forget, I have plenty of evidence against you." After Joseph roared, he hung up the phone. He treated these hooligans like a high and mighty king, brooking no defiance.

"Waiter, I’ll have a Mapo Tofu, Green Pepper Shredded Pork, and a fried rice!" Tang Zheng guessed that Joseph might ditch him just long enough for a meal, so less than a minute after he went in, he shouted towards the Chinese restaurant, ordering dinner.

"That bastard." Joseph was fuming as he saw Tang Zheng’s calm and leisurely demeanor through the window. Why couldn’t he catch this guy off guard? He took a sip of the tea, then spat it out with disgust. "Damn, trying to scald me to death?"

But three minutes later, Joseph’s expression brightened when he saw Pike’s two minivans slicing through the rain, stopping across the street.

"Officer, the guy you want me to beat is a policeman?" Pike saw the target in the police car, dressed in police uniform, and his expression immediately turned miserable.

"No shit, but don’t worry, he’s just a nobody with no backing. In a few days, I’ll have him kicked out," swore Joseph. If this kid didn’t have the sense to apologize on his own, Joseph would have him thrown out of the police station. "And don’t you dare damage the police car."

"Let’s go!" Without a choice, Pike had to tough it out. He shouted, and more than a dozen people, faces obscured by masks, wielding baseball bats and choppers, approached.

"Heh, is this the best you can do?" Tang Zheng shook his head, feeling it was beneath him to engage in such pettiness with someone like Joseph.

"Officer, we’d like to report a crime." One of Pike’s trusted thugs walked up to the police car, knocked on the window, trying to lure Tang Zheng out.

Pike was frustrated; if only Joseph weren’t so stingy, they could have just rushed in and given the target a beating, settling everything without the hassle.

"Has someone been robbed?" Tang Zheng’s question caught the thug off guard, not sure how to respond.

"No," Pike interjected.

"Oh, I thought you guys were here to turn yourselves in," Tang Zheng got out of the car, glanced at the Chinese restaurant, "My dinner hasn’t arrived yet, perfect time for a warm-up exercise."

(To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, please visit qidian.com to vote for it and give your monthly support. Your support is my greatest motivation.)