"Mom, I’m back." Ji Yongdiao shouted loudly as soon as he pushed open his home door.

"Little Dao is back." A slightly thin, middle-aged woman with gentle eyebrows and a head of short ear-length hair, wearing a rough blue apron, came out of the kitchen, "Quickly wash your hands, we are about to start dinner."

The City Government Courtyard is very close to the Public Security Bureau, almost everyone in the family comes home for meals. Yes, the entire Ji Family works in the police system, except for Ji Yongdiao.

As the last dish, winter melon rib soup, was served, a group of people in police uniforms came in.

"You’re back, wash your hands and eat." Nie Wanjing greeted with a smile.

"Mom." Ji Yongdiao has two older brothers, and he’s very close to Nie Wanjing, their wives also treat her as their own mother-in-law, which creates a nice family atmosphere, except for...

"What did you do this morning? Have you been studying seriously? The exams are only a month away." Ji Huaijun looked at Ji Yongdiao and said.

Ji Huaijun’s father was also a police officer, so he hopes his sons will be righteous, even if they are not police officers, they shouldn’t be delinquents, opposing the family.

"Little Dao studies every night." Nie Wanjing passed a bowl of soup to Ji Huaijun and said with a smile, "This child is just too sentimental, you know that."

"There are so many people nationwide who need help; could you help them all? Besides, if you want to help people, wouldn’t it be more effective if you had more skills? Why don’t you understand that?" Ji Huaijun frowned as he looked at his youngest son.

"Alright, it’s time to eat, say less." Nie Wanjing glared at Ji Huaijun, successfully shutting him up.

"Mom, no need to cook for me tomorrow at noon; I’ll eat out." Ji Yongdiao said.

"Going out again?" Ji Huaijun put down his chopsticks heavily, looking displeased.

"I’m meeting a friend, going to Dongji State-owned Restaurant." Ji Yongdiao replied.

"Another group of bad friends..."

"Dad, you haven’t even met them, can you not judge them arbitrarily?" Ji Yongdiao retorted, "My previous friends, they might not be well-off, yes, they’re poor and haven’t had much education, but they don’t do illegal things, they don’t cheat or swindle, why do you look down on them so much?"

"Not illegal, huh? Lending money at high interest, how is that not illegal?" The more Ji Huaijun spoke, the louder his voice got, and the darker his face became.

"We’re not loan sharks." Ji Yongdiao stood up abruptly, "Our interest isn’t much higher than the banks; we all have IOUs for everything; it’s borrowing and repaying, not high-interest lending. I won’t eat anymore, really..."

"Hey, Little Dao, Little Dao..." Nie Wanjing watched as Ji Yongdiao went upstairs, annoyed, she turned back and glared at Ji Huaijun, "What’s wrong with you, are you interrogating a criminal? You didn’t finish your work at the bureau, so you continue at home, did you? Haven’t you already investigated what Little Dao is doing?"

"Did someone say something to you again?" Nie Wanjing, having lived with Ji Huaijun for twenty years, understood him completely, "Let people talk all they like, why do you care so much? Feeling embarrassed, so you embarrass Little Dao, what’s your point?"

"I, I was just scolding him a bit." Seeing Nie Wanjing angry, Ji Huaijun’s voice naturally softened, and she had actually guessed correctly, with people saying their youngest son was collecting debts from factory workers.

Lying on his bed, Ji Yongdiao felt somewhat lost about the future, not knowing what was right. He wasn’t as smart as his two older brothers, wasn’t good at studying, and didn’t have much interest in being a policeman; he just wanted to make money and make sure those who needed money had some stability.

Xu Ancheng didn’t know about the Ji family’s affairs, he took Baozi out for a meal, then went to the Department Store, but didn’t see Yi Roujing. He ended up buying some canned food, milk powder, malted milk, and returned holding the now sleepy Baozi.

When he got home, Yi Roujing was already there, seemingly just arrived, as she hadn’t put down her bag yet.

"Where did you go?" Yi Roujing carefully put Baozi aside and asked Xu Ancheng in a low voice.

"Took a walk. By the way, I ran into your college roommate, that one named Zhang Yaen, she asked about you, I left the phone number here, she’ll call later." Xu Ancheng replied, "Also met someone interesting."

"Interesting person?" Yi Roujing was folding Baozi’s clothes when a one-yuan bill fell out.

"A meeting gift from the interesting person for Baozi." Xu Ancheng picked up the money, smiling a bit more.

Seeing Yi Roujing’s curious expression, Xu Ancheng explained the situation, which was also related to Zhang Yaen.

"That’s quite sweet." Yi Roujing remarked genuinely after listening, "So, do you plan to recruit them?"

"I do have that in mind," Xu Ancheng admitted candidly. "He seems too gentle, I’ll have Zhao Guang and the others train him a bit; he’s not suited for being a delinquent, yet he’s a rarely seen leader among them; he’s the most cherished leader by his fellows that I’ve seen."

Today, although that Dao always took the lead, the other four really protected him well. When they saw me, their instinct was to protect Dao.

Being a delinquent is typically determined by force; many can be subdued, but few can be truly won over.

"Then remember to treat them nicely tomorrow." Yi Roujing didn’t usually involve herself in Xu Ancheng’s matters, but she supported him wholeheartedly.

That evening, Yi Roujing received a call from Zhang Yaen, inviting her out for fun, and she immediately agreed, promising to bring Baozi along.

The next day, Yi Roujing and Baozi left first; Xu Ancheng left at eleven o’clock.

The journey from the City Government Courtyard to Dongji State-owned Restaurant took half an hour. Xu Ancheng got off the bus, walked for about seven to eight minutes, and when he arrived, Ji Yongdiao and his five young companions were already there.

"Xu Ancheng." Xu Ancheng introduced himself again as he approached.

"Ji Yongdiao." Seeing Xu Ancheng had arrived early, Dao also introduced himself, still feeling a bit uneasy being called Dao.

The other five also introduced themselves briefly.

Except for Ji Yongdiao, the other five had never been to Dongji State-owned Restaurant before, mainly because eating out was too expensive.

Dongji State-owned Restaurant has two floors; the first is the main hall, the second is slightly partitioned. Xu Ancheng chose the second floor.

"Any dietary restrictions?" Xu Ancheng asked before ordering.

"We’re not picky; we eat everything."

Xu Ancheng ordered braised pork, stewed pig’s trotters, roasted lamb, sweet and sour fish, milk soup with dried lily bulbs, scrambled eggs, stir-fried crown daisy, a basket of large meat buns, and rice.

"Too, too much." Listening to Xu Ancheng’s order, Ji Yongdiao’s expression changed from surprise to delight, and finally to shock.

Which family could afford so many meat dishes? Getting to eat this much once a month would be a rarity. Having a table full of meat was overwhelming for him.

The other five gulped audibly at the dish names as well.