Chu Jiang opened his mouth, about to explain, but realized he couldn’t get a word in.
He felt so wronged!
What was this all about?
He hadn’t even had a chance to explain before he was subjected to a furious scolding.
Chief Wang really had a short fuse, didn’t he?
“What do you mean, ‘you’?!”
Wang Zhenkang was still fuming. Pointing at Chu Jiang’s nose, he roared,
“Just look at yourself! Do you look anything like a police officer?!”
“I’m telling you, if you can’t give me a reasonable explanation today, you can get out!”
“Now! Right this instant! Get to the track and run fifty laps!”
“If you don’t finish, you don’t eat!”
Wang Zhenkang grew more and more worked up as he spoke, until at last he issued an outright order.
Chu Jiang wasn’t the only one dumbfounded. The police officers around them were stunned, too.
Fifty laps?
That was enough to kill a man!
Even during regular training, running eight or ten laps left them exhausted. After fifty, wouldn’t he collapse on the spot?
“Station Chief, this… isn’t that a bit much?”
Xiong He worked up the nerve to step forward and plead with him.
“Too much?”
Wang Zhenkang glared at Xiong He.
“What’s too much about it?”
“He’s late on his very first day, and now he thinks he’s in the right?”
“If I don’t teach him a lesson today, won’t he be getting above himself before long?”
“What are you all standing around for? Go supervise him!”
At Wang Zhenkang’s order, several officers exchanged glances. In the end, they reluctantly followed Chu Jiang toward the track.
“Did the station chief eat gunpowder today or something?” one young officer muttered.
“Who knows? I’ve never seen him this furious,” another officer said, shaking his head.
“The new guy’s really unlucky. He walked right into the line of fire on his first day.”
“Ah, well. He’s on his own now.”
Everyone murmured among themselves, sympathizing with Chu Jiang’s predicament.
At the same time, they couldn’t understand Wang Zhenkang’s uncharacteristic behavior.
As the person at the center of it all, Chu Jiang didn’t give it much thought. Before he’d crossed over, he’d been in the military, so he was already used to following orders.
Run? Fine. It wasn’t as if he could bargain over it!
So he quickly made his way to the track, then set off running, picking up speed as he went.
Heat shimmered over the track.
Chu Jiang raced along the running lane like a bolt of lightning.
His sweat had already soaked through his clothes, which clung tightly to his body.
Several of the station’s younger officers stood at the edge of the track, watching Chu Jiang run lap after lap.
“That guy’s a real maniac! The station chief told him to run fifty laps, and he’s actually doing it?”
“Exactly. He knows he won’t finish, but he’s still pushing himself. What else would you call that but being a blockhead?”
“Honestly, is he stupid? Why butt heads with the station chief? He could’ve just backed down.”
“Right? He just got here, and he’s already going against the station chief. Does he even want to get anywhere here?”
“Seems to me he’s just a blockhead who doesn’t know his place!”
“Oh, come on. You really think he’ll finish fifty laps? I’ll bet a pack of spicy strips he’ll collapse before he gets to twenty!”
Xiao Li shook his head and sighed.
“The new guy’s way too earnest. He doesn’t know how to be flexible.”
“The station chief’s obviously in a temper. Why pick a fight with him now? He’s just asking for trouble.”
“Ah, the arrogance of youth. They always think they’re something special. He’ll know better once he’s suffered enough.”
Seeing that Chu Jiang really intended to run all fifty laps, Xiong He was alarmed.
Wang Zhenkang had really gone and said it!
Wouldn’t running that many laps take half a man’s life?
He hurried over, grabbed Wang Zhenkang by the arm, and drew him aside.
“Old Wang, calm down. Take it easy.”
Xiong He lowered his voice and urged him,
“You know what things are like at our station.”
“How many newcomers have been willing to come to this godforsaken place over the last few years?”
“We finally get one, and you start off demanding fifty laps. If you scare him away, where are you going to find another?”
Wang Zhenkang’s brow furrowed. His anger hadn’t yet subsided.
“That doesn’t mean we can let him do whatever he wants!”
“He’s late on his very first day. What kind of behavior is that?”
“If I don’t show him what happens, he’ll think our station is a retirement home!”
“Yes, yes. You’re right.”
Xiong He nodded repeatedly and kept trying to reason with him.
“But you can’t work him to death, either.”
“What if something happens while he’s running? Who’ll take responsibility?”
“Besides, young people make mistakes. It happens.”
“As leaders, we should be patient and guide them, don’t you think?”
“You really need to rein in that temper of yours!”
Xiong He continued pleading with him earnestly.
Wang Zhenkang’s expression softened a little.
He knew perfectly well what Zhangshantou Police Station was like.
It was remote, the conditions were harsh, and people didn’t stay.
Over the years, new officers had come and gone like a revolving door. Not one had managed to stick around for long.
They’d finally gotten Chu Jiang, and Wang Zhenkang did, in fact, take him seriously.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten so angry over a late arrival.
“Old Xiong, I know all that.”
Wang Zhenkang sighed.
“But the kid was late on his first day. We can’t let that kind of behavior slide!”
“I’m doing this for his own good, to teach him a lesson!”
“Besides, fifty laps may be a lot, but it’s not impossible.”
“Young people need to be put through their paces!”
Seeing that Wang Zhenkang was starting to soften, Xiong He quickly pressed his advantage.
“Yes, yes, you’re right. But there’s a right way to handle things.”
“Look at this heat. If he gets heatstroke, we’ll be the ones held responsible.”
Wang Zhenkang considered this for a moment but didn’t answer right away.
He turned toward the track. Chu Jiang was still racing around it, his uniform already soaked with sweat.
The little rascal might have been late, but he followed orders.
Wang Zhenkang grumbled to himself.
Being late was wrong, but he had to admit he admired that refusal to give up.
The kid really was stubborn!
He had potential!
That was what Wang Zhenkang thought, but he still put on a show of being furious.
He gave a cold snort.
“That bad habit needs to be knocked out of him!”
“No discipline, no respect for orders—how are we supposed to lead a team like that?”
Wang Zhenkang turned to the people gathered around the track to watch.
“All right, break it up. Get back to work!”
He waved impatiently, driving the onlookers away.
“What are you looking at? Is it that entertaining?”
“Don’t any of you have work to do?”
“Do you still want your performance bonuses this month?”
After a few words from him, the officers who’d been hoping to watch the spectacle scattered like startled birds.
As if they’d risk their bonuses and future prospects just to watch something amusing.
No one wanted to attract the station chief’s attention over a moment’s curiosity.
……..
Xiong He and Wang Zhenkang stood by the office window, looking out at the track, where Chu Jiang was still running lap after lap.
“Old Wang, are you really going to make him run fifty laps?” Xiong He asked worriedly.
“He’s already done more than twenty. If he keeps going, something’s really going to happen!”
Wang Zhenkang stood with his hands clasped behind his back, gazing out the window as he chuckled.
“You really think I’d make him run all fifty?”
“The kid may be fit, but even he can’t keep that up forever!”
“I was just trying to scare him and teach him a lesson!”
Xiong He let out a sigh of relief.
“I knew it. You may be strict, Old Wang, but you’re not unreasonable.”
“So… when are you going to tell him to stop?”
Wang Zhenkang rubbed his chin.
“We’ll wait. When he starts getting tired, I’ll go out and call it off.”
“The kid needs to suffer a little, too!”
“Otherwise, won’t he be getting completely out of hand?”
Xiong He nodded.
“He does need to be taught a lesson.”
“But don’t go too far. He’s new, after all. We should be encouraging him more than anything.”