Chapter 8: Patrolling the Streets

On Willow Leaf Street, there was no shortage of peddlers, porters, and passersby. However, Chen Ping'an and his companions did not encounter anything like fights or brawls.

Weishui County City was no ordinary small town; it was a regional hub with orderly governance. Although there were many gangs of various sizes, everyone adhered to an unspoken understanding: unless there was some special necessity, no fighting would occur.

Well, at least that was how it appeared on the surface!

No matter how intense the conflicts were in private, they had to stay in private!

If a large-scale brawl were to break out in broad daylight, where would the Nanquan Lane Constabulary put its face? If such a thing happened, it would be a miracle if they didn't beat you to death!

The entire morning passed without incident.

The Nanquan Lane Constabulary provided lunch. After patrolling for the morning, Chen Ping'an, Monkey-head, and Dashan returned to the Constabulary to eat.

Usually, they ate back at the Constabulary. After all, eating out cost money. Why not save that money for something else?

Unless someone was treating them, they wouldn't eat outside.

The food at the Constabulary was neither good nor bad. One small meat dish with a bit of grease, two relatively fresh vegetable dishes, and all the rice you could eat.

The group served themselves, found a spot, sat down, and started eating.

Having only had porridge in the morning and patrolling the streets all morning, Chen Ping'an was naturally starving. He didn't know if it was related to starting his Iron Shirt training, but his appetite today was much better than usual. He ate three full bowls of rice before stopping.

This scene left Monkey-head somewhat surprised.

"Ping'an, what's wrong with you today? You're eating like a starving ghost reincarnated!"

"I didn't eat enough this morning; I'm genuinely hungry today."

Chen Ping'an laughed it off.

"I'm so sick of these dishes. It's just the same few things over and over!"

Looking at the small meat dish with its mediocre grease, Monkey-head complained.

Among the group, his family background was the best, so he was more particular about the taste of the food.

Before Chen Ping'an could reply, Dashan let out an incredibly loud burp.

"Burp~"

"You glutton!"

Monkey-head slapped Dashan.

Dashan gave a silly laugh and reached up to scratch his head.

The life he was living now was, for his family, like a life of luxury. He didn't have to do heavy labor, didn't have to face the earth with his back to the sky; he just had to wear a saber and walk around, and he had food to eat!

It was simply...

Moreover, walking on the street like this was quite impressive!

"The head constables have it good! Their food is so much better than ours!"

Monkey-head put down his half-finished meal, rested his hands behind his head, and let out a long sigh.

The lunch at the Constabulary was the same for both official constables and the unregistered temporary ones. But once you reached the level of a head constable, the food was much better.

According to their daily observations, a head constable could enjoy at least two meat dishes, and the vegetables were supplied without limit. Furthermore, those two meat dishes weren't like the small, greasy portions they got; they were full-on, rich, meaty dishes!

"Envious?"

Chen Ping'an glanced at Monkey-head.

"If you're envious, go practice martial arts too! Those head constables are all martial arts experts. Without a sufficient supply of grease and nutrition, how could they have enough energy and blood to practice martial arts!?"

As soon as martial arts were mentioned, Monkey-head deflated.

"Forget it, forget it. I'm just not cut out for that! Dashan can. Right, Dashan?"

"Yeah, I've been practicing my strength!" Dashan said in a muffled voice.

"Hahaha, Dashan has ambition! Keep practicing. Once you make it, Ping'an and I will be able to ride your coattails."

Monkey-head patted Dashan's shoulder hard, grinning.

"..."

Chen Ping'an watched the two joking around, feeling at ease and full of motivation.

The level of head constable already enjoyed a completely different standard of food. What about the Constabulary Chief!?

The Chief and Deputy Chief of the Nanquan Lane Constabulary had meals delivered by dedicated servants every day. Whatever they wanted to eat, they got; there was no limit to the supply!

In this Nanquan Lane, those two lords were the heavens to everyone else!

The food was just a small microcosm of the different levels; behind it represented power!

After eating, the three of them rested for a while in the Constabulary before heading back to Willow Leaf Street to patrol.

At noon, the sun was directly overhead. Though they called it patrolling, they weren't actually that diligent. Finding a fairly hidden spot, they half-lay in the shade of a tree to rest peacefully.

It really is better to eat the Constabulary's food! If they were just laborers or hired hands, they would never have the chance to slack off and rest like this!

First, they rested openly, then they slacked off secretly, and on top of that, they got a monthly salary.

Going back and forth like this, it was simply a massive profit!

Usually, Chen Ping'an would only rest for half an hour to catch up on sleep. But today, perhaps because he was tired from practicing Iron Shirt yesterday, he ended up sleeping for nearly an hour.

When he woke up, Monkey-head and Dashan were already chatting. Once awake, Chen Ping'an joined their idle talk. Whether it was street gossip or domestic trifles, there were fresh topics every day. Even though they were together often, they never seemed to run out of things to say.

After resting in the shade for over an hour, the three of them stood up unhurriedly and continued their patrol.

By this time, Willow Leaf Street was much livelier. Even the ruffians and scoundrels who didn't show up much in the morning could be seen from time to time.

Some small-time thugs, seeing them patrolling with sabers, would run away early from a distance. But some old hands who had joined gangs showed no fear when they saw them.

Of course, not being afraid was one thing, but no one was stupid enough to deliberately provoke them.

Seeing the group, these ruffians would either ignore them or give a slight nod to show respect.

As for coming up to greet them specifically, that happened very, very rarely! Except for a few slick and sycophantic ruffians, the others didn't have the interest.

After all, although they wore official uniforms, they were just unregistered temporary constables.

Walking on the street looked impressive, but in the end, they didn't have much real power. Once they were off duty, they had to return their badges and sabers.

If they wanted the thugs to take the initiative to greet them or even suck up to them, even Head Constable Qin probably wouldn't qualify!

At the very least, it would have to be those senior constables who were expected to become head constables!

Time flew by in their conversation. That day, nothing happened.

Seeing that the time was about right, Chen Ping'an, Monkey-head, and Dashan returned to the Nanquan Lane Constabulary to report in.

Until this moment, the three of them hadn't even caught a glimpse of Head Constable Qin.

When it came to slacking off, Head Constable Qin was the master. For people like them, sleeping under a tree for an hour or two was nothing at all.

After returning their badges and sabers, the three said their goodbyes and headed home.