"Can I help you?" Gu Chen came to the blond foreigner and asked him.
When the man saw that Gu Chen was a policeman, he immediately showed a long-lost smile and quickly said in fluent English: "I don't know Chinese very well, but... I need to sell my own photos to support my future journey."
Perhaps out of his trust in Gu Chen's police uniform, he pointed to the dazzling works in front of him, then picked up one of the photos of the Grand Canyon, stood up and handed it to Gu Chen, and continued: "The price of the photo is determined by
It's up to you to decide how much you want to pay."
"Are you sure?" Gu Chen also asked in English.
"Yes, I'm very sure." The man nodded and said with certainty: "These are all photos I took myself. The price is whatever I want. I need to sell my photos to complete my future journey, but I don't speak Chinese."
Very good, or...I can't speak Chinese well at all, so I...I don't know how to communicate."
Gu Chen probably understood the blond man's current predicament...
An artist, or a travel photographer, wants to use his photos to make photo albums and sell them to passers-by to support his next trip.
I have to say, this foreigner is quite interesting. He dares to go out without bringing enough money. Does he really regard art as a living?
"First of all, you need a signboard, and it's in Chinese." After thinking about it, Gu Chen said again, "By the way, do you have the QR code for payment?"
"QR code? WeChat and Alipay, right?" the blond man asked.
"Yes, if you want to do business here, you need fast mobile payment, coupled with Chinese instructions, I think it will bring you some help." Gu Chen also gave corresponding suggestions.
The man smiled and said, "In our country, we are all accustomed to using banknotes. To be honest, when I came to Jiangnan City, I was really not used to this kind of advanced mobile payment."
"You'll get used to it over time. In our place, do as the Romans do." Gu Chen said.
"Then...what should I do specifically?" The man looked at Gu Chen with pleading eyes.
It was obvious that he was frustrated and didn't make much money.
Gu Chen looked around, and his eyes quickly stopped at the signboard of a graphic store, then turned around and said, "Follow me."
Although the blond man was confused, he still followed Gu Chen into the store.
In a foreign country, only the police can bring him a sense of security...
For Gu Chen, helping foreign friends solve problems is also a way to show the image of the police force.
Solving and communicating are the most interesting parts.
When I came to the graphic store, a female owner in her early thirties was using software to compose pictures for advertisements.
A male customer came up with a stack of printed A4 paper and asked: "Boss, how much does it cost?"
"Yours is 20 pieces, 20 yuan."
"It's too expensive, can it be less?"
"This is a small business, so we don't negotiate prices." The proprietress continued to operate the mouse and keyboard in her hands without looking back.
Seeing that there was no hope of bargaining, the man had no choice but to take out a 20 yuan note and hand it to the boss, then turned and left.
"Boss, use your computer to type a document." Gu Chen came over and said.
The proprietress of the graphic store still didn't look back. She pointed to another computer with her left hand and said, "The computer is there, use it yourself."
Gu Chen stepped forward and started editing the text...
After a while of operation, finally click print.
Soon, two A4 paper documents with payment QR codes appeared from under the printer.
The text is simple:
"Give more support to friends who love art."
"I sell my own photos to support my future journey. You set the price of the photos. You can pay as much as you want."
David.
Gu Chen handed two pieces of A4 paper to the man named David: "Take this and stick it on both sides of your photo. Passersby will know the meaning when they see it. It is much easier than communicating one by one."
The man named David suddenly said excitedly: "Thank you, police officer, thank you very much."
Gu Chen waved his hand, turned around and asked the proprietress of the graphic store: "How much does it cost?"
"How many?"
"Two."
"Five yuan." The landlady said simply, without even bothering to look back.
Wei Junzhi on the side became anxious after hearing this: "Old... boss lady, you just charged 20 yuan for that person's 20 tickets, but you charge 5 yuan for our two tickets? Isn't it too expensive?"
"There are many people, so I print at the lowest price of 5 yuan." The proprietress had her own explanation.
"It doesn't matter." Gu Chen paid out of his own pocket, and there happened to be 5 yuan in change in his pocket, so he handed it to the landlady's hand: "Here."
The landlady took the money and was about to stuff it into the drawer. When she turned around and saw Gu Chen next to her, she was suddenly startled.
"Your name is Gu Chen?"
"That's right." Gu Chen said.
"That Gu Chen from Furong Police Station?" the landlady asked again.
Gu Chen nodded again.
"Then I can't accept this money. You can take it back." The lady boss returned the five yuan in her hand.
Gu Chen on the side was stunned for a moment and asked quickly: "What are you..."
The female boss smiled: "Who doesn't know your name as Gu Chen from Furong Police Station? Last time my mother fainted on the roadside, no one dared to help her. You were the only one who carried her to the hospital without saying a word.
do not you remember?"
Gu Chen thought about it for a while.
I had carried the old lady to the hospital on my back more than once. I didn’t know which time the female boss was talking about, so I could only nod my head and said, "It was a few times."
The landlady slapped her thigh: "So... I can accept other people's money, but your money... I will definitely not accept it."
Patting her chest, the landlady continued: "If you need anything else, just tell me."
Gu Chen was very embarrassed: "How embarrassing."
"Officer Gu, don't be polite to me. Who in our community doesn't know your name Gu Chen? You have done a lot for our community and everyone wants to thank you. It's just two dollars and two pieces of paper. It's no big deal.
, take it and use it, come back if you don’t have enough.”
"But you just said 5 fast." Wei Junzhi, a police academy cadet on the side, said.
The landlady glanced at him unhappily and quickly grinned: "Comrade, you must have heard wrong. It's only two yuan, so don't worry about it."
Gu Chen wanted to give him money, but the proprietress of the picture shop refused to give her money. After a lot of back and forth, Gu Chen had no choice but to accept the offer first.
After going out, Wei Junzhi's eyes changed when he looked at Gu Chen, and he was filled with admiration.
"Senior brother, you are so powerful. I can brush your face to your level. That's what a police officer should be like."
Gu Chen smiled and said nothing.
This situation is so common that Gu Chen has long been used to it.
Whenever you patrol a familiar street and recognize yourself as a small merchant or hawker, you will inevitably come out and stuff something for yourself.
Some give you bananas, and some treat you to popsicles.
The most exaggerated thing is that there is a fat lady selling braised vegetables, who just shoves a big pig's hoof in and grabs a lot of oil.
So wherever I went in the end, I was silently followed by a group of stray dogs.
But Gu Chen didn't want any of these things...
As long as you know one thing and serve the people wholeheartedly, you will gain more than just a simple "thank you"!
"The heartfelt thanks from David and the heartfelt thanks from foreign friends are the greatest compliments to a people's policeman."
"Reward item: a bottle of energy drink."
Just as Gu Chen was thinking, another bottle of energy drink came to his mind.
Gu Chen turned around and looked at David. He had already opened the door.
A person who looked like a middle school student took away a landscape photo frame from him and gave him 50 yuan.
Immediately afterwards, a few more people came over, and a few more people came over.
It didn’t take long before a lot of people gathered around David’s stall…
Everyone was quickly attracted by this new concept.
Many young people also began to shoot short videos at the scene to introduce this strange foreigner.
Gu Chen and Wei Junzhi continued to patrol along West Street to East Street.
…
…
In the evening, Gu Chen's patrol range had moved from West Street to the meeting point of East Street.
There is a duty post there, which is not large, about the size of a small living room. There are a few chairs, some stored mineral water, and some medical supplies.
The small duty post has become a place for everyone to rest and cool down. In a situation like today, being able to take a nap there is already the greatest benefit.
When Gu Chen came in, there were already four people leaning on the seats, soundly asleep.
Gu Chen had already drank a bottle of energy drink around five o'clock.
When he usually works until around five o'clock, he is basically full of energy, but today is different. High-intensity tasks consume a lot of physical energy.
In fact, the workload during the day today is already several times the usual amount.
Even Gu Chen himself would find it a little difficult to support him.
So by around five o'clock, Gu Chen was naturally a little tired.
Fortunately, he had two bottles of energy drink in his pocket. Although Gu Chen felt a little reluctant to consume one bottle of energy drink in this situation, he still had to deal with the patrol at night, so he had to have enough energy to replenish himself anyway.
Compared to sitting in a chair and sleeping for an hour, it is more practical to drink energy drinks.
Moreover, there are not many chairs in the security post, but today there are many people on duty here.
It will be even more difficult if you meet some old comrades coming to rest and want to have a stool to yourself.
Although Gu Chen has good physical strength, he doesn't want to exhaust himself.
You don’t want to be exhausted after working all day long and then feeling listless for two or three days in a row, so you must consume the necessary energy drinks.
In the corner, several students from the Judicial Police Academy rested briefly against the wall with newspapers on the ground.
Just now at the intersection of the east and west streets of the old street, the flow of people suddenly increased. Everyone formed a human wall to separate and isolate people. They walked back and forth for countless steps, which consumed a lot of energy.
Many people returned to the security post to rest, and fell asleep not long after they sat down. They were all swaying around, and their mental state was completely different from when they formed a human wall.
"Junior Brother Gu, are you here too?" Lu Weiwei and Officer Wang just opened the door and came in. Seeing that Gu Chen was also there, they came over to say hello.
Gu Chen looked down at his watch and said, "It's ten past six in the afternoon. According to the monitoring in the dispatch room, we have to be on duty until at least nine in the evening before we can evacuate in batches. Why don't you guys come here to rest first?"
Lu Weiwei looked at the crowd, waved her hands and said, "Forget it, no need, everyone is sleeping soundly, so don't disturb them."
Gu Chen smiled and said: "They have already arrived and should change shifts. I saw that they were sleeping soundly, so I didn't disturb them."
At least I looked at a bunch of students leaning against the wall and thought to myself that many of these people must be performing such a high-intensity task for the first time. They spent too much energy in a short period of time and were exhausted.
However, when others were still delaying their duties, they had to consider other people's rest time. After all, no one's body was made of iron, so Gu Chen had no choice but to wake them up.
Some student police officers rubbed their eyes and stood up reluctantly.
"I'm sorry, senior brother, I was so tired that I forgot to take over."
"It doesn't matter."
"Come on, sit here. There are still a few seats here."
"Come sit here, I have a chair."
…
Because everyone sat crookedly for so long, when they stood up, many people's feet were numb and they could only limp out.
If we also include those with hunched backs and crotched waists, few of those who walked out of the security post were full of energy.
In fact, most of the trainees at the Judicial Police Academy are around 19 years old and have not yet become physically strong. They are still very different from ordinary formal police officers.
Unlike ordinary college students who only attend classes and play games, these people have to participate in some extra tasks during the holidays, which can be regarded as a kind of transition to adapt to work as soon as possible.
When Gu Chen was studying at the police academy, he often participated in security duties in some cities outside of school.
Of course, there are tasks that are more intense than today, so I know what it feels like.
Being able to wear a police uniform, even if there is only a crutch on the shoulder, and be looked at with awe by others, the pain will disappear.
So this is a very magical feeling...
At least every police officer who is on duty on Chinese Valentine's Day feels this way.
At nine o'clock in the evening, the crowds of people had almost dissipated, and some drink garbage was left on the public seats in many old streets.
In each garbage bin, there will be some discarded bouquets left.
Obviously there are many people who failed to express their love today...
The old man who picked up garbage had a great harvest tonight. He could pick up two bouquets of flowers in one minute. He immediately ran to another garbage dump on the roadside and gave the flowers to his wife. The two old men left with a smile.
And the intersection of West Street.
Gu Chen, Lu Weiwei, Officer Wang and Wei Junzhi were already slumped on the public seats. Looking at the dissipating crowd, they felt that today's mission should be over.
At the same time, police officers from other duty groups also began to arrive at the assembly point and prepare to evacuate.
"Lao Wang, are you going to have a late-night snack tonight?" Lu Weiwei asked, touching her growling stomach.
"Are you sure you don't want to go home and take a nap?" Officer Wang was exhausted.
Lu Weiwei was quite dissatisfied and said: "I have seen many people eating roast mutton, little chaos, crab apple cake, handmade hot and sour noodles, fried chicken legs and lily mung bean soup in front of me today. I watched them eat it.
It’s been a long day, and now that I’m off work, I have to have a meal by myself.”
Officer Wang couldn't laugh or cry: "I want to do it too, but my wallet doesn't allow it."
"Isn't your salary very high, Lao Wang? At least it's higher than mine. Plus my sister-in-law's salary, why would you treat us to a meal? Besides, Wei Junzhi worked very hard today, so at least his performance was pretty good, right?"
Lu Weiwei hit the nail on the head. After all, Officer Wang is currently the highest paid among the four.
How to train the stingy Lao Wang into a generous leader, Lu Weiwei adopts the strategy of boiling the frog in warm water.
So far, the results are pretty good.
"Yes." Officer Wang also admitted: "A monthly salary of several thousand yuan is quite good. Add in my wife's salary, and it can be more than a thousand yuan a month."
"Huh???" Lu Weiwei quickly sat up and said confusedly: "Why do you add less and less? Lao Wang, your math was taught by the physical education teacher, right?"
"Senior Brother Wang means that my sister-in-law spends too much money." Gu Chen answered.
Officer Wang slapped his thigh, pointed at Gu Chen and agreed, "It's men who understand men best."
"That's not a reason." After feeling a little regretful, Lu Weiwei quickly added: "How about I pay for it today and you, Mr. Wang, write an IOU?"
"Lu Weiwei, I despise you." After hearing this plan, Officer Wang almost went berserk.
"How about... I'll treat you." While Officer Wang and Lu Weiwei were arguing, Gu Chen raised his hand and said, "I'll come this time, I'll treat you. You can choose whatever you want."
Gu Chen was also very depressed. He basically didn't know how to spend his monthly salary.
I usually receive subsidies for food and accommodation, and have few opportunities to go out for fun. Apart from work and study, I have basically no other spare time activities.
In this case, I don’t know how to spend the money.
Lu Weiwei touched her belly and chuckled: "That's so embarrassing. It's fun for Junior Brother Gu to cost you money."
"Haha, what nonsense is this?" Lao Wang said quite dissatisfied: "I've treated you so many times and you haven't had a good word to say. Oh, Gu Chen treats you once and you're embarrassed? Then I'm embarrassed?"
"Old Wang, can you stop being so petty?"
The two argued again...
Just when Gu Chen was thinking about what to have for midnight snack, Wei Junzhi patted Gu Chen on the shoulder and said, "Brother, isn't that the artist today? Why hasn't he left yet?"
"It's true!" Gu Chen recognized him. Isn't this the artist who sells his works? He didn't know if his method would work or if he could make money.
You know, since the amount of money he pays is up to the consumers themselves, it does not rule out that some people deliberately give one or two yuan, so that they will not make much money in a day.
Not to mention having dinner, even staying in a hotel is a problem.
"Hello!" Gu Chen waved to the blond man.
David obviously noticed Gu Chen and walked towards him with a smile: "Comrade police, it turns out to be you."
"How is business today? I haven't seen you all afternoon." Gu Chen said.
David nodded with satisfaction: "Very good, the photos were so popular, so I went back and brought some more at the house I rented. They all liked my work, and I think they all liked it very much."
I understand art, I like Jiangnan City, especially the people here, and you policemen."
"Where do you live?" Gu Chen asked.
"West Street, Min Lane." David said.
Soon, a burst of instructions suddenly came from the walkie-talkie hanging on Officer Wang's belt.
"There is a police situation in West Street and Min Lane. Please ask the police officers who are still patrolling nearby to go and deal with it immediately..."
