Nanshan Patrol Bureau

Nanshan Patrol Bureau "Writing supplies? Mu Ge'er, are you planning to study and take the exam to become a scholar?"

"What scholar exam? I just want to learn some characters, that's all."

Chu Mu waved his hand dismissively, his gaze drifting over Xu Yuan's rather ill-fitting Patrol Inspector Armor, only for his brows to furrow. "I remember you're not even fifteen yet, right? Didn't the Patrol Bureau say you could keep the position for now?"

Hearing this, Xu Yuan's expression visibly sank a little. "Brother Mu, it's not like you don't know what kind of man my uncle is. If this position were kept waiting, wouldn't he be thinking about it the whole time..."

Chu Mu was slightly startled, and memories quickly surfaced. A rotten gambling addict... plus... a drug addict?

There were drugs in this era too? Chu Mu's brow lifted, and even more memories surfaced along with the thought.

His thoughts churned, but only for an instant before Chu Mu drew them back in. Even in later generations, gambling plus drugs basically equaled being beyond saving. Having relatives like that...

Chu Mu could not help feeling somewhat fortunate. Luckily, the original body had no messy, troublesome relatives. Otherwise, it really might have been a headache.

"Right, Brother Mu, how come you still haven't gone to the Patrol Bureau?"

"Me? I've had some things to deal with these past two days."

"I'm planning to report in tomorrow. Are you off duty now?"

"I'm off duty. I only reported in the day before yesterday myself, and there hasn't been any real work..."

Chu Mu nodded. His thoughts turned, and he immediately said, "That works out perfectly, then. Come to my place later and make do with a meal. Tell me about the Patrol Bureau situation too, so when I report in tomorrow, I'll have some idea of what to expect."

"Sure!"

Xu Yuan did not refuse. He nodded, then followed beside Chu Mu, and the two of them walked along the street like that, chatting on and off.

Of course, it was all Chu Mu asking and Xu Yuan answering. Though the original body had plenty of memories about the Patrol Bureau, it was an official office, after all, and the original owner had been young and reclusive by nature, so he had not understood much.

Now that he had this "good friend" who had already been serving in the Patrol Bureau for a few days, Chu Mu naturally had no reservations and asked all sorts of questions.

As they walked, one asking and the other answering, it did not take long before Chu Mu had clearly inquired about everything Xu Yuan had seen and learned at the Patrol Bureau over these past two days.

Combined with the original owner's memories, Chu Mu finally had a complete understanding of this Nanshan Town Patrol Bureau.

Nanshan Town Patrol Bureau was subordinate to the Qinghe County Patrol Bureau. The difference between them was rather like the public security bureau and the police station in his previous life.

Qinghe County had established a Patrol Bureau, with one Patrol Bureau set up in South City, North City, West City, and East City respectively, all under the jurisdiction of the Qinghe County Patrol Bureau. The surrounding towns likewise each had a Patrol Bureau responsible for public security and maintaining the law in their respective towns.

Among these, however, compared to the Patrol Bureaus of the other towns, Nanshan Town Patrol Bureau seemed somewhat special.

What made it special lay in its scale. According to the original owner's memories, an ordinary Patrol Bureau generally had only fifty or sixty people. Reaching a hundred people was already the scale only a large town in a region would have, while Nanshan Town Patrol Bureau was several times larger than other Patrol Bureaus.

From top to bottom, Nanshan Town Patrol Bureau had nearly five hundred patrol inspectors, and the person in charge of it was not an ordinary Hundred Household, but a Vice Battalion Commander.

The reason Nanshan Town Patrol Bureau was so special was naturally because of the Nanshan Iron Mine. After all, the forced laborers in the mine, as well as the storage and transportation of ore materials, were all handled by Nanshan Patrol Bureau. With duties like these, the scale and staffing of Nanshan Patrol Bureau naturally far exceeded that of other Patrol Bureaus.

According to Xu Yuan, after taking up the patrol inspector position, his daily duties were to stand guard and patrol in the mine. There were two shifts a day, and since he had just received the position, he was in charge of daytime patrols...

"When I was coming back just now, I saw a convoy bringing in forced laborers. If I remember right, forced laborers are rotated every half year, aren't they? It shouldn't be time to change the forced laborers yet, should it?"

When they reached the Courtyard Gate, Chu Mu seemed to remember something. As he pushed open the Courtyard Gate, he suddenly asked.

"The Prefecture issued an order, saying the mine had to increase production..."

"So the County ordered more forced laborers added. Quite a lot of people have been added to the mine these past few days..."

"I heard they're going to conscript another batch of forced laborers next. At least a thousand of them..."

Chu Mu was somewhat surprised and suspicious. "They're conscripting more forced laborers?"

"That's what I heard the Squad Leader say. It should be right."

Xu Yuan answered with certainty.

Chu Mu frowned and stayed silent for a moment. In the end, he did not say more. He pushed open the Courtyard Gate and walked inside.

"What's wrong, Mu Ge'er? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Xu Yuan scratched his head and followed him in without a care in the world.

"Nothing. Just thinking about what to eat later."

"You rest for a bit first. I'll go cook."

Chu Mu casually brushed him off, set the School Bag containing the writing supplies by the door, then walked toward the kitchen.

Xu Yuan watched Chu Mu walk into the kitchen and could not help scratching his head again. But in the end, he had a youth's temperament, and his attention quickly shifted elsewhere.

"Forced laborers..."

In the kitchen, Chu Mu let his thoughts linger for a moment, then pressed them down. If the sky collapsed, there would still be tall men to hold it up. He was a patrol inspector who had not even formally taken up his post yet, so why was he worrying about things that were none of his business! Lighting the fire, washing the rice, and cooking the meal were done in one smooth sequence. After busying himself for a while, Chu Mu finally had time to look outside, only to see that Xu Yuan was actually busy in the courtyard too, holding a broom and cleaning up the big sweep Chu Mu had not finished last night.

"Having one more childhood friend isn't bad either."

His gaze fixed there for a moment, but Chu Mu shook his head with a smile. Having just arrived and with everything still shrouded in fog, having a reliable person walk with him was better than fighting alone.

"Mu Ge'er, this wall surface is all peeling off. Why don't you go hire a craftsman to repaint it?"

Before he could think much more, Xu Yuan's voice interrupted Chu Mu's thoughts. Looking over, he saw Xu Yuan standing in front of the bedroom window, pointing at the bulging, peeling wall in front of him and calling out.

"It's fine. I'll deal with it when I have time."

Chu Mu waved his hand. The house was old, and the original owner's father had not been a man who cared for the household, so it was naturally normal for it to look somewhat dilapidated.

If he wanted to repair it, small patchwork would not mean much, while major repairs would inevitably cost quite a bit of money. As for money, right now, there was still only spending and no income. Though he had some savings, Chu Mu did not dare use them recklessly.

Hearing Chu Mu say that, Xu Yuan mumbled an assent and said nothing more.

Chu Mu turned and walked to the stove, picked up the spatula, and started cooking.

With a guest in the house, Chu Mu naturally would not just make do the way he did when he was alone. There was a plate of greens like baby cabbage from his previous life, except the taste was the complete opposite of baby cabbage from back then: rich, fragrant, soft, and glutinous like soy products, hence the name Bean Cabbage.

One plate was the pickled vegetable Chu Mu usually made do with, though it was not a vegetable he had known in his previous life either. It was shaped like bamboo twigs and tasted crisp and refreshing, hence the name Bamboo Vegetable.

There was another plate, a meat dish. It was no different from pork in his previous life; its taste, appearance, and name were all the same.

The last dish was a bowl of corn soup. This corn, however, was clearly a size larger than the corn from his previous life; each kernel was almost the size of a thumbnail.

As for seasonings, they were basically more or less the same. After all, the sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy of flavor were things that existed as fixed constants...