Back at the police station, everyone congratulated Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang once again.
At noon, Luo Fei bought milk tea for all his colleagues at the police station. There were only about fifteen people, both old and new members, so while he couldn’t afford to treat everyone to a meal, he could still afford milk tea.
At two in the afternoon, Zhang Haiyang took Luo Fei to the bank to withdraw money.
During the commendation ceremony, they didn’t hand out cash directly; they gave checks instead, requiring you to go to the bank yourself.
Luo Fei got a personal commendation with a prize of two thousand yuan, while Zhang Haiyang got a third-class merit award with a prize of three thousand yuan.
With two thousand yuan in cash, Luo Fei felt like he’d received a fortune. It was the first time since his crossing that he’d had so much money in his pocket, making him amused to think that he might be the poorest among all the time-travelers.
"Master, do you know where there are houses for rent?" On the way back to the police station, Luo Fei asked Zhang Haiyang.
Zhang Haiyang looked at Luo Fei in confusion, "Why? Are you thinking about moving out to live on your own?"
Luo Fei shook his head, "No, the house my family originally lived in is a bit small, and the sanitary conditions near the cement factory are pretty bad. Now that I’m working, I’m planning to move to a bigger room."
Upon hearing that Luo Fei’s family lives at the cement factory, Zhang Haiyang didn’t ask any further. He knew well the conditions of the employee dormitory at the cement factory—filthy, chaotic, and poor.
"I don’t know much about the rental situation, but my wife has a classmate who’s a rental agent. I’ll have her ask her classmate if there’s anything suitable for you."
"By the way, do you have any requirements for the house?"
Luo Fei thought for a moment and said, "Three rooms and a living room with kitchen and bathroom, preferably near Songxin Town Middle School. I can accept a rent below one thousand two hundred."
The rent was raised by 200 yuan from what Wu Yan suggested. As for the preference to rent near Songxi Town Middle School, it’s because Wu Yan cooks at the Songxin Town Middle School cafeteria.
Since school hasn’t started yet, Wu Yan is mostly at home, but once school starts in August, Wu Yan will need to start cooking for students, getting up at four or five in the morning for work, and since she can’t ride a bike, it would be inconvenient if the house is too far from work.
"Okay."
.....
The police station closed promptly at five in the afternoon.
Zhang Haiyang once again informed everyone that dinner would be at six at Mashi Private Kitchen.
Seeing it was still early, Luo Fei decided to first head home.
Passing by the market, Luo Fei bought two pounds of braised pig head meat, which Luo Xiaoxiao loves, three pounds of ribs, three pounds of lean meat, and some fruit.
His pockets were always empty before, so Luo Fei never bought groceries for home; it was always Wu Yan who did the shopping. Wu Yan was thrifty and rarely bought meat, usually going to the market for discounted cabbage and potatoes, cheap and practical vegetables, in the afternoon.
During his six-month crossing, the three dishes Luo Fei ate the most were potato strips, vegetable soup, and pickled chili.
Returning home, his mom was cooking, and there was already a plate of stir-fried potato strips on the table, while Luo Hao and Luo Xiaoxiao were watching Bald Strong.
"Why are you back? Didn’t you say you were having dinner with your colleagues and not coming back to eat?" Wu Yan asked Luo Fei as soon as she saw him.
"Dinner’s at six, so I decided to drop by home first. I just passed the market and bought some braised pig head meat and ribs for you to cook later."
As he spoke, Luo Fei put the groceries he had just bought on the table.
Seeing that Luo Fei had bought so much, Wu Yan’s face immediately fell. She complained, "It’s not a holiday or anything, why buy so much food? We still have vegetables at home. It’s a waste of money."
Luo Fei didn’t mind and chuckled, "Today we have something worth celebrating." Then he took out from a bag on the table a certificate and commendation certificate.
"What’s this?" Wu Yan quickly asked, as she was illiterate.
At this moment, Luo Hao and Luo Xiaoxiao came over. Luo Xiaoxiao swiftly grabbed the certificate from Luo Fei’s hand and started reading.
"Comrade Luo Fei, for outstanding performance in the July 13 case, is awarded a personal commendation, Jiangzhou City Public Security Bureau."
"Brother, is this your certificate?" Luo Xiaoxiao’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Luo Fei.
"Can’t you see? Of course, it’s real. There’s also a prize." Luo Fei said proudly, taking out the cash he had just withdrawn from the bank, not to boast but to share the joy with his family.
"Luo Fei, what’s going on? Didn’t you just start working? How come you already have an achievement?" Wu Yan initially felt surprised upon knowing Luo Fei received an award, but soon after felt puzzled as Luo Fei had just been working for a few days.
Luo Fei didn’t hold back and explained the case of Gu Youguo.
"Wow, brother, you’re amazing. I’m so impressed with you." Listening to Luo Fei describe how he found the criminal through scent, Luo Xiaoxiao was full of admiration.
Beside her, Luo Hao was also visibly excited. His brother actually found a murderer, which was thrilling, but unlike the lively Luo Xiaoxiao, Luo Hao felt like a mouse in front of a cat when facing Luo Fei, not daring to act presumptuously.
Wu Yan was utterly shocked at the moment. She worked at Songxin Town Middle School’s cafeteria, and the scandal involving the school director and a female teacher being caught by the teacher’s husband and murdered at home was all her friends had been talking about these past few days. She never expected that her son was the one who solved the case.
However, once the shock passed, all that remained was immense pride. Her son had solved such a big case, and she felt deeply proud of him.
"Mom, here’s fifteen hundred yuan for you, and I’ll keep the remaining five hundred for emergencies." Luo Fei didn’t give all the money to Wu Yan. Now that he had a job, he needed to have some money on hand.
"Alright, I’ll save it for you, and give it back when you need to buy a car or a house." Wu Yan accepted the money without refusal, fearing Luo Fei was too young and might spend recklessly. She didn’t trust the money in Luo Fei’s hands.
After giving Wu Yan the money and reminding them to stew the ribs, Luo Fei headed to Mashi Private Kitchen for dinner.
Dinner officially started at six, and all colleagues from the police station, except one who was dealing with family matters, attended.
Luo Fei glanced at the fifteen dishes on the table and the two bottles of Wuliangye, knowing that his master truly spared no expense for tonight’s meal.
The dinner lasted from six until ten at night. They started with Wuliangye, and when it was finished, switched to beer. Zhang Haiyang, as the host, was given quite a lot to drink, and later Luo Fei stepped in to help him fend off more drinks.
Luo Fei didn’t know whether it was due to being reborn or previous genetic fusion, but his alcohol tolerance was excessively strong. Liu Haiquan, Zhang Da, and several seasoned officers at the police station wanted to test his limits, but in the end, they were all out-drunk by Luo Fei.
It could be said that at today’s dinner, Luo Fei made a name for himself.