Inside the Fuding Residential Complex, there was a hotel where Zhong Jin and Little Tong stayed for free during the renovation of their home's flooring and windows.
Yes, it was free.
Perhaps it was a small consolation.
Fuding Residential Complex was a high-end community in Haishan City. Since it was near the sea, one of the selling points during the property's promotion was that all buildings and windows in the complex had undergone rigorous typhoon resistance testing.
This recent typhoon indeed proved that the developers were somewhat reliable. The only broken glass in the entire complex was from Zhong Jin's home, while all other units withstood the 13-level typhoon without issue.
After an investigation by the property management, it was discovered that the broken glass in Zhong Jin's home wasn't caused by the strong winds. Instead, it was due to a neighbor upstairs improperly placing their air conditioner's outdoor unit outside the designated area. The unit had not been securely locked in place, and the wind blew it down, shattering the glass.
The upstairs neighbor was held responsible for the accident, and the property management was also at fault for not enforcing timely rectification. After negotiations, the upstairs neighbor agreed to cover all the damages to Zhong Jin's home, including the broken wooden flooring, glass, and furniture.
Meanwhile, the property management provided a free hotel-style apartment for Zhong Jin and his family to stay in during the renovation.
The typhoon kept the local police station busy for over a week. The grassroots police station handled all sorts of tasks—there was even a family whose chicken coop was destroyed by the wind, and they called the police to help catch their chickens.
At the time, Little Tong was wearing her little raincoat and boots, joining Little Wang and a few others to help catch the chickens. Despite her usual lack of interest in physical activities, she found catching chickens incredibly fun and couldn't stop telling Zhong Jin how much she enjoyed it afterward.
Zhong Jin even searched online to see if any nearby farms offered chicken-catching activities, thinking of taking Little Tong there on the weekend for some fun and exercise.
After a week of continuous rain, the sky finally cleared. With everyone's efforts, the city gradually recovered from the typhoon's damage.
Today, Zhong Jin had the day off and planned to take Little Tong to the interior design company to choose a theme for her new children's room. Taking advantage of the renovation, Zhong Jin decided to invest a bit more to create a special room for Little Tong.
The design company presented several options: a pink princess theme, a dopamine-inspired color clash style, and a warm, creamy wood theme.
Zhong Jin preferred the creamy wood theme—it was simple, clean, and would suit Little Tong even as she grew older. He also thought the pink princess theme was beautiful, perfect for a little princess.
However, Little Tong pointed at the bold, mint-green base with rainbow-colored accents and said, "I like this one."
Zhong Jin counted the colors in the design—there were seven in total. With furniture added, the room would be a riot of colors, resembling a dye workshop.
With a wave of his hand, he decided, "Alright, let's go with this one."
The child had great taste, and since she was the one who would be living in the room, he thought it best to follow her choice.
After finalizing the design, Zhong Jin paid the initial deposit and repeatedly emphasized, "Make sure to use eco-friendly materials."
The project manager assured him, "Don't worry. At the price you're paying, we're using the best materials available in Haishan City. All materials come with environmental certifications, and we can test them on-site if needed."
Despite the manager's confident assurances, Zhong Jin decided to let the renovated room air out for at least a year before letting Little Tong move in, just to be absolutely safe.
After leaving the design company, Zhong Jin took Little Tong to a furniture store. The child sat in a little car provided by the store while Zhong Jin pushed her around, selecting new furniture like a sofa, dining table, and carpet.
Zhong Jin also asked for Little Tong's opinion when choosing the furniture, as it was a space they would share. However, Little Tong showed no interest in the furniture and only patted the little car she was sitting in, saying, "I want this."
The sales manager smiled and said, "Mr. Zhong, your current spending is 86,000 yuan. If you purchase one more item to reach 100,000 yuan, I can arrange for a free little car as a gift for your child."
Following the manager's recommendation, Zhong Jin picked out a multifunctional study desk for Little Tong, bringing the total to exactly 100,000 yuan.
As he carried Little Tong out of the furniture store, Zhong Jin couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. He searched online for the value of the little car gift and found it was worth only 300 yuan.
Zhong Jin thought to himself, "The longest road I've walked is the one paved by salespeople's tricks."
Little Tong, sitting on her father's arm, clapped her hands and happily sang, "Little car, little car, free little car."
*
On a weekday morning, Zhong Jin returned from his jog and stopped by the fresh produce store downstairs to buy groceries. Little Tong, like a little tail, followed behind him on her scooter.
Seeing the lively shrimp in the tank, Little Tong stopped and pointed, "I want to eat a little shrimp."
"Alright," Zhong Jin said, asking the clerk to pick out a few of the larger ones.
A kind elderly woman shopping nearby advised, "Don't buy those. Get the ones on the crushed ice—they're just as fresh but half the price. These are 68 yuan per pound, while the ones on ice are only 30 yuan per pound."
Zhong Jin thanked her sincerely but still told the clerk, "I'll take the live ones."
The apartment they were staying in had a small kitchen, and Zhong Jin had brought over some basic cooking utensils from home. He prepared nutritious meals for Little Tong every day, packing them in a thermal lunchbox to take to the station.
To ensure balanced nutrition, Zhong Jin had studied up on dietary science, making sure each meal contained the right mix of protein, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins. He even added supplements like omega-3 fish oil and DHA algae oil.
As he carefully measured and mixed these supplements into Little Tong's meals, Zhong Jin sometimes felt like he was concocting some kind of magical potion.
At first, he was very cautious, strictly following the recommended dosages and never exceeding them by even a milliliter. But after observing Little Tong for a while and seeing no adverse effects, he became more relaxed.
Little Tong carried her little lunchbox to the station and noticed something unusual that day.
The large TV in the lobby, which was rarely turned on, was playing a program on loop.
Little Tong stood beneath the screen, tilting her head back to watch until her neck grew sore. She couldn't figure out what the program was about—it didn't seem interesting at all.
Just as she was about to leave, she saw familiar faces on the screen: Auntie Mao and Sister Shishi.
Little Tong pointed at the child on the screen and said, "That's me."
In the footage, Little Tong was wearing plastic sandals that showed her toes, carrying a small knitted bag from a berry yogurt promotion. At the time, she had long hair tied up in two buns. She pulled a peanut from her little bag and offered it to the camera, asking, "Want some?"
Rao Shishi picked her up and said, "Sorry, this is a lost child. We're currently searching for her parents..."
Little Tong was stunned to see herself on the screen. Rao Shishi came over to explain, "Sweetie, this is a recording. Remember when you first came to the station and participated in that live broadcast by the city bureau? They turned it into a promotional video. See, you're in it too."
This was the promotional video the city bureau had produced, compiling footage from various police stations. It had taken a while to edit, and now it was finally being aired. No one had expected Little Tong's segment to make the final cut.
Mao Feixue walked in and noticed the video playing. "Oh, they included Little Tong?"
No one had thought about it before, but now that Little Tong had been reunited with her father—who happened to be their station chief—seeing this footage felt like a bit of a mix-up.
Rao Shishi shrugged it off. "It's fine. No one outside our station will even notice."
After finishing her words, she sighed deeply, "Look at that time, wearing plastic sandals and a crumpled little T-shirt, with messy hair, looking like the king of trash."
Now, the child is dressed to the nines, carrying a branded little backpack and wearing spotless leather shoes.
Rao Shishi touched her incredibly smooth hair, "Your dad has raised you so well."
Little Wang, holding a breakfast bag, chimed in, "Hey, I remember a funny incident back then. Someone called the station, claiming that Little Tong was their child. Do you remember that?"
"Quite the dreamer. I wonder if after this promotional video airs, more people will come forward to claim her as their child?"
Just as Gu Le arrived at the station, she jogged over, pinched Little Tong's cheek, and then dashed away as if bitten by a dog.
Rao Shishi remarked, "There are so many people these days who lack a sense of boundaries."
Once the adults got busy, Little Tong hopped on her scooter and made a round through the mediation rooms. Not finding any interesting cases, she scootered back to the lobby.
As soon as she returned to the lobby, she bumped into Hu De.
After Hu De's relentless efforts to play the villain and implement the "Police Station Kids Must Not Be Pushovers" training plan, he had succeeded—Little Tong now turned into a startled little puppy whenever she saw him.
With their relationship in such a state, Hu De was filled with regret and was brainstorming ways to rebuild closeness with the child. Whether the kid was a pushover or not no longer mattered; the pressing issue now was how to mend ties with the little darling.
Officer Hu and Little Tong's gazes met in the air. The fierce, bald-headed man immediately plastered on a wide smile, softening his voice to cozy up, "Sweetie, playing with your scooter?"
Little Tong immediately jumped off the scooter, "Here, take it. Bye-bye." The chubby child, with her little backpack, abandoned the scooter and ran off without looking back.
She dashed back to her dad's office, slammed the door shut, and even locked it.
Zhong Jin didn't even look up, "Did Hu De bother you again?" He continued to stare at the case files on his computer, completely unfazed.
At lunchtime, Little Tong and her dad sat side by side on the cafeteria benches. However, her bench had an additional small stool placed on it, making it high enough for her to reach the food on the table.
Zhong Jin opened her thermal lunchbox, and the aroma of the food wafted out. On top of her mixed dog food were a few fragrant, braised prawns.
The little foodie's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
Zhong Jin peeled the prawns for her. The child couldn't bear to eat it all at once, taking small bites of the prawn while gobbling down large mouthfuls of dog food.
Just then, Hu De walked into the cafeteria. Little Tong let out a short "ah," then buried her head in her food, eating furiously as if afraid Hu De would snatch it away. A prawn the length of her palm disappeared into her mouth in three bites.
Zhong Jin quickly stopped her, "Slow down, you might choke."
Rao Shishi glanced at Hu De, "You should leave. Come back after Little Tong finishes eating. She can't even eat properly with you here."
Without a word, Gu Le stood up and silently pushed Hu De out of the cafeteria. "What do you want to eat? I'll get it for you. You can eat outside."
