“小赵, since you’ve come to our Jiangmiao station, just let go of all your burdens and do your job well. Our Jiangmiao was the seat of Jiangkou County before liberation, and it’s also a place that produces talented people. Director Lane is someone who came out of our Jiangmiao station.”

The Director Lane that Frank Quinn mentioned refers to the current Party Secretary and Director of the Jiangkou County Public Security Bureau, Edward Lane. David Carter had also heard that Director Lane used to stay in Jiangmiao, but that was all old news. Edward Lane only served as an instructor at Jiangmiao station for half a year before being transferred to the Criminal Police Team as an instructor. From instructor to team leader, then to deputy director, and finally to director, it all happened in just about ten years. He’s the only bureau-level leader to have come out of Jiangmiao station.

“Mm, I definitely won’t let down Director Quinn’s expectations.”

David Carter didn’t want to say much more. At this point, anything he said would just be empty words. He was new here and hadn’t even gotten his footing yet. Although he had lived in Jiangmiao Town for more than ten years, the textile factory was always quite closed off from the local community, so he rarely had much interaction with the locals. If it weren’t for the fact that David Carter was something of a big shot in school during junior high, often getting into conflicts with students from Jiangmiao Middle School along with the kids from the factory school, probably not many people in Jiangmiao Town would even know him.

“All right, you can go now. I’ve had them clean your office for you. Get your things organized, and you can take the rest of the day off. Remember, roll call is at 8:30 sharp on Monday morning. Don’t be late.” Frank Quinn waved his hand, signaling that David Carter could leave.

Chapter Five: Joint Defense

Back in his own office, David Carter found that it had already been cleaned spotlessly. This was the office left behind by the officer who had been transferred.

A somewhat old-fashioned desk, but sturdy and spacious, stood there. Next to it was a carved wooden cabinet that was clearly an antique. On the side, there was still a red-painted five-pointed star, and the faint characters for “Jiangmiao Town Revolutionary Committee” could still be seen. It was obviously something preserved from the Cultural Revolution era; otherwise, it would have been destroyed during the “Four Olds” campaign.

David Carter’s eyes lit up. He walked over to examine the seemingly huanghuali antique cabinet closely. No matter how you looked at it, it had a Ming Dynasty style. Judging by the wear on the cabinet’s feet and corners, it was clear that this thing was quite old, though it was hard to determine its exact age at a glance.

Elementary and junior high school were crucial periods for David Carter. Although the teaching standards at the factory school kept his academics from advancing much, on the other hand, it was precisely because he was at Andu First Cotton Textile Factory that he met The Goodman, a strange Daoist who changed his life.

Besides martial arts and fighting skills, David Carter also learned miscellaneous knowledge about identifying antiques, including old furniture, from The Goodman during that time.

The Goodman lived in a dilapidated Daoist temple about a li outside the factory’s back west gate. No one, not even the locals, could say exactly when he started living there. But by the time construction began on Andu First Cotton Textile Factory, he was already there. The The Carter Brothers also started hanging around with the somewhat eccentric The Goodman during their elementary school days.

“Brother Carter!” The voice outside the door interrupted David Carter’s intention to examine the cabinet more closely. David Carter turned his head and nodded in greeting to the sturdy man who walked in. “George, come in, have a seat. I was just about to head to your office.”

The sturdy man who entered was wearing a khaki summer police uniform, but without any other insignia. He had a chiseled, angular face, looked to be around thirty, and walked with a brisk, energetic stride. He was the station’s joint defense team member, George Hughes, and would also be David Carter’s assistant.

“Brother Carter, Director Quinn said I should go with you to Daguan Kou on Monday.”

“Mm, we’ll go Monday morning. I already told Director Quinn. It’s the first day, so we should put on a bit of a show—let’s take the sidecar motorcycle.” David Carter nodded. “It’s a little over ten li, so it should only take a bit more than ten minutes.”

“Yeah, about that on a motorcycle. On a bicycle, it’d take more than half an hour.” George Hughes took the Ashima cigarette David Carter tossed over, examined it, lit it, took a deep drag, and said, “Brother Carter is assigned to be stationed at Daguan Kou and Tuling. Looks like Director Quinn thinks highly of you.”

“Oh? How so?” David Carter immediately picked up on something, but didn’t show it on his face.

These joint defense guys were all old hands at the station. Before coming to the station, Captain Lee had already warned David Carter not to trust the joint defense team members too much, to make his own decisions, and not to let them lead him by the nose.

“Heh, for the past two years, it’s always been Coach Grant in charge of Daguan Kou and Tuling. Coach Grant is a station leader, but he’s getting older and his health isn’t great, so he doesn’t go to those two townships much. Only when something comes up does he go, otherwise he might not even go once a month. Anyway, both townships have security offices, and nothing major ever happens there.” George Hughes puffed on his cigarette and smacked his lips as he spoke.

“Oh? But I heard from Director Quinn that those two townships aren’t exactly peaceful, and the township governments have some opinions about it.” David Carter picked up on the hint and asked tentatively.