The Great Martial Saint!

The man was of average height, with a square face, thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a thin mustache. 

"Good morning, Constable Zheng." 

Upon seeing the newcomer, some constables at the entrance of the Nanquan Lane Garrison nodded and greeted him. 

"Constable Zheng." 

"Constable Zheng." 

"..." 

Greetings came one after another. 

The newcomer nodded slightly in acknowledgment. He strode forward and soon reached the inner area, where several large chairs were placed. Constable Zheng found the central one and sat down without hesitation. 

"Why is Constable Zheng here today?" 

Houzi whispered. 

"Not sure." 

Chen Ping'an shook his head slightly. 

Constable Zheng didn't usually show up for the morning roll call. 

The roll call rules applied to the constables, not to the constable heads. Besides, who showed up and who didn't was ultimately up to the clerk recording the attendance. 

"Maybe it's related to the operation from the other day." 

Houzi speculated. 

"Perhaps." 

Chen Ping'an nodded. 

The group stood in the corner, quietly waiting with the other constables. Not long after Constable Zheng arrived, another constable head entered. 

"Constable Li." 

"Good morning, Constable Li." 

Some constables greeted him. 

Constable Li was also a constable head at the Nanquan Lane Garrison. 

The Nanquan Lane Garrison was responsible for over a dozen streets and alleys, home to shopkeepers, street vendors, craftsmen, and all sorts of ruffians and scoundrels. Managing and maintaining order in such a diverse and chaotic area was no easy task. 

The Nanquan Lane Garrison had one chief constable, one deputy chief constable, five constable heads, over thirty official constables, and more than a hundred unregistered temporary constables. 

Even among the temporary constables, there were hierarchies. The highest-ranking were those with both ability and connections, who had a chance of becoming official constables. 

Next were those with either connections or ability. 

At the bottom were those with neither. 

Chen Ping'an belonged to the lowest tier of temporary constables at the Nanquan Lane Garrison. 

In contrast, Houzi and Dashan were slightly better off. 

However, the three got along well and didn't pay much attention to these distinctions. 

After waiting a while longer, a tall, thin man named Constable Huang arrived, and the daily pre-duty meeting officially began. 

The meeting was led by Constable Zheng, who had arrived earliest. Although the relationships between the constable heads weren't clear, based on Chen Ping'an's observations, Constable Zheng seemed to be the de facto leader among the five constable heads at the Nanquan Lane Garrison. 

Houzi was right. The first thing Constable Zheng addressed was related to the recent operation against a local gang. He summarized the gains from the operation and verbally praised the colleagues who had participated. 

"Early yesterday morning, Chief Constable went to the South Town Garrison to report on this matter. Even the Chief Constable-General had words of praise for the bravery of our Nanquan Lane Garrison constables." 

Constable Zheng stood at the front, speaking confidently to the constables. When mentioning the Chief Constable-General, he clasped his hands and gave a slight bow toward the sky as a sign of respect. 

"This is an honor for the Nanquan Lane Garrison and for all of us..." 

Constable Zheng spoke with great enthusiasm, but it was hard to tell what the constables were really thinking. Still, everyone played along. 

"Praise is just words. There's no real benefit to it!" 

Houzi covered his face to block the view from the front and muttered under his breath. 

Chen Ping'an smiled slightly but didn't respond. He was always cautious when it came to such topics. 

Seeing that Chen Ping'an didn't engage, Houzi turned to Dashan. 

"Dashan, what do you think Chief Constable and Deputy Chief Constable are busy with? Since even the Chief Constable-General has praised us, shouldn't Chief Constable himself come and address us? That would be more fitting." 

"Hehe, not sure." 

Dashan chuckled. 

"Of course, I knew it was a waste of time asking you." 

Houzi rolled his eyes. But he was used to Dashan's personality. 

As Chen Ping'an listened to Constable Zheng, his mind was preoccupied with how he would practice Iron Shirt after his shift. 

Yesterday was his day off, so he had the whole day to train. Today, after his shift, it would likely be late, and he might only have time for one session of Iron Shirt practice. 

That would only give him one point of experience. At this rate, it would take until the day after tomorrow for Iron Shirt to reach the beginner level. 

No! 

Tonight, he would try to practice twice. If he could manage two sessions, his progress would be much faster. 

What a pity! 

He only had one day off after ten days of duty. Otherwise, he could have reached the beginner level by tomorrow. 

Unlike before, even though the speech was just as dull, Chen Ping'an now felt a sense of anticipation. 

He looked at Constable Zheng standing on the platform at the front, and at Constable Li and Constable Huang sitting behind him. 

They were sitting while listening. 

Hmm! 

One day, he would be the one sitting there, listening! 

No, wait— 

He would be the one standing there, speaking confidently, while others listened patiently. 

No matter how boring or tedious his speech was, they would have to listen with a smile. 

A true man should aspire to this! 

Chen Ping'an thought to himself. 

With the golden finger, his future was full of possibilities. He might have even greater ambitions in the future, but for now, this was his goal. 

You have to eat one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time! 

Constable Zheng spoke for a full quarter of an hour before finally stopping. He then asked Constable Li and Constable Huang if they had anything to add. 

The two constable heads shook their heads slightly, indicating they had nothing to add. 

The constables below collectively breathed a sigh of relief. 

Finally, it's over! 

This was more exhausting than a whole day of patrol! 

After the daily meeting ended, the constable heads went inside, and the constables began their duties. 

"Let's go, Ping'an! Today, the three of us are assigned to patrol Willow Leaf Street!" 

Houzi, after checking the duty roster, was beaming. 

"Willow Leaf Street? Hehe~" 

Dashan chuckled. 

Willow Leaf Street was quite famous among the many streets and alleys in Nanquan Lane. It was home to the Spring Rain Pavilion, a place that attracted many young and lively men. 

It was a place of romance, where one could enjoy poetry, music, and the moonlight—a place of great charm. 

Indeed, someone as refined as Houzi couldn't help but feel excited at the prospect of patrolling this street. 

Influenced by Houzi, Dashan had also developed a taste for such places and had even become quite fond of them. 

Unfortunately, the Spring Rain Pavilion was expensive. If they wanted to indulge themselves, their monthly salaries wouldn't be enough. 

So, while they yearned for it, they could only afford to visit once a year, and even then, they had to be frugal, never truly enjoying themselves to the fullest.