Life at the Police Station

Police officers uphold social order, serving in every corner of cities and villages. Behind their presence lie the authority of the law, the hopes of the public, and the varied complexities of everyday society. Han Jia is a newly graduated police academy student. A top graduate in criminal investigation, he had planned to join the criminal police and begin a new career, but things don't go as hoped. Fresh out of school, he's assigned to an unremarkable station in Anbei Town, where he becomes a frontline officer. The letdown leaves him deeply disappointed. At the academy, he'd heard that station work meant “guaranteed no time off on Saturdays, and no guarantee of a day off on Sundays,” along with “petty squabbles among the old folks.” His dreams of fighting evil and battling criminals seemed to vanish in an instant. Just thinking about it was boring. This novel follows Han Jia's work, life, relationships, and inner world at the police station. Through these stories, readers see both the bravery officers show when fighting crime and the hardships and helplessness faced by people at the bottom of society. The novel offers a window into the complexity of society and prompts deeper reflection on issues such as social justice and ethics, while highlighting both the fascinating and demanding aspects of frontline police work.