Chapter 64: Another Vacation Awaits (Please Keep Reading)

Mark glanced back at Oxy, his face full of helplessness; this guy acted as if he couldn’t understand a word. All this talk about citizenship—just leave when you’re told to leave. This was a luxury community, and there were no Black homeowners here. When asked if he was looking for someone or conducting business, he never gave a straight answer, making it obvious he was up to something. Being told to go was a sign they’d already seen through him but didn’t want to arrest him—if he was smart, he’d leave quickly. No need for the detention center, less trouble for all, and they could get back to sleep. Why ramble on so much?

Oxy stepped forward and said, “Please remain calm. If you keep acting so agitated and out of control, we’ll have to run a drug test on you.” In Los Angeles, quite a few people can’t pass a drug test. The peculiarity of LA—or California—is that marijuana can be legally cultivated and bought and sold, but drug use is illegal.

“Don’t scare me! I’m not afraid of you! All you cops are bad!” The Black man raised his arm high, making a striking motion.

Oxy’s eyes narrowed; he thought he glimpsed something. He immediately placed his hand on his gun and warned, “Mark, be careful!”

“Hey, man, what’s that you’ve got at your waist? Is it a gun?”

Mark also grabbed his pistol, bent slightly, and pointed at the man. “Lift up your shirt and let us see what you’ve got!”

“You have no right to search me. I won’t let you see!” The man was clearly nervous, fidgeting and his face twitching from time to time.

“Raise your hands! Don’t wave them around!”

Oxy said, “Don’t make this complicated, man. Just lift your shirt for a second and you’ll be free to go. Relax.”

They played good cop, bad cop, but it had no effect on him. His eyes darted around, then suddenly he stiffened and reached into his shirt.

Oxy kept his eyes fixed on him. When he saw the sign of criminal intent turn red, he realized the guy was about to snap. He drew his gun and pointed it at the man, shouting rapidly, “What are you doing! Don’t move!”

The man didn’t react fast enough; he saw Oxy pointing a gun at him but his body still instinctively reached for his own weapon.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Oxy emptied his magazine, cleared the bullets, and tossed the gun to Mark. “I’m on administrative leave now. Find someone else to drive you.”

Mark was shocked, his mouth twitching as he wanted to say something, but with the body camera still recording, he couldn’t. His face turned red with pent-up words, but he gave up and called dispatch for backup.

Oxy understood Mark’s meaning—why didn’t he wait so Mark could fire too, and they’d both be on leave together? But that was a misunderstanding. Oxy acted quickly to avoid anyone getting hurt. It didn’t matter if he alone was put on leave; everyone’s safety mattered most.

The ambulance came to take the man away. Oxy handed in his gear, rode back to the station in another officer’s car, slowly wrote his incident report, spent the afternoon at the precinct, then stretched and headed home.

“Happiness is planted in the pond, and it becomes the sea, with big eyes and a wide mouth singing along.”

Oxy answered the phone. “Hello, this is Oxy.”

“Oxy, where are you?”

“I’m at the station, about to head home. Wally, is there something you need?”

“Did you forget you promised to come to my house for dinner?”

Oxy slapped his forehead—he’d truly forgotten. “Sorry, I forgot, but I can head right over now. I just wonder, after last night’s big event, does everyone else still have time?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve already notified everyone. They all said they’d come.”

“Okay, I’ll be right over.”

“I heard from Mark you’re seeing someone. Make sure to bring her along. The more people, the merrier. That’s settled.”

Before Oxy could reply, Wally hung up.

Oxy thought for a moment and called Zhuo Ning, telling her about the family dinner. She was delighted and said she’d tidy up and come pick him up, asking him to stay put.

He felt something odd but couldn’t figure it out, so he decided to stop by the nearby supermarket and buy something to bring as a gift to Wally’s house.

It’s said that attending a family gathering at night signifies a close relationship, so showing up empty-handed wouldn’t fit traditional values.

Oxy asked a colleague to drive him to the nearest Dahua Market. He didn’t know why Dahua always had special deals, everything seemed so cheap.

Inside, he saw that mooncakes were already on the shelves in early August—Taotaoju double-yolk white lotus, $21.49 each, weighing 750 grams.

Oxy calculated—over ten dollars a pound! Factoring in the exchange rate, it came to... too expensive! Not buying.

Next to it, Taotaoju Big Seven Stars with Moon mooncake was even pricier, $39.99 each, 880 grams. He really wanted to crack one open to see what filling justified that price.

Then he thought, maybe they make it so expensive on purpose, waiting for someone to crack it open out of curiosity and then buy it. He wasn’t falling for that.

Besides these giant mooncakes, there were plenty of normal-sized ones, with all kinds of fillings—“Japanese Style Moon” mooncakes, low-sugar lotus, Taiwanese salted egg pineapple, and so on. These were more affordable.

After some thought, Oxy bought several of each flavor, plus a crispy roast duck, so the foreigners could try mooncakes and roast duck.

What else to buy? He grabbed two bottles of Luzhou Laojiao for them to taste Chinese spirits, two cases of Ambrosia yogurt, and a fruit basket. Done.

Oxy stood by the roadside with his purchases and called Zhuo Ning again to tell her where he was.

After a while, she arrived, got out of the car, and laughed, “Is this all you’re bringing to your colleague’s house?”

He looked at his goods. “What’s wrong with it? Nothing’s the matter.”

Zhuo Ning smiled helplessly. “Let me handle the shopping. Get in.”

Oxy shrugged and put the items in the trunk, and Zhuo Ning drove him to Macy’s.

“This is our first time visiting your colleague’s house. Milk and such aren’t bad, but they don’t show much thought. It’s best to bring a small gift for each person—not expensive, just appropriate.

For example, Wally—spirits aren’t bad, but what if he doesn’t like them? Giving him a bottle of Napa Valley’s Shafer Vineyards Hillside Select would be more thoughtful. This wine has received high scores many times, and the 2014, 2015, and 2016 vintages are all excellent. The 2014 vintage had high yields and lots of stock, so the price is right.”

“For Wally’s wife, I’m not sure what she likes, but a beautiful lipstick is always a safe bet. Let’s give her an Armani 406—rose pink, brightens her complexion.”

Zhuo Ning asked, “Wally has two kids?”

“The eldest is twelve, named Philip, and his daughter Ellie is six,” Oxy replied quickly.

“Hmm, I don’t know what sports Philip likes, so let’s give him a Nintendo Switch. What do you think?”

“I don’t think that’s good. Kids playing games affects their studies—let’s give some educational materials.”

Zhuo Ning rolled her eyes. “Nintendo Switch it is. For Ellie, a Barbie doll should work. Little girls love them.”

Oxy hugged her and praised, “It’s true—having an elder at home is like having a treasure.”

“You’d better say wife.”