Editor: Scarlet
The sun in the height of summer was always scorching hot.
During the long hours it shone, the sun seemed to be itching to brandish its teeth and claws to cruelly toy with people, frantically releasing its “enthusiasm.”
Qiao Jia was equally enthusiastic.
When the time on his phone changed to 12:34, he got the sudden urge to beat everyone in the rice noodle shop he was currently in.
Damn it! How did such a stingy shopkeeper manage to stay in business until now? Is installing an air conditioner going to kill him?!
He impatiently wiped the sweat from his forehead and used all his patience to suppress the impulse to leave.
Finally, when the number representing the minute changed three more times, a familiar-looking person walked in the door.
Qiao Jia was extremely close to…
Qiao Jia was extremely close to kicking out the rotund man behind him, who was eating rice noodles loudly like a drum beating in the valley.
The noodle shop was so pitifully small that almost no one could eat with their arms on the table. The so-called seat was nothing more than a long wooden board nailed to the wall. Qiao Jia had arrived early, so he’d found a partitioned-off area to sit in. But, to be honest, the partition took up less space than an elementary school student’s desk.
When Qiao Jia noticed the new arrival struggling to squeeze through the crowd, he slammed the table and shouted, “Boss! Two bowls of rice noodles!”
The shout startled Guo Lin so much that his whole body jerked a little. Then, taking advantage of the time when no one was paying attention, he planted himself on the seat and said, “Hadn’t I asked you to keep a low profile?”
Did he forget why the two of them were here?
“Keep a low profile?” Qiao Jia snorted. “Did you forget, Officer Guo, that our first meeting was in the carport next to your police station?”
A police car had also been parked next to the carport.
Guo Lin held his forehead, a resigned expression on his face. “Forget it, forget it, do whatever you want! Let me get this out first: if the information is not accurate, you can forget about getting the informant fee.”
“Do you really think I care about your meager government salary?” Qiao Jia scowled at the plainclothes policeman beside him. “We’ve known each other for four months, and all of our meetings have taken place in this crossing-the-bridge rice noodle shop, and you ask your office to reimburse you for the noodle bill as well… Seriously speaking, even if I’m an informant, you don’t have to make me eat this shitty food again and again. Ordering rice with meat and vegetables, even if it’s only once a month, is fine, you know!”
While Qiao Jia was in the middle of airing his grievances, the shopkeeper brought the rice noodles over. Guo Lin pulled apart his chopsticks and sipped soup straight from his bowl. “Don’t talk nonsense! Do you think rice noodles are cheap? In our canteen, I only pay five yuan for a meal, and this bowl of rice noodles costs eight yuan. I wouldn’t give you even a bottle of water if it’s not for expense reimbursement!”
These days, even the informants were running to bargain with the police. If it wasn’t for work needs, Guo Lin wouldn’t put up with a small-time hoodlum.
After muttering a series of colorful expletives, Qiao Jia reluctantly ate two mouthfuls of rice noodles. Noticing that the fat man behind him had left, he finally put down his chopsticks and said the information: “Black Dog will soon receive a new batch of goods. I’ve heard that they are all from Yunnan. His henchmen were exaggeratingly boasting among themselves about the high quality of this batch of goods. Recently, their gang has been recruiting a lot of people to help with it. You hadn’t asked me to look up the news about white stuff last time, so I only know this much.”
Guo Lin ate without pausing while listening to Qiao Jia. He’d been in a meeting all morning. After the meeting was over, he immediately rushed over to meet Qiao Jia. He was so hungry that his belly was knocking on his backbone.
After eating half a bowl at one go, he felt half full, and only then did he raise his head and say, “Since Black Dog is recruiting people, have you participated?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“I’d told you earlier that I’d stay the hell away from this white stuff!”
Hljb Alj mbbiis kjnfv tlr tjcv, qlmxfv eq atf ybki, jcv abbx akb rlqr bo rbeq. P’ii rajs jkjs ogbw fnfgsatlcu atja klii mjerf ws tfjv ab ojii.”
“Jea atf mgjq. Po sbe’v xfqa sbeg tjcvr boo bo atlr, sbe kbeivc’a yf rlaalcu tfgf abvjs.”
“Believe it or not, but bumping into you that one time can only be regarded as my worst luck.” Qiao Jia recalled the only time he’d transported drugs and felt torn. At that time, he had no choice but to take on the job. As a result, his electric bike had coincidentally collided with Guo Lin’s bicycle. The other party was a hotheaded guy who had to pull him aside to say that he’d violated the rules. He’d already been panicking, and after two or three times of pushing and shoving, the wrapped contents had fallen out.
Ciatbeut la kjr cba rbwfatlcu bo tlut qeglas, la kjr fcbeut ab vglnf rbwfbcf ab atflg vfjat.
So after learning Guo Lin’s identity, he’d become an informant without hesitation or questioning.
His cooperative attitude was almost worthy of a medal.
After devouring almost all the contents of the bowl of noodles, Guo Lin drew a tissue and wiped his mouth. He glanced around without being apparent then lowered his gaze and said, “So what if this time I want you to take it on?”
Qiao Jia first froze for a moment, then stood up and yelled, “Fuck! How many times have I said that I don’t take dangerous jobs?!”
Guo Lin raised his hand and pulled Qiao Jia back to sit. “Try shouting again!”
His voice was not loud, but it was very deep. Qiao Jia frowned and gritted his teeth and finally sat back unwillingly under the other party’s glare. “…Damn it. I knew it’d be no good to get into trouble with the police!”
“Information regarding Black Dog’s source of supply is crucial. Recently, the amount of ketamine on the market has been increasing. Do you know how many people can be harmed by just one packet of this stuff?”
“Stop your preaching!” Qiao Jia turned his head impatiently. “If you want to do ideological work, go back to your criminal police team!”
“Anyway, try to blend in with Black Dog, but don’t participate in criminal activities.”
“I’d only agreed to be an informant; I never agreed to be an undercover agent.”
Qiao Jia added grumpily, “Don’t think you can change the terms just because we didn’t sign a contract. When it comes to the law, I’m no different from you in any way.”
“We police can only be called undercover agents when we infiltrate a group or an organization!” Guo Lin’s forehead corrugated. “Do you think you still have a lot of options open right now?”
Although it was not enough to sentence him to death, the item discovered in Qiao Jia’s bag the previous time was enough to send him to prison for five to seven years. The reason why the case wasn’t pursued was that Qiao Jia had taken the initiative to cooperate as a mole with Guo Lin, and he had no criminal record—he was a first-time offender.
However, Qiao Jia had indeed given a lot of inside information in recent months.
Although some of them were false, his accuracy was high among the informants.
This was why Guo Lin wanted Qiao Jia to infiltrate Black Dog’s gang. Qiao Jia was nimble-witted and shrewd enough. If it was him, getting some important information wasn’t far-fetched.
All of this, however, was disadvantageous for Qiao Jia. He neither relented nor refused, just stared at the black-hearted criminal policeman, who was taking advantage of his weakness and was about to squeeze the last drop of blood out of him.
There was a stalemate for a long time before Guo Lin sighed and said, “Okay, I promise you that as long as you find the source of Black Dog’s goods, I won’t trouble you after arresting them.”
Qiao Jia coldly smiled. “Is there even half a truthful sentence that comes out of your mouth, Officer?”
“Whether to believe it or not is entirely up to you.”
“Provide a written pledge!”
“I even wrote you a fucking IOU!” Guo Lin’s countenance darkened. “Don’t try to climb all over me.”
“Even if I used you to help me climb, I can’t go up an inch, hmph!” Qiao Jia kicked aside the stool next to him and stood up. Without even bothering to bid farewell, he walked out of the rice noodle restaurant.
Guo Lin took a look at the shoe print on his pants and couldn’t help rolling his eyes.
After the meeting with Qiao Jia ended, Guo Lin hurried back to the police station. There was a deployment meeting in the afternoon. The next day, they were going to arrest a drug dealer who’d been wanted for a long time. If it weren’t for the information provided by Qiao Jia being important, he wouldn’t have taken even a step out of the police station.
But when he entered the building foyer, he ran into Captain Shen Jun. “Where have you gone, young man?! You know that there will be a deployment meeting later, right?”
“I know, I know.” Guo Lin hurriedly went over and said, “I just went to meet a very important informant.”
“Informant? Is that your ‘Guo’s special line’?”
“Yes. He said there was news about Black Dog, so I went to listen.”
The two men moved away from the stairs so as not to block others from going up and down the stairs.
When Shen Jun heard the two words “Black Dog,” he frowned and said, “What happened to the thing I mentioned to you last time?”
“I talked to him today. There should be no problem.”
Guo Lin was very clear about Qiao Jia’s temper. If he really didn’t want to do something, he’d simply refuse.
When Shen Jun heard this, he nodded and said, “Okay. After the deployment meeting is over, come to my office to report this matter.”
“Okay.”
“Work hard. The department has high expectations of you.”
“Yes! Don’t put pressure on me, captain. I’m just doing my duty.”
“Don’t talk nonsense in front of me!” Shen Jun darted a glance at Guo Lin, then pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “By the way, I heard that you’re getting married?”
“Which blabbermouth spread such nonsense?”
“Who else could it be? Geng Wei is about to pass this news to Chairman Mao… However, if you want to get married, you have to wait for the case of Black Dog to be closed; otherwise, don’t even think about getting the marriage leave.” At such a critical moment, even a happy event like marriage could end badly. Their Drug Enforcement Unit had been so busy recently that their bodies were on the verge of cramping.
Guo Lin said with a wry smile, “Captain, you don’t have to say anything; I already know. That Geng Wei, who is always up to no good, is definitely a hostile force that has infiltrated our country.”
“Who told you to collude with him?”
Shen Jun wasn’t called the “Number One Among the Great Eights” in the criminal police force for nothing. If you exchanged more than a few words with him, he might get the password to your bank account card out of you without you realizing.
When Shen Jun finished smoking the cigarette, it was almost time for the meeting. The two went upstairs and directly entered the meeting room. After closing the door and opening the window, Shen Jun expertly opened the slide projector. “Turn off your mobile phones, remove their batteries, and place them on the table. Anyone who needs to make a love confession or ask for time off better settle it in the next three minutes. From now on until our operation begins, no one is allowed to act alone, even if there’s a toilet emergency!”
Several police officers from other units outside the meeting room heard the roar as they passed by. They couldn’t help shaking their heads sympathetically. Captain Shen Jun was at it again…
Each time Qiao Jia met with Guo Lin, his mood would turn extremely ugly.
Even if he received money, he normally wouldn’t feel happy at all, let alone this time since he’d picked up a “hot potato.”
With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he wandered into the billiard room he often went to. He didn’t even bother to greet the few guys he knew at the door. He slumped himself onto the sofa, threw his long leg across the wall, closed his eyes, and started to sleep.
When P-Ghost saw his actions, he couldn’t help but lean over and ask, “Brother Qiao, what’s wrong with you?”
P-Ghost could barely be regarded as Qiao Jia’s henchman. In reality, P-Ghost had one-sidedly insisted on following him. His father had opened this billiard room for him, and he could be considered a rich young master. In the past, he’d given himself the nickname “P-Handsome.” The first time Qiao Jia had come here to play billiards, he’d caused trouble, which led to a fight. After Qiao Jiao won, he casually changed the other person’s nickname from “P-Handsome” to “P-Ghost.”
According to Qiao Jia, he really didn’t look like a fucking human, so it was better to be called a ghost.
Qiao Jia felt uncomfortable when he heard the buzzing in his ear. He twisted his head and said over his shoulder, “Don’t bother me!”
“Qiao Jian called you just now, but you weren’t here. I asked him to call again later.”
When he heard the words Qiao Jian, Qiao Jia finally opened his eyes. “He called at this hour? Isn’t he in class?”
“Yeah, I thought it was strange too, but he refused to tell me anything. He just said he’d call later.”
“How long has it been since the call?”
“About an hour. I think he should be about to call again.”
Shortly after P-Ghost said this, the phone at the billiard room bar rang. Qiao Jia got up from the sofa and rushed to answer the phone immediately.
As a result, a room full of people saw his face change from slightly worried and irritable to furious in five seconds before he shouted at the other end of the phone: “Fuck you! I don’t even have a bank card, so how could anyone steal it?!”
He slammed the phone and scolded with a scowl, “These days, the level of scamming has dropped dramatically!”
Scammers and gangsters could be considered people in the same line of business. Qiao Jia was really ashamed of having such a criminal “associate.”
Qiao Jia didn’t want to lie back down. He leaned against the bar and kindled a cigarette. He’d almost finished a cigarette before the phone rang again. This time, he glanced at the caller ID and confirmed that it was really the number of Qiao Jian’s school before answering. “Qiao Jian, what’s the matter?”
“Brother, please come to school…”
“Hmm?”
“I got into some trouble. A guy said he wants to sort me out.”
Qiao Jian’s voice was pretty calm, and the place where he was right now was quite peaceful—he was probably in a library or some other quiet place.
The effect of his words, however, was anything but peaceful. Qiao Jia furrowed his brows and nearly broke the billiard cue stick in his hand. “What did you say?!”
Translator’s Note
The novel’s title “過橋米線” (pronounced “guòqiáo mǐxiàn”), meaning “Crossing-the-bridge Noodles” incorporates Guo Lin’s “guo” and Qiao Jia’s “Qiao.”
The story behind the crossing-the-bridge noodles goes as follows:
A diligent scholar studied on a picturesque small island at the center of a beautiful lake to prepare for the upcoming imperial examinations. Every day, his wife made the long walk to the lake, crossing the bridge to the island to bring him his midday meal. But he was so engrossed in his studies that he only remembered to eat long after the food had grown cold. His wife, worried about his irregular eating habits, came up with the idea to bring him hot chicken noodle soup every day. She butchered a plump hen to make a hot chicken soup and separately prepared her husband’s favorite local rice noodles, seasonings, and ingredients, then brought them over the bridge in separate bowls. The broth that was not mixed with any ingredients stayed hot for a long time. This way, the scholar only needed to combine the ingredients before eating for him to enjoy hot noodles every day. Eventually, the scholar passed the imperial exams and credited his wife’s delicious soup for his success.
Crossing the Bridge Noodles or Yunnan Noodles, called guoqiao mixian (过桥米线) in Chinese, is one of the most revered and well-known dishes in Yunnan Province, China. 
Whatever the police are paying Qiao Jia to be an informant it’s definately not enough for what they’re asking him to do. Getting information critical to busting a drug ring sounds like the kinda thing he could get killed for.
Also, thank-you translator for adding chapter titles. I’m constantly going back to previous chapters to check things and chapter titles makes this 10x easier.
No problem.
Yes, you’re right, but it’s not about the money. Qiao Jia was transporting drugs when he was caught red-handed. Now this has become the knife hanging above his head. Guo Lin could use this reason to make him work for a while, because Qiao Jia absolutely doesn’t want to go to jail. “Getting information critical to busting a drug ring sounds like the kinda thing he could get killed for” is absolutely true though, and this is basically what the story is about.
The story behind the noodle is beautiful!
What kind of name is P-Handsome and P-Ghost… hahaahah
And both Qiao Jia and Guo Lin seem like great characters. Can’t wait to read more
Thanks for the chapter 🙏
The noodles story is so sweet.
it is quite a coincidence that before i started reading this i was watching a video on yunnan little pot noodles lol
Thanks ♥️