(Quick Transmigration) Even If You Become an Animal, You Still Have to Serve an Iron Rice Bowl - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: 

Standing outside the bureau chief’s office door, Qin Yan straightened his uniform and patted Shen Qiu on the head, quietly instructing him.

“Once we go in, behave yourself, got it? Just do whatever I tell you to do. Otherwise, if the chief doesn’t agree, you’ll only have yourself to blame.”

Having guessed what Qin Yan was planning, Shen Qiu was so excited he felt like his heart was about to race out of his chest.

Here it comes! The path of a police cat is about to begin!

He eagerly wrapped his paws around Qin Yan’s arm and nodded his head repeatedly. 

Qin Yan raised his hand and knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Chief, it’s me.”

“Qin Yan? Come on in.”

Qin Yan took a deep breath and pushed the door open. Shen Qiu clung tightly to his chest, not daring to move.

It didn’t matter whether he was human or not. Facing a superior was always nerve-wracking.

The chief of the municipal public security bureau, wearing a pair of glasses with black frames and a police uniform, was reading documents when they entered.

He only put down his documents after hearing the sound of the door opening, and looked at Qin Yan with a smile. 

“Captain Qin, why did you bring a cat here? Are you bringing me a gift?”

Qin Yan’s expression became increasingly serious.

“Chief, you’ve misunderstood. I came to talk to you about this cat.”

“Oh? I heard that a cat turned its owner in a few days ago, was it this one?”

The chief stood up and gently rubbed Shen Qiu’s head. Shen Qiu froze, refusing to move. 

Qin Yan nodded and took the opportunity to recount everything that had happened over the past few days.

“After these few missions, I believe Qiuqiu is very suited to working in the public security bureau. So I’d like to apply to keep him at the police station.”

At that moment, the chief still hadn’t fully grasped what Qin Yan meant and was happily engrossed in playing with Shen Qiu’s pink paw pads.

He responded with a sound of acknowledgment. 

“Keeping him here isn’t a problem. You’ve had him for a month already, right? Just keep taking care of him.”

Qin Yan felt a bit awkward. When he lowered his head, he met Shen Qiu’s big, hopeful eyes, practically saying: Come on! My iron rice bowl depends on you!

He straightened his back. “Chief, what I mean is… I want Qiuqiu to stay here as a police cat with the same ranking and treatment as our police dogs. Both can go on missions to the crime scene!”

The chief had just been stroking the cat when he heard those words and accidentally pulled out a few hairs from Shen Qiu’s tail. 

“Meow!” Shen Qiu cried out.

The chief’s eyes widened, looking back and forth between the cat and Qin Yan in disbelief.

“Captain Qin… have you come down with a fever?”

“Reporting to the Chief, I am perfectly clear-headed.”

The chief looked utterly exasperated, caught between laughing and crying. 

“Seriously, what are you thinking? What police station has a police cat? Whether a cat can  understand commands is a problem in itself.”

Qin Yan took a deep breath and set the twenty-pound cat on the ground.

The cat sat up straight, perfectly aligned with Qin Yan’s knee. 

“Chief, look. First of all, his size is no issue. He’s about the same size as a Cocker Spaniel.”

“Second, Qiuqiu’s intelligence isn’t lower than a police dog. In fact, his IQ may be higher!”

“Moreover…”

He crouched down and extended a hand toward Qiuqiu.

“Shake hands.”

Shen Qiu expressionlessly began his performance.

“Roll over.”

The big cat rolled on the ground, then quickly sat up properly again.

If he were still human, his face would have turned as red as an apple.

Thankfully, as a cat, doing such embarrassing tricks just looked cute instead of cringeworthy.

The chief shook his head again. “Captain Qin, you’re the head of the criminal investigation unit. You’ve led many missions with police dogs. You should know they can do a lot more than just this.”

“I do know. That’s why I’m asking you to come with me to the training grounds.”

The chief stared at him for a moment.

Qin Yan and Shen Qiu both held their breath.

If the chief agreed to watch, then Shen Qiu was confident he could win him over at the training grounds.

If he doesn’t agree…

Well, the path to his iron rice bowl would be a long one.

Fortunately, the chief nodded shortly after.

Shen Qiu jumped up in delight and high-fived Qin Yan.

It was a completely subconscious act that caused the chief to laugh out loud.

“Well, I’ll admit, this cat’s IQ seems like it’s quite high.”

He chuckled as he walked out first with Qin Yan following close behind.

Shen Qiu refused to be carried, running forward with great vigor. 

At the training ground, the dog trainer was in the middle of a session with the police dogs. Upon seeing them arrive, they hurried over.

“Chief! Captain Qin! What brings you here?”

The police dogs immediately focused on Shen Qiu again. They let out a “Woo woo” sound as they whined, their entire bodies alert. 

You again, you annoying cat! What do you want now?!

But Shen Qiu, after considering the fact that they were about to be colleagues, proudly raised his head and chose not to bother with them. 

Captain Qin had already explained the purpose of the visit. Besides the chief, the trainers were also hearing about a “police cat” for the first time and were torn between laughter and disbelief.

“Captain Qin, are you serious?”

“Just train him like you would a police dog. Let’s see how Qiuqiu performs. If he fails, I won’t mention it again.”

The chief nodded. “Then let’s give it a try.”

The police dogs were pulled aside to observe.

Shen Qiu strutted confidently to the obstacle course and waited for the trainer’s command.

At the sound of the whistle, he quickly sprinted forward, moving across the training equipment as if walking on level ground.

The chief’s expression began to shift slightly. 

The second test was searching.

The trainer first hid simulated explosives inside several wooden boxes, shuffled them, and then called Shen Qiu back.

“Qiuqiu, search!”

Shen Qiu bolted out, darting back and forth between the wooden boxes, and quickly stopped in front of the first one.

“Meow!”

His voice was loud and clear. The dog trainer walked over to open the box and pull out the simulated explosive inside.

Out of the ten wooden boxes, five contained explosives, all of which were found by Shen Qiu. 

The chief’s expression soon became serious.

A group of officers had gathered around, drawn by the news and intent on watching the excitement.

Next came orders: return, wait, call, and retrieve.

Shen Qiu completed each task quickly, accurately, and perfectly.

His meows were no softer than a dog’s bark. Each “meow” was both loud and precise.

His pronunciation was standard and crisp, which made people want to hand him an award for his proficiency. 

The final test was biting. 

Shen Qiu had already used this skill when taking down Zhang Jibo, so there was no suspense at all.

After all the tests were completed, the stunned dog trainer raised their hand.

“Qiuqiu, return!”

Like an arrow released from a bow, Shen Qiu dashed back and stopped perfectly in front of the trainer.

“Oh my god!”

“Holy cow, this is my first time seeing such a smart cat!”

“He’s not far off from the police dogs at all!”

Nearby police dogs began whimpering and whispering among themselves.

“Boss, what do we do? This cat’s on par with us… is he really going to be our coworker?”

Some of the dogs had stars in their eyes.

“No way, he’s so cool. I think I’m in love.”

Qin Yan watched the chief nervously.

“Chief, what do you think…”

The chief didn’t answer immediately, pondering for a moment.

“I can’t make that decision just yet. Let me think about it.”

After speaking, he walked away while deep in thought.

Although there was no definitive answer, at least he didn’t reject it outright.

At first, Shen Qiu was a little disappointed. But upon reflection, the lack of rejection meant the chief was already tempted.

Now, everything was in its place, and all that was left was the final push. Shen Qiu quickly brightened up.

He trotted over to the police dogs, swaying his tail proudly. 

The dogs who had previously given him the cold shoulder now had complicated expressions.

Some ran up to sniff his butt as a sign of friendship while others tried to lick his fur, which frightened Shen Qiu into escaping. 

He thought the chief would take a while to decide, but that very afternoon, the chief personally visited the criminal investigation unit’s office.

He said that while they hadn’t officially decided to make Shen Qiu a full-time police cat yet, he could temporarily join the police dogs for training.

As soon as everyone heard it, the whole team cheered.

Shen Qiu was thrilled too. He immediately ran to the training field to train alongside the police dogs.

Cats were lighter and more agile than dogs, excellent climbers, and had a better sense of smell. Furthermore, the soul inhabiting the feline body belonged to a human, so his intelligence was far beyond that of a normal animal.

Within a week of training, Shen Qiu’s performance outpaced all of the police dogs by a landslide.

For a while, he was the talk of the entire bureau.

The chief often came by to observe, leaving each time while deep in thought.

Shen Qiu kept an eye on him every day, wondering when he would finally be officially appointed.

Then one day, the station received a report—a KTV in the city center was allegedly involved in prostitution.

At the training ground, Shen Qiu had just finished a training session with the dogs and was lying on top of one of them, panting.

Suddenly, the chief walked out of the building, crouched down, and patted Shen Qiu on the head. He clipped on a custom-made leash for him.

He greeted the dog trainer. “I’m taking him out for a bit.”

Meanwhile, Qin Yan was leading the armed criminal investigation team, fully geared up to head out, when he saw the chief walking over with Shen Qiu on a leash.

“For this mission, take Qiuqiu with you. As long as nothing major goes wrong… what you’re hoping for is pretty much a done deal.”

~~~

Police dogs: Worried about losing their jobs, scared.jpg

T/N: As a reminder, an iron rice bowl is an occupation with guaranteed job security, good pay, and benefits. In this case, Shen Qiu is referring to being a police officer. I’m translating it literally since it’s a very specific idiom and I feel like it fits. 

2.6k characters to 1.7k words | Translation Time:  2.5 hours