Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 467 Li Zhongguo

county seat.

4:30 PM.

Li Zhongguo walked into the office carrying a briefcase, casually placed it on the table, unbuttoned his top button, took off his hat and hung it on the wall, picked up the thermos and shook it, frowned, opened the office door and called out, "Xiao Wu, go get me a thermos of water."

Because of the underdeveloped economy, the county town is not large, and there are not many tasks that require the county bureau to dispatch police. However, the jurisdiction of the county bureau is too large. Unlike the urban areas where the population is concentrated, the county bureau's jurisdiction is basically scattered in the mountains. It would take several days to cover a dozen or so police stations. Today, Li Zhongguo went to the police stations he was responsible for contacting for a routine inspection. By the end of the day, he felt like his bones were about to fall apart.

"Chief, water." Officer Xiao Wu brought in two thermos flasks, placed them on the washstand in the corner, and held the empty one in his hand.

Li Zhongguo walked to the washstand, grabbed a thermos, poured water, threw a towel into the water, rolled up his sleeves, and asked, "Is there anything going on at the bureau today?"

Xiao Wu said, "Nothing much. It's just that Ma San came and stayed with the bureau chief for half a day."

Li Zhongguo tossed a towel to wipe his face. The water was a bit hot, making him hiss a few times before letting out a long sigh. He draped the towel over the washstand and said, "That feels good. Do you have my phone number or anything?"

Xiao Wu shook his head and said, "No, I've been watching the whole time."

Li Zhongguo nodded, glanced at the door, and lowered his voice to say to Xiao Wu, "Wu, listen to your uncle, don't get involved in anything, just watch, understand?"

Xiao Wu nodded and said, "I understand, Uncle, don't worry."

Li Zhongguo straightened his sleeves and said, "You're still young, don't rush things, take your time. I'm here for you. Just do your job well, follow the rules, and be mindful of everything. Go on with your work."

Xiao Wu took the empty thermos and went out, closing the office door behind him. Li Zhongguo walked behind his desk, sat down, looked at the things on it for a moment, shook his head, took out a cigarette, lit it, leaned back, and looked out the window, exhaling a long plume of smoke.

After smoking half a cigarette, Li Zhongguo finally came to his senses. He thought for a moment, checked the time, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed a number.

"Feeding? Construction? Busy?"

On the Fengtian side, Uncle Wang put down his pen, leaned back in his large chair, and said, "No rush, go ahead and speak."

Li Zhongguo reached out and unbuttoned his jacket, asking, "Is everything settled on your end?"

Uncle Wang said, "That's about it. I've gathered all the information I needed and met all the people I needed to meet. Now all that's left is to go through the organizational procedures. You know, I was at a low rank when I came here. Yesterday, the department talked to me and promoted me to a full-fledged section chief. I'll have to wait a few days to settle in. I don't really understand the specifics here. Things are so easy for us down here. But here, it's all so complicated. I'll be taking over next week. We'll have to wait until I get there to discuss the details."

Li Zhongguo smoothed his hair and asked, "Where are you going? What shift are you taking over?"

Uncle Wang paused for a moment before realizing what he had said, then shook his head and said, "I've been completely out of it these past few days. The department sent me to the urban construction office; the old director's term is up, and I'll be taking over next week. I'm making preparations these days."

Li Zhongguo asked, "One?"

Uncle Wang said, "Yeah, I'll take this one. I heard the original Party Secretary and Executive Vice-Secretary have been reassigned, and I'll be taking over as Party Secretary. Aren't you awesome, buddy? If you can get through this period, you might be promoted to Deputy Director-General, hahaha, aren't you envious?"

Li Zhongguo scoffed, but he was genuinely envious. This guy's gotten on a rocket! "Fine, you're something else. Hurry up and find a way to get me over there, even as a lowly soldier under you. I really can't stay here anymore; I haven't been sleeping well lately."

Uncle Wang asked, "What's wrong? You were perfectly fine before!"

Li Zhongguo glanced at the office door and lowered his voice, saying, "It's all out in the open now. Prostitution and gambling are completely legalized. Prostitutes charge per person, and venues charge monthly fees. Yesterday, the bureau held a meeting and said that there's no need to prevent investigations from being conducted for those who have paid their fees. Upon receiving related reports, we should report them immediately instead of dispatching officers. Jianshe, what do you think this is all about?"

Uncle Wang was stunned for a long time before asking, "Who made that decision?"

Li Zhongguo said, "The county's Standing Committee made the decision, saying that economic development can't wait, and we have to find our own way. Our county has few resources, scattered minerals, and agriculture is difficult in the mountainous areas. The only direction for development is tourism and entertainment, and that's how it was decided. They said we should start with entertainment and become a major tourist county."

Uncle Wang said, "Then what are you worried about? Just carry out the Standing Committee's resolution, the responsibility won't fall on you."

Li Zhongguo said, "Nonsense. Anyone with a brain knows what will happen in the future. How long can it last? In the end, won't I still get punished? I don't have that kind of wishful thinking. I don't know about others, but I'm the executive director. Do you think I can get away with this? Let alone being punished, do you think I'll ever have a chance to climb up the ranks again in my life?"

From beginning to end, I've been the most wronged one. I have no say in things above, and even if I did, it wouldn't matter. Once the decision was made, I had to lead by example and implement it. Let me tell you, these past two days I've been running around all day. I don't dare stay in the office, afraid they'll give me some kind of assignment. Why should I take this blame?

Uncle Wang rubbed his scalp and said, "Have you thought about trying to pull some strings in the city? At least get a record filed and clear your name."

Li Zhongguo said, "What's the use? Should I file a formal complaint? Complain to the entire Standing Committee? That's crazy! Besides, who would even listen to me? To put it nicely, I'm a bureau executive, but what's a deputy section chief? Going to the municipal bureau won't help either."

Uncle Wang nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Don't worry, Xiaowei has arrangements for you. A couple of days ago, when we had dinner with Director Qin of the Andong Binjiang Branch, Xiaowei and I both mentioned this matter to him, and he agreed. However, he just started reporting to your department, so he needs to take a break."

Li Zhongguo asked, "What are we going to do in the hall?"

Uncle Wang said, "They say they're setting up a criminal investigation team, a unit on par with the municipal bureau, but I haven't inquired about the specifics. How about this, after I finish the urban construction work next week, I'll find some time to contact Director Qin and ask, okay? Don't worry, I'll definitely get it done even if you don't tell me."

Li Zhongguo said, "Okay, then I feel more at ease. To tell you, I've even been thinking about quitting lately. The pressure is too much. I'm not worried about fighting criminals, but I really don't want to get involved in this kind of thing. By the way, can I take Xiao Wu with me? What can I do? I can even make him a police officer."

Uncle Wang said, "Sure, why not? If it really doesn't work, I'll have Xiao Wu come over here, okay?"

Li Zhongguo said, "Okay. Ah, I understand now. What the hell is this day anyway?"

Uncle Wang said, "Don't worry about it. How could I forget you? I've even prepared a house for you here. Just wait patiently, okay? If you have any free time, think about your wife and children and see how to arrange things."

Li Zhongguo smacked his lips and said, "Not bad, you're a good buddy. I'll take it seriously then."

Uncle Wang said, "Get lost. Anything else? If not, I'm hanging up, I'm busy."

After hanging up the phone, Li Zhongguo let out a long sigh, stroked his beard, thought for a while, then looked at the documents on the table, picked them up, and started flipping through them.

(End of this chapter)