Chapter 76

Under the guidance of the provincial public security department, the Jinjiang Municipal Public Security Bureau publicly recruited special police officers from veterans and university graduates, with a quota of 150 people. In no time, a long queue formed at the bureau's entrance, filled with young men and women eager to sign up.

The recruitment standards were very strict. Vision could not be poor, men had to be at least 1.75 meters tall, and women at least 1.70 meters. There were also weight requirements; being too light or too heavy would result in disqualification at the first stage.

It was already early winter, and the weather was a bit cool. Liu Hando brought his ID card and discharge certificate and stood in the queue, bored. Suddenly, someone patted his shoulder, "First Squad Leader!"

Turning around, he saw his comrade Lin Lianan. This guy was from the same company as Liu Hando and was from the same hometown in Jiangdong. They often helped each other, having fought, drunk, and carried guns together, making them close friends.

"Lin, why are you here?" Liu Hando shook his hand warmly. "A lot of our comrades have come back, haven't they?"

"Just a few. Our regiment has many non-commissioned officers, and not many conscripts are discharged... You're also applying for the special police, First Squad Leader. With your qualities, you'll definitely pass. I'll be working under you again." Lin Lianan's flattery made Liu Hando feel quite pleased, and he took out a Hongmei cigarette to offer Lin Lianan one.

"First Squad Leader, why are you still smoking Hongmei?" Lin Lianan took out his own Su cigarettes and handed the whole pack to the First Squad Leader.

The two of them smoked and chatted. Lin Lianan looked around at the people and lowered his voice, "Look, there aren't many veterans, but there are quite a few university graduates. Without connections or influence, who would dare to sign up? This recruitment is just a way for the higher-ups to place their cronies. First Squad Leader, do you have any connections?"

"Me?" Liu Hando smiled. "I know the head of the provincial public security department. Does that count as a connection?"

"You're amazing!" Lin Lianan chuckled. "Actually, I have connections too. I have a cousin who is the wife of Director Song."

The front gate opened, and another group of people entered the registration office. Outside, thousands of people still lined up, stretching all the way to the end of the road.

Liu Hando and Lin Lianan both filled out the application forms. Afterward, they found a teahouse to chat and, in the evening, called a few comrades who had just returned to have a drink.

When good friends meet, a thousand cups of wine are not enough. Liu Hando drank quite a bit and returned to Iron Slag Street late at night. On the street, he met Zhang Aimin's taxi and chatted a bit. He learned that Ma Wei, who had helped him with the knife incident, had been arrested by the police for hooliganism and was administratively detained for 15 days, with fines and compensation to be determined.

"Ma Wei has a bad temper, but he's a good person, righteous, and principled. All the young guys in the fleet respect him," Zhang Aimin sighed.

...

Three days later, the police recruitment written exam was held at the Provincial Public Security Cadre School. The exam was very strict, with a setup similar to the college entrance exam. A few cheaters with notes and radio receivers were caught and expelled, losing their qualifications.

Liu Hando had a good educational foundation and had studied intensively for a few days before the exam. The written test was no problem for him. Some questions that tested logical thinking were like brain teasers, and he completed the test paper easily and submitted it.

He thought he was one of the first to submit, but there were already many candidates outside who had finished and were saying the exam was too easy, worrying that the competition would be even more intense.

Indeed, this wasn't a civil service exam but an internal recruitment for the police department, specifically for riot control special police. The cultural test was not very meaningful, and the key points for elimination would likely be physical fitness and the interview.

The physical fitness test was held a week later, consisting of four events: 10 meters x 4 shuttle run, 1000 meters long run, standing long jump, and pull-ups. The standards were different for men and women. For example, ten pull-ups were considered qualified. For someone like Liu Hando, who could easily do hundreds, it was a piece of cake. The running events were even easier, like child's play. Despite these low standards, many candidates were eliminated, especially in the 1000 meters run, where many were out of breath and could not meet the requirements. Many female candidates even cried on the spot.

Although the physical fitness standards were low, they were crucial. Meeting the standards alone was not enough; candidates were ranked based on their scores. For example, someone who did 100 pull-ups in the specified time would not be considered the same as someone who did only ten.

The test results were reported to the municipal bureau and copied to the provincial department. Shen Hongyi, seeing that Liu Hando was the top in the physical fitness test, was not surprised. He had seen Liu Hando's file and knew he was a champion in military competitions with excellent physical fitness. However, he was puzzled that Liu Hando had served in a regular unit, as someone of his caliber should have been selected for the special forces.

Song Jianfeng explained, "Regular units also need to retain talent. If all the good seeds were taken by the special forces, who would win the competitions and contests? I heard from the military transfer officers that when the special forces come to select people from the grassroots, the best candidates are often hidden, and those selected are usually the average ones."

The interview was scheduled after New Year's Day, a time when candidates and their parents would use all their connections. Liu Hando's people also started to get nervous.

In the Huanghua neighborhood, Ma Guoqing, on his day off, was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper. His daughter came over, shaking his arm, "Dad, can you find out if there are any backdoors for this police recruitment?"

"Nonsense! There are no backdoors. This is a public recruitment by the legal and political department," Ma Guoqing said sternly, taking off his glasses.

"Then I'm relieved." Ma Ling patted her chest. Although Liu Hando had connections, who could predict if something unexpected would happen.

"Liu Hando was the top in the physical fitness test," Ma Guoqing, with his years of experience in the police, could guess his daughter's thoughts and decided to tell her directly.

"That's great." Ma Ling was overjoyed.

Someone knocked on the door. Ma Ling went to open it, and outside stood Lü Jianxian, dressed in a well-tailored cashmere coat, and Qian Mei, wearing black silk boots, carrying genetically modified blended oil, a bag of rice, and gift boxes of yak bone powder, longan, and red dates.

"Is Aunt Wang at home?" Lü Jianxian asked with a smile.

Wang Yulan hurried out of the kitchen, "Oh, it's Lü and Qian. Come in quickly. What are you doing? You should just come over, no need to bring gifts. Don't do this next time."

Lü Jianxian smiled, "Aunt, we are here to wish you a happy New Year on behalf of Hanwei Company. We'll come again for the Spring Festival. These gifts are not personal; they are from the company to thank every customer."

Wang Yulan warmly invited them in, and Ma Guoqing was also very polite. Ma Ling was about to retreat to her room but was stopped by her mother, "Ling, go get some tea for Lü."

"No need, we'll just stay for a bit," Lü Jianxian quickly declined. Ma Guoqing took out a cigarette, "Lü Manager, have a smoke."

"Uncle, I don't smoke," Lü Jianxian said.

"Tsk, no bad habits, that's good," Wang Yulan's eyes turned into crescent moons, she was extremely satisfied and wished to grab him as a son-in-law immediately.

Lü Jianxian looked around, "The house is nice."

"What's nice about it? It's less than 80 square meters. I've wanted to move to a bigger house for a long time, but I don't have the money." Wang Yulan was upset about the house. Her friend Wu had recently moved into a 120-square-meter apartment, newly renovated, which was very impressive. The Huanghua neighborhood was over ten years old, with outdated facilities and poor property management, making it uncomfortable to live in.

"Our company is planning to launch several short-term financial investment projects with high returns. Aunt, you can try it out," Lü Jianxian seized the opportunity to develop new business.

"Sure, I'll definitely consider it seriously," Wang Yulan smiled, always believing in Lü Jianxian's words.

"If it goes well, you can directly move to a bigger house," Lü Jianxian looked at his watch, which had changed from a Longines to an Omega De Ville. "It's getting late, we need to visit the next house. We'll go."

"Stay a bit longer," Wang Yulan said politely, giving her daughter a meaningful look, "Ling, see them off."

Ma Ling had no choice but to see Lü Jianxian downstairs.

As soon as the door closed, Wang Yulan pounced, "Old Ma, what do you think of the young man?"

"He's okay, polite and well-mannered. But this Hanwei Company, its boss Long Kaijiang is a notorious thug. I'm a bit worried. Yulan, how much have you invested?"

"Not much, I'm in charge of the family finances, don't worry about it. I just want to know if you think Lü is a good match?"

"What for, are you trying to introduce him to Ling?"

"Lü has a bit of a crush on Ling, but Ling doesn't seem interested. We need to talk to her."

"Let it be, these things can't be rushed," Ma Guoqing, with his 20 years of police experience, always felt that Lü Jianxian was missing something.

...

After New Year's Day, the interviews finally began. After two rounds of elimination, the number of candidates had dropped from thousands to 450. They would face a strict interview, with provincial department leaders serving as examiners.

The day before the interview, Ma Ling accompanied Liu Hando to the clothing market, where they spent 800 yuan on a black suit and bought a discounted Yaguo white shirt from a mall as formal wear for the interview.

On their way, they also looked at the A2 leather jacket in the store window, still drooling over it but unable to afford it.

"It's nice, but it's too expensive. I could have bought it for 3000 yuan if I had the money," Ma Ling said.

"Let's go, let's check if there are cheaper options on Taobao," Liu Hando pulled her along.

Back on Iron Slag Street, a tangerine-colored Suzuki Swift was parked in front of the door, honking as soon as it saw the Fukan approach. It was Song Shuang, who waved at Liu Hando, "Come, I brought you something."

On the back seat of the Swift was a navy blue suit covered in a bag, made of pure wool, without a brand, custom-made for the provincial public security department. Song Jianfeng, who was tall and robust, had a similar build to Liu Hando, and this suit, which had never been worn, was secretly taken out by his daughter as a favor.

"Best wishes for the future Police Officer Liu's successful interview," Song Shuang extended her hand.

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