Chapter 99

Chapter 55: Yang Junyi's Troubles

Fang Mingyuan and Su Aijun, among others, were enjoying tea and conversation, and during their laughter, they had reached an agreement for Su Aijun to join the Fang family's business. Su Aijun invested with 2,000 RMB and his interpersonal relationships in Fengyuan City, taking up 8% of the total shares. Fang Mingyuan originally intended to give him 20%, which would mean the Fang family and the Zhao family each giving up 10% to him, and the 2,000 RMB would be entirely handed over to the Zhao family as compensation for the shares. However, Su Aijun firmly disagreed. After a series of negotiations, under Fang Ya's mediation, both parties finally agreed on the 8% share.

Meanwhile, the provincial government and the provincial police department were in a mess. After interrogating the human traffickers, it was determined that this was just an accidental event and not a targeted attack on the Guo couple. This confirmation allowed the leaders of Qinxixi Province to breathe a sigh of relief. Moreover, through the interrogation, some information about the human trafficking gang was obtained from the middle-aged woman, providing clues for the next steps in cracking down on human trafficking in Qinxixi Province. In this case, it could be considered closed. The remaining work would be handled by the procuratorate and the court.

Ning Yuan, Luo Wanyi, and You Kai had made significant contributions this time. The provincial police department was planning to award each of them a third-class merit and promote them.

However, regarding Fang Bin and Fang Mingyuan, the provincial government and the provincial police department were at a loss as to how to reward them. Neither of them was part of the system, and Fang Mingyuan was still in school, so awarding them merits and promotions was out of the question. A title of honor? As Su Aijun had pointed out, neither the Guo family nor the government wanted this matter to be publicized, so awarding a title of honor would be inappropriate and could even be seen as a cover-up or a sham. Moreover, compared to the 5 million RMB reward from the Guo family, a title of honor seemed too meager. Furthermore, from a certain perspective, Fang Mingyuan and his uncle had resolved a major issue for the Qinxixi provincial government. If the Guo family's little princess had not been discovered by Fang Mingyuan and had been taken out of Fengyuan, the provincial government and the police department would have faced significant embarrassment.

Moreover, Ning Yuan and the others had already handed over the 5 million RMB savings book to the municipal bureau and reported the entire incident, which had been confirmed by Mrs. Guo. This made it even more difficult for the provincial government and the police department to decide on the rewards for Fang Mingyuan and his uncle.

"Director Ma, how do you think we should reward these two?" The provincial police department chief, Yang Junyi, handed the documents in his hand to the provincial government office director, Ma Yongfu, with a troubled look. He was a former military officer who had been transferred to the local government and had solved several major cases, leading to his rapid promotion to deputy chief of the provincial police department. A year later, the original chief had to be hospitalized due to acute cerebral hemorrhage, and the position of chief fell to him. He was not afraid of solving cases, but he was afraid of dealing with such complicated matters.

Ma Yongfu glanced through the documents and couldn't help but feel troubled. The entire incident was already clear. In the rescue of the Guo family's little princess, the Fang family's uncle and nephew had made significant contributions. If they hadn't intercepted the human traffickers at the station, by the time the police station received the notification and sent people to monitor the long-distance bus station, it would have been too late. The two of them deserved at least 60-70% of the credit for the entire incident. Ning Yuan and the others had been awarded and promoted for just following the procedures to arrest the human traffickers. If the provincial government and the police department did not give a proper reward to the Fang family's uncle and nephew, it would be unfair.

Moreover, from Ning Yuan's report, Ma Yongfu noticed that Mrs. Guo had a very good impression of Fang Mingyuan, even allowing him to call her "sister." Fang Mingyuan repeatedly refused the Guo family's offers, and Mrs. Guo was not at all displeased, even leaving her phone number and address, showing that she liked him very much. If the provincial government and the police department handled this improperly, it could make the Guo family unhappy.

However, the problem came back to the same point: the rewards from the provincial government, in essence, were either fame or profit! Power, they wanted to give, but the two were not part of the system. Even if they were immediately brought into the system, a rapid promotion would cause dissatisfaction among others.

Fame, all parties did not want to publicize this matter, so how could they give them honor? And to what extent would be appropriate?

Profit, could any reward surpass the 5 million RMB from the Guo family? The Fang family's uncle and nephew had already given up the 5 million RMB; would they care about the provincial government's reward? This was indeed a headache.

Ma Yongfu looked at the documents for a long time and then pushed them back to Yang Junyi with a bitter smile. "Chief Yang, I don't know what to do either."

"Director Ma, I have an idea. What if we move their entire family's household registration to Fengyuan? From the documents, it seems his second uncle is already in Fengyuan. Would they be satisfied with that?" Yang Junyi asked tentatively.

Ma Yongfu nodded slightly. This was a good reward. In China, household registration was not easy to change. In the late 1980s, moving from a rural to a provincial city household registration was extremely difficult. Even decades later, this issue had not been satisfactorily resolved. Many young people who stayed in big cities after graduating from university still couldn't get local household registration and enjoy the corresponding benefits after working for ten or twenty years. "If that's the case, we would also need to solve their employment issues. And you noticed, right? They have a restaurant in Hai Zhuang Town. If they really move to Fengyuan, we would need to... No, this also has problems."

"Director Ma, what's the problem?" Yang Junyi was startled by his nodding and asked anxiously.

Ma Yongfu grabbed the stack of documents, found Ning Yuan's report, and pointed to a section. "This reward might not satisfy them. Look, the Guo family has already promised to move their entire family to Hong Kong as soon as possible, and it didn't even attract that young man. Fengyuan, a small city, would have even less appeal to him."

He looked around to make sure no one was around and then whispered to Yang Junyi, "Chief Yang, you should know that the central government is considering a policy change to allow the children of educated youth to return to the cities. The young man's mother is an educated youth from Beijing, so by the end of next year, he can go to Beijing. Once the policy for parents to return to the cities is implemented, your reward will lose its value. Will the Fang family be dissatisfied in the future? If this is a one-time deal, it would be fine, but..."

Yang Junyi slapped the table in frustration. "Director Ma is right; I didn't think it through." The Guo family would likely return to Qinxixi for ancestral worship, and if the arrangements were not proper, the Guo family would eventually find out.

"However, Director Ma, the announcement of the reward should be made before the Guo couple leaves, otherwise, it won't have much meaning. But I've racked my brains and can't come up with a perfect solution." Yang Junyi tapped the table irritably. The time was too tight, one party was too influential, and the police department had gained the most, so his attitude as the police chief was crucial.

"Actually, I think the best reward is what they think is best!" Ma Yongfu said lightly, with a smile, and turned to leave. Yang Junyi was left in the room muttering, "What they think is best is the best!"

Ma Yongfu quickly walked to an empty room in the police department and picked up the phone. He had seen the name Su Aijun in the documents, which seemed familiar. After some thought, he remembered that the deputy minister of railways, Su Huandong, had a son named Su Aijun who was in Fengyuan. Realizing this, Ma Yongfu couldn't sit still. He needed to confirm it. If it was indeed Su Huandong's son, he needed to be extra cautious in dealing with Fang Mingyuan.

Fortunately, he was familiar with the deputy director of the Fengyuan Railway Bureau, and it was easy to make a call to confirm. Coincidentally, the deputy director he knew was the same one Su Aijun had asked to help Li Dongxing. After a few words, the deputy director gave him a 100% confirmation. Ma Yongfu was stunned. The young man had a connection with Deputy Minister Su Huandong, and this could not be taken lightly.

Although the provincial governor and the provincial party secretary were of the same rank as a minister, some ministerial positions, especially in the railway department, were more powerful. The railway department was not called "the big railway" for nothing.

After much consideration, Ma Yongfu decided to keep this information to himself for now. Such a valuable resource should be kept secret!

When he returned to Yang Junyi's office, Yang Junyi had already tidied up everything and immediately pulled him out.

"Where are we going?" Ma Yongfu asked in surprise.

"To the Fang family. I've decided to ask them directly what kind of reward they want. If it can be done, I'll do it; if not, I'll report it to higher authorities!"