Chapter 36

The next day, Lu Zheng gave Li Xiangyang a call, and soon Lu Xiaoping's job was settled.

Lu Zheng did not go to Lu Guobin's house again; he only entrusted Lu Xiaohu to deliver a message and send some money to Ma Cuihong.

In the following half month, Lu Zheng was submerged in the complex work at the bureau. In this era of transformation, the public security system was also gradually transitioning. While maintaining social order by combating crime, it began to fully intervene in various aspects of socialist economic construction.

For example, helping enterprises recover debts; for example, acting as arbitrators in economic disputes, and so on.

Lu Zheng knew that it would be a few years before the Ministry of Public Security issued the "Notice on Prohibiting Public Security Organs from Illegally Intervening in the Handling of Economic Disputes." In the notice, the Ministry of Public Security strictly ordered local public security organs not to intervene in economic disputes and to refrain from profiting from them.

But now, the public security system had no choice but to get involved in economic disputes. Relevant arbitration institutions and laws and regulations had not been established. When enterprises or individual private operators encountered trouble, the first people they thought of were the police.

The police gradually became enthusiastic about participating, as the benefits were obvious. Case handling fees, commissions, and other funds were all legitimately deposited into the public or private coffers. Moreover, there was no significant risk compared to handling criminal cases. Why not do it?

Lu Zheng did not care about these powers that would eventually be regulated, and he certainly would not shout, "We, the public security of Guangning, will not do such things!"

He knew better than anyone that he was far from the point where he could influence many things. Moreover, if the public security did not handle many economic disputes, the current business owners or merchants would not know where to seek help.

Lu Zheng only hoped that he could achieve a lot with a little effort and leave his mark on the increasingly standardized public security system. For example, regarding the joint defense system at the grassroots level, which often leads to conflicts between officials and the masses, Lu Zheng hoped that the joint defense regulations and leadership responsibility system of the Guangning Bureau could gradually take effect. These regulations, in a small sense, were just the views of the public security joint defense, but if they were expanded, improved, and developed, they could become a tight constraint on the temporary hired personnel of law enforcement agencies. Essentially, they would serve as a check on the law enforcement agencies' tendency to shirk responsibility.

Sometimes, Lu Zheng also pondered that he was thinking too much. Many things could not be fixed with just a few patches, let alone with him, a minor official, who could do very little. He was not someone with grand ambitions, so why did he feel the need to bring about some changes in society after being reborn?

At the county government party group meeting chaired by Ma Weiguo, Lu Zheng was still somewhat distracted. It was only when the director of the government office, Ji Chang'an, coughed that Lu Zheng snapped back to reality and realized it was his turn to speak.

This was the third-floor meeting room of the county party committee office building, bright and clean. Ma Weiguo sat in the chair of the chairperson, with portraits of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao hanging on the wall behind him, making the entire meeting room solemn and dignified.

Qiu Dahu was attending a meeting in the city, so the county government party group meeting was chaired by Ma Weiguo, who had recently been appointed as the deputy county magistrate. According to various signs, it seemed certain that Ma Weiguo would take charge of the county government's daily work and might soon be officially appointed as the county magistrate of Guangning.

Most of the county government party group members were deputy county-level officials. Among the section-level officials, there were only the director of the government office, Ji Chang'an, the director of the county labor and personnel bureau, Liu Aiguo, and the director of the county public security bureau, Lu Zheng.

In addition, the director of the county planning and economic committee, Shang Ronghua, who was also the deputy secretary of the county party committee and deputy county magistrate, attended the meeting as a member of the county government party group.

The practice of cross-appointment between the party and government was very common. For example, Liu Aiguo, the director of the labor and personnel bureau, who had been appointed last year after the merger of the labor bureau and the personnel department, also served as the deputy minister of the county party committee's organization department.

Among these county government leaders, Lu Zheng's new ally, Liu Baojun, seemed rather insignificant.

The county government party group meetings were usually focused on conveying the resolutions and documents of the county party committee, studying the spirit of the documents from the city party committee, the provincial party committee, and the central government. However, today, Ma Weiguo turned it into a working meeting. Now, Lu Zheng had to report on the construction of the traffic police team of the county public security bureau.

Lu Zheng picked up his notes and began to read them out.

After the county traffic management station was transferred to the county bureau, the county public security bureau planned to establish two more traffic management stations in Nanying and Qiudun, and recruit 40 traffic police officers. During this period, Lu Zheng received countless notes. Although being a traffic police officer was not a particularly good job at the time, it was still a stable job. Moreover, the public security system was becoming increasingly wealthy, and the benefits and allowances were much better than before. As Guangning's economy developed, the public security system's treasury would become even more abundant, which was not the case for other units.

Lu Zheng gave a general report on the establishment of the traffic police team. Ma Weiguo did not say much, only responding with some clichés, such as "traffic management should focus on prevention and control, and new police officers should be educated in revolutionary dedication."

In fact, the officials present today were probably quite curious about Lu Zheng, who was attending his first county government party group meeting, but no one showed it.

After a few brief topics, everyone was waiting for Ma Weiguo to announce the end of the meeting. However, Ma Weiguo extinguished his cigarette and looked at Liu Baojun, saying, "Comrade Baojun, many people have been telling me that the county reception center is out of order. You need to pay attention to this!"

Everyone was taken aback. Generally, in such party group meetings, specific work under the jurisdiction of each member was not discussed on the table. They usually summarized or reported on the progress of work. Any deviations in specific work were usually addressed privately to avoid embarrassing the responsible officials.

However, Ma Weiguo had criticized Liu Baojun in various meetings more than once, and everyone was used to it.

"Bang," Liu Baojun slammed the lid of his white porcelain cup. He looked up and stared at Ma Weiguo, his voice loud, "How is it out of order? Who the hell is spreading rumors?"

Liu Baojun was usually a very composed person, but now his face was red as he confronted Ma Weiguo head-on, even cursing. As the saying goes, even Buddha has his limits.

At the grassroots level of the county and township, it was not uncommon for officials to argue and curse during meetings. It was not just a matter of low quality but also a reflection of the prevailing风气. After the turmoil, there were fewer officials who put on airs, and no one took their low ranks too seriously.

Guangning was relatively better, with only Qiu Dahu occasionally cursing.

Today, Liu Baojun joined the ranks of officials who cursed in a county-level meeting.

It was no wonder. The county reception center's reform coincided with the reform winds of Wushan and Guangning. The number of travelers and tourists passing through Guangning this summer was several times that of last year. In the previous month, August, the county reception center's accounts were very impressive, showing a net profit. In just three months, it had achieved a net profit, far exceeding expectations. However, Ma Weiguo criticized Liu Baojun without considering the facts, which was why Liu Baojun could not hold back and erupted like a volcano.

Hearing the words "the hell," Ma Weiguo's eyes narrowed, and his brows furrowed. He said, "I heard that a comrade at the county reception center got into an argument with a guest and was docked half a month's salary. Is this true?"

Liu Baojun, with a stern face, nodded.

Ma Weiguo's voice grew more severe. "I also heard that the reason was that the guest was very picky and spoke rudely. Comrade Baojun, we are still a socialist country. We cannot let the comrades at the county reception center lose their dignity just to pursue economic benefits! The staff of the county reception center are the masters of this collective. While treating guests well, we cannot let them be insulted. Otherwise, money will be the master? How is this different from a capitalist society?"

Pausing, Ma Weiguo continued, "I heard that our comrade hit the guest first, but a girl, when insulted, cannot just curse back. In a moment of anger, she hit the guest, which is understandable."

In fact, the situation was not as simple as Ma Weiguo described. The punished server had always had a problematic attitude. She was a relative of a county leader and had previously worked on the third floor of the reception center, serving county, city, and provincial leaders. Because the third floor rarely had guests, her work was very easy, and she had a good reputation.

Now, not only was her work more demanding, but she had to serve workers, farmers, and soldiers, dirty and cautious individual entrepreneurs, and rude nouveau riche, all of whom she had previously looked down upon. She could not accept this mentally and treated guests like they were her subordinates. The director of the county reception center, Zhang, had long wanted to transfer her but did not dare to. It was only after this incident, when she slapped a guest, that Zhang reported it to Liu Baojun and imposed a severe criticism and punishment.

The server was indeed at fault, and the punishment was already lenient to save face for her relative. However, with Ma Weiguo's "socialist masters" rhetoric, Liu Baojun found it hard to refute.

At this point, Ma Weiguo looked at Lu Zheng and said, "Also, the way the county bureau handled the police response needs to be discussed. Why didn't they detain them? We shouldn't always try to be peacemakers!"

"Peacemakers," Lu Zheng frowned slightly. This was clearly directed at him, telling him not to try to be a peacemaker between him and Liu Baojun but to follow his lead.

Lu Zheng had suggested the strict reward and punishment system at the county reception center to Liu Baojun. Without it, it would be difficult to change the "master" mentality of state-owned employees in the shortest time. Now, because of the reward and punishment system, Liu Baojun was criticized, and seeing the others mostly gloating, Lu Zheng almost could not resist speaking up to defend Liu Baojun.

Lu Zheng also laughed bitterly, knowing that his stubborn temperament was still deeply influencing him. Even after coming down from the battlefield and rolling in the mire of the public security system, he had picked up many thug-like habits. Fortunately, a rational voice kept reminding him to remain steadfast no matter what.

Before the meeting, Ma Weiguo's secretary had privately told Lu Zheng that he should stay after the meeting because Secretary Ma wanted to have a private talk with him.

Lu Zheng knew that both Qiu Dahu and Ma Weiguo hoped to pull him to their side.

Now, Ma Weiguo was using the criticism of Liu Baojun to indirectly warn him. By establishing his authority in front of the county leaders and leaving the door open for a private talk, he would likely comfort and win over Lu Zheng after the meeting, using a combination of carrot and stick. If it were a minor official with no background, they would likely be completely subdued. Especially now, everyone could see that Ma Weiguo's rise was evident.

But Lu Zheng was very annoyed. He knew his stubborn temperament and thug-like habits were acting up, but he could not help it. Perhaps, character was something that needed time to mature.

Lu Zheng put down his teacup and said, "Secretary Weiguo, in handling internal contradictions among the people, I believe the work of our county bureau is to be a peacemaker. We should be proud of being peacemakers! Detaining a few people is not our goal; truly resolving conflicts is what we should do."

Ma Weiguo was taken aback, clearly not expecting Lu Zheng to suddenly contradict him.

The director of the government office, Ji Chang'an, glanced at Lu Zheng, thinking, "Secretary Weiguo, don't you know this guy is a stubborn one? When Zhang Qingming was in charge, the most headache-inducing person in the bureau's leadership meetings was this one."

Lu Zheng, however, continued, "Moreover, from what I understand, the server at the county reception center was at least 80% responsible for the dispute. If it were all outsiders, the matter would be simpler. If there were fines or administrative detentions, they would all be borne by our Guangning server."

"I am preparing to use this incident to conduct criticism and self-criticism within the bureau. In handling disputes involving locals and outsiders, we must be fair. Now, the most prominent issue is in the processing of temporary residence permits; we cannot treat people with prejudice. If we want Guangning's economy to develop faster and better, we must not have local protectionism."

Ma Weiguo was silent for a long time.

Liu Baojun let out a long breath, slowly straightened his back, and looked at Lu Zheng with a hint of gratitude. For the first time, he felt that a powerful ally could give him such confidence.