Chapter 45: Who Am I?

  A cold air from the north suddenly visited Guangning. On the streets, pedestrians all wore thick sweaters, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees abruptly.

  Qiu Dahua's office is warm and cozy, as the county started heating ahead of schedule from yesterday.

  Jiū and Lù Zhēng sat face to face, Qíu Dà and Lè Hēhē chatted with Lù Zhēng, as if they hadn't heard the rumors circulating in the county committee compound that his backer had fallen out of favor.

  It is said that many of the county's top leaders have been actively preparing for the arrival of Guangning's "Great Harmony Era".

  Qiu Dahai told Lu Zhong a good news that he had recommended to the municipal party committee that Lu Zhong be appointed as the vice county head in charge of public security and justice.

  As the reform deepens and the economy develops, the importance of the public security front is increasing day by day. In Wushan area, the county public security bureau chief or deputy county-level position or direct deputy departmental treatment has already been high-profiled in several cases. As a coastal county with relatively developed economy in Wushan area, it is also necessary for Guangning County Public Security Bureau to promote its chief's rank.

  However, Qiu Dajiang suddenly brought it up at this critical moment, and it was inevitable that people would feel a desperate struggle, as if they were desperately pulling in all the cadres who could be pulled in. At least, Hou Jianjun thought so.

  Lu Zhong didn't say much, and was quite modest, saying that he was "young" and "lacked practice" and so on.

  Qiu Dahua smiled and nodded, saying: "Lu Zhong, modesty is a good thing, but excessive modesty is not necessary. You are the only first-class model of public security in our province in the past five years."

  Lu Zhong smiled and then fell silent.

  Qiu Dahai picked up his teacup, took a sip, and seemed to casually say: "By the way, that case at the Commerce Bureau has been dragging on for too long, hasn't it been cleared up yet?"

  The case of the county business bureau originated from Wang Yaoguo, the manager of the food company under the business bureau. Hou Jianjun, who was in charge of internal security, shouted out the slogan "dig deep and dig thoroughly". After a battle that lasted over a month, just a few days ago, Yao Baoming, the deputy director of the county business bureau, was also caught. During Wang Yaoguo's process of reselling meat and poultry products to other places at a price difference, Yao Baoming had received some benefits and opened up a convenient door for him.

  Yao Baoming is currently under investigation by the Domestic Security Protection Investigation Team of the County Public Security Bureau.

  Lu Zhen walked out of Qiu Da's place and onto the road back to the county office, lost in thought.

  Shangye Bureau's Du Botao, was promoted by Qiu Dahai and Li Xiangyang, who actually belongs to the same circle as Qiu Dahai. Does Du Botao have any connection with this case of Shangye Bureau?

  Qiu Dahai hinted that he would settle the case as soon as possible, but was it because of Du Bo Tao or for his own sake?

  Just as he entered the office, Hou Jianjun followed closely behind, seemingly having been waiting in Wang Yuguo's office all along.

  "Director, Wang Yaoguo's case has been sent to the pre-trial department. Is Yao Baoming also being sent over?" Hou Jianjun said with a smile, but his eyes flickered slightly.

  In the public security system, once a case is sent to the pre-trial department, it basically represents the end of the case. What's left is for the police officers in the pre-trial department to review various evidence and assess the trial situation. If they don't find any problems, they will transfer the case to the procuratorate and enter the litigation process.

  When Lu Zhong heard that Wang Yaoguo's case had entered the pre-trial stage, he nodded and undoubtedly someone had reminded Hou Jianjun. Only then did he prepare to hastily conclude the case, but in any case, Hou Jianjun would ask for his own opinion and follow his own opinion.

  Lu Zheng was silent and didn't speak, Hou Jianjun's heart skipped a beat, he hastily said: "Why don't you go listen? Old Zhao and the others are discussing it right now."

  Lao Zhao is the head of the pre-trial department, Zhao Guoqiang. According to the instructions of Director Lu Zheng, the pre-trial department must learn and understand the law. For important cases, in addition to establishing a system where the chief prosecutor is responsible, they also need to promote a collective discussion system of self-examination and self-correction, so as to discover various problems that may arise during the trial.

  Lu Zhong hesitated for a moment and said: "I won't go, but Yao Bao Ming's case is not urgent, let's investigate further."

  Hou Jianjun was stunned for a moment, and nodded silently. He couldn't guess what Lu Zhong was thinking in his heart. Maybe he was being cautious with his words, not wanting to give others an excuse by saying something that would lead to the case being closed quickly; or maybe it really wasn't the right time, and he wanted to continue investigating.

  No matter what Lu Zhong really thinks, Hou Jianjun feels that when it's time to use his own people, he should take the lead himself and help the leader solve problems that can't be spoken aloud.

  Lu Bureau instructed that Yao Baoming could not enter the pre-trial stage for the time being, but would continue to supplement the investigation. However, it was also unnecessary to further investigate, as further investigation would be detrimental to everyone. After another ten days or half a month, the case would be closed in a muddled manner.

  "Hmm, I know what to do now." Hou Jianjun nodded.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "Do you really know?" But he didn't say anything more.

  Dongfang Honey Garden 2nd floor.

  Liu Baojun clinked glasses with Lu Zheng, drinking cup after cup, it was really hard to imagine that the person who kept refilling Lu Zheng's glass, with a red face and thick neck, was the same Liu Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee who used to be so cautious.

  "Brother, I'm telling you, today we two brothers... must, absolutely not return sober!" Liu Baojun's tongue was already a bit thick, and he stuttered as he hugged Lu Zhong's neck.

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "Secretary Liu, you're too polite."

  "Don't call me Secretary Liu, call me Big Brother Liu, or even Liu Baojun!" Liu Baojun patted Lu Zhong's shoulder heavily and said, "Brother, I'm not a foolish person. Your kindness, Big Brother Liu will always remember!"

  Lu Zhong smiled and said: "Liu brother, let's not talk about this..."

  Liu Baojun slapped the table at once, "This big brother is called well, Zhēngzi ah, for this sentence of big brother, I will punish myself with three cups!" At this time, he was majestic and flying high, sweeping away his depressed and frustrated attitude that had been lingering for a long time.

  Lu Zhong helplessly said: "What kind of rule is this, you call yourself 'big brother' and still penalize yourself with three cups? I'll accompany you." He raised his cup and lightly clinked it against Liu Baojun's.

  Liu Baojun downed three cups in a row, his face even redder, with sweat beads shining on his forehead. He patted Lu Zhong's hand and said: "Zhongzi, I heard that Ju Dahe is going to nominate you as deputy county head? Let me tell you, don't go, big brother has left, the position of Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee is yours. Moreover, this time when adjusting the team, the Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee will definitely enter the Standing Committee."

  Lu Zhongqi said, "Big brother is leaving?" This was really unexpected news, after all in the official circles of Wushan, he might not be as well-connected as Hou Jianjun.

  Liu Baojun was quite pleased with himself and said: "Yes, as the deputy director of the municipal party committee's research office, it should be settled."

  Lu Zhong raised his cup and smiled: "Congratulations, big brother! Should be promoted to the regular position, right?" Lu Zhong knew that the Municipal Party Committee Research Office was similar to the later Policy Research Office, but at present, the party's organizational structure attaches great importance to theoretical research, and the status of the Research Office is extremely important. In Wushan, the director of the Municipal Party Committee Research Office is held by a member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Party Committee.

  Liu Baojun smiled and nodded, clinking glasses with Lu Zhong and downing their drinks in one gulp.

  "Brother, tomorrow, you come with me to Wushan, I'll take you to see someone, he also wants to meet you." Liu Baojun suddenly lowered his voice and said mysteriously.

  Lu Zhong smiled slightly: "Then thank you, big brother." In his heart, he knew that perhaps from this moment on, he had truly entered the official circle of Wushan. Gradually, he came into contact with various small circles in the official circle of Wushan, but in his heart, he didn't feel particularly excited.

  Liu Baojun sighed deeply and said, "However, brother, sometimes interpersonal relationships are just that way. You have to remember, you must be strong yourself before others can look up to you." This was his heartfelt feeling and sincere words. There was another sentence he hadn't said yet, but he himself was a living example. In recent years, he had been trying hard to leave Wushan by flattering and scheming, but his old leader didn't need to use much effort, or perhaps didn't even think of using effort. Now that he had risen to the central party newspaper, good things happened one after another, and soon he became a favorite of his old leader's eyes, and his promotion was a natural result.

  And all of this, he knew in his heart, was given to him by Lu Zhun. From the renovation of the reception building to becoming a model figure for reform in Wushan area, even Liu Baojun sometimes suspected that these things were planned by Lu Zhun behind the scenes. Only, he still had rationality and wouldn't think that Lu Zhun had such great power, but no matter what, Lu Zhun was his lucky star, and could even be said to be his benefactor in his official career.

  Liu Baojun was drinking and getting drunk when the curtains of the private room were lifted, and several young people came in, with Wang Laoban closely following behind. He kept saying "The private room is fully booked, no more seats!" He didn't know whether Lu Zheng and Liu Baojun wanted to reveal their identities or not, so he also didn't dare to greet them.

  "What the hell, no seats? Two people, do you need such a big table? Hurry up, we're seven or eight people, they're almost done eating, let's just wait here!" These young punks look quite arrogant, seems like they're used to causing trouble on the streets.

  Lu Zhong hadn't spoken yet, but Liu Baojun had already slammed his hand on the table, stood up unsteadily, and pointed at them, cursing: "You little rabbits, get out of here! Otherwise, you'll provoke old man to death, I'll deal with each and every one of you!"

  He spoke with a swaying tone, and after finishing, he stumbled backwards. Lu Zhong hastily supported him, sighing bitterly in his heart - wine was indeed a poison that pierced the intestines! Normally a cautious person, once drunk, how could he be like this? However, it was also clear that today Liu Baojun had truly let his guard down.

  Those young men over there were already shouting back, and some even wanted to come up and fight. Mr. Wang saw that things were taking a turn for the worse, so he quickly whispered something to them in a low voice.

  The young men's righteous indignation and ferocity vanished instantly, they all stood there stupidly, then hastily dispersed like a swarm of bees.

  Liu Baojun, who was limp in Lu Zhong's arms, had already begun to speak nonsense with a drunken gaze: "Who am I afraid of? Who the hell am I afraid of? I'm not afraid of anyone! Zhongzi, Zhongzi, I'm telling you, damn it, there's no good thing, Zhang XX is the same! They're all old foxes, old turtles! Where did they go after squeezing me out like a grandson? Where did they go?... Damn it, none of them are good things..."

  Liu Baojun was supported to sit up, looking at him lying on the table, his voice getting lower and lower, but still scolding his mother, Lu Zhong even felt some pity for him.

  Perhaps this is the true nature of officialdom, no matter how glamorous it looks to outsiders, but those who are in it know the bitterness.

  Zhang xx, Lu Zhong knew that he was Liu Baojun's old leader, and perhaps also the person he would meet tomorrow.