48: Chapter 48 The Security Problem in the Countryside

Secretary Xue Hongtao's work focus had recently been on the school.

Sun Ning also hoped to prioritize the school's affairs above all else.

Therefore, he had Deputy Township Head Dong Zhensheng take full charge of the infrastructure construction for the industrial park.

The truth was that Sun Ning simply had too much work on his plate and could only manage things from behind the scenes.

It was no exaggeration to say that Sun Ning was effectively the top leader of Mishui Township now.

Secretary Xue Hongtao's support for Sun Ning's work was also unprecedented.

In the conference room on the first floor of the Mishui Township Police Station.

Sun Ning sat upright at the head of the table, while a pot-bellied middle-aged man next to him enthusiastically poured him tea.

The Mishui Township Police Station was not a large establishment, so there was only one deputy director.

Therefore, there were only four people in this conference room.

Sun Ning took a sip of tea and said, "Chief Wu, I would like to hear about your recent work arrangements."

"Township Head, our work remains the same, responsible for public security management within our jurisdiction... Township Head, our station is suffering. We only have two vans. When the vehicles aren't available, we have to brave the wind and rain and ride our own motorcycles. Sometimes, the fuel expenses drag on for half a year without being reimbursed."

It was the same old rhetoric and endless nonsense.

Sun Ning felt a wave of disgust at these tactics.

He even suspected that this station chief was doing this on purpose to provoke him.

In fact, the Police Station was quite different from other departments directly under the government.

The Police Station was a dispatched unit of the national law enforcement agency and belonged to a vertical management system.

They generally followed the promotion path of the police officer career ladder.

However, relatively speaking, the Police Station still had to cooperate with the work of the Township Party Committee and the Township Government.

Therefore, the local government had significant say in the personnel of the Police Station; as long as the local government recommended someone, they were generally appointed smoothly.

Sun Ning suppressed the inexplicable irritation in his heart and asked again, "Chief Wu, there has been a large influx of migrant workers in Mishui Township recently. How have you arranged for this situation?"

"Regarding these migrant workers, we have made several plans, but our station is short-handed and lacks funding. I won't even mention staffing quotas; since the township treasury has so much money now, can you allocate some to the station?"

At this moment, Sun Ning was not just disgusted; he was repulsed.

As Mishui Township's economy improved and the population grew, public security issues would become more severe.

Solving the staffing quota issue for the Police Station was also an urgent problem he needed to address as Township Head.

This also included increasing the number of auxiliary police officers and so on.

These issues had all been written into Sun Ning's inaugural report.

Now, Chief Wu was repeatedly challenging Sun Ning's professional bottom line.

He was not prepared to say another word to this incompetent parasite.

He looked at the instructor and the deputy director, and said indifferently, "Do you have anything to add?"

This could be considered Sun Ning's desperate attempt to find talent amidst the dross.

If the station chief was no good, he would observe the instructor and the deputy director.

It was precisely because Sun Ning was new that he didn't have anyone he was close to in various departments.

That was why he wanted to see the capabilities of the other two.

Sun Ning turned his gaze to the instructor, who licked his lips but didn't say a word.

In fact, Sun Ning didn't have high expectations for the instructor, as this person was about to retire.

He was only thinking about how to get home quickly to pick up his grandchildren.

He was not someone capable of building an empire.

"Township Head, the difficulties mentioned by the Chief do exist."

"However, our station will focus on monitoring unidentified individuals and strengthen the management of residence permits for migrant workers."

"We will focus on cracking down on gambling and a series of other illegal activities."

Before Sun Ning's gaze even turned to Deputy Director Zhu Zihao, he heard this clear and organized statement.

Sun Ning couldn't help but size up this deputy director again.

He was 1.75 meters tall, well-proportioned, with dark skin and sharp, bright eyes.

He looked like a capable man.

As the saying goes, opportunity favors the prepared mind, and this Deputy Director Zhu was that prepared person.

This was also the result of Zhu Zihao's long-term accumulation of experience.

Sun Ning gave the deputy director an appreciative look and said calmly, "Chief Wu, let's proceed with the work according to Deputy Director Zhu Zihao's suggestions."

After he finished speaking, he left the office without even glancing at these people.

He politely declined Chief Wu's attempt to keep him and returned to the Township Government without looking back.

He couldn't wait to find Secretary Xue Hongtao to discuss personnel issues at the Police Station.

This matter could not be delayed, as the population structure of Mishui Township was now so complex.

Once public security issues arose, they wouldn't be small problems.

Although he was the Township Head, if there were problems with stability maintenance, it wasn't as if you wouldn't be punished just because you weren't the Party Secretary.

"Party Secretary, I've come here to discuss a personnel issue with you."

More than ten minutes later, Sun Ning arrived at the Party Secretary's office as scheduled and got straight to the point about the purpose of his visit.

Secretary Xue Hongtao chuckled and said, "Who messed up? To make you go to such great lengths."

"Party Secretary, I went to the Police Station today to ask them to strengthen public security management, but that Chief Wu is an absolute bastard. Not only does he have no plan for his own duties, but he keeps asking for people and money."

Now, their way of speaking to each other was not so polite.

Township leaders were all like this; their language was often crude.

Words like "bastard" were considered polite language.

After work, when they went drinking, the profanities would flow one after another.

Having worked in townships for twenty years in his previous life, he was very accustomed to this working atmosphere.

When Secretary Xue Hongtao heard that Sun Ning was talking about Chief Wu, he became more cautious.

Without a proper reason, requesting the County Bureau to replace someone required caution.

"Sun Ning, does he really have to be replaced? Although Chief Wu is a bit of a jerk, there haven't been any major flaws in the township's public security."

Sun Ning understood what Secretary Xue Hongtao meant.

Replacing a township Police Station chief for no reason, without a solid justification.

That would make it difficult for Secretary Xue Hongtao to speak up at the County Bureau.

Unless Secretary Xue Hongtao had a friend among the County Bureau leadership.

So, Sun Ning patiently explained it to Secretary Xue Hongtao.

Mishui Township was no longer the old Mishui Township.

The original Mishui Township had almost no migrant population; the people were all the same locals.

The current Mishui Township was different—construction workers, truck drivers, material suppliers, and so on.

These people were contributing to Mishui Township, but they were also people with spare cash on hand.

It was inevitable that they would be targeted by petty thieves and local thugs.

After Sun Ning's explanation, Secretary Xue Hongtao understood the severity of the matter.

He had been working in Mishui Township all along and had no experience dealing with a sudden large influx of migrants.

For a moment, he hadn't grasped the situation.

After Sun Ning's guidance, he understood the seriousness of the problem.

Since Chief Wu, the leader of the law enforcement agency in charge of local public security, had not come up with a corresponding plan, that was dereliction of duty.

Secretary Xue Hongtao did not want to ruin the hard-won good situation in Mishui Township.

He slapped the table and said excitedly, "Sun Ning, your words are absolutely correct. I will petition the County Bureau immediately. Do you have a recommended candidate?"

"I will follow the Party Secretary's arrangements."