170: Chapter 165: Which position do you want to be promoted to?

Yang Tian immediately responded to the Minister, "The thief you caught back then would probably be quite proud if he knew it was you, Minister!"

"Hahaha, young man, you have a way with words. I like it!"

Huang Xiao shook hands with Yang Tian for longer than he had with anyone else before him.

Subsequently, the group entered the Yucheng Police Station.

The Police Station had been cleaned overnight; the entire courtyard was refreshed, and even the greenery in the yard had been professionally trimmed in the early hours of the morning.

According to the plan forwarded by the Municipal Bureau from the General Office of the Ministry of Public Security, the Minister's first order of business was to check on the drug lord, Liu Shaohua.

So, Yang Tian immediately led Huang Xiao and the others to the case handling area of the Police Station.

Liu Shaohua sat calmly on the Tiger Chair, looking at Huang Xiao. From the expression and gaze on his face, not a hint of fear or regret could be seen.

"Liu Shaohua!" Huang Xiao called out to him.

Liu Shaohua responded with a smile, "That's me."

Huang Xiao asked, "Do you still remember me?"

Liu Shaohua then looked up and took a serious look at Huang Xiao before smiling, "Aren't you Huang Xiao, the Minister of Public Security?"

"I am Huang Xiao of the Ministry of Public Security, that's right. But twenty-one years ago, I was still the Captain of the Gui Province Narcotics Detachment!"

Hearing this, Liu Shaohua's gaze finally shifted slightly, and his expression grew somewhat dim.

"I really didn't expect it... in the end, I still fell into your hands!"

"Yes, I finally caught you!"

After Huang Xiao said these words, all the regrets and knots in his heart were suddenly released.

He had finally reached the day of reconciliation with himself.

He looked at Liu Shaohua and responded softly, "This can be considered giving an account to the brothers who sacrificed their lives back then!"

This exchange was recorded via photography and video by staff from Xijiang Province Converged Media, Qianzhou City Converged Media, and official media outlets like the Public Security News.

The others in the interrogation room were stunned.

They truly hadn't expected that the Minister and Liu Shaohua would have such a history.

No wonder the Minister placed such high importance on this arrest, even personally flying from the Ministry of Public Security to Xijiang to oversee it. It turned out there was a past bond and an original aspiration still lingering in his heart.

Unknowingly, Huang Xiao's thoughts had drifted back to 2004.

At that time, the entire country was cracking down severely on drug trafficking gangs, and Gui Province was no exception. As the then-Captain of the Gui Province Narcotics Detachment, Huang Xiao discovered Liu Shaohua's trail in Xigang, Gui Province, by planting an undercover agent.

Huang Xiao then led the Narcotics General Corps to launch what was the largest anti-drug operation in Gui Province's history at the time. A violent conflict broke out between the two sides in the border region of Xigang.

Back then, Liu Shaohua's drug trafficking group already possessed a well-equipped combat team, with over a hundred firearms.

In that anti-drug operation, the Gui Province Narcotics Detachment lost more than thirty narcotics officers, including a Deputy Captain of the General Corps, a Detachment Captain, and several Captains.

Huang Xiao was also hit by three bullets at the time, but he didn't leave the front line. Under his leadership, they won the battle, killing over forty traffickers, capturing over thirty members of the drug gang, and seizing a significant two tons of ice.

But the only regret was that Liu Shaohua escaped.

Since that anti-drug battle, Huang Xiao became a hero of the narcotics department. In his subsequent career, it was as if he were on a rocket, rising steadily through the ranks until he finally reached the top.

Coming back to his senses, he looked at Yang Tian with a heart full of gratitude. Before walking out of the interrogation room, he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Thank you."

Some people spend their entire lives trying to climb high buildings, hoping to see the scenery above the clouds and speak a word to those who reside there.

While others only need to stand in place, and the person above the clouds will descend personally to say "thank you" to them.

This shows just how precious the weight of the words "thank you" can be.

Therefore, when Liao Jiancheng and Fang Yihong heard the Minister say those two words to Yang Tian, their sense of pride grew even stronger.

—

The group walked out of the case handling area and began the second part of the process: expressing condolences and appreciation to the collective police and Assistant Police Officers of the Yucheng Police Station.

According to the information reported by the Qianzhou Municipal Bureau to the Provincial Department, while it was true that Yang Tian caught Liu Shaohua, the police and Assistant Police Officers of the Yucheng Police Station were all involved, so everyone shared the credit.

The Minister's visit to the entire station aligned with the collective honor concepts of the new era and would provide more positive energy for subsequent publicity reports.

By now, all the police and Assistant Police Officers of the station had lined up in the courtyard. The Minister shook hands with each of them and handed out a bonus packaged in a red envelope.

The amount in each envelope wasn't much—only a thousand yuan—but this was just a simple grassroots condolence payment. The rewards and honors related to this arrest operation would be handled separately later.

After distributing the bonuses.

The Minister sat in the very center of the crowd to take a commemorative photo with the entire station and the members of the provincial, municipal, and county leadership teams.

This photograph became the proudest and most glorious moment for the vast majority of them.

With the second part of the process completed, the third part began.

The Minister inspected the food and living conditions of the grassroots police and Assistant Police Officers.

Huang Xiao first took a look at the dormitories. Before he could even find any faults, Liu Zhixiang, the new Vice Mayor and Director of the Qianzhou Municipal Bureau, began to make a pledge.

"The Qianzhou Municipal Bureau has already begun allocating a batch of stability maintenance funds to Yu City for the renovation and improvement of the living conditions of grassroots Police Stations. The Yucheng Police Station is the first batch and the first pilot unit for renovation!"

Hearing this, Huang Xiao nodded in great approval. "It indeed needs to be properly renovated. After all, the Police Station is half a home for the grassroots police and Assistant Police Officers. Since it's a home, it should look like a home, right?"

Everyone nodded in unison.

In fact, anyone could see it.

The subordinates making pledges and the superiors showing support—it was like a well-rehearsed double act to show off. However, for the Yucheng Police Station, the benefits were real and tangible.

And the root cause of the Yucheng Police Station being able to enjoy these benefits first was ultimately because Yang Tian had caught Liu Shaohua.

After leaving the dormitory, Huang Xiao entered the cafeteria.

Seeing that most of what the cafeteria auntie had placed on the tables were green vegetables with only a small amount of meat, Huang Xiao frowned slightly and looked at Liang Teng from the County Bureau. "The comrades bleed and sweat for you, and you let them eat this?!"

"I..." Liang Teng was instantly speechless. He glanced at Yang Tian, who immediately turned his head away.

Liang Teng had no choice but to pledge in front of the group of leaders, "Starting tomorrow, I will have the County Bureau increase the logistical support for the Yucheng Police Station, raising it to a minimum standard of two meat dishes."

"A minimum of three meat dishes! And starting from today!" Huang Xiao pointed at Liang Teng and demanded with a serious face.

"Yes, Minister, I'll arrange it immediately!"

After leaving the cafeteria, Huang Xiao and the others then entered Yang Tian's office.

The narrow reception area was filled with officials at the departmental and bureau levels.

Just as Yang Tian poured a cup of tea for the Minister, the Minister picked up the teacup and asked with eyes full of light and expectation, "Have you thought about it? Which position do you want to be promoted to?"