Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 446 Zhou Qinghu

During lunch break, in the office of the 22nd Brigade.

The atmosphere inside was heavy. The two police academy teachers sitting on the sofa had their brows furrowed and their fists clenched and resting on their knees.

One of the younger students, unable to contain his frustration, got up and paced back and forth in the office, pondering, "Professor, this move is not a good one. Not to mention that this is a crucial moment for our college to apply for the status of a graduate degree-granting institution, it is not good for him, the director of the student affairs office, to leave to do research at this time."

After saying that, he shook his head again: "Besides, southern Xinjiang is such a dangerous place. Attacking police officers is commonplace there. They won't let you off just because you're a research professor."

"No, still no good. For this trip, the teacher asked me to arrange for a few students to accompany the team for training, but how could we possibly find suitable candidates among the thousands of students in the entire college? Even those junior special police officers, despite their outstanding physical education grades at school and their swaggering around in their gear, training and actual combat are two different things. Besides, they are still students at heart. If any special circumstances arise, it would be a blessing if they didn't become a burden."

Lin Dakai had experience in peacekeeping missions abroad in his early years, had fought in actual combat and received medals. His experience in dangerous areas was considerable.

At this moment, another middle-aged man sitting on the sofa, wearing a gray police rank insignia on his shoulder, slammed the file folder he was holding onto the coffee table, raised his hand and slammed it hard on the wooden armrest of the sofa, his tone becoming more and more agitated as he spoke:
"Qinghu, what do you think we should do about this? Sigh! Director Lin is good in every way, except he cares too much about research. You know, he's a deputy director-level cadre. Last time, the institute offered him a transfer to a county-level position to gain experience, but he wasn't willing! So many people are eyeing that position! But he's so eager to go to that godforsaken place to do research, instead of being offered a leadership position in one of the top 100 counties! Sigh, he might just lose his life there!"

Following decades-old tradition in China, the public security system is vertically managed, with the vast majority of cadre transfers and promotions completed internally. It is extremely difficult for police officers, especially those holding certain administrative ranks, to transfer to other government departments.

With current reforms, the country encourages and promotes cadres in the public security system to take up positions in other government departments. Conversely, it also encourages leaders in other departments to transfer to the public security system, but no one is willing to come.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qinghu stopped and turned to look at the man, saying seriously, "Professor Li, you can just say a few words about this to me, but once you leave this room, you'll have to keep it to yourself. You know the professor's temper; don't be fooled by his usual cheerful demeanor. If he really makes a decision, we can't go against him."

"Hey, don't even mention you, even the secretary is useless!" Professor Li sighed, got up and walked out. As he closed the door, he said with his head down, "Fine. You have to take this matter seriously. If Director Lin continues to act so recklessly, the rumors will definitely spread even further to the hospital leaders, and then things will get difficult."

"Bang." The door slammed shut, and they left.

Zhou Qinghu sat silently on the sofa, reached out and picked up the documents that the other person had placed on the coffee table, and began to look through them. The top line of documents, with its white background and black text, was extremely eye-catching.

On Anti-Kong Policing Reform

Lines of text flashed before his eyes, and he absentmindedly thought about what to do next.

Professor Li's concerns about the institute's leadership were secondary. Based on Lin Dakai's achievements over the years, both in research and peacekeeping, the current leadership wouldn't risk their own reputation by removing a model figure they had cultivated.

Zhou Qinghu was more concerned about Lin Dakai's safety.

That place wasn't the peaceful coastal area he was in. He was genuinely worried about not having several experienced special police officers with him.

Tsk tsk, just thinking about it makes me a little uneasy.
"Dong dong dong."

"Please come in."

Hearing the sound of the office door opening, Zhou Qinghu hurriedly stuffed the half-read document under the coffee table, grabbed a recent copy of the "Public Security Journal" from the side, and then sat up straight, pretending to read the newspaper.

"President."

The person who entered was Chen Shu, who had temporarily parted ways with Jiang Hai and the others at the police academy cafeteria. At this moment, because he was preoccupied with pleading for Jiang Hai, Chen Shu's face showed unease and anxiety when he first met Zhou Qinghu.

Zhou Qinghu looked up and saw his old classmate whom he hadn't seen for several years. He suppressed his emotions, stood up, and greeted him with a smile.

"Chen Shu, why are you still carrying a bag? Haven't you checked in yet? Hmm, I'll arrange a room for you in the police station. Later, how about trying the experts' building? I remember you guys were all pretty envious of that back in our school days, haha."

The more enthusiastic Zhou Qinghu was, the deeper Chen Shu's guilt became, and the heavier the travel bag in his hands felt. He had only wanted to bring some local specialties from his hometown for his old classmate to try, but now he couldn't bring himself to give them anything.

"Sit down, please sit down and have some tea."

Zhou Qinghu led Chen Shu to sit down on the sofa by the window in the office and began fiddling with the simple teapot on the coffee table.

"Chen Shu, do you still watch the NBA?"

"I'm too busy, so I only get a few glimpses of it when I'm not on duty. Hey, I only watched the whole season in your dorm room during those few years."

Back then, Chen Shu and a few others in his dormitory loved watching football, so they pestered Zhou Qinghu, who was then the chairman of the student council, to let them use his dormitory room to secretly watch the games online via their laptops.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Qinghu disliked the strong smell of their cigarettes and simply opened the dormitory door to ventilate the room.

As a result, Chen Shu, who was sitting at the door, was quite frightened when he saw the two school inspectors with armbands sweeping the building outside.

Back then at the police academy, no one was allowed in the dormitories during weekday mornings, afternoons, or evening self-study periods. Let alone those few of them huddled inside, openly using laptops to watch sports games and smoking—activities explicitly prohibited by the academy.

Unexpectedly, the person ignored the noisy sounds of the game playing inside, took a bunch of dormitory keys, walked straight past Zhou Qinghu's room, and opened and checked each room in the corridor.

After inspecting all the dormitories on the floor, the two school inspectors returned to the dormitory where Chen Shu and the others were. They greeted Zhou Qinghu, who was leaning against the door for some fresh air, with a smile and a few polite words, showing a hint of respect.

From that day on, Chen Shu felt that his district team chairman was quite capable.

"Chairman, I remember what you said to me when we graduated. It was such a classic line. Even now, more than ten years later, when I occasionally ponder the words, I still find them insightful."

"What?"

"In work, if you can only choose one of two things, it's more important to do the superficial work well."

"Okay, you're trying to fool me! You even talk like you know what you're talking about. Who taught you that? Remember, things are accomplished through action. Empty talk can only be a temporary solution and won't improve your overall abilities. Being realistic and down-to-earth is the long-term solution. Don't think that once you're in the system, you can just lie down and relax, or find a way out through underhanded means."

"Chairman, in a grassroots unit like ours where women are used like men and men are used like animals, you can't even lie down if you want to."

"Haha, what are you saying?"

The two chatted about funny things from back then, which gradually helped Chen Shu to open up his heart.

Secretary Chen, with the opening ceremony about to begin that afternoon, whispered, "Chairman, I need your help. Do you think you can do me a favor? If you can, great; if not, please think of something else!"

Zhou Qinghu paused in his pouring of tea, glancing subconsciously at the travel bag beside Chen Shu's feet. He then chuckled, "Chen Shu, it's rare for you to ask me for a favor after all these years, so I have no choice but to agree. But let me make this clear: it's just a favor, and I'll have to think twice about anything disciplinary. Oh dear, but with the little coward you were back in police academy, Chen Shu, I doubt you'll actually do anything wrong. Haha!"

They were classmates, and their relationship spanned over a decade. Neither of them tried to hide anything from the other; they simply said what they meant.

Chen Shu was a little embarrassed: "Chairman, a friend of mine has a younger brother in your brigade. He was punished and given a warning by the teachers in the student affairs office. I don't know if you remember him?"

(End of this chapter)