Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 440 Sanitation Campaign
No one expected that Yuan Meijuan would take the initiative to accept Fan Zirui.

Do not!
It should be said that only Lin Ge and Fan Zirui were surprised. Zheng Mingxing was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what was going on and couldn't help but shake his head.

Fan Zirui pestered Yuan Meijuan with questions, and Yuan Meijuan patiently answered all the questions she could. Seeing that nothing bad had happened between the two, Zheng Mingxing agreed to Yuan Meijuan's request and threatened Fan Zirui that he must obey Yuan Meijuan, or he would officially send her home.

Fan Zirui simply ignored him.

The girl focused all her attention on Yuan Meijuan, clinging to her and showing no restraint whatsoever. This scene seemed to have just happened with Shen Tining; Fan Zirui's speed in shifting his focus was surprisingly quick, yet also somewhat natural.

What choices does a child with nothing, facing an unknown future alone, truly have? She has abandoned her family, has no friends, and doesn't even know where she'll stay or what she'll eat that night. The whole world is dangerous to her, like a terrifying raging fire enveloping her. In such a time, anyone who extends a helping hand to her might seem like an angel to her, someone she would rush to without hesitation.

Everything was for one purpose: to survive!
Of course, judging from Fan Zirui's appearance, there might be another limiting condition: angels are limited to women.

I guess so……

Lin Ge sighed again.

Turning to look at Zheng Mingxing, both of them noticed that Fan Zirui showed no unusual emotion when she looked at them. This girl seemed to only want to be close to girls, and in some ways, she really did have a lesbian vibe.

Of course, this is not meant in a derogatory sense.

In terms of the dangers a young girl might encounter in society, men are indeed a significant threat. Relying on men is less reliable than relying on strangers. Fan Zirui's choice to seek out Shen Tining and Yuan Meijuan was both rational and intelligent, and to some extent, a safer option. This girl isn't stupid. Her ability to quickly find hope in her predicament already puts her far ahead of those who are lost and helpless in comparison.

"Yuan Meijuan, please find out more about her situation. What exactly is her family background, why she dropped out of school, her academic performance, and so on. You'll be in charge of this for the next few days. Try your best to settle this child down and prevent her from causing any more trouble. Of course, if there are any problems, you can call me or Nie Guoqiang immediately, and we'll try to find a solution as soon as possible."

Zheng Mingxing made a decision and ultimately handed over the troublesome Fan Zirui to Yuan Meijuan.

Even though she was just an auxiliary police officer without law enforcement authority, Fan Zirui's case wasn't legally related; it was more a matter of morality and social order. Both were women, close in age, and had similar past experiences, making her the best option to help Fan Zirui. Even if Fan Zirui's future path differed from Yuan Meijuan's, the Zhanghe Police Station didn't expect everyone to become a police officer out of gratitude; they just wanted everyone to live a good life.

After doing all this, Zheng Mingxing left the mediation room. He didn't just leave Fan Zirui alone; instead, he explained her entire situation to Yu Zhengwei and Nie Guoqiang.

This matter definitely needs to be discussed and agreed upon by the three leaders, since no matter what, this child is still just a minor girl who needs a guardian to make decisions. Even if she were half a year older, the whole thing would actually be much easier to handle.

“She’s even on her period right now! I can’t even imagine how pathetic and dangerous she would be right now if she hadn’t called the police in time.”

Zheng Mingxing shook his head and sighed again.

Yu Zhengwei and Nie Guoqiang exchanged a glance, their expressions both turning serious.

Social problems among teenagers and psychological issues among minors are among the most worrying and troublesome issues for police officers. Young people are easily influenced and prone to impulsive and unexpected actions. Often, in a moment of passion, they dare to do anything, regardless of whether it's right or wrong. However, in these situations, the law and the police alone are insufficient; the combined efforts of society and families are the best way to change the current situation.

"Let Yuan Meijuan handle this matter, and have Hu Lijun keep an eye on it for her."

Yu Zhengwei gave a final summary, glanced at Zheng Mingxing and Nie Guoqiang, and changed the subject, saying, "The city's documents on fire prevention and disaster relief, as well as the rectification of urban catering hygiene, are the major issues that the police station needs to focus on next. Lao Nie, I went out to take a look yesterday. Just as you said, there are too many illegal restaurants and too many hidden dangers, and they've sprung up too quickly. Those illegal restaurants hidden in residential areas mostly have substandard safety and hygiene conditions, which can easily become serious problems with a wide impact."

"Shouldn't the industry and commerce, urban management, and fire departments take the lead in this regard? Those without permits should be shut down directly, those with substandard hygiene should be handled by urban management, and those with fire hazards should be ordered to rectify by the fire department. We just need to cooperate."

Zheng Mingxing chimed in, saying that in his opinion, the police station should not be the one to make the decision.

However, Nie Guoqiang shook his head, his expression serious, and said, "Relying solely on the Industry and Commerce Bureau, the Fire Department, and the Urban Management Bureau isn't enough to handle this properly. To be honest, the police station is the most powerful force in the area. No one knows the happenings in the area better than us. And these illegal restaurants are hidden in residential areas; it's difficult for the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the Urban Management Bureau alone to find them. It's best if we join in and cooperate to find all those hidden illegal restaurants one by one, and then transfer them to the relevant departments for processing based on their issues. This way, we can ensure that nothing goes wrong. Otherwise, even if they catch three or five, it won't deter the others from springing up everywhere."

Understanding Nie Guoqiang's meaning, Yu Zhengwei and Zheng Mingxing nodded in unison.

But soon, Yu Zhengwei frowned again and said, "But we don't have enough manpower! The police station's jurisdiction is so big, and those people are basically hiding in alleys and even inside residential areas. It's not easy to find them all accurately. Even with the help of the community, it's still a troublesome problem to determine whether it's an illegal restaurant or an individual cooking over a fire. Plus, there's the issue of pre-cooked food that you mentioned before. It's even more difficult to disguise! They just heat it up a little and sell it. It's hard to find all of these kinds of things, right? In fact, pre-cooked food isn't illegal in China right now. We still have to pick out the qualified and unqualified pre-cooked food products. That's another tedious and labor-intensive task."

“We can use delivery riders and delivery websites as targets for tracking. If they want to sell things, they need an ordering platform and a delivery method, right? We can follow the clues directly and investigate each one we find, trying not to miss any.”

Zheng Mingxing offered a suggestion.

"Riders are one option, but I don't think the food delivery platforms will cooperate with us. These online transactions often involve a lot of haggling with the platform's customer service, which is too time-consuming. And frankly, small restaurants and shady eateries are also important sources of profit for them. We know some things, and of course, regulation isn't something a single police station can handle. But regardless, our operation is essentially sabotaging their business, and since we're just a small police station, they'll definitely try to avoid it, lest the whole country follow our example. In this respect, I think all the major platforms are pretty much the same in terms of ethical conduct."

Nie Guoqiang understood people's hearts, and after speaking, he sighed deeply.

Yu Zhengwei nodded in agreement.

They all knew very well that in matters involving cross-regional disputes, the local police station and even the public security bureau were just as helpless as ordinary citizens. Even if they could send someone to the city where the platform operated, the platform would likely give evasive answers and stall for time, making it difficult to achieve a satisfactory result quickly. Unless they had a good relationship with a sister unit in another city, that would be a different story. Otherwise, such business trips rarely yielded any results.

"So we can only rely on ourselves? Maybe we should arrest a few typical cases to deter others, and that might make those small restaurants behave themselves. If any dare to show up again, we can arrest them then... Of course, this is only a temporary solution. To truly eliminate illegal restaurants, we need to take decisive and real action. But no matter what, manpower is still a big problem. After all, we're just a police station; we need to cooperate with other units in this kind of thing." Yu Zhengwei thought of a way to complete the task assigned by his superiors without causing too much trouble for the station. Of course, as soon as he said this, he knew that Nie Guoqiang and Zheng Mingxing would definitely not agree to this perfunctory approach.

As expected, seeing the two of them shake their heads in unison, Yu Zhengwei changed his tune accordingly.

"How about we have Mimi mobilize her feline army again? These illegal restaurants, no matter where they're hidden, will inevitably have food waste and won't escape the noses of stray cats, right? Let's team up with other departments to follow them and catch them one by one when we find them?"

Zheng Mingxing proposed a solution.

This time, Yu Zhengwei and Nie Guoqiang nodded in unison.

"Hehe... Without realizing it, Mimi and her ever-growing number of cats have actually become the pillars of our police station! Catching bad guys, cracking down on illegal activities, and protecting the safety, food, and hygiene of the people, these little guys have become an indispensable part of our police station! Haha... This time, Baimiao and Longquan will definitely be extremely envious! To be honest, we really can't do without them to completely solve these kinds of headaches."

Thinking of something funny, Yu Zhengwei couldn't help but burst into laughter. After all, this fire safety and sanitation operation wasn't just a headache for the Zhanghe Police Station alone!

In the face of such a significant event, which police station wouldn't want to deliver a good report card? Who doesn't want the people in their jurisdiction to eat and drink safely? And who wants to see food poisoning, or even large-scale food poisoning, occurring in their jurisdiction and directly impacting public safety?

But the police station only has a few people, so there's nothing they can't do!
These limitations of human resources cannot be changed by human effort alone, nor should the police be allowed to turn a blind eye to the safety and well-being of ordinary citizens. Everyone has their own difficulties, and overcoming them requires time, policy, and unexpected positive developments.

"Mimi is an unexpected joy for our police station, and also our lucky star! This time, we must do a great job and make Baimiao and Longquan completely surrender to us!"

Zheng Mingxing, who has completely become a cat lover, makes his final summary.

"Huh? You want me to lead my cat army to search all the illegal restaurants and unsanitary food workshops in the area?"

Lin Ge stared at Nie Guoqiang in disbelief, twitching his ears as if he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

"That's right, we'll need your help again this time. And this time, I hope you can mobilize even more cats, or even more animals, to find all these illegal restaurants. In addition, the industry and commerce department, the urban management department, and the fire department are also involved in this matter. You'd better show them your abilities and let them see your true skills! Hehe... If you can really subdue them, Mimi, you can walk sideways or even backwards in Zhang City without any problem. And in this way... the problem of stray cats in the city can also be improved to some extent. At least it will let the relevant departments see that stray cats also have value."

In the end, Nie Guoqiang became earnest. He knew that to persuade the cat, he had to offer something that would move it. And as a cat, it certainly hoped that its kind could live better lives in the city.

Sure enough, Lin Ge, who had originally planned to slack off, couldn't bring himself to refuse this time.

Although he himself didn't care—takeout and such were none of his business—as Nie Guoqiang said, even if it only slightly improved the image of stray cats in the city, stopped more people from harming them, or made government departments realize that they were still useful and valuable, it was something that should be done. Even if it only improved their living environment a tiny bit, and a few more people fed them leftovers, it would still be a good thing.

Lin Ge knew very well that he couldn't possibly feed all the stray cats in the city on his own. It was unrealistic and pointless. But if the cat army could gain more recognition, far fewer cats would starve or be harmed. If they could be fed by doing chores for humans, or if they didn't need to be adopted but just needed to receive a little charity when they were hungry, more stray cats could survive.

As for the negative effects... like sparrows and pigeons cursing at their mothers, Lin Ge couldn't control that. He was a cat, not a bird.

Nie Guoqiang received a satisfactory answer and left in a hurry.

However, this isn't something that can be done immediately; it requires coordinating several departments, various meetings, and contingency plans. Furthermore, for the Zhanghe Police Station to gain control over this matter within its jurisdiction, it also needs to consult the urban management department. The two departments have some overlapping functions and their own performance targets and tasks. At least in many urban areas of China, urban management officials often have more influence than the police. Especially regarding matters related to commercial activities, the urban management department's experience and approach have their own advantages, and they may not necessarily agree to the Zhanghe Police Station's suggestion to use the "cat army."

To some extent, the government department that hates stray cats the most is undoubtedly the urban management officers.

"I don't agree to this kind of unreliable thing!"

An angry city management official took off his hat and glared at Nie Guoqiang, saying, "What do you mean by asking stray cats for help? Dream on! Do you even know why our Zhangzhou City failed to win the title of 'Civilized City' last year? It's because the leaders who were supposed to be evaluating the city had just arrived when stray cats ran into the place we had arranged for them to rest and wreaked havoc! The flowerpot arrangements we painstakingly created on Minzhu Avenue were half destroyed by cats overnight! When the leaders arrived, the ground was covered in dirt and chewed-up plants! Haha... When they left, we even saw the body of a cat that had been run over in the tunnel, and cars were driving over the yellow lines to avoid it! And this is what you call civilized?"

"Is this kind of vanity project something we can just talk about? We didn't get the title of 'Civilized City,' which means we didn't do our job properly! Isn't it a bit unreasonable to blame everything on the cat?"

Zheng Mingxing calmly responded, then sneered, "The civilization of a city isn't just about the rampant stray cats. And why are there so many stray cats in the first place? That in itself is a manifestation of uncivilized behavior! Whether it's abandonment or inadequate management, it's our own problem! What do cats know? Can they replace our civilization? Now that we finally have a chance to get stray cats to behave and coexist harmoniously with people, why should we refuse?"

"..."

The urban management leaders were speechless, but they still felt that the Zhanghe Police Station was indulging in wishful thinking.

On the other side, a representative from the Industry and Commerce Bureau clapped his hands with a smile, then looked at Zheng Mingxing and said, "I've heard of your police station's famous police cat, Mimi. But to say it can lead all the other stray cats in the city and even participate in our work—isn't that a bit sensational? We're a national government department; we have to adhere to materialism. We have no objection to you wanting to take the lead. To be honest, this matter is indeed a tedious and troublesome one, and I'd love for someone to step forward and share the burden. But... there has to be a good reason, right? Relying on a cat, doesn't that make us seem too useless?"

The two leaders from the fire department looked left and then right, finding the situation rather amusing. Of course, they also intended to side with the industry and commerce bureau and the urban management bureau, because having a cat handle work tasks didn't seem very logical.

Zheng Mingxing remained calm and said indifferently, "It doesn't matter if it's a white cat or a black cat, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat! That's a quote from our country's old leader! Whether we rely on the cat or on ourselves, completing the task from above is the most important thing! I think our Zhanghe jurisdiction can complete the task the best this time, so why are you objecting? If you think the document from above doesn't need to be taken seriously, then my Zhanghe Police Station will do it ourselves!"

(End of this chapter)