The Official Ladder: I ascend to the pinnacle of power, wielding the power of life and death.

"I'm sorry, senior sister, I've already arranged for people to search for it, and I believe we'll have results soon."

Jiang Yiming said awkwardly.

"Since you, the deputy secretary of the county party committee, are making the call yourself, I believe we can get the items back."

Li Muyao was not worried at all.

"You're really carefree. If someone loses their phone, they'd be frantic by now, but you act like nothing's wrong."

Jiang Yiming shook his head.

"If it's lost, it's lost. There's no use in me worrying."

Li Muyao smiled and said, "Let's eat again next time. I have something to ask you. Can you take me home?"

"Okay, I'll take you to the guesthouse."

Jiang Yiming called Ding Li and had him taken to the county guesthouse.

"Junior brother, I heard there were some problems with the recruitment for public institutions in your county?"

On the way back, Li Muyao asked.

"The news spread so fast, even you, a reporter from the provincial newspaper, knew about it?"

Jiang Yiming sighed, "It's true what they say, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. This matter is indeed true."

"In order to get his daughter into the system, the director of the county government office found the director of the county human resources and social security bureau and tailored a position for his daughter, with specific requirements down to her height and weight."

"So exaggerated?"

Li Muyao was also shocked; she hadn't expected the county below to be so brazen.

"This matter has caused quite a stir, hasn't your county party committee and county government done anything about it?"

"My opinion, along with that of the person in charge of the Discipline Inspection Commission, is to seriously investigate and hold the relevant personnel accountable, but the top two leaders of the county disagree, fearing that it will affect the image of Xinping County."

Jiang Yiming sighed, "It's very difficult to change a decision made jointly by the Party Secretary and the County Head."

"They're so foolish. Do you think you can just cover it up like that?"

Li Muyao asked, "Junior brother, will this exposure affect you?"

"It's impossible to say there's no impact, after all, I'm the deputy secretary of the Xinping County Party Committee. But even if there is an impact, I hope this matter will be handled fairly and justly."

Jiang Yiming asked, "Do you want to expose this?"

"It's good that it doesn't affect you much. Don't worry about the specifics. After all, you're a cadre in Xinping County. It wouldn't be good if people misunderstood that you deliberately hired someone to expose it."

Li Muyao smiled and said.

She planned to get involved, but she didn't want Jiang Yiming to know too much, otherwise he would become the target of public criticism.

Jiang Yiming didn't ask any more questions.

When the car arrived at the guesthouse, Jiang Yiming said, "Get some rest. I'll have someone bring your phone and wallet over once I hear anything."

"Okay, I'm going upstairs to rest then."

Li Muyao waved her hand.

"Okay, go to bed early."

Jiang Yiming escorted Li Muyao to her room and then left.

Li Muyao stood by the window, watching Jiang Yiming's departing figure, her gaze lingering for a long time.

On his way back, Jiang Yiming called Du Zhengqiang: "Director Zhengqiang, come to my office tomorrow morning. I need to discuss something with you."

"Okay, Secretary, I'll go there first thing tomorrow morning."

The phone call had barely ended when Wan Wenbing, the captain of the county public security bureau's public security brigade, called back.

"Secretary, the thief has been caught, and the wallet and phone have been found."

"Have someone deliver this to room 306 of the guesthouse. The person's surname is Li."

Jiang Yiming asked, "Wenbing, how many theft cases are there in our county every year?"

"Everyone carries cash when they go out, and many people get robbed, some even by sneaking into other people's homes to steal things."

Wan Wenbing said, "I wonder if you remember a case from the end of 02."

"A thief broke into someone's house to steal things, which woke up the homeowner. The homeowner shouted loudly to stop the thief, and the thief killed the homeowner and his family of three, causing quite a stir."

“I remember this case.”

Jiang Yiming frowned and said, "Thieves are a cancer in a city, and they must be cracked down on."

"I plan to discuss with Director Du Zhengqiang tomorrow about launching a five-month anti-pickpocketing 'hand-cutting' special operation, which will be led by your public security brigade. Be prepared."

"Yes, Secretary, I will follow your instructions."

Wan Wenbing said, "These thieves are indeed hateful and should have been dealt with long ago. However, because they don't steal much money and solving the case requires a lot of manpower and resources, even if they are solved, it is only a very small case. So people are unwilling to take on such troublesome and laborious small cases."

"If a special operation is launched, the bureau will surely take it seriously, and then we can arrest a group of pickpockets and create a deterrent effect."

"Although petty theft is a minor case, it greatly affects people's mood and is related to the happiness index of ordinary people, so it must be dealt with strictly."

Jiang Yiming said, "We can't just crack down and then ignore it, otherwise the thieves will come back. We need to establish a long-term anti-pickpocketing mechanism. Only in this way can we consolidate the results of the anti-pickpocketing campaign."

"Okay, Secretary, I'll think about how to establish a long-term mechanism and then go to Director Du of the Times."

"Okay, you've worked hard."

The following day, Du Zhengqiang went to Jiang Yiming's office.

"Director Zhengqiang, we strengthen anti-pickpocketing operations every year at the end of the year, but thieves are still rampant in our county."

Jiang Yiming said, "Although theft cases are not major cases, they greatly affect people's sense of happiness. We must take action to crack down on pickpockets. Let's run this special operation for five months."

"Yes, Secretary. I will follow your instructions and go back to formulate a plan to launch the anti-pickpocketing special operation as soon as possible."

Du Zhengqiang immediately stated, "Within these five months, we will definitely reduce theft cases by 70%."

"Okay, that's enough. I'll come and check on your work later."

After discussing matters with Du Zhengqiang, Jiang Yiming immediately went to the countryside for research.

A meeting of the Standing Committee of the County Party Committee was held on Wednesday.

The first topic was studying the spirit of documents from the city, province, and higher levels, which was led by Jiang Yiming.

The second topic was about strictly investigating violations of regulations and discipline in the recruitment of staff by the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau for public institutions, which was proposed by Chen Xujian.

"I'm sure everyone has heard about this. It has caused a very bad impact. I suggest a thorough investigation, the withdrawal of the recruitment information, and its revision before re-release to give the candidates an explanation."

Chen Xujian spoke up.

"Other comrades, please also give your opinions."

Jiang Xuangui spoke up.

"It is true that our organization department failed to do a good job in this matter, which led to this oversight. However, since this has already happened, if we were to correct it, it would inevitably attract wider attention and discussion, which would then cause more serious negative impacts on our Xinping County."

Hua Wentao, Minister of the Organization Department, said: "Our Party adheres to the principle of 'learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones and curing the disease to save the patient' and the working method of criticism and self-criticism, objectively analyzes mistakes and correctly treats comrades who have made mistakes."

"Xia Ziyang and I also wrote self-criticisms. We can't just deny people a chance to correct their mistakes, can we?"

"I personally oppose a thorough investigation, so as to avoid causing more serious consequences."

"I agree with Minister Wentao's opinion."

"I also agree with Minister Wentao's opinion."

Wang Hao, the head of the county's publicity department, the head of the county's united front work department, and the director of the county party committee office, and others successively supported Hua Wentao.

They already knew Jiang Xuangui's opinion, so naturally they wanted to agree with him.

"An opportunity to correct one's mistakes does not mean exemption from punishment. If we follow this logic, then those corrupt officials who have been caught are all very remorseful, and they can write letters of self-criticism. Wouldn't that mean they wouldn't be held accountable?"

Jiang Yiming said, "Moreover, this is not a mistake, but a violation of discipline and regulations. According to the requirements, it must be dealt with. We cannot cover it up and not deal with it for fear of causing an impact. Doing so will only condone those lawbreakers!"

"I personally support a serious investigation into this matter to give the public an explanation."

"I agree with Secretary Yiming's point of view. Mistakes can be corrected, but violations of the law must be punished."

Chen Zixin continued.

Finally, Jiang Xuangui and Zhang Yuntao spoke.

They all disagreed with pursuing the matter.

As expected, the Standing Committee did not approve the request to investigate the matter.

During the break in the meeting, Zhang Yuntao and his colleagues looked like they had won a battle, their faces beaming with smiles as they chatted and laughed.

Just as the meeting was about to resume, someone rushed in with a newspaper in hand.

"Secretary, something terrible has happened! The Sunshine Daily has published a lengthy article exposing the problem of 'rigged recruitment' in our county's public institutions. The article also accuses county government staff of violently seizing their interview equipment."