The city and bureau had just announced Salted Fish's appointment a few days ago when the Sansing Police Station arrested Salted Fish's two uncles, elder brother, and Han Yu's younger uncle.

It was obvious what Li Guangming meant, even without having to think too hard about it.

"Director Yu, this seems targeted at you, and you can't get involved. Li Guangming is a scumbag with a bad reputation. If you step in, he will definitely take the chance to make trouble."

Tian Gui, worried that Han Yu would be fooled, thought for a moment and continued, "Let us handle this matter. I'll call Master Shi right away."

Han Yu spent little time on land and was not very familiar with the conditions in the bureau, so he instinctively asked, "Why is Director Li no good?"

"You don't know?"

"I don't know."

Talking behind people's backs about their rights and wrongs wasn't good, but now that there was a situation, he couldn't keep silent.

Moreover, now Salted Fish was the head of the Port District Bureau, and in the future, he would inevitably have to deal with police station chiefs and instructors of his brother's stations; he couldn't be completely unaware of the situation of the middle-level cadres in the bureau.

Tian Gui walked over to close the door and began to explain as though reciting precious pieces of knowledge, "Like Southern City Police Station Chief Yang Xihui, Li Guangming hails from a family of cadres; his father served as Deputy County Magistrate in Linghai for many years. His father has passed away, but his father's connections remain. It's said that he visits Jiangcheng every year to pay New Year's respects to his father's old superiors, friends, and subordinates."

"Does he have connections in the province, too?"

"His father served as a county leader for so many years; over these years, quite a few cadres have moved up from our Linghai."

Tian Gui paused, then continued, "The commercial system used to be the most lucrative, and he joined a commercial company right after high school. After working there for a few years and apparently finding it uninteresting, he moved through connections to our Police Bureau. Initially, he wanted to join the Criminal Investigation team as an investigator, but the then team leader was your master, and naturally, your master wouldn't want this novice cadre's son who knew nothing about the job."

Han Yu pursued, "What happened after that?"

"At that time, Chairman Li was the bureau chief. Taking into account that he held a position even in the commercial company and considering his father was a county leader, Chairman Li transferred him to the newly established traffic police team as the Deputy Director."

Tian Gui lit a cigarette and continued, "Back then, the bureau was poor—it lacked both cars and money. He made quite a name for himself on the traffic police team; he fined virtually every car and motorcycle in the urban area, bringing in a lot of funds for the bureau and also obtaining a jeep and a dozen motorcycles for it.

Later when Chairman Li moved to the Political and Legal Committee and Luo Dahong became bureau chief, Li Guangming, being a cadre's son and savvy, managed to raise money for the bureau. Roh Dahong thought highly of his abilities and transferred him from the traffic police team to be Deputy Director of the Northern City Police Station."

Luo Dahong was also a former chief; Han Yu had never met him but had heard of him more than once.

Among all the Police Chiefs of Linghai since the establishment of New China, it seemed that Luo Dahong was the one his master respected the least. Han Yu nodded to prompt the senior to continue.

"While serving as Deputy Director of the Northern City Police Station, at one point, he even overshadowed your master."

"Was his reputation greater than my master's?"

"His notoriety was indeed significant, but unlike your master's good reputation."

Thinking of Xu Sanye, Tian Gui sighed softly and said in a low voice, "He was quite efficient at cracking down on gambling and prostitution, enforcing the law with 'style'. For those involved in gambling, he would first lock them up in the auto repair shop next to the Northern City Police Station, not interrogate them or make any records, and directly have the gambling suspects call their families or send a message to bring money, starting from five thousand, with no ceiling, and releasing them only when he saw the money—no receipt for the fine provided."

Han Yu exclaimed, "That's totally reckless!"

"It was different back then."

Tian Gui took a sip of water and continued, "The same went for those involved in prostitution; he would investigate thoroughly, and as long as those involved in prostitution identified someone, he would arrest without any evidence. At that time, there was a Deputy Director of the Agricultural Bureau, on the verge of being promoted to bureau chief.

The inspection process was completed, and everyone was just waiting for the announcement by the organization department. However, because a prostitute stated she had slept with that deputy director, Li Guangming detained him for several days. Not only did he lose the chance of becoming bureau chief, but he was even demoted from his position as deputy director."

Han Yu hadn't expected Li Guangming to be such a ruthless character and pondered, "My master would have intervened in such matters too."

"But your master wouldn't have done it the way he did. Your master would definitely gather evidence and even if he took action, he would make it convincing."

Setting his teacup down, Tian Gui added, "It wasn't just in gambling and prostitution cases that he was reckless; in other cases, if he was handling them, small incidents would be blown up into major cases. Even when ordinary people needed to get an ID card or some other certification, if they encountered him, he would intervene and always find ways to make things difficult for them."

Han Yu puzzledly asked, "Why would he go out of his way to make trouble for others?"

"It's said that power, if unused, will expire. That describes exactly the kind of person he is. In any case, he had a terrible reputation in the urban area. Not only did the public despise him, but even many officials from various departments of the county bitterly resented him when they spoke of him."

"Did the county leaders know about this?"

"Didn't I say earlier? He's a cadre's son, very slick. In front of leaders, he would appear obsequious and incredibly obedient, pleasing them greatly."

"What happened afterward?"

"After that, Director Yang took office and perhaps considering the special nature of our police work and the need for someone as tough as him, he was transferred from the Northern City Police Station to be Deputy Director of Sansing Police Station. It seemed like a lateral move but was actually a promotion, especially since the economy in Sansing was doing well."

After crushing out his cigarette, Tian Gui went on, "Later on, Sansing Police Station Chief Li Yuanchun moved to the bureau to serve as Deputy Director, and he was promoted to replace Director Li as Chief of Sansing Police Station. Probably Director Zhou also considered the need for someone tough like him; the bureau did not make many changes to its middle-level cadres in the past two years, except for him."

In police work, there is no way to avoid offending people.

The public despised Li Guangming, and so did many officials.

As Han Yu contemplated how to assess Li Guangming, Tian Gui shifted the subject, "He used to fine many people without giving receipts, and his wife, formerly at the same commercial company, went into business a few years ago, contracting a warehouse from the company to open a building materials market. Their family has a lot of money, I estimate over a million. Some suspect he has financial issues, and many have reported him over the years."

"Have the superiors investigated?"

"I don't know about that."

Many reports over the years without any result indicate that Mr. Li either has no financial issues or, even if he does, he has powerful connections, with leaders suppressing the allegations.

Han Yu realized that the upcoming situation was not so simple and said gravely, "Uncle Tian, I'm afraid the news of my uncles and my brother's arrest will spread soon. Public and private matters need to be separate. I'll go to Sansing to see the situation first; please don't interfere with my family's affairs."

"You can't show up, he will definitely make a big deal out of it if you do!"

"If Director Li really wants to make a fuss over this, it'll be even more troublesome if you guys step in on my behalf."

"You've just been made the head of the branch!"

"I know." Han Yu weighed his options, stood up, and said, "I'll take your motorbike there, and for Master Shi, Uncle Wang, and Uncle Jiang, could you please call them and ask them to absolutely not call Director Li to plead for me."

Tian Gui got anxious, grabbed his arm and said, "Salted Fish, you've just been made the head of the branch; it's time to establish your authority. If you go like this, not only will you lose all your credibility, but you also risk giving Li Guangming a handle to use against you. He must be jealous for not getting the branch head position, and he might escalate the situation. He could accuse you of violating principles to interfere with their case handling."

Han Yu gently pushed away his elder's hand and said with feigned ease, "I have a clear understanding of the situation, I know how to handle it."

"How do you plan to respond?"

"I haven't figured it out yet, I need to assess the situation first."

"You haven't figured it out?"

"Uncle Tian, think about who my master is. If they are simply carrying out their duties and enforcing the law without specifically targeting me, then let this matter be. If they're coming for me and want to make an issue out of it, I'll meet their challenge and see it through to the end."

"Salted Fish, causing a scene won't do you any good. You've just started your position; you're so young with limitless potential. He's almost fifty, has missed this opportunity, and it will be very difficult for him to get promoted to Deputy Director. He's 'barefoot' and you've got 'shoes' on; he's just waiting for you to make a scene. He's truly capable of doing things that harm others without benefiting himself."

"Uncle Tian, I understand what you're saying, but it's not yet certain who's barefoot and who's wearing shoes."

"Why won't you listen to advice, kid."

"There are no kids at work, I'm now the Chief, my word is final, and besides, this is my family matter!"

...

My uncles and older brother, as well as Xiao Jun, have all been arrested. If I just think about my own prospects and ignore them, it won't sit well with my elders. Not to mention that my uncles and older brother have always been so good to me.

Han Yu didn't dare to delay, changed into civilian clothes, mounted the motorbike Tian Gui had brought from Tianbu Police Station to the branch, and rushed off to Sansing in a hurry.

Tian Gui was extremely anxious; seeing that he couldn't stop Han Yu, he hurriedly called Shi Shengyong.

Shi Shengyong was in a meeting, with his cell phone on vibrate.

Leadership was speaking on the platform; how could he dare to answer? He glanced at it and hung up immediately.

To his surprise, just after hanging up, a call came through on the landline in the branch office.

Shi Shengyong realized that it must be something urgent. He frowned and looked towards Political Commissioner Sun Jiawen, who was scanning the audience.

Sun Jiawen noticed Shi Shengyong's hesitancy and, sensing that his old subordinate must have urgent business, subtly nodded in acknowledgement.

Seeing his old leader's permission, Shi Shengyong quickly ducked low and tiptoed out of the meeting room, hurried to the end of the corridor by a window, and quickly redialed the call.

One after another they called, and when he redialed, he found a busy signal.

Thinking about what to do if he continued the meeting and the calls kept coming, Shi Shengyong could only keep redialing repeatedly.

After nearly fifteen minutes of redialing, he finally got through to the branch. He was about to inquire what was happening when he heard Tian Gui urgently discuss Han Yu's family matter on the other end.

Shi Shengyong was shocked and immediately turned to look at the meeting room: "Arrested by Sanxing Police Station?"

"Yep, they arrested Salted Fish's uncle, his second uncle, his big brother, and his big brother's brother-in-law. They even took away the money they should and shouldn't have taken!"

"Li Guangming should be unaware; he's in the meeting with me."

"Master Shi, those folks at Sanxing Police Station could not possibly be unaware that Han Shen is Salted Fish's real brother. Arresting Salted Fish's brother and uncles, they would definitely report it to Li Guangming. Besides, like how I can call you, Old Huang there can do the same."

Shi Shengyong suddenly recalled that Li Guangming did step out to take a call before the meeting. Just now in the meeting, Li Guangming also kept glancing at him with a peculiar look in his eyes.

With these thoughts, Shi Shengyong gnashed his teeth and asked, "What is he trying to pull off?"

"What else could he be after? Obviously he's resentful and can't accept not being made the head of the branch. Master Shi, I can't stop Salted Fish, and he insists on going to Sanxing!"

"Got it, I'll ask him what he really wants after the meeting concludes."

"Salted Fish said not to inquire, not to get involved, claiming it's his family matter."

"His family matter is our matter, can we just ignore it?"

"Salted Fish said he's now the Chief, and his command is final. He asked me to urgently call you because he was worried you would seek out Li Guangming once you found out."

This isn't just about Salted Fish alone; it also concerns the Port District Bureau.

If we let that scum Li succeed, police officers from our bureau will be looked down upon wherever they go in the future.

Shi Shengyong loathed Li Guangming, really wanting to grab Li Guangming and question him after the meeting, but considering that although Salted Fish is young, he is very cautious and never fights battles he's not sure of winning, Shi Shengyong had to suppress his anger and whispered, "Okay, since Salted Fish gave the order, let's hold back for now."

Tian Gui passed along the message but couldn't help worrying as he asked, "Are we really not getting involved?"

Salted Fish managed to bite through such a tough bone as the East Guang Scam School. Compared to that, what's Li Guangming?

Having interacted with Han Yu for so long and full of confidence in him, Shi Shengyong scoffed, "Don't worry, Salted Fish will be fine. We'll just wait and enjoy the show, and see how Li Guangming ends up shooting himself in the foot."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.