Chapter 397: The Development Environment (Part 2)

The proposal for optimizing the development environment was drafted quickly. Hou Weidong learned the origin of the document and read it carefully. After finishing, he felt a sense of dark humor. In his interpretation, the entire three-page document could be summarized in a single sentence: "Police are not allowed to enter the premises of wealthy individuals for random inspections."

This key point seemed highly utilitarian, but upon closer reflection, it was the most pragmatic choice for local governments.

To stimulate enthusiasm across the region, the Provincial Party Committee ranked various localities based on their development indices and published these rankings internally. This ranking served as a crucial basis for the provincial government to allocate resources and was a significant capital for the promotion of local officials. Under the guidance of this "baton," local governments exhausted their ingenuity to foster development, creating a situation where thousands of sails advanced together, vigorously promoting local economic growth.

Naturally, this model had its drawbacks. In the pursuit of political achievements, local governments often engaged in short-sighted actions, particularly the over-exploitation of resources and environmental degradation, leaving endless troubles for their successors.

Every locality sought high-speed development, but resources were always scarce. This was especially true in Lingxi Province, where over a dozen prefecture-level cities were primarily agricultural and lacked distinctive advantages. It was difficult for any single city to surpass the others. Under these circumstances, whoever could bring capital, technology, and projects to a region was treated as a guest of honor. Why should the police, tasked with maintaining local peace, necessarily pick quarrels with these "gods of wealth"?

Against this backdrop, optimizing the development environment became a consensus throughout Shazhou. After Secretary Du Zhengdong of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission proposed the plan, the Standing Committee offered some supplementary opinions, and the proposal was formally passed.

Once the document was issued, many veteran members of the People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference voiced complaints. They muttered grievances: "It’s truly bizarre. The Communist Party’s regime is specifically protecting the bourgeoisie. Not only are they protecting their exploitation of the proletariat, but they are also protecting them from harming the 'flowers of the motherland.'"

These sour remarks were like sparrows flying briefly in the sky before returning to the shade of the trees to rest. After all, all of Shazhou was focused on high-speed development. Reality had taught everyone, including those complaining, that without external forces, Shazhou could never develop on its own.

Luo Jinhao was the central figure in the prostitution raid incident. He deeply empathized with the determination of the Municipal Party Committee and Government to improve the development environment.

In this raid incident, he received a disciplinary sanction and nearly lost his position. The deputy instructor who directly led the raid was transferred to a township to serve as a deputy instructor. This instructor had rotated through several townships and had done considerable work—and spent some money—to return to the city. Who would have thought that an impulse after drinking would cause him such a huge loss?

Luo Jinhao could only express deep regret but was powerless to change the outcome. Since the incident had occurred, someone had to become the scapegoat. It was either Luo Jinhao or that deputy instructor. Luo Jinhao had long passed the age of hot-blooded impulsiveness. Therefore, the deputy instructor simply went back to where he came from.

For this reason, upon receiving the document, Luo Jinhao immediately organized all the police officers at the station. He said, "You have focused too much on operational duties and neglected political study. That is why you went to the Shazhou Hotel to raid for prostitution. Starting today, political study will be held every Friday afternoon. No one is allowed to be absent."

Seeing the expressions of the officers, he pulled up a chair and sat at the door, reminiscent of Lu Zhishen from the classic novel Water Margin. He added, "No one is allowed to take leave. Political study is an ironclad task."

Sitting opposite Luo Jinhao was a group of difficult characters. Most of those who served as police in the urban police station were smart; occasionally, there were a few foolish officers, but behind them stood figures with immense influence. At that moment, these tough guys were very impatient at the news of political study. However, with Station Chief Luo Jinhao glaring at them from the doorway, they could only stay put and listen to the instructor reading the document in a rhythmic tone. Someone yawned first, and soon, the yawn spread like a contagion throughout the conference room.

When Luo Jinhao was a regular officer, he hated political study the most. Now that he was station chief, and especially after experiencing this incident, he realized that political study was indeed an effective management tool tested by time. However, studying these documents was indeed boring. He couldn't help but yawn himself. Just as his mouth opened halfway, he realized it was inappropriate and immediately closed it tightly. Fortunately, his subordinates were all lost in thought, and none noticed that the station chief was also zoning out.

As soon as the political study ended, Luo Jinhao returned to his office and called Hou Weidong. This incident had made him fully appreciate the importance of Hou Weidong as the secretary to the Municipal Party Secretary.

"Junior brother, this is Jinhao. The bureau has officially issued the decision. Thank you for speaking well of me in front of Director Du. Otherwise, I would have been exiled to the border." Hou Weidong glanced at Zhou Changquan through the partition and whispered, "Don't mention it, senior brother."

The afternoon before, which was the second day after the raid incident, Du Zhengdong personally delivered the proposal for optimizing the development environment to Zhou Changquan. Zhou Changquan happened to be discussing matters in the small conference room, so Du Zhengdong came to the secretary's office and chatted casually with Hou Weidong.

Du Zhengdong had previously worked in Shazhou. His return to Shazhou was like Hu Hansan coming back for revenge, yet he always felt unstable. The political and legal system included the Public Security Bureau, the Procuratorate, the Court, and the Justice Bureau. The Chief Procurator and the Court President were powerful municipal leaders, and their rights and obligations were governed by specific laws such as the Judges Law and the Organic Law of the People's Procuratorates. Without prestige or special means, it was difficult for the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission to control these powerful figures.

To gain Zhou Changquan's support, Du Zhengdong visited the Municipal Party Committee every few days to report on his work. His goal was to quickly earn Zhou Changquan's trust. With Zhou Changquan's backing, he could firmly establish his position.

Although Du Zhengdong held a much higher position than Hou Weidong, considering that Hou Weidong was close to Zhou Changquan, his attitude was very friendly. He chatted warmly with Hou Weidong: "Director Hou, I heard you graduated from the Law Department of Shazhou University. This major has supplied many talents to the Shazhou political and legal system."

Hou Weidong was worried about Luo Jinhao's situation and was thinking about how to bring it up. Seeing that Du Zhengdong had handed him the opening, he immediately said, "Yes. Many of our law department graduates work in the public security, procuratorate, court, and justice sectors. Luo Jinhao from the Chengguan police station is my senior brother. We were both vice-captains of the campus discipline patrol back then; he was the predecessor, and I was the successor. However, this time, the raid incident caused trouble."

Du Zhengdong said, "Oh," and added, "The inspection department investigated. Luo Jinhao did not know about this at the time. It was a decision made temporarily by a deputy instructor." He then asked, "Did Secretary Zhou inquire about this matter later?"

Hou Weidong recounted the dinner incident and said, "Since the public security department handled the matter promptly, the Maodong Cigarette Factory had no objections. Secretary Changquan was quite satisfied. As for the specific individuals and events, Secretary Zhou was not most concerned; he wanted to use this as an opportunity to vigorously optimize Shazhou's development environment."

Hearing this, Du Zhengdong had a clear idea. He thought to himself, "Hou Weidong deliberately mentioned Luo Jinhao, obviously wanting to plead for him. I must grant this favor." To establish himself in the Shazhou political and legal system, the core point was to gain Zhou Changquan's support. If Zhou Changquan were to subtly undermine him, he would not be able to control the procuratorate and the court. Therefore, he also valued Hou Weidong, who followed Zhou Changquan closely every day.

When Zhou Changquan returned, Du Zhengdong reported on the plan for optimizing the environment. He added, "Regarding the handling of those responsible, my idea is to transfer the deputy instructor who led the raid from the Chengguan police station to a suburban police station, and for the others, mainly conduct oral criticism and education."

This handling aligned with Zhou Changquan's wishes. He nodded and said, "This plan strikes the right balance. Fine, let's do it this way."

Hou Weidong listened attentively to the conversation between the two leaders. After getting off work, he called Luo Jinhao. He did not explain the process, only saying, "Secretary Du came to the Municipal Party Committee today. You are safe. The deputy instructor who led the raid will be transferred."

The heavy stone in Luo Jinhao's heart finally dropped. "Junior brother, this was all thanks to you. Another day, I will treat you and Weiguo to a drink. We three brothers will have a good time."

Hou Weidong said, "It was a trivial matter, not worth mentioning." Luo Jinhao gratefully replied, "It might be a small matter for you, but it was a life-and-death issue for me. Let's find a time for you two to have a drink." Hou Weidong added a warning, "You must keep this confidential. Do not tell anyone." Luo Jinhao hurriedly said, "Rest assured. I know the confidentiality rules."

Hou Weidong was willing to help Luo Jinhao for two reasons. First, Luo Jinhao was his senior brother, and they had known each other for several years. Years ago, during a fight near the train station, Luo Jinhao had helped him. Although it was a small matter, he had always kept it in mind.

Secondly, Luo Jinhao was the head of the Chengguan police station. Although his rank was low, his power was significant, his contacts were wide, and his methods were unconventional. Previously, when searching for Zhu Mei, who had run away from home, Luo Jinhao had ordered a check of all hotels in the urban area with a single command. He was quite capable. By preserving his position, Hou Weidong was also reserving a piece on the chessboard for himself. Who knew when it might come in handy?