Chapter Fourteen: The Pioneers

  Liu Baojun did not expect that early next morning, Lu Zhong would send over a draft of the county's recruitment reform plan.

  Liu Baojun felt amused in his heart, but for the sake of Lu Zhong's face, he still forced himself to glance at it a few times.

  The main content of this draft or reform plan is to standardize the discipline of employees, implement new employee management regulations, and punish employees who violate the regulations. The second point is to rectify the guest rooms in the reception office, improve the sanitary conditions of the guest rooms, and open up the wall on the side of the reception office as a side door, so that the reception office can be connected with the prosperous Wuning Road outside, and hang a signboard of the reception office at a conspicuous position above the side door, and make a light box. The fourth is some reward measures for cadres and employees.

  While he was flipping through, Lu Zhong explained to him one by one. "In fact, the environment of County Hotel is among the best in Guangning, and the price is similar to that of state-run hotels. The main problem is that County Hotel has always served leaders and has a sense of superiority over workers, peasants and soldiers. If you want to reform and create economic efficiency, you must put your mind at ease, smile and welcome guests, and let the cadres and staff of County Hotel clearly know that every customer is God, their parents who provide them with food and clothing. I think this can't be solved from the ideological root for the time being, it can only be forced to change their minds through reward and punishment measures, so this punishment measure must be strict and in place."

  "When they put aside their pride and the publicity is in place, then attracting customers will not be far behind."

  Lu Zhong took a sip of water and continued: "Speaking of publicity, I have to mention the third point. The geographical location of Xianzhao is very good. Moreover, in the hearts of Guangning people, it is mysterious and high above. Now that it has opened up to the outside world, these reputations are the key to attracting customers. But the problem is, who knows where the entrance of this Xianzhao is? I'm afraid not many people know."

  "So, opening a side door, making a light box, and to some extent isolating the county committee's courtyard is inevitable. With signs and light boxes on Wuning Road, people coming and going will naturally have an impression of this place having a reception hall. In fact, the geographical location of the county reception hall is very good, but in the past, it never knew how to promote itself, and even the tourists entering and exiting the workers' club next door would not notice this inconspicuous building."

  "As for the reward measures, county recruits should be able to see and touch them, so that they can feel that as long as they actively play their role, there will be bread and bonuses, and the wages and bonuses earned will definitely be more than before."

  Lu Zhong spoke with a dry mouth and tongue, Liu Baojun nodded lightly, but to be honest, he didn't take it too seriously either. Lu Zhong's image as a " roughneck" was deeply rooted in the eyes of many people, and it wasn't easy to change.

  Lu Zhong could see through Liu Baojun's perfunctory attitude, but he didn't care, as long as the words were said. Liu Baojun would surely weigh his own pros and cons afterwards. As for his own proposals, they were actually some very superficial things. At present, not to mention Guangning, even in all of China, there were no excellent entrepreneurs, after all, none of them had gone through the tempering of a market economy. Therefore, the outcome of some popular contractors and private entrepreneurs was not so wonderful later on.

  Liu Baojun casually flipped through the draft that Lu Zhong had stayed up all night to complete, and unexpectedly found that the appendix at the back actually included a detailed "Regulations on Employee Management".

  Liu Baojun was taken aback for a moment. This rascal wasn't just scribbling casually, how could he be so serious?

  This, however, inadvertently made him pay more attention, and after glancing at it a few times, he furrowed his brow and said: "Deducting wages for being improperly dressed? Deducting wages for arguing with customers? Lu Zhong, is this still a socialist country? If you pass on this rule, won't the whole factory be turned upside down?"

  Lu Zhong smiled and said, "Everything has a process of gradual progress and acceptance. The county guest house was originally supposed to be an independently operated enterprise, but it's unrealistic for them to rely on financial support forever. They can't accept this now, so they're making a fuss. But have they ever thought that one day the financial support will stop, and they'll become self-sufficient? So, even if it's the worst result, I think the county government officials and staff will consider it themselves."

  Lu Zhong also said: "If it really comes to the point of self-collection and self-payment, can the county recruit pay wages in its current state? Is it better for them to lose their jobs all at once or start changing now? What's the harm in being scolded by employees for a while? A distant journey tests a horse's strength, and time reveals a person's heart. I believe that the employees who are most opposed to this reform will be the ones who appreciate it the most in the future."

  Lu Zhong almost personally went hand in hand to persuade the county's recruited cadres and staff with "carrots and sticks", and both the "black face" and "white face" were used together.

  Liu Baojun nodded slowly and didn't say much else.

  Lu Zhong bid farewell to Liu Baojun's office and happened to see Zhang Ju following behind Vice Secretary Ma Weiguo, turning a corner and going upstairs.

  Ma Weiguo is the first deputy secretary of Guangning County, who has been eyeing the county magistrate's throne and has a big opinion on Qiu Secretary. Zhang Ju, who has always had a close relationship with Ma Weiguo, heard that the two have intersected in the provincial and municipal circles.

  Recently, there has been an intention to adjust the Guangning class, Ma Weiguo's backstage is very hard, and after the adjustment, the position of county magistrate will likely be left to him. Now, in private and public, he is also gradually challenging the authority of Qiu Da and Secretary Yiyantang. Ma Weiguo is a whole generation younger than Secretary Qiu, with a bright future ahead. Last year, he parachuted into Guangning, and it was said that he originally came to be the county magistrate, but Qiu Da and others refused to give up power, using their seniority influence to change the original intention of the top leadership.

  The Guangning County Party Committee has two distinct cliques, which is well-known among the top officials in Guangning.

  As for Liu Baojun, he and Lu Zhong were in a similar personnel environment at the county bureau, belonging to marginal figures. Not only did he have old grievances with County Party Secretary Qiu Dahe, but also with County Party First Vice Secretary and Organization Department Director Ma Weiguo, which was due to his irreconcilable contradictions with Zhang Jingang. Between him and Zhang Qingming, Ma Weiguo naturally chose the latter. Without mentioning the depth of their background, from a practical power perspective, controlling Zhang Qingming meant controlling the county public security bureau, the most powerful department, so what could Liu Baojun do?

  Because he felt he had no foothold, Liu Baojun harbored thoughts of resignation and only wanted to leave Guangning.

  Zhang Qingming and Ma Weiguo both saw Lu Zhong coming out of Liu Baogun's office, Zhang Qingming slightly frowned, heard that he was close to the county bureau head, and getting closer to Liu Baogun.

  As they walked up the stairs, Ma Weiguo asked, "Is that Lu Zhong?" Seeing Zhang Qingming nodding, he didn't pay much attention to it. He was just a small fry, just like Liu Baojun, two insignificant people who were both unhappy with their lives, which is why they got along so well.

  ……

  Lu Zhong returned to the office in the Industrial and Commercial Office Building, Du Xiaohu came with a red face excitedly to report, saying that just now the law enforcement team had taken action and caught a profiteering businessman.

  After several violent anti-law enforcement incidents, the law enforcement supervision team is now mainly composed of public security and auxiliary industry and commerce. The captain of the law enforcement supervision team is Du Xiaohu.

  Lu Zhong took over the transcript and glanced at it twice, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

  The arrested businessman is a local of Guangning, named Wan Dewu, who secretly brought over 20 electronic calculators from Shenzhen and sold them in Guangning, mainly to individual businesses and accountants.

  Looking at the record, this Wandewu is a bit clever, that is to say, there is no background and it's not a scam or selling fake goods, but if the crime is confirmed, he will definitely be sentenced to prison.

  Lu Zhong thought for a moment and said: "I'll go take a look at him."

  Du Xiaohu led the team to catch people for the first time, and he was so excited that "Great, Commissar, this guy is cunning. I think there might be a big case on his body."

  Lu Zhong shook his head helplessly, walked out of the office two steps, and suddenly said in a low voice to Du Xiaohu: "Xiaohu, I'll let you in on a secret, our Strike Hard campaign is going to be abolished soon. Some of the people we've caught aren't all that bad, sometimes it's better to just turn a blind eye."

  Du Xiaohu was stunned for a moment, although he didn't quite understand, but he had always listened to Lu Zhong's words and nodded saying: "Got it."

  The interrogation room was not far from Lu Zhong's office, and against the wall, a short, fat man with handcuffs on his wrists looked like a ball, giving people a bad impression at first sight.

  But Lu Zhong was not someone who judges people by their appearance.

  The duty police officer saw Lu Zhong and Du Xiaohu come in and quickly stood up to greet them: "Commissioner, Team Du!"

  The short and stout man's body shook slightly as he looked up, his nose was blue and his face was swollen, it was obvious that he had been beaten badly.

  Lu Zhong walked over, pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the short fat man, looking down at him with an air of superiority. The legs of the chair scraped against the cement floor, making a long "squeak" sound, which made the short fat man's face turn white as he thought someone was coming to beat him up again. It wasn't hard to understand why - Lu Zhong's actions were those of someone who looked down on him and didn't consider him a person.

  It's not strange for Lu Zhong, from a military background, after working in the public security system for over a year, often dealing with extremely vicious and evil criminals. For this type of criminal, if you treat them as human beings, it simply won't work. Being ruthless to enemies and warmly treating comrades like spring is just an ideal state.

  "How old are you?" Lu Zhong asked calmly.

  "R-report, I-I'm thirty-two." Wandewu's body trembled with fear, afraid of being beaten by Lu Zhēn. The first time he was taken to the bureau, he thought he would die from the terror of the authoritarian regime, and finally learned his lesson. It was a frightening experience that made his bones feel icy cold.

  Lu Zhong looked at his swollen eyes, frowned, and reached out to touch him, but didn't expect Wan Dewu to let out a strange cry, his body almost shrinking into the heating vent, shouting: "Don't hit me, don't hit me! I'll say anything, anything!"

  It is also true that in Wan De Wu's record, he was summoned for secretly watching a widow take a bath when he was young.

  Officer Li kicked him twice and scolded: "Be honest!"

  Lu Zhong waved his hand and said to Du Xiaohu: "Xiaohu, re-do a written record for him. If he's just helping to make connections, confiscate the stolen goods and have him lead us to catch the source."

  Du Xiaohu didn't think much, but he wasn't foolish either. Lu Zhong had already given him a preventive shot beforehand, so he naturally understood what Lu Zhong meant and readily agreed with a loud "Ah".

  Lu Zhong returned to his office and flipped through the documents from the Strike Force, occasionally shaking his head.

  In the afternoon when it was almost time to get off work, the office door was lightly knocked on.

  As Lu Zhong shouted "Come in", unexpectedly, a small round head rushed in, it was indeed Wan Dewu.

  At first, when Wandewu re-recorded his confession, he refused to admit that he was just an intermediary and instead stuck to his original statement, saying that he was the seller, that all the calculators were smuggled from Shenzhen by him, and that he was a speculator who disrupted the socialist economy.

  Du Xiaohu was fired again and received a reprimand. He followed Du Xiaohu's guidance step by step, becoming an intermediary and having to redeem himself by helping the law enforcement team catch the "mastermind".

  It wasn't until the handcuffs were removed and he was told to come back tomorrow that Wande Wu's head gradually cleared, and he realized that he was probably fine. Maybe, if they couldn't catch the "mastermind" after a while, he would just be detained for a few days.

  Thinking carefully, the turning point of things happened after that "political commissar" came, but why did the "political commissar" help himself?

  Wan Dewu was at a loss, standing outside Lu Zhong's office, rubbing his swollen wrist, thinking back on the past few days' experiences, it really felt like a nightmare.

  Lu Zhong saw that it was Wan Dewu who had come in, and didn't call him in. He furrowed his brow: "What's the matter?"

  Wan Dewu thought that Lu Zhong might have some intention, so he naturally wanted to take the initiative to explore and see if there were any hints from "Zhengwei". But now seeing Lu Zhong's expression, he didn't dare say anything more, hastily saying: "Nothing, nothing, Zhengwei, your great kindness..."

  Lu Zhong interrupted him and said lightly: "If nothing's wrong, then you can go."

  Wan Dequan didn't dare to speak again, he shrunk his head and saw people in uniform passing by him, his heart was shocked, he hastily rushed downstairs, first escaping from the tiger's mouth.

  After a while, Du Xiaohu came to find Lu Zhong and asked if he wanted to go eat.

  After two people returned from Beijing, Lu Zhong felt that the cost of living in a hotel for a long time was too high, so he rented a bungalow in Zhaozhuang, county suburbs. Now he and Du Xiaohu live and eat together.

  Lu Zhong shook his head: "I'll go to Aunt Cuihong's house for a while." After returning from Beijing, he hadn't visited his adoptive parents yet. He had only shown up once and then disappeared again. He needed to give Aunt Cuihong an explanation. Lu Zhong also planned to tell her about his military service and his current job, after all, there was nothing to hide from his adoptive parents anymore.