Chapter 578

For three consecutive days, not a single director came to work.

When there are no tigers in the mountains, the monkeys claim to be kings. Every section came to me with matters, and I was basically at a loss. Regarding petition work, I had no impression at all. When I was a Deputy County Magistrate in Chunshan County, because I wasn't in charge of petition work, I had never stepped foot into the County Petition Bureau in all my years as a deputy magistrate.

On the fourth day, just as I arrived at the office, Zhou Yun came to notify me of a meeting, saying that Director Lilian had come and the bureau was going to hold a director's office meeting.

I didn't know Director Lilian; I only knew he was a Deputy Secretary-General of the Municipal Government. Following Zhou Yun into the conference room, I found three old men sitting inside. One of them saw me enter and nodded with a smile. The other two old men were serious and sat upright.

It wasn't until Zhou Yun introduced me that I learned the one nodding with a smile was Director Lilian. The two old men with serious faces were the deputy directors.

Director Lilian, or rather Deputy Secretary-General Lilian, announced the meeting once everyone was seated.

I looked at the three old men in the conference room and counted, but there was still one person missing. Before I came, the Petition Bureau had a structure of one director and three deputy directors; with me, there were four deputy directors. Now there were only three deputy directors in the conference room; clearly, one deputy director hadn't arrived.

My confusion was instantly resolved by Deputy Secretary-General Lilian.

Old Zheng, one of the three deputy directors, was unable to handle daily affairs due to his advanced age. The work of the Supervision Section, which he was originally responsible for, was now changed to my responsibility.

I muttered to myself, the People's Congress and the CPPCC are the places where old men and old ladies gather, so how did the Petition Bureau become a place for retirement?

This question was only answered when Zeng Ping reported to me. It turned out that these old men were originally the heads of some important bureaus and commissions, but they weren't qualified to enter the People's Congress or the CPPCC, so they had no choice but to come to the Petition Bureau.

After Deputy Secretary-General Lilian finished assigning work, he began to enter the focus of today's meeting.

The Mayor is coming to the Petition Bureau to receive visitors on Wednesday morning this week!

This news is very important. Although the Petition Bureau has set up a Mayor's hotline, the person sitting behind the phone will never be the Mayor. As for how many of the calls made to the Mayor's hotline actually reach the Mayor's desk, even ghosts don't know.

Petition work has a special reception day. Since this regulation was established, it is said that the Mayor came once, but only sat for half an hour before hurriedly ending the reception work.

The Mayor is too busy! Busy to the point of not having a moment to spare, and won't have much time to listen to petitioners rambling on.

According to the opinions of some leaders, most of those who petition are unreasonable troublemakers! Since they are unreasonable, there's no need to have a good attitude, let alone some petition matters are trivial and not worth making a big fuss about.

The key point is that although the Petition Bureau's rank isn't low, it is a department without real power. There are some things you want to solve, but you are helpless and have no power, and no one pays attention to them. Therefore, working in the Petition Bureau, one must learn the "drag" technique, or at the very least, learn the "transfer" technique.

The so-called "drag" means that no matter how much grievance a petitioner has, as long as it involves a problem that cannot be solved, the Petition Bureau will verbally promise to investigate and implement, suppressing the petition case, suppressing it for a year or two, which is not strange at all. The biggest advantage of the "drag" technique is that the petitioner has no reason to continue petitioning because someone has already promised to investigate. The petitioner waits patiently, the Petition Bureau keeps dragging, and some cases just disappear as they are dragged on. Either the petitioner dies, or the petitioner loses confidence.

And the "transfer" technique contains infinite wisdom.

The Petition Bureau has no handling power and can only entrust relevant departments to investigate and handle. In this way, when encountering trivial cases, they are simply transferred to the unit that caused others to petition for investigation and handling.

The science of "transfer" lies in recognizing the nature of the case. If the complaint is against a superior or a unit of the same level, the "drag" technique must be used; if it is an incident caused by a subordinate department, a "transfer" technique can solve all problems.

Deputy Secretary-General Lilian warned us that this is the second time the Mayor is coming to receive visitors, so there must be no mistakes.

"Where could mistakes happen?" I asked bluntly.

My culture made the two deputy director old men unhappy, and both of them cast reproachful looks at me. I was almost on the verge of collapse under their four sharp gazes.

I don't understand, do I? I muttered hatefully in my heart.

Deputy Secretary-General Lilian wasn't angry, but turned to smile at me and said, "Director Chen, you should be the one telling us where mistakes might happen, not us telling you."

My face burned with heat, but I didn't stop; instead, I put on a smiling face and said, "Secretary-General, you are seniors, I just arrived, and I'm not familiar with the business. I'm sorry!"

Lilian corrected me, "It's Deputy Secretary-General, not Secretary-General."

I wanted to laugh in my heart; isn't I elevating you? Calling you Secretary-General, removing the "Deputy" word, you might not be happy on the surface, but aren't you happy to death in your heart?

Everyone knows that the word "Deputy" makes a world of difference. The Municipal Government is the highest administrative power organ in the city. Although the Government Secretary-General is a bit smaller than the Municipal Party Committee Secretary-General, in our Hengyue City, the Government Secretary-General is a member of the Standing Committee.

When paying New Year's greetings to Municipal Party Committee Secretary Chen during the Spring Festival, I learned that he is going to retire to the second line this year. The person with the highest voice to take over for Secretary Chen is the Mayor. If the Mayor successfully takes the position, the Government Secretary-General will then transform into the Municipal Party Committee Secretary-General. And people like Lilian and the other deputy secretaries-general will either transform into Municipal Party Committee Deputy Secretaries-General or be promoted to Government Secretary-General.

As long as the word "Deputy" is removed, the value will immediately double.

My flattery just now clearly received quite a bit of effect, and smiles appeared on the faces of the three old men.

Lilian said earnestly, "Director Chen, working in our Petition Bureau, one must not only have the heart for the suffering of the people of the world but also have the courage to speak the truth."

I nodded frequently in agreement, the smile on my face making me feel disgusted just thinking about it.

Since the Mayor is coming, this work cannot be sloppy. Even if he isn't the future Secretary, just by virtue of the Mayor's hat, we small cadres are not in his eyes at all.

If a mistake occurs, it won't affect just one person, but the entire bureau.

I proposed to do a good job in security work first. Security work, although it seems small, can affect the direction of everything. When the Mayor travels, not to mention clearing the way with gongs, one must at least maintain silence and not allow noise.

Lilian looked at me with interest and said, "Your suggestion is very good, we must indeed do a good job in security work to ensure that a situation unfavorable to stability and unity does not appear."

Deputy Secretary-General Lilian's words actually conveyed a message: we must first screen the people the Mayor receives. We cannot have petition events that make the Mayor unable to step down.

And we must ensure that the people received have no violent tendencies.

But apart from the Public Security Bureau, no one else has the power to search people.

Just when everyone was at a loss, the name of Municipal Bureau Chief Wan Xiao came to my mind.

I said, "I will arrange the security work."

Deputy Secretary-General Lilian looked at me and asked, "Are you sure?"

I said confidently, "Yes, don't worry."

I didn't say Wan Xiao's name. In fact, given Secretary-General Lilian's seniority, it would be a matter of one word for him to get Wan Xiao to handle things. Moreover, this is out of consideration for the Mayor's safety and is a major matter related to the national economy and the people's livelihood.

The most common cases in the Petition Bureau now are demolition problems. Demolition is decided by the Municipal Party Committee, a high-pressure situation that no one can change. Regarding demolition problems, the court will not accept them, and the only channel is through the petition route.

Ordinary people all think that through petitioning, their wishes and requirements can be realized, but the fact is that their petitioning is itself a path that sees no sunlight.

There have been cases where petitioners have detonated bombs in the Petition Bureau, and as for cases of threatening petition workers with knives, they are endless.

After implementing security, the next step is to collectively study and screen petition cases.

People who have worked in the Petition Bureau for a long time know who is a troublemaker and who is making unreasonable trouble. Who has real grievances, and whose cases will never be solved.

Cases regarding demolition must not be allowed to be received by the Mayor, because such cases will make the Mayor unable to step down.

Cases of grievances and complaints cannot be received by the Mayor either, because the Mayor cannot reach a conclusion without investigation.

The only thing the Mayor can receive is the issue of implementing treatment. Such petitions are simple, for example, those who are dissatisfied with the implementation of policies after retiring from the army, or those whose treatment for the disabled has not been reflected, basically belong to cases that can be solved with a wave of the hand. The Mayor's decision is the final decision, which is very easy and can reflect the Mayor's efficiency and capability.

The points I raised were all agreed upon by the three old men. When the meeting was dismissed, Secretary-General Lilian kept me behind to give instructions, saying, "Little Chen, you should take on more of the bureau's work in the future. You know Old Zheng and the others, they are old and their energy is limited. Now you are the only young cadre in the bureau, although I know you won't stay long, but as long as you stay in the bureau for one day, you must do your best!"

I was left itching by his words. Did Deputy Secretary-General Lilian mean to tell me that in the Petition Bureau, apart from him, I am the boss?

And he revealed in his words that I wouldn't stay long; could it be that he heard some rumors?

I couldn't ask any of these questions now; I had to let myself appear a bit slow, because I really didn't know what was behind this.

After the meeting, Deputy Secretary-General Lilian had to go to the Municipal Government. His office was not in the Petition Bureau, but in the Government Building.

As soon as Deputy Secretary-General Lilian left, the other two old men also wanted to leave.

The meeting the director just held needs to be implemented, but they are all leaving, so who will implement it?

I hesitated and asked the old men, "Seniors, are we still holding our meeting?"

The two old men said in unison, "Yes, why wouldn't we?"

I looked at the old men who were ready to leave, my confusion fully expressed.

The old men probably guessed my thoughts and smiled, "Director Chen, you arrange the meeting. We trust you!"

The two old men ran away as if they were in a panic; I couldn't even hold them back.

However, once they left, this monkey was the only one left in the mountain! Bah! How could I be a monkey? I am a leading cadre, a dignified Deputy Director of the Hengyue Municipal Government Petition Bureau.

I beckoned Zhou Yun over and ordered him to prepare for the meeting.