Chapter 547: Promotion

The breeze brushed against their faces, and the Ning River rippled.

A few days after Jiang Yuan and the others returned, Chai Tong convened a bureau-wide meeting. He emphatically read out letters of commendation from several municipal bureaus and, in the same breath, bestowed honors upon Jiang Yuan, Wu Junhao, and the others.

"The Cold Case Task Force, led by Jiang Yuan, is awarded a Collective Third-Class Merit."

"The First Squadron of the Criminal Police Brigade is awarded a Collective Third-Class Merit."

"Forensic expert Jiang Yuan of the Criminal Police Brigade's Criminal Science and Technology Squadron is awarded an Individual Commendation."

"Wu Junhao of the First Squadron of the Criminal Police Brigade is awarded an Individual Commendation."

Chai Tong stood on the stage, reading the documents with cadence and emphasis.

For a county bureau, a Collective Third-Class Merit still held some weight; it was a priority consideration for evaluations, promotions, and professional titles. Depending on the financial situation, there was usually a small bonus as well.

An Individual Commendation was also decent, though for Jiang Yuan and Wu Junhao, it felt a bit basic.

For Jiang Yuan, he currently had one First-Class Merit and one Commendation for which he hadn't yet selected a skill. This meant he could gain an additional LV6 and an LV3 minor skill, which was quite good.

Of course, Chai Tong didn't know this, nor was that his goal.

When the meeting ended, Chai Tong left the venue on his own, without saying a single extra word.

Huang Qiangmin and the others, especially Jiang Yuan's non-compliance, had naturally caused Chai Tong to accumulate significant pressure. The praise and invitations that poured in following the resolution of the Jingyang Line triple-homicide case only added to that pressure.

"Director Chai is about to make a big move," Huang Qiangmin warned Jiang Yuan after they left the venue.

"What kind of move?" Jiang Yuan asked with some curiosity.

"Nothing more than personnel and financial power. Financial power is a bit slow and has already been tried to no avail. That leaves adjusting personnel," Huang Qiangmin said in a low voice.

During this trip, they had actually managed to resolve the income issue for the Baldy Squad. Since Chai Tong had blocked their performance bonuses, getting subsidies from other counties was enough.

But when it came to personnel issues, no one else could intervene.

As for Director Chai's style, there was actually nothing special about it; many leaders were like that. It was just that many subordinates weren't like Huang Qiangmin and Jiang Yuan.

Therefore, for Huang Qiangmin, there was nothing particularly surprising about what Chai Tong would do, how he would do it, or what kind of reaction he would have.

However, guessing was one thing. As a newly promoted deputy, he had no leverage to contend with the top leader in terms of power. Even if he wanted to arm-wrestle, he would have to struggle to find a fulcrum, and normally, failure was the most likely outcome.

The Guan Xi that Huang Qiangmin was familiar with had gone to the municipal bureau. All he could rely on was Jiang Yuan, plus half the advantage of the local faction.

However, having said that, if Jiang Yuan wanted to stay in Ningtai, having Huang Qiangmin's protection was the most comfortable arrangement. Director Chai belonged to the "selling the piglet" model, only thinking about getting promoted and leaving as quickly as possible.

If one followed the standard political route, discussing things and helping Director Chai get promoted would be the most cost-effective move.

It was just that neither Huang Qiangmin nor Jiang Yuan had such thoughts.

The water remained calm for a few days, and Huang Qiangmin looked relaxed for two days, even finding time to burn yellow paper with Wu Jun, which was said to bring blessings, avoid disasters, and lead to promotions and salary increases.

By Monday, Huang Qiangmin returned with a livid face.

"Wu Junhao has been transferred."

Huang Qiangmin came to the forensic office and, in his anger, drank a whole bottle of mineral water in one breath.

"Transferred where?" Jiang Yuan handed Huang Qiangmin another bottle of water.

"Litang Township Police Station, as deputy chief," Huang Qiangmin said angrily. "They call it a 'major rotation,' claiming the Criminal Police Brigade needs to support township stations. They swapped three people, and Wu Junhao was among them."

A squadron leader of the Criminal Police Brigade being transferred to a deputy chief position at a police station was nominally a promotion and a sign of being valued. Many people might be quite happy about it. After all, a deputy chief of a police station had some power, and the work content was relatively relaxed. But only the person involved would know how it truly felt.

"What does Squad Leader Wu say?" Jiang Yuan was curious about Wu Junhao's thoughts. For his age, transferring to deputy chief should be a good thing; it was a big step forward in his career and also beneficial for his physical health.

It was just that this way, the Baldy Squad would be under someone else's control. Furthermore, Litang Township was a distance away from the Ningtai County seat, and the working conditions weren't great, which could very well be detrimental to family harmony.

Huang Qiangmin was a bit uncertain for a moment and said slowly, "I haven't told him yet. He should know in a while."

As Huang Qiangmin spoke, he took a Zhonghua cigarette from Jiang Yuan's desk, lit one for himself, and then called Wu Junhao.

A while later, Wu Junhao arrived, rubbing his shiny bald head.

Huang Qiangmin gave a rough summary of the meeting and asked Wu Junhao, "What do you think?"

"Whatever you say, I'll do. I'll just work until the end," Wu Junhao said, indicating he didn't want to use his brain.

Huang Qiangmin looked at Jiang Yuan with an expression seeking his opinion and asked, "What do you think?"

Jiang Yuan handed Wu Junhao a cigarette and said, "If you're asking me, my opinion is to solve cases. I'll follow Squad Leader Wu, go to Litang Township, and solve a wave of cases first."

Wu Junhao felt great hearing this and immediately nodded, "That's good! I agree. Let's just solve cases; who cares what others do."

Huang Qiangmin laughed in anger: "Your First Squadron is gone, what will you do?"

"I never liked managing people anyway. If it works, it works; if not, forget it. I'll resign and go home to be a security guard. There's soil to bury a person everywhere." Wu Junhao didn't say it out loud, but he was actually fed up inside.

If it weren't for Jiang Yuan and Huang Qiangmin helping him with all their might, Wu Junhao might have given up long ago.

In fact, what he couldn't let go of and couldn't tolerate most was the discriminatory treatment of his First Squadron members. Now that he was stepping down from his position in the First Squadron, he actually felt more relaxed.

Huang Qiangmin was furious, but seeing this, he still had to comfort Wu Junhao.

Jiang Yuan's eyes saw the system interface pop up:

Task: Many small things can break an axle.

Task Content: Wu Junhao has a straightforward, brave, and strong personality; he doesn't like to compromise. Now, the pressure he is under has reached 30% of what a normal person can handle, and he can no longer bear more. Help him with his work in Litang Township.

Task Progress: 0/X

Task Reward: Crime Scene Investigation +1

Jiang Yuan had obtained the LV4 Crime Scene Investigation skill a long time ago. Now, using it, even for very complex scenes, it was still very effective.

But it had to be said, upgrading the skill to LV5 would definitely be even better, especially effective!

This type of skill was used so frequently that the cost-effectiveness of upgrading it seemed exceptionally high.

Not to mention that Jiang Yuan supported Wu Junhao, now that the system was providing compensation, he had no choice but to act quickly and decisively.

Looking at Huang Qiangmin's helpless and pained expression, Jiang Yuan said, "Regardless, Squad Leader Wu is getting a promotion. Let's go together to send him to his new post... and incidentally, help him solve a batch of cases."

"Solving a batch of cases sounds about right." Wu Junhao's pressure eased slightly, and he smiled, adding, "Actually, Jiang Yuan, if you're too busy, you don't have to go. I can find cases myself, and if I need technical support, I can find you. I'm a deputy over there, and I might not be able to command the people below..."

"Squad Leader Wu, even if you're being transferred, you can't talk about Director Huang like that." Jiang Yuan put on a serious expression.

Wu Junhao was stunned, then laughed, his pressure greatly reduced.

Seeing this, Huang Qiangmin patted Jiang Yuan heavily on the shoulder.

To be honest, his pressure was also very high, but as someone who had been a Criminal Police Brigade leader for a long time, his tolerance for pressure was very high.

Wu Junhao left quietly, without notifying anyone else.

Three people, three cars, sent Wu Junhao to take up his post as deputy chief. ===== CHAPTER 548 =====