One night of peace, the last Monday of 1928 arrived amidst the chirping of morning birds.
"Get up."
"Who are you?"
"Remember, my name is Lu Qingqing. I am your fiancée. As I need to rush to the academy for class and don't have much time to introduce myself, please remember my face, my name, and our relationship."
After speaking, the woman pointed to the adjacent room. "There sleeps a 10-year-old boy. His name is Lu Duobao, your future brother-in-law."
"Before seven o'clock, you must wake him up, prepare breakfast for him. It doesn't need to be fancy, just filling. Then, urge him to go to school."
"Also, your new office is at No. 28 Yiren Lane. Li Yang will tell you everything. You can refer to the memo in your bedside drawer for what I've just said. I'm telling you this only to give you a heads-up, so you can quickly accept your current situation."
"Remember, my name is Lu Qingqing, your fiancée."
Then, a gust of wind swept by, and the woman vanished. If not for the sound of her hurried footsteps descending the stairs, Hu Jia would have thought he was hallucinating.
Lu Qingqing?
My fiancée?
Meanwhile, Lu Qingqing, who had scampered downstairs, kept patting her chest.
She was so nervous, so incredibly nervous just now.
She had practiced that long speech for a very, very long time before she could deliver it so smoothly.
She hoped she had conveyed everything clearly. As long as he remembered that her name was Lu Qingqing and that she was his fiancée, that would be enough!
Upon entering the academy, everyone was engaged in lively discussions.
Lu Qingqing had now become the leader of Group Eight in the new student class. The initial desire to curry favor with her had transformed into genuine admiration.
This woman was not only highly capable herself but also level-headed and valued camaraderie. If nothing else, consider Wang Xue; thanks to a plea from Hu Jia, her 20-year sentence was reduced to 15 years.
Furthermore, due to the connections of Ye Fengyi and Guan Jinsong, students from other groups in the new class had also become acquainted with Lu Qingqing. Oh, and Cao Yang, he often brought his senior classmates to hang out with Lu Qingqing.
"You've become the networking queen of the academy. Forget about anything else; our students come from various police departments, and some even from special units in different branches. Wherever you go in the future, people will greet you," Zhan Ruoxuan said with a smile.
"Just greetings aren't enough; they need to be able to speak to each other," Lu Qingqing replied.
"How can they speak to each other?"
"Heh heh, by making them the backbone of their respective departments and even branches."
Seeing Lu Qingqing say it so casually, Zhan Ruoxuan found it hard to believe. "How is that possible? You can't decide their professional skills or personnel promotions."
"People are valued because they possess the necessary strength. I naturally cannot interfere with their personnel matters, but I am confident in improving their professional capabilities."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Heh heh, we haven't reached that stage yet. We'll discuss it later."
Lu Qingqing gave a mysterious smile, deciding it was best not to reveal certain things too early.
Seeing Lu Qingqing unwilling to elaborate, Zhan Ruoxuan didn't press further. This woman always had her own principles, and he trusted her judgment.
"By the way, what were they discussing earlier about the reform of the police departments?" Lu Qingqing recalled some gossip she had overheard upon entering the academy.
"It's about the Police Bureau being renamed the Police Department, with some departmental adjustments and personnel changes. Everyone is discussing their future whereabouts," Zhan Ruoxuan explained.
Hearing this, Lu Qingqing remembered that Chongqing was undergoing extensive expansion, and many former suburban areas were now incorporated into the city. The large-scale relocation of graves at Qixinggang mentioned earlier was due to this reason.
Although the grave relocation at Qixinggang was still ongoing, the urban expansion in other areas had largely taken shape. With a larger urban area, the police force naturally needed to be reallocated.
If a new branch was established in the new urban area, wouldn't a new leadership team need to be formed?
Therefore, many people were concerned about this adjustment. Some wished to spread their wings in a new location, while others preferred to remain in familiar and comfortable territories.
Thinking of this, Lu Qingqing suddenly recalled Hu Jia mentioning that the Special Operations Team would also return to work at the Municipal Police Headquarters. At that time, the Municipal Criminal Investigation Department and the Special Operations Team would merge, possibly forming Criminal Investigation Group One and Criminal Investigation Group Two.
Hmm?
As Lu Qingqing pondered, she realized it was time to discuss some matters with Ouyang Wen.
...
During her lunch break, Lu Qingqing found Ouyang Wen. However, Ouyang Wen seemed to be in low spirits, chain-smoking one cigarette after another, filling the entire office with smoke.
"What's wrong? Feeling down?"
"It's the reinvestigation of the shooting case. It's been rejected again."
Seeing Lu Qingqing arrive, Ouyang Wen seemed to regain some energy. Ouyang Wen explained that he had submitted two applications to reopen the investigation into the shooting case this week, but both were rejected by his superiors.
He had even argued with his superiors about it, but they were unable to help. He had just come from Qiao Huali's office, where he was told that the higher-ups' current stance was that he could investigate privately, but the police department's resources would absolutely not be used.
Lu Qingqing also felt disappointed. This was the reality. None of these officials would expend significant resources to investigate old cases.
After all, if the case was solved, it would be an old case from the previous government. The time lapse would be too long, and it wouldn't cause a sensation, nor would it bring any substantial benefits to their reputation.
However, if it went wrong, it would bring trouble. Someone might impeach him for mismanaging the team and wasting police resources, making it an unrewarding task.
"It's okay. Since they've allowed us to investigate ourselves, we'll do it ourselves. After all, those people can't be relied upon," Lu Qingqing comforted Ouyang Wen.
Ouyang Wen smiled; it was the only way.
"By the way, why are you here?"
"I just wanted to ask about the reorganization of the police department. Will the Special Operations Team really be merged into the Criminal Investigation Team? With separate groups?"
Ouyang Wen was taken aback. He hadn't expected Lu Qingqing to be here to inquire about this. "What? Have you been infected by that brat? Don't you want to come back?"
"I don't have that many concerns. Where I stay is where I stay," Lu Qingqing scoffed. "I want to ask, will the position of Chief of Criminal Investigation fall to you?"
Ouyang Wen looked at Lu Qingqing in surprise. "You care about this too?"
"Of course. Only you and Hu Jia are qualified for that position, although his chances are slim." Lu Qingqing had already analyzed that Hu Jia's memory issues had made him unsuitable for the role of Chief.
"Speak. What do you want to do?" Someone who didn't usually care about personnel matters suddenly asking this must have a reason.
"I want to compete for the position of team leader," Lu Qingqing said.
"Hmm?" Ouyang Wen gave a thumbs-up. "Ambitious."
"After all, the opportunity is right in front of me, why should I let it go?" Lu Qingqing replied.
All along, Ouyang Wen and Lu Qingqing had a clear plan: to climb up, to reach a sufficiently high position. For this, she had even enrolled in the academy for a "gold plating," so she could gain influence in the future.
Initially, Lu Qingqing was persuaded by Ouyang Wen, who told her to become Hu Jia's superior, assign him work, and keep him away from danger.
But things were different now. She genuinely wanted to be someone with influence, to change some of the negative practices within the police department and bring justice to the common people.
Most importantly, by gaining influence, she could attempt to order the reinvestigation of the shooting case in the future.
Once Ouyang Wen was promoted, she would manage Criminal Investigation Team One, and Hu Jia would lead Criminal Investigation Team Two. Together, they would conquer the world!