East Guang is rainy, and this morning was sunny, but now it’s drizzling again.
Southern City Police Station’s office conditions are not very good; the office leaks when it rains. Fixing this would cost quite a bit of money, and the bureau is coordinating a new location, but without fixing the roof, it always leaks.
Looking at the documents soaked by rainwater and the wet floor, Huang Wenhua felt annoyed, pondering when they could move, when suddenly his "brick phone" rang. He pulled it out to see that it was a call from the bureau office.
"Director Zheng, any instructions?"
"Director Huang, a task force from Jiangnan Province Linghai City has arrived, and our side has Deputy Mayor Wang receiving them. There’s a discussion meeting at 10:30 on the third floor of the Education Bureau. Chief Dai wants you to participate; hurry over."
"What task force, and why am I attending this discussion meeting?"
"It’s about those schools under your jurisdiction that went to recruit students over there. They made outrageous claims, even issued admission notices like regular institutions, but couldn’t fulfill those commitments. The local students and especially their parents are very upset; I heard that their Political Consultative Conference Member has even submitted a proposal about this. Anyway, they take this issue very seriously, and they’ve formed a task force from the departments of education, labor, commerce, and police, led by a young female Vice Mayor personally visiting to understand the situation."
Those vocational training schools kept making irresponsible attempts to make money and had been reported countless times, but it’s the first time a task force led by city leaders has come knocking.
Huang Wenhua had a headache, grimacing as he asked, "Director Zheng, what do you mean by ’those schools under our jurisdiction’? Isn’t Southern City Police Station part of the City Bureau?"
"How can the bureau leadership step in on such a matter? How will they even start a conversation if they went!"
Director Zheng could imagine how awkward it would be for Comrade Old Huang and, somewhat delighted in disaster, added, "They’re mainly here to meet with the Education Bureau and Labor Bureau; it’s not much related to us police. We mainly wanted you there as a matter of equivalence since their police department sent someone, and we also need someone from our side to participate in the discussion."
Huang Wenhua sighed quietly and unhappily asked, "Who is coming from the Linghai Police Bureau?"
"I’ve looked into it; they’re sending a retired Political Commissioner, surname Ding, almost sixty now."
"Alright, I’ll head over right now."
It was raining outside, not suitable for riding a motorcycle, otherwise, he’d arrive at the Education Bureau looking like a drowned chicken.
Huang Wenhua hurriedly made a call to find a car and rushed to the Education Bureau. As he walked into the meeting room, he suddenly remembered the last time a deputy division commander from the Changhang navigation police’s firefighting branch was here. Of the three children he was looking for, two were from Linghai City!
Could this be related to that young deputy division commander...
While lost in thought, a government office worker approached and indicated that he should sit next to Vice Director Li of the Labor Bureau.
The arrangement of the venue was very meticulous, set up like a negotiation with people seated on both sides of a long conference table.
Gaozhou side sat facing north; Deputy Mayor Wang, who oversees education, sat in the center, with heads of various units from Gaozhou on either side. The workgroup from Linghai City sat across, with the visiting female Vice Mayor from Linghai facing Deputy Mayor Wang.
Huang Wenhua noticed that the person sitting opposite him was indeed a colleague, evidently older, and even before the discussion started, he was taking notes in a notebook.
It was awkward being approached by a colleague.
However, the most awkward person was not Huang Wenhua, the police station head, but Deputy Mayor Wang who oversees education.
Deputy Mayor Wang forced a smile and nodded at Mayor Jiang from Linghai City, who had traveled a long distance. Then turning sideways, he asked, "Director Chen, has the head of Huayuan Technical School arrived?"
"Principal Lin Chunsheng and Vice Principal Zhou Changyun have gone to Shenzhen; the director of the Academic Affairs Office, Lin Donghua, has come."
"What are they doing in Shenzhen?"
"They went to sign a collaboration agreement with a construction company in Shenzhen City."
The head of the Education Bureau deliberately reported in Mandarin, thinking inside, you insinuate that our vocational schools are all fraudulent, but indeed, our vocational schools are arranging employment for students; right at this moment, they’re signing employment contracts with enterprises in the Special Economic Zone.
Deputy Mayor Wang nodded in satisfaction, smiling, "Mayor Jiang, everyone is here, shall we start?"
"Sure, Mayor Wang, thanks for the trouble."
Mayor Jiang smiled faintly, turned, and looked toward the deputy head of the Linghai Education Bureau.
This joint task force originally didn’t need her to lead. Mainly, Vice Chairman Li of the Political Consultative Conference, considering the involvement of the Industrial and Commercial Bureau’s personnel making it a four-department task force, advised the City Committee and Municipal Government to appoint a city leader to lead the team; otherwise, no one would be suitable as the team leader.
Being a Vice Mayor, she was unlike the others, having been seconded from the Provincial Labor Department to Linghai, not in charge of specific affairs but assisting Deputy Mayor Liu in overseeing education, culture, and health sectors. Originally having little to do, she was "entrusted with a heavy responsibility" by the city.
An informant in the Education Bureau, the Political Consultative Conference was relentless.
Vice Director Li, who was in charge of recruitment, already very frustrated, now that he found the main departments responsible for the fraudulent schools, he naturally wouldn’t be polite with his colleagues from Gaozhou, opened his briefcase, took out a stack of admission notices and recruitment brochures, and unapologetically stated:
"Respected Mayor Wang, leaders of Gaozhou, let me first report the situation. Starting from last May, several graduates from twenty-nine middle schools and sixteen high schools in our Linghai City successively received admission notices from six institutions including Huayuan Technical School in Gaozhou City."