Although Old Hu was a veteran police officer and had even worked criminal investigations before, that had nothing to do with how he became an official.
His authority came from the forty-odd officers under his command. Only by keeping those people in hand could he truly be the squadron chief. Of course, some people did not respect him. Going by the usual promotion standards, there were qualified candidates within the squadron, and plenty outside it as well.
If he wanted to exercise his management methods and straighten out the subordinates who refused to accept him, then in his position, he had to ensure one thing: investigations could not be delayed, and he could not rely too heavily on any one—or several—experienced, highly capable veterans.
Wang Yan's three-man group was his core team. That was why he was so concerned over whether they could adapt to criminal investigation work, solve cases smoothly, and handle problems. Only if the trio could shoulder the work and resolve problems could he straighten out the other dissatisfied subordinates—the so-called three fires a new official lit upon taking office.
If he had jack shit in his hands, no prestige at all, and lacked the ability himself, then those fires would never catch. The trio had only handled one case so far, yet they had cracked it in less than half a day. The case was not particularly major, but what it represented was different.
It was a matter of investigative approach, criminal investigation logic, and necessary methods. In the final analysis, it came down to the ability to solve problems. The trio had done very well—far better than expected. Naturally, Old Hu was delighted.
There was a great deal of paperwork in handling a case, requiring a detailed account of the criminal facts from beginning to