Onstage, Wang Dongsheng, deputy secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and secretary of its Political and Legal Affairs Commission, personally presented Zhou Yi with a certificate, a first-class merit medal, and a cash award of twenty thousand yuan.
As he looked at the young man standing tall and brimming with vitality, Wang Dongsheng's eyes filled with approval and admiration.
Excellent. Very impressive!
A full 1.8 meters tall, handsome, and poised. Fearless in a crisis, he had captured a violent criminal; courageous and resourceful, he had won everyone's praise.
No matter how he looked at it, this young man fully met Secretary Zhou Zhiyuan's requirements for an exemplary police officer.
"You're even more handsome in person than in your photo."
Wang Dongsheng held Zhou Yi's hand and affectionately patted his arm.
It was a simple remark, but it conveyed something far from simple.
Deputy Secretary Wang had seen Zhou Yi's photograph beforehand.
Many people both onstage and in the audience also noticed another detail: Deputy Secretary Wang's handshake with Zhou Yi lasted a full twenty seconds.
Camera flashes went off one after another.
Warm applause filled the Municipal Party Committee auditorium.
Standing onstage, Zhou Yi faced the audience and delivered a picture-perfect police salute.
If someone had asked how he felt at that moment...
Well, he was a little excited, but not overly so.
He knew perfectly well that this was only the first step in a journey of ten thousand miles.
The road ahead would be long and difficult. He still had to keep moving and give it everything he had.
On July 8, the Dongji County People's Government issued Document Dongzhengfa〔2005〕No. 23-"Notice on the Appointment and Removal of Comrade Zhang Liping and Others."
Its contents were as follows-
To all town governments, subdistrict offices, the County Economic Development Zone Administrative Committee, all county commissions, offices, and bureaus, and all directly affiliated county agencies:
Following deliberation, the following decisions have been made:
Comrade Zhang Liping is appointed deputy director of the Dongji County Public Security Bureau and relieved of his post as chief of Qinghe Police Station under the Dongji County Public Security Bureau;
Comrade Zhou Yi is appointed commander of the Public Security Management Brigade of the Dongji County Public Security Bureau, at deputy section-chief rank, with a one-year probationary period;
Comrade Liu Changlin is appointed chief of Qinghe Police Station under the Dongji County Public Security Bureau, at deputy section-chief rank, and relieved of his post as commander of the bureau's Public Security Management Brigade;
Comrade Wu Nan is appointed chief of Fushan Police Station under the Dongji County Public Security Bureau...
From submission for approval and democratic recommendation to organizational assessment and thorough consultation, then deliberation, decision, and the issuance of appointment documents.
The entire process went smoothly-far more smoothly than anyone could have imagined.
Frankly, Zhou Yi had been completely unprepared for his promotion to deputy section-chief rank and appointment as commander of the Public Security Management Brigade.
He had held clerk rank for less than three years and, under normal circumstances, would not have qualified for promotion.
But there were exceptions to every rule.
Under Articles Six, Seven, and Eight of the "Interim Measures for Exceptional Promotion of Section-Level Leading Cadres in Dongji County," Zhou Yi fully satisfied the requirements for exceptional promotion: "outstanding contributions during major incidents," "strong moral character and ability, considerable development potential, and commendations from Party committees or governments at county level or above," as well as "an emphasis on younger candidates when exceptionally promoting outstanding cadres" and "at least two years of service at clerk rank."
When County Public Security Bureau Political Commissar Gao Zuobin spoke to him about it, his first reaction was, They're giving me far too much.
In his previous life, it had taken him a full eight years to rise from clerk to deputy principal staff member.
Li Desheng was very unhappy, because he was Li Qian's father.
Liu Weiyan was unhappy too, because she was Li Qian's mother.
Liu Changlin was even unhappier, because he was not only Li Qian's maternal uncle but also the unlucky bastard whose post as commander of the Public Security Management Brigade had been snatched away.
On paper, it was a lateral transfer. In reality, even an idiot knew that being a police station chief was nowhere near as desirable as being the Public Security Brigade Captain!
Especially when he was being sent to a dirt-poor backwater like Qinghe Township.
"That brat really lucked out!" Liu Changlin said through gritted teeth.
They were both at deputy section-chief rank, but he was forty-eight this year, while Zhou Yi was twenty-six.
In less than three years, Zhou Yi had covered the ground it had taken him more than twenty years to traverse.
All he could say was that the brat had been incredibly lucky, catching the favorable tide of the city's initiative to "establish exemplary police officers and fully harness their role as pioneering models."
And Zhou Yi was not the only lucky one. There was Zhang Liping too.
Good grief. Just... good grief. He actually became a deputy bureau director and joined the Party committee leadership.
How could that not leave him green with envy?
Li Desheng and Liu Weiyan stared at each other, at a loss.
Their regret and embarrassment now were every bit as great as their disdain for him had been back then.
There had been no dramatic "Here's ten million, leave my daughter" scene, but Liu Weiyan had indeed called Zhou Yi. Her attitude had not been particularly nasty, but her words had certainly hurt.
Worse still, they owned a karaoke club and a bathhouse, both entertainment establishments squarely under the Public Order Management Brigade's jurisdiction.
So what were they supposed to do now?
Should they ask Zhou Yi, "Do you think we still have a chance?"
At that thought, husband and wife turned deeply reproachful looks on their daughter.
Yes, they had fiercely opposed the relationship and done everything they could to obstruct it, but she had held firm for four or five years. Why had she given in at the very last moment?
If she had just gritted her teeth and held on a little longer, wouldn't she have made it through?
Li Qian rolled her eyes at her parents, got up, and returned to her bedroom.
Did she regret it?
Of course not.
After all, she had chosen this path herself. Even if she had to crawl on her knees, she would see it through.
She opened the bottom drawer of her desk and pulled a photograph from the very back.
As she studied the handsome, spirited man in police uniform, she could not help feeling a pang in her heart.
Hmph. Who knows which little bitch will end up getting him!
Zhou Yongxin was very happy, because he was Zhou Yi's father.
Guo Dongmei was happy too, because she was Zhou Yi's mother.
Zhou Yi was so happy that he laughed until tears came to his eyes.
Not because of his promotion, but because, across both his lifetimes, this was one of the few moments when he had made his parents proud.
Being reborn is wonderful!
He was in the prime of his life, his parents were not yet old, and everything was filled with hope.
Zhou Yongxin and Guo Dongmei showed off their cooking skills, filling the table with dishes.
Their son being stuck at a rural police station had always weighed on the couple's minds. Now everything had worked out: not only had he transferred back to the county seat, but he had also been promoted to deputy section-chief rank and appointed Public Security Brigade Captain.
A twenty-six-year-old holding an actual leadership post at deputy section-chief rank was rare not just in a small county town, but even in the city.
Old Zhou had worked at the Archives Bureau for twenty years and was still only a deputy principal staff member.
"Have a drink with your dad." Guo Dongmei poured her son a glass of baijiu, then thought for a moment and fetched another glass. Well, it was a happy occasion. She would have one too.
The only blemish was that her son had broken up with his girlfriend, but that was no great concern. There were plenty of fish in the sea, and he would have no trouble finding someone.
The family raised their glasses in celebration, basking in the warmth of the moment.
Just then, the doorbell rang at a rather inconvenient moment.
Zhou Yi set down his glass and went to open the door.
A neatly dressed middle-aged man stood outside, holding an exquisitely packaged box.
"Who are you looking for?" Zhou Yi sized up the visitor. He did not recognize him; perhaps the man had knocked on the wrong door.
"Hello. You must be Commander Zhou!" The middle-aged man had never met Zhou Yi, but based on the information he had gathered, he immediately identified him from his age and short-sleeved police uniform.
"I'm Zhou Yi." Zhou Yi nodded slightly, a trace of puzzlement flickering in his eyes. The man really had come to see him.
"Hello, Commander Zhou. I'm Huang Guifa, manager of the Golden Years Entertainment City. Please forgive this unannounced visit. I came specifically to congratulate you. This is just a small token of my regards. I hope you'll accept it."
The middle-aged man who introduced himself as Huang Guifa was very respectful and spoke with polished courtesy.
He offered the gift box with both hands, signaling for Zhou Yi to take it.
Zhou Yi smiled. Some people really did have remarkable connections-they had actually tracked him straight to his doorstep.
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