Chapter 66 - Chapter 66: Mai Suo, Can You Lend Su Xuan to Me?

Chapter 66: Mai Suo, Can You Lend Su Xuan to Me?

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

However, amid their excitement, personnel allocation remained a significant issue.

Leaving aside other areas, at the train station, airport, and major bus stations, which were crucial transportation hubs, they often celebrated the high number of people in these places during ordinary times, as it indicated a thriving city. But when it came to apprehending suspects, they found the excessive crowds to be a significant obstacle.

“Boss, we don’t have enough manpower in our squadron. We have such a large county, and 1 only have a handful of subordinates. Moreover, some of our elite officers have been allocated to the anti-pickpocket squad…” One county bureau chief began lamenting their predicament.

Once he voiced his concerns, other county bureau chiefs also expressed their dissatisfaction.

“It’s not like you’re the only one allocating officers to the anti-pickpocket squad. Why are you complaining that your manpower is insufficient?”

“Nonsense! If you put it that way, our squadron is even worse off. We’re part of the city district, so we have to allocate personnel to you guys and still manage our own manpower…”

“To be honest, our side is really short-staffed. Our county is small to begin with, and we only have three police stations combined. We’re seriously short on personnel…”

As they discussed this, the captain of the anti-pickpocket squad was left speechless.

“Wait a minute, you say you’re short-staffed? Can it be worse than us?” The captain was indignant. “We cover the entire airport, and I only have twelve people! With so many exits, we need one officer per exit. My team is on the verge of exhaustion!”

“What are you trying to say? Are you suggesting you want to take officers from my division?” The captain continued with righteous indignation. “Absolutely not! 1 was even thinking you could spare some officers to help alleviate the pressure on my team…”

The captain’s words left everyone deep in thought. Even the district bureau chief, who had been the loudest earlier, fell silent.

After all, for every city, the most critical places were the high-speed train stations, airports, and the like, with subway stations and bus terminals being of secondary importance.

The fact was, these places were where criminals were most likely to flee. Almost every time during previous anti-crime and anti-vice operations, they had suffered setbacks at these locations, with many suspects managing to escape.

Now that they were about to launch a storm operation, and it was linked to their holidays, the anti-pickpocket squad had better fight for some benefits. Otherwise, they could forget about having any holidays for the entire year!

Director Zheng, the bureau chief, had known about the issue of understaffing in the anti-pickpocket squad before. This problem had become evident in several major operations in the past. However, due to various reasons, he hadn’t dealt with it at the time.

People came and went, but there were only a few of them. Now, this shameless bunch wanted to take back personnel, so it was no wonder the captain of the anti-pickpocket squad was blushing with anger.

“You make a valid point. Whether it’s at the airport or the high-speed train station, the people there are almost all experienced thieves. Catching them won’t be easy.”

“Over the years, the members of the anti-pickpocket squad have faced challenges at these two locations. In this operation, the number of thieves will only increase, not decrease!”

“These officers have extensive experience, and it’s no big deal to temporarily assign them to your divisions. Let’s go with that.”

“Do you think you can takea personnel from the anti-pickpocket squad?”

Director Zheng looked at the county and district bureau chiefs who were fervently protesting and contemplated for a moment. Not only did he reject their request to reclaim personnel, but he also wanted to borrow personnel from them.

“Well, how about this? Each of your divisions can assign one officer to the anti-pickpocket squad.”

When he said this, several division heads couldn’t hold back their objections. Director Zheng immediately raised his hand, suppressing their protests.

“Don’t talk nonsense about not having enough manpower. If your divisions are short-staffed, do you think the anti-pickpocket squad has enough personnel?”

Director Zheng couldn’t help but feel helpless as he spoke these words.

They had considered increasing the manpower for the anti-pickpocket squad before, but the issue was when these officers were sent over, when would they return?

Once those sent to the anti-pickpocket squad learned the pickpocketing techniques, would the anti-pickpocket squad be able to get them back?

Not to mention, initially, the officers sent over would need to learn, and that was another significant operation.

“But, boss, the officers we send over should have at least three years of experience. There are only a few of them in the entire county. If we send them all over, won’t we be short-staffed ourselves?”

“In this operation, I also wanted the experienced officers to teach the newcomers…”

Several county and district leaders felt somewhat embarrassed.

Under normal circumstances, sending officers away was fine since they could learn from the experience and come back to teach their colleagues. But this was not an ordinary time. It was a major operation, and it concerned the holidays of the officers in their bureau and affiliated police stations. As leaders, they needed to fight for their interests.

Director Zheng had already thought about this issue before speaking.

“This is a special situation. You all have to work a bit harder this time. Later, we’ll have the veteran officers who went to the anti-pickpocket squad come back and teach the newcomers in your divisions.”

“This is also an opportunity for you.”

“In this major operation, we must have a perfect conclusion! We absolutely cannot let the neighboring cities look down on us!”

“Do you hear me?”

After Director Zheng spoke, it was clear that there was no turning back on this matter. The county bureau chiefs exchanged glances and accepted the decision.

On the other hand, the captain of the anti-pickpocket squad seemed quite pleased.

Right away, he turned to Lao Mai and said, “Lao Mai, 1 won’t be picky about your division, or how about you lend Su Xuan to me?”

“With his skills, if he were in our anti-pickpocket squad, it would be like adding wings to a tiger!”

“He’s born to work in our anti-pickpocket squad!”

In a single day, he managed to catch so many pickpockets. If Su Xuan continued working at the police station, it would truly be a waste of his talents!

The captain of the anti-pickpocket squad had already thought this through perfectly. If Su Xuan could be transferred, he would do whatever it took to keep him.

Even after the operation was over, he would make sure Su Xuan stayed in their anti-pickpocket squad…

As long as Su Xuan was there, their anti-pickpocket squad would definitely eliminate most of the pickpockets in the city this year!

With these thoughts in mind, he couldn’t help but let slip a hint…

Lao Mai narrowed his eyes. He wasn’t pleased with the idea of lending Su Xuan in the first place, and now this guy was insinuating that Su Xuan might not come back?

Was he trying to take advantage of the situation?

“I say, Lao Liao, aren’t you going a bit too far?”

“Leaving aside the fact that you want to borrow an officer from my Jiangcheng division, you should at least get my consent!”

“And judging by what you’re saying, do you actually intend for him to stay there and not return to me?”

“That’s not acceptable!”

Since the city bureau had already spoken, there was no way he could refuse the transfer. Su Xuan was highly capable, and if he made a trip to the anti-pickpocket squad, it would certainly add to his experience.

Besides, he wanted to show off a bit. However, not returning Su Xuan to him was absolutely out of the question..