Chapter 540 - Personnel Changes

The decision regarding Dugu Qiuhun was quickly posted on the internal BBS, and official notifications followed shortly thereafter. Dongmen Chuiyu opened the file at his desk in the East Gate Market Commercial Hall.

"In the name of the Senate and the People..."

Dongmen Chuiyu started—what was this? Looking closer, he realized it was the Arbitration Tribunal's formal decree regarding Dugu Qiuhun's charges and punishment.

"Dugu's really been stripped of his uniform this time." Dongmen Chuiyu felt a twinge of regret; he and Dugu Qiuhun were birds of a feather. "A pity about those Wehrmacht and SS uniforms he brought with him."

Dongmen Chuiyu already knew the new precinct chief would be Mu Min—her nomination was currently being publicized online. If no objections were raised within the three-day window, her appointment would be formalized.

That woman, Mu Min—he had seen her in action. At a glance, she was a formidable character. Dongmen Chuiyu wondered if she, now permanently stationed at East Gate Market, would cooperate as seamlessly with him, "Official Dongmen," as Dugu had. It was hard to say. Thinking of this, his interest waned. In fact, he had long harbored thoughts of leaving: East Gate Market was largely on autopilot now; there were no new tricks to play. Moreover, rumors suggested Yi Fan's Cheka would conduct a massive financial audit of all departments after the New Year. Having handled land sales, leasing, and real estate development while effectively controlling East Gate Market, it would be a miracle if an audit found no irregularities.

But to transfer, he needed a destination. Dongmen Chuiyu thought: I've been doing commerce lately; transferring to the Ministry of Commerce would be a professional fit...

Just as he was contemplating his next move, a commotion erupted outside. Dongmen Chuiyu opened his door to find Dugu Qiuhun arguing heatedly with two fresh police cadets outside his former office. Dugu was demanding entry to retrieve his belongings; the cadets were standing firm, citing orders to seal the office until the new chief arrived.

"I can't even retrieve my personal items?! Whose rule is that!" Dugu Qiuhun's face was flushed with indignation.

"We are executing orders, Chief." The two newly assigned cadets repeated the phrase like a mantra.

"Dugu, don't be hasty! Come sit in my office for a while!" Dongmen Chuiyu called out. "I'll call Ran Yao and ask when Mu Min can come over. If she can't, having someone else open the door is fine too."

Dugu Qiuhun sat fuming in Dongmen Chuiyu's office. Since being taken away by Political Security, he had become a pariah—a rat crossing the street that everyone wanted to beat. Now that his freedom of movement was restored, people on the street either glared at him, ignored him, or put on a "drawing a line" face to distance themselves.

Dongmen Chuiyu called Ran Yao, asking if someone could be sent to open the door so Dugu Qiuhun could collect his personal effects.

He put down the phone. "Ran Yao says to wait. You can handle the handover when Mu Min arrives. It's better to do it face-to-face."

"Handover my ass," Dugu Qiuhun huffed. "The only thing missing is being dragged to the square for a struggle session. The keys to the safe and filing cabinets were confiscated long ago; they haven't even returned my pistol. Why play these formalist games?"

"Stop griping." Dongmen Chuiyu sympathized with Dugu. "It's already like this; just go with the flow for now."

"Hmph, I don't care about others, but I didn't expect Director Ma to sell me out without a word—and so thoroughly!" Dugu Qiuhun ranted, pouring out his bitterness over Ma Qianzhu's cold betrayal.

"I decided to follow him to the end! I didn't expect him to be so heartless!"

Dongmen Chuiyu shook his head. "Qiuhun, if the Director didn't do this, he couldn't even save himself. You blame him?!"

"What's it to me if he saves himself?" Dugu Qiuhun's anger at Ma Qianzhu hadn't subsided. "If I get pushed too far..."

"Only if he saves himself now can he save you later." Dongmen Chuiyu lowered his voice. "If he goes down too, you'll be an agricultural technician for life!"

Dugu Qiuhun froze, asking in disbelief, "Really...?"

"Sigh, you." Dongmen Chuiyu sighed. "If only you'd told me before you deployed troops that day. I definitely would have stopped you..."

"Fat lot of good saying that now." Dugu Qiuhun stood up impatiently and paced in circles. "When do you think they'll let me head the police squad again..."

"Don't even think about that." Dongmen Chuiyu had just spoken when he heard Mu Min talking unusually loudly in the corridor outside. He stopped. "Go pack your things. I'll come see you later."

After sending off the muttering Dugu Qiuhun, Dongmen Chuiyu pondered his own destination. Suddenly it struck him: Li Mei now had formal Senator status, and the Women's Cooperative she ran had been renamed "The Cooperative" since nationalization. This Cooperative held absolute dominance in East Gate Market's commercial sector. Given Li Mei's ability and seniority, she would not only continue as General Manager of the Cooperative but might well become Minister of Commerce. Even if he transferred to the Ministry of Commerce, he wouldn't have much room to maneuver—she was a veteran of the business world, completely unmatched by someone like him who switched careers halfway and rose by selling land and renting houses.

If he went to the Ministry of Commerce, he'd be a Deputy Minister at best. Just as Dongmen Chuiyu was hesitating, his phone rang.

"You're still a part-time staff officer at the General Staff, right?" the voice asked.

"Yes, I attend staff meetings at the General Staff every week—you should know," Dongmen Chuiyu said.

"Yes, I'm completely confident." Hearing the words on the phone, Dongmen Chuiyu involuntarily straightened his posture. "Rest assured."

Personnel appointments came down one after another. Mu Min was appointed East Gate Market Precinct Chief, ceasing to serve as Director of the Li Affairs Office. Ran Yao formally became National Police Leader, stepping down as concurrent Director of the Political Security Bureau. Dongmen Chuiyu resigned as Director of the East Gate Market Management Office and transferred to the General Staff as a full-time staff officer. Li Mei became Director of the Commercial Ministry's East Gate Market Management Office and concurrent Director of the Cooperative.

Chen Haiyang ceased to be Navy People's Commissar and became Minister of the Naval General Staff; Ming Qiu took over as Navy People's Commissar. He Ming ceased to be Army People's Commissar and became Army Chief of Staff.

Organizational adjustments and personnel changes created many vacancies. Many "hatless Chiefs" obtained official posts in this reshuffle, greatly soothing their feelings of unrecognized talent. Ma Jia kept his word: the group from the Law Studies Club who had contributed most obtained key positions in the Arbitration Tribunal. An Xi became Director of the Arbitration Tribunal General Office; Dong Shiye became a judge of the Public Order Court. Ma Jia had intended to give the position of Director of the Investigation and Execution Department to Ji Xin, but Ji Xin declined, saying he didn't want it and asked only to be recommended to the Education Ministry. Helpless, Ma Jia spoke to Hu Qingbai and recommended Ji Xin.

The position of Investigation Director had to be left temporarily vacant. The post was critical; simply reciting statutes wouldn't suffice. Ma Jia decided to keep the position open until a suitable candidate emerged. Others also received positions; the worst off found a spot in the Legal Counsel's Office.

Only the most thorny position—Director of the Political Security Bureau—remained unfilled. Ma Jia requested several times to meet and discuss candidates for this post. The position was both important and sensitive; leaving the selection power in his own hands put too much pressure on Ma Jia. Who knew what those people were really thinking!

But the few Executive Committee members merely ha-ha'd their way through the discussions, none suggesting a candidate. Ma Jia spoke privately with several key members but got nothing concrete. In the end, Ma Jia had to consider the candidate himself.

This person should ideally be unconnected to CEO Wen and unrelated to the Director. Logically, Mu Min was the most suitable candidate after Ran Yao's departure: she was a complete outsider and had done political security work in the original timeline—she was professionally qualified. The problem, Ma Jia thought, was that she was too much of an outsider, with no foundation at all. She couldn't command respect in that post, and CEO Wen clearly disliked female cadres.

Besides, giving it to her would make the Ming family's power too terrifying, Ma Jia thought secretly.

Sitting in his office, Ma Jia drank cup after cup of strong tea, repeatedly scanning the complete roster of transmigrators he had obtained from Xiao Zishan. The roster briefly listed everyone's data and current posts. Finally, his eyes fell on a name in the Z section at the end.

This person should work! Ma Jia thought. Though he wasn't from the public security system like Ran Yao or Mu Min, he studied international politics—specifically specializing in Soviet-era political science and practice, with profound research into Stalin-era purges and the NKVD. One could say he possessed sufficient theory. Moreover, he didn't like the limelight—that alone made him far better than all the loudmouths clamoring to be purge officers.

This person was none other than Zhao Manxiong-ski.

Zhao Manxiong-ski lived a secluded life, rarely leaving the original Internal Affairs Commission compound and speaking little. He almost never attended Internal Affairs meetings, holding the title of Director of the Internal Affairs Policy Research Office. No one knew what he did, but every department of the Internal Affairs Commission had to copy files to him for research reference. Every day he simply read continuously, took excerpts, and wrote in a large, locally-produced 16-mo notebook.

Gradually, Zhao Manxiong's office became piled high with these notebooks. Department heads sometimes went to his office to talk for a while. But his full name never appeared on any document.