Chapter 1372 - 1375: Persuading Ye Lin

"You’re saying I’m suited for propaganda work, are you kidding me?!" Ye Lin widened her eyes, looking at Lin Feng, completely speechless. "How could I possibly be suited for propaganda work, you’d better spell it out for me!"

"Then don’t rush, listen to me explain slowly." Lin Feng put down his chopsticks, stared into Ye Lin’s eyes, and started asking, "First, what I want to ask is, Comrade Ye Lin, as the criminal investigation team captain, how have your work results been over the past half year? Is your clearance rate high or not? Compared with colleagues of the same rank in other precincts, roughly where do you rank?"

"Uh..." Hearing Lin Feng suddenly use the bureau chief’s tone to question her, Ye Lin felt a bit uncomfortable for a moment, but she quickly reacted, and answered Lin Feng in an equally serious voice, "In this half year as captain of the criminal investigation team, the clearance rate under my command is still a bit behind the other precinct captains, but I’ve always been working hard to catch up with my peers. I haven’t slacked off at all, I treat the unit like my home, working overtime day and night..."

"Okay, no need to recite those stock lines to brush me off, I’m not even your real superior!" Lin Feng waved his hand casually, cutting off Ye Lin’s self-defense. "In other words, your clearance rate during this period actually isn’t high. You’re even at the dragging-the-team-down level, right? Makes sense when you think about it—given that impulsive temper of yours, aside from the odd case where a blind cat runs into a dead mouse, how could you possibly have a detailed enough mind to analyze a case? Even if you’re professionally trained, your own emotions will drag you down, and in the end you’ll get hot-headed at key moments and ruin all the groundwork your colleagues did earlier!"

Ye Lin pressed her lips tightly together, staring at Lin Feng with deep resentment, her face full of grievance... Even though what Lin Feng said was all true, the words were just too hurtful! This bastard really doesn’t know how to save her any face?

But Lin Feng truly hadn’t thought about saving Ye Lin’s face. He went on criticizing, "Put simply, you actually aren’t competent enough for the position of criminal investigation team captain. So when the year-end performance review comes, you’ll either be demoted, become a small action squad leader, or just an ordinary officer. That’s where you’re headed..."

Ye Lin opened her mouth, wanting to refute Lin Feng, but then realized she really had nothing she could refute...

You have to know, when Ye Lin works overtime day and night as captain, her people naturally have to follow her and run around blindly too. But there have been no results, and her subordinates have long been quite unhappy with her. When the year-end evaluation comes, they’ll probably raise a lot of critical opinions about her. The precinct leadership will also seriously consider those suggestions. On top of that, Ye Lin hasn’t had any good communication with the bureau leaders in her daily work. All in all, the future of her captaincy is bleak!

"Keep talking!" Ye Lin grit her teeth, glaring angrily at Lin Feng as she spoke in a low voice.

"Okay... I’ll keep talking then!" Lin Feng said with a cheerful smile. "I had Liu Haidong transfer you to the propaganda office. I’d guess your rank got bumped up a bit, right?"

"From section chief up to deputy division chief! And then what?" Ye Lin shot back at Lin Feng irritably. Even though she’d been promoted, her mood wasn’t any better.

Tsk tsk, that Liu Haidong really went to bat for her... With work performance like Ye Lin’s, he still managed to get her promoted; he must’ve spent quite a bit of effort smoothing out all that resistance! Lin Feng silently took note of Liu Haidong’s efforts.

"So, up to this point you should understand one thing: in terms of prospects, staying in the criminal investigation team does you no good. Going to the propaganda office is your new starting point!"

"But I don’t care about ’prospects.’ I just want to contribute my abilities. What can I possibly do that’s useful in propaganda work? Besides, propaganda work basically doesn’t do anything useful!" Ye Lin rolled her eyes and glared at Lin Feng as she spoke.

"That’s your second big misconception!" Lin Feng shook his head. "You think this bit of combat skill of yours counts as some great ability, and that gives you the right to look down on propaganda work?!"

"Lin Feng, what’s that supposed to mean? You’re looking down on me? Believe it or not, I’ll just shoot..." Ye Lin glared furiously at Lin Feng and once again reached for her waist, ready to grab her piece and aim it at him... However, this time Ye Lin didn’t get her way, because the moment she started to reach for her waist, Lin Feng’s hand struck like a viper, and in a blur he had already snatched her sidearm into his own hand.

So fast! Ye Lin’s eyes went wide as she stared at Lin Feng in disbelief. She hadn’t been able to see his movement clearly at all; it was downright terrifying... So back at the villa, Lin Feng had been capable of disarming her at any moment; he’d just been sparing her pride!

"I told you, that little bit of petty tricks of yours isn’t even worth mentioning!" Lin Feng set Ye Lin’s gun lightly on the table with a little smack and asked with a smile, "Now can you sit and listen to me finish?"

"Hmph, that was just a sneak attack, that’s all! What’s so impressive about that?" Of course Ye Lin refused to admit her skills were petty tricks. Instead she looked down on Lin Feng with obvious contempt.

"Heh heh..." Lin Feng didn’t argue with Ye Lin and instead got to the main point. "Actually, Ye Lin, your thinking is a bit skewed. This is peacetime. Propaganda work is absolutely more important than you nabbing a few thieves, or even dozens of thieves! Let me ask you just one question: in a society, which is scarier—having a few more petty crooks on the loose, or the public starting to see cops as crooks?"

That one question from Lin Feng was like a morning bell or evening drum, instantly striking Ye Lin’s heart. She couldn’t help turning to gaze at Lin Feng, for a long while!

"You mean... if the propaganda work isn’t done well, that second situation will happen?" Ye Lin looked at Lin Feng and forced the words out. She had never thought about problems from that angle before. Lin Feng’s words made her picture that terrifying scenario, and she couldn’t help shuddering all over... If that day really came, she probably wouldn’t see being a Detective as her dream anymore.

"Of course, propaganda work isn’t omnipotent. Whether that kind of thing happens still depends on the behavior of everyone in the police system. Constantly covering up and whitewashing things isn’t good either."

"I understand." Ye Lin fixed her gaze on Lin Feng’s face and nodded. "I’ll think over what you said..."

Ye Lin’s mood seemed a bit low; even her voice was weak.

"Ye Lin, don’t overthink..." Lin Feng reached out and gently stroked Ye Lin’s cheek, speaking in a low voice. "Honestly, this is still my fault. I didn’t say anything to you in advance and just had Liu Haidong transfer you away from your post. Don’t stay mad."

"I’m not mad..." Ye Lin shook her head and gave Lin Feng a small smile. "Actually, Lin Feng, I should be thanking you. If you hadn’t laid it out so clearly today, I would still think I’d made all sorts of contributions! Turns out I’m just so-so... Don’t worry about me. I’ve decided—I’m going back to report in at the propaganda office!"