Animal Detective

Chapter 550: Chapter 453: A Calculated Number

A leader like Liu Baoquan was always busy.

The fact that he could take the time to personally make a trip to Lianjiang to see Shen Xin was proof of how seriously he took this matter.

His subordinates would naturally handle the specific execution according to his wishes.

And he only needed to see the results.

So, after staying for just over half an hour, Liu Baoquan left in a hurry.

He left first, but Lu Chunze stayed a little longer.

He skipped the pleasantries and directly asked Shen Xin what he needed.

Putting the police birds aside for now, they would start with the police dogs.

Shen Xin had already thought this through. He held up one finger and said, "As for the training grounds, we don’t necessarily need a lot of high-spec kennels, but the key is that the area must be large, with plenty of room to move around."

’Honestly, Tian Kui’s living conditions at the city bureau are more comfortable than most people’s.’

"Next are the dogs. Drug-sniffing dogs are usually one of a few breeds—German Shepherds, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Springer Spaniels—but I need adult dogs."

"Buying them from the open market would actually be quite a hassle. Regular dealers, especially professional kennels that do selective breeding, will charge a lot."

"On top of that, they don’t keep adult dogs, so buying a large number of them from these sources would be difficult."

"Private owners, on the other hand, have plenty of adult dogs, but those are their family pets, and they’d be reluctant to sell them."

"Therefore, if it’s feasible, strays are still a very good option."

Although Liu Baoquan had said money wasn’t an issue, spending tens of thousands on a dog was one thing. A dog or two was fine, but what about hundreds?

Millions, or even tens of millions—Liu Baoquan might have to reconsider.

Besides, from Shen Xin’s perspective, a so-called purebred dog with a superior bloodline worth over a hundred thousand yuan was no different from a fifty-yuan mutt.

The key factors were still the two metrics: affinity for humans and obedience.

Lu Chunze nodded repeatedly and asked if there was anything else.

Shen Xin nodded. "There’s one more important thing. Your side needs to compile an estimate of exactly how many drug-sniffing dogs are needed."

Dian Nan had eight prefecture-level cities and seven autonomous prefectures.

The border was the front line of the anti-drug war, but that didn’t mean the other cities behind it could rest easy.

Take Spring City, for example. The drug situation there was still severe, as it was a major transit hub for drugs entering the country.

Since they were attempting to build this massive anti-drug network, it had to cover all of Dian Nan.

All 15 cities and 127 counties had to be equipped.

Then there were the border crossings of all sizes, checkpoints like Shu Kang’s, mobile checkpoints, and patrol units in remote mountain areas.

They also had to account for a surplus.

The Shu Kang checkpoint, for instance, currently had two police dogs, but that was still stretching their resources thin.

They should have at least three to allow for a three-shift rotation.

The checkpoint operated 24/7, but the dogs weren’t made of steel. After working for long hours, they needed rest too.

So, the final tally had to include a surplus.

Lu Chunze nodded repeatedly in agreement. "Correct. That’s the first step. Figure out the demand, then we can consider how to act."

"However, Shen Xin, if we go with your vision, that number won’t be small."

His gaze was deep as he stared directly at Shen Xin.

Shen Xin’s heart skipped a beat; he understood the meaning behind Lu Chunze’s look.

First, by saying the number wouldn’t be small, he was reminding him that this task was incredibly difficult.

Second...

For one police station, one dog was barely enough. Two dogs would be suitable.

Three? That would allow for shifts and smooth operations.

So the question was, which standard should they use for their statistical calculations?

The answer didn’t depend on them, but on Shen Xin.

It depended on how capable Shen Xin was, how determined he was, and how many police dogs he could actually train.

So Lu Chunze’s words were actually meant to gauge Shen Xin’s stance, which would then determine how they would calculate the final number.

After a moment of thought, Shen Xin said, "President Lu, to use an internet expression, ’When you’re poor, you use tactical insertions; when you’re rich, you use overwhelming firepower.’ Since we’ve decided to do this, let’s go with the highest standard."

"A dog for every officer is impossible, but we’ll make sure there are more than enough to go around. We’ll make every drug dealer and every addict tremble before the flood of police dogs."

Lu Chunze stared at Shen Xin, and after confirming he wasn’t joking, he gave a firm nod.

The next day, Lu Chunze actually gave Shen Xin a number.

An estimated 2,400 dogs were needed.

When Shen Xin saw this number, he was stunned.

He had the feeling that he might have bitten off more than he could chew.

This wasn’t 24, nor was it 240. It was a full 2,400.

Under the conference table, Ding Yuwei lightly kicked Shen Xin’s foot, giving him a look that said, "Are you crazy?"

Lu Chunze wasn’t there; Director Wan had specifically stayed for two extra days to coordinate this matter with Shen Xin.

Seeing Shen Xin fall silent right after opening the folder, he couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward himself.

The first time he saw that number, Wan Xiaoyang himself had gotten quite a scare.

You have to understand, in all of Dian Nan—15 cities, over a hundred counties—there were only 257 active drug-sniffing dogs in total.

That number was precise down to the single digit.

And that deployment was already the highest in the entire country.

The number 2,400 meant a tenfold increase over the current number of drug-sniffing dogs.

There was another figure: across the thirty-plus provinces in the country, the total number of active drug-sniffing dogs was only around 1,800.

The number Lu Chunze had provided was equivalent to doubling the total number of drug-sniffing dogs in the entire country.

"Shen Xin, just take a quick look first," Director Wan said.

Shen Xin composed himself slightly and flipped to the next page.

They had really done the statistics and calculations.

For example, there were 110 townships along the border in Dian Nan, which meant 110 border police stations. They considered assigning five drug-sniffing dogs to each of these stations.

Every border station had patrol duties along the frontier. Estimating two teams meant two dogs were needed for that alone.

Then three more for daily use, for tight security, and for mobile patrols in the villages.

That was 550 dogs.

Twenty-eight first-class ports of entry, five dogs each.

Fifty border checkpoints like Shu Kang’s across the province, with four dogs assigned to each.

Three for a three-shift rotation, plus one backup. That’s another 200.

Across the province’s 1,300 grassroots police stations, excluding the border ones, one dog each to achieve grassroots coverage. That’s another 1,200 dogs.

Then they reviewed the anti-drug squads in the province’s major cities. There were over twenty of them. Assigning five dogs to each squad added another hundred-plus.

Then airports and high-speed rail stations, which accounted for another one to two hundred dogs.

Calculating it this way, if they really wanted to achieve Shen Xin’s vision of airtight coverage across the entire province, they really did need that many.

But...

Shen Xin sucked in a sharp breath. He still felt the number was a bit exaggerated.

’Over two thousand dogs... that’s enough to form two regiments.’

Under the table, Ding Yuwei secretly nudged Shen Xin again, giving him a look that said, "Don’t you dare agree to this."

2,400 drug-sniffing dogs—she couldn’t even imagine the workload.

"Director Wan."

Shen Xin started to speak, but as he opened his mouth, he was suddenly at a loss for words.

’If I back down now after boasting so much, wouldn’t that be incredibly embarrassing?’

But this number was just too ridiculous.

Across from him, Wan Xiaoyang had anticipated this reaction. He smiled and said, "Shen Xin, there’s actually another way to calculate this number."

Seeing Shen Xin look his way, he continued, "There are 1,824 active police dogs in the country. The two thousand four hundred figure... well, you can think of it as matching the entire country’s force of eighteen hundred, and then some."

"As for that extra six hundred, that’s for us. Considering how severe the drug situation is in Dian Nan, that’s basically tripling our current numbers."

"So this number wasn’t just calculated by our provincial department. It came from the Ministry."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Wan Xiaoyang asked in return.

Shen Xin was startled. "The Ministry is involved in this?"

Director Wan said, "What do you think? You’re talking about a world without drugs. With something this big, how could the Ministry not get involved?"

Shen Xin had a sudden realization. ’That makes sense.’

Director Wan continued, "Director Cai’s opinion is the same as Liu Ting’s: full support and facilitation."

"However, everyone knows how difficult this will be. So, the leadership’s idea is to do a trial run first. For example, start with just the ’change’—the smaller part of the number—and see how it goes."

"We don’t want to put too much pressure on you, after all."

The higher-ups believed that Shen Xin had likely developed some special method for training police dogs.

But considering one person’s energy is limited, they wanted to start with a pilot program, just a fraction of the total, to test the waters.

If it worked, then they would lay a heavier burden on Shen Xin’s shoulders.

Shen Xin nodded.

’The problem is, even just the ’change’ is four hundred dogs.’

"Director Wan, I understand everything you’ve said. I’m willing to do this."

’The difficulties will certainly be immense, but if I succeed...’

’With the Ministry personally overseeing it, how great would the merit be?’

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