Chapter 355: Does the Deputy Head Not Need to Be Supported?

"What am I after? Naturally, I'm after my own happiness. I feel that being this pedantic makes me happy; that doesn't need any reason, does it?" Zhou Yi said, looking at the man in front of him.

He didn't know until he came, but after arriving, he discovered that the Handong Provincial Consumer Association had long since changed; now they aren't called the Consumer Association, but rather the Handong Provincial Consumer Protection Committee, or Consumer Protection Committee for short!

The reason for this name change is quite simple: the organization name "Consumer Association" often gave people the misconception that it was an association composed of consumers as members.

But that is actually not the case; its purpose for establishment is to conduct social supervision over commodities and services, and to mediate certain civil disputes.

So they changed the name. After inquiring, he learned it had been changed two years ago, but it was a bit strange—when he filed a complaint before, the website still called it the Consumer Association...

It was quite magical.

And the department Zhou Yi came to find today was an external reception department of the Consumer Protection Committee, named the Legal and Consumer Supervision Department.

Originally, he had gone to the Complaint and Consultation Affairs Department first after arriving today, but after going there, he said he had relevant evidence and wanted to apply for the Consumer Protection Committee to initiate a Public Interest Litigation.

Then the woman in that office seemed a bit dazed at the time, but immediately directed him to the Legal and Consumer Supervision Department.

The man in front of him was the receptionist here, surnamed Liu, named Liu Xingkong.

Only, at this moment, Xiao Liu's mood was like riding a roller coaster.

To be fair, before the internet was so developed, perhaps the old Consumer Association had people coming in person to complain or whatnot, but since the internet developed to its current state, basically everyone chooses to complain online regarding consumer disputes.

Why? Complaining online is simple!

You don't have to specifically run to where they work, and you don't have to prepare so many paper documents. Most importantly, for many people who don't want the trouble or have social anxiety, it doesn't require you to meet people!

Because dealing with people means trouble...

Today, Xiao Liu was doing some work without any technical content just like before. Their place actually belongs to "Schrödinger's Busy"—after all, there is still a lower level of Consumer Association, and in most cases, the specific work is done by those below.

As a result, while busy today, he suddenly discovered a handsome guy knocking on the door and entering the office.

At the time, he even felt today's situation was so special—someone actually came to the Provincial Consumer Protection Committee to complain!

He said offhandedly: "Hello, are you here to complain? If you're complaining, you have to go to the complaint department next door; this is the Legal Supervision Department."

Very kind, right? After all, there are too many local departments nowadays, and people coming to handle business for the first time are often dizzy and disoriented.

As it turned out, the handsome guy who came in said he had just come from the department next door, and the department next door said his matter had to be handled here.

Then Xiao Liu became a bit suspicious, asking the other party how to address him and what he was here for.

As it turned out, that man surnamed Zhou said, "I have already prepared the evidence here; I just want to apply for the Provincial Consumer Protection Committee to sue major mobile phone Manufacturers and conduct a Public Interest Litigation!"

Everyone knows what happened after that; Xiao Liu was directly dumbfounded.

"It's not that, Mr. Zhou. I'm not saying it won't work without a reason; it's mainly that you... this matter, it's not—oh, it's hard for me to say. You take out your evidence first and let me see." Xiao Liu touched his face and said.

In the past, the Handong Provincial Consumer Protection Committee had actually conducted corresponding Public Interest Litigations, but these lawsuits were basically initiated proactively by the Consumer Protection Committee and all belonged to cases with relatively large reactions online.

There were rarely such cases where an individual came to apply.

Even if an individual applied, most did so through the internet; coming directly to the office was too rare.

However, even in today's highly developed internet age, there are still walk-in windows; this will not change!

So if someone comes to apply, then according to regulations, they must receive them, conduct a review, and provide a corresponding result as to whether a Public Interest Litigation can be initiated; if not, they must provide the reason why.

If Lao Zhou were here, he would definitely have prepared himself mentally for overtime during this period before letting this handsome guy take out the evidence; however, Xiao Liu was clearly doing this for the first time.

Consequently, he saw this guy in front of him directly take out a huge bag from behind him and put it on the table with a "bang."

Xiao Liu looked at that huge bag and subconsciously swallowed his saliva; wouldn't all of this be evidence?

Zhou Yi had already opened the bag and started taking things out one by one, saying as he took them out: "They are all organized. Among them are the test results after large-scale testing, which have been notarized by a notary office."

It must be said, this Notarization Fee is a bit expensive.

Xiao Liu's brows furrowed as he flipped through some of the contents; the other party was very thoughtful, having carefully organized almost every piece of evidence.

Xiao Liu was not a veteran Keyboard Warrior, so he hadn't seen Zhou Yi's video yet, but he had a sense of déjà vu regarding the situation inside.

It seemed like there had been a similar incident in Jingzhou before, which was very popular at the time. Many people online almost stormed their official accounts, asking what the meaning of this organization's existence was and why they wouldn't help consumers in such a situation.

At that time, as long as you went online, you could see similar news.

Now seeing these things again, he inexplicably had that sense of familiarity.

"This evidence... it's hard to say. It only has tests done by your own Company; aren't there Investigation Reports from a professional Third-party Testing Agency?" Xiao Liu asked casually while looking.

Zhou Yi stepped forward and directly took out five Investigation Reports from the bag.

"They've all been done; I did it five times. Look, these two testing agencies are from Jingzhou, this one is from the Imperial Capital, this one is from Modu, and this one, this is from Shenzhen."

"There are also five agencies that haven't released results yet; there's Guang City, there's Hannan Province..."

He had thought of this long ago; you simply cannot block the mouths of internet trolls.

But if you want to make them shut up for a while, you can only try every possible way to get the work done well.

You say the tests done by us people alone cannot count as evidence, and even with Notarization it doesn't count.

Then fine, we also have corresponding Third-party Testing Agency evidence.

You suspect they are all Jingzhou people and that I, this Jingzhou internet celebrity, will influence the investigation results, so I just went ahead and found them in other places.

Let's not even talk about how ridiculous your suspicions are; anyone with a little bit of sense knows that no matter how you look at it, this is just a test. For a Third-party Testing Agency, they are only responsible for testing, not anything else.

The foundation of their existence is being a "third party." Once they dare to fake, then as long as it happens once, it means you basically cannot continue to do this work.

He, Zhou Yi, is just an internet celebrity; he hasn't reached the level where he can be a little willful with power.

How could he have the ability to influence a Third-party Testing Agency? If you insist on talking about influence, big companies have much more influence than him.

But in order to block their mouths, Zhou Yi even found testing agencies in those very remote provinces.

The test results produced by these agencies are more or less the same; facts are facts, and they won't change just because there are more tests.

The cost of each of these tests is not low. To say nothing else, Xiao Liu is now stunned by this flashy move.

I just asked you a casual question, and you tell me you've already done five, and there are five more waiting?

You... he almost asked those three words, "What are you after?" again.

He took the test reports; there was really nothing left to say. Whatever you want, they can take it out for you.

"That comrade, look, what else is missing?" Zhou Yi asked with a smile.

"Ah, no, I don't need anything for now. Big Brother, why don't you sit over there and wait a moment..."

Xiao Liu intended to call for backup immediately; this definitely required review from above, as he couldn't handle it himself.

Just then, Xiao Liu suddenly thought of someone—the person who had done something similar before, a Jingzhou native, surnamed Zhou, known as the District Bully.

Originally, they said he was the District Bully of Yuefu Residential Quarter, but now it seemed he had become the District Bully of Guangming District...

And the person in front of him seemed to be...

As if possessed, Xiao Liu suddenly asked, "Mr. Zhou, may I ask your surname?"

Zhou Yi was taken aback by this; what was wrong with this young man in broad daylight? Still, he stepped forward with a smile and said, "Comrade, my surname is Zhou."

"It really is Mr. Zhou! Wait, you... you are that A Yi from our Jingzhou, right?" Xiao Liu blurted out.

"I suppose that would be me," Zhou Yi smiled again.

Xiao Liu stopped talking. It really is you!

Thinking about it carefully, it seemed only this person could pull off such a "maniacal" stunt. Just because there were too many pre-installed apps and the phone was a bit laggy, not only did he make such a huge fuss, but he even came to the Consumer Protection Committee to apply for a Public Interest Litigation!

This matter, I have to say... it was truly handled beautifully!

Although the Consumer Protection Committee had various issues, staff members like Xiao Liu still wanted to do their best to serve consumers.

Regarding these market issues, they knew about some but not others, and even the Consumer Protection Committee couldn't possibly collect evidence and file a lawsuit for every single incident!

This was obviously an impossible task.

Even if they hired many more people, they couldn't do it, so they could only focus on mediation and suggestions as much as possible.

But if a "stickler" like this prepares all the evidence for you, and even has the lawyer hired, I ask you, would you do it?

You only need to act as a tool; they just want to use your organizational status to carry out the corresponding Public Interest Litigation. You can sit back and reap the rewards—win or lose, you've already won big!

Who could still say we aren't doing our jobs? Isn't this an excellent opportunity for publicity?

With such an internet celebrity coming forward, and with such high popularity... once his train of thought opened up, Xiao Liu suddenly felt that this time, the advantage was truly with the Consumer Protection Committee!

Thinking of this, Xiao Liu became excited all of a sudden, hurriedly stood up and said, "Mr. Zhou, please sit for a moment. I'm going to report this right now. Here, here, I have tea, let me pour you a cup, please sit and wait."

Zhou Mouren naturally agreed. These pieces of evidence were all organized with the help of Lawyer Fang; originally, he hadn't intended to participate in this matter.

However, he had been handling too many divorce cases lately, and they often turned into Criminal Cases, which made him a bit weary.

He had done Public Interest Litigation before. The current Consumer Protection Committee and the former Consumer Association both had dedicated legal aid and free legal consultation for consumers, and the lawyers providing this aid weren't just the committee's own lawyers.

They would always find some cooperative lawyers to carry out relevant work.

Lawyer Fang had done some of this back when he was in Modu, but he hadn't done any since returning to Jingzhou, so his hands were a bit itchy.

That was why Zhou Yi said directly this time that he would bring his own lawyer.

After waiting for a while, Xiao Liu returned with a middle-aged woman.

"Mr. Zhou, this is our Director Xin from the Consumer Protection Committee!"

Just as Zhou Yi stood up, Director Xin walked over with a full smile and said, "Mr. Zhou, we've heard your name so much our ears have grown calluses!"

She extended her hand while speaking, and Zhou Yi hurriedly shook it.

Listening to the tone, it was clear that her remark was a bit complex; it felt welcoming, yet also... felt like something else.

But thinking about it, it was normal. When he was dealing with Big Data Price Discrimination before, it seemed the Consumer Association had indeed been criticized by many. From their perspective, it was normal to have complex feelings about him.

Zhou Yi didn't offer any defense, because there was no need.

He never believed he would be liked by everyone; even the RMB doesn't have that privilege. I'll just do what I like; I don't need too many people to understand, nor do I need too many friends.

People always say "more friends, more paths," and there's nothing wrong with that saying; after all, in a society based on human relationships, having an acquaintance is always better than not having one.

But Zhou Yi didn't need that many friends.

Moreover, in many situations, no matter how much others dislike him, they still have to welcome him, like now.

He was someone who could provide them with political achievements. It was obvious; if you don't agree, it doesn't matter, I'll just find the Consumer Protection Committee in another place.

This type of Public Interest Litigation can be filed anywhere because it's nationwide; basically, phones are sold everywhere, so it can be done anywhere.

"Director Xin, I've only done what I could," Zhou Yi said directly with a smile.

Director Xin smiled and shook her head, not saying anything more pointed or sarcastic, just saying, "Alright, Mr. Zhou, you go back and wait a few days. We will conduct a preliminary review of all the evidence here. If everything is appropriate, we will file the Public Interest Litigation!"

This lawsuit wouldn't be under the jurisdiction of the District Court anymore, but rather the Intermediate Court or the High People's Court. However, it would likely be the Intermediate Court, as the High People's Court rarely accepts cases directly now. If it were truly filed at the High People's Court, it would likely be assigned to a specific Intermediate Court for jurisdiction.

"Alright, then Director Xin, I'll be going now," Zhou Yi smiled.

After saying that, he greeted both Director Xin and Xiao Liu, and Zhou Yi left the Consumer Protection Committee.

You wouldn't know until you looked; there had been a similar case before, in Shenzhen, I think, where they sued Fruit Phone over pre-installed software, but they lost.

But that was a long time ago, back when there was no supporting legislation. Now, the times have changed.

Many people often selectively forget the last two words when talking about "laws and regulations." Laws are laws, and regulations are regulations, but that doesn't mean people don't have to follow the regulations.

Even the Vice Sect Leader has to be supported, you know!

The Consumer Protection Committee began its review, and there wouldn't be a result for a while, but online, this matter had already sparked a discussion!

That is, should our phones be completely under our own control!

Some people think it should be under our control, after all, we spent money to buy them, but others think it's not entirely under our control, because you might easily turn your phone into a brick.

I don't know how it happened, but such opinions could actually start an argument...

Correspondingly, many so-called "insiders" and "experts" began to express their views, from the perspective of the Manufacturer, from the perspective of hardware and software, from the legal perspective, and so on.

Some even believed that pre-installed phone software cannot be entirely controlled by administrative regulations; this should be a market behavior.

Of course, Zhong'ai Yisheng chose to respond under such collective mockery.

"I am honored to have become the villain in everyone's eyes, but I believe there is really no need to be so serious about such things. Take A Yi, for example; how much money has he spent on this? Just what I can calculate, it's already reached how many tens of thousands!"

"Is it really necessary to spend this money? Many children in the mountains don't even know what a phone is. Now, just to prove a point, just to make me admit defeat, he spends so much—isn't this a waste of social resources?"

"If he just wanted me to admit defeat, he could have just said so, and I would have admitted it immediately. But he didn't say that; he chose such a grand and exhaustive way. I really want to ask: couldn't this money be donated to the children in the mountains?"

"Is your pride really more important than the future of children in the mountains? That is all I have to say. When one is successful, one should help the world—that's all!"

I actually started writing quite early, but ended up spending the whole night watching the drama... emmm, so today, shamefully, there is only one chapter.

Thanks to Tianduogao Woduosao, another new big brother, Abohuosi, Wenchidage, Feimaowuyu, and Boluochuixue; thank you brothers for the tips, thank you.

(End of this chapter)