Chapter 540: Surprised? Shocked?

No matter how displeased he felt inside, Manager Li could only watch as these staff members began searching for evidence, while also questioning him about the situation.

The other staff members of the Inspection Association had all been gathered together, and the investigators had all their paperwork in perfect order.

It was just... after learning the situation, Manager Li was a bit stunned; their actions were actually suspected of being a monopoly?

He really hadn't thought that much about it, feeling that the word "monopoly" was very far removed from his life.

In Manager Li's mind, if one were to talk about monopolies, it should be those big internet companies that might be monopolizing; he was just agreeing with everyone to raise prices uniformly so that everyone could make a little money.

How could this possibly be a monopoly!

While answering the questions of the Market Supervision Department, Manager Li's thoughts began to drift...

And inside the inspection center he ran, staff members had also arrived to conduct an investigation.

Or one could say, in these past few days, the Motor Vehicle Inspection Centers in Jingzhou City had all welcomed investigations...

To repeat the same point, the traffic management department might be their biological father, but as long as you are an enterprise or a Company, the Market Supervision Department will always be your godfather!

The bosses of the major inspection centers were all a bit stunned; when they were being investigated, they didn't know what was going on and all felt they had no problems whatsoever.

Some staff members even obtained the information they wanted directly; they had all raised prices uniformly in March of this year.

"You mean, that industry association even passed a member convention, requiring all of you members not to lower prices or engage in disguised price cuts?" inside one of the inspection centers, a staff member said with wide eyes.

The boss sitting in front nodded: "That's right, they formulated some work plan and also required us members to pay a security deposit; if anyone lowered prices, this security deposit would not be returned."

"It was all up to them, we had no choice..."

Facts proved that no matter how well Manager Li calculated, there were always people dissatisfied with their behavior, but there was no help for it; the others had great influence, and a few bosses controlled the entire industry association.

So at this moment, facing the investigators, they spilled everything like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube.

There were still smart people, because there is a regulation that in anti-monopoly investigations, if an operator voluntarily reports important information such as monopoly agreements to the anti-monopoly law enforcement agency, the penalty can be reduced or exempted at their discretion...

It is actually the same principle as "leniency for confession and severity for resistance."

And the most important evidence was discovered on a mobile phone.

Starting from August of last year, Manager Li had been constantly speaking in their group of a few people, saying that they should raise prices uniformly.

The reason was that prices had been rising, but the annual inspection fees had hardly changed.

Then the few of them discussed prices in the group, wanting to benchmark against major first-tier cities, and even exceed their prices.

Thus came the price hike incident in March; by that time, it was a matter of holding a meeting to notify the members.

Premeditated, with actions taken, utilizing regional industry characteristics and the association to implement uniform price hikes—it was a monopoly, no doubt about it.

And the main thing was that this nature was particularly egregious!

After all, this is motor vehicle inspection; as long as you have a car, you must go for an inspection, so implementing monopoly behavior under such circumstances made the situation more serious than a typical monopoly.

The Handong Province Market Supervision Department had now completely taken over the case, because such a major regional case was no longer something the municipal bureau could handle.

Too many people and matters were involved...

Just as Manager Zhang had said before, the uniform price hike had actually already sparked some discussion, among which the heavy-duty truck drivers felt it the most deeply.

However, after all, the price hike for passenger cars, which are closely related to ordinary people, was not high, so it did not trigger much discussion.

This is also why it was only discovered until now.

Therefore, under such circumstances, it must be made into a classic case!

The Market Supervision Department would also have corresponding classic cases; if done well, they could likewise be promoted nationwide.

Let the whole country know that such similar behaviors are all subject to anti-monopoly investigations!

The whole matter was caught off guard for Manager Li, like a storm; by the time he reacted, the investigation had basically ended.

The monopoly behavior was confirmed; it just took time to issue the Administrative Penalty.

Among them, Manager Li, as the person in charge of this industry association, bore the brunt, and those inspection institutions under his Company could not escape either.

And now, including Manager Li, several other bosses most wanted to know one thing: who exactly reported them!

These days, it's not like you can just report something online and bring down such an industry association; that is basically impossible.

A mature report must be a Real-name Registration and have sufficient evidence!

But unfortunately, they could not get the information of the whistleblower at all.

Finally, on a morning approaching New Year's Day, the industry association and the major inspection centers received the Administrative Penalty Decision.

"The association is fined 1.5 million yuan? No, why is the fine so high? This is just an industry association, and it didn't even make a profit!" Manager Li stood in the office, shouting at the staff members in front of him.

As for his Mingsheng Company, because the Company had over a dozen inspection centers under its banner, the fine amount reached the level of six million...

Even if the Company's profit margin was high, this cut was enough to hurt its very bones.

But he dared not say this, and could only use the fine of the Inspection Association to make a point.

The staff member put down the Administrative Penalty Decision and then said: "The association's fine lies in the mandatory requirement for members to pay a security deposit; you know in your heart how much money was collected specifically."

With so many members, as long as any one of them disagreed with the price hike, the security deposit would be gone.

Having served the Administrative Penalty Decision, the staff member naturally also informed them of the corresponding rights; if he did not agree with this Administrative Penalty, he could file for Administrative Reconsideration, and could also file for Administrative Litigation.

File for Administrative Litigation at this time?

Unless he was crazy.

It's just, who exactly reported him, who had such a deep grudge against him that they had to pull such a move!

The fine was actually secondary; the key was that because of the few of them, the entire industry was now facing rectification!

The state's punishment is never a one-off, especially for a special industry like motor vehicle inspection; it is foreseeable that they will definitely have a hard time ahead.

And now, the other bosses of those inspection centers must have already cursed his family into their own beds...

I heard that the provincial supervision and anti-monopoly bureau are already conducting investigations throughout the province, intending to go through it place by place; as long as they find an industry association engaging in monopoly, they will absolutely not let it go...

"Sigh, Lao Peng, why do you think it turned out like this?" Manager Li said, looking at Manager Peng in front of him.

Manager Peng dared not speak; he just felt that suddenly, the whole sky had changed. Originally, one could make money just by lying down comfortably, but now, without the uniform suppression of the industry association, the major inspection centers had already begun to engage in internal competition...

This is actually what the state wants to see; if you provide good service and have a good attitude, people will naturally all go to you for vehicle inspection.

If you still hold onto your old way of thinking, feeling that our industry is special and putting on a sour face for others to see, then naturally, people won't be willing to come.

Although it hasn't been long, that feeling is already there.

"If I find out who reported it..."

Of course, the currently fuming Manager Li did not know that at this very moment, Zhou Yi had once again received a call from Lao Yang of the Propaganda Department.

Standing before the floor-to-ceiling window, Zhou Yi looked at the world outside and said with a smile, "Brother Yang, no need for those pleasantries. You definitely have something going on whenever you look for me. Speak, what are we promoting this time?"

Over the phone, Lao Yang laughed and said, "There's no helping it, who else but you causes all these things every time? Let me tell you, the matter regarding that testing association you reported last time has results now. Let me tell you, the fine this time is quite substantial."

"And next, an industry rectification will begin; this matter absolutely cannot pass easily."

"Now, our Handong Province Market Supervision Department and the national State Administration for Market Regulation have both decided to use this case as a classic example for promotion, so we thought of you."

"How about it? You decide for yourself whether you want to do it; after all, they all know you."

This was equivalent to exposing his identity as the whistleblower.

"Brother Yang, when have you ever heard me refuse this kind of thing? Actually, I originally just wanted them to pay up properly, but they said they were very rich and even wanted to spend 800,000 to buy my life. I wasn't happy about that, so I thought I'd report them."

Hearing this, Lao Yang said, "Don't worry about that. You help us with the promotion, and we will definitely warn them not to mess around!"

"Then that's fine. Brother Yang, send over more material. I actually really want to see that boss's reaction..."

Regarding Zhou Yi's request, Lao Yang naturally satisfied it all; legal education is exactly what this significance is for.

Because not many people pay attention after some local rules and regulations are published, this case promotion is, on one hand, for deterrence, and on the other, to conduct Case Interpretation.

Let everyone know that now, the state does not operate testing centers, and administrative guidance prices no longer exist; these testing centers are now just private Company entities.

Not long after, Zhou Yi received the documents sent by Lao Yang as he had wished. They were very rich, covering everything from the start of the investigation to the final delivery of the penalty decision, as well as the industry rectification, and so on.

Zhou Yi first enjoyed the show; that boss surnamed Li, who had been incomparably arrogant, could only roar helplessly in front of the staff.

However, just watching the other party's behavior didn't fully satisfy Zhou Yi yet; even without Lao Yang's words, he would have posted this video himself.

It is to clearly and plainly tell you: I did this, I reported you!

Of course, thanks to Han Guoxing's attack last time, Zhou Yi was now preparing to recruit another batch of security guards; he really had offended a few too many people...

When the time comes, let them study Criminal Law first... it would be best if they could reach the level of the Mad Dog Fist practitioners and thoroughly digest the Criminal Law.

The material was sent to the Self-Media Studio, and the studio began working overtime in full swing; needless to say, it was all voluntary overtime.

The next evening, Zhou Yi received the files; the Self-Media Studio had already finished the video.

The speed was good; next time, he would raise their bonuses.

Then, Zhou Yi began the voiceover.

"Hello, dear viewers, hello everyone. I am your old friend A Yi. I wonder how many people have gone to get their cars inspected? This time, it was just that I encountered a problem while getting my car inspected."

Telling the story from the beginning, Zhou Yi began to recount the entire process: the car's Engine Cylinder Explosion, communicating with the other party, being asked by the other party to provide evidence, being told to go through legal channels, and so on.

These accounts were all accompanied by video.

"Actually, I didn't understand why they asked me for Mediation after the Second Instance was filed. After all, they could have just executed the First Instance judgment. At the time, I just felt they didn't want to pay that much money."

This matter was easy to figure out: the First Instance judgment was 80,000, and execution meant paying 80,000 directly, but Mediation is different; a Mediation agreement only requires the consent of both parties.

"As a result, after I went there, I encountered this situation..."

The Stick Figure Animation in the video explained the whole process very clearly.

"That boss thought I just wanted money, and thought I was Pretending to be Cool by driving an old car. I tried to reason with him, and he said he was just rich and told me to go file a Lawsuit wherever I wanted."

"Honestly, now that he said that in front of me, I definitely obliged him. I turned around and started collecting evidence to report him—yes, report him for monopoly!"

Then came the reporting, followed by the Market Supervision Department coming to investigate, and the other party's reaction when the penalty was carried out.

The expressions before and after formed a stark contrast!

"You all see, I always satisfy such requests!"

The voiceover ended, and then it was time to think of a flashy title.

Zhou Yi soon made a decision: Car inspection had a breakdown, not only did they not pay, but they also told me to go file a Lawsuit wherever I wanted?

Because it was a promotional video, he still had to let Lao Yang vet it. This time it went very smoothly because it didn't involve any special matters.

Soon the video was uploaded.

The folks on the internet had been eating too many melons lately because there were too many situations online recently.

Things like the warrior charging for love, or someone wearing a wedding dress doing that... in short, it was just particularly absurd, making you feel that even you, a weirdo, felt out of place with these weirdos online.

"Has that Pigeon Spirit A Yi not posted a video for a long time?"

Yuan Jie asked in the comment section.

It soon drew many replies; everyone expressed that ever since that guy posted two videos in a row last time, it was like he had overdone it once and had gone limp.

Those melons get tiresome after eating too many; A Yi's videos are still more refreshing to watch.

As it turned out, just as Yuan Jie was thinking about it, she saw the video update!

Looking at the title, she was immediately taken aback. A Yi had targeted the highway management agency last time; this time he was actually targeting a testing center?

Now he was going to take action against testing centers; this was unimaginable in the future!

She hurriedly clicked to watch. Watching those scenes of being dragged along, to be honest, even Yuan Jie felt angry.

She just didn't expect that this testing center was actually private!

She hadn't known that at all before.

But that didn't stop her from empathizing, because no one likes being dragged around, only to find out at the end that they still have to file a Lawsuit!

The barrage was filled with "666"; sure enough, A Yi's actions were the most satisfying.

Originally, seeing the other party's arrogant appearance, everyone thought A Yi probably had no way out, but they didn't expect him to counter with an anti-monopoly report...

And at this moment, in Jingzhou, Manager Li was busy when Manager Peng ran into the office in small steps.

"Manager Li, I know who reported us; it's that Zhou Yi!"

Manager Li looked up with a blank face: "Who? You mean that internet celebrity? How do you know?"

"They've already posted the video, hurry up and take a look, the whole internet knows about it now!"

Second update, goodnight everyone, let's do three updates tomorrow to make up for yesterday's.

(End of this chapter)