Chapter 687

Seeing Jian Qiu looked at An Jing as she walked over: "When did these people arrive?"

"They got here before ten!" An Jing pointed to a middle-aged man wandering around the kitchen, "He's the team leader—Kang Kang Tiehua, deputy director of the district health bureau."

Zhou Andong asked: "What did they say?"

"Just said it's a routine inspection," An Jing chuckled, "For hours now, they've been poking here and glancing there—no idea what they're even checking."

Zhou Andong said softly: "Did you buy those small recorders I asked you to get?"

An Jing nodded: "In my office."

"Let's go," Zhou Andong stepped toward the elevator, "To your office."

The three of them went to the third-floor office. An Jing pulled a small recorder from a drawer—smaller than a Walkman.

Zhou Andong took it, glanced at the tape inside: "I'm going downstairs to talk to Kang Kang Tiehua."

Seeing Jian Qiu asked: "Should I come with you?"

Zhou Andong waved him off, opened the office door, and stepped out.

"All samples must be preserved—they'll be tested back at the office," Kang Kang Tiehua said sternly, hands behind his back. "Food hygiene concerns the people's livelihood and national stability."

"Especially in our capital, a famous commercial street like Wang Fujing, where countless foreign tourists come daily, and at this critical juncture of reform and opening-up."

"If a food safety issue arises, the losses would be unbearable. So we cannot afford the slightest negligence."

Zhou Andong had just reached the kitchen door when he heard Kang Kang Tiehua's grandstanding—he let out a cold laugh.

Zhou Andong walked in: "You must be Kang Kang Tiehua, Director Kang."

Kang Kang Tiehua eyed Zhou Andong curiously: "Who are you…?"

Zhou Andong's face showed no expression as he stepped beside Kang Kang Tiehua: "Ye Jun sent me. Ye Shao wants me to check things out."

Kang Kang Tiehua's face softened into a smile; he lowered his voice: "Tell Ye Shao not to worry—if Dicos won't compromise, even if their hygiene is perfect, I'll make sure they have problems."

Zhou Andong smiled approvingly: "You know Arresting Tong Huai Zhi, Tong Shao, right?"

Kang Kang Tiehua nodded: "I've had the honor of meeting him a few times at Ye Shao's place."

"Good," Zhou Andong said. "Tong Shao said they're busy people—no time to waste here. If Dicos still won't compromise in the next three or four days, shut them down."

"Understood!" Kang Kang Tiehua agreed without hesitation.

"Then I'm off," Zhou Andong waved and turned to leave.

Back on the third floor, Seeing Jian Qiu said in surprise: "You're back already?"

"You wanted me to have drinks with him?" Zhou Andong rolled his eyes, pulled out the recorder from his pocket, rewound it, and played it—their conversation rang out clearly.

"What's the use of this?" Seeing Jian Qiu said. "This recording won't threaten Ye Jun or Arresting Tong Huai Zhi."

"This isn't for Ye Jun or Arresting Tong Huai Zhi," Zhou Andong smiled faintly, sat on the sofa, lit a cigarette. "It's for Kang Kang Tiehua."

"In this business, no matter how clean you keep things, inspections will always find something. Even if there's zero issue, they've got plenty of ways to make you have one."

"In the end, even if we beat Ye Jun and Arresting Tong Huai Zhi, this trash can just say 'standard enforcement'—and if the store has even minor problems, we're powerless against him."

"More importantly, Kang Kang Tiehua wouldn't dare act like this unless someone high up—a corrupt official—gave him the nod. That person will protect him."

"But with this recording, I've pinned Kang Kang Tiehua to the ground—no way out. Even if that corrupt official doesn't want to get dragged down, he'll have to shut his mouth."

An Jing hugged her arms, shivered, then smiled warmly at Seeing Jian Qiu.

"Qiuqiu, your man is too sneaky. I'd better keep my distance—he might sell me out one day, and I'd still be counting his money for him."

Seeing Jian Qiu laughed: "Don't worry—you're beautiful and capable. He won't sell you."

An Jing opened her mouth to reply when a knock came at the office door.

"Come in!" An Jing called.

The door opened, and Tang Lin and Zhang Zuo—the two idiots—walked in.

"I knew you'd be in the office."

Tang Lin grinned, sat beside Zhou Andong, and without asking, picked up the cigarette Zhou Andong had left on the coffee table and lit one.

Zhang Zuo was even bolder—he grabbed the pack, lit one, then stuffed the remaining half into his own pocket.

Tang Lin crossed his legs, looking amazed: "They seemed civilized—didn't disrupt business at all."

Zhang Zuo sneered: "Ye Jun's a bastard—he's already claimed Dicos as his own. Of course he wants to keep it running smoothly, so it doesn't hurt future profits."

Zhou Andong asked curiously: "How do you know so much about Ye Jun?"

Zhang Zuo snorted: "We grew up in the same courtyard. I know him inside out—he's been rotten since childhood, his soles oozing pus."

Zhou Andong smiled: "Looks like you took a lot of beatings from him as a kid."

Zhang Zuo's face darkened; he stuck out his neck: "Him? I used to beat him senseless as a kid—he'd scream for his mom and dad."

Zhou Andong pointed upward: "Look up—what's flying up there?"

"What?" Zhang Zuo reflexively looked up.

Everyone else looked up too—nothing there.

"All cows," Zhou Andong sneered at Zhang Zuo, crushed his cigarette in the ashtray.

"Ha!" Tang Lin chuckled, then snapped his mouth shut when Zhang Zuo glared at him.

Zhou Andong ignored them and asked An Jing: "How's the branch expansion going?"

An Jing said: "The three stores—Xidan, Dazhalan, and Qianmen—will start renovation at month's end, open by September."

Zhou Andong thought for a moment: "By next midyear, Beijing must have at least twenty stores."

An Jing nodded: "Da Lin is helping find locations—any suitable one gets renovated."

Zhou Andong turned to Tang Lin: "You two can't just stick to Beijing—go to Shanghai, Yangcheng, Shencheng. Look around, buy property if you find something good."

"If you don't want to go, hire a few people. You two can't handle everything alone. Let junior staff do the legwork—you can step in for negotiations."

"Clap, clap, clap…"

The office door knocked again. An Jing called: "Come in!"

Pan Pan Huiling pushed the door open: "Manager An, they're gone."

Zhou Andong stood: "Let's go downstairs."

Everyone went downstairs and saw two vans driving away.

An Jing exhaled: "We made it through today. Tomorrow, another department will surely come."

No sooner had she spoken than a large crowd arrived outside, flooding into the store—over a hundred people.

They didn't shout or cause trouble—quietly lined up, ordered a Coke or iced black tea, each taking a table, sitting there calmly.