Chapter 302: Hygiene Issues

The next morning, if it were an ordinary official or research team, everyone would have breakfast on their own and then gather together at the appointed time, following the schedule as planned. However, since this visit involved two Deputy Party Secretaries from the provincial government, the breakfast had to be more elaborate.

Thus, based on the instructions from Chen Da, the Municipal Party Secretary, Gu Ping, the County Party Secretary of Nanhui, organized a grand breakfast banquet for Ji Ruiming and Dai Jinshan. Of course, this "grand" was only in terms of scale; there wasn't a lavish spread of delicacies, but rather simple dishes like porridge, soy milk, fried dough sticks, eggs, and steamed buns. The location was also modestly set in the county committee's cafeteria, as party officials, especially senior ones, are very conscious of their public image.

Ji Ruiming and Dai Jinshan arrived at the cafeteria where Zhou Ming and Su Han had already been waiting. Upon seeing Zhou Ming, Dai Jinshan greeted him warmly, "Comrade Zhou Ming, you're early. Make sure to have a hearty breakfast today; you have a heavy responsibility of introducing your Eight-Treasure Congee's production and sales concepts to the comrades in Jiangnan."

One has to admit, to rise to the third-highest position in the provincial government, a person must be no ordinary figure. Just look at Secretary Dai—last night, he was so angry that he smashed a cup, but today, he greeted Zhou Ming as if nothing had happened, even joking with him. This level of self-restraint is not something that just anyone can achieve. And if Dai Jinshan could manage this, Ji Ruiming, who hadn't had any conflicts with Zhou Ming, was even more relaxed.

"Rest assured, Secretary Dai, I grew up in a working-class family, so if nothing else, I have plenty of energy!" Zhou Ming's response elicited hearty laughter from everyone.

Afterward, Zhou Ming led the two leaders into the cafeteria for breakfast. Everything proceeded like an ordinary breakfast, except for the fact that so many people were watching and reporters were taking photos.

Soon, Dai Jinshan finished his first bowl of porridge. When the staff nearby offered to get him another, Dai Jinshan insisted on doing it himself, walking over to scoop the porridge.

As Dai Jinshan bent down to scoop the porridge, Ji Ruiming led the applause for his spirit of self-reliance, and the accompanying reporters eagerly clicked their cameras. Understanding the situation, Dai Jinshan deliberately slowed down his movements. It's easy to imagine how an ordinary action like scooping porridge, when done by a leader, could be elevated to a display of noble character and become great news material.

This is the essence of political performance, an instinct of every official, whether ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign.

After breakfast, following the schedule, Zhou Ming led them back to the factory to visit the Eight-Treasure Congee production workshop.

Since the new factory was still under construction, all current Eight-Treasure Congee production lines were still housed in Factory 760. As they got out of the car, Dai Jinshan looked up at the factory name and suddenly asked, "Comrade Zhou Ming, as far as I know, Factory 760 is a metalworking factory. How can the Eight-Treasure Congee factory be located here? Aren't you worried about possible radiation or contamination?"

Zhou Ming hadn't expected this question from Dai Jinshan since he had already explained this the previous day. Nevertheless, since Dai Jinshan asked, Zhou Ming answered, "No, Secretary Dai. The metalworking workshop and the Eight-Treasure Congee workshop are in separate buildings, quite far apart. Additionally, our factory maintains strict hygiene standards for food production, ensuring that our Eight-Treasure Congee is clean and safe."

But Dai Jinshan shook his head and said, "I still think this is something to be careful about. After all, this is food for people. If we wait until something goes wrong before reflecting, it will be too late."

"Of course, Secretary Dai. That's why our Eight-Treasure Congee factory is currently constructing a new facility to completely separate it from Factory 760," Zhou Ming said.

Dai Jinshan glanced at Zhou Ming but said nothing more. He and Ji Ruiming then entered Factory 760, heading toward the Eight-Treasure Congee production workshop, where the workshop director, Wang Chen, was waiting at the door. The entire tour was rather ordinary, with Wang Chen explaining the production process of Eight-Treasure Congee to the two leaders. They occasionally asked some questions, mostly following the usual script, until they reached the courtyard behind the workshop, where Dai Jinshan was displeased again.

The courtyard behind the Eight-Treasure Congee workshop was where the ingredients were washed. Seeing the large basins filled with longan, lotus seeds, and coix seeds, Dai Jinshan frowned.

"Are these just left out in the open like this? That's so dirty! For the sake of public health, you need to improve this washing process," Dai Jinshan said.

Zhou Ming nodded in agreement. With that, Dai Jinshan said nothing further, and he and Ji Ruiming left the Eight-Treasure Congee workshop to attend a meeting in the factory's administrative building. During the meeting, Zhou Ming briefly introduced the marketing strategy for Eight-Treasure Congee. Ji Ruiming immediately praised Zhou Ming's idea of using New Year's gift-giving as a guide, while Dai Jinshan, in contrast, didn't offer any comments on Zhou Ming's presentation.

The day ended just like that. The Jiangnan research team stayed in Nanhui County for a total of four days, and the remaining two days were spent visiting various enterprises in Nanjiang and Gangcheng, with Zhou Ming explaining the concept of township industrial parks. Overall, it was uneventful.

As for Ji Ruiming and Dai Jinshan, apart from the first evening when they met with Zhou Ming, they didn't seek him out in the following days.

However, just when Zhou Ming thought the matter was over, on the fourth day, as he was seeing off the leaders, Municipal Party Secretary Chen Da suddenly asked Zhou Ming, "Did you offend Secretary Dai in some way?"

This question left Zhou Ming puzzled. It was certain that he had offended Dai Jinshan, but it seemed unlikely that a Deputy Party Secretary would complain to Chen Da. Doing so would only make him appear petty and diminish his stature.

Since Chen Da had to accompany the provincial leaders as they departed, he didn't elaborate. It wasn't until the next day that Zhou Ming understood what Chen Da's question meant.

The day after Ji Ruiming and Dai Jinshan left, Zhou Ming drove to the train station to pick up Du Peng. Originally, Du Peng was supposed to arrive two days earlier, but with Ji Ruiming and Dai Jinshan in town, Zhou Ming couldn't break free, so he asked Du Peng to delay his arrival.

At the train station's exit, Zhou Ming saw Du Peng and gave him a bear hug, jokingly asking, "How's it going, Young Master Du? Those ten-plus hours on the train must have been rough, huh?"

"It was excruciating!" Du Peng said. "But no matter how bad it was for me, I bet it's worse for you. You had to spend four whole days with that shameless guy, Dai Jinshan, with a smile on your face!"

Zhou Ming shrugged, "It doesn't matter. After all, that guy had to do the same thing. We're even at most."

Zhou Ming tossed Du Peng's luggage into the trunk, and they got into the car. At that moment, Zhou Ming's phone rang. It was a call from Su Han, and her voice was filled with surprise and urgency: "Zhou Ming, something's wrong! A task force from the Provincial Health Department and the Municipal Health Bureau just arrived at the factory. They want to shut down our Eight-Treasure Congee production workshop! What should we do?"

Zhou Ming hadn't expected this news, but he made a quick decision: "Xiaohan, don't panic. As long as you can confirm that they are indeed from the Provincial Health Department and the Municipal Health Bureau, let them do whatever they need to do. Under no circumstances should you clash with them, understand?"

"But they want to shut down the Eight-Treasure Congee workshop!" Su Han emphasized.

"Let them shut down whatever they want, even if it's the entire Factory 760. I'll get it reopened, but you mustn't confront them, understand?" Zhou Ming also stressed.

"Okay, I understand," Su Han replied.

"Xiaohan, handle things for now. I've just picked up Du Peng, and I'll be back as soon as possible."

After hanging up, Zhou Ming turned to see Du Peng looking at him in surprise. Du Peng asked, "Did something happen the moment I arrived?"

Zhou Ming chuckled, "Thanks to your good fortune, it looks like my Eight-Treasure Congee workshop is in trouble."

Du Peng was confused, but Zhou Ming didn't offer any further explanation. He simply started the car and sped back to the factory.

Su Han and Wang Chen, the director of the Eight-Treasure Congee workshop, were waiting for Zhou Ming by the factory monument. As Zhou Ming's car approached, Su Han immediately ran over, but before she could speak, Zhou Ming said, "There's no need to explain anything right now. Get in the car, and we'll talk after we see what's going on."

Su Han and Wang Chen got into the car, and Zhou Ming drove to the entrance of the Eight-Treasure Congee workshop. By this time

, a team of about ten people, led by the Deputy Director of the Provincial Health Department, were already inspecting the workshop. Seeing Zhou Ming arrive, Su Han quickly briefed him, "Zhou Ming, this is Deputy Director Xiao from the Provincial Health Department. His team includes inspectors from the Provincial and Municipal Health Departments, the Provincial Food Safety Committee, and the Provincial Food and Drug Administration. They're here to investigate the hygiene and safety of our Eight-Treasure Congee."

Zhou Ming walked over to greet Deputy Director Xiao. After exchanging pleasantries, Xiao explained the purpose of their visit: "Director Zhou, we've received reports that your Eight-Treasure Congee production process has some hygiene issues. After receiving instructions from the higher authorities, we've formed a task force to conduct a comprehensive inspection of your facility. If any problems are found, we'll take appropriate action to ensure the safety of the food produced."

"Of course, Deputy Director Xiao," Zhou Ming responded, "We welcome your inspection, and we'll fully cooperate with your team to ensure that everything is in compliance with the regulations. However, I'd like to emphasize that our factory strictly adheres to all health and safety standards, and we've never had any issues with the quality of our products."

Deputy Director Xiao nodded and continued with the inspection, accompanied by Zhou Ming. As they moved through the workshop, Xiao pointed out several areas of concern, particularly the outdoor washing process that Dai Jinshan had criticized earlier. Although Xiao didn't explicitly mention Dai Jinshan, it was clear to Zhou Ming that this inspection was related to the comments made by the Deputy Party Secretary.

By the time the inspection was over, Xiao had identified multiple "issues" that required immediate rectification. He recommended suspending production until the factory could demonstrate compliance with all health and safety regulations. Zhou Ming thanked Xiao for his advice and assured him that the factory would address the issues promptly.

After the inspection team left, Zhou Ming gathered Su Han, Wang Chen, and the other key personnel to discuss the situation. He made it clear that they would comply with the suspension order but would also work quickly to address the concerns raised by the inspection team. He stressed that their top priority was to ensure the safety and quality of their products while also protecting the reputation of the factory.

As the meeting concluded, Zhou Ming knew that this was not just about hygiene issues. It was clear that someone, likely Dai Jinshan, had used his influence to cause trouble for the Eight-Treasure Congee factory. But Zhou Ming was determined to turn this challenge into an opportunity to improve the factory's operations and emerge stronger from the ordeal.