Chapter 303: Dai Jinshan's Revenge

"It's not suspicion, I'm completely certain that this is his doing."

Zhou Ming said this as he noticed Du Peng seemed a bit doubtful. He then recounted to Du Peng how Chen Da had asked him a question before leaving yesterday, and how Dai Jinshan had specifically targeted the hygiene issues during his inspection of the Eight-Treasure Congee workshop.

"This Dai Jinshan is just too shameless!" Du Peng said angrily after hearing this.

However, compared to Du Peng, Su Han appeared puzzled. "But Zhou Ming, why is Secretary Dai specifically targeting our Eight-Treasure Congee?"

Du Peng also looked at Zhou Ming in confusion. Zhou Ming then remembered that he hadn't told Su Han about his past conflict with Dai Jinshan to avoid worrying her unnecessarily. Zhou Ming explained, "It's nothing, Xiao Han. I once had a conflict with Secretary Dai, so after he inspected the Eight-Treasure Congee factory, he intentionally nitpicked."

"But wasn't Secretary Dai quite nice when he visited? Why did he turn against us so suddenly?" Su Han asked.

Zhou Ming smiled and gently rubbed Su Han's head. "Xiao Han, don't you understand how these officials operate? They often present one face publicly while doing something else behind the scenes. The higher the rank, the better they are at this."

"These officials are just too despicable!" Su Han pouted angrily.

After answering Su Han's questions, Zhou Ming turned to Du Peng and said, "However, Dai Jinshan left yesterday, and today the Provincial Health Department and the Municipal Health Bureau came together to shut down my Eight-Treasure Congee workshop, which actually puts my mind at ease."

"Do you think Dai Jinshan will calm down after shutting down your workshop?" Du Peng asked. Su Han also looked at Zhou Ming, clearly sharing the same doubt as Du Peng.

"Of course not. Although I haven't known Secretary Dai for long, judging by how he caused trouble for me right after leaving yesterday, I believe he's not a very magnanimous person. I suspect he'll continue to retaliate against me in the coming days," Zhou Ming said.

Zhou Ming's words left Su Han somewhat confused. "Then why are you at ease, Zhou Ming?"

Du Peng seemed to understand. "Zhou Ming, you mean to say that Dai Jinshan can only cause you this kind of trouble, right?"

Zhou Ming nodded. "Exactly. Since I've had a conflict with him, I knew he would definitely cause trouble for me, which was unavoidable. If he didn't, I'd be even more worried, wondering what other way he might find to mess with me. But now that he's in such a hurry to have the Health Bureau seal off my workshop, it shows that this is all he can do."

"And since the situation at my Eight-Treasure Congee workshop meets the standards, all I need to do is submit the materials to the provincial authorities and talk to Governor Xiong. The seal can then be lifted. As for other areas, whether it's Factory 760 or the township industrial park, he can't touch them. The worst he can do is cause some minor nuisances like this, but he can't threaten my core interests. So why should I worry?"

Zhou Ming paused and then added, "On the contrary, I feel that Secretary Dai is actually helping us by pointing out our flaws and pushing us to do better. I should thank him!"

After Zhou Ming finished speaking, Du Peng burst into laughter. "Zhou Ming, you're too clever! If Dai Jinshan knew your thoughts, he'd probably be so mad he'd vomit blood!"

"Come on, I'm not Zhuge Liang, and our Secretary Dai isn't Zhou Yu. Du Peng, don't go putting a life on my conscience," Zhou Ming joked, then said to Su Han, "This shutdown will probably last at least a week to half a month. Xiao Han, could you calculate our losses, and try to estimate on the higher side?"

Su Han nodded and went back to the administrative building. As she left, Du Peng asked Zhou Ming, "Did you not tell Xiao Han about the situation with Dai Jinshan?"

"There's no need to involve her in a man's war. She can't help and would only worry needlessly," Zhou Ming said.

"I completely agree with you, Zhou Ming! In a man's war, let the women stay out!" Du Peng said. "But on another note, if Dai Jinshan keeps causing trouble, it could get annoying. Even though you've handled things well, nitpicking is always easier than getting things done. Who knows when he might catch something, and then it'll be troublesome."

"That's why I asked you here, to see if you, as a descendant of revolutionaries from the Red Wall Compound, have any experience in struggle that you could share," Zhou Ming said.

"I'm just a carefree, idle playboy. If you want lessons on indulging in food, drink, and vice, I'm your man. But teaching you about struggle? I can only take you to see my old man," Du Peng replied.

Zhou Ming looked at Du Peng. "Don't tell me that's all you learned from a revolutionary family. I bet if Chairman Du heard you, he'd lock you up for a month."

Du Peng chuckled awkwardly. "Alright, don't sweat the details. Let's focus on contacting Uncle Xiong first. We need him to get the seal lifted so your Eight-Treasure Congee workshop can resume operations."

"Alright, I'll leave that important task to you."

Zhou Ming said this as he and Du Peng left. Neither of them touched the seal, knowing that since it was placed by a government agency, only a government agency could remove it. If they tampered with it, Dai Jinshan could make a big issue out of it. For this reason, Zhou Ming had repeatedly instructed Su Han on the phone not to have any conflicts with the Health Bureau personnel.

Back in the car, Du Peng used Zhou Ming's mobile phone to call Governor Xiong Qingping and informed him about the situation with Dai Jinshan.

After hearing the story, Xiong Qingping didn't respond immediately. After a while, he finally said, "I'm aware of the situation. I'll talk to the Provincial Health Department and help mediate with Dai Jinshan. But you must exercise restraint and avoid any irrational actions until I give you a reply, understood?"

"Understood, thank you, Governor Xiong."

Zhou Ming replied and hung up the phone. Du Peng then asked Zhou Ming, "What do you think?"

"Getting the seal lifted from the Eight-Treasure Congee workshop is just a matter of Governor Xiong saying the word, but solving the problem with Dai Jinshan is beyond his power. We'll have to handle that ourselves," Zhou Ming said as he started the car. "Alright, let's not talk about this for now. I'll drop you off at the guesthouse first, and then we'll figure out what to do about Dai Jinshan."

After saying this, Zhou Ming pressed the accelerator and drove to the county guesthouse. Just as Du Peng settled in and before they received any news from Xiong Qingping, Dai Jinshan had already made his next move.

At six o'clock in the evening, as Zhou Ming and Su Han were heading to the guesthouse to pick up Du Peng for dinner, a call came in from the factory.

Zhou Ming answered the phone, and it was Sun Jie, the factory's office director, on the other end. His anxious voice came through the receiver, "Boss Zhou, something's wrong! Our previous production task has to be scrapped!"

Zhou Ming frowned and immediately pulled over. He calmly said to Sun Jie, "Director Sun, don't panic. Tell me slowly, what happened exactly?"

Perhaps Zhou Ming's calmness reassured Sun Jie, as he also calmed down before explaining, "Boss Zhou, didn't we take an order from Gaoting last month? We delivered that order last week, and the Municipal Government's State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) had already inspected and approved it on their behalf. But just now, SASAC called to say that all the products are defective and need to be sent back for rework."

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and asked, "I remember that shipment. Wasn't it already sent to Gaoting County? Are they really asking for it to be shipped back?"

"Yes, they want it sent back! SASAC said that after Gaoting inspected it, they found that our manufacturing specifications were completely different from the blueprints and demanded that we redo the work. They're also asking us to cover the round-trip shipping costs and pay compensation," Sun Jie said.

"How much are we talking about?" Zhou Ming asked.

"SASAC hasn't specified yet, but it's estimated to be at least ten thousand yuan," Sun Jie suddenly realized something and added, "Boss Zhou, you're not really planning to pay them, are you? Their request is completely unreasonable! The goods were already inspected and approved. How could there be an issue? Plus, the machining skills at Factory 760 are among the best in Linyang. It's impossible for our products to be completely different from the blueprints. There must be some mistake!"

Zhou Ming interrupted Sun Jie. "Director Sun, I understand your point, but let's not discuss that right now. Once the goods are shipped back, we'll compare them with the blueprints one by one. If there's no problem, that's great;

 if there is, we'll rework them immediately."

"But Boss Zhou…"

Sun Jie wanted to say more, but Zhou Ming cut him off. "Alright, Director Sun, no more questions. Just follow my instructions, okay?"

"Understood, Boss Zhou. I'll comply."

"Director Sun, make sure to keep a close eye on this matter. If anything goes wrong, contact me immediately. Don't make any decisions on your own."

Zhou Ming gave one final instruction to Sun Jie before hanging up the phone. After ending the call, Zhou Ming saw both Su Han and Du Peng looking at him. He lifted his phone and explained, "The goods we had already delivered now have issues and need to be reworked."

"Is this also Dai Secretary's doing? That's just too underhanded!" Su Han said angrily.

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and said, "Although Secretary Dai isn't a decent person, he's at least the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee. I doubt he would personally do something like this. It's probably someone lower down."

"It may not be his doing, but it's definitely on his orders," Du Peng said. "Zhou Ming, why don't we report him? This guy is getting out of hand."

Zhou Ming immediately rejected the idea. "No, reporting him now wouldn't have any impact. We need to wait for a better opportunity."

"But when will that opportunity come?" Du Peng asked.

Zhou Ming shook his head, indicating that he didn't know. Everything would have to depend on fate. However, even Zhou Ming himself didn't expect that fate would bring him an opportunity so quickly.