Chapter 160: Born for the Argument

In other cities and counties, industrial and commercial law enforcement might be a lucrative job, but in a particularly impoverished county like Bangye, it's actually a relatively simple position. As an agricultural county, Bangye only has around 200 small businesses, and besides a few grain purchase points, there are hardly any township enterprises.

They say that impoverished areas produce cunning people, but places with no resources also produce unscrupulous officials.

Normally, there's no need for much scrutiny, but with the report about Bangye Distillery, even if the small distillery's license is from Hailin, the Director of the Industrial and Commercial Office, Xing, has already decided to make an example of it.

At this moment, seeing a young man holding onto his arm, the officer was displeased: "What's the matter? Are you in charge? If you're not in charge, step aside; if you are, come with us."

After seeing the team arrive with a seal and now being so forceful, Li Xian understood—they were clearly targeting the small distillery. If nothing unexpected happened, this matter wasn't going to end well.

Weighing his options, he retreated to a corner and took out his old cell phone.

At that moment, Old Zhu, who had been out collecting sorghum at the grain depot, returned on his bicycle. Seeing the chaos in the small distillery and his son being held by the officials, he immediately exploded.

"What are you doing?!"

When he heard that the small distillery was reported for operating without a license and for making and selling fake liquor, and that it was going to be shut down and fined, Old Zhu's face darkened: "Who the hell said we're selling liquor?"

The enforcement team was amused by this.

One team member lifted the cover of a large jar in the room and pointed: "What's this if not liquor?"

Old Zhu took a look at the jar, gathered his composure, and spat out two words: "Soy sauce."

The method of making Northeast soy sauce involves steaming soybeans, pressing them into blocks, letting them fully air dry, and then fermenting them in a large jar. The sorghum in the jar was indeed bubbling like soy sauce, but even an idiot in Northeast China could distinguish between a stinky soy sauce jar and a liquor jar!

Seeing Old Zhu lying through his teeth, one enforcement officer was so angry that he opened another large jar of liquor, took a sip, felt the strong taste on his palate, and spat it on the ground.

"Are you crazy? Can't I tell the difference between liquor and soy sauce?"

Old Zhu was ready for this! He pointed at the liquor jar, glaring: "How can you say we're selling fake liquor just because you had a sip? How dare you!"

Faced with this question, the enforcement officer was left speechless.

Seeing this old man arguing with the enforcement team, Director Xing Wenlong of the Industrial and Commercial Office waved his hand, and immediately, some team members restrained Old Zhu's hands.

As the neighbors around and the arriving Zhu Juan and Yang Shuzhen were panicking, Old Zhu turned to the officers and said, "You can arrest me, but you need to clarify things in front of all these people! Otherwise, I won't accept it!"

The enforcement team, having little to do and with plenty of time before meal hours, were not in a hurry to leave. Xing Wenlong, seeing that the old man was serious, gave a meaningful smile.

Reasonable?

Fine!

He waved his hand, "First, it's not about whether your liquor is genuine or not. Is there any evidence of illegal blending? You're operating without a license. What's there to disagree about?"

Hearing "business license," Old Zhu looked at his son who was also restrained and then turned back: "We have a business license!"

"I saw it; it's from Hailin. It's not valid here!" Xing Wenlong shook his head.

Old Zhu frowned: "Oh, so Hailin's license isn't valid in Bangye, right?"

"Exactly."

"So, does the water from the Nuo Min River come from Inner Mongolia? Have you drunk it?"

"That's not the same! That's natural resources, while this is artificially made!"

"Does the Natural Resource Bureau charge for water fees? According to your logic, if you need a license for selling, show me the license for the tap water company!"

"..."

The group of enforcement officers was completely stunned by this question!

Director Xing Wenlong thought for a long time and still couldn't figure it out. Finally, one of his team members stepped forward: "Comrade, don't confuse the concepts! Water sources flowing through Bangye are Bangye's resources! Locally, we have the right to use and charge for them!"

Facing this well-reasoned explanation, Old Zhu wasn't buying it, "Then why is my Hailin liquor passing through Bangye and being sold here? What's the matter with that?!"

As he asked this, the group of enforcement officers scratched their heads.

According to this old man's argument, it seemed… actually, there was no clear fault?

But Old Zhu's barrage of arguments completely frustrated Xing Wenlong. He thought to himself, "Today must be the worst day ever! What's the point of reasoning with an old man like this?"

He threw his cigarette on the ground, cursed, and waved his hand, instructing his team to detain the old man.

Unable to argue with Old Zhu, the enforcement officers, already frustrated, pounced on him like wolves, dragging him out.

At this moment, Li Xian, who had been trying to get through on the phone and finally reached the right person, stood at the door and handed the big phone to Director Xing.

"Comrade, Director Liu from the District Government Office wants to speak with you."

These days, a big phone was not something just anyone could use, so when Xing Wenlong saw that Li Xian was holding this expensive item, he was momentarily stunned.

However, having just been tangled up by Old Zhu's argument about local versus non-local resources, Xing Wenlong was already irate. Now that someone was using district-level connections to obstruct him, he was furious.

"Director Liu from the District Government Office? You're confused, and you're bringing more confusion! This is Bangye! Bangye! Bangye! The district office doesn't have authority here. Get out of the way; no one cares about you! I warn you, if you delay our enforcement, you'll all be taken away!"

Just as Xing Wenlong was about to push the phone away, one of his officers, with eyes wide open, grabbed him and said, "Director, Director! Director Liu from the District Government Office! Liu Wei Han!"

Seeing his subordinate's strange expression, Xing Wenlong frowned.

When he still didn't understand, the officer anxiously said, "District Government Office! Director Liu! The one on the public notice! Liu Wei Han!"

Xing Wenlong's frown deepened, but then he suddenly realized. In that instant, his expression was quite dramatic! His eyes widened as he looked at Li Xian from head to toe, and then he hesitated. Finally, he made a decisive decision and, as if seeing a revered ancestor's tablet, grabbed the big phone from Li Xian and straightened up, "County Chief Liu!"

On the other end of the phone, Liu Wei Han, having heard from Li Xian about the situation at the distillery, questioned the issue sternly.

Though Liu Wei Han's transfer to Bangye County was confirmed, he had not officially assumed office yet, so he couldn't interfere too much. However, after understanding the situation, he used a firm tone to suggest handling it properly.

To reach the level of a Director, if Xing Wenlong still didn't understand, he might as well have wasted his time!

After ending the call, Xing Wenlong's face changed completely. He became all smiles, commanding his team to remove the still-wet seals.

He walked over to Li Xian and the now-released Old Zhu, saying, "Ah, look at the trouble this has caused. Since you're familiar with Director Liu, why didn't you say so earlier?"

Just before this, Old Zhu had already pieced together the situation and figured out that Li Xian had found a tough opponent and made the other side back down.

Now in a position of power, Old Zhu finally couldn't hold back his frustration from before: "Why didn't you say so earlier? And you didn't give us a heads up about the business license check either, did you?!"

Faced with this confrontation, Xing Wenlong took a deep breath, his expression twisted but his tone more conciliatory: "You're right, you're right…"