After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

The weeds in the green belts on both sides of the main road were knee-high, three of the street lamp poles were bent, and one of them had its lampshade completely gone, exposing the rusted iron core.

Han Zhiming closed his laptop and glanced out the car window.

"Is this the High-tech Zone?"

Chen Ping didn't answer, and reduced the car speed to 20 km/h. On the right was a row of standardized factory buildings, the slogans "Innovation Leads the Future" painted on the exterior walls had faded, and the gates of two of the buildings were locked, with construction waste piled up in the open space in front of them.

Five hundred meters further on, a four-story office building appears at the end of the road. Above the main entrance hangs a bronze signboard with the name of the Qingjiang High-tech Industrial Development Zone Management Committee. One of the characters has been removed, and it reads "Development Zone".

Chen Ping drove the car into the entrance of a convenience store on the side of the road and turned off the engine.

Did you bring a voice recorder?

Han Zhiming took out two guns from the side pocket of his backpack.

One for each person.

Chen Pingfang took it and put it in his cotton coat pocket. He then rummaged through the glove box and pulled out a stack of business cards, handing two to Han Zhiming. The business cards were printed with the name Li Fang, Specialist of the General Affairs Department of Huaxing New Materials Technology Co., Ltd.

Han Zhiming glanced down at his own photo: Han Ming, Assistant of the General Affairs Department.

"From now on, you won't call me Director, you'll call me Brother Li."

"……OK."

"Put your phone on silent. Don't answer any calls from the provincial government. Let's go."

The two got out of the car and walked across the parking lot in front of the management committee building. The parking lot was full, filled with black government vehicles, all gleaming and creating a glaring contrast with the potholes on the road.

The government service hall is located on the west side of the first floor of the management committee building. The glass door is half open, and the electronic queuing screen at the entrance is black.

Chen Ping pushed open the door and went in.

The lobby wasn't large, with six windows, two of which were open. Seven or eight people were sparsely seated on the plastic chairs in the waiting area; some were scrolling through their phones, others were dozing off with their knees on their knees. The air conditioner panel on the wall showed 16 degrees Celsius, indicating the heating function was probably broken; several people waiting hadn't taken off their coats.

Chen Ping walked to the front of the guidance desk. Behind the desk sat a girl in her early twenties, tapping her phone screen with her finger, her nails painted with bright pink nail polish.

"Hello, which window do I apply for subsidies at for Huaxing New Materials?"

The girl didn't look up.

"What number?"

"What number?"

"Have you gotten your number yet?"

Chen Ping glanced at the call number screen.

"The screen is black."

The girl finally raised her eyelids slightly, glanced at the number display, and then lowered her head again.

"The system is down. Please go to window number three and wait in line."

Chen Ping walked to window number three. There were four people in line in front of the window, and inside sat a middle-aged woman wearing glasses, arguing with a man holding a stack of documents.

"Your environmental impact assessment report is not the latest version; it needs to be reissued."

"Sister, this environmental impact assessment report was just done last month, and it cost 80,000 yuan."

"The format is wrong. We need to print on A3 paper, but yours is A4."

"The content is exactly the same."

"Rules are rules."

The man carrying the materials backed out, and as he passed Chen Ping, he muttered a curse under his breath.

After waiting in line for twenty-five minutes, it was Chen Ping's turn.

"Huaxing New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. applied for the provincial high-tech enterprise innovation subsidy last year, application number HX~2023~0417. I'd like to inquire about the progress."

The woman in the window typed a few words on the keyboard and stared at the screen for a long time.

"This document is in the approval department; you need to go to the third floor to find the approval department."

"Who exactly should I contact in the approval department?"

"Find someone in the approval department."

Han Zhiming stood behind Chen Pingfang, his hands in his pockets, his thumb pressing the power button on the recorder.

The two went up to the third floor. Several floor tiles in the corridor were missing, exposing the cement underneath. The sign for the approval department hung in the middle of the corridor. The door was open, and three people were sitting inside. The largest seat was by the window. The chair was genuine leather, and a man in his forties with a buzz cut was sitting there. He had a string of metal car key-shaped pendants around his neck and was looking at stock charts on a computer.

Chen Ping knocked on the door frame twice.

"Excuse me, who is the head of the approval department?"

The man with the buzz cut didn't turn around.

"What is it?"

"Huaxing New Materials' innovation subsidy application, number HX~2023~0417, has been submitted for more than three months. I would like to ask what stage it is stuck at."

The man with the buzz cut turned his chair around and sized Chen Ping up and down. Cotton jacket, cloth shoes, no watch—he didn't look like a leader, nor a boss.

"Who are you to Huaxing New Materials?"

"They're from the general affairs department, sent by the company to handle the paperwork."

The man with the buzz cut crossed his legs, picked up a paper cup from the table, and took a sip of water.

"I've looked at this document; the materials are incomplete."

Which document is missing?

"Your upstream supplier's compliance statement was not accompanied by the original."

Chen Pingfang tapped his finger on the seam of his trousers. It was a compliance statement from the upstream supplier—a document not required for provincial innovation subsidy applications. Chen Pingfang had reviewed all the subsidy policy documents related to the Chipfire project; none of them stipulated that this original document was necessary.

"Section Chief, this item is not listed in the application guidelines of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission."

The man with the buzz cut changed the way he crossed his legs.

"That's the provincial guidelines. Our High-tech Zone has its own requirements. The management committee issued a supplementary notice last year, Article 17 of which clearly requires submission."

"Could I see that supplementary notice?"

The man with the buzz cut put down the paper cup and leaned back in his chair.

"The notice is in the general archives room. Go check it yourself. Turn left at the end of the third floor."

Chen Ping didn't move.

"Section Chief, Huaxing New Materials is a core supporting enterprise for the Corefire project, and two of its target material production lines have already been shut down. The subsidies haven't been approved, the company's cash flow can't hold up, and if this drags on any longer, we'll really have to withdraw our investment."

The man with the buzz cut tapped his hand twice on the table, his fingernails making a crisp sound as they hit the surface.

"Brother, why are you worrying about this when you're just a deliveryman? Let your boss handle it. He knows the rules."

"Knows the rules." Chen Ping heard those three words clearly. The voice recorder twirled in his pocket.

Chen Ping didn't ask any further questions and turned to leave the approval department.

In the hallway, Han Zhiming leaned over and whispered something.

"Brother Li, it's recorded."

"continue."

The two returned to the lobby on the first floor. The moment Chen Ping pushed open the glass door, he stopped in his tracks.

The layout of the lobby had changed. All six windows were closed, and the curtains were drawn. A man in a gray jacket was herding people out of the waiting area.

"Everyone out, everyone out! Office hours are suspended this afternoon. A thorough cleaning is needed. The city will be conducting inspections the day after tomorrow, so everything must stop and focus on sanitation."

The man in the gray jacket was about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, slightly overweight, with a walkie-talkie clipped to his waist, and his hands were constantly waving in the air.

A woman holding a child stood in front of the window and wouldn't leave.

"Comrade, I took half a day off to come here specifically to change the business license. It's just one last step: getting the stamp."

"Didn't you hear me? Office closed. Come back tomorrow."

The woman, carrying her child, walked out, her eyes reddening as she passed Chen Pingfang.

Han Zhiming reached into his pocket and touched the voice recorder.

Chen Ping walked up to the man in the gray jacket.

"Comrade, is this how your lobby is usually? You just close it whenever you want?"

The man in the gray jacket turned around and glanced at Chen Pingfang.

"Who are you?"

"They're from Huaxing New Materials, here on business."

"Come back tomorrow to handle the business. We're doing a big clean-up today, it was assigned by the boss."

"Which leader?"

The gray jacket's chin was raised two centimeters.

"Director Wang Kai of the Management Committee Office, this is you. Do you have any further questions?"

"Director Wang, is it appropriate to close the government service hall during normal office hours for cleaning, putting aside matters concerning businesses and the public?"

Wang Kai twisted his whole body, and the walkie-talkie swayed from his waist.

"Whether it's appropriate or not is none of your business. The city's inspections are more important than your work. What are you, a mere errand boy for a company, doing here pointing fingers?"

Wang Kai took a step forward, his finger almost poking Chen Pingfang's nose.

"Get out of the way and don't get in my way, do you hear me?"

The staff members who were moving tables in the lobby all stopped what they were doing and turned around to look.

Chen Ping didn't back down, nor did he slap the finger away.

Chen Ping smiled.

"Excuse me, your full name is Wang Kai, and you're the director of the management committee office, right?"

Wang Kai was stunned for a moment.

"What, you want to file a complaint against me?"

Chen Ping maintained that smile for two seconds, then turned and pushed open the glass door, walking outside. The voice recorder in his pocket still had its red indicator light on.