Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

"What about Wen Shuyan?" Chen Zhengyuan asked.

Zhang Huaili took a breath: "As for Wen Shuyan, I can have the dean of the School of Arts intervene and say that the department recommends her as a representative of young teachers to participate in this project, including the preparation and execution of the launch meeting. This isn't overtime; it's a normal teaching practice activity, and she has no reason to refuse."

Chen Zhengyuan nodded: "Alright, you've already said so much, it would be unfair of me to be any more pushy. Let's do as you say."

Zhang Huaili pushed the unfinished teapot away from the edge of the table, stood up, and buttoned up his coat: "But I have to tell you in advance that whether Wen Shuyan is willing to continue contacting you after the launch meeting is your own business. I can't and won't do anything to help you push things forward."

"Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. Just call her over, and the rest is between her and me."

"You're paying."

After Zhang Huaili left, Chen Zhengyuan sat there, staring at the half-finished teapot. Chen Zhengyuan could have methodically had his team immediately begin imitating Qingniao's platform and content, but nothing would change. No matter how hard he tried, it would all be over in three months. He was desperate. Now he was a gambler with no other options, a fanatical avenger, forced to use his remaining dignity, resources, and even moral principles to gamble on a chance to turn the tables. Every step in this gamble was fraught with uncertainty; the final outcome would either be a triple win: defeating his opponent, achieving success in love, and turning his career around; or a complete loss, leaving him with nothing.

The waitress brought over a kettle to refill his water and asked Chen Zhengyuan if he wanted to order anything or have any other drinks. Chen Zhengyuan licked his lips, his mind racing with conflicting thoughts. Now it all depended on whether he could seize every opportunity in this gamble; the rest was unimportant.

Chen Zhengyuan pushed the pot of West Lake Longjing tea aside and answered the waiter. This was the beginning and the end of everything.

......

"Are you really going in person?" Zhang Ruiyi asked.

In the office of the Media Affairs Director and President of Qingniao Publishing House, Han Fei, sitting at his desk, said, "Hmm, your identity is still too sensitive. It's best if you don't appear in those departments."

"Here we go again. You're always like this, always trying to shield me from everything." Zhang Ruiyi pouted and glanced at Han Fei.

It was 8:40 a.m. on Monday. They were conducting a final check of the report materials, preparing to send them to the Press and Publication Bureau. Two days had passed, and the people Ma Yongxing had left at the hideout had not noticed anything unusual. They had only seen a man go in last night, take the black dog that had bitten the elephant out, and then return the dog about half an hour later.

"Oh, it's not just because of that," Han Fei said. "The process of submitting this material might not be as simple as you think. In cases like ours, the Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Office should handle it, but the Press and Publication Bureau is the legal entity responsible for identifying and investigating illegal publications. In other words, we should go to the Press and Publication Bureau first, both morally and logically."

"If we don't even go there and go directly to the anti-pornography and anti-illegal publications office, they will probably ask us to provide the State Press and Publication Administration's appraisal opinion on this illegal publication. And if the media finds out that we bypassed the competent authority, it will seem like we have procedural problems."

"But the Press and Publication Bureau will most likely just pass the buck and tell us to go to the Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Office. This isn't out of malice, but rather a path dependency formed by a long-term division of labor. So this time, my purpose was more to get written confirmation from the competent authority regarding jurisdiction, proving that we had contacted the relevant department. This ensures the integrity of the procedure and prevents several departments from passing the buck back and forth."

"But if you go, they probably won't even bother to make excuses and will just tell you to go home and wait for news. It's not that I'm underestimating you, it's just that people there have a natural lack of respect for young women. If you go, the receptionist might happily accept your materials and then have you fill out a form, telling you they'll reply within seven business days. Once you fill out that form, it's like kicking a ball into a swamp; you know the ball is in, but you'll never see it come out again."

Zhang Ruiyi nodded: "Wouldn't it be different if you went?"

The printer whirred and spat out A4 sheets of paper printed with "Receipt for Report Material".

"If I go, at least they'll know that the president of a publishing house has come in person." Han Fei picked up the paper from the printer, looked at it against the light, and confirmed that every item was printed clearly. "And isn't there this too?"

Zhang Ruiyi walked to the table, looking down at the receipt: "Are you sure this thing will work? What if they just won't sign it?"

"That's even better," Han Fei said half-jokingly. "If they really dare not sign, I'll stand at the front desk and not leave. Whenever someone comes to do business, I'll tell them that the Press and Publication Bureau refuses to accept complaint materials. If I see someone passing by, I'll hand out my business card. If I make a scene and their leader comes out, the nature of the matter will change. We might even be able to save ourselves the trouble of dealing with the media. Their actions themselves will be big news."

Zhang Ruiyi laughed so hard she choked: "That's such a shameless trick!"

"This is called following procedure," Han Fei corrected, stuffing the physical samples, infringement comparison table, Qian Youde's testimony, a summary of legal basis, and Qingniao's qualification documents into a manila envelope. "Are the copies ready?"

"They're all done, four in total," Zhang Ruiyi said, picking up four file folders from her desk and handing them to him.

Han Fei examined the documents, and each file folder had a note on its cover: This material has been copied today to the Municipal Press and Publication Bureau, the Municipal Cultural Law Enforcement Bureau, the Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce, the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and the Municipal Anti-Pornography and Anti-Illegal Publications Office.

"Okay, I'll go to the Press and Publication Bureau now. After I leave, have Lu Hai send it to the other four departments immediately, making sure all five departments receive it at the same time. Make sure to keep the receipts for each registered letter and staple them to the copies we have," Han Fei said, standing up and picking up his car keys.

"it is good."

......

In general, Zhou Min had no interest in people. Although she had been working as a receptionist at the Press and Publication Bureau for over six years, she still couldn't muster any interest in them. For example, she didn't want to know which publishing house the middle-aged men carrying stacks of documents came from, nor did she ever think about finding out what was written in those documents.

She didn't care who the tall, young man in front of her was, what was in the file folder he was holding, or what this "Bluebird Publishing House" he mentioned was. The tall man introduced himself as Han Fei, the president of Bluebird Publishing House.