In officialdom: After she left, I rose rapidly through the ranks!

Chen Jingcheng is not a saint, nor has he ever thought of becoming one.

So what if there's retaliation, or abuse of power for personal gain?

If you were truly clean, I couldn't do anything to you, but since you're not clean at all, you can't blame me for causing you trouble.

Chen Jingcheng thought that even if the people in the car didn't say anything to him, they would at least keep quiet for a while.

As a result, all he heard were voices supporting him.

"Director Chen, you did the right thing. This kind of unscrupulous boss should be dealt with."

"Moreover, we were just carrying out our official duties. He runs a restaurant, and we were checking on public officials for drinking. We did nothing wrong."

"I think Director Chen, you should bring people from the market supervision department and the price control department today. Let's take a good look at what kind of sauce can sell for 500 yuan a box without informing consumers beforehand!"

Chen Jingcheng shook his head and smiled, "There's no need for that now, but we definitely need to clarify things regarding the five hundred yuan."

"I only make a little over a thousand or two thousand yuan a month. It really hurts me to be swindled out of so much money like this."

At this point, Chen Jingcheng's expression turned serious.

"However, the reason I chose to focus on investigating this hot pot restaurant today is not only because I want to teach the owner a lesson, but more importantly, the owner himself said that about 80% of the people who eat here are public officials."

"Since he said that, wouldn't it be inappropriate for me not to investigate?"

"Furthermore, I overheard with my own ears that my cousin, the child of a certain leader, and this Mr. Wang, invited a deputy director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau for drinks tonight."

"I don't know exactly what they're going to do, but I know they're going to drink here. If I don't come and check, that would be neglecting my duty, or even deliberately creating opportunities for them."

"Therefore, both for public and private reasons, I must come here."

Everything Chen Jingcheng said was true.

Call it revenge, call it whatever you want.

He made himself very clear, and everyone in the car understood. Besides, he didn't need to explain anything to anyone.

Yang Ruirui looked at Chen Jingcheng, thought for a moment, and said, "Director Chen, shall we go directly there later?"

"Is there anything else we need to prepare?"

"Are we really not going to notify other relevant departments to come over?"

Chen Jingcheng shook his head and said in a deep voice, "No need. However, get the cameras ready, and make sure everyone has their employee badges on them. When we go into the hot pot restaurant, we need to let everyone know that we are on official business."

"If someone refuses to be filmed on the grounds of their privacy, that's fine. We promise to strictly protect their images and data and not disclose them to anyone."

"I believe that ordinary people support and understand us. Those who don't support or understand us, or even deliberately cause trouble to prevent us from filming, are probably just feeling guilty."

"But regardless of whether they feel guilty or not, they must take this seriously today."

"Alright, we've arrived. Everyone, please rest in the car and get ready."

As Chen Jingcheng finished speaking, they arrived at the entrance of the hot pot restaurant.

It's already 6:30, which is peak dining time. Some people who eat quickly have already finished and left, but they probably didn't drink much alcohol.

Chen Jingcheng did not intend to investigate every single person who drank alcohol; he did not have the ability, nor did he intend to do so.

Yang Ruirui glanced at the hot pot restaurant and asked softly, "Director Chen, who are these people you mentioned? What do they look like? Should I go check if they've arrived yet?"

"You'll be prepared in case they don't come."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingcheng laughed.

They really think they're here for revenge.

"No need, it doesn't matter whether they come or not."

"If this leader from the Housing and Construction Bureau learned from this morning's meeting that drinking on weekdays is not allowed, and therefore canceled today's drinking party, that would actually be a good thing, showing that he knows what's important."

"I didn't come here on purpose to investigate them. Our main purpose is to investigate staff members who drink alcohol during workdays."

"My cousin was just someone I did it on the side; I wasn't even investigating him."

"As for the owner of this hot pot restaurant, there's nothing we can do about it."

"Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. You guys check the equipment. We'll head in to check it around seven o'clock."

Listening to Chen Jingcheng's words, Yang Ruirui and the others began to check the equipment they were carrying. In reality, there wasn't much to check.

At this very moment, inside the hot pot restaurant, Boss Wang was there, Chen Jinghan was there, and that young master Sun was also there.

However, although the three of them were chatting with smiles on their faces, Boss Wang didn't seem too happy.

Hot pot restaurants are still very popular today.

More than 20 of the 30 tables in the hall were already occupied. This occupancy rate would make any other hot pot restaurant laugh. Moreover, it was only a little past six o'clock, and it was still close to closing time. It was bound to be full no matter what.

However, the high occupancy rate that pleased other hot pot restaurants was not a source of joy for Boss Wang.

Normally, his hot pot restaurant should be packed by this time, and if people eat quickly, the tables should be turning over.

Business today is down by at least a third.

"What's going on? Why are there so few people today?"

"Young Master Sun, your family works in the system. What the hell is this ban on drinking on weekdays? What's going on? This is ridiculous."

"It's ruined my business."

Mr. Wang owns a hot pot restaurant and has friends working within the system, so he is well aware that a large meeting was held in the county today to discuss the strict prohibition of drinking alcohol on weekdays.

At first, Mr. Wang was only a little worried, but he didn't take it too seriously. In his opinion, with so many public officials in Linchuan County, how could they possibly comply completely? But the reality is that his business has indeed declined by a third, and this is only the first day after the conference!

What if this continues?

How else can he make money?

And this is still a problem that hasn't been investigated much. If it were really investigated more strictly, he would have to consider how much he would lose and how much he would be penny-wise and pound-foolish.

Sun Shao shook his head and sneered, "It's all the work of that new county magistrate. Who knows what's going on?"

"However, there's nothing to worry about. This kind of thing that angers the public won't last long."

"Just wait and see, Linchuan County is still Linchuan County, nothing will change."

"We can continue making money and doing whatever we want without any impact."

At this point, Sun Shao glanced at Chen Jinghan and asked suspiciously, "Jinghan, your family also owns a hotel, and you also have shares in this hot pot restaurant. Why don't you seem worried?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jinghan gave a wry smile and said, "How can I not be anxious? But, just like you said, this matter won't last long."

"I don't think it's a big deal to investigate for a few days. After the investigation is over, there might even be a surge in retaliatory spending, and then all the losses will be recovered."

"Of course, what I'm thinking about now is, Deputy Director Lin, it's about time you arrived."

"They had agreed on everything, but after the alcohol ban came out, he was less willing to come, but we managed to persuade him to come."

"Young Master Sun, we'll still need your help later. We can only feel at ease once we accept this red envelope."