Chapter 251 - 216: What on Earth Is This Person’s Background

Chapter 251: Chapter 216: What on Earth Is This Person’s Background

Xu An slept until two in the afternoon. When he woke up, he saw the top of the rocking chair swaying back and forth through the window, making a CREAK... CREAK... sound. That was most likely Granny Xu.

Xu Heping had taken Xu Kang and Xu Le to kindergarten. Xu An had no idea if they’d thrown any tantrums; he had come home and crashed immediately.

Even the work assignments he sent to Tang Wen were scheduled messages. He’d been so tired he even messed up the time, meaning the message he’d wanted to send at nine o’clock didn’t go out until 10:05.

He reached for his phone. QQ showed 99+ messages. Most were messages of support from long-time customers of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.

Luo Min had sent the most. Her messages were mostly complaints that today’s staff meals were all bought from Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant. The soup had made the rice soggy, and it was disgusting. She said that once Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant reopened, she was definitely going to come for a huge meal!

Reading these messages, which didn’t explicitly say they were worried but were clearly filled with concern, a smile touched Xu An’s face. ’Though many people are questioning me, I still have plenty of loyal customers who believe in me.’

He replied to each chat one by one. Slowly, he finally tapped on the inconspicuous chat window with Yu Liang. The message had been sent an hour ago. It was a picture—the test results from a private agency. The image showed that the samples fully complied with food safety inspection standards!

Then, Xu An remembered the task he’d assigned Tang Wen and opened the Big Eye app. As soon as he typed the two words "Xu’s Family," he saw that the top search term had changed from "100x Compensation" to "Meets Food Safety Inspection Standards."

He scrolled through the comment sections under posts by popular bloggers on the topic. Public opinion had done a complete 180-degree turn.

He couldn’t help but laugh out loud when he saw the conspiracy theories some netizens were posting. ’These people have such wild imaginations!’

He mentally reviewed the events of the past two days. The only preliminary task left was to finish setting up the Taobao Store. Other than that, all he had to do was quietly wait for the official inspection results...

Xu An sat up and threw off the blanket covering his stomach. As he turned to get out of bed, he suddenly noticed a blank sheet of paper, torn from his notebook, on both Xu Kang’s and Xu Le’s pillows. Drawn on them in red ink were a big sun and a big smiley face.

Perhaps because they were too young to control their strength, both the sun and the smiley face were crooked and wobbly.

He picked up the two drawings, smiled, and shook his head, tucking them into his notebook.

’The two little guys are so sweet,’ he thought. ’Looks like I can get them that fried chicken they wanted. They can have a little soda, too. One can between the two of them should be just right...’

「In the hearty official’s office.」

"Well now, Old Village Chief, it’s rare for you to call me two days in a row!" the hearty official teased the person on the other end of the line before his tone turned serious. "Don’t you worry, Old Village Chief. We’ll handle this strictly by the book. If there’s no problem, there’s no problem. If there is, we’ll follow procedure. There won’t be any funny business."

"Mhm, mhm. How’s the tidal flat aquaculture project coming along over there? Oh, you’ve already completed the paperwork and leased the land! That’s great. Have you applied for the development funds yet? I’m really looking forward to seeing some good results from you all!"

"We’re already applying. The geological survey team should arrive in Hai City in about half a month to conduct a comprehensive survey of your hot spring."

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—

Just as the hearty official was getting into the conversation, the landline on his desk suddenly rang. He had to pause his chat, picking up the receiver and holding it to his ear. A young man’s voice came from the other end. "Sir, Secretary Sun is here to see you. He’s downstairs now. Would it be alright to arrange a meeting in Conference Room 103 in half an hour?"

’Secretary Sun?’

An image of a short, stooped old man with a stern, sharp gaze appeared in the hearty official’s mind. ’What could he want with me? Hasn’t he already gone to the China Disabled People’s Federation to coast into retirement?’

"Just bring him to my office. I happen to be free right now, so let’s not keep Secretary Sun waiting." Although he didn’t know what Secretary Sun wanted, the hearty official agreed. After a moment’s thought, he quickly added, "On second thought, I’ll go out to greet him myself!"

After hanging up, the hearty official picked up his cell phone, intending to tell the person he was talking to that something had come up, only to find the call had already disconnected at some point.

They ended up meeting two-thirds of the way there; Secretary Sun had walked one-third of the distance, and the hearty official had walked two-thirds.

"Secretary Sun, it’s been a long time! You look as sharp as ever!" The moment they met, the hearty official laid on the flattery, making Secretary Sun chuckle.

Back in the office, after some small talk and a couple of cups of tea, Secretary Sun took a document from his briefcase and handed it to the hearty official, finally stating the purpose of his visit.

"Today, I’ve come asking for alms! I’ve been to several departments already, and now I’m here at your door. Take a look. If you think it’s feasible, maybe you could help out however you can..."

The hearty official looked down at the document. The title read: "On Promoting Employment for Persons with Disabilities."

"...I’ve thought of a few employment avenues. One is factory assembly lines. With proper training, they can just do repetitive work without needing much communication. The second is for disabled individuals with some education; we can encourage companies to hire them for clerical positions... The third is helping them start their own businesses! Small ventures, nothing too demanding, just enough to earn twenty or thirty yuan a day to get by..."

As Secretary Sun spoke in his slightly hoarse, low voice, the hearty official quickly read through the proposal.

"It’s a good proposal, but it won’t be easy to implement. Especially the last part. Starting a business has too many uncertainties—it’s much harder than finding them stable jobs." The hearty official sighed. "If I remember correctly, Secretary Sun, you organized two similar initiatives years ago, didn’t you..."

"Yes, that was many years ago. Those two initiatives were riddled with problems, and the results were less than satisfactory," Secretary Sun picked up, first critiquing his own past efforts before continuing. "But now, society has opened up completely, and there’s policy support. The path is much smoother!"

"Not long ago, I learned about a fast-food restaurant with a real sense of social responsibility. It’s not a big place, but it hired four deaf-mute individuals to work in the kitchen all at once..."

As Secretary Sun rambled on, the story sounded more and more familiar to the hearty official, who couldn’t help but ask, "The restaurant you’re talking about... it wouldn’t happen to be Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, would it?"

"Oh! You know about it too... COUGH COUGH..." Overly excited, the old man’s throat suddenly seized up, sending him into a violent coughing fit.

"Have some tea, speak slowly, don’t get excited!" The hearty official quickly stood up and patted the old man on the back. Once he had recovered a bit, the official poured a full plastic cup of tea and handed it to him. "It’s just the two of us here, no need for so much formality. Let’s just use these plastic cups and drink up!"

With that, the hearty official poured a full cup for himself from the teapot, drank half of it with a SLURP, and let out a satisfied sigh. "Ahhh—that’s the way to drink!"

"Haha!" The old man laughed at that, then drained his cup in one big gulp. "Refreshing!"

BUZZZ—

The hearty official’s phone, sitting on the desk, suddenly started vibrating. He wasn’t going to answer it, but the sender’s name caught his eye. He apologized to the old man, then picked up his phone and opened the message.

After reading the message, a look of relief washed over his face. The message contained just four short words: Meets food safety standards.

"Weren’t we just talking about Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant?" the hearty official suddenly said, as if answering his own question. "Yes, we were. Though the restaurant is small, it has proven it can bear responsibility. I’m sure it can shoulder a heavy burden as well..."

The old man had also heard about the recent incident at Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. From the hearty official’s change in expression and his current tone, it wasn’t hard to guess that the results were out—and they were good!

’As long as they’re okay, that’s all that matters,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, there’d be four more people out of a job for me to worry about...’

After putting his phone down, the hearty official discussed the "employment for persons with disabilities" issue with the old man for another half hour before finally picking up a black pen and signing the document.

He escorted the old man out of the office building and watched his car drive away. Only then did the hearty official slowly return to his office, where he paced around his desk several times before finally picking up the phone on his desk and dialing a number.

"Hello? Yes, it’s me. The incident with Xu’s Fast Food has had a pretty negative impact. I suggest we publicize the final results, let the citizens know that food safety in Hai City is well-guaranteed. Yes, that’s right. The sooner, the better. I think the seven o’clock news broadcast on the local Hai City channel tonight would be an excellent choice..."

「Haitian Hotel, private room.」

"I’m sure everyone knows what’s been happening lately. We’re all members of the same association. Let’s just divide up the cake happily and peacefully, without hurting the harmony between us brothers and sisters..."

Perhaps it was because he had successfully founded the "Swift Delivery" platform, but Ren Peng now spoke with real finesse. He’d lost some of his rough-around-the-edges air and gained the demeanor of a man in charge.

"President Ren is right."

"Exactly. It’s much better when we’re all amicable."

"..."

As soon as he said this, everyone chimed in with their agreement. The drama of carving up the cake ended in an atmosphere of "you’re good, I’m good, everyone’s good."

With the official business concluded, the group moved on to socializing. At some point, someone had turned on the TV in the room. The volume was low, and it was just the local Hai City news, so no one paid it any mind, continuing to drink and eat...

’Next up is a report on some of today’s events in Hai City. First, the food safety issue that caused a major stir yesterday...’

The announcer’s voice wasn’t loud, but Ren Peng, who hadn’t drunk much, heard it clearly. His right eyelid twitched violently twice.

’Food safety issue? Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant! It’s been less than a day, how are the results out already?!’

’After taking twenty-eight samples and conducting a detailed analysis of each, the Food Inspection Department has reached a conclusion—all samples meet food safety requirements. There are no food safety issues in our Hai City. Everyone can purchase all kinds of ingredients and enjoy all kinds of delicacies with peace of mind...’

"How can this be... Impossible... We made such a huge scene, and there isn’t a single problem? He even got the local Hai City station to help clear his name? Just who the hell is this Xu An?!"

As Ren Peng muttered to himself, the others in the private room gradually fell silent. Their eyes slowly focused on him, as if waiting for his next instruction...