146: Chapter 146 Working Hours and Job Titles

The call ended. Zhou Mingyuan placed his phone on the table, picked up his thermos, took a sip of water, thought for a moment, opened his contacts, found a number, and dialed it.

Soon, the call connected, and a slightly deep voice came through the receiver.

"Hello, Old Zhou, you busy man, what made you think of calling me?"

"Guangming, there's something I want to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"There's a Software Association in the High-Tech Zone. Is that an organization under your department?"

"Software Association?" The man named Guangming on the other end pondered for a moment before saying, "The guiding unit for this Software Association is our Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, but it's not an organization under us; it's a social organization."

"Just tell me if you have jurisdiction over it," Zhou Mingyuan said without beating around the bush.

"We certainly have jurisdiction. Did you run into some trouble?"

"It's like this, I have a student..."

After listening to Zhou Mingyuan's description, Guangming was silent for a few seconds.

"Short registration time?" He spoke, his tone not heavy, but one could tell he was not very happy. "Software enterprise certification has never had this requirement. Who gave them the authority to add their own barriers?"

"That's why I'm asking you," Zhou Mingyuan said.

"What is your student's company called?"

"Fanyu Technology."

"Alright, I understand. I'll talk to their president and have him look into the situation."

"Sorry for the trouble, Old Han."

"Cut it out," Han Guangming laughed. "You rarely ask for favors; how could I not help you? Hanging up."

In an office with somewhat plain decor at the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, a serious-looking middle-aged man around 50 years old picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number.

Soon, the call connected.

"Hello, this is Han Guangming."

"Director Han, hello."

"Lin Jianming, I want to ask, when did software enterprise certification start having requirements regarding registration time?"

Lin Jianming on the other end was stunned; he could hear the displeasure in Director Han's tone.

He didn't understand when he had upset Director Han.

"Director Han, this... there has never been such a requirement," Lin Jianming said, weighing his words.

"Then why is Zhao Zhiyuan from your association holding up the enterprise's materials and refusing to pass them on the grounds of 'registration time is too short'?"

Lin Jianming's eyes widened immediately.

Zhao Zhiyuan—wasn't this his own brother-in-law? He was incompetent and lazy. Lin Jianming didn't like this brother-in-law very much, but due to his wife's request, he had placed him in the association.

He hadn't expected this blind idiot to cause such a huge mess for him, actually managing to provoke Director Han from the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology to inquire about it personally.

"Director Han, please rest assured, I will personally verify the situation regarding this matter and will definitely give you an explanation."

"It's not about giving me an explanation," Director Han leaned back in his chair, his tone not heavy but every word clear, "It's about giving the enterprise an explanation. Their materials are complete, and they meet the conditions; why aren't they being approved? We conduct this certification to support enterprise development, not to let people strangle enterprises."

The other end of the line was silent for a moment, clearly digesting the weight of those words.

"You are right, Director Han. I will handle it immediately and guarantee a fair result for the enterprise."

After hanging up, he picked up the landline on his desk and dialed the office of the Acceptance Department.

"Have Zhao Zhiyuan come to my office."

The person on the other end sensed his tone was off and didn't dare to ask more, simply acknowledging it before hanging up.

In less than three minutes, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Zhao Zhiyuan pushed the door open and came in, his face still wearing that habitual smile.

"Brother-in-law, did you call for me?"

"Use professional titles during work hours."

Zhao Zhiyuan thought his brother-in-law was joking, but upon seeing the serious expression on his face, he finally realized there was a problem.

"Secretary-General Lin, did you call for me?"

"I want to ask you, since when does software enterprise certification require looking at the enterprise's registration time?"

Zhao Zhiyuan, who originally had a leisurely expression on his face, saw his complexion change slightly.

He remembered that just this morning, he had held up the software enterprise certification application for Chen Fan's company using the reason that the registration time was too short.

Could it be him?

No way, if you could reach my brother-in-law, you should have said so earlier.

If you had said earlier that you knew my brother-in-law, wouldn't I have just approved it for you?

"Brother-in-law, I was only..." He weighed his words, his voice already tightening, "Didn't the higher-ups say to control things strictly? The company's founding time is indeed a bit short, and I was just worried about potential issues..."

"Worried about potential issues?" Lin Jianming interrupted him, staring at him coldly, "Did you set the policy? Do you have the final say on the standards?"

"Speak. Why exactly are you holding up that enterprise's application? Tell me the truth."

"I..."

"Still not talking?"

Sweat finally broke out on Zhao Zhiyuan's forehead.

"... That female assistant at his company," his voice was so low it was almost inaudible, "She's quite pretty, and I wanted to use this to invite her to dinner."

A surge of anger rose in Lin Jianming instantly; he picked up the cup on the table and wanted to throw it at him.

But he restrained himself.

The cup hovered in mid-air. He stared at Zhao Zhiyuan's submissive face, his chest heaving violently a few times, and finally slammed the cup back onto the table with a loud "bang," splashing water all over the table.

"Zhao Zhiyuan, are you sick in the head?" His voice was very low, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, "Are you in this position to do things like this? Do you know that Director Han personally called to inquire about this enterprise?"

Zhao Zhiyuan's face turned pale instantly.

"Di... Director Han?"

"What did you think?" Lin Jianming stared at him, "How do you think I found out? Do you think anyone has time to deal with your petty nonsense?"

"Then brother-in-law, what should I do?"

"Bring me the documents for that enterprise; I will handle it personally. Also, from today on, you are no longer to stay in the Acceptance Department; go to the archives room."

Zhao Zhiyuan was stunned.

The archives room? That place at the end of the hallway where no one wants to go, which only has a pile of old files and a row of metal cabinets?

"Brother-in-law—"

"Did I not make myself clear?"

Zhao Zhiyuan opened his mouth, then swallowed the rest of his words. He stood there, his face flushing red and then turning white, his lips trembling twice, and finally, he lowered his head and answered, "Understood."

"Go. Bring the documents within three minutes."

After seeing Zhao Zhiyuan leave, Lin Jianming sighed helplessly.

After all, Zhao Zhiyuan was his brother-in-law. For the sake of his wife, this was the best possible outcome, as he still had to give Director Han an explanation.

However, besides this, he also needed to provide an explanation to the enterprise that had been held up by Zhao Zhiyuan.

Five minutes later, Lin Jianming was flipping through the documents in his hand.

Then he picked up the phone on his desk, entered a number, and pressed dial.