Secretary Lee, the first secretary of the Nauritus City Government, was shocked to be receiving a call from Jasper Laine.
After receiving the call from Jasper, he walked to an isolated corner and picked up the call. “Mr. Laine? Haha, you’re a busy man. Why did you call me?” he asked politely.
“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely help you out as long as it doesn’t violate the law.”
Despite Secretary Lee’s status and position, it was evident how much he valued Jasper’s call from the courteous way he spoke to him.
Jasper was now extremely popular among the provincial officials. Secretary Lee had heard that one of the middle-ranking executives from ICBS had gotten scouted by Agricultural Bank just because he was close to Jasper. He had even gotten appointed as the vice president of the provincial branch.
Something like this was the envy of everyone working in the Nauritus City Government.
Jasper could sense Secretary Lee’s well-concealed diligence. He chuckled and said, “It’s actually nothing much. I invested in a hotpot restaurant started by my cousin and his friend.
“Today is the opening day of the restaurant. I wanted to invite you over for a meal, but just as I was about to do so, a bunch of people from the self-regulatory council from the food and beverage industry ordered my restaurant to close down for rectification without a valid reason. I’m flabbergasted by their actions.
“Let’s not talk about how excellent the restaurant is, but I wouldn’t invest in a restaurant that violates the law in the first place. All the approval procedures are legal as well.
“The government has given me a business license that allows me to do business, but this self-regulatory council is capable of closing it down just like that?”
Jasper’s words were not harsh in nature, but Secretary Lee was alarmed after he registered his words.
A stern expression formed on his face as he said, “Mr. Laine, the self-regulatory councils of each respective industry have the authority to supervise and manage businesses within the industry, but the government still has authority over the final review of their decision.
“Also, if their judgment is wrong, any business is allowed to file a complaint to the government. After all, they’re a non-governmental organization… What about this? Tell me your current location. I’ll head over to take a look at the situation. How about that?”
“Alright, I’m at the intersection of Manhattan Road and Avenue Road. You’ll see when you get there.”
“Alright, it’s not far from the city hall. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
After ending the call, Secretary Lee made another call with a heavy expression on his face.
He no longer sounded as polite and courteous as he did when he was talking to Jasper just now. Conversely, he started reprimanding the person on the other end of the call once it went through.
“Director Sund, what the hell are you doing?!
“During the past few meetings with the municipal senior officials, we have repeatedly stressed the fact that as the direct supervisors of the self-regulatory council, you must manage the behaviors of the councils in each respective industry. They shouldn’t be bullying others just because of the little authority they have. How have you been doing your work?!
“What’s wrong?! Why are you still asking me that? I’m not taking out my anger on you right now. You’re lucky that Mr. Laine called me to notify me about this incident today. It seems like he doesn’t intend to cause a ruckus.
“If he had called the higher-ups of the municipal government, you’d be called in for a review and dismissed from your position tomorrow!
“Which Mr. Laine? There’s only one Mr. Laine in Nauritus City!
“Head over to the intersection of Manhattan Road and Avenue Road and look for a restaurant called Hello Hotpot right now. A bunch of people from the self-regulatory council of the food and beverage industry has issued a notice to Mr. Laine and ordered the closure of his restaurant! If we don’t handle this issue well, we’ll both be in trouble!”
…
Meanwhile, at the entrance of Hello Hotpot.
Jonas walked over to Jasper’s side cautiously after noticing that he had ended his phone call. “Mr. Laine, is the person you called reliable?” he asked.
Jasper laughed and said, “I just asked one of my friends to come over to celebrate the opening of your restaurant. We’re a legal business that has done nothing to violate the law. As long as we’ve done nothing wrong, we can do anything.
“Do you think that our restaurant will close down just because of these clowns? Does that even make sense?”
If Darrel was the one who said these words, Jonas would not be surprised at all.
After all, Darrel did not have much practical experience. He was still extremely naive and thought that everything would be alright as long as he did his own part well.
However, Jonas found it extremely odd for Jasper to say something like that.
“That’s what you think, but there are some unreasonable people out there, Mr. Laine. If you don’t look for someone with a high level of authority to support us, I’m afraid that we’ll be in great trouble this time around,” Jonas said despondently.
Jasper cast a brief glance at Jonas and asked, “Are all the procedures operated by the restaurant legal? Are there any problems with the ingredients that we use?”
Jonas immediately thumped his chest and said, “I’m a man with a conscience. I would never do anything like that!”
“That’s great. Let them struggle. Let’s see what they can come up with,” Jasper told him.
“Hahaha, did I hear wrongly? Do such fools exist in the world?” Magnus guffawed loudly.
Jerome scoffed and shook his head. He must have overestimated how much of a threat Jasper would be.
It seemed like Jasper Laine was an idiot. Conversely, Jonas looked like he had some brains.
Just as Jerome was about to say something, two cars came to an emergency brake in front of the road. Three to five people got down from the cars.
The person in the lead was the first secretary of the Nauritus City Government, Secretary Lee!
It had been less than ten minutes after his call with Jasper ended.
