Chapter 81

Chapter 29: A Smug Smile

The reason Director Zhao agreed to Lin Feng's seemingly extremely impolite and offensive request was twofold: first, he was now in a difficult position. He had received an internal notification today to inspect Lin Feng's Qidian Fast Food Restaurant. If carcinogenic substances were found in the fried chicken oil, the restaurant would be shut down. Second, the owners of the two Chush City McDonald's and KFC franchises, who found Lin Feng's Qidian Fast Food Restaurant particularly irksome, hoped that Director Zhao could lend a hand.

The Chush City McDonald's and KFC franchises were different from those in other regions. Although the franchises in other areas were affected by the "tax scandal," they did not face competition from other fast food restaurants. Although there were Dicos and Pizza Hut, they did not directly compete in the same market. However, these two stores were directly impacted by Lin Feng's Qidian Fast Food Restaurant, with sales significantly reduced. Although the gross profit was still over ten thousand yuan per day, after paying 17% to 23% of the revenue to the headquarters and paying taxes, they barely made any profit.

Therefore, the two franchise owners decided to temporarily join forces to strike against Lin Feng before competing for the market individually. Director Zhao was happy to do them a favor, especially since they were all from Chush City and had some connections.

Like the two franchise owners, Director Zhao did not believe that the fried chicken oil at Lin Feng's Qidian Fast Food Restaurant would be problem-free. Chinese people often reuse cooking oil, such as the street vendors who fry dough sticks, whose oil has been used for who knows how long. Therefore, Director Zhao believed that this would definitely be a sure thing. McDonald's and KFC, being foreign-funded and among the world's top 500 companies, would not reuse cooking oil.

Moreover, Director Zhao could do another favor by finding carcinogenic substances in the fried chicken oil at Lin Feng's Qidian Fast Food Restaurant but not at McDonald's or KFC. This would prove that foreign fast food is better than domestic fast food! Those top 500 companies are indeed impressive!

And at that time, he would receive two red envelopes. — Director Zhao thought with a smug smile.

Therefore, although Director Zhao was somewhat uncomfortable, he ultimately agreed to the request. However, what he did not know was that this agreement would reignite the "tax scandal," which had been slowly subsiding, and make it even bigger. His political future would also be in jeopardy...

Seeing Director Zhao agree, Lin Feng gave a mysterious smile, which made Director Zhao feel uneasy. After ensuring there were no traps, he nodded, and several technicians immediately took their instruments to conduct the inspection. (I haven't found out the exact method of detection, so I assume there is an instrument that can directly detect it, similar to the test paper method used in Taiwan.)

After more than ten minutes, the technicians shook their heads and came out.

What, nothing! — Director Zhao looked at Lin Feng with shock — How could there be nothing? Does he only use the oil once for frying?

At this moment, Lin Feng revealed a smug smile. — I smile smugly, I smile smugly...

Director Zhao was very angry, especially because Lin Feng's smile seemed mocking and sarcastic to him. How could he tolerate this? As a respected state-level official, although he belonged to a clean department (which Director Zhao was unwilling to admit), he was not someone a commoner could mock.

However, Director Zhao was not the Public Security Bureau director and could not arrest people on a whim. His authority was limited to health inspections, and anything related to health was within his jurisdiction.

Director Zhao tilted his head, and his subordinates immediately spread out, carefully inspecting each floor tile. Despite the amused looks from the onlookers, the inspection team returned empty-handed.

This was a fast food restaurant, and Lin Feng's flagship store at that. How could there be any hygiene blind spots? It was not an exaggeration to say it was spotless.

Director Zhao frowned, not expecting the Qidian Fast Food Restaurant to be so clean. Was this a restaurant run by Chinese people? He had inspected countless restaurants and hotels, and none of them were absolutely clean.

Still not giving up, Director Zhao looked around, hoping to find even a speck of paper or a stain. Unfortunately, his wish was in vain. Apart from the paper and oil on the customers' hands and plates, there was nothing to be found.

Director Zhao puffed out his cheeks and walked around twice, preparing to leave in frustration when a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Mr. Lin, since you only use the oil once, where do you dispose of the used oil?" Director Zhao knew that if the used oil was sold for consumption or reused, it would violate the "Food Safety Law of the People's Republic of China," and he could still shut down the restaurant.

Lin Feng smiled slightly, but in Director Zhao's eyes, it was despicable.

"Director Zhao, here is the invoice from a factory that buys our used oil for fuel. Please take a look," Lin Feng gestured for an employee to hand over the invoice.

Director Zhao took it and saw that it clearly stated that the used oil was for fuel. This left him with no chance to find fault.

"Let's... let's go!" Director Zhao waved his hand weakly, signaling his team to leave. Today's inspection was fruitless, and he would have no way to report back. However, since Lin Feng had not broken any rules, he was powerless. It was a pity about those fat red envelopes!

"Wait!" Lin Feng called out to Director Zhao.

"What else do you want?" Director Zhao, who had come with high hopes and left in disappointment, had no patience for Lin Feng's chatter.

"Director Zhao, you promised to inspect the KFC and McDonald's fast food restaurants after inspecting mine. You wouldn't forget that, would you?" Lin Feng pressed his advantage.

Hmph, you want to mess with me? I'll make you pay. Lin Feng knew exactly what kind of oil McDonald's and KFC used. Once the inspection results come out, hah, this will be a big deal. I'll see how you handle it!

Don't underestimate me just because I'm a commoner; I can still make you, a state-level official, lose your job!

When Director Zhao heard Lin Feng's words, he felt uneasy. — What, you, a commoner, want to command me?

However, seeing the faces of the surrounding customers, Director Zhao could not just leave without addressing Lin Feng. There were hundreds of people watching, and even more outside. If he left in such a humiliating manner, how could he face anyone in the future, and who knows what rumors might spread.

After much deliberation, Director Zhao, suppressing his anger, led his team towards the McDonald's and KFC across the street.

Damn it, what a mess today! — How could Director Zhao not be angry? He had come to cause trouble for Lin Feng but ended up being cornered. This was definitely the most frustrating thing since he became the director of the Health Bureau.