The 15th of every month was Mayor's Reception Day in Guyang City.

Most of the time, it was the official mayor who took charge of Mayor's Reception Day.

Dou Qingquan had gone to Wulan City to study yesterday.

Having no choice, it was up to Chen Fang to step in for today's Mayor's Reception Day.

The so-called Mayor's Reception Day was when the mayor met face-to-face with citizens who had issues to report.

The first floor of the city government building.

There was a petition reception room.

This was the first time Chen Fang was in charge of the petition reception work, so he prepared thoroughly.

At half-past nine in the morning.

He sat down in the conference room.

By around ten-thirty.

The reception work for the five groups of petitioners was all finished.

Most issues were minor, and Chen Fang had recorded them all; none were troublesome to resolve.

He stretched lazily.

Chen Fang sipped his tea and said to Yu Zhengchuan, "Alright, call the next one."

Yu Zhengchuan stretched his neck to look towards the door and said, "There's no one left."

"No one left?"

Chen Fang was startled.

Could it be that in the vast Guyang City, not a single citizen had a problem to report?

He found it hard to believe.

He stood up, walked to the entrance of the reception room and saw indeed, the waiting area was completely empty.

This was somewhat illogical.

Chen Fang said to Yu Zhengchuan, "Go and call Director Chang over here."

Yu Zhengchuan nodded and ran off.

In no time, Chang Minzhi rushed in, gasping for breath.

Chang Minzhi, 42 years old, was stout with a flushed face, and gasping for air after just a few steps; by the time he reached Chen Fang, he was already drenched in sweat.

He wiped his sweat and asked Chen Fang, "Executive Chen, did you call for me?"

"Comrade Chang Minzhi, I want to ask you, how do citizens who wish to report issues during the Mayor's Reception Day make appointments?"

Chang Minzhi replied, "They make appointments by phone. Before each Reception Day, our petition office will issue a notice, then register appointments over the phone."

"So in an entire month, there were only these five groups of citizens?"

Chen Fang continued.

Chang Minzhi chuckled and said, "Executive Chen, you might not be aware, there were indeed more than five groups wanting to report issues, but Mayor Dou had ordered that only five groups be allowed in on each petition reception day."

"Why?"

Chen Fang asked.

Chang Minzhi scratched his head and said, "Mayor Dou must have his reasons. Who are we, the lower-level staff, to speculate?"

This response was quite artful indeed.

It was clear that Chang Minzhi was a slick operator.

He intended to inform Chen Fang that the limit of only five groups was at Dou Qingquan's behest.

"What about the issues they reported? Did you conduct a background check on them beforehand?"

Chen Fang continued.

Chang Minzhi nodded and said, "Yes, all were pre-screened. Only those who passed the pre-screening were allowed in on Mayor's Reception Day."

With a slap.

Chen Fang banged his hand on the table.

He angrily exclaimed, "Outrageous! Limiting both the number of people and the issues they can report is nothing but burying your head in the sand! Under these circumstances, Mayor's Reception Day has become a mere formality! It might as well be cancelled!"

Chang Minzhi was also startled by Chen Fang's anger.

Scratching his head and with a downcast face, he said, "Executive Chen, we are also helpless. Each leader has their policy, what can we subordinates do?"

Chen Fang knew that Chang Minzhi was not to blame.

He was simply following orders.

After a pause, he said, "Since you have all the records, go get the registration book. I want to see what the most reported problem is."

"No need to get it, I know. The most reported issue is about the difficulty in dealing with the Industry and Commerce Bureau; it has reached 104 times in the past few months."

Chang Minzhi replied without hesitation.

And he even stated the data outright.

It was evident that the person was serious about his work.

"Tell me, what's the difficulty here?"

Chen Fang asked.

Chang Minzhi thought for a moment, then said, "Most of the complaints are about the slow efficiency of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce."

Chen Fang nodded.

He said, "Go and compile all the issues that the public has frequently reported, and bring them to my office. A Chuan, you go get the car ready, we're going to make a trip to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce."

"Okay."

Yu Zhengchuan nodded and left.

It was around 11:10.

Chen Fang and Yu Zhengchuan, the two of them, had already walked to the entrance of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce.

The reason they walked was that Chen Fang knew that most security guards at institutional gates are very familiar with the vehicles of the city committee and city government; one glance at the license plate would tell them which leaders were arriving.

At that moment,

the gate of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce was tightly closed.

Inside the guard room, an old man was lying on a chair listening to the radio, looking very relaxed.

Chen Fang took the initiative to walk over.

He knocked on the window.

The old man then frowned, stood up, opened the window, and asked in a not-so-friendly tone, "What do you want?"

"Sir, I am here to handle some matters at the Bureau of Industry and Commerce, please open the door for me."

Chen Fang politely said.

The old man glanced at him dismissively and said, "We're closed now, come back at three in the afternoon."

Seeing that the old man was about to close the window,

Chen Fang quickly reached out to stop it.

He asked, "Sir, it's only a little past 11:00, shouldn't the break not start until 12:00?"

As he spoke,

Chen Fang had already taken out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and tossed it in front of the old man.

A little courtesy goes a long way.

The old man saw the cigarettes and quickly tucked them away.

His tone softened a bit and said, "Young man, remember to come earlier next time if you have business to attend to. We are open from 9:00 to 11:00 in the morning and from 3:00 to 5:00 in the afternoon, those are the only times the door is open."

Chen Fang frowned.

According to the summer working hours issued by the Guyang City government, it should be from 9:00 am until noon, and from 3:00 pm until 6:00 pm, a total of seven hours. How come at the Bureau of Industry and Commerce, it had become four hours?

Thinking of this,

he took out another pack of cigarettes.

He tossed it to the old man,

and said, "Sir, I have come all the way from the countryside, and it's quite a trek to the city, so it's not easy for me to make the trip. Could you let me in and I'll wait in the lobby, so once you start the afternoon session, I can handle my affairs immediately, would that be okay?"

The old man pondered for a moment,

then looked at the pack of cigarettes.

He said, "Alright young man, you seem to be quite decent, but once you are inside, you must follow the rules. Don't run around, understand?"

"Understood, sir."

Chen Fang nodded.

The security guard then opened the small door for Chen Fang.

He and Yu Zhengchuan were then able to enter the courtyard of the Bureau of Industry and Commerce.

The Bureau of Industry and Commerce was a major bureau.

The courtyard was not small.

In the front was the office building.

Behind were the cafeteria and the dormitories.

Chen Fang walked into the office hall, and indeed, the entire hall was empty.

Although there was no one around, the air conditioning was still on full blast, and the computers at all 9 service windows were turned on.

This situation was already infuriating enough for Chen Fang.

But what was even more infuriating was still to come.

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