After Wu Minghua left, the meeting room door stood open.
A draft swept in from the corridor, lifting a page at the corner of the table with a rustle.
"Next."
The bespectacled man held his insulated cup, his voice flat.
Section Chief Wang reached for the next file envelope and unwound the white cotton string with his fingers.
The procedure was exactly the same.
"Mr. Zhang, four recorded violations." Section Chief Wang tossed out a document.
"Mr. Li, two warnings and one fine." Another document slapped down.
"Mr. Sun, caught selling cigarettes three times, and the last time, you were actually selling e-cigarettes too."
Stacks of Commitment Letters were turned to their final pages, the red fingerprints striking against the black print on white paper.
The cases of the first dozen or so people were remarkably similar.
Selling cigarettes and alcohol, selling shoddy towels and washbasins, selling counterfeit drinks and snacks.
The penalty notices from the Administration for Industry and Commerce and the minutes from the university's joint Inspection Team all bore their own signatures or those of their employees.
Any single one was enough to sink them.
In the back row, Wang Xiaoliang leaned back against his chair.
The other shop owners were wiping away sweat or slinking out, but he only grew more confident.
His three shops had never come anywhere near the rotten things these people had done.
He had personally drawn up every rule at the Jiangchuang Student Budget Supermarket. The accounts were clear, and the taxes were spotless.
This was the way of doing business Zhou Qiang and Kong Xiuyun had taught him step by step. Did they think they could push him around so easily?
Not a chance.
The proceedings moved faster and faster.
By the last three shop owners, Section Chief Wang did