Chapter 1922:

Chapter 1922: Chapter 1922:

When there is no emergency, the fire brigade is relatively relaxed, mainly focusing on physical exercise or drills, but the intensity and frequency are both low.

For example, when Song Guanchao came today, there were only a few sparse people in the large building.

Zhou Xingjian looked around like a headless fly, bewildered: "Who should we be looking for?"

Despite working in an office for years, he was not particularly familiar with the fire department.

This question stumped Song Guanchao as well; he didn’t know who they should be looking for.

Suddenly, inspiration struck him: "Isn’t someone coming for an inspection and correction this afternoon? Did you leave a phone number? Call them and ask to be sent the fire department’s number."

Zhou Xingjian’s eyes lit up, and he hurried to make a call.

Soon, he obtained the phone number.

Song Guanchao took out his phone and dialed the number.

As the dial tone sounded, the phone was answered: "Who is this?"

Song Guanchao said: "Is this Director Zhang? May I ask where you work? I’d like to find you to discuss the fire correction matter."

He purposely did not reveal his identity, intending for Director Zhang to mistake him for a company being inspected by them.

Sure enough, Director Zhang was guided to think in this direction.

He responded with an "Oh," and said: "I’m in the office of the Fire Supervision Division, you can just come and knock on the door."

Song Guanchao hung up the phone and approached a man coming down the stairs: "Excuse me, could you tell me where the Supervision Division’s office is?"

The man glanced at him and pointed upward: "Go to the second floor, and the office is at the end of the corridor on the right."

"Thank you."

Song Guanchao and Zhou Xingjian headed upstairs.

Soon, they arrived outside an office with a sign reading "Supervision Division" on the door. Through the door, they could hear conversations and laughter inside.

Knock, knock.

Song Guanchao politely knocked on the door, and after a brief silence, a voice inside said, "Come in."

Song Guanchao opened the door and glanced around; the office was approximately thirty square meters, with two desks by the window and two desks by the entrance wall.

Most of the desks were empty, but next to the window, three men in enforcement uniforms sat, holding cigarettes, exhaling smoke toward the window.

While he was observing them, they were also observing him.

"Who are you looking for?" asked a man around forty, slightly balding.

Song Guanchao walked over and asked: "Was the fire inspection at the industrial park this afternoon conducted by your team?"

The three were taken aback by the question.

This query sounded like an accusation.

Yet, oddly, Song Guanchao’s tone was amicable, even with a smile.

This made them feel strange, taking a few seconds to react, and they instinctively nodded: "Yes, it was us. Which company are you with?"

One of the men seemed to remember something: "Was it you who called earlier?"

Song Guanchao smiled: "It was me."

Then he looked at the first man who had asked: "I’m not with any company, I’m Song Guanchao."

"Song Guanchao..." The three murmured the name, feeling slightly familiar but unable to recall where they’d heard it before.

Song Guanchao added: "City Government Office Director."

Only then did the three suddenly realize, and the next second, they jumped up from their chairs as if their seats had caught fire.

"Ahem."

The balding man extinguished his cigarette, politely saying: "Hello, Director Song, who are you looking for?"

Song Guanchao maintained his smile: "I’m looking for you."

"I heard the companies in the park failed the fire inspection, so I’m here to inquire how these companies can rectify the situation to pass? Are there standards? If so, please tell me about the standards, and I’ll have them comply."

Though he spoke with a smile, the three clearly saw he was here to stand up for these companies.

As part of the Fire Supervision Division, they’ve caused difficulty for others many times.

It’s said that starting a business is as challenging as going on a pilgrimage like Monk Tang, and it’s indeed accurate.

Ordinary companies face challenges from fire, business, and taxation departments, and any difficulty with one can be ruinous.

If it’s a food company, they also have to handle the hygiene department.

"Director Song, we are just following the law accordingly, the companies’ fire measures are inadequate, and we’re there to identify issues that require correction," they said, although somewhat intimidated by Song Guanchao’s status, they remembered he couldn’t directly oversee the fire department.

And what he said was indeed true.

Those companies’ fire measures were indeed lacking, so they had evidence and could naturally speak with confidence.

Song Guanchao’s smile grew narrower; these men really weren’t giving him any respect.

"No need to explain, I never said your procedures were problematic, I’m just trying to understand how to rectify."

The others were momentarily speechless.

Indeed, from start to finish, Song Guanchao wasn’t accusing them.

"Just rectify according to the requirements," the balding man said.

"What requirements? What are the standards for correction?"

"..." Once again, the three were speechless, they were merely dressed as enforcers and hadn’t delved into the details.

To truly answer, they couldn’t specify any standard requirements.

"Today’s inspection was rather rushed, once we’re done, we’ll go back once more to inform them of the correction requirements," the three tried to justify.

Song Guanchao nodded and didn’t push further, he again asked: "If they rectify according to requirements, there won’t be any problems?"

If the one inquiring were a CEO from a company, asking this face-to-face, they would surely dismiss them without hesitation.

But with Song Guanchao, they couldn’t afford that attitude.

Facing his direct inquiry, the three could only provide a concrete answer: "As long as the corrections are adequate, there shouldn’t be any problem."

"That’s good to hear, sorry to have disturbed you today."

Song Guanchao and Zhou Xingjian turned and left.

Once they had walked far away, the three gradually raised their voices.

"What’s going on? Why is someone from the City Government standing up for these small companies?"

"Is he really the City Government Office Director? So young?"

"Someone in those companies is quite influential with strong connections."

"Should we continue the inspection?"

"Let’s first investigate this Song Guanchao, I’ve heard this guy is quite ruthless."

The balding man said, as he took out his phone to call a friend in the City Government to inquire about Song Guanchao.

The other two waited nearby.

The call lasted nearly half an hour before ending, and the two hurriedly asked: "How did it go? What’s the deal with Director Song?"

The balding man’s face turned grim, and after a long pause, he uttered three words: "Really formidable."

"In what way formidable?"

"Anyway, very formidable. Few who oppose him have a good outcome. By the way, I also learned he used to be Mayor Wu’s secretary."

"So what if he was a secretary? He can’t oversee us."

"Exactly, even if formidable, it has nothing to do with us."

"I suppose he might have some authority over us." The balding man said: "You know Mayor Liang, right? He, Director Song, and Mayor Wu all transferred from Lingjiang. I’ve heard Mayor Liang and Director Song are quite close privately."

Upon hearing this, the other two’s expressions finally changed.

Though Director Song couldn’t directly oversee them, the Public Security Bureau Chief could directly manage the fire department.