Chapter 1241: Chapter 1196: Personal Undercover Visit Chapter 1241: Chapter 1196: Personal Undercover Visit “Secretary, would this be a bit…?” Xia Gang, who was sitting next to him, didn’t just nod in agreent but frowned and raised his concern.
As the secretary to a leader, the relationship is symbiotic. That doesn’t an the secretary is rely waiting for the leader’s promotion, riding the coattails of their success. On the contrary, secretaries have a lot of responsibilities to shoulder.
Yes-n, those secretaries who only parrot what they’re told, might be liked by so leaders. However, that’s not what Secretary Nie needs. Nie requires a secretary with ability, independent judgnt, and ideas. Anyone can be a yes-man, and so might even do it better than oneself.
But such a secretary won’t have much of a future. A qualified secretary should not only be able to relieve the leader of personal troubles but also complent the leader at work, thinking about what the leader needs before they do.
Waving his hand dismissively, Nie Zhenbang spoke candidly without avoiding the issue, “Looking at the reports on Weibo, there’s one thing we can be sure of: the restaurant’s backstage support must be very powerful, wealthy, or of high status. People of that caliber don’t run a restaurant solely for profit. Therefore, we must conduct an undercover visit in person to gather sufficient information.”
At this point, Nie Zhenbang paused and continued, “Having soone else go undercover would be difficult just because of the extrely high cost barrier. Spending hundreds of thousands, whether out of private funds or the public purse, is not quite appropriate. Financially, my family still has so ans. My wife’s brothers run decent businesses. I could afford tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Considering this, I must personally investigate the matter.”
Xia Gang was worried about this very issue. If the secretary went undercover personally, would it not seem too frivolous if word got out? And if soone with an agenda twisted the news, people might think that they did sothing to offend Secretary Nie and that he was deliberately targeting them.
This kind of talk could easily lead to misunderstandings and negatively impact Nie Zhenbang.
After pondering for a mont, Xia Gang continued, “Secretary, if you go there, won’t everyone recognize you?”
Nie Zhenbang had also been considering this issue, which was indeed a significant concern. His face frequently appeared on Longxi TV. Ordinary people might not notice, but Nie was certain that the high-level individuals he’d encounter would recognize him even before he entered the establishnt.
After mulling it over for so ti and appreciating the look in Xia Gang’s eye, Nie Zhenbang nodded in approval. Xia Gang had been with him for nearly half a year now and had beco quite seasoned in all aspects, showing great potential. He then replied, “Xiaoxia, your consideration is good. My appearance and identity could be an issue. It seems I need to take care to disguise myself carefully, maybe even use make-up. Now, get the phone number for that place and reserve a private room in the na of Wal-Mart Group’s Longxi Province branch. Hmm, the People’s Congress Hall will do.”
…
Around 6 PM
It had been just over an hour since the end of the workday, but because it was winter, it had already beco completely dark.
A taxi stopped in front of a row of unassuming storefronts on Zhenxing Middle Road. Zhenxing Road was not the comrcial center of Ancient Capital, and the storefront businesses were a disorganized array. Nearby, there were noodle shops, mutton stew restaurants, clothing stores, and small supermarkets.
Looking at an antique-style single storefront in front of him, Nie Zhenbang felt a shock. Without experiencing it firsthand, he didn’t expect that such an ultra-luxurious restaurant could exist in such an inconspicuous place.
Above the storefront, under the flying eaves, hung a sweeping signboard with four characters: A Certain Restaurant. Seeing the na, Nie Zhenbang smiled understandingly. Such a na, if coined a few years or a decade earlier, might have seed novel. But now? It cos off as sowhat tacky. In today’s age of widespread internet access, such things are no longer unusual.
At this mont, Nie Zhenbang himself had undergone a complete transformation. His lips were adorned with a fake mustache. He wore a pair of plain glasses. His hair was cropped short, limiting styling options. Yet, with this simple make-up, his entire temperant had changed radically.
Additionally, his attire had undergone a complete overhaul. He donned a tailored Armani suit, black shoes, and a black fur-trimd coat. The overall effect gave him an air of gentle cultured sophistication, the epito of understated wealth.
Xia Gang, by contrast, hadn’t changed at all. Although he was Nie Zhenbang’s secretary, he didn’t appear on television often. Even when he did, there was no special introduction, so the general public wouldn’t recognize him. And even if insiders did recognize him, it would be normal for Xia Gang’s stature to be treated. It’s not unusual for soone of his position to be hosted.
Walking into the restaurant, the first-floor area was roughly ten square ters. On the left and right, three hostesses stood by to greet guests.
When Nie Zhenbang and Xia Gang entered, the hostesses bowed in unison with a flawless grace, saying, “Welco.”
The hostesses had been carefully selected. They were all around the sa height, with statuesque figures standing at about 1.7 ters tall. Wearing high-slit cheongsams, they moved with elegance that revealed their fair thighs, exuding endless allure.
“Excuse , do our VIP guests have a reservation? We only accept reservations and serve custors with mbership cards. We do not accommodate walk-ins,” said the first receptionist on the left, her voice sweet as the song of an oriole, as she greeted us with a smile.
Nie Zhenbang remained silent as Xia Gang beside him spoke up, “We have a reservation for the People’s Congress Hall private room, made by Wal-Mart Group.”
Upon hearing this, the receptionist nodded and said, “Very well, please follow , honored guests.”
The rules for booking a private room here were strictly confidential, at the very least; they wouldn’t let outsiders know. Since the information was accurately ntioned, there seed to be no issue.
Ascending the wooden staircase to the second floor, guests were t with a drastic change. At the top of the stairs, there stood an even more impressive greeting team, with a dozen beauties on each side, all uniform in height at over 1.7 ters. They were clad in red cheongsams with hollowed-out embroidery, showcasing the perfection of femininity.
Their movents were synchronized, their voices united: “Welco, honored guests.”
It gave one the impression of an emperor’s reception. Walking through the center on the red carpet felt like strolling down a flowery street. The hall was hundreds of square ters in size, with a large wooden, intricately carved screen placed in the center, embedding a massive photograph.
The the of the photo was shocking to Nie Zhenbang. On the imnse image, with two rows of restaurant staff standing on either side and four rows behind, there appeared to be more than two hundred individuals.
In the front row, there were black leather executive chairs. In the very center sat Director Shen, prim and proper. On either side of him were middle-aged n in suits and leather shoes, unfamiliar to Nie Zhenbang. Clearly, these were likely to be the establishnt’s owner and so other figures.
That Director Shen had visited this place and taken a group photo in the hall with the proprietor was unexpected to Nie Zhenbang. He pondered the nature of Director Shen’s relationship with the people here. Was it just a casual photo, or was there a deeper connection? It was sothing worth considering.
Guided by the receptionist, they turned a corner from the main hall and found themselves in front of a wide corridor that stretched on for nearly a hundred ters, with various private rooms on either side. The nas of the rooms were unique, avoiding tacky labels like Supre 888 or Emperor 999, and instead took after famous dostic landmarks.
For example, there were rooms nad after the Diaoyutai, People’s Congress Hall, Zhongnan Sea, Forbidden City, and others, representing the crè de la crè of private dining. The less prestigious rooms had nas Nie Zhenbang did not see, as they had already reached their designated room by then.
The private room was extrely spacious, at least a hundred square ters. Inside, there was a large round table capable of seating twenty people right by the entrance. Next to it stood a dining console with a gigantic fruit platter one ter in diater.
The platter included an assortnt of fruits: tropical, temperate, dostic, and international, offering a full array of choices. Anything desired could be ordered, with room service attending to all requirents.
In this kind of setting, als were individually plated. That is, each dish was served as a single portion per person, rather than shared. This manner of service was most fashionable among high society, and not particularly rare.
The attendant smiled and asked, “What would you like to eat today?”
To the servers here, a private room reserved for rely two people was hardly unusual. In their line of work, they had seen far stranger things. Individuals dining alone were not uncommon, and those who could afford to co here were influential figures. Sotis, having fewer people around was preferable for certain matters.
“Bring the nu over to have a look,” requested Nie Zhenbang.
Accepting the nu from the server, he opened it to find dishes like deep-sea abalone, shark fin soup, and caviar, which were commonplace here. Yet, what astonished Nie Zhenbang was the inclusion of braised bear paws, stewed monkey brains, and sautéed pangolins among other wildlife dishes.
He hadn’t expected to stumble upon this during his undercover investigation. Initially, his intent was simply to probe and gauge the foundation of this establishnt. The discovery of these exotic items confird to Nie Zhenbang that they couldn’t possibly be fard. Given the caliber of the restaurant and its wealthy clientele, one could easily distinguish fard from wild by taste, and it was unlikely that the owner would tarnish the reputation of the venue.
As for drinks, with options like 1982 Château Lafite Rothschild and thirty-year-aged Maotai commanding prices in the tens or even hundreds of thousands, such indulgences were nothing new to Nie Zhenbang.
After so thought, Nie Zhenbang avoided the wild animal dishes and ordered so seafood and ho-style dishes, along with a few bottles of red wine. Setting the nu aside, he looked up and said, “Hmm, just these items will do. Please serve them promptly.” (
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