I bought a prison in the United States.

Three days later, fire department inspectors knocked on the door of McLean County Correctional Center at nine o'clock in the morning.

There were three of them. The one in the lead was a short, stout man with a thick mustache, carrying a briefcase filled with various standard forms and measuring steel rulers.

"Hello, we are from the fire department. We received an anonymous tip that there are safety hazards in the fire escape routes of this prison. Please cooperate with us in conducting an inspection."

He produced an inspection warrant, stamped with the official seal of the county fire department.

Wade frowned, and although he had some doubts, he still led them through the entire prison corridor.

The man with the mustache squatted down at each corner, pulled out a steel ruler to measure the width of the corridor, and his assistant recorded the data beside him.

He measured it three times, each time keeping the steel ruler taut, then standing up and pointing to the numbers in his notebook.

"The narrowest part of the corridor is three feet eight inches wide."

"According to state fire codes, the minimum standard for prison building corridors should be four feet."

Wade, without changing his expression, explained:

"This corridor was built 20 years ago and it meets the standards and specifications at the time."

"But he doesn't meet the standards now, don't you understand?"

The man with the mustache's tone showed absolutely no sympathy:

"In short, according to the latest revised regulations, the fire exit here does not meet the standards, and I demand that you rectify it within a specified period!"

He tore off a rectification notice and handed it over.

Wade took the yellow slip of paper; the writing on it was somewhat blurred due to the pressure of the carbon paper.

He didn't argue, but simply folded the notice and put it in his pocket before continuing to lead the inspection team toward the cafeteria.

……

The health bureau's inspection team also arrived at the prison early the next morning.

Two people came this time: a middle-aged woman in a white coat and a young assistant holding an electronic thermometer.

The woman went straight to the kitchen, opened the freezer door, and inserted the probe of an electronic thermometer into a bag of frozen chicken legs.

The numbers jumped a few times before settling at 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

She pulled out the probe, wiped it with an alcohol swab, and inserted it into the second bag. This time it was 41 degrees Celsius, not a huge deviation, but she still turned her head and said:

"State health regulations stipulate that meat must be stored at a temperature below 40 degrees Fahrenheit."

"The temperature of your freezer is two to three degrees above the standard. This is a notice of violation of food storage temperature regulations. Please pay the fine on time."

Mrs. Martha stood in the kitchen doorway, wiping her hands repeatedly on her apron.

The temperature in the freezer had always been around 35 degrees Celsius, but it suddenly jumped this morning. She noticed it when she came to prepare meals this morning.

The compressor kept humming, but the thermometer reading just wouldn't go down.

Before she could even report the problem, the inspector arrived.

Mrs. Martha was about to explain, but the middle-aged woman had no patience to listen. She had already placed the notice on the stainless steel table and turned to walk towards the door.

……

On the morning of the third day, officials from the county's Building Safety Committee suddenly called, requesting to see the installation permit for the electromagnetic door lock.

Haskins rushed over from the construction site, spread a large stack of blueprints and approvals on his desk, and pointed them out to the other party one by one.

The other person flipped through a few pages, then closed the folder.

"The power supply lines for these electromagnetic locks have altered the electrical load of the original building structure."

"According to the county building regulations, any construction involving significant changes to the power system must first submit an electrical safety assessment report."

"But I didn't see that report here."

Haskins pointed to the date on the approval document and explained:

"But we applied for an electrical renovation permit. Look, this was approved by the county last month."

The official shook his head, placed his hand over the approval document, and didn't even glance at it.

"The electrical modification permit and the electrical safety assessment report are two separate documents."

"Without an assessment report, the construction permit is considered incomplete."

"This is a rectification notice. All construction involving power lines is suspended until the assessment report is submitted and approved!"

The notification slip was placed on the table.

Haskins stood there, looking at the paper, and immediately picked up the phone to call Ringo.

……

2 p.m., McLean County Correctional Center.

Lin Ge laid the three rectification notices side by side on his desk.

Every inspection was documented in official form, and the rectification was accompanied by an exorbitant price list.

These are all baseless accusations; they are all based on my subjective opinion that you have a problem, therefore you have a problem.

Many institutions in the United States are like this; they think your biggest problem isn't hygiene or fire safety at all, but that you don't pay protection money.

After all, standards are fixed, but the right to interpret them is flexible, and money can make the fixed flexible.

The hallway was four inches off; the law says four feet is four feet, not an inch more.

Although the prison corridors were the same width when they were built in 1963, every fire chief has signed off on the inspection checklist.

The freezer temperature exceeded the standard by two degrees. The law states that if the temperature is 40 degrees, it must be 40 degrees.

Even though the frozen chicken legs that were just put into the freezer in the morning weren't completely frozen, anyone with common sense knows that the temperature will naturally drop after the compressor runs for an hour.

Previously, there was no requirement for a safety assessment report for electrical work, but now the law states that it is required.

Although when applying for the renovation permit last month, staff from the county's Building Safety Committee personally told Haskins that the documents were complete.

That's Hammond's game: bringing the legal blade inch by inch closer to your neck.

Every step he took was perfectly in line with the law, so precise that he could evade any counterattack from the courts.

Insufficient fire escape width, excessive refrigerator temperature, lack of safety assessment for electrical work...

It's not normal for three notices to be sent in the same week. How could those people be so strict in their monitoring at the same time?

"They might as well just shut down the entire prison!"

Harmon reached for the notice to read it, but Ringo stopped him.

"No need to look at them anymore. Fire safety, sanitation, building safety—each one must be rectified within fourteen days, with a fine of one thousand US dollars per day for each day of delay."

"The document numbers of the three notices are consecutive, indicating that they were printed in the same batch."

"Trying to use fire safety and sanitation as leverage against me?"

Lin Ge rubbed his temples with his fingers and suddenly let out a cold laugh.

He had experienced this tactic firsthand when he ran a factory in his previous life; the industry and commerce bureau, tax bureau, and fire department would come to his door one after another.

They act legally and in accordance with the law, making you kneel on the ground and still have to sign and accept the punishment.

Harmon looked at Ringo and found that he was actually smiling:

"Aren't you angry?"

"Getting angry is useless."

"Every single one of these notices is based on a legal provision, and I've memorized them all; there's definitely no forgery."

"From a legal perspective, none of these provisions are fabricated; it is purely a matter of administering according to law."

"If I were to sue them for abuse of power, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to get through the door."

Lingo stacked the notices together and put them in the drawer, then picked up the legal opinion that Eleanor had faxed over the day before yesterday from the table.

"Eleanor said Hammond's strategy was very sophisticated."

"All the inspections were within the scope of routine oversight authority. Even if I knew he was directing them, I couldn't find any written evidence to prove his involvement."

"The success rate of resisting administrative inspections is less than 5%, and judges naturally tend to support the administrative discretion of their peers."

"If I refuse to cooperate now, their next step will be to apply for a court enforcement order, at which point they will send bailiffs to seal off the construction area, and that will be a real problem."