How severe will the consequences of this attack be?
"This could cause the project to fail at any time, leaving everyone here with nothing." I said firmly, not wanting any hesitation to give anyone any room for unrealistic fantasies.
“I’ll stay,” Liu Yiming said without hesitation.
"I'm not leaving either," Shan Jie said with a mischievous smile. "The boss is a capable man, and I feel confident following you."
"Note: She's both an idol and a talented actress," I quickly added. The tense atmosphere in the meeting room eased a bit, and in the end, no one wanted to leave. Fiona hesitated for a moment but then decided not to go either.
"Thank you everyone." After saying this, I got up and left the meeting room. No one noticed the tears welling up in my eyes, which finally fell as I turned a corner.
Although I was prepared, Chairman Yin's actions were simply too swift, ruthless, and precise. The very next morning after the meeting, when Shan Jie, pale-faced, pushed open my office door, I remembered a line from my elementary school Chinese textbook: "Let the storm rage on."
Part Two, Chapter Twenty-Five
"Boss, that customer's complaint about our flowers being poisoned by chemicals has somehow gotten to the media! The switchboard is ringing off the hook!"
I was aware of this matter and it has already been resolved. The person who came to complain was a man in his early forties. Given that hiring a legal counsel long-term is too expensive, I spent two months cramming through a huge number of books on jurisprudence, company law, and economic law, and then took matters into my own hands. So, when this man came to complain, I was the one who received and handled his case.
"Didn't we already sign a mediation agreement with him?" I asked Shan Jie. Although we were fairly confident that there was nothing wrong with our flowers, bringing the dispute to the table and going through another round of appraisals would be time-consuming and troublesome. In the end, at most we could sue him for extortion, which would amount to administrative detention, not even a criminal offense. However, it would definitely affect our company's business and reputation. So, despite some concerns, after obtaining the consent of others, I didn't resolve the matter through formal channels at the time. I just verbally threatened the man who was clearly there to extort money, made him sign a mediation agreement, and then he left.
"I just went to look for it, but the consent form is missing?"
"What?" I sensed something unusual. "Isn't FIONA in charge of the records? What did she say?"
"She's crying in her office." Shan Jie's answer didn't surprise me too much.
Have any customers cancelled their orders?
"Not yet, but some customers have already called to inquire about the situation. If nothing unexpected happens, it should be available starting tomorrow."
"Notify all the media outlets that we're holding a press conference tomorrow at 2 PM at the hotel's Western restaurant next door." Shan Jie gave me a strange look, wondering why I wanted to book a Western restaurant. But I didn't have time to explain; I just felt my brain getting hot from working at high speed.
I immediately began making arrangements, because there wasn't much time left until 2 PM tomorrow, and I had countless things to do. The most urgent task was to find the man who had filed the complaint, Luo Zhaohui, and dig up as much information as possible about him. I firmly believed that someone like him wouldn't do something like this only once; his background information must be incredibly impressive. If we got that information, we'd be in a winning position. However, this task proved to be the most troublesome. All information about this man, including his name and contact information, seemed to have vanished as if it had never existed! FIONA had turned all the filing cabinets upside down; all the documents were there, except for the one we were looking for. I couldn't bear to see the young woman crying her eyes out, so I ran away before she could put down the last document and reach for a tissue.
Just think, she could still embrace all her brothers and sisters and cry her heart out, while I didn't even have time to wipe away my tears. That's what they call different fates for different people. Although I had great confidence in my previous arrangements, the inability to prove this man's untrustworthiness made me feel uncertain and uneasy.
My phone suddenly rang; it was a text message. I opened it, and my eyes lit up instantly. I quickly dialed the number back, but it said "user's phone is switched off." Looking at the number again, it was a public SIM card number. This meant that unless the user turned their phone back on, I would never know who had sent me such a wonderful gift.
The press conference was held as scheduled, but there were more media outlets than we had anticipated, forcing us to add a lot of food and drinks on short notice.
I didn't do much preamble, knowing none of these people were there for pleasantries. So I went straight to briefly recounting how I received the complaint, and immediately launched into my attack. My first move was to produce a certificate from the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau certifying the flower farm as a green and environmentally friendly grower, along with a list of all the fertilizers used during the planting process. Most of the media scoffed at this. And rightly so; these days, there are plenty of people who advertise something but don't deliver. Besides, whether it's connections or money, with either one, these kinds of certificates can be bought by the pound. As expected.
My second tactic was to glance at the buffet on the table, which was almost empty, and then smile slightly: "Ladies and gentlemen, if you still have any doubts about the environmental friendliness and quality of our products, it's too late now. Because all the dishes you just ate were made with our fresh flowers."
"Boom!" The Western restaurant erupted in chaos. Ignoring everyone's reactions, I gestured to the staff, and the lights in the hall went out immediately, revealing a live-action video of the flower farm on the projection screen. Taking advantage of the brief silence following everyone's surprise, I took the microphone and introduced: "This short video shows the entire process of our fresh flowers being planted, harvested, and transported to the hotel for processing into dishes. The reporters from the provincial TV station's news department who filmed this video are also on site. If you have any doubts about its credibility, you can verify it with these five people. What I want to say here is that if you experience any discomfort after eating, please keep your evidence. As long as it is verified by an authoritative institution that it was caused by today's food, our company is willing to provide unlimited compensation in any form!"
An awkward silence fell over the Western restaurant. I understood; these people in the media were all shrewd and calculating, yet they'd been outmaneuvered by the group, and they were understandably angry and needed to vent. It was expected.
The third and most convincing move was my presentation of Luo Zhaohui's past records, including news reports of him falsely claiming food poisoning to extort money from a restaurant, only to be exposed and assaulted, leading to a call to the police (110). I also presented evidence that the official seal on his diagnosis report for his recent complaint about a chemical allergy was forged. The Western restaurant erupted in commotion again. I knew this matter was finally over, and I let out a long sigh of relief. I gave FIONA a wink, and immediately staff members brought out a large stack of packaged flowers and distributed them to everyone. On stage, I passionately and spittle-flecked my way of introducing our integrated environmental philosophy and practices for flowers, from planting to packaging to recycling. Most of the media in the audience were encountering such unconventional environmental knowledge for the first time, and their newsworthy moments were immediately hit. They bombarded me with questions and photos, and I felt a blissful chill, as if I could already feel the scalding hot wires of several flower ordering phones waiting to be used tomorrow.
"Hehehe, boss, we've made a fortune this time, hehehe, a huge fortune." Shan Jiele narrowed his eyes, seemingly having completely forgotten the Huang Shiren-like demeanor he had displayed an hour ago, holding a hotel bill and exuding class hatred.
"But boss, aren't you being too confident? It's not that I lack confidence in our product, but what if one of these people has an allergy and gets diarrhea these next couple of days? Wouldn't we lose both our money and our reputation?" Liu Yiming whispered to me as we were leaving.
I smiled and said, "Don't worry, everyone here today is a social news reporter, not an entertainment paparazzi. First, they have a certain level of professional ethics. Second, everyone else is fine except for him. So, is it him or us who has the problem? Third, I spoke so confidently and went to such lengths to make them believe from the outset that our flowers are indeed free of any harmful chemicals. Even if someone gets diarrhea, they won't dare to suspect us. Besides, didn't you hear me tell you to preserve the evidence? That eliminates any possibility of cheating and leaves enough room for our so-called 'unlimited compensation in any form'."
“If you were a rat, the kitchen you’ve been eyeing will be completely empty of rice and oil; if you were a locust, the place you’ve flown over will be left with only scorched earth; if you were…” Shan Jie laughed like a down-on-his-luck man.
"If she were a gun, she would definitely kill you first." Xia Mengmeng chimed in from the side, and just then a stack of documents flew out of my hand and landed squarely on Shan Jie's head, which was already plagued by bad luck.
Part Two, Chapter Twenty-Six
"Thank you so much," I said sincerely to Xia Mengmeng. The news reporter from the TV station who helped us film the short film tonight was someone she had invited using her personal connections. This was a crucial move for tonight, and I knew that "thank you" didn't carry much weight at this moment.
"Come on, stop pretending to be all high and mighty. And you're thanking me? If you really want to thank me, you should hurry up and find a good family to marry off. Look at your face full of acne, your hormones are all messed up, aren't they?"
“If it’s on your face, it’s just a pimple; if it’s on mine, it’s called ‘acne.’ Besides, my mom isn’t worried, so why are you? Could it be that you, this newly promoted red apricot, are so anxious that you’re about to wriggle over the wall and drag me along so we can all ‘split our legs’? I understand, I understand, outside the wall, birds are singing and flowers are blooming, attracting countless red apricots to bend over.”
"I'm like a malnourished apricot tree, unable to grow beyond the wall; I have the will but not the strength." It was rare for Xia Mengmeng to have some self-awareness. Looking at her now curvaceous S-shaped figure, I suddenly realized that a good married life nourishes a woman's intelligence and physique, and I couldn't help but feel a little envious.
"So you really won't even give Yin Tianyu a phone call?" Xia Mengmeng nudged me.
"I've already been untrustworthy enough, so I'm sorry I had to break the rules this time." Even a deaf person could tell I wasn't being honest. Actually, I desperately wanted to make that call, but who told me to make such a boast to his father? Sometimes I wish I could chop off my impulsive, irrational tongue and swallow the blood. But I never understand why other people's love is always so serene and beautiful, while my lover is always on the other side while I'm on this side. There's a river called love connecting us, but longing is too vast to cross. Lately, I've been suddenly becoming so sentimental; I despise myself for it.
"Hmph, if Young Master Yin doesn't want you anymore, you'll really have lost both your wife and your army! Let's see who you'll cry to then. Let me make this clear first, my husband won't lend you any money."
I made the sign of the cross: "God help me, the doctor said I have fatty liver and can't eat fatty meat. You'd better keep your word!"
"Where is my husband fat? Can you see where he's fat?" Xia Mengmeng yelled as if someone had stepped on her tail. Seeing how upset she was, I was too embarrassed to say "He's fat in every way," and forced out, "Your husband may be fat, but he's fat in a way that commands respect." I knew my ears must have turned red; that's how it always is when I tell a lie.
"It's strange, ever since I met my husband, there haven't been any fat men in the world!" Xia Mengmeng shamelessly continued to assault my fragile hearing, making me clench my fists again. It felt a bit like Pigsy from *A Chinese Odyssey*, staring at himself in the mirror for a long time before suddenly shouting, "Pig!"
On the way back, Xia Mengmeng insisted on riding on my Haomai 250 motorcycle, saying she wanted to check firsthand whether Guangzhou's air quality had been fundamentally improved. I had no choice but to take her along, and we sped off towards her company.
"You're really going after that old fox?" Xia Mengmeng asked me loudly from the back seat.
"He's the one who's gotten into a fight with me."