Chapter 524 - 316: I’ll Show You Just How Bad I Am

"That’s my smooth talker. A kiss for you, mwah~~~"

Letting go of Lin Jiang, Qin Yangyang took off her down jacket and changed into a loose-fitting nightgown.

"What kept you so busy today? You just got here," Lin Jiang asked casually.

"Don’t even ask. I got into a fight with my mom. I would’ve been here much earlier otherwise."

"A fight? Don’t tell me she was nagging you about marriage again?"

"No, not this time." Qin Yangyang tucked her hair back and said,

"One of her good friends’ kids got married, and they’re holding a thank-you banquet in Zhonghai tomorrow. She wanted us to go with her, but I told her I wasn’t interested, and we ended up arguing."

"If you’re not going, she could just have Youyou go with her."

"Youyou doesn’t want to go either, and my mom would much rather take me."

Lin Jiang could understand Jiang Rongmin’s thinking.

Both daughters were her own flesh and blood, but there was no doubt that Qin Yangyang was the more exceptional one.

For an important occasion like this, bringing Qin Yangyang was definitely the better choice.

Becoming a partner at a Red Circle law firm at such a young age was a huge source of pride when introducing her to others.

Even wealthy families couldn’t escape such conventional displays of status.

"Alright, let’s not talk about that anymore," Qin Yangyang said.

"We went to see the movie you invested in. It even made my mom laugh, and she’s usually so serious. How’s the box office?"

"It’s number one in daily box office receipts, and its screen share is getting higher and higher. At this rate, we’ll break 200 million tomorrow."

"Have you guys made any box office projections? What’s the estimate?"

"The online agencies gave a professional assessment of around 2.3 billion, but I think it’ll be much more than that. It has the potential to hit 3 billion."

"My parents said that when they go to work tomorrow, they’ll arrange for their company’s employees to see the movie to contribute to your box office."

"Oh no, don’t do that. I’m not important enough to deserve that kind of treatment from them."

Qin Yangyang gave Lin Jiang a sly smile. "You’re their son-in-law now, so of course they have to back you without reservation."

"Qin Lu, I don’t think you’re grasping the situation."

"How am I not grasping the situation?"

"This is my house. Did you really not consider the consequences of talking to me in that sarcastic tone?"

Qin Yangyang’s face puffed up. "What are you going to do?"

"What do you think?"

Lin Jiang moved in, swiftly overpowering Qin Yangyang and pinning her to the sofa.

At first, Qin Yangyang resisted, but after the "invasion," she immediately surrendered, even beginning to actively reciprocate.

"Do you still dare?"

"I dare."

"Then I’m not moving."

"You’re so annoying."

Lin Jiang slapped Qin Yangyang’s bottom. "Say it. Do you dare or not?"

"N-No, I don’t dare anymore..."

"See? If you’d just been this obedient from the start, we wouldn’t have had this problem."

"You’re a bad person!"

"Then let me show you just how bad I can be."

With that, Lin Jiang increased the intensity, commencing the night’s import-export trade.

...

Earl No. 3 was one of Zhonghai’s most famous and expensive high-end karaoke clubs. The hostesses here were also considered the best in all of Zhonghai.

The clientele who came here every day consisted almost entirely of wealthy bosses and rich kids.

In VIP Room 302, the atmosphere was somewhat gloomy.

Zheng Jianghe, Han Guangqi, Li Wuyang, and Zhou Jin were all there.

Usually, when they came here to have fun, hostesses were an essential part of the evening.

Now, apart from the beer and fruit platter on the table, there was nothing else.

Among the four, everyone except Zheng Jianghe wore a grim expression.

Huipin City had been exposed for food safety issues. Public opinion online had become completely one-sided, with all fingers pointing at Huipin City.

Han Guangqi’s initial idea was to follow Berkeley’s example and offer 10 million in compensation to consumers, showing them Huipin City’s sincerity.

But more and more problems were being exposed. If they adopted a compensation policy, they would have to pay out for every single negative incident. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to quell the online outcry.

However, after running the numbers, they found that if they compensated everyone according to a high standard, even 100 million wouldn’t be enough.

There were simply too many problems.

Huipin City’s capital chain couldn’t sustain such a payout, and the parent group would never approve such a compensation plan either.

For a time, Han Guangqi was caught in a dilemma with no solution in sight.

Li Wuyang and Zhou Jin’s situations weren’t any better.

Mu Xing had started its own direct sales route, further encroaching on Yong’an’s market.

In the Northern Market, Li Yuan’s products were also gradually rolling out, dealing a heavy blow to the market. Hongyang Pastures’ market share was continuously dropping, and their previous investment was very likely to go down the drain.

Lastly, there was Zhou Jin. Projections showed that if *Farewell, Youth*’s box office could even reach 20 million, it would be a huge milestone.

After deducting the shares and promotion costs, there would be almost nothing left for him. The 50 million investment could also be considered a total loss.

The three of them sat together, drinking in sullen silence. Zheng Jianghe, sitting beside them, finally spoke up:

"Drinking won’t solve anything. Let’s talk about each of our situations and brainstorm some ideas together."

Taking out a pack of cigarettes, he tossed one to each of them. Zheng Jianghe said:

"Old Han, what’s the situation on your end? I see things are getting pretty heated online. Didn’t you guys contact anyone to suppress the buzz?"

"We tried, but it wasn’t very effective. Lin Jiang must be pulling strings behind the scenes, fanning the flames until it’s gotten completely out of our control."

"You could imitate them. When a problem comes up, pay to resolve it. You could even spin it as a marketing move."

"Our situations are different. Berkeley has no shareholders and only one mall under its name. They can handle things however they want. But Huipin City has a parent group, over twenty shareholders, and six Huipin Supermarket locations. If we set this precedent, and other supermarkets have problems, not handling them the same way could trigger a massive chain reaction and public opinion crisis. The group would never agree to it."

After hearing Han Guangqi’s explanation, Zheng Jianghe understood his predicament.

"It’s been so long. Do you have any preliminary solutions?"

"Issue a public apology, fire the relevant personnel, and if anyone gets sick from eating our products, we’ll compensate them. That’s all we have for now."

"Under normal circumstances, that would be fine. But you’re positioning yourselves against Donglai Supermarket and Berkeley. This approach probably won’t cut it."

"Of course it won’t. The service industry is all about service. If we really handle it this way, my plan is ruined, and Huipin City will go into decline."

"And if you did compensate them according to their standards? How much would it cost?"

"At least 100 million. That’s a figure we can’t afford."

"From the sound of it, you’re out of options."

"I’m going to keep fighting for it. I’ve poured too much effort into this. I absolutely cannot lose to him so easily!"

After talking with Han Guangqi, Zheng Jianghe turned to Li Wuyang and Zhou Jin.

"What about you two?"

"Not great. Yong’an’s market share has dropped even further, and two-thirds of our equipment is idle. My investment in Hongyang Pastures is also flagging because of Mu Xing’s entry into the market. I don’t even know what to do anymore."

Zheng Jianghe looked at Zhou Jin.

"Still no improvement with the movie?"

"Don’t even mention it. A bunch of idiot audiences with no taste. I actually overestimated them before."

"Goddammit..."

Zheng Jianghe swore. "The three of you ganged up on him and still couldn’t take him down. If word of this gets out, our CRT will be completely disgraced."

"The problem is their momentum is too strong. It’s like everything he does succeeds. There’s nothing we can do about him," Li Wuyang said.

Zheng Jianghe wanted to say something to refute him and boost everyone’s morale.

But after thinking for a long while, he couldn’t come up with a good reason.

Their current pathetic state was a perfect match for their previous arrogance. One by one, they sat with their heads hung, utterly dejected.

"Let’s just drink. At least it’ll take our minds off things," Li Wuyang said, raising his glass. "If we take our time, we’ll definitely find his weakness."

"Wutang’s right. Sitting around all gloomy won’t solve anything."

The men raised their glasses and drained them. Han Guangqi said:

"Didn’t you want to branch out into a new industry? Have you had any ideas?"

"I heard that Zhonghai Joy Valley and Colorful Ocean World are up for sale. I’m planning to take a look."

"That’s not a bad industry. The initial investment is a bit steep, but the later returns can be quite substantial," Zhou Jin said.

Zheng Jianghe lit a cigarette and said slowly,

"That’s what I was thinking. As long as I develop it carefully and you give me some time, taking down Disney won’t be a problem."