Chapter 83 Chapter 83 What's An's Intention

Lu Sui's promise to resolve Cekai's issue within a week was not a boast. The day after talking with Lu Yusen, Lu Sui returned to Yufeng Group.

Naturally, Lu Yusen's highly personal approach to handling matters can also be seen from the company's personnel changes.

Firing anyone who opposed him was simple and brutal, which did help Lu Yusen consolidate his style of doing things and made others in the company afraid of him.

But unfortunately, a company is not a school. Firing people will only shut them up, not convince them. Over time, the company's employees will be under long-term high mental pressure and will not work hard even if they do.

Lu Sui could understand what Lu Yusen did after he gained real power, but too much is as bad as too little, especially when Lu Yusen had not yet won the hearts of the people.

After kindly sending away the second wave of people who came to him to complain, Lu Sui restrained his expression and contacted the public relations department and the marketing department to hold an emergency meeting to analyze and discuss the public opinion situation.

Product problems occur every year and no company can escape them. From design to production to market launch, a product requires numerous links and communications. Random inspections can only check the pass rate of a batch of products, but cannot guarantee it 100%.

Furthermore, even if a product has a 100% pass rate, accidents may still occur due to improper user operation, hence the various instruction manuals and disclaimers.

In this Cekai incident, was the customer service’s approach necessarily wrong?

No, without knowing that the problem was with the lithium battery, the customer service refused to compensate and kept asking the other party whether they had followed the instructions and complied with the company's pre-job training. From a regulatory perspective, the customer service did nothing wrong.

The mistake was that after the incident became a big deal, the company chose to fire the customer service representative in order to eliminate the negative impact of public opinion, instead of solving the problem from the root.

What the public wants is for companies to express their attitude of solving problems rather than avoiding them, so that they can be taken seriously when they encounter the same thing, rather than just fooling around or issuing a bland statement to express apology.

Therefore, Lu Sui asked the public relations department to immediately use the official account to release the follow-up information about the little boy's burn incident. The little boy has undergone surgery and everything is going well.

The marketing department was required to recall previously problematic products in an orderly manner, with all costs incurred in the process borne by the company, in order to reassure consumers and convey a responsible corporate image.

At the same time, we will ask some influential media to help forward and explain the role of Yufeng Group as an invisible victim in this incident.

The problem was with the outsourced lithium battery cells, not Yufeng; although Yufeng was a victim, it has been actively making amends. Integrity and responsibility are the bottom line that Yufeng Group, a domestic brand, adheres to.

In just three days, the reputation of the Cekai brand was reversed.

Although I was somewhat dissatisfied with Yufeng's initial attitude, I probably didn't expect that the problem was with the outsourced battery cells. I think I was wronged.

[Shocked! I have a smartwatch I bought three years ago that I gave to my dad. I just asked XIKA customer service if I can return it, and they said yes, they'll cover the postage!]

[Forget it, let’s give domestic products another chance…]

Our XIKA smartwatch store has been processing returns in recent days. We even offered free gifts as an apology. The staff were also very friendly and helpful. I commend them. Keep going! After all, I've bought so many electronic products from you. If your store collapses again, I'll have nowhere to cry.

[Haha, this is how everyone unconditionally condones the increasingly shoddy domestic products. Why didn't they notice the battery cell problems at first, and only knew to remedy them after the incident became a big deal? Is the company's quality inspection department just there to do nothing?]

There are occasionally one or two disharmonious figures in the comments, but compared with the collapse of official website reviews and the malicious negative reviews of online stores last week, the overall reputation and situation have been brought under control.

Lu Yusen sat in the boss's chair, looking at the information organized by his assistant Hu Qian on the computer, his mood turned from gloomy to cloudy.

It's no wonder that Lu Sui is smart. He knows how to act pitiful and win the audience's favor. He makes clarifications, sells feelings, and apologizes one after another. The audience is dizzy in a few seconds and the matter passes by lightly.

With so many people across the country, is it really possible to recall every product sold by Sika?

Of course not.

Therefore, the loss from recalling the products was still within a controllable range, and Lu Yusen gritted his teeth and accepted it. The goal was to restore the corporate image of Yufeng Group among the public.

However, Lu Yusen did not expect that Lu Sui had a second plan after solving Cekai's public opinion problem.

Lu Yusen stared at the document sent by Lu Sui and frowned subconsciously.

The cover of the document clearly reads: Plan for Acquisition of Taian Energy

As if fearing that he didn't understand Tai'an Energy, Lu Sui specifically attached an explanation of the current situation of Tai'an Energy Group.

As a former leader in the battery cell brand industry, Taian Energy relies on ultra-thin, long-lasting kinetic energy technology and focuses on energy storage power batteries. It has attracted much attention since the launch of its products. Its sales range has expanded from domestic to foreign countries, with significant growth in the Americas and Europe, making it a truly global brand.

In recent years, due to the relatively single product line and the gradual decline in profit margins, Tai'an Energy has been looking for active solutions, deploying semi-solid batteries in the automotive industry and cost-effective energy storage cells in the industrial sector, and getting involved in both high-end and low-end industries. The company's development focus is unclear, and there are obvious management chaos problems. Coupled with the departure of several major shareholders, Tai'an Energy seems to have become a pool of mud that no one wants to touch.

Lu Sui focused on explaining the necessity and key interests of the acquisition.

The technology and technical talents in Tai'an will help Yufeng make up for its shortcomings in research and development.

Lu Sui's words made sense and were substantial. Lu Yusen directly skipped over the internal adjustment strategy after the acquisition mentioned in the document by Lu Sui, and directly looked at the acquisition valuation of more than 51% of the equity - 14.3 billion.

Lu Yusen fell silent, tapping his knuckles lightly on the table, his face grim. After an unknown amount of time, he finally looked up at Hu Qian who was standing beside him.

"What do you think Lu Juefeng is up to?"

In the past few days since returning to the company, Lu Sui has been busy dealing with Cekai's public opinion, and he actually has time to organize the acquisition information. His high efficiency makes Lu Yusen admire him.

On the one hand, the acquisition of Tai'an Energy is a supplement to the Cekai incident, guiding subsequent public opinion to pay attention to the acquisition, expressing Yufeng Group's determination to take the path of independent research and development and production, and continuing to restore its image among the masses.

On the other hand, from the perspective of Yufeng Group, the main reason for the problem in the Cekai incident was the outsourcing of battery cells. The outsourcing companies cut corners and used unqualified materials, which ultimately caused Yufeng to suffer. If it could have its own independent battery cell production line, it would not have to be restricted in its subsequent development.

It is indeed a win-win deal.

However, there were only advantages and no disadvantages, which made Lu Yusen doubt Lu Sui's purpose.

Hu Qian stood respectfully aside, avoiding the main point: "If Yufeng doesn't develop well, he won't gain anything."

Lu Yusen smiled, but the smile did not reach his eyes: "You reminded me that I have not yet transferred 5% of the shares to my good brother. Ask the driver to prepare and return to the old house later."

He was not going to give Lu Sui's shares from his own hands. If he could get shares from the old man, even if it was only 5% given to Lu Sui, it would not harm his own interests.

Hu Qian nodded: "Okay, Mr. Lu."

Lu Yusen was very satisfied with Hu Qian's performance as his assistant, and said with a hint of meaning: "Don't worry, all old employees should get dividends, and yours will be included. Just do your best."

Hu Qian remained silent. After getting in the car, he sent a message to Lu Sui, reminding him that Lu Yusen was going to the old house.

As for what to do in the old house, it was naturally to find a doctor to see how long the old man could live.

He knew what Lu Sui had done to Lu Zongxin's diet, but he didn't have much affection for the old man. When his mother died of depression, the old man was staying overnight at his lover's house. Upon hearing the news, he only said one sentence: "Then give her a good funeral."

Lu Yusen's filial piety to Lu Zongxin was entirely due to Lu Zongxin's property.

But when he saw that Lu Zongxin could only lie in bed and utter a series of incoherent words while ringing the bell, Lu Yusen still felt a little bit sorry for him. He replaced the chefs at home and found the best doctor to treat him.

It's a pity that Lu Zongxin is too old. At the age of 72, after becoming rich, he squandered his body and squeezed his health to the extreme. He was in poor health and had few children. Even he was born through in vitro fertilization. It tortured his mother for no less than five years before she finally became pregnant with him.

Under such circumstances, Zeng Wenzhi was still willing to marry the old man despite the 25-year age difference. Lu Yusen could not think of anything else except money.

After entering the villa, the servants all stood against the wall, bowed their heads and greeted him. Lu Yusen passed by the group of people and went straight into Lu Zongxin's room.

Lu Zongxin and Zeng Wenzhi had slept in separate rooms two years ago. Due to his poor health and unwillingness to stay in the hospital, Lu Zongxin's room was decorated like a hospital ward, with very few decorative furnishings and the only green plant lying lifelessly on the window.

Lu Yusen gestured to the servant behind him: "Repot the green plants with new ones. If I see this again, you won't be allowed to work here anymore."

“Yes… yes!”

The servant tiptoed forward and removed the green plants from the room. Now only he, the doctor and Lu Zongxin were left in the ward.

Meeting Lu Yusen's gaze, the doctor was silent for a moment, then explained the results of the recent examinations clearly and completely. Finally, he said, "Mr. Lu's body is no longer suitable for surgery. Even if there is a special medicine, it will only treat the symptoms and not the root cause. It will only accelerate the failure of internal organs, which is not worth the loss. If possible, I suggest that you stay with Mr. Lu for a while..."

The doctor's words were very tactful, but Lu Yusen raised his hand to interrupt him. He only needed to know one thing: "How long can he live?"

The doctor wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke cautiously: "Three months is the limit."

"Okay, go out. I want to talk to my dad alone."

"Okay, Mr. Lu, if you have any questions, press the bell by the bed and I'll be there right away."

Lu Yusen did not sit down, but looked down at Lu Zongxin, who was lying on the bed lifeless. His hair was gray, his skin was dry and loose, and the wrinkles on his forehead and the corners of his eyes were like the bark of a dead tree, mixed with dark brown age spots, which made people feel disgusted at first sight.

Perhaps it was because Lu Yusen's gaze was too strong, but Lu Zongxin's eyelids trembled as he lay on the bed. He slowly opened his eyes and saw clearly who was in front of him. The monitor next to him clearly showed Lu Zongxin's rising heart rate.

Lawrence Lu opened his mouth, but before he could speak, he heard Lawrence Lu’s voice: “I heard from the lawyer that you have already made a will?”

Lu Zongxin's eyes changed instantly, and even though they were drooping, one could still see his shock and anger.

Lu Yusen seemed not to notice and reached out to pull the corner of the quilt for Lu Zongxin. "Lu Sui has returned to the company and asked me to give him 5% of the shares. I agreed. After all, you know that your son is not a good businessman. However, I don't really want to give it to him, so..."

Lu Zongxin felt his blood surge up, his anger reaching its peak. He moved his hand with difficulty, grabbed the cup of water beside the bed, and threw it at Lu Yusen.

With a bang, the cup broke into pieces.