Chapter 20

Wang Changyou has been very happy these past two days.

After participating in the interview with the factory director, he finally held his head high among all the middle-level leaders, and his superiors even gave him a little inside information.

His rating may be promoted one level this year.

This was a completely unexpected surprise.

I never imagined that just saying a few words for the factory manager during an interview would bring me so many benefits.

Suddenly, he no longer found the talkative and picky factory manager annoying.

The factory manager's opinion of Wang Changyou changed somewhat because of this incident, and he would talk to him from time to time to find out the follow-up of the report.

Director Zhou never called him again. Wang Changyou had no idea about the new situation. Every time the factory director asked him, he boasted that the whistleblower had been scared away by them.

After two peaceful days, Wang Changyou was almost hypnotizing himself.

Subconsciously, they also thought the whistleblower was genuinely afraid.

That interview went viral last night. Wang Changyou had a wonderful dream all night, his mind filled with thoughts of how the head office discovered his talent and transferred him to a high-ranking position.

"Team Leader Wang, the factory manager wants to see you."

Upon hearing this, Wang Changyou's first reaction was to feel secretly pleased.

Could it be that my dream has come true?

Did the people at head office really have their eye on him? Or was his promotion just brought forward?

He walked happily into the factory manager's office.

As soon as he entered, the ashtray smashed onto the floor in front of him.

The sound of glass shattering shattered Wang Changyou's beautiful dream. His heart skipped a beat, but he forced a smile and spoke uneasily.

"Factory manager, what's wrong? Why are you so angry?"

"How dare you bring this up? It was all your brilliant idea, saying that as long as we apologized, we could win the public's forgiveness. Now look at how big this mess has become, how am I supposed to clean it up?"

The factory manager was no longer in a good mood as he had been the previous two days. He was so angry that his hands were shaking, and he paced back and forth in his office.

Wang Changyou's heart skipped a beat; he had a bad feeling.

The factory manager didn't explain anything clearly, so he could only quickly take out his phone and go online to check.

Upon seeing this, his heart sank completely.

The hired online trolls' comments were suppressed, and the most popular comment on San Niu Milk's official account was actually a dissenting voice.

Adding propylene glycol is illegal, right? Can an apology really solve the problem?

They say it was an employee mistake, but those in the know understand.

I used to work at Sanniu Milk Company, and I haven't drunk milk since. I advise everyone to drink less milk.

The more Wang Changyou looked, the colder his heart became.

"Don't worry, factory manager. I'll hire some more online trolls to cover this up."

"What are you going to use to suppress it? The head office has already called me and asked why I disclosed the propylene glycol information."

The factory manager was so angry that his eyes turned red. "If I hadn't spoken up, no one would have known about this, and that letter of complaint would have disappeared without a trace."

Wang Changyou was stunned, his mind going completely blank. "How could this be..."

"Why is it impossible? If you hadn't insisted that the person who submitted the whistleblower letter was rich and powerful, the higher-ups would have sent someone to investigate very quickly. Would I have said that in the interview?"

"But she is indeed very rich, she—"

The factory manager interrupted him directly, "Stop talking, Xiao Wang, pack your things. I think you've been a leader for too long, and you're too arrogant. You don't know how to think things through. Go out and get some experience before you come back."

Wang Changyou was stunned when he heard this.

"No, factory manager, please give me another chance. I really can resolve this matter. Trust me. I'll go ask the people at the school again."

"Stop talking," the factory manager waved his hand impatiently. "Go to the Xiasha branch factory for two years to train. When the city needs people, we'll transfer you back here."

Xiasha District is the poorest place in S City.

Wang Changyou was dreaming of a promotion and a raise just a moment ago, so how could he be willing to be transferred to such a poor and remote place?

"Factory manager, I really can do it! Give me another chance, and I'll turn around the negative online reviews for San Niu Milk!"

The factory manager had just arrived in the morning and was immediately berated by the people from headquarters. Now, hearing Wang Changyou's pleading, he finally felt a little better. "You really have a solution?"

"Then I'll trust you one more time. Time is of the essence; you only have two days. If things don't turn around, you'd better go to Xiasha obediently."

Wang Changyou doesn't even remember how he got out of the factory director's office.

Along the way, the attention he used to enjoy turned into a knife aimed at him; every gaze that came his way seemed to be mocking him.

He hid in a corner and dialed Director Zhou's number.

"Director Zhou, didn't you tell me that student's parent is very rich?"

He immediately launched into a accusation, and Director Zhou, who answered the phone, was taken aback before replying, "Yes, she is indeed very rich."

"You're talking nonsense!" Wang Changyou couldn't help but curse, then lowered his voice in front of the people around him and moved to a more secluded corner.

"If they really had money, wouldn't they be able to get the whistleblower letter submitted?"

"If she really had money, tell me why she hasn't bothered San Niu Milk Company yet?"

Director Zhou's eyelids twitched as he heard this, sensing that the man had ill intentions. He sneered, "How would I know? I'm telling you the truth. The school library was indeed donated by her, and that building cost at least thirty million."

"Besides, it wasn't me who asked you to deal with her. I was just telling you this out of a sense of duty before the milk was changed at school."

Wang Changyou grew increasingly angry as he listened, "Now that things have come to this, do you think you can clear yourself of all wrongdoing?"

"Even if you can exonerate yourself from this matter, can you really handle taking money? Director Zhou, we're all adults, don't be so naive. Do you think kickbacks are so easy to come by?"

Director Zhou's heart clenched instantly.

If Wang Changyou goes all out and exposes his kickback activities, his position as director will probably be over.

"Brother Wang, let's talk this out, please don't be angry."

He quickly tried to calm Wang Changyou down, "Did something happen at Sanniu Milk? I can see you're really worried. If there's anything I can do to help, just tell me."

This is exactly what Wang Changyou was waiting for.

"You saw San Niu Milk's apology video yesterday, right? I suspect someone hired an online troll army to smear us. Who could possibly have such a grudge against us?"

Director Zhou thought to himself, "How would he know that?"

You still have to politely ask, "Are you a competitor?"

“No,” Wang Changyou said with absolute certainty, “it must be the parent who reported it.”

Director Zhou wanted to ask him if he had any evidence, but Wang Changyou sounded very agitated, and asking this question might anger him. "Then what do you want to do?"

“You don’t need to know that,” Wang Changyou chuckled sinisterly on the other end of the phone. “You just need to tell me all the information about that student, and you don’t need to worry about anything else.”

Upon hearing this, Director Zhou immediately became frightened.

"What do you need the students' information for, Brother Wang? Don't do anything rash. You're not planning to do anything illegal, are you?"

“I already told you it’s none of your business,” Wang Changyou said impatiently. “Don’t worry, my goal is to shut that meddlesome parent up. I won’t do anything to the child.”

Director Zhou was skeptical.

"You really can't do anything?"

"Stop talking nonsense." The factory manager only gave him two days. Wang Changyou had no patience to waste time with Director Zhou. "If you don't tell me, I'll go to your school and expose you right now."

"No!" Director Zhou panicked. "I'll tell you, okay?"

After being confronted by Hu Zhenzhen in the principal's office, Director Zhou secretly went through her files.

He's in charge of logistics, so he has the right to look at the documents.

The school's parent registration forms are not very detailed, but the student registration forms are much more detailed.

Height, weight, address, and parents' contact information.

Director Zhou answered all of Wang Changyou's questions.

Before hanging up, fearing that he might do something bad, he added a long-winded reminder, "Brother Wang, you must promise me that you won't do anything illegal."

"Don't worry," he said, and then he hung up.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Changyou immediately hired a new group of online trolls.

He posted Hu Zhenzhen's basic information online and fabricated many rumors about her abusing her children, instructing online trolls to use the rhetoric of "I heard the children aren't doing well" to create public opinion.

The interview with Jiang Lin was a plan devised by the head office to divert attention and put pressure on Hu Zhenzhen.

But Wang Changyou had a different idea.

Now that they have the contact information for Jiang Chen's previous caregivers, they can definitely cooperate.

He came to ruin Hu Zhenzhen's reputation to make a quick buck and keep his job, while Jiang Lin took the child back.

Wang Changyou sees this as a win-win deal.

But after arriving at the hospital and exchanging a few words with Jiang Lin, Wang Changyou concluded that she was not a suitable partner.

This woman only thinks about money, money, money, and doesn't care about her little nephew at all.

Judging from her attitude, Wang Changyou doubted how much affection Jiang Chen could possibly have for her.

"If you go to the school to pick up Jiang Chen, can you bring him out?"

"After it's all done, will you really give me five million?"

Jiang Lin's eyes lit up when she asked this question. Wang Changyou suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and replied, "Of course I can. I'm not doing this for the money. I just want her to withdraw the report. I'll give you all the money then."

In any case, he'll decide how the money is divided.

"Then it's settled," Jiang Lin said with a beaming smile. "What if you go back on your word? How about we draw up a written agreement?"

Wang Changyou couldn't stand her any longer and growled in a low voice.

"Are you really that stupid? Are you going to write it down and give the police evidence?"

Jiang Lin's expression immediately changed. "What if you go back on your word?"

She would absolutely not agree to this if she didn't have the money.

Wang Changyou could tell that he didn't have much patience, so he simply said, "I'll give you 10,000 as a deposit first, you should believe me now, right?"

Once the money arrived, Jiang Lin immediately cooperated.

"Tell me, when should we take action? I'll do whatever you tell me to do."

"Today!" Half of the two days had already passed, and Wang Changyou was very anxious. He wished he could grab Jiang Chen right now and threaten Hu Zhenzhen to stop interfering with Sanniu Milk.

"So urgent? But I'm still on an IV drip."

Jiang Lin was somewhat displeased.

Wang Changyou wasn't going to tolerate her. "If you can do it, then do it. If you can't, then give the money back."

The words "repay the money" really hit Jiang Lin's sore spot.

"Just tell me what time this afternoon."

"As early as possible," Wang Changyou knew that there were many wealthy people and strong security at that school, making it almost impossible to abduct a child after school.

"After 2:30, before school lets out, go to the homeroom teacher and tell her that something happened at home and ask for leave for Jiang Chen."

This time, Jiang Lin was much more cooperative.

"Okay, so what happens after we bring the child out?"

“You don’t need to worry about him anymore. I’ll take care of him,” Wang Changyou said with a gloomy expression. “Sometimes knowing too much isn’t a good thing.”

Jiang Lin was startled by his expression. "Oh."

Inside the villa in the mountains.

Since Hu Zhenzhen did not respond to the rumors online, Gao Chen was worried that she was unaware of the matter, so he went to her home specifically to visit her.

"So you already knew. Looks like I was worrying for nothing."

He came with good intentions, and Hu Zhenzhen naturally appreciated it.

"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Gao. This rumor is outrageous, and I originally didn't intend to pay any attention to it."

In reality, they planned to respond after the public opinion had fermented.

Gao Chen, unaware of her thoughts, immediately put down his cup. "President Hu, we can't be careless with public opinion these days. It could easily escalate into a major incident. We all know how you treat the child. It's best to explain things clearly."

“That’s true,” Hu Zhenzhen said, seizing the opportunity. “Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Gao. I will have Chen Kai collect the information and then issue a statement.”

Gao Chen was relieved, then remembered his other purpose for coming today.

"Um, Mr. Hu, when can we sign the contract for the Dog Castle?"

This is to bring her money.

Hu Zhenzhen's smile suddenly became much more genuine. "Has President Gao and the board members already reached an agreement?"

"It's really not right to have taken up so much of your time. Actually, we had already discussed it beforehand."

Gao Chen smiled somewhat shyly, but his words made Hu Zhenzhen look at him with newfound respect.

"I wanted to show Mr. Hu more sincerity, so after the board of directors communicated and made the decision, we decided to put the investment funds in one lump sum. It was only because the cash flow adjustment took time that it was delayed until today."

Gao Chen took a document out of his briefcase.

The document was several centimeters thicker than the plan Hu Zhenzhen had given him, like a middle school Chinese textbook, and it felt particularly substantial.

"I brought the contract with me, in duplicate. However, it has changed a bit from the one we agreed on verbally. Please take a look."

He brought a cash flow of one billion yuan, which Hu Zhenzhen took very seriously, and she immediately opened the contract.

After quickly skimming through the unimportant information, Hu Zhenzhen immediately noticed the difference in what Gao Chen said.

"1.5 billion, 49% of the shares? Mr. Gao, didn't we agree on 1 billion before?"

"There was no other way," Gao Chen feigned innocence. "When the board members heard that it was your project, none of them wanted to withdraw or reduce their share. So they pooled together 1.5 billion."

Hu Zhenzhen closed the contract. "But I don't want to give up so many shares, Mr. Gao. The 40% I mentioned before is already a very reasonable percentage."

She casually put the contract back on the table, a move that made Gao Chen a little uneasy.

“We can discuss the shares further,” he immediately replied, seemingly without any intention of seizing the initiative in this conversation.

This is extremely rare in the business world.

Hu Zhenzhen didn't know why either.

But she wouldn't let go of this good opportunity to lower the price, saying, "Fifteen billion is fine, but the contract must specify that the floor of Wanfu Mall is my private property and is not included in the price."

"Of course." Gao Chen agreed without the slightest hesitation.

He was so straightforward.

Hu Zhenzhen paused for a second before proposing the next condition.

“Forty-nine percent of the shares won’t do, but…” Forty-eight percent rolled over Hu Zhenzhen’s tongue, but seeing Gao Chen’s attitude just now, she swallowed the number back.

"Forty-two percent, is that alright?"

She thought Gao Chen would try to negotiate, but to her surprise, he pulled out another contract from his briefcase and pushed it toward Hu Zhenzhen.

"Mr. Hu, you really know how to offer a price. It's right on our bottom line. Here's the contract, would you like to take another look?"

Did he bring two portions?

When Hu Zhenzhen opened it, she saw that the shareholding was exactly forty-two.

He probably doesn't have seven or eight contracts like that in his bag.

Hu Zhenzhen glanced at Gao Chen's briefcase and felt that her suspicions were very reasonable. As for his bottom line, Hu Zhenzhen didn't believe it at all.

Businessmen won't reveal their bottom line so readily.

"I see that six directors are listed above. Why doesn't Mr. Gao just use the Kowloon Group name to cooperate?"

When this was brought up, Gao Chen feigned some displeasure.

"Mr. Hu, to be honest, we board members have had some disagreements. They were unwilling to participate but then tried to get involved. These kinds of people are too troublesome. It would be better if a few of us cooperated with you in our personal capacity."

Those who left the meeting changed their minds after hearing how wealthy the Hu family was.

Gao Chen wouldn't give them a chance to get involved.

Once you're certain you'll reap the benefits, who would be willing to slice their cake into smaller pieces and share it with others?

Hu Zhenzhen naturally understood what he meant and went along with him, saying, "Since that's the case, let's sign the contract today, since there's no time like the present."

She turned to Chen Kaidao and said, "Call Attorney Chen over here."

Have a lawyer review the contract again before you can officially sign it.

Gao Chen hadn't expected things to go so smoothly, and he couldn't stop smiling.

Actually, he also had a 40% profit-sharing agreement in his bag, which was his real bottom line. Although 42% wasn't high, for Gao Chen, it was more important to get Hu Zhenzhen on the same boat as him first.

The signing process went smoothly.

Gao Chen waited on the side, while the workers who had been prepared beforehand went to Wanfu Shopping Mall today to join the original construction team.

Based on the construction period, it should take about a month for two shifts of workers to complete the initial construction of the Dog Castle Children's Playground.

"Mr. Hu, it's a pleasure to cooperate with you."

"It's a pleasure to work with you."

Hu Zhenzhen signed the contract and handed it to Chen Kai. She wanted to say a few more polite words when her phone rang.

"Hello, Teacher Jiang, what's up?"

The moment Hu Zhenzhen saw the caller ID, she felt inexplicably uneasy.

"It's like this, Jiang Chen's mother. Jiang Chen's aunt just picked him up, saying there was an emergency at home. I thought I should let you know if the child needed to take leave, so I called to ask."

Jiang Chen's aunt also made a few appearances at the school.

According to the records, she is also one of Jiang Chen's guardians.

Jiang Xin had met her and knew that she was indeed Jiang Chen's biological aunt, which is why he agreed to let her take the child away.

But after she submitted the leave request, the more she thought about it, the more something seemed off.

Jiang Chen's father has passed away, and he now lives with his stepmother.

What kind of major event could have happened at this aunt's home that would require her to take leave and bring the child away?

After much deliberation, Jiang Xin dialed Hu Zhenzhen's number.

"Thank you for reminding me, Ms. Jiang. I will communicate with Ms. Jiang Lin."

Hu Zhenzhen hung up the phone, her face immediately darkening.

Gao Chen, who hadn't left yet, overheard the whole thing. "What happened, Mr. Hu? Did something happen at the school?"

Hu Zhenzhen said in a deep voice, "Xiao Chen was taken away by his aunt."

"Huh?" Gao Chen had just finished reading the news and naturally knew about the conflict between Hu Zhenzhen and Jiang Shan. "They've already broken off their relationship, yet she's still causing trouble. Mr. Gao, if you ask me, you still need to be careful."

Gao Chen couldn't say too much, but Hu Zhenzhen understood the meaning.

"Thank you for reminding me. I will be more careful in the future."

She had considered this before, but she had indeed overlooked it, never expecting that Jiang Lin would have the audacity to go to the school and take the child away directly.

[Xiao Jin, can you pinpoint Jiang Chen's current location?]

Just as Hu Zhenzhen asked the system a question in her mind, the phone rang again.

The caller ID shows an unknown number.

Hu Zhenzhen immediately understood, answered the phone, and put it on speakerphone.

"Hello, may I ask who you are?"

Chen Kai quickly turned on the recording.

"Hu Zhenzhen, right?" came the voice with a voice changer from the other end of the phone. "Your son is in my hands now. If you want him to return to you safely, cancel all the actions you have taken immediately."

In the time it took to say those two sentences, Xiao Jin had already located Jiang Chen.

Hu Zhenzhen saw Jiang Chen's screen directly through the system.

Only after confirming the child's safety did she calm down and ask, "What did I do?"

"You online trolls and the whistleblower reports? I demand that you stop reporting us immediately and stop hiring online trolls to smear us."

After Wang Changyou finished speaking on the other end of the phone, he realized he had revealed too much information. "Otherwise, you'll never see Jiang Chen again."

After learning from Jiang Lin that Hu Zhenzhen cared a lot about Jiang Chen, Wang Changyou was overjoyed. As long as he had the child, he had Hu Zhenzhen's life in his hands, and he was not afraid that she would not agree.

He tried to hang up the phone, and Jiang Lin, who was next to him, immediately became anxious.

"Money? We didn't ask for any money!"

Although she lowered her voice, Hu Zhenzhen still recognized who she was, and a mocking smile appeared on her lips.

The next second, the man on the other end of the phone spoke up, "I want five million. This is the travel expense to send Jiang Chen home. After the online sentiment shifts in favor of Sanniu Milk, I will give you a chance. We will make the deal under the Changjiang Bridge, one hand for the money, the other for the child."

Without giving Hu Zhenzhen a chance to reply, Wang Changyou abruptly hung up the phone.

Gao Chen hadn't expected to hear such a shocking thing while he was here, and he secretly groaned, "Mr. Hu, let's call the police quickly, the child's safety is the most important thing."

“We really need to call the police,” Hu Zhenzhen stood up. “I’m sorry, Mr. Gao, I really don’t have time to entertain you today. Please go ahead, I’ll take my leave now.”

"Chen Kai, call all the drivers, let's go out."

The drivers working for Hu Zhenzhen were all Chen Kai's former brothers.

These guys went astray when they were young, and they're all strong and capable, able to work as drivers and bodyguards.

Upon hearing this, he immediately understood what his boss wanted to do.

"Everyone gather together, get dressed, get in the two cars, and go with the boss to pick up the young master and take him home."

One phone call was made, and two minutes later, three luxury cars drove out of the Woshan Villa in unison.