Chapter 350 Counterfeit Goods Scam People?
The counters at the provincial capital's supply and marketing cooperative were crowded with people, but not to buy anything.
"Give me my money back! Give me my money back!"
A plump woman wearing a polyester shirt slammed a bottle of face cream onto the glass counter, the force so great that the glass trembled twice.
The brown paste splattered out, emitting a nauseating, sour stench, like a dead rat that had been soaking in a stinking ditch for three days.
Saleswoman Xiao Zhang covered her nose and backed away, her face pale with fright: "Ma'am, this...this isn't something we sell here..."
"Bullshit!" The fat woman rolled up her sleeves, revealing her arms covered in red rashes. "It clearly says 'Blue Ocean' on this! How come it wasn't bought from you? I think you're just a big shop bullying your customers, selling counterfeit goods and ripping people off!"
"Exactly! My face is all rotten after using it!"
"What kind of bullshit 'Qiong Island Blue' is this? I think it's 'Qiong Island Poison'!"
The women surrounding them joined in the commotion, each holding a simply packaged jar of face cream, their emotions running high.
Huo Wenxuan stood on the periphery of the crowd, watching this scene, so anxious that he crumpled the newspaper in his hand.
"What on earth is Su Yue up to?"
He pulled his hat brim down, turned and squeezed through the crowd, heading straight for the long-distance telephone exchange.
When the call connected, Su Yue was sitting in the office of Lan Hai Daily Chemical Factory, holding a cup of freshly brewed Pu'er tea, leisurely blowing on the foam.
"Hello?"
"Grandma! You still have the mind to drink tea?" Huo Wenxuan roared into the microphone, drawing frequent glances from the operator next to him. "The provincial capital is in chaos! That Wang Desheng's 'Blue Ocean' product only sold for five yuan a bottle, not only taking away half of our market, but now that it's gone wrong, they're putting all the blame on us!"
Su Yue moved the microphone further away to avoid hurting her ears.
"How many days has it been?"
"What do you mean, how many days?" Huo Wenxuan was taken aback. "You mean how many days has that counterfeit product been on the market? Exactly seven days!"
"Seven days..." Su Yue took a sip of tea. The tea soup was bright red and had a sweet aftertaste. "The timing is just right."
"What's so great about it! Our signboard is going to be smashed!"
"Wenxuan, calm down." Su Yue put down her teacup and tapped her fingers lightly on the table. "Go to the provincial capital's daily newspaper now and buy tomorrow's front page headline. I've already had someone send a telegram with the content; just send it back."
"Also, tell the manager of the supply and marketing cooperative not to rush to explain. Let people make a scene, the bigger the better."
Huo Wenxuan was silent for two seconds on the other end, then suddenly realized: "You...you did this on purpose?"
Su Yue didn't answer and hung up the phone directly.
She stood up and walked to the window.
Outside the window, the newly built factory buildings are filled with the roar of machinery, and workers are busy on the assembly line.
That batch of products, which used a standard formula and underwent strict quality inspection, is being packed into boxes continuously.
As for the stolen formula...
Greed is the best catalyst.
...
The next morning, the streets and alleys of the provincial capital were abuzz with news from a newspaper.
The front page of the provincial capital's daily newspaper prominently featured the headline: "[The Real and Fake Monkey King? Su Yue Teaches You Three Tricks to Distinguish the 'Ghost'!]"
The article contains no lengthy explanations, only three simple and direct comparison images.
The first image shows a comparison between genuine and counterfeit packaging.
Although Wang Desheng tried his best to imitate it, the genuine "Qiongdao Blue" bottle has a special embossed mark on the bottom. This is an anti-counterfeiting label that Su Yue specially commissioned a master craftsman to make, which is a very small wave pattern. The counterfeit bottle bottom is bare and has nothing on it.
The second image shows the ointment reaction experiment.
The article states: "Genuine Blue Ocean oil, when applied in the form of a soybean onto white paper and heated, will melt into a clear oil without any impurities. Counterfeit products, due to the addition of a large amount of inferior thickeners, will turn into a charred black hard lump after being heated and will emit a pungent odor."
That's a really underhanded trick.
The cheap thickener added to that fake recipe will carbonize when heated.
The third one is also the most amazing.
"Genuine products are guaranteed to remain unchanged in texture for three months after opening. Any product that changes color, smells bad, or oozes yellow liquid within seven days of opening is a counterfeit or substandard product. This is a chemically unstable inferior product containing toxins that are harmful to the skin."
This is practically an insult directed at Wang Desheng.
Huo Wenxuan looked at the newspaper and slapped his thigh with delight.
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! That bastard is now in deep trouble!"
The wind direction at the entrance of the supply and marketing cooperative changed instantly.
Those women who were previously criticizing Lanhai Daily Chemical Factory turned green with anger after comparing their statements to the newspaper.
"Damn it! I knew it smelled awful! Turns out I bought a fake!"
"That bastard claimed it was a defective product from an insider channel, and he only sold it for five yuan! Turns out he was just making a fool of us!"
"Let's go! Let's settle accounts with that Wang Desheng!"
The angry crowd turned their guns on the chemical factory in the provincial capital and charged in a massive swarm.
The large iron gate at the factory entrance was pushed open with a loud clang, and the glass windows were smashed to pieces by stones.
Wang Desheng hid in his office, listening to the angry roars outside, his whole body trembling.
The table was piled high with return slips and complaint letters, as well as a notice of business suspension and rectification just delivered by the health bureau.
It's over.
It's all over.
He looked at the reagent bottle in his hand, which had turned brown, and wished he could grab the woman who sold him the formula and strangle her.
Is this the so-called "core mother liquor"?
This is practically a time bomb!
Three days later.
Hainan Island, Blue Ocean Daily Chemical Factory.
A car with a provincial capital license plate was parked at the entrance.
Wang Desheng got out of the car, looking much thinner, his hair disheveled, and his once-crisp Zhongshan suit was now wrinkled.
Looking at the impressive factory before him, he felt a mix of emotions.
How long has it been?
A few months ago, this was a barren wasteland. Now, trucks are lined up in long queues to come and go.
He spent half a day registering at the security office before being allowed in.
In her office, Su Yue was reviewing the quarterly financial statements.
Gu Beichen sat on the sofa next to him, holding a military knife and peeling an apple.
Those concentric rings of fruit peel stretched endlessly, as thin as a cicada's wing.
"Director Su..." Wang Desheng stood at the door, his back bent at a ninety-degree angle, his voice hoarse, "I've come to apologize."
Su Yue didn't even look up; the tip of her pen traced a smooth line across the paper.
"Apologize? Director Wang, you're too kind. We're in the same industry, it's business competition, we each rely on our own abilities."
These words were like a slap in the face to Wang Desheng, stinging painfully.
"Director Su, it's all my fault, no matter what. I was blinded by greed..." Wang Desheng took two steps forward and knelt down with a thud. "Please, have mercy on me! Can you take back that statement in the newspaper? If you're willing to take it back, I'm willing to compensate you! I'll give you all the equipment in the factory!"
He has now been ruined by that newspaper; not only has he lost his job as factory director, but he also faces huge compensation claims and imprisonment.
Only if Su Yue admits it was a misunderstanding or a batch issue will he have a glimmer of hope.
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