The principal cursed, "You bastard, if the company were really doing well, would Secretary Ye need to call me personally? Go back and take care of things right now."
"What? Secretary Ye called personally? What happened?"
“You’ve really blown this up this time. The Party Secretary told me that there are now more than 20,000 food delivery riders surrounding the entire Nanshan Building, and riders in first- and second-tier cities all over the country are also protesting.”
"My professional manager should be able to handle this kind of thing!"
The principal said irritably, "If others could handle it, would Secretary Ye need to call me personally?"
"Okay, I'll go back to the company right away."
After saying that, he quickly jogged towards the school parking lot.
A moment later, the black Bugatti drove out of the school. Chen Ze stepped on the gas, and the supercar roared to life, shooting off in an instant and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
While he was waiting at the traffic light at the intersection, a man in a private car behind him shouted anxiously, "Wife, step on the brake! Don't get so close to that car in front. If we crash into it, we won't be able to afford to pay for it even if we sell the house, the car, or even my husband!"
"Honey, is it as exaggerated as you say? What kind of car is this? It's so beautiful! Can you buy me one too?"
"Hey! You stinky woman, what are you dreaming about in broad daylight? This is a Bugatti supercar. Even if you sold our Sichuan restaurant, you still couldn't afford it."
As the green light turned on, the Bugatti roared away and the car quickly arrived at the back entrance of Nanshan Building. There were many people there, but slightly fewer than at the front entrance.
He gazed at the group of riders in yellow uniforms, gently honked his horn, and gestured for them to move aside.
Hearing the car horn, the riders turned to look at him, their eyes flashing with anger and resentment.
Just then, five or six towering security guards strode over, their voices booming as they shouted, "Make way, our boss is here!"
Chen Ze slammed on the gas pedal, and the Bugatti roared like an enraged lion. The sound was like a thunderclap, startling the people nearby.
Security guards used sticks to forcibly part the crowd to create a path, and the Bugatti slowly drove into the Nanshan Building.
Chen Ze drove the car to the underground parking lot, then took the elevator to the 21st floor, found Wang Kaicheng, and briefly asked about the current situation.
Chen Ze went to the window, looked at the dark mass of people below, and cursed, "Damn it, a bunch of troublemakers, lured here by bad guys to cause trouble."
Despite his words and curses, he didn't forget his business. He picked up the megaphone on the table and headed for the elevator.
"Boss, be careful, they might throw eggs at you," Wang Kaicheng said with concern.
"I'll be careful, don't worry about me."
Downstairs, a reporter asked a police officer, "Officer, could we go in and interview a senior executive at Panda Takeout?"
Police officer: "You don't need to go in. I just received news that the owner of Panda Takeaway Company has arrived. I believe he will come down soon to calm things down."
As soon as he finished speaking, a young man wearing sunglasses walked out of the elevator, holding a megaphone. He strode confidently over, stepped onto the table by standing on a chair.
At this moment, all the media professionals in Shenzhen pointed their cameras and microphones at him and started a live broadcast.
Looking at the surging and noisy crowd in front of him, Chen Ze raised the megaphone with his left hand and spoke into his mouth: "Everyone, please be quiet. I have a few words to say to you."
As soon as he finished speaking, the noise from the crowd subsided considerably, as everyone wanted to hear his explanation.
“I know that some people in the crowd were misled by people with ulterior motives, but I don’t think that’s the point. I believe what everyone is more concerned about is why Panda Delivery continues to lower its prices.”
At this point, the delivery drivers in the crowd instantly fell silent, because this was the question they cared about most.
Then, Chen Ze continued, "The reason we keep lowering the unit price is because our company has been suffering heavy losses during this period. Last month, Panda Takeaway's revenue was 0 yuan, and its expenses were 152 million yuan, of which the rider salary expenses alone amounted to 120 million yuan."
A reporter from Shenzhen Evening News asked, "Mr. Chen, why is Panda Company suffering such severe losses?"
When faced with reporters' questions, Chen Ze immediately switched to his "Best Actor" mode, sighing and saying, "There's nothing we can do. Ele.me, the food delivery platform, has been waging a price war against us recently. They received investment from the renowned Sequoia Capital a while ago and want to crush us through vicious competition."
“Panda Takeout has no capital investment and simply cannot withstand such huge losses. If it continues to lose money at the current rate, I believe that Panda Takeout will have to close down in less than a year, at which time more than 400,000 takeout riders across the country will lose their jobs.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd erupted in uproar. Those who had initially joined in the commotion now showed expressions of worry, fearing they would lose their well-paying jobs, which were currently worth a third more than factory workers.
Chen Ze raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and continued to deceive them: "Although Panda Delivery does not have a direct labor relationship with the riders, we still pay your wages. So, once our company's finances are in good shape, I will definitely adjust the unit price back up."
"If you have any problems in the future, please don't come and besiege the company directly. It's not a good thing. People who know the situation are fine, but people who don't know the situation might think that our Panda Delivery Company is in arrears with everyone's wages."
"Boom!" The delivery guys present burst into laughter instantly.
"Alright, everyone, you can all leave now. It's almost lunchtime. If you have any issues in the future, you can call customer service through the app."
Once everyone received the information they wanted, they dispersed, because they didn't want Panda Delivery to go bankrupt; most of them needed to support their families.
Seeing everyone leaving, a dark-skinned young man hurriedly called out, "Don't go, everyone! Panda Company hasn't raised the unit price back yet. Their boss is lying. Don't believe him!"
Just as Chen Ze was about to jump off the table, he noticed him and immediately ordered Zhao Youde, "Uncle De, go and grab that dark-faced young man right now, that guy has..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Youde rushed forward, grabbed the man's arm, and then threw him to the ground with an over-the-shoulder throw.
The man yelled, "What are you doing? Let me go, or I'll call the police!"
Zhao Youde brought him to Chen Ze: "Boss, the traitor has been caught. What should we do with him?"
"Uncle De, let him go, I just want to ask him a few questions."
Zhao Youde released the dark-faced man and warned, "Behave yourself, don't even think about running away."
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