Chapter 40
Tong Shu felt that he had recently been plagued by petty people.
Not only were things going wrong at home, but he also encountered problems in his career.
He was caught red-handed damaging amusement park property, and the other party took him to the police station, indicating their unwillingness to settle.
Even if Tong Shu is willing to pay compensation, he won't be able to leave immediately.
Being imprisoned and detained twice in just a few days is a great humiliation for Tong Shu.
He had not suffered such humiliation since he was twenty-five.
He was brought in twice in a short period of time, and the second time his detention period was extended to three days.
The police officer has given him a serious warning. If he continues to engage in such behavior that endangers public safety, he will not only be detained for a few days, but will be dealt with more severely.
This time, Tong Shu has learned his lesson and plans to adopt a roundabout tactic.
But as soon as he made the call to his secretary, he received bad news.
"What did you say? The factory has been sealed off?"
Tong Shu could hardly believe his ears. "How could it be suddenly shut down? Didn't our random inspection pass?"
The secretary on the other end of the phone was startled by his voice and spoke even softer.
“We have been reported, and the matter has made the news while you were away.”
"Report? What do we have that can be reported?"
Tong Shu didn't think there was anything wrong with the products in the factory.
The secretary whispered a reminder, "Boss, the reporter has uncovered the excessive use of clenbuterol in our meat."
Tong Shu's heart trembled violently at those three words.
"What are you all doing? How could you let undercover reporters into the factory!"
He was all bark and no bite; his hands trembled uncontrollably.
I wanted to smoke a cigarette to calm my nerves, but my hand was shaking so much that I burned myself with the lighter.
"What's the situation now? Has the news online been suppressed?"
During the few days he was away, the vice president took care of all the affairs, big and small, in the factory.
The secretary didn't dare to speak for a moment, but when Tong Shu asked impatiently for the second time, she said, "President Du has resigned, and the news hasn't been suppressed yet."
Tong Shu couldn't even smoke the cigarette in his mouth anymore.
"What did you say? Who resigned? Du Shanlai quit?"
This sentence was like a foreign language, spinning in Tong Shu's mind. He could understand each word individually, but he just couldn't accept the combination of them.
Du Shanlai was someone he had worked with since he was down on his luck.
He is honest and reliable, capable of handling both big and small matters.
Tong Shu had considered that anyone might leave Tongqu Foods, but he never thought of this old friend.
"Why would General Manager Du resign? What exactly happened?"
Tong Shu was full of doubts, with nowhere to vent them, so he could only yell at his secretary: "Tell me everything that has happened in the past two days, especially about President Du!"
The secretary couldn't help but complain inwardly.
She's not Mr. Du's secretary, how could she possibly know what happened to him?
But if you say that to your boss, you're bound to get a good scolding.
"Mr. Du started preparing to leave a week ago, but we don't know the specific reasons."
A week ago?
Tong Shu calculated that it was exactly before his first time in jail.
Du Shanlai was about to leave at that time, and without even telling his old friend!
Something must have happened!
Tong Shu, like a headless fly, circled around twice, still unable to swallow his doubts, and dialed Du Shanlai's number.
"Hello, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable, please..."
I tried calling it several times, and it was always the same mechanical female voice.
Tong Shu wasn't stupid; in this situation, he immediately realized that he had been blocked.
Tong Shu considers him a good brother after so many years of partnership.
What Du Shanlai is doing now is no different from stabbing him in the back!
His wife ran away with their son, and his brother and business partner also left. Within a week, he was abandoned by everyone. In addition, the lean meat powder scandal was exposed. Tong Shu didn't know which thing to deal with first.
He was in a complete panic, and when he arrived at the factory, he was immediately surrounded by reporters who were waiting at the gate.
"Mr. Tong, do you have any explanation to offer regarding this lean meat powder incident?"
"You haven't made any public appearances since the incident. Are you avoiding public attention?"
"The authorities have already summoned Tongqu Foods for questioning, but you only sent a mid-level manager to be investigated. Where were you at the time?"
They practically wanted to shove the microphones into Tong Shu's mouth.
He tried to squeeze out of the group of reporters, but he couldn't push away the burly men holding cameras.
"Aren't you all annoying?! Stop pushing!"
Tong Shu was anxious. He was completely unaware of the current situation and had no way of answering these questions.
He cursed and tried to take the opportunity to leave.
But he underestimated the reporters who were always on the front lines of news, and he underestimated the cameramen even more.
Tong Shu's attitude was so hostile that the encirclement, which had some gaps, instantly tightened, trapping him inside and determined to force him to answer questions.
I told you I don't know!
Tong Shu shouted, but the crowd remained dense.
"Mr. Tong, the undercover investigation revealed that your production process also has the problem of excessive additives. What is your opinion on this?"
"Food safety issues have once again sparked heated public debate. As the subject of this discussion, is Tongqu Foods currently undergoing rectification?"
"Someone revealed that you did not attend the investigation and interview because you were detained. Is this true?"
The room fell silent the moment the final question was asked.
All the reporters realized this was explosive news, and the cameras kept filming Tong Shu's reaction.
"Mr. Tong, please respond!"
"What is the reason for your detention?"
...
Even if Tong Shu doesn't answer, the reporters will still find ways to get the truth out of him.
He was jostled by the crowd, and his anger rose over time until he soon lost his temper.
Having been respected for so many years, Tong Shu had even forgotten that he was originally just a chicken farmer in the village.
He had long developed a deep sense of pride and could not tolerate being ridiculed.
"What business is it of yours where I go?"
"Damn it, you're all pushing and shoving like crazy! It's just a news story, I let you interview it, so get out of the way, you bunch of poor bastards!"
Tong Shu initially wanted to control his word choice.
But he had developed a habit of swearing casually, and he couldn't change it in a short time. He blurted out the word "poor bastard".
The reporters in the front row looked very grim. "Mr. Tong, please watch your words. We are broadcasting live!"
This statement is less of a reminder and more of a warning.
Unfortunately, Tong Shu was on the verge of a breakdown and couldn't listen to anything.
His words had already been spoken, and he had completely lost face.
He decided to give up and didn't care about his image anymore, squeezing out of the reporters' circle little by little by stepping on the feet of those around him.
You need to swipe a card to enter the factory gate.
For the first time, Tong Shu was grateful that he had bought a high-end time clock to save face, which only allowed one person to enter at a time.
The thick iron gate kept the reporters out.
But the machine was constantly pointed at Tong Shu, recording his every move during this time.
News is all about timeliness.
Apart from the reporters broadcasting the live, the rest of the staff rushed back to their cars as fast as they could, ready to break the news.
Time is money, and the person who publishes the fastest is destined to receive the most attention.
Tong Shu knew he had been thoroughly criticized, so he simply turned off his phone and refused to read the online comments.
After entering the factory, he rushed to his office immediately. "Secretary Li, bring me the spare key to Vice President Du's office. I need to go in and take a look."
Tong Shu stormed in, and Secretary Li dared not refuse. After searching for a while, she finally got the spare key from the administration.
Du Shanlai's office was very simple; he had prepared before leaving and left very few things behind.
Tong Shu didn't find anything useful.
However, he quickly came up with a way to find Du Shanlai.
"Hey, can I borrow your phone for a moment?"
Tong Shu extended his hand to the secretary.
Secretary Li was caught off guard by his request and panicked, stammering that she was unwilling to lend him her phone.
Tong Shu was not someone who could be communicated with. He was used to making decisions unilaterally. Seeing that his secretary was dawdling, he simply took over and took her phone, making her scan her face to unlock it.
Looking down, Tong Shu, who was already angry, instantly exploded.
He sneered, "No wonder you wouldn't lend me your phone. You were badmouthing the boss behind his back because you felt guilty."
Secretary Li kept her head down and didn't dare to speak.
Seeing her attitude, Tong Shu became even angrier and slammed her phone on the table with a "bang".
The secretary immediately looked up, glancing at her phone with a pained expression. Considering her boss was angry, she swallowed her anger and lowered her head again.
"Do you even want to keep your job? With your skills, how did you become the boss's secretary? Don't you even have any self-awareness? You dare to talk bad about me behind my back. I think you want to be fired."
"Go to the HR department and report it yourself. Your salary this month will be halved, and you can forget about getting the full attendance bonus this year."
This really hit a nerve with working people.
Secretary Li immediately raised her head. "Why?"
"I've only been gone for a few days, and such a big thing has happened at the factory. Everything is in complete chaos. As the secretary, you've handled things like this. Shouldn't you be punished?"
Tong Shu tapped the phone twice forcefully.
"And the things you said behind my back, I'm just being generous and not bothering you, otherwise you wouldn't even get the rest of your salary."
With so many problems that have recently occurred at Tongqu Foods, morale within the company has been low for a long time. It is only thanks to Secretary Li's efforts in mediating that the current peaceful situation has been maintained.
Her efforts only yielded this result.
That one second was enough to chill Secretary Li's heart.
She abandoned her previous obsequious attitude and stood up straight in front of Tong Shu for the first time.
"You deserve to go bankrupt."
Tong Shu was shocked to hear such a question: "What did you say? You don't want your salary anymore?"
Secretary Li had passed the Mandarin proficiency test and her pronunciation was exceptionally standard. Tong Shu used to particularly enjoy taking her with him when doing errands, finding her fluent and clear speech to be very professional.
Now, Secretary Li told him in exceptionally clear pronunciation.
"You big idiot, I quit!"
She snatched her phone and turned to leave.
As she strode straight to the HR office, she didn't forget to shout, "Whoever wants to do it can do it, I'm not putting up with your grandma anymore!"
The lean meat powder scandal has caused such a stir that everyone in the company is in a state of panic.
Now is the time when it's easiest to leave a job and also the easiest time to be poached. It's all thanks to Secretary Li's encouragement that this group of talents decided to wait and see.
Who would have thought that Secretary Li would resign?
The group exchanged glances, and each saw a wavering in the other's eyes.
I don’t remember who was the first to take action, but the HR office instantly became the hottest place, with people coming and going, all holding resignation letters that they had prepared in advance.
When Tong Shu came out, only the empty office remained.
"What's going on? It's still working hours, where are they?"
Only one slow-moving junior employee remained in the office. Upon seeing him emerge, his face immediately contorted into a bitter expression.
It's because he walks slowly.
He was the only one left in the room, and only he could answer the questions.
The junior employee, carrying his suitcase, didn't stop for a moment. He took a moment to reply to Tong Shu, "Everyone else has resigned, so I'll resign too. Goodbye, boss."
After saying that, he went from walking briskly to jogging and left impatiently.
Tong Shu looked around but couldn't find a single living person.
Tongqu Foods was originally a large factory with many clerical staff. How did things turn out like this after he was only in jail for a few days?
Tong Shu couldn't understand it at all, but he had a feeling that this matter was inextricably linked to Hu Zhenzhen.
He was right about that.
Tong Shu's current miserable state is indeed related to Hu Zhenzhen.
After Hu Zhenzhen said that Baihua Foods would replace Tongqu Foods, she handed the matter over to Fang Ping.
Fang Ping hadn't seen her for a long time, which is why she acted so quickly after hearing Hu Zhenzhen's order.
After all, you can only ask your boss for credit after you've completed the task.
Fang Ping was still looking forward to her year-end bonus, hoping to see her boss more often so that he would remember the house she had promised.
She had chatted with the reporter who had gone undercover at Baihua Ranch a few times afterward, and they were quite familiar with each other, so she immediately sent him a WeChat message.
Mr. Wang Defa, would you be interested in conducting an undercover investigation of a meat processing plant?
When Fang Ping invited him, she only had the thought that 'what if it works out?' She never expected that Wang Defa would actually give her a surprise.
The nationwide scandal involving clenbuterol was brought to light by his undercover investigation.
When the incident went viral and became a trending topic, Tong Shu was still in detention and knew nothing about what was happening outside.
Fang Ping took advantage of the time difference; these few days were enough for the public to know the truth about clenbuterol, and enough for relevant departments to take it seriously and intervene in the investigation.
By the time Tong Shu came out, the world had completely changed, and even if he wanted to, there was no room for maneuver.
"How was it, boss? I did a good job this time, didn't I?"
During Tong Shu's live interview, Fang Ping was showing off her success to Hu Zhenzhen.
"Not bad, you've improved a lot."
Upon receiving her praise, Director Fang, who was seen as steady and reliable by his employees, smiled broadly, revealing his gums, and his spirits lifted considerably.
"We've already started taking over the distribution channels for children's snack foods. My training wasn't in vain, boss, just wait for my good news!"
Fang Ping was full of fighting spirit: "The vice president of Tongqu Foods also resigned, so now it's a mess and no one wants to take over. We can take advantage of this time to seize market share."
"I just don't know why their vice president resigned. I heard he was a very talented person."
Mentioning this Vice President Du made Hu Zhenzhen's eyelids twitch.
She actually knew about this.
Vice President Du left Tongqu Foods because Wen Li called him before their divorce.
Whenever she thinks about this, Hu Zhenzhen can't help but wonder what kind of book she's wearing.
Could this be some kind of fusion of romance novels?
Otherwise, how could the absurd plot of the second male lead waiting for more than ten years until the female lead gets divorced and then rekindling their relationship actually happen in reality?
"What? You're interested in President Du?"
Fang Ping said, "I am interested in General Manager Du's work ability. Recently, the factory hired a former employee of Tongqu Foods. I asked him about it, and he said that when Tongqu Foods was first developed, the quality of meat was also very high. At that time, it was managed by Vice General Manager Du. Later, when someone else took over, the problem of excessive lean meat powder occurred."
“Oh,” Hu Zhenzhen nodded, “It seems that this Vice President Du is quite talented.”
"I know where he is now. Do you want to go and try to dig him up?"
Fang Ping's eyes lit up immediately. "We must recruit them. Having this kind of talent in our factory will save us a lot of trouble."
"It's right on the east bank of the Tang River," Hu Zhenzhen said, giving a house number.
"You'd better choose a time when you go, since there are patients there, so don't go too late and disturb them."
Fang Ping's initial excitement turned to doubt, "A patient?"
Recalling what her boss had been doing recently, she asked in surprise, "Could it be that mother and son?"
Hu Zhenzhen nodded.
"Yes, Ms. Wen has pulmonary edema, and the fluid needs to be drained every day. Mr. Du is currently staying in the guest room and taking care of her every day."
Fang Ping couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.
"No wonder this vice president resigned so decisively."
However, Fang Ping soon realized the information hidden in the gossip about love and relationships.
The boss took in Wenli and her son, which was tantamount to saving them.
Baihua Foods' current goal is to defeat Du Shanlai's former employer, Tongqu Foods, which is to say, defeat his rival.
Which man doesn't want to crush his rival under his feet?
This is a golden opportunity.
Fang Ping clapped her hands excitedly twice, "Boss, just wait and see, I will definitely handle this matter perfectly for you."
She rushed out the door.
Hu Zhenzhen didn't even have time to say goodbye.
A few minutes later, Fang Ping came running back even faster, shouting, "Something terrible has happened, boss!"
"That scoundrel Tong Shu actually came to Woshan Villa and stood at the entrance of the community saying he wanted to apologize!"
That would have been bad enough, but he also hired a lot of people to film him, which clearly showed he had ulterior motives.
"To plead guilty with a bundle of thorns on one's back?"
Hu Zhenzhen didn't even bother to lift her eyelids. "Did he kneel down and come carrying brambles?"
"No, he was standing outside with a rubber baton, saying you should hit him a couple of times to vent your anger."
This is an attempt to divert public attention from the excessive use of ractopamine in his meat products to the fact that his business rivals exposed him.
Hu Zhenzhen knew perfectly well what was going on.
"Why bother with him? If he wants to create hype, someone has to be willing to cooperate."
Hu Zhenzhen popped a blueberry into her mouth. "This kind of clumsy trick is just a cheap attempt to attract attention."
Outside the door.
The heat is unbearable.
On summer afternoons, the sun becomes a roasting machine, drying out the body in just a few hours.
The tabloid reporter, summoned by Tong Shu, couldn't help but complain.
"President Tong, didn't you say you were going to apologize to President Hu? Where is President Hu?"
"Yes, we can't just keep waiting, can we? Why don't you give her a call, Mr. Tong?"
Tong Shu was already reluctant to do this, and their urging made him feel even more ashamed.
"Wait a little longer. Didn't Director Fang just come out? She must have turned around and gone to inform him that General Manager Hu knows I'm outside. He'll definitely come and persuade me to leave!"
The more he talked, the less confident he became.
Fortunately, he offered a sum of money, and if the news could be captured, it would be a major story, so these tabloid reporters were willing to wait.
Unexpectedly, the wait lasted for five hours.
It was already dark, and Tong Shu couldn't stand any longer, so he simply sat down on a stone by the roadside.
The reporters complained, but were unwilling to leave just like that, having wasted an afternoon, so they also sat down nearby.
"President Tong, didn't you say that President Hu sent someone to expose the lean meat powder issue? Why is no one paying any attention to you when you come here?"
These words were like jabbing salt into Tong Shu's wounds.
He usually hates being ignored and disrespected, but now that he's fallen to this state, it's one thing for Hu Zhenzhen to ignore him, but even a small-time reporter is mocking him.
Just as he was about to explode, the reporter next to him suddenly scrambled to his feet.
"Mr. Hu's car! Mr. Hu's car!"
Tong Shu paused for half a second before realizing he should put on an act.
"Mr. Hu, I was really wrong..."
Tong Shugan let out a howl, trying to squeeze out two tears. Before he could utter a second sentence, the iron gate of the community opened, and Hu Zhenzhen's car sped away without giving Tong Shugan a second glance.
The reporters behind him, who had raised their cameras, were stunned.
They exchanged a glance and silently pointed the machine at Tong Shu.
"Forget it, if we can't get any juicy material, something entertaining will do."
That evening, Tong Shu's fake crying face was posted on Weibo, becoming the subject of ridicule.
Seriously? At her age, she's still trying to play the victim.
[Hilarious! I didn't even cry when I ate meat containing clenbuterol, but he's already crying.]
He even wanted to go to General Manager Hu and drag him down with him. How shameless!
When will Tongqu Foods finally go bankrupt? I'm fed up with their CEO's antics!
Chen Kai sat on the sofa and read the comments on Weibo to Hu Zhenzhen one by one.
Tong Shu's comical expression as the car drove away was magnified to its maximum and placed right opposite Hu Zhenzhen, so that the boss could laugh to his heart's content.
"This CEO Tong's acting is terrible. He wailed for so long, but it was all bark and no bite. He didn't even shed a single tear."
"As expected, you're still not heartbroken enough; you're even stingy with your tears."
Hu Zhenzhen swiped her phone and saw the latest message from Wen Li, a smile playing on her lips.
"Oh, what bad luck. It seems Mr. Tong is really going to be heartbroken this time."
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