Chapter 136: Confirmation

Zhao Fan wore a faint smile, clearly pleased by the elderly man's praise. For an elderly person to describe his goods as clean and affordable was a testament to the fact that Feiteng Supermarket had no quality issues. Furthermore, it confirmed a crucial point: the old man’s food poisoning had nothing to do with the items he had purchased. Generally speaking, food poisoning is linked to specific, unusual foods; unless there was an allergy involved, he had never heard of anyone getting food poisoning from meat, cabbage, and bok choy.

Liang Yong understood this logic as well, and his expression darkened.

"Shall we step out and talk?" Zhao Fan suggested.

Liang Yong nodded. The two left the hospital room and walked into the corridor.

"May I ask why you pinned the food poisoning incident on Feiteng Supermarket?" Zhao Fan asked gently. Liang Yong felt a wave of embarrassment; he had caused quite a scene at the entrance of the supermarket earlier, and now he was speechless.

"I was just listening to my cousin. He said the old man collapsed after eating food bought from your store, so I thought..."

Zhao Fan raised an eyebrow. "Your cousin?"

Before he could finish, his phone rang. He checked the screen and saw it was Chen Da, from whom he had only just parted. Liang Yong also caught a glimpse of the caller ID. "Go ahead, we can finish our conversation later."

Zhao Fan nodded, answered the call, and stepped aside.

"Hello?"

"Someone brought reporters to the supermarket, claiming we sold inferior goods that landed his family member in the hospital..." Chen Da quickly summarized the situation. Even through the phone, Zhao Fan could hear the commotion on Chen Da’s end, with faint shouts accusing Feiteng Supermarket of being heartless and greedy.

At that moment, Zhao Fan’s face turned completely cold. "Who brought the reporters to the store?"

"It’s—it’s a man named Wang Chengchuan."

"Wang Chengchuan?" Zhao Fan repeated the name. Liang Yong, standing behind him, heard it and instinctively interjected, "What about my cousin?"

"Wang Chengchuan is your cousin?" Zhao Fan turned around sharply, his face darkening further. "He took reporters to the second Feiteng Supermarket branch, claiming the food they sold sent his family member to the hospital."

Liang Yong was stunned. "How is that possible?"

Zhao Fan switched to speakerphone, and the audio from the other end came through. Liang Yong listened for a moment, his face turning grim as he recognized Wang Chengchuan’s voice. Thinking of how quickly Wang Chengchuan had blamed the supermarket the moment the old man collapsed, Liang Yong gritted his teeth.

"Don't worry, I will give you an explanation for this," Liang Yong said. Before the old man had woken up, he couldn't make any decisions, but now that he was conscious and had spoken, he could no longer hold onto his previous accusations.

"I'll leave the hospital to you, Boss Zhao." With that, Liang Yong took off running.

Zhao Fan frowned. Could Liang Yong handle this alone? Without hesitation, he called his mother to tell her he had to leave, then pursued Liang Yong. "Get in, take my car."

The two arrived at Feiteng Supermarket and stepped out of the vehicle. The store, which had been vandalized, was usually quiet, but now it was packed with curious onlookers. From the crowd, faint accusations regarding the food poisoning could be heard.

Before Zhao Fan could say a word, Liang Yong, his face dark with fury, shoved through the crowd, found Wang Chengchuan, and slapped him across the face.

"Smack!"

The sound, though not loud, silenced the entire crowd. It was deathly quiet. Wang Chengchuan was stunned, staring at Liang Yong without a word.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?" Liang Yong raged. "The food poisoning has nothing to do with Feiteng Supermarket!"

Wang Chengchuan’s eyes widened in feigned shock. "What nonsense are you talking about? He clearly got sick after eating stuff from Feiteng Supermarket! How can you say I'm lying?"

"He’s awake now," Liang Yong explained, struggling to keep his temper. "He said he only bought meat, cabbage, and bok choy—none of which are the types of food the hospital said would cause poisoning."

Wang Chengchuan scoffed. "The old man is senile, and you’re following suit? The products are clearly the problem. Why are you helping them talk? Oh, I see—did you get paid off by Feiteng Supermarket to sweep this under the rug?"

Zhao Fan: "..."
Liang Yong: "..."

Amidst their silence, Wang Chengchuan continued, aiming his next words directly at Liang Yong. "You guys don't know this, but my cousin here has been a troublemaker since he was a kid. He hangs out with thugs and does all sorts of shady things. He’s probably been bought off by the boss of Feiteng Supermarket to sell his conscience."

Liang Yong was stunned, unable to believe Wang Chengchuan would go this far. "Stop spouting nonsense!"

"Nonsense? I’m telling the truth! Liang Yong, you don't value human life, but I do. I care about my uncle. Let me tell you, even if the police come, I’ll still say Feiteng Supermarket’s products are the problem."

The scar on Liang Yong's left cheek twisted in anger, which only seemed to confirm Wang Chengchuan’s claims of his bad reputation. The surrounding crowd began to cast looks of disgust.

"What a tragedy for that old man, having a grandson like this."
"Exactly, who would have thought someone would sell out their own family for money?"
"How depressing."

The murmurs grew louder, and Liang Yong’s expression grew increasingly wretched. These people were talking absolute nonsense. Seeing the situation spiraling into chaos, Zhao Fan stepped forward and placed a hand on Liang Yong's shoulder.

"Reporter, right? Did you get my permission to interview at Feiteng Supermarket?"

The reporter replied, "Your store is involved in a food safety issue. It is my duty to report on this. Are you asking me that because you’re feeling guilty? Is there truly a problem with your products? What did the victim say?"

The barrage of questions forced Zhao Fan to retreat slightly. As the microphone was thrust toward his mouth, Zhao Fan let out a cold laugh. "I thought reporters were supposed to be neutral, but every word out of your mouth seems to be convicting Feiteng Supermarket."

"This isn't a conviction," the reporter retorted. "It's a standard inquiry."

"A standard inquiry? Fine, then let me ask you a few questions. Are you here on your own, or was this arranged by your station? Or perhaps someone called you here? Is your reporting accurate? And what is your stance on biased reporting?"

The reporter was stumped. "You are being unreasonable."

"I am asking reasonable questions. Miss Reporter, until you have investigated the facts, I suggest you keep your mouth shut. Words can kill, you know." He glanced down at her press badge, which read Bao Mengying. "You are a very unprofessional reporter."

With that, Zhao Fan turned away. "Where is the security? Clear the area!"

The supermarket security guards stepped in to clear the crowd.

***

The people blocking the entrance were pushed out, forming a large, rowdy circle on the street. After closing the doors, Zhao Fan remarked, "Your cousin is trouble."

Liang Yong kept his head down. "I realized that."

To accuse him of taking bribes while showing zero concern for the old man in the hospital was truly...

Zhao Fan sighed. "Go back to the hospital and take care of the old man. We’ll handle your cousin."

"Understood. I’m sorry for causing you all this trouble."

"In business, you’re bound to run into some strange characters. It’s no problem."

After Liang Yong left, Zhao Fan immediately called Jiang Ying. "Help me look into a man named Wang Chengchuan."

Jiang Ying chuckled. "You’re well-informed. I was just about to call you. This Wang Chengchuan has had contact with the Bai family. I’m afraid your supermarket issue won't be easy to solve."

"It will be solved." With those three words, Zhao Fan hung up.

Wang Chengchuan on one side, the vandals on the other—all signs pointed to the Bai family. And the boycott of his game? Was that also the work of the Bai family?

Putting his thoughts aside, Zhao Fan decided to return to the company. Once he identified the people behind the scenes, he could deal with these issues using the right methods.

At Feiteng Company, Zhao Fan had just entered his office when the HR manager hurried in. "Boss Zhao, quite a few employees want to resign."

Zhao Fan raised an eyebrow. "Which departments?"

"Some from the game development team, some from publicity, and also..." The HR manager hesitated.

Zhao Fan leaned back. "It seems to be the programming department." Only that department would make the manager so hesitant.

"Yes."

"How many?"

"Eight."

"Hah, that’s quite a few. Well, that’s something."

The HR manager’s face darkened. "Boss Zhao, this isn't the time for sarcasm. If that many programmers leave, what will happen to the company's software?"

Feiteng Company’s main projects were already under fire; the only thing still running smoothly was their software. If a large group of programmers left, it wouldn't be long before that project crashed too.

Zhao Fan stroked his chin. "They want to resign, so what? You can't chain them to their desks, can you?"

The HR manager was speechless. That was true, but if they just let them walk away, where would Feiteng Company’s reputation go?

"Boss Zhao, we need a way to make them stay for a while."

"Simple. Give them two choices: one, leave now, forfeit a month's salary, and I won't write a good reference on their exit forms. Two, wait a month, resign normally, and they get everything they're owed—I won't make things difficult for them."

They wanted to quit? Fine, but they would follow his rules. Even if they had backing, if they wanted to work in the industry, they’d eventually need a reputation. If they ruined it now, did they really expect to find other good jobs?

Dream on.

The HR manager’s eyes lit up. "I understand. I'll go inform them now."

"Good."

The manager reached the door, but Zhao Fan stopped him. "In total, how many people want to resign?"

"Eighteen."

Zhao Fan stroked his chin, a playful gleam in his eyes. There were definitely more than eighteen people in the company who wanted to leave.

"Send out a notice. Tell everyone that if they want to resign, they follow my procedure. Also, compile a list of everyone who resigns; we will never hire them again."

"Understood."

Within an hour, Zhao Fan’s order had become a company-wide notice. Of the eighteen who had expressed a clear desire to leave, six chose to quit immediately, while the rest opted to wait a month. Only two programmers were willing to stay the full term. The HR manager processed the resignations and placed the list on Zhao Fan’s desk.

That afternoon, a few more people expressed their desire to resign, including Han Chen’s girlfriend, Han Yuerou, and He Xinwen. In fact, everyone who had been brought into the company by Han Chen later on chose to resign.

Looking at the list, Zhao Fan was at a loss for words. Eventually, he decided to have the HR manager suppress the list.

To his surprise, the next morning, Han Chen came to find him.

"Did Han Yuerou process her resignation?"

Zhao Fan: "..." After a brief moment of surprise, he coughed. "How did you know?" He had specifically asked the HR manager to keep the list confidential. How did Han Chen find out?

"Han Yuerou told me. She also told me to resign as well."

Zhao Fan stood up abruptly, his usual composure gone. "Han Yuerou actually urged you to resign?" This was... Han Chen was the backbone of the company. Zhao Fan knew his worth well; if Han Chen were really persuaded to leave, he would be devastated. "You, you..."

Zhao Fan suddenly didn't know what to say. A talent like Han Chen could easily find work elsewhere. He sighed and sat back down. "What do you think?"

"Why would I resign?" Han Chen asked, looking confused. "I’m comfortable working here, and I’m a shareholder. Why would I leave?"

Zhao Fan fell silent. Giving him those shares had been a stroke of luck.

"Boss Zhao, I’m not staying because of the shares. Working here is comfortable. I wouldn't find another boss like you anywhere else."

Shares alone wouldn't have kept Han Chen; he simply liked the atmosphere at Feiteng. Even without the shares, he would have chosen to stay for a boss who actually listened to his staff.

"What did your girlfriend say?"

"She’ll do what she wants."

Zhao Fan: "..." He looked at him strangely. "If she’s doing what she wants, why are you coming to me?"

Han Chen said "Oh," and pulled out a report. "This is from Jia Yuanteng. He says since we increased our promotional efforts, game downloads have increased."

As downloads increased, more people played the game, which was great promotion.

Zhao Fan’s lips curled. "Good."

"Boss Zhao, why did they increase?"

"Rebellious psychology. There are always people who want to do the opposite of what their parents say." Students were a key demographic, but they weren't the only ones.

"Xiao Chen, tell Jia Yuanteng to come here."

"Understood."

Soon, Jia Yuanteng entered the office.

Zhao Fan said, "Set up a recharge system. Link it to online banking so we can sell virtual currency."

With more people playing the game, it was time to introduce recharges. The time for profit had come.

Jia Yuanteng was a bit slow on the uptake. "Like... like Bitcoin?"

Zhao Fan rubbed his fingers. "No, just simple cash-for-game-currency. Also, have the art department do some designs. Let’s have players change the outfits of their characters and set up tasks so people can earn outfits through those tasks. Make sure to pace it carefully."