416: Chapter 416 The Power of Public Opinion 416: Chapter 416 The Power of Public Opinion Under a very concealed tree.
“Master Tangyu, the task you assigned to me is ready; I’ve contacted all the friends over here.
I’ve already scoped out the place, and some juicy gossip is just a piece of cake,” Li Chali said.
Tangyu trusted Li Chali’s abilities and nodded, “In addition to Cai Long, pay attention to three other people: the County Magistrate of Linwu County, the county head, and the chief of the public security bureau.
The more scandal we have on them, the better.”
Li Chali nodded and said, “Master Tangyu, I think I understand your plan, may I offer my own suggestion?”
“Yes, go ahead,” Tangyu said, eager to exploit those scandals for leverage over those officials.
Li Chali said, “We live in an era dominated by the internet.
The power of the internet is immense; it can inflame an incident with astonishing speed, and once it reaches that point, it will definitely attract the attention of the entire society.
Then, the authorities will have no choice but to investigate the matter seriously.
Nowadays, many high-ranking officials are brought down by the power of public opinion on the internet.
So, Master Tangyu, if you want to deal with these three heavyweights, the best way is to use the pressure of public opinion.
As for destroying the Cai Corporation, apart from economic attacks, the fastest method is also to generate a lot of negative news—the more toxic, the better.
Hehe, as long as I have enough material, I can make the Cai Corporation infamous overnight and utterly disgrace them.
Admittedly, gossip news can indeed stir things up, but it’s still a bit weak.
Moreover, its ability to spread may not be strong enough.
Relying solely on gossip to deal with them, I feel, still lacks some bite.”
Tangyu’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and after thinking it over, he agreed with Li Chali’s opinion, asking, “What do you have in mind?”
“Well, Master Tangyu, my idea is that if we can get some really explosive material, then it would be easy to handle this matter.
You have a vast network in Donglin City, don’t you?
Just relying on my own power, at most I can play up some incidents on the internet, which even if successful, won’t be fast enough.
On one hand, we need some serious dirt on them enough to bring them down, and on the other hand, we need powerful people from Donglin to step in, have major media report directly, and get the Donglin City government’s attention—then the issue will heat up immediately,” Li Chali explained.
Tangyu nodded; it seemed this time he would need to pull some strings.
After all, relying on one’s own strength to take down three high-ranking officials in a county was indeed somewhat far-fetched.
The power of public opinion, however powerful, could still be suppressed.
Besides, Li Chali was after all a minor character; the waves he could make would not be very big.
Gossip was Li Chali’s forte, but it was not something that he could necessarily dig up on demand.
Therefore, this matter also required the help of some influential figures.
“So what kind of big dirt do you think can take them down?” Tangyu asked.
“To take down the County Magistrate, at the very least, we’d need photos of him keeping a mistress, some evidence of corruption and bribery, or dealings with Cai Long that they wouldn’t want exposed.
As for dealing with Cai Long, such tactics would be useless against him; we’d need to dig into some shady dealings of his company,” Li Chali said.
“Alright, you do what you can now, and I’ll find a way to get the dirt on them.
When the time comes, you use your connections to blow up this affair,” Tangyu instructed.
“Hehe, leave it to me; this is how I earn my living.
Master Tangyu, I’ll get to work now, and I’ll come to find you if there’s any news,” Li Chali said.
“Alright, go ahead,” Tangyu nodded.
After sending off Li Chali, a sharp light flickered in Tangyu’s eyes, and he picked up the phone to make a call.
The night in Linwu County couldn’t compare with the brilliance of Donglin City.
However, the neon lights filling the streets and the somewhat congested traffic gave Linwu County a bustle that could rival some of the smaller bustling areas of Donglin City.
The Golden Splendor Hotel, one of the most famous five-star hotels in Linwu County, and a property of the Chang Family.
Though Linwu County might be small, its food and beverage industry was extremely prosperous, boasting as many as four five-star hotels.
The Chang Family was a new star in the catering industry and was doing quite well, securing a place for itself.
Since it was still the long National Day holiday, the hotel was fully booked, and without some connections, it would have been hard to secure a reservation.
The hospitality of Chang Baosheng was enthusiastic enough, and since it was his family’s hotel, the dinner turned out to be exceptionally lavish, almost like a feast fit for an emperor.
Lin Feifei and Liu Shanshan didn’t eat much, while Deng Li thoroughly enjoyed himself, tasting many dishes he’d never had before.
For him, this was a fresh and flavorful novelty.
After dinner, Chang Baosheng proposed, “Master Tangyu, it’s still early.
Would you like to take a walk around Linwu County or go out for some entertainment?
Our county may not compare with Donglin City, but we do have a few places that are quite decent.
A visit once in a while can be enjoyable.”
“No need, let’s go back,” Tangyu replied.
He wasn’t in the mood, and having already toured Linwu County thoroughly during his last visit, he found no appeal in doing so again.
As for going out for entertainment, he wasn’t in the spirits for that today either, especially with Lin Feifei and Liu Shanshan at his side, who required consideration.
“Alright then,” Chang Baosheng nodded.
Tangyu raised an eyebrow and wrinkled his nose as he suddenly caught a strong stench of bugs.
His nose was very sensitive to such things.
With one glance, he saw a man carrying a heavy suitcase heading into the hotel, his calm demeanor belying a hint of avoidance and distraction.
His eyes swept around involuntarily, as if wary of being noticed.
That intense odor was emanating from his suitcase.
Someone bringing a huge bag of bugs into a hotel?
It was apparent that someone aimed to harm the hotel.
Tangyu stepped in front of the man, his gaze intense.
Startled by Tangyu’s sudden move and inspection, the man flinched but quickly tried to appear composed, demanding, “What is it?”
Seeing Tangyu’s actions, Chang Baosheng also revealed a surprised and puzzled look but, not daring to hesitate, brought two bodyguards over.
Lin Feifei and the others approached as well.
As more people gathered, the man’s expression grew more elusive, and he exclaimed, “What do you all want?”
“That line, I believe I should be the one asking you,” Tangyu said.
“Ask me?
What do you mean?
I completely don’t understand.
I don’t know any of you, have never met before, and have no grievances with you.
Please step aside, or I’ll call security,” the man said.
“You might not know me, and I don’t know you.
However, your actions have exposed yourself,” Tangyu said.
The man’s eyebrows raised, and a strange sharpness flickered in his eyes, “I don’t understand what you mean.
Please let me through, or don’t blame me for being impolite.”
“Stop pretending, the contents of your bag might fool others, but they can’t fool my sense of smell.
Changs hao, have someone bring the bag over, and you’ll see,” Tangyu said.
Upon hearing this, Chang Baosheng’s eyebrows shot up, finally understanding why Tangyu stopped this man.
Although he still felt somewhat bewildered, he trusted Tangyu’s words.
Without hesitation, he immediately motioned to his two bodyguards to take action.
Realizing he was exposed, the man’s face drastically changed and turned fierce.
He turned to run away, but no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t match the two elite bodyguards of Chang Baosheng.
Quickly, the man was pinned to the ground, and his bag was snatched away.
The commotion attracted the attention of some security guards who hurried over, but when they saw Chang Baosheng, they respectfully greeted him with, “Chang shao.”
Only then did the man’s face turn pale as he realized that the man before him was actually the eldest young master of the Chang Family.
It seemed that today was his downfall.
“Tang shao, what’s exactly inside this?” Chang Baosheng asked.
“Don’t open it recklessly, just come close and smell it, and you’ll know,” Tangyu reminded.
The bodyguard was about to open the bag, but stopped when he heard Tangyu’s words.
He brought the bag close to his nose and took a sniff, then immediately said, “Chang shao, it smells disgusting, and I feel like there are a lot of things crawling inside.”
“Hmm, what is that?” Chang Baosheng asked.
“This should be a bag full of bedbugs,” Tangyu said.
A surge of anger appeared on Chang Baosheng’s face, “Humph, such despicable methods to actually be put into action.
This whole bag of bedbugs must contain over ten thousand individuals.
If they all got out, who would come to our hotel to eat and stay again?
Repulsive, truly repulsive.
Who would stoop so low to use such filthy tactics?
What are these security guards for, letting someone bring in such a big bag of things?”
The several security guards, seeing Chang shao getting angry, were also quite frightened, fearing they would be in trouble.
“Quickly take it and burn it completely,” Chang Baosheng instructed the bodyguard, who nodded and proceeded to do so.
Chang Baosheng’s gaze then turned cold as he looked at the man lying on the ground with a ashen face.
His eyes shone with a chilling light.
When he got angry, he was not someone to be trifled with, “Speak, who sent you here.”
The man clenched his teeth but did not speak.
“Humph, you won’t talk, huh?
Well then, let me see how tough you really are.
If you speak now, I might still let you go.
If you don’t speak now, there will be no more chances for you, so you’d better think carefully,” Chang Baosheng said.
The man had a moment of confusion in his eyes.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally said tremulously, “It was Yaoye.”
“Wei Yaoye!” Chang Baosheng coldly spat out the name, “Humph, it’s true that the good are bullied, and it seems they really think my Chang Family is easy to bully?
I let the past minor incidents slide, but this time they dared to use such a vile method.”
After his anger passed, Chang Baosheng quickly regained his composure, waved his hand to signal people to take the man away.
The security guards knew what to do next.
Chang Baosheng turned to Tangyu and said, “Tang shao, we have you to thank for uncovering that man.
Otherwise, the impact and loss to my family’s hotel would have been immeasurable.
Tang shao is quite skilled, being able to discover that.”
“No need to be polite, it was nothing more than a simple gesture.
My sense of smell might be more sensitive than all of yours.
I’ve been in contact with these things since I was young, so I have a rather keen awareness of them,” Tangyu said.
“Heh, I still owe you one, and I won’t forget this favor,” Chang Baosheng said.