With the promotion from the newspaper office, Chen Lishu's ham sausage company quickly appeared in the public eye. Its sales were on par with Qin Corporation, and there was a growing trend of it surpassing Qin Corporation.
Upon hearing the news, Qin Lan, with his hands clasped behind his back, gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "This is truly doing work for others! How dare you compete with Qin Corporation for business, Chen Lishu, I'm not done with you!"
Qin Yue, sitting beside him, also felt uneasy hearing about Chen Lishu. She gritted her teeth and asked, "Brother, do you have a way to get in touch with people at the newspaper? As far as I know, any factory featured in a magazine has made a fortune.
If such small factories can gain so much benefit, our Qin Corporation is a well-known name in the ham sausage industry. Didn't the company say they had new products coming out? We can take this opportunity to run an advertisement."
"What you said is not wrong."
Thinking of the new product that was about to be developed, Qin Lan's lips curved upwards.
After so many years in business, the accumulated customer base was not something a newly established company like Chen Lishu's could compare with! He believed that Chen Lishu would never be able to step on him.
With this in mind, Qin Lan instructed his subordinates to investigate Wu Hua's phone number.
After about ten minutes, Qin Lan obtained the phone number and dialed it. As soon as the call connected, he got straight to the point: "Hello, Editor-in-Chief Wu, I am Qin Lan, the president of Qin Corporation. I would like to invite you to our factory for an interview."
When Wu Hua heard Qin Lan's name, he paused in his work and said cheerfully, "Certainly, President Qin. It is my honor to interview such a large factory as yours. Please name a time, and I will bring my people over."
Qin Lan hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. The frown on his brow immediately relaxed. "Tomorrow, I will personally receive you at the factory then!"
"Alright." Wu Hua happily agreed to the arrangement. After hanging up, he eagerly called Chen Lishu and recounted the conversation verbatim.
When Chen Lishu heard the news on the other end of the line, her eyes narrowed. "We've done many features on good factories, and it's time for a reversal to attract more attention. DAFENG NOVEL NETWORK.
Editor-in-Chief Wu, remember to point the camera more towards the corners and the lower parts of the machines. You'll surely discover some interesting things then."
After discussing their plans, they hung up the phone.
----
The next day, Wu Hua, along with three or five of his colleagues, headed to the Qin Corporation factory.
Qin Lan was waiting early at the factory. Upon seeing Wu Hua, he quickly went forward to greet him. "Editor-in-Chief Wu, please come in. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to come to my factory for an interview.
If this matter can be handled well for me, Editor-in-Chief Wu, what do you want? As long as I can provide it, I will give it to you. How about it?"
Facing the enthusiastic Qin Lan, Wu Hua merely glanced at him with a subdued expression and said coldly, "We are merely serving the people, President Qin. There's no need for such courtesy. If your factory's environment is good, we will naturally write it as it is."
Qin Lan was not angered by the refusal of his offer; instead, he felt relieved that he had saved on a bribe.
Soon, the group entered the factory. The factory environment looked quite good.
Everything was arranged in an orderly fashion. After a walk around, Wu Hua's brow furrowed tightly. Why was the result different from what he had expected?
However, remembering Chen Lishu's final instructions, Wu Hua, with a mindset of giving it a try, approached a corner. He casually pushed aside some garbage blocking the corner, and when he saw the situation clearly, his eyes lit up instantly.
He put his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat, then feigned an angry demeanor and said, "President Qin, it seems your company's environment is somewhat worrying. Such a large ant nest is here, yet no one has cleaned it up. I see that you only tidied up the surface dust to fool us because you knew we were coming, didn't you?"
Hearing Wu Hua's words, Qin Lan's internal alarm bells went off. He went to Wu Hua's side, and when he saw a swarm of ants emerging to escape the disturbance, he felt a prickle of fear.
"This..." Qin Lan stammered for a long time, unsure how to explain the situation. He rarely managed the factory affairs, leaving them to his assistants. Who knew these people would falter at such a crucial moment!
Just as the atmosphere became tense, a gasp of surprise erupted from the crowd.
Everyone's attention was drawn to the gasp. They looked in the direction of the sound and saw some of Wu Hua's subordinates filming a machine with a camera.
"Editor-in-Chief, it seems the legs of this machine have been gnawed by something, and it's become wobbly."
"Looking at the bite marks on the machine, if I'm not mistaken, it must have been gnawed by something like rats. This means the ham sausage processing plant we usually eat from is very likely a place overrun by rats and cockroaches!"
"..."
Listening to their continuous discussions, everyone present was taken aback. It had been fine just a few days ago, so why was there trouble today?
Wu Hua saw that his purpose for coming here had been achieved. He beckoned his subordinates and said, "Alright, I don't think this interview is necessary anymore. Let's go."
With that, he led his team and prepared to leave the place.
Qin Lan understood that if Wu Hua left like this, there might be negative reports about the factory the next day. He quickly blocked their way.
Wu Hua frowned, "President Qin?"
"Editor-in-Chief Wu, I won't beat around the bush. This card contains twenty thousand yuan. Please don't report today's findings.
I believe you are an intelligent person, and my status in the industry is well-known. You should know what to say and what not to say."
Bribery and threats – classic tactics.
Wu Hua glanced at the bank card in front of him, then smiled and accepted it. "I understand."
Seeing that the bank card had been successfully delivered, Qin Lan felt a weight lifted from his heart.
Wu Hua left his work, but after a few steps, he stopped. He took out the bank card Qin Lan had given him, handed it to a subordinate standing nearby, and instructed, "Find a way to return this bank card. Remember, ensure your safety."
The subordinate took the bank card and nodded. "Alright, Chief Editor. I'll just find someone to run an errand and deliver this bank card."