In the Procurent Departnt, Zhang Huowang looked at Che Yingying with a heavy heart, his eyes betraying a sense of schadenfreude and satisfaction, as he deliberately approached and asked, "Manager Che, I heard there was a big problem with the product this ti. Didn't President Liu scold you?"
Che Yingying glanced at Zhang Huowang with his gloating expression, frowned, a flicker of annoyance crossing her eyes. However, she had no way to deal with him and humd an acknowledgnt before turning to another man in the office and saying, "Old Li, call President Wang and have him send over the raw materials today."
"Yes, Manager," Old Li replied, then hurriedly picked up the phone to make the call.
Zhang Huowang's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and a sinister gleam flashed in his eyes.
The next day, the Qinglan Costics warehouse was bustling with activity as forklifts unloaded production materials from trucks and transported them to the storage area.
"Everybody, be careful with that!" Zhang Huowang, the forr head of the Procurent Departnt, had shed his previous air of dejection and complaints and was now briskly advising and checking inventory with vigor, prompting Che Yingying to involuntarily reveal a trace of doubt in her gaze.
Could this man have changed his ways?
Unnoticed by anyone, once all the raw materials were stored, Zhang Huowang had an extra small gourd bottle in his hand, with a yellowed piece of paper attached that bore strange characters.
Gently peeling off the yellowed paper, Zhang Huowang suddenly felt a chill envelop his body, sending a shiver through him.
Yet, the corners of his mouth curled up into a cold, cunning smile.
The first ti he did this, he was unaware of what Li Bisheng was up to, thinking it was just so superstitious nonsense. The second ti, he realized that the little gourd bottle had profound effects.
Thinking this, Zhang Huowang shuddered again and hastily threw the little gourd bottle away as though it were a poisonous snake.
"Liu Jiayao, you wretch! You demoted just for a pretty boy. I'll make sure you lose everything!" After discarding the gourd bottle, Zhang Huowang returned to the Procurent Departnt, laughing smugly to himself.
...
Ti flew past New Year's Day, and the year 1999 began, quickly proceeding to the coldest ti of the lunar calendar, the Great Cold.
The Great Cold is the last of the twenty-four solar terms in Huaxia Country, a ti when the sun reaches 300 degrees of celestial longitude. It's the coldest period of the lunar year, hence the na Great Cold, signifying that the weather has reached its extre in coldness.
On this day, sitting in the conference room, although the heating was fully on, Liu Jiayao's heart felt as cold as the Great Cold weather outside.
Ever since the first instance of product quality issues, after working overti to expedite two more batches, the situation was identical to the first.
There was no problem with the raw materials, no issue with quality control, and the production process was error-free as well.
No one knew where the problem was.
As the year drew to a close, it was the season for major malls to hold sales promotions, but Qinglan Costics' distributors around the country had begun to run out of stock one after the other. Not to ntion promotions, even normal sales were problematic.
Yet this wasn't the main issue. The main concern was the consecutive appearances of product quality issues three tis, with no identifiable cause, leading to significant losses not to ntion, Qinglan Costics Company didn't dare resu production before the problem was found.
But where was the issue? No one knew. Even the third ti around, all shareholders, including CEO Liu Jiayao, personally oversaw the first production line.
However, the third batch of products still had issues.
That faintly present stench was nauseating at first whiff!
"We can't go on like this, our cash flow is now problematic. If the next batch fails again, what do we do? Li Fang's Li Bisheng wants to partner with us, right? Let's work with him. It's the only way out for our Qinglan Costics now," Ren Chenle broke the oppressive silence of the eting room.
"Perhaps this is indeed our only way out at the mont," most shareholders sighed upon hearing this and then nodded in agreent, except for Liu Jiayao and Uncle Hua.
Even Uncle Hua showed a wavering expression at this ti, but after looking at Liu Jiayao and seeing her stern face, he refrained from nodding.
"Hmph, I said it earlier, when Li Bisheng ca to discuss the partnership last ti, Jiayao should have consulted us. We had the upper hand back then, and since he took the initiative, negotiations would have been very favorable for us. But now, after this incident, negotiations will definitely be at a disadvantage for us," seeing that everyone but Liu Jiayao and Uncle Hua agreed, a hint of smugness appeared on Ren Chenle's gaunt face as he spoke with a tone of reproach and dissatisfaction.
"I'd rather halt production to find the cause than agree to partner with Li Bisheng," Liu Jiayao's gaze swept over the shareholders in the eting room and finally rested on Uncle Hua's face, speaking with firm conviction.
Uncle Hua looked at Liu Jiayao, a bitter smile crossing his face, and hesitated for a long while before saying, "I support Jiayao's decision."
"Old Li, Jiayao is young and impulsive—don't you think you should think twice about following her lead?" Ren Chenle furrowed his brows and spoke.
Ren Chenle had never really respected the young woman Liu Jiayao for taking over her father's business. Furthermore, after Liu Jiayao ruthlessly dismissed his cousin's husband, Zhang Huowang, from his position last year, he felt that Liu Jiayao was deliberately trying to embarrass him, harboring resentnt against her ever since.
Originally, Liu Jiayao had absolute control of the stock, and overall, Qinglan Costics thrived under her leadership, with most shareholders supporting her; thus, he dared not speak out. However, now that Qinglan Costics faced an unprecedented crisis, Ren Chenle no longer suppressed his dissatisfaction and contempt and assud the stance of an elder.
"Vice President Ren, I respect you as an elder, thus I've always spoken to you courteously. But please mind your language!" Liu Jiayao's pretty face turned cold when Ren Chenle publicly accused her of being young and impulsive, displaying the assertiveness and dominance befitting a chairman.
"Am I wrong? The situation is clear. With cooperation, our Qinglan Costics might still have a chance. But if we continue to be stubborn, Qinglan Costics will ultimately be ruined by your hands," Ren Chenle adjusted his glasses and said coldly to Liu Jiayao.
"Old Ren, let's say less, we can discuss this matter further," Uncle Hua intervened to diate as the atmosphere beca tense.
"Hmph!" Ren Chenle snorted coldly, about to add more, when a knock on the eting room door was heard, and then the tall and handso Li Bisheng walked in.
"Sorry for the interruption, hope your eting is going well," Li Bisheng said with a smile as he entered.
"Who let you in? Get out!" Liu Jiayao didn't know why, but now, seeing that smile on Li Bisheng's face, she found it especially detestable. On his arrival, her pretty face suddenly turned as cold as frost.
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