"Your kindness deeply moves me, Your Highness. Please, name anything you need from me." Huang He was no fool; he could see that this bearded man clearly had a request. Since the man had so readily burned the contract, Boss Huang was happy to help, as long as it didn't harm the nation's interests. Even if it meant some personal loss, Boss Huang felt it wasn't a big deal.
"Not at all. In fact, if you were to destroy this contract, it would still be as if I hadn't repaid your great kindness!" the bearded man said with great disappointment. He then hesitated before adding, "In that case, I'll give you an extra small gift!"
Although Boss Huang had vehemently refused at the banquet, the bearded man directly stated that the item had already been sent via express delivery to the Imperial Capital branch headquarters of Jiangnan Group. It was sent using Jiangnan Express, so it should arrive by tomorrow morning. He urged Boss Huang not to stand on ceremony.
"These are all just small gifts!" the bearded man said cheerfully in the end.
The next morning, Boss Wang found this "small gift" at the entrance of his own company: a Rolls-Royce Phantom, nine meters long. Even the paint color had been changed from its original black to a ostentatious golden yellow.
It was rumored that this wasn't just a simple coat of golden paint, but rather a genuine layer of gold foil applied to the car's surface. Reportedly, around 60 kilograms of gold were used. At the current price of 300 yuan per gram, that's 18 million yuan worth of gold simply adorning the car's exterior.
However, compared to the car's quoted price of 150 million yuan, the value of the gold was negligible.
Even the employees of Jiangnan Group, whose salaries ranked first nationally, found themselves surrounded by the luxurious vehicle, three layers deep, eager for a glimpse of novelty.
It was said that their boss was the richest man in the world, and for the past two to three months, the boss had been staying at the Imperial Capital branch headquarters. Almost all employees had seen his usual vehicle.
But the problem was, Boss Huang, the richest man in the world, drove a domestic Hongqi sedan.
Although Hongqi was the largest luxury car brand in the country, everyone knew that aside from a few specially designated models, the market didn't recognize Hongqi's brand value.
Furthermore, the Hongqi driven by Boss Huang wasn't a limited edition; it was just an ordinary Hongqi SUV, selling for less than 300,000 yuan on the market.
Of course, this car had been meticulously modified by FAW. It served no other purpose than to be incredibly resilient. It was said that as long as it wasn't hit by a missile directly, the occupants would essentially be unharmed, and it could completely disregard things like roadside bombs.
Some people said Boss Huang was being pretentious, deliberately cultivating an image, and that it was completely unnecessary.
But in reality, when Boss Huang's own car was a Hongqi worth 300,000 yuan, none of the executives below him dared to drive cars worth more than 300,000 yuan to work.
Not to mention the official vehicles under Jiangnan Group, which were all exclusively domestic cars priced below 200,000 yuan. This allowed Jiangnan Group to save over a billion yuan annually on vehicle expenses.
After all, Jiangnan Group was too vast. The number of vehicles procured annually for its various subordinate organizations exceeded five digits.
If everyone were to procure luxury cars worth millions of yuan, Jiangnan Group wouldn't be able to afford it.
Therefore, this was the first time the employees of Jiangnan Group had seen such a luxurious car. Even Boss Huang himself couldn't help but have his eyes light up. He excitedly circled the luxurious car a few times and was about to open the door and get in to experience what a 150 million yuan car felt like when Boss Huang's hand stopped.
Without any hesitation, Boss Huang directly told his secretary, "Send this car directly to the Intelligent Research Center as a gift from the company to Dr. Wu Lihua!"
"Ah!" The secretary and the surrounding employees were stunned.
"Hurry up!" Boss Huang said impatiently. The secretary finally reacted and dispatched someone to drive the car directly towards the Intelligent Research Center.
"Who is this Wu Lihua?" a curious new employee quietly asked an older employee nearby.
"She seems to be a major contributor from the Jiangnan Research Center this year, a super expert in the field of intelligent AI, primarily responsible for the development of disaster-related intelligent AI. This year, she led the team in perfecting the previous intelligent AI 'Nuwa,' successfully predicting the magnitude 8.6 super-earthquake in Nepal a day in advance and immediately notifying the Nepalese government."
"Although the Nepalese government didn't take it seriously enough for a large-scale evacuation, our company still pushed a lot of earthquake information through the Tianzhou terminal, allowing many Nepalese people to evacuate to safe zones in advance, ultimately reducing many casualties."
"This earthquake was initially estimated to cause around 62,000 casualties, but it was ultimately reduced to 52,000. The United Nations even awarded our company. However, because the event happened in Nepal, it wasn't widely known in China, so it's understandable you wouldn't know!" the older employee explained.
"That's truly impressive!" The new employee nodded. The older employee seemed to have more to say, so he continued, "Let me tell you a secret: in 2011, Nuwa also predicted the 3.11 earthquake in Fusang and informed the Fusang government a day in advance!"
"What? That's impossible!" The new employee was shocked. While the magnitude 8.6 earthquake in Nepal didn't cause much stir in China, the 3.11 earthquake in Fusang was a world-renowned disaster.
The death toll of nearly 16,000 and over 3,000 missing persons were not the only devastating consequences; the most critical was the fatal leak accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, which to this day remains an unresolved issue, a sword hanging over the world's head.
However, because it was a natural disaster, no one blamed the Fusang government. But if their company had predicted the earthquake in advance, and the Fusang government had failed to take any rescue measures, that would be a super headline capable of igniting global public opinion.
"What's impossible about it? It's the truth. Our company informed the Fusang government a day in advance and specifically reminded them to protect the safety of some nuclear facilities. As a result, the Fusang government directly ignored our reminder. When we proposed to warn everyone through the Tianzhou terminal, the Fusang government told us that if we released such information without approval, it would be a serious crime, and the Fusang government would prosecute us."
"After all, we weren't entirely certain if the earthquake forecast would be accurate again. Following 2008, there were far more instances of forecast errors than correct ones. In China, after our forecasts, there were four or five large-scale evacuations of people, but in the end, nothing happened, or the scale was far less than anticipated, leading to considerable discontent within China towards us."
"If it weren't for the subsequent successful prediction of the Yushu earthquake, our group would have stopped Nuwa's forecasting. Therefore, we didn't dare to gamble on this wave, and we chose to remain silent!"
"Then, events unfolded as they did. The Fusang government immediately contacted us and paid a significant price to ensure our silence, preventing the news from leaking. Otherwise, if the Fusang people knew their government had received prior warnings and still chose to ignore them, the entire government, from top to bottom, would have had to resign collectively. That's why they pleaded with us. Otherwise, why do you think our business in Fusang has been so smooth and unimpeded all these years? It's because we hold leverage over them!" the older employee said proudly.
The new employee was initially shocked but soon became confused. "Such classified information? How do you, an ordinary employee, know it so clearly?"
"It's not just me; almost all the old employees in the company know. Because at that time, all our colleagues working in Fusang received a message from headquarters demanding that everyone within the earthquake zone collectively evacuate to safe areas, without even packing their belongings, leaving all equipment and machinery behind, and only taking valuables and people with them!"
"Those not within the earthquake zone were also asked to stay outdoors in open spaces during that time, rather than indoors. As a result, our Jiangnan Group suffered no casualties in that disaster, and everyone within the group became aware of the matter. After all, we are all colleagues, and communication is essential. It was only later that we reached an agreement with the Fusang government to have all employees keep silent."
"However, some of this information still leaked out. Many people posted online saying that Jiangnan Group employees seemed to have prior knowledge and had evacuated, and some employees who couldn't stand it even leaked the truth online. Then the Fusang government spent billions more to help us clear public opinion from the internet and social media!"
"The successful prediction that time was reportedly due to Dr. Wu Lihua's efforts. However, it was difficult for the company to publicly reward her. Now that she has successfully predicted the earthquake in Nepal, the boss probably wants to give her the reward she didn't receive last time!" the older employee speculated.
The new employee listened, dumbfounded. For the first time, he realized that such absurd and dark truths were hidden behind the world. He then sighed, feeling incredibly fortunate to be an employee of Jiangnan Group and to live in China.
As for the Fusang people, who had remained oblivious, the new employee had no further thoughts. It was their own government's request, and it had nothing to do with them.