"Madam Editor-in-Chief!" Whether he wanted to or not, with such a significant handle held by the other party, Porky chose to obey, asking Editor-in-Chief Charle with great deference, "I completely understand your meaning, but the other party's 1.4 million Euros has already been deposited into our company's account, and the cooperation agreement has been signed, stipulating huge liquidated damages. If we don't publish the article according to the other party's requirements, I'm afraid they will sue us and demand hefty liquidated damages. This would be more than the signing fee."
Editor-in-Chief Charle nodded, thought for a moment, and then her eyes suddenly gleamed. She said, "Quickly find the contract we signed. I have a very interesting idea and need to confirm something!"
"Yes..." Porky didn't know what she was thinking, but he obediently followed her instructions and found the cooperation agreement that had just been signed a few days ago.
Upon seeing the specific contents of the agreement, Editor-in-Chief Charle nodded with satisfaction and said a few words to Porky. Porky's expression immediately became extremely rich. He never imagined that such a solution existed in the world.
"The ancient sages of Huaxia were right, indeed, the most venomous are women's hearts. Only a woman could come up with such a method!" Porky muttered to himself.
—————
"Mr. Porky, you must give me an explanation. Why is there still nothing I want in the latest issue of the weekly magazine?" In the previous coffee shop, Dan Zhu angrily pointed at Porky's nose and asked, his spittle directly spraying onto Porky's face.
Porky slowly took out his handkerchief, meticulously wiped the spittle off his face, and then said with a cold yet polite expression, "Mr. Dan Zhu, I don't understand what you mean. Hasn't the new issue of the weekly magazine already published the article you wanted?"
"Ah?" Dan Zhu was taken aback. He thought he had wrongly accused the other party and quickly took out the Jack Weekly with a hint of apology. "I'm sorry, perhaps I couldn't find it. Could you please tell me where my article is?"
"Certainly, sir!" Porky gracefully took the magazine from him, flipped through only a few pages, and then handed it back to him with a smile, saying, "Look, isn't this article you wanted on page 3?"
"Ah, page three?" Dan Zhu scratched his head. He wouldn't have missed the articles on the first few pages. How could he not know that the third page had what he wanted?
Then Dan Zhu took a look. The title on page 3 clearly read, "Beware! Global Separatism is Prevalent!"
"Is this what I wanted?" Dan Zhu instinctively asked upon seeing the title.
"You should read the content more!" Porky smiled. "What can a title represent?"
"Oh!" Dan Zhu nodded. He had felt the title wasn't what he wanted before, so he hadn't read the content carefully. Perhaps what he wanted was indeed hidden beneath this title.
As a result, the more Dan Zhu looked, the greener his face became.
The article did indeed involve news about the two countries he wanted to see, but it was entirely from China's perspective, a thorough criticism of separatism.
This article couldn't be said to be what he needed; it was the complete opposite. Was this what he had paid 1.4 million Euros for?
Even with a good temper, Dan Zhu began to lose his temper on the spot, drawing curious glances from people around. However, Porky, at the center of the storm, calmly said, "Mr. Dan Zhu, this is a public place. If you don't want to be kicked out, I advise you to quiet down!"
Dan Zhu indeed quieted down but still glared at Porky. After a while, he said, "Forget it. I don't think your magazine has any sincerity in cooperating. I'm canceling this cooperation. Give me back the 1.4 million Euros, and we'll call it quits."
"Ah, Mr. Dan Zhu, don't be so angry. We still have great sincerity in cooperating. And as for a refund, it's not as simple as you saying it. According to our contract, if the party of the first part wants to unilaterally terminate the contract, they can only receive a 50% refund. The remaining 50% will be compensated to our magazine."
"So, if you insist on a refund, we can only give you back 700,000 Euros. What do you think?"
"What, 700,000 Euros?" Dan Zhu was stunned. How could he, after being wronged, have to pay the other party?
Fortunately, Dan Zhu wasn't foolish. He quickly noticed something was wrong and angrily said, "Mr. Porky, your magazine breached the contract first. You didn't serve us as per the agreement, publishing an article we didn't want. Isn't that you breaching the contract first?"
"I think we not only have the right to demand a full refund but also the right to demand you pay five times the liquidated damages, which is 7 million Euros!" Dan Zhu's demeanor became assertive as he spoke. He believed he had successfully found the other party's weakness.
However, he never expected that Porky had been waiting for him all along. When Dan Zhu mentioned that Jack Weekly breached the contract first, Porky couldn't help but laugh.
"Mr. Dan Zhu, we are civilized people. Our magazine adheres to laws and contracts. We clearly followed the terms of the contract. How can you say we breached it?"
"What!" Dan Zhu was astonished. He couldn't believe that the other party dared to deny such an obvious situation. Weren't these things written clearly in black and white in the contract?
How could they dare to deny this?
What was even more unexpected was that Porky was more proactive than him. Dan Zhu, having never considered the possibility of breach of contract, didn't carry a copy of the agreement with him.
But Porky did. He took out a thick contract, opened it in front of Dan Zhu, and asked directly, "Come on, tell me, which clause here have I violated!"
"You... fine... I'll find it for you!" Dan Zhu gritted his teeth and skillfully found a clause related to the agreement's content. "Look at Article 12. It clearly states that the party of the first part provides materials to the party of the second part, and the party of the second part shall publish corresponding articles according to the party of the first part's requirements, within the rules of news media!"
... Harmony ...
"I'm sorry, we wrote it according to your wishes. Although there might be some differences from your expectations, the rules of the contract also clearly state that the article is to be published within the rules of news media."
"And as a media outlet, the most important rule is to be factual and report the truth; otherwise, it will be criticized by the industry and readers. We discovered through investigation that most of the materials you provided were false, so we revised them with real materials. This is an article that conforms to news rules and fully complies with the contract we signed. This is the article you need!" Porky said triumphantly, feeling lucky that he had added such a restrictive clause when drafting the contract.
In fact, almost all relevant media contracts include such restrictive clauses. After all, media articles are not ordinary articles; they are published for countless readers and have a significant social impact.
Therefore, these media outlets absolutely cannot publish entirely according to the user's wishes. Otherwise, if they cross many social boundaries, the entire magazine might be shut down.
Thus, all relevant contracts include such a restrictive condition to ensure that the magazine has the final say on the draft, rather than executing it entirely according to the customer's wishes.
Porky used this restrictive condition to trap Dan Zhu. Even though Dan Zhu later found a few more clauses in the contract, they were all rejected by Porky using the argument that his media had the final review authority.
"I understand. I shouldn't have wasted my breath talking to you. You just want to breach the contract!" Dan Zhu finally stood up angrily and said, "See you in court!"
"As you wish!" Porky smiled slightly and added, "However, Mr. Dan Zhu, I must remind you that your contract was signed in the name of the XXXXX Foundation."
"So what? Isn't it okay to sign in the name of the foundation?"
"Of course, it is. It's just that your foundation is established in the country of XXX, but the problem is, France has never recognized the country of XXX. Therefore, the party of the first part on the contract simply does not exist. Are you sure you want to sue us in the name of a non-existent party?"
"If that's the case, please do so. This would be a great amusement. We can at least have several issues of follow-up reports!" Porky said with a chuckle.