A moment’s pause, Ding Yao’s mind raced.
Could it be... the warehouse fire was a setup?
Thinking of the fire, she then recalled the raw materials that had been suddenly delivered to the factory.
Was that too... part of a setup?
Looking at Gao Fei, whose smile didn't reach his eyes, a trace of fear suddenly welled up in Ding Yao's heart.
Under twenty years old, young, handsome, and wealthy, his innocent face concealed a terrifying depth of cunning.
Ding Yao couldn't imagine how far Gao Fei would go in the future.
But in China, he was destined to reach the pinnacle of any field.
After a brief moment of speculation, Ding Yao couldn't help but ask, "Boss, were the raw materials and the fire all part of a plan you set up?"
She sensed a conspiracy, but still wanted to confirm.
Gao Fei looked at her expectant eyes and waved his hand, smiling, "What setup or not, I just deal with things as they come, I don't overthink it like you do.
Go to the finance department now, properly calculate the warehouse losses with her, and the insurance company will send someone to process the claim tomorrow."
"Alright!"
Since the boss wouldn't admit it, Ding Yao couldn't press further. She agreed to the instruction and turned to leave.
Before she reached the door, Gao Fei spoke again, "Sister Ding, please don't mention anything we just discussed to anyone, not even Sister Jin."
"Understood!"
After Ding Yao left, he took out his phone and dialed an unregistered number.
After about ten rings, the call was answered.
Without waiting for the other person to speak, Gao Fei directly asked, "How are things on your end?"
"The rest have all been moved to the counties and cities around the capital. We're just waiting for your signal."
"Good!!"
They exchanged a few brief words and quickly hung up.
Gao Fei scrolled through his contacts, found a newly added mobile number, and dialed it. It was a local capital number.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Hello Uncle Li, it's Gao Fei!"
....
Eight o'clock in the evening.
Department heads from the old factory began to trickle into the cafeteria for supper.
Only the department heads remained at the factory now, so they all gathered together, eating supper and chatting.
Just as they were discussing the previous night's fire, Li Yuanyuan, the finance manager, interjected, "Did everyone hear? Feng Kunlin’s factory launched a new product a few days ago, and they started shipping today. It should be on shelves tomorrow or the day after."
Her words instantly silenced the room.
The smiles of the department heads who had been chatting froze, their hands holding bowls and chopsticks stopped mid-air, their faces filled with surprise and astonishment...
Li Yuanyuan, oblivious to their expressions, took a bite of noodles and continued, "Feng Kunlin must have come up with some new marketing ideas. Their new product has a novel promotional activity, a coupon campaign.
With a coupon, you can get thirty yuan off the product. If our factory wasn't at odds with Feng Kunlin, I'd want to collect a few more of those coupons."
As she spoke, she took a red coupon from her bag and placed it on the table. All eyes immediately focused on it.
Wan Liping from the marketing department picked up the coupon with a grim expression. Her eyes scanned the large print indicating discounts, followed by a brief introduction to the product.
Upon reading the introduction, she froze, her face instantly turning extremely cold.
Noticing Wan Liping's change in demeanor, everyone except Li Yuanyuan exchanged curious glances, put down their bowls and chopsticks, and walked over.
Initially, everyone was attracted by the discount information, and then by the product description on the coupon.
"New product... Lily perfume in a fresh scent..."
A department head quietly read the description, drawing the attention of the others.
After reading the product description on the coupon, everyone present couldn't help but frown and their expressions shifted.
Xinboli Cosmetics Factory's new product was identical to the new perfume developed by Gao Fei's team, with no discernible difference. It was no wonder Wan Liping's face had suddenly turned grim.
"Feng Kunlin's factory's new perfume is exactly the new product our factory developed!"
"The description mentions fragrance retention, which are our factory's R&D data. And the raw materials publicly listed on the coupon are also the raw materials for our new product."
"Damn it, Feng Kunlin actually produced our factory's developed product and is preparing to sell it! We have a mole in our factory!"
The department heads present cursed at the coupon.
They were convinced that the new perfume from Xinboli Cosmetics Factory was leaked by an inside informant to Feng Kunlin.
Xiao Chunli, the workshop director, listened to her colleagues' curses, her face flushing and paling, looking extremely unpleasant.
"Do you know how many bottles of cosmetics Feng Kunlin has produced?"
"How many?"
The department heads turned to look at Li Yuanyuan, who had broken the news.
She raised her left hand under their gaze and said, "According to the information I've gathered, as of yesterday, Xinboli Cosmetics Factory had produced 500,000 bottles of perfume.
You all know that the cost price of each bottle of perfume is only around three to four yuan. Fifty thousand bottles of perfume, sold at a hundred yuan each, would yield a profit of fifty million if all sold..."
Upon hearing the profit calculated by Li Yuanyuan, the department heads present became incredibly envious, though a few maintained a cold and indifferent demeanor.
"Damn it, that old scoundrel Feng is stealing our product technology to make money, and a pure profit of over fifty million! The mole in our factory is truly damned! I curse your entire family..."
Chen Xuelin from the R&D department was furious.
A pure profit of fifty million, after deducting labor, materials, and dividends, their R&D department would still have nearly ten million in R&D funds, as Gao Fei had promised them.
Except for a few department heads with ulterior motives, all the newly hired department heads were cursing the mole and Feng Kunlin's entire family.
After all, with fifty million in revenue, the other departments would also receive very generous bonuses and dividends at the end of the year.
The cafeteria was filled with a cacophony of curses and envious exclamations.
Ding Yao, standing outside, nodded with satisfaction as she looked at the furious crowd.
"I still need to do my part for the boss, first sort out the internal issues!"
....
Heaven on Earth, top-floor office.
"Boss, I've found out. The fire at Mr. Gao's factory was instigated by someone. However, the police currently lack evidence to arrest the mastermind."
"Insufficient evidence? What part of the evidence is missing?"
Yu Min stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, looking out at the night view of the capital, and asked.
"The police are currently setting up checkpoints to apprehend the perpetrators. It's likely they are missing evidence of the on-site perpetrators." the confidant replied from behind.
"Those who dared to set fire to Mr. Gao's factory are mostly greenhorns just entering society.
But to escape unscathed, they must have been led by someone from the underworld!
Now that the police have set up checkpoints at all intersections, the arsonists definitely won't be able to escape the capital."
Yu Min analyzed the case meticulously and said, "Deploy all our people. Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, you must help Mr. Gao find the arsonists."
The confidant was taken aback by the order and asked with confusion, "Boss, I don't quite understand, why are you helping Mr. Gao for the second time?"
"Who is behind Gao Fei?"
Yu Min turned around and asked coldly.
The confidant was stunned again, and quickly realized why the boss had been helping Mr. Gao all along.
It was because Gao Fei's backing now was... the military and police!
(It's been four months since the book was published. Let me summarize briefly. The early part of this book was a brainless power fantasy, but seeing comments saying the villains lacked intelligence and were easily crushed by Gao Fei, I had to slow down the pacing a bit and make the villains more agile and formidable. If you feel the pace is too slow and dislike it, I will continue with the face-slapping plot.)
(Also, everyone in the group has moved from QQ to WeChat. If you want to join the group, first enter the QQ group, and I'll invite you. The red envelope event will end tomorrow, so hurry and join!)
(Today is Lunar New Year's Eve. I'm making New Year's Eve dinner. Old Su wishes everyone a happy Lunar New Year's Eve and a happy new year!)