Chapter 25: I, Huang He, a Law-Abiding Citizen

"Well, it looks like these leather goods aren’t bad after all," Blackie concluded as they returned to the livestream. "The leather may not be top quality, but it’s genuine, and you can use it for two or three years—that’s more than enough! Besides, it’s not like we’re putting it in our mouths. After all, it’s just ten yuan for a mystery box. We can’t expect too much."

"True," the male host chimed in, "but did you notice, Blackie, that they were also selling shoes for 500 and 800 yuan a pair at that booth?"

"Of course I noticed! I heard those are supposed to be the work of a master craftsman!"

"Exactly. After we tested the leather goods, we made a follow-up visit to the stall and discovered that those two pairs of shoes, priced at 500 and 800 yuan, had already been sold."

"No way! Shoes that expensive, and someone actually bought them?"

"We were curious too. So our reporter went through great lengths and finally tracked down the buyers. Let’s hear their interview!" As he finished speaking, an elderly gentleman appeared on screen, standing before a wall lined with an array of leather goods.

Introducing himself, the old man explained that he was the president of the National Leather Goods Association LN Chapter, with over forty years of experience in the field. He then presented the two pairs of shoes he’d purchased and began an enthusiastic introduction.

The details of his praise need not be repeated, but even Shen Yuequn himself felt tempted to buy a pair of these so-called master-crafted shoes. To sum up, the old expert declared he’d gotten an incredible deal. If these shoes had been made in Italy, they’d fetch at least ten thousand yuan a pair.

But that wasn’t the end. The reporters had also managed to find the lucky young man who bought a mystery box that contained a pair of master-made shoes. They interviewed him at his workplace—the kitchen of a hotel.

He said he was a vegetable washer, and on a whim had bought several mystery boxes, never imagining he’d find a pair of master-crafted shoes inside. Selling them netted him 800 yuan—about what he’d earn washing dishes for a month. In short, his face was beaming with happiness.

"This really is something," someone remarked. "I thought today’s show was going to be an exposé, but instead it turned into free publicity for these mystery boxes!"

"Right? Our producers didn’t expect this either, but it’s not exactly advertising for a company, since the sellers are all workers who don’t even get paid. If today’s program helps these poor workers earn back their wages, then we’ve done some good."

The program ended there, leaving Shen Yuequn and his wife, the people directly involved, staring in astonishment. After a while, his wife finally spoke. "They filmed us, but we didn’t notice a thing?"

"Didn’t you see? They used hidden cameras. With so many customers every day, how could we spot a few undercover reporters?" Shen Yuequn replied.

"Then, do you think these reporters exposed us? Maybe we’d better not open the stall anymore. I’m worried the police—"

"What are you afraid of? Didn’t you hear? The reporters had experts test our goods. It’s genuine leather, and we didn’t use any banned additives. The police have no reason to arrest us."

"On the contrary, I can already imagine how many people will flock to our stall tomorrow. We’ll be busier than ever!" Shen Yuequn licked his lips in anticipation.

"They’re helping us? Isn’t this all just a coincidence? Something feels off," his wife said.

"Of course it feels off. When have the news media ever spoken kindly about small-time vendors like us? It’s always exposés and accusations. Even if there’s nothing wrong, they’ll find fault. But today’s show, even though it pointed out a few issues, was helping us at every turn. Does that seem possible to you?"

"If anything, this was less news and more like an advertisement," Shen Yuequn said with crystal clarity.

"Then why would they advertise for us?"

"What does it take to get an ad on TV?"

"Money!"

"Exactly. Someone paid to advertise for us," Shen Yuequn declared.

"But who would spend money to promote us without us even knowing?" his wife asked, mouth agape.

"Isn’t it obvious? It must be that person from Wenzhou," Shen Yuequn said, his gaze turning south.

"The chairman arranged it? Does that mean everything we do is under his watchful eye?" his wife suddenly realized.

"Exactly. So right now, you’d better put away any little schemes you have. If you try anything you shouldn’t, the chairman will know immediately. I suspect he’s already—"

"Ding dong!"

The doorbell rang, making them both shiver. The bell kept ringing, and for a moment, neither dared open the door. Eventually, Shen Yuequn mustered his courage and answered it.

"Hello, I’m from SF Logistics. The one hundred thousand mystery boxes your company ordered have arrived at our warehouse. Here’s the manifest and pick-up address. Please collect them as soon as possible; our warehouse in the northeast is new and not that big, and your shipment is taking up a lot of space. So please come soon—we really need the room," the logistics worker pleaded. Clearly, the hundred thousand mystery boxes were causing them quite a headache.

"Honey, when did you order a hundred thousand mystery boxes? I had no idea!" his wife exclaimed in disbelief.

"I didn’t order them at all..." Shen Yuequn replied, half laughing, half crying. "Wait here at home. I’m going to find a public phone and call the chairman. Is he playing with us?"

---

"Tsk tsk, looks like that hundred thousand yuan was well spent. Can you tell this was a carefully crafted advertisement?" Little did Shen Yuequn know, at that very moment in Wenzhou, Huang He was also watching the LN Satellite TV program.

The entire segment had been orchestrated by Huang He himself, who had paid a local advertising firm in SY no less than a hundred thousand yuan for this one episode. It was no small investment.

"Brother-in-law, isn’t this ad a bit much? Isn’t it bordering on fraud?" Cold Zhiyue asked, worried.

"How could this be fraud?" Huang He waved her concerns aside. "It’s a genuine news interview, all of it authentic footage. The content is entirely true. All of our products at Jiangnan Leather Factory are made from offcuts, and we only use legal additives and adhesives. If you don’t wear these shoes every single day, they’ll easily last two or three years."

"Even if I arranged for that old man to buy the shoes, I spent my own money, and that 800 yuan ended up in the hands of a poor dishwasher. What kind of fraud is that?"

"Besides, the old gentleman really is the president of the LN Provincial Chapter of the China Leather Goods Association. Granted, we only established the association a few days ago, but it’s all legitimate and can withstand any investigation," Huang He said, patting his chest.

"Don’t worry, Zhiyue. I, Huang He, am nothing if not law-abiding. I’d never do anything illegal. This time, there’s no way anyone can find fault with me in terms of the law!"

"But this program isn’t a real news segment," Cold Zhiyue persisted, still uneasy.

"Don’t worry. There are people out there with nine different master titles—'Senior Nutritionist,' 'Spot Removal Expert,' 'Vice President of the Chinese Medicine Association’s Cough Division and Deputy Director of the Eastern Cough Institute,' 'Heir to Miao Medicine,' 'Peking University Diabetes Cure Specialist,' 'Old Chinese Medicine Insomnia Specialist,' 'Descendant of Mongolian Medicine,' 'Miao Medicine Phlegm Removal and Asthma Cure Technique Inheritor'—all at once. Liu Hongbin, master of Chinese, Miao, and Mongolian medicine, has been on countless TV shows without issue. He’s still a master, the TV station is still going strong—there’s no way we’ll have trouble," Huang He laughed. "Now is the golden age of television advertising. When the internet takes over in a few years, this era will be over. If we don’t seize the moment now, we might end up as a meme in the future!"