Chapter 75: Boss Huang Bids Farewell to His Guests

“Is anyone planning to rebel?” Just as the atmosphere grew tense in the hall, Huang He suddenly asked with a cheerful smile, baffling everyone present. Who would dare rebel!

“Well, it’s not really rebellion. I can give you all a suggestion,” Huang He chuckled. “You could return all my blind boxes, then seek out other suppliers, get products from them, and sell blind boxes. Isn’t that simple? In this way, you can immediately rebel against me!”

The crowd stood stunned, struck dumb by his words. None of them had expected Huang He to voice their secret thoughts so directly. Indeed, many harbored such ideas, but no one had dared utter them aloud.

“Do you think I’m threatening you?” Huang He squinted, his gaze shifting restlessly, causing unease in everyone’s hearts.

“No, the one being threatened isn’t you—it’s me!” Huang He slammed his chopsticks onto the table, then said, “Zhimo, tell them all the information you’ve gathered!”

“Yes, Chairman!” Leng Zhimo stood up, pulling out a small notebook. In a cold voice, she recited, “Shi Hengjie from Changsha: The company strictly set the price at ten yuan per blind box, but he secretly raised it to fifteen yuan per box, pocketing the extra profits, causing a sharp decline in blind box sales in CS City and damaging the company’s reputation.”

“Liu Yu from Huizhou was even more audacious—he increased the price to twenty yuan per box, kept all extra profits, and likewise caused a terrible impact.”

“He Hua from Xuchang opened the company’s blind boxes ahead of time, sorted the items inside, took out the valuable ones to sell separately, and arranged for his own people to pose as lucky winners, faking prize draws. As a result, almost every customer in Xuchang ended up with only wallets, and daily customers dropped from 1,200 to fewer than 100, leaving the reputation in ruins.”

“Qu Jingwen from Fuyang privately hired someone to print blind box packaging, sourced huge quantities of cheap goods for just a few cents from unknown channels, stuffed them into blind boxes and sold them, causing not only a severe drop in sales but also grave harm to the company’s interests.”

“Liu Cong from Anyang likewise opened boxes ahead of time, took out limited-edition items, arranged for his own people to draw them and claim points, which they then exchanged for company phones, severely disrupting the company’s operations.”

…

“Zhang Yingguo from Hangzhou!” Leng Zhimo finished, “Without company approval, he recruited a large number of subordinates and even established his own company, developing his own group. Upon investigation, the number of stalls under his control reached over 350—more than the total number of all those present here!”

Leng Zhimo continued to recite name after name, totaling more than thirty people. Their offenses were varied, and altogether they had exploited over a dozen different ways to fleece the company. Some had committed just one of these misdeeds, while others were guilty of all, using every method possible.

Those whose names were called looked utterly devastated, faces pale with terror as they stared at Huang He.

“Did you think that because I’m far away in Wenzhou, I know nothing about your actions?” Huang He snorted coldly. “But you forgot—I have plenty of money. If I wish, I can recruit locals in your cities to investigate, and your crimes will be reported to me via the internet. Everything you do, I know inside and out. You dare play tricks with me? Do you think you’re smarter than me?”

With a crash, several people were so frightened they collapsed into their chairs.

“That’s enough, I’ll say no more. Zhimo, let the police officers in and take away all those whose names were read,” Huang He said calmly.

“Yes!” Leng Zhimo nodded, then headed toward the kitchen. Some saw things turning for the worse and rushed toward the cafeteria’s exit, only to find the doors locked from outside. In the end, they could only watch helplessly as hundreds of police officers fastened cold handcuffs around their wrists.

“I reported you to the police three days ago. All that you’ve done, and the evidence, I’ve already handed over. Once inside, confess your crimes honestly. How you’re charged and punished is up to the law; I can’t interfere, nor help you. Pray for yourselves,” Huang He said indifferently.

“Chairman, I was wrong, please forgive me!”

“Chairman, I have children, I have a wife—they depend on me!”

“Chairman, I’ll never dare again—I was blinded by greed, but I swear I’ll never do it again, please, I beg you!”

“Huang He, you bastard, you’re burning bridges—you got rich off us, made your money, and now you want to have me arrested? Bastard! When I get out, I’ll make sure you pay—you’ll see how I deal with you!”

For a while, the cafeteria was filled with cries, wails, shouting, begging, and curses—an uproar that shook the very walls.

Those not caught watched in terror, limbs weak, drenched in cold sweat.

Meanwhile, Huang He, the boss, stood expressionless as he witnessed the scene, only sitting down once everyone had been led away.

All of this had been meticulously arranged by him. He had spent over a month and nearly half a million yuan to investigate, gather legal evidence, and report to the Wenzhou police.

This became the biggest commercial case in Wenzhou in 2001. More than thirty people were arrested for business violations and embezzlement, each sentenced—the lightest for three years, the heaviest around ten. By the time they were released, the best years of their lives would be gone.

Some might wonder if such crimes deserved such heavy sentences, thinking these offenses were usually minor. But in fact, these matters can range from trivial to grave. Tengda’s intellectual property infringement ended with a fine of several hundred thousand, while Chen Shoufu served three years. It’s complicated, and Huang He certainly had his ways.

Those arrested had no background to rely on; otherwise, they wouldn’t have worked for Huang He as laborers. With no means of rescue, they simply lost the prime of their lives.

Of course, Huang He himself was blameless. These people brought it upon themselves; their crimes and the evidence against them were real and legally obtained, able to withstand any scrutiny.

Still, to send more than thirty people—his own employees—to prison at once was rare even in the history of China. Not only did everyone in Jiangnan Group fall silent, no longer daring to challenge Huang He, but the entire business circle outside grew subtly afraid of him as well.