Chapter 315: You say you're miserable, so you're miserable? I don't believe it, I want to

Another beautiful day!

Zhou Yi opened the panel to check the progress bar; it was likely because those previous contract disputes hadn't been resolved yet, so the progress bar was still stuck at 98 percent.

Not surprising; the progress bar of this system grandson has always been a mystery, even though in his, Zhou Mouren's, view, contract disputes have nothing to do with the mission.

But it doesn't matter; these contract dispute cases will soon go to court. Because there aren't many and there's no difference between them, they will be tried together.

Just as he was thinking about whether to go to the Company to slack off or go downstairs to slack off, his phone rang. He picked it up to look and discovered it was sent by Yuan Jie.

"A Yi, look, that person has started playing the victim again. Now there are people on the internet saying you are being a bit too excessive!"

What's the situation? Playing the victim?

Zhou Yi clicked on the video link sent by Yuan Jie. It had been posted to a short-video platform, and the title was: I'm poor, so do I deserve to die?

Holy crap, Zhou Yi was shocked when he saw this title. Based on what it said, someone who didn't know better would think he had committed some heinous sin.

He opened the video to watch. It was very straightforward: it claimed their family was extremely poor, with elderly parents above and young children below, and the whole family relied on their meager income to survive.

If the lawsuit is lost, they really won't be able to come up with the breach of contract penalty. If they are forced to pay, the whole family will be left with nothing to eat.

Because the cinematography was truly very direct, the feeling of a small person at the bottom of society struggling to live was so realistic that many people felt compassion.

"I'll say a fair word. Although A Yi is in the right, there's really no need to drive someone to a dead end. Given his conditions, he has already realized his mistake; there's no need to keep fighting this lawsuit."

"I see it that way too. He only agreed to that Qiyi Company because he was truly poor and had no other choice."

Seeing this, Zhou Yi felt a bit of tightness in his chest. He hadn't been very clear about the other party's situation before, but after seeing these family conditions, he also felt there was indeed no need to continue.

It's just... he felt very uncomfortable inside. Me choosing to forgive you is one thing, but you using this method of actively playing the victim to force me to forgive you is another thing entirely.

Looking further down, there are always people who see through things.

Regarding the claim mentioned above about having no choice but to agree, someone directly brought out screenshots of this person acting arrogant and insulting everyone back then.

"Look here, everyone. He said here that his family conditions were so good, and he called us all losers. What's this, he's started playing the victim again, right?"

He looked at the ID of the poster: Pusa Xiong. Well done; helping you with your lawsuit back then was definitely the right choice.

There's no helping it; ever since experiencing the incident of being framed last time, Pusa Xiong has gradually moved to another extreme, even more terrifying than Zhou Yi.

No matter what he does, he has the habit of keeping evidence.

This was mainly learned when chatting with Lawyer Fang previously: if there hadn't been that Monitoring footage to prove it at the time, he might have really been finished.

Even if he had managed to use various legal means to engage in Self-Proving Innocence, it would be hard to say if anyone would have watched, and the key was that under that overwhelming Internet Violence, he might have been finished as a person.

So he was afraid. He felt that he would rather go through the trouble than look for an easy way out.

One might not encounter such things in a lifetime, but if one does, it could affect one's entire life.

Evidence is truly important!

The comment posted by Pusa Xiong quickly caused a heated debate, though some thought the other party wouldn't necessarily fake it, while others felt this person was likely lying again.

But whether he is truly lying, or if his home life is really like that, is not very clear. Why it is hard to distinguish truth from falsehood on the internet is because it is very difficult to obtain evidence these days.

In a situation where you aren't sure if that person is talking nonsense, there really aren't many ways you can verify it.

The internet was in an uproar, but Zhou Yi put his phone in his pocket. For the other contract dispute cases, many people were prepared to pay for Mediation, but only this one was still resisting hard.

But it was clearly Qiyi Company that cheated him...

Forget it, don't worry about the chaos on the internet. Zhou Yi secretly had an idea. Since he said his family is very poor, with elderly parents and young children, and that paying this breach of contract penalty would make it impossible for them to live...

Then... since beating the kids on a rainy day is just something to do when idle, let's just go to his place and take a look.

For one, the system's mission progress hasn't reached 100 percent yet, and the money being spent now is all from the Virtual Account. For another, they left contact information and an address when the contract was signed back then.

If he doesn't go for a stroll, he would be letting himself down!

If the other party is really that poor when the time comes, what else can be done? Just accept the bad luck. This isn't because of any moral kidnapping; it's just that he, Zhou Mouren, doesn't want to haggle over it.

Because even the Court won't seize all the money in the other party's hands during enforcement; they will always leave funds for the person to eat and live.

Speaking of which, it seems that regulations regarding "personal bankruptcy" have already appeared...

Zhou Yi's thoughts wandered far away.

Go to the Company first. He needs to handle the compensation with Qiyi Company and also distribute that 20 percent to the others according to the agreement. There are enough Lawyers here, but the financial staff is clearly insufficient.

So he has to let the Company's finance department help out; consider it his private work and provide extra compensation.

Furthermore, General Manager Lan called to say that the Company is planning to build a public relations department and is preparing to recruit people. Today, they are conducting final interviews for the recruits, and they need him, the Chairman, to come and take a look.

He drove all the way to the Company and entered the Elevator. Just as the Elevator doors were about to close, he saw a young woman running over, still panting.

Zhou Yi helped press the button for the Elevator, and the young woman expressed her thanks after entering.

Then, both of them froze.

Because this young woman was the one sent over by Qiyi Company before, that Chu Lan with the very big conscience, Manager Chu!

Zhou Yi was surprised that she hadn't returned to the Imperial Capital yet, while Chu Lan was speechless, feeling that this dump of a place was why it was so small.

Finally, Zhou Yi spoke up: "Manager Chu? You are here to..."

After all, as a senior public relations manager, one must have a thick skin. Chu Lan quickly smiled: "President Zhou, you had better not call me Manager Chu. I have already resigned from Qiyi Company."

Seeing Zhou Yi's look of surprise, as if he were very astonished, Chu Lan smiled bitterly: "President Zhou, you wouldn't think that after such a big incident, I, this public relations manager, could still be fine, would you?"

Although this public relations work is very difficult, what is the Company paying you senior managers for? You raise soldiers for a thousand days to use them for a moment; naturally, you are needed to handle things in times of crisis.

And the result? You came to find this Mr. Zhou, and not only did you fail to handle the matter, but you actually caused the other party to initiate large-scale Litigation.

Although it's not actually your fault, who told you to be the one who ran into it? And there's President Lan, President Li; not a single one of them escaped.

So after being scolded again, Chu Lan went directly to resign. Compensation or no compensation, this lady doesn't want it.

As a result, she bumped into Zhou Yi during the interview today...

"Oh, I understand. You are here to apply for a job... go ahead, go ahead."

The two of them just took the Elevator upstairs, and Zhou Yi went straight to the office.

The interview started quickly. Of course, not all public relations managers have as big a conscience as Chu Lan.

For a qualified public relations person, looks are only one aspect; the main thing is to have the ability.

Zhou Yi did not interject much; he knew his own limitations, and He Ling understood personnel matters better than he did.

Not interfering at will in areas he did not understand was also one of Zhou Yi's principles for running a Company.

He could learn, but before he understood, he would absolutely not pretend to understand; having a layman lead an expert was absolutely not allowed.

Chu Lan's interview went very smoothly, but she only became the deputy director of Tenda's newly established public relations department; the director was a middle-aged man named Shi Yong, who was in his prime and looked like the very shrewd type of workplace elite.

"Alright, Director Shi, and Director Chu, the work of the public relations department will be left to you both. Actually, our Company doesn't have any major requirements for public relations; it's mainly some trivial matters..."

After all, it was not a large Company, and this public relations department also doubled as handling client reception and some administrative affairs.

Both Chu Lan nodded; these were things they had understood before applying for the job.

The reason for joining Tenda was very simple: here, one could feel the freedom long lost to office workers.

Tenda's current work atmosphere was what these old workplace hands dreamed of!

Tenda did not talk about corporate culture; this was a rule set by Zhou Yi. Not to mention corporate culture, culture itself was something that formed imperceptibly during long-term development.

But nowadays, many companies, seeing that other enterprises have developed some good culture, go and copy it mechanically, and the key is that they don't even learn it well, such as the very famous wolf-warrior culture.

Other people's wolf-warrior culture requires the wolves to be well-fed and watered, while the wolf-warrior culture practiced by other companies is left with nothing but the culture itself...

With the Company's affairs settled, Zhou Yi began preparing to head to the location of the person named Wu Xing.

The other party was in Hanxi Province, in a place called Ninglan City; as for the specific address, which street and what number, he would have to ask after arriving.

However, before setting off, Zhou Yi decided to consult with Fang Dazhuang; he had to ask clearly whether such an investigation counted as illegal, otherwise, a wasted trip was one thing, but if it were illegal, that would be a problem.

By the way, he also wanted to ask if Fang Dazhuang wanted to go on a trip.

It would be a waste not to take advantage of the system!

The call connected, and after Fang Dazhuang heard Zhou Yi's words, he quickly said: "What investigation or not, don't put it so harshly. What do you call this? This is called understanding the other party's true situation before Mediation, you know?"

Investigating someone's personal situation sounds very wrong, but this isn't an investigation; I watched his video and am preparing for Mediation, so I'm just understanding the other party's true situation before the Mediation.

Then there is no problem with that.

"As for going with you, forget it; I can't get away here, there are too many things to do."

Since Fang Dazhuang said so, then forget it; Zhou Yi thought about it and decided to go by himself.

He did not call Zhou Cainiao, and he didn't know why, but ever since last time, Zhou Cainiao's expression had not been right when she saw him.

Plus, Fang Dazhuang said not to provoke the other party recently, as if something had happened, so Zhou Yi did not tell Zhou Xinran.

It was actually the General Manager who suggested that since the Chairman was going out, it would be better to bring a Secretary.

Emmm... one can only say that the General Manager had never given up; he always felt that President Zhou was hinting at him back then, but he just wouldn't admit it!

Then he must make President Zhou admit it!

"Think about it, President Zhou, your status is different now. When you are out and about, you must have someone by your side to take care of you. Weiwei is very attentive, and as your Secretary, she has never had any lapses in her work."

He was decisively rejected by Zhou Yi!

If this were a man, it would be fine to bring him along, but bringing a pretty and well-proportioned girl along, as a lone man and woman, would invite suspicion if word got out.

One must be mindful of the impact; he didn't care, but the girl still had to find a partner and get married in the future.

The General Manager had nothing to say; he suddenly wondered, could it be that this really wasn't President Zhou's type?

It seemed the new Manager Chu was quite familiar with President Zhou; how about letting Manager Chu try?

Ignoring the General Manager who seemed a bit obsessed, Zhou Yi left the Company and began booking a flight.

Logically speaking, he only needed to send someone to take a look, but staying in Jingzhou, he felt restless and really wanted to go out for a trip.

After booking the flight to the capital of Hanxi Province, Zhou Yi went home to pack his things and set off that very day.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Fang Dazhuang had just finished his work and stretched.

Regarding Zhou Yi's idea, he also expressed support; being serious doesn't necessarily mean one has to go to Court.

You say you have money, fine, I'll come find you, and we'll go right away; you say you have no money and play the victim, that's fine too, I can still come find you, and we can face each other.

Sigh, it's just a pity that this person is too lazy. According to Fang Dazhuang, at the very least, you have to have some skills—either be excellent at Debate or be able to fight.

It's worrying.

It's a pity that he himself couldn't keep his mouth shut; when chatting with Zhou Xinran earlier, he told her what he had said to Zhou Yi.

From Fang Dazhuang's perspective, there was indeed a bit of tacit understanding between the two, but after hearing it, Zhou Xinran had the same expression as Zhou Yi did at the time.

"Are you kidding me?" "Him, Zhou Yi?" Similar things, which was very frustrating.

Just as he was pondering, the office door knocked, and then Zhou Xinran pushed the door and entered.

"Xinran, you're here. Let the past be the past."

Zhou Xinran nodded and said: "Teacher Fang, I don't want to think about that matter anymore. By the way, where did Zhou Yi go? Why haven't I seen him come by lately?"

"You actually care where Zhou Yi went?" Now it was Fang Dazhuang's turn to be unsettled.

When I told you before, you had that expression, and now you are asking where he went?

"I'm not caring where he went; I just saw someone playing the victim, that Wu Xing you are filing a Lawsuit against, and now public opinion is a bit off, so I wanted to ask." Zhou Xinran still had that same look.

Fang Dazhuang looked at her suspiciously, then said: "Regarding the matter you mentioned, Zhou Yi went to the other party's home, preparing to take a look."

"Oh, I see."

Zhou Xinran turned around, then asked as if she didn't care: "Then, Teacher Fang, did Zhou Yi go alone? Aren't you going with him?"

"Why would I go? I have so many things to do here. Alright, you go get busy. Zhou Yi said he expects to be back in a few days, and we'll have a meal together then."

"Oh!"

Watching Zhou Xinran leave, Fang Dazhuang hurriedly called Zhou Yi.

"Hey, you said you were taking a black-stockinged female Secretary with you, is that true or false? I suddenly feel... how about I go for a trip too? False? Then never mind."

"Just kidding, I really can't get away, but Xinran just asked where you went. I said, remember to eat when you get back; I have two more bottles of good wine!"

The filler chapter is here. Thanks to Book Friend 2017, Book Friend 2022, Wenchidage, and thanks to the brothers for the tips, thank you.

(End of chapter)