Chapter 753: We are the victims

In the conference room, Bureau Chief Bai, with a smile on his face, gave a light cough and said with a laugh, "Since Comrade Lu has arrived, let's begin our meeting."

The dozen or so people in the conference room looked toward Lu Qiao, their expressions quite complex.

This newcomer, she's something else...

You have to understand, regardless of whether one has work experience, anyone newly transferred to this unit is a newcomer.

It's often said that newcomers can't find their way around.

But this female comrade is different; the doors are wide open for her.

Take this current incident: because of our own mistakes and the losses caused by irresistible natural disasters, we could only swallow our pride and bear the pain.

The two old factory directors, unwilling to give up, spent their days pitifully guarding the entrance of the General Bureau.

They were holding onto a sliver of luck and a final hope; everyone could understand that.

But in truth, even in the end, the result would be the same: it was fundamentally impossible to recover the losses.

One could only say it was money spent on a painful lesson.

Who could have imagined!

Lu Qiao—a newcomer who had only reported for duty for a day or so—sifted through the existing data and unearthed the suspicious points.

It wasn't very complicated; she just went to the meteorological department and then pulled the files on the Feng family.

From these documents, she formed an unexpected deduction.

Starting from Feng Dong, she truly found a massive breakthrough.

In just a few days, the matter took an incredible turn.

Looking at the trend, we should be able to get our cargo compensation back.

Are we convinced? It's hard to say, but one thing is for sure: no one dares to underestimate her anymore.

Lu Qiao acted as if she didn't notice everyone's gazes, her back straight and her expression very serious.

Section Chief Lu introduced the situation: it turned out that before we had even formally inquired, just by making a single phone call, the Malaysian boss immediately communicated with us through the foreign affairs department, saying there was a misunderstanding and hoping we could act as intermediaries so he could sit down and have a proper talk with Feng Dong.

Following that was Anster from Country M.

He also called the foreign affairs department, saying there was a misunderstanding and hoping for a chance to explain.

Section Chief Lu said, "The specific news hasn't been sent back yet, but it can be preliminarily determined that Feng Dong, who knows everything, is furious. Not only did he send a secret ship to the island, but he also invited a mysterious big shot to oversee the situation, stating that as long as this matter is resolved, he would share thirty percent of the Feng family's shipping lines."

A low murmur of discussion broke out in the conference room.

"Thirty percent of the shipping lines?"

Section Chief Wei stubbed out his cigarette, his brows knitting into a knot. "The Feng family's shipping lines in the Nanyang region are worth at least this much—" He held up three fingers. "Tens of millions of US dollars in annual turnover. Giving away thirty percent, that's a huge gesture!"

Section Chief Lu: "But this intermediary role isn't easy to play either."

"However, since the other party has come to us for help, if we reject them, what happens to our losses?"

Someone nodded: "Whether domestic or foreign, the ones who owe money are the real bosses!"

That statement wasn't wrong.

Some units in the country are like that now; for example, a certain department store owes goods to a certain factory. The other party visits several times, only to be told the funds from above haven't been allocated and they need to wait. So they wait—a month or two if they're lucky, or even half a year or longer if they're not.

Bureau Chief Bai held his teacup, the lid scraping against the tea foam again and again, remaining silent for a long time. When the discussion died down, he lifted his eyelids and looked at Lu Qiao:

"Xiao Lu, you were the one who sorted out the suspicious points. Tell us, how should we negotiate next?"

Dozens of various gazes converged once more.

Lu Qiao put down her fountain pen, lifted her head, and spoke in a steady, unhurried voice:

"Bureau Chief, leaders, let me express my opinion. I feel that in this negotiation, we are not the mediators, but the victims.

The Malaysian boss and Anster conspired to set a trap to swallow the Feng family's shipping business and incidentally scam our goods; this is fraud, an international commercial crime. Feng Dong is currently in a state of thunderous rage; not to say it's a fight to the death, but he certainly won't let the other party off easily. As it stands, we are standing on the same side as Feng Dong."

Everyone: "..."

That's right, we are the victims; why should we help them reconcile?

Feng Dong was scammed and tricked; he hates the other party to death. Asking him to bow his head now would be offending everyone completely.

They had been led astray by the other party.

But one couldn't blame these people; to say something heartbreaking, this should be the first time foreign businessmen have lowered their noble heads.

Secretary Shi looked at Lu Qiao with appreciation, nodding with a hearty laugh: "Good, good, good. Xiao Lu's words make sense."

Lu Qiao couldn't say everything, so she closed her mouth after finishing.

She picked up her fountain pen, looking as if she were prepared to listen to others speak.

Bureau Chief Bai nodded inwardly.

This girl is too sharp.

Thus, Deputy Section Chief Zhou said: "The goods from the two factories are gone, the workers' wages can't be paid, the tea farmers' harvest for the year has gone down the drain, and the exquisite handicrafts have sunk to the bottom of the sea. Xiao Lu is right; we are sitting here not to act as peacemakers for them, but to recover the losses and get back what should be ours."

Following this, everyone spoke up one after another. With a clear direction, everything else was easier to refine.

Section Chief Lu decided to represent the Foreign Trade General Bureau and personally go to Guangcheng to meet with Feng Dong.

As for how to negotiate, that would be their business.

Subsequently, Bureau Chief Bai announced the end of the meeting.

Lu Qiao checked the time; it was already past ten. So, she and Gu Jiayan checked into the guesthouse together.

After washing up, Gu Jiayan looked at Lu Qiao and finally broke the silence: "That... how was your first day of school today?"

Lu Qiao was frowning while wiping her hair. A meeting with over a dozen people, and seven of them were heavy smokers.

The conference room was thick with choking smoke; she felt her hair smelled like dry tobacco.

These heavy smokers didn't bother with filters; they just smoked loose tobacco leaves.

If she weren't sharing a room with Gu Jiayan, she would have entered her space to clean up.

Lu Qiao put down her towel and said with a smile: "It was alright. The overall atmosphere is very good, full of youthful spirit and striving for progress. There's even a monthly subsidy, so students from difficult family backgrounds have less pressure and don't have to worry about living expenses, allowing them to focus on their studies and serve the motherland after graduation..."

Gu Jiayan: "..."

This answer is truly... good!

She thought for a moment and said in a low voice: "Although that... ah, I still want to say thank you. The other day when you taught me how to adjust my mindset and how to get along with Qi Qi, I found it very useful. Thank you!"

Lu Qiao smiled gently: "As long as it was useful."

Gu Jiayan saw her finish wiping her hair and hurriedly said: "Deputy Section Chief Zhou's room has a hairdryer; I'll go get it so we can both use it."

She had just washed her hair yesterday.

She hadn't wanted to wash it, but Lu Qiao was so beautiful, clean, and fresh that she felt embarrassed to be sloppy.

Gu Jiayan went to Deputy Section Chief Zhou's room to get the hairdryer, and Lu Qiao took this opportunity to enter her space. ===== CHAPTER 754 =====