Chapter 146: The Counterattack Begins

Sunday, April 5, 1992. The temperature rose across the board, and the frozen, rigid ground began to thaw, becoming somewhat muddy.

In Cangshan Village, eight kilometers from the city center, a terrifying piece of news spread throughout the entire village in an instant that very morning.

Villager Sheng Yusheng died suddenly; before his death, he had suddenly gone blind. His son, Sheng Keliang, invited dozens of friends and relatives to hold the funeral for his father. After the meal, eighteen of the friends and relatives who had come to help suddenly developed symptoms of dizziness, blurred vision, and generalized weakness.

Among them, a Daoist priest specifically invited to perform rites for the deceased suddenly went blind. The priest stumbled around in terror, feeling his way through the surroundings, repeatedly banging his forehead against the wall, and screaming in sorrow: "I've encountered a ghost, I've encountered a ghost!"

The once-supernatural Daoist priest had inexplicably become blind, and everyone was stunned with fear. In an instant, a terrifying shadow shrouded the entire village, and all sorts of rumors spread like wildfire. Most shocking of all, the deceased's son, Sheng Keliang, had not even finished holding his father's funeral when he also died suddenly after dinner that night.

After the Municipal Bureau received the report, the Municipal Criminal Police Team dispatched investigators straight to Cangshan Village. Upon arrival, the accompanying forensic doctor understood immediately: methanol poisoning.

The Municipal Bureau convened an emergency meeting, established a special task force to thoroughly investigate the fake liquor case, and mobilized police forces to conduct detailed searches of shops and small kiosks in the surrounding villages and towns.

After six o'clock in the evening, Chen Laolai, Meng Xiaoping, and Ding Liuhe were arrested and brought to justice. The three guys insisted that the liquor had been stolen from the factory. Because Zhou Andong had fired them, they couldn't even afford to eat, so they could only steal liquor to sell for some money to spend. These three pieces of trash had not yet realized the seriousness of the matter.

In Zhou Andong's office, more than a dozen newspapers were placed on the desk. Apart from the Provincial Daily and the Evening News, all of them were publications with immense influence in the country. Without exception, the front-page headlines were all reports about people dying from drinking Jiangzhou Yugong liquor.

The photo above was a close-up of him at the main gate, facing the masses. Due to the angle, he looked so arrogant and insufferable.

Zhou Andong said, "Zhao Jianlong definitely couldn't have managed to mobilize so many media outlets for reports."

Gu Bing said coldly, "Tong Huaiyu. He is the only one who can manage this and also wants you dead."

"I didn't expect that Tong Huaiyu would join forces with Zhao Jianlong; it really surprised me."

After speaking, Zhou Andong picked up a newspaper, looked at the photo on it, and suddenly laughed: "I still look quite handsome, don't I?"

"You can still laugh?" Jian Qiu placed the newspaper she had just finished reading in front of Zhou Andong and said seriously, "Look, even the matter of your stock allocation has been reported, and they've even pinned the charge of stealing state assets on you. You can actually still laugh."

Zhou Andong picked up a cigarette and lit one, his face indifferent; one couldn't tell he was anxious at all: "Do you know what the deeper meaning of 'crossing the river by feeling the stones' is?"

Without waiting for Jian Qiu to answer, Zhou Andong continued: "Emancipating the mind, reform and opening up—it means encouraging exploration and allowing for mistakes. Mistakes can be made, but reform cannot be disallowed."

Zhou Andong pointed his finger at the author of this article, some 'chief commentator,' and sneered: "This so-called chief commentator has a terrible sense of smell. It's only been a few days since the speech in the South, and he wrote this article. This isn't pinning a crime on me; it's blatantly opposing reform and opening up, putting a guillotine on his own neck."

"However!" Zhou Andong said, "I actually admire Tong Huaiyu. He is worthy of being a big shot who has been to America; he actually knows how to utilize public opinion."

Gu Bing said irritably, "You'd better think carefully about how to resolve this crisis."

Zhou Andong laughed: "How can this be a crisis?"

Gu Bing was stunned, and Jian Qiu's eyes also lit up.

"What do you mean?" the two asked in unison.

Zhou Andong said, "For us, this isn't a crisis, but an opportunity—an opportunity to make a name for our Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor Industry."

As he spoke, Zhou Andong grabbed the newspaper on the desk, "This is Tong Huaiyu personally handing us a gun loaded with bullets."

Gu Bing got excited, his eyes becoming very bright: "Tell us quickly, what do we do?"

Zhou Andong said, "Collect all the newspapers that reported the fake liquor incident and sue them."

"What?" Gu Bing's expression changed, "You want to sue these media outlets?"

Suing the media in this era was truly a shocking thing.

Zhou Andong chuckled: "Don't make a fuss."

Jian Qiu realized the implication: "If we sue these media outlets directly, they will definitely spare no effort to fight this lawsuit against us for the sake of their own reputation. Not to mention the time and effort, the final result might not be what we want. Most importantly, the long duration is too disadvantageous for us.

Therefore, we must list these reporters as the first defendants and the newspaper offices as the second defendants. In this way, the primary responsibility of the newspaper offices will be much lighter, and naturally, they won't fight us to the death. Then, by shifting the blame onto those reporters who wrote the reports, they can preserve their reputation and retreat easily."

Gu Bing frowned and said, "Suing the reporters is fine, but why must you include those media outlets?"

"You really are a pig!" Zhou Andong said mercilessly: "If we don't include those media outlets, how can we cause a sensation, and how can we maximize our benefits?"

Jian Qiu said, "Leave this matter to me; I'll go back to the capital to handle it."

"No rush!" Zhou Andong said: "Let the bullets fly for a few more days first, and then I'll approve 100,000 for you. Hire a few more lawyers, and we'll also find a few media outlets to report on this lawsuit, thoroughly muddying these waters."

"Clap, clap, clap..."

The office door was suddenly knocked on, and Zhou Andong said, "Come in!"

Du Chunlai pushed the door open and walked in with an anxious face: "Factory Director, you've seen those reports, right?" Only after speaking did he greet Gu Bing and Jian Qiu.

Zhou Andong pointed to the desk: "They're all here."

"What should we do?" Du Chunlai had been working on mergers and reorganizations below for the past two days. After seeing the reports, he ran back without even eating dinner.

Zhou Andong said to Jian Qiu, "Pour a cup of tea for Old Du, let him rest for a bit."

Jian Qiu rolled her eyes, found a teacup, and poured a cup of tea for Du Chunlai.

"Ring..."

At this moment, the phone rang again. Picking up the phone, Cheng Zhanjun's low voice came through the receiver.

"Zhou Andong, this is Cheng Zhanjun."

"Leader!" Zhou Andong said: "You called me because of those reports, right?"

"Yes!" Cheng Zhanjun said: "This matter is very serious; for your liquor factory, it is absolutely a matter of life and death. Even if I use my connections now, it's impossible to eliminate the influence."

Zhou Andong said, "I invite you to watch a big show, free of charge."