Chapter 162

Fang Kongwei could no longer sit still; he didn't even eat lunch before running off to find the editor-in-chief.

Editor-in-chief Liu Qixuan was just preparing to go out for lunch. Seeing Fang Kongwei arrive, he found it very strange and joked, "Are you going to treat me to lunch?"

"Are you going to treat me to lunch?"

Fang Kongwei shook his head with a worried look: "Editor Liu, you know that Jiangzhou Winery has sued me and the newspaper, right?"

Looking at Fang Kongwei's dejected appearance, Liu Qixuan smiled and said: "Are you afraid?"

Fang Kongwei shook his head: "It's not that I'm afraid, I'm just a bit worried. Jiangzhou Winery has sued all the media outlets that reported on the Yugong Liquor causing deaths; this in itself is very abnormal."

Liu Qixuan said: "There's nothing to worry about. Jiangzhou Winery doing this is nothing more than a deathbed struggle. As for this lawsuit, not to mention who wins or loses, even if we just drag it out, Jiangzhou Winery cannot afford to wear us down."

Fang Kongwei thought about it and felt this made a lot of sense. Besides, the other party hadn't just sued him; with so many media outlets and so many media professionals banding together, what else was there to worry about? His heart suddenly brightened.

"Let's go, boss, I'll treat you to lunch."

They didn't know that Editor-in-Chief Chen Minru and Deputy Editor-in-Chief Cui Honglin were looking very serious, not nearly as optimistic as they were.

"Old Cui, this matter is a bit difficult to handle." Chen Minru stood by the window, looking at the scenery on the street, his brows tightly furrowed.

Cui Honglin stood beside him, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Should we say a word to Old Qiao at the Intermediate Court?"

Chen Minru didn't answer him, but instead asked: "Do you know how Jiangzhou Winery could have the guts to sue so many of our media outlets?"

Cui Honglin gave a cold snort: "Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers; Jiangzhou Winery's director, Zhou Andong, isn't very old to begin with."

"Sigh!" Chen Minru sighed: "At first, I thought so too, but then I figured it out. This Zhou Andong is no newborn calf; he is a sinister and cunning wolf."

Cui Honglin was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Chen Minru said: "The speeches in the south have concluded, and reform and opening up have entered the fast lane, but many foreign-funded enterprises still have concerns, fearing that policies might fluctuate, and are all taking a wait-and-see approach.

At this time, Jiangzhou Winery suing us media outlets is very representative. I estimate that many big shots above are watching, and they certainly want to use this case to send a signal to those foreign-funded enterprises, proving that we are a country ruled by law.

And Zhou Andong has grasped exactly this point, which is why he has the guts to sue us and blow this matter up completely. Because he knows that we are bound to lose this lawsuit. Don't even talk about finding Old Qiao; even the president would be useless. In the face of the general trend, no one dares to reach out recklessly."

Cui Honglin gasped: "Old Chen, you are being a bit alarmist. A small winery director might have some extraordinary qualities, but could he really figure out such deep-level things?"

Chen Minru said: "Don't underestimate any of your opponents, otherwise you will surely die a very ugly death. Moreover, Zhou Andong suing us has another purpose, which I estimate is also the most important factor in him suing us."

Cui Honglin asked: "What purpose?"

Chen Minru said: "After our reports on the Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor causing deaths, didn't its fame increase greatly?"

Cui Honglin nodded: "That's true!"

Chen Minru continued: "Zhou Andong sued us media outlets; didn't that increase his fame another wave? Once they win this lawsuit, Jiangzhou Yugong Liquor will inevitably be a household name."

Cui Honglin didn't speak for a long time. After Chen Minru's analysis, he suddenly felt that this person, Zhou Andong, was a bit terrifying.

"Tong Huaiyu has kicked an iron plate this time. Instead of bringing down Jiangzhou Winery, he built a ladder for them. We really shouldn't have participated in this matter. We gave Tong Huaiyu face, but we brought a whole lot of trouble upon ourselves; it's just not worth it."

Chen Minru said: "It's too late to say anything now, but fortunately, Zhou Andong didn't intend to kill us all off; instead, he left us a way out."

Cui Honglin raised an eyebrow: "We still have a retreat?"

"Yes!" Chen Minru said: "Didn't you read the indictment? The first defendant is the reporter who wrote the article, and the newspaper is only the second defendant. The primary responsibility is very light, just lax review and dereliction of duty. This is also the goodwill Zhou Andong is releasing to us. For the sake of the newspaper's reputation, we can only accept this goodwill and sacrifice the pawn to save the knight."

Cui Honglin's face changed: "You mean..."

Chen Minru nodded: "If we fight to the death with the other party for the sake of Fang Kongwei, the final result might be that the newspaper's reputation won't be saved at all. Moreover, his commentary article looks like it's criticizing Zhou Andong for embezzling state assets, but in reality, it denies the achievements of the reform and opening up over the past ten-plus years.

This is very dangerous, so tomorrow we must make a statement, firmly supporting reform and opening up, absolutely not allowing the resistance of vested interests to dissolve it, and not allowing those in positions who do not move forward but instead retreat to obstruct it."

Cui Honglin sighed and said: "That article was approved for publication by Liu Qixuan. I didn't see it until the newspaper came out the next day. I was stunned at the time, and I even called Liu Qixuan over and gave him a good scolding. But it had already been published, and there was no way to retract it. I was also hoping for a stroke of luck that the higher-ups wouldn't give us a hard time over this article."

Chen Minru said: "But we cannot guarantee that one day in the future, this report will become a weapon for some people to give us a fatal blow. Therefore, the statement must be made, Liu Qixuan must also be punished, and we cannot be soft on expelling Fang Kongwei."

Fang Kongwei didn't know that his fate had been arranged in the time it took to eat a meal. At this moment, he was drinking with Liu Qixuan, and it seemed he hadn't drunk little; his face was flushed red, and he had long since thrown the matter of being sued to the back of his mind.

Huo Xing saw the news about those media outlets being sued and was stunned for a long, long time. Zhou Andong's operation was completely beyond his expectations, yet it hit them in a way that left them with no power to fight back.

"What's wrong?" Zhao Jianlong shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, and seeing Huo Xing's expression was off, he asked.

Huo Xing handed the newspaper to Zhao Jianlong: "Take a look!"

Zhao Jianlong took it and looked, his face turning purple as if he were constipated, but unexpectedly, he didn't get angry.

"Should we notify Mr. Tong?"

Huo Xing shook his head: "He must already know. Since he hasn't given us any instructions, we will proceed according to the plan."

Zhao Jianlong nodded. Just as he was about to speak, his mobile phone rang. He picked it up and pressed the answer button. Upon hearing the other party's words, the gloom on his face was swept away, and he laughed heartily.

"Thank you, thank you, Director Wang. Do you have time tonight? Let's have a drink, the two of us... Good, good, I'll call you tonight."

Zhao Jianlong held the mobile phone and looked at Huo Xing, saying: "Guess, what happened?"

Huo Xing smiled: "The land has been approved."

"Hahaha..." Zhao Jianlong laughed again, "This afternoon, I'll go to the Jiang family to talk about the loan. You find a place to arrange things; tonight we'll treat Director Wang to dinner."