Chapter 968: A Fool Who Can

Lan Minghai was formerly the deputy manager of Jinghua’s Procurement Department; he was in his early thirties, a relative of some high-ranking official, lacking ability but brimming with ambition.

He had always wanted to push Manager Cai Yunfeng out so he could take his place—using any means necessary—and Cai Yunfeng had endured enough of it, otherwise Tang Lin could never have so easily lured Cai Yunfeng over to Dahrunfa.

After Cai Yunfeng moved to Dahrunfa, he naturally brought with him the supply channels he controlled.

Without Cai Yunfeng, Dahrunfa would never have opened so smoothly.

After Cai Yunfeng left, Lan Minghai naturally took the top spot as manager of the Procurement Department.

He could enjoy the shade of the tree others planted, but asking him to prune, fertilize, or loosen the soil—technical tasks—was beyond him.

Yet this man had no self-awareness; he believed his abilities surpassed Cai Yunfeng’s, and upon hearing the deputy manager’s words, he slapped his chest confidently.

“Rest assured, my leader—I’ll negotiate the price down, and it’ll be even lower than Dahrunfa’s.”

The deputy manager of Procurement was Wang Hui, twenty-four, tall and slender, wearing a women’s blazer, with short hair cut just past her ears, looking sharp and efficient.

It was said Wang Hui was also a connection hire, but she was appointed from the city level; even Gong Zhensheng wasn’t sure exactly who backed her.

Hearing Lan Minghai’s assurance, a mocking glint flashed in Wang Hui’s eyes: “Leader, Dahrunfa’s discounts aren’t just from suppliers.”

“At opening, Dahrunfa put up three million in subsidies. For this Mid-Autumn festival, their discounts are even bigger—I’m sure they’re putting up more than three million this time.”

Wang Hui’s words silenced everyone; even the deputy manager’s heart sank.

Yes, Dahrunfa’s promotions weren’t just minor supplier discounts—they had genuinely poured three million into subsidies.

Could Jinghua do it? Even thirty million might not get approval, let alone three million.

At that moment, the office door suddenly knocked, and Gong Zhensheng called out: “Come in!”

A sales clerk entered, face pale: “Manager, that old man who bought the radio has come back to cause trouble at the mall.”

“What?”

The deputy manager shot to his feet: “Wasn’t the radio fixed? Why is he back?”

“How should I know?” The clerk looked equally furious: “He’s right at the entrance, blocking customers, saying our mall has no credibility, terrible product quality, awful service, and telling people to go to Dahrunfa.”

“Damn it!” Lan Minghai stood up: “I’ll handle it. That old bastard thinks we’re soft if we ignore him?”

Watching Lan Minghai leave, Wang Hui frowned, wanting to speak, but since the leader had tacitly approved, she bit her tongue. Yet her heart tightened—she had a premonition something big was coming.

“Alright!” the deputy manager said. “Manager Lan is handling it. Let’s continue.”

Continue my ass, some thought—unless Jinghua was willing to shell out a few million in subsidies, talking till tomorrow would be useless.

Seeing no one speak, the deputy manager turned to Wang Hui: “Little Wang, what’s your opinion?”

Wang Hui said: “To compete with Dahrunfa, Jinghua’s only path is to invest heavily and overhaul everything—lower prices, improve service.”

Gong Zhensheng let out a bitter laugh: “Everyone knows that, but how easy is it? Jinghua’s floor space is smaller than Dahrunfa’s, but renovation would require at least six months of closure.”

Think about it—the losses during closure, plus renovation and equipment replacement costs—would easily exceed ten million. The higher-ups won’t approve.”

Wang Hui sighed: “I know they won’t approve, but we must fight for it. Times are changing; retail competition will only grow fiercer. If we don’t reform, we’ll be eliminated by the market.”

“Bang!”

The conference room door burst open; the sales clerk stumbled in, face ashen.

“Big… big trouble—Manager Lan hit that old man, and now the whole crowd’s gathered outside, blocking our main entrance.”

“What?” Gong Zhensheng could no longer sit still—he rushed out.

The others followed, Wang Hui trailing behind, sighing and muttering under her breath.

“A fool who can’t accomplish anything but always messes things up.”

Outside the mall entrance, the old man lay on the ground, groaning incoherently.

Lan Minghai was stunned—he had come out swaggering, cursing the old man.

The old man had lived this long; being scolded like a grandson by a young pup—could he take it?

He shoved Lan Minghai, and Lan Minghai reacted violently, slapping the old man across the face.

The result: the old man couldn’t get up. Lan Minghai now realized he’d made a grave mistake.

“Make way! Make way!”

Gong Zhensheng pushed through the crowd blocking the entrance and saw the scene—his face darkened as he glared at Lan Minghai.

“Grandpa, how are you?” Gong Zhensheng hurried over to help the old man up.

The old man groaned, his tightly shut eyes slowly cracking open a sliver, weakly saying: “My head hurts, I feel nauseous, I can’t see anything clearly.”

The deputy manager arrived, saw the situation, and immediately ordered someone to call an ambulance.

“Everyone, stop watching—disperse!”

A leader tried to clear the onlookers, but no one listened.

The leader was furious, but far smarter than Lan Minghai.

He knew flexing official power now would only incite public rage, so he said nothing, turned, and retreated with a grim expression.

Soon, police arrived. After learning the situation, their heads began to ache too.

If this were any other old man, they’d take him away, reprimand him, and notify his family.

But this old man? Because of the radio incident, he’d become too famous.

Look at the scene—layers of people surrounding the mall, listen to the murmurs—everyone was cursing the mall and Lan Minghai.

If they took the old man away, the situation could spiral into something worse.

They might all end up covered in shit, vilified by the public.

After a brief consultation, the officers decided to take the old man to the hospital first, then contact his family and negotiate with the mall.

………………

At Beijing Airport, Zhou Andong, Jian Qiu, Wu Hongkang, and Zhang Shenghui exited.

They had agreed to meet in Yangcheng on the fourth, then each took a taxi and left.

Zhou Andong and Jian Qiu didn’t return to the hospital—they went straight to Compound Six.

They missed their daughter, but didn’t expect that Jian Zhengxue and Gu Minglan had taken the child out.

The old man was watching TV; Zhou Andong glanced over.

“Hmm?”

It was Miss Yang’s interview show—the guest was Tang Bei.