Chapter 740: 735. Still Too Merciful (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)

Zhang Ran left Xia Zhangqing's home. Although he wore a gentle smile while saying goodbye, Xia Zhangqing could tell that Zhang Ran was actually in a very bad mood.

In fact, this was normal; no one would be in a good mood after having someone cause such trouble within their own business.

On the way back to the hotel, Zhang Ran laughed at himself and said, "Dayong, I finally understand why so many people choose this model even when they know the various drawbacks of family businesses."

Logically speaking, Zhang Ran had been very good to these employees, and he had nothing to say against the senior management.

Power, salary, and even dividends—everything that should have been given was given.

But what then?

Even so, they still did such things, which suddenly made Zhang Ran feel a sense of disappointment.

He had always believed that his approach was correct, even after the incident with Tian Yaohui and the others.

Because in Zhang Ran's view, the occurrence of things like what Tian Yaohui and the others did was understandable, or rather, to be expected.

After all, facing such great temptations of profit, plus the fact that he, Zhang Ran, had "died," such a situation was understandable.

But now?

Heh, now he, Zhang Ran, was still alive and well, and he hadn't been idle during this time, yet there were people who acted as if he didn't exist.

He Yong did not speak, only driving silently. He did not know what he should say; he did not understand these matters very well.

However, he knew that as long as Zhang Ran gave the order, he would complete it no matter what.

Zhang Ran did not expect an answer from He Yong; he just sighed deeply and looked silently at the scenery outside the car.

After arriving at the hotel, Zhang Ran received a call from He Qing, whom he had sent to Maikai Supermarket.

At Maikai Supermarket, Jiao Zhen had taken the initiative to report the problems. Logically, Zhang Ran should have gone there, as even Jiao Zhen felt things were spiraling out of control.

Moreover, even with the situation at Yaotian Pharmaceutical right now, and even after what Xia Zhangqing had said, the reality was not as serious as at Maikai Supermarket.

But for some reason, Zhang Ran just felt that Yaotian Pharmaceutical, which appeared to have no problems on the surface, had developed major issues.

"Zhang Shu, I investigated some people and asked a few others; the situation might be worse than we imagined," He Qing said in a heavy tone.

Zhang Ran's expression remained unchanged as he said indifferently, "Tell me about it."

"From what I know so far, the middle management at Maikai Supermarket has engaged in serious graft and extortion, especially toward the suppliers.

There is also the fact that some middle managers have turned normal company merchandise into near-expiry goods and then sold them at low prices.

Some even take them directly to supermarkets they opened themselves. From what I know, these are basically things happening in plain sight," He Qing's tone was heavy.

She hadn't expected things to be this serious before she arrived.

Actually, such things are not particularly hard to understand, as Jiao Zhen was brought in entirely from the outside.

Although he is very famous in this industry, he has no foundation at all at Maikai Supermarket. He has the team he brought with him, but there is a severe lack of middle management.

More importantly, since Jiao Zhen had already submitted the report to him, it was clear that problems had also emerged within his own team.

By doing a little bit of tampering, and with the cover of the vast middle-management system and some senior executives, it is very easy to accomplish these things.

However, overall, Zhang Ran had not trusted the wrong person; upon realizing the severity of the problem, Jiao Zhen reported the news to Zhang Ran immediately.

This matter was actually very difficult for Jiao Zhen to handle, because if not handled well, it would cause great turmoil, which would be very unfavorable for Maikai Supermarket.

Only by having the Big Boss, Zhang Ran, make the final decision and take certain measures, or by handling these matters personally, could the impact be minimized.

Zhang Ran took a deep breath. Even though he was mentally prepared, hearing He Qing say this now made it hard to control the anger in his heart.

However, he did not continue to ask further, but instead asked, "How did you find out about this news? To be able to find out so much in such a short time is really quite good."

He Qing's ability to find this out in such a short time was highly credible.

He Qing said, "Didn't I work at Maikai Supermarket for a while before? I got to know some people, especially in the finance department.

And it is basically impossible to bypass finance for these kinds of things; after all, accounts need to be kept for many things.

I just went and asked directly."

Zhang Ran was stunned. He was not at all surprised that there were problems in finance; what he found strange was how He Qing managed to get answers just by asking.

"It's like this: actually, she only told me a little bit, didn't go into detail, and didn't provide any evidence.

So I'm thinking of going to find her again tomorrow to get to the bottom of it, and preferably get some evidence," He Qing said.

Zhang Ran frowned slightly, but after thinking about it, he didn't say much else and said directly, "Leave this matter to you for now. Remember, I only need to see the final result."

"Understood," He Qing felt a jolt in her heart and then said solemnly.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Ran thought for a moment and dialed a number.

"Boss Li, how is business lately?" Zhang Ran said with a chuckle, his tone devoid of any anger.

Li Da was somewhat surprised to hear Zhang Ran's words. How did Zhang Ran have time to call him?

However, he immediately replied, "Haha, thanks to Mr. Zhang's blessing, the sales of our Li Da food products have been growing steadily recently."

Since the last two incidents, Li Da Group and Maikai Supermarket had reached a strategic cooperation, and he had also given a lot back to Maikai Supermarket.

Zhang Ran exchanged some pleasantries with Li Da and then got to the point, "Boss Li, I heard that there seems to be a serious phenomenon of graft and extortion at Maikai Supermarket. Do you know about this?"

Zhang Ran's tone was already smiling, as if he didn't care at all.

However, Li Da's heart skipped a beat, and his mind raced. In fact, graft and extortion were not particularly unusual for large groups like theirs.

To say nothing else, he himself knew that there were many such people within his own company, but because of many connections, he hadn't dealt with them.

And the key was that for large groups like theirs, Maikai Supermarket's situation was actually a good thing. It was precisely because of this that Li Da Group had recently achieved major breakthroughs in sales and other areas.

But now that Zhang Ran had called personally to ask about this issue, Li Da needed to think carefully about how to answer.