Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees

Thirty-four-year-old Wang Xin was balding prematurely, his hairline receding into an M-shape.

He sat in his executive chair, turning a deaf ear to Wang Huiwen’s words, his eyes fixed on the computer screen.

”Brother Xin, the Market Supervision Association wants us to come in this afternoon.”

Wang Huiwen said again.

”Old Wang, Chen Yansen has returned to Xucheng,” Wang Xin said with a slight sigh.

”Brother Xin, are you saying Senlian Capital is behind this?” Wang Huiwen asked, frowning.

”It could also be Li Yanhong,” Wang Xin replied, looking up. ’I’m not sure, but I think it’s more likely Chen Yansen is making a move.’

From what he knew of Zhang Chaoyang, simply passing along a message wouldn’t have been a difficult request. So for Chen Yansen to remain unmoved, even knowing Meituan was willing to concede, most likely meant he had other plans.

’Senlian Capital wants Meituan dead!’

Wang Xin’s fantasy was shattered!

’Chen Yansen never had any intention of acquiring Meituan!’

”Brother Xin, I just finished a meeting with the Market Department, Investment Attraction Department, and PR. The provisional penalty plan is this: first, we’ll ban the merchants involved and compensate users who placed orders in the past week with a 100-yuan coupon with no spending minimum. Then, we’ll add manual reviews and raise the entry barrier for new merchants.”

Wang Huiwen said, continuing on his own.

”Handle it like that for now. If Senlian Capital makes a move, they’ll probably have a follow-up. Old Wang, don’t panic. It’s not like they’ve ordered Meituan to cease operations. Things aren’t as serious as you think.”

Wang Xin chuckled, speaking dismissively.

’In reality, what company doesn’t have negative press or a skeleton in its closet?’

’Reports like the Qian Du Network fake medicine scandal, the Renren Network voyeurism scandal, or the Tianya data leak were everywhere. You just had to weather the storm.’

Seeing Wang Xin as steady as a mountain, Wang Huiwen instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

”Okay, Brother Xin. I understand.” Wang Huiwen nodded and turned to leave the office.

Only after Old Wang was gone did Wang Xin deflate like a punctured ball. His brow furrowed, creating two deep ravines.

’His earlier performance was just to keep Wang Huiwen calm. If even I panicked, the people under me would be in even greater chaos.’

Facing this wave of attacks from Pei Yi, Meituan didn’t even have a channel to voice its side of the story; it could only take the beating passively.

After the Market Association announced it was launching an investigation, Meituan Takeout instantly became synonymous with ”filthy, messy, and poor quality.” Countless delivery riders came forward with exposés, pushing the company into the eye of the storm.

A day passed, and the buzz, instead of dying down, only intensified!

Meituan Takeout’s average daily orders in the North China and Northeast Regions were originally around 100,000. As soon as the news broke, that number dropped by twenty percent on the same day.

This showed that there was some truth to what Wang Xin had said. Negative press could harm the company, but it wasn’t a fatal blow.

As long as they handled it properly and eliminated the impact in time, they would be fine.

’But would Pei Yi give Meituan that chance?’

As evening fell, a complete list of exposés was posted online, totaling 37 takeout restaurants. These establishments were not only on Meituan but also on Qian Du Delivery.

And so, in less than half an hour, Wang Zhongpu, the head of Qian Du Delivery, was also being flamed on the trending topics.

”Making users pay to eat garbage?”

”Wang Xin and Wang Zhongpu are absolute animals!”

”Why isn’t Kuai Pao Delivery on the list?”

”I checked. Kuai Pao doesn’t partner with any of these 37 restaurants.”

”The merchant info page on Kuai Pao Delivery has real photos of the storefront, the kitchen, and the dining area. If their hygiene wasn’t up to standard, they would have been reported by a rider and delisted long ago. Don’t you guys know that?”

Netizens discussed in the comments section.

A moment later, someone posted a comparison of the merchant information pages from Kuai Pao, Meituan, and Qian Du Delivery. They looked similar at a glance, but Kuai Pao had an extra collapsible section. Clicking it loaded high-definition photos, allowing users to inspect the restaurant’s surroundings, dining area, and kitchen hygiene.

Meanwhile, the merchant pages on Meituan and Qian Du Delivery were bare, showing only a phone number and an address.