Song Tan's Notes

The leaders of Baiyu County were driving, and at that moment their feet, legs, and waists were all straining!

They wished they could floor the accelerator and spew sparks out, so everyone could get away with it!
To be honest, which is beneath my dignity, I absolutely hate it!

They spent countless days worrying about finding a market for grapes from Baiyu County, unable to eat or sleep.

Taking on this mess was not only out of a sense of duty, but also out of genuine empathy, compassion, and a sense of responsibility.

During the few days the anchor was here, although he didn't have to drink or brag with the young people, they were still on tenterhooks.

They stayed up all the time during the live stream, and even after the streamer rested at night, they continued to patrol the area to prevent anything from going wrong and causing them to lose face.

Now look what's happened, how long has it been since they left?
Has it been three hours?

I'm afraid they're not home yet.

You can check the website link and the online store on that live streaming platform; the announcement has already been released!
Such a large store cannot afford to have its reputation ruined; now it's truly too late to undo the damage!
Looking into the village group chat, there were several hurried phone calls from the village secretary, and everyone's heads were practically throbbing.

He answered the phone and said irritably:

"Hurry up, hurry up, what's with the rush?! Don't you think I'm in a hurry?!"

When he received the call, he was driving to the city, ready to excitedly report to his superiors!

As a result, the streamer's relative, that girl who looked like a fairy, was exceptionally efficient, didn't talk much but could also make decisive decisions, spoke in the same gentle and kind tone:

"Excuse me, sir, I just received news that in our county..."

He was furious whenever he thought about it!
It's not about the streamer, it's about these good-for-nothings!

"They posted the message in the group chat first, and then notified us. Don't you see what that means?!"

"They're not giving us a chance to smooth things over!"

"Do you know how much a top livestreamer earns in a day? We couldn't find anyone in Ningcheng to take this job, so we had to shamelessly beg our former boss! He only agreed because he had to use his connections!"

"...Five yuan commission? Is that a lot? Why don't you watch his previous live streams? Does he need your five yuan? He can sell his own fruit for a hundred! A hundred!!! And he has to fight for it, you know?"

He shouted until his voice was hoarse and broken, but the fire in his lungs burned even brighter.

Meanwhile, the village party secretary was also in a real dilemma.

At his age, how can he feel good about being insulted like that?
But then look at Gu Laosan, who's silently smoking beside me, occasionally wiping away tears with his thumb...

What can he do? What can he do?
He can't help anyone.

Even your own property depends on others to avoid losing everything.

After his boss finished venting his anger and hung up the phone, he took a drag of his cigarette before sighing to Gu Laosan:
"As you can see, we're begging them from top to bottom, there's no other way."

"And also, isn't that Minghe who's in charge of looking after your garden? You see, he's a serious and upright young man. Don't you ever wonder where he came from?"

"Do you think someone like that can just be a security guard without any influence or power?"

"You're still being so tough? What are you being so tough about? You got caught once and you still don't know when to back down? You want to get caught a second time?"

As he spoke, he silently took a deep drag on his cigarette, quickly reducing it to just the butt, which he then rubbed against the concrete floor in frustration.
"Tell me, after this incident, if we invite someone again next year, will they still come?"

Gu Laosan truly regretted it.

But he was genuinely aggrieved:

"I picked out all the substandard ones, and I'll accept the fines and deductions from my payment. But why are they refunding all the grapes I already sold? I've already harvested them..."

"What do we do? What do we do?"

He grabbed the village secretary's hand: "Uncle, I made a mistake in a moment of confusion, but he's my own family. I couldn't refuse him... Please put in a good word for me, please say a good word for me!"

After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'll give him eight yuan a pound! Ten yuan, ten yuan is fine too! The grapes I picked can't be hung back on the vine, they're going to rot, they're really going to rot!"

He was hoarse from shouting, and equally grief-stricken.

The village party secretary shook his head:
"They warned you beforehand, and there was a signed contract. In your case, they won't take responsibility."

To make it easier to understand, the streamer and his team even gave a brief explanation of the clauses in this situation before signing the contract.

The village party secretary could only sigh and didn't know what to do.

“The county leaders are coming. This isn’t just affecting your own family; it’s affecting other people’s businesses too.”

"Moreover, he canceled the link just like that. He didn't want your five yuan, and he even lost money to compensate you for that green pepper sauce, so he was willing to cancel it."

Gu Laosan raised his head:

"I'll pay for it! I'll pay for it! I'll give each customer a few extra packs as compensation, could you please ask them not to request a refund?"

"You're talking complete nonsense!"

The village party secretary's wife, seeing this from the side, glared at him.

"Every household has grapes. This year we asked for help, but who knows who we'll have to rely on next year? And this is the kind of thing you do?"

The livestreamer only left a few hours ago and he's already doing this kind of thing. Is he afraid that his village's reputation won't be ruined?

"I already told you to go check out their shop! This sauce is only a pound a bottle, how much does it cost? Two hundred and eighty-nine!"

The green peppers and beef from Qiaoqiao's shop have already seen a significant price increase.

Because there's not much beef or anything like that, it's truly a limited edition, even more precious than tea!
Those who managed to snag one, weren't they all wiping away tears and begging on their knees to have it put back on the shelves?

Now that they're offering to compensate for the green pepper sauce, a huge crowd has swarmed in.

Zhai Min is still in the mountains, and the customer service messages are almost crashing the backend system.

A large group of people were even jumping around, asking their seller if there were any substandard products and if they could get a replacement.
Good heavens, Gu Laosan did something foolish, but the one or two thousand people who bought the grapes are the ones who are truly happy!

In the eyes of netizens, he wasn't entirely without merit.

But the Song family doesn't acknowledge it!

Especially since this project to help farmers was taken on by Song Tan on behalf of Qiao Qiao, she wouldn't allow anyone to tarnish Qiao Qiao's reputation.

They took it off the shelves without warning. Now, he was in charge of driving, while Lu Chuan took over all the phone-related tasks.

He has a mild temper and speaks gently, but the firmness in his tone is undeniable.

"...Yes, I know. The people of Baiyu County are very sincere, and we can feel it..."

"Please don't say that, boss..."

"There's nothing we can do about it; it's unavoidable no matter where we are..."

"...Our Qiaoqiao signed a contract with a large company and received a signing bonus of nearly ten million. His reputation is tarnished, which damages the company's interests. The legal department will pursue this matter, and if it's serious, we'll have to pay liquidated damages..."

Song Tan would never sign such a clause, but that doesn't change the fact that this is the current state of affairs.

When Lu Chuan said it, the leaders believed him.

In short, the consequences should be explained in a serious manner, but the words should be gentle and polite, without a trace of anger. After several phone calls, everyone was frustrated and returned empty-handed.

What's that saying on the internet these days?

If you mess with me, you've hit a brick wall!
But if you kick a cotton mountain, you'll sink right in and be powerless to resist, eventually having to slink up in disgrace...

This is the mentality that leaders have nowadays.

At this moment, filled with anger and not knowing where to vent it, he could only clench his jaw tightly and press the accelerator pedal as hard as he could.

……

However, when the leaders finally parked their car at the village office in a manner that resembled a drift, and pushed open the courtyard gate, they heard the village secretary's wife's loud voice venting their anger on their behalf—

"Let me tell you, Gu Laosan! Don't play the victim here! Do you know that by doing this, you're cutting off the future of our entire village?"

"They took on business that others wouldn't dare to take to help us. You think this commission is too much? For them, it's not even enough to cover a day's hard work, okay?"

"You think they're just throwing money around and sending so many security guards over to help us keep an eye on the quality?!"

"The expensive equipment is still locked up inside and hasn't been moved. Several specially dispatched experts are going door-to-door to collect samples for testing..."

With such a grand scene, who wouldn't see that they were single-mindedly focused on doing things flawlessly?
Let alone other people's families, even if the village party secretary is picking grapes at his own home, he can do whatever he wants.

Even if someone says it's substandard, they can't see what's wrong with it, so it's still put into the defective product list!
Even if we take a step back and assume it's anyone who comes, someone who can categorize their grapes into first, second, and third grades and offer a high price of 40 yuan per kilogram, they'll accept whatever it takes!
No wonder the Party Secretary's wife was so angry!
She hadn't finished packing her goods yet, and her phone was dead. Afraid of delaying the water delivery person from calling, she hurriedly prepared to go back to get a charger.

Before he even got home, he saw Gu Laosan, who was almost kneeling down, at the village office.

Upon further inquiry, I checked the store's notification—

Ok!

To be honest, her vision had turned black.

Therefore, when they start cursing now, they show no mercy to their fellow villagers:
"...After going through all that trouble to sort the fruit into A, B, and C grades and sell it for a high price, tell me! Even in previous years, even when I sold it myself, have I ever sold it for such a price?"

"You're insatiable! You even put your relatives' substandard products in there!"

"You've done all the favors of your relatives, but what if they suffer the consequences? The streamer's reputation will be ruined, and so will the reputation of Baiyu County..."

She cursed as she panted heavily, feeling a dull ache in her cheeks again.

Gu Laosan's voice was also filled with sorrow, like that of every helpless man:

“That’s my own family member, the one who saved my life when I was a child—”

"I bother!"

The Party Secretary's wife was originally a feisty person, and she had initially intended to be considerate and not speak so bluntly.

Unexpectedly, while crying and pretending to be pitiful, Gu Laosan urged his husband on, and at the same time, he argued and contradicted her at every turn.

Is this a genuine apology? Or is it a sign of guilt?!

This made her furious.

This year, because she couldn't sell her grapes, her gums were so sore at night for several days, and she didn't even have the courage to go to the hospital.

That kind of torment is something only those who have experienced it can truly understand.

The wound hasn't even healed yet, and some people have already forgotten the pain.

At this moment, she jumped up and started cursing:

“That saved your life, not our village’s! Besides, if you really want to repay them, just follow the contract, take their baskets back, and pay them back yourself to say you sold them.”

"Those grapes, you could even put them in the streamer's car!"

"Just tell me, how much could you have earned based on your original orders?! Can't you afford this extra cost?!"

"You're so stingy! You're so unwilling to spend! You just want to take advantage! You, you, you... you're so generous with other people's money!"

The criticism was so fierce that even the Party Secretary's wife used such language!

"You just want netizens to pay off this favor for you with real money, right?"

After the Party Secretary's wife finished her tirade, Gu Laosan stood there dumbfounded.

The furious leaders: ...

They wanted to say something too, but it seems they couldn't express themselves as clearly or accurately as this shrewish lady.

Looking at Gu Laosan, he was also swaying precariously, his face deathly pale.

Upon seeing the leaders, he suddenly burst into tears, snot streaming down his face, overwhelmed with remorse.
"Boss, boss, what should I do? My grapes can't grow back on the vine!"

The Party Secretary's wife raised her eyebrows, about to scold him again, but the Party Secretary gently tugged at her and whispered in a low voice:

"Stop talking, stop talking. If you push someone too far, you never know what stupid thing they might do."

"Besides, isn't the leader here?"

The leaders could have arrived later. Really, this is exactly the kind of time when they need this lady to help them express their true feelings.

But with this position, there are some things that are harder to say.

At this moment, they suppressed their anger, felt pity for their lack of resistance, and were conflicted by the idea that even the most pitiful person has something hateful about them. They simply sighed and stated the facts:
"Even if you hang them back on the vine, you still wouldn't be able to sell these grapes anyway, would you?"

That was a killer statement.

The entire village office courtyard fell silent instantly.

The leaders were indeed reluctant to part with the grapes and were trying to figure out how to deal with the remaining grapes—putting them on the shelves was absolutely out of the question.

But his name is also on the link, I wonder if that will attract traffic?
It might be a bit shameless, but we can't just stand by and watch someone be desperate, can we?

But if the price is too high, no one will buy; if it's too low, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to the streamer? Their boss, on the other hand, might be willing to lose face…

The problem is, their reputation isn't worth much either.
Without the endorsement of a major livestreamer, who would buy it?

I've had enough to eat at the supermarket.

Everyone frowned. They had actually thought of some solutions along the way, but no matter how they thought about it, it all felt like a dead end.

However, Gu Laosan suddenly jumped up, hurriedly pulled at his sleeve to wipe his disheveled nose and face, and then said:

"We still have a few buyers in our village! I'll go ask them if they'll buy—"

Will the buyers take them or not?
This is a good question.

Before Gu Laosan could rush out the door, there was another commotion outside.

Soon, the three buyers and villagers were grappling with each other, and they also headed towards the leaders:
"Boss, you have to stand up for us in this matter!" (End of Chapter)