Hong Kong Film: Jimmy? Please call me Councillor Li

Chapter 256 Shoe Factory Crisis (3000 words)

"What are you jealous about now? I know what you're thinking. Fang Ting is capable and organized. I keep her around for work. Never mind, if you're really worried, you can move your office up tomorrow."

"From now on, I'll be working right under your nose."

"That's not necessary."

Huang Lei continued eating. She was just venting her frustrations. She couldn't stand Fang Ting's suggestive outfit. She wasn't even afraid of Jiang Yun, so why would she be afraid of Fang Ting?
She lacks confidence in herself, but she has confidence in her man; Li Jiayuan is not so easily swayed.

Ruan Mei was an exception. From the first time she saw the way Li Jiayuan looked at Ruan Mei, she understood that Ruan Mei was special. Even Jiang Yun had never given her a sense of threat beyond that of Ruan Mei.

At that time, she and Li Jiayuan were not even boyfriend and girlfriend; at most, they were in an ambiguous stage, so she had no right to say anything.

Although she subjectively wanted to hate Ruan Mei, in reality, she couldn't. If her opponent were a scheming woman or a manipulative person, she could openly hate her or even challenge her.

But Ruan Mei was just an ordinary girl, innocent and pure as a blank sheet of paper, soft and cute, much more adorable than her annoying younger sister Huang Yin.

How could anyone dislike Sister Huang, who was always so affectionate? Besides, even Ruan Mei couldn't make Li Jiayuan abandon his principles.

As for Fang Ting, she's a clown and nothing to fear.

Fang Ting returned to her workstation

She bit her lower lip, lost in thought.

Why is Ruan Mei in the office? Could it be that he wasn't fired?
Of course not. If she had been fired, she definitely wouldn't have come back.

Why is this happening? Even though Ruan Mei has already left, why is she still being treated this way? Fang Ting suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.

She felt like a clown, unable to fit into the city no matter what. Whether Ruan Mei was there or not, she couldn't get close to that circle or the people she liked.

Why is Ruan Mei allowed to do it? That's unfair.

She had known for a long time that the world was inherently unfair, but she had never been as angry as she was now.

office

Ruan Mei packed up the lunchbox. She had only come to deliver the food and then ate at the same time. After eating, she would go home. This was a way he had come up with to spend more time together, otherwise it would be very boring for her to be alone at home every day.

In the afternoon, Shanji, who had been discharged from the hospital, came to the company.

Despite being discharged from the hospital, Li Jiayuan showed little joy on his face.

"What's wrong with that expression? Did the plane steal your motorcycle and ride it?"

The pheasant shook its head, its face still full of worry.

"Several shopping malls just called to cancel their cooperation with us."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiayuan's joking demeanor vanished. Several shopping malls canceling their cooperation was no small matter, and his expression turned serious.

"Tell me what happened in detail."

Pheasant moved a chair over, sat down, and wrote down the names of several companies on a piece of paper.

"These companies are willing to pay the penalty for breach of contract to terminate their contracts with us."

Li Jiayuan picked up the list and glanced at it, his expression becoming even stranger.

"If I remember correctly, these companies are all large chain stores, and the penalties for breach of contract are not cheap. They would rather terminate their contracts than cooperate with us?"

"Yes"

"The reason is..."

"They told the mall that it was going to be restructured and that we were the ones being kicked out, but it just happened to be such a coincidence."

Chicken guessed that someone was causing trouble behind the scenes, but he couldn't think of anyone who it might be. The only person with that kind of power and connections could be someone in the business world.

However, while their Home Group has many partners, there aren't many competitors on the surface, at least not on the surface.

There are probably quite a few people who hate them behind their backs, after all, Home Healthcare has taken away a lot of people's profits.

Regardless of whether there is competition, in the eyes of businessmen, any monopoly deserves to die, provided that the monopolist is not themselves.

Jiayuan Group is now enjoying both fame and fortune, but there are certainly no shortage of people who want to trip them up behind their backs.

Li Jiayuan thought about it and decided to wait and see for a while. Although it was unlikely, what if it was just a coincidence? In any case, it was just a few partners, so it wouldn't affect anything.

"I've asked Lijun and the Gu family to help investigate this matter. You go back and wait for news. If it's confirmed that someone targeted us..."

Li Jiayuan exhaled a cool breath, his smile enigmatic.

After Shanji left, Li Jiayuan immediately called Bao Wenlong to his office and asked him to investigate as well. Bao Wenlong, who came from the CIB, had a lot of connections and resources that could be utilized.

After that, Li Jiayuan received a call from Li Wenbin with good news: Li Wenbin had been promoted to senior inspector.

Speaking of Li Wenbin, ever since he finally figured out which side to take, his promotion speed has been like a rocket. From a lowly police sergeant, he rose several ranks in just six months, becoming a senior inspector at a young age.

Senior Inspector may not sound like much, but in reality, it is the pinnacle of many police officers' careers. For example, Wong Kai-fat of the West Kowloon Regional Crime Unit only became a Senior Inspector in his middle age.

Even becoming a senior inspector is not an easy position to hold.

Li Wenbin's rapid promotion was due to Li Jiayuan feeding him cases behind the scenes. In just six months, he handled at least ten cases of varying sizes, some of which involved notorious criminals and powerful figures.

But even with all that, Li Wenbin couldn't possibly be promoted at such a rapid pace; simply making meritorious contributions wouldn't be enough for a promotion.

A single sentence about not having enough qualifications can kill all his efforts. The reason he was able to get promoted so quickly is because Li Jiayuan was pulling strings behind the scenes for him. No one was blocking him, so he was able to get ahead without any obstacles.

Li Wenbin's situation is different from Yang Jinrong's. Although Yang Jinrong had Li Jiayuan's help at the time, Li Jiayuan did not actually help him much behind the scenes.

Firstly, Li Jiayuan's influence and status at the time were insufficient to provide assistance. Secondly, he did not want to get too involved with Yang Jinrong, as the Security Bureau was a rather special department.

If Yang Jinrong's background is to be clean, he must sever all ties with the company. As for his subsequent meteoric rise in rank...

That's because someone in higher positions took a liking to Yang Jinrong and was putting in a lot of effort for him.

I don't know whether to say this guy is lucky or just lucky. Senior Superintendent is already quite an achievement. If Yang Jinrong wants to climb any higher, well...

It's incredibly difficult, like climbing to heaven. His age is a barrier, and becoming a chief superintendent is an extremely challenging path, unless a truly sensational case propels him to the top.

Looking back at Li Wenbin, although his current position is not as high as Yang Jinrong's, he may be promoted faster than Yang Jinrong in the future.

Within the police system, besides Xu Zhengyang, Li Jiayuan had other influential connections, whom he rarely contacted, but whose usefulness was undeniable.

It won't be difficult to promote Li Wenbin, but Yang Jinrong is different; he works for the Security Bureau.

The Security Bureau is quite special. Its predecessor was a department called the Political Department, yes, the same Political Department that often appears in Hong Kong movies.

What kind of department is the Special Branch? In theory, the Special Branch is part of the Hong Kong Police Force, but the conflict is that in this era, the Hong Kong Police Force on Hong Kong Island was under the jurisdiction of the British MI6.

The Political Department belongs to MI5, also known as the Security Bureau. As the name suggests, the Security Bureau is responsible for security, counter-terrorism, espionage, and various investigations.

The Political Department was their department, so of course it was the same. This department should have been dissolved in 95, since 95 was the year immediately following.

After the 9* incident, what was the purpose of the counter-espionage department of the Political Department, which was led by Dai Ying, still being there? After the Political Department was disbanded, the Security Bureau took over or replaced him.

The State Security Bureau has a wider scope of functions, greater power, and a higher rank.

This is the correct course of history. However, in the current version, the Political Department was already dissolved in 89, and the Security Bureau was established in the same year to be responsible for the security of Hong Kong Island. This is a minor change.

Security is a department independent of the police force and is quite sensitive, so Li Jiayuan couldn't get involved. Yang Jinrong was the only and most outstanding person he had cultivated.

Two more days passed

The situation at Jiayuan Shoe Factory is even more dire.

They initially thought those shopping malls were just canceling orders, but the result was far more serious than they imagined, with many more partners subsequently terminating their contracts.

Jiayuan Shoes' partnerships, which span the entire Hong Kong Island, suffered a 70% loss in just a few days, resulting in a breach of contract penalty of 20 million HKD.

All the shoes in the mall have been removed from the shelves and are no longer allowed to be sold. The remaining shoes are all products from businesses that have partnerships with Jiayuan Medical.

Upon learning this news, Li Jiayuan immediately ordered the shoe factory to stop production, even though the factory's sales did not rely entirely on department stores, but also on many distributors.

The shopping mall is the foundation of a brand. It may not have any impact in the short term, but if this continues for a long time, it will inevitably have an irreversible impact on the brand's reputation and sales.

This is a fatal blow to a brand, as brand power is sometimes far greater than false advertising.

What kind of brand is it if it doesn't even have a physical store?

In the office, Shanji and Li Jiayuan sat facing each other in silence. Li Jiayuan's eyes were closed, and his fingers tapped lightly on the table, as if he was thinking.

Shortly after, Bao Wenlong pushed open the door and came in, bringing a report in a great hurry.

"Brother Yuan, take a look at this."

Bao Wenlong's reaction intensified Li Jiayuan's unease. Ah Long was usually a steady and reliable person who rarely showed such an expression. Could it be that their opponent was someone of great importance?
"The Fang family. The Zheng family!"

Upon seeing the report concerning the recent investigation, Li Jiayuan was speechless.

He suspected many people, including the Zhong and Shao families. But how did these two come to mind?

The Fang family is alright, but a while ago, Mrs. Fang from Shaw Brothers called him wanting to cooperate, which he refused. He also had a close relationship with ATV, which created a grudge.

It's normal for Aunt Fang to want trouble, but he suspects the Shao family, not the Fang family. After all, Aunt Fang's position represents the Shao family, and they are already in a state of separation from the Fang family.

But here's the problem: he has no grudge against the Zheng family, so what's gotten into him?

(End of this chapter)