The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 296 The Ugly Donkey in the Information Barrier
In Wangjing, the lights of the Donkey Shed Building are still bright in the property management office. This 68-story steel and glass building looks particularly tall under the night lights.

On the 46th floor, in a medium-sized conference room, a dozen executives in suits sat around a long table on either side.

On the projection screen, below the four large characters "Easy and Slow" is all the information about this small shop—from its employees to its business model, from its financial situation to its future plans, nothing is omitted.

The only difference is the quantity.

Yan Xiao, who had been "protected" by the company, was frowning as he looked at the glass board next to him. The deputy director of the legal and government relations department was writing down several keywords on the glass whiteboard: health permit, fire safety, tax compliance, labor employment, trademarks and patents.

She underlined each word, specifying concrete, actionable directions. A young lawyer pushed in a cart of documents, neatly stacked with compilations of administrative penalty cases from Chaoyang District over the past five years, where the leisurely stroll was located.

Not only her, but also those sitting around this conference table were from the human resources, marketing operations, field sales and supply chain, public relations, and technology security departments, most of whom were deputy directors.

If it weren't for the big boss Leng Xiao personally ordering the operation against a small massage parlor, such a large-scale operation wouldn't have been necessary.

Ironically, all the plans discussed at this meeting were already being implemented by the "ugly donkey" (a derogatory term for a group of people who are considered unqualified).

The real key question now is: how long can this small shop's cash flow last?

Yan Xiao's gaze swept over the deputy chief financial officer, who was leading a team of analysts to deduce the cash flow model of the small shop based on public data and industry experience. It seemed that there would be no conclusion in the short term.

His gaze then shifted to another whiteboard, where the head of digital marketing was outlining a standard attack funnel: search term blocking, amplifying negative information, blocking positive content, traffic redirection, competitor promotion...

Looking at these cold, technical terms, Yan Xiao shook his head inwardly. He pondered for a moment, then turned to the vice president in the main seat:

"Mr. Zhou, we've been using these online methods for almost ten days, but the other party shows no intention of communicating at all?"

Mr. Zhou frowned and shook his head upon hearing this: "No." He then pointed in the direction of the Deputy General Counsel and added: "I just had Mr. Sun contact a big shot from a top-tier law firm to act as an intermediary and request that we reach a settlement with their legal department."

These words put Yan Xiao at ease. It seemed that President Zhou had a clear mind and a well-defined goal. He sincerely praised, "President Zhou is brilliant!"

President Zhou smiled reservedly: "The matter of Jinling Group has little to do with us executives. Stabilizing 'Ugly Donkey's' stock price is the top priority. As long as the other party is willing to settle, these methods can be stopped at any time. As for Yuanfang Capital, didn't they just acquire 'Six Fingers'? Let them do the dirty work."

Yan Xiao recalled his several encounters with "Easy Slow Travel" and the person in charge's tough attitude amidst the overwhelming online attacks, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "President Zhou, forgive my pessimism. In my experience, the young people and old ladies at that store are all stubborn as nails. I'm afraid even a top law firm might not be able to help."

President Zhou rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on: "Do we really have to resort to every possible means before they'll back down?"

“I think we should be more cautious,” Yan Xiao said, having just come out of the place where he had lost five pounds in just a few days. He really didn’t want to go back. He pointed to the whiteboard with ‘Hygiene, Fire Safety, Taxation…’ written on it and said with a serious expression, “We need to confirm whether this ‘major overhaul’ in Beijing is related to this store.”

Mr. Zhou shook his head and chuckled, "I made some inquiries, and it turns out to be a case from a certain bureau. It just happened to happen to coincide with this case, and it has nothing to do with this store."

Yan Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, then a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes: "In that case, I suggest we contact the Yin Fu short video platform first and have their account blocked. The online public opinion has already caused many netizens to lose control. We might as well add fuel to the fire and completely crush that old lady's psychological defenses."

Mr. Zhou looked at the head of digital marketing and slowly nodded.

...The old lady Zhou Yaqin, whom the Ugly Donkey executive mentioned, received the news of the tour group's return the next morning.

Morning light peeked through the clouds, illuminating the glass door of the "Relaxed Stroll" massage parlor. Outside, the scene had quietly changed.

The tense atmosphere has faded considerably these days, replaced by an almost absurd sense of anticipation.

Among the throng of people, besides the ever-dedicated haters and streamers, there were also quite a few ordinary citizens who were simply there to watch the spectacle, and even a few young people holding up signs that read, "Old lady, who are you cursing today?"

Zhou Yaqin was stretching her wrists in the shop. After she finished, she picked up a small folding stool and a thermos full of hot tea, and slowly walked towards the door.

The glass door slid open with a click.

Amidst the commotion, Zhou Yaqin strolled leisurely to the door, opened her small stool with a "snap" in front of all the cameras, sat down steadily, unscrewed her thermos, and took a satisfying sip. Only then did she leisurely pull out her phone, prop it up on the selfie stick she had casually taken that day, and expertly start the live stream.

"Ahem, good morning, my fellow online dutiful sons and grandsons. Before you 'cloud judges' deliver your verdicts, would you like to try our 'cervical spine repositioning' service? — It's a cure for those who like to bite when they look up."

The number of viewers in the live stream skyrocketed instantly. Zhou Yaqin squinted, scrolling through the comments on the screen as if reviewing official documents.

"Hey, this friend who said 'posted 20 bad reviews at 3 a.m.,' your typing speed is pretty professional! You must have been surfing the internet for years. Our technicians offer discounts for tenosynovitis treatment. Come and mention my name, and we'll give you a huge discount."

She swiped the screen again and read aloud, "'Old hag, you're almost in your grave, and you're still out here deceiving people!'"

She smiled kindly at the camera: "My friend, first of all, with my physique, I should be able to live for another fifty years without any problem. At that time, you might have to help me cross the street. Secondly, I have thick skin, otherwise how could I stop your spittle? Unlike you, who can only hide behind the screen."

“And this person who said my skills are bad,” the old lady suddenly perked up, “you’ve never even stepped foot in our shop, have you? Come on, tell me when you came? I’ll go check the security footage and learn how you supposedly experienced things out of thin air.”

She abruptly changed the subject, her gaze sharpening: "Friends of the Ugly Donkey Group, I know you're watching. Instead of organizing an online army, why not solve your internal problems first? Your delivery driver stealing customers' crayfish is still trending!"

"Oh? There are people saying we charge too much?" Zhou Yaqin suddenly lowered her voice and said mysteriously to the camera, "Then I suggest you try the 'free massage' next door—but I must remind you, the news about them crippling two customers last week seems to have been... suppressed?"

Finally, her face darkened completely, and she stared coldly at the camera.

"To the person who photoshopped my ID number into ghost money and sent it around, let me ask you, are you enjoying the bank's risk control calls lately? Are you getting tired of receiving spam text messages?"

She slowly turned her head and called out to the crowd, "Just a reminder to everyone: doxing is a serious crime! The police just got all the relevant IPs from me, and none of them will get away with it!"

The live stream and the scene fell silent instantly.

Zhou Yaqin looked at the screen, snorted softly, ended the live stream, put away her phone, took a sip of hot tea, and slowly returned to the store under the helpless gaze of legal counsel Qian Tu.

(End of this chapter)