The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 320 A Sudden Discovery

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yaqin fell into deep thought in the conference room.

She habitually views information as an iceberg. While most people only glimpse the tip above the water, she always seeks the part hidden beneath.

Zhou Yaqin knew that the one under the most pressure right now was not him, but Zhao Xiaochui!
His background was already exposed online on the day he went on the trip.

and so:
The sender: "Mom" - for an orphan, this title means absolute trust and dependence.

Content: "Come back if you've been bullied"—the subtext of this sentence is not "What happened to you?", but "I know you've been bullied."

This shows that the sender not only knew about Zhao Xiaochui's predicament, but knew it very clearly.

Tone: Calm, gentle, and full of confidence.

Based on the information about Zhao Xiaochui that has been exposed online, his ability to grow up smoothly is due to the continuous assistance he received from local village officials and resident cadres in his early years.

So, what kind of woman would have had the courage to go deep into the mountains and live in villages more than a decade ago, and who would be able to speak with such confidence today?
She suddenly picked up her phone, and instead of opening any entertainment apps, she directly opened a financial news app with a simple interface and professional data.

In the search box, she decisively entered two keywords:
Ugly Donkey Sichuan and Chongqing
A whole bunch of information immediately popped up on the screen; at first glance, it was all jumbled up and completely unrelated stuff:

Sichuan and Chongqing launch special campaign to "optimize the internet business environment and support new local business models"

Shocking! Local life service dark horse "Shudaotong" secures angel round funding with state-owned capital backing!

To protect riders' rights, XX city summoned several platform companies and demanded standardized employment practices.

Ugly Donkey's stock price has fallen for five consecutive days; analysts say it may be related to regional policy risks.

Zhou Yaqin glanced at the headlines, exited the financial app, searched in a knowledge-sharing community, and downloaded an online forum known for its local life and livelihood topics in Sichuan and Chongqing.

In the forum search box, she typed those two keywords again:
"Has the Ugly Donkey's business in the county town failed? The people they hired just disappeared!"

"Hey Ugly Donkey's buddies, are you guys slapping the fines hard lately?"

"All the grocery stores near my house have closed down."

"..."

As everything became clear, Zhou Yaqin gave a wry smile: Was this...good news or bad news?
With ample funding and official resources, it's a perfect example of a "turtle shell" in the business world.

Faced with targeting from afar, the only thing it can do, and must do, is to protect its core base – its technicians.

It's not about protecting their physical safety, but rather... their mindset.

However, the 'mother's' behavior disrupted Zhou Yaqin's rhythm.

"Little Hammer, if you don't come back soon, I really can't keep going like this."

Zhou Yaqin pondered for a long time, and finally shook her head helplessly. Judging from the current situation, if she were in charge of Ugly Donkey, she would definitely choose to increase the pressure without hesitation and force Zhao Xiaochui to the negotiating table.

Where else can stress come from?
Zhou Yaqin stopped thinking about it and quickly got up and left the meeting room, heading to the massage parlor.

The studio on the first floor, outside the glass wall.

Zhou Yaqin looked at the tall, busy figure inside, her expression complex.

"Guoguo~"

…………

13:56 minutes.

Wangjing, Ugly Donkey headquarters, CEO's office.

The afternoon sun slanted in, but brought no warmth whatsoever.

Leng Xiao's knuckles tapped silently on the table, his gaze fixed on Zhao Xiaochui's personal information on the table.

Opposite him was Li Shudong, the regional head who had flown back from the southwest.

The presentation had long since ended, leaving only a stifling silence in the office.

After a long silence, Leng Xiao broke the silence, his voice low and deep: "This document... the people in the photos don't look like they're from Sichuan or Chongqing at all."

A bitter look appeared on Li Shudong's face: "His mother is from the North. This child has been an oddball since he was little." Leng Xiao's fingers stopped, and he looked up, his gaze sharp as an eagle: "What about our relationship with the locals?"

“We can’t get through this.” Li Shudong spread his hands, his voice full of helplessness. “Nobody dares to provoke that ‘Sichuan-Chongqing Tyrannosaurus’ at this critical juncture.”

Leng Xiao's eyes narrowed: "Reason."

"She's a true local tyrant, having climbed her way up from the lowest level of village cadre. Her roots run very deep."

Li Shudong lowered his voice, "The most crucial thing is that the higher-ups have just started promoting her achievements in protecting the 'native Chinese pig,' which is a model they want to establish... President Leng, you understand what this means."

Leng Xiao's pupils contracted slightly.

To cause trouble for someone like that at this time...

Leng Xiao was silent for a moment, then waved his hand, his voice tinged with exhaustion: "You've worked hard. Go and rest first. I'll think about it some more."

"Okay, Mr. Leng."

After seeing Li Shudong off, Leng Xiao sat back down in his large office chair, his entire body shrouded in shadow.

He stared at his phone's contacts, as if making a difficult decision. Finally, he dialed the number.

"Mr. Zhou, I am Leng Xiao."

On the other end of the phone, Zhou Yaqin's voice was calm, as if she had expected him to call: "What brings you here, Mr. Leng?"

Leng Xiao cut to the chase: "I'd like to speak with Mr. Zhao."

"He's not here." The two words were crisp and decisive, carrying an unyielding coldness.

Zhou Yaqin made a gesture as if she was about to hang herself.

"Wait!" Leng Xiao raised his voice. "President Zhou, name your terms."

A contemptuous sneer came from the other end of the phone.

"Conditions? President Leng, you're only now thinking about conditions?" Zhou Yaqin's tone suddenly turned sharp as a knife. "When you pushed him onto the stage and treated him as a pawn to be manipulated at will, why didn't you think about today?"

"Beep...beep...beep..."

Hearing the busy tone, Leng Xiao felt a rare sense of powerlessness and irritability.

He rubbed his temples, opened his contacts, and dialed another woman's number.

"President Leng?" Wei Lan's voice was as assertive as ever.

Leng Xiao briefly recounted the situation, his tone devoid of emotion, but every word seemed to remind the other party who had created this mess.

"...That's the way it is."

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone, so long that Leng Xiao thought she had disconnected.

Then, Wei Lan's icy voice came:

Give me two days.

Leng Xiao immediately pressed, "What do you want to do?"

"Force him out!" Wei Lan's voice was filled with coldness.

If he doesn't show up—

"Let's go along with his wishes... and fight to the death!"

Leng Xiao frowned: "Us?"

“Of course it’s ‘us’!” Wei Lan said calmly over the phone. “Don’t forget, Yuanfang’s initial motivation for getting involved in this wasn’t because they discovered that young man was special, but to protect Ugly Donkey’s stock price!”

Leng Xiao: "..."

(End of this chapter)