26: surprise

The top floor conference room of Star Tower.

Jiang Zhonghua rubbed his bloodshot eyes and cleared his throat: "Everyone is here. Today we'll only discuss one thing: how do we deal with the public pressure."

Lin Dong slammed his hand on the table, his eyes sharp.

"Damn it, these sneaky bastards are deliberately spreading rumors to force us to reveal the longevity water formula."

"Once the formula is public, those big international pharmaceutical companies will be able to replicate it in a short time, and then Xinghai will be finished!"

Su Jin rubbed her temples and spoke.

"The internet sentiment has completely changed recently. Labels like 'cold-blooded,' 'profiteering from national disaster,' and 'black-hearted capitalist' have already been slapped on Xinghai."

"Our top priority now is to survive and regain public trust."

Zhang Kaiwen was more decisive.

"I suggest we apply to the state for compulsory patent licensing, designate a few absolutely reliable state-owned enterprises to produce it, and we collect patent fees and supervise the production process."

Lin Dong agreed.

"Cooperation is possible, but the safety of the formula must be guaranteed."

The head of the customer service department couldn't help but interject, his voice tinged with exhaustion.

"President Jiang, our Xinghai customer service hotline has been overwhelmed. Operators are being cursed at until they cry. Many people are questioning why we're not helping those in need. The pressure is just too great."

Jiang Zhonghua: "Hold on a little longer. As long as we get through this period, all customer service department employees will receive a full year's bonus based on their job level."

With Jiang Zhonghua's assurance, the head of the customer service department finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Most of Xinghai's employees have been stuck in the company for three whole days. If this continues, something big will happen sooner or later."

Jiang Zhonghua sighed. He deeply understood this point.

"At this critical moment, we must hold on. As long as we get through this, all headquarters employees will receive a half-year bonus, uniformly based on their job level."

Just then, Jiang Zhonghua's assistant rushed in with an urgent document.

After reading it, Jiang Zhonghua's face grew even darker. He pushed the document to the center of the table.

"It's a letter of intent from Guangming Pharmaceutical Factory. They want to invest 200 billion to acquire the global exclusive distribution rights for longevity water."

The conference room instantly fell silent.

200 billion, this was undoubtedly an astronomical figure.

Lin Dong slammed his hand on the table.

"Guangming Pharmaceutical is a wolf in sheep's clothing. How many private pharmaceutical factories in the country have they swallowed up this way? Surely no one here is unaware of that?"

The meeting lasted for over an hour. Several proposals were discussed, but no one made a final decision.

Jiang Zhonghua naturally didn't dare to make a hasty decision. This matter would ultimately have to be decided by the Big Boss.

In his office, He Ming briefly reviewed the several proposals Jiang Zhonghua had sent, including Guangming Pharmaceutical Factory's 200 billion cooperation intent.

He didn't understand operations, but he at least knew that understanding the core secrets of a product was key to a company's survival.

Ultimately, He Ming chose the third proposal given by Jiang Zhonghua—cooperating with state-owned pharmaceutical factories, adopting a model of collecting three yuan in patent fees for each set of longevity water, with Xinghai determining the pricing.

However, this would not involve giving up the longevity water formula, but rather using the "black box operation" model of Xinghai's two major production bases.

Simply put, the core production areas would use absolute intelligent operations, with the intelligent program provided by Xinghai.

Only in this way could jarvis perform remote control.

This way, the cooperating pharmaceutical factories would become Xinghai's contract manufacturers, and everyone would profit.

Increased production capacity would naturally resolve social conflicts.

After receiving the email, Jiang Zhonghua immediately arranged the work.

The Xinghai customer service department's work area had become a high-pressure cooker of negative energy.

"Cold-blooded, you capitalists only care about money!"

"My family is being driven crazy by tinnitus, and you're not helping. Are you even human?"

"Black-hearted company, may you die a terrible death!"

Similar shouts, curses, and cries, full of negative emotions, assaulted the nerves of every customer service representative.

A strange smell hung in the air, and the atmosphere was unusually oppressive.

Everyone's faces had turned sallow, their eye bags were heavy, and their greasy hair stuck to their scalps.

Even Group Leader, with her strong psychological resilience, was close to breaking down.

Just a few minutes ago, a call came in, and the person on the other end, without any reason, continuously cursed at her with the foulest language for nearly five minutes.

After the call ended, Group Leader finally couldn't help but bury her face on her desk and silently cried.

Lily's condition was even worse. She felt like a punching bag, absorbing tons of negative emotions every day.

Plus, being stuck at the company, not eating well, and sleeping poorly, she felt completely drained, both physically and mentally.

Looking at the growing crowd outside the window, she even felt a sense of guilt, wondering if she was truly doing something bad.

Just as Lily felt her patience and morality were nearly exhausted, and Group Leader stared blankly at her black-screened computer.

Throughout the entire Xinghai headquarters, in different corners, the crisp notification sounds of mobile phone text messages rang out, one after another.

The sound was particularly jarring in the lifeless office area.

A young male customer service representative, who had just hung up the phone, dejectedly picked up his phone and glanced at it.

The next second, he sprang up from his chair as if electrocuted, his eyes wide open.

"Holy crap! Who transferred 100,000 yuan to me?"

This startled cry, with its hoarse voice, sent a jolt through the entire customer service department.

"What 100,000?"

"Let me check mine..."

"I have a message too!"

"Oh my god, mine is 150,000!"

"Bonus!"

At this moment, the entire customer service department, and even the office areas on all floors of the Star Tower, were engulfed in an explosive frenzy of joy.

Lily fumbled to grab her phone, and the deposit information on the screen was crystal clear.

"Xinghai Biotechnology has completed a transfer of 100,000.00 Longguo currency to your account ending in..."

She repeatedly counted the zeros, her breathing became rapid, and her face flushed with excitement. The fatigue and negative emotions accumulated over several days were instantly washed away.

Cold-blooded, capitalist, screw that!

With this 100,000 yuan, she was willing to fight another three hundred rounds.

Group Leader also saw the 150,000 that had appeared in her account.

She was stunned at first, then a radiant smile bloomed on her face.

She picked up her phone and waved it in front of Lily as if showing off.

"Lily, did you see that? 150,000!"

"I feel like I can last another month!" a colleague next to her shouted excitedly, waving his phone.

"As long as the money is enough, I'm willing to live at the company!" someone immediately chimed in.

"Long live the Big Boss!"

"Xinghai is awesome!"

Money became the most effective stimulant.

The once lifeless office building instantly came alive. Everyone's faces were beaming with excitement and joy, comparing bonus amounts and discussing how to spend their hard-earned money.