BXBX NOVEL Chapter 315 Suppressing Public Opinion
However, he was not about to resign himself to fate.
He had methods to deal with such problems.
If he didn't have any strategies, how could he possibly have grown his business so large in the internet era?
With his mind racing, Li Changsheng quickly thought of a plan and said to Li Zicheng, "The employees must already know about the news. You go and calm their emotions first. I'll pull some strings, and everything will be smoothed over soon."
"Okay." Li Zicheng left.
Li Changsheng closed his eyes, considering his words, before opening them again, picking up his phone, and dialing a number.
The call connected quickly.
Li Changsheng immediately said, "Director Du..."
The other party cut him off instantly, "President Li, how many times have I told you not to call me that on the phone? Call me 'boss'!"
Li Changsheng laughed at that moment, recognizing the nature of these people, so he laughingly said, "Haha, okay, I was a bit anxious and forgot, sorry about that, Boss Du. Here's the thing, the news about my company is causing quite a stir. You must have seen it, right? These TV stations are really crossing the line.
It was just a minor issue, and they're wildly reporting on it based on some dubious information. Isn't this making things difficult for private enterprises like ours that contribute to local employment?"
Boss Du laughed, "It is a bit much. Private enterprises aren't easy to run. We should be supporting and protecting them, not criticizing and undermining them. Making mistakes is not the end; correcting them is what matters. To fixate on errors and even call for a company's downfall is harsh. It would dishearten private entrepreneurs.
Don't worry, I'll issue a verbal order to pull those news stories immediately."
"Okay, thank you, Boss Du." Li Changsheng sighed with relief.
After ending the call, Li Changsheng thoughtfully formulated his words and dialed another number.
The call connected quickly.
Before Li Changsheng could speak, he heard a hearty laugh, "Haha, President Li, it's been a while since we've connected. How have you been lately?"
Li Changsheng's face soured, and he retorted with a huff, "Boss Feng, what exactly is going on? We've been cooperating so well. You once promised me that you wouldn't publish any news unfavorable to our company. But look, your journalists are the most enthusiastic. The articles they've posted... they've already tarnished my company's reputation."
Boss Feng replied with a laugh, "President Li, you have to understand me. Our platform has always adhered to the principles of fairness and objectivity, exclusively serving the common people..."
Without waiting for him to finish, Li Changsheng interjected, "Three million!"
"I'll have them remove the news immediately!" Boss Feng changed his tone on the spot, "President Li, you must be very busy. Let me help you touch base with the other media? I won't charge you a penny!"
Li Changsheng smiled faintly, "Boss Feng, I don't really understand media matters. I indeed need your help. But it isn't right not to charge for services. I can't let you spend your own money on my behalf. Here's what we'll do: I'll set a budget of two million per agency. Whatever you negotiate is yours to keep, anything extra is yours."
Upon hearing this, Boss Feng's smile grew even brighter, "Okay, President Li, rest assured, I'll take care of it well for you."
After hanging up, Boss Feng didn't immediately make another call but instead lit a cigarette and leisurely smoked.
A few minutes later, after checking his shell company account and seeing an additional three million, he snuffed out the cigarette, picked up his phone, and started dialing one number after another.
"Old Guo, remove the news about Changsheng Furniture, one million six hundred thousand is the ceiling price. With your fan base, that's the price."
"Old Zhou, delete the news about Changsheng Furniture, one million three hundred thousand. Old Guo's fan base is even larger than yours, and I'm giving you the same deal of one million three hundred thousand, which is really quite fair."
"Old Chen, that's the final offer, one million, I really can't go higher!"
As he made his calls one by one.
News about Changsheng Furniture Company started to disappear from the internet at a visibly swift pace.
An article with a hundred thousand reads and thousands of comments disappeared upon refreshing.
Looking at the news on other media accounts, it was noted that they too had been deleted.
It seemed as if these media outlets had, at the same time, removed the news about Changsheng Furniture and replaced it with other trending stories.
This left the netizens who were following the event utterly dumbfounded.
What was going on?
How could such a hot topic disappear all of a sudden?
Some posted inquiries, but there were hardly any responses.
Some felt something was off and voiced their skepticism about the matter, only to be warned by the site administrators for disrupting online order, and even had their accounts banned.
A potential cyberstorm of public opinion was thus forcefully suppressed.
The same was true for major television stations.
They were originally broadcasting news about Changsheng Furniture Company just fine.
Then, the screen switched, and other news items were broadcasted instead.
The expressions of the news anchors didn't change at all, a testament to their utmost professionalism.
...
Only after seeing the news suppressed did Li Changsheng heave a sigh of relief.
He had managed to withstand the onslaught launched by Yang Xin Investments.
Next, it would be seen whether Yang Xin Investments had any other moves up their sleeve.
At that moment, Li Zicheng came over, smiling happily, "Dad, you're incredible. You've cracked Yang Xin Investments' successive attacks in no time."
Li Changsheng took a sip of tea, a smug smile on his face, "Of course, I've been a power player in the business world for over twenty years. Not just any greenhorn can bring me down."
The business tycoons paying attention to this matter immediately understood what was going on.
"Li Changsheng has struck back, and what a countermove it was, instantly suppressing the news."
"Heh, Li Changsheng, an old-school mogul, has dominated the business world for so many years; if he didn't have the skills, he would've been devoured long ago."
"Now, we'll see how Yang Xin Investments will make their move."
"Manipulating public opinion isn't hard to counter. Yang Xin Investments must have anticipated this. I look forward to their next move."
"Currently, Changsheng Furniture has suffered a bit of reputation damage and spent some money to suppress the news, which are like superficial wounds. Far from bringing down Changsheng Furniture, maybe Yang Xin Investments is preparing a major strike."
Several of Haicheng's business tycoons gathered in a tea house for a chat.
Not long after, one of the tycoons received a phone call, and his expression turned a bit odd.
A business tycoon asked, "What's the matter, Boss Meng?"
Boss Meng replied, "I just got a piece of news. A leader from the television administration with the last name Du was just taken away by the disciplinary department."
Upon hearing this, the faces of the tycoons all shifted.
The television administration oversees all of Hua Xia's major radio stations.
Although Boss Meng only mentioned the leader's last name, Du, without giving the full name, everyone knew who it was.
This Mr. Du indeed had issues, which anyone well-informed knew about.
However, he was cunning in his actions and kept his hands clean.
The disciplinary department hadn't been able to grasp any evidence against him and was thus unable to deal with him.
Now that he had been taken away by the disciplinary department, it was clear that they had caught him red-handed.
A tycoon asked, "Boss Meng, what was the reason?"
After taking a sip of tea, Boss Meng replied, "Abuse of power."
The fact that he had been taken away by the disciplinary department for abuse of power meant that the transgressions were significant.
The tycoons looked at each other, at a loss.
A business tycoon pressed, "Boss Meng, stop beating around the bush and tell us the specifics."
With a smile, Boss Meng said, "You must have already guessed it. Yes, it was him who ordered the press-down on the news about Changsheng Furniture at the television stations, and the disciplinary department got evidence of it!"