Chapter 578 – The third-party benefits from the tussle Part 2
The Provincial Government will be glad to see Qiudu and Danhui engaging in healthy competitions, but now, the Provincial Government got to step in. The most important thing to do now was to restore Qiudu’s reputation!
To restore Qiudu’s reputation, the most direct way was to admit they had used inferior pork to manufacture their ham. This had to be done through a reputable media. Using inferior ingredients were at least better than using human remains.
The most influential media in China was CCTV. The Provincial Government leaders made use of their connections to let CCTV to film an episode for them and to clarify the rumors.
But coincidentally, Feng Yu was at CCTV that day to change one of his advertisement to Tai Hua Ham.
“Chief Jia, are you going to send the production team of to interview that Qiudu Company?”
Deputy Chief Jia nodded: “You also heard about it? We must film one special episode to prevent these rumors from spreading. Although rumors were limited to the wise, not all commoners will see it. It is our program’s duties to clarify these rumors.”
Feng Yu immediately said: “That’s right. But that Qiudu Company had used inferior pork for their products. This is their punishment! Simply put it, it is their Karma!”
Deputy Chief Jia glanced at Feng Yu: “Are you hoping Qiudu company will shut down because your father’s Tai Hua Agricultural Products is also selling ham?” All businessmen hope their competitors will shut down and Deputy Chief Jia felt this was what Feng Yu was thinking.
Feng Yu replied with an arrogant tone: “I hope they will close down, but what I wanted was a fair competition. I will take away their market share and let them close down. It was they who invited their own destruction. Who would have thought this would happen? My father’s company and my companies did not spread any of these rumors. You can ask around. We are the first ones who came out to stop these rumors.”
Feng Yu helped his competitors to stop the rumors? Deputy Chief Jia felt this was unbelievable!
Under normal circumstances, Feng Yu was considered a saint when his companies did not spread the rumors. But Feng Yu had even stepped out to stop the rumors?
Was there really a businessman with such qualities?
But what Feng Yu said next confirmed Deputy Chief Jia’s views on businessmen.
“Chief Jia, I think the program should criticize Qiudu for using that damaged pork in their ham. Those smoke were poisonous smoke. Their factory should stop production, and the health department should issue a heavy fine on them to prevent other similar incidents from happening!”
Deputy Chief Jia was speechless. He knew Feng Yu will not be so kind as to help his competitors.
What Feng Yu said was not wrong. Qiudu had used inferior ingredients, and it was still unsure if those ham were safe for consumption. This will still need to wait for the test results.
If the test results proved that those ham made from the inferior pork did not meet the safety requirements, then Qiudu Company must be slapped with a hefty fine.
But if the Industrial Bureau, Health Department, etc. issued heavy fines, then it will also be the end of Qiudu Company. At least no one would be willing to buy their hams and other products.
Hams were not cheap products in the first place and if the consumers might fall sick if they eat those ham, who would buy Qiudu’s ham? Qiudu still had to pay the penalty and halt their production. When all these were over, Tai Hua Ham would have taken over the market share. There was no way for Qiudu to stage a comeback!
“I don’t think we should do this….” Deputy Chief Jia replied.
“Chief Jia, I heard that this year’s Spring Festival Gala Night is slightly tight on its budget. To let the whole Nation watch a good program, I decided to donate 1 million RMB.”
“Oh, thank you, Manager Feng, for your generosity. I also think that these food products companies that ignored the food safety regulations should be punished.” Deputy Chief Jia immediately changes his stance.
But Feng Yu was still not satisfied. 1 million RMB was enough for him to buy a one-year primetime advertising slot at a local TV station.
“Deputy Chief Jia, actually stopping the rumors about Qiudu Company was not the main aspect. Most importantly we must find out who was the one that started the rumors.” Feng Yu hinted.
“Manager Feng, you are really not the one who started this rumors?” Deputy Chief Jia asked again.
Feng Yu: “……” You did not hear what I said earlier? Why are you still suspecting me?
I have lots of ways to kill my competitors if I wanted to. Even the stupidest method of throwing money at them can also kill off my competitors. Do I still need to use such underhand methods?
“I will not use such underhand methods. It is easy to find out who started the rumors. But the investigation was stopped by someone.”
“Who?” Deputy Chief Jia sat up straight. Someone was covering up this incident? This must be exposed!
Feng Yu suddenly asked: “Who had approach you to let to film this episode today?”
“Deputy Provincial Governor Luo? Impossible. He was my classmate, and I knew him well. Furthermore, Qiudu was his provincial enterprise. If he knew who it was, he would surely arrest that person. Why would he cover up for that person?” Deputy Chief Jia shook his head. What Feng Yu said does not make sense.
“What if the one who started the rumors was also one of their provincial’s state-owned enterprise?” Feng Yu smiled.
Deputy Chief Jia’s eyes opened wide. If what Feng Yu said was true, then it will explain everything.
“How do you know about this?” Deputy Chief Jia asked.
“We are going to manufacture and sell ham. Of course, we will do market research and competitor analysis. China’s number one brand of ham is Qiudu. It owns more than 60% of the market share. The number 2 brand is also a new company from their province, Danhui. This new company owns 10% of the market share. The rest of the market was shared by all the other companies.”
“If something happens to the top brand, who will benefit from it? It will surely be the brand that has the next most market share. More importantly, those distributors that were working with Qiudu suddenly switched to Danhui Company. This is not a secret. Do you think all these are a coincidence? You can send your people to investigate both Qiudu and Danhui company. Qiudu had made an official complaint against Danhui, and it was also not a big secret.”
Deputy Chief Jia frowned. Even he will not believe that this was coincident. But both companies were state-owned enterprise from the same province. They should be working together. What actually happened?
Deputy Chief Jia suddenly remembered that if Danhui Company was exposed as the one creating all this mess, then Danhui company will also be punished. Tai Hua Ham which was going to air their commercials on CCTV will surely be taking over all their market share.
Deputy Chief Jia looked at Feng Yu. You think 1 million RMB was enough for us to help you win your two biggest competitors?
“Manager Feng, I think our CCTV workers had worked very hard for this year’s Spring Festival Gala Night. They have been putting in extra hours, and our TV station cannot afford to pay them overtime salaries. What do you think?”
Feng Yu immediately said: “How can they work overtime without salaries? I will donate another 500,000 RMB! It should be enough to compensate these workers. I heard that CCTV 3 still have some advertising slots unsold. Can you sell one of the slots to Tai Hua Ham?”
“No problem. Let this to me. That's settled then. Manager Feng, wait for my good news!”