As the CEO of Shengrun Group, Nie Yunsheng really had no need to go, or even acknowledge the invitation from an ordinary person.
Who are you anyway? You post on Weibo asking to meet with the head of a major corporation, and you expect them to actually meet you?
But Nie Yunsheng still decided to go, because he believed this was a good opportunity to further eliminate negative public opinion.
Showing tolerance was both a posture and a bargaining chip.
This complainant was, after all, a customer of Shengrun Express, since they had used Shengrun Express to ship that box of apples.
Nie Yunsheng’s visit to comfort the delivery man could demonstrate his concern for employees; while mediating between the complainant and the delivery man could showcase his broad-mindedness, creating a harmonious scene of mutual understanding between the delivery man, the company, and the customer.
This would play a significant role in eliminating the current negative public opinion.
Once people saw that this was just a misunderstanding, that the complainant was now understanding, that the delivery man hadn’t been punished, and that the two had reconciled—with the CEO of Shengrun Group personally addressing such a seemingly trivial matter that actually concerned all customers and delivery personnel—wouldn’t they naturally develop a good impression of Shengrun Express?
This was much better than continuing to intensify the conflict.
Because continuing to intensify the conflict might cause a backlash—too much of a good thing can be harmful. Taking advantage of the current favorable public opinion and quitting while ahead was the best choice.
Of course, Nie Yunsheng could have sent another executive in his place.
But he had always been someone who liked being in the spotlight; otherwise, he would have sent someone else to comfort the delivery man as well.
Since he was the one who comforted the delivery man, naturally he should be the one attending this meeting.
The Vice President nodded: “Very well, Chairman Nie. I’ll issue the announcement right away. The meeting is scheduled for 10 AM tomorrow. How many people should accompany you?”
Nie Yunsheng thought for a moment: “Keep it simple. Including you, two people will be enough. If we bring too many people, it will give the impression that we’re trying to intimidate them. Bringing fewer people makes us seem more approachable.”
The Vice President nodded again: “Understood.”
Just as he was about to leave, Nie Yunsheng called him back.
“What happened in the Public Affairs Department today?” Nie Yunsheng asked.
The Vice President quickly lowered his head: “It was an accident. A deputy director had some kind of mental lapse at a critical moment and insisted on taking leave. He even spoke ill of your visit to the delivery man right in front of me. We got into an argument, and then he resigned.”
Nie Yunsheng nodded: “In the future, identify and handle these issues early, to avoid causing such negative impacts.”
“Don’t let it happen again. You may go.”
The Vice President nodded: “Yes, sir.”
Nie Yunsheng didn’t really care why this person had resigned; he just found it inappropriate that two people had a loud argument in the meeting room, making it known to everyone. It was very undignified and difficult to smooth over, creating a bad impression.
That’s why he reminded the Vice President to handle such matters discreetly in the future, to get rid of people quietly if possible, so other employees wouldn’t have something to gossip about, and more importantly, to prevent it from affecting the work atmosphere.
After arranging these matters, Nie Yunsheng called his driver, preparing to go home and rest.
Tomorrow he would meet with this complainant and seek mutual understanding.
As long as this public opinion storm subsided, Shengrun Group’s moment of crisis would essentially be safely overcome.
…
…
February 23rd, Saturday.
In Jingzhou, Tenda’s special recruitment exam officially began.
Many people had traveled from all over the country to take the exam. Although there were restrictions and the number of participants was much smaller than in regular recruitment exams, the number of test-takers still exceeded many people’s expectations.
Old Wei, who had just resigned from Shengrun Group, and Old Zhou, who couldn’t get leave but came to take the exam anyway, were among them.
Actually, there were many people in similar situations. In many companies, when eligible employees asked for leave, their bosses would give them a meaningful smile.
Then on the day of the exam, both would be missing.
Because by the age of 35, many people had reached middle management positions with the authority to approve leaves, but they were also increasingly worried about the mid-career crisis.
Getting into Tenda meant overcoming half of the mid-career crisis, so of course they would overcome all obstacles to give it a try!
What Old Wei and the others didn’t know was that while they were taking the high-speed train from Magic City to Jingzhou, Headwind Logistics’ director Lü Mingliang was also taking the high-speed train from Jingzhou to Magic City.
As for online discussions, the “kneeling delivery man” incident was still trending, and even continuing to gain momentum.
Because the person who had complained about the delivery man had posted on Weibo inviting both the delivery man and Nie Yunsheng to talk together, with a live broadcast!
The key point was that Nie Yunsheng had agreed!
Things suddenly became interesting.
Since it was Saturday, many people were free and wanted to watch, even though they knew it would probably be a show of mutual understanding.
Shengrun Group clearly saw this meeting as a good opportunity to wash away negative publicity and create a positive image, so they had specially contacted several live streaming platforms to arrange a live broadcast.
After the live stream, they would release a few press releases to the media, and that would be that.
As for the location of the talk, it was in a small meeting room at a nearby hotel. This way, the setting wouldn’t be too grand, making it seem like a performance that might trigger viewers’ dislike, nor would it be too casual, giving an impression of informality.
After all, the two parties still needed to talk, not just shake hands and leave, so microphones, seating, and other details had to be arranged properly.
Nie Yunsheng was quite satisfied with this location and had checked all the details.
There would be four people on their side: Nie Yunsheng, two Vice Presidents, and the delivery man. The complainant had said they would bring one more person as well.
Nie Yunsheng didn’t object to this, since a four-against-one scenario would seem like they were intimidating the other party, which wouldn’t look good. Four against two was relatively better.
At 10 AM, Nie Yunsheng arrived at the small meeting room in the designated hotel right on time.
Everything had already been set up: a conference table with four seats on Shengrun Group’s side and two seats on the opposite side, with microphones on the table. The live streaming platform staff had already set up the equipment, and the two people from the other party had also arrived.
Nie Yunsheng sat down with the two Shengrun Group Vice Presidents. Nie Yunsheng and the delivery man took the two middle seats, with the delivery man directly facing the complainant, while Nie Yunsheng faced the young man who had come with the complainant.
By the looks of it, he might be the complainant’s brother or friend.
After the live streaming platform staff confirmed that there were no issues with the equipment, they left to allow these people to talk freely.
Seeing the situation, Nie Yunsheng was in high spirits.
He could already envision both parties shaking hands and reconciling, with reporters rushing in to take photos.
However, just as he was about to say some pleasantries, he saw the young man across from him hand over a business card.
“Chairman Nie, pleased to meet you for the first time. Here’s my business card.”
Nie Yunsheng frowned slightly, feeling somewhat displeased.
Why are you giving me your business card?
The main characters of this meeting were clearly the delivery man and the complainant, followed by Shengrun Group. You’re just here as an extra—surely you don’t think you can use this opportunity to establish a connection with me?
But since the business card had already been handed over, Nie Yunsheng couldn’t refuse. He reached out and took it.
He was about to casually put it in his pocket to throw away later, but as he glanced at the name and position on the card, Nie Yunsheng was jolted and froze completely.
Director of Headwind Logistics, Lü Mingliang!
Because Headwind Logistics was based far away in Jingzhou and didn’t have deep cooperation with Shengrun Group, and because the directors of Tenda’s various departments were generally low-profile, keeping out of the spotlight just like Mr. Pei, Nie Yunsheng had never met Lü Mingliang before and didn’t know what he looked like.
Nie Yunsheng’s first reaction was confusion and disbelief.
The person brought by the complainant was actually the director of Headwind Logistics? How was that possible?
Why would this director travel all the way from Jingzhou to Magic City instead of being busy with work?
But then again, who would be so bored as to play such a prank?
This was being live-streamed—who would dare to impersonate someone in front of so many witnesses without fear of being arrested?
Nie Yunsheng’s mind raced. He realized that something was wrong.
This meeting had most likely been arranged by Lü Mingliang of Headwind Logistics!
No wonder the complainant had actively requested a live broadcast.
According to common sense, this complainant had just been cyberbullied by a group of netizens who had viciously insulted them. A normal person’s reaction would be to delete their Weibo posts and lie low, quickly avoiding the spotlight, right?
It turned out there was someone backing them up!
When Nie Yunsheng first heard about this meeting, he had been too optimistic and hadn’t considered this possibility. Only now, upon arriving at the scene and meeting Lü Mingliang, did he suddenly understand what was going on.
But it was too late now.
Because he was already here, and the live broadcast had already begun!
If he were to leave now, whatever happened next on the live stream would be completely out of his control.
Moreover, it would leave everyone with the bad impression that “Shengrun Group is guilty and afraid to confront Headwind Logistics face-to-face.”
So Nie Yunsheng could only compose himself and continue sitting calmly, waiting to see what the other party intended to do.
The Vice President from Shengrun Group didn’t understand why Nie Yunsheng’s face had clearly fallen after receiving the business card, but since they were live streaming, they couldn’t just keep sitting in silence. He hurriedly said: “Now that everyone is here, let’s get down to business.”
“Actually, this incident isn’t that serious. I think the key is for the customer and the delivery person to understand each other, since everyone has their difficulties. Although our delivery man has suffered some grievances, that’s unavoidable in this line of work. Moreover, both parties acted impulsively, and there are certain immaturities in our system…”
“So, we are very grateful that you are willing to show understanding toward our delivery man…”
He was trying to mediate, hoping to quickly bring about a reconciliation between the two parties—ideally, they would shake hands, hug, take a photo, and the matter would be considered perfectly resolved.
But before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the complainant.
“First of all, I’ve emphasized from the beginning that my complaint wasn’t directed at the delivery man, but at your Shengrun Group. You distorted the facts, forcibly turning my conflict with Shengrun Group into a personal conflict between me and the delivery man, and maliciously guided public opinion to attack me. I remember all of these things clearly.”
“Secondly, I said I wanted to meet in person to talk and try to resolve the issue and eliminate the impact, but I never said I was admitting defeat or accepting your handling of the situation!”