Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 223 The Tragedy of Jubaozhai

Speaking from the heart, although the jewelry industry is highly profitable, to accumulate sufficient foundation in the short term, one must seek assistance from the bank.

Jubaozhai’s reliance on banks is not small, even though they have now made a name for themselves and the proportion of loans has decreased significantly.

Generally speaking, banks are willing to lend to such enterprises with exceptionally strong profitability.

However, now that someone is specifically targeting Jubaozhai, it is inevitable that everyone would want to avoid some risk.

Wang Tiechen was extremely annoyed by the current situation, but he didn’t have a good solution and could only grit his teeth and endure.

As for reconciling with Feng Jun, he didn’t even consider it, their grudge was too deep, and reconciliation was not possible.

The key point was that he couldn’t offer a condition compelling enough to move the other party—they didn’t lack money, and almost crippled by his son, how could such enmity not be avenged?

Lately, Wang Tiechen even restricted his son, telling him to stay hidden in their hometown and not to go out casually.

That’s because he had heard about the infamous Brother Hong on the streets, who went missing after buying an airplane ticket following a conflict with Feng Jun, neither seen alive nor dead since.

He had realized that Feng Jun was definitely not someone he could suppress, and what he regretted more was that he had actually gone to Peach Blossom Valley last time, thinking arrogantly that he could make peace with the other party.

If he had been more amicable back then, he wouldn’t be in such a passive situation now, but unfortunately, to prevent the other party from making outrageous demands, he had put on an extremely arrogant stance, and the other party didn’t buy it at all.

After all, he was a little reluctant back then, but in the end, there’s no such thing as a regret medicine in this world.

However, Wang Tiechen wasn’t resigned to his fate; he felt he still had the strength to fight. As long as he could withstand this wave, Jubaozhai might very well be reborn from the ashes.

This wasn’t a wrong thought on his part; wasn’t Xu Leigang’s older brother thinking the same thing before? And in the end, he secured funding from Funiu.

And Wang Tiechen still had some cards in his hand; he had recently sponsored a promotional film for the province and was now vying for the title rights of a cultural event. The leaders from the Propaganda Department of the province were very satisfied with him and praised him on multiple occasions.

Now with New Year’s Day approaching, Jubaozhai decided to hold a Happy Shopping Week, from Christmas to New Year’s Day.

This event was something Jubaozhai had long decided to organize. With many young people celebrating Western holidays, and since Christmas Eve has already become a wet and wild night, why not buy some jewelry to please the ladies before warming up?

Jubaozhai initially wanted to hold a million-yuan customer appreciation event, but since it had now fallen into difficulty, it simply elevated the event level to a ten-million-yuan customer appreciation.

Surely a ten-million event would be somewhat inflated, but since it was advertised as such, the quality wouldn’t be far off. They invited famous movie stars, pop stars, and hosts, and also invited several big jewelry brands to do in-store promotions.

The event began on December 24th, and on that day alone, they sold over sixteen million yuan in sales with over two million yuan in coupons returned—of course, these were advertised figures, and only Jubaozhai insiders knew the exact situation.

For Jubaozhai’s terrible financial status, this was like a shot of adrenaline. Everyone estimated that at the end of this week-long event, they could probably bring in sixty to seventy million yuan in cash.

With such a sum of money, Jubaozhai’s cash flow could be completely revitalized—understand that this sixty to seventy million was the company’s inventory, and didn’t require much additional cost for procurement.

The company had accumulated a significant amount of gold, silver, and jewelry. In the past, they were reluctant to use it, hoping to save it as a foundation to build a century-old brand.

But now there was no time to consider that; it was better to turn the inventory into cash first, otherwise, it would be challenging to survive this ordeal.

To prevent sabotage, Jubaozhai not only hired a large number of security personnel but also invited relevant individuals from the Propaganda Department of the province—after all, this also counted as a cultural event, right? Moreover, there was television recording and radio broadcasting.

And their preparations were not in vain. On the 25th, officials from Zhengyang City’s urban management and culture bureau came, claiming that their event illegally occupied the road and had to be shut down immediately.

At the critical moment, a call from the Propaganda Department insisted that it was just a temporary loan for the event and that the provincial leaders were also very concerned about this matter, suggesting they attend to other matters instead.

Realizing the influence of the opposition, they found the situation untenable and could only obediently leave.

People at Jubaozhai, feeling like victors in battle, made faces at those who were leaving—they had all been suppressed miserably these days, accumulating too much anger in their hearts.

At that moment, Sister Shen was watching from not far away. The officials from the city government and cultural bureau were not summoned by her; there were many who wanted to ingratiate themselves with Feng Jun now.

Therefore, she wasn’t concerned how they made their exit. For her, the issue was that tax inspectors were supposed to come for an audit today. With the Propaganda Department backing Jubaozhai so strongly, she felt she might have to arrange another date.

She was on the phone with a friend from the tax office when she suddenly saw a familiar figure in the crowd.

She couldn’t help but push through and slapped the person on the shoulder, “Ha, President Feng, you have time to spare today?”

Feng Jun hadn’t expected to be recognized from a distance away from Jubaozhai, but when he turned and saw it was her, he couldn’t help but smile, “Sister Shen is here too? The business at Jubaozhai seems to be booming, huh.”

Sister Shen felt a bit embarrassed by this remark. She had sworn to deal with Jubaozhai, yet here they were, holding a huge event, while all she could do was watch from afar.

So she huffed in annoyance, “Tch, it’s only because the Propaganda Department is backing them up today. Otherwise, I would have shut down their event already. Don’t worry, they won’t be hopping around much longer.”

Feng Jun just smiled, “What do I have to worry about? Oh… there’s someone I know up ahead, I’ll go say hello.”

There was indeed someone he recognized, but he had no intention of catching up with them; he simply wanted to slip away from Sister Shen.

His reason for coming to the Jubaozhai event today was to cause trouble. Although he had spread the word, hoping someone would take the bait and hassle Jubaozhai, their stubborn resistance was within his expectations.

Relying on others was ultimately unreliable; when it mattered most, he knew he had to rely on himself.

That’s right, including Sister Shen, these people were just his means to harass Jubaozhai. If he had the chance to take action himself, he would definitely not pass it up.

And to his fortunate misfortune, Jubaozhai had decided to hold this large event under such circumstances. How could he possibly miss this perfect opportunity?

So he sneaked into the event, not expecting to be spotted in this sea of people.

After shaking off Sister Shen, he walked around the perimeter and found a corner to stop at, then made a throwing gesture.

With a loud bang, one of the large speakers at the event began billowing white smoke, and soon after, a burnt smell wafted from the prize table next to it.

“It’s short-circuited!” someone shouted, and others yelled to cut the power.

Large events like this feared chaos the most. Jubaozhai was well prepared with plenty of security personnel, but the back-to-back short circuits and the sheer number of customers quickly threw the scene into disarray.

In the ensuing panic, voices rang out, “Let the leaders out first, let the leaders out first!”

A fire caused by an electrical short circuit is a terrifying scenario. Those with experience will cut off the power immediately.

The event had multiple power lines to prevent a blackout, but if one line failed, all had to be cut. At that moment, no one realized—the surveillance cameras had also lost power.

In truth, even with the cameras out, the presence of a considerable number of staff should have prevented serious chaos.

However, the crowd was unfortunately massive, and several counters were breached by the torrent of people.

Then disaster struck. Many counters were looted clean. Several gems that had been under protective covers for display vanished without a trace—along with the covers and their hefty bases.

Who did it? The scene was too chaotic for anyone to know for sure.

Fortunately, thanks to the fists and feet of the security guards, no serious stampede occurred. Though four or five people were taken to the hospital, no lives were lost, which was a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune.

When Feng Jun left, people were already being stopped and searched on the road, but as he was empty-handed, not even carrying a bag, the person stopping him merely glanced over and let him through.

Half an hour after his departure, the scrutiny intensified because the estimated losses at Jubaozhai had already exceeded twenty million and could potentially reach forty to fifty million.

Such a large-scale event was insured by an insurance company. However, it was clear that not all losses would be compensated by the insurer, and even for the covered portions, there would be an assessment period before any payouts were issued.

Soon after Feng Jun left, he received a call from Sister Shen, who chuckled gleefully, “This time, Jubaozhai really can’t escape its fate… When you’re unlucky, even drinking water can get stuck in your teeth.”

Feng Jun wasn’t about to tell her that he was the one behind it; he simply responded with a laugh, “Then you need to step up your game. The sooner you settle the score with Jubaozhai, the sooner you’ll make money.”

After hanging up, he suddenly noticed a large sedan stop ahead, and about four or five dozen young men in police uniforms stepped out from it, looking like police academy students.

Feng Jun quickly walked diagonally away. A few of the young men turned to watch him with a wary expression.

Under their watchful eyes, Feng Jun walked up behind a woman and gently tapped her on the shoulder, greeting her with a smile, “Hey, long time no see. What have you been up to lately?”

The woman was tall with long legs. Despite the winter cold, she wore blue skinny jeans with several rips and a silver-grey coat over them. Her unconventional appearance was stunning, and her silhouette was exceptionally graceful.

Turning her head at the sound, her face was a mix of charm and petulance, unexpectedly beautiful.

(Update finished, calling for monthly tickets.)

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