Chapter 1508: You Are Not Worthy of My Insults

In fact, Zhao Fusheng knew very well that the actions of Bi Ying and Zhuang Yan were merely a microcosm of the entire industry.

When a country's economy develops too rapidly, various problems inevitably arise, whether it's businesses operating illegally or regulatory loopholes—both are unavoidable.

But that couldn't be a reason for him to swallow his anger and remain silent.

If people see others doing bad things and just let them be, getting used to it, over time they will go from ignoring to tacitly accepting, and from tacit acceptance to numbness.

It would be a terrible thing if we turned unspoken rules into explicit ones, disregarding right and wrong altogether.

In film and television works, people are often portrayed as either good or bad, but in reality, there are no good or bad people in this world—only those who have done good deeds and those who have done bad deeds.

When a person's eyes no longer distinguish black from white, the world before them becomes chaotic, giving rise to hypocritical kindness, sincere indifference, blurred praise and blame, and a mix of black and white.

This is most evident in the business world and the entertainment industry.

The victor becomes king, the loser a bandit; the loser has no right to stand at the end.

In Zhao Fusheng's memory, there was a certain traffic king who loved playing soccer. People only remembered his success after returning from South Korea, only remembered his so-called top agent who was as fat as a pig, but forgot that when he first returned to China, like the Canadian炮王, he sneaked back from South Korea and terminated his contract under the pretext of a slave contract.

Before that, the reason these two were hugely popular in South Korea was because their group was backed by the largest entertainment agency in South Korea, which invested countless money and resources to make them famous.

As the saying goes, 'Bitches are heartless, actors are faithless'—this saying holds some truth.

Of course, businessmen are no less than these two types.

So when Zhuang Yan and Bi Ying appeared at his doorstep, Zhao Fusheng was not at all surprised.

"So, do you want to see them or not?"

Zhao Fusheng looked at Tan Kaixuan, who was playing video games with Fan Beibei, and asked with a smile.

"Doesn't matter."

Tan Kaixuan was having fun playing; he turned his head and said, "Up to you. I got news that Mercedes' stock price dropped yesterday. They should be feeling the pressure."

"Is that so?"

Zhao Fusheng laughed heartily: "Looks like Mercedes pushed them, otherwise they wouldn't have come knocking."

Since they had already decided to become Mercedes' sales agents, they naturally paid close attention to such news.

"Then let's meet them." Tan Kaixuan thought for a moment and said to Zhao Fusheng, "Don't say anything later; I'll talk to them."

"As you wish."

Zhao Fusheng didn't feel like saying much either; he coaxed Fan Beibei to go upstairs.

The little girl was obedient; after Zhao Fusheng promised to take her to the amusement park when he had time, she went upstairs nicely.

Well, she obediently kissed Tan Kaixuan as a reward for Uncle Tan playing games with her all afternoon.

Seeing Tan Kaixuan looking so pleased with himself, Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly. Fan Beibei called this 'equivalent exchange.'

God knows where she learned such a theory.

……

……

"Please let them in."

Zhao Fusheng said to Wu Sijie.

Wu Sijie nodded and walked aside to make a phone call.

Soon, Zhuang Yan and Bi Ying were led in by Hu Donghai.

"Hello, Chairman Zhao, Chairman Tan."

As soon as Zhuang Yan entered, he respectfully greeted Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan.

It was obvious that he had done his homework.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly; as the host, he naturally wouldn't treat guests poorly: "Please have a seat."

With that, he glanced at Bi Ying, who was clearly nervous, and nodded: "Miss Bi, please sit down too."

Zhuang Yan and Bi Ying sat down. Wu Sijie poured them a glass of water and then stood behind Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng didn't speak again. Instead, Tan Kaixuan looked at Zhuang Yan and Bi Ying and said indifferently, "What brings you two here today?"

Playing dumb!

Bi Ying cursed inwardly.

But on her face, she dared not show any dissatisfaction; she just kept a flattering smile.

Zhuang Yan coughed, cleared his throat, then said to Tan Kaixuan, "Chairman Tan, I'm truly sorry for the unpleasantness that occurred when you were purchasing a car from our subsidiary. On behalf of Lixing Sales Company and Mercedes-Benz, I extend our deepest apologies to you and Chairman Zhao."

Today, he was determined to obtain forgiveness from Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan, no matter what, because it concerned his own livelihood.

"Yes," Bi Ying also spoke up. "We really feel sorry for you and Chairman Zhao. When we handled the incident, our attitude was not serious enough, and we didn't give sufficient attention to your opinions. Please don't take offense."

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Under these circumstances, they could only say this.

Tan Kaixuan chuckled, seemingly completely unconcerned with their apologies.

"Chairman Tan, please state any requests you have, and we will certainly satisfy them," Zhuang Yan said quickly upon seeing this.

The matter was of great importance, and Zhuang Yan valued his current position highly; he did not want to lose this job no matter what.

Tan Kaixuan said, "Miss Bi should be clear about our demands. First, your company must apologize, as this was your mistake. Second, we no longer wish to buy this car and hope for a full refund."

He paused, then looked at Zhao Fusheng: "Anything else?"

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "Nothing much. For the rest, we'll discuss it directly with Mercedes-Benz headquarters."

Headquarters?

Bi Ying and Zhuang Yan were both startled, then they remembered that the man before them had once been the global advertising planner for Mercedes-Benz.

In other words, Zhao Fusheng didn't need to go through them at all; he could contact Mercedes-Benz's German headquarters directly.

Well, that was a sad story.

It was like thinking you were important, only to find after much effort that in others' eyes, you were nothing at all.

Zhuang Yan and Bi Ying had gone to great lengths to meet Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan, desperately trying to apologize and seek their forgiveness. But at this moment, they realized that in these people's eyes, they were merely struggling ants.

Ants have no say!

Just like now, Tan Kaixuan and Zhao Fusheng didn't give them any chance to speak; with a few words, they decided everything.

At that moment, Zhuang Yan and Bi Ying truly felt a sense of powerlessness.

Especially Bi Ying. When Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan had tried to negotiate with her properly, she had coldly refused.

Now, she realized how ridiculous her lofty attitude had been.

In short, she had been like a clown back then!

"Chairman Zhao, this matter, ahem, doesn't need to involve the German headquarters, does it?"

Zhuang Yan hesitated, then cautiously said to Zhao Fusheng.

He thought Zhao Fusheng intended to complain to Mercedes-Benz headquarters. If that happened, once the news reached his boss, he would surely be the one to suffer.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled lightly, his expression calm. He glanced at Bi Ying, then at the somewhat uneasy Zhuang Yan, and waved his hand: "President Zhuang, don't worry. My communication with Mercedes-Benz is not about your issue, but about other cooperation."

Then he smiled: "Just because Lixing is Mercedes-Benz's distributor in China doesn't mean other Chinese businessmen can't discuss cooperation with Mercedes-Benz, does it?"

Zhuang Yan was silent.

What could he say?

Although he was curious about what Zhao Fusheng was really up to, as Zhao Fusheng said, just because Lixing was Mercedes-Benz's sales agent in China didn't mean other Chinese companies couldn't negotiate cooperation with Mercedes-Benz.

Not to mention whether Lixing had that much influence; even if it did, Zhuang Yan couldn't say it in front of Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan.

After all, these two were not just anyone on the street whom he could insult with words.

The consequence of Bi Ying's previous disrespect was that Mercedes-Benz's reputation in China had fallen into an unprecedented low.

If they really angered these people and there were further actions, it would be a huge trouble.

Thinking this, Zhuang Yan sighed. He knew he was truly powerless in this matter.

Tan Kaixuan waved his hand: "We've said what we needed to say. We accept the apology. As for the refund, contact my assistant."

Then he said to Zhuang Yan: "I have things to do later, so I won't keep you two. Xiao Wu, please see our guests out."

Wu Sijie smiled and nodded, then walked up to Zhuang Yan and Bi Ying: "This way, please?"

The implication was naturally for them to get lost!

Zhuang Yan looked helplessly at Bi Ying, feeling that the face he had maintained for over a decade was completely lost today. All because of this woman's idiotic behavior, he had offended these two important figures.

Bi Ying was even more anxious. Although Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan had accepted the apology, she knew this matter would not end so easily.

Offending such important people and causing huge losses to the company, being fired would be the least of her worries; she might face even worse punishment.

Thinking of this, she felt like crying but had no tears.

Just as Zhuang Yan and Bi Ying stood up to leave, Zhao Fusheng suddenly spoke: "President Zhuang, Miss Bi, if I may be blunt, I advise you both: in business, one must be calm and composed. Since ancient times, I've never heard of a businessman treating customers like fools. Lixing's approach is undoubtedly killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. If you continue like this, one day you will reap what you sow!"

At that moment, for some reason, Zhuang Yan felt that Zhao Fusheng's words carried a deeper meaning.