YA Ch24: Business Battle

The police recorded the facts and then asked this diligent security guard to follow the group downstairs.

Lu Yu took the scooter and patted his shoulder. “Well done. Once we find out who’s behind this, I’ll reward you. In the meantime, don’t tell anyone you spoke to the police, understand?”

The security guard, who was about to grin, immediately closed his mouth and nodded repeatedly. “If Xiao Zhou finds out I told, he’ll definitely retaliate.”

At the police station, each security guard was questioned separately.

Two police officers entered an interrogation room and looked at the slightly decent-looking but somewhat buck-toothed, thin man sitting in the chair. “Zhou Jiahao, right? Where were you yesterday afternoon, and what were you doing?”

Solving the case would take time, and all plans needed to be adjusted.

Lu Yu called everyone to the meeting room for a meeting. Before entering, he scratched his head. “I’ve never held a meeting before. How do I start?”

Facing those earnest, seeking eyes, Ming Yan rubbed his fingertips, resisting the urge to ruffle his hair. “It’s like a class group representative giving a speech. Say whatever you want. You’re the boss; even if you read them a novel during the meeting, it’s fine.”

Lu Yu instantly relaxed. “Got it. Ah, but we’re missing something.”

Ming Yan: “What?”

Lu Yu leaned in sideways. “A kiss for encouragement.”

Ming Yan raised his hand, pinching his cheek and giving it a little tug. “With skin this thick, you don’t need any encouragement.”

Lu Yu’s mouth was pulled into a smile, and he spoke through the gap, “Need it…”

President Lu didn’t get his kiss for encouragement and pouted as he sat at the head of the meeting table. Once everyone had arrived, he rubbed his face with his hands, pushing his hair back into a slicked-back style, instantly transforming into a poised business tycoon.

“Currently, the company is facing a huge crisis, and we need to work together. The most urgent task is to ensure the live broadcast goes online as scheduled in five days,” Lu Yu said, sitting in the main seat, looking to his right at Yang Chen. “The tech department will have to work hard to prepare the data needed for the broadcast without the simulator.”

Lao Yang nodded. “I’ll find a way. Just make sure we have a day left for testing.”

The head of the live broadcast team looked troubled. They had many things to coordinate, including the hosts who needed to interact with the live broadcast screen. “In that case, we’ll be rehearsing without anything, and we’re not familiar with the simulator.”

Lu Yu patiently reassured, “It’s okay. I’m not familiar with it either. I’ve only used it once. We’ll test it together when the time comes.”

The head of the live broadcast team still had doubts and couldn’t help but suggest, “Why don’t we postpone the broadcast? We could push it to next month or even next week to give us some buffer time.”

Lu Yu’s face turned cold. “What’s the most important thing in business? It’s integrity! Integrity means keeping your word. If we delay to next week, and then another accident happens, we might as well close shop.”

The meeting room fell silent, and everyone shut their mouths.

What a commanding presence!

Ming Yan turned his head, ready to praise President Lu. But he saw Lu Yu turning his head back, raising his eyebrows up and down like Tom the cat.

Ming Yan: “…”

Determined that the live broadcast couldn’t be postponed, the live broadcast team began to discuss details. “Then we’ll need to request more equipment and materials to let the hosts practice. Otherwise, they might not keep up, affecting the quality of the broadcast.”

They were trying to increase their budget, seeking some benefits.

However, the host herself said, “No problem. I used to be a weather anchor; I can talk to a blank screen.”

Saying this, she stood up and did an impromptu segment.

“Good morning, viewers. This is the live broadcast site of Chenyu Technology’s new product creation. The tech department is currently debugging, and President Lu and President Ming are ready. Let’s wait together for the opening of the magical world. If you’ve read ‘Shooting the Heavenly Wolf,’ press 1. If you haven’t, send a little heart, and the host will briefly introduce the plot…”

It was a very impressive TV host’s spiel, clear and precise, perfectly suited to the live broadcast style. At this level, even without any visuals, she could talk for two hours by herself.

The head of the live broadcast team glared at her, but she completely ignored him. After her segment, she patted her chest and guaranteed, “I’ve memorized the novel backward and forward. I’ve also thoroughly studied the 81 messages you replied to. I won’t make any mistakes.”

She was completely immersed in her excitement about showing off her skills, ignoring her leader’s plight.

Lu Yu nodded with a strange expression. “Very good.”

He realized that Lu Dayu had recruited a bunch of talented but quirky people. Leaning over, he whispered to Ming Yan, “Lu Dayu brought back a bunch of golden sticks.”

The analyst had extraordinary mathematical and logical skills but zero emotional intelligence, isolating himself from the entire Wall Street. The host had excellent professional skills but inadvertently hindered the leader, focusing on showcasing herself and keeping the budget tight. The CTO (Lao Yang) was a genius in digital AI but bald.

Only Ming Yan was perfect.

After resolving a series of issues, Lu Yu tapped his finger on the table. “Now, we have one last problem. We need to find a way to increase revenue and earn 20 million in a short time. For example, we can take on some advertisements to broadcast during the live stream.”

The advertising director was very surprised. “Didn’t you disagree with this before, saying it was against the literary spirit?”

Lu Yu waved his hand. “We’re almost out of food; who cares about literary spirit? Only when the granaries are full can we know honor and shame. When there’s no rice in the pot, we have to beg humbly.”

“…” Ming Yan covered his face with one hand, unable to watch.

The advertising director, however, was very pleased. He quickly brought up a spreadsheet and displayed it on the big screen. “There were a lot of brands that wanted to sponsor us before. Ahem, not give us food, but sponsor us. Here’s the price list.”

Lu Yu glanced at the list:

Cold medicine, soy sauce, silk quilts—these were acceptable.

Stretch pants, instant noodles, noise-canceling headphones—these didn’t fit in ancient times, right?

X-brand male enhancement pills, miracle oil, condoms—these would get the live stream shut down!

Imagining having to hold up a blue pill in front of his underage third son and fake a smile while saying, “Take one of these, stay hard and have more fun…”

Lu Yu wrinkled his nose and looked at Ming Yan. “Maybe I should know some honor and shame?”

Before the advertising director could introduce anything, the price list disappeared, and someone spoke abruptly, “Look at this.”

Lu Yu looked over and, sure enough, it was the data analyst.

This guy had been typing on a virtual keyboard since Lu Yu started talking, not even listening, and Lu Yu hadn’t bothered with him. Now, with one move, he switched the screen to a set of trending ads on social media.

[Young Knight, Red-clad Sword Dance, Smart Assistant Qi Hongyu, coming soon, stay tuned.]

Below was a poster that looked seventy percent similar to Hua Wenyuan.

The analyst considerately displayed Ming Yan’s original drawing of Hua Wenyuan, with auxiliary lines marked. The posture and actions were the same; Hua Wenyuan wore light armor, and this person wore knight’s clothes. Hua Wenyuan held a bow, and this person held a sword.

The production company was Chao Xi Mill Technology Co., Ltd.

Lu Yu sneered, “Plagiarism and imitation, what a name.”

“Qi Hongyu, this name sounds familiar,” Lao Yang muttered and suddenly slapped his forehead. “Oh crap, isn’t this written by that ‘Wetlands Onion’? The guy who always imitates you, that dog.”

“Could the power outage have been orchestrated by them?” the PR director exclaimed, and others thought the same.

Lu Yu quickly looked up Chao Xi Mill Technology and Wetlands Onion, squinting his eyes, and called the police officer who had just left his contact information. “Officer Chen, this is Lu Yu. I just discovered a clue. The culprit behind the power outage might be from Chao Xi Mill Technology. You can use this to pressure them.”

After this call, Lu Yu looked seriously at the PR department. “Contact a few media outlets and go with me to Chao Xi Mill. Xiao Jiang, find me a wrench.”

Everyone was shocked. “President Lu, don’t be impulsive. We don’t have evidence.”

Ming Yan squeezed Lu Yu’s hand under the table, shaking his head in disapproval.

Lu Yu grasped his hand tightly. “They copied Ming Yan’s drawing; that’s a fact!”

“What are you going to do?” Ming Yan tried to pull his hand back but failed and had to let Lu Yu hold it.

Perfect Secretary Xiao Jiang had already quickly fetched the wrench President Lu wanted.

Lu Yu took the weapon, holding Ming Yan’s hand, and stood up. “Isn’t this a business battle? Reciprocity demands I go and gouge out their Golden Toad’s eyes!”