Shanghai in the Republican Era

Chapter 159 The Splendor of the Republic of China: A Romance in the Business World; Struggles Under

Upon receiving the report about the environmental issues, Gu Zixuan and I immediately took action. I suppressed my anger and anxiety, trying to calm myself down and think of a solution.

"Zixuan, we need to collect evidence as soon as possible to prove that we meet environmental protection standards." I said to Gu Zixuan while organizing the documents, my fingers trembling slightly with nervousness.

Gu Zixuan nodded solemnly: "I've already arranged for people to compile the relevant information, including our records of purchasing environmental protection equipment, waste disposal process documents, and so on. But I'm worried that our competitors will do more dirty tricks behind our backs."

We first went to the textile factory and organized the employees to collect and organize various environmental protection-related materials. Everyone realized the seriousness of the problem, and although the atmosphere was tense, everyone did their best to cooperate.

"Ms. Lin, these are the invoices and contracts for the environmental protection equipment we purchased previously." An employee hurriedly handed me the documents.

I took the documents, examined them carefully, and said, "Very good. Organize all of these; they are important evidence for us."

However, during this process, some employees began to feel uneasy. They worried that if the company was indeed found to have environmental problems, they would lose their jobs.

"Ms. Lin, is our factory really going to be shut down because of this? I have elderly parents and young children to support." An older employee came to me with great concern.

I patted him on the shoulder and reassured him, "Don't worry, our factory has always strictly adhered to environmental regulations. This is a malicious report, and we will definitely prove our innocence. No one's work will be affected."

Meanwhile, Gu Zixuan was also actively working on the case. He used the Gu family's connections to try and find out the specifics behind the whistleblower report.

"I found out that this report was orchestrated by several competitors. They even bribed some people to sabotage our investigation," Gu Zixuan told me with a grim expression after he returned.

My heart tightened: "Then we need to be even more careful. When will the government come to investigate?"

“They could arrive anytime in the next few days. We must get all the preparations done before they come,” Gu Zixuan said.

Obstruction during the investigation

Sure enough, a few days later, government investigators arrived at the textile factory. With serious expressions and professional equipment and documents, they began a thorough inspection of every aspect of the factory.

“Ms. Lin, we need to inspect your wastewater treatment system,” an investigator said.

I immediately took them to the wastewater treatment workshop and explained our treatment process and equipment operation in detail.

"Our wastewater treatment equipment was purchased in accordance with the latest environmental standards, and we have dedicated personnel responsible for its daily inspection and maintenance," I explained earnestly, pointing to the equipment.

The investigators carefully examined the equipment when suddenly one of them frowned: "There seems to be something wrong with the equipment's operating records. Why is the data here different from the previous one?"

My heart sank. I stepped forward to check: "It might be a mistake by the recorder. Our usual test data meets the standards. Please take a look at these reports." I quickly took out a stack of test reports.

However, the investigators were unconvinced: "The veracity of these reports remains to be verified. Furthermore, we found piles of waste around the factory area; how do you explain that?"

I had a bad feeling, knowing this must be the work of a competitor. "This must have been deliberately dumped around our factory area. We have strict procedures for handling waste, and this would never happen," I explained anxiously.

Gu Zixuan added from the side: "Everyone, we have always attached great importance to environmental protection. We hope you can conduct a thorough investigation and not be misled by these illusions."

However, the investigators didn't seem to believe us and continued searching the factory for the so-called "problems." The entire investigation was fraught with difficulties; every question felt like a sharp blade, piercing our hearts.

A counterattack of friendship and wisdom

Just when we felt helpless, Su Yao once again extended a helping hand. Through her connections, she found a highly authoritative expert in the field of environmental protection.

"Fangfei, this is Professor Li. He is a highly authoritative figure in environmental protection. I asked him to help us prove our innocence." Su Yao brought an elderly man with white hair to the textile factory.

Gu Zixuan and I were overjoyed and quickly explained the situation to Professor Li. After listening, Professor Li immediately began a comprehensive inspection of the textile factory.

"Rest assured, based on our preliminary inspection, your environmental protection measures are very effective. Those so-called problems are clearly a deliberate fabrication," Professor Li said.

With Professor Li's help, we found more evidence to prove our innocence. Meanwhile, Gu Zixuan, through his family connections, also discovered some flaws in the whistleblower's letter.

"We discovered that some of the data and information in the whistleblower's letter were fabricated, and the contact information left by the whistleblower was also fake. This is enough to prove that this was a malicious whistleblower's report," Gu Zixuan said excitedly, holding the investigation results.

We compiled this evidence and handed it over to government investigators.

"Gentlemen, this is the evidence we have collected, which is sufficient to prove that our textile factory has no problems with environmental protection. This report is entirely a malicious act by our competitors," I said to the investigators in a righteous and righteous manner.

The investigators carefully examined the evidence, their expressions gradually softening: "Ms. Lin, Mr. Gu, we will carefully verify this evidence. If what you say is true, we will certainly not let those who made malicious reports get away with it."

The intensification and resolution of internal conflicts

Despite the new evidence, the incident has further exacerbated internal conflicts within the company. Some employees are worried about the company's future and have begun to discuss the matter privately.

"This company keeps having problems every few days. Can we still work here with peace of mind?"

"That's right, it might go bankrupt any day, we should make plans as soon as possible."

When these comments reached Gu Zixuan and me, we knew we had to address the employees' concerns and stabilize morale as soon as possible.

Therefore, we convened another general meeting of all employees.

"Colleagues, I know you've all been quite worried lately. Regarding this environmental whistleblowing incident, we have sufficient evidence to prove our innocence. The company will be fine, and we will continue to grow," I said loudly, standing on the stage.

Gu Zixuan continued, "Everyone has always been a pillar of the company, and we will never forget your contributions. To thank everyone for your hard work during this period, we have decided to give each employee a subsidy, and we promise that as long as the company overcomes the difficulties, we will definitely give everyone better treatment in the future."

The employees in the audience began to whisper among themselves upon hearing these words. Gradually, expressions of trust appeared on their faces.

“Ms. Lin, Mr. Gu, we believe in you. We are willing to overcome this difficult time together with the company,” an employee said, standing up.

With those words, enthusiastic applause erupted from the audience. At that moment, Gu Zixuan and I knew that we had successfully calmed the employees and temporarily resolved the internal conflict within the company.

New opportunities and potential crises

After some twists and turns, government investigators finally determined that our textile factory and Gujia Enterprise had no environmental problems and warned those competitors who made malicious reports.

"Thanks to everyone's hard work, we finally got through this difficult time," I said with emotion as I celebrated with Gu Zixuan, Su Yao, Professor Li, and me.

“Yes, but we can’t let our guard down. Those competitors certainly won’t give up easily,” Gu Zixuan reminded him.

However, just when we thought we could breathe a sigh of relief, a new opportunity appeared before us. In order to support domestic enterprises, the government introduced a series of preferential policies, one of which was a research and development subsidy for the textile industry.

“Zixuan, this subsidy is a great opportunity for us. We can use this money to increase our R&D investment and further enhance the competitiveness of our products,” I said excitedly.

Gu Zixuan nodded: "That's right, we need to prepare the application materials carefully and try our best to get this subsidy."

Just as we were actively preparing to apply for the subsidy, a mysterious person reappeared. He sent us a letter with only one sentence: "Don't think you can get away with this easily; your troubles are yet to come."

Romance in the Business World during the Republican Era

Episode 797: The Unease Caused by the Mysterious Letter

Looking at the mysterious letter with its messy handwriting, my hand trembled slightly. "Who is this? Why is it always targeting us like a persistent ghost?" I said angrily and suspiciously, a strong sense of unease rising in my heart.

Gu Zixuan's expression was also very serious. He gently held my hand, trying to give me some strength: "Don't be afraid, Fangfei. No matter who it is, we will not be intimidated by them. Maybe this is just them bluffing."

That being said, we all know that this mysterious person must have ulterior motives, and judging from previous signs, he is ruthless and will not let us go easily.

"We can't just sit here and wait to die; we must find out who this mysterious person is." I gritted my teeth and made up my mind.

Gu Zixuan nodded: "I'll arrange for someone to investigate and see if we can find any clues. During this time, you must be careful and try not to act alone."

Over the next few days, Gu Zixuan used all his connections and resources to try to uncover the mystery man's identity. Meanwhile, I continued preparing the materials for the textile factory's application for government subsidies while keeping an eye on what was happening around me.

However, the investigation did not go smoothly. The mysterious person seemed to be very cautious, leaving no obvious traces.

"How can there be no clues at all? Did this mysterious person just appear out of thin air?" I asked Gu Zixuan anxiously.

Gu Zixuan shook his head helplessly: "The other party is very cunning, and we need more time and patience. But don't worry, we will find out eventually."

Twists and turns in the subsidy application

Just as we were troubled by the mystery man, the subsidy application process also encountered setbacks. Our carefully prepared materials were found to have some problems during the initial review.

"Ms. Lin, your application materials lack detail regarding the R&D project plan, and the sources of some data are not clearly indicated. According to regulations, such materials do not meet the requirements," the staff member in charge of reviewing the application said to me with a serious expression.

My heart sank: "How could this happen? We've prepared very carefully. Could you please make an exception and we'll revise it immediately?"

The staff member shook his head: "These are the rules, and there's no room for leniency. You only have three days to revise and resubmit. If it still doesn't meet the requirements, your application will be disqualified."

Back at the textile factory, I immediately gathered the team members to revise the application materials. Everyone worked overtime, trying to complete the revisions within the stipulated time.

“Ms. Lin, we did overlook something about the source of this data. We need to recheck it now, and time may be a bit tight,” said an employee in charge of data processing.

Looking at everyone's tired eyes, I felt a little guilty, but I still encouraged them, "Everyone, hang in there. This is very important for our textile factory. We must finish it within three days and not miss this opportunity."

However, just as we were racing against time to revise the materials, another problem arose. We discovered that the original records of some key data had vanished.