Chapter 8: I Never Said Which One I'd Run Off With

"The boss is really ruthless to himself!" Shen Yuequn was utterly stunned after hearing all this. He never imagined that Huang He would go so far as to ruin his own reputation just to this degree. If this got out, Huang He’s name would be utterly destroyed.

And that voice—there was no mistaking it. It was Huang He’s own, recorded in his unmistakable tone!

"It's all for your sake!" Shen Yuequn recalled the resolute look on Huang He’s face when he handed him those recorded loudspeakers. His heart was filled with gratitude. How many bosses would go so far as to humiliate themselves to help sell goods and make sure wages were paid? With such a boss, how could he not give everything he had?

But... Shen Yuequn suddenly licked his lips. "If I could elope with the chairman's sister-in-law, even if I lost everything else, it’d still be worth it!"

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"Zhihuo, please don’t be angry. This was the only way—without it, their work would be nearly impossible!" At that moment, in a factory in Wenzhou, Huang He was facing his furious sister-in-law, Leng Zhihuo.

The matter had finally reached Leng Zhihuo’s ears, and in the worst possible way: through neighborhood gossip. When she returned home yesterday, she found neighbors whispering and pointing at her, and she vaguely caught words about eloping with her brother-in-law. The embarrassment brought a flush to her cheeks.

At first, she thought it was just idle gossip. But when she got home, her fourth sister quietly asked whether she was really planning to run off with her brother-in-law. Only then did Leng Zhihuo realize something was wrong.

Later, her fourth sister played her a recording that had been circulating on QQ, allegedly recorded in LQ City, and now widely known.

"What’s QQ?" Leng Zhihuo asked, bewildered.

"It’s a new online chat software. It’s great—lots of my classmates are using it!" her sister replied with a grin.

"Leng Zhige, don’t forget you’re a senior in high school about to take the college entrance exams. Don’t spend all your time on the computer; it’ll affect your studies!" Leng Zhihuo, sharp as ever, picked up on the main point.

"Sis, what are you thinking? I’m not playing on the computer—I use it for studying! You have no idea how many study materials are online now, and there are past exam papers too. I’m only using it to learn!" Leng Zhige protested loudly, thoroughly aggrieved.

"Oh, sorry—my mistake," Leng Zhihuo nodded, trusting. Unfortunately, this might be the last vestige of parental faith in computers. In a few years, no parent would believe their child used the internet solely to look up study materials.

Though things had gone off track, Leng Zhihuo still secretly made a trip to neighboring LQ City to the spot mentioned on QQ. There, she found several people selling her own mystery boxes—including one strikingly familiar face, one of the young men who’d previously guarded her brother-in-law, a certain Zhang Yingguo.

Wenzhou was some distance from the northeast, so by the time Shen Yuequn started selling, five days had already passed. But LQ City was close—only about a hundred kilometers away—so Zhang Yingguo had started five days prior, and after five days of spreading, it was no surprise the news reached Leng Zhihuo.

She cornered Zhang Yingguo with a barrage of questions, and he confessed everything. To her shock, all this slander had been masterminded by her own brother-in-law. Not only that, but he’d personally bought hundreds of loudspeakers from a nearby audio factory for ten yuan each.

Furious, Leng Zhihuo stormed up to Huang He to demand an explanation for his outrageous conduct.

Huang He, expecting this day would come, immediately put on a mournful expression and began to explain.

"Nonsense! Even if it’s hard for them to do their jobs, do you really think giving them a speaker and recording such a message will help them sell better?" Leng Zhihuo’s spit practically sprayed into Huang He’s face.

"Zhihuo, I’m telling you the truth. It’s simple: picture two stalls on the street selling the same thing. One boss sits there silently, while the other is lively, chatting up customers and inviting them to take a look. Which one would you choose?"

"Well, of course... but this recording..."

"That’s exactly the point! Our workers were all laborers before. They could work overtime for a week without complaint, but ask them to shout for customers in public, and it’s impossible—it’s not a problem that can be solved overnight. And they’re not even selling for themselves, but for the factory. How much enthusiasm can you expect?"

"That’s why I gave them the loudspeakers. Even if they don’t want to speak, the speaker does it for them—it solves so many problems!"

Leng Zhihuo was left speechless by Huang He’s explanation. She could only nod. "Fine, say you have a point there. But why did you have to make the ad so humiliating—bankruptcy, gambling, drinking, debauchery, dragging your own name through the mud? Don’t you care about your reputation?"

"What does reputation matter, as long as I survive this crisis?" Huang He thumped his chest like a martyr sacrificing himself for a cause.

"Zhihuo, hawking is only the first step. Nearly every merchant in the market is good at drawing in customers. If our speaker just played a simple ad, nobody would care—it wouldn’t catch anyone’s attention!"

"That’s why our ad needs finesse. See, first we say the factory’s gone bankrupt—that always draws a crowd; people love a story of failure. Then we mention the boss running off and goods being sold to pay wages—immediately, customers think everything must be cheap, sold at or below cost! Next, we say it’s export stock—everyone in China believes that export goods are high quality. Finally, we talk about getting back our hard-earned wages—at a time when many have suffered layoffs and wage arrears, people sympathize with workers. This brings us closer to our customers!"

"Believe me, once the ad plays, people flock to see what’s happening, and business booms!" Huang He’s words, outrageous as they sounded, were entirely true.

After all, this very ad lasted twenty years in China, making the voices of Huang He and the Jiangnan Leather Factory part of the national memory. The ad's appeal and deep understanding of the customer’s psychology were second to none.

Otherwise, at its peak, half the market bosses in China wouldn’t have been running away with their sisters-in-law. Huang He wouldn’t have created this ad, despite knowing it would ruin his reputation and despite his hatred for it in his previous life—no one turns their back on profit.

"Then why did you have to mention the sister-in-law in the ad—why did you have to drag me into it? When did I ever run off with you?" Leng Zhihuo pouted, stomping her foot, her face full of grievance.

"I haven’t even run away with you, but now everyone thinks I have. I’ve gained nothing—my reputation ruined for no reason... Boo hoo... It’s just too much!" Leng Zhihuo was so aggrieved, she burst into tears.

"Ah, what can I do? The public and the readers are just too vulgar—they love stories of the boss and the sister-in-law. There’s nothing I can do!" Huang He, too, looked helpless and put upon, then added mischievously, "I have five sisters-in-law. I never said which one!"