A little after eight in the evening, Wu Jun was woken up by a full bladder. He rolled out of bed, staggered out the door, and flung open the bathroom door to rush inside.
As soon as he entered, Wu Jun was dumbfounded. He locked eyes for several seconds with a completely bewildered Xu Fei, who was standing under the showerhead, her hands crossed over her chest.
Having just woken up after drinking, coupled with his urgent need to pee, Wu Jun had completely forgotten that Xu Fei was living in the small supermarket. He turned and fled as if escaping, pulling the door shut with a BANG.
"Sorry, Xu Fei! I didn’t do it on purpose! Please hurry... I can’t hold it anymore." Wu Jun stood outside the bathroom, struggling to hold it in. He felt like his bladder was about to explode!
In less than a minute, Xu Fei came out wearing a set of pajamas, her hair dripping wet, without even taking the time to dry herself off. She said, "Go ahead, Wu Jun," and slipped into the small room he had been sleeping in.
When Wu Jun came out after relieving himself, he felt there was no way to explain what had happened tonight. He had already said it wasn’t on purpose, and there was nothing else to say. Anything more would just make things worse.
Seeing that Xu Fei had no intention of holding him accountable, Wu Jun scratched his head and went straight back to his room to sleep.
The next morning, when Wu Jun got up, Xu Fei had already made breakfast. Just like always, as if nothing had happened, she called him over to wash his hands and eat.
After breakfast, the two left the supermarket together. Xu Fei drove the pickup to the warehouse on Alliance Road to pick up goods, while Wu Jun drove his Mercedes to the warehouse in Xiao’anshe.
Lately, due to the high volume of daily shipments, he was able to clear out the in-game inventory almost every day, so the warehouse on Alliance Road had officially been put into use.
Today, Wu Jun had sent everyone to the warehouse on Alliance Road so that he could go to the Xiao’anshe warehouse and retrieve goods from the game.
After entering the warehouse, Wu Jun locked the main door from the inside and took out the phone bound to [Resource Tycoon] to retrieve the goods.
He took out the 160-plus tons of rice that had accumulated in the game over the past two days and summoned the in-game Farmers to stack it all neatly.
Over 80 Farmers worked with feverish intensity, making short work of stacking the 160-plus tons of rice.
Just as he recalled the Farmers back into the game after they had finished their work, the phone Wu Jun used for communication started to ring.
He pulled out his phone and saw it was a call from his aunt-in-law, Dong Lizhu. Wu Jun answered it casually.
"Boss Wu, it’s bad! Something’s happened..." As soon as the call connected, Dong Lizhu’s anxious voice came from the other end.
"What’s wrong, Aunt? Talk slowly, don’t panic," Wu Jun said, comforting her. It was the first time he had ever seen Dong Lizhu so flustered.
Dong Lizhu said, "This morning, our shipment volume took a nosedive. A lot of restaurants have also been calling to return their orders."
After hearing Dong Lizhu’s words, Wu Jun’s heart tightened. He told her he was on his way back immediately, hung up, and left. He drove his Mercedes straight to West Sanzhuang Villa.
"Boss Wu." Dong Lizhu was anxiously pacing back and forth at the company entrance. She came forward to greet him before his car even came to a complete stop.
Wu Jun got out of the car and gestured for her to go inside. The two of them went upstairs to Wu Jun’s general manager’s office.
"Have we found the cause? Why did this happen so suddenly? Where did we drop the ball?" Wu Jun asked Dong Lizhu three questions in a row after sitting down.
"Boss Wu, look at this." Instead of explaining, Dong Lizhu handed her phone to Wu Jun.
Wu Jun took the phone. The screen showed Dong Lizhu’s WeChat Moments, which had a news article about Hongyun Rice.
Wu Jun tapped open the article and read it carefully. The more he read, the angrier he became. By the time he finished, he was so furious he almost threw Dong Lizhu’s phone.
Dong Lizhu said anxiously, "It’s not just spreading like wildfire on Moments. It’s also in some of the WeChat groups the young women at the company are in. I did a quick count just now. So far, we know of at least 30 WeChat groups spreading these rumors about Hongyun Rice. And who knows how many more we don’t know about."
The article on Moments claimed Hongyun Rice was an unlicensed product. It also stated, in convincing detail, that the company had been summoned by the food safety department and that the commerce department had launched an investigation.
It also "kindly" reminded the public that a lot of this product was still circulating on the market, and that everyone should be vigilant. It urged people not to buy this rice if they saw it and to instead call the food safety department to report the unscrupulous merchant.
This morning, orders for Hongyun Rice plummeted. More people were calling to return their orders than to place new ones.
Wu Jun put down the phone and asked Dong Lizhu, "Have the commerce or food safety departments called us?"
"Not yet. It’s still early, they probably haven’t started work yet," Dong Lizhu said. "This smear article against our Hongyun Rice... I saw it was published sometime after five o’clock yesterday. It seems like they deliberately chose a time after the relevant departments had closed for the day."
"From 5 p.m. yesterday to this morning, it’s had over ten hours to ferment. The article has already spread like crazy. It’s all my fault for not seeing it sooner," Dong Lizhu said, her face full of self-blame.
"This isn’t your fault. I went to bed early yesterday, so I didn’t see it either," Wu Jun said. "It’s hard for us to notice something when it’s only circulating in small circles. By the time we find out, it’s already spread everywhere. Rumors travel faster than anything."
Just as Wu Jun finished speaking, there was a knock on the office door. "Come in," Wu Jun said.
Chen Lin entered, looking anxious. "Boss Wu, a major local food vlogger is also smearing our Hongyun Rice."
One wave had yet to subside before another rose. The problem on Moments had just surfaced and they hadn’t even begun to address it, and now a new problem had appeared.
Chen Lin handed her phone to Wu Jun. On the screen was the main Weibo page of a major food vlogger who went by "Brother Lei of International Village."
This Brother Lei had some fame in Shimen’s culinary world. Before becoming a streamer, he was a chef at a five-star hotel. When the live-streaming industry first took off, he started out as a part-time streamer, publishing videos of his own culinary creations and introducing foodie destinations in Shimen.
His humorous and witty style quickly earned him a large following. Later, when his income from streaming far surpassed that of his main job, he quit to become a full-time streamer.
Back when a streamer named Er Lü was active in Shimen, the two of them had a good relationship. After Er Lü moved to the Northeast and became famous, he didn’t forget his old buddy and helped Brother Lei out a lot, often co-streaming with him.
Now, Brother Lei was definitely the biggest celebrity in Shimen in terms of follower count. Every video he posted got hundreds of thousands, even millions of views, giving him considerable influence.
Chen Lin played a video Brother Lei had posted yesterday. The title was very eye-catching: Unscrupulous Rice Invades Shimen!
In the video, a middle-aged man with a goatee and a shaved head was opening a bag of Hongyun Rice. This man was Brother Lei, whose real name was Wang Lei.
Wang Lei was always trending. Although Wu Jun didn’t follow him, he often came across his videos while browsing local content, so he looked familiar.
As Wang Lei opened the bag, he said, "A lot of people will be misled by this packaging and think it’s some kind of high-end product. I estimate the bag itself costs less than ten yuan. But one phrase perfectly describes this so-called Hongyun Rice: all gold and jade on the outside, rotten rags within!"
"To give those of you who haven’t bought this rice a more direct impression, I’ve specially prepared a high-definition camera and a magnifying glass today. Now, pay close attention." Brother Lei took out a handful of rice, placed it under the magnifying glass to display it, and narrated, "Do you see the problem? Every single grain of rice, whether in shape or size, is practically identical, as if they were all pressed from the same mold."
"You think that’s it? Now it’s time to witness a miracle!"
In front of the camera, Brother Lei counted out 200 grains of rice, one by one, and divided them into two piles. He then weighed each pile separately. The weight of the two piles was exactly the same: 3 grams each!
"This discovery really surprised me. I don’t know how the manufacturer of this Hongyun Rice managed to do it," Brother Lei said, as if joking. "I’m starting to doubt if this rice was even grown in a field!"
"What’s more, this rice has nothing but a brand name—no other certifications whatsoever. For the sake of everyone’s food safety, I urge you all not to buy this rice of unknown origin."
"That’s all for today’s show. See you next time, when Brother Lei takes you on a food tour of International Village."
The video ended.