Chapter 279 Mess around
Losing the ledger wasn't a trivial matter; the money in the Fox Sage's Merit Box was counted daily. Then, Taoyuan Entertainment Company would sign to receive it, making it the initially traceable source. If the accounts were unclear, not only would it be difficult for Taoyuan Entertainment to do the books, but Mr. Lin wouldn't be able to clarify things in case of financial issues.
"It's finally lost!" After coming down the mountain, Wang Hao took a long breath and felt relieved. These past few days, he had to trudge up the mountain every day, and he was utterly exhausted.
"You really need to watch your health. You're practically half-dead climbing a slope less than a hundred meters." Seeing Wang Hao drenched in sweat, Suming couldn't help but worry about the guy.
"Yes, I'm so fat. What am I going to do in the future?" Wang Hao said, touching his belly in frustration.
"Knowing it is good…" Suming began to say but then suddenly realized what Wang Hao meant was not the same as what he had in mind.
When Wang Hao said "what am I going to do," he didn't mean it in the sense of "how to deal," but in the literal sense of the words.
This fatso had been a public servant for a while and had become increasingly lewd!
"Do, do, do, that's all you think about! How is it going with Peng Xue, any progress? If you two get along, it would settle one of your parents' worries."
Touching his belly, Wang Hao said with a grin, "The progress isn't bad, but I haven't done it yet."
"I'm… done!"
...
"Hello, everyone, welcome to the Focus News program on Yangchuan City TV Station. The guest next to me, I believe, is a familiar face to those who regularly follow our channel, the famous host Ms. Yang Meng."
That evening, during the program nicknamed 'Yangchuan City Focus Talk,' also known as 'News Focus,' a fellow host, Yang Meng, was invited as a guest.
"Yang Meng, I heard you've been frequenting the zoo recently. Are you bringing us some 'gifts' about the zoo in this episode?" the host asked with a smile.
"Of course," Yang Meng nodded, her expression grave. "There is a gift indeed, only it's not one that will make people happy."
"Oh? What kind of gift is it?" the host asked, feigning curiosity and steering the conversation further.
"In the past while, through undercover investigation, I discovered that some unscrupulous businessmen are manipulating animals and exploiting the compassion of the broader public to amass wealth. Director, please switch to the video I captured..."
The television screen flickered, showing the footage Yang Meng's team had filmed over the past few days – visitors of different identities and ages stuffing money into wooden boxes...
Special editing made the images flash continuously, with the elderly and children appearing on the screen, putting their hands together in front of the foxes and murmuring as if in worship...
After the editing, the video kept showing hands stuffing money into the box, followed by rapid shots of people worshipping.
Then came the footage of Suming and Wang Hao, along with Su Meng, opening the box, counting the money, and taking it away.
The people in the video were clearly visible. However, due to the equipment, the sound was not very clear, and subtitles scrolled at the bottom of the TV screen:
"Take this money back to Taoyuan Entertainment to account for it..."
"The company has made so much money..."
"Mr. Wang, please sign for it..."
...
"This is the ledger I found. You can all have a look." Yang Meng held up the ledger that Mr. Lin had lost. The director gave a close-up, and the camera zoomed in on the ledger. As two slender fingers slowly flipped through it, the figures on the ledger were clearly displayed in front of the camera.
There were thousands of yuan in daily income at the rear mountain, often breaching ten thousand. Just in the three days that Yang Meng conducted her undercover investigation, Wang Hao had signed for a total of thirty-six thousand yuan.
"You should all see very clearly now. The ultimate destination of these earnings is Taoyuan Entertainment Company. And the chairman of Taoyuan Entertainment Company is the newly appointed deputy director of the zoo."
With a calm expression, Yang Meng spoke slowly and deliberately, "Like everyone, I would sometimes go to pray and offer some money for incense and merit. What I want to ask is, however, as we can see from the footage, this wasn't happening in a temple, but at a tourist attraction. And the money obtained didn't go into the zoo's accounts, but instead into a private enterprise. This is something we must ponder..."
...
After the program aired, it quickly triggered a series of responses.
The most direct was reflected on Suming's Weibo account.
His followers had surprisingly increased by a few thousand! This could also be considered a characteristic growth method in Huaxia; no matter if it's good or bad publicity, fame brings followers.
However, these several thousand followers didn't all come to support him; many came to curse.
"Fuck you, die zoo..."
"How desperate for money are you to scam with animals!"
"Boycott the zoo collectively!"
"I'm going to poison the animals at the zoo tomorrow, poison them all to death!"
...
Suming, having spent a lot of time on Weibo, noticed a pattern: those who spew vulgarities and harsh words could largely be ignored. Many people didn't even finish reading the news and had no idea what happened before they started cursing. They were just trying to make their presence felt online. They wouldn't spend money on tickets to enter the zoo, much less dare to actually do anything. Besides, the zoo now had comprehensive security measures, so there was no need to worry about such pointless threats.
What really deserved attention were those fans who made sensible comments.
"Those who want to cause trouble can always find it, it's up to you, Director, to handle it..."
"The TV station must be full of themselves! Why should they care where the money goes? As long as it's fun, that's all that matters!"
"Exactly, going to the movies also costs money."
"Right, come out and clarify, Director! Fox Home and the zoo have brought us so much joy, please don't let them be shut down!"
Many fans clearly expressed the wish for the zoo to provide an answer.
After some thought, Suming replied, "Don't worry, everyone. Even though we make money, we absolutely don't earn it unscrupulously! There will be an answer!"
...
"Suming, Wang Hao has told me everything about the matter. That kid sometimes speaks out of turn; I'm not very reassured, so I specifically called to ask you for the details." Wang Jian She was the first to call Suming.
"Mr. Wang, rest assured, this whole thing is pure nonsense. Not only will Wang Hao not be at fault, he might even be praised. Doesn't the city honor outstanding young entrepreneurs every year? Maybe this year it'll be his turn."
"Ah?" Wang Jian She was stunned on the other end of the phone.
...
In the Huaxia TV Station director's office, Nangong Yan handed in her resignation letter with a stern face.
Mr. Mi had a pretty good relationship with Nangong Yan's father, having worked together previously, and he treated Nangong Yan as a younger relative. After glancing at the letter, he looked up in surprise and asked, "What is this, girl? Why resign out of the blue?"
"Director, I can't do this job any longer!" Nangong's attitude was unusually firm: "Even if there are state laws and family rules, there should still be room for personal feelings!"
"Explain yourself clearly!" Mr. Mi said in a stern voice.
"I'm a staff member of the TV station. Without any notice, they started investigating my boyfriend! How am I supposed to face anyone?"
Nangong's temperamental nature could sometimes be exasperating and sometimes unexpectedly effective. If it had been another employee who spoke to Mr. Mi in this manner, they would have been scolded and sent away long ago. But Mr. Mi knew Nangong had been like this since she was young and that she didn't harbor any bad intentions. Even her own parents couldn't control her, so he could only keep a stern face and ask, "Exactly which program are you talking about? Explain clearly!"
"The Focus News, the one about the foxes in the zoo!" Experience new stories on empire
"Foxes? Not this program again, the city office even called this morning to inquire about it!"
Mr. Mi pushed his glasses up on his nose, pondered for a moment, and said, "Nangong, don't lose your temper. Calm down, this isn't a small matter. Hm, give your boyfriend a heads-up. If there's really any skullduggery, it's best if he comes clean himself, otherwise things will get troublesome."
...
In Deputy Director Shi's office, Shi looked at Yang Meng, who was wearing a smug smile, and felt an urge to strangle her.
"Didn't I tell you, don't implicate too many people, especially Wang Jian She! But no, you had to drag his son into this. What are you thinking? Do you have any idea of the consequences this could bring about?"
"Calm down, Leader, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. How was I to know that chubby guy was Wang Jian She's son! Besides, the zoo has quite the reach, who would have thought Wang Jian She's son would be working for them?"
Although she was verbally admitting her mistake, Yang Meng's demeanor showed she didn't really care much, mumbling, "At worst, in my following reports, I won't implicate that chubby guy and will shift the focus instead."
"Good that you understand! For the upcoming reports, focus on the zoo and that deputy director. Compared to Wang Hao, Deputy Director Su is more well-known. Concentrate the public's attention on him!" Deputy Director Shi rolled his eyes and continued to bang on the table, "And about the evidence you said you had, what are those things you came up with? They're not even close to being evidence! Other than making the zoo look bad, what's the point?"
Footage of collecting ticket fees, people putting their hands together in prayer, buying prayer charms... Despite using some technical means to edit the videos together, they gave the impression that the zoo's leadership colluded with private businesses to scam money through superstition...
But anyone with the slightest bit of sense could see that these videos were strung together and couldn't be used as evidence.
As for the tickets, what's wrong with selling tickets? Prayer charms, typical souvenirs, and they weren't expensive! Private businesses, what a joke, Taoyuan Entertainment had contracted for the Ancient Moon Xian Residence project, of course, they were the ones collecting the money!
Shi had hoped Yang Meng could dig up some real material, but all she came up with was these insignificant trifles.
But Yang Meng had her own plans.
No evidence this time, no problem. Even if it was clear mudslinging, as long as they could stir up the issue and attract enough uninformed viewers, pressure would force an investigation into the zoo.
Putting herself in their shoes, Yang Meng believed that there had to be shady secrets behind the zoo's rapid rise. Investigate, and there would surely be something to discover!
This mudslinging was just the catalyst for the entire plan. When the real issues with the zoo were eventually uncovered, who would remember that edited footage?
"The zoo is so famous now; it has done us a great favor. Yesterday's rating increased by two points. If we continue to do a few more special programs, the ratings will surely skyrocket! The city might even set up an investigation team."