Chapter 125: Spending 10 Million for Peace of Mind

Chapter 125: Spending 10 Million for Peace of Mind

“???” Zhang Lin looked puzzled when he heard Lin Muxue’s words. "Senior Sister, someone wants to give us money? What’s going on?"

Lin Muxue explained, "It’s from Lili Fragrance. They want to reconcile with us, proposing a collaboration video and offering us 3 million privately to salvage their reputation. They’re under a lot of criticism online and hope this will help them recover."

"Ah, so that’s why they left room for maneuver back then?" Zhang Lin understood. At the time, Lili Fragrance indeed left some leeway, mentioning that their agricultural techniques were unique.

Now, it was clear that this was their way out. If they could collaborate on a video and get the 3 million, it would help them recover, at least not fall too hard.

Thinking about it, Zhang Lin asked, "Senior Sister, what do you think? Should we agree to their offer at this price?"

After all, the heat around the Black Farm was something he had stirred up, using Lili Fragrance as a ‘good guy.’ Now, if they could get money and a collaboration, it would certainly lift his spirits.

Lili Fragrance was the type who would be sold out and still help count the money.

So, there was no need to crush them completely.

However, Lin Muxue immediately shook her head. "Only 3 million? It’s too little. No matter what, their motives were impure this time, which is why they were vulnerable to our strategy. Moreover, if they can offer 3 million to buy peace, it’s clear this isn’t their bottom line."

"How much then?" Zhang Lin asked.

"10 million," Lin Muxue replied directly. "Consider Lili Fragrance’s influence. The appearance fee alone is unknown, not to mention the ads and the profits from selling cosmetics. 10 million is a lot, but compared to their losses, they can afford it."

Zhang Lin was surprised by his senior sister’s boldness.

The key was that 10 million was no small sum. Would they agree to it?

But since his senior sister had said it, he nodded. "Alright, let’s do it your way. Once 10 million is in, 1 million will go to the operations department as department funds!"

"Thanks, President Zhang! It’s my birthday tomorrow, so I can use the department funds to throw a birthday party. You and Miaoying should come!" Lin Muxue’s mood seemed to improve.

She returned to the operations department and immediately replied to Lili Fragrance.

She was confident in asking for 10 million because she had done her research on Lili Fragrance’s situation.

Even though Lili Fragrance couldn’t compare to a professional live-streamer like Jiayi, who makes over 1.8 billion annually, Lili Fragrance could still afford 10 million to buy peace.

At the Lili Fragrance studio:

Zhao Lili quickly received a report from her assistant. "Sister Lili, Liyuan Farm has responded. They agree to the collaboration but want 10 million as the collaboration fee. They also sent a photo of a famous lawyer, but didn’t say much more!"

As she spoke, the assistant handed Zhao Lili a phone with Chen Xin’s photo.

Zhao Lili’s face fell.

Was this a threat?

The planner beside her immediately said, "Lili, if they really sue us, we could be in serious trouble. The official support for Liyuan Farm means that if we are sued, public opinion could turn against us, and we risk having our account shut down."

Zhao Lili, who had been playing the internet game for a long time, understood this well.

Many influencers have multiple accounts for exactly this reason. If the main account is shut down, they can continue streaming with a secondary account.

But if the main account is shut down, it’s a serious blow.

With that in mind, Zhao Lili said, "10 million is fine, but I need to post a clarification video first. We need Liyuan Farm’s account to like it to ease the situation. After that, we’ll handle the collaboration video as soon as we settle things here tomorrow."

The assistant nodded. "I’ll reply right away and make the payment immediately!"

Zhao Lili sighed silently. This time, she had lost both the game and the battle. Even if she spent 10 million to buy peace, her application to the International Fashion Cosmetics Blogger Association was likely to be rejected.

If this matter weren’t so important, she would have booked a flight to Liyuan Farm to resolve it immediately.

...

Liyuan Farm.

Zhang Lin had just left the office center and arrived at the rest hall.

When he got there, he saw Zhang Yuan was already busy at a sales booth with her team. A sign and a sales booth were covered with red cloth, making it impossible to see what was inside.

However, a crowd of tourists had already gathered around, and they were buzzing with speculation:

"What a mystery! I bet we can guess what it is!"

"Exactly, it must be the moisturizing cream! It's the only thing that makes sense!"

"We'll just wait and see!"

"..."

The crowd of tourists grew larger and larger.

The situation online had already turned around, and most people now knew that the moisturizing cream from Liyuan Farm was highly effective. The tourists who had visited the farm were particularly interested, and many had been trying to find out where to buy the cream.

The online videos had made it clear that the cream could only be purchased at Liyuan Farm.

The bloggers had even mentioned that the moisturizing cream was a rare find, and that any visit to Liyuan Farm would be incomplete without buying a box for oneself or a girlfriend.

So, when the tourists guessed that the newly set up sales booth was selling the moisturizing cream, they naturally wanted to buy it.

Zhang Yuan felt a bit embarrassed when she heard the tourists' comments.

She had only intended to create a sense of mystery, but it seemed they had already figured it out.

Since the setup was almost complete, she decided to just pull off the red cloth.

Sure enough, the sign for the moisturizing cream sales booth and the neatly arranged boxes of cream were revealed.

The price tag of 208 yuan was also visible to the tourists.

However, the tourists had already known the price from online, so they didn't mind it and started pulling out their money to make purchases.

Everyone was worried about not being able to get their hands on the cream.

Many tourists who managed to buy a box immediately started filming videos or testing the cream on the nearby table.

With the cream's current popularity, these people were eager to experience its effects and share their experiences online.

It wasn't just to ride the trend.

When something becomes popular enough online, it turns into a trendy activity. Posting a video and getting likes and compliments from friends becomes a fashionable thing to do.

However, as more tourists arrived, the scene became chaotic.

Zhang Lin called the security manager and asked him to send some people to maintain order.

This showed that Zhang Yuan had not thought things through in this aspect, but it was normal considering she had just been promoted to a department manager and was new to handling such situations. She needed some room to grow.

Soon, a burly man in a security uniform, along with a few other security guards, arrived.

The burly man was named Ye Ling, one of the security guards Zhang Lin had recruited from the game. Due to his imposing build, Zhang Lin had appointed him as the security captain.

Upon receiving the call, Ye Ling personally led the team to the sales booth to maintain order.

At that moment, Zhang Lin's phone rang. It was his senior, Lin Muxue. When he answered, she said, "The other party has agreed to the 10 million yuan!"

"Really? I'll be right over!" Zhang Lin was visibly surprised.

10 million yuan was a sum that most ordinary people could never earn in a lifetime. Now that the other party had agreed to pay, it was clear why so many people were eager to become internet celebrities—it was a quick way to earn money.

When he arrived at the operations department, he saw that the girls, including Li Qian, were extremely excited.

It was understandable, as Lin Muxue had mentioned that if the other party agreed to pay 10 million yuan, Zhang Lin would allocate 1 million yuan to the operations department as a bonus. This meant they could have regular team-building activities and celebrate birthdays.

Tomorrow was Lin Muxue's birthday, so they could have their first party.

It was no wonder they were so excited.

"Mr. Zhang, the other party said they will transfer the money soon. Remember to check your account!" Lin Muxue said with a smile as she approached Zhang Lin. "By the way, Lili Fragrance has some additional requests. They will first release a clarification video, and we'll need to like it. They will handle their end tomorrow and come over to co-produce a video. I'll be the one to go on camera."

"Sure, that's no problem!" Zhang Lin nodded.

Just as they were talking, he received a notification from the bank:

"Your account ending in ... has received a transfer of 10,000,000.00 yuan. Your new balance is 20,845,634.25 yuan."

The note clearly stated that this was a collaborative effort, not extortion or a bribe for peace. The word "collaboration" was emphasized.

Zhang Lin smiled when he saw the note after the payment was received.

This was the twisted nature of the internet; people still maintained their facade even in such situations. No wonder many influencers had been exposed, and live streams were filled with curses, yet she could still thank her followers with a straight face.

With the 10 million yuan now in his account, his balance had surpassed 20 million.

"10 million yuan has arrived!" Zhang Lin didn't forget to share the news with Lin Muxue and the others. He then added, "So, Senior, you can go to HR and apply for a departmental reserve funds card!"

The card wasn't actually managed by HR, but since there was no finance department yet, it had to be handled by HR for now. Once the finance department was set up after the interviews, they could handle the transfer.

Upon hearing this, Lin Muxue said, "Boss Zhang, getting a card and transferring funds takes time. Tomorrow is my birthday, and I plan to throw a party. Sign this, and it will count as part of the 1 million yuan operational budget!"

As she spoke, she handed him an application form.

Zhang Lin was in a good mood and signed the form without hesitation.

After all, the 1 million yuan was meant as a reward for the operations department, and they could decide how to use it as long as no one had any objections.

In any company, each department had its own activity funds, which the company didn't interfere with. He had heard that some international corporations had departmental funds in the millions, and some wealthy department managers even had better cars than their superiors.

But that was just a rumor, and Zhang Lin didn't know if it was true.

After signing the form and returning it to Lin Muxue, he saw the girls from the operations department gathering around her to discuss which bar in You City they should go to for the party.

It was clear that these girls enjoyed going to bars.

Zhang Lin had no prejudice against this, even though he rarely went to bars himself. In this age, one couldn't hold onto old prejudices. Online data showed that more and more people were using bars as a place to release stress and emotions.

Especially when a group of friends got together, ignoring the stares of others, jumping and shouting wildly to let off steam.

Zhang Lin returned to his office in a great mood, knowing that the operations department would handle the likes.

Soon, he saw the video posted by Lili Fragrances. In the video, Zhao Lili looked pitiful, her eyes red as if she had been greatly wronged, and she began to cry:

"I only found out about what happened online. I'm now feeling overwhelmed and helpless because my previous video was clearly misunderstood and twisted!"

"You can see, I just presented data and used Lancome and L'Oreal as examples. I never said that Liyuan Farm couldn't make moisturizing cream. I even specifically mentioned that Liyuan Farm might have special techniques!"

"Now, the facts have proven that companies like Lancome and L'Oreal can't make moisturizing cream from rapeseed oil because their technology is inferior to Liyuan Farm. This is my opinion and stance!"

"..."

Zhang Lin couldn't help but admire her performance. The pitiful look at the beginning was something not everyone could pull off.

The rest of the video was designed to portray her as a victim, seeking sympathy. She cleverly used the loophole she had left earlier, criticizing Lancome and L'Oreal while praising Liyuan Farm, essentially currying favor.

The key was that she presented this as her original stance, which was a bit of a distortion of the truth.

But her pitiful look made her fans believe her, as fans tend to have a bias toward the influencers they follow.

Influencers indeed had their skills.

At this moment, Liyuan Farm's likes played a crucial role, rallying her fans, who were now fighting fiercely. They saw that Liyuan Farm had liked and supported Lili, so they stood up for her.

Zhang Lin smiled as he watched all this. These fans wouldn't know the intricate details behind the scenes; they were just pawns in the game.

Putting down his phone, he was about to handle other farm matters when he suddenly looked at the game interface in his mind. A game notification appeared.

Congratulations! Your farm's mountain market has refreshed with something new. A sun-tanned old farmer seems to have dug up something remarkable in the deep mountains!

Zhang Lin immediately opened the mountain market and saw the new item. His face showed surprise.

This was something all men would love, right?

It was impressive. If this item were to appear in the outside world, many people would go crazy over it.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end