Chapter 154: The Entire Organization Will Collapse!

Chapter 154: The Entire Organization Will Collapse!

Zhang Lin's last shred of hope faded into despair.

His sweet potatoes didn't even receive a consolation prize. He knew what these so-called awards were all about and why even something as trivial as "ugly tomatoes" could win an agricultural prize in the country.

He absolutely didn't believe that anything that won those awards could be better than his sweet potatoes.

If that were the case, their nation's agriculture would have soared to new heights long ago.

He couldn't believe that even in a country where agriculture was the foundation, the agricultural awards were still rigged by money and connections, just like in sports.

Damn, there were fewer and fewer places in this world where fairness still existed.

"Ah!" Zhang Lin sighed, no longer caring about the ridiculous award.

He would have to find another way to earn agricultural recognition.

The 2,000 yuan he paid for the entry fee would just have to be written off as a waste.

In contrast to Zhang Lin's disappointment, on the other side, the management of Qinghua Company's research lab was thrilled with the gold medal they had won.

Especially the head of the lab, Chu Daokeng, who beamed with a smile, "Winning this gold medal shows that our donation was worth it."

The others also chimed in with smiles, "We thought it would be hard to secure more funding with our current research progress. This award will make it much easier to convince investors."

"I was a bit worried about the large donation, but now it's all worth it. We don't have to worry about losing our jobs."

"Next, we need to secure new funding to continue the project and expand our business while taking advantage of this award."

"..."

At that moment, someone suddenly called out from in front of a computer, "Look at this rejected participant."

"One who can't even get a consolation prize? What's so interesting about that?" someone teased, "Got too much free time?"

The person quickly replied, "I was just browsing out of boredom and made an unexpected discovery. Come take a look."

Chu Daokeng and the others gathered around the computer, and they all froze in shock.

"Liyuan Farm!"

"Is this real?"

"How could a farm like this not get at least a consolation prize? It's got so much buzz!"

"Maybe the project was just too poor. Sweet potatoes for skin whitening? Even if they wanted to give a consolation prize, they'd be embarrassed to."

Chu Daokeng and the others exchanged glances.

As agricultural researchers, they knew all about sweet potatoes, even having studied various types. It was impossible for sweet potatoes to have anything to do with skin whitening. If such a thing existed, it would be a new species, not just a new variety of sweet potatoes.

But if they had that kind of capability, why would they participate in such a minor award? They would have gone for national-level awards long ago.

Most importantly, achieving a breakthrough in species development was not something a typical lab could do. In the nation's agricultural research history, there were only two instances of such mutations occurring naturally in the wild.

In short, the conclusion was that Liyuan Farm's project was unreliable.

"Is this really Liyuan Farm?" someone asked again.

The others were uncertain.

Even as agricultural researchers, they had heard of Liyuan Farm. It was a name that every agricultural expert admired. If they knew the secret to Liyuan Farm's success, they would be willing to transform their research institute into a farm.

Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts to replicate Liyuan Farm across the country, no one had succeeded.

Chu Daokeng, looking at the name "Liyuan Farm," suddenly said, "Whether or not this is the real Liyuan Farm, this might be an opportunity for us to capitalize on the buzz. We can expose that Liyuan Farm didn't even get a consolation prize. With Liyuan Farm's popularity, this will definitely be picked up by the media, and it will boost the attention on the other winning projects."

This made the others' eyes light up, and they all agreed, "Right, Liyuan Farm's application for an award, with no consolation prize, will definitely attract attention and generate a lot of buzz!"

"Then, as the gold medal winners, we will receive the most attention."

"Haha, we'll definitely gain more recognition, and it will be easier to secure funding. We might even complete a few projects and boost the popularity of our cucumbers. As for the actual results, just giving people a psychological boost is enough."

"You're right. How many well-known products actually live up to their advertising?"

With the decision made, Chu Daokeng didn't hesitate and immediately started making calls to arrange everything.

This needed to be done covertly, without anyone knowing they were behind it.

In this society, everything was driven by profit. If there was a profit to be made, even a passerby could be dragged into the mess.

A woman rear-ended an old man's car, and despite being clearly at fault, her husband shamelessly demanded 13.8 million yuan in compensation. How could the person driving normally in front be at fault?

The court wouldn't support such a claim, yet the husband still blamed a passerby for not calling 120, insisting they should pay out of humanitarian concern.

Isn't that ridiculous?

When driven by self-interest, people can twist things around so easily. Now, the people at Qinghua Company, seeing the potential profit, are ready to act against Liyuan Farm, even though they have no prior grudge or conflict.

...

In the Operations Department of Liyuan Farm.

Lin Muxue was enthusiastically working on the promotional strategy for the "Whitening Sweet Potato."

"Whitening Sweet Potato" was the new name for this sweet potato, and when promoting or labeling it for sale, the name "Liyuan Farm" would be added.

"Lin, take a look at this logo design by Xiao Chen!" Liu Qian handed over a draft.

Lin Muxue glanced at it and frowned. "No, it's not quite right. Have Xiao Chen redo it!"

Liu Qian sighed. "Lin, Xiao Chen has already done many versions. She's not particularly skilled at this type of illustration. We should hire two more graphic designers."

Lin Muxue agreed. "I'll talk to HR about it. For now, have Xiao Chen try to improve it."

She knew that graphic designers had their specialties and couldn't excel in every area.

Previously, their team managed celebrities, so the graphic design work was relatively straightforward, and Xiao Chen could handle it alone.

Now, Liyuan Farm's business was diverse, ranging from skincare creams, flower seas, bamboo mazes, pandas, black bears, and now sweet potatoes. Xiao Chen was struggling to keep up.

Moreover, they couldn't keep relying on external advertising agencies for this kind of work.

So, it was better to hire more staff.

Suddenly, a colleague called out, "Lin, come quick! Our sweet potato is trending, it's the third most popular video right now!"

"???" Lin Muxue was taken aback and hurried over.

They hadn't even started the promotional campaign for the sweet potato, so how could it already be trending?

When she saw the video, she was stunned:

"Amusing Liyuan Farm, instead of sticking to what they're good at, they tried to get into agricultural research. They even entered a competition for agricultural research breakthroughs, and didn't even win a consolation prize!"

"I'm an agriculture enthusiast and often check out interesting agricultural research projects. When I heard that a provincial agricultural research breakthrough award was being held, I was curious to see the entries."

"I wasn't interested in the winners, but one unexpected entrant caught my eye—this one..."

The video showed a screen with the name "Liyuan Farm" as one of the participants.

The blogger continued, "You see, it's none other than Liyuan Farm. They entered the competition but didn't even win a consolation prize. That's what makes it amusing."

"We often say, don't use your hobby to ruin someone's livelihood. Now, Liyuan Farm is doing just that. Instead of sticking to what they're good at, they're trying to do agricultural research!"

"Is agricultural research that easy? They even attempted a sweet potato whitening project. Unless they turn the sweet potato into a new variety, it's impossible. It's no surprise they didn't even win a consolation prize—it's just embarrassing."

Lin Muxue was dumbfounded by the trending video.

The whitening sweet potato entered a competition and didn't win?

Is this a joke?

If such a whitening effect didn't win, what could?

Are the judges blind?

Something seemed off.

However, many people online were already mocking Liyuan Farm. Despite having many fans, there were also many who disliked or envied them. This situation was ripe for their detractors to pounce.

The controversy only grew hotter.

Liu Qian asked, puzzled, "This is too strange. How could our sweet potato not win? Could this be something arranged by Zhang himself? Like the skincare cream, where he first lets people criticize him and then pulls a surprise?"

Lin Muxue thought it was unlikely but still left the Operations Department to head to Zhang Lin's office.

At that moment, Zhang Lin was in his office, staring at Zhong Miaoying. The whitening effect of the sweet potato was impressive. Both Lin Muxue and Zhong Miaoying were already beautiful, but their skin was even more radiant after using the sweet potato.

Zhong Miaoying, being naturally shy, blushed and quickly left, her face turning red under her boss's gaze.

Lin Muxue hurried in, nearly bumping into Zhong Miaoying, who was looking down. She gave Zhang Lin a puzzled look, wondering what was going on.

Zhang Lin didn't seem to notice anything amiss. Seeing his senior classmate, he asked, "Senior, why are you in such a rush? What happened?"

Lin Muxue quickly handed her phone over to Zhang Lin, showing him a video. "Boss Zhang, take a look at this video!"

Zhang Lin watched the video with confusion. It showed that his sweet potatoes had not even won a consolation prize in the competition, leaving him dejected. "What the hell is this?"

He had already given up on caring about this matter, but now someone was rubbing it in his face.

Wasn't this just bullying the honest?

Seeing Zhang Lin's exasperated expression, Lin Muxue knew this wasn't something he had planned. She asked, "Boss Zhang, what's going on? Why did you enter the sweet potatoes in this competition, and how could they not even win a consolation prize? Given the sweet potatoes' effects, this shouldn't have happened."

Zhang Lin sighed. "Recently, there was an athlete named Su Shao who lost his grip on the horizontal bar, and there was that incident where one had to pay to join the national soccer team. I thought this agricultural competition would be a bit fair, but it seems I overestimated the moral standards of some people."

"Ah, I see." Lin Muxue understood the implications.

But this was utterly ridiculous.

The whitening effects of the sweet potatoes were significant. If they were manipulated, it was one thing, but to completely ignore them was another. If the farm promoted these sweet potatoes, the entire judging panel would be discredited.

This wasn't some major award; it could collapse at any moment.

And the judges were supposed to be professors in the agricultural field, right?

They couldn't be so foolish as to not give the sweet potatoes a single prize. If the sweet potatoes were promoted, not only would their reputations be ruined, but the entire agricultural system of Min Province would be affected. This could lead to a major scandal.

Could it be that they didn't see the documentation on the sweet potatoes?

That didn't make sense either; they should have reviewed the application materials.

Lin Muxue couldn't figure out the exact situation, so she decided not to speculate. Instead, she said, "Boss Zhang, no matter what happened, they've already generated a lot of buzz. We should thank them for it. In this situation, if we respond, we'll definitely become a hot topic, and the promotional effect will be unparalleled."

She wasn't worried about the negative publicity. After all, the effects of the sweet potatoes were as clear as those of a skin cream, and it wasn't something that could be easily discredited. The detection report Zhang Lin had provided was certified by the national authority, which was far more credible than the Min Province Agricultural Research Breakthrough Award.

This award was just a provincial-level institution under the Min Province Agricultural Bureau. It didn't even have a provincial-level certification.

For some reason, while working in operations at Liyuan Farm, she always felt that there were too many good people. They always managed to create a buzz for the farm, leaving her with no sense of achievement in her job.

But it wasn't just Luyuan Farm that was taken aback by this sudden attention. The Min Province Agricultural Research Breakthrough Award Center was also caught off guard.

Especially its founder, Chen Xingyuan.

He felt like a good person sitting at home, suddenly having wealth and fame fall on his head. The buzz was being delivered right to his doorstep.

Their awarding institution was relatively new and had limited funds, so they even resorted to charitable donations to support their operations. This way, they had the funds to award prizes and to support some professors' research, which helped them build a network within the agricultural community.

He had always maintained good relationships with these professors, making them part of his network. As a result, when they held the competition, they could invite well-known professors from Min Province to judge, which enhanced the credibility of their award center. This, in turn, encouraged companies, research institutes, and individuals to donate more to improve their reputation through agricultural awards.

Now, he was always thinking about upgrading the institution's credentials, first to the provincial level and then to the national level.

The provincial-level certification was already in the application process, and with the connections he had with the agricultural professors from Min Province, it should be smooth sailing. With this sudden buzz, it was even more secure.

Moreover, if the buzz was significant enough, it could help them gain national-level credentials. After all, the higher authorities also wanted to create more prestigious national agricultural awards.

Without a good reputation, it was just a small circle of people playing games, which had no real impact. But with a good reputation, there would be influence.

Now that this online buzz had landed on their heads, it was the perfect time to boost their reputation.

But there seemed to be one problem.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end