Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“That’s accurate!” declared the leader of Line 5. “We found ourselves mired in a substantial debt… We were consumed by obsession…”
“Enough!” Manager Jia intervened to halt their conversation.
The leader of Line 4 voiced a degree of discontent. “Manager Jia, we’re unable to even protect ourselves. Must we continue shielding President Zhao?” “At the company’s first-month celebration, it was President Zhao who goaded us, his ‘brothers,’ into gambling online. If he hadn’t spurred us to bet, how could we have amassed such staggering losses? We still don’t have enough to cover our debts, even if we liquidate all our assets!”
The leader of Line 5 was besieged by debt collectors, a situation that had him contemplating drastic measures. Were it not for his young child and ailing wife, he might have met a tragic end long ago.
“President Zhao encouraged you to gamble online?” Fang Yuan raised an eyebrow, her concern centered on the legality of such actions.
“President Zhao claimed that the online platform had a nearly ninety percent winning rate,” the leader of Line 4 disclosed. “He even showed us the impressive sums he supposedly raked in, totaling more than 600,000 yuan!” “Initially, I was skeptical,” he continued. “But after making a few modest investments, it appeared that we all experienced a run of good fortune, and we were able to withdraw our winnings. Consequently, we invested increasingly larger sums. We even recruited our relatives and friends to join in. Eventually, the website modified its payout conditions, stating that we needed to invest 500,000 yuan to withdraw our earnings. After scrambling to gather that amount, they shifted the goalposts, demanding a million yuan. We turned to online lenders to finance our investments, yet even after pouring in millions, we couldn’t access our funds!”
At this juncture, the leader of Line 5 let out a heavy sigh. Were it not for his deep attachment to his wife and children, he might have met a tragic fate. Many production line workers became embroiled in this predicament, prompting the formation of Line 4 and Line 5 to manufacture subpar garments collectively. They conspired with the warehouse manager to peddle these substandard items and divide the illicit gains among themselves.
“Some of our relatives in our hometown trusted our endorsements, as they were unaware of the online developments,” he explained. “They invested their life savings or sold property on our recommendation. Ultimately, it all vanished!”
“Some of them had tapped into retirement funds, while others relied on the money they’d earmarked for surgeries. Insufficient funds for the operations left them no choice but to seek this method for a big win. Tragically, one relative succumbed to illness without ever realizing those funds.” “We resorted to loans from numerous lending platforms,” one of them admitted.
“We’ve been making payments for a year now. If it was just tens of thousands per month, we might still manage to keep up,” the team leader of Line 4 and Line 5 lamented, unable to contain his grief. Only he truly comprehended the sorrow and hopelessness that had befallen them.
“I also succumbed to gambling,” the warehouse manager confessed, her voice choked with emotion as tears streamed down her cheeks. After a lengthy pause, she continued, “During that celebratory event, I got drunk. When I awoke the following day, President Zhao was lying beside me. He… he had taken explicit photos of me and blackmailed me into compliance. Sobbing…”
Her revelation left everyone in a state of shock and disbelief.
“At first, it was agonizing, especially when I discovered that he held sway over individuals at the police station. Reporting the matter to the authorities proved futile. However, as time passed, 1 began receiving a monthly share of the ill-gotten gains. 1 could even afford designer handbags, so I allowed the situation to persist…”
Upon hearing the warehouse manager’s revelation, the head of the procurement department also expressed her indignation. “I, too, overindulged in alcohol that night. Zhao Quan took advantage of me! He threatened to expose incriminating photos to my husband and even plaster them outside my in-laws’ residence, branding me an immoral woman… I had only just married then, and I was petrified…”
The conversation taking place within the office incited fury among those observing from outside. Zhao Quan had committed utterly reprehensible acts, exploiting individuals and coercing them into complicity!
“President Fang, please, spare us…” implored the warehouse manager. “I dread the prospect of incarceration. My life has just begun, and I’m resolute in avoiding a return to prison.”
“You’ve caused the company to incur losses in the tens of millions. 1 have a duty to report this to the police,” Fang Yuan responded with a composed tone. “If I were to cover this up privately, I’d become an accessory to your crimes. The act of concealing the truth is tantamount to committing the same crime as you.”
“President Fang, please…” implored the head of the procurement department, her voice quivering. “My family is overjoyed, and my child is only three months old… I don’t want this to shatter my family!”
“We are obligated to report this matter to our corporate headquarters. If the actions of our employees result in multi-million-dollar losses for the company and they are merely let off with a plea for clemency, can you envision the chaos this would sow within the organization in the future? How would we, as managers, ever gain the trust of our stakeholders?”
“President Fang…” It was clear to everyone that negotiation was futile. They could only fault themselves for the choices they had made, a path that had led them inexorably to this point of no return.
“We are all adults,” Fang Yuan stated earnestly. “When one makes a mistake, one must bear the consequences. If you feel wronged, you may express your concerns to the authorities and endeavor to secure a more lenient outcome..”
