"Director, I never expected our haul in the United States to be so substantial! Once the program airs, it's bound to cause a massive stir nationwide!"
"Indeed! Who would have thought that the so-called 100% pure imported American fertilizer from San Diego would turn out to be completely fabricated!" As Huang He sat on the plane back home, he suddenly overheard a few Chinese individuals behind him speaking in this manner.
[PS: The fertilizer in question actually began sales in 2005.]
"Are these domestic television reporters?" Upon hearing such a conversation, Huang He immediately guessed their identities.
"They are investigating foreign fertilizer that claims to be purely imported. To verify the authenticity, they even traveled to the United States for interviews and investigations. This isn't something just any television station can do!" Huang He continued his deductions and analysis.
Filming abroad for a program seemed like a perfectly normal activity for a television station, as many provincial channels enjoyed shooting and producing television programs overseas.
However, in 2003, it was still a very difficult undertaking for many television stations. The cost of a business trip was exorbitant, not to mention the various procedures. Typical provincial television stations might send one or two people out occasionally to record segments when producing documentaries.
But as the two television professionals behind him stated, traveling all the way to the United States solely to expose a fertilizer that claimed to be purely imported was something no provincial television station could afford.
"They're from CCTV!" Huang He further deduced, because only CCTV had the capital to dispatch an entire team to the United States to investigate a matter.
"However, even for CCTV, going to the United States to investigate product authenticity seems like a massive undertaking. This shouldn't be the scale of a routine news report, unless... Hu Jing, what day is it today?" Huang He suddenly asked Hu Jing in a low voice.
"It's March 2nd, Beijing time!" Hu Jing replied softly.
"That makes sense!" Huang He slapped his thigh excitedly, muttering to himself, "My guess is definitely correct. I am the great detective, Huang He!"
"Boss, you've slapped the wrong thigh!" Hu Jing said with a blush. Huang He looked down and realized his hand had landed on Hu Jing's thigh, which was exposed outside her skirt.
No wonder Huang He felt his own thigh was more delicate and slender than usual. He had thought he had lost weight and become handsomer, only to realize he had slapped someone else's thigh.
"My apologies, the seats on this plane are quite narrow, and I made a mistake," Huang He exclaimed.
Under normal circumstances, there wouldn't be such issues when sitting in business class. However, this particular flight was unusually full, and the next available flight wasn't for another two days. Huang He had only managed to secure a few economy class seats.
"It's alright, Boss, as long as you're happy..." Hu Jing said, lowering her head. Huang He chuckled. To ease the awkwardness, Huang He quietly said to Hu Jing, "Little Hu, do you believe that those people sitting behind us are definitely from the CCTV 315 program team!"
"I probably don't believe it!" Hu Jing shook her head. She had also heard the conversation behind them, but there were only those two sentences from start to finish. How could he so precisely pinpoint them to the CCTV 315 Gala? The probability was too low.
"Then I can tell you what product they are investigating this time. Do you believe me?" Huang He said proudly.
"I don't believe you!" Hu Jing shook her head.
"How about we make a bet!" Huang He became interested. "Let's bet on how accurate my guess is. If I'm wrong, I'll agree to one of your conditions."
"Really!" Hu Jing's eyes blinked at Huang He. In her heart, Hu Jing didn't want to bet; it was too boring. If it were anyone else, Hu Jing wouldn't even bother giving them a roll of her eyes.
But now that Huang He was the one showing enthusiasm, it was different. To make her boss happy, Hu Jing had to cooperate with Huang He for a pleasant bet.
After thinking for a moment, Hu Jing said, "If I win, I want a vacation, at least 7 days... Boss, you don't know, ever since I started following you, I haven't had more than two consecutive days off. I've been running around with you every day, and it's really too tiring!"
Having been with Huang He for so long, Hu Jing knew that Huang He was a very easygoing person and could take a joke, but if you touched his bottom line, you would face his thunderous rage.
"Alright!" Huang He nodded and then asked, "And if I win?"
"Whatever you want!" Hu Jing said, leaning back in her seat with a hint of languor. The hem of her skirt inadvertently pulled up, revealing the fair skin on her firm and delicate thigh, which was still slightly red from Huang He's earlier slap.
"Gulp!" Huang He swallowed, realizing Hu Jing was once again unintentionally tempting him. No, he had to be devoted to his sister-in-law and not fall for this little vixen's tricks.
Actually, when Hu Jing first became Huang He's secretary, she was quite proper and always very serious. However, as she spent more time with him, this woman seemed to become more casual and displayed her languor more often.
And when women become languid, especially beautiful women, they often inadvertently reveal glimpses of alluring scenery. However, Huang He wasn't sure of Hu Jing's intentions.
Whether it was intentional or unintentional.
Ahem, it seems I've strayed off topic. Huang He and Hu Jing listened intently to the conversation of the two people behind them.
Soon, one of them said, "Our luck is good this time. We cleared up the issue as soon as we arrived in San Diego. The footage will be ready for editing in two to three days, and when it airs at the gala, it's sure to shock everyone!"
This person mentioned the gala again. Linking the expose of fraud with a gala could only mean the 315 Gala. Huang He immediately gave Hu Jing a triumphant look. Hu Jing, however, said with some frustration, "It's not confirmed that the product being investigated is the one you mentioned!"
"Yes, mainly because this 'xxx' company is too careless. Their fabrications are too fake, they didn't even do any preparatory work. There isn't a company called San Diego Bioengineering Company in the entire San Diego, not even a company with a similar name. Their office address is actually a nightclub. It's ridiculous!"
Well, that last piece of information confirmed it. Hu Jing bit her lip helplessly and looked at Huang He, "Boss, how did you know about such an obscure fertilizer company? I've never even heard of this enterprise!"
"It can't be helped, who told them to be as famous as me back then!" Huang He muttered to himself. As one of the two overlords of the "ghost animal" (Bilibili subculture) world, it would be an unforgivable sin for Huang He not to have heard that name.
"Then what do you want me to do?" Hu Jing asked, her lips bitten red.
"I don't know, I haven't thought about it!" Huang He replied decisively. He had just had a sudden idea, he didn't have any specific intentions.
"Bad guy!" Hu Jing snorted, her voice filled with captivating charm, making Huang He feel a bit weak.
Just as Huang He's mind began to conjure up some inappropriate images, one of the people behind them said again, "Actually, we might not be able to shock everyone. The theme for the gala this time is 'International Scams.' I heard that a total of five filming crews were dispatched to five different countries for investigations. With such a grand scale, there's bound to be more than just our big news!"
"Right, I heard that one of the crews was sent to Italy, and the company they want to investigate is nothing compared to this small fertilizer factory we're investigating. If their investigation results are confirmed, it will truly shock the entire nation, with three months of continuous reporting without a break."
"Which company are you talking about? That's so impressive?"
"Who else could it be? Think about it, last year, which private enterprise in China occupied the most resources and news coverage from our CCTV? Which boss dominated almost all the media space in the country?"
"Oh, you mean him!" The other person suddenly realized, and Huang He and Hu Jing's faces simultaneously turned somewhat grim.
"Boss, why do I feel like the company they're talking about might be us?" Hu Jing whispered.
"You don't need to feel it, you can boldly make the judgment. That private enterprise that occupied the most CCTV resources, and that man who occupied all the media space in the country, are our Jiangnan Group and myself!" Huang He said with a wry smile.
This wasn't Huang He bragging. It was true that for the entire past year, no private entrepreneur in China could be considered more flamboyant or generate more buzz than Huang He.
"But why are they going to Italy? We don't have any companies in Italy, nor do we have any products claiming to be imported from Italy. What are they going there for?" Hu Jing was utterly perplexed. Huang He was also somewhat confused. As Huang He had said, Italy and Jiangnan Group had no connection whatsoever. Why would a CCTV 315 investigation team go to Italy to investigate him?
"What exactly are they investigating?" Huang He and Hu Jing fell into deep thought. It wasn't until Huang He's gaze was once again drawn to Hu Jing's fair thighs, and then his eyes moved further down, eventually following her legs all the way down to... her fair feet clad in leather high heels, that something suddenly struck Huang He.
"Hu Jing, which brand are those shoes you're wearing?" Huang He asked, licking his lips.
"Boss! What are you asking so randomly?" Hu Jing blushed. Who asks questions like that? Could it be that her boss had finally opened up and was planning to make a move on her?
"No, I'm just asking what brand of shoes you're wearing?" Huang He repeated very seriously.
"Of course, they are our own Jiangnan brand leather shoes!" Seeing that Huang He's expression wasn't one of teasing, but exceptionally serious, Hu Jing also gradually replied seriously, "By the way, these are our Italian Masterpiece models. I bought them online for a thousand yuan!"
"You said Masterpiece model?"
"I-Italy!!" Both their eyes widened in unison. The case was solved!