Although the police have apprehended the culprits in the Wutong District warehouse arson case.
The incident will not simply conclude with the capture of four criminals from the moment the warehouse caught fire.
The entire business community in Kyoto is now aware that the fire at the Wutong District express warehouse was a clear act of malicious targeting.
The apprehended culprits are merely scapegoats.
Do not forget that before the warehouse fire, thirty branches of Tongda and Suyue Express were also vandalized, and this was also done under deliberate instruction.
Even if the instigator behind it is unknown, there are only a few entities with a vested interest in competing with Gao Fei.
Now, Gao Fei has chosen to enter business, using his capital as a backing to navigate the entertainment industry.
If he doesn't resolve this matter thoroughly and demonstrate his capabilities.
He will find it extremely difficult to operate in Kyoto's business circles in the future.
Let alone use his capital to support his endeavors in the entertainment industry.
(For reasons beyond my control, this author is unable to have the protagonist involved in military or police backgrounds anymore. If I write about it, it can only be a brief mention.)
...
The next day.
On the entertainment charts of the three major social media platforms, Gao Fei's six new songs occupy the top six positions, with two spots each in movies and novels.
The top eight positions on the entertainment charts are all related to Gao Fei.
The ninth and tenth positions are related to two other celebrities in the entertainment industry.
The popularity difference between the top eight and the latter two is like heaven and earth.
On the total trending search list of the three platforms.
The top trending search is the announcement statement released by the Kyoto Police last night.
The second and third trending searches are still the tags "Arson Case, Spokesperson Gao Fei."
All three trending searches are related to Gao Fei, and their combined heat has reached a staggering five hundred million.
As of noon today, the popularity of these three trending searches continues to rise.
After all, Gao Fei has just won an award at the Jiada Film Festival and received an exclusive interview with the central station.
The attention and popularity he is currently receiving are unmatched by any other celebrity.
In the trending search topic communities, netizens are uniformly calling for severe punishment for the perpetrators and expressing sorrow for the two warehouse administrators who died in the arson.
As for anti-fans and gossip media, with the Kyoto Police overseeing the situation, no one dares to come forward to spread rumors or incite negativity.
At noon.
Xingyue Hutong.
"Brother Qing, Brother Yang's home is empty. I will cover his funeral expenses. For his insurance compensation and other matters, why don't we give it all to Brother Tang's family?"
"Boss, you make the decision!"
Gao Fei stopped talking and led the four brothers, including Hu Qing, to the home of the deceased employee, Tang Gui.
After visiting Tang Gui's father, he arranged for a caregiver to look after Tang Father's daily needs, with the expenses covered by him.
He also contributed 500,000 yuan as a resettlement fee for Tang Gui's younger sister, who is still studying.
As for funeral expenses, Gao Fei also covered them all, as Tang Gui died while moving valuable goods during the arson.
Other compensation fees will be managed by Hu Qing, who is ranked second, and delivered to the father and daughter each month.
After settling the affairs of the deceased employee's family, Gao Fei then left with his men.
Outside the hutong.
"Alright, you four should stay home and rest well. Once your injuries are healed, you can go back to work!"
After instructing the four brothers, Gao Fei drove away.
Looking at the departing car, Lao Liu Guo Yue said with a bitter smile, "Damn, before, when I worked for those entertainment city bosses, if something happened and I went to jail, the resettlement fee they gave was only ten thousand yuan."
"Compared to the 500,000 that President Gao gave, they are not even in the same league."
"Who says not? Back then, we went to jail for our boss, and the money they gave was only twenty to thirty thousand."
"Everyone says businessmen are shrewd, but the bosses who work in society are not as good as those who do legitimate business!"
Lao Si Jin Xiaohu agreed.
"Do you guys really think our President Gao still has money?"
"What do you mean, Second Brother?"
The other three brothers all looked at their second brother.
Second Brother Hu Qing took a deep drag of his cigarette and looked at the car driving out of the hutong. "This warehouse fire, overall, was a serious dereliction of duty on our part."
"Moreover, the warehouse losses have already reached several million, and President Gao has spent over a million to resettle Big Brother and Fifth Brother. The fact that he hasn't fired us yet is already the utmost kindness."
Hearing this, the brothers fell silent.
Half a cigarette burned out, Hu Qing looked at his three younger brothers and said, "Go back and rest well. Take a day off, and tomorrow we'll go back to work. Since President Gao is benevolent, we cannot be ungrateful."
"Understood, Second Brother!"
The four brothers dispersed from the hutong and went their separate ways.
After everyone had left, Hu Qing walked to the outside of the hutong, hailed a taxi, and headed towards Qingshui Manor in the suburbs.
...
Qingshui Manor, on the western outskirts of Kyoto.
Gao Fei, carrying a briefcase, walked through the lounge area and arrived at Villa No. 6 in the manor.
As soon as he entered the villa, a middle-aged man and a man in his thirties were sitting in the living room, drinking tea and chatting.
"President Li, President Xu, good noon!"
"President Gao, long time no see!"
The two men were Li Yaowen, the chairman of Tongda Express, and Xu Chenghao, the chairman of Suyue.
As soon as Gao Fei sat down, Li Yaowen stated directly, "President Gao, the total loss from the Wutong District warehouse fire has reached five million. Do you know that?"
"Of course, I completed the statistics last night."
Xu Chenghao took a sip of tea and continued, "President Gao, to be frank, if you want to claim compensation from the company, it's probably not feasible. After all, you are the regional agent, and you have to bear it yourself."
"Don't worry, I've already insured the warehouse and the goods. The insurance company will cover it."
Hearing this, Li Yaowen frowned. "Since you're not asking for compensation, why did you ask us to meet?"
Gao Fei leaned back on the sofa, tapping his briefcase with his fingers, and didn't speak immediately.
Seeing the slightly confused expressions on their faces, and the fact that they only mentioned compensation since he entered, it seemed they were unaware of the Beehive Station matter.
"President Gao, if you don't tell us clearly why you invited us, then I must excuse myself!"
Xu Chenghao, who couldn't sit still, finished his tea and picked up his bag, preparing to leave.
Gao Fei quickly stopped him and took out two documents from his briefcase, smiling. "Director Xu, don't be in such a hurry. Both of you, please take a look at the documents first."
Li Yaowen and Xu Chenghao took the documents. Upon seeing the cover 'Beehive Station,' they both frowned in confusion.
As they read the contents of the documents, their frowns gradually relaxed, and their expressions and gazes simultaneously turned to shock.
Ten minutes passed. Li Yaowen was the first to put down the document. After drinking two cups of tea, he spoke, "Mr. Gao, are you acting as our agent for Tongda Express just for this Beehive Station?"
"That's right!"
"Then you are indeed a cunning one!"
He gave Gao Fei a thumbs-up. As the chairman of Tongda, he was unaware of a project called Beehive Station. It was evident that Gao Fei had absolute control over Tongda Express in Wutong District.
Xu Chenghao also drank several cups of tea and then said, "According to the project plan and description in the documents. Beehive Station precisely solves the problem of many couriers being unable to enter schools, as well as those who cannot deliver door-to-door."
"As long as the project is fully implemented, it will save labor costs and reduce various expenses. The project is very innovative!"
He then glared at Gao Fei and continued, "If it weren't for the deliberate arson at the Wutong District warehouse, would you have kept it a secret from us all along? Until Beehive Station was deployed throughout the entire Wutong District, and then you would have revealed it to us?"
"That's right!"
Gao Fei admitted directly without concealment.
Before they could speak, he continued, "I invited you here today not only to share in the development of the Beehive Station project, but also because there's something I need to ask of you."
"Since it's a collaborative development project, we are partners from now on. President Gao, please speak directly. What do you need us to help you with? Compensation for goods and such can be easily discussed!"
Li Yaowen no longer had the aggressive attitude he had upon entering, nor the impatient tone from earlier. His words were very calm.
"It's not about compensation, but about waiting for a phone call!"
Gao Fei pointed to their phones and smiled. "Today, I'm waiting for a few phone calls from people contacting you. They might come in the afternoon, or perhaps in the evening. Gentlemen, can you wait with me?"
"It's just waiting for a phone call. We don't have anything important going on at the company, so it's easy!"
"Me too!"
Li Yaowen and Xu Chenghao placed their phones on the coffee table. They did not seem impatient with Gao Fei's unreasonable request. Both men were now interested in the Beehive Station project. Although the documents described the operational methods of the project, they did not mention the operating system of Beehive Station. As everyone knows, President Gao is a hacker. If they wanted to bypass Gao Fei and start their own venture, not to mention trademarks, just the storage and retrieval system of Beehive Station would be insurmountable for them. Since Gao Fei asked them to wait for a call, they would wait. Both are company chairmen, and as long as there's nothing major, they are quite idle!
About half an hour later.
Just as the three were discussing the cooperation of the Beehive Station project, Li Yaowen's phone rang first. He glanced at the number on the screen; it was a local Kyoto mobile number.
"President Gao, should I answer it, or not?"
"Answer it, and put it on speaker!"
Li Yaowen pressed the answer button and then turned on the speaker. As soon as the call connected, a man's robust voice came through.
"May I ask if this is Mr. Li Yaowen, chairman of Tongda Express Group?"
"It's me, who is this?"
"I am Qiu Dongsheng, deputy manager of Weicheng Investment Company!"
"So it's Deputy Manager Qiu. May I ask why you are looking for me?" Li Yaowen asked curiously. But he could see that Gao Fei, who had been smiling moments ago, now had an extremely grim expression.
"Chairman Li, I'm calling you to discuss cooperation on the express project." Qiu Dongsheng chuckled on the other end of the phone and then began to talk about the Beehive Station at Kyoto University.
Except for Gao Fei, Li Yaowen and Xu Chenghao listened with increasing apprehension. There was no difference from the project operations described in the previous documents. At the same time, they immediately realized why Gao Fei had invited them to meet, informed them in advance, partnered with them on the Beehive Station project, and then asked them to wait for a call with him. It turned out that Gao Fei had anticipated that someone would contact them to discuss the Beehive Station project. Furthermore, the two had a premonition that this Qiu Dongsheng was likely the mastermind behind the Wutong District warehouse arson. However, while Li Yaowen was talking to Qiu Dongsheng, Xu Chenghao's phone also rang. And it was also an unfamiliar number from Kyoto.