"It's okay, Daddy went to see her today, and it was all to protect Tongtong, so we need to be sensible and understand our aunt." Liu Yifeng said comfortingly, hoping he wouldn't feel too much pressure.
However, after he finished speaking, he didn't notice any relief from Tongtong. He still pretended to be relieved and said, "That's good, as long as Auntie is alright. Daddy, Tongtong wants to sleep now."
He then yawned and pushed Liu Yifeng out the door.
Liu Yifeng, shut outside, frowned. He felt that everyone was a bit off today. Could he be overthinking things because he was photographed?
The next day at work, he didn't see Tongtong get up. Liu Yifeng knew something was wrong. He could tell it wasn't his problem, but Tongtong's.
He decided he needed to have a serious talk with him after work.
"Yifeng, you should go and check the vegetable sheds."
As soon as he got to the office, Lu Fei rushed in, looking anxious. It seemed like an urgent matter.
"We won't cooperate with such people!"
"Right!"
"We want to terminate the contract!"
"Terminate! It all looks like a staged performance, even with the audio. They're doing it deliberately."
...
The staff were clearly overwhelmed by the back-and-forth from the crowd.
"Yifeng, you're finally here. What's going on? As soon as I arrived today, I saw these people waiting."
Liu Yifeng first calmed down his third uncle, then called everyone into the office.
"I understand your concerns, but I can assure you there will be no problems with Director Su. This isn't a deliberate publicity stunt due to any conflict with me; it's all based on one-sided information from netizens. And as you all know, Director Su's Bai Guo Yuan can be considered top-notch. Think about it, if they really terminated the contract with you, wouldn't you regret it?"
Liu Yifeng's words made everyone fall silent. A large portion of them had come along with Sui Da Liu. In fact, they used both the fruits and vegetables very well and didn't want to change. That's why they felt Liu Yifeng's words were very reasonable.
"Termination is possible, but only on one condition: if you can find a better supplier than us, we will definitely agree to terminate the contract."
These people's hotels were either chain or franchised, and the supply of vegetables and fruits was essential. They were likely just looking for some compensation.
"There's too little time, and we're so busy. How can we find someone?"
"Exactly, we don't have time."
"Okay, how about this? I know the news has indeed affected everyone. How about this: I will represent our vegetables and fruits and compensate everyone by giving you free supplies for one month. What do you think?"
One month's supply of vegetables and fruits was a considerable amount. It was manageable for one hotel, but for so many hotels, Liu Yifeng was truly making a huge sacrifice.
When the compensation offer was presented, everyone started discussing it. This indicated that they were quite satisfied with the proposal.
"I agree." Someone in the crowd was the first to agree, and then everyone else raised their hands in agreement.
"Good, since no one has any objections, please follow our sales representatives to register." He then gave Lu Fei a look.
Lu Fei immediately understood. "Come, everyone, follow me," he called out loudly, leading the disruptive crowd away from the office. The office instantly returned to its former tranquility.
Human hearts are inherently greedy. One person's desires are insignificant, but the strength of a group is boundless. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. Today, he truly witnessed it.
Half an hour later, Lu Fei finally finished registering the group and returned.
"I'm telling you, Yifeng, they were clearly doing it on purpose. You still insisted on compensating them. If they want to terminate the contract, let them. It's obvious they're doing it deliberately."
Liu Yifeng just rubbed his temples. "It's not normal, really not normal. Everyone's just not right."
Lu Fei was confused. "What's not normal?"
"When I came this morning, Tongtong didn't even get up to see me off, and he locked the door. I wanted to go see him, but I was refused entry." He couldn't understand why.
Lu Fei was speechless. "Tongtong probably just wanted to sleep in and didn't want to open the door for you. What's there to be confused about?" He sighed and looked at the list of signatures in his hand, lost in thought. This wasn't just for one month; one month per hotel was equivalent to several months. His heart was bleeding.
Their thoughts were completely disconnected, each lost in their own world.
Liu Yifeng, troubled all day, went home early. When he got home, he saw the grandfather and grandson eating.
"You're home quite early today," Liu Chunsheng said, taking out another set of bowls and chopsticks, lamenting Liu Yifeng's actions today.
Tongtong also smiled at him obediently, just like Ping Village.
"Tongtong, what time did you get up today? What did you do?" Liu Yifeng sat down and gently stroked his son's obedient head. He usually didn't ask about these things, but due to Tongtong's unusual behavior today, his questions were also a bit out of the ordinary.
Tongtong smiled. "I got up very early. Why are you asking so suddenly, Daddy?"
Liu Yifeng shook his head and then started eating. It had been a long time since the three of them had eaten together, and it was clear they were very happy.
As bedtime approached, Liu Yifeng finally found Tongtong. Tongtong was currently browsing computer-related information on his computer.
"Tongtong, Daddy has something very serious he wants to ask you." Liu Yifeng was not one to beat around the bush, so as soon as he saw Tongtong, he directly stated his thoughts.
Tongtong guessed that this couldn't be easily brushed aside.
"Go ahead, Daddy."
"You weren't just worried about Auntie; you also knew who was behind this, didn't you?" Liu Yifeng thought about it more and more, and it didn't feel right. With Tongtong's abilities, it was impossible for him not to find out who the real mastermind was. It seemed like he was intentionally keeping it from him.
"No, I was also very worried about Auntie, but Daddy, I think it's better if you don't know about this." Tongtong also gave a kind reminder, as knowing wouldn't be of much use to him.
Hearing Tongtong say this, he knew his guess was correct. A Tongtong with something on his mind was different from a Tongtong without.
"Who is it?" Liu Yifeng insisted on knowing.
Tongtong didn't speak. He simply pulled up all the chat records and showed them to Liu Yifeng. Instantly, he understood what was going on.
In fact, when the incident first happened, Tongtong had investigated Yun Duo'er's private account. It was exactly as he thought; he was her son, and he knew her character all too well.
It was just that seeing Liu Yifeng's worried expression at the time, he couldn't bear to let him know that Yun Duo'er was responsible.