After Rebirth, Married to a Deadly Enemy - Chapter 27

Bai Xiangxing did not immediately inform Xiang Rong of the news that Xiang Yan was still alive. He planned to personally lead a team to the Cancer constellation after this busy period.

 

After having breakfast, Bai Xiangxing went to work at the company. When he arrived at the company, he noticed a subtle change in the atmosphere, which seemed livelier and happier than usual. It was like a stagnant pool of water finally starting to flow. Especially the security team, everyone who saw him had smiles on their faces.

 

“What’s going on with them?” Bai Xiangxing asked Wan Tong.

 

To make it easier for work, Wan Tong had moved in on his second day at the Xinshi and now lived in the dormitory with the other employees, and his relationship with them was relatively harmonious.

 

“I guess it’s because of the double bonus for finding the new equipment,” Bai Xiangxing said. As long as they could retrieve the new equipment, the entire security team’s bonus would double.

 

“Right, I almost forgot about that,” Bai Xiangxing immediately added, “Later, you go to the finance department and finalize the bonus details. Additionally, give each member of the security team who participated in this operation an extra 10,000 stars as a reward, and Captain Du gets a personal bonus of 100,000.”

 

“Sure, I’ll go to the finance department in a bit,” Wan Tong nodded.

 

“How’s the production department doing? Have they started production?” Bai Xiangxing asked.

 

“They started production last night, and the first batch of medicines came out at around 3 AM. By now, there should be quite a few medicines produced,” Wan Tong replied.

 

“3 AM? Manager Zhou didn’t get any rest last night?” Bai Xiangxing frowned. “Didn’t I tell you to watch over him?”

 

He had thought that Zhou Qirong would at most stay up to complete the equipment testing and then go to rest, but he didn’t expect this guy to work all night. While he appreciated diligent employees, as a former workaholic who had died from overwork, Bai Xiangxing didn’t endorse such behavior.

 

“He did go back to rest, but it seems he was too excited to sleep and returned to the workshop,” Wan Tong said with some embarrassment. As a young person, he hadn’t even stayed up as long as a middle-aged man over half a century old.

 

“Let’s go check the workshop,” Bai Xiangxing turned and walked toward the pharmaceutical production workshop.

 

On the way, people kept greeting Bai Xiangxing, carrying various raw materials and reagents needed for pharmaceutical production, coming and going in a hurry, appearing very busy. Despite the hustle and bustle, the workers were methodical and organized. Even before seeing the inside of the workshop, Bai Xiangxing could tell that Manager Zhou’s management skills were exceptional.

 

He initially thought he would need to redesign a production process to improve the factory’s efficiency. However, it seemed unnecessary now because he already had a highly efficient production line.

 

Upon entering the workshop, Bai Xiangxing inspected the drug production process on the assembly line, and finally, he carefully examined a bottle of medicine.

 

“Mr. Bai, you’re here?” Zhou Qirong had been testing the medicine, but he only noticed when Bai Xiangxing stood next to him.

 

“How are the test results?” Bai Xiangxing asked.

 

Medicines are different from other products; each medicine leaving the factory needs strict inspection to ensure that there are no issues with any of them.

 

“Very good, the latest equipment is indeed impressive. So far, all the products we’ve produced are of high quality,” Zhou Qirong exclaimed.

 

The new equipment not only saved on raw material costs but also improved the success rate. With both of these advantages, they were now producing medicines at a cost of only 60% of what it used to be. In other words, they could sell the same medicine at the same price and make a profit that was 40% higher than before. Additionally, the primary raw materials for the production of the suppressant came from Master Ning’s private planet, which meant that apart from labor and electricity costs, the production of these medicines had almost no expenses.

 

If they could find a market for these medicines, Xinshi might genuinely have a chance to survive. Zhou Qirong was filled with enthusiasm just thinking about it. It wasn’t just him; all the employees at Xinshi felt the same way.

 

These people had initially expected to receive severance pay but were now able to keep their jobs. How could they not be ecstatic? As for Bai Xiangxing abolishing medical benefits, they didn’t pay it much mind. After all, if the company went bankrupt, there wouldn’t be any medical benefits. Now, they had stable employment, which was more valuable than anything else.

 

“At this rate, how many medicines can we produce in a day?” Bai Xiangxing asked.

 

“Ten thousand units,” Zhou Qirong had calculated this in advance.

 

“So many?” Bai Xiangxing was surprised. They had a total contract with Changsheng for 300,000 units over a three-month period. At this rate, wouldn’t they complete it in just one month?

 

“Twenty-four hours, working in three shifts, and ten thousand units is still a conservative estimate,” Zhou Qirong replied.

 

“Three shifts? Do we have that many people in the factory?” Bai Xiangxing asked.

 

“We do have a bit more people now, but they are all experienced employees of the company with excellent skills and high efficiency,” Zhou Qirong said. Seeing Bai Xiangxing still furrowing his brows, he couldn’t help adding, “And their wages are not high.”

 

Bai Xiangxing looked at Manager Zhou in surprise. What did he mean, implying a wage increase?

 

“Don’t worry; I’ll raise your wages next month,” Bai Xiangxing had always planned to raise their wages. Previously, Xinshi’s performance had been poor, and they hadn’t increased employee salaries for several years. The current salary package at Xinshi was slightly less competitive than other companies. Bai Xiangxing never wanted to shortchange his subordinates and had intended to raise their wages, but at that time, Xinshi didn’t have the money. Once the loan was approved, he planned to compensate them all at once.

 

Of course, he didn’t intend to compensate for the past few years. The previous situation at Xinshi wasn’t his responsibility; he only took over the company recently.

 

“No, there’s no need to raise our wages. As long as you keep all these people, that’s enough,” Zhou Qirong thought Bai Xiangxing wanted to lay off some employees to reduce costs and then raise the wages of those remaining. “Xinshi is getting better and better now, and these people will be needed in the future. It’s better to keep them all. We understand that Xinshi is short of funds now…”

 

“What are you talking about? How could I lay them off? I actually plan to continue hiring more people,” Bai Xiangxing chuckled, realizing that Zhou Qirong had misunderstood. If he had wanted to lay off people, he wouldn’t have waited until now; he could have done that on his second day at the company.

 

“Continue hiring people?” Zhou Qirong hesitated, “Is it possible that we’re moving too fast? We only have one set of equipment.”

 

“I’ll consider those matters. You just focus on maintaining the quality of the medicines,” Bai Xiangxing couldn’t be bothered to explain further. Among these veteran employees of Xinshi, anyone with a bit of business acumen wouldn’t have let things reach this point.

 

“Rest assured, I guarantee that every batch of medicine I send out will be of the highest quality. I can give you my word,” Zhou Qirong pledged confidently, tapping his chest.

 

Xinshi’s pharmaceuticals were previously exclusively supplied to the military, which required the strictest quality control.

 

“Don’t linger in the workshop, take care of yourself. We’ll be producing every day from now on, no need to rush in these first few days,” Bai Xiangxing advised. Then he left the workshop with Wan Tong.

 

Back in his office, Bai Xiangxing signed some urgent documents and then assigned a task to Wan Tong. “It’s time to advertise the new medicine.”

 

“I’ll start compiling the advertising rates for various media outlets,” Wan Tong replied.

 

“No need for that. Go online and find some influential bloggers who like to write breaking news stories. Choose someone with good writing skills and have them come to interview the security team,” Bai Xiangxing instructed.

 

“Interview the security team?” Wan Tong could understand finding bloggers for promotion, but weren’t they supposed to promote the new medicine? Why interview the security team?

 

“There have been reports of space pirates in the star systems near the Capital Star, but no one is covering such significant news. Furthermore, our security team singlehandedly defeated the entire pirate gang, refraining from taking any loot and submitting all their findings. Such heroic deeds should be publicized, and maybe we can tag the Interstellar Administration on StarNet or something,” Bai Xiangxing continued.

 

As Wan Tong listened, his eyes brightened, and he looked increasingly admiring. “Throughout the Union, which company’s security team has the ability to defeat space pirates? People will surely be curious, and curiosity will drive them to investigate. This is the best kind of promotion. I’ll get on it right away.”

 

After Wan Tong left, Bai Xiangxing was still somewhat concerned. Based on his limited interactions with the security team, he found them to be incredibly modest and sincere. If Wan Tong brought in a blogger for an interview and there was no material to write about, the impact could be significantly diminished.

 

After a moment’s thought, Bai Xiangxing summoned Wang Ping.

 

“Mr. Bai, did you call for me?” Wang Ping stood at attention beside Bai Xiangxing’s desk.

 

“I have a task for you,” Bai Xiangxing said.

 

“Of course,” Wang Ping snapped to attention and replied with a booming voice.

 

Bai Xiangxing was slightly startled but quickly composed himself. “Are you familiar with the people who accompanied Captain Du to eliminate the space pirates?”

 

“I’m familiar with them,” Wang Ping responded immediately.

 

“Here’s the thing: there might be journalists coming in the next few days to interview them about their mission to defeat the space pirates. I need you to encourage them to speak more vividly, exaggerate a bit, and emphasize the heroism of the security team,” Bai Xiangxing instructed.

 

Wang Ping looked troubled as he turned to his boss.

 

“Do you have any questions?” Bai Xiangxing inquired.

 

“Just a small group of space pirates, they didn’t really put much effort into it, defeated them quite easily, not much excitement. And why are they suddenly being interviewed?” Wang Ping didn’t understand; they had dealt with plenty of space pirates in the past and had never been interviewed.

 

“…” Bai Xiangxing.

 

“Don’t worry about why. Just know that after the interview, the five billion from the bank will arrive,” Bai Xiangxing didn’t bother explaining further, as he knew that these linear-thinking individuals wouldn’t understand the reasons. It was better to just state the results.

 

Wang Ping had been with Bai Xiangxing when they visited the bank and heard about the five billion loan. Once he heard that the interview was connected to it, he didn’t want to leave any room for misunderstanding. “I’ll go talk to them. For the company, even if I don’t have any connections, I’ll make sure they exaggerate it.”

 

“Good, you have good determination!” Bai Xiangxing was pleased. Wang Ping was much better than Shicheng in this regard, which was why he chose Wang Ping over Shicheng for this task.

 

Wan Tong’s efficiency was remarkable. That same afternoon, a blogger with millions of followers came to interview the security team. Bai Xiangxing didn’t manage the specifics of the interview, but he did know that after the interview, the blogger was so energized that they didn’t even return home. Instead, they requested an office from Wan Tong and immediately began writing a lengthy article about the security team’s victory over the space pirates.

 

During dinner at home, Bai Xiangxing received the finished article. He was surprised to find that the writer had a good style; the battle scenes were described with fervor and suspense, and he managed to read the whole 3,000-word piece in one go. It was quite captivating, although the title was a bit plain.

 

“Private Security Team Defeats Space Pirate Gang”

 

Bai Xiangxing immediately called Wan Tong. “Change the title; it’s too ordinary. Use ‘Shocking! The Space Pirate Gang Appears in the Capital Star Region.’ And for the subtitle, you can omit the one about the Interstellar Security Forces. Let’s not create controversies. The title needs to be as sensational as possible, and after it’s published, we’ll promote it as a trending topic. Have you hired an online comment army? Pay attention to guiding public opinion. Alright, go get it done.”

 

After giving his instructions, Bai Xiangxing hung up. When he looked up, he saw three people at the table, all staring at him with indescribable expressions.

 

The two younger ones didn’t dare to speak, but Shizhen couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing?”

 

“Advertising,” Bai Xiangxing replied.

 

“Advertising? It sounds like something bad when you say it, Xingxing,” Shining Ning said in a somewhat timid voice. It was about space pirates again, the interstellar security forces, and public opinion. It didn’t sound like a good thing.

 

“That’s just one advertising technique. You won’t understand, and I can’t be bothered to explain. You can check the hot topics later. I’ve finished dinner; I’m going to rest now.”

 

Once Bai Xiangxing left, the three of them simultaneously turned on their personal computers and logged onto the StarNet headlines to check the latest hot topics. After scanning the top ten headlines and finding none matching what Bai Xiangxing had mentioned, they hesitated. Then they all independently performed a search with the title Bai Xiangxing had mentioned.

 

“Shocking! Space Pirate Gang Appears in the Capital Star Region.”

 

After the search, they indeed found the related news. All three of them quickly read through the content, and when they finished, their expressions varied.

 

Shizhen: “This is so chaotic; they barely put any effort into taking down such a small group of space pirates. If they had gone out with our Tempest Legion, they would have died countless times on the battlefield.”

 

Shi Ning: “So that’s why Brother Xing wanted to buy the equipment; it almost got hijacked by space pirates. That was a close call.”

 

Xiangrong: “So, this is an advertising strategy.”

 

He was the only one among the three who recognized the effect of the advertising.

 

After reading the news, they exited the main page and refreshed it. The headline, “Shocking! Space Pirate Gang Appears in the Capital Star Region,” was already displayed prominently on the homepage.

 

Did the online comment army make it too obvious?

 

Shizhen thought about the mention of public opinion that Bai Xiangxing had raised and was worried about any negative consequences. He couldn’t help but click on the comment section. Initially, the comments were pretty standard, asking how a space pirate gang could appear in the Capital Star Region and if it would affect their travel. They were questioning the reliability of the previously safest star region in the Union.

 

Gradually, the discussion took a different turn, with comments like the following:

 

[This New Shi’s security team is incredible; their equipment was stolen, and they went to steal it back, just like the Interstellar Security Forces.]

 

[Don’t even mention the Interstellar Security Forces; they won’t lift a finger as long as there aren’t any hostages involved. I was robbed of a Tier-4 mech earlier, reported it, and they still haven’t recovered it.]

 

[That’s right, that’s why we frequently encounter small-scale space pirate gangs in the star regions now. They only steal goods without hurting people, and the Interstellar Security Forces won’t pursue them.]

 

[Although the people are fine, it’s frustrating to have your belongings stolen.]

 

[It’s this company called New Shi that’s been mentioned; they directly dispatched their security team to recover it. Was the stolen equipment very valuable?]

 

[It seems they were robbed of a set of equipment used to produce medicines.]

 

[How expensive can a set of equipment be? Was it worth all this effort?]

 

[The key isn’t the equipment; it’s the medicine formula that came with it.]

 

[Formula? What kind of formula?]

 

[They say it’s for a new suppressant developed by New Shi, an Information Inhibitor, with a much stronger effect than the drugs currently available and fewer side effects. It fundamentally solves the problem of excessive use of inhibitors causing sexual dysfunction.]

 

[Wow, is that true?]

 

[It’s true; I work in the XX laboratory, and New Shi’s people brought the drug for testing a while back.]

 

“…” Shizhen saw this and realized everything.

 

Exiting the main page again, five of the top ten hot topics on the homepage were related to this incident. The original top trend was overtaken by the one titled #New Inhibitor to Solve Sexual Dysfunction#.

 

This was pure spreading of false information. The original inhibitors didn’t have such side effects. They might temporarily suppress desires, but it wasn’t a dysfunction. After using the inhibitor, it would indeed affect the body’s pheromones making the user less easily excited for a few hours. But this effect was temporary and would quickly return to normal. Shizhen had been injecting inhibitors for years and was well aware of it.

 

Although Shizhen had said he wouldn’t intervene in New Shi’s matters, he couldn’t ignore such blatant misinformation.

 

Setting down his chopsticks, he went upstairs and knocked on Bai Xiangxing’s door.

 

“What’s up?” Bai Xiangxing asked.

 

“Spreading false information,” Shizhen pointed at the top trend.

 

“Where’s the false information?”

 

“The use of inhibitors only temporarily suppresses desire,” Shizhen stated.

 

“Oh, you mean that.” Bai Xiangxing replied. “Temporary suppression isn’t a dysfunction, though, is it? Not wanting and not being able to are different concepts. As a man, you should never tolerate the latter.” After saying that, Bai Xiangxing seemed to recall something, his gaze slyly shifting from Shizhen’s face to his lower abdomen. “Can you tolerate it?”

 

Shizhen: “…”