Chapter 2401: Chapter 2393: Insatiable Greed
He Runxian initially intended to just give this guy a talking-to, as he actually felt very sympathetic toward those injured comrades.
If you hadn’t had that attitude right from the start, things might have been sorted out long ago.
So after thinking it over, he expressed, "The sooner the better."
This time, the lieutenant colonel didn’t stir up any trouble, nor did he delay—both sides knew the other wasn’t easy to deal with, so there was no need for further bickering.
A day later, He Huiqing stepped forward and informed Zuo Jing’s official government and military, saying we have a batch of medications we would like to donate.
He originally considered hosting some sort of ceremony to deepen the impression on the other party, but He Runxian strongly opposed it.
He believed that Hesheng’s resources were limited, and once the news spread, the production base absolutely couldn’t withstand the ensuing massive pressure.
So, as long as those who need to know are informed, there’s no need to broadcast it loudly.
Another day passed, and both the military and the official government sent convoys to the production base to collect goods. The base staff informed the arrivals that it was Hesheng’s unexpected discovery of a medicine reserve that led to the decision to donate some to the military and local authorities.
Those participating in the transportation were all excited; at this time, medicine was much scarcer than food. After all, food can be substituted with nutritional supplements, but there is no substitute for medicine—this shortage could indeed be deadly.
The lieutenant colonel was very satisfied with this, but the mood at Zuo Jing’s official government wasn’t as positive; some even said—after some inspection by the patrol team, Hesheng brought out so much medicine, do we think... the patrol team isn’t effective?
Since the war began, the official government and military have had both cooperative and competitive relations, defending against the Insect Race together while battling over various resources.
The military feels the official government should stay stationed at the rear, but medications often need to tend to local affairs, which greatly annoys the military. However, they also know that if the injured populous isn’t treated in time, it would severely impact public morale.
Meanwhile, the official government feels aggrieved—we can’t send civilians to the frontline, so some food is entirely given to soldiers; civilians mostly eat nutritional supplements, and even those can’t be adequately supplied, are we not doing enough?
But medicine is different. Injured ordinary civilians outnumber soldiers significantly, and local pressure is indeed substantial—it is right to treat warriors, but civilians also need healing.
With the major threat of the Insect Race ahead, overall interests have to be considered, but under this overarching goal, various parties still have their own interests.
Zuo Jing, one of the administrative planet’s two metros, not only has many elites but also strong media influence. Local officials suddenly realized that having someone to help divert attention wasn’t bad.
Thus, the official government arranged a meeting with He Huiqing, expressing that you’ve done a great job this time, and on behalf of Zuo Jing’s populace, we convey deep gratitude. However, Zuo Jing’s medication gap is still large; could you possibly help think of a solution again?
He Huiqing actually anticipated this outcome. He stated we’re very willing to assist, and at the Dumbbell Star System two billion kilometers away, Hesheng Headquarters also prepared a considerable amount of medications, ready to support as long as our ships can go and collect them.
This stance was very high, but purely nonsensical—even if we could dispatch a ship, it’s absolutely impossible to return.
This attitude greatly frustrated Zuo Jing’s official government, but they couldn’t outright confront them. It’s important to know that the He family is deeply rooted in Zuo Jing, not overly powerful but definitely not insignificant. Truly angering them would make governance significantly more difficult.
So they said, there are many outgoing ships loaded with medications beyond the star system, there’s no need to go to the Dumbbell Star System. What I mean is, recently, you’ve been both food and medicine, even restarted the cafeteria—could you accept some refugees?
No need to manage healthcare, just a bite to eat will do. Hesheng is a responsible enterprise and should take on corresponding social responsibilities.
He Huiqing resolutely refused, saying our food isn’t plentiful, also being a high-tech enterprise, we cannot accept refugees inside. Our cafeteria has just reopened for a few days and will soon close again.
Actually, there’s no need to close the cafeteria; sealing off external info will do. I believe the employees would willingly cooperate.
Naturally, the official government wouldn’t force Hesheng to agree, seeing He Huiqing act as if ready to go down together, they proposed, how about this, if you support the city with another batch of medications, we’ll let this matter drop.
No way! He Huiqing rejected again, stating we don’t have that many medications, the remaining ones are reserved for our own use.
The official government indicated, seems we’ll have to dispatch some military officers and police to station around Hesheng’s perimeter.
Seeing he couldn’t fool them, He Huiqing firmly declared, Zuo Jing City neither helps us secure orders nor pressures us now; anyway, the production base is there, do what you will, forcibly collecting is fine.
I only request that before forcibly collecting, give us thousands a day to relocate.
For ordinary people, relocating within a day isn’t too tough, but for a production enterprise, "one day to relocate" usually represents extreme scenarios, aside from taking away some personal articles, everything else is to be destroyed or even detonated.
In the Human Federation, it’s quite common for manufacturing companies to move in a single day, especially in the face of an Insect Race invasion. When retreating is imminent, a large number of companies capable of moving in one day will emerge.
Zuo Jing naturally couldn’t force Hesheng into such a situation. If done on the He’s Native Star, Hesheng Headquarters would definitely hold a grudge against the person issuing the command.
Thus, that person sighed faintly, "Actually, you still have half of the medicine in your hands. Can thousands of people completely use it up?"
"You’re just fabricating things out of thin air!" He Huiqing wanted to scold him, we follow Headquarters’ arrangements and only left a third!
However, the official on the opposite side remarked, "Aren’t you curious about how I know this information? Go back and think about it!"
He Huiqing stepped out the door, with the corners of his mouth twitching slightly. His own headquarters is really not just any pitfall, it’s a massive sieve where any information can leak out!
He didn’t think that the earlier words from the official were a test. On the contrary, he believed the other party must have grasped some information.
From its inception to now, Hesheng has existed for over three hundred years, a truly venerable three-century-old establishment. But a long-established store not only carries a glorious brand but also has intricate interpersonal relationships.
The majority of Hesheng’s executives have the surname He. The top three positions can only be held by someone named He. However, even within the He family, there are varying distances in relation, and nepotism is pervasive. So, if I tell a close friend some internal secrets of the group, does that count as leaking information?
Hesheng has always been strict in its investigation of corporate espionage, and with some success, but internal leaks are really hard to prevent.
He Huiqing believed that quietly manufacturing energy stone mining equipment at headquarters wouldn’t attract much attention, and consolidating transportation to one place shouldn’t be a problem for secrecy. After all, energy mining equipment is very sensitive, and headquarters has highly loyal specialized institutions.
But procuring food, especially on a large scale obtaining medications, this information is not easy to completely block. The greater the determination to block it, the more likely the He family members will quietly inquire: just what is happening?
From the start, He Huiqing didn’t expect that this information could be completely sealed off. He merely hoped that the leaked information would fade away like smoke and not reach the ears of Zuo Jing’s official government — based on past experiences, this likelihood was still quite high.
However, the reaction from Zuo Jing’s official government told him: Don’t harbor any illusions.
They have likely already guessed that the He family has connected with brokers and established a channel to deploy goods to Xingzheng Star.
So instead of going home, he went directly to the production base to discuss with He Runxian how to handle this matter.
He Runxian furrowed his brow, "Headquarters should really curb this unhealthy trend. At this rate, how much of the shipped goods can we even use?"
"This isn’t something the two of us can decide, we can only suggest," He Huiqing said disinterestedly, "The issue now is how to respond to Zuo Jing’s demands... By the way, do you still have contact with that broker?"
"I’ve been calling continuously, but I can’t get through," He Runhua sighed as well, "Now I’m a bit afraid to contact him. That guy has a hot temper and considerable power. If we were to implicate him, it might bring extremely serious consequences to Hesheng."
"I remember you mentioned that he said he could buy Hesheng," He Huiqing nodded nonchalantly. He didn’t necessarily think the other party was bluffing, but it was useless to dwell on that now, "But we still need to contact him, at least for one more deal..."
He believed the leak had already happened, and regretting it further was pointless. However, applying some pressure on headquarters to ensure they pay attention to confidentiality, while also bringing in vast amounts of food and medicine, might let Hesheng make it through.
He even suggested that this time they could request a little less energy stone or compensate the counterpart with some equipment, as the last time the counterpart helped transport goods, no freight fee was charged. So giving a bit more this time would be reasonable.
At this point, he couldn’t help but complain, "Actually, when it comes to freight fees, you should just pay them. Why be so stingy? Now, this is good, perhaps that’s why the person might not want to contact us anymore."
"I didn’t want to rip off his freight fee," He Runhua protested vehemently, "The main issue is I couldn’t reach him, and I don’t have his account... The production base is now dirt poor but with cash! Well, money’s not abundant either as there are still many undelivered pieces of equipment."
He Huiqing remained silent and only after a long time did he lightly sigh, "I’ll contact headquarters first to investigate who might have leaked the information."
He Runxian chuckled disdainfully, "Ha, can it be found out?"
"Saying something is better than saying nothing, even if just to stir the air," He Huiqing replied calmly, "You shouldn’t worry about my side, just quickly contact the broker, that’s the proper course."
Three days after they worked out a strategy, Feng Jun finally arrived. Facing the invitation from the other party, he wasn’t in a rush to respond but instead began quietly observing — as expected, local authorities were pressuring Hesheng again.
He observed for three days, and new changes emerged. The local official government issued Hesheng a final ultimatum: If the medicines are not surrendered, someone will be dispatched to "assist" in defending the base.
(Update to, summon monthly votes.)
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