mijobooks Chapter 70: Press Conference, Big Shots Gather
Chapter 70: Press Conference, Big Shots Gather
Early the next morning.
Lobby on the first floor of Hutchison House, 208 Nathan Road, Kowloon.
The scene was packed with reporters, as well as many invited "washing machine" customers and authoritative professionals.
The press conference held by Lijiagang Legend Company was large in scale and attracted widespread attention.
Therefore, he invited TVB to broadcast the show live and bought the channel's programming schedule for that period of time, which was a huge investment for him.
The Li Jiagang Company incident and this press conference, while not being the focus of attention throughout Hong Kong, are certainly being watched by many.
After all, Lijiagang rose to prominence too quickly.
Many people are waiting to see him fail and how this recently rising young talent will handle the company crisis.
Many people are also wondering whether Lijiagang held this press conference to solve the problem or just an official perfunctory response.
In short, there are people with all sorts of attitudes who are observing from the sidelines, all driven by curiosity.
The lobby also offers a variety of breakfast items, coffee, milk tea, and snacks.
This press conference even invited officials from the Hong Kong government.
In addition, some top figures from various fields who love to watch the excitement came uninvited.
Like HSBC's Sim Bi.
Shipping magnate Pao Yue-kong, Li Ka-shing, Jardine Matheson, Hongkong Land's John Paul Woo, Hutchison Whampoa's Wylie, Wheelock's Madden brothers, and so on.
Even Huo Dongdong, Zhuang Shiping, An Zijie, and Director Yuan from Xinhua News Agency were there.
Many people from the electronics industry also attended.
Meng Weimin himself was among them.
At this point, there were still a full fifteen minutes before the press conference was scheduled to begin.
But the lobby was packed with people.
This shows just how many people were at the scene.
On the side of Director Yuan at Xinhua News Agency.
"Comrade Yongsen," Director Yuan whispered, glancing at Li Yongsen, "it's obvious someone is plotting against Xiao Li. Is he...?"
"Director Yuan, please rest assured," Li Yongsen said with an air of complete confidence. "My son has already gathered enough leverage. Just wait and see."
Seeing Li Yongsen's appearance, everyone became even more curious and looked forward to the upcoming press conference.
Meanwhile, the four major trading companies...
"Boss, how about we take advantage of this opportunity..." Landmark's Paul Todd whispered to Newt Bick.
But before he could finish speaking, Newbigian raised his hand to interrupt him, "Don't rush, watch the press conference first." He smiled mysteriously, "If he can't solve the problem at this press conference, then we'll add fuel to the fire."
"It would be best if this led to trouble."
Paul Dafner, standing to the side, immediately understood.
He too wore an undisguised smile.
The leaders of Hutchison Whampoa and Wheelock, who were standing nearby, were talking to Newt G. Kenneth and his group, but they were speaking in very low voices, so they couldn't be heard at all.
Seeing their cunning smiles, Wei Li asked curiously, "Gentlemen, why are you so happy?"
"Yes, could you share it?"
Madden John, standing nearby, was also intrigued. Although they were the heads of the four major British trading companies, they rarely got together.
It could even be said that they harbored mutual hostility.
But since we've gathered together today, there's no tense atmosphere; instead, we're as close as old friends who haven't seen each other in a long time.
Unlike them.
It's with the Electrical Appliances Chamber of Commerce.
Led by Meng Weimin, a group of overseas washing machine merchants were looking smug, waiting to see Li Jiagang make a fool of himself.
They believed that even if Lijiagang knew they were behind the incident, they had nothing to fear as long as there was no conclusive evidence.
Moreover, once Lijiagang collapses, this matter will simply be dropped.
They used to do this kind of thing quite often.
They were even more outrageous in the 60s, sometimes even causing people to disappear.
There was once a man in Hong Kong who could be called the "Godfather of the Electrical Industry," named Hu Xiaoqing. However, because he refused to associate with the Electrical Appliances Association, his once vast electrical appliance empire eventually faded into obscurity.
This was also their doing.
So these people consider doing such things to be trivial matters that are perfectly normal.
There was absolutely no fear in them.
"Meng Sheng, what do you think that kid will do to handle this crisis?" an electronics store owner asked Meng Weimin in a low voice.
"I don't know," Meng Weimin said with a calm smile, "but... what is certain is that at this press conference they will only make some useless promises, such as that they will do their best to investigate, etc."
"It's just a death throes."
He then asked seriously, "Are the people you were asked to prepare, the reporters you were asked to arrange, all ready?"
"Don't worry, everything is ready."
"Alright, I'll give that kid another big gift later, so he'll know that the electronics industry isn't something he can mess around with."
Meng Weimin revealed a triumphant smile.
As the clock hands slowly slid toward nine o'clock, the hustle and bustle of the lobby on the first floor of Hutchison House suddenly subsided, as if it were the calm before a storm.
The elevator doors slowly opened, and Li Jiagang's figure finally came into view.
He was dressed smartly today, in a light blue suit, with a smile on his face, and walked steadily toward the podium.
Behind him was a group of management personnel.
At the front were Huo Jianning and Gao Fuhai.
Next were two legal staff from HK Electric, senior engineer Ho Kin-man, the head of the laboratory, and the head of the technical department.
They were solemn and followed each other closely.
"They're here!" someone whispered, and all eyes in the room instantly focused on them.
Li Jiagang's lips curled into a slight smile as his gaze swept across the room. Reporters quickly raised their cameras, flashes exploding like sparks. The heads of the foreign firms whispered amongst themselves, their expressions varied. Meanwhile, on the electronics dealer's side, Meng Weimin's smile deepened, as if he were waiting to see a farce unfold.
Everyone sat down at the podium.
Li Jiagang didn't waste any words...
"Dear media friends, industry colleagues, official representatives, and distinguished guests who have traveled from afar," Li Jiagang's voice was not loud, but it penetrated the entire hall, "Thank you all for taking the time to attend the Legend Company press conference today."
"Today's press conference has a lot of content, so please do not interrupt during the speeches. There will be a Q&A session at this press conference."
"First of all! Yesterday, our company was accused of having serious quality problems with our washing machines. Several completely unfounded incidents were deliberately misled by certain individuals and spread widely through the media, causing a public outcry."
They say that Lijiagang relies on cheap products to dominate the market, and that the motors in my products are this and that.” He paused, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally sweeping over Meng Weimin’s group of people, “I’d like to ask the customers who bought washing machines from my company here, do these ‘malfunctions’ exist in your washing machines?”
The entire room fell silent as everyone turned to look at the washing machine customers who had been invited to the launch event.
The customers all shook their heads.
Just then... a discreet voice rang out: "Mr. Li, these customers were invited by your company. Could they be giving conflicting testimonies?"
The reporter's question also drew criticism from other reporters and others present.
Everyone is doubting whether this is even possible.
Li Jiagang did not get angry upon hearing this. Instead, he smiled and looked at the reporter, saying, "As I just said, please do not disturb during the press conference. If this happens again, I will have to ask you to leave."
He then completely ignored the reporter and waved to the staff member next to him.
A moment later, staff carried in a television.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are now showing a video of a professional team from the relevant departments of the British and Hong Kong governments inspecting various components and core parts such as motors at our factory yesterday, as well as filming the washing machine production process on site. The entire process is open to public scrutiny."
Li Jiagang had barely finished speaking.
Soon, the 19-inch color TV began to display images, starting with the inspection of the parts and components at the Li Jiagang factory by professional personnel from the British Hong Kong government, and the entire production process of the washing machine.
The playback time is a full 30 minutes.
After the presentation, Li Jiagang took out several relevant documents and displayed them.
The reporter kept taking photos of the certificate.
"Ladies and gentlemen, these documents have been inspected and approved by the relevant departments of the British and Hong Kong governments."
"This proves that there are absolutely no problems with any of our accessories, parts, or the entire production process leading to the final assembled product."
"I also published an advertisement in the newspaper this morning, stating that if any washing machine produced by our company is found to have a malfunction that is not caused by human error within a specified period of one month, we will reward the customer with HK$100,000 for each machine found, with no upper limit."
"To ensure fairness and impartiality, the fault detection will be conducted by the relevant professional departments of the Hong Kong government. Hopefully, this will give everyone confidence."
"Of course, if it is discovered that the report was false, or that the malfunction was intentionally caused by human error in order to win a bonus, then it is considered fraud, and every case will be prosecuted. Our company has reached a consensus with the Commercial Crime Bureau and the Police Force on this point, and we will not be lenient towards anyone who intends to commit a crime."
Li Jiagang's words sparked a great deal of discussion among everyone present.
Many bigwigs at the scene were amazed by Li Jiagang's boldness, daring to offer a reward of HK$100,000 for each faulty machine found.
At this moment, many people are even more convinced that the electrical appliances from Lijiagang Company are truly without problems.
Otherwise, how could he dare to say such a thing?
If there really is a problem with his company's washing machines, and his statement today leads to a large number of faulty machines being detected, wouldn't he go bankrupt?
It's important to know that Legendary has sold tens of thousands of washing machines. If there are a large number of defective machines, even if only a thousand are found, the company would still have to pay out HK$100 million.
Without confidence, who would dare to make such a bold statement?
Even Meng Weimin was stunned by Li Jiagang's actions. He squinted at him, his anger lingering.
He also understood that once Li Jiagang's words got out, the rumors he had spread about Legendary Company would soon be exposed.
Moreover, he believed that no one would dare to deliberately damage the machines to defraud his company again.
Thinking of this, he became furious.
"Hmph!" he sneered inwardly.
But he didn't notice that Li Jiagang was staring at him with disdain. And the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned.