This director is vindictive.

Chapter 607 Chen Mo's Image Collapsed? No, he's just a mouthpiece for consumers!

In the past, when Chen Mo organized events and distributed benefits, he mostly focused on domestic brands. Although there were some foreign brands, they accounted for a relatively small proportion.

But this time, Chen Mo's fan meeting was entirely attended by foreign brands, which makes it hard not to speculate.

This is the influence of public figures, and of course, it applies to Chen Mo.

Although people's consumption concepts have become more rational in recent years, the fact that all the perks at Chen Mo's fan meeting were from foreign brands has still caused quite a bit of controversy.

Some people started making sarcastic remarks about Chen Mo online.

"Got it, so Mr. Chen is supporting 'technology without borders' with his actions~ Next time, I suggest sending a Boeing aircraft directly, one step at a time! #TeslaShareholderChenMo#"

Apple fans, look! Even Merkel has abandoned Android for iOS. Did Cook send Chen Mo a thank-you letter overnight? #Suggestion: Apple headquarters should erect a statue of Chen Mo# (Attached is a screenshot of Apple's stock price surging intraday).
"He was the one who praised domestically produced new energy vehicles before, and now he's the one who's giving away Teslas in every lottery draw—that's the flexible standard of capitalists!"

"To be honest, based on Mr. Chen's contrarian move, I've figured it out:"
When he said "support domestic products," he meant he wanted his fans to support them with real money.

When he said "giving back to fans," he meant giving back with foreign products.

I suggest revising the definition of 'consistency between words and deeds' in the Modern Chinese Dictionary (doge emoji)

"He's a seasoned capitalist. According to the previously disclosed financial reports of Chen Mo's investment companies, although Chen Mo has invested in domestic new energy, he also holds shares in many overseas brands. So, you know what I mean!"

This wave of public opinion is quite aggressive.

However, although there are many people who criticize Chen Mo, there are also many who support him.

"This really cracked me up. Good heavens, what era are we living in that they're still playing this kind of moral blackmail game? I just want to ask Chen Mo, isn't he a consumer? If he is a consumer, doesn't he have the right to choose? What's wrong with Apple? What's wrong with Tesla?"
Following these people's logic, it's exactly the same as the "If you don't watch this, you're not Chinese" argument!

"No problem, following this logic: Chen Mo wearing Adidas = unpatriotic? Then does his use of Durex mean he betrayed the family planning commission? #Diodes, come see the gods#"

A witty comment in the comments section: "I'm so shocked! So even breathing foreign air is a crime for Chen Mo!"

"Hilarious! Some people use iOS themselves and criticize Chen Mo for using an iPhone? If you're so patriotic, why don't you smash your foreign rice cooker at home? #StrictWithOthersLessWithYourself#"

"Article 9 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law is copied to certain people with envious eyes: Consumers have the right to choose goods! Chen Mo is spending his own money and can buy whatever he wants, what's it to you?"

"Chen Mo is indeed a shareholder in many domestic brands, but he has also invested in foreign brands. Why is it that when he gives products to domestic brands, the foreign brands don't say anything, but when he gives them to foreign brands, they all start to criticize him?"

For a time, the two sides were arguing fiercely.

For Chen Mo, he is not worried about public opinion at all.

The past and the present are really different.

There used to be a lot of extreme forms of patriotism online, like organizing groups to smash Japanese cars, flooding social media with messages like "If you don't share this, you're not Chinese," and calling for a boycott of all foreign goods—it was incredibly disruptive. Looking back now, why did people act that way back then?
To put it bluntly, it was because our country wasn't strong enough back then. The economy wasn't as good as it is now, and our technology was inferior to others. The people were filled with resentment, but they didn't know how to express it, so they could only vent it in this rather extreme way.

It's like a common phenomenon in our lives: the more someone lacks something, the more they will emphasize it. Back then, what we lacked was international standing and national confidence, which is why we used such intense methods to prove "we are also very powerful."

But things are completely different now. Our economy is the second largest in the world, and our high-speed rail, 5G, and aerospace technologies are among the world's best. People's wallets are also fuller. This tangible strength has, ironically, made everyone more calm and rational.

Today's young people understand better: true patriotism isn't about smashing other people's things, but about making our own products better; it's not about blindly boycotting foreign goods, but about making "Made in China" the world's first choice. Just like what Mr. Ren said: "Don't incite nationalistic sentiments, let our products speak for themselves."

This change is particularly interesting: when we are not strong enough, patriotism relies on shouting slogans; but when we become truly strong, we no longer need to deliberately prove anything. Just like a person with real ability doesn't need to constantly proclaim how great they are—their strength speaks for itself, and others will naturally respect them.

In short, we are now truly on a grander scale!

However, the impact of this wave did indeed exceed Chen Mo's expectations, especially in the financial market.

This incident did indeed cause a general decline in the stock prices of several related companies.

As is well known, Chen Mo has always had a good relationship with the CEOs of several domestic car companies, such as Lei Jun of Xiaomi and Wang Jianlin of BYD.

Although he had long since resigned from his nominal positions as an advisor, he still holds a considerable number of shares.

"Actually, this matter isn't as complicated as you think. To be honest, it really doesn't have much to do with me," Chen Mo said with a smile, putting down his teacup and rubbing his temples.

Liu Yifei tilted her head, looking puzzled: "But the internet is in an uproar, saying that your move caused domestic new energy stocks to plummet!"

"Oh my, my silly girl~"

Chen Mo reached out and pinched her cheek: "Do you think your man is possessed by a stock market god? That he can cause an earthquake in the stock market with just a flick of his finger?"

Fan Binbin, carrying a fruit platter, leaned over: "Then why are you sending all foreign goods this time? Didn't you usually focus on domestic brands?" "Oh, this..."

Chen Mo grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and slowly cracked them open: "Have you guys been browsing Weibo lately? Lei's side is practically being bombarded with criticism."

Zhang Yuqi suddenly raised her hand: "I know, I know! There was that car accident recently, and then they demanded full payment even before delivery. There was also a case where a new car was delivered but there was a problem, and they called the police for causing trouble. Oh, and it seems like CEO Lei has been making quite a bit of a spectacle with his marketing lately."

She counted on her fingers: "Some car owners are complaining that the delivery time is too long. By the time they get their cars delivered, it will be next year, and the purchase tax will already be issued by then."

"Yes!"

Chen Mo snapped his fingers: "Not only that, but recently domestic brands have been getting more and more criticism. I was just trying to avoid trouble, not wanting to get myself into a mess, but I didn't expect this."

He was punched by Yang Mi as soon as he finished speaking.

"Have you forgotten about the Tesla's brake failure?"

Yang Mi rolled her eyes: "It's been trending on Weibo for days!"

Chen Mo laughed and dodged, "How can that be the same? Musk knows how to play the game!"

He mimicked Musk's tone: "Our self-driving technology is still in the testing phase—well, a complete shirking of responsibility. And look at Lei Jun, he hyped up 'intelligent driving' to the skies, and the result..."

"understood!"

Zhang Yuqi suddenly interjected: "It's like when I endorse yogurt. If I claim it can whiten your skin after drinking it, but then the fans get diarrhea after drinking it..."

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Chen Mo quickly covered her mouth: "Can you just make such a comparison?"

The room immediately erupted in laughter.

Zhao Liying said thoughtfully, "So you're deliberately avoiding suspicion? Afraid that if fans get a problem with a domestically produced car, they'll also be criticizing you?"

"clever!"

Chen Mo gave a thumbs up: "But you're only half right."

He pulled out his phone and scrolled through financial news: "These companies' stock prices have been falling recently anyway, I just happened to be one of them."

"Just happened to be the trigger?" Liu Yifei replied.

"Bingo!"

Chen Mo blinked: "That's what they call—when an avalanche happens, no snowflake is innocent!"

"Any product produced on a large scale will inevitably encounter problems if it is sold in large quantities; the key lies in how the manufacturer handles them!"

Chen Mo tapped the coffee table and said, "And by the same token, when a company gets bigger, things become less efficient, and a small change can have far-reaching consequences."

"But netizens don't care about any of that now; they just pick one example and attack it relentlessly. What do you think would happen if I offered rice and a car as prizes?"

Gao Yuanyuan tilted her head and thought for a moment: "There shouldn't be any problem, right?"

"Hehe, how naive. Look, other people have to wait in line to buy a car, sometimes for ten weeks, sometimes for dozens of weeks. So here's the problem: I can just pick it up right away. Won't people complain about my privilege? Double standards?"
"Then, people will think I'm promoting the product, and if there are problems, will they come to me and blame me for promoting this car?" Chen Mo asked.

"This"

"Wait a minute, isn't that a bit unfair? Doesn't using Tesla cars also help them sell their products in some way? If something goes wrong, wouldn't that be the same thing?" Yang Mi asked.

"It's different with Tesla. People pay more attention to Tesla itself, not Musk! When problems arise, netizens will at most criticize Tesla, but even if they want to find Musk, they can't!"
"But when it comes to rice, Lei Jun's attention has long surpassed that of cars, okay? So, if Tesla has a problem, people won't be able to find me, nor will they go to Musk. But if a rice car has a problem, people will definitely go to Lei Jun first. After all, he's too famous, and recently he's been personally appearing in various marketing campaigns. Who else would they go to if not him?" Chen Mo explained with a smile.

“Look at those short video creators, every time there’s a problem with Dami Technology’s products, they immediately call him Brother Jun and all that! Why? Because Dami = Lei Jun, so of course they’ll go to him when there’s trouble! His personal image marketing is so deeply ingrained in people’s minds, so this backlash is inevitable. You could say the probability of his downfall is higher than that of a popular celebrity.”

Because most celebrity scandals are due to their own actions, but those are just individual cases. But what about Lei Jun? So many products under Xiaomi's umbrella, are they all perfect? ​​Is that even possible?

“Yes, I watched Lei’s live stream last time, and haha, because there was a problem with the delivery of a car with defects, and the police were called to say that the owner was causing trouble. Even Uncle Hat thought that the owner wasn’t causing trouble. But when Lei was live streaming, a lot of netizens were making sarcastic and joking comments in the comments.” Zhang Yuqi burst out laughing.

(End of this chapter)