Reborn in 2000, starting from the university website

Chapter 154 Emergency Meeting (Part 1)

Early in the morning, on the top floor of the Sohu Network Building.

Zhang Chaoyang lay on his side on the leather sofa in his office, his tie askew and the second button of his shirt still undone.

He barely slept a wink all night, tossing and turning between the sofa and office chair, his phone screen flashing on and off, until finally he just put it face down on the table and stopped looking at it.

Last night he prepared for the worst.

He went through every possibility in his mind: the media's condemnation, the health department's summons, the school's joint complaint, and even the joint inspection by the industry and commerce and tax departments. The more he thought about it, the less he could sleep, and the less he could sleep, the more he thought about it.

When dawn broke, nothing came.

No reporters were waiting downstairs, no official documents were faxed in, and even the phone calls that had been harassing him last night went silent, as if someone had suddenly disconnected them.

Zhang Chaoyang rubbed his sore eyes, wondering what was going on, when there was a knock on the office door.

Wu Tao pushed open the door and came in. He was dressed in a sharp suit, his hair was neatly combed, and he was holding a cup of freshly brewed Longjing tea, which he placed steadily on Zhang Chaoyang's table.

"Teacher Zhang, have some tea to wake yourself up."

Zhang Chaoyang glanced at him, his voice hoarse: "Xiao Tao, what's the situation outside? Where are the reporters from the Beijing Evening News? Have they responded to the academic affairs office at Renmin University?"

Wu Tao pulled up a chair and sat down, then took out a stack of neatly arranged A4 papers from his briefcase and slowly placed them on the table.

"It's all taken care of."

Zhang Chaoyang was stunned.

"I personally called the Beijing Evening News at 11:30 last night," Wu Tao said calmly, crossing his legs. "They were originally going to publish a half-page negative report. I even saw the headline: 'Sohu 5Q Poisonous Chicken Leg: A Food Safety Black Hole for an Internet Giant.' I found their editor-in-chief, Lao Zhou, and we talked for forty minutes. I've known Lao Zhou since 1998. Back then, when Sohu did its first offline event, he gave us a full-page advertorial. I had the public relations department prepare an apology statement and rectification plan overnight, along with exclusive interview material, and handed it over to Lao Zhou. The article was withdrawn and replaced with a two-hundred-word newsletter, placed in the corner of the third page of the social news section."

Zhang Chaoyang picked up the document Wu Tao handed him and glanced at it. It was a complete record of media communications drafted overnight by the public relations department. It listed the fourteen print media outlets and three portal websites that had been contacted the previous night, and the outcome for each one was clearly stated: withdrawal, revision, postponement, or non-publication.

"Where are the students involved?" Zhang Chaoyang put down the documents and stared at Wu Tao.

"The public relations department started at midnight last night, calling and pageing each student on the list provided by the school, and visiting them at the hospital and dormitories." Wu Tao pulled out another stack of documents from underneath. "By 5 a.m. this morning, all the confirmed and suspected cases among the university students had been contacted. Medical expenses were fully reimbursed, and each student received an additional compensation of 500 to 2,000 yuan for nutritional expenses, and signed a standard form of understanding agreement. The students from Renmin University were the most difficult to deal with. One parent works for the local court and called our legal department at 3 a.m. demanding an explanation. I had Xiao Li from the public relations department personally go to the school hospital with a fruit basket and an envelope to apologize in person and sign the agreement on the spot."

Wu Tao handed over the last summary in his hand.

"A total of 87 people were confirmed to have developed symptoms after consuming the product, and 19 of them were hospitalized for observation. All of them have been discharged or transferred to outpatient services this morning. 74 settlement agreements have been signed, and the remaining 13 should be collected by this morning. The total compensation amount is 186,000, which is based on 5Q's promotional budget."

Zhang Chaoyang took the summary sheet of the understanding agreement handed to him by Wu Tao, and flipped through it page by page. When he reached the last page, his finger stopped.

186,000.

A food safety scandal that almost made Sohu's headlines, and negative news that could have affected the pricing of the company's IPO, was completely suppressed by Wu Tao with less than 200,000 yuan and one all-nighter.

He put down the file, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the man opposite him, whose hair was neatly combed and who looked like he had slept for eight hours the night before.

"Xiao Tao," Zhang Chaoyang said in a hoarse voice, "if you hadn't taken the blame for this, today's headlines would probably all be about Sohu."

Wu Tao waved his hand, smiling sincerely and appropriately: "Teacher Zhang, this is simply my job. The 5Q promotion campaign involves the group's brand image. If problems arise, who will step up if the operations team doesn't? Chen Yizhou's energy is entirely focused on the product and data; he really can't handle the logistical support alone."

That was a perfectly watertight statement.

Not a single word accused Chen Yizhou, but every word reminded Zhang Chaoyang that the mess Chen Yizhou couldn't handle was something Wu Tao was cleaning up.

Zhang Chaoyang was silent for a few seconds, then picked up the Longjing tea on the table and took a sip.

"Xiao Tao, you handled this very well. I'll have the finance department approve a separate bonus for your operations and public relations departments later. Thank you for your hard work."

"Of course." Wu Tao stood up, neatly arranged all the documents, and placed them on Zhang Chaoyang's desk. "Teacher Zhang, please take a rest. I'll go out first. The roadshow materials are the latest version that you asked the marketing department to revise yesterday. I'll have them send them over for you to review later."

He walked to the door, opened it, and then turned his head back.

"By the way, Teacher Zhang, there's one more thing I'd like to mention. The approval responsibility for the chicken leg supplier involved in this incident is listed as Chen Yizhou in the agreement. I didn't make a fuss about it last night, but if lawyers or parents investigate the source later, I still need to keep these documents."

After saying that, Wu Tao gently closed the door.

The office fell silent. Zhang Chaoyang stared at a stack of documents on the desk, his gaze lingering on the desk for a long time, his expression complex.

He picked up his teacup and took another sip. The Longjing tea had cooled down a bit, but the tea leaves were brewed just right, neither bitter nor astringent.

Wu Tao always knows the tea temperature Wu Tao brews.

At 9:30 a.m., an emergency meeting was held in the president's office conference room on the top floor of the Sohu Network Building, with senior executives from home.

The air conditioning was on its lowest setting, but the air around the conference table was still stifling. Zhang Chaoyang sat at the head of the long table, a stack of reports that Wu Tao had brought him that morning beside him, his face etched with the weariness and frustration of working all night.

In addition to Wu Tao and Chen Yizhou, those present included General Counsel Qian Sheng, Public Relations Director Zhang Henian, and Vice President of Finance Zhao Minghua.

Six people sat around a conference table that could hold twenty people, creating a scene that felt both spacious and oppressive.

Chen Yizhou sat to Zhang Chaoyang's right, his eyes sunken, his stubble bluish, his suit jacket draped over the back of the chair, and the buttons on his shirt collar undone.

He was the last person to know about the fried chicken incident last night—not because no one told him, but because Wu Tao's PR team didn't notify him, the event coordinator, at all during the entire process of contacting students to handle the aftermath.

He only realized the sky had fallen when he saw the post on the homepage of the Haiwainet forum at 6 a.m. this morning criticizing Sohu.