America: I'm causing trouble for environmental organizations

A police car.

It whizzed past Martin.

The streetlights overhead made his face appear somewhat pale.

Just as he was pondering what to do, the back door of the car was opened.

Thea stepped down, holding up her camera and waving it at Martin: "I think my photography skills have improved again. Would you like to see some of my work?"

"Fuck!" Martin exploded.

He slammed his foot on the car wheel and pointed at Meng Ran hysterically, yelling, "Damn it! You guys are gangsters!"

"You think you can blackmail me like this?"

"I'm telling you, I will definitely call the police!"

"You'll all be waiting for me to sue you!"

Seeing this, Clarissa, in the driver's seat, felt a sense of unease.

I was just about to push open the door and play the good cop/bad cop to appease the furious Martin.

Then Thea took out her phone and handed it to Martin: "Here, take my phone. You can call the police now."

Martin's shouting stopped instantly.

Looking at the phone that Thea held up in front of her eyes, her face turned pale and then red.

How could he dare to call the police?

Calling the police would only escalate the situation further, wouldn't it?

A reaction that instantly cowers.

Clarissa paused in her action of opening the door.

Slender fingers leave the handle.

She leaned back in her chair, looking at the "extremely arrogant" Thea through the windshield, and a hint of envy appeared in her azure eyes.

Meng Ran had no idea what Clarissa was thinking.

He glanced at Thea, suppressing a laugh, and thought the girl was incredibly bold and meticulous.

He said calmly, "Martin, I have no interest in your private life, but people have to pay the price for their arrogance, okay?"

He then said to Thea, "You sit in the front row. I think Mr. Talbot would be willing to have a good talk with me."

After saying that,

He opened the back door and got in first.

Martin clenched and unclenched his fist, his jaw muscles bulging, and after much hesitation, he reluctantly squeezed inside.

Little Darl got on the bus last, and together with Meng Ran, they sandwiched Martin in the middle.

The vehicle started moving.

Heading towards the Marriott Hotel.

Martin leaned forward, his hands supporting his forehead as he looked down at the center console.

There was a long silence.

He finally relented, saying, "Bane, I'll allocate a portion of the budget to your association. Just pretend today's events never happened."

"You really think I'm blackmailing you? I just want you to put aside your arrogance and have a serious talk with us."

Martin turned to look at Meng Ran, took a deep breath, and rubbed his face. "Okay, we can talk."

Seeing this, Meng Ran didn't waste any more time and went straight to the point: "If your company donates to us, we can provide at least three forms of assistance to your company."

First, we can contact professors in agriculture at the University of Michigan to write papers for your company, thereby proving that your company truly possesses agricultural innovation capabilities.

Secondly, we are fully capable of providing your company with a Third-Party Independent Environmental and Emission Reduction Investigation Report that meets the requirements of the Canadian Academy of Environmental Sciences (AACF).

Third, we have abundant social resources in Detroit that can organize various events to demonstrate the enormous export potential of Garden Meat's plant-based meat products.

Clarissa, who was driving, finally found a chance to interject.

He smiled softly and said, "Martin, as far as we know, what we need to provide is what we want to apply for federal and Ontario innovative agriculture subsidies."

Furthermore, the federal economic stimulus subsidies primarily support innovative manufacturing, food technology, and export-oriented companies.

After hearing these words.

Martin's gaze began to shift back and forth between Meng Ran and Clarissa.

After a long pause, he said with a hint of helplessness, "The problem is, we already received these three subsidies half a month ago. Your help is meaningless to us."

These words were spoken.

Meng Ran and Clarissa were instantly speechless.

Were we going in the wrong direction?

An eerie silence fell over the car.

This gave Martin a strange sense of exhilaration.

His tone immediately softened, and he continued, "So, you think we came to Detroit to find NGOs to collaborate with in order to get subsidies?"

"Your company's turnover isn't much, so this motive makes the most sense, doesn't it?" Meng Ran's tone returned to normal, and his mind began to race.

Martin laughed heartily.

He leaned back and began to explain.

"The motivation was indeed reasonable, but in fact, we chose Detroit because it is close to our company, which would help reduce the costs of exploring the US market."

Instead of choosing GG Company, we partnered with NGOs. Firstly, NGOs already have a base of supporters, most of whom are environmentalists, whose target audience is vegetarian.

Secondly, Canadian companies that generate revenue in the United States can deduct donations to U.S. NGOs from their U.S. revenue taxes, essentially using tax credits for promotion.

After saying that, Martin suggested, "How about this, Bane, I can allocate $5 from the first budget to your association as a token of my... respect for you."

Martin emphasized the word "respect" with particular emphasis.

But Meng Ran definitely couldn't accept this number; the system's target was 15.

"5 won't do." Meng Ran shook his head.

"You can't be so greedy. We're not like Tyson Foods, with annual revenues of tens of billions. Our funds are limited. If I give them all to you, how am I supposed to explain it to the company?"

After saying that, Martin turned to Clarissa and said, "You should advise your colleague that what he's doing is illegal and unethical!"

Upon hearing this, Clarissa, Thea, and even Little Dahl all felt that Meng Ran had indeed gone too far.

According to Martin, after receiving the $5 donation, he would probably just grant some association logo usage rights and do some community outreach.

It's a method that requires no effort.

So this 5 is not unacceptable.

However, despite thinking this to herself, Clarissa shook her head and said, "I'll listen to Bane on this matter."

"Damn it! You're the director, you should be in charge!"

"She's not as controlling as Theron." Meng Ran took the opportunity to manage her upwards and brainwash Clarissa.

However, Martin misunderstood the relationship between Meng Ran and Clarissa because of this statement.

And so, he broke through his defenses.

Why is she treated like a slave, while this shameless bastard makes Clarissa, a rich girl, obey his every word?

This is not fair!

Meng Ran ignored his feelings; he had already devised a new plan to persuade Martin.

So he said calmly, "I've seen the information. Your vegetarian meat is more expensive than real meat, and your main selling point is health."

"What's the problem with that?" Martin countered.

"This is a big problem. Do you really think people who can afford your product will believe that vegetarian meat seasoned with a bunch of additives is healthier?"

"..." Martin was speechless at the question.

"To put it another way, would they really choose to buy plant-based meat just because it's healthier?" Meng Ran continued to ask.

Without giving Martin a chance to answer, he gave the answer directly: "I'm telling you, absolutely not!"

"The United States also has plant-based meat companies, such as Morningstar Farms, Boca Burger, Tofuurky, and Lightford. Which one is larger than you and which one has been established for longer?"

Despite operating for so many years, plant-based meat remains an extremely niche food product in the United States. Why is that? Have you ever wondered why?

"Ultimately, the problem is that all your promotional methods are wrong."

"Who are your customers? They are the wealthy, college students, the middle class, white-collar workers, environmental and animal rights supporters, and vegetarians."

"Leaving aside vegetarians, is it meaningful to talk about health with other people?"

"It makes no sense."

"What you really need to do is create a grand narrative, you need to get them to feel a sense of moral superiority from eating vegetarian meat."

"Only a sense of moral superiority can make your plant-based meat a trend, a topic of conversation, and a hot-selling product that everyone is scrambling to buy."

At this point, Meng Ran deliberately paused, giving Martin some time to process what she was saying.

Although Martin was furious, he at least listened to what Meng Ran said.

Even Clarissa and the other two were reminiscing about it.

After scanning the crowd, Meng Ran continued, "If you can sponsor us now, our project team will go all out to advance a climate issue."

"The topic is: Every bite of meat Americans eat, a puff of smoke rises from the Amazon rainforest."

"Believe me, your target audience may not care about the tragedies around them, but they will definitely be extremely passionate about the survival of the lungs of the earth."

The most pressing issue right now is climate change, as it's inextricably linked to the survival of all humanity. At that time, eating garden-grown meat won't just be eating vegetarian meat anymore…

"It's about saving the Earth!"

The words fell.

Clarissa couldn't help but slam on the brakes.

He quickly glanced at Meng Ran in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

Thea turned her head to the side, her mouth slightly open, and looked at Meng Ran with disbelief on her face.