121 Moral Coercion
Chen Youjun thought of begging Gu Qingming and immediately looked around.
He realized that his family seemed to have become the focus of ridicule. Everyone looked at them with intrigued gazes. There was mockery, contempt, and disdain. There was also pity and sympathy. Most of them seemed to be happily watching a show.
Chen Youjun’s face turned red again. He cursed again, “You prodigal woman, you disgraceful thing!”
Then, in the inner circle of the crowd, he noticed a tall and cold girl standing in front of three men in poor clothes. Beside her stood a girl in a red dress.
There were rumors in the circle that the heir of the Gu Corporation, Gu Qingming, had a good friend from a young age. That girl was the daughter of Gao Yang of the Eternal Group. She liked to wear red.
The two of them had a good relationship. They were like biological sisters.
Although Chen Youjun did not know Gu Qingming, he could still tell at a glance that the tall girl was Gu Qingming.
Chen Youjun ran to Gu Qingming and knelt in front of her without a word. He begged, “Miss Gu, I want to apologize on behalf of my wife for offending you. I hope Miss Gu can be magnanimous. Please forgive us!”
With that, he even kowtowed.
Seeing this, Shi Hangyu pulled his sister behind him.
His face was ashen as he clenched his fists and asked angrily, “Sir, what do you mean by this? My sister is still young, but you kowtowed and knelt to her. Are you planning to shorten her lifespan?”
Chen Youjun’s expression turned cold, but he quickly reacted and defended himself. “No, that’s not what I meant!”
“Then what do you mean by your actions?” Shi Hangyu asked sharply and angrily, “What does my sister have that requires you to treat her like this? You’re so old, yet you’re kneeling to a young child. If word gets out, won’t people say that my sister is unreasonable? Won’t my sister’s reputation be ruined?”
Shi Hangyu was not a fool. How could he not know Chen Youjun’s intention of kneeling and kowtowing?
He wanted to arm-twist Gu Qingming in public.
Everyone sympathized with the weak.
Chen Youjun’s wife and child were despicable, but Gu Qingming made them go bankrupt with a phone call. It really seemed too cold and heartless.
Once Chen Shoe Company had gone bankrupt, what followed was the dismissal of the employees. How many people would lose their jobs because of this?
Those who needed to provide for their families, once unemployed, would face enormous difficulties supporting their families.
Shi Hangyu made the first move to prevent Chen Youjun from coercing Gu Qingming.
Why would Hangyu, who was farming in the countryside, know this?
Firstly, Shi Hangyu was once a scholar. After graduating from high school, he had some knowledge of how the world worked. However, he was unwilling to go to university. Secondly, this kind of scene was a typical occurrence every day on television shows.
Thirdly, he had been worried about the employees being laid off previously, but Gu Qingming had told him that when Chen Shoe Company went bankrupt, the employees left behind would be hired by another company that acquired Chen Shoe Company. Only a few employees would really be unemployed.
Therefore, he would not let Chen Youjun have the chance to force Gu Qingming into a corner.
Chen Youjun was dumbfounded when Shi Hangyu easily pushed him back. However, he was not willing to give up just like that.
He had painstakingly built this company. One could imagine how difficult it was. He didn’t want half of his life’s hard work and effort to be gone just because of someone else’s words.
When he thought of this, deep jealousy and resentment surged in his heart. As long as he was given time, he would definitely be able to develop the Chen Shoe Company into a huge company like the Gu Corporation. But he wasn’t given a chance.
It was as if his company was still in its cradle, but it had been killed by someone with ulterior motives.
No, it could not be like that.
He also wanted to become the richest person in Sea City.
If Gu Qingming knew what he was thinking, she would definitely scold him.
This dream was too unrealistic.
Chen Youjun knelt down and kowtowed, but was stopped by Shi Hangyu. He simply stood up and bowed anxiously in Gu Qingming’s direction.
“Miss Gu, my wife has offended you. It’s understandable that you want to take revenge. I don’t dare to complain.
However, our Chen Shoe Company has thousands of workers. Many of our employees have to support the old and young in their families.
Once my company closes down, thousands of workers will lose their jobs. Miss Gu, I’m not begging you to let my Chen family off, but I’m begging you to let the thousands of workers raised by my Chen family off.”
When Chen Youjun said this, the onlookers immediately came to a realization.
“Indeed. If the Chen Shoe Company really goes bankrupt, then the thousands of workers will really lose their jobs.”
“There are so many people. Even if they want to find another job, it will be difficult to find one in a short period of time.”
“His wife has offended Miss Gu, so it’s not a problem for Miss Gu to take revenge. However, the problem is that her revenge involves thousands of families. Isn’t it too heartless to take revenge on someone’s company and make it go bankrupt?”
“But you can’t say that. The business world is like a battlefield. The situation changes in an instant. The strong prey on the weak. If you don’t have the ability, you can’t blame others.”
“But we can’t implicate innocent people.”
“Then they’re unlucky!”
…
Shi Hangyu and his brothers listened to the discussions of the people around them, and their hearts sank.
What they were worried about still happened!
The brothers glared angrily at Chen Youjun.
Someone began to shout at Gu Qingming.
“Miss Gu, please forgive him where possible! His wife did bully your brother, but didn’t you hit her back too?”
“Miss Gu, there are thousands of employees in the Chen Shoe Company. You can’t make them lose their jobs just because of your words, right?”
“Miss Gu, if you’re still not satisfied, let his wife and son kowtow to you three times and apologize to you. Then you can let the Chen Shoe Company go.”
…
Chen Youjun finally heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that public opinion was now biased toward him.
There were ordinary people and rich and noble people in this crowd. As long as Gu Qingming did not want to be labeled as “cold and heartless” and be questioned by the media tomorrow, she had to agree to let go of the Chen Shoe Company.
As long as he let go of the Chen Shoe Company, he would have a chance to take revenge on the Gu Corporation in the future.
But now, he had to endure it!
Chen Youjun was waiting! When Gu Qingming could not withstand the pressure of public opinion, she had to compromise.
Gu Qingming heard the comments of the onlookers on this matter and did not seem to pay heed to them.
A moment later, she chuckled meaningfully.
She asked calmly, “Oh, is that so? What if I don’t agree?”
“Huh?”