ABT Chapter 158: The Target of Public Criticism

The plane took off from Detroit at night, with a layover in the capital before landing in Tiancheng. It was still late at night when they disembarked.

After dropping Cheng Ke off at school, Li Fanyu realized it was too late to go home. Instead, he went straight to the newly purchased house. Before going to the USA, he had already arranged with a decoration company and carefully selected two decoration plans for the house, adjusting them slightly according to the size of each room.

Though they were termed as two plans, they essentially embodied the same style, with minor adjustments based on room dimensions.

Li Fanyu disliked living in ostentatious and extravagant houses; he felt they lacked the warmth of a home. Therefore, both houses were decorated in a simple manner, using materials such as solid wood or environmentally friendly options.

With the funds in place, the decoration company worked at an astonishing speed, completing everything in just over ten days. Dealing with a client like Li Fanyu, who was meticulous and haggled over prices, the decoration company naturally expedited the process. After the decoration was finished, they even generously included a complete set of furniture.

From bedding to tables and chairs, pots and pans, all these inexpensive items were fully prepared.

The house was now ready in all aspects, just lacking inhabitants.

Looking at the warm and bright tones of the house and the neat, casual layout, Li Fanyu felt very satisfied; after all, a home should be simple. Coming back after a busy day and being able to unwind and enjoy one's own space was better than anything else.

Being comfortable at home was better than anything else.

During this trip abroad, Li Fanyu was also surprised by the fact that An Ning hadn't initiated a single phone call. This was unlike her usual behavior.

Previously, whenever he got busy or remained out of touch for a while, An Ning would call every two or three days to check in. But ever since he called her that one time, she hadn't contacted him since.

She hadn't even answered when he called her the day before returning to China.

So, he turned on his phone, intending to surprise An Ning by calling her over. But as soon as the phone finished booting up, it was bombarded with one text message after another.

Upon reopening, there were messages from Wang Dazui, Xiao Wu, Wang Meimei, An Ning... The general content of all of them was the same — Li Fanyu had gotten into big trouble.

Li Fanyu quickly called Wang Dazui to find out what had happened.

Only then did he learn that the problem stemmed from the foreign media.

Originally, domestic media outlets didn't pay much attention to the North American Auto Show. This was quite understandable; what was a car show? It was all about seeking sales opportunities and boosting one's image. Since China didn't have decent brand models to exhibit, and couldn't boast about achievements, it wasn't very interesting to read about the grand achievements of others.

So, domestic media outlets mainly reprinted news from foreign media about the overseas auto show. They introduced some models that were of high interest in the market and discussed the current situation and trends of the global automotive industry, along with introducing some new technologies. That was enough to fulfill their duties.

Li Fanyu, however, was essentially a half-baked figure in the industry. If other domestic car companies went to exhibit, they would at least start hyping themselves up in China two months in advance. If they didn't boast about themselves like they were going to save the world, then the public relations department would be deemed incompetent.

But when Li Fanyu went to exhibit, his mindset was as simple as that of a two-and-a-half-year-old child. He just went to sell some cars and earn some foreign exchange. Therefore, domestic media outlets had no idea that Zhengxin, along with X-Power, had gone to Detroit for the exhibition.

Concerned that the cars wouldn't sell well at the auto show and they would lose face, even Pinche.com wasn't notified.

So, when domestic media outlets found out that their own brand had finally ventured out of the country, the auto show was already halfway over, and it was too late to send someone. They just treated foreign media reports as the main source of news.

However, what put Li Fanyu at a disadvantage was a report from an American media outlet.

The report fabricated Li Fanyu's participation in the filming of the "Century of Automobiles" documentary, claiming that he admitted to the state-owned monopoly of the domestic automotive industry in China. Moreover, they took his remarks when facing other journalists out of context.

For example, when a journalist asked, "Regarding emissions control in China as a major consumer of automobiles, what measures has China taken?" Li Fanyu's original answer was, "Different tax levels are set for vehicles of different displacements, and public transportation is encouraged."

But in this report, it was twisted into, "Li claimed that the Chinese government suppresses people's demand for cars by imposing high taxes."

Another example was when a journalist asked, "Currently, there are very few independent brands in the Chinese market, and Chinese cars are rarely seen abroad. How do you view this phenomenon?" Li Fanyu's original response was, "Due to the poverty and weakness accumulated after the liberation, China missed the most critical fifty years of automotive development. So, now we are catching up. I believe that in the near future, more Chinese cars will go abroad and enter the world market."

But in this report, it was turned into, "Li claimed that China has stagnated for fifty years, leading to the downturn of the automotive industry."

This kind of selective quoting and nitpicking filled the entire report; according to them, it was as if the Chinese people were in dire straits, waiting for Uncle Sam to come and save them.

Once this news came out, it was immediately reprinted by several domestic media outlets. Subsequently, various critics and commentators emerged, all directing their criticism towards Li Fanyu and Zhengxin.

Pan City ******** Moderator: "Evaluate Zhengxin's Li Fanyu, who smeared the country at the North American Auto Show; Bah! Traitor!"

Auto critic Han Shuangyu: "Also evaluate Li Fanyu: In the face of interests, he can wear a thousand faces."

Independent media person Mao Ye: "Taking a righteous stand on the axle break incident, spewing rhetoric at foreign exhibitions: all righteousness and baseness are ultimately for making money."

The most outrageous comment came from Nanhe Information Harbor, where the website editor directly attacked: "Mr. Li; smearing the motherland in front of the American 'daddy', how many cars have you sold?"

Once these reports came out, they immediately caused a wave on automotive-related online platforms, stirring up the emotions of many netizens, who began directing their criticism towards Li Fanyu and Zhengxin.

The newly established official website of Zhengxin was flooded with negative comments, causing the server to crash. Even the Zhengxin used car platform, which was still in the testing phase, was affected.

Almost every product information page was filled with comments containing the words "traitor". Faced with this situation, Zhengxin's internet operation team was at a loss.

In the end, Wang Meimei gritted her teeth and made the decision to temporarily disable all comment functions on the used car trading platform.

For a while, Li Fanyu and Zhengxin became the targets of public criticism.

The company faced its first major crisis since its establishment.


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