Lin Mei, wearing a fiery red evening gown, walked elegantly through the crowd with a false smile on her face, walking towards Dai Shiya. She walked up to Dai Shiya and asked in surprise, "Shiya, why are you still standing here? The dinner is about to start."
"Lin Mei, stop pretending." Wei Qing said angrily, "It was you who told them not to let us in!"
Lin Mei blinked innocently and said, "What are you talking about? I don't understand." She turned to look at the security guard, her tone gentle but with a hint of unquestionable majesty, "What's going on? These two are the VIPs tonight, why don't you let them in."
The security guards looked at each other, and one of them stammered, "But...but they don't have a paper invitation..."
"Paper invitation?" Lin Mei covered her mouth and chuckled. "Oh, this is nothing. Who still uses paper invitations now? Besides, who is Shi Ya? Would she come here to eat and drink for free?"
Her words seemed to be in support of Dai Shiya, but in fact, every word she said was implying that Dai Shiya was of low status and deliberately came to the dinner for free. People around her began to point fingers at Dai Shiya and whisper.
Dai Shiya suppressed her anger and said coldly: "Lin Mei, you don't have to be hypocritical here. Just tell me what you want."
"Shiya, how can you say that?" Lin Mei looked hurt. "I just want to help you. Since you don't have a paper invitation, just wait a little longer. Once the organizer verifies your identity, they will let you in."
"But..." Wei Qing wanted to say something, but was stopped by Dai Shiya. She knew that Lin Mei was deliberately stalling for time in order to make her miss the opening of the dinner and make her look bad in front of everyone.
"Okay, I'll wait." Dai Shiya took a deep breath and said with a firm look. She wanted to see what other tricks Lin Mei could come up with.
Time passed by, and seeing that the guests had already entered the banquet hall one after another, Dai Shiya and Wei Qing were still blocked outside the door. Wei Qing was extremely anxious and whispered to Dai Shiya: "Shiya, we can't wait any longer, we must find a way to get in!"
Dai Shiya nodded and was about to speak, but she saw Lin Mei approaching with a meaningful smile on her face: "It seems that you can't get in."
Wei Qing couldn't bear it any longer, pointed at Lin Mei and said loudly: "You..."
"What do you mean? Did I say something wrong?" Lin Mei raised her eyebrows, with a hint of sarcasm in her tone, "You want to force your way in without an invitation? I don't know who gave you the courage."
People around were talking about it, and their eyes were full of suspicion and contempt towards Dai Shiya and Wei Qing.
"That's right. You came to the dinner without an invitation. Aren't you afraid of being embarrassed?"
"Young people nowadays really don't know the rules any more."
"I think they just want to eat and drink for free, and they don't even consider their own status."
Wei Qing was so angry that she was shaking all over. She pointed at Lin Mei and said, "You...you obviously did it on purpose! It was you who asked them not to let us in!"
Lin Mei laughed exaggeratedly, covering her mouth as if she had heard a joke: "Oh, Miss, please don't talk nonsense. Why would I do such a thing? I just want to help you out of kindness. It's fine if you don't appreciate it, but why are you blaming me?"
As she spoke, her eyes reddened slightly and she looked aggrieved, which made people feel pity for her.
The people around them were even more convinced that Wei Qing was being unreasonable and accused them of being ignorant and asked them to apologize to Lin Mei.
"Okay, Qing'er, stop talking." Dai Shiya held Wei Qing and stared at Lin Mei with cold eyes, "Let's go."
She knew that arguing with Lin Mei now would only make her more passive. After all, Lin Mei's reputation in the social circle was there, and she was just a fledgling "little person".
"Why, you want to leave now?" Lin Mei blocked their way, a smug smile on her face, "I advise you to stay here obediently, otherwise the security guards will come and kick you out as troublemakers, which would be really embarrassing."
Dai Shiya took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in her heart, and said coldly: "What do you want?"
Lin Mei leaned close to her ear and whispered, "What do I want? I just want you to understand that there are some people you can't afford to offend."
After saying that, she turned and left, leaving Dai Shiya and Wei Qing standing there with sullen faces.
At this time, a man in a suit hurried over, bowed slightly to Dai Shiya and Wei Qing, and said, "Miss Dai, Miss Wei, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. Please follow me."
Dai Shiya and Wei Qing looked at each other. Although they didn't know what was going on, they still followed the man into the banquet hall.
The banquet hall was brightly lit, with elegant people in fine clothes and clinking glasses, creating a lively scene. However, Dai Shiya had no intention of appreciating the scene, because she found that she was arranged in a very remote corner and almost no one noticed their presence.
"Damn it, that bitch Lin Mei actually dared to play tricks on us like this!" Wei Qing said gritting her teeth.
Dai Shiya clenched her fists, a cold light flashed in her eyes. She knew that this was just Lin Mei's first step, and next, she would use more despicable means to deal with her.
"Don't be impatient, Qing'er, let's take our time." Dai Shiya curled her lips into a sneer, with a confident light flashing in her eyes.
She wanted to see who would have the last laugh.
At this time, the lights on the stage dimmed, and the spotlight was on a woman in a white dress, it was Lin Mei. Holding the microphone, she began to introduce her charity achievements tonight with an elegant smile on her face... Dai Shiya looked at Lin Mei on the stage, tapping the table with her fingers, her eyes deep, and I don't know what she was thinking.
Lin Mei spoke eloquently on the stage, describing her contributions to charity. Her carefully prepared speech was full of emotion, and her moving tone and elegant posture drew applause from the audience. She also showed a carefully produced video recording her visits to children in poor mountainous areas, delivering supplies and care to them.
"I firmly believe that everyone can contribute to this world," Lin Mei said in a gentle but firm voice. "Even if it is just a tiny contribution, when combined together, it can become a force that changes the world."
There was thunderous applause from the audience, many people appreciated Lin Mei's good deeds, and some even expressed their willingness to donate to support her charity projects. Lin Mei enjoyed the treatment of being the center of attention, and always had a confident and elegant smile on her face.
Dai Shiya, who was sitting in the corner, felt tremendous pressure and anger. She had prepared a detailed document to showcase the innovative reforms she had brought to the family business and the value she had created for society at the dinner, in order to enhance her reputation and break the prejudice deliberately created by Lin Mei.
However, when she opened the file bag, she found that the documents inside had been tampered with. The documents that were originally carefully typeset and printed now looked like they had been soaked in water, with the words blurred and the pictures wrinkled, making them completely unusable.
"Damn it!" Dai Shiya cursed in a low voice. She knew that it must be Lin Mei's doing.
"What's wrong?" Wei Qing noticed that Dai Shiya was acting strangely and asked in a low voice.
"Someone has tampered with the data and it can't be used now." Dai Shiya lowered her voice and handed the file bag to Wei Qing.
Wei Qing took the file bag, looked through it carefully, and her face turned ugly: "This is too much, it must be Lin Mei who did it!"
"What should we do now?" Wei Qing asked anxiously, "Without this information, we have no way of showing your results to everyone."
Dai Shiya forced herself to calm down. She looked around and found a projector and a computer in a corner of the banquet hall.
"We still have a chance," Dai Shiya made a prompt decision, "I have backed up the data in the cloud before. Now we just need to download the file and make a simple presentation again."
"Okay, then hurry up!" Wei Qing urged as if she had grabbed a life-saving straw.
Dai Shiya walked quickly to the computer and turned it on, but found that she could not connect to the Internet. She tried several more times, but still no response.
"What's going on?" Wei Qing also came over and looked at the computer screen with a frown.
At this time, a staff member came over and said with a fake smile: "Miss Dai, I'm sorry, there is a problem with the network interface of this computer. It is temporarily unavailable."
Dai Shiya and Wei Qing looked at each other, and saw anger and helplessness in each other's eyes. They knew that this was another trick of Lin Mei.
As time passed, Dai Shiya's heart became heavier. She clenched her fists, stared at Lin Mei on the stage, and a raging anger burned in her heart. At this moment, an idea flashed through her mind. She took a deep breath, and a trace of determination flashed in her eyes... She grabbed Wei Qing who was about to get angry and whispered a few words in her ear. After listening, Wei Qing was stunned at first, then showed a surprised expression, but finally nodded.
In the banquet hall, there were elegant people, clinking glasses, and laughter, but Dai Shiya and Wei Qing felt like they were in an ice cellar. Watching the time pass by, they were helpless and could only watch Lin Mei shine on the stage, feeling extremely anxious.
"Shi Ya, what should we do now? Are we really going to give in like this?" Wei Qing clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deeply into the flesh, her tone filled with unwillingness and resentment.
Dai Shiya took a deep breath and tried hard to suppress her inner anger. She glanced at the radiant Lin Mei on the stage and the hypocritical "friends" around her, and a sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth.
"Don't worry, I won't let her succeed." Dai Shiya patted Wei Qing's conscience, signaling her to stay calm, "This game is not over yet."
She pulled Wei Qing to a corner, avoiding everyone's gaze, and whispered, "Go find the person in charge of the banquet right away and tell him that I have something important to announce. Ask him to make sure to arrange a time for me."
Wei Qing was stunned and asked in confusion: "But, we are not prepared at all now..."
"Do as I say and leave the rest to me." Dai Shiya said in a firm tone, with a confident light in her eyes.
Although Wei Qing was still confused, she stopped asking questions when she saw that Dai Shiya was confident, and turned to walk towards the person in charge of the banquet.
Looking at Wei Qing's departing back, Dai Shiya took a deep breath and made a phone call.
"Hey, help me check Lin Mei's latest charity project. I want to know all the details..."
After hanging up the phone, Dai Shiya showed a meaningful smile on her face.
Lin Mei, if you want to play, I will play with you to the end!
The banquet was coming to an end and the guests were preparing to leave after having eaten and drunk their fill. Suddenly, the lights dimmed and the spotlight on the stage shone on the entrance. Dai Shiya, wearing a red dress, walked in slowly under the gaze of everyone.
"Everyone, please wait a moment, I have something to say." Her voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard throughout the banquet hall.
Lin Mei was originally preparing to leave with a smug look on her face, but when she heard the sudden voice, her face suddenly changed. She turned around abruptly, staring at Dai Shiya with a vicious look, and an ominous premonition surged in her heart.
"What does she want to do?"
"Does she still want to save the situation?"
The guests were talking among themselves, looking back and forth between Dai Shiya and Lin Mei, looking forward to what would happen next.
Dai Shiya walked to the center of the stage, glanced at the people in the audience, raised a confident smile at the corner of her mouth, and slowly spoke...
"Everyone, today I have prepared some information and would like to share it with you..."
Before she finished her words, her cell phone suddenly rang. It was a call from the company. Dai Shiya's heart skipped a beat and a bad premonition came over her.
"Hello, hello, I'm Dai Shiya..."
"What?!"
Chapter 46: Raw material shortages hinder future
"What?!" Dai Shiya's hand holding the phone suddenly tightened, and her face turned pale in an instant. Everyone in the banquet hall focused their attention on her, but she was unaware and just mechanically repeated what the other end of the phone said, "What did you say? Raw materials... all cut off? How is that possible!"
The person on the other end of the phone seemed to be trying to explain something, but Dai Shiya could no longer hear clearly. She had only one thought in her mind: It's over, everything is over. Without raw materials, her project would become a tree without roots, and all her hard work would be wasted.
Trying to calm down, Dai Shiya hurriedly said "I know" and hung up the phone. She took a deep breath and told herself to stay calm. She couldn't lose her composure at such a time. She looked up at the audience, searching the crowd, and finally found Boss Li in the corner.
Boss Li is her supplier of raw materials. The cooperation has been stable for many years. How could the supply suddenly stop? Dai Shiya suppressed the uneasiness in her heart, walked straight to Boss Li, and forced a smile: "Boss Li, I'm sorry to bother you. I have something to talk to you about."
Boss Li obviously noticed the abnormality when Dai Shiya answered the phone. He pretended to be calm and put down his wine glass, saying with a smile: "Boss Dai, what's the hurry? We have been cooperating for a long time. Just tell me if you have anything to say."
"Boss Li, I just received a call from the company saying that you can't deliver the goods on time. I would like to ask what's going on?" Dai Shiya asked straight to the point, staring at Boss Li sharply, not missing any subtle changes in expression on his face.
"Oh, you're talking about this," Boss Li's eyes flickered, and he coughed lightly and said, "There have been some problems in the factory recently, and the production capacity can't keep up, so..."
"Boss Li, you should know how important this matter is to our project," Dai Shiya interrupted him, "I hope you can give me a reasonable explanation instead of..."
"Boss Dai, are you doubting me?" Boss Li's face darkened and his tone became unpleasant.
"I just..." Dai Shiya wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Boss Li who stood up suddenly. He straightened his clothes and said coldly: "Boss Dai, if there is nothing else, I'll leave you first." After that, he turned around and walked into the crowd without even looking at Dai Shiya, disappearing in the hustle and bustle of the banquet hall.
Dai Shiya stood there, watching Boss Li's back as he left, her heart chilled. She knew that this matter was definitely not that simple...
Dai Shiya seemed to be isolated from the noise of the banquet hall. She stood alone, everything around her became blurry, and only Boss Li's cold "Excuse me" echoed in her ears. She knew that she was facing an unprecedented crisis.
"Shiya, what happened? What did Boss Li say?" Wei Qing, who had been paying attention to the situation here, saw Dai Shiya standing there alone with a pale face after Boss Li left, so she immediately rushed over and asked worriedly.
Dai Shiya shook her head helplessly and briefly recounted the conversation she had just had with Boss Li. Her tone was full of bitterness and helplessness: "...He said that there was a problem in the factory and that they couldn't deliver on time, but how is that possible? We have been working together for so many years, and he has always been on time, and..."
"And what?" Wei Qing keenly caught Dai Shiya's hesitant words.
"And I feel like he is deliberately hiding something. His heartbeat and his tone make me think that this matter is not that simple." Dai Shiya clenched her fists tightly, her heart filled with powerlessness, but she knew that now was not the time to be discouraged, she must find a solution as soon as possible.
"Don't worry, let me think of a solution." Wei Qing calmly comforted Dai Shiya, while quickly analyzing various possibilities in her mind. Boss Li suddenly stopped supplying, there must be something else behind it, but who is behind it?
Wei Qing decided to start with Boss Li. She used her personal connections and inquired from many sources, and finally found some clues. It turned out that Boss Li had a problem with capital turnover recently, and their competitor Mr. Zhou took the opportunity to tempt Boss Li with a high price, asking him to stop supplying Dai Shiya, in order to hit Dai Shiya's company.
"This is too much! President Zhou actually used such despicable means to suppress us!" After learning the truth, Dai Shiya was furious. She did not expect that President Zhou would be so unscrupulous in order to compete.
"Now is not the time to get angry. We must find a new supplier of raw materials as soon as possible." Wei Qing analyzed calmly, "Otherwise, if the project is delayed, we will face huge losses."
Dai Shiya certainly understood this, and she immediately began to contact other suppliers. However, what made her despair was that many suppliers refused as soon as they heard it was her project, and some even refused to disclose the reason.
"How could this happen..." A series of blows left Dai Shiya exhausted both physically and mentally. She slumped powerlessly in the chair, feeling that the flame of hope was dying out bit by bit.
At this time, Wei Qing came over, put a document in front of her, and said, "This is the last possible supplier, but..."
"Just what?" Dai Shiya seemed to have grasped the last piece, raised her head suddenly and asked anxiously.
"It's just that I heard that the boss of this company is very shrewd, and..." Wei Qing paused, as if considering her words, "and he will probably put forward some very harsh conditions."
Dai Shiya took a deep breath, a trace of determination flashed in her eyes, she picked up the car keys on the table, stood up and said: "No matter what, I have to give it a try."
In the late autumn afternoon, the sun was still a bit scorching, shining on Dai Shiya's slightly tired face. She held the steering wheel, looking forward firmly, but her heart was filled with anxiety and uneasiness.
According to Wei Qing's information, Dai Shiya drove to a materials company called Hengtai. The company was not large, but from the simple and elegant decoration style, it can be seen that the strength of the company's boss should not be underestimated.
Dai Shiya took a deep breath, sorted out her emotions, and walked into the company gate.
"Hello, I'm here to visit Mr. Wang. Is he here?" Dai Shiya asked the front desk receptionist politely.
"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked without even looking up.
"No, but..."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Wang is not seeing guests today." The receptionist interrupted Dai Shiya directly, with a hint of impatience in her tone.
Dai Shiya was not discouraged. She was ready to be rejected. She took out a business card from her bag, handed it to the receptionist, and said sincerely, "Please give this business card to Mr. Wang and tell him that I want to talk to him about the supply of raw materials. It's a big deal. I hope he can give me a chance."
The receptionist took the business card, glanced at it casually, and was about to refuse again, but was interrupted by Mr. Wang who suddenly appeared.
"Ms. Dai, I've long heard of your name." Mr. Wang is a slightly plump man with a kind smile on his face, but his eyes are shrewd and sharp.
Dai Shiya quickly stood up and responded politely: "Hello, Mr. Wang, nice to meet you."
President Wang invited Dai Shiya into the office. After they sat down, Dai Shiya stated her purpose directly and expressed her sincerity for cooperation.
After listening to the speech, Mr. Wang did not immediately express his opinion. Instead, he picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea slowly, and then slowly said, "Ms. Dai, I have also heard about your situation. To be honest, your project does have great potential, but..." He paused, and his tone became serious, "You also know that the market for raw materials is tight now, and our company's production capacity is also limited, so..."
"Mr. Wang, as long as you can supply the goods, we can discuss the price." Dai Shiya said anxiously. She already had a premonition of what Mr. Wang was going to say next.
"The price is easy to talk about, but..." Mr. Wang looked at Dai Shiya meaningfully, "I heard that Miss Dai has encountered some troubles recently, and there seem to be some problems within the family as well?"
Dai Shiya's heart sank. She didn't expect that President Wang knew so much about her family's internal affairs. It seemed that the other party was planning to take advantage of her misfortune.
Sure enough, Mr. Wang then put forward several very harsh conditions, including a price 30% higher than the market price, and requiring Dai Shiya Company to give priority to using their company's products in the next three years.
Dai Shiya is caught in a dilemma. If she agrees to Mr. Wang's conditions, the company will be burdened with huge cost pressure and may even get into trouble; but if she does not agree, the project cannot be completed on time, the company will face greater losses and even lose its reputation.
To make matters worse, just when Dai Shiya was worried about the raw materials, family members began to express dissatisfaction with the project she was in charge of. Some relatives who were already dissatisfied with her inheritance of the family business took this opportunity to attack her and put pressure on her to solve the problem as soon as possible, otherwise they would take back her management rights.
Dai Shiya felt unprecedented pressure, but she did not give up. She knew that she had no way out. She returned to the company and locked herself in the office, looking through the supplier's information over and over again, trying to find a new breakthrough.
At this time, Wei Qing knocked on the door and walked in, holding a document in her hand, and said solemnly: "Shi Ya, I just received the news..."
"Is there any movement from Hengtai?" Dai Shiya rubbed her tired temples and took the documents handed to her by Wei Qing.
"It's more than just a rumor. They're asking for too much!" Wei Qing frowned. "They spread the word that they're willing to supply us with goods at a price 50% higher than the market price, but they want you to transfer 15% of the company's shares to President Wang."
Dai Shiya sneered and threw the document on the table, "This old fox has a big appetite."
"What's even more infuriating is that several other raw material suppliers have also started to raise prices, with ambiguous attitudes. It's obvious that they are in collusion." Wei Qing clenched her fists angrily, "There must be someone behind this!"
Dai Shiya certainly knew that someone was behind the scenes, but she didn't have time to find out who was stabbing her in the back. The most urgent task was to solve the raw material problem. Otherwise, once the project was stalled, the company would suffer huge losses. By then, even if she found out who was behind the scenes, it would be of no avail.
"How long can the raw materials of the project last now?" Dai Shiya asked calmly.
"At most half a month." Wei Qing's tone was a little heavy.
Half a month... Dai Shiya lowered her head and pondered. She must find a new supplier within half a month, or...
"I remember you said that in addition to these big suppliers, there are also some small factories producing similar raw materials, but the quality and output are not very stable, right?" Dai Shiya raised her head, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.
Wei Qing nodded, "Yes, but the production of those small factories is limited, and the quality varies, so it is difficult to meet our needs."
"We can't care about so many things now, let's try it out." Dai Shiya made a prompt decision, "Contact those small factories. As long as they are willing to supply, we can negotiate the price. As for the quality, we can try a small amount first, and if it is qualified, we can increase the purchase volume."
"Okay, I'll do it right away." Wei Qing also knew that the situation was urgent, so she stopped hesitating and turned to contact those small factories.
In the next few days, Dai Shiya and Wei Qing rushed around and visited the raw material markets in several surrounding cities. They finally collected some raw materials from some small channels and temporarily maintained the operation of the project.
But Dai Shiya knew that this was only a stopgap measure. The production of those small factories was limited.