After my divorce, I started to have good luck-Chapter 1018 - 540: A Rapid Downturn (2)

After Pan Dongliang signed this relatively important category of documents, the female secretary had almost finished speaking.

Pan Dongliang handed these signed documents to her, and after she left, he leisurely picked up a few documents requiring his careful consideration and decision-making.

After reading for about ten minutes, the phone on his desk suddenly rang. He picked up the receiver casually, and soon his expression changed.

When he put down the receiver, his expression became even heavier.

The call was from the manager of a city chain store, saying that the quality inspection department had suddenly made a surprise inspection at that store, and several household appliances sold there were declared unqualified and were to be sealed.

The household appliances produced by their company generally met national quality standards, but if one were to nitpick, there would certainly be some areas that did not meet the standards, such as the issue of false labeling. However, this is an industry norm that local regulatory departments usually do not specifically target.

Dongliang Electrical Company has been established for more than ten years, and this is the first time that regulatory authorities have directly ordered the sealing of related products.

He immediately took out his mobile phone, found a number, and called the other party. After exchanging a few pleasantries, he got to the point, and the other party said he was unaware but would check if something was wrong and get back to him later.

He had maintained a relationship with this person for several years, especially after this person was promoted to deputy director. He would always acknowledge him during the holidays and occasions like weddings and funerals.

While waiting for the person's response, another call came in, causing a slight unease in his heart, but he quickly picked up the receiver.

Soon his face became even more displeased, as another chain store in the city had some products sealed too, with consumers reporting serious quality issues. After the quality inspection department confirmed this, they sealed those products and decided to conduct a comprehensive inspection of other products of Dongliang Electrical Company.

Then, as if it was all planned, another ten minutes later, another chain store manager called about the same issue.

Soon after, his mobile phone rang, and it was the company's general manager calling him. This general manager was a highly paid MBA, quite capable, mainly responsible for their chain operations at Dongliang Electrical Company.

But in reality, his power was limited, so when the chain store had an issue, the manager would first notify him, the owner, before informing the general manager.

The reason was that the managers of those chain stores were either cultivated by him as trusted subordinates or private bosses who paid to join, like Wang Yuefeng, who recently got into trouble with his son; Wang Yuefeng was a private store owner who joined for a fee, and all he needed to do was flatter him and his son.

The general manager, despite being responsible for chain operations, did not manage personnel, and his deterrence to chain store managers below was limited.

The general manager only called him after knowing about the inspection of the second chain store to discuss countermeasures.

Pan Dongliang doesn't currently know the reasons behind this, feeling that someone is pushing things behind the scenes targeting him, but it doesn't quite seem that way either; for now, he can only wait for a reply from the deputy director.

As for this general manager, he was an out-of-towner MBA, even though he studied abroad, his connections in Xiu Zhou are quite limited.

So far, Pan Dongliang remains relatively calm because he has someone to rely on, but unless absolutely necessary, he doesn't want to use his final card.

Now he can only wait patiently.

However, about an hour later, another chain store in the urban area underwent a surprise inspection and was sealed.

Thus, in less than two hours, four of their Dongliang Electrical Company chain stores were affected.

They have only eight chain stores in total in the city, and already half have been impacted.

Unable to do otherwise, he immediately called to order the remaining four store managers to temporarily close the stores and wait for notice on when to resume operations.

Then he called his deputy director friend again; the call rang for quite some time before it was answered.

"Old Pan, did you offend someone?"

The deputy director's first words made Pan Dongliang's heart skip a beat.

"How is that possible?" Pan Dongliang quickly regained his composure, feigning grievance, "You know my character, I'm a businessman, and I always believe in making money in harmony, there's no way I'd offend someone. This is really an injustice for me."

Obviously, the other party didn't quite believe it, their tone cooled a bit: "Old Pan, I can only tell you that you've offended someone, but I don't know exactly who, though it's someone with significant influence. You should think carefully about who you might have offended."

Pan Dongliang hurriedly asked: "Do you know who ordered this surprise inspection?"

"Director."

Saying so, the other party directly hung up the phone.

For a moment, Pan Dongliang's expression changed, and his mind was in turmoil.

For a fleeting moment, he thought of Wu Mengting's warning to him yesterday in the café, but it just flashed in his mind then passed.

He found it hard to believe that the young man named Chen Feng would have such power and means, especially since he didn't really offend him yesterday; he wouldn't go to such lengths against him, as there were no grudges.

Aside from Chen Feng, who he only met once, there were too many others he might have offended or had grudges with; he's been in business for over twenty years, how could there be no enemies in the business world? Not to mention, peers are naturally enemies.

But considering this, there would be too many suspects, and it was immediately hard to guess who exactly was pushing things behind the scenes.

He had to leverage all sorts of connections to inquire, but after checking around, there was still no clue.

By the afternoon, the situation worsened suddenly as the industrial and commercial, tax, and fire departments actually formed a joint inspection team and came directly to their company for a surprise joint inspection.

The company immediately fell into chaos, with people panicking.

At this point, Pan Dongliang obviously realized the seriousness of the problem; he had to use his final card, so he hid alone on the rooftop, picked up his phone, and dialed a number he was very much in awe of.

This time, even when his son Pan Zhizheng got into trouble, he didn't dare to make this call, knowing it wouldn't help and might even result in a reprimand, which would distance him further.

But this time it was about the survival of his company, and he had to make the call.

After the phone rang for more than ten seconds, it was answered.

"What's the matter?" a very composed elderly voice sounded.

"Uncle, here's the situation."

Pan Dongliang knew his uncle's temperament well, so he didn't say any unnecessary words and narrated the situation thoroughly.

"Understood, wait for my message."

After speaking, the other party hung up.

His uncle, in fact, was his deceased grandma's younger cousin. When he was studying, his uncle almost had to drop out due to financial difficulties, but his grandmother managed to help him with school fees, and later frequently supported him. When his grandmother was alive, the families remained in close touch, their relationship very close.

The reason his business did so well was partly because of his uncle secretly supporting and protecting him.

After his grandmother passed away, the families gradually drifted apart.

When his father passed away a couple of years ago, the relationship grew even more distant, even though he thick-skinnedly visited with gifts during holidays, it was increasingly unwelcome.

He knew the reasons well, essentially because he kept seeking help repeatedly, and his uncle, being a person who cherished past favors, helped many times.

However, favors diminish the more they're used, and now, nearly nothing is left.

He understood that after this time, it would be almost impossible to seek his uncle's help again in the future.

For this, he was quite upset and sighed a lot.

However, he also thought that his highly positioned uncle was nearing retirement; even if he asked for help again in the future, it might not be effective. After all, people are forgotten when they step down.

Thinking thus, Pan Dongliang felt a little better.