Universe Infinite Canteen-Chapter 506: Apology

The day after the live stream in the afternoon, Ma Lu watched the store while intensely surfing the internet, enjoying the thrill of reading exciting stories.

He liked every post about Tang Rijie, Magic Seal, and Meiping Website, thoroughly enjoying himself when suddenly his phone rang.

Ma Lu picked it up and found it was from an unfamiliar number.

However, this was quite normal since he now ran a restaurant and received numerous calls every day, either about the dishes or reservations, and some wanted to discuss collaborations, seeing the high traffic at Universe Infinite Canteen.

Because of the previous live stream, Ma Lu’s new small account on B station had now gained 30,000 followers; just earlier, MCN Company had called wanting to sign him, but he had declined.

This time, Ma Lu simply hung up the call, but the person on the other end was persistent and called back after half a minute.

Ma Lu hung up again, and the person called yet again.

Finally, Ma Lu answered, and a woman’s voice came through, "Boss Ma."

"Um?"

"Hello, I am Zhu Chen, the marketing director of Meiping Website; you can also call me Jane. I wanted to discuss the live stream on the 16th…"

Zhu Chen had barely started when she discovered the line went dead again.

Hung up? Zhu Chen frowned, she dialed again, but this time the line was busy.

Zhu Chen waited three minutes and dialed once more, still busy.

Meanwhile, Ma Lu, after blocking Zhu Chen, resumed scrolling through the comments enthusiastically.

It’s funny how the tables turn; previously, internet users who praised Universe Infinite Canteen were blacklisted, and now it was the turn of the hosts like Magic Seal who attacked Universe Infinite Canteen to enjoy this treatment.

Moreover, the remix section didn’t miss out on this wave of popularity, and a surge of creativity ensued, with Tang Rijie’s first batch of remix videos quickly going online.

The most popular was a techno rap song titled "Soul," which Ma Lu listened to while tapping his foot, having looped it seven or eight times.

But in the next moment, he heard that familiar voice again.

"Boss Ma."

Ma Lu almost thought his phone had grown legs and could answer calls on its own.

He glanced at the phone on the desk, which sat quietly with a black screen, then raised his head.

He saw a professionally dressed woman about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old wearing a suit and sporting neat ear-length hair, standing in front of the counter.

She extended her hand, "Hello, Boss Ma, I am Zhu Chen, the one you hung up on and then blocked."

"Hi, you make it sound like I said something wrong. My phone just happened to run out of battery," Ma Lu said, just as his phone screen lit up with a WeChat notification.

Ma Lu quickly shoved his phone back into his pocket and then shook hands with Zhu Chen, who seemed unwavering, as if she hadn’t noticed what just happened.

After the handshake, she continued, "Boss Ma, do you have a suitable place here to discuss matters?"

"No."

"..."

"Don’t get me wrong, I really don’t. This place is just a small restaurant, not a big company. There’s no conference room, not even private rooms."

"How about the kitchen?"

"The kitchen belongs to Old Wang. He doesn’t allow anyone but Youyou and me to enter. Mr. Zhu, if you have something to say, just say it directly."

Zhu Chen was silent for a moment then said, "Alright, I saw your live stream yesterday, and I can understand your anger, Boss Ma. But I still want to say, the company wasn’t aware of the previous incident."

Zhu Chen spoke, prepared to be contradicted, even scoffed at, but to her surprise, Ma Lu simply nodded, "I know."

"Ah?"

"Your company and mine aren’t enemies, nor are we competitors. Attacking my restaurant doesn’t make your financial reports look any better, so I’m willing to believe it was just an individual’s act."

"That’s great," Zhu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. "I thought before coming here that it might be difficult to speak with you. I didn’t expect you to be so understanding in person."

"But..." Ma Lu changed the tone, "that person indeed utilized your company’s influence to incite food bloggers to attack me and my restaurant, causing harm.

"Had it not been for yesterday’s live stream, plus Teacher Tang’s sudden change of heart, my business might have plummeted because of this."

Of course, such a thing is impossible, but that’s how negotiations work, one must claim the highest possible damages.

"This... indeed."

Zhu Chen was honest, possibly because Meiping Website was a large company, and she didn’t bother to squabble with Ma Lu over these details.

Besides, they were in a restaurant now, surrounded by people, and Ma Lu noticed from the corner of his eye that diners at two nearby tables were all ears, almost turning into rabbits.

Zhu Chen paused, then continued, "In any case, I’m here hoping to negotiate a solution that both parties can be happy with."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Simple. My company hopes to collaborate with you, Boss Ma, to clarify the truth."

Ma Lu gave a non-committal response.

Zhu Chen earnestly added, "Management truly wasn’t aware ofincident. Upon receiving the news, the company promptly initiated an internal investigation and has identified the involved employee.

"But as you’ve seen the online sentiment, even if we issue a statement, netizens will just think we’re pushing someone forward to take the blame after being exposed. Discover stories with novelbuddy

"Therefore, only with your cooperation, Boss Ma, can we effectively reveal the truth to the public."

"But if it weren’t for Teacher Tang stepping forward to disclose his wrongdoing, and my restaurant being slandered, would you have cooperated with me to investigate and clarify?"

Zhu Chen hesitated, she wanted to say yes, but knew the practicalities of a large company’s operations. She managed the marketing department herself and understood that a small restaurant like Ma Lu’s asking Meiping to collaborate on a PR effort was nearly impossible.

There was no way Meiping would initiate an investigation into an employee based on mere rumors.

So, Zhu Chen could only apologize, "I’m sorry."

"You don’t need to apologize. I just wanted to tell you, if you weren’t obligated to clarify when my restaurant was maliciously attacked, then I’m not either."

"I understand," Zhu Chen nodded. "I came here to try and work out a resolution that both of us can accept.

"For the damages caused to you and your shop, my company is willing to offer compensation of 2 million yuan."

Ma Lu blinked. Two million was not a small amount, but his restaurant was making nearly a million a week now, that money was only about half a month’s revenue.

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Zhu Chen added, "Afterwards, the company will also organize professionals 此处未添加完"