Chapter 732 The Xia Family Is Stuck in a Ru
Xia Haolin exited together with the staff from the Administrative Bureau of Business and Commerce, after which they were instantly surrounded by the reporters, who bombarded them with questions about the sales of prohibited items. There were even some who questioned him about the Xia Family’s relations.h.i.+p with Xia Ruya. The entire situation was rather chaotic.
Xia Haolin turned pale and kept mum throughout, not wanting to answer their questions.
However, the reporters did not probe any further. After all, there was no longer any fresh news that they could dig. Besides… the Xia Family was not significant enough for them to waste their time and energy on finding out more.
Xia Haolin managed to s.h.i.+rk off the reporters with the help of the staff. However, before he could even heave a sigh of relief, he felt an egg being smashed onto his face, the strong impact putting him in unbearable pain. The contents of the raw egg flowed down his face, making him feel exasperated.
He stared at the ma.s.sive crowd of angry customers who were standing in front of him and demanding a refund for the products that they had bought from the Xia Family supermarket.
“Despicable and unethical merchants! You sold prohibited items for the sake of money. You will suffer your retribution…”
“You people are too vicious for selling these prohibited items to us. We want a refund. If you don’t give us a refund, I’ll sue you to the Administrative Bureau of Business and Commerce.”
A grave expression formed on Xia Haolin’s face and he wanted to say something to placate the angry crowd, but could not bring himself to do so in the end. The Xia Family had been reduced to such a pathetic stage and nothing he said could change the fact that they were facing a major financial crisis.
At last, Xia Haolin returned to the Xia Family home ashamedly under the escort of the personnel.
Old Mr. Xia was sitting in the living room and watching the news on the television. Dejection was written all over his greasy face and got a great shock. “Haolin, what has gotten into you?”
Xia Haolin flew into a rage and said, “What else could have happened? Those petty and unreasonable citizens are to blame. I was accompanying the staff from the Administrative Bureau while they conducted quality checks, but we were surrounded by the reporters as soon as we exited. Those unreasonable women then came forth…”
After hearing his words, a sullen expression formed on Old Mr. Xia’s face and he asked, “Haolin, what are the results of the quality check?”
Xia Haolin pulled a long face and said, “Not too good. I swapped some of the products before the check, but it seems as if the Administrative Bureau is out to get us. They initially mentioned that they would only be checking 70-odd types of products, but they increased it to more than a hundred types. They then found more than ten products that did not meet the standards. The Administrative Bureau is very displeased with us, and I reckon the fine will be issued to us very soon.”
After holding major sales in the supermarket branches for a long time, they had gradually begun recovering their losses. Yet, things got worse overnight and the fine just fuel added to the fire. The exorbitant fine, the angry customers… pushed the Xia Family into h.e.l.l, bit by bit.
Old Mr. Xia turned pale and said, “The Administrative Bureau of Business and Commerce is really wicked. We’ve been treating them so well all these years, giving them red packets when they discovered the first batch of prohibited products a while ago. Yet, they exposed it and even divulged that we’re still carrying on with the sales…”
The Xia Family had been bribing the Administrative Bureau of Business and Commerce for several years and hence, they had never been afraid of the quality checks. They did not see the recent scandal coming at all.
Xia Haolin thumped himself down on the couch and said, “That billion-yuan fine has already caused a huge dent in the funds that we have acc.u.mulated recently. If we get fined again, we won’t be able to afford it. Most importantly… the news is spreading like wildfire and we can’t turn down the refund requests. If the customers lose trust in us, we won’t be able to make them trust our products again even if we hold promotions and sales. It’s really over for us this time.”
The Xia Family did not expect that they would end up in such a state within such a short period of time.
Upon hearing his son’s words, Old Mr. Xia groused angrily. “It’s all that jinx Xia Ruya’s fault. If it weren’t because of her, the Xia Family wouldn’t end up in such a state today.”
Xia Haolin thought the same. The thought of Xia Ruya was enough to make his heart boil. “Now that things have already come to this, what’s the point in finding fault? We’ve already cut off all ties with her, anyway. What’s most important now is that we find a way to resolve the crisis.”
Old Mr. Xia was at a loss for words.
An idea popped up in Xia Haolin’s mind and he said, “Father, why don’t we sell that plot of land in the West? The government is going to start operating the subway system very soon and every inch of land there is as good as gold. The transitioning has already been forced to come to a halt, anyway. We don’t know when the Xia Family can recover.”
The government had begun operating subway systems on the plot of land near the West and business hubs had been popping up everywhere. They’d definitely become the well-developed transport hub of the city. It was also the reason why the Xia Family wanted to transition.
Old Mr. Xia turned his suggestion down without hesitation. “No, your grandfather was the one who bought that plot of land back then with the intention of creating some beneficial conditions for us. He wanted us to improve and become the top tyc.o.o.ns of the city. If we just sell that plot of land, we’ll lose direction and become wealthy but average.”
When Xia Haolin’s grandfather bought that plot of land back then, he almost depleted all of the Xia Family’s savings. Old Mr. Xia was heavily against it then. However, he had no choice but to be in awe of his foresight now.
Xia Haolin said, “Father, if we don’t sell that plot of land, we won’t be able to recover our losses and the supermarket business will swap. Without it… how are we supposed to make a comeback and grow into one of the most wealthy families in the city? It’s just a solution that we have to adopt during desperate times like now. Once we have enough money, we can just buy another plot of land.”
Wen Haowen and the Gu Family had both expressed their interest in buying that plot of land back then. However, Old Mr. Xia had turned them down. Now that the Xia Family was stuck in a tough predicament, he had no choice but to consider selling it.
Old Mr. Xia frowned and said, “I know you’re right, but we can’t sell that plot of land. It’s property left behind by our ancestors. We can’t sell it.”
Xia Haolin said resignedly, “Father…”
“Why don’t you invest your efforts in pleasing your wife, instead? Your wife is upset at you because of your illegitimate daughter. Once you coax her… she might persuade the Chen Family to help us…”
The Xia Family and Chen Family were in-laws who had been helping each other out frequently over the years. Hence, he was full of hope.
Upon hearing his words, Xia Haolin felt extremely helpless, though he had been visiting the Chen Family rather frequently in recent weeks. He thought that they might help. “I shall give it a try then.”