"How dare they call it 'Safe House'? Safe in what way? Die safely?"
"I opened my window out of fear!"
"It is true. I have worked at Safe House for one month previously. One of the tenants told me repeatedly that there is a smell. I checked it out, and I really felt there was something wrong! Therefore, I asked my boss 'is there something wrong with this house?' The boss told me not to care about it; this is the industry rules. I left after that. I need money, but I will not do anything against my conscience!"
"Thinking about it now, the smell was very strong when I went to view the Safe House. The agent told me that I can move in the next day if I were to sign the contract now. He also guaranteed that he would get a cleaning company to get rid of the formaldehyde. Haha, luckily, I didn't believe him!"
"Snail Apartments always say that they do things with more conscience than the Safe House from Home Corporation? Now, the results really slap their own faces!"
"The Sloth Apartments passed all the national standards tests? That's too ridiculous; didn't they just finish renovations less than two months ago?"
"In theory, using environmentally friendly materials for renovations and furniture plus having a fresh air ventilation system would definitely be able to achieve it. However, the cost will be higher."
"Yes, they were introduced in the video as well. It seemed like the ventilation in Sloth Apartments was on 24/7, and the furniture is all of good quality."
"In the end, Boss Pei is still the one with the most conscience! So many black posts of various Sloth Apartments were posted during this time, such as IQ tax, rent raising, profiteering, and the like. The results of the evaluation were really a slap in the competitors' face!"
"As expected, Tengda's physical industry might not be cheap, but they were definitely of good quality! Take these apartments for example: if it was not because someone went to dig about it, who would know that the Safe House and Sloth Apartments are a world apart?"
"Sigh, I really have to say, many times, it is not because Tengda did fantastically well, but their peers did too poorly!"
The netizens were absolutely fired up.
Most people renting were young; that was especially true in first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. They had stringent requirements for their places of rental.
The housing needs of the young were relatively high. Generally, no one wanted to live in old houses. They all wanted to live in better housing such as Safe House and Snail Apartments.
However, how could have thought that all these were just appearance?
The renovations that looked pretty good was, in fact, cutting corners in invisible places while seriously damaging the lives and health of the consumers.
Moreover, the young were the main group of people on the net. They were livid seeing such news which was why its popularity went up instantly!
The editor was in a fix after watching the video.
"Director Zhu, erm… what should we do with our video?"
Chapter 649 - A Better Place for Interview
Videos were made on both sides which were highly homogenized.
They were both exposing the problem of formaldehyde in houses. The editing and details might not be done so well there, but they investigated all the brands in the market, including Sloth Apartments.
Moreover, as an evaluation media in the technology circle, they had high credibility. It was far better for them to come out as a third party than for Fei Huang Workspace to expose this matter. Fei Huang Workspace and Sloth Apartments had direct interest after all.
That made Fei Huang Workspace, which was making the video, very awkward then.
“We’ll store the video after it has been exported. We will not publish it.” Zhu Xiaoce decided.
The editor was dumbfounded. “Did we do all that for nothing?”
Zhu Xiaoce shook his head. “Of course not. We did the right thing. No one knows it, but it is meaningful for us to do it.”
There was really no need for the video to be posted again.
The problem had been exposed and attracted enough attention. What happened next would have nothing to do with Tengda.
Previously, Zhu Xiaoce and the others did not find a third-party evaluation agency mainly because of two considerations.
First of all, the level of various evaluation agencies would be different so the effect of the video could not be guaranteed. Fei Huang Workspace could definitely not interfere with others’ work. The actual effect may be far from expectations.
If the video responses were not enthusiastic enough, then it would not serve its purposes as an exposure.
Secondly, if the incident of Fei Huang Workspace looking for a third party organization to post a video was exposed, the credibility of the video would be questioned. The Home Corporation may take this opportunity to fight back, but the situation was even more unfavorable.
Fei Huang Workspace could not possibly ask these evaluation agencies one by one whether they plan to make formaldehyde-filled house videos or not, let alone keep waiting like this. The more he waited, the more victims would appear.
After comprehensive consideration, it was better to do it themselves at least to give people a sense of uprightness.
Right now, it happened that a relatively objective evaluation media had come forward to expose this matter so that there was no need to publish the video of Fei Huang Workspace.
The editor regretfully put the exported video into the folder. “Unfortunately, Brother Huang is not here. He worked so long on this video, but in the end, it could not be shown to the public.”
Zhu Xiaoce smiled. “It’s okay, Brother Huang won’t care about it either way. Anyway, he should be back this weekend, right? I don’t know if he is having fun in Africa or not. The signal is very bad there so he is generally not contactable.”
The editor took out his phone and flipped through the comments under Tengda Life App.
“It seems like many people have come to the Sloth Apartments section to leave messages, but the controversy is still rather big.
“No one is picking problems with the price and quality anymore, but on the rules of Sloth Apartments… many still do not understand.”
Obviously, this video not only hit the formaldehyde-filled rooms… but also pushed Sloth Apartments to the front.
Suddenly, the Sloth Apartments became a real ‘safe house’, healthy, environmentally friendly, with cleaning services. It might be a little more expensive, but which was more important between life and money?
Health and life could never be measured by money.
However, even so, many people still questioned the Sloth Apartments model.
If it was only for health reasons, wouldn’t it be good to rent ordinary houses or ‘Safe House’ after six months since they were renovated?
Everyone could accept the price of Sloth Apartments now since one would get what they paid for. It was only natural for the price of the rent to be higher since there were so many good materials and furniture.
However, one of the biggest problems of Sloth Apartments had not been solved, that was its livability!
There was not much storage space and one could not add one’s own furniture or change the layout of the rooms. Those points were still unacceptable to many tenants.
Zhu Xiaoce shook his head. “Who knows, such impersonal regulations cannot always be deliberately used to persuade tenants to quit, right? Boss Pei must have other considerations. We will know by waiting patiently.”
…
At the same time, Pei Qian just closed this video in his own office.
“There were actually other evaluation agencies also making this video?
“Um, well, it’s alright, formaldehyde rooms should indeed be exposed.
“However, can’t you not-praise my Sloth Apartments?
“Fortunately, I have sufficient psychological preparations. Otherwise, wouldn’t I have another knife stabbed into my back?”
; Pei Qian knew that the video made by Fei Huang Workspace would most likely not be released after seeing this video.
However, they were all to expose formaldehyde-filled rooms; it was the same whoever exposed it.
The only surprise was that this review video actually measured formaldehyde concentration in the Sloth Apartments.
The Sloth Apartments was only in its infancy after all. It was incomparable to the size of rental companies such as those in the Home Corporation. That was outrageous, without avoiding evaluation.
The environmental protection index of Sloth Apartments completely crushed all other rental brands. This news obviously improved the Sloth Apartments’ reputation tremendously when it broke out!
However, Pei Qian was also prepared for this. Someone would definitely test the formaldehyde levels in the Sloth Apartments no matter who disclosed the formaldehyde after all. It was inevitable.
Pei Qian knew from the start that none of these competitors could be relied on!
His peers were too weak; he could not count on them.
In many cases, it was not Boss Pei who wanted to make money. His peers made it happen.
Therefore, Pei Qian did not place all his hopes on his peers. He knew that they were pigs.
He would have to rely on various unpopular regulations and the Four Bare Walls style of the house to make the Sloth Apartments unprofitable.
The Sloth Apartments would continue to be unprofitable as long as he insisted that it was not livable and the room was not satisfactory.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the office door.
Assistant Xin pushed the door and entered. “Boss Pei, Jingzhou’s Financial Channel would like to have an exclusive interview with you about the outstanding contributions you have done for the old industrial zones through the Thriller Hostel so…”
Pei Qian was taken aback. A question mark floated above his head.
?
Jingzhou TV interview? Again?
“I’m not free!” Pei Qian said hurriedly.
“Tell the TV station that I’m very busy with work and have no time. Next time definitely.”
Assistant Xin nodded. “Alright, Boss Pei.”
Pei Qian patted his chest and calmed down when Assistant Xin left.
Jingzhou’s Financial Channel?
Don’t joke, I nearly died because of Fish-Catching Take-Out previously!
You want to try something like this again on Thriller Hostel? Dream on, I won’t be fooled any longer!
The Thriller Hostel was built in an industrial zone. It had good heat even though the Thriller Hostel was far from covering its cost.
The transformation of old industrial zones had always been an old and difficult problem. The local enterprises in Jingzhou did not want to run into this mess.
Tengda Corporation’s heavy investment in the old industrial zones to build a theme park was enough to transform the old industrial zones even though it was a haunted house!
Therefore, it was a matter of time when the TV station came for an interview.
The TV station reported it once when the Thriller Hostel was first launched. However, it did not cause much of a stir by then. The publicity of the Thriller Hostel was overwhelming so the TV’s report was not very eye-catching.
However, Pei Qian did not dare accept the interview. He knew very well that it was a bad thing as long as he accepted the interview!
Just like the previous time for Fish-Catching Take-Out. Pei Qian only showed his back, and yet he was picked out by the netizens. Then, it became ‘Tengda’s boss personally brought the goods’. If he were to be interviewed, it would set the Thriller Hostel on the road to instant popularity. It was totally possible!
Pei Qian did not want to show his face either.
As for a text press release… not to mention, he now had a psychological shadow.
Therefore, Pei Qian’s attitude was very firm in saying that he was busy.
What could you do to me if I refuse to accept the interview? Would you hold me at knifepoint?
Impossible!
…
Zhang Lixian, the journalist from Finance Channel, hung up with a dazed expression.
Boss Pei actually rejected me!
Was there a need to reject a TV interview? Especially a positive interview that could improve his corporate image?
Did he refuse intentionally?
Not to that extent, there was no need to refuse such a good deal.
Perhaps… he really had no time?
Zhang Lixian felt that it was a pity because she wanted to interview Boss Pei—not only for the Thriller Hostel and the transformation of the industrial zones—but also to understand more about Boss Pei’s views on investment.
Jingzhou TV reported on Thriller Hostel previously, but the effort was mediocre and did not elicit much response.
The main thing was that the content was not in place after reflecting on it.
The visit this time was to be done from another angle.
Most companies did not respond to the call to transform the old industrial zones and dared not invest in it because they were all afraid of taking risks.
However, Boss Pei was also an investor so why did he dare to invest in the old industrial zone? Was there any story behind that could be unearthed?
Everyone felt that they would be a good angle.
However, it was a pity that Boss Pei did not accept the interview.
“If Boss Pei does not have the time… why not change to someone else? Boss Pei was not the only investor of Thriller Hostel. There is Boss Li from Fu Hui Investments who invested a lot of capital,” A staff member suggested.
Another staff member also nodded in agreement. “Yes, you can interview Boss Li. The effect should be the same since he is also an investor.”
Zhang Lixian thought for a while and felt that really seemed to be a good alternative.
Boss Li of Fu Hui Investments also invested in the old industrial zones, which was also commendable. Moreover, he worked alongside Boss Pei so he should understand the inside story during the construction process.
Zhang Lixian found the phone number of Fu Hui Investments and successfully managed to contact Li Shi. She explained her intention: to arrange an exclusive interview to share their thoughts on investing in the old industrial zones and the reasons for their success.
Li Shi agreed over the phone.
Zhang Lixian was elated. “Boss Li, then shall we go to your office for the interview? Let me know a convenient time for you.”
Li Shi was silent for a moment over the phone. “If it is to introduce a successful investment experience… then I have a better location for the interview.
“Sloth Apartments at the Dawn of Prosperous City.”
Chapter 650 - The Philosophy Behind the Bickering Machine
September 13th, Tuesday…
Zhang Lixian brought the videographer from the Finance Channel with her and arrived at the unique-looking building in the Dawn of Prosperous City.
Li Shi was already waiting for them on the 11th story.
“Boss Li, how are you?!”
Zhang Lixian shook Li Shi’s hand affectionately before Li Shi led her and the videographer in.
Once she stepped into the empty living room, Zhang Lixian became stunned.
Was this… the new house that Boss Li had just moved into?
The four walls were bare, and it looked like he had just been robbed. How was he living here?
Zhang Lixian was extremely confused.
Before this, she had heard that Boss Li wanted to be interviewed in the Dawn of Prosperous City. She had thought that they would be visiting Boss Li’s home. After all, it was in this district, and so it could not have been an office.
Yet, after seeing this house, Zhang Lixian became even more confused.
How did this look like a house?
It did not look like it had been lived in at all.
Based on her knowledge, Bo
ss Li was already married, and his son was already in junior high school. Yet, this place did not show any signs of having been lived in by his wife or son.
In other words, Boss Li did not take this place as his home. Had he just rented an apartment in Sloth Apartments?
Why?
What was so special about this place?
Before Zhang Lixian could begin the interview, her mind was already filled with many questions.
Sensing her confusion, Li Shi smiled. “I know what you want to ask. Don’t worry, we can take our time to chat.”
There were a table and two chairs near the balcony, meant for people to drink tea at. It served as the perfect spot for the interview. The light shining through the full-length window would have caused a backlight in the camera, but Li Shi had adjusted the smart glass and resolved the problem.
This was not a formal news interview—it was closer to a discussion on camera. The program was lengthier, and the flow of the conversation was less restrained.
Zhang Lixian ran through the questions she had in her head as she studied the squarish black box on the coffee table.
What was that?
It caught her attention. The house was so big, but there were hardly any furnishings. Naturally, the black box on the coffee table looked particularly eye-catching.
Li Shi smiled. “I’ll explain this to you later.”
Zhang Lixian nodded and then decided to carry out the interview as she had planned. In any case, if she turned out unsatisfied with the end result, they could always redo it.
After putting all the preparations in place, the interviews officially began.
Zhang Lixian had many questions, such as why Boss Li set this place as the interview location, why there were so few furnishings in the house, what the black box was for, and so on. However, she found it most appropriate to start with the questions that she had prepared beforehand.
“Boss Li, one could say that you’re a veteran of the venture capital industry in Jingzhou—and perhaps all of Handong—and a witness to many finance legends. The establishment of your Fu Hui Investments has also helped many other businesses in Jingzhou, whether directly or indirectly.
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