The Crazy Son-In-Law

A few villagers joined forces to denounce Starline Bio in a video that quickly fermented online, pushing Starline Bio back into the limelight. This event once again roused the indignation of netizens, and even the company’s official website was hacked.

Inside the Stillwater Channel Six office.

Today, there were no interviews scheduled. Chu Hong sat idly at her desk, her ballpoint pen spinning and leaping between her slender fingers, elegantly and agilely. As the most daring senior reporter in the station, Chu Hong had gained some fame in Stillwater due to her frequent undercover investigations into dangerous grey areas, exposing various illegal activities hidden within.

She had a loyal following online, with her fans calling her the “Walking Camera” because of her frequent use of covert filming methods. Perhaps it was her vanity at work, but over time, she developed a slightly distorted mentality. Whenever she went undercover, she hoped to uncover some hidden misdeeds. If she found that her investigation target had no illegal actions, she felt somewhat disappointed.

Except for a recent visit to a hospital, she was not only not disappointed, but deeply moved. Having been a reporter for so long, she had formed an inertia of thinking, almost immediately assuming that the companies were at fault. This was also why she initially took the side of the villagers in her reporting. They were the underprivileged, and she felt that as a reporter, she should speak up for them.

But what she didn’t expect was that before the responsibility was determined, Xiao Shun not only paid for the villagers’ medical expenses, but he also personally treated the villagers. Most companies would choose to shirk responsibility when faced with such incidents, but he didn’t. Not only did he not shirk his responsibility, but he also treated the villagers himself.

Seeing him so tired that his face turned pale and his body was soaked with sweat, Chu Hong was genuinely moved by him. At least it proved he was a responsible person.

At this time, the website suddenly pushed her a piece of the latest news of the day. She inadvertently saw the words ‘Starline Bio’, and her pen unconsciously stopped. She opened the web page, and a video popped up instantly.

Inside a civilian’s house, a man and a woman were sitting side by side. The man had white temples and rough skin. He was the middle-aged man who had led the demand for Starline Bio’s compensation. The other was a somewhat plump middle-aged woman.

“Good afternoon to you both, I’m a reporter from ‘Truth’ newspaper. Can you introduce yourselves first? Lady first, please.” A young man in a grey suit, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, giving off a righteous vibe, held a notebook and pen in his hand and spoke to the two with a friendly smile.

Chu Hong frowned slightly. She didn’t seem to recall such a newspaper.

“I’m Wang Xia.” The middle-aged woman, presumably inexperienced in front of the camera, introduced herself rather reluctantly.

“I’m Liang Kaifang. We both live in this village.” The middle-aged man followed.

“What is your relationship?” asked the young reporter.

“Oh, we are neighbors.” Liang Kaifang replied.

“We all know that something happened in the village a few days ago, with nearly thirty people from your village hospitalized due to the wastewater discharged by Starline Bio. Can you tell us about the situation at the time?”

“We’re short on time, and everyone already knows the general situation. Let’s start from when everyone was hospitalized and focus on the key points.” The young reporter said kindly.

The two looked at each other, and Liang Kaifang started, “After our family members were sent to the hospital, several people had already passed out and were admitted to the intensive care unit.”

“Starline Bio did send someone, claiming to be their company leader. We’re all farmers, we don’t recognize these rich and powerful people. Who knew whether it was true or not. They said they would cover our medical expenses. At the time, we were very grateful. But once the environmental protection bureau stated it wasn’t their company’s responsibility, they asked for all the money back,” Liang Kaifang said, finishing with a helpless shake of his head.

“Such a large sum of money is too much for us to bear. Our lives have been severely affected now, and no one is taking responsibility for this matter. It’s really infuriating.”

“So, Starline Bio showed a problem-solving attitude when they learned that their company might have caused the poisoning of villagers, but they took back the funds they had provided after receiving the environmental protection bureau’s report. Essentially, they didn’t help you at all, right?” asked the young reporter.

“Correct,” Liang Kaifang replied.

“What do you all think of the results of the investigation given by the environmental protection bureau? Do you find it credible?” the young reporter continued.

“Of course not. Our illness was caused by the toxic wastewater discharged by Starline Bio. The factory has been next to our village for twenty years and there has never been a problem. I heard that they changed their boss and started to produce new products at the beginning of the year,” Wang Xia interjected passionately.

“Just as soon as they start producing a new product, our village falls into trouble. Their products are definitely problematic. I advise everyone, do not use their products, or else you’re helping the enemy.”

“They have money and power, and if something goes wrong, they can just spend some money to smooth things over. We are just ordinary people, our lives aren’t worth much. If we die, we probably deserve it.”

“Can I understand it this way, you think the environmental protection bureau was pressured? They intentionally whitewashed Starline Bio?” the young reporter asked incisively.Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

“We wouldn’t dare say that, we’re just ordinary people who can’t offend anyone,” Liang Kaifang replied.

Chu Hong had a chill watching this. She had no patience to continue watching. She could already guess the consequences if this interview was released. She quickly skimmed the comments below, and as expected, they were full of vicious insults against Starline Bio. The more she read, the more indignant she became.

Although she was not clear about what happened afterward, since the environmental protection bureau had already proven that it was not related to Starline Bio, wasn’t it natural for them to ask for the medical expenses back? And your lives were saved by them!

But she clearly felt that the two interviewed villagers were avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial, not mentioning a word about Xiao Shun treating them. It was absolutely reprehensible.

Compared to a company, these villagers were indeed the disadvantaged group. But that doesn’t mean they can take without giving. Chu Hong pondered for a moment, took a USB drive out of her bag. It contained footage she had recorded at the hospital. She thought it would be useless, but now it seemed to have some use.