Chapter 113: The First Shot

Knock knock knock— a series of knocks at the door.

“Come in!”

Du Qiu turned his head towards the doorway as his secretary, Wen Siqing, walked in.

Upon seeing Sun Hongming by the window, Wen Siqing immediately said, “Mr. Sun is also here. I just found an article online that attacks Director Du.”

Du Qiu was taken aback and asked, “Does it attack me by name?”

Wen Siqing handed over a document to Du Qiu, saying, “I’ve printed the article for you to see.”

Du Qiu took it and upon seeing the title, he laughed, “Hah, they really won’t rest until they surprise you. They even accuse me of plagiarizing research papers and academic fraud!”

Sun Hongming’s heart chilled, and he hurriedly walked over, leaning in to read the article with Du Qiu.

Du Qiu quickly finished reading and said with a mocking smile, “Secretary Wen, notify the legal department to prepare a lawyer’s letter.

This kind of self-media influencer—I’ll sue them into bankruptcy! It’s my contribution to the construction of our country’s legal system.”

Sun Hongming asked, “The paper mentioned in the article was published during your Ph.D. studies. These listed instances of alleged plagiarism seem quite detailed.”

“That’s where they are cunning. These parts, when taken out of context, do indeed look like plagiarism. But in fact, they are legitimate citations in my paper, complete with references,” Du Qiu explained.

Sun Hongming frowned and said, “Director Du, this kind of misinterpretation is intentional smearing. I’m afraid they want to use a lawsuit against you to gain fame. Even if they lose the lawsuit, they’ll have gained notoriety.”

Wen Siqing agreed, “Yes, I saw that the article is already being reposted in many places, and it’s shooting up the trending lists rapidly.”

“Brother Sun, it seems certain forces can’t wait any longer. This is the first shot fired at us. We need to find a way to identify the true mastermind behind this.”

Du Qiu got up as he spoke, telling Wen Siqing, “Secretary Wen, please invite Director Yuan over.”

After a short while, Yuan Minhua had arrived.

Wen Siqing had already informed her of the situation, so as soon as she entered, she hurriedly said, “Director Du, we need to immediately form an emergency public relations team to manage this incident comprehensively and minimize the negative impact.”

“Sister Yuan, do you think we have someone suitable within the company to lead this PR team?”

“The newly appointed marketing director, Liu Sichen, is a good candidate. He has handled several crisis PR situations very effectively in his previous company.”

The marketing department was a newly established division to standardize the marketing operations of each subsidiary company and product line.

Du Qiu immediately called Wen Siqing’s desk phone, “Secretary Wen, notify marketing director Liu Sichen to come to my office. Also, please have Lawyer Song from the legal department come as well.”

Soon after, a meeting was held in Du Qiu’s office.

Sun Hongming gave an overview of the whole situation before saying, “Don’t view this matter in isolation.

The entire group’s product lines are the most cutting-edge in their respective fields and offer extreme value for money. With the company’s current trajectory, it will eventually become a giant in the field.

As latecomers to the market, we will inevitably be seen as a threat by the established market leaders, and they will use various measures to suppress us.”

Liu Sichen, a man close to 40 with extensive marketing experience, both in foreign enterprises and private companies, had joined Dream Technology just a week prior and was still acclimating to the products.

After hearing Sun Hongming’s comments, he couldn’t help but ask, “Mr. Sun, our products have just entered the market. Have our competitors reacted so quickly? And are they using such lowly tactics? Is this not too childish?”

Sun Hongming shook his head, “Director Liu, you joined late, so you might not be fully aware. Director Du is not only the founder but also the technical leader of our company. All of our products are designed and invented by Director Du.

An attack on Director Du’s reputation is a direct doubt on the performance of our products. Plus, our products’ position in the industry necessitates that competitors curb our growth as soon as possible.

If we manage to capture enough market share, it will be too late for our competitors.”

Du Qiu added, “Director Liu, there’s another point. Our products represent the core strength of our nation’s industrial 4.0, and considering the current international situation, it’s clear there are foreign powers eager to suppress us while we’re still emerging.”

Liu Sichen was already impressed by the company’s product technologies and was confident about his future marketing strategies.

Never before had he encountered products with such high prospects during his career.

However, he had not made the immediate connection between the products and Du Qiu, which was why he found the situation somewhat odd.

“I understand, both of you,” he replied.

“Good,” Sun Hongming continued, “Since you understand, Director Yuan recommended you to lead our emergency public relations team.

You’ll handle the defamation against Director Du and all future malicious attacks or traps set against the company.

The overall principle is to minimize the event’s negative impact on the company and to promote the positive aspects of the company.

Whatever resources you need in terms of personnel or finances, the company will fully support you.”

Liu Sichen felt a surge of trust, and as a newcomer, he immediately promised, “Rest assured, both of you, I will not fail this mission!”

Du Qiu said, “I don’t need to know the specifics of your strategy, but the result I’m looking for is this: Dream Technology represents our country’s advanced technology, and its products are among the very best in the world.”

“Understood, and Director Du is a scientist and entrepreneur devoted to our country,” Liu Sichen nodded in agreement.

“Heh, your words are making me feel a bit over the moon, Director Liu,” Du Qiu joked.

Laughter briefly lightened the atmosphere in the otherwise serious office setting.

Yuan Minhua smiled and added, “Director Liu is not wrong. Based on our company’s products filling domestic gaps and serving as substitutes for imports, each one meticulously developed under Director Du’s leadership, he truly deserves the description ‘devoted to our country.'”

“All right, Director Liu, get on with dealing with this first case of malicious attack against me. Oh, and there are quite a few reporters outside waiting, you might as well call them together for a press conference,” said Du Qiu.

Liu Sichen nodded, “Exactly what I was thinking. Would the two of you like to attend?”

“Brother Sun, your presence will suffice.”

Du Qiu did not wish to meet with these reporters; he would rather spend the time conducting more experiments.

Following the establishment of Dream Technology’s emergency public relations team, the company swiftly responded, holding a press conference and issuing a clarification statement.

The company not only sent a lawyer’s letter to a certain so-called opinion leader demanding a public apology and compensation, but also sued them for defamation.

The statement required all reposting websites and media to delete the content immediately, or be treated as accomplices.

At the press conference, Dream Technology confirmed that its carbon fiber new production process was indeed invented by the group’s R&D center, led by Dr. Du Qiu.

Moreover, the previous project, Tiangong Number One, was completed within three months under Dr. Du Qiu’s leadership.

In short, after the press coverage, people easily formed the impression based on previous reports that Du Qiu is a young scientist with outstanding achievements.