Internal Fractures

Liu Hai, the regional manager for East China at Dongbei Catering, had his phone vibrate at midnight.

He had just come out of a newly opened barbecue restaurant, still smelling of charcoal and cumin. He had drunk some alcohol with some suppliers that evening and was feeling a bit dizzy. He had intended to go straight home to sleep, but seeing the name on the caller ID sobered him up a bit.

He is Zhang Tao, one of the store managers under his command.

"Mr. Liu, I'm sorry to bother you so late." Zhang Tao's voice was very low, and the background noise was very quiet, so he must be at home. "There's something... I need to report to you."

Liu Hai rubbed his temples, walked to a sycamore tree by the roadside, away from the noise of the street, and said, "Speak."

"I've heard rumors that reporters might be conducting an undercover investigation," Zhang Tao said, his voice even lower. "Not official media, but those self-media outlets that specialize in exposing food safety issues. It seems they're inquiring about our central kitchen and store delivery."

Liu Hai's heart sank. "Which store specifically?"

"It's not certain yet. But I heard they got hold of some of our internal data... like cold chain logistics delivery records and central kitchen production reports."

"Who leaked it?" Liu Hai's voice suddenly turned cold.

"I don't know," Zhang Tao said. "Mr. Liu, this could be a big deal or a small one. What if it gets exposed and they say our 'freshly made' is fake, and we're using pre-made ingredients...?"

"I know," Liu Hai interrupted him, "Stay calm and don't panic. I'll handle it when I get back to the company tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Liu Hai stood by the roadside. The night wind blew by, and the effects of the alcohol completely wore off, leaving only cold sweat.

He took out a cigarette and lit it after three tries. He took a deep drag, and the smoke dissipated under the streetlight.

Liu Hai is 42 years old and has worked at Dongbei for 15 years. He started as a frontline waiter, worked his way up to store manager, then regional supervisor, and three years ago was promoted to regional manager for East China, overseeing more than 30 stores. Zheng Dong appreciates him, saying he is "hardworking, dedicated, and driven."

But only Liu Hai himself knew how hot that "regional manager" chair was.

Last year, the company began to fully implement the standardization of the central kitchen, ostensibly to "ensure consistent taste and improve efficiency." In reality, it simply meant changing most of the dishes to pre-made meal kits, so that stores only needed to reheat and plate them. Among the more than 30 stores managed by Liu Hai, from shopping district stores to community stores and service area stores, the proportion of pre-made dishes ranged from 40% to 80%.

At the meeting, Zheng Dong slammed his fist on the table and exclaimed, "This is the industry trend! It's the inevitable path to cost reduction and efficiency improvement!"

No one dared to refute it.

But problems arose. Pre-made dishes tasted different from freshly cooked dishes, and regular customers could tell the difference. With more customer complaints and negative reviews, the store manager couldn't withstand the pressure and could only try different ways to "improve" them—for example, by heating up the meal kits, adding some fresh scallions, and drizzling hot oil to make them look better.

His Liu Hai were sandwiched in the middle. Headquarters needed to achieve sales targets and control costs; stores needed to maintain a good reputation and ensure customer satisfaction. He was like a patcher, fixing whatever was broken.

He learned about the service area video incident immediately. He was initially relieved—thankfully, it wasn't a problem in his jurisdiction. But he didn't expect Zheng Dong's reaction to be so strong.

Deleting videos, suppressing bloggers, sending lawyer's letters, hiring online trolls, and even threatening people at their homes... This series of measures not only failed to quell the storm but actually made the fire burn even brighter.

Now even independent media outlets are eyeing it.

Liu Hai took another drag of his cigarette, recalling the regional manager meeting from last month. Several regional managers had subtly mentioned at the meeting that the high proportion of pre-prepared meals was causing significant customer loss. What did Zheng Dong say at the time?

"What we're losing are price-sensitive, low-end customers; what we need is a mid-to-high-end customer base. Standardization is an inevitable trend, and growing pains are unavoidable, but we'll get through it."

Get through it? How?

The cigarette burned his fingers, and Liu Hai abruptly flicked the butt away and stomped it out. He took out his phone and opened an industry group. The group was called "Catering People's Insider Reference," and it was full of middle managers from various catering companies who usually exchanged industry news and occasionally complained about their companies.

At 1 a. m., people were still chatting in the group. The topic happened to be "pre-made meals".

[A purchasing agent for a chain hot pot restaurant said: "Who doesn't use pre-prepared food these days? Labor costs are high, rent is high, how can we survive without pre-prepared food?"]

[A fast-food brand's operations manager: "We use it, but we say it outright. 'Delicious, factory-direct,' that's how we advertise it."]

[A chef at a high-end restaurant: "Our kitchen still insists on making everything to order, but the costs are indeed high, so we can't lower the prices."]

Liu Hai stared at the screen, his finger hovering over the input box for a long time before finally typing a line:

["What if you use pre-made dishes but advertise them as 'freshly made' and customers find out?"]

send.

The group chat was silent for a few seconds.

Then someone replied:

"What else can we do? Either we stubbornly refuse to admit it, or we accept our defeat, apologize, and pay compensation."

"Blindly confronting the risks is too high; social media is too powerful now, and it's easy to make a mistake."

"Our boss always said, 'Either don't lie, or lie in a way that makes it believable.'"

"The comment upstairs is insightful. The key is whether the company has the ability to make a lie believable."

Liu Hai felt a wave of nausea as he read the replies.

How can Zheng Dong make his lies be believable? Does he think deleting a few videos, suppressing a few bloggers, and forcing apologies will make his lies believable?

He recalled Zheng Dong's impassioned speech at last year's annual meeting, "Dongbei's foundation lies in the word 'integrity'! We are honest with our customers, honest with our employees, and honest with society!"

The audience erupted in applause.

But only these regional managers know how much of the "fresh ingredient purchase ratio" report submitted each month is inflated. In order to meet their targets, store managers break down the cost of the meal kits, listing part as "ingredients" and part as "seasonings," since the headquarters finance department only looks at the total and won't scrutinize the details.

Everyone is lying; it's an unspoken understanding.

My phone vibrated again; it was a private message from Zhang Tao:

"Mr. Liu, I just heard that those self-media outlets seem to have contacted some of our former employees. They might be people from our central kitchen or logistics department."

Liu Hai closed his eyes briefly.

Former employees. This is the most troublesome. Employees who are still employed are afraid of losing their jobs and dare not say anything. Former employees, however, have no such scruples.

He replied, "Okay. I'll be back at the company first thing tomorrow morning. Wait for my message."

Putting down his phone, Liu Hai stood on the street late at night, looking at the empty road. In the distance, neon lights flickered, marking the Dongbei's sign—red background with white lettering, the eight characters "Fresh Ingredients, Cooked to Order" standing out prominently in the night.

He suddenly felt a sense of irony.

The next morning at 10:00 AM, at Dongbei headquarters, in a small conference room.

Liu Hai arrived ten minutes early, and he was the only one in the conference room. He sat by the window, watching the traffic on the street below, his mind a jumble of thoughts.

He barely slept last night. He tossed and turned, wondering if he should tell Zheng Dong the truth. He thought that the proportion of pre-prepared dishes was too high, customers were complaining, and now even social media was watching. If he continued to stubbornly resist, things might get out of hand.

But even if I told Zheng Dong, would he listen?

At the last meeting, Zheng Dong was so determined to "protect the brand at all costs" that no one could persuade him otherwise.

The door opened, and the other regional managers came in one after another. Old Chen from the North China region, Sister Li from the South China region, and Little Zhao from the Southwest region... they were all familiar faces. They nodded to each other, didn't say much, and found seats.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

At exactly ten o'clock, Zheng Dong pushed open the door and came in, followed by his secretary. He was wearing a dark blue suit today, and his hair was neatly combed, but the dark circles under his eyes were undeniable, clearly indicating that he hadn't slept well.

"Let's begin." Zheng Dong sat down and got straight to the point, "Each district will report on their business performance last month. North China will go first."

Old Chen opened his notebook and began reading the data. Revenue increased slightly, average order value remained the same, customer traffic declined slightly... These were all standard statements, sounding fine, but upon closer inspection, each indicator seemed barely acceptable.

Zheng Dong listened attentively, occasionally asking questions such as, "Have you analyzed the reasons for the decline in passenger traffic?"

"I've analyzed it," Old Chen said. "The main reason is increased competition in the business district; two new restaurants of the same type have opened. Also... it might be related to recent public opinion."

How far-reaching is the impact of this public opinion crisis?

"We monitored customer complaints and negative reviews at our stores, and the proportion of complaints about 'pre-made dishes' being 'not fresh' was about 15% higher than usual. However, the overall number is not large and is still within a controllable range."

Zheng Dong grunted in response, but didn't say anything more.

Next came the South China region, the Southwest region... the situation was largely the same. Revenue growth was sluggish, cost pressures were increasing, and customer traffic was generally declining. Everyone mentioned "the impact of public opinion," but they were very cautious in their wording, only saying "there may be a connection" or "this factor cannot be ruled out."

Now it's Liu Hai' turn.

He took a deep breath and opened his report, "Revenue in East China decreased by 4.1% month-on-month and remained flat year-on-year. Average transaction value increased by 2%, but customer traffic decreased by 6.5%. There are three main reasons: first, weak consumption after the Spring Festival; second, three new competing stores opening nearby; and third..."

He paused.

Zheng Dong looked up at him. "What's three?"

"Thirdly," Liu Hai met Zheng Dong's gaze, "Customers' acceptance of pre-prepared meals is lower than we expected. Especially in some established restaurants, the feedback from regular customers is quite obvious, saying that the taste is not as good as before, the meat is dry, and the vegetables are not crisp. The proportion of negative reviews mentioning 'pre-prepared meals' or 'kitchen kits' has increased by 30% compared to the previous period."

The meeting room fell silent.

All eyes turned to Liu Hai, then secretly glanced at Zheng Dong.

Zheng Dong's expression remained unchanged, but he lightly tapped his finger on the table. "What's the solution?"

"We've run several customer appreciation events, like giving away fruit platters and discount coupons, but the results have been limited," Liu Hai said, forcing a smile. "I think... the fundamental problem lies with the product itself. If customers don't like the taste, giving away more freebies won't help."

"So you mean," Zheng Dong slowly began, "That we should abandon the central kitchen and go back to the old model of each store buying, cooking, and selling on the spot?"

Liu Hai's scalp tingled. "Chairman Zheng, that's not what I meant. Central kitchens are the future, and I completely agree with that. But... could the proportions be adjusted? For example, in shopping district stores and community stores, could we retain some freshly cooked dishes to meet the needs of our regular customers? Service area stores and high-speed rail station stores can use more pre-prepared dishes due to objective limitations, but in terms of advertising... could we be a little more flexible?"

"Be more flexible?" Zheng Dong repeated these four words, his voice very soft, but the atmosphere in the conference room became even more tense. "How can we be flexible? Tell customers that our shops in commercial areas cook to order, while our shops in service areas use pre-made food? What will customers think? They'll feel that we're treating them differently, that we're deceiving them!"

"But Chairman Zheng," Old Chen from the North China region couldn't help but speak up, "The current situation is that we're stubbornly sticking to the 'freshly made' advertising, but we can't actually deliver, and customers are becoming increasingly dissatisfied. Negative reviews are piling up, and customer traffic is dropping. Shouldn't we consider... a gradual adjustment? For example, piloting it in some stores first, reducing the proportion of pre-made dishes, and seeing the customer feedback..."

"A pilot program?" Zheng Dong interrupted him. "How long will the pilot program last? Three months? Six months? If revenue continues to decline during this period, how will we explain it to the shareholders? How will we explain it to the board of directors?"

Old Chen fell silent.

Zheng Dong scanned the people present, his gaze sharp as a knife. "I know you're under pressure. I'm under even more pressure than you! But let me tell you, Dongbei has come this far because of those four words: 'freshly made'! This is our foundation, our lifeline! Now someone wants to undermine our foundation, and we can't afford to be the first to waver!"

He paused, then raised his voice. "Why am I taking that video so seriously? Because this isn't just a matter of evaluation; someone is trying to shake our very foundation! If we admit to using pre-prepared food today, tomorrow someone will dare say we're using gutter oil! The day after tomorrow, someone will dare say we're using pork from diseased or dead pigs! At that point, Dongbei will truly be finished!"

The conference room was completely silent.

The only sound was the hissing of air coming out of the air conditioner vents.

Liu Hai kept his head down, staring at the dense data on the laptop screen, unable to concentrate on a single word.

He knew that Zheng Dong was no longer willing to listen. Any suggestion regarding "adjustments" or "pilot programs" would be interpreted as "wavering" or "retreating."

"The problems in the East China region," Zheng Dong looked at Liu Hai again, "You need to find a solution. A 6.5% drop in passenger traffic is unacceptable. I want to see improvement next month."

"Yes," Liu Hai replied in a low voice.

"And another thing," Zheng Dong added, "You just said that some self-media outlets are inquiring about central kitchen and delivery data?"

Liu Hai's heart tightened. "Yes, I heard it from the store manager, but we're still verifying the details."

"Investigate," Zheng Dong said. "Find out who's behind this. If it's a competitor, gather evidence and prepare a counterattack. If it's someone within the company betraying us..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.

"Understood," Liu Hai said.

The meeting ended in a tense atmosphere. People left the meeting room one after another, their steps hurried, and no one spoke.

Liu Hai was walking last. Just as he was about to leave, Zheng Dong called him back.

"You Liu Hai grow your bangs out."

Only the two of them remained in the conference room. Zheng Dong walked to the window, turned his back to him, and looked out the window.

"Do you think I was too harsh in the meeting just now?" Zheng Dong asked, his tone softening somewhat.

"No, Chairman Zheng. You're right, the foundation cannot be shaken," Liu Hai said.

Zheng Dong turned around and looked at him. "I know you're under pressure. But you have to understand, at this critical juncture, we can't back down. If we do, we'll be falling off a cliff."

"I see."

"Regarding that self-media outlet," Zheng Dong walked back to the conference table, tapping the surface with his finger, "You'll keep a close eye on it personally. If it's a competitor, let me know. If it's an internal issue..."

He paused, his voice turning cold. "Those who need to be dealt with will be dealt with ruthlessly."

Liu Hai felt a chill run down his spine and nodded. "Understood."

After leaving the meeting room, Liu Hai returned to his office, closed the door, leaned against it, and let out a long sigh.

My phone vibrated; it was WeChat from Zhang Tao:

"Mr. Liu, I've found out. The social media account that contacted the former employees is called ' Speaking Food Truthfully,' it's a new account, but it seems to have a seasoned journalist behind it. They asked very detailed questions, even about how many meal kits the central kitchen produces each day."

Liu Hai stared at that message for a long time.

Then he replied, "Okay. Don't tell anyone, wait for my message."

He put down his phone and walked to the window. From this angle, he could see the Dongbei sign shining brightly in the sunlight on the street below.

Fresh ingredients, cooked to order.

The eight words, like eight heavy weights, pressed down on his heart.

He recalled a comment from the group chat last night, "Either don't lie, or lie in a way that makes it believable."

Dongbei chose the latter.

But now, this lie is about to fall apart.