Chapter 135: Legal Proceedings Initiated, Triple Compensation!
It was exactly 8 PM.
Dad and Mom brought ten dishes, five with meat and five vegetarian, all with perfect color and aroma, to the coffee table in the living room.
Although eating at home was a bit cramped, it felt more like home and was livelier.
Especially for a young lady like Du Ennan, who grew up in a wealthy family.
This was her first time participating in such a family-style gathering.
She felt it was much more interesting than being in a luxurious private room at a five-star hotel.
Xu Li, Du Ennan, and Mom, Jiang Xue sat on the soft and comfortable sofa.
Jiang Tao and his father brought small stools and sat opposite the others.
As the saying goes, three women can put on a play.
Tian Xiaomei, Xu Li, and Du Ennan went from strangers to friends in a very short time.
A topic about parenting brought the three of them closer.
“When I gave birth to our Xiao Tao back then, birth control checks were very strict.”
“After giving birth to Xiao Tao, his dad took my mother and me to my maternal home on a flatbed cart overnight.”
“My dad was also afraid of the family planning committee coming to our village, so he hid us in the root cellar.”
“Plus, it was the busy farming season, so there was no talk of confinement after childbirth.”
“Three days after giving birth, I was already in the fields with his dad picking corn.”
“Thinking back, what kind of hard life did we live back then!”
“Your generation has it much easier than we did back then.”
Mom looked at Du Ennan’s bulging belly, her thoughts drifting to her own pregnancy and postpartum confinement.
Before, they didn’t allow childbirth, but now it was completely reversed.
“Tao, when are you and Lili planning to have a second child?”
Dad also quietly chatted with Jiang Tao, resuming his nagging about having more children.
Their son had become successful.
Driving a luxury car worth millions and doing business worth millions.
Let alone a second child, they could afford to have a third or fourth!
If they can afford to have more, of course, they should have more.
This would also increase the probability of cultivating talent within the family in the future!
Look at Elon Musk, the foreign tycoon.
He already has enough children to form a soccer team but hasn’t stopped, still having more.
He has already had 14, and in his lifetime, he might have twenty or thirty.
Jiang Tao smiled and clinked glasses with his dad, saying, “We’re already working on it.”
“Then you, son, drink less alcohol and smoke less.”
Jiang Wen’s face showed a look of great comfort upon hearing his son’s words.
The old couple had always hoped Jiang Tao and Xu Li would have another healthy grandson.
Although the concept of preferring sons over daughters had faded, and the old couple doted on Jiang Xue,
they still felt that Jiang Tao and Xu Li not having a son was a lack.
The meal lasted from a little after 8 PM to 9:30 PM, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
After dinner, Mom started clearing the dishes, and Dad played with Jiang Xue in the living room.
Jiang Tao and Xu Li went out to see Du Ennan downstairs.
The three of them, chatting and laughing, arrived beside a silver-gray Bentley Bentayga.
The streamlined roof gleamed like liquid metal under the scattered light of the residential area’s streetlights.
It was as if the lights of the entire residential area were crushed and plated onto the curved body of the car.
Noble and magnificent!
Seeing Du Ennan’s car, Jiang Tao, who had felt he was already quite well-off, instantly felt his own poverty again!
That one car of hers was worth three or four of his!
“Lili, Jiang Tao, thank you for your hospitality tonight. This is the most enjoyable and interesting family dinner I’ve ever attended.”
As Du Ennan smiled and said goodbye to Jiang Tao and Xu Li, she pressed the car key in her hand.
The car’s headlights clicked on, like a dormant beast suddenly opening its eyes, incredibly sharp.
Xu Li smiled and said, “We’re also very happy that you could come, but next time you visit, don’t bring so many things. You’re too polite with us.”
“Haha, Lili, you’re mistaken about that.”
“Giving you gifts is not being distant from you; rather, it’s because I feel close to your family.”
“For friends with whom I have a casual relationship, let alone giving gifts, I wouldn’t even go to their homes for dinner.”
What Du Ennan said was the honest truth, with no exaggeration.
Ever since her father, Du Taiming, had organized a dinner for Jiang Tao’s family of three, she had met Xu Li.
They felt a sense of mutual appreciation and like they had met too late.
In just a few days, they had gone from new acquaintances to best friends and close sisters who shared everything.
Xu Li smiled and said, “Alright, you’re right no matter how you put it. Nevertheless, no more next time. It’s getting late, you should head home.”
“Do you really not need us to see you off? Are you sure you’ll be alright on your own?”
“I’ll be fine. Goodbye, Lili. Goodbye, Jiang Tao.”
After saying this, Du Ennan was about to open the car door to get in when Jiang Tao called out to her.
“Wait, Du Ennan!”
After hesitating for a long time tonight, Jiang Tao finally decided to take the opportunity to talk to Du Ennan about the Mercedes-Benz.
The sooner this matter was resolved, the more at ease he would feel, avoiding any potential complications.
Although he currently had evidence in hand, he wasn’t entirely confident of winning a lawsuit against the Mercedes-Benz 4S dealership.
“Hmm? What is it, Jiang Tao?”
Du Ennan turned to look at Jiang Tao, a slightly confused expression on her face.
Xu Li also looked at Jiang Tao curiously, waiting for him to continue.
Jiang Tao tried his best to speak in a calm tone and smiled:
“Ennan, there’s something that’s been weighing on my mind for a while, and I don’t know if I should ask you about it.”
Du Ennan laughed heartily, “Why are you being so formal with me? Ask whatever you want to ask, and I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“Then I’ll say it. This matter has been pressing on my mind, and I need to get it off my chest.”
After preemptively preparing Du Ennan, Jiang Tao said:
“Before the Spring Festival, the Mercedes-Benz GLS I won in your mall’s lucky draw had a small problem before I drove it home.”
“What? A new car with a problem?”
Du Ennan’s face showed a look of disbelief upon hearing Jiang Tao’s words.
“Yes, please let me finish.”
Jiang Tao continued, “The problem wasn’t big, but going through the warranty process at the 4S dealership would take many days, and I was in a hurry to get home and couldn’t wait.”
“So, I found a friend to do a simple repair for me, and then discovered something unusual.”
Du Ennan’s gaze became serious, and she pressed, “What unusual thing?”
Jiang Tao got straight to the point:
“My friend said that my car had previously undergone warranty service and had a repair record, meaning it was a used car returned by someone else.”
“What! It was a used car returned by someone else!”
Du Ennan’s voice rose significantly upon hearing this news from Jiang Tao, her face full of disbelief.
“Yes, it was indeed a used car. It drives fine, just like new.”
“I’m asking you this today to confirm if you knew about this.”
“If you knew, then forget it. We won’t talk about new or used. As long as the quality is fine, it doesn’t matter.”
“But if even you were kept in the dark, then the 4S dealership was dishonest.”
Jiang Tao spoke while observing Du Ennan’s facial expression.
Seeing her expression of shock mixed with a hint of anger, it was clear she was also unaware of this matter.
“Jiang Tao, I promise you, I genuinely didn’t know about this. I truly didn’t know the car given to you was a used car!”
After hearing Jiang Tao’s words, Du Ennan’s chest heaved with anger; she was genuinely furious!
To pay for a new car and receive a returned used car, who could tolerate that!
Xu Li, hearing Jiang Tao’s words, also looked surprised and angry.
Jiang Tao feigned surprise, “Uh, you didn’t know? Then was your mall deceived by the 4S dealership?”
“Jiang Tao, don’t worry, I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation for this matter!”
“Those dealers actually dared to scheme against us. I will definitely pursue this to the end!”
Du Ennan’s angry tone showed she was truly incensed.
It would be difficult for anyone to remain calm and composed in such a situation.
“Nannan, don’t get angry. It’s not good for you and the baby. We’ll solve problems when we encounter them. Getting angry doesn’t help solve anything.”
Seeing Du Ennan’s angry demeanor, Xu Li quickly took her hand and gently comforted her.
Jiang Tao also smiled and reassured her, “Xu Li is right. There’s no need to be angry about this, Ennan. You don’t need to blame yourself either; it’s not your fault at all.”
Du Ennan looked at Jiang Tao and solemnly promised:
“Thank you for your understanding, Jiang Tao. I truly didn’t know about this. Don’t worry, I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation.”
Jiang Tao smiled and said, “It’s okay even if you don’t give me an explanation. I’m just mentioning it, and the car drives fine anyway.”
“That won’t do! They actually schemed against our Wanxiang Hui!”
“I will not let them get away with this. Otherwise, they’ll think we’re easy to bully!”
Du Ennan huffed, “Our mall’s legal department isn’t just for show. This time, we’ll make them feel the pain!”
Jiang Tao didn’t put pressure on Du Ennan, saying:
“You handle this as you see fit. I don’t mind; I’ll accept any outcome.”
“Okay, when I get back, I’ll call the purchasing department and have them follow up on this first thing tomorrow morning!”
Du Ennan’s decisive style of handling matters was evident again tonight.
“By the way, Ennan, I have a copy of the previous maintenance record for that GLS on my phone, which my friend sent me.”
“Fortunately, I was a bit careful and saved that repair record picture.”
“After the Spring Festival, when my friend checked the maintenance records again, he found they had been deleted by Mercedes-Benz.”
Jiang Tao’s words were undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire for the Mercedes-Benz 4S dealership.
Du Ennan gritted her teeth and said, “Alright, Jiang Tao, send me the maintenance record you took. Those guys actually tried to erase evidence, how detestable!”
Xu Li, standing by, concerned, advised Du Ennan:
“Don’t be angry, don’t be angry, Nannan, don’t be angry. It’s not worth getting angry over this.”
“Okay, I’ve sent it to you.”
Jiang Tao took out his phone, sent the saved evidence to Du Ennan, and then put his phone back in his pocket.
“Great! I received it. It’s getting late, so I’ll head back now. Let’s meet up another day.”
“Yes, yes, Nannan, be careful on your way. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Du Ennan.”
Jiang Tao and Xu Li waved goodbye to Du Ennan.
They watched until she disappeared around the corner of the residential area’s road.
Only then did they turn their gazes back and walk towards their building.
“Honey, was our car really a problematic car?”
Xu Li, with her arm around Jiang Tao’s, asked with a worried expression.
Jiang Tao smiled and said, “It was a minor issue, and it’s been fixed. It doesn’t affect its use.”
Xu Li patted her ample chest and panted:
“That’s good. When I heard you say it was a problematic car just now, my heart almost jumped into my throat.”
“But if it doesn’t affect its use, why did you tell Nannan about it?”
After Xu Li finished speaking, she looked at Jiang Tao’s profile with curiosity.
Jiang Tao pinched Xu Li’s perky nose and smiled:
“Silly wife, for products like cars, if a 4S dealership dares to pass off inferior goods as quality ones, there’s a legal provision for returning the product and compensating three times the price.”
“Ah? Returning the product and compensating three times the price??”
Xu Li’s face immediately showed extreme surprise upon hearing Jiang Tao’s words.
“You mean, if it’s really found to have a problem, we can return our Mercedes-Benz and then get compensated three times the price?”
“My goodness, then we’ll have three Mercedes-Benz cars!”
“Uh…”
Jiang Tao was amused by his silly wife’s line of reasoning and explained with a smile:
“Silly wife, returning the product and compensating three times the price isn’t understood that way. It means they return our purchase price and then give us triple the compensation.”
“Ah?? Really!”
“Then, then our family will instantly make over 4 million!”
Hearing Jiang Tao’s explanation, Xu Li became even more excited and thrilled!
An opportunity to make a fortune of 4 million yuan was presented so magnificently.
Moreover, the success rate was almost over 90%!
Xu Li hugged Jiang Tao’s arm and swayed back and forth excitedly:
“Honey, then our family will be rich! With that money, we can afford to buy a house outright in Bai Ge Zhuang New Village!”
Jiang Tao said, half seriously and half jokingly:
“Who would buy a house here then? Let’s go buy a villa by Walden Lake and live in a villa.”
“Mmm, whatever you say, honey. Wherever you go, we’ll follow.”
Xu Li gently rested her head on Jiang Tao’s shoulder, a look of immense happiness on her face.
The couple, chatting and laughing, entered the elevator together and rode it to their room on the 16th floor.
As soon as they entered, Jiang Tao saw his dad already dozing on the sofa, so he told him to go back to his room to rest.
Jiang Xue was also sleepy and had school the next day, so Xu Li took her to bathe.
Then Mom bathed, and finally, it was Jiang Tao’s turn.
Sharing a single bathroom among the whole family was still somewhat inconvenient.
In the future, when they had money, they would have to buy a bigger villa!
…
11 PM.
Du Ennan drove her car into the integrated garage on the first floor of her villa.
She then entered the villa from the small door within the garage.
“Miss Du, you’re back.”
The nanny, who had been keeping the lights on and waiting in the living room, respectfully greeted Du Ennan upon her arrival.
“Wang Ma, you can go to bed now. I have some things to handle before going upstairs.”
“Alright, Miss Du. You should also rest early and not overwork yourself.”
After greeting Du Ennan, Wang Ma turned and went to the nanny’s room on the first floor.
Du Ennan walked a few steps to the large sofa by the coffee table and sat down.
She then found the phone number of Ma Le, the purchasing department manager of Wanxiang Hui, on her phone and called him.
The Mercedes-Benz GLS used in the lucky draw event had been procured by the purchasing department.
The purchasing department also bore significant responsibility for procuring substandard products.
Ring ring ring—
Although it was late at night, the call was answered after only a few rings, and a man’s voice responded.
“General Manager Du.”
Ma Le’s voice was calm, showing no emotion, and he dared not show any.
Du Ennan cut to the chase with Ma Le and directly said:
“Manager Ma, the Mercedes-Benz GLS our company procured for a promotion was a used car resold after being returned; you are aware of this matter.”
“What! A used car resold after being returned? This, this… this is impossible!”
On the other end of the phone, Ma Le was so scared his soul nearly departed his body upon hearing Du Ennan’s words!
As the purchasing manager, he was naturally aware of the value of that Mercedes-Benz GLS!
If a product worth over a million yuan had been passed off as new to him, his responsibility would be immense!
“I’ll send you a few photos. You’ll see for yourself.”
Du Ennan said as she operated her phone and sent 5 photos to Ma Le.
These 5 photos showed Jiang Tao’s Mercedes-Benz GLS, its chassis, nameplate, and engine number.
As well as the internet maintenance data that Jiang Tao had asked Li Ming to retrieve earlier.
The evidence was irrefutable.
“General Manager Du, this, this is fraud! I apologize, General Manager Du. It was my work error…”
After seeing the photos Du Ennan sent him, Ma Le was speechless, not knowing how to defend himself.
He was definitely going to be held accountable for such a significant work error!
“Manager Ma, I’m not calling you to hold you accountable.”
“According to Article 55 of the Consumer Rights Protection Law.”
“If the operator engages in fraudulent activities when providing goods or services, the consumer has the right to demand that the operator pay additional compensation for the losses suffered.”
“The compensation amount shall be three times the purchase price of the goods or the cost of the services received by the consumer.”
“This car was purchased by you. Contact the legal department and prepare to initiate legal proceedings.”
Du Ennan’s tone was cold, like a female officer commanding troops on a battlefield, issuing her orders.
As a mall operator, she dealt with thousands of consumers every day.
She was naturally well-versed in the provisions of the Consumer Rights Protection Law and compensation standards.
“Yes, General Manager Du! I’ll call Lawyer Fang first thing tomorrow morning!”
Ma Le had already cursed the ancestors of the sales manager of the 4S dealership they had previously cooperated with.
After ending the call with Du Ennan, Ma Le couldn’t wait until the next day and immediately dialed Fang Jing, the manager of the company’s legal department.
Fang Jing was stunned upon hearing Ma Le’s account of the situation.
He couldn’t understand how such a large Mercedes-Benz 4S dealership would do such a thing!
He was even more baffled as to why the other party would do something so foolish!
How did they dare!
But since the event had already occurred and was a fait accompli, Fang Jing no longer wasted brainpower pondering the other party’s motives.
“Manager Ma, don’t worry. In this case, the advantage is entirely on our side. It’s a sure thing!”
Fang Jing, having seen the maintenance record Ma Le forwarded to his phone, felt the matter was already a foregone conclusion with no suspense.
Moreover, based on his many years of professional experience,
the Mercedes-Benz 4S dealership probably didn’t want to escalate the matter into a public sensation or a trending topic.
Ultimately, this was their fault.
If the matter escalated, they would still have to compensate, and their reputation, even potentially the reputation of the Mercedes-Benz brand, could be affected!
If it reached that point, the other party’s losses would be even greater!
If the other side wasn’t foolish, the rights-protection activities tomorrow would definitely proceed smoothly, a clear win-win situation.
Ma Le and Fang Jing agreed to go to the Mercedes-Benz 4S dealership together to protect their rights the next day, and after discussing some specific details, they finally ended the call.
…
Meanwhile.
In Ping County, Jiang Family Village, in the second bedroom of Jiang Tao’s house.
Jiang Bing looked at the increasing number of orders on various platforms, her face showing the expression of a little money-grubber.
“Taobao sold a total of 2155 sets today.”
“Little Red Book sold 1338 sets, totaling 3493 sets!”
“Second Brother is truly like Zhuge Liang reincarnated, predicting things with divine accuracy! He bet on another winner again!”
“These stainless steel cups are selling so well!”
“We’re getting rich, we’re getting rich! We’re going to get rich with Second Brother again this time!”
Looking at her shop’s performance today, Jiang Bing excitedly rubbed her hands, as if she could already see countless banknotes flying towards her.
The cost price of the stainless steel cups was 29.9 yuan, and the selling price was 59.9 yuan.
For each set sold, she made 30 yuan.
After deducting the 5 yuan express delivery fee, the net profit was still 25 yuan.
Jiang Bing received a 20% net profit share per set, which amounted to 5 yuan.
With a total of 3493 sets sold today, Jiang Bing’s share alone was 17,465 yuan!
And this was just her revenue from the stainless steel cups!
Driven by the hot sales of the stainless steel cups, the sales of other products in her online store had also significantly increased.
Jiang Bing’s daily income now exceeded 20,000 yuan!
“A daily income of 20,000, I, Jiang Bing, have become successful!”
“I must hold onto Second Brother’s golden thigh tightly from now on!”
Using a calculator, she crunched the numbers.
After calculating her earnings for the day, Jiang Bing instantly felt re-energized and wasn’t sleepy at all!
In the past, without Jiang Tao’s guidance, she had worked alone and her average monthly income was only seven to eight thousand yuan.
Now, by following Jiang Tao, she earned in one day what she used to earn in two months!
Jiang Bing had now become a devoted fan of her second brother, regarding him as her most admired idol!
“After this project is finished, I’ll take a break for myself too.”
“Then I’ll go to the Capital City to visit Dad, Mom, Second Brother, and Second Sister-in-law for a few days.”
“Speaking of which, I haven’t been to the Capital City in a long time.”
Glancing at the computer clock in the bottom right corner, it was past midnight. It was very late.
Jiang Bing stretched, went to the bathroom to take a shower, and then returned to her room wearing light pajamas.
Lying in bed, she couldn’t sleep.
Finally, she couldn’t resist starting a “little movie.”
