When this Weibo post was first published, it was so outrageous that the comments were immediately flooded with ridicule.
Before the fans could even have a chance to say anything, opponents and haters couldn't stand it anymore and came over to fill the comment section.
"Who bought this marketing account? Everyone is bashing it. Can you be more professional?"
"There's no need to expose this kind of fake information that's obvious at a glance. Their company took the opportunity to clarify the matter, showing their real salary slips to slap their faces and whitewash themselves, and to gain a wave of goodwill. Isn't this just a disservice?"
"Can you please be more careful with your photo editing? There is no column for monthly salary or bonus? A new assistant can get this much. It's okay to make up some negative information, but can you at least have some common sense?"
"Is it thirty thousand? At least the decimal point is correct, and we can use it as evidence... How can we attack this? Condemn Sui Si Studio for openly dreaming in broad daylight, a modern slave plantation, and Special Assistant Yu, you're going to be kidnapped, so just blink?"
The haters were originally very enthusiastic, but after being disturbed by this bizarrely fake Weibo post, they all lost interest and reluctantly stopped, waiting for Sui Si's studio to give an official clarification.
An hour later, there was no movement on the official Weibo of Sui Si Studio.
It seemed as if they were completely unaware of the online turmoil. The official Weibo account didn’t even have any record of being online. The most recent Weibo post was still about the schedule promotion for recording a new variety show.
Two hours later, the studio still hadn't responded.
In the third hour, the sky had begun to brighten, traffic was gradually increasing, and the number of searches related to this Weibo post climbed rapidly, stopping at the fourth place in the hot searches.
Fans could no longer remain calm, and flooded the studio's backstage with private messages and comments. Looking at the studio's official Weibo account which had remained silent, they finally had an extremely ominous premonition from the bottom of their hearts.
Sui Si's studio has always responded calmly and efficiently, and has always dealt with public opinion storms at the first moment. Why did it suddenly fail to meet the standards to such an extent this time
What happened to Special Assistant Yu
Obviously, this kind of low-level black material can be easily reversed by releasing the real salary... Why has no clarification statement been released until now
…
Sui Si's studio was in a mess.
The head of the PR department jumped ship, taking a group of capable employees with him. Now there is no one in the studio who can handle the public opinion perfectly, and the new head has not been decided yet, so they have to temporarily outsource to a professional team responsible for PR.
After receiving a clear reply from the studio, the leader of the other team remained silent for a few minutes and then logged off neatly.
When I called again, the other party refused to answer the call, and I paid a one-time penalty for canceling all cooperation.
"What's going on?!" Sui Si was stunned when he received Nie Chi's video call, "How could it turn out like this!"
He was already on his way to the program crew to participate in the recording. If he turned back now to deal with this matter, he would have to pay a huge penalty for breach of contract.
Sui Si couldn't understand. He didn't believe that Yu Tang had only received such a small amount of money in all these years. "Maybe the Finance Department made a mistake! Go check it again and make sure it's clear—"
"Mr. Sui," Nie Chi asked, "Has Special Assistant Yu changed his contract in recent years?"
Sui Si was stumped by his question, and the following words were stuck in his throat.
"I have shown here that Yu Te Assistant has always been in the original labor contract."
Nie Chi said: "There is only an agreed salary compensation, no insurance, benefits, provident fund, and it is not subject to the minimum wage standard."
Nie Chi asked him, "Do you know how much Special Assistant Yu was paid when he signed the contract?"
"How should I know?" Sui Si gritted his teeth, "It was signed by the agent of the company. I have never been involved in this. They negotiated the contract themselves..."
Nie Chi nodded and said nothing.
Sui Si had already seen the trending searches, and the one night delay had allowed public opinion to ferment thoroughly. Now many people had changed their attitudes and began to suspect that this outrageous salary slip might not be forged.
Several digital bloggers who specialize in identifying pictures have conducted a comprehensive analysis of the photos, whether it is light and shadow, clarity, character spacing, or analyzing image codes and reversing historical layers, but they have not been able to find any traces of photo-editing.
The popularity has not yet completely soared, but it is because the whole thing is too unreasonable.
Even though all the evidence points to the photo being real, most people still can't believe that such a thing could happen in a modern society ruled by law. Many passers-by still have reservations, and are more inclined to believe that the studio's finance department made a mistake in issuing the salary slip, or that there were some other omissions in the process.
Cold sweat had already seeped out of Sui Si's palms.
Yu Tang did tell him that his contract was the same one that year and it had not been changed until now.
The contract did not involve any administrative liability, and no official work certificate could be issued. There was no way to protect Yu Tang from being maliciously targeted by his agent using electric shocks, nor could it allow Yu Tang to legally settle down with a work visa.
He thought this was the limit.
Sui Si never thought that Yu Tang only received such a pitiful salary every month during all the years he followed him.
"I don't know... I really don't know."
Sui Si said in a hoarse voice: "I didn't think it through. I didn't think about it. My agent didn't mention it to me at the beginning, and Yu Tang himself didn't say anything. I didn't think he was short of money, so I didn't ask him in detail..."
On the other side of the screen, Nie Chi stopped what he was doing and looked up at him.
Sui Si clutched the phone, his head buzzing with excitement at Nie Chi's gaze: "You don't believe it?!"
"You think I'm making excuses too?!" Sui Si asked harshly. He didn't lie, and his voice was much louder because of anger. "The studio has been on the right track for a long time. Why is his salary missing? Why would I deduct that little bit of salary? He—"
"You misunderstood, Mr. Sui."
Nie Chi interrupted him: "I was just wondering if what you just said could be used as an official statement to calm the situation."
Sui Si was slightly shocked, and the blood color on his face faded away.
He opened his mouth but no words came out, and his rationality gradually returned.
…Don’t talk about calming the situation.
Yu Tang has not been able to modify his contract over the years. He has no basic insurance and benefits, and only earns a few thousand yuan a month... because he, as the boss, does not understand the specific situation.
I didn’t know at the time, and I forgot to ask in the past five years.
It was not until Yu Tang suddenly resigned and last month's salary slip was accidentally discovered because it was not collected in time that he was the last one to know the salary status of his special assistant.
…
Even Sui Si wondered what effect such a statement would have.
If an ordinary employee was treated like this and the news was exposed online, the employer would be heavily criticized, not to mention Yu Tang, a core member of the studio who played an important role.
Sui Si had a severe headache. He knew that if this matter was confirmed, the negative public opinion it might cause would be very serious. He was confused for a moment: "Now... what is the solution?"
"The best way is to contact Special Assistant Yu," Nie Chi said, "and see if he is willing to cooperate with us and issue a statement to explain the matter clearly."
Sui Si gritted his teeth, not allowing himself to think about the strangeness and alienation on Yu Tang's face when he met him at W&P, which was enough to torture him to death: "Impossible... Find another way."
"I admit my negligence in work over the years and accept all criticism and supervision from the outside world."
Nie Chi said: "This matter is just a serious lack of morality, but as long as Mr. Yu does not pursue it, it can be judged not to be illegal."
Nie Chi: "At the same time, we will recalculate the salary Mr. Yu deserves for these years based on the overtime hours or workload as soon as possible."
Sui Si stared at him in disbelief: "Are you crazy?"
Doing so would be tantamount to slapping himself in the face, admitting that the studio had been unreasonably exploiting Yu Tang for so many years. Once this matter was thoroughly determined, at least in the short term, his reputation would deteriorate sharply, and it would take at least five years to recover.
All his efforts and plans for the future would be completely ruined by this damn pay slip.
Sui Si couldn't understand why this highly paid professional manager would consider such a suicidal method as a backup plan.
"Admitting it in public, have you ever thought about the consequences?" Sui Si's voice was hoarse, he looked at Nie Chi, "Do you think this is your business, apologize, admit a mistake, and then continue to sell what you want to sell in the future? Do you know that in this circle—"
"I understand." Nie Chi nodded, "Use your entertainment industry's methods to pay hush money and keep the peace."
Sui Si opened his mouth, but the sound disappeared in his throat.
He felt as if he had swallowed a piece of red-hot charcoal. The heat burned his throat and went all the way down to his chest. The intense feeling of shame almost completely broke him down.
He was speechless, his chest heaving violently, and he stood there with a hideous and desperate look like a trapped beast.
Nie Chi asked: "How much money are you going to give Mr. Yu?"
Sui Si didn't move, as if he didn't hear what he said.
"Mr. Yu signed a labor contract. If he goes through the official channel and applies for labor arbitration, he only needs to be compensated according to the same basic salary level."
Nie Chi: "But if it's hush money, I suggest you pay double the price that other studios offered to Mr. Yu."
Sui Si heard his own voice: "Other studios... what's the price?"
He has been avoiding the question.
The last time Nie Chi mentioned it, he was interrupted forcefully, as if as long as he didn't listen, he wouldn't have to realize what kind of opportunity he had lost.
He didn't expect that after so many twists and turns, this question would be forced back to him at this time.
He was not allowed to not know the answer.
"The basic annual salary is one million after tax, and the commission is 25% based on the income of the artists under my command. There is no upper limit on the number of artists and the commission."
Nie Chi had nothing to do, so he sorted out a record and randomly clicked on a few items: "Basic monthly salary is 100,000 after tax, 10% commission on artist income, 7% dry shares in the studio, and a one-time dividend at the end of the year."
“No base salary, 50% share of the artist’s income.”
Nie Chi added: "This is a small studio. We know we can't afford Assistant Yu's price, so we didn't offer a base salary, but allowed Assistant Yu to work only as a part-time employee. As long as Assistant Yu can attract resources, the remuneration will be automatically split in half, with no upper limit."
"The overtime pay for non-working hours is basically the same price, 7,000 yuan per hour."
Nie Chi said: "When you calculate the hush money, you don't have to be so strict. You don't have to take into account 24 hours a day."
"…" Sui Si closed his eyes and whispered, "That's enough."
Nie Chi nodded and didn't say anything else.
Sui Si felt a little exhausted. He clenched his hands in vain and lowered his eyes.
… Although Nie Chi did not speak without restraint and say more hurtful words this time, he was actually just as clear as ever and did not need to be reminded.
He didn't have that much money to compensate Yu Tang.
He originally planned to pay Yu Tang 5 million, he thought that this should be enough. Yu Tang had no education, entered the industry when he was a teenager, had little experience and few connections, and should have been one of the least noticeable people in the circle.
He thought that Yu Tang was lucky to be chosen by W&P, or maybe he just caught the leader's eye... But now, Yu Tang's value was suddenly laid out in front of him, and he was completely caught off guard.
Not to mention... he can't even come up with five million now.
The studio was shut down, several department heads resigned one after another, and no one was left to do what was supposed to be done. The originally signed cooperation was delayed by more than half. The few programs that were reluctantly recorded also failed to achieve the expected results due to the serious chaos within the studio.
The penalty for breach of contract has to be paid out like water, and the cost of the outsourcing team has to be paid, and the basic expenses of the studio have to be maintained. There have been rumors about him on the Internet these days, and it is also a considerable expense to keep things quiet.
The money in his pocket was not enough to compensate Yu Tang for all those years.
"I'll go borrow from Xiao Ming." Sui Si whispered, "I can make up for it by exchanging some... He said that if I'm short of money, I should take it from him first."
"The studio should not respond yet and do not accept any interviews."
Sui Si: "I will collect enough money, soon."
Nie Chi asked: "What if Mr. Ke is not convenient to lend you money?"
Sui Si frowned and clenched his fists anxiously.
"No, I can pay him back."
Sui Si paused for a moment before shaking his head again: "When Yu Tang and I started from scratch, it was even harder than it is now, but we managed to get through it."
Sui Si said: "I will take on more dramas in the future, and I won't be picky about variety shows. I can take on anything..."
Nie Chi said nothing more.
Sui Si whispered, "It's settled."
He didn't hear Nie Chi's reply, nor did he intend to listen again. He turned off the video call as if he was escaping.
There is always a way to solve the problem, he thought.
The studio did not respond, and just happened to use him to record the show, so he was forced to completely cut off contact and explain.
The fact that Yu Tang has resigned must always be made public. At worst, the studio can just admit it truthfully. The studio was indeed shut down due to Yu Tang's resignation, which is why it was unable to respond to outside public opinion in a timely manner.
His fans are very cohesive and will not easily quit following him. As long as the explanation is clear, it doesn't matter if they delay a little.
He went to record a program and happened to go find Ke Ming.
Ke Ming values money and will subconsciously protect his own interests... Sui Si has actually noticed this to some extent.
But on the way here, he had actually made up his mind not to argue about this matter with Ke Ming anymore.
Ke Ming has had a difficult journey. He came out of an orphanage and worked hard to get to where he is today. It is natural for him to value money and interests more.
Don’t blame Ke Ming.
I'll just borrow some money from him for emergency, and then return it to him after this period is over.
Sui Si made up his mind and stopped thinking about it. He calmed down and got out of the car, and followed the guidance of the staff, and hurried to the recording room of the program.