Robert Bolton not only spent twenty thousand yuan on advertising fees, but also specially sent him a lot of pork products during holidays and festivals. Of course, part of these were passed on by him to his superiors for tasting. Spending money just to get scolded—who could tolerate such a thing?

Seeing William Bolton’s smug expression, Matthew Miller cursed him inwardly for being a petty man who got lucky. “Let’s see how long you can stay arrogant,” he thought.

The article “An In-depth Report on the Hog Farming Market” by Eric Bennett immediately attracted enormous public attention. On the very day the newspaper was published, the hotline at their press office rang non-stop, with ninety percent of the calls concerning this report. Even the usually deserted forum of the newspaper began to see a steady influx of new messages.

In just one morning, the number of registered users on the forum skyrocketed from 298 to 1,573.

“Ractopamine is a type of β-agonist compound, classified as a second-generation leanness-enhancing agent.”

“Currently, regulations on the use of ractopamine in animal husbandry vary from country to country.”

“Excessive intake of ractopamine can cause varying degrees of poisoning in humans, with symptoms similar to those seen in animals, such as muscle tremors, limb paralysis, tachycardia, arrhythmia, abdominal pain, muscle aches, nausea, and dizziness. In severe cases, it can lead to hypertension, heart disease, or even death.”

“Leanness-enhancing agents are harmful!”

“Leanness-enhancing agents are the pork opium that the American imperialists export to our country.”

“Using leanness-enhancing agents to feed pigs is utterly heartless!”

“I don’t even dare to eat pork anymore!”

“A conscientious article!”

“A conscientious editor-in-chief!”

“Positive energy in Han County!”

“Truth-telling in the new era!”

“Thumbs up for Editor-in-Chief Eric Bennett!”

……

The attention on Editor-in-Chief Eric Bennett soared to a new level. What frustrated William Bolton was that, although the article had successfully drawn public attention and driven a fivefold increase in forum registrations, all the focus was on Editor-in-Chief Eric Bennett. Few people paid attention to him, the photojournalist, even though all the accompanying photos were taken by him and clearly credited with his name, William Bolton, in black and white under each image.

After a whole day, his reputation score only increased by a measly 5 points. William Bolton felt like he was making wedding clothes for someone else. Didn’t anyone care about the photojournalist? He was the one on the front lines, he should be the center of attention! In fact, he was the one who wrote most of the report!

The next day, the buzz began to die down, and William Bolton’s reputation score stayed fixed at 5005, not budging at all. In the afternoon, he received a phone call.

The call was from Robert Bolton, who dialed his cell phone directly. Robert Bolton started cursing as soon as he spoke: “You little bastard, did you set me up on purpose? Exposing my feed, saying I use leanness-enhancing agents to feed pigs—are you trying to cut off my livelihood?”

William Bolton retorted in a perfect broadcaster’s tone, “Idiot, you’ve got the wrong number!”

Robert Bolton persistently called again. William Bolton remembered he hadn’t given this guy his number. He glanced at Matthew Miller beside him, who deliberately avoided his gaze—obviously guilty.

William Bolton couldn’t be bothered to deal with Robert Bolton, so Robert Bolton could only vent his anger via text message—“You little bastard, just you wait!”

A week later, six ministries—the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Health, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine—issued a joint announcement, requiring an immediate ban on the production and sale of ractopamine within China.

Just as the buzz around “An In-depth Report on the Hog Farming Market” had died down, it once again attracted widespread public attention. This time, even the Pengcheng Daily reprinted the article, specially enlarging the photos and highlighting the name of photojournalist William Bolton. For a while, everyone on the streets and in the alleys was talking about ractopamine; people of all ages were discussing leanness-enhancing agents.

When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer as well. This document triggered joint law enforcement actions by multiple departments, leading to strict inspections of hog farms and pork markets across the country. For a time, ordinary people were terrified of pork, and almost no one bought it. Prices plummeted, and hog farmers and meat product vendors became the direct victims, all complaining bitterly.

The newspaper’s phones were ringing off the hook, and for the first time ever, forum registrations surpassed seven thousand. There were posts praising the positive energy, but also plenty of furious rants—most of the angry ones coming from professional farmers and pork vendors. William Bolton’s reputation score also soared, surpassing twenty thousand in just one morning.

But that very afternoon, things changed again.

A group of people began persistently posting on the forum.

“Han County Press’s William Bolton is utterly heartless, resorting to any means, using fake photos to create fake news, and affecting the livelihoods of all the county’s farmers!”

Rows and rows of replies flooded the thread.

Eventually, it turned into:

“Black-hearted reporter William Bolton, utterly heartless, harming pig farms.”

“Blocking people’s livelihoods—you’ll die a terrible death!”

More than a dozen hog farmers even showed up at the newspaper office, carrying specially printed black-and-white banners to protest.