Chapter 302 - 213: Dismissal (Part 2)

’Right, right. There’s still time before the end of the month, so I’ll just wait patiently.’ Though excited, he feigned indifference. "President Liu, I’m not really pursuing that. A job is a job, no matter the position. I don’t have much of a desire for power."

President Liu chuckled. ’No desire for power? Then why did you reject the regional OA approval request? Shouldn’t you just go with the flow like everyone else?’

The Qingjiang Region office was in an uproar. A select few knew about the anonymous report against President Tian. A dismissal this sudden, without any warning, had to be related to it. As a result, even the number of people reporting to him dwindled.

At San Yang Xinyue Square, Zhao Rui was ecstatic. ’President Tian got taken down! That means Yanghe Commerce has lost its backer. Just you wait and see how I’m going to mess with you. You got in with such low business terms, you’re so great, aren’t you? You ruined my plans, you’re so great, aren’t you? And you stole Shen Meng from me. This isn’t over until one of us is finished.’

Just then, his aunt called. "Zhao Rui, this is a critical time for me. I’m warning you, keep a low profile and don’t cause any trouble. Focus on improving yourself. Once your abilities are up to par, I won’t shy away from promoting a relative. I’ll be able to pull you up another notch."

He could tell his aunt’s mood was completely different from her furious rage during their last call. Today, she was ecstatic, happier than if she’d won the lottery. After she hung up, it took Zhao Rui a long moment to process it. He shot up from his seat. ’Fuck, my time has come!’

He understood what his aunt meant. She was probably going to take over President Tian’s position as regional general manager and wanted him to stay out of trouble in the meantime.

’Good news. This is the best news ever. Yang Hui, just you wait, I’m going to make your life a living hell. Your business terms are low, right? Your location is good, right? Well, as long as you’re inside Xinyue Square, just watch how I’ll target you. And if you ever want to open another store in the future, that’s just a pipe dream. I’ll make sure to block you every step of the way.’

"Zhao Rui, President Zhang is looking for you."

He glanced at the person who called him. "Are we that familiar? You don’t use titles at the office?"

The person faltered. "Manager Zhao, President Zhang is looking for you." After walking a few steps, he turned back and muttered under his breath, "Son of a bitch. He’s just a measly manager, acting like he’s some kind of big shot."

Zhao Rui sauntered into President Zhang’s office. "Boss, you were looking for me."

Although he still called him "Boss," it was obvious there was no respect in his tone. President Zhang was already used to it. After all, the man had an aunt in the regional office. He didn’t notice that Zhao Rui was even more brazen than usual today.

"The regional office is already signing the contract for Yanghe Commerce. Their people will be here in the next couple of days to confirm the location and measure the space. You’ll be their point of contact."

"Oh, okay." He agreed readily. ’Perfect.’ He had been wondering how to make things difficult for them, and now the task was being handed directly to him.

Yang Hui was at the office, talking quietly with Zhu Jing, his eyes occasionally drifting to the V-neck of her blouse to admire the view. While Zhu Jing was still a little shy, she no longer shied away. After all, he had thoroughly explored her just yesterday, spending the entire afternoon doing so. A little glance now was nothing.

Suddenly, a message came in. It was from Cheng Jun:

A Hui, bad news. President Tian has been dismissed.

Yang Hui’s heart sank. President Tian was sharp and capable, and in the prime of his life. He was considered a key executive being groomed for leadership by Xinyue Group. How could he be dismissed? He didn’t connect it to their business terms; Brother Chun had been the one to set those, and he wouldn’t have pushed for them if he couldn’t handle the fallout.

He didn’t know about any report, so he quickly asked what was going on. Cheng Jun had only heard through the grapevine today that someone had anonymously reported the regional office, specifically accusing President Tian of colluding with Yanghe Commerce and abusing his power for personal gain.

Yang Hui forced himself to calm down. ’This can’t be right. President Tian is completely clean on this matter. Even if a mistake was made, it shouldn’t be enough to get him dismissed... unless he really was involved in some shady dealings with me and the group found out. But that’s completely baseless!’

’No, that can’t be it. President Tian couldn’t have been taken down just because of an anonymous report.’ President Tian had always treated him like a brother, but it was obviously not the right time to call him directly. So, he got up, grabbed his briefcase, and headed out, planning to call Zhang Chun once he was outside.

There are no secrets in the business world. Explosive news like this, especially news that would have a huge impact on the Qingzhou business community, quickly became common knowledge.

Li Yang slammed his fist on his desk. The frustration of the past few days seemed to vanish in an instant. The roadblock to his damn development was finally gone. Although the real powerhouse behind Yanghe Commerce was Zhang Chun, a distant official is less useful than the one on site. No matter who the next general manager was, their support for Yang Hui couldn’t possibly be greater than President Tian’s.

In his view, with President Tian’s downfall, Zhang Chun’s support for Yang Hui would inevitably weaken. After all, this was a sensitive period, and the issue was directly related to Yanghe Commerce. Maybe Yanghe Commerce’s stores would soon be purged.

’That would be perfect.’ Then he could buy out Yang Hui’s existing stores for a low price and not even have to pay for renovations. And after a blow like this, Yang Hui’s opportunities to open new stores would dry up, his cash flow would take a hit, and he probably wouldn’t be far from bankruptcy.

This complaint was brilliant, a perfect case of killing two birds with one stone!

Just then, there was a knock on his office door—KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

"Come in."

Han Chao came in, beaming. "Boss, about President Tian from Xinyue Group—"

Li Yang waved his hand, cutting him off. With an air of having everything under control, he blew a smoke ring and said, "Xiaohan, calm down. I already know about it. Your next task is to find out who’s taking President Tian’s place—whether one of the two current vice presidents will be promoted, or if someone will be parachuted in from headquarters or the regional office."