Zhao Qiang chuckled: "I don't understand management matters very well. You guys discuss it and handle it yourselves. If you have any opinions, feel free to voice them. If Xiaoya is too autocratic, come to me. Don't keep it to yourself and feel wronged."
Luo Xiaowei said, "No, I admire Xiaoya's decisiveness. She dares to think and act, and does what she says she will do. But I can't do that. I always hesitate when I encounter problems. If it weren't for Xiaoya always pushing me from behind, I would still be the Luo Xiaowei who is hiding in school doing nothing."
When they arrived at the finance department, Liu Zheng ran up from behind and knocked on the finance director's door. Liu Qiheng already knew what had happened that morning, and he was quite uneasy when he saw Zhao Qiang. However, Luo Wanjiang had given instructions to make a mess of the head office's accounts so that they could not operate effectively!
Liu Zheng greeted him respectfully, "Minister Liu, we are here on General Manager Luo's orders to collect the head office's management expense accounts and the list of overdue employee salaries."
Liu Qiheng initially planned to leave work early to avoid seeing him, but then he remembered Guo Hongtao saying that Zhao Qiang had warned him not to be late. He was afraid that Zhao Qiang would beat him up again for leaving early, and it would be even worse if he got shot in the butt. So he gave up the idea. As the saying goes, you can't hide forever. There's no need to play hide-and-seek with him. What needs to be faced will eventually have to be faced.
"Oh, we've been short-staffed in finance these past few days, so the invoices haven't been produced yet. Please wait a few days," Liu Qiheng said politely. He even got up to offer Luo Xiaowei and Zhao Qiang their seats and personally brought over two cups of tea. Luo Xiaowei couldn't accept this attitude. She used to come to the head office often, and Liu Qiheng would never even acknowledge her. He didn't even care about Luo Wanfeng. But now...
"What...what should we do?" Liu Zheng glanced at Zhao Qiang. He knew, of course, that Zhao Qiang was in charge. Luo Xiaowei was also having a headache. Witnessing things was the most annoying thing. Once it started, it would go on and on. It might take several days or even half a month. By then, the employees might have all left because of the salary issue. The head office building might even have its water and electricity cut off. If that happened, Haifeng Group would really become a laughing stock for the whole country! Who would dare to buy its products after that? What kind of strength does a company that can't even pay its water and electricity bills have?
Zhao Qiang silently took a sip of tea. This was the last resort; if hard tactics didn't work, he would try softer ones. Liu Qiheng was being so polite, and it would be too much to ask if he went up and slapped him. It would discourage all the employees, which would be detrimental to Luo Wanfeng's future rule.
Zhao Qiang suddenly got up and walked out of Liu Qiheng's finance minister's office. Next door was the finance department's large office, where five employees were scattered around. Two were chatting together, one was playing games on the computer, and a woman was knitting. Few people do this kind of work nowadays, and it's not the right season, but it shows that she was extremely bored. Otherwise, who would knit a sweater? It's a pipe dream for them to figure out the head office's accounts.
Seeing Zhao Qiang leave the minister's office, Luo Xiaowei followed closely behind. Liu Zheng could only follow as well. Liu Qiheng wanted to ignore it but was worried about causing trouble outside, so he also followed. After circling around, Zhao Qiang suddenly said to Liu Qiheng, "Minister Liu, I'm here to convey President Luo's decision to you. Given that the work in the finance department is too demanding, the finance department employees will be given half a month of paid annual leave. In a little while, they can go to the general manager's office to receive an advance on their annual leave subsidies, then go home to rest, and report back in half a month."
Liu Qiheng was shocked. This was a move to dismiss them! How ruthless!
"This, how can this be!" Liu Qiheng was furious, but the image of Guo Hongtao covered in blood after being slapped kept swirling in his mind. Otherwise, he would have jumped up and slapped Zhao Qiang first. But Zhao Qiang's preemptive strike had already frightened him, so he dared not fight and could only try to reason with him verbally.
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "Why not? Look how hard everyone's working. Hey, you guys, Boss Luo said to go to the finance department right now and each of you get a subsidy of 10,000 yuan, and then take half a month of paid annual leave. If you agree, go right away! If you don't agree, there will be new tasks waiting for you tomorrow morning."
The two people chatting were the first to stand up, quickly passing by Liu Qiheng, and then rushing up to the eighth floor. These two knew Zhao Qiang's background best because they had gone to the human resources department to watch the show. Putting aside the temptation of 10,000 yuan, if they didn't agree to Zhao Qiang's arrangement, who knew what the new task would be tomorrow morning? Only a bastard would be willing to offend you. The police are in cahoots with you. Even if you don't beat someone up, you can make up any excuse to arrest someone.
The person playing the game was stunned for a moment. At this moment, the woman knitting a sweater didn't even want the sweater anymore. Her plump body panted as she passed by Zhao Qiang. When she passed by Minister Liu Qiheng, she even knew to greet him: "Minister Liu, I'm sorry, we have no choice. We can't afford to offend this young man. Let's just take the money and leave, so we don't suffer any physical pain later."
Thanks to the efforts of gossips, the events that happened in the HR department this morning have spread throughout the company. Most people are pragmatic and dare not offend Zhao Qiang.
Luo Xiaowei covered her mouth and chuckled to herself. The advantages of a powerful man were becoming apparent; no one dared to look down on him or despise him!
Luo Xiaowei took out her phone and called her father, of course, to tell him to give each of the people who went up later a check for 10,000 yuan and send them away. As for what to do with them in half a month, that was another matter.
The employee playing the game caught up with the woman and they raced upstairs. Everyone in the finance department had dirty hands, but nothing had been found out yet, so they took as much as they could and went as far as they could until the power struggle in the Luo family was over.
Liu Qiheng was dumbfounded. In the past, his first action in such a situation would have been to contact the security department and have them come up and deal with Zhao Qiang. But now most of the security personnel had already been taken down by Zhao Qiang. Besides, he didn't dare to arrest Zhao Qiang. If the police turned around and continued to arrest people, he would be in deep trouble with Luo Wanfeng.
After weighing the pros and cons, Liu Qiheng cursed inwardly, "Damn it, I'm not going to get involved in Luo Wanjiang's business anymore. I'll just stay out of it. Anyway, there's no money left in the finance department. I might as well just quit." With that thought, Liu Qiheng forced a smile and said to Zhao Qiang, "Half a month of paid annual leave and a subsidy of 10,000 yuan. Is there really such a good deal? I wonder if I'm included. I've been busy for more than half a year and I want to take a break."
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "Minister Liu, you'll receive a subsidy of 20,000 yuan. This was instructed by General Manager Luo."
Liu Qiheng strode upstairs: "I'll go get it. Please take care of the finance department."
Luo Xiaowei put down the phone and couldn't help but squat down and laugh out loud. "They, they are so interesting. Zhao Qiang, your method is not bad. First, they used a big stick to teach Guo Hongtao a lesson, and then they used money to bribe Liu Qiheng."
Liu Zheng said admiringly to Zhao Qiang, "Brother Qiang, you're amazing! You got them gone with just a few words."
Zhao Qiang said to Luo Xiaowei, "Get up. It's not nice for a girl to squat." The posture was a bit unladylike. Luo Xiaowei blushed and stood up, gently nudging Zhao Qiang's arm from behind. This was her little revenge for telling him about her unladylike behavior. She was so pleased with herself that she didn't mind making some unladylike gestures in front of Zhao Qiang, as it made her feel that she and Zhao Qiang had a close relationship.
Zhao Qiang added, "Call Zhang Lingfeng and tell him to send some men over with guns to guard the finance department. Don't let anyone come in and take a single piece of paper! If Luo Wanjiang or his men dare to cause trouble, just shoot them!"
Luo Xiaowei's expression immediately turned serious. The accounts in the finance department were extremely important, and some of them could even be detrimental to Luo Wanjiang. Luo Wanjiang would never have imagined that Liu Qiheng had already backed down, so once he found out about the situation, he would immediately send people to seize the account books. This place had to be well guarded!
Volume 2 [283] The Board of Directors...
Zhao Qiang waited in the finance department until Zhang Lingfeng personally led a team to arrive. During this time, he also looked at several ledgers. Luo Xiaowei accompanied him. The more they looked, the more shocked they became. A large national group company could fall into such a state that it couldn't even pay the water and electricity management fees for the head office building. This showed how astonishing its corruption was. The ledgers here were enough to throw Luo Wanjiang into prison for more than ten years.
Zhao Qiang said to Zhang Lingfeng, "How confident are you in holding this place? If not, I'll get Yang Shiqi."
Zhang Lingfeng patted his chest and said, "I have 100% confidence, Master. Don't worry. I'll send ten more people. We'll patrol in shifts of three and eight. Unless Luo Wanjiang dares to set fire to this building, I guarantee I can guard it for you."
Zhao Qiang cursed, "You jinx! But thanks to your reminder, we have to be wary of him. Xiao Wei, call Yang Shiqi and ask him to send some soldiers to patrol the building with guns, otherwise we won't be able to keep Luo Wanjiang in check."
Luo Xiaowei was well aware of the conflict between Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiqi. He certainly wouldn't call Yang Shiqi himself, so the call had to be made by Luo Xiaowei. Moreover, there was a reason for this; she couldn't say it was Zhao Qiang's idea, because that would mean Zhao Qiang was bowing down to Yang Shiqi, especially since Zhao Qiang was currently helping Luo Xiaowei.
Luo Xiaowei ran to a quiet spot and said, "Brother Yang," as she wanted to address him since they didn't know Yang's true identity as a transvestite, "I'd like to ask you for a favor."
After listening to Luo Xiaowei's explanation, Yang Shiqi asked, "Is Zhao Qiang here too?"
Luo Xiaowei nodded, and Yang Shiqi immediately said without hesitation, "Wait here, I'll bring people from the military camp right away."
This was all out of respect for Zhao Qiang, so Luo Xiaowei naturally placed all her gratitude on him. It has to be said that Yang Shiqi now prioritizes Zhao Qiang above all else; what can she do? She's under someone else's roof and has to bow her head. Yang Shiqi is now unwanted by both her family and relatives. Her grandfather ignores her, and so does Zhao Qiang. Her grandfather is alright, after all, he's her biological grandfather, and she'll eventually have to acknowledge him as her ancestor. But Zhao Qiang doesn't have much of a connection; he can easily kick her aside and resume his hardware manufacturing collaboration with Hu Qian. The world will keep turning without Yang Shiqi, which is what Yang Shiqi fears. Fortunately, Hu Qian has been kind to Yang Shiqi and hasn't tried to take advantage of her misfortune in front of Zhao Qiang; otherwise, the situation would be very different now.
Half an hour later, a platoon from the military took over the security of the Haifeng Building, which made the finance department's security even more secure. Zhao Qiang returned to the general manager's office with peace of mind. Luo Wanfeng was not very clear about these matters yet. Luo Xiaowei explained them to her father, and Luo Wanfeng broke out in a cold sweat: "I didn't think it through. With Luo Wanjiang's temper, he will definitely do something desperate once he finds out that we want to control the financial accounts!"
Even if Luo Wanfeng had considered this before, what could he do? He had neither manpower nor power; he couldn't seize or hold onto power.
Yang Shiqi sat silently in a corner of the office. She had been much quieter lately. When she heard Luo Wanfeng say that Luo Wanjiang might do something desperate, she slammed her hand on the table and stood up, saying, "Let him do it! I've already given the order that if anyone acts recklessly, we'll shoot!"
Yang Shiqi wouldn't mind causing trouble at Haifeng Group again, just like she did at Tianyi Group. Maybe if she could vent her frustration again, she wouldn't feel so depressed.
Zhao Qiang said to Luo Xiaowei, "Call Xiaoya and tell her to bring enough financial staff to the finance department this afternoon to clear up the accounts as soon as possible and restore the operation of Haifeng Group's headquarters. The sooner the work is restored, the less chance Luo Wanjiang will have to make a move."
Luo Xiaowei went to the side to make a phone call, while Luo Wanfeng reported the accounts to Zhao Qiang, "These are the subsidy receipts that were just given to the finance department staff. They all went through Xiaowei's account and came from the 200 million yuan fund."
Zhao Qiang said, "Okay, Xiaoya will take care of it when she arrives. If the company is short of funds, I'll give you whatever amount is needed!"
Zhao Qiang's generosity gave Luo Wanfeng a boost of confidence, making him feel much more at ease with his support.
Xu Xiaoya was indeed a capable person. Before noon, she arrived with a group of people, led by Sun Junmei. Xu Xiaoya knew her place when it came to accounting, so it was inevitable that she would ask an experienced person to take charge. The finance department of the tire factory had been almost emptied out. Hongwang Technology, Qimingdeng Electronics, and even Ma Xiaohua from Shunfeng Technology arrived with several newcomers. At critical moments, more people mean more strength. Even some companies that had cooperated with her before sent accountants to help.
Everyone sprang into action, determined to get things done efficiently. As for lunch, He Guang and Liu Zheng took cash to order food; lunch had to be eaten in the office today.
When Luo Wanjiang saw his younger brother and sister being arrested, he was completely at a loss. Donghai City was practically Zhao Qiang and Zhang Lingfeng's domain, so he had no choice but to seek outside help! In desperation, Luo Wanjiang tried calling a friend in the province with whom he had a good relationship. After explaining the situation, the friend said, "Wanjiang, doesn't your father know about this? Would he just watch your older brother act so recklessly? And knowing your older brother as I do, he wouldn't be so impulsive, would he?"
Luo Wanjiang said, "My father has been ill and unable to handle company business recently, which is why Luo Wanfeng had the opportunity to take advantage of me. Uncle, if you don't help me, no one else can. You don't know how arrogant the Donghai City police are. My third brother and second sister have been arrested and their fate is probably grim. That person even threatened to humiliate my second sister!"
"Is it Zhang Lingfeng?" The person on the other end of the phone seemed to know Donghai City very well. Without the Zhang family's support, no one in the entire city bureau would dare to arrest someone from the Luo family! After all, the Luo family wasn't someone you could just bully. Basically, in Donghai City, they were the ones who bullied others, but that was before Zhao Qiang rose to power.
Luo Wanjiang said helplessly, "Yes, it's that villain!"
"Hehe, Wanjiang, I think you should consult your father about this matter. I remember your eldest brother was appointed by your father, right? Since your father hasn't said anything, it's not appropriate for us outsiders to interfere. As the saying goes, even an upright official can't settle family disputes, right? Alright, I have a meeting to attend, that's all for now." With that, the other party politely hung up the phone.
Luo Wanjiang looked bewildered, while Luo Pingping anxiously asked, "What did they say?"
Luo Wanjiang said, "It doesn't concern us! He also said that outsiders shouldn't interfere!"
Liu Heping said angrily, "Then go back to your father! I don't believe he would just watch his son and daughter get arrested and do nothing. As long as the old man speaks, Luo Wanfeng has to listen obediently."
These words were like a wake-up call. Luo Wanjiang suddenly realized that the old man would still be watching the show after things had developed like this. Luo Wanjiang waved his hand and said, "Let's go home!" The old man wouldn't answer any calls, so he needed to be informed in person if there was anything.
They were stopped at the door again, but this time Luo Wanjiang showed them no mercy. He forced his way into the old man's study with Luo Pingping. The old man was sitting in a recliner, reading leisurely. The arrival of his second son, eldest daughter, and son-in-law did not change his expression much.
"Dad, do you even care about the lives of your son and daughter anymore?!" Luo Wanjiang shouted.
Luo Xin put down the book in his hand and raised his eyelids slightly. "What's wrong? You still haven't developed the good habit of staying calm?"
Luo Wanjiang was so angry he almost kicked the old man twice. Who was his real son? "Calm down? Wan Hai and Juan Juan have been arrested. Do you know who ordered it? It was Luo Wanfeng who had Zhao Qiang do it. That scoundrel Zhang Lingfeng did it. He even threatened to humiliate my second sister. If you're still our father, you should say something."
Luo Xin picked up the book again to cover his eyes and said, "You must have been in the wrong first. It is a great thing to admit your mistakes and correct them. People are not afraid of making mistakes, but they are afraid of making the same mistake again and again. Once you do not know how to turn back, there is no hope."
Luo Wanjiang had no interest in understanding the old man's cryptic words. He sneered, "Dad, do you mean we're just going to ignore it?"
Luo Xin only said, "Board of Directors..." and then fell silent, even closing his eyes to sleep.
Luo Wanjiang stormed out of the room, while Luo Pingping said maliciously, "Since Dad's getting senile, let's just force him to transfer his shares. Then we'll hold a board meeting to remove Luo Wanfeng from office!"
Luo Wanjiang pondered the meaning behind the old man's final mention of the 'board of directors.' Luo Pingping's words gave him a glimmer of hope: "That's right. In terms of personal connections, we can't compare to that scoundrel Zhang Lingfeng. Moreover, because the old man won't speak up, our Luo family's protectors won't step forward. But we can use the power of the board of directors to our advantage! You, me, my third brother, and my second sister all hold shares in the Luo family. Together, we own about 20%. The old man holds 30%, another 30% is distributed among the five of us, and the remaining 20% is traded on the stock market. Luo Wanfeng, on the other hand, doesn't own a single share. That's our advantage!"
Liu Heping reminded them, "What about Wan Hai and Juan Juan? They're still locked up."
Luo Wanjiang gritted his teeth and said, "We can't worry about that now. Are you really afraid that someone will harm Juanjuan? I think she'd love to. As long as we deal with Luo Wanfeng, that scoundrel Zhang Lingfeng will naturally let them out."
Driving straight to the company, Luo Wanjiang encountered Liu Qiheng, who was rushing out excitedly, at the entrance. He stopped him and said, "Minister Liu, where are you going if you're not in the finance department? Have you emptied the accounts?"
Liu Qiheng looked flustered and said, "President Luo, Luo Wanfeng has given me a long leave, and I can't do anything right now."
Luo Wanjiang was taken aback: "What did you say? Luo Wanfeng gave you leave? Does he have that authority? And you're so easy to talk to? He just gives you leave like that? Are you even human? Whose side are you on?!"
Liu Qiheng said, "Of course I don't want to let go, but President Luo, I have no choice. You don't want me to end up like Minister Guo, do you? I have a family to support, and if I get disfigured, it will be difficult for me to find a job in the future."
Luo Wanjiang, disregarding his anger, asked, "What about the finance department's accounts?"
Liu Qiheng said, "They're all sitting there."
Luo Wanjiang asked anxiously, "Has everything that needed to be dealt with been dealt with?"
Liu Qiheng stammered somewhat, "Most of them have been dealt with..."
(Ten chapters updated. Xiaoqiang, who only has nine lives left, is kneeling on the ground begging you all to hold on until the end. If you still have monthly tickets, please support Xiaoqiang with one more this month. Xiaoqiang thinks about all the previous efforts and dares not give up on these last four days. Xiaoqiang kowtows to everyone in respect...)
Volume 2 [284] New Circumstances
Luo Wanjiang grabbed his collar: "So you mean there's still something that hasn't been dealt with?"
Liu Qiheng said, "President Luo, we transfer money from the company's accounts every day. I can't possibly process it every minute. You know that the employees in the lower-level departments are not working hard because they haven't received their salaries. Even if I were a department head, I might not be able to get them to work. Besides, I get a headache just looking at all these bad accounts. Try dealing with them yourself."
Luo Wanjiang slapped Liu Qiheng across the face: "You're trying to ruin my big plan! Who's in the finance department?"
Liu Qiheng covered his face and said, "Zhao Qiang..."
Luo Wanjiang deflated like a punctured balloon, and Liu Qiheng seized the opportunity to escape. Then, two employees from the finance department passed by Luo Wanjiang, and their conversation was clearly audible to him: "Damn, with this 10,000 yuan, it's worth it even if we don't have our previous salaries. Haifeng Group is finished. Let's find other jobs as soon as possible."
Luo Wanjiang jumped up and grabbed the person who spoke, "What ten thousand yuan?"
The man was startled when he saw that it was Luo Wanjiang, and of course he didn't dare to hide anything: "It was Luo Wanfeng who gave each of us a subsidy of 10,000 yuan and let us take half a month of paid leave. Mr. Luo, you can't just blame us. Minister Liu also received it, and it was 20,000 yuan. Why is that? We did just as much work as them. Why didn't we get 20,000 yuan?"
Luo Wanjiang trembled with rage. Ten thousand yuan was enough to take down these parasites, but Liu Qiheng was a bloodsucker who wouldn't even glance at a hundred thousand yuan! He must have run away because he was afraid of Zhao Qiang. "Zhao Qiang! I'll fight you to the death!" Luo Wanjiang shoved the employee to the ground and stormed upstairs. Luo Pingping and Liu Heping hurriedly followed. If Luo Wanjiang fell, they wouldn't be any better off.
The Luo family's accounts were indeed in complete disarray. It was impossible for Liu Qiheng to produce a perfect, flawless financial statement. If Luo Wanfeng took over the finance department, one could imagine how terrible the consequences would be.
Before even reaching the finance department, Luo Wanjiang came to his senses when he saw several policemen standing at the entrance of the finance department at one end of the corridor. Had he made a fool of himself? He had no one to rely on, no power or influence, and going in would most likely result in him being beaten up by Zhao Qiang.
Luo Wanjiang stepped back, and Luo Pingping almost got stepped on by her second brother. She asked, "What happened?"
Luo Wanjiang said, "There are police guarding that area; we came back late."
Liu Heping asked, "Then what should we do?"
Luo Wanjiang said, "Go ahead and investigate. At most, we'll just have to make up the difference. Besides, we still have the board of directors as our weapon. Let's go back and discuss this matter carefully."
Luo Pingping stared at the door of the finance department and said fiercely, "Let's just burn it down and be done with it."
Luo Wanjiang said, "That's a good idea, but who will set the fire?"
Liu Heping frowned: "I don't even have time to contact people in the south. Donghai City doesn't have your power. That scoundrel Zhang Lingfeng controls the underground here. We have no way to deal with him."
Luo Wanjiang said, "That's why I said a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. We'll try to destroy the data while we convene the board of directors to discuss countermeasures."