"Lin Shasha..." Xu Zhengyang let out a long breath, suppressing the anger in his heart that made him want to take action himself, and said coldly, "Go to Dong Wenqi. Whether you kneel down or cry and beg Dong Wenqi for forgiveness, if she can't forgive you, then I'm sorry, you can only die!"
"Don't even think about going to Jiang Lan! Dong Wenqi has forgiven you. You can go back to Jiang Lan and complain!"
"Don't take any chances!"
...
Volume 5, Spirit Official, Chapter 218: Even the peace and tranquility are not guaranteed.
The second floor of Jinghui Logistics Company's office building. Inside the general manager's office.
Jiang Feng, Gao Peixiang, and Lin Shasha all went out. Whether they did what Xu Zhengyang said is irrelevant. They probably wouldn't be truly terrified and blindly obey Xu Zhengyang because of his power and tyranny, since they all have powerful backers, with Jiang Lan supporting them.
Xu Zhengyang never even considered relying on them to beg and bring back the employees of Yuanjinghui Logistics Company who had been forced out.
Well, if they don't listen, the outcome will be even worse.
Only Xu Zhengyang, Chen Chaojiang, Zhan Xiaohui, and Deng Wenjing, who arrived later, were in the room.
Cao Gangchuan and Liu Bin had both come before. After exchanging greetings, they noticed that Xu Zhengyang and the others seemed to have something to discuss, so they tactfully took their leave and went to fulfill their duties as security guards.
The clock hands ticked away...
Xu Zhengyang leaned back in his office chair, a cigarette between his left fingers, his right hand resting on the desk. In rhythm with the ticking of the clock, his middle finger tapped lightly on the desk, making a soft "tap, tap, tap" sound.
The others in the room dared not utter a sound. Chen Chaojiang stood slightly back on one side of the desk; while Zhan Xiaohui and Deng Wenjing stood in the middle of the office, heads bowed, faces flushed, filled with shame and grievance. All the employees in the company had stopped working, gathering in small groups in the offices, hallways, courtyard, and warehouse, whispering amongst themselves. However, no one dared to approach the general manager's office.
The police were called, of course; someone had already called the police long ago.
But... the police haven't arrived yet.
Hmm, they won't come.
The cell phone rang at an inopportune moment, breaking the tense silence in the room.
Xu Zhengyang took out his phone from his pocket, not even bothering to check the caller ID, and answered directly:
"I am Xu Zhengyang."
“Zhengyang, stop making a scene… What is it that you want to talk to me properly? If you keep making a scene, no one can protect you!” Although Pang Zhong’s tone was unfriendly, his attitude was still sincere.
"Director Pang, it's alright! It's just some company matters, and someone has to take responsibility afterward." Xu Zhengyang's tone was completely devoid of the respect he used to have; it was now condescending and bossy.
“Zhengyang, you weren’t like this before. If there’s anything wrong, the police, the government, and the law can help you.” Pang Zhong finally softened his tone, almost pleading. “Stop making a scene. Come to me, talk to me, and I’ll get justice for you! You should trust me.”
Xu Zhengyang paused, took a deep breath, and said calmly, "Don't worry about these things."
After saying that, Xu Zhengyang hung up the phone and placed it on the table. He then slowly tapped his right middle finger on the desk again. He tilted his head, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, but a half-smile played on his lips as he said, "What? The company can't go on without me, is that it?"
"My lord... I am incompetent," Zhan Xiaohui said tremblingly.
"Sir, we..." Deng Wenjing wanted to explain, but in the end she didn't dare to say anything.
“They have a lot of power and influence, and plenty of money to burn, so you can’t entirely blame yourself.” Xu Zhengyang’s voice deepened, then rose two octaves. “But just like that, they easily squeezed you two out of management, stripped you of real power, and are about to hand the company over to someone else…” Xu Zhengyang turned his head to look at the small inner room where the altar used to be. The door was open, and the altar inside had long been removed. Xu Zhengyang lowered his head slightly, looking at a bonsai tree by the wall under the window, seemingly not wanting to see Deng Wenjing and Zhan Xiaohui anymore. His right hand pointed at Zhan Xiaohui and Deng Wenjing, and he rebuked them in a low, urgent voice: “You can’t even protect the company’s long-time employees, how… how are you going to face them?”
Zhan Xiaohui and Deng Wenjing knelt down together.
Zhan Xiaohui said, "Sir, we are so sorry!"
"It's not just about apologizing to me!" Xu Zhengyang's voice was much louder, echoing in the office. He stared wide-eyed, his back jutting out of his chair, his neck craning forward as he glared at the two people kneeling on the ground.
The two lowered their heads, not daring to utter another sound.
"Now, what about the company? Who will manage it? Are you two up to the task?" Xu Zhengyang gritted his teeth, turning his head to survey everything in the room. He then fixed his gaze on the two men, his rough voice emanating from his nose: "Hmm...?"
"I'll do whatever you say, whatever you say, sir," Zhan Xiaohui said in a trembling voice.
Xu Zhengyang let out a long breath, turned to look out the window, pointed at the two people with his right hand, and said coldly, "Stop kneeling, go. Find Wu Juan, and Huang Zhao, oh, and Dong Wenqi, Dong Yuebu... find everyone who was squeezed out!"
"Yes, yes, I will obey." Zhan Xiaohui quickly agreed.
Deng Wenjing said with difficulty, "Sir, I'm afraid they already have other jobs."
Xu Zhengyang frowned, pondered for a moment, and said in a deep voice, "If they haven't found a job, or still want to go back to Jinghui Logistics, let them come back. If they have a good job, then forget it. Don't affect other people's lives... As for Wu Juan, try to get her back, and raise her salary a bit more. No, salary alone won't do. Tell her that I'm back, and the company is ours! Let her come back, and she'll have 10% of the shares!"
"We'll get on it right away!"
Zhan Xiaohui and Deng Wenjing nodded hurriedly, then got up and headed towards the door.
"Wu Juan has put in a lot of effort for Jinghui Logistics. She is a person with goals, ideals, and abilities. We can't let her down." Xu Zhengyang's voice was particularly rough and deep when he said this, like the sound of a golden drum.
The two nodded as they left, carefully closing the door behind them.
Chen Chaojiang said softly, "Zhengyang, things are like this now. The company is basically shut down..."
"Don't worry about these trivial matters, don't fret!" Xu Zhengyang stood up, waved his hand, and strode confidently toward the door, saying, "Someone will pay for these losses, ten times, a hundred times... a thousand times!" Reaching the door, Xu Zhengyang suddenly stopped, pursed his lips, and curled one side of his mouth, causing his already long beard to bend. He pointed at Chen Chaojiang, who was still in a daze, and smiled, "You, Chen Chaojiang, will be a major shareholder of Ronghua Group in the future."
After saying that, Xu Zhengyang turned around and strode out.
...
Beijing!
When Jiang Lan heard the news, she was so shocked that she couldn't speak for a long time.
How did Xu Zhengyang suddenly recover?
Jiang Lan sneered. This country bumpkin, illiterate, madman, a fool who only thinks about acting on impulse, is utterly stupid. Does he think he can take back Jinghui Logistics Company and solve all problems with his violence? He'll only bring about his own destruction.
Therefore, Jiang Lan casually said to Gao Peixiang, "Do I need to be told this? Call the police!"
"President Jiang, the police, the police haven't arrived yet... Xu Zhengyang has already left."
"What?" Jiang Lan frowned. She seemed to sense something was wrong, but without thinking, she said with some disgust, "Did you go to the police station?"
"No, not yet. Jiang Feng went to the hospital. I'm outside the company watching Xu Zhengyang."
"Why are you looking at him? Go to the police station! Let the police arrest him." Jiang Lan slammed down the phone.
She didn't bother with much about Huatong Logistics, nor did she expect it to bring her much profit right now. After all, when she had a distant cousin run the company, she wasn't doing it with the intention of making money.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Lan didn't take Xu Zhengyang too seriously. What good could come of someone so foolish as to do something like this? He's recovered from his illness and is no longer a dementia patient, yet he doesn't live a good life and insists on going to jail. Who can he blame?
She got up, walked to the sofa, sat down, and picked up a book from the coffee table to read.
She has always enjoyed reading novels or autobiographies that depict strong women throughout history.
Although many people consider her a true powerhouse, she still feels something is missing. She knows her success, besides personal effort and ability, also relies on her family background and the powerful connections of the Li family. Through years of life experience and reading about powerful women in books, Jiang Lan has concluded that powerful women share a common trait: besides exceptional intelligence, they must be ruthless, decisive, and assertive in every aspect!
However, in many aspects, her strengths seem to be unable to be fully utilized, and she may even encounter setbacks.
Especially families.
Her husband, Li Ruiyu, was an absolutely upright man, a high-ranking military officer, and the Li family had immense power in both the military and political sectors. Although her Jiang family also had many high-ranking officials, they still couldn't compare to the overwhelming power of the Li family. With her strong personality, she and Li Ruiyu had been constantly arguing since their marriage, with neither of them willing to give in to the other.
She is a woman who aspires to be a strong, independent woman; Li Ruiyu, on the other hand, is a typical chauvinist.
Not to mention the failure of his marital relationship, now even his own daughter is distancing herself from him, while she has an excellent relationship with a country bumpkin with no education.
Jiang Lan was inherently strong-willed, and over the years, her temperament had become extreme. Therefore, she found it increasingly difficult to tolerate the name Xu Zhengyang. Whenever she saw her daughter, the face of that country bumpkin would appear in her mind, that seemingly honest but actually unruly mud crab!
Sometimes, Jiang Lan would secretly mock herself, wondering if holding a grudge against such a person was too much of an honor for him and too much of a self-deprecation.
So when Jiang Lan learned that Xu Zhengyang had become mentally disabled, she actually felt a sense of schadenfreude.
Afterwards, because of her daughter's lingering thoughts and concern for Xu Zhengyang, Jiang Lan became increasingly jealous of him. Even after he became a vegetable, she was unwilling to let him go easily!
this time……
Jiang Lan thought for a moment, then took out her phone and made a call, determined to make this foolish, impulsive, and reckless young man suffer eternal damnation!
After the call connected, the person who answered was somewhat amused and exasperated, saying, "Jiang Lan, why are you getting upset with some ordinary wild boy? Okay, I'll get on it for you right away."
After finishing the call, Jiang Lan laughed like a spoiled little girl who had scratched her classmate.
A few minutes later, her phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, it was the person she had just contacted. Jiang Lan smiled self-deprecatingly. Indeed, dealing with such a nobody was too easy, wasn't it? It was really not worth making a mountain out of a molehill.
However, Jiang Lan never expected that after the call connected, the other party would cautiously ask, "Just who is Xu Zhengyang? Someone in higher-ups has already started protecting him..."
"Huh?" Jiang Lan was taken aback and asked, "Who's protecting him?"
"It seems to be... Li Ruiqing."
Jiang Lan was stunned for a long while before gritting her teeth and saying, "It must be because the old man said something to them before he left..."
"Old Master? Old Li? Who is this Xu Zhengyang?"
"It's just a mud crab that got lucky and met the old man. It's nothing serious." Jiang Lan felt a tightness in her chest and said angrily, "No matter what, arrest Xu Zhengyang first. I'll go talk to him here."
"Okay, I'll arrange it."
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Lan felt increasingly short of breath. She got up and paced back and forth in the room. Her hatred for Xu Zhengyang grew stronger. What right did he have? When the old man was alive, he protected him; now that the old man was gone, even her husband and brother were protecting him…
Who does he think he is?
...
The largest antique shop in the Fuxing District Antique Market of Fuhe City is Guxiangxuan.
In the office of General Manager Yao Chushun on the second floor.
Xu Zhengyang sat on the sofa, drinking tea, his expression calm and without the slightest abnormality.
Hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Soon, the office door was pushed open, and Yao Chushun, whose hair had turned completely white, strode in. As soon as he saw Xu Zhengyang, he excitedly shouted, "Zhengyang, you son of a bitch, you're really cured, really cured!"
Xu Zhengyang stood up, silently stepped forward, and hugged Yao Chushun.
The two separated and sat down.
The look of surprise on Yao Chushun's face had vanished, replaced by a trace of guilt. He said, "Zhengyang, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let your parents go to court. In the end, Guxiangxuan got dragged into it too. Sigh..."
“Gu Xiang Xuan is still ours.” Xu Zhengyang took a sip of tea, then suddenly changed his mind and said, “Oh, from now on, it’s yours, Master Gu.”
"Huh?" Yao Chushun was stunned for a moment, then quickly remembered what Chen Chaojiang had said to him, and also remembered why he had endured humiliation and stayed at Guxiangxuan.
However, just as Chen Chaojiang had said, Xu Zhengyang recovered very suddenly and returned! Master Gu, Yao Chushun, couldn't believe it, because it was too outrageous: Did Xu Zhengyang really have divine assistance? Could he take back Gu Xiangxuan after his return?
Yao Chushun looked up at Chen Chaojiang with a puzzled expression, seemingly hoping to get a definite answer from Chen Chaojiang.
Chen Chaojiang nodded expressionlessly, his narrow eyes growing even colder.
"Zhengyang, you..."
Although Master Gu didn't finish his question, Xu Zhengyang knew what he wanted to say and ask. He smiled, looked at Master Gu, and said softly, "Master Gu, thank you for helping me during the two years I was away."
“Zhengyang…” Yao Chushun’s face turned red, and he felt increasingly guilty and remorseful. “You, what you said makes me so ashamed! Alas! I made a bad choice in making friends! I never thought that old bastard Zheng Ronghua would do such a thing!”
Xu Zhengyang let out a long breath, leaned back on the sofa, squinted his eyes, stared at the ceiling, and his expression darkened, as if he had suddenly transformed from a young man in his twenties into a weathered old man.