Chapter 354: How Could He Be the Boss
"The Talleg coal mine project's development and approval processes have been proceeding quite smoothly. Considering current coal prices, the profitability prospects are indeed very promising, especially for coking coal, which is highly sought-after."
Qin Jianshe got straight to business, discussing the matter at hand. "But the challenge right now is that the higher coal prices rise, the louder the protests from the locals in Taga Country become. They believe the coal mine's rights should belong to them, not handed over to us for development. Public opinion is polarized, and this sentiment has reached Mongolia's parliament. Some lawmakers now demand a reevaluation to determine whether the allocation of coal mining rights was legitimate."
Li Tang was already aware of this situation, but he'd been too busy lately to travel to Mongolia and address this tricky issue personally.
"Mongolia holds a 34% stake in Southern Wilderness Resources, meaning they also have a 34% share of the project's profits. Strictly speaking, they're partial owners of the mining rights. Given current coal prices, accelerating the mine's development to generate revenue as soon as possible would significantly improve the local population's living standards."
He understood that mineral resource development inevitably encountered various obstacles, especially when public interests were involved.
He offered a suggestion: "Could it be that our promotional efforts aren't effective enough? Perhaps we need more positive PR in Mongolia. We should highlight the project's benefits to the local population. Usually, people don't smash their own rice bowls."
"Your idea is definitely worth trying," Qin Jianshe carefully considered. "I'll quickly get in touch with Mongolian TV and media to emphasize the positive impact of developing the mine."
"In addition to TV, maybe use public bulletin boards to spread more positive messages," Li Tang added.
"We can try that, but we can't be overly optimistic about its effectiveness," Qin Jianshe responded cautiously.
Having finished his main purpose of sharing the international copper market news, Qin Jianshe stood up, bid farewell, and returned to his own work downstairs.
Li Tang sat for a moment in thought before calling Dai Yingchi's office. Before Dai Yingchi could arrive, however, Zhou Zhihan walked in first.
"Here already?" Zhou Zhihan was a special appointee, heading the company's supervisory department. Though appearing leisurely, he held significant authority, overseeing all financial records and budgets. He reported directly to Li Tang.
"Grandpa Zhou, you're in today?" Li Tang hurriedly stood to greet him, pouring tea and respectfully offering it.
"I come here more often than you." Zhou Zhihan didn't stand on ceremony, casually looking around before slowly sitting down. "Have a seat."
Oddly, Li Tang felt more like a guest, cautiously taking a seat opposite, back straight and alert.
"Don't tire yourself out. Just visit when you feel like it," Li Tang said politely.
"My health is fine, and I don't have much on my plate, so don't worry about me," Zhou Zhihan took a sip of tea, nodding appreciatively. "I've reviewed the company's financial status, including each large investment and major fund transfer. Everything seems generally fine."
"Did you find any hidden problems?" Li Tang detected something unspoken.
"Due to several mine rights sales in recent years, we've earned several hundred million yuan domestically—not including foreign currency accounts. The headquarters only employs a bit more than two hundred people, half of whom are technical staff. Most others are in finance, with fewer employees in legal, HR, and logistics departments. A large portion of these funds covers daily operations and salaries."
"Mmm." Li Tang straightened, listening carefully.
"Large expenses and investments have clear records with no major issues. But recently, I've noticed daily operational costs rising rapidly," Zhou Zhihan frowned, alerting Li Tang. "The finance manager is a young woman—not to speak ill of her, she's earnest and responsible—but naturally inexperienced."
"Are you suggesting Lin Xiaoshu has problems?" Li Tang asked directly.
"No," Zhou Zhihan shook his head. "She's not the issue, nor is the finance department staff. But recently, operational spending has been increasing exponentially. Excluding salaries and fixed costs, miscellaneous expenses like electricity, transportation, printing, and similar items previously averaged about one million yuan per month. This figure doubled, then quadrupled, and lately has reached nearly six million per month!"
Li Tang immediately felt something was off. "Which category of expenses grew the fastest?"
"Printing expenses," Zhou Zhihan targeted the issue directly. "Nearly two million yuan last month alone! Previously, even a hundred thousand yuan per month was excessive, but now it's completely out of control."
"Could it be because it's year-end, needing additional materials printed for regulatory audits?" Li Tang knew the company required significant printed documentation. He'd specifically established a dedicated printing room. "We have to resubmit mine-rights project materials yearly, whether renewing permits or handling similar documentation."
"It suddenly jumped dramatically. You should investigate," Zhou Zhihan sighed, finishing his tea. "At my age, I can't chase after every detail and find exactly who's responsible."
"I understand. I'll investigate thoroughly," Li Tang said thoughtfully.
Zhou Zhihan smacked his lips appreciatively, finishing his tea. "This tea is excellent."
"A gift from Geng Feiran or someone else. Supposedly harvested from hundred-year-old tea trees," Li Tang opened a cabinet, handing over a box of tea leaves. "If you like it, take it home."
"I'll share it with some old friends," Zhou Zhihan gladly accepted. On his way out, he reminded Li Tang again, "You got arrested in Canada before, and you still haven't learned your lesson. You went abroad again recently? Visit us when you can. Your grandma misses you and Qiqi."
"I'll visit soon after things settle down." Li Tang saw Zhou Zhihan out the door, noticing Dai Yingchi waiting outside.
"Is something important going on?" Dai Yingchi hesitated outside upon seeing Zhou Zhihan in the office, suspecting something serious might be discussed.
"No, just a chat," Li Tang reassured, though not fully transparent. Zhou Zhihan's revelation warranted careful investigation.
Even minor irregularities shouldn't be ignored. Left unchecked, small problems could snowball dangerously. Any potential breach needed addressing urgently.
"Minister Zhou's been reviewing financial records rigorously lately. Did he discover something suspicious?" Dai Yingchi seemed aware something was amiss.
"It's nothing serious, don't worry." Li Tang beckoned Dai Yingchi to sit. "I called you here to discuss something else."
"Go ahead, boss," Dai Yingchi prepared his notebook.
"You bought a house recently, right?" Li Tang asked.
"I took your advice earlier and bought one. It's renovated now. I'll marry my girlfriend next year when work slows down," Dai Yingchi shared, somewhat bashfully.
"Oh?" Li Tang chuckled. "Marriage shouldn't wait. Choose a good day, and we'll all celebrate together!"
"We'll hold the main wedding back home. Maybe a dinner here in Yanjing would be easier," Dai Yingchi was thoughtful, knowing it was unrealistic for everyone to travel.
"No matter where, He Runqi and I will definitely attend!" Li Tang said joyfully.
"I'll discuss it with family during the New Year holiday," Dai Yingchi was slightly nervous, quickly returning to work mode. "You mentioned something else?"
"We recently received a second installment of two hundred million yuan from the Shazhai Molybdenum share sale, correct?"
"Yes. The sale brought six hundred million yuan, paid in three installments. The second just arrived at year-end."
"I sent Lin Xiaoshu to Haigang Steel to collect another hundred million soon."
Li Tang hadn't originally allocated specific plans for this money besides daily operations. But with monthly expenses manageable, they had excess funds available.
"I propose we invest this three hundred million yuan to purchase one or two residential buildings. We can reward management and outstanding employees with housing. What do you think?"
Dai Yingchi reacted strongly, eyes widening: "Boss, doing that would earn profound gratitude from all employees!"
"Of course, not everyone would receive one immediately—only those who consistently perform well," Li Tang clarified. He planned to use housing to motivate employees and bind them closely to the company's long-term interests. Conditions could apply—for example, full ownership after five, eight, or even ten years of continued employment.
"Also, smaller apartments could serve as housing for newlyweds or single employees. Tailor support based on individual needs."
"I strongly support this!" Dai Yingchi raised his hand enthusiastically.
"Excellent. I'll leave this to you. Assess employee housing needs, decide how many apartments or buildings we'll purchase, and finalize quickly."
Li Tang felt urgency, knowing current property prices, though rising, were relatively affordable. Delaying would mean significantly higher costs.
"I'll have a concrete plan before the Lunar New Year!" Dai Yingchi promised promptly.
"If possible, we'll announce housing bonuses as part of year-end rewards."
"Absolutely." Dai Yingchi immediately felt pressed for time.
After Dai Yingchi departed hastily, Li Tang strolled down to the finance department. Lin Xiaoshu hadn't returned yet.
"Mr. Li!" Everyone greeted respectfully.
"You're Ding Liuhui, right?" Li Tang recognized a female accountant, an early employee in her thirties.
Ding Liuhui smiled confidently. "Surprised you remember me!"
Li Tang casually sat, though he had ulterior motives today. "How's everyone's housing situation—renting or purchased?"
"I bought mine three years ago for about four thousand yuan per square meter. Prices rose fast, nearly six thousand now," Ding Liuhui replied openly.
Others joined the chatter, discussing rising prices and financial stresses humorously. Li Tang listened closely, promising to accommodate everyone's concerns without explicitly revealing his generous housing bonus plans. Employees merely thought he was offering motivational encouragement.
"I visited the printing room earlier; they're busy now," Li Tang nonchalantly steered toward printing expenses.
"It's year-end, with lots of audits and materials needed," an employee replied, handing him detailed printing expenditure records without suspicion.
However, among these records, some of the printing expenses appeared particularly unusual.
At a glance, Li Tang noticed a printing cost this month exceeding 300,000 yuan, labeled specifically as "external printing." Scanning further back through previous months, he identified multiple similar instances of external printing expenses, each ranging from tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand yuan.
Perhaps sensing Li Tang's focus, Ding Liuhui promptly explained, "Sometimes the internal printing room gets overwhelmed, especially at year-end when deadlines are tight. To keep up, we outsource to advertising companies or print shops, which naturally costs more."
"Hmm, understandable," Li Tang nodded slightly, continuing to check earlier records.
Most large external printing bills originated from the Investment Department. Other departments like Finance, Technical, and Logistics rarely appeared, and even then, amounts were minimal—usually around ten to twenty thousand yuan at most.
"Is there a problem?" Noticing Li Tang deep in thought, Ding Liuhui became somewhat nervous.
"No issue. I just realized I've been too busy and haven't paid enough attention to your workload. Seeing these records, I understand now how busy everyone has been!" Li Tang carefully handed back the documents, smiling warmly.
The Investment Department was led by Alice, who primarily managed overseas business related to Winning Mining's finances. At headquarters, deputy head Qin Maocai handled day-to-day affairs.
Qin Maocai was a well-paid recruit brought in later by Alice and Dai Yingchi. He had studied abroad and previously held significant positions at foreign investment firms. Li Tang had met him several times but had no deep interactions. Investment operations involved large sums, and Li Tang typically communicated directly with Alice, trusting her to delegate appropriately. As such, Li Tang rarely examined the finer details closely.
Nonetheless, even seemingly transparent investment operations could hide certain irregularities.
Li Tang made his way to the Investment Department and reviewed recent investment projects. Currently, they were processing a funding request for a copper exploration project in Congo, requiring an allocation of 25 million USD from the foreign exchange account, thus necessitating extensive documentation.
Next, he visited the internal printing room and found that after December, its workload had already decreased significantly, with printers mostly idle.
With suspicions growing, Li Tang decided to visit the external print shop frequently used by the Investment Department.
"Boss, how's our print job coming along?" he casually asked upon arrival.
The shop owner, a middle-aged man, looked up curiously at Li Tang's unfamiliar face, asking, "Which company?"
"Li Tang Shengshi Holdings," Li Tang replied straightforwardly.
"Oh!" The shop owner's indifferent expression immediately brightened. He eagerly took out a pack of cigarettes, offering one to Li Tang. "Young man, you must be new. Haven't seen you before."
"I just joined the company. My colleagues asked me to check on the progress," Li Tang fabricated a quick excuse.
"The printing workload this time is heavy, and we also have to bind the documents. Didn't we agree you'd come pick them up in two days?" Seeing Li Tang refuse the cigarette, the owner casually put it away.
"I just came to take a look since it's urgent," Li Tang replied.
"Don't worry. I promised you'd have everything the morning after tomorrow, and I always deliver on my word. Integrity is crucial in my business!" The owner smiled warmly. "We've cooperated for so long; trust shouldn't be an issue, right? Look at my dark circles—I've been up all night working overtime!"
"Thanks for your effort. I'll come back then!" Li Tang glanced around, seeing no familiar company employees, though he probably wouldn't recognize them anyway. "Please hurry up with the printing. It really is quite urgent."
"Rest assured!" The owner escorted Li Tang out, watching him leave before returning inside, resuming his busy printing and binding tasks.
Two days later, Li Tang arrived at the print shop early, sitting quietly near a printer. The shop owner recognized him, this time offering bottled water instead of cigarettes. "You're early today. Didn't I just tell your colleague over the phone to come during working hours?"
"I just wanted to have a quick look," Li Tang replied.
"You really are new," the shop owner laughed. "Your coworkers always arrive later during official hours, pick up the documents, then directly leave work."
"The early bird catches the worm," Li Tang smiled.
"The documents are ready. I worked overnight to bind them," the owner pointed to several thick piles still carrying the fresh scent of ink.
"I'll wait for my colleagues. I can't carry these alone," Li Tang said.
"Make yourself comfortable. Haven't had breakfast myself yet. Want me to grab something for you? There's a good soy milk and fried dough stick place nearby."
"I've eaten already," Li Tang responded simply.
He sat quietly in his down jacket, soaking up the morning sun, until eventually several company employees arrived.
"Boss, how much this time?" one employee directly asked, unconcerned about privacy.
"We're regular partners. Special discount: 12,000 yuan," the shop owner cheerfully answered.
"A bit expensive this time."
"Two days and two nights of overtime. Honestly, it's already discounted," the owner explained.
"Fine, same as always." Without further negotiation, the lead employee handed over a thick stack of cash—a bundled ten thousand yuan, quickly followed by an additional two thousand.
The owner casually verified the bills' authenticity, pocketing the cash without counting carefully, evidently trusting these repeat customers implicitly. He then handed over a prepared invoice with a broad smile, "All ready for you."
"Good. See you next week for the next batch," the employee confirmed.
"No problem!" The owner enthusiastically helped load documents into a parked company minivan.
Li Tang quietly followed suit, joining the company employees inside the vehicle.
"Who are you?" Several people inside were immediately puzzled.
"I'm new at the company," Li Tang replied, pulling his down jacket's hood tighter over his baseball cap to conceal his identity.
"If you're new, you should stay in the office. Why did you run here during work hours?" an employee scolded.
"Minister Qin asked me to come and check," Li Tang improvised.
"Minister Qin?" The employee hesitated briefly, confused. "Who exactly are you to Minister Qin?"
"I'm his cousin," Li Tang replied naturally.
They clearly did not recognize him.
"Minister Qin doesn't trust us?" grumbled the leader softly before extending his hand to Li Tang. "I'm Shang Hongjie. I've worked directly under Minister Qin since joining. Since you're his cousin, we're family."
"Nice to meet you," Li Tang responded cautiously, without revealing his real identity.
As the vehicle departed, Shang Hongjie casually chatted, boasting, "You joined the right company. Our business is booming and bound to enter the Fortune 500 soon. Our boss is incredible—already the richest man in the country last year! In five years, with Winning Mining stabilizing and Zhongcheng Mining profitable, he'll become the richest man in the world."
"What does that have to do with us?" Li Tang remarked curiously.
"When the boss eats meat, we can at least sip some soup," Shang Hongjie boasted. "At our company, the welfare benefits are excellent. Newcomers like you will likely receive several thousand yuan in bonuses this year. Employees who've been here more than a year get bonuses of at least 20,000 yuan, and senior staff receive at least 50,000 yuan. Check around—very few mining companies offer that!"
"Impressive indeed!" Li Tang nodded cooperatively.
"The company recently received two hundred million yuan—so much cash we can't even spend it all!" Shang Hongjie exaggerated dramatically.
"That much?" Li Tang feigned surprise, subtly shifting the topic. "I checked the internal printing room earlier. Their machines are idle now. Isn't it simpler to print internally instead of outsourcing?"
Shang Hongjie hesitated, puzzled. "Minister Qin didn't explain this clearly to you?"
"No, he just asked me to observe and learn from you."
"Minister Qin still doubts us," Shang sighed heavily. "Tell him, even if Shang Hongjie disappoints his own parents, he'll never disappoint Minister Qin!"
"You're being too serious," Li Tang waved off awkwardly.
As they returned, Shang Hongjie continually lectured Li Tang on office culture, adopting the role of mentor.
Upon arriving at Cloud Top Building, everyone unloaded documents. To maintain his cover, Li Tang also carried a large stack towards the elevator.
The elevator doors opened suddenly, and Minister Qin Maocai stepped out, staring blankly at Li Tang. Despite Li Tang's hood and stack of documents obscuring his face, Qin immediately recognized him.
"Mr. Li!" he blurted, stunned for a full half-minute before rushing forward to help. He stumbled, scattering documents across the floor.
Shang Hongjie quickly approached, loudly scolding Li Tang, unaware, "I told you not to mess up! Why are you so clumsy?"
When he got closer and saw Minister Qin frantically gathering scattered documents from Li Tang's grasp, Shang's face paled.
"Minister Qin, your cousin is careless. Let me train him properly," he offered awkwardly.
Qin Maocai's face froze as he turned stiffly toward Li Tang, forcing a smile, "Mr. Li, please go ahead. I'll handle this."
Li Tang silently entered the elevator, ascending wordlessly.
Confused, Shang Hongjie turned slowly to Qin Maocai, "Minister Qin, isn't he your cousin?"
"What cousin?" Qin snapped harshly.
Pointing to the elevator, Shang stammered, "Who… who was that?"
"That was Li Tang—the company boss!" Qin glared angrily. "How dare you make him carry documents?"
"Boss?" Shang Hongjie collapsed to the ground, shocked beyond measure. His world had suddenly shattered.
"It's over… everything is over…" he muttered, utterly devastated. "How could he be the boss!"
Qin Maocai felt his own heart plunge violently, realizing with horror what had just transpired.
They had made a disastrous mistake.
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