His fingers gripped the phone so tightly that his knuckles turned slightly white.
After Jiang Jianming retired, Jiang Cheng hadn't been coming to the company, so he was currently serving as the acting General Manager.
Now, the notice clearly stated, "Zhou Shoucheng and Li Zhenguo have been hired as Joint General Managers to fully preside over daily operations," which was no different from directly knocking him off his perch.
The meeting room was so quiet that one could hear the sound of falling leaves outside; even the light clink of a teacup hitting the table was exceptionally jarring.
Qian Maocai was the first to lose his patience. He took a sip of the cold tea, his gravelly voice breaking the silence.
"What exactly does Young Master Jiang mean by suddenly hiring these two 'experts'? When we were conquering the world with Brother Jianming, he was still reading textbooks in school. Does he not trust us old-timers now?"
These words seemed like a complaint, but his eyes kept darting toward Wang Wei.
Everyone knew that he was the one most impacted by this new appointment.
Zhao Dezhu naturally understood Qian Maocai's intentions. After quickly glancing at Wang Wei, he immediately chimed in.
Rubbing his smooth, bald head, his tone was full of disdain: "A hairless lip means a brain that's not hip! I think he's just listening to outsiders' instigation. Either he's here to audit our accounts, or he wants to pluck the low-hanging fruit. What does a green youth know about building materials? How to pick raw materials, how to adjust the production line—can he even explain the basics? It's pure nonsense!"
The two of them played off each other, their words clearly meant to goad Wang Wei into taking the lead.
Wang Wei's hand under the table quietly clenched, his nails almost sinking into his palm. The anger in his chest was like a red-hot branding iron, making his heart feel stifled.
He knew better than anyone that these two were afraid the new leaders would touch their interests after taking office.
Zhao Dezhu's procurement accounts had always been vague, and Qian Maocai's production workshop also hid many "old rules."
Before he became the General Manager, he had dealt with them frequently; they were even the kind of friends who went to foot massages together.
They all had a bit of dirt on each other.
Therefore, after becoming the acting General Manager, he had always turned a blind eye to the two of them.
Now, they merely wanted to push him to the front as a shield.
He was no fool; he wouldn't just stick his neck out because of a little provocation.
"What's the rush?" Wang Wei slowly relaxed his hand and picked up his teacup for a sip.
The scalding tea slid down his throat, just barely suppressing that restlessness.
He forced a calm smile onto his face.
His tone was as peaceful as if he were talking about the weather. "Young Master Jiang is the owner of the company. Hiring professional talent is also for the good of the company. We've followed Brother Jianming for so many years for the sake of the Jiang Family's industry, not for a specific position."
As soon as these words came out, Zhao Dezhu and Qian Maocai were both stunned.
They hadn't expected the usually power-protective Wang Wei to be so "zen."
This was clearly not right.
After all, having stayed in these positions for so long, none of the three of them could claim to be clean.
If Wang Wei was pushed out of his position, how many benefits would he lose every month?
Qian Maocai wanted to say something more, but he was stopped by the look Wang Wei shot him.
There was no anger in that gaze, only a bottomless calm that made him feel inexplicably apprehensive.
Only Wang Wei himself knew that this calm was entirely forced down.
At this moment, his fingertip was pressed against Jiang Cheng's WeChat avatar on his phone screen, his heart churning like muddy waves.
He remembered Jiang Jianming patting his shoulder years ago and saying, "The company will depend on you guys in the future."
He also remembered the hard work of running through three provinces overnight just to stabilize a client.
Although Jiang Jianming had helped him earn a lot of money over the years, directly parachuting two people in to take over now was not just a seizure of power, but a total negation of his years of contribution.
A cold hatred crawled up his spine.
It took deep root in his heart.
He couldn't swallow this insult.
But he knew even better that jumping out to oppose it now would only earn him a reputation for being "arrogant because of his merits and obstructing the company's development," giving Jiang Cheng a perfect reason to kick him out of the game entirely.
The bird that sticks its head out always gets shot; he understood this better than anyone.
"The notice says the two new GMs will arrive tomorrow," Wang Wei put down his teacup, his tone still steady.
He looked at Zhao Dezhu: "Dezhu, organize the procurement department's ledgers for the past year, especially the supplier contracts for Conglomerate raw materials. The new GMs will definitely want to see them tomorrow. Maocai, hurry up and complete the safety hazard inspection reports for the production workshop, as well as last month's production data. Don't let there be any slips."
After a pause, his gaze swept across their astonished faces.
He added: "We are old ministers of the Jiang Family; we must act like it. When the new GMs arrive, cooperate well. Don't let people say we're using our seniority to act out."
Zhao Dezhu and Qian Maocai looked at each other.
However, neither of them said anything more.
They could only nod with grim faces.
After steadying his expression, Wang Wei picked up his coat from the back of the chair and turned to walk out of the meeting room.
But the moment he stepped out, the smile at the corner of his mouth instantly vanished.
His eyes became as cold as ice.
He took out his phone, scrolled to a contact labeled "Accountant Zhang," and hovered his finger over the dial button.
A new official always makes a clean sweep.
He wanted to see just how much weight these two "top talents" actually carried.
Even more, he wanted Jiang Cheng to know that the foundation of Jiangtai Building Materials wasn't something he could just change whenever he wanted... After Jiang Cheng finished handling the matters, he lay directly on the bed and started scrolling through his phone.
After opening his moments, Jiang Cheng saw that Big Secret, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, had actually posted an update.
The image was a photo of her wearing sunglasses and standing inside the Tsinghua University campus, paired with a few green leaves, hinting at the feeling of the Qingming Festival.
After looking at it, Jiang Cheng quickly gave it a like and then continued scrolling down.
Below that was a post from Zhong Chuxi.
Zhong Chuxi: Ancestors, please check and accept.
Zhong Chuxi: [Attached Image]
Jiang Cheng clicked in to take a look; she had posted a handwritten wish list.
1. Bless me not to fail any classes. 2. Bless me to win five million in the lottery. 3. Bless me to become a rich woman. 4. Bless me to meet a rich and Handsome Guy who treats me very well. 5. Definitely bless me to make a fortune!!
There were already some comments below her post.
Jiang Yun: "Haha, I'll do one next year too."
Huang Xiaoli: "Is burning paper allowed? It's not allowed here."
After reading it, Jiang Cheng didn't like it but instead typed a comment.
Jiang Cheng: "Your ancestors just went up the mountain, they didn't enter the Investiture of the Gods..."
After typing that, Jiang Cheng started scrolling down again.
He saw Zhou Ying post a photo of a Buddhist temple with a caption of three candles.
Jiang Cheng: darling, Happy Qingming.
Immediately after commenting, Jiang Cheng deleted it in a second.
Chotto matte! Something's not right!!
Jiang Cheng could only say sorry; he was usually used to copy-pasting "Happy Holiday" comments to a bunch of Girls.
So he had just typed that out subconsciously.
Wishing someone a "Happy Qingming" was like an ex-girlfriend asking you for a red envelope during the Qingming Festival—it was as if his brain had been squeezed.
After deleting it instantly, Jiang Cheng commented again.
Jiang Cheng: "[Hug], I'll come find you as soon as I get back."
After posting that, he scrolled down again.
The next two posts were updates from Pinduoduo's boss, Huang Zheng.
He posted about Pinduoduo's Qingming Festival coupon event.
Jiang Cheng commented on Huang Zheng's post: "Boss Huang is truly dedicated. If you're not successful, who is? [Thumbs Up]."
After commenting, the next post he saw was from Wu Kun.
Wu Kun: "It's so miserable. Not only did they nag me to come back for Qingming without reimbursing my travel expenses, but early this morning, a bunch of relatives gathered to worship, and now they're actually playing Mahjong. They won't even cook and want me to serve tea and water on the side. Tell me, can I resist in this situation?"
Wu Kun: [Attached Image.]
Jiang Cheng clicked to take a look. The photo Wu Kun posted had a very strong Liangguang characteristic.
Several red plastic chairs surrounded the Mahjong table, and the house's decoration was also dominated by rosewood furniture.
Wang Jian commented on Wu Kun's post: "I'm laughing, you filial son..."
Jiang Cheng: "As your father, I'll teach you a move. At this time, you just need to pick up the ancestral tablet behind them and stand to the side while serving them tea and water. The problem will be solved."
Right after Jiang Cheng sent that, Wu Kun replied: "Brother Cheng... are you sure I won't be beaten into a sieve?"
Jiang Cheng replied to Wu Kun: "This move is risky, but the odds of success are high..."