He sat down as he spoke, giving Zhao Dezhu and Qian Maocai a meaningful look.
The two sat down as well, but they were clearly no longer as arrogant as before, their postures restrained like cats being held by the scruff of their necks.
Zhou Shoucheng glanced at Jiang Cheng, and seeing that he had no intention of speaking, continued.
"We were just talking about the procurement contracts." He looked at Zhao Dezhu, his tone unhurried. "President Zhao, I've requested to see the bulk raw material procurement contracts from the past three years three times this month, and each time you said you were looking for them. Since President Jiang is here today, why don't we sort it out on the spot... Regarding cement and steel, who exactly were last year's suppliers, what were the contract terms, and roughly how long will it take for you to produce them?"
The flesh on Zhao Dezhu's face twitched.
It seemed Zhou Shoucheng had found someone to back him up now that Jiang Cheng was present.
To actually suggest "sorting it out on the spot."
In the past, when he played Tai Chi and stalled, they could only swallow their resentment and ask "if they had them," but now he was actually asking "how long until they could be produced."
Having failed to produce them after three requests in a month, it wouldn't be good to keep stalling now that the boss was here.
"This..." Zhao Dezhu looked toward Wang Wei.
He hadn't truly dealt with Jiang Cheng since the company was handed over to him.
Furthermore, judging by the move of parachuting in Zhou Shoucheng and Li Zhenguo, Jiang Cheng was likely no pushover.
Seeing Zhao Dezhu's gaze, Wang Wei pretended to pick up his teacup, not responding.
Seeing this, Zhao Dezhu cursed inwardly and could only brace himself to say, "President Zhou, our company's procurement archive management is indeed a bit messy. To find them, we'd have to search through everything; it won't be quick..."
"It's fine," Zhou Shoucheng said calmly. "Then just send me the electronic versions... Electronic versions are also acceptable."
"This... everything was archived on paper before; there are no electronic versions," Zhao Dezhu replied.
"I can wait. Or you can tell me roughly which cabinet they're in, and I can go look for them myself."
Zhao Dezhu's face turned green.
Qian Maocai quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Oh, President Zhou, don't be in such a hurry. Let's take these things slowly. It's not too late to clear up the surface-level work before diving into the details."
Li Zhenguo chimed in from the side, "Factory Director Qian, speaking of surface-level work, I happen to want to ask about something. How many more times has the equipment on Production Line No. 3 malfunctioned this month?"
Qian Maocai was stunned. "Line No. 3? No, it's quite normal."
Li Zhenguo tore a page from his notebook and pushed it forward. "This is what I noted down while chatting with the night shift workers yesterday. Line No. 3 stopped twice this week, the longest being for three hours. The workers said it was temporary maintenance, but the maintenance frequency is clearly off. Factory Director Qian, are you sure it's 'quite normal'?"
Qian Maocai's expression changed.
He glanced at the paper, then at Li Zhenguo, his lips trembling, but no words came out.
Wang Wei finally spoke, his tone conciliatory. "Factory Director Qian, why haven't you mentioned this? If there's a problem with the equipment, it should be reported for repair or replaced. You can't just let it drag on."
Qian Maocai quickly followed up, "Yes, yes, President Wang is right, it was my oversight. Well... Line No. 3 does have some minor issues, but they're all small matters and don't affect production."
Li Zhenguo didn't give him a way out. "Small matters? The bearings don't even sound right and you call that a small matter? Factory Director Qian, if you don't believe me, let's go to the site right now and I'll show you. Since the boss is here, why don't we all go take a look?"
Qian Maocai was left speechless.
The conference room fell silent for a few seconds.
Jiang Cheng hadn't said a word, simply leaning against the back of his chair, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The sound wasn't loud, but each tap felt like it was drumming on their hearts.
Zhao Dezhu couldn't sit still anymore and gave a dry cough. "Um... President Jiang, do you have any instructions for us today?"
Jiang Cheng looked at him and smiled. "No instructions. I was just passing by and decided to listen in."
He paused, his tone still flat. "Please continue; I'm just here to observe."
Zhao Dezhu and Qian Maocai exchanged a glance and stopped talking.
Wang Wei picked up his teacup, took a sip, and set it down.
He looked at Zhou Shoucheng, his tone much more polite than before. "President Zhou, the things you mentioned are all real issues. How about this: I'll have the administration department cooperate with you. Whatever documents you need, you can request them directly. Procurement contracts, equipment archives—you can have whichever year you want."
Zhao Dezhu was stunned. "President Wang..."
Wang Wei ignored him and continued, "Our company has developed rapidly over these years, and it's unavoidable that some management details haven't kept up. You and Mr. Li are experts specifically invited by President Jiang, so it's perfect for you to help us sort through these issues..."
These words were perfectly watertight.
He both showed respect to Jiang Cheng and Zhou Shoucheng and kept his own posture very humble.
Before Jiang Cheng arrived, this old fox spoke politely, but most of the time he was just passing the buck.
The two of them hadn't expected him to be so straightforward now.
Zhou Shoucheng could only nod. "Thank you for your cooperation, President Wang."
Li Zhenguo didn't speak, but his gaze lingered on Wang Wei's face for a second.
Jiang Cheng still maintained that lazy appearance, his fingers continuing to tap the armrest.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Then he suddenly stopped.
The conference room was so quiet that the sound of the wind outside could be heard.
Jiang Cheng looked at Zhao Dezhu and asked nonchalantly, "President Zhao, roughly how long will it take to find those procurement contracts we were talking about?"
Zhao Dezhu was taken aback. "This... President Jiang, there's a lot of stuff in the archives; it might take two or three days..."
"Two or three days?" Jiang Cheng smiled, stood up, and brushed non-existent dust off his trouser leg. "Have them in Manager Zhou's office tomorrow..."
When he said this, the flesh on Zhao Dezhu's face twitched again...
Wang Wei quickly stood up. "President Jiang, I'll supervise them tonight. We'll definitely find the documents by tomorrow..."
Jiang Cheng waved his hand. "Alright, see, Uncle Wang is still the most efficient..."
Although he called him Uncle Wang, how could the three of them not see Jiang Cheng's true attitude?
After reaching the door, Jiang Cheng suddenly stopped and looked back.
His gaze swept over the faces of Zhao Dezhu and Qian Maocai before finally landing on Wang Wei.
"By the way," he said, his tone still casual, "Uncle Wang, how has your cousin's trading company been doing lately?"
The smile on Wang Wei's face instantly froze.
This... how could Jiang Cheng know...
Jiang Cheng didn't wait for an answer and pushed the door open to leave.
The conference room was deathly silent.
Zhao Dezhu and Qian Maocai looked at each other, not knowing what had happened.
Only Wang Wei stood there, his fingers trembling slightly.
He knew Jiang Cheng hadn't asked that question on a whim...
As he reached the elevator and pressed the down button, his phone vibrated.
A message from Zhou Shoucheng: "President Jiang, Wang Wei's reaction in the conference room just now wasn't right. He seemed particularly concerned about what you said regarding his 'cousin's trading company.' Should I look into it further?"
Jiang Cheng glanced at it. "Keep an eye on him."
After the elevator doors opened and he stepped inside, Jiang Cheng watched the floor numbers jump one by one, replaying the scene in his mind.
If these three were in his own company, they would have been fired and sent packing long ago. The reason Jiang Cheng hadn't acted yet was simply because he wanted to leave his father some fond memories.
Jiang Cheng could overlook the money they took that they shouldn't have taken while his father was still at the company.
After all, Old Jiang might not have been unaware of those things.
Now that Zhou Shoucheng and Li Zhenguo were managing the company, as long as they kept their heads down and worked hard...
Jiang Cheng could accept these people working steadily until retirement, receiving the money they were due, and living out the rest of their lives well...
It was past ten in the evening...
Jiang Cheng leaned against the headboard, a cigarette between his fingers, unlit.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling window was the night view of the City, with lights from ten thousand homes.
Behind him, the sound of running water came from the bathroom.
Jiang Cheng was still reminiscing about the scene from earlier.
The three women were lying there, all turning back to look at him at once.
That look of shame and annoyance, yet biting their lips and not resisting.
After a satisfied sigh, he opened the system rewards to take a look.
Ding—'Advance by Retreating' card usage complete, beginning satisfaction settlement..."
"Calculating..."
"Physical Pleasure: Comprehensive score 99 (out of 100)"
"Psychological Acceptance: Comprehensive score 95"
"Post-event Reminiscence: Comprehensive score 99"
"Overall Rating: S"
Looking at the scores, the corners of Jiang Cheng's mouth curled slightly.
Fortunately, he hadn't used this card during the first execution.
Otherwise, the psychological acceptance—