Chapter 109: Like Autumn Winds Sweeping Away Fallen Leaves

In the conference room, every executive at the manager level and above had arrived early. Many of them harbored guilty consciences; upon meeting, they exchanged wary glances, signaling each other to remain silent before communicating their anxieties through hushed looks.

What could they possibly do? Word had it that the head of logistics had been cornered in an elevator by "that guy surnamed Yang," who refused to let him out. Even threatening to jump from the building hadn't worked—how were they supposed to handle someone like that?

Those with clear consciences, however, were beaming. The boss was a generous person. While the future might not offer as many perks as the recent past, the benefits provided by the boss were earned through honest work—a reliable, safe, and legitimate income compared to the handouts funded by others' misappropriated gains, which was the hallmark of Wang Hu’s era.

The sound of Vice President Su’s heels clicked rapidly from the doorway. She moved to the seat at the boss’s immediate right so quickly that many had yet to register her arrival. It wasn't until she rapped on the table to demand silence that everyone realized the truth: the woman who had previously kept a low profile was, from this day forward, the company's second-in-command.

But for whom was the seat to the left reserved? Another vice president? Those in the know curled their lips in derision. It was clearly meant for the man of the hour. The person who had chased away Wang Hu and completely overhauled the company's internal environment deserved to sit in that chair, if only for his merits. It was only right; he was now a figure that even the vice presidents dared not provoke. Besides, he held the boss’s trust, so no one dared to speak out of turn. This wasn’t a place for others to offer opinions; the boss held total control over the company, and she alone would make the final decisions.

Times had changed. The company had entered the era of the boss.

However, when Chen Aijia and An Ya walked in, one after the other, and the man surnamed Yang was nowhere to be seen, whispers began to ripple through the room.

"Too arrogant!" many scoffed inwardly. "Typical small-timer. He can't even remember something as important as a company meeting. He's just not cut out for the big leagues!"

Chen Aijia looked around, puzzled by Yang Changfeng’s absence. "Call the two of them. Why aren't they here yet? Tell them to set aside whatever they're doing," she said, though she wasn't truly angry. She felt she should grow thicker skin; she was angry with Yang eight hundred times a day anyway. If he chose to disrespect the boss, then so be it—he had never shown respect for anyone in the first place.

Before An Ya could pull out her phone, Yang Changfeng came charging in, Zhang Baode in tow. He was dragging a man behind him who was shouting, "I’ll sue you! Just you wait!"

It was, of course, the vice president whom Yang had locked in the elevator.

Yang had been nearly at the conference room when he remembered the vice president and discussed it with Zhang Baode: "He’s an executive, after all. It wouldn't look good if he didn't attend the meeting." In truth, he was worried that someone might try to fix the elevator while he was in the meeting and let the guy go, so he had sent Zhang Baode to open it.

Zhang Baode thought to himself that a leader was a leader; the man was clearly afraid of his cohorts releasing the prisoner, yet he framed it with such high-minded rhetoric. It was a skill Zhang felt he couldn't master, so he stopped overthinking it. As they reached the doorway, Zhang made a resolution: he would simply keep his head down, maintain his professional attitude, and focus on doing his own job well.

As they entered, Chen Aijia stopped Yang, who had just dumped the vice president onto a chair, and pointed a slender finger toward the leather executive chair to her left. "Sit there."

Only a fool would take that seat—it was just asking for trouble. He was already drawing enough attention; to take such a high-profile position as the third-in-command would be to invite a firestorm.

"Forget it," Yang replied. "Whoever wants it can take it. I’m from the Security Department; I’m basically here just to listen. Why would I sit so far up front?"

He led Zhang Baode to a cluster of empty seats near the window—the spots where Wang Hu’s cronies used to gather during meetings. They had remained vacant ever since. It was a testament to how chaotic the company had been that even a security squad leader had once been allowed to attend these meetings. After sitting down, Yang reached into his pocket, only to realize he had brought neither a notebook nor a pen.

Zhang Baode proved his worth by immediately pulling a small notebook and a pen from his pocket, whispering with a grin, "I was afraid you might forget, so I grabbed an extra set from the receptionist."

Yang blinked and whispered back, "Old Zhang, you really are a talent!"

Zhang wondered if that was a compliment or a critique.

"Alright, everyone, quiet down. The meeting is starting," Vice President Su said, glancing at the logistics vice president, who sat slumped on his chair like a low-level employee. She turned on the microphone. "Over the past two days, much has happened, but many problems have been resolved. I won't go into the specifics; once the relevant departments have finished their thorough investigation, a formal report will be issued to every department. Today’s meeting focuses on two things: first, the liquidation of Wang Hu’s interest group, and second, the recruitment of new staff to bolster our departments."

Chen Aijia remained silent; she hadn't yet finished reading the bills sent over by the finance office. However, Team Leader Su had been diligent; in less than an hour, she had flagged the most problematic entries on the reports, which were more than enough to identify the corrupt individuals in the upper echelons.

Just then, a manager—whose department was unknown but who had certainly wined and dined with Wang Hu in the past—raised an objection. His excuses sounded plausible, as if he were acting in the company’s best interest. "I don’t agree with blowing these issues so far out of proportion. Issues are issues, and achievements are achievements..."

"You don't need to dictate the agenda. Focus on your own work," Su replied coldly, cutting the manager off. She spoke with newfound authority: "If anyone here is still unsure about the severity of the issues, we can have the finance office read the bills and statements aloud. Three days should be enough—we can eat and sleep right here in the conference room if we have to."

She turned to Chen Aijia. "Director Chen, what do you think?"

"Proceed as planned. Ignore the background noise," Chen Aijia said, finding the manager's name on the report and glancing at him coolly. "If anyone has objections, keep them to yourselves for now. The purpose of this meeting is to set the tone."

As the meeting continued, Yang realized his only role was to provide support for Chen Aijia and Vice President Su. He didn't need to do anything else; he knew far less about the company than they did. As the young team leader from finance began reading the reports, Yang couldn't help but yawn, pulling out his phone to chat with the bored Sun Zhaoxing.