Water and Fire~Chapter 48.3: You Keep It

 

Chapter 48.3: You Keep It

Dong Lan saw from Chu Qianmiao's slightly changing expression that she understood the underlying situation. She smiled. The little girl was just as shocked by the calculations and ugliness as she had been when she first entered the business world. But it didn't matter. With more experience, she'd become as tough as she was.

She spoke, "Shi Peng said he'd wait for my reply on Monday. So I urgently contacted Mr. Ren and called everyone here for a meeting. I apologize for interrupting everyone's weekend."

After a pause, she turned to Ren Yan and asked, "Mr. Ren, how do you think this matter should be handled? Should I settle it publicly or privately?"

Ren Yan asked Zhang Teng for his opinion: "What do you think, Lawyer Zhang?"

Zhang Teng paused and said, "A public settlement would mean Shi Peng suing, and the court would decide the case. However, the lawsuit would affect the company's listing; at least during the litigation, the listing might be postponed. As for a private settlement, it's relatively simple. We could just meet Shi Peng, clarify his demands, and satisfy them. Overall, I recommend avoiding litigation."

Chu Qianmiao frowned as she listened. She truly hated the idea of ​​a company satisfying the ugly desires of those with little ambitions in order to achieve its listing goals.

Ren Yan suddenly called her name.

"Lawyer Chu seems to have an idea."

Chu Qianmiao turned to look at him.

"Tell me what you think of." Ren Yan said this with a rare friendly expression.

Chu Qianmiao gathered her thoughts and looked at Dong Lan. "Ms. Dong, if anything I say later offends you or any of Jialeyuan's executives, I hope you won't mind."

Dong Lan raised an eyebrow at her. "Go ahead."

Chu Qianmiao paused for a moment, then said, "The outcome of this lawsuit really depends on the underlying premise."

"That is, did Mr. Ji Xia, who was in charge of the project at the time, and Tian Zhengcai embezzle part of the project funds? If he didn't, then why should we compromise with Shi Peng?"

"But if Mr. Ji did—and I'm sorry, Ms. Dong, I know Mr. Ji's weight is different from others. He's a veteran who's been with you since the company's founding. I'm just making an assumption—if Mr. Ji really did do this, then Jialeyuan would be in the wrong if we sue, and the outcome wouldn't be good for Jialeyuan's reputation. So maybe... we really have to settle privately."

Chu Qianmiao was reluctant to settle privately. But everything was in service of the overall goal of going public, so what could she do if she was reluctant?

Dong Lan suddenly smiled at her words. "That's why I'm here with everyone instead of attending the company meeting today." She paused, then said to Ren Yan, "Because I'm truly unsure whether Ji Xia actually did it."

Chu Qianmiao discerned a deeper meaning in this statement—while Dong Lan claimed she couldn't hold it against anyone, she actually doubted Ji Xia.

Dong Lan asked Ren Yan, "Mr. Ren, give me some advice."

Ren Yan thought for a moment and said, "Without knowing the full story, it's inappropriate to negotiate a private or public settlement with Shi Peng. Why don't you initiate an internal investigation to find out exactly what happened and whether Mr. Ji and Tian Zhengcai embezzled project funds? Only with a thorough internal investigation can we avoid being overly constrained by external factors and individuals."

Dong Lan remained silent for a while. Then she said she wanted some tea, and everyone took a short break. Chu Qianmiao volunteered to make some tea.

She took the teapot to the pantry, boiled the water, and searched the cabinet for tea leaves. As she found a box of ground green tea, she felt someone enter the door.

She turned and saw it was Ren Yan.

She called out, "Senior." Then, she didn't know what to say.

Ren Yan handed her a small packet of Dahongpao tea and said, "Make this. The teas in the cabinet aren't good. Ms. Dong wouldn't drink them."

Chu Qianmiao said, "Oh," and took his Dahongpao tea.

While waiting for the water to boil, Ren Yan didn't leave. He took a paper cup, filled it with cold water, and began to drink.

The silence was a bit awkward. Chu Qianmiao searched for a topic, and finally decided to ask a question—

"Senior, why is Ms. Dong so embarrassed when she heard about launching an internal investigation?"

But her voice was drowned out by Ren Yan's—

"Did you guys have a good lunch?"

Chu Qianmiao was stunned for a moment, then replied, "Yeah, it was good."

"Qianyu said you guys ate separately," Ren Yan said, sipping his water.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Chu Qianmiao stared at the kettle, wondering why it wouldn't boil. "Brother Qin and the other four ate together, and I ate with my friend."

Ren Yan put down his paper cup, as if preparing to leave.

"Oh, yeah, and my childhood friend too. I brought her along."

Ren Yan picked up the paper cup and filled it with water. After finishing his drink, he asked, "What question did you ask me?"

Chu Qianmiao was stunned for a moment, then said, "Oh, I was asking you why President Dong was so hesitant when she heard about launching an internal investigation."

Ren Yan leaned against the windowsill, watching her as the water boiled. He said, "The reason is actually very simple. She suspects Ji Xia and wants to launch an internal investigation, but she's worried that doing so would damage her relationship with Ji Xia, so she's in a dilemma."

Chu Qianmiao said, "Mr. Liu from the Human Resources Department and Ji Xia are both veteran employees who built the company with Dong Lan. But Dong Lan's attitude toward Mr. Liu and Ji Xia is completely different. She's very harsh with Mr. Liu and very polite with Ji Xia. It seems Ji Xia holds a different place in her heart, otherwise she wouldn't be so embarrassed."

Ren Yan suddenly smiled, a hint of teasing, "You're overthinking this with personal relationships again."

He said, "Dong Lan's hesitation isn't about personal relationships, but about balancing interests."

The water was already boiling, but Chu Qianmiao wasn't in a rush to make tea. She wanted to let Ren Yan finish his words.

"If Ji Xia truly had embezzled project funds, and Dong Lan's internal investigation was spot-on, pinpointing his fault, then that would be fine.

"But if Ji Xia hadn't, and Dong Lan launched an investigation, Ji Xia would say her actions had chilled the hearts of veteran employees and those who had worked with her. Unlike Mr. Liu in HR, Ji Xia was the head of Jialeyuan's national engineering division, commanding vast resources. The engineering department was the core of the entire company. If Ji Xia then used the excuse of chilling embezzlement to start his own business, he might have attracted widespread support, and he might even be able to take many people with him. If Jialeyuan wanted to go public then, it would be difficult due to the significant changes in its corporate governance structure." Chu Qianmiao sighed. She was about to say something when Qin Qianyu popped his head into the tea room and said, "Hey, Qianmiao, is the tea ready?" Then, seeing Ren Yan, he quickly said, "Boss, President Dong said we can continue the meeting."

Chu Qianmiao quickly made some tea and followed Ren Yan back to the conference room.

Dong Lan sipped her tea as she informed Ren Yan of her decision.

"I plan to launch an internal investigation. President Ren is right. Only by thoroughly investigating internally can we avoid external constraints."

Ren Yan immediately said, "President Dong, I know a lawyer with extensive experience in forensic appraisals of construction costs. I'll have him meet you at Jialeyuan on Monday. He'll produce a legally binding report on the construction costs." "

Dong Lan smiled and agreed. They discussed the next steps and reached a preliminary implementation plan, and the meeting concluded.

Dong Lan then reached for her bag and pulled out two beautiful brooches. She handed one to Zhang Teng and said, "Attorney Zhang complimented me on my brooch during our last meeting. I took note. I happen to have two more at home. I'm bringing them to the meeting today. If you don't mind, please give one to your wife!" She then handed another to Ren Yan, "If you don't mind, Mr. Ren, I'll give it to your girlfriend!" She then took out a stack of coffee and cake coupons and distributed them to Chu Qianmiao, Qin Qianyu, and the others. "Thank you for calling everyone in to work overtime on this weekend. Thank you for your hard work, everyone." "

Chu Qianmiao suddenly had a new understanding of Dong Lan. She used to be... quite disgusted with her, but at that moment, she felt that Dong Lan was actually quite good at dealing with people. She felt bad about calling them to a meeting this weekend, so she had specially prepared gifts of varying levels for different people.

At that moment, Chu Qianmiao felt that Dong Lan was truly a woman who was hard to fathom. At first glance, you couldn't see her good side, but after a closer look, you realized she wasn't so bad. She had previously criticized her harshly in meetings, but now she could be so considerate and polite.

Zhang Teng accepted the brooch and thanked Dong Lan with unconcealed joy.

Ren Yan, however, said to Dong Lan, "Ms. Dong, I don't have a girlfriend to give it to. This brooch would be wasted on me. You should take it back."

Dong Lan smiled incredulously, "Mr. Ren, you're such a handsome man, how could you still be single? Even if you were willing to be single, the girls who admire you probably wouldn't. "

Chu Qianmiao picked up the teacup in front of her and gulped down two gulps. The tea had been sitting for a while, a little cold and strong, with a hint of bitterness.

She heard Ren Yan say, "I'm too busy to have a girlfriend."

The cup was empty, and she set it down. The cold tea had a good aftertaste, the bitterness surprisingly giving way to a hint of sweetness.

She heard Dong Lan say with a smile, "I don't take back anything I give away. President Ren, please take care of what you want to do with this brooch!"

She stood up to say goodbye. Ren Yan and Zhang Teng went out to see him off. Zhang Teng left immediately, and Chu Qianmiao helped Qin Qianyu clean up the meeting room. She looked up and saw the brooch still in front of Ren Yan's seat.

Ren Yan returned from seeing the others off and stood at the doorway, saying to the people inside, "You can leave after you've cleaned up. You've worked hard today."

Just as he was about to leave, Chu Qianmiao called out, "Senior, brooch! He glanced casually at the brooch and said to her casually, "It's quite pretty. You can keep it."