Chapter 155: Purging the Sect

"Your Highness, the call is connected," Fan Jun said in a low voice, handing the phone to Jiang An.

"Are you Mr. Jiang? This is Qiao Ye. It is a great honor to receive your call. How may I be of service to you, sir?" A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the line, sounding extremely respectful.

This Qiao Ye had personally witnessed the battle at Great Solitary Reef back then, so he naturally knew Jiang An's weight and standing.

"Family Head Qiao, sorry to disturb you. There is someone here named Zhang Mao who claims to be quite influential in the Northeast, and he has crossed me..."

Before Jiang An could finish, the person on the other end panicked: "Zhang Mao?! He must have eaten the guts of a leopard to dare offend Mr. Jiang. There's no need for you to dirty your hands, sir. I, Qiao Ye, will personally deal with him. Please hand the phone to him."

Jiang An reached out, and Fan Jun passed the phone to Zhang Mao.

Zhang Mao was trembling all over at this moment, but still clinging to a slim chance of hope, he took the phone and softly uttered, "Hello?"

"You're a dead man!" Four words were all the person on the other end said before hanging up, instantly sucking the soul right out of Zhang Mao.

It really was Qiao Ye! The folk customs in the Northeast were fierce and bold, and the Qiao family, capable of becoming the underground kings there, was naturally the most ruthless existence. They always meant what they said, and whatever they promised would surely be fulfilled.

"Chairwoman! Please forgive me! I spoke out of turn, I deserve to die!" Zhang Mao suddenly fell to his knees in front of Song Wanshuang, crying and pleading for mercy while fiercely slapping his own face.

Jiang An waved his hand. "Escort this President Zhang out properly. Be gentle, and make sure not to hit him. I don't want to soil my own hands."

Fan Jun pointed a finger, and two muscular subordinates behind him dragged Zhang Mao out the front gate like a dead pig. His miserable shrieks echoed all the way, filling many hearts with even deeper dread. Wei Hongru's facial muscles also twitched unnaturally twice.

"Chairwoman, this Zhang Mao was arrogant and rude, so this ending is well-deserved! What is 950 million, anyway? Rest assured, I'll earn it back for you tomorrow," Wei Hongru said with a smile, emphasizing his own capability while unable to help glancing at Jiang An a few times.

Song Wanshuang remained unmoved, her face showing neither sorrow nor joy. "Wei Hongru, my old classmate, let's settle our accounts clearly today. First of all, let me ask you, what relation are the company's front desk supervisor and the head of security to you?"

Sure enough, it had come. Huang Meixi in the crowd could not stop her teeth from chattering up and down.

Wei Hongru lowered his head and said guiltily, "It seems you already know. Alas, I let my personal bias get the better of me. The front desk supervisor, Huang Meixi, is my distant cousin, and the head of security, Wei Honggang, is my paternal cousin. Neither of them has a high level of education, and unable to withstand the nagging of the elders in the family, I arranged for them to work at the company. This is my mistake, please punish me."

What a master of making light of a serious matter. Song Wanshuang smiled. "Is that so? Well, it's not a big deal either. May I ask where your cousin is? Please invite him out to meet us."

Wei Hongru's heart skipped a beat. He raised his head and searched the crowd, but saw only security guards, with no sign of the head of security.

"Where is your captain?!" Wei Hongru asked, glaring.

The glared-at security guard twitched the corner of his mouth and replied timidly, "C-Captain, he drank too much alcohol last night and is still, still sleeping right now."

A chorus of jeers instantly erupted from the crowd, causing Wei Hongru's face to flush red.

Song Wanshuang clapped her hands. "Splendid, what a fine cousin indeed. Director Wei, you tell us yourself, how should this be handled?"

Things having reached this point, what more could Wei Hongru say? He gritted his teeth and said, "Naturally, he must be fired! Never to be employed again!"

"Just like that?!" Xiaorong refused to let it go. "Chairwoman, do you know the compensation and benefit levels of our company's security team? I can put it this way: number one in the industry! Ordinary guards get a monthly salary of eight thousand, the captain gets fifteen thousand, plus all kinds of benefits. And where do they come from? Nothing but social dregs, ruffians and scoundrels of low character, coming in late and leaving early, seriously damaging the company's image. And what about that Huang Meixi? You saw how she threw her weight around with you just now. Normally, she even accepts bribes from other companies to arrange reservation times. What, are we not going to deal with them together?"

As soon as these words were spoken, whether it was Wei Hongru or the security team, they all glared at Xiaorong with vicious eyes. Xiaorong, however, looked at them with disdain. With the chairwoman and her husband right here today, did these people really think they were going to get off easy?

"Very well, my Director Wei, is what Xiaorong said true?" Song Wanshuang asked with a smile.

Wei Hongru let out a deep breath and replied, "Yes, it was my oversight. I suggest that all of these people be fired immediately!"

He wanted to sacrifice the rook to save the king, but the "rook" was not having it.

"Cousin, don't do this! I don't want to go back to the countryside!" Huang Meixi suddenly rushed out, hugging Wei Hongru's thigh and crying piteously.

"Why should you fire us? We haven't done anything wrong! Besides, we signed labor contracts. If you want to fire us unilaterally, we'll sue you! We'll come and make trouble every day, let's see how you do business!"

"Right, exactly! We signed contracts!"

"If you want us to leave, it'll cost at least a million each in compensation!"

"A million is too little! The company has so much money, I say at least three million!"

The security team also joined in the commotion, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.

Song Wanshuang took it all in stride and said to Fan Jun, "Fan Jun, how do you think this should be handled?"

Fan Jun smiled coldly. The Yu Gate rarely engaged in killing and fighting these days, leading these bastards to lose all sense of self-preservation and bully their way right up to the emperor's doorstep.

He called one of his subordinates forward and instructed directly, "Remember these people well. Before tonight is over, break one of each of their arms and legs, and drive them out of Lincheng. If they dare to return, you know what to do."

"Understood."

Seeing Fan Jun speak so arrogantly, the members of the security team grew furious. Clenching their fists, they shouted, "Oh yeah? You want to break an arm and a leg of your daddy here? I don't know about you, but I grew up fighting! Brothers, get them! Forget the chairwoman, let's just beat them up first!"

"Beat them!"

Just as the security team was about to riot, a crisp *biu* sound rang out, and the ringleader clutched his leg, rolling around on the ground amidst spraying blood and shrill screams. Looking back at Fan Jun's subordinate, he was expressionlessly walking back toward the ringleader with a silenced pistol, firing another shot directly into the man's arm.

Cold, ruthless, and overwhelmingly powerful—this action terrified everyone in the security team. They were adept at hacking people with knives, but playing with guns? They wouldn't even dare to dream of it!

"See that? Do as I did and cripple these bastards!"

At the order, four or five bodyguards behind Fan Jun all stepped forward, pulling pistols from their chests and pointing them at the heads of the security team, rounding them up to be led away. Everyone present knew what their fate would be.

The rest of Xishizi Company's employees finally realized the other side of the company: not only did it offer high salaries and great benefits, but its background was also terrifyingly vast. The mere half-dozen pistols that had just appeared, along with the willingness to open fire in public—the sheer magnitude of such influence was enough to make anyone shudder just thinking about it.

Huang Meixi no longer dared to make a sound, and Wei Hongru's back was completely drenched in sweat. A terrible premonition suddenly gripped him.

"Wei Hongru, I don't want to beat around the bush anymore. Confess your own problems," Song Wanshuang said, massaging her temples.

Wei Hongru's expression flickered uncertainly. He wanted to open his mouth and tell the whole truth, but he was deeply unwilling. Human nature always clung to a slim thread of wishful thinking.

Song Wanshuang nodded and said with disappointment, "I gave you a chance and you didn't take it. Don't blame me for turning hostile and showing no mercy!"

"I'd say I've treated you quite fairly, wouldn't you? You seem to have just turned thirty this year. Previously, you were just a mid-level manager at a foreign enterprise. I took a fancy to your drive and ability, and out of regard for our four years of college friendship, I invited you to help me manage Xishizi, paying you an annual salary of forty million! I even gave you almost complete autonomy and complete trust. How did you repay me? Huh?! Promoting your favorites, lording over others, turning the company into a foul-smelling mess! And what's more, before I left, I arranged for Xiaorong to be the deputy financial director—how did she end up as the personnel manager instead? Even more impressive, you embezzled 700 million in public funds of the company to capitalize a shell company run by your brother-in-law. What a magnificent stroke of work!"

That final sentence completely shattered Wei Hongru's last shred of hope. Sweat poured from him like rain, and learning from Zhang Mao, he dropped to his knees in front of Song Wanshuang, crying and pleading, "Chairwoman, I was wrong! I was truly wrong! Please give me a chance! I will turn over a new leaf, reform myself, and make up for every cent of the loss to the company! Chairwoman, for the sake of our many years of college friendship, please spare me this once!"

"Heh, people are always greedy. Watching hundreds of millions of funds pass through your hands every day, how could you justify it to yourself without skimming a little off the top, right?" Song Wanshuang said to herself. "However, actions have consequences. Director Wei, you tell me, how many years in prison does embezzling 700 million in public funds carry?"

Wei Hongru froze, about to resume his tearful pleas, but Song Wanshuang was already thoroughly impatient. She waved her hand to have him dragged away. Presumably, not only would he lose every penny he owned, but he would also be spending the next dozen years or so dropping soap in prison.

Afterward, Song Wanshuang's gaze fell once again upon the group of executives, who were now as quiet as cicadas in winter.

"Xiaoxian, you clean up the company here. I'm going to go check what went wrong on the production line."

Jiang An had no interest in these trivial matters. After saying this to Song Wanshuang, he led his people toward the factory.