"Right now in Anhua City, Yuelong Group is the recognized leader in construction. Our Li Group can only take second place."
"They'd love for us to make a mistake. Once this gets out, all the homeowners will come to the company to cause trouble. It won't be easy to clean up that mess."
Li Xue's gaze faltered for a moment. She stared deeply at Cui Chun, who frantically lowered his head, not daring to meet her eyes.
"President Lin, President Cui isn't exaggerating. The internet is everywhere these days, and the pressure from public opinion can be terrifying."
Xue Yang frowned and said, "The Sheng Baiqin Garden project is the first one President Lin has been in charge of. She wants this project to end perfectly more than anyone."
"None of you here need to worry. President Lin will definitely resolve this issue."
Lu Yi's face was full of disdain. He chuckled, "Oh? In that case, we'll wait for President Lin's good news."
Li Xue's eyes turned icy. Aside from her own grandfather, Lu Yi's father was the company's largest shareholder. The general manager position should have been Lu Yi's, but she had gained the upper hand with the Sheng Baiqin Garden project.
Now, it seemed Lu Yi hadn't given up.
Cui Chun from Project Department Team One and HR Director Sun He were both taking orders from Lu Yi now.
"President Lu, President Sun, rest assured. I will handle this."
Li Xue remained composed from beginning to end.
Cui Chun said in a low voice, "President Lin, tomorrow is the final day of the deadline Team Leader Gao set."
WHOOSH!
Li Xue's expression changed abruptly. She was furious, wanting to demand why they had waited until now to report this.
But when she felt Lu Yi's venomous, snake-like gaze on her, she immediately calmed down again.
'I don't even need to guess. Lu Yi must have instigated this.'
'He was waiting for me.'
"I understand," Li Xue replied evenly, forcing herself to remain calm.
Seeing she was still so composed, Lu Yi felt a twinge of regret. However, he turned to look at Mu Lin's seat.
"As members of company management, we must be dedicated and responsible. The Special Projects Department has never once passed a performance review."
"If it's the same case this month, I propose we disband the Special Projects Department! What is the company doing, raising a bunch of rich heirs?"
Li Xue frowned, indignant. "The Special Projects Department was established at the request of several board members."
"And? The Special Projects Department does nothing. Their monthly salaries alone are over six hundred thousand, and that doesn't even include other expenses."
"With that much money, letting President Sun recruit a few people with actual talent would be far more useful than just handing it over to that bunch of useless trash."
"Does President Lin really want the rank-and-file employees to be disgruntled?"
'Lu Yi!'
Li Xue gritted her molars in anger. 'That bastard! He's actually using the rank-and-file employees to threaten me!'
At that moment, Mu Lin, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke up.
"You're President Lu?"
Lu Yi looked at Mu Lin with a disdainful expression.
Mu Lin smiled. "I wonder, President Lu, what kind of performance review does my Special Projects Department need to pass to be considered useful?"
Lu Yi was stunned for a moment, then gave a sarcastic laugh. 'What an idiot. Is this the legendary useless teammate I've heard so much about?!'
Li Xue was also furious. 'This brainless Mu Lin, what is he doing stirring up trouble?!'
'Can't he see that Lu Yi is deliberately looking for a fight?'
'He's stupid beyond belief.'
"Vice Team Leader Mu, shut your mouth. You don't have the right to speak here!"
Li Xue said coldly, her tone sharp.
'She had to stop this idiot Mu Lin, or the Special Projects Department would really be disbanded!'
Lu Yi wanted to laugh out loud. Feigning concern for Mu Lin, he said, "President Lin, you can't say that. Anyone who can attend this meeting has been recognized as having the right to speak, and that includes Vice Team Leader Mu."
"President Lin, oh President Lin, hurting people's feelings like that will make others think poorly of you."
Li Xue clenched her fists. 'This Lu Yi… he's like a dog, always waiting for a chance to pounce and bite me!'
"President Lin, what Lu Yi said isn't entirely wrong. The Special Projects Department must show some decent results, otherwise, how can we justify ourselves to the hardworking rank-and-file employees?"
It was as if Mu Lin hadn't understood Li Xue's meaning at all. He continued to look at President Lu with the naive innocence of a young professional just starting his career.
"So please, President Lu, enlighten me!"
Lu Yi's smile grew even wider. "I just love people like you, with such grand ambitions. I won't make it too difficult. You just need to secure a small project of no less than twenty million within one month."
"That way, everyone will acknowledge the value of the Special Projects Department, and no one will ever call it a recycling station for useless trash again."
"Oh, and I forgot to mention. I mean the Special Projects Department has to do this without relying on their family elders, not by having someone pull strings in the dark."
Mu Lin nodded and said seriously, "Of course!"
Lu Yi gave a strange smile. "Then it's settled."
Li Xue's expression was incredibly ugly. She glared viciously at Mu Lin, as if she wanted to skin him alive and eat him whole.
Lu Yi finally saw that Li Xue's expression was no longer full of confidence. He was in an excellent mood and chuckled, "President Lin, can we adjourn the meeting?"
Li Xue secretly took a deep breath before saying, "Dismissed!"
Everyone picked up their documents and waited for the high-level executives to leave before getting up to depart themselves.
Lu Yi walked quickly to the doorway and looked at her mockingly. "President Lin, don't forget, tomorrow is the last day."
With that, he left the conference room, looking utterly pleased with himself.
"Is there something wrong with your brain?" Li Xue was so incensed by Mu Lin that she cursed at him on the spot.
"Nope, my brain has always been fine," Mu Lin replied with a faint smile.
"Fine? I think you've just had it too easy for too long! Mu Lin, don't you understand? No matter how much of a fuss Lu Yi makes, he doesn't have the power to just disband the Special Projects Department!"
"That department was created by the company's board members for their own purposes! That idiot Lu Yi is just using the department to attack me! After a while, this whole thing would have just fizzled out!"
"And you? What did you do? You made an irrevocable promise! When the time comes and you haven't delivered, the Special Projects Department will have to pay the price for your recklessness! Do you think the board members will blame Lu Yi? Not a chance!"
"At that point, the shareholders will only come after you, you short-circuited idiot!"
Besides, if the Special Projects Department was disbanded, she would also face a lot of trouble.
But she didn't say these things to Mu Lin.
Seeing how genuinely angry she was, Mu Lin didn't want to provoke her further. He smiled and said, "Isn't that great? If the Special Projects Department is disbanded, I'll have to leave the company. I won't be an eyesore for you here anymore."
Hearing this, Li Xue froze on the spot.
As for Mu Lin, he left the conference room with a placid expression.
After a long moment, Li Xue finally snapped out of her thoughts and cursed under her breath, "Get lost, you damn man!"
Li Xue returned to her office and said to her secretary, "Get me a meeting with Team Leader Gao Yi from the Quality Inspection and Acceptance Department! At eight o'clock sharp!"
...
「In the office of CFO Lu Yi.」
Lu Yi was overjoyed. He plopped down into his chair, his face filled with delight as he gazed into the distance. Today was truly the most satisfying day he'd had in years.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Lu Yi's voice was cheerful. "Come in!"
HR Director Sun He opened the door and came in, asking curiously, "Gao Yi… can he really take care of Li Xue?"
Lu Yi gave a sinister laugh. "What do you think? Who do you think Gao Yi is? The man has a powerful backer!"
"Huh? A powerful backer?" Sun He's expression flickered as he asked.
"That's a secret. If I tell you, President Sun, the backer won't be as effective anymore." Lu Yi glanced leisurely at Sun He, exuding a cold and sinister aura.
"Li Xue, oh, Li Xue… Hmph! Just you wait. You stole the position that was rightfully mine. Did you really think I'd be such an easy target?"
"Once she gets caught up in a scandal with that Gao Yi, let's see how she can cling to her position in the company!"
Sun He was silent for a moment before saying, "But the board of directors will definitely keep her."
"Hahaha! President Sun, you're forgetting someone!" Lu Yi suddenly burst out laughing. "Have you forgotten about that new idiot vice team leader in the Special Projects Department? His name is Mu Lin, right?"
"That idiot isn't just arrogant, he actually dared to challenge me. It's hilarious! One month! The Special Projects Department will definitely be disbanded!"
"When that happens, will those old geezers behind Chen Xi and the others still be able to support that bitch Li Xue?"
"That idiot Mu Lin is really courting death in spectacular fashion! Chen Xi, that other rich heir, is completely unflappable. I've provoked him repeatedly, and he just acts like nothing happened."