Just as Li Jianwen was about to reveal the insider news about Qingtian International, Li Huiran grabbed him, shaking her head with a pained expression.
Lu Chunqing's narrow eyes were filled with scorn as he looked at Li Huiran. 'You bitch,' he thought, 'just wait until I'm the general manager. I'll send you out to the construction sites every day and see how smug you are then!'
Lu Dian's staunchest ally was Director Qian, a portly, clean-shaven, middle-aged man.
He looked up and said solemnly, "We absolutely must secure Lot 5. This kind of opportunity for easy profit is once in a lifetime. Director Lu deserves the primary credit, and Lu Chunqing's abilities are also outstanding. I wholeheartedly support him for the general manager position."
Director Wang retorted with a stern expression, "I disagree! General Manager Li handled the group's crisis in a timely manner yesterday. She is not only without fault but has actually rendered a great service. To simply dismiss her like this is completely unreasonable."
Fatty Qian snorted coldly. "She's the one who caused the crisis, so who else would handle it? If she remains general manager, the group might just go bankrupt tomorrow!"
Director Wang refused to back down, arguing, "Fatty Qian, don't be an alarmist. It's obvious someone was behind yesterday's incident. President Li has been general manager for so long, and the group hasn't gone bankrupt yet…"
Lu Dian's eyes narrowed, a cold glint in them. He roared angrily, "Both of you, shut up! What are you arguing about in a board meeting? Let's just vote!"
Fatty Qian sneered, "I second the motion for Lu Chunqing to be general manager!"
Director Wang responded coldly, "I object!"
"…"
A moment later, the vote came in: eight to eight.
Of the eight votes against, six came from the shareholders backing the General Affairs Department, one from Wu Haichao, and one from Li Jianwen.
The expressions on the faces of the Lu father and son were extremely grim. They had offered up such a huge prize and still hadn't gotten the result they wanted.
Rage burned in Lu Chunqing's narrow eyes. The general manager position that should have been his had hit another snag!
Lu Dian was seething. He never imagined that the small General Affairs Department Li Huiran had established would be able to tie several wavering shareholders to her cause.
'I really underestimated that girl!'
'But even so, so what!'
Lu Dian slammed his hand on the table in fury and pointed at the directors who voted against him, roaring, "A tie vote? Let me, Lu Dian, tell you all something today. If you don't give Chunqing the general manager position, then you can forget about getting Lot 5 in the east of the city. At worst, I'll pull my shares and take the land deal to the Huang Family!"
His words sent a shockwave through the room.
'Damn! Lu Dian is just flipping the table!'
'If they don't agree to his demand, not only will they lose out on the profit, but he'll also defect to the enemy!'
'This move is just too vicious!'
Li Huiran and Li Jianwen were frozen on the spot, a profound sense of defeat washing over them.
Lu Chunqing's face was flushed. 'Dad really is amazing. With just one sentence, he's backed them into a corner! The wavering directors will definitely side with me now.'
'Hah! What's a tiny General Affairs Department compared to the profits from Lot 5?'
'Now, even an idiot knows what choice to make.'
Haggard, with dark circles under his eyes, Wu Haichao felt utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. He hadn't expected the internal division within the Li Clan to be so severe. For the sake of the Wu Family's plan, the Li Clan absolutely could not fall into the hands of an outsider.
Thus, he spoke up apathetically, "The contract for Lot 5 hasn't been signed yet, has it? Who knows if you're just bluffing."
The conflicted directors had a sudden realization. 'Oh, that's right. The contract isn't signed. It's just Lu Dian's word against nothing.'
Facing everyone's doubtful gazes, Lu Dian felt insulted. His squinty eyes flew wide open as he said with extreme, forceful seriousness,
"Would I, Lu Dian, lie to you about something like this?"
Director Wang immediately shot back sarcastically, "Who knows? What if you really are bluffing? Lot 5 is a guaranteed money-maker just sitting there. Why would this Tang Dan give it to you at cost?"
Lu Dian pointed at Director Wang, his mustache trembling with rage. "You… you old bastard!"
Not to be outdone, Director Wang remained perfectly composed and calmly retorted, "You little bastard."
Neither man would back down. Seeing the atmosphere grow increasingly hostile, people from both sides started trying to mediate.
In the end, the board reached a consensus: Project Group Two would be established and managed by Lu Chunqing. Once the contract for Lot 5 was secured, Lu Chunqing would be appointed general manager. In the interim, Li Huiran would remain in the position.
After the board meeting, in the vice general manager's office, the three members of the Lu Family held their own private meeting.
Lu Chunqing said resentfully, "That son of a bitch Wu Haichao was clearly planted by the Li Family to keep us in check! And that bunch of bastards backing the General Affairs Department—once I'm general manager, I'll fire every last one of them!
"And that old geezer, Wang! I'll force him to sell his shares. They're all a bunch of morons. Don't they know the only way to make money is by following our Lu Family!"
Lu Chunhong consoled him with a haughty expression, "Alright, little brother, don't be angry. As long as we get the contract, you'll be the general manager! Dad is still the most impressive one, securing Lot 5 so quietly!"
Lu Dian's small eyes were not calm. "Your sister is right. Why waste your anger on them? They're just grasshoppers in late autumn—they won't be jumping for much longer. I've scheduled a meeting with Boss Tang. He's free tomorrow. You'll come with me to sign the contract."
"Yes, Dad! Once we get that contract, the Li Clan will be in our pocket sooner or later!" Lu Chunqing clenched his fists, his face filled with a sinister malevolence.
「In the Li Group's General Affairs Department」
Chen Dong was enthusiastically playing a game. He had discovered the secret to getting stronger in this web game: paying real money.
He was currently reveling in the thrill of being a pay-to-win player, having already dropped several thousand yuan in a single morning.
His in-game character was now on a completely different level, his combat power having multiplied by hundreds, even thousands of times. The warrior who was now helping him level up was the same one who had brutally killed him dozens of times just yesterday.
In fact, it was this warrior who had taught him how to spend money on the game.
Just as he was getting into the zone, his phone buzzed with a message from Li Huiran.
Elder Li had come to the company and was asking about him. Li Huiran told him to come to the general manager's office.
He had no choice. Since Elder Li was looking for him, he could only go AFK.
This was Chen Dong's first time in Li Huiran's office. It was a large space divided into two rooms. The outer area, decorated in a grand and luxurious style, was actually where her secretary, Xiaoyu, worked. The inner room, in contrast, was exquisite yet simple. This was Li Huiran's true office.
He nodded to Xiaoyu in the outer office as a greeting, then knocked on the inner door and went inside.
Elder Li was already sipping tea on the sofa. Li Jianwen sat beside him with a worried look on his face, while Li Huiran stood by her desk, her fingers tapping restlessly on the surface.
Elder Li set down his cup and smiled gently. "Xiaodong, you're here! How are you finding work?"
The father and daughter duo, Li Jianwen and Li Huiran, had naturally called Elder Li over to discuss their strategy.
But as soon as Elder Li arrived, he didn't say a word about the situation and instead asked about Chen Dong first. Li Huiran had told him everything, but he wasn't satisfied and insisted on having Chen Dong come so he could ask him personally.
Sometimes, Li Huiran felt that in her grandfather's eyes, the entire Li Group was less important than Chen Dong.
Chen Dong grinned and replied, "Don't worry, Grandpa, it's great!"
Elder Li smiled and nodded. "As long as you like it!"
Li Jianwen couldn't sit still any longer. He said anxiously, "Dad, Lu Dian and his people might have already gone to sign the contract. We need to think of something, quickly!"
Elder Li frowned slightly. "I've already handed the company over to you. What kind of solution do you expect from me?"
Li Huiran said uneasily, "Grandpa, if Lu Dian and his son really sign the contract with Tang Dan, Lu Chunqing will definitely suppress all opposition and seize control of the company as soon as he becomes general manager. At that point, even if we secure the Qingtian International project, we'll just be securing it for them."
"If we reveal the insider news now, we might be able to hold onto the general manager position, but the risk is too great. Not to mention the danger from the Huang Family, we might also sour our relationship with the Zhao Family and have them revoke our preferred status. So please, Grandpa, you have to give us some advice!"
Elder Li sighed softly. "Sigh… I have no idea how Lu Dian managed to persuade Tang Dan to give him Lot 5 at cost. If Tang Dan hadn't agreed to sell that land, Lu Dian would have no leverage, and this whole problem would be solved."
Li Jianwen pulled out his phone and scrolled restlessly. "But we don't even know this Tang Dan. He's in Tianjiang City, and we're in Jiangzhou. We have no dealings with him. If we show up at his door and tell him not to sell the land, he's not going to do us that favor!"
Just as the Li father and daughter were frantic with anxiety and Elder Li was out of ideas, Chen Dong fished out a business card.
"Are you guys talking about this Tang Dan?"