Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 36 The First Person to Poach Someone

Li Zhaoyang was also surprised to hear this. Most of the tables, chairs and decorations in the company were purchased in a unified manner by the purchasing department according to the list.

He wasn't particularly interested in this, so naturally he didn't know that this one thing had violated such a big taboo.

The receptionist in the finance department was a young woman in her early twenties. Feeling the pressure from the boss's gaze, she quickly explained, "This hourglass was brought here by Vice Minister Shao two months ago, and it has been sitting here ever since, untouched."

"Vice Minister Shao? There's a Vice Minister in the Finance Department with the surname Shao? What's his name?"

The receptionist was also taken aback by the question, and after a while, she awkwardly replied, "It's Vice Minister Shao Qiede."

"Pfft..." Du Anrao couldn't help but burst out laughing when he heard the name.

[Shao Qiede? What a shameless name! How could anyone have such a name? Wait, he's the deputy director of the finance department? Oh right, their CFO was hospitalized because of his son's math score; now the finance department is practically run by the deputy director. No wonder there's an hourglass at the door; all the money leaking out goes into his pocket.]

Speaking of this vice minister, he is definitely the first person to poach Li Zhaoyang's men.

With the CFO unexpectedly hospitalized, this deputy minister essentially won without lifting a finger.

While his immediate supervisor was away, he took over his position and gathered his subordinates to become the new leader.

They then impatiently began to use their "Five Ghosts Moving Technique" to engage in various tax evasion and embezzlement activities.

Most companies engage in kickbacks, but the previous CFO wasn't too greedy and stayed within acceptable limits.

These are just small, miscellaneous amounts of money, easy to balance, and if the accounts look good, they won't be easily noticed.

This deputy minister is different. He'll take a big cut of money, and he won't let go of a small one either. Even the dogs that pass by his department will get a few hairs pulled out by him.

Because of his existence, when the Li family fell from grace and everyone turned against them, every investigation uncovered a case involving a sum of money that never fell below nine figures!

[I remember now, the reason this guy dared to embezzle company money so brazenly is because he's not only the deputy head of the finance department, but also the husband of one of Li Zhaoyang's distant cousins. It's his own relative's money, so stealing... cough cough, isn't it even easier to take it?]

Upon hearing this, Xi Jingyue's face darkened even further. The most taboo thing in running a company is this kind of collusion between relatives. If you are not careful, the whole company will turn into a family workshop, with everything going wrong and no future prospects. Not to mention, it will also hold you back.

This Vice Minister Shao is a prime example of such a figure.

Before Li Zhaoyang could even figure out who this so-called Deputy Minister Shao was, he once again received a glare from his cousin.

"..."

Li Zhaoyang, who was secretly holding back his anger, pursed his lips and decided to vent his anger on the culprit.

"Where is he? Call him over right now!"

At that moment, Shao Qiede was having a sweet phone call with his lover when he was suddenly told that the chairman was waiting for him at the department entrance. His expression changed slightly, and he could no longer care about his lover's sweet talk on the other end of the phone, who was asking for a gift. He hurriedly ran out.

Two or three minutes later, Du Anrao and the others saw a middle-aged man dressed in a sharp black suit, with hair so thickly coated with wax that even ants couldn't crawl on it, hurriedly run out of the room. As they got closer, they could smell a tacky perfume.

Li Zhaoyang staggered a step from the stench, his face turning even darker: "You're Shao Qiede?"

Unsure of Li Zhaoyang's intentions, Shao Qiede stammered, "Yes, yes, that's me. Chairman, is there anything you need from the finance department?" "Did you bring this hourglass to the company?"

Shao Qiede was stunned, then noticed the large hourglass next to the front desk, and felt relieved.

"Yes, yes, this was a free gift from a game we played at a company dinner a while ago. They said it represents time and symbolizes how fleeting time is and how precious it is. I thought the meaning was great, and it's something young people like, so I had it placed at the entrance so they can see it when they come to and from get off work."

After speaking, she secretly glanced at Li Zhaoyang and tentatively asked, "Is there something wrong with this decoration?"

In just a few words, he shifted all the responsibility to the purchasing department responsible for arranging the game gifts, completely absolving himself of any involvement.

Li Zhaoyang, unaware of the details, couldn't be too harsh on him after hearing his words, so he turned to Du Anrao for help.

"According to Master Du, how should this matter be resolved?"

Shao Qiede then noticed that there was a young-looking girl with a youthful face beside Li Zhaoyang, and his expression became subtle.

The chairman calls this person a master? And this master is a woman, and so young at that, can she be reliable?
Although Xi Jingyue couldn't hear Shao Qiede's thoughts, he could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his expression, and he sneered inwardly.

How could you be unreliable? We caught you right away, you lazy bum who doesn't work and even digs holes in your own land.
Du Anrao glanced at Shao Qiede: "Just have someone move it away."

"Just move it?"

"If you're really worried, you can have someone buy another Pixiu. Pixiu is for warding off evil spirits and protecting the home. It has a mouth but no anus, which means it only takes in and doesn't give out, so it can accumulate and protect wealth. With it, at least it can stop the money from flowing out. I'm not asking you to accumulate wealth, but just to protect it."

These words were quite intriguing. Shao Qiede was terrified upon hearing them, and Li Zhaoyang also seemed to be pondering them, but for the moment he didn't think of the people around him, so he didn't react immediately.

After briefly touring the finance department and confirming that there were no other inappropriate decorations besides the hourglass, Li Zhaoyang immediately led Du Anrao and others to the public relations department.

As we all know, every company has a group chat that avoids the boss and leaders; it's often simply called a "working class chat group."

Li Zhaoyang led Du Anrao on a tour of the finance department, and before they even left the building, most of the people in the company already knew about it.

As people approached the public relations department, all the employees sat up straight, afraid that the boss might catch them off guard.

As the head of the public relations department, Hong Shitao was even more uneasy, feeling guilty.

After thoroughly checking the office inside and out to make sure nothing that shouldn't have been left behind, he got up and left.

A few minutes later, the group met Minister Hong, who was patiently waiting, in front of the public relations department.

Compared to the flamboyant and ostentatious Shao Qiede, Minister Hong was noticeably more low-key and reserved.

Wearing a simple gray Zhongshan suit, with a neat buzz cut and a polite and humble smile, he perfectly fits the public's stereotypical image of an honest person.

Unfortunately, when you run into Du Anrao, who has the script as a cheat code, even the best disguise is useless.

Sure enough, the next second the two heard Du Anrao's heartfelt praise.

(End of this chapter)