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Chapter 103 The Eve of the Storm

The tranquility of the early morning at Future Coast didn't last long. Just as Ji Fanyin placed the fried eggs and bacon on the table, the door to Lei Guoliang's study opened.

He walked out, his face showing no sign of weariness, but rather a sharpness tempered by some kind of decisive action.

He was wearing a simple dark T-shirt and house pants. He walked to the dining table and gave Ji Fanyin a light kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for your hard work, Fanyin." He sat down and picked up the warm milk.

"Of course." Ji Fanyin sat down next to him and asked in a low voice, "Last night—was everything alright? It seems like President Lu has something urgent to discuss."

"Hmm, it's a small matter, I've taken care of it." Lei Guoliang's tone was calm, but when his gaze swept over his fourth sister, who was pouring milk for Fu Xiaoya, and his fourth brother-in-law, who sat down with a simple smile, he paused for a moment: "Fourth sister, brother-in-law, there's something I want to tell you."

Fourth Sister and Fourth Sister's husband immediately sat up straight, looking at him nervously.

"The location for the fresh food supermarket has been decided by President Lu. It's in a newly built community commercial center in Houhai, Nanshan District. It's about a thousand square meters in size, a great location with plenty of foot traffic," Lei Guoliang said calmly as he chopped an egg.

"I've already approved the rent and renovation budget. Next, Mr. Lu will arrange for someone to take you to the site to see it and discuss the plans with the design company. You can share any ideas you have."

"Over a thousand square meters?" Fourth brother-in-law stammered. The small supermarket he had imagined was at most a hundred or two hundred square meters. "Guoliang, this—this is too big! We—we would never manage a store this big!"

"If you don't know how, then learn." Lei Guoliang looked at him, his gaze calm but unwavering: "I've hired a dedicated store manager and purchasing team, who will guide you in the initial stages. What you need to do is learn as quickly as possible how to manage inventory, how to control people, and how to deal with suppliers."

Brother-in-law, you're good with words, so you should go out more often and deal with the community and suppliers. Fourth sister, you're meticulous, so learn to manage accounts and inventory.

I'm giving you a three-month adjustment period. After three months, whether this store makes money or not will depend on yourselves.

He paused, then softened his tone: "If you lose money, you don't need to compensate me; your salaries will still be paid. But if you mess things up because of carelessness and lack of ambition, don't mention business to me again. Understand?"

"Understood—Understood!" Fourth brother-in-law's face flushed with excitement as he nodded vigorously. "Guoliang, don't worry, we'll definitely study hard and never let you down!"

Fourth Sister nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with both fear and excitement at being struck by such a tremendous opportunity.

"Xiaoya," Lei Guoliang said, looking at his niece who was eating quietly, "the training course starts next Monday. You should go to the company with your aunt for the next few days to get familiar with the environment."

Finance is a meticulous and technical job. If you study hard, and with your aunt's guidance, your future won't be bad.

"Understood, Uncle," Fu Xiaoya replied earnestly.

A simple breakfast determined the trajectory of three family members for the next few years. Lei Guoliang gave them a ladder in the most direct way, but also clearly placed the responsibility of climbing it themselves on their shoulders.

Guangzhou, the telephone in the eye of the storm.

At nine o'clock in the morning, Shen Mo had just finished a smaller, more oppressive meeting, in which he gave the area managers involved in the three major risk warnings a thorough dressing down and signed their dismissal orders on the spot.

Back in her office, before she could even sit down, her private cell phone, known to only a very few people, rang.

Seeing the words "Old Master" on the screen, Shen Mo's heart skipped a beat. She took a deep breath, waved for her assistant to leave, closed the door, and then answered the phone.

"Old man."

"Hmm." Lei Guoliang's voice came through the receiver, devoid of emotion: "How far have we gotten in the internal investigation?"

Shen Mo's palms instantly became sweaty. She knew that what was coming had finally arrived.

"We just dealt with three regional managers—they were dismissed and will never be rehired. We are currently investigating all the contracts they handled to recover any possible ill-gotten gains."

"Just expulsion?" Lei Guoliang asked.

"If the evidence is conclusive, it will be transferred to the judicial authorities," Shen Mo said through gritted teeth.

"What happened to Wang Zhenhai, the city manager who ran away?" Lei Guoliang's voice remained calm.

Shen Mo felt a chill creep up from the soles of her feet. Wang Zhenhai had gone missing last night, and she only learned the exact news from her confidant early this morning. She was hesitating whether to report it immediately or make an internal arrest first.

Clearly, Lu Chaoyang was much faster than her.

"It was my oversight." Shen Mo didn't argue, but directly admitted his mistake: "He used the two shops he acquired through the fast turnover to forge company authorization documents and privately mortgaged them to a microfinance company, cashing out more than five million yuan."

I just heard the news; he may have already left the country.

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. Those few seconds felt like an eternity to Shen Mo.

"You know, the Wang Zhenhai case is completely different in nature from those exaggerated and borderline cases," Lei Guoliang said slowly. "This is a criminal offense, and it involves the fast-turnover fund, which is the foundation of the company."

"I know, sir. It was my fault for not managing things properly, and I accept the punishment." Shen Mo's voice was a little dry. "I've already had the legal department prepare the case materials and contacted the economic crime investigation department there. As long as he's still in the country, we'll definitely find him!"

"And then what?" Lei Guoliang asked. "How will we explain this to the other business units? How will we explain it to the shareholders? The quick-turnover fund just started making some money, and then this kind of embezzlement happens. Who will trust our internal controls after this?"

Shen Mo was speechless, a fine layer of cold sweat beading on her forehead. She knew this matter could be a big deal or a small one. On the worst, it could shake Lei Guoliang's trust in her and the entire Southern Business Division.

That 3% stake felt like a red-hot iron, burning her with anxiety.

"Grandpa, I—"

"I'll give you three days." Lei Guoliang interrupted her, his tone suddenly turning cold, and said decisively, "First, Wang Zhenhai must be brought to justice, and the money must be recovered."

If it can't be recovered, the loss will be deducted from the profits of the Southern Business Division and from your bonus this year.

"Second, conduct a special background check on all personnel in the Southern Business Division who participated in the fast-turnover business."

Especially those with certain authority, check their bank statements, social connections, and recent spending. The Lu family will send someone to assist you with this. I need a clean and thorough report.

"Third," Lei Guoliang paused, each word like a heavy hammer blow, "suspend the approval of new funds for the Southern Business Division's fast-turnover business. All approved but unused quotas are frozen."

All ongoing acquisitions will undergo a second review of headquarters' risk control procedures. I will notify you when they will resume.

Shen Mo's vision went black. The suspension of new funding approvals and the freezing of funds meant that the Southern Business Division's sharpest weapon had been temporarily confiscated.

In May, when market competition was fierce, this was tantamount to tying her hands and feet.

"Grandpa, the market is so good right now, stopping would result in huge losses—" she tried to persuade him.

"Is it greater to stop and suffer greater losses, or to have another Wang Zhenhai emerge and smash the whole thing?" Lei Guoliang's voice was as cold as ice.

"Shen Mo, don't forget how Han Mei left. The ink on her name on the merit list isn't even dry yet."

Shen Mo trembled, all the words stuck in her throat. Han Mei! These two words were like a bucket of ice water, completely extinguishing any remaining resentment and hope in her heart.

"I understand, sir. I will give you an explanation in three days." Her voice was low and hoarse, filled with an unprecedented solemnity.

The call ended. Shen Mo, holding the scalding phone, sat blankly in his executive chair, staring out the window at the bustling streets of Guangzhou. For the first time, he felt a deep-seated weariness and—fear.

She finally realized how naive and dangerous her previous idea that "as long as the performance is good, everything else is negotiable" had been. Lei Guoliang's bottom line was far harder and more ruthless than she had imagined.

In Shanghai, an unexpected olive branch arrived. Almost at the same time Shen Mo received the call, Su Wanqing also received a call from Ji Fanyin from Shenzhen.

The content is simple: Lei Guoliang approved in principle the establishment of the group's high-end asset transfer platform and instructed that the East China Business Unit take the lead, with the headquarters providing full cooperation, and required that it be launched for trial operation before the third quarter.

This was an expected victory for Su Wanqing. But before she could fully savor her joy, Ji Fanyin casually mentioned at the end of the call, "By the way, Wanqing, President Shen is currently undergoing internal restructuring and is under a lot of pressure."

If your platform needs any cooperation from the South China region in providing resources or data integration, this period may be a window of opportunity.

Guoliang meant that for the platform to succeed, each business unit needed to contribute its efforts.

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Su Wanqing was incredibly clever and instantly grasped the deeper meaning behind this casual conversation. Lei Guoliang was implying, or even tacitly approving, that she could take advantage of Shen Mo's internal problems and the partial freeze on his permissions to use the platform as a powerful tool to integrate or even extract some of the high-end resources and data in the South China region.

This is a double-edged sword, and also a huge temptation. If done well, she can use this opportunity to extend her reach into Shen Mo's inner circle and enhance Hua Dong's influence within the group.

If she doesn't do well, or if her behavior is too unseemly, it could immediately trigger a fierce backlash from Shen Mo, or even make Lei Guoliang feel that she is too ambitious and difficult to control.

She put down the phone, walked to the window, and gazed at the ships coming and going on the Huangpu River, lost in thought for a long time. Finally, she picked up the internal phone: "Mr. Wang, could you please arrange for me to meet with the person in charge of high-end business and data in the South China region? Just tell them—regarding the issue of the data standardization interface for the group's data transfer platform, I'd like to ask them to send an expert to Shanghai to discuss it together."

Be sincere. Say that we in East China are learners and hope to receive guidance from the advanced experience of South China.

She chose a gentler, more covert approach, using the guise of seeking advice and cooperation to actually conduct reconnaissance and infiltration.

She wanted to see just how tightly Shen Mo's fence was secured. She also wanted to see how far Lei Guoliang's olive branch would allow her to reach out.

In Shenzhen, Lu Chaoyang's actions at headquarters were even faster than Shen Mo had imagined. Less than an hour after Lei Guoliang made the call, a three-person special team dispatched by the headquarters' risk control center had already arrived at the Southern Business Division headquarters in Guangzhou with authorization documents.

Their mission was ostensibly to cooperate with internal audits, but in reality, they possessed independent investigative powers and a direct channel to report to Lu Chaoyang.

Meanwhile, the "Notice on Suspending the Approval of New Fast-Turn Businesses in the Southern Business Unit" and the "Guiding Opinions on Conducting Background Checks on Personnel in Special Positions," personally drafted by Lu Chaoyang, have been officially issued to managers at the general manager level and above in the Southern Business Unit through the OA system, and copied to Su Wanqing, Zhou Zheng, and Ji Fanyin.

These two documents, like two pebbles thrown into a calm lake, stirred up quite a ripple among the senior management of Anjia Tianxia.

Everyone realized that Shen Mo was in trouble, and it was a serious matter; the boss was serious.

Ji Fanyin sat in her office, looking at the internal communication messages that kept popping up on her computer screen, her feelings complicated.

She knew that Lei Guoliang was exercising his control as the one in charge. He was using the harshest methods to discipline Shen Mo, while also using the most ingenious means to balance Su Wanqing's ambition.

And she, as the whip-wielder and the balance beam, must ensure that this chariot, whose parts are getting hot from high-speed travel, does not fall apart during sharp turns.

She began to review the human resources at hand, preparing to deal with potential staff turnover and emotional fluctuations caused by the upheaval in the Southern Business Division.

In the afternoon, she took some time to visit the training department and check on Fu Xiaoya, who was learning basic computer operations. The girl was studying very diligently, but seemed to be struggling a bit.

Ji Fanyin didn't disturb her, but whispered a few words to her mentor: "Give her more encouragement, take it slowly, the key is to build her confidence and cultivate her interest."

Lei Zhengping, the eldest nephew, was completely unaware of the dramatic changes within Anjia Tianxia Group. As usual, he was meticulously checking a batch of newly arrived electronic components in the warehouse of the Hong Kong-funded electronics factory.

The supplier representative, with a forced smile, handed him a thick envelope, which he pushed away without hesitation.

"Mr. Li, you know the rules. If the goods are fine, I'll sign the order. Everything else is off the table." Lei Zhengping's tone was calm, but carried an undeniable firmness.

The supplier reluctantly took back the envelope, muttering about Lei Zhengping's stubbornness, but dared not press the matter further. Lei Zhengping was notorious for his inflexibility in this position, but precisely because of this, his boss trusted him implicitly.

During his break, he received a call from his second younger brother, Lei Zhengchang. On the phone, Lei Zhengchang sounded excited yet mysterious: "Big brother, I have an opportunity! Our store manager said there's a limited number of units available for internal pre-sale, but the price is 20% lower than the market price! You can make a profit just by reselling! It just requires some initial capital; do you think you can scrape together some? It's a sure thing!"

Lei Zhengping frowned: "It's normal. There's no such thing as a free lunch. 20% below market price? Is there a problem? Are all the paperwork complete? Didn't your uncle tell you to focus on doing business honestly? Don't think about these crooked ways."

"Hey, bro! Why are you nagging like Mom? This is a legitimate property development, but the developer is in a rush to recoup their investment! It's a rare opportunity! If you're not interested, fine, I'll find someone else!" Lei Zhengchang hung up the phone impatiently.

Lei Zhengping looked at his phone and shook his head. This younger brother is smart, but he's too cunning and always looking for shortcuts.

After thinking for a moment, he sent Lei Guoliang a text message: "Uncle, it seems that Changzheng is inquiring about some insider housing again, saying that he can buy it at a low price. I'm worried that he's going astray. Do you have time to talk to him?"

The text message was replied to quickly, with just one word: "Understood."

Late at night, in the study. Lei Guoliang looked at the latest briefing sent by Lu Chaoyang: Wang Zhenhai had been apprehended at the border crossing and was being escorted back to Shenzhen.

A background check has been initiated at the Southern Business Division, and two additional suspicious financial transactions have been discovered. Su Wanqing has sent a letter inviting experts from the South China region under the guise of a seminar.