Chapter 136: Overture (3) |
Ji Yongsheng saw the look on Gu Shiming's face and could roughly guess what he was thinking.
The rumors circulating within the company—how could Ji Yongsheng not know about them? He was also well aware that Gu Shiming had been misunderstood. But this kind of thing was unavoidable no matter where you worked, and Ji Yongsheng himself was no exception. He wasn't that much younger than Dai Songquan. Though he wasn't a founding team member, he had joined the company quite early on.
He had started out in a technical position before later transitioning to logistical support. Over the years, he had taken on plenty of dirty, thankless tasks at the company. Few employees ever said a good word about him; behind his back, they called him the "Smiling Tiger."
Ji Yongsheng had once been deeply frustrated by this. Everything he did was for the company's benefit. Logically, quite a few people had profited from his efforts, yet hardly anyone acknowledged it. Later, as he grew accustomed to being disliked, he stopped caring. Let them say whatever they wanted.
Dai Songquan snapped out of his thoughts and noticed the other three sitting idly. He picked up his chopsticks and said, "Let's eat, everyone. We'll talk after we finish."
The other three picked up their chopsticks and began eating.
None of them ate quickly. However, aside from Wei Hongsi, the other three had small appetites. They stopped after just one bowl, making Wei Hongsi look like a glutton in comparison.
Ji Yongsheng pushed the rice pot closer to Wei Hongsi. "You're young, eat more. Otherwise, you'll lose your energy in the afternoon."
Dai Songquan nodded with a smile and added, "That's right. Don't go hungry on my watch. Otherwise, your teacher will say that I, as your external advisor, can't even feed you properly. That wouldn't look good at all."
Zhou Qihong had already mentioned to Dai Songquan over the phone about making him Wei Hongsi's external advisor, bluntly telling him that it was a steal.
Dai Songquan felt his old classmate hadn't been wrong. Since joining the company, Wei Hongsi had indeed made significant contributions, some of which were irreplaceable. If he had gone to another company, it would have been a tremendous loss for Zhiwei. So, Dai Songquan gladly accepted this bargain of a student.
The police report that morning had arrived just in time. The real situation regarding Xia Yuansheng, in particular, would be of great help for the afternoon's shareholders' meeting.
Dai Songquan had called Ji Yongsheng and Gu Shiming to eat together specifically to discuss related matters.
Wei Hongsi didn't mind eating more in front of his superiors. After all, food was the top priority for the people, and that was a serious matter. His only concern was that the three of them might discuss things that weren't suitable for him to hear. He would have preferred to step out and grab something elsewhere. But since Director Dai had said what he said, he didn't rush.
"Yongsheng, any new progress on your end?" Dai Songquan asked. Since there was no one else in the room, he dropped the formal titles.
"Most people are still in the same state as before," Ji Yongsheng said, pulling out his phone to open his notes. "Only President Li and President Liu said they could take a wait-and-see approach."
Dai Songquan slowly nodded. "That's about what I expected."
Ji Yongsheng hesitated for a moment before asking, "Will someone be representing President Xia's opinion?"
Dai Songquan replied, "Whether there is or not, it doesn't matter."
Ji Yongsheng and Gu Shiming exchanged a glance, understanding Director Dai's meaning, and couldn't help but crack a slight smile.
It wasn't that having someone represent Xia was unimportant; rather, each scenario had its own counter-strategy that would work in their favor.
Dai Songquan turned his gaze to Wei Hongsi, who was scooping more rice. "Hongsi, your presentation this afternoon will be the third segment. Be prepared—once you're on that stage, you'll be a target."
Wei Hongsi had anticipated this. He asked, "Director Dai, do you have any specific requirements for me?"
Dai Songquan said, "Just do your thing. I want to see what stance the various shareholders take. Understanding their true intentions will be a success for us. It doesn't matter if no resolution is reached this time; it won't affect the project's progress."
Wei Hongsi nodded. "Understood."
Ji Yongsheng and Gu Shiming also nodded in agreement.
Dai Songquan continued, "After we finish eating, go find Qian Jiayu and familiarize yourself with the company's articles of association."
Wei Hongsi replied, "Got it."
Dai Songquan then went over a few more matters regarding the afternoon meeting with Ji Yongsheng and Gu Shiming, while Wei Hongsi focused solely on devouring his food.
By the time Wei Hongsi finished eating, they had just about wrapped up their discussion. The four of them left the dining room together.
Wei Hongsi first returned to his own office. He sent Qian Jiayu a message to confirm his availability, learned that he was in his office and already aware of the situation, and then headed to the ninth floor to meet him.
Qian Jiayu was sitting on the sofa, sipping tea while reviewing materials.
When Wei Hongsi knocked and entered, Qian Jiayu directed him to sit at his desk. "The computer is already on. Take a look for yourself."
Qian Jiayu then placed a bottle of water on the desk. "This is your first time here, and I don't have much to offer. Since you don't drink tea, just make do with this bottle of water."
"Thank you, President Qian," Wei Hongsi said appreciatively.
Qian Jiayu patted him lightly on the shoulder and returned to the sofa to continue reviewing his materials.
Wei Hongsi stared at the documents on the screen, scrolling down continuously.
The company's articles of association were extensive, but not everything needed to be memorized. Director Dai had asked him to study them at this particular time, essentially highlighting the key points for him.
Things like capital contributions and equity structures, voting and dividend rights, division of authority among shareholders, and meeting procedures—these all had to be committed to memory. The rest he could just skim through for a general understanding.
Wei Hongsi spent about ten minutes reading through everything. He silently recited it in his mind, reviewed the key points, and confirmed his memory was accurate before stepping away from the desk.
"President Qian, I'm done."
"That fast?" Qian Jiayu looked a bit surprised and said half-jokingly, "This afternoon's meeting is different from usual. I can only attend as an observer; I won't be able to speak up on your behalf."
Wei Hongsi smiled. "I'm just presenting a project report. I don't need to know too much."
"As long as you're confident, that's fine," Qian Jiayu said, walking over to his desk. "Give me your signature. We can't afford any slip-ups in the process."
Wei Hongsi signed the document, bid Qian Jiayu farewell, and returned to his own office. He opened the PowerPoint he would use for his presentation and made a few more revisions.
He had never met the vast majority of the company's shareholders, big or small. But since they were at odds with Director Dai and opposed to increased investment in R&D, they would undoubtedly find fault with him.
This time, Wei Hongsi's revisions weren't aimed at perfecting the content. Instead, he deliberately left in some vulnerabilities, waiting for people to pick at them.
However, these vulnerabilities couldn't become evidence against him, or he would be shooting himself in the foot. So, in places spaced several slides apart, he added patches to those deliberately left openings.
After finishing his edits, he reviewed the entire presentation from start to finish, mentally rehearsing scenarios where he might be challenged, and concluded that it was basically sound.
After saving his final revisions, he couldn't help but wonder—was he being a bit devious here? Could this be considered a trap?
