Chapter 23

Zhu Rongqiang's urgency far exceeded what Song Peng'an had anticipated.

The distance from the provincial capital to Jinzhou City was about 300 kilometers, but before the driver Song Peng'an had sent to Shazhou City to pick up Zhu Rongqiang and his group even arrived at the airport, Zhu's family convoy, which had been waiting outside the airport, had already picked up Zhu Rongqiang and his group and headed straight for Jinzhou City.

The three identical BMW 760s that had come from Luodian City took less than two hours and forty minutes to reach the Jinzhou Jinmen toll station on the Jinsha Expressway.

And at this time, it was a full hour earlier than Song Peng'an had originally estimated!

"What? Mr. Zhu and his group are already at the company entrance?!" At 4:27 PM, Song Peng'an, who had just finished a round of business negotiations, had just come out of the hotel when he received a call from the company.

Zhu Rongqiang had completely defied expectations, not even giving a heads-up before directly leading a group to the headquarters of Sujiang Group!

Upon hearing that Zhu Rongqiang and his group had already arrived at the company, Song Peng'an hurriedly got into his Maybach, put down his phone, and said to the driver, "Quickly, head back to headquarters! The faster, the better!"

Although he spoke urgently, a smile appeared on Song Peng'an's face. From Zhu Rongqiang's actions, it was clear that he wanted to settle things quickly and decisively, bypassing Song Peng'an. Unfortunately, in the afternoon, Song Peng'an had already had someone sign the contract with Zhu Yonggui in advance!

On the way to the group headquarters, Song Peng'an even felt somewhat smug, thinking that it was fortunate he had made preparations in advance, or he might have been caught off guard...

Now, with the contract for Zhu Yonggui's appointment in his hands, even if Zhu Rongqiang tried to resolve the matter quietly, it would be impossible...

If Zhu Yonggui were just a regular employee, the Zhu family wouldn't owe him much. But now, Zhu Yonggui was the deputy manager of the market department of Sujiang Group, barely making him part of the upper echelons of the company... Even if Zhu Rongqiang's pressure eventually forced him to take Zhu Yonggui away, some form of compensation would be necessary, right?

Don't be fooled by Song Peng'an's usual talk of gratitude and support for the Zhu family and Yuanbang Pharmaceutical. When it came to crucial moments, he was just as calculating as anyone else!

In business, everything is negotiable in the eyes of a competent businessman!

...

Zhu Rongqiang and his group were warmly welcomed into the headquarters of Sujiang Group by Wu Shichun, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

Wu Shichun, the executive vice president who was usually high and mighty in the company, now seemed like a junior in front of Zhu Rongqiang. He led the way respectfully and said with a smile, "Mr. Zhu, you caught us off guard... The driver we sent to pick you up hasn't even returned, and you're already here..."

Zhu Rongqiang smiled slightly, looking around the bright and luxurious first-floor lobby of Sujiang Group as he walked toward the elevator. He nodded in approval, "Sujiang has done well in recent years, and the company has grown significantly."

If someone else had said this, Wu Shichun might not have reacted much, but Zhu Rongqiang's praise made him quickly turn back and smile, "This is all thanks to Mr. Zhu's support... Our chairman often says that without your recognition back then, Sujiang Group wouldn't have come this far..."

As they spoke, the elevator doors on the first floor opened, and Wu Shichun stood aside at the entrance, still smiling, "Mr. Zhu, please go up and have a cup of tea. Our chairman is on his way and should be here soon..."

"Is that young man named Zhu Yonggui still in the company?" Zhu Rongqiang smiled ambiguously and began asking about Zhu Yonggui as soon as he entered the elevator.

Wu Shichun had already heard some news from Song Peng'an that morning and understood the purpose of Zhu Rongqiang's visit.

He nodded and smiled in response, "He's still in the company, hasn't gone anywhere... Why, Mr. Zhu, are you not waiting for our chairman to arrive before..."

"This matter is very important to our Zhu family," Zhu Rongqiang said solemnly, "I won't wait for Xiao Song to arrive... Do you know which floor Mr. Zhu is on? I want to visit him now!"

"Zhu Yonggui is on the 15th floor, his office is right next to our chairman's... He should be reading the newspaper in his office right now..." Wu Shichun suddenly felt something was off. When Zhu Rongqiang mentioned Zhu Yonggui, he used a respectful title instead of his name!

Could the chairman have made a mistake? The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed, but Wu Shichun wasn't worried... Zhu Rongqiang's tone and demeanor clearly indicated that even if Zhu Yonggui wasn't a member of the Zhu family, he was at least a significant figure!

Otherwise, why would someone of Zhu Rongqiang's status go to such great lengths, traveling all the way from the capital to personally visit a young man in his early twenties?

Perhaps... the focus wasn't on Zhu Yonggui, but he was definitely an important person!

With these thoughts in mind, Wu Shichun carefully conversed with Zhu Rongqiang, carefully weighing every word before speaking, clearly considering whether each statement was appropriate.

Soon, the elevator arrived at the 15th floor, and with a 'ding,' the doors slowly opened.

But Zhu Rongqiang didn't rush to push open the door of Room 1509. Instead, he stood outside and asked Wu Shichun in a low voice, "Are you sure this is the person I'm looking for?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Wu Shichun nodded without hesitation, confidently saying, "I've double-checked; there's only one Zhu Yonggui in the entire company, no mistake!"

Zhu Rongqiang nodded and turned to his secretary, "Where is Hongyi?"

"Mr. Zhu sent a message three minutes ago; he's almost past Xinghua Bay and should arrive in about ten minutes."

The process of finding Zhu Yonggui had been too smooth, which made Zhu Rongqiang somewhat hesitant.

The photo sent from Zhenglong County wasn't very clear, only showing a vague outline of a young man.

In his haste, Zhu Rongqiang hadn't had time to compare the young man he had found with the one Zhu Hongyi had seen that night.

Just as he was about to wait for a few minutes, a 'ding' sounded from another elevator, and the doors slowly opened...

Tang Yino, who had pretended to return to the company to fetch something, had actually been waiting outside for a long time...

As soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she asked, "Excuse me, are you looking for the person who drove the Geely Panda to Zhenglong County last night?"

Only then did she notice Wu Shichun standing nearby, and she instinctively shrank back, saying, "Hello, Mr. Wu..."

"It's you, Xiao Tang?" Wu Shichun was clearly surprised to see Tang Yino suddenly appear on the 15th floor.

At that moment, Zhang Keyong also happened to be walking from another direction. Seeing Tang Yino standing there, his face changed, thinking she had come back to report to Wu Shichun.

Without much thought, Zhang Keyong scolded, "Tang Yino! Weren't you fired? Why are you back at the company? Don't you know what's going on here? Get out!"

Tang Yino was startled by Zhang Keyong's outburst, but she couldn't afford to hesitate. She shouted, "Zhu Yonggui is a fraud, he's not the person you're looking for! The person you're looking for, I know, and he's not from Sujiang Group..."

"Xiao Tang, what are you talking about?!" Wu Shichun's stern gaze immediately fell on Tang Yino.

Zhang Keyong was so frightened that he trembled all over, and with a black face, he was about to push Tang Yino away when Zhu Rongqiang suddenly stepped in front of him.

"Mr. Zhu, what are you doing?" Wu Shichun was taken aback.

But Zhu Rongqiang ignored his reaction and smiled kindly, asking Tang Yino, whose face had turned pale, "How do you know who we're looking for? You say you know the person from last night... Do you know the purpose of our visit?"

Tang Yino was scared by Zhang Keyong's almost fiery gaze and didn't know how to start.

Wu Shichun, however, looked at her impatiently and said sternly, "Speak up!"

"Yes..." Tang Yino smiled awkwardly but then regained her composure. She looked at Zhu Rongqiang and said, "I was the one who drove the car back from Zhenglong County last night, so the person you're looking for is my friend, not Zhu Yonggui!"

"Last night, you were in Zhenglong County too?" Zhu Rongqiang was delighted and quickly asked, "So, you were there last night?"

"Yes... When my friend got out of the car to help someone, I was sitting in the car..."

"So, that car isn't your friend's?"

"No... That car belongs to Zhu Yonggui, but the person who went to Zhenglong County last night wasn't him..." Tang Yino shook her head. "I borrowed the car from him last night, and this matter... has nothing to do with him at all!"

After hearing Tang Yino's words, Zhu Rongqiang's face showed a look of realization.

Now everything was clear... This Zhu Yonggui from Sujiang Group was indeed an imposter!

On the way up, Wu Shichun had already introduced Zhu Yonggui's current position and salary to him. With Zhu Rongqiang's experience, how could he not see through Song Peng'an's scheme?

If this Zhu Yonggui had really been the young man from last night, Zhu Rongqiang would have accepted the situation.

But now that the truth was revealed, he smiled strangely and turned to Wu Shichun, whose face was gradually turning green, and said, "Xiao Song is quite good at recognizing talent... This young man surnamed Zhu in your company seems capable. No wonder Xiao Song spotted him and promoted him directly from the grassroots to the position of deputy manager of the market department... If I remember correctly, you're offering him a salary of 400,000 yuan a year, right? Ha... Ha... Ha..."

The feeling of being outmaneuvered was unpleasant, but Zhu Rongqiang felt refreshed and couldn't help but laugh heartily...

Wu Shichun's face was so red it was almost bleeding...

Page break for AD start

Page break for AD end