Chapter 53: The Representative of Dingsheng Group

In the conference room, Li Xue's face grew paler and paler the more she spoke.

It was as if, just like her name—Xue, meaning snow—her time to fall had come.

Suddenly, her focus wavered, and she misstated the name of a land plot.

In response, derisive laughter erupted from the audience.

"Some president. Get off the stage!"

Xue Yang tried to say a few words in Li Xue's defense but was drowned out by the heckling.

Li Xue finally finished her speech. Her body felt as light as a willow catkin in the air, as if she could be blown away at any moment.

"Finally done. If you ask me, instead of all that nonsense, it would've been more interesting if she'd just moaned a couple of times for everyone's enjoyment!"

A mid-level manager from the purchasing department said arrogantly.

UGH!

The next moment, he was struck by a heavy punch and sent flying.

A commotion broke out among the mid-level managers. They panicked. Where did that punch even come from?

It came without a shadow and left without a trace. In any case, no one could find the source.

"If you've got the guts, then show yourself! Stop hiding!"

But no one came forward. The manager who got hit could only consider it his bad luck.

After that, the heckling died down considerably. Everyone was afraid of getting punched by some hidden psycho; that would be a huge loss of face.

Lu Yi stood up and raised his hand. "Thank you for your speech, President Li. As the finance director, I don't know much about the practical side of operations, and I have always lacked understanding of the difficulties you've faced."

Li Xue's expression didn't improve one bit upon hearing this. 'A wolf in sheep's clothing,' she thought. 'His intentions are anything but good. The important part isn't these pleasantries, but the "but" that's about to come.'

Sure enough, Lu Yi paused for a moment before continuing.

"But I am very happy to announce that the group is about to enter a period of explosive growth! A massive project is about to be realized by the hands of our group's employees!"

The mid-level managers who had been briefed beforehand erupted in thunderous applause, and the atmosphere became frenzied.

"WOO!"

Lu Yi clearly enjoyed this frenetic atmosphere. He paused, letting them clamor for a while before raising his hand to quiet them down.

"As professionals in the construction industry, all of you must have heard of the infamous City South Plot 6. Many developers have wanted to make their mark there, but the results have been lamentable."

"They all failed. They were battered and bruised by this plot of land and could only retreat in disgrace."

"Recently, another developer decided to take on this land. They chose a wiser model: subcontracting the project to reduce costs while transferring risk. Fortunately, our group has secured this project. It will be our main focus for the foreseeable future."

He deliberately omitted the "Li" from the group's name. The Li Family's influence in the Li Group was now hanging by a thread, like a person clinging to a cliff's edge with a single finger.

"My father successfully and smoothly secured this project. The client is about to deliver the contract, and I will sign that sacred and solemn name right here, in front of all of you!"

Another round of cheers followed. Li Xue's face was grim; she found it all utterly detestable.

'These sycophants,' she thought. 'The Li Family has taken care of them for so long, but now that they see the Li Family is failing, they immediately flock to the Lu Family. Not a shred of gratitude.'

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

The conference room door sounded. Lu Yi's eyes lit up with unconcealed delight, and he raised a hand to silence the managers.

"Shhh, the contract is here! Everyone, remember this: as long as we land this contract, the group won't have to worry about projects for two years! Two years!"

He stood up and briskly walked down from the stage himself, darting to the door like a shot.

He opened the door to reveal a middle-aged man walking in.

"Hello, I am the representative from Shengding Group," Qiao Canhua said with a slight smile.

'This salesman is pretty old,' Lu Yi thought. 'Still out making sales calls at his age... he probably isn't doing too well for himself.'

But he liked older salesmen. They were mature, reliable, and wouldn't cause unexpected trouble.

"Hello, I'm Lu Yi. Lu Baichuan, who negotiated with your company, is my father. He has authorized me to sign the cooperation agreement on his behalf!"

This was another of Lu Baichuan's venomous schemes. By signing the contract at the regular meeting, he would solidify the loyalty of the mid-level managers and, in turn, force the other board members to submit—either by resigning from the board or by relinquishing their power.

The ultimate goal was to corner the Li Family.

Qiao Canhua sensed the unusual atmosphere in the conference room. Li Xue, sitting in the center, was clearly the president, but the mood was entirely controlled by Lu Yi.

'Ugly.'

His gaze swept across the room.

Mu Lin was sitting among the mid-level employees, seemingly without any presence at all.

'Interesting.'

Qiao Canhua thought, 'Since Mu Lin has other ideas, I might as well play along with him.'

'Acting dumb? As if I don't know how to do that, too.'

"Director Lu, hello! You're looking well!" Qiao Canhua proactively extended his hand. Lu Yi didn't hesitate, happily shaking it.

"Good fortune puts a spring in your step! To be honest with you, I didn't sleep well last night. This deal is just too important. It's a critical milestone for the group and for me personally."

Qiao Canhua was somewhat repulsed by Lu Yi's attitude. For him, the Plot 6 project was by no means some trivial little venture. On the contrary, it was a flagship project of extreme importance; Shengding Group's entire financial report was depending on this project's progress for its presentation.

But he couldn't see any of the qualities of a hands-on implementer in Lu Yi. He guessed that once Lu Yi got the project, he probably wouldn't handle the construction himself but would subcontract it out again to others.

With multiple layers of subcontracting, the project's quality was far from guaranteed.

'Seeing is truly believing.' If he hadn't come in person, Qiao Canhua might have actually believed Lu Baichuan's nonsense and thought the Li Group would diligently see the project through.

"That's right! Our group is the strongest! By choosing us, the client has chosen safety and efficiency!"

"Brother, go back and tell your boss that you can leave this job to us!"

The mid-level managers cheered wildly.

One of the managers shouted, "Director Lu, you should sit in the center seat!"

Li Xue looked at the person who shouted, stunned. 'What are they trying to do? Are they really trying to take even my seat from me?'

Lu Yi waved his hand. "Now, now, that's not right. President Li is still sitting there. At the very least, I should wait until the president leaves before I can sit there, right?"

But his gaze was already fixed on Li Xue. "President Li, you see? This is the will of the people. I don't want to start a conflict with you, but it wouldn't be right for me to ignore everyone's opinion."

Li Xue's face was stern. She said coldly, "Lu Yi, you have some nerve, eyeing my seat. Do you have the board's authorization to sit in my place?"

"Not yet," Lu Yi said cheerfully, folding his hands over his stomach with an air of complete ease. "But quite a few directors have already made such a proposal. It's been discussed privately many times, just waiting to be brought up at the next board meeting. I don't think I'm mistaken about the outcome."

"Besides, just listen to the voices of the employees. Who the Li Group belongs to now... I don't think there's any need for debate, is there?"

Lu Yi thrust his arm toward the audience and boomed, "Who do you think should lead the Li Group?"

The employees roared like they had gone mad: "Director Lu! Director Lu!"

The entire room was in an uproar.

SMACK! Li Xue slammed her hand on the table, shouting against the immense pressure:

"As long as I am the president of this group, no one else can even think of sitting in this seat! Signing a contract from my chair? Don't even dream of it!"

Lu Yi burst out laughing. "Oh, Li Xue, Li Xue, what are you even holding on to? Do you think you've been president for so long because you're so capable? No. It's because my Lu Family allowed you to sit there."

"The Finance Department, Human Resources, Sales, the Secretarial Department, and so on—they've long been managed by my people. I've had de facto control over the entire Li Group for a long time. I just couldn't be bothered to fight you for the title!"

"All you have left is your dignity."

"And because of that, you can't possibly resist my commands. For example, if I tell you to step aside, you must step aside! Otherwise, you will lose even that last shred of dignity and be left with nothing."

With that, Lu Yi raised his hand again and pointed down from the stage. "Li Xue, I order you to get out of the president's seat."

Li Xue felt an invisible pressure crash down on her, as if she were carrying a mountain on her back. She could barely breathe.

She even felt the urge to just walk away and cast off this heavy burden.

"Director Lu, don't you think you're going too far?" Amid the pandemonium, Mu Lin's voice suddenly cut through the noise, ringing with deafening clarity throughout the room.