Jiang Nan Fang appeared calm, as if everything had been planned.
"It's simple. Stay at Grey if you can. If not, you can leave with us."
"No one is Zhan Bei Jue's lifelong laborer. People die for wealth and birds starve for food. We're all adults, wouldn't he understand this logic?"
Her words left everyone speechless.
Indeed.
They were all adults.
In this era where morality was cheap, expecting others to exercise self-restraint and not cause trouble.
Wasn't that a kindergarten notion?
Everyone's desires were instantly ignited.
"But..." Foreman Li frowned.
"I can't leave anytime soon. My contract with Zhan's doesn't expire for another half year."
"In half a year, your projects will be halfway done. If I join then, can I still get equity?"
Engineer Zhang chimed in, "Yes, I can't leave immediately either. My commitment is even longer; I just renewed my contract for two years."
Everyone looked at each other, as if they all had the same problem.
But Jiang Nan Fang remained calm, clearly having anticipated this issue.
"As long as you're willing to follow me, these are not problems."
"Those who are willing to go, sign this contract today and go to Vice President Gao tomorrow to resign."
"If you can resign, I'll give you half a month to hand over your work. If you can't, I have solutions for that too."
"One, absent without leave, disrupting company regulations, forcing them to dismiss you. Of course, I will reimburse you for the lost salary."
"Two, apply for contract termination. If termination is not possible and you are sued by the legal department, I will help you fight the case."
"As long as you trust me and are willing to follow me, no matter the cost, I will protect you."
The next morning, the Quality Department needed a document and called the Technical Department to consult Engineer Li, who was in charge of the product. They called several times but no one answered.
Assuming the entire Technical Department was empty, the Quality Supervisor had to go upstairs himself.
When he arrived at the Technical Department, he saw that only Engineer Li was absent; all other engineers were at their workstations.
This was too irresponsible.
The desk phones rang beside them repeatedly, and each person pretended not to hear?
"Where is Engineer Li? Why isn't he answering the phone?"
No one responded.
In a fit of anger, the Quality Supervisor went to Vice President Gao's office to complain.
Soon, Vice President Gao arrived with his people.
"Where is Engineer Li? I haven't seen him all day."
Someone replied, "I don't know, we haven't seen him either."
"What kind of talk is that? You haven't seen him either? Did he not come to work today?"
"We're here to work, not to tail him. Who knows if he requested leave?"
"..."
Vice President Gao had no choice but to call Engineer Li himself.
Engineer Li said, "I'm sorry, Vice President Gao, I'm in my hometown right now. My grandfather suddenly fell ill last night, and I'm his only grandson..."
"You didn't even inform us when you went home. When will you be back? Submit a leave request."
Engineer Li said, "Alas, I was just about to tell you, I can't go back."
"My parents are unhappy that I'm still unmarried at my age and already disagreed with me staying alone in Nancheng. Now that my grandfather is ill, they're forcing me to stay."
"I am the only son and grandson in the family, so it's difficult to refuse. Vice President Gao, how about I write a resignation letter and you approve my return to my hometown?"
Hmph.
What was this? Resigning just like that!
But honestly, the Technical Department didn't lack him.
Since he had family matters, Vice President Gao didn't want to make things difficult.
And so, Engineer Li left smoothly.
With him as the leader, in the following week, some deliberately skipped work, some were lax in their work, and some used excuses to ask Vice President Gao for a large salary increase.
In an instant, the Technical Department was in disarray.
The following Monday, during the weekly meeting, Vice President Gao was furious.
"What is going on? Did you get arrogant just because we sold nearly ten billion worth of products last year and were industry role models for a year?"
"Don't forget! The products weren't designed by you! The orders weren't signed by you! Your wings aren't strong enough to act recklessly, so all of you be careful!"
"We've been colleagues for so many years, and I haven't treated you badly, have I? Why didn't I notice you were so heartless before?"
"You want to mess up the Technical Department? Don't want your nest anymore? Are you rebelling?"
Someone retorted, "We're heartless? It's true the products that sold well last year weren't our original designs, but without our cooperation, could we have achieved such quick results?"
"Exactly. The mold drawings were modified with our cooperation, and the subsequent tooling was all done by me. For that product, I don't know how many nights I stayed up and how many overtime hours I worked. Why is there no credit at all?"
"They were all busy with new products, but the old products were handled by me and Engineer Li."
"Grey has over four hundred products of various sizes, and each of us is responsible for over two hundred. We're busy with trivial matters every day, why don't you notice us?"
"After working for so many years, except for an extra bonus last year, my salary has never increased. I've wanted to leave for a long time."
Everyone had grievances, everyone had emotions.
Vice President Gao finally understood.
This wasn't just occasional mood swings or dissatisfaction; it was planned and premeditated.
They wanted to collectively force his hand!
"So what were you trying to achieve by causing trouble for a week? Salary increase? A collective raise?"
"Gentlemen, please use your brains. Even if I wanted to help you get a raise, is this the right time to discuss it?"
"We just lost a major project that brought glory to the company. If I immediately proposed a collective salary increase to the president, you might as well throw me into a fire!"
Vice President Gao indeed had his difficulties.
But this was no excuse for them to not consider him.
No one was so noble-minded as to forgo their high salaries and watch him play the victim every day.
"I've got a new girlfriend, and I have to support her every month. Plus, I have mortgage and car loans to pay. I can't survive without a salary increase."
"Vice President Gao, if you really can't give us a raise, please let me go."
"Me too. My family members are often ill, and I still have mortgage and car loans to pay. The pressure is too great..."
"I've also hit a bottleneck and can't develop any good projects. Working every day is painful. I want to take a break and travel for a while..."
Vice President Gao was so angry he felt like spitting blood.
"So, if I don't agree to your salary increase today, you won't stop?"
"Fine. Tell me, how much do you want? I'll try my best to negotiate."
Everyone looked at each other, and no one spoke first.
Vice President Gao asked Engineer Zhang, "Stop looking at others. You speak. How much a month can allow you to support your family?"
Engineer Zhang scratched his nose and after a long pause, sheepishly held up a finger, "This much."
Vice President Gao's sharp gaze swept across everyone.
"It seems you've all agreed, and none of you will accept less than this amount, right?"
Everyone fell silent.
Silence meant consent. Fine.
The next morning, Zhan Bei Jue was listlessly eating breakfast, scrolling through news on his phone.
The butler came to report, "Young Master, Vice President Gao is here."