"Why are you leaving?" In Old Ma Ge's office, facing Sun Tongyu's choice to resign, Old Ma Ge was utterly perplexed.
Old Ma Ge had known for a long time that Sun Tongyu was no longer on the same page with him, nor was he one of the original eighteen loyalists whom he had tricked into abandoning their public service jobs and working with him for two years without receiving a single penny.
However, Old Ma Ge couldn't understand why Sun Tongyu was choosing to resign now.
If he wanted to resign, then earlier would have been the best choice. After all, during the crises faced by the Forty Thieves, those were the optimal times to resign.
But now, it was November 11th, the 1020 event was nearing its end, and the Forty Thieves' account already had 1 billion RMB in funds.
While this amount was not as much as before, the advantage was that the Forty Thieves now had almost no expenses. By November 11th, this sum should accumulate to around 2 to 3 billion RMB, which could both cover the deficit of the Money Making Treasure and distribute funds to merchants.
The Forty Thieves no longer had any financial pressure. Simultaneously, they had gathered over 300,000 shops, three times the 100,000 shops of Jiangnan Mall, and their total user base had surpassed 8 million, double that of Jiangnan Mall.
These were data that completely crushed Jiangnan Mall, and the Forty Thieves had achieved this in just 20 days.
What a monumental achievement it was, considering the risks encountered and the wisdom and courage Old Ma Ge had contributed!
Now that all hardships were over and everyone was about to ascend to the pinnacle of their lives, Sun Tongyu came forward to resign. It was simply inconceivable.
Old Ma Ge couldn't fathom what Sun Tongyu was thinking, let alone that his report contained only the phrase, "A wise person does not stand under a dangerous wall."
Did he, in his eyes, consider the Forty Thieves a company on the verge of collapse?
Old Ma Ge suppressed his anger and looked at Sun Tongyu, awaiting his answer.
"Because the company could still be saved before, but now, it's beyond saving!" Sun Tongyu sighed and said, "I can no longer see any possibility of the company surviving. This is the biggest dangerous wall in the world, about to collapse. If I don't leave now, I'll be crushed to death by this wall."
"You... had better take those words back, or I won't indulge you like I used to!" Old Ma Ge's eyebrows were about to stand on end from anger. He hadn't expected Sun Tongyu to say anything nice, but he never imagined he would say such a thing.
Didn't he see that the Forty Thieves were now in a period of prosperity? Both financially and in the market, everything was perfect. Where was the crisis of annihilation? This guy was simply spreading alarmist talk!
"You don't need to indulge me. I will never take these words back. Consider it my final reminder. So please approve my resignation, and I'll leave now!" Sun Tongyu said without hesitation.
"It's no problem for you to leave!" Old Ma Ge considered himself a benevolent person and didn't want to see Sun Tongyu go astray. Thus, he magnanimously gave him another chance. "I promised you back then that our 18 partners would share 30% of the shares. So, although SoftBank's investment diluted our shares, 30% became 18% of the total shares! This means you hold 1% of the company's shares."
"However, the condition for obtaining this 1% of shares is to work at the company for 10 years, or to be voluntarily terminated by the company. If you resign voluntarily now, this 1% of shares will be forfeited!" Old Ma Ge stated.
"I know!" Sun Tongyu nodded. "I can forgo the shares; I just want to resign now!"
"You!" Old Ma Ge was truly furious. He had been so benevolent, yet Sun Tongyu still wanted to leave. How could anyone be so unrighteous in the world?
But Old Ma Ge was, after all, a righteous person. He also remembered Sun Tongyu's efforts for the company. Especially in the last 20 days, although Sun Tongyu had been acting sarcastic, he had not slacked off in his work and had completed it very well.
Most importantly, when facing various crises, it was Sun Tongyu who proposed feasible solutions. Although Old Ma Ge considered Sun Tongyu's methods too pessimistic and passive, and completely wrong, there were one or two of these wrong methods that could be utilized and had indeed helped the company.
Old Ma Ge was a benevolent person, hailed as the modern Feng Qingyang, a living knight-errant. How could such a knight-errant do unrighteous things!
So Old Ma Ge extended a hand, "I don't know how much the company's stock index is worth now, but the company's account still has 2 billion RMB. 1% is 20 million. If you insist on leaving, I'll give you 20 million, and we can part on good terms. We'll still be friends!"
"Friends..." Sun Tongyu was taken aback. He truly hadn't expected Old Ma Ge to be willing to give him 20 million in the end. This deeply moved Sun Tongyu. He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Boss, I can't accept this 20 million."
"If I tell you to accept it, you must accept it. I, Feng Qingyang, care least about money; it's worthless in my eyes, so you must accept it!" Well, not many people could understand the logic behind these words, but Sun Tongyu did.
In fact, Sun Tongyu understood Old Ma Ge the best. He knew that Brother was truly a person who didn't care about money. Perhaps he had cared about money when he first started his business, but in reality, as long as he had enough money to maintain his ideal lifestyle, that was sufficient.
Old Ma Ge cared more about realizing his life's value. He either didn't do something or he wouldn't stop until he couldn't do it anymore. He was someone who would never give up easily.
This was why Old Ma Ge had fought through all the difficulties to reach this point, solving countless problems and snatching the entire market from Jiangnan Mall.
From this achievement, Old Ma Ge was undoubtedly a very successful and powerful person. Sun Tongyu believed that if it were himself, or anyone else, they wouldn't have been able to accomplish such a great cause today, crushing Jiangnan Mall and Huang He under their feet.
In the 21st century, it seemed only Old Ma Ge could achieve this. From this perspective, Old Ma Ge was undoubtedly a great figure.
But Sun Tongyu understood that it was precisely because of his boss's personality that he would go down the wrong path without turning back.
However, this 20 million made Sun Tongyu want to remind him again, even though he knew his reminder would likely be ineffective.
"Boss, be careful of Huang He!" Sun Tongyu said in the end.
"What do you mean by that?" Old Ma Ge was taken aback. If Sun Tongyu had said anything else, Old Ma Ge wouldn't have cared, but if it was about Huang He, then he was wide awake.
"Huang He hasn't conceded, or rather, he hasn't resisted at all, letting us grow stronger. Do you think that's normal?" Sun Tongyu sighed.
"Continue!" Old Ma Ge said.
"We are like a horse, and Huang He is the rider. He doesn't need to defeat us; he just needs to go with the flow and subtly lead us into his pre-set trap, waiting for us to bring about our own destruction!" Sun Tongyu sighed.
"You are worrying about nothing!" Old Ma Ge waved his hand, saying confidently, "If it were when I was in Hong Kong a few days ago, he might have had a chance to kill us. But now, my funds are abundant, the platform is running smoothly, everything is perfect, he has no chance to defeat me!"
"Yes!" Sun Tongyu fell silent. He had said what he needed to say. Everything else was Old Ma Ge's own business.
"Tomorrow I will have the finance department transfer 20 million to your account. You are not allowed to refuse, because this is what you deserve." Old Ma Ge stated.
"Alright, I'll accept this money!" Sun Tongyu no longer refused. "However, I will return this 20 million to you in the future!"
"Get out of here! When I'm worth 200 billion, who would care about your measly 20 million, hahahaha!" Old Ma Ge laughed, Sun Tongyu also smiled, and then he left.
That evening, the news of Sun Tongyu's resignation spread throughout the Forty Thieves' work group.
However, this news did not cause much of a stir, because all middle management and above in the company knew that Sun Tongyu was not meant to stay long. The conflict between him and Old Ma Ge was irreconcilable.
Before, it was just because the company was in crisis, and neither side wanted to proactively expose this conflict. But now that the situation was stable and the Forty Thieves were flourishing, it was time for Old Ma Ge to deal with the incompatible Sun Tongyu.
It was a shame, Manager Sun was a good person and extremely capable. The blame should be placed on his overly pessimistic view of the company's future and his inability to keep up with the company's development pace, so being eliminated was inevitable.
However, it was later reported that Old Ma Ge insisted on giving Sun Tongyu 20 million RMB as a reward for his contributions to the company over the years, which deeply moved all the employees.
What a benevolent boss! To be willing to give 20 million to an employee like Sun Tongyu was simply too righteous! Following such a boss, would they worry about not making money in the future?
At this moment, the entire Forty Thieves were united, and their morale was incredibly high.
Sun Tongyu completed his resignation procedures that day. Old Ma Ge proposed holding a farewell party, which Sun Tongyu did not refuse. Thus, the eighteen loyalists gathered together again, finding the largest KTV in Hangzhou. They sang all night, and no one uttered the word "leave."
Because everyone understood that after a few days, there would only be 17 of the Forty Thieves' eighteen loyalists left, and no one would ever be qualified to fill the spot in that list of 18 again.