"That's good. You have your own assistants and secretaries, why are you using Song Jiaping as one? Be careful with him, keep some distance. I always feel this person is a bit strange, and he has something on his mind, making him hard to read."
"Alright, I know. Don't be as nagging as Mom. If there's nothing else, I won't talk to you much longer, I'm a bit busy right now." Mengqi was about to hang up.
Shaohua quickly asked, "Sister, are you all doing well recently? Is Mom doing well?"
"We're fine. Oh, Mengyao found a new job, at a world-class research institute..." Mengqi stopped midway, sensing something off in Shaohua's tone. She asked him, "Your voice sounds so low, did something happen?"
Shaohua quickly perked up and said, "Nothing happened, I'm fine too."
Mengqi said, "I'll still leave that card with you. If you have any financial problems, just use it. If you need any help, don't hesitate to tell me."
"Got it. Daisy and I have hands and feet, we won't starve, don't worry."
"Okay." Mengqi had too much on her hands and hung up.
Huangfu Shaohua felt a myriad of indescribable emotions. He sat for a while longer, realizing he had nowhere to go, so he returned to his residence.
Before opening the door to his place, he was still thinking about how to tell Daisy about his resignation. But upon entering, he found the house empty; Daisy was out.
He breathed a sigh of relief. He took out yogurt and bread from the refrigerator and listlessly turned on the TV. While watching, he suddenly missed the meals that Sister Chen used to cook at home.
But he couldn't compromise with his parents now. No matter how difficult it was, he had to persevere.
...
Early in the morning, Tianyi arrived at the group's office and called An Jing over, telling him about buying the RV.
"Where do you plan to take Susu with the RV, and for how many days?" An Jing worried that if Tianyi left, he would have to work overtime again and wouldn't be able to go home to accompany his wife and children on time.
Tianyi smiled and said, "I have that plan, but it's not finalized yet. Do you know why I bought the RV?"
"Of course, to take the family on a trip."
"That's one reason, but right now it's also to understand the market for RVs, so I can secure Yao Feili's project."
An Jing asked curiously, "You weren't very interested in Yao Feili's project before, why are you personally doing market research now?"
Tianyi smiled faintly and opened an email on his computer, telling him to read it himself.
An Jing found it was an anonymous email stating that Huangfu Group was also in talks with Yao Feili about this project.
The sender clearly outlined the details of the negotiations between Huangfu Group and Yao Feili, as well as the strategies employed. Finally, it analyzed how introducing imported RV chassis technology to Lancheng, and having Lancheng's auto manufacturers produce it themselves, could significantly reduce manufacturing costs. Such joint-venture RVs would dominate the market.
"Who is this person? Did you plant a mole in Huangfu Group?" An Jing asked.
Tianyi replied dismissively, "Would I waste my time on such things? I don't know who it is, but this person knows that we and Huangfu Group are both in talks with Yao Feili about this project. They seem to want us to succeed more."
"Then it's Huangfu Sisong's trick. He wants to disrupt our negotiations with Yao Feili and deliberately had someone do this." An Jing quickly thought of another possibility.
An Jing had been following up on the negotiations regarding Yao Feili's responsibility for introducing foreign RV core technology and their investment in establishing a manufacturing plant in Lancheng.
Yao Feili had not yet signed a contract with their group or given a definitive answer, dragging the matter out. It turned out he was looking for other groups to cooperate with and then make a choice.
Huangfu Sisong wanted to facilitate this deal, even going so far as to match his daughter with Yao Feili. Was this immense effort driven by his foresight into the project's prospects, or did he fancy Yao Feili's substantial foreign capital?
Tianyi did not entirely agree with his assessment, saying, "This person seems more like they are dissatisfied with Huangfu Sisong and Huangfu Group, and want to use our strength to strike at Huangfu Group. Moreover, this person holds a not-low position in Huangfu Group, otherwise, they wouldn't know so many project details."
"So you believe the information they provided is true, and we can use what's in their email to make Mr. Yao no longer believe in Huangfu Sisong's sincerity. Then we can secure the victory."
"Someone is willing to be our inside informant, why wouldn't we take advantage of it," Tianyi said.
An Jing still asked with some unease, "We don't even know who this person is, can they be trusted?"
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Tianyi said calmly. "Whether they are trustworthy or not, we'll find out this time. We didn't attach much importance to this project originally. If we can get it, then this person is trustworthy."
An Jing felt he made sense. Using this project as a touchstone, if there was truly such a person among Huangfu Group's senior management, then it was as if heaven was helping them. Why shouldn't they seize this opportunity to reclaim the Xiao family assets that were taken by the Huangfu family?
"Okay, I know what to do."
...
Just as Huangfu Mengqi hung up the phone, Huangfu Sisong's assistant came to call her to the CEO's office.
She had no choice but to go see Huangfu Sisong, but she couldn't guess why her father had summoned her.
"Uncle Wang, do you know why my dad is looking for me?" Mengqi asked Assistant Wang.
Assistant Wang shook his head and said, "I'm not sure of the specifics, but the chairman doesn't seem to be in a good mood."
Mengqi realized it was likely not good news. She said thank you and walked into Huangfu Sisong's office with trepidation.
"Dad, did you need me for something?"
Huangfu Sisong continued to sign documents and said, "Sit down."
Mengqi sat down, waiting for him to finish signing the last document, and then asked, "Is there anything you want me to do?"
Huangfu Sisong looked up at her, his gaze sharp, and said, "Go tell the HR department to transfer Song Jiaping to another department."
"Dad! He did nothing wrong. I already told you I had no one else to call at the time, and he happened to be working overtime..."
"Regardless of what happened between you two, do you understand the need to avoid suspicion?" Huangfu Sisong frowned. "This is for the best for both him and you."
"If anyone needs to be transferred, it should be me, not him! This is my fault!" Mengqi thought that Song Jiaping had just gotten familiar with the operations of the Financial Information Department, and if he went to another department, he would have to start learning from scratch.
"Transfer you?" Huangfu Sisong said, "Then I'll send you to be the head of the overseas branch. Don't come back to Lancheng unless absolutely necessary."
"I'm not going!" If she were to go overseas now, all her efforts in the group over the years would be in vain. "Song Jiaping and I are unmarried. What's wrong with us having a drink together? Someone with ulterior motives took photos and made a fuss. It's just gossip, it has no impact on the group or anyone else. Why are you fixated on this..."
"He was married to your sister and then divorced. If the media digs this up, it'll be enough to create an explosive news story. Will you still think it has no impact on the group then?" Huangfu Sisong said fiercely. "You and Song Jiaping must not be photographed again. If you're not going overseas, then he will be transferred overseas."