“……”
Zhang Liunian was speechless. If there was an account book here, would he even ask? He could just look at it.
Forget it. Seeing that these people knew nothing, not even that the department store was owned by the Tang family, what more could he expect?
He got up and went to Tang Guo’s bedroom, searching around, but found nothing. He walked out of the bedroom and looked at the team leader and others, asking, “Besides this place, does Tang Guo have any other residences?”
After a pause, he changed his approach and asked, “Have you ever seen her in any residential areas before? Or a place she frequented?
Also, half a month ago, or a month ago, did you see people from above come to calculate the department store’s accounts?”
The Provincial City Department Store was different from the South City Department Store. South City only collected rent, so it was difficult to close it down and auction it off. However, the Provincial City had no such concerns, as it was a store run by the Tang family themselves. If it was to be auctioned, it would logically mean confiscating all existing property and preventing it from opening.
But for some reason, the department store not only remained open but was also thriving.
Zhang Liunian worried that there might be something he didn’t know, such as some cooperation they had reached, which he was unaware of and could potentially harm his interests. That would be another mess.
What Zhang Liunian was asking them now was to confirm how bad the situation really was.
Unfortunately, the employees present rarely paid attention to others and all shook their heads, indicating they didn’t know.
However, when Zhang Liunian was disappointed, the office team leader mentioned something, “I only know that last month, a group of people did come to find the supervisor to handle some matters. They looked like they were from above. But they discussed it here, and the supervisor didn’t let us in, so we don’t know what they talked about. Anyway, they left peacefully, and nothing changed with our department store.”
“……” Zhang Liunian fell silent. It seemed some cooperation had indeed been reached.
Just as he was thinking this, Zhang Qian rushed in breathlessly and said to him, “Brother Liunian, Tang Guo is gone.”
Zhang Liunian got up abruptly, “How did she disappear?”
“When I went to the clinic to find her again, she was gone,” Zhang Qian said, gnashing his teeth. He thought that he had only returned to report, and she was gone. She must have fled.
“It seems she really ran away.” Zhang Liunian immediately understood Tang Guo’s intentions: to dig a pit, wait for him to appear, and then dump the mess on him, while Tang Guo would pack up and flee with the money.
She wouldn’t be able to run away with the money so easily.
“Go and contact those street loiterers from yesterday and ask them to find Tang Guo’s whereabouts. Whether they find her or not, pay them ten yuan a day. The one who finds her exact whereabouts will be given two hundred yuan on the spot, and those who provide information will receive an additional ten yuan.”
Now that he knew Tang Guo was planning to run, Zhang Liunian would not just stand by and watch her leave. With a few words, he gave instructions for the subsequent matters.
“I’ll go do it now.” Zhang Qian was familiar with hiring street loiterers, so he responded immediately and left to carry out the task.
After he left, Zhang Liunian looked at the office team leader and asked, “Does the department store have a cafeteria?”
“Yes, it’s right opposite our office,” the office team leader replied truthfully, not understanding why he was asking.
Zhang Liunian had noticed it earlier. He looked at the team leader and said, “Inform the head chef to make more meat dishes. I want to have a meal with the forty store managers. Please notify them.”
He planned to discuss the business of the department store’s various branches and daily turnover with these forty store managers to figure out how much money Tang Guo had taken.
“I’ll go do it now.” The office team leader turned to make arrangements but encountered trouble when notifying the forty store managers.
“They all said they were busy at noon and wouldn’t come,” the team leader reported back exactly what the forty store managers had said.
Zhang Liunian sneered upon hearing this. Playing loyalty games with him? He would make them understand the coldness of the world. “They were all promoted by Tang Guo, weren’t they!”
“Yes, most of them were promoted by Tang Guo, and many store managers have feelings for Tang Guo, which is something we all know.”
“……” Still sycophants? Were these people worth keeping? Once he sorted everything out, he would get rid of all of them.
At the same time, Tang Guo, whom Zhang Liunian was thinking about, was talking to a man in a secluded spot.
“The department store has a new owner. You can go and settle the accounts with him now.”
“I’ll come to your place tonight.”
“Come after it’s done.”
“Don’t worry, this little matter is nothing.”
After the two reached an agreement, the man immediately led his men to the department store, found Zhang Liunian, and demanded that he hand over the ten million yuan owed.
This money referred to ten million yuan worth of goods that should have been confiscated. It was originally supposed to be handled by Tang Guo, who would repay the money.
But now that Tang Guo was gone, this matter naturally fell to Zhang Liunian.
Facing this second major pitfall, Zhang Liunian had expected it, so when he learned of this, he did not lose his composure. He simply took the document, smiled, and said, “Team leader, send someone to call the police.”
These five words caused the entire place to fall silent.
Even the team leader didn’t understand why Zhang Liunian was suddenly acting this way.
“Do you think calling the police will make you not hand over the money? This is state money. If you don’t pay, you won’t be able to open for business smoothly.”
“Who says we won’t pay? It’s just that all the department store’s money is with Tang Guo. Now that she hasn’t appeared all morning, I have reason to suspect she’s run off with the money. To prevent her from taking the money and disappearing, we naturally have to call the police to help us resolve this.
Once this matter is resolved, the money owed to you will be paid in full, not a penny less.
Team leader, aren’t you going to send someone to call the police? Just say someone is illegally occupying public and private property in a huge amount.” Zhang Liunian smiled at the team leader and then sternly ordered the office team leader.
The office team leader naturally did not dare to delay. He turned and asked a man behind him to call the police, then continued to wait behind Zhang Liunian.
“It’s only been half a morning, how can you be sure she ran away? Perhaps she went out for something.
Also, Tang Guo is just a supervisor. She can’t possibly take the department store’s money. It’s useless even if you call the police.” The team leader did not want Zhang Liunian to call the police because he also had a responsibility in this matter. If it blew up, he would face severe consequences.
This money was supposed to have been collected a month ago, but he was tempted by her beauty and promised to give her a month. That’s why he helped her delay it until now.
If the matter were exposed, his crime of dereliction of duty would be undeniable.
Zhang Liunian noticed the reluctance in his eyes and smiled. The more he was unwilling, the more he wanted to call the police. Only by making a big fuss could he expose these people.