Chapter 112 Sales Domination Leads to Lenovo President's Removal by Board of Directors

Chu Xuan's roars leaked from the receiver, making the store manager's ears ring.

The call was hung up directly, leaving only a busy tone.

The store manager slid down against the glass door to sit on the floor, staring out at the dense crowd of people waiting to buy computers.

He swallowed hard, his back completely drenched in sweat.

Time ground past just like that for a whole month amidst the roar of the assembly line machinery.

The weather in Donghai City grew increasingly hot and dry.

In the top-floor office of Xinghai Technology, the air conditioner blew cold air with a loud hum.

Chu Xuan kicked open the solid wood door and rushed in like a whirlwind.

Today, he was wearing a loud floral shirt with a red background and white flowers, with two buttons popped open.

In his hand, he clutched a stack of newly printed quarterly financial reports.

The papers were crumpled and wrinkled from his tight grip.

"President Lu! It's a miracle! It's a fucking miracle!"

Chu Xuan dashed to the desk in a few strides and slapped the financial report onto the surface.

The force caused the signing pen on the desk to jump.

He pulled out his usual crumpled tissue from his pocket and wiped the greasy sweat off his forehead with all his might.

"A single month! Just this one month!"

Chu Xuan's eyes bulged wide, bloodshot veins throbbing in the whites of his eyes.

"Shipments of the xinghai matebook have broken three million units!"

In the corner of the sofa,

Xia Weiliang sat with her bare feet curled up on the leather cushion.

Her dirty white lab coat had gained a few more grease stains.

She was biting down on half an unfinished instant noodle companion ham sausage.

*Crunch.*

She took a bite and rolled her eyes dramatically.

"What are you shouting for? With my Pandora underlying protocol combined with the fanless architecture, selling three million units is considered low, okay?"

She nudged the leg of the coffee table with her toe.

"If it weren't for those sluggish OEM factories in Taiwan, I could have had them sell ten million units."

Lu Jingming sat in his swivel chair, legs crossed and resting on the desk.

He was still wearing that washed-out black T-shirt.

He pulled out his one-yuan green plastic lighter.

His thumb pressed down on the flint wheel.

*Click.*

A faint blue flame flickered up, illuminating half of his face.

"Three million units."

Lu Jingming stared at the flame, his lips curling up to reveal a sharp, white canine tooth on one side.

"This cake isn't that big. But it's enough to smash everyone else's rice bowls to pieces."

Accompanied by the click-clack of high heels on the wooden floor,

Shen Qingqiu pushed open the door and walked in.

She wore a crisp white shirt, her gaze cold behind her gold-rimmed glasses.

In her hand, she held a cup of freshly brewed black coffee.

"I just received the briefings sent back from the NASDAQ and Hong Kong stock markets."

Shen Qingqiu placed the coffee on the desk and pushed up her glasses.

"Lenovo Group released their quarterly financial report yesterday."

Her voice was flat, like she was reading a death notice.

"Their PC market share in the Asia-Pacific region has been cut in half."

Chu Xuan swallowed hard, his hand pausing mid-wipe.

"Cut... cut in half? What about the profits?"

"Profits?" Shen Qingqiu snorted coldly. "Negative. An unprecedented, massive loss."

Her slender fingers tapped on the desk.

"Distributors are returning goods on a massive scale. Eight hundred thousand fan-equipped machines are all rotting away in warehouses."

Lu Jingming released his thumb.

The lighter's flame went out instantly with a soft hiss.

"Comprador enterprises have the softest bones. With this blow, someone is bound to be sacrificed."

He stuffed the lighter back into his pocket and chuckled.

His gaze seemed to pierce through thousands of miles.

Yanjing, Lenovo Group Headquarters Building.

At 11:00 PM, the executive conference room on the top floor was brightly lit.

The air conditioning was set to sixteen degrees, freezing people's bones.

Sitting on both sides of the long mahogany conference table were six or seven grey-haired board members.

The air was as silent as a graveyard.

There was only the rustling of flipping papers and heavy breathing.

Next to the head seat,

Lenovo's current president, President Yang, stood.

His slicked-back hair, usually combed to a shine, was now messily falling in several strands.

His silk tie was pulled askew.

He braced both hands on the desk, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.

Sweat dripped from his chin, splattering onto the glaring loss statement with a soft patter.

"Chairman Zhang... Elder Li..."

President Yang's voice was as hoarse as if he had swallowed sand, sounding weak.

"This quarter was an accident. Xinghai Technology launched a dimensional reduction strike; they aren't playing by the rules!"

Chairman Zhang, sitting at the head of the table, was an old man in his seventies.

His eyelids drooped, and he held a purple clay teacup in his hand.

The old man's hand was shaking violently.

The lid of the teacup clinked against the rim, making a faint rattling sound.

"An accident?"

Chairman Zhang's eyelids suddenly snapped up, a murderous glare flashing in his cloudy eyes.

He slammed the teacup heavily onto the table.

Tea spilled out, splashing and wetting the report.

"Our market share is cut in half! Three billion worth of inventory has turned into scrap metal! And you're telling me this is an accident?"

Chairman Zhang's withered finger poked heavily at the desk.

"How did you promise the board of directors back then? You said Xinghai couldn't make computers!"

"You said even if they made them, they wouldn't even boot up!"

The old man grew more agitated as he spoke, his chest heaving violently, a wheezing sound like a bellows coming from his throat.

President Yang's legs went weak, his knees knocking against the desk leg.

"Chairman Zhang! I miscalculated the translation capabilities of the ARM chip!"

He swallowed hard, trying to make one last struggle.

"But that's because the Americans' Microsoft system is garbage! It's because they couldn't block Xinghai's intrusion!"

President Yang pointed at several executives nearby who had their heads bowed, his eyes bloodshot.

"I spent tens of millions on paid internet trolls and smear campaigns, but offline consumers rushed into Xinghai's stores like they were possessed!"

"I did my best!"

Another wave of dead silence washed over the conference room.

Only President Yang's heavy breathing echoed.

Another fat director sneered, the fat on his face trembling.

"Did your best? Does Lenovo pay you just to do your best with lip service?"

The fat director tossed the fountain pen in his hand onto the table, where it rolled a couple of times.

"Capital only looks at numbers. Someone has to take the fall for this mess to appease the Wall Street shareholders."

President Yang's heart suddenly clenched.

A chill rushed from the soles of his feet straight to his skull, making his scalp go numb.

"You... what do you want to do?"

Chairman Zhang pulled out a white handkerchief and wiped his tea-stained fingers.

He didn't even look him in the eye.

"No nonsense. We will proceed according to the company's bylaws."

Chairman Zhang's voice was as cold as a knife pulled from an ice cellar.

"The board of directors voted overnight. Effective this very second, you are dismissed from the presidency and all administrative duties."

As soon as those words were spoken,

President Yang's legs gave out, and he collapsed directly onto the floor.

His mouth hung wide open, but he couldn't make a sound.

His Adam's apple bobbed violently, and his head rang as if it had been struck by a sledgehammer.

"I don't accept this!"

After a few seconds, he suddenly sprang up like a mad dog.

His hands tightly gripped the edge of the conference table, his fingernails scraping against the mahogany surface with a screeching sound.

"I've worked for Lenovo for twenty years! Even if I haven't won glory, I've still put in hard work!"

President Yang's eyes were bloodshot, spit flying everywhere.

"You can't just kick me out like this! Let me talk to Lu Jingming, I can stall him!"

Chairman Zhang ignored him.

He simply turned his head and gave the secretary standing by the door a look.

The secretary understood immediately and pressed the button on his walkie-talkie.

In less than ten seconds,

The heavy double doors of the conference room were flung open.

Two burly security guards in black suits strode in.

Their leather shoes made dull thuds as they stepped on the woolen carpet.

The security guards walked up to President Yang without saying a word.

Each grabbed one of his arms and hoisted him upward.

President Yang's toes instantly left the ground.

"Let me go! You idiots! Do you know who I am?!"

He struggled frantically, his legs flailing in mid-air.

His expensive leather shoes dragged across the carpet, leaving two deep marks.

Even the seams on the back of his suit jacket burst open.

The two security guards remained expressionless, dragging him toward the door like a dead dog.

As they passed the doorframe,

President Yang suddenly erupted, his hands desperately grabbing the solid wood doorframe.

His strength was surprisingly immense.

*Snap.*

Due to his excessive force, his fingernails split open.

Blood seeped from his fingertips, staining the wood grain of the doorframe red.

The pain was excruciating.

Yet he refused to let go, twisting his head to glare at the cold, old faces around the conference table.

The fear in his eyes had completely turned into desperate violence.

"You idiots! Firing me won't help!"

President Yang's voice cracked completely, sounding like a broken erhu with snapped strings screeching in the night.

The sound echoed far down the empty corridor.

"Lu Jingming wants to destroy the entire X86 alliance! You're the ones who are going to die next!"