154: The big ship of Galaxy cannot tolerate termites

At eight o'clock the next day, Jiang Chen was woken up by his alarm clock.

Outside the window, the sun was warm and the air was fresh. After a simple wash, he put on a well-tailored dark grey suit and a tie.

In the mirror, his eyes were sharp, and the fatigue from last night had been completely suppressed.

Downstairs, two people were already standing in the living room.

Zhu Zhe, in a smart professional suit, stood tall. Seeing Jiang Chen come down, she nodded slightly in greeting: "Chairman Jiang."

Wu Gezhi, beside her, seemed a bit flustered. Although his suit was crisp, his tie was slightly crooked, his eyes darted around, and his voice carried an almost imperceptible tremor: "Chairman Jiang..."

Jiang Chen's gaze swept indifferently across Wu Gezhi's face, not lingering, then turned to Zhu Zhe and asked: "Are you ready?"

Zhu Zhe immediately understood and respectfully replied: "Chairman Jiang, everything is ready. President Ji and the others should already be waiting at the Group."

"Mm." Jiang Chen remained noncommittal and walked towards the door first.

Wu Gezhi looked at Jiang Chen's back, opened his mouth, as if wanting to explain something, or perhaps to beg for mercy, but in the end, he just let out a heavy sigh, swallowed all his words, and quickly followed.

He received a message from Zhu Zhe in the early hours of the morning. Zhu Zhe's first sentence completely robbed him of his sleep, but after understanding the situation, he felt a chill instantly shoot from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

The sky had fallen; that was his only thought at the time.

How could he not remember Li Yuran? Zhu Zhe had specifically greeted him when she helped her join, asking him to take good care of her, but he had been busy preparing for the Group's general meeting recently and only treated her as a regular connection, casually assigning her to an older employee to mentor, not taking it too seriously.

As a result... she turned out to be Chairman Jiang's biological cousin... It happened to no one else but Chairman Jiang's cousin. From the moment Zhu Zhe conveyed Jiang Chen's order to him, that phrase, 'thoroughly investigate the Investment Department,' he could feel Jiang Chen's almost overflowing rage.

He didn't even have time to think. He immediately changed into his clothes and rushed to the Group to find Zhu Zhe, waiting anxiously until dawn, wanting to immediately apologize to Jiang Chen.

But now, Jiang Chen hadn't even given him a proper look. This complete disregard made him more despairing than any scolding.

Just as he was feeling disheartened, Jiang Chen's calm and emotionless voice came from the back seat of the Maybach.

"President Wu, get in."

This voice was like heavenly music to Wu Gezhi. As if pardoned, he quickly responded with a smile: "Alright, Chairman Jiang!"

Li Zha closed the car door and walked towards the range rover in front. Zhu Zhe's expression remained unchanged as she got into the Maybach's passenger seat.

The motorcade started, drove out of the Half-Mountain Villa Area, and headed towards the Galaxy Center Building.

Jiang Chen crossed his legs, took out a cigarette case, and tapped it. Wu Gezhi, seeing this, hastily pulled out a lighter from his pocket.

He held the lighter in both hands, presenting it to Jiang Chen, and said with a fawning smile, "Chairman Jiang, I have a light."

Jiang Chen took out a cigarette, tilted his head slightly towards him, glanced at it, and let him light it for him.

Zhu Zhe silently turned on the car's air purification system, but Jiang Chen's next words made her heart tremble.

"President Wu, how many years have you been with the Group, and when did you become a department head?" Jiang Chen exhaled a long puff of smoke, seemingly casually asking Wu Gezhi.

Wu Gezhi's hands, holding the lighter, trembled, almost dropping it onto the Maybach's wool carpet.

His voice held a noticeable tremor, and his eyes carried a hint of despair as he replied: "Replying to Chairman Jiang... I have been with the Group for 14 years now, and I have been the head of the Investment Department for five years..."

Whoosh—

Jiang Chen took another deep drag from his cigarette, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"14 years, huh." Jiang Chen repeated, his tone unreadable. "That's only three years later than President Ji. To become a department head, you can be considered an old-timer and a distinguished member of the Group."

Wu Gezhi's heart suddenly constricted.

He knew that Jiang Chen mentioning 'old-timer' or 'distinguished member' at this moment was definitely not a compliment, especially after what had happened.

"..."

He opened his mouth, but his mind was blank, unable to utter a single word. He could only force out an ugly smile, his hands tightly gripping the lighter.

The atmosphere in the car became heavy. Zhu Zhe, sitting in the front, stared at the road ahead, not daring to breathe.

If even Zhu Zhe, who was not directly involved, felt this way, Wu Gezhi, as the person involved, was even worse. He felt no comfort from the cool air; fine cold sweat broke out on his forehead, soaking his white shirt under his suit.

"As the Group's most important department in the financial sector, President Wu, I have heard of your achievements over the years—"

He paused, then continued: "The Group's success today is inseparable from President Ji, and inseparable from old-timers like you, President Wu. You are the cornerstone of the Group, and even more, a role model for younger generations."

"Yes! Yes! Chairman Jiang, you flatter me! We only did what was within our duties." Wu Gezhi quickly responded, his voice carrying an almost imperceptible tremor, and the sweat on his forehead had already dripped to his nose.

However, his words received no response from Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen slowly turned his head, looking at him directly for the first time today. His gaze was calm and unruffled, yet it was like two bottomless ancient wells, making Wu Gezhi's heart pound. The slight glimmer of hope that had just risen instantly vanished.

"But." Jiang Chen changed the subject, his tone still calm, but with an undeniable firmness: "A cornerstone must be stable, and a role model must be upright, to set a good example for the younger generation. Don't you agree?"

Wu Gezhi's smile froze on his face. He no longer cared to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead. He knew that the real reprimand was coming.

Without waiting for Wu Gezhi's reply, Jiang Chen said himself: "What is most important for a department, for a team? It's the atmosphere, it's the culture. No matter how strong the ability, no matter how good the performance, if the atmosphere is corrupted, big problems will arise sooner or later."

"I don't want our Xinghe Group, this great ship, to develop cracks because of some woodworms in certain cabins."

Wu Gezhi's body suddenly trembled, as if struck by lightning.

He instantly understood Jiang Chen's implied meaning. The so-called atmosphere, culture, and ' woodworms' (termites/maggots) — wasn't he talking about his Investment Department? Wasn't he talking about Zhang Lei, and himself, the director with ineffective oversight?

Although Jiang Chen didn't mention Li Yuran's name, every word he spoke was about Li Yuran.

This was no longer a simple case of dereliction of duty in management, but had escalated to the destruction of the entire department's, and even the Group's, culture. This accusation was enough to crush Wu Gezhi.

His shirt, already soaked with sweat, now clung tightly to his back, and combined with the cold air, made him feel a biting chill. He gripped the lighter tightly in his hands, his head bowed, not daring to look into Jiang Chen's eyes again.

Zhu Zhe, sitting in the front, never turned back and never said a word. She just listened silently, but her slightly trembling hands indicated that her heart was not so calm.

Was this Chairman Jiang's true authority...? She could clearly feel the oppressive low pressure from the back seat that almost swallowed people, and she could imagine the turbulent waves in Wu Gezhi's heart at this moment.

Jiang Chen looked at Wu Gezhi, who was utterly dejected yet trying to hold himself together, his face devoid of any expression. He extinguished the cigarette in his hand in the car's ashtray.

"Alright." He said calmly: "We'll be at the Group soon. Prepare for the meeting."

Jiang Chen's tone made it seem as if his previous words were just casual small talk.

Silence fell upon the car once more, broken only by the faint hum of the air conditioning and Wu Gezhi's suppressed, slightly heavy breathing.

Jiang Chen's reprimand was precise and powerful. He knew Wu Gezhi would understand. If he still didn't understand, it meant it was time for someone else to take that position.