Chapter 7 — Before Retirement, I Was Demoted to Work as a Laborer

Each person with Tham Trieu An went through the days when the company stopped production, owed salaries, was pursued by creditors, and won the first order. At that time, the company promised that... Anyone who works at Vien Thai until retirement will receive lifetime benefits at the highest level for management. After that, this list is handed over to the President's Office for storage. I've always thought... It's still stored on the twenty-ninth floor. Tham Trieu An opened the first page. The front page is not a list. It's just blank sheets of paper that someone has replaced. He continued to turn the following pages. Still white paper. It's all white paper. The real list... Gone. The relief on La Thien's face had not yet appeared clearly. The middle-aged man suddenly picked up a sealed bag from the bottom of the box.

"President Tham, there's also this."

Inside the bag... Was half an access card that had been cut in half. On the face of the card... Stick my name. Tan Ngoc Tran. Tham Trieu An's eyes immediately became heavy as steel. Trinh Hoai Nhan took the opportunity and spoke up immediately.

"It seems... Section Chief Qin really can't explain this."

I stared at the half card. Not my card. Because on the back corner of it... There's a scratch missing. My real old card, five years ago when I personally handed it over to the President's Office, had been scratched by a stapler, leaving a white mark in the back corner. I was just about to open my mouth... When Ha Mieu suddenly pointed to the bottom drawer of the cabinet.

"Under there... there's another envelope."

The middle-aged man bent down to pick it up. The envelope is very thin. The envelope is still sealed. There is only one line of text written on the outside.

"Yours sincerely, Tan Ngoc Tran."

The text on the envelope is not printed. It's a handwritten pen stroke. The handwriting is sturdy, each time the horizontal line is folded, it has a habit of pressing down slightly. The past thirty-two years... I have become so familiar with that handwriting. Those are the words of Tham Trieu An. The office room was in silence. Tham Trieu An took the envelope. For the first time, there was clear anger in his eyes.

"Why is this letter here?"

La Thien unconsciously took half a step back.

"I... I don't know."

Trinh Hoai Nhan immediately spoke up.

"It's very common to have old records mixed with some personal items."

Tham Trieu An looked straight at him.

"This is the retirement confirmation letter I wrote to Tan Ngoc Tran."

Trinh Hoai Nhan's face immediately changed. I also raised my head. This letter... I have never seen it before. Tham Trieu An gave me the envelope. I take it. The sealing glue is still very tight. I used my fingernails to slowly peel it off. Inside were only two sheets of paper. The first sheet is a document confirming the retirement regime issued by the Office of the President. It clearly states: Tan Ngoc Tran is entitled to the sixth position in the Special Guarantee List for companions from the start-up period. Enjoy the highest level of management. Receive lifetime benefits. Receive medical benefits. Received Honorary Advisor allowance. The second sheet is a sent copy stamped by the Board of Directors. Date of issue... Was one month ago. My finger stopped on that line of dates. One month ago... That was the day Trinh Hoai Nhan asked me to hand over the credit work early. La Thien stared at the two pieces of paper. Finally... A look of panic appeared on her face. Perhaps she didn't expect... In that cardboard box, there were not only discarded documents. But there are also things they haven't had time to clean up. Tham Trieu An turned to the middle-aged man.

"Who was this document assigned to that day?"

He opened the folder.

"That day, the President's Office staff was on leave, so the Administrative Center took over on their behalf."

"The person who signed is La Thien."

La Thien immediately shook her head.

"I just signed for help."

"I then forwarded it to Deputy General Trinh for consideration."

Trinh Hoai Nhan's face was as black as iron.

"Don't blame yourself indiscriminately."

La Thien was frantic.

"You said to keep it first, wait for her to retire and then think about it later!"

As soon as she finished speaking... She was also stunned. The space in the room felt like it had been doused with cold water. Tham Trieu An did not shout. But the more silent he was... The more he suffocated others.

"Keep what?"

La Thien's lips trembled.

"Retain... benefits certificate."

She turned to look at Trinh Hoai Nhan. But he didn't say a word. I answered for her.

"Because my last day of work was as a janitor..."

"They will have a reason to remove me from management."

Phan Minh's legs were soft. Tham Trieu An turned to him.

"Has the Finance Department calculated the difference yet?"

This time Phan Minh did not dare to lie.

"How much?"

"If applied at the highest level, the total lifetime allowance and one-time honorary payment... is about more than one million eight hundred thousand yuan."