Chapter 19 — Fire the Wrong Person, the Whole Company Pays

Each row stood up one by one. I stood in the backstage of the stage. Don't step up. Ha Van looked at me and laughed.

“Miss Lam doesn't like standing under the spotlight.”

“But today…”

“I must invite her to say a few words.”

The applause became even louder. I walked onto the stage. In front of him were more than five hundred faces. I took the microphone.

“Thank you everyone.”

“I won't say too much.”

I stopped for a few seconds.

“Three months ago…”

“Someone once told me that…”

“Leave that company…”

“I will be nothing.”

The whole auditorium was silent.

“They said I had high salary and low performance.”

“Tell me my mind is not good.”

“It's fair to say I was fired.”

“In the end, I can only sell on the street.”

I lowered the microphone a bit.

“Today I stand here…”

“It's not to prove them wrong.”

“I stand here…”

“It's because from beginning to end…”

“I never believed what they said.”

Applause broke out again. Bigger than any time before. I put down the microphone. Step off the stage. Phuong Dinh stood below and secretly wiped away her tears. I don't know when, Mr. Chu also came. He stood in the last corner at the back of the hall. From afar, he bowed and greeted me. I nodded in response. That's all. Five years later. Core research laboratory of Thinh Hoa Group. I put down the lab report in my hand and stretched. Outside the glass window is the glowing skyline of the city. Five years ago… When I first entered this laboratory… There were only three people inside. And now… My team has twenty-eight people. Three years ago, Thinh Hoa's skin care cosmetics revenue exceeded 1,000,000,000 yuan. The board attributes that number to twelve core product lines developed over the past five years. And all the formulas of those twelve product lines... were born from my laboratory. Two years ago, Ha Van was promoted to permanent deputy general director of Thinh Hoa Group. On his inauguration day, he said one sentence at the management meeting:

“The best decision of my career…”

“It means patiently waiting for someone for three months.”

One year ago... Thinh Hoa invited me to become a core member of the technical advisory council. At the same time, awarded me the title of lifetime research partner. The contract also includes a share option. The specific number... I have never told anyone. But enough so that I don't need to worry about money for the rest of my life. Two years ago, I dragged Phuong Dinh to Thinh Hoa. Now she is the deputy laboratory manager. Tieu Ton also followed here. Able to independently take charge of a separate product line. As for Hoa Nhan... After I left, Co Hanh spent a year rebuilding the entire research system. The company survived. Revenue also gradually recovered stably. Every year we still have several joint research cooperation projects. Sometimes he will invite me to dinner. Every time we meet, we say the same thing:

“That year we almost let those people destroy the whole company.”

I just laughed. Do not respond. Today is the weekend. On the way home, I passed by the street under the Hoa Nhan building. It's been a long time since I passed by this place. The red light turns on. The car stopped. In front of the convenience store across the street... There was a woman wearing an old coat waiting for the bus. She was slightly hunched over. In his hand he carried two bags of household items. I took another look. She is ten years older than she was five years ago. Hair tied haphazardly at the nape of the neck. Completely bare face. She didn't see my car. The green light turns on. I stepped on the gas. The car passed through the intersection. In the rearview mirror... Her figure became smaller and smaller. Finally disappeared among the crowd. I rolled down the car window. The night wind blew in. Very pleasant. What about those people? I forgot a long time ago.