Chapter 12 — My Nameless Occupation

What is the context here?

It is likely a link in the chain of kickbacks involving the procurement department at Hang Vien.

Two minutes later, Them Dich replied.

This is a serious matter. Are you certain you want to stir this hornet's nest?

It is not that I want to stir it. It stirred itself by targeting me first.

Chapter 14: The results of Them Dich's investigation arrived after three days. Cam Thanh Commerce, a firm with a registered capital of five hundred thousand, listed its legal representative as Tien Tu Van—the cousin of Tien Tu Lan, who is the wife of Chu Han. The company had been established for only five months, and its sole client was the Hang Vien Group. The goods provided: office supplies and equipment consumables. The total contract value: six hundred and eighty thousand. Meanwhile, Hang Vien's average annual expenditure for similar procurement items in previous years had been a mere four hundred and twenty thousand. Where had the extra two hundred and sixty thousand gone? I did not need to investigate. Because I already knew.

Director Them, please keep this file for me.

Are you not planning to use it yet?

Not yet. I am waiting for Chu Han to commit a more significant mistake.

How can you be so sure he will make an even bigger error?

Someone who has tasted the sweetness of greed once will not find it easy to stop. Especially since he is still busy planting his own people throughout the company. Once Phuong Ngan is settled in, the controls over the procurement line will loosen considerably.

As expected, in his second week at Hang Vien, Phuong Ngan took action: he compressed the procurement approval process from three tiers down to two. His justification was to improve efficiency. The level that was removed, quite coincidentally, was the oversight check by the finance department. In other words, from now on, procurement contracts could be signed and executed directly without ever passing through the finance department’s review. This news was brought to Vu Tieu Man by Tran Loi. Her first reaction was one of pure disbelief.

Is this not effectively greenlighting corruption?

Now you see why I told you we had to wait for him to make a bigger mistake.

By the third week of Phuong Ngan’s tenure, Hang Vien signed a contract for new IT equipment. The supplier was once again a small, shell-like company established less than a year prior. The price: one million two hundred thousand. The market value: seven hundred thousand. An inflation rate of seventy percent. I recorded this information as the final entry in my list of issues—item number three hundred and twelve. I had never shown this list to anyone before, but now, it held real value. My phone rang. It was Lam Vi.

Director To, is it a convenient time to talk?

Go ahead.

Chu Han is about to fire someone.

Who?

Tran Loi.

What is the stated reason?

He claims the operations department failed to meet performance targets. But everyone knows the real reason is because Tran Loi supported the Thuy Hoa proposal during the meeting, and Chu Han has held a grudge ever since.

I gripped the phone tightly, remaining silent.

Director To, Tran Loi has an elderly mother and young children to support, and his wife just gave birth to their second child. He is terrified.

Lam Vi, what does Tran Loi himself say?

He says... he says he wants to come to see you.

Tell him to come.

That evening, Tran Loi arrived at my home. He looked visibly thinner.

Director To, I do not know what to do anymore.

I poured him a glass of water.

Tran Loi, listen to me. If Chu Han wants to fire you, he must follow the proper procedures. He has only spoken about it verbally so far; if you have thorough records of your work and your performance metrics from the last two months, he will have no legitimate grounds for dismissal.

I have all of those.

Then keep them safe. And another thing—

I looked him straight in the eyes.

If Chu Han truly fires you, would you be willing to join Thuy Hoa?

He was stunned.

I... in what position?

Project Manager. You would specialize in supervising and implementing services for medium-sized enterprises like Hang Vien. Your experience at Hang Vien is a valuable asset. Your annual salary would be thirty percent higher than what you earn now.

Tran Loi’s eyes turned red.