Chapter 19 — My Nameless Occupation

Engineer Lam raised his hand, his voice hesitant but hopeful. "Boss To, regarding that project management system—the one you used to handle with Excel—could we possibly go back to using it? The new system they rolled out is genuinely terrible to work with."

"Forget the new system," I replied without hesitation. "Switch back to the old one. I will personally upgrade it for you."

A heavy silence fell over the conference room for a heartbeat, followed immediately by a collective sigh of relief. It was a strange, almost magical sensation, as if the very foundation of a crumbling building had suddenly been reinforced. It was not a world-shaking event, yet it felt as though everything in our world had finally snapped back into its rightful place.

During my first week of interim management at Hang Vien, I accomplished three specific tasks. First, I restored the three-tier procurement approval process, mandating that every single vendor contract signed during Chu Han’s tenure be subjected to a thorough, ground-up review. Second, I pulled the Shui He operational plan out of its suspended state, reactivating it and accelerating the process restructuring for the remaining four departments. Third, I personally visited three clients who had expressed deep dissatisfaction with our service quality.

The third task took me three days. I flew to two different cities to meet with the senior management of those three clients. In every meeting, I cut straight to the point.

"I am To Van, the former head of operations here at Hang Vien. I am fully aware of your grievances regarding our service quality. The root cause of these issues was the administrative chaos that ensued after my departure. I have now returned to clean up the mess. Here is my proposed corrective plan and a detailed timeline for the resolution."

Of those three clients, two renewed their contracts on the spot, while the third agreed to observe our progress for one more month. Upon my return to the office, Tran Loi was waiting for me at the door.

"Sister To—I mean, Boss To—I heard the news about the contract renewals. Manager Trieu said you managed to secure all three of them single-handedly."

"It wasn't just me," I corrected him. "The plan was crafted by the Shui He team, and the execution relies on the coordination of every department. I simply went there to say the necessary words."

"But the clients only trust you," he insisted.

I did not answer. It was the harsh truth. Clients do not put their faith in companies; they put their faith in individuals. This was the most significant lesson I had learned during my twelve years at Hang Vien. That night, I worked overtime until nine o'clock, sitting in Ha Kien Quoc’s office as I combed through the monthly reports of every department. On his desk sat a family photograph: his wife, his son, and a Golden Retriever. This man had spent twenty years building his business, transforming Hang Vien from a tiny office into a company with three hundred employees. He was not a bad person, though he was not exactly a great boss, either. He had simply grown too accustomed to handing off tasks he did not want to manage, pretending all the while that everything was running smoothly.

I placed the photograph back in its spot. Just as I stood up, my phone rang. It was Co Vien Chu.

"Miss To, there has been a new development regarding Chu Han."

"What kind of development?"

"He and Phuong Ngan have hired a joint legal team, preparing to sue Hang Vien for wrongful termination of employment. Simultaneously, he is threatening to report Hang Vien's financial practices to the regulatory authorities."

"What financial issues?"

"He claims that over the past few years, Ha Kien Quoc has engaged in irregular tax accounting."

"Is there any truth to this?"

"There are some historical financial issues left behind. They are not necessarily criminal, but if they are exposed and blown out of proportion, it will cause immense trouble for the company."

I tightened my grip on the phone. Chu Han. Even after being dismissed by the company, he refused to concede, instead choosing to bite back.

"Mr. Co, how do you intend to resolve this?"

"I need your help with something."

"What is it?"