Chapter 20 — My Nameless Occupation

"That list of issues you have in your possession—the version with over three hundred entries—does it contain any records regarding these historical financial irregularities?"

I froze.

"How did you know I kept a list of issues?"

"Miss To, a person who has worked at a single company for twelve years and managed eight different departments could not possibly have failed to keep records of some kind. I would bet my life you have one."

I remained silent for a few seconds.

"I do. But it is not exhaustive. I am not a finance professional; I could only record the anomalies that came across my desk."

"That is sufficient. I need you to synthesize those notes along with the corresponding original documentation. This is not to be used to attack Hang Vien, but for our defense. If Chu Han chooses to report us, we must have a contingency plan."

"I understand. Give me three days."

After hanging up the phone, I retrieved the list from my computer. Three hundred and twelve items. Twelve years. This was something I never thought I would have a reason to use. When I wrote it, it was merely a professional habit—noting down problems as I saw them, even when no one asked. It never occurred to me that such a trivial habit would one day become my most vital weapon.

Three days later, I handed the compiled documentation to Co Vien Chu. After reading through it, he sat in silence in the Hang Vien conference room for twenty minutes.

"Miss To, the value of this list exceeds that of the reports produced by the auditing firms Hang Vien hires every year."

"Mr. Co, I have submitted suggestions several times over the years, but no one listened."

"Who did not listen?"

"I proposed process optimization ideas to the head of administration three times, and he told me it was not my business. I told old Wang in the finance department that there were better ways to reconcile the ledgers, and he said the superiors had not issued any directives. I told Ms. Trieu that the list of backup event suppliers should be updated periodically, and she complained that it was too much of a hassle."

Co Vien Chu looked at me.

"Why didn't you go directly to Ha Kien Quoc?"

"Because I am an administrative specialist. An administrative specialist does not bypass the chain of command to speak to the CEO about management issues."

"Yet you quietly recorded over three hundred items."

"Just an occupational hazard."

He sighed.

"Miss To, if someone had listened to you seriously twelve years ago, Hang Vien would not have reached this sorry state today."

That was the most bitter sentiment I had ever heard in my life. However, I did not let a trace of it show on my face.

"What is past is past; there is no need to dwell on it. How shall we respond to the side of Chu Han?"

"Regarding the financial issues, I have engaged external lawyers and an audit team to conduct a parallel review. Using your notes as a reference, we can preemptively rectify the majority of the legacy problems. Chu Han will have little room left to use them as a pretext."

"What about his labor dispute lawsuit?"

"He has no chance of winning. The grounds for his termination involve profiteering, and the chain of evidence is complete. The lawyers have assessed it; the arbitration committee will not side with him."

"That is good to hear."

"But there is one more thing."

"Go ahead."

"Before leaving, Phuong Ngan reformatted his computer. However, our IT department subsequently recovered a portion of the data from the server backups. Inside, there was a folder—"

Co Vien Chu slid a USB drive across the table.

"It contains a backup of the chat history between Phuong Ngan and Chu Han. It includes a series of matters they had planned long before they even joined Hang Vien."

I picked up the USB drive.

"What kind of matters?"

"Chu Han’s arrival at Hang Vien was never just about a job from the beginning. After being forced out of his previous company, he targeted Hang Vien—because Hang Vien’s management was lax and Ha Kien Quoc had a habit of leaving internal affairs to drift. It was the type of company most vulnerable to exploitation. The first thing he did upon arriving was to master the company’s procurement and financial procedures."