Chapter 21 — My Nameless Occupation

The second matter— he paused for a brief moment.

The second matter is my reasoning for firing you.

I did not speak.

Miss Tu, do you know why you were the very first person he decided to terminate?

Because I was too deeply involved in the operations.

No. It was because he had conducted a thorough investigation into your background. He knew that you were shouldering the responsibilities of eight different departments, and that you held every detail of the company’s inner workings in the palm of your hand. When someone intends to play a crooked game, the first obstacle they must remove is the person most capable of spotting the deception.

I sat there, my mind drifting into a hollow void. I had spent all this time assuming he fired me because I was an inconvenience, a nuisance in his path. It turns out he feared I would block his ascent. He was not afraid of a mere administrative clerk; he was terrified of someone who knew far too much.

So, I said slowly, when he told me the day he fired me that my replaceability was extremely high—

It was a deliberate lie. He needed that narrative so that everyone else would find the justification for your dismissal perfectly reasonable and beyond reproach.

I lowered my head. Twelve years of service. An annual salary of one hundred and forty thousand. Carrying the workload of eight departments. In the end, I was accurately targeted by someone who had been at the company for only a month, identified as his greatest threat, and treated as the first weed to be uprooted. It was not because I was useless. It was because I was too useful. So useful that my presence had become an absolute liability that had to be erased.

Miss Tu?

I lifted my head.

I am fine. Please, continue.

Chapter 23

Gu Yuan Zhou had fully resolved the legal complications surrounding the Chu Han incident. The external legal team at Heng Yuan had spent two weeks meticulously securing all necessary evidence. The labor arbitration tribunal ruled against Chu Han. The total amount embezzled through procurement fraud was finally verified at eight hundred and thirty thousand, and Heng Yuan had formally issued a civil claim for damages against Chu Han and all relevant parties. Simultaneously, the wife of Ha Jian Guo signed a power of attorney on his behalf, officially appointing me as the External Operations Consultant for the Heng Yuan Group. The contract was for a one-year term with an annual fee of six hundred thousand. It was not the position of Vice President, but a Consultant—a role I had chosen for myself. I no longer wished to return as an internal employee of Heng Yuan. To be an insider meant falling back into the trap of managing everything while remaining invisible to the organization. As a consultant, there were clear boundaries, set service fees, and formal contracts. Every task was valued and accounted for. Shen Yi was very satisfied with this arrangement.

The consulting fee from Heng Yuan is six hundred thousand a year, plus your dividends from Rui He; your total income for this year—

Stop calculating it.

Tu Wan, aren't you even curious?

I am curious. But right now, there is something else that concerns me more.

What is it?

Turning our operational toolkit into a marketable product. The SaaS solution that Xia Wei mentioned last time—I have given it serious thought. This is a project worth pursuing.

Shen Yi sat up straight.

Have you really thought this through?

I have. But it will not be done under Rui He. I am going to start my own company.

Oh.

Do not just say oh. I want to invite you to be a co-founder.

He was stunned.

What did you say?

Boss Shen, you have the resources within the consulting industry and a vast network of clients. I have the product and the implementation expertise. If we work on this together, the result will be far better than if we each worked on half-hearted ventures.

Are you serious?

Have I ever been anything but serious?

He took off his glasses and began to wipe them clean.

Let me think about it.

I will give you three days. Last time, you gave me three days; this time, I shall grant you three days in return.

He let out a laugh. Three days later, Shen Yi accepted. We spent two weeks registering the new firm. I chose the name—Jian Zhou Technology. It was inspired by the poem line: The light boat has already passed through ten thousand mountains. My daughter, Tu Nien, offered her critique: Mother, that is a bit too artistic, isn't it?

Are you mocking me?

Not at all. It is excellent. And it even has your name hidden in it—Jian Zhou, Jian-Su.

You are overthinking it.

Then why are you smiling?