Chapter 1 — The Money Divider Negotiates

The day before signing the contract, I was kicked from the senior leadership team. No announcement, no explanation, the last message in the group was sent by the Deputy General: "Personnel optimization completed." The next day, the 86 million yuan year-end bonus was distributed, and my name was not on the list. I smiled, threw the phone on the table, and prepared to pack my things and leave. The boss's phone call came in, the voice on the other end of the line trembled: "Please come back here! The customer said, you are not present, the 1.6 billion contract is not signed!" I leaned back in my chair and slowly answered: "Whoever divides the money will negotiate."01One day before signing the contract, 5:27 pm. I just walked out from downstairs at the customer's company, still carrying a bag of coffee in my hand that I haven't had time to drink yet. The phone screen lights up. The senior leadership team of Dinh Thinh Group has disappeared from the list. I stood on the side of the road, looking at the empty spot on the chat list, my finger paused for two seconds. No one informed me. No one explained. The group worked for eight years and just disappeared. The last visible message was sent by Deputy General Han Trieu. "Personnel optimization completed." Nine words. Like a piece of paper, it lightly covered eight years of me. Driver Mr. Ma parked the car right in front of me, rolled down the window. "Mr. Khuong, are you going back to the company?" I held the phone tightly in my hand. "Going home." On the way, Tieu Dien from the project team texted me. "Mr. Khuong, why aren't you in the senior leadership team anymore?" I replied back with three words. "Not sure." The other side showed it was taking a long time to type. In the end, I only sent one sentence. "General Han just said in the group, tomorrow the bonus will be distributed according to the new management board list." I looked at that text and smiled slightly. New management board. A person like me who worked on projects for eight years, ran back and forth to twelve cities, stayed up all night with customers for more than forty meetings, turned out to be an old person overnight. The car entered the group's basement garage. In the elevator, two heads of the finance department saw me and their voices immediately lowered. "She still doesn't know anything, right?" "What can you do if you know? The list has already been finalized." I didn't look back. The elevator door opened and I stepped out. The administrative area is busier than usual. Someone carries flowers. Someone ordered a cake. Someone in the tea room is discussing drinks for tonight's celebration party. As I passed by, those sounds gradually subsided. Like the tide avoiding a stone. My office door is ajar. There are people inside. Han Trieu is sitting on my chair, with a cardboard box at his feet. The documents on my desk are divided into three stacks. One stack is project documents. One stack is documents for transactions with customers. One stack is my personal belongings. He raised his head to see me, smiling very calmly. "Khuong Tu, you're home." I put the coffee cup on the table. "You're sitting in the wrong place." Han Trieu didn't move. He picked up my signature pen, twirling it between his fingers. "Don't be so impatient, the company also wants to be good for you." I looked at him. "Because you want to be good for me, should you kick me out of the group?" Han Trieu sighed. "The company needs to be rejuvenated, it needs to be formalized, you have really worked hard over the years, but people can't rely on the past to beg forever." I glanced at the cardboard box. Inside were my employee card, souvenir trophy, and my old notebook. The book on top is the meeting notebook I wrote at the Southwest project site three years ago. On a rainy day, the paper was damp and the corners were wrinkled. At that time, Luc Minh Vien, standing next to me, said one sentence. "Khuong Tu, as long as you are here, Dinh Thinh's project will not be successful."

never disappear." Now that sentence is no longer mentioned by anyone. Han Trieu pushed a file over. "This is a notice of position adjustment." "Starting tomorrow, you will temporarily transfer to the Strategy Office as a consultant." "No team, no authority to approve, no authority to sign the project." I turned the first page. Above was the stamp of the human resources department. The date of signing was three days ago. Three days ago, I was still negotiating the contract details with the party on their behalf. Bach Xuyen. I closed the documents. "Who approved?" Han Trieu leaned back in his chair. "Mr. Luc." I raised my eyes. "He sent you?" "Mr. Luc is busy, there is a contract signing session tomorrow." Han Trieu said this, a look of undisguised pride in his eyes. "Khuong Tu, be reasonable." "You hand over the project documents clearly, in the future it will be easier for everyone to see each other." I asked: "Hand over to Who?” Han Trieu smiled. "Give it to me." Outside the office, someone stopped. People from the project team are all looking. Tieu Dien's face turned pale. Mr. Tan from the legal department stood outside the glass door, still holding the red-covered contract in his hand. Han Trieu deliberately raised his voice. "The 1.6 billion project belongs to the corporation, not you personally." "Don't take yourself too seriously." I said nothing. I picked up my phone and turned on the recording function. Turn the screen face down and place it on the table. Han Trieu's smile stiffened. He stared at the phone. "What do you mean?" I pushed the coffee bag on the table aside. "Go on." The office was silent. Han Trieu's hand withdrew from the notebook. He cleared his throat. "Don't play these trivial games." "I'm just handing over normally." I nodded. "Then follow the procedure." "Give me the notice of personnel adjustment." "Give me the project handover list." "Give me the approval document signed by Luc Minh Vien." "Give me the authorization document of the Board of Directors." "And also the letter confirming the agreement to change the main negotiator of Bach Xuyen Capital and give it to me." I said each sentence, sharply. Han Trieu's face darkened a bit. Finally, he threw the pen hard on the table. "Khuong Tu, don't invite me to drink and you'll have to drink as punishment!" Tieu Dien's shoulders outside the door trembled slightly. I looked at Han Trieu. "Is this sentence considered a normal handover?" Han Trieu reached out to take my phone. I took a step faster, pressed my hand on it. "Don't touch it." The three words fell, and it became even quieter outside the office. Han Trieu's hand stopped in midair. He couldn't keep face, stood up, bent over and put his hands on the table. "Do you think you can still say one word and be done like before?" "The leadership team doesn't have you, the bonus list doesn't have you, there won't be you on the signing podium tomorrow either." "Khuong Tu, you've been eliminated." I looked at him for three seconds. Then took out a black clipboard from the drawer. Han Trieu's eyes were immediately glued to that clipboard. "What is that?" I didn't answer. I stuffed the clipboard into my bag and zipped it up. "I've been eliminated, so I won't participate in tomorrow's meeting." Han Trieu was stunned. He didn't seem to expect me to say that. "You dare?" I took the employee card from the cardboard box and put it back on the table. "Don't use this word." "I don't owe Dinh Thinh anything." I turned and walked out. Han Trieu behind him laughed. "Today you step out of this door, tomorrow don't show your face and beg the company!" I stopped at the door. Turn your head to look at him. "Remember this sentence carefully." "Don't beg me to come back tomorrow." 02 At nine o'clock the next morning, the corporate lobby hung with a red background banner. "Dinh Thinh Group's Annual Business Performance Commendation Conference." When I arrived at the company, six rows of flower baskets were lined up in front of the door. Human

Administrative office staff wearing vests and uniforms, smiling brightly, handing out flower corsages to department leaders. Seeing me, their hands stopped. One of the girls whispered: "Mr. Khuong, your name is not on the signature board." I bent down to take a quick look. The signature table is divided into three columns. Board level. Senior leadership level. Excellent management level. Without me. I picked up the pen and wrote the words Khuong Tu in the blank space. The girl's face turned pale. "Mr. Khuong, this sign cannot be signed haphazardly." I returned the pen to her. "Then tell someone with authority to come and erase it." She didn't dare say another word. The hall was filled with people. The front row seats are labeled with names. Luc Minh Vien sat in the middle. Han Trieu sat to his left. My original position is now plastered with Han Trieu's name tag. My project team was arranged to sit in the last two rows. As soon as Tieu Dien saw me, he immediately stood up. "General Khuong, over here." I walked over there and sat down. Many people turned their heads to look at me. But his eyes quickly avoided it. On the podium, the host's voice resounded. "Over the past year, the group has achieved a major breakthrough, especially the East China Complex project, the contract value of which is up to 1.6 billion yuan." Applause rang out. I heard the name of that project, my fingers gently tapped my knee. East China Complex. From project planning to risk assessment, from plans to commercial terms, from the first time the customer refused until they made concessions, I followed the project for nineteen months. Luc Minh Vien stepped up to the podium to speak. He wore a dark gray suit, his hair was combed without a single tangle. "The company's success is inseparable from the efforts of each manager." "This year, we set aside 86 million yuan to reward those who truly create value for the corporation."Really. When the word fell, Han Trieu turned to look at me. The corner of his mouth is curled up. The CFO began reading the list. “Group Special Contribution Award, Han Trieu, bonus 12 million yuan.” The applause was even louder than before. Han Trieu stood up and buttoned his vest. When he stepped onto the podium, he deliberately looked towards the last row of seats. "Thank you, Mr. Luc for your trust." "Thank you for the foundation of the group." "The Hoa Dong project was able to come to today, as a result of group cooperation, not the merit of any individual." In the audience, someone followed and nodded. Some people also lowered their heads to look at their phones. I sat in the last row, not moving. Tieu Dien was so angry that his eyes turned red. "General Khuong, how could he be like that?" I said: "Listen carefully." Each name was announced in turn. Director of 5 million market department. Head of legal department 3 million. Head of finance 2 million. Even the new administrative director who moved in three months ago had 1.8 million. Without me. There are no core members of the project team. Tieu Dien tightened his grip on the phone, the back of his hand was so tense that it turned white. "When we worked overtime until two in the morning, they didn't even get the full project name." I looked up at the podium. "So now they have to recite the name properly." Coming to the last item. "The list of special awards for the annual management board has been announced." The host folded the clipboard. Han Trieu took the microphone. "There is another good news today." "Tomorrow morning, the group will officially sign a cooperation agreement for Hoa Dong Complex with Bach Xuyen Capital."