Chapter 4 — The Whole Company Knows

"The notice board was posted publicly, had the company's red seal, official personnel talked to me, the system approved my leave." I emphasized each word, "What part tells me it's fake?" She opened her mouth. Can't say anything. Because there really isn't. No one, no one at any stage officially informed me that this was just an act. “You all know.” I collected the documents and put them in a parchment bag, "I don't know. I'm just a laid-off employee, doing what a laid-off employee should do." “Negotiate the conditions, sign the agreement, get it notarized.” “Every step is legal and according to procedure.” Tham Niem Duong's hand dropped. The phone almost fell to the ground. “You… notarized?” “Yes. Saturday morning.” She closed her eyes. Take a deep breath. Then open your eyes. “So what do you want?” “What is what?” “What… what do you want?” I looked at her, honestly feeling confused. "You came to me, saying that the layoff was fake. Very good, I knew. But the agreement was signed, notarized and effective. This is not a matter of what I want." “It's about what you want.” Tham Niem Duong looked at me for ten seconds. Then turned around and left. The sound of high heels tapping on the hallway floor was both fast and chaotic. The man in a suit followed behind. The door closes. I stood in place, taking a sip of cooled tea. Um. So why was my name included in the list of personnel cuts? Think three seconds. Stop it. Not important. The important thing is one hundred and fifty thousand each month, lasting two years. Three million six hundred thousand. Enough money for a deposit to buy a house. 【Chapter 4】 At two o'clock in the afternoon, I was looking at recruitment applications. The doorbell rang again. I opened the door. A man over fifty years old stood outside. Slightly silver hair, neatly dressed in a suit, very strong aura. Behind him were two people. One person was Ms. Truong, her face was pale. The other person is a middle-aged man wearing glasses, holding a stack of documents in his hand. Tham Quoc Luong. I've seen him before, and I've also seen him from afar at the year-end party. Is a great character. “Are you Co Bac?” “Hello, President Tham.” He looked me up and down and nodded. “Let's go inside and talk.” Not a negotiating tone. It's an order. But this is my house. "Come in." I leaned over to give way. The three of them walked in and sat on my sofa. My living room is not large, just over twenty square meters. Three people plus me seemed a bit cramped. Tham Quoc Luong looked around my house. Simple, clean, no excess furniture. “Tea or water?” I asked. "No need." Tham Quoc Luong got straight to the point, “My daughter arrived this morning?” “Arrived.” “Did he tell you?” "That said. Fake layoffs." Tham Quoc Luong nodded. "I'm sorry. This is because the girl did something wrong. The company management did not control it well, causing trouble for you." Very sincere attitude. The tone is very polite. But the man wearing glasses next to him, probably someone from the legal department, kept flipping through documents, his expression not looking good. “But…” Tham Quoc Luong changed his tone, “The non-compete agreement you signed…” “It has been notarized.” “I know it's notarized.” Tham Quoc Luong's voice lowered, "But this agreement was signed in a state of unequal information between the two sides. We have reason to request that the agreement be declared invalid." I looked at him. Then look at the people in the legal department. “Are you Chu of the legal department?” The man wearing glasses raised his head: "I am legal director Chu Minh Vien." “Director Chu, I want to ask you a question.” “You say it.” "This agreement has the company seal, the signature of Chairman Tham, and also has an official resignation document issued by the human resources department as a previous condition. Is that right?" "…Correct." "The content of the agreement was confirmed after the human resources department and I officially discussed it. Right?" "Correct." "When signing the agreement, no one told me that the staff reduction story was fake. Right?" Chu Minh Vien said nothing. Ms. Truong bowed her head even lower

than. “Director Chu,” I said, “Who is responsible for causing the unequal information situation?” Quiet. Tham Guoliang's expression did not change, but his finger tapped twice on his knee. I've seen this move at a year-end party. That is his habit when he encounters difficult opponents while doing business. “Tieu Co.” He changed the way he addressed himself, his voice softened, "You are a smart person. I admit this is our fault. But the fine of twenty million, do you think it's reasonable?" “It's your signature.” “That day there were more than thirty documents on the table.” He frankly admitted, “I didn't look closely.” “That is your responsibility, not mine.” He looked at me. I looked at him. The moment our eyes met, I suddenly understood something. Tham Quoc Luong did not come here to reason with me. He came to test my limits.