Chapter 1 — Who Divides Money, He Negotiates

The day before the signing ceremony, I was kicked out of the senior management group. There was no announcement, no explanation, the last message in the group was sent by the deputy general director: "Personnel optimization completed." The next day, the 86 million year-end bonus was distributed, my name was not on the list. I laughed, threw my phone on the table, and prepared to pack my things and leave. The boss called, the voice on the other end trembled: "Please come back to me immediately! The customer has already said that, if you are not present, the 1.6 billion contract will not be signed!" I leaned back in the chair and slowly said: "Whoever shares the money will negotiate."01 One day before the signing ceremony, five twenty-seven minutes in the afternoon. I just walked out of the customer's building, still carrying a bag of undrinked coffee in my hand. The phone suddenly lit up. The senior management team of Dinh Thinh Group has disappeared. I stood on the side of the road, looking at the blank space in the chat list, my finger paused for two seconds. No one informed me. No one explained. The job group that existed for eight years just disappeared. The previous message that was still visible was sent by deputy general director Han Trieu. "Human resource optimization completed." Six words. Like a light sheet of paper covering my eight years. Driver Mr. Ma stopped the car in front of me and rolled down the window. "Director Khuong, are you back at the company?" I placed the phone in my palm. "Back." On the way, Tieu Dien of the project team sent me a text message. "Director Khuong, why are you no longer in the senior management team?" I replied with three words. "Not sure." The other side displayed typing for a long time. In the end, I only sent one sentence. "Deputy President Han just said in the group that tomorrow's bonus will be distributed according to the new management board list." I looked at that text and burst out laughing. New management board. I worked on the project for eight years, ran through twelve cities, stayed up with the customer for more than forty meetings, but overnight I became the same person. The car entered the group's underground parking lot. In the elevator, two finance department managers saw me and immediately lowered their voices. "She still doesn't know, 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 delivered flowers. Someone ordered cakes. Someone is discussing the wine used at tonight's celebration in the tea room. As I passed by, the sound of talking gradually subsided. Like the tide avoiding a rock. My office door was slightly open. 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 piles. One pile is project files. One stack is documents exchanged with customers. One pile is my personal belongings. He raised his head to see me, smiling very calmly. "Khuong Tu, are you home?" I put the coffee on the table. "You're sitting in the wrong place." Han Trieu didn't move. He picked up my signature pen and twirled it between his fingers. "Don't be so impatient, the company only wants the best for you." I looked at him. "If you want to be good for me, kick me out of the group?" Han Trieu sighed. "The group needs to be rejuvenated, needs to be formalized. You have indeed been very hard in the past years, but people cannot rely on past achievements to live forever." I glanced at the cardboard box. Inside were my employee ID card, bonus trophy, and old notebook. The book on top is the meeting minutes I wrote at the Southwest project site three years ago. It was raining that day, the paper was damp and the corners were wrinkled. At that time, Luc Minh Vien stood next to me and said one sentence. "Khuong Tu, as long as you are here, Dinh Thinh's project will never be lost." Now there is no one left.

repeat that sentence again. Han Trieu pushed a file of documents over. "This is a notice of position adjustment." "From tomorrow, you will temporarily go to the strategy office to work as a consultant." "No team, no right to approve, no right to sign the project." I opened the first page. Above is the stamp of the human resources department. The signing date at the end of the document is three days ago. Three days ago, I was still negotiating contract details with Bach Xuyen's people on their behalf. I closed the document. "Who approved?" Han Trieu leaned on the back of the chair. "General Director Luc." I raised my eyes. "He asked you to come here?" "General Director Luc is busy, tomorrow there is a signing ceremony." Speaking of this, Han Trieu's eyes appeared a look of pride that could not be hidden. "Khuong Tu, be a little more reasonable." "You hand over the project documents clearly, in the future when we meet, we will still be easy to see." I asked: "Hand over to Who?" Han Trieu smiled. "For me." Outside the office someone stopped. People from the project team are all looking on. Tieu Dien's face turned pale. Mr. Tan from the legal department stood outside the glass door, still holding a red-covered contract in his hand. Han Trieu deliberately spoke louder. "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 recording. Then 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 immediately quiet. Han Trieu withdrew his hand from the pen to sign. He coughed. "Don't play these trivial games." "I'm just carrying out a normal handover." I nodded. "Then just follow the process." "Give me the notice of personnel adjustment." "Give me the project handover list." "Give me Luc Minh Vien's approval document." "Give me the authorization letter from the board of directors." "And also the letter confirming Bach Xuyen Capital's agreement to change the main negotiator." Every time I say a sentence, Han Trieu's face darkens. part. Finally, he threw the pen hard on the table. "Khuong Tu, don't be so arrogant!" Tieu Dien's shoulder outside the door trembled slightly. I looked at Han Trieu. "Is this also considered a normal handover?" Han Trieu reached out to take my phone. I took a step faster and held it. "Don't touch it." As soon as the two words ended, it became even quieter outside the office. Han Trieu's hand stopped in midair. He lost face, immediately stood up, bent over and put his hands on the table. "Do you think you can still be like before, do you say anything that counts?" "The senior management team doesn't have you, the bonus list doesn't have you, tomorrow there won't be you on the signing table either." "Khuong Tu, you're eliminated." I looked at him for three seconds. Then take out a black briefcase from the drawer. Han Trieu's eyes immediately fell on the briefcase. "What is that?" I did not answer. I put the briefcase in my bag and zipped it up. "If I'm eliminated, I won't participate in the meeting tomorrow." Han Trieu was stunned. It seemed like he didn't expect me to say that. "How dare you?" I took the employee card out of the cardboard box and put it back on the table. "Don't use that word." "I don't owe Dinh Thinh." I turned and walked out. Han Trieu laughed coldly behind me. "Today you step out of this door, don't come back tomorrow to beg the company!" I stopped at the door. Turn your head to look at him. "Remember this sentence." "Don't beg me to come back tomorrow." 02 At nine o'clock the next morning, a red-background banner was hung in the corporation's lobby. "The meeting commends the annual business achievements of Dinh Thinh Group." When I arrived at the company, six rows of flower baskets were displayed outside the door. People from the administrative department wore vests and uniforms, smiling and handing out flower corsages to the leaders of the departments.

Seeing me, their hands immediately stopped. A girl said in a low voice: "Director Khuong, your name is not on the attendance list." I bowed my head and looked over. The attendance list is divided into three sections. Board of Directors. Senior management. Excellent manager. Without me. I took the pen and wrote the words Khuong Tu in the blank space. The girl's face turned pale. "Director Khuong, this board cannot be signed arbitrarily." I returned the pen to her. "Then tell the person with decision-making authority to erase it." She didn't dare to say anymore. The conference room was full of people. The front seats are labeled with names. Luc Minh Vien sat in the middle. Han Trieu sat to his left. My previous position is now labeled with the name Han Trieu. My project team was placed in the last two rows. As soon as he saw me, Tieu Dien immediately stood up. "Director Khuong, over here." I walked over and sat down. Many people turned their heads to look at me. His eyes quickly averted his gaze. On stage, the host's voice resounded. "In the past year, the group has achieved a major breakthrough, especially the Hoa Dong complex project, with a contract value of up to 1.6 billion." Applause rang out. Hearing the name of that project, my fingers gently tapped my knee. East China Complex. From project planning to appraisal, from plans to commercial terms, from the customer's first refusal to the final concession, I followed closely for nineteen months. Luc Minh Vien went on stage to speak. He wore a dark gray suit, his hair was neatly combed without a single strand of tangle. "The company's success cannot be separated from the efforts of each manager." "This year, we spent 86 million to reward those who truly create value for the corporation." Really. When those two words fell, Han Trieu looked towards me. The corner of his mouth curled up. The financial director began reading the list. "Special contribution award from the group, Han Trieu, bonus 12 million." The applause was even louder than before. Han Trieu stood up and adjusted his vest buttons. When stepping onto the stage, he deliberately looked towards the last row of seats. "Thank you for the trust of General Director Luc." "Thank you for the foundation that the group has created." "The Hoa Dong project that has come to today is the result of collective cooperation, not the merit of any individual." Someone under the stage nodded along. 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. "Director Khuong, how could he do that?" I said: "Listen to everything." One name after another was read out. Five million market director. The person in charge of legal affairs three million. Financial block of two million. Even the new administrative director, who has only been assigned for three months, has 1.8 million. Without me. There are no core members of the project team. Tieu Dien held the phone tightly, the back of her hand tensed. "When we worked overtime until two in the morning, they couldn't even read the project name correctly." I looked up at the stage. "So now they have to memorize the name first." Coming to the last item. "The list of special incentives for the annual management board has been announced and completed." The host closed the folder. Han Trieu took the microphone. "There is good news today." "Tomorrow morning, the group will officially sign a cooperation agreement for the Hoa Dong complex project with Bach Xuyen Capital." "This is a contract worth 1.6 billion, also the largest single project of Dinh Thinh in the last five years." Applause rang out again. Luc Minh Vien smiled extremely satisfied. He nodded to Han Trieu. Han Trieu continued: