Ten minutes later, Tao Zhigang arrived at the office with the security guards.
He was a man in his fifties, balding in the middle with a large head, big ears, and weighing well over two hundred pounds.
Upon seeing Tao Zhigang, the beaten man reacted as if he had just laid eyes upon a savior, rushing over to him in a desperate scramble.
"Uncle, you're finally here! This absolute idiot almost killed me. Hurry up and have security take him to the police station—I want him to go to prison!"
He was actually crying. Chu Xu was stunned—he was crying over something so trivial?
Yet Tao Zhigang paid him no mind whatsoever. In fact, he shoved him aside, his gloomy expression instantly transforming into one of obsequious flattery.
"Director... Director Jiang, what brings you here? Why didn't you give me a heads-up so I could have gone to the airport to pick you up?" Tao Zhigang fawned, his heart hammering against his ribs.
Why has this woman shown up now without any warning?
Could those matters have been exposed?
No, impossible. Nobody should know.
Tao Zhigang comforted himself, gradually calming down.
He then ordered the security guards, "Drag him out of here for me."
"Right away, President Tao."
Four security guards surrounded the battered man, hoisted him up by his arms, and hauled him out.
"Uncle! Why are you telling them to kick me out? It was him! He hit me!"
The man struggled as he was dragged out of the building.
With that, the office fell silent. Outside, the various senior executives, sensing that something was amiss, hurriedly pretended to be engrossed in their work.
"I'm so sorry, Director Jiang. That's a friend's son who came by to visit today and ended up offending you. I'm apologizing on his behalf—I'm truly sorry."
This was a man who knew how to bend and stretch; he immediately bowed in apology.
Yet Jiang Mu never cared for sweet words; she only looked at the facts.
As for that man just now, he would get what was coming to him.
"There's no need for apologies, since President Tao wasn't the one doing the shouting. However..."
Jiang Mu's gaze grew progressively icy as she said in a deep voice, "Doesn't President Tao think he has done a rather poor job managing the company? When I walked in just now, a whole crowd of leaders outside were idling about. Is this the kind of atmosphere you foster here?"
Tao Zhigang hurriedly forced a smile and nodded. "I'm sorry, Director Jiang. Perhaps it wasn't a very busy day today; usually, everyone is quite proactive."
I'm finished, I'm completely finished! Something's going to go wrong!
"Is that so? But I've heard that many of those senior executives outside are your relatives. Are they also highly educated talents?"
"N—No, just a few of them. And they all worked their way up step-by-step from the very bottom; they're very capable," Tao Zhigang stammered awkwardly.
He genuinely had no idea where this woman had gotten her information—she had even managed to investigate the backgrounds of the company's senior management.
How was he supposed to handle this now? Panic had already set in, especially since he didn't know whether an even bigger secret had been uncovered.
Jiang Mu cast a sidelong glance at him. "Is that so? Then how is it I heard that not a single one of them holds a bachelor's degree?"
At that, Tao Zhigang was completely at a loss for words. It was the unvarnished truth, leaving him incapable of even fabricating a lie.
"I'm sorry, Director Jiang. It's my fault."
Seeing that the game was up, Tao Zhigang took the initiative to confess. "I did indeed use my position to place a number of relatives in the company. It's my failing; I betrayed the trust the company placed in me. I will write my resignation letter immediately and take every single relative I brought in with me."
Tao Zhigang no longer held any hope of keeping his job. Being so eager to resign was actually out of fear that *that* other matter would be uncovered.
If that really came to light, he would definitely spend enough time eating prison food to last a lifetime.
Jiang Mu let out a cold snort. "President Tao thinks rather too conveniently—you want to just resign and walk away the moment trouble happens? The problem is, if it were only that..."
As she stared directly at him, sweat soon broke out all over Tao Zhigang's forehead. His voice trembling, he stammered, "D—Director Jiang, no, there—there are no other matters! Aside from securing positions for my relatives, I haven't done anything else."
"Really?"
Jiang Mu's demeanor suddenly shifted, her voice dark and heavy. "Yet I found that the financial reports from the past two years don't add up. Two million was missing last year, and five million is missing this year. Where did all that money go?"
Now that was more like it; this was the aura a president ought to have. A Jiang Mu like this seemed even more alluring.
Hearing those words, the color drained completely from Tao Zhigang's face. His body seemed to lose all its support, and he collapsed straight down onto the floor.
"H—How could that be? Nothing is missing! I didn't do it, I don't know who did. It must be the finance department—yes, the finance department must have stolen it! Go audit the finance department!" Tao Zhigang was still spinning excuses even now.
Perhaps he had forgotten what his current expression and physical reactions looked like—they didn't resemble an innocent man in the least.
At this point, he might as well have confessed outright.
"You think I don't know that you all cooked those books together?"
Jiang Mu glanced down at him, her voice chilling. "The police are already on their way, and I've gathered all the evidence. You'd better start thinking about how to arrange things for your family."
Tao Zhigang was utterly numb. He could never have imagined that Jiang Mu had already investigated everything down to the last detail.
He had made so many arrangements—why had it all fallen apart anyway?
"Please don't, Director Jiang! Don't call the police, I'll return the money to the company! Please don't call the police, Director Jiang, I don't want to go to prison! I have a wife, a son, and a daughter—they need me!"
In his fifties, Tao Zhigang pleaded endlessly, his cries echoing through the entire thirtieth floor.
Out in the open area, the senior executives were beside themselves with panic, terrified that they would be next.
Jiang Mu had no intention of showing Tao Zhigang any mercy. When he chose to do these things, he should have anticipated that they would eventually come to light.
He should have prepared himself to go behind bars. As for the wife and children he kept mentioning—that was his own concern.
The police arrived swiftly. After they led Tao Zhigang away, another man in a suit walked over and asked, "Director Jiang, how should we proceed from here?"
Jiang Mu paused in thought for a moment before saying, "Replace every single member of the leadership team that Tao Zhigang suddenly promoted. Leave the rest alone for now."
"Understood, Director Jiang. I'll make the arrangements right away." The man nodded and turned to leave.
To replace everyone all at once was certainly unrealistic; the company still had to run, and some of those executives genuinely possessed the ability and had worked their way up step-by-step.
It wouldn't be fair to dismiss them simply because of Tao Zhigang.
Only after these matters were settled did the tension ease somewhat from Jiang Mu's face.
With his arms crossed, Chu Xu watched the entire grand spectacle with keen interest. He had to admit, it was thoroughly entertaining.
Just by opening or closing her mouth, she held the power to decide people's promotions and demotions. That must feel pretty good.
"Finished enjoying the show?" Jiang Mu tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
"Not bad. Much better than what they show in TV dramas."
Chu Xu glanced at Jiang Mu and suddenly said, "Though compared to watching a show, I'd much rather look at you."
*Thump, thump.*
Her heart skipped a beat. Jiang Mu cast a resentful glare at Chu Xu and snapped, "We're out in public!"
"I'm just speaking the truth," Chu Xu replied with a straight face.
And here I thought someone like her would be impossible to get along with. Turns out, she's nothing special after all...
Initially, Chu Xu had assumed that a corporate director of her standing would be terribly difficult to approach.
Yet, unexpectedly, he hadn't had to deliberately curry favor with her, and they had managed to get along just fine.
"I had originally chosen someone else to come manage this branch, but I've decided someone else is even more suited for the job."
Chu Xu raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who?"
Jiang Mu broke into a brilliant smile. "You."
Chu Xu turned and walked away, tossing over his shoulder, "My home isn't in Rongcheng."
Jiang Mu watched his retreating figure, smiling as she followed after him.
"My home isn't in Rongcheng either..."