Chapter 57: Fleece from the Sheep

"I don’t want to be too vague, but even if I explained, you wouldn’t understand," Chang Chi ruthlessly sprinkled salt on Su Ziceng’s wound of ’ignorance’. "The branded clothes you buy have increased in price, right? The cost of dining out with friends has gone up too, right? Even changing the tires on a Ferrari has gotten much more expensive, right? In the second quarter, with nationwide price rises, labor costs soaring, and raw materials becoming tight, our sales might have increased, but the profit has turned negative." Chang Chi’s words made Su Ziceng’s face turn red and then white, while the managers around them took it to mean that Su Ziceng was nothing but an inept, nouveau riche parasite. Unable to continue reading that report, Su Ziceng had no choice but to meekly leave the conference room to Chang Mei and her mother and find a spot in the tea room, pathetically requesting for some tea to be brought to her. She asked for tea, but what was given was a cup of unsweetened coffee. Annoyed, Su Ziceng clanged the coffee cup, stirring it loudly. Just now, Chang Chi’s ridicule and the mocking looks from everyone else felt like countless sharp needles incessantly stabbing at the bottom of her heart. "Miss," Secretary Wang, having not listened long in the conference room to the host of managers echoing Chang Mei back and forth, followed Su Ziceng out. "You shouldn’t lose heart. You’re still new to the business affairs of the company. You’ll understand more as you get involved." Secretary Wang glanced at the cup of instant coffee and knew that Su Ziceng was having a tough time, but the young miss had grown quite a bit recently. In the past, she would never tolerate Chang’s mother and daughter pontificating; she would have likely confronted Chang Mei head-on in front of everyone. "Here is a copy of the company’s daily accounts for you to review. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask me." Su Ziceng had not paid much attention to Secretary Wang before her rebirth. The older generation that followed Su Qingzhang were mostly grumpy folks who didn’t see her, a second-generation heiress, for much. Listening to Secretary Wang’s tone, Su Ziceng felt a wave of emotion. His manner of speaking was still that of a subordinate to a superior, respectful and polite, but it also carried a certain tenderness akin to that of an elder. The daily accounts from the secretary’s office, which Secretary Wang had obtained through some means and specifically cleaned up, recorded the daily expenses of Chang’s mother and daughter. He was subtly informing Su Ziceng that the Chang’s mother and daughter were expanding their influence within the Su family. The tough lesson today was just a small warning. If this continued unchecked, the consequences would be unimaginable. He hoped Su Ziceng would understand the implications. Su Ziceng did notice something unusual. Her fingers landed on an entry, "Beverage expenses? Two million? Is this the amount for the wine and spirits for that construction site’s opening banquet?" "Yes, it is the expenditure from June, personally approved by the chairman," confirmed Secretary Wang after checking. The organizational structure of the Su Family was very comprehensive, but Su Qingzhang, the autocratic chairman, still preferred to be hands-on. Any expenditure over five hundred thousand required his personal approval before being processed. "That means..." Su Ziceng reread the entry with uncertainty, then glanced sideways at Secretary Wang. "The wine shop clearly mentioned the cost of the wine as... which means Chang’s mother and daughter falsified the accounts." Su Ziceng’s face lit up with joy, having seemingly caught a handle on Chang Mei and her mother. Secretary Wang, after hearing this, didn’t join in the conversation but flipped through the accounts again and shook his head. "Miss, if Secretary Chang stated it’s two million, then it’s two million." His expression was somewhat helpless but remained very sincere. Seeing Secretary Wang’s demeanor, Su Ziceng froze, her happiness quickly vanishing. Outside the meeting room, Chang’s mother and daughter exited first, followed by the managers filing out one by one—Human Resources, Finance, Secretary’s Office, and Administration, all with heads bowed and backs hunched. Chang Mei walked with less subservience than she showed in front of Su Qingzhang. Surrounded by the crowd, she appeared more like an uncontested empress. In the tea room, the coffee had lost all warmth and was now cold and even more bitter. Looking at the inky, bitter brew and finding herself accompanied only by Secretary Wang, Su Ziceng clutched the handle of the coffee cup tightly. Secretary Wang was right; many voices can meld gold. If the wine shop owner also echoed Chang Mei’s rhetoric, along with the biased support of a crowd, no one would believe her words. The missing million-plus was merely the first cornerstone dug out beneath the "Shengshi Huasha" by Chang Mei from the Su Family’s edifice. Ziceng’s performance today was quickly relayed to Su Qingzhang by those with ulterior motives. Su Qingzhang couldn’t help but sigh. Chang Mei took the opportunity to offer a few words of comfort, stirred the pot a bit, and managed to secure the position of Deputy Finance Manager for Chang Chi. At dinner, Ziceng seized upon the Chang’s mother and daughter’s evident delight and made an unexpected request to Su Qingzhang; she wanted to take control of the trust fund left by Qiao Chu for her own management. The Chang’s mother and daughter exchanged looks, and the disdain in Chang Chi’s eyes was clear. She thought Ziceng had become more restrained after observing her yielding approach in the meeting room earlier that day. "No, you can’t touch that fund yet," Su Qingzhang stated, setting down his bowl with such force that the white porcelain bowl jumped two or three centimeters on the table. "Why not?" Ziceng also put down her chopsticks delicately; she didn’t want to argue with Su Qingzhang. "I’m already eighteen, and I’ve read my mother’s will. She left ‘Red Love’ and the fund in my name. I could even bypass your consent entirely and have a lawyer take care of the procedures." These words did not originate from Ziceng herself but were suggested by Secretary Wang that afternoon. Ziceng couldn’t touch the Su Family’s business for the time being, so she had to aim at the trust fund instead. Qiao Chu’s trust fund initially only amounted to one million and had been managed by the investment department of the Su Family. Over eighteen years, its scale had increased to five million. "I firmly disagree." Su Qingzhang continued to be unyielding; indeed, the money belonged to Ziceng, but she didn’t have to worry about food or clothes. Given her extravagant nature, it shouldn’t be squandered. Seeing that Su Qingzhang was still planning to interfere, Ziceng picked up her chopsticks again; lightning-fast, she forked a piece of fish from a plate Chang Chi was about to target. Chang Chi, outmaneuvered in this way, seemed to spew fire from her eyes. Chang Mei looked on and signaled for Chang Chi not to react, then spoke with a pleasant demeanor, "Ziceng, what do you plan to do with the money from the fund?" "Just a small business deal of one and a half million! I’m not like some, who can casually buy some wine and make a clean profit of a million or so." Ziceng hadn’t actually decided what to do with the money, but the thought of the riches that fell into the mouths of the Chang’s mother and daughter left her feeling displeased, compelling her to stir things up. Chang Chi and Chang Mei exchanged looks, hiding the surprise in their eyes. "How about this, Qing Chang? Let's allocate one million and one hundred thousand from the fund to let Ziceng have a try." Chang Mei reluctantly threw out this hush money worth one and a half million. Unexpectedly, Ziceng, who knew nothing about finance, had only gone to the company once and already spotted issues on the accounts. Ziceng’s stratagem succeeded, and she swallowed the boneless piece of fish she had seized in one gulp, finding it incredibly tasty. With money soon in hand, it was indeed time for well-thought-out planning; dealing with Chang Mei was just the first step, and she intended to settle the score with that unscrupulous shop owner as well. Su Qingzhang, observing the three behaving somewhat abnormally and seeing a rare spark of intelligence in Ziceng’s eyes, reluctantly agreed. Wool comes from the sheep; only Su Qingzhang, the fat sheep of the Su Family’s dining hall, was still kept in the dark.