Chapter 2439: The Problem is Very Serious

"It's here, it's here!" Kan Feng hurriedly took the bag off his back, bowed and scraped as he placed it on the desk: "Chairman, this is the videotape. It has already been converted to a standard format. It's all here."

Yesterday, Zhang Zuo had just been beaten up, and today he was acting up again. Kan Feng was crying out in his heart, terrified of being caught in the crossfire, so he handed over the tape and retreated far away.

"Damn it!" Zhang Zuo cursed, clearly dissatisfied with Kan Feng's behavior. He immediately followed up with a flying kick, landing it on Kan Feng's backside, making him wince in pain: "Are you tired of living, you bastard?"

Zhang Zuo, furious, kicked Kan Feng again and roared: "That Zhou Dongzi is killing the donkey after it's done grinding the mill, and you actually gave him the stuff? Do you not take me, Master Zuo, seriously?"

Kan Feng rubbed his backside while forcing a smile: "Big Brother Zuo, you're not using that idiom quite right. You should say he's 'crossing the river and tearing down the bridge.' Doesn't 'killing the donkey after the mill' imply we're the donkeys?"

Zhang Zuo was stunned for a moment, clearly not realizing his misuse of the phrase. However, the guy was quick-witted; he immediately raised his foot and kicked Kan Feng's backside again, grumbling: "Damn it, why didn't you remind me sooner?"

"I..." Kan Feng was beyond tears. He wanted to defend himself, but the words died on his lips. Master Zuo was extremely irritable right now, so it was better to stay silent to avoid more physical suffering. Thus, he wisely chose to shut up.

Zhou Andong ignored them, reached for the phone, and skillfully dialed a string of numbers. Once connected, Dai Chen Weimin's voice came through the receiver: "Hello, this is Dai Chen Weimin. May I ask who is calling?"

"It's Zhou Andong!" Zhou Andong said while using his other hand to open the bag, taking out a videotape to inspect it: "How is the investigation into the 'ghost payroll' situation at the First Plant, Second Plant, and Golden Time going?"

"It's almost done!" Dai Chen Weimin's tone sounded somewhat heavy as he spoke slowly: "Director, take a guess—how many people are on the ghost payroll?"

Hearing Dai Chen Weimin's tone, Zhou Andong knew it was serious; the number couldn't be small: "How many?"

Dai Chen Weimin was silent for a moment. The number was quite shocking, and he couldn't help but take a deep breath before saying in a low voice: "The First Plant, Second Plant, and Golden Time have a total of 1,173 people on the ghost payroll. And that's just the number identified so far; it's estimated that it will increase."

"1,173 people on the ghost payroll?" Zhou Andong was indeed shocked upon hearing this figure. He had guessed the number wouldn't be small, but he never imagined it would be this high. That was over a thousand people—it was almost the size of an entire medium-sized enterprise's workforce!

Zhou Andong suddenly let out a cold laugh. The sound was jarring in the quiet room, and his expression turned gloomy in an instant, as if it could drip water.

"Of these people, how many are connected, and how many bought their spots with money?" Zhou Andong's voice was icy, chilling to the bone: "Are the investigation results out?"

Dai Chen Weimin sensed the coldness in Zhou Andong's tone, which made his heart tighten, and he became cautious: "The investigation is ongoing. However, according to preliminary findings, the number of connected individuals isn't very high, around 30 to 40. The rest bought their spots with money, don't come to work, and just collect the ghost salary."

Zhou Andong took a deep breath, trying to suppress his anger, and asked slowly: "Do you know how much they sold a spot for?"

Dai Chen Weimin hesitated slightly because he didn't know the exact price, only rumors. But since Zhou Andong asked, he replied: "Director, I don't know the exact price, but I've heard... the price for one spot is between twenty and thirty thousand."

Kan Feng saw Zhou Andong's gloomy expression, shrank his neck, and took a few steps back. It had been a long time, but this was the first time he had seen Zhou Andong angry; it was too terrifying.

Zhang Zuo also shut his mouth and stopped acting up. He reached out, took the cigarettes Zhou Andong had left on the desk, sat down on the sofa, lit one silently, and glanced at Zhou Andong from time to time.

"They really have some nerve!" Zhou Andong leaned back. He truly admired the guts of that bunch: "Tomorrow is Sunday. Have the finance department work overtime."

"List out exactly how much salary they've taken over these years, including bonuses, prizes, holiday benefits, and so on. Don't leave anything out. Send it to me on Monday."

Dai Chen Weimin said hurriedly, "Very well, I will go to the Finance Department right now to find Miss Zhou and have her arrange it as soon as possible and organize the relevant materials."

Zhou Andong slowly put down the phone, sinking into the large boss chair. The coldness on his face gradually faded, replaced by a smile, and he muttered to himself.

"That girl Zhou Qianyi, she's been running between the finance department at the Woolen Mill in the morning and the Jinwan Hotel in the afternoon, so busy she can't even touch the ground. But no matter how busy she is, she doesn't even come upstairs to check on me, her elder. It's just too unreasonable!"

Zhou Andong grumbled discontentedly, then thought of his uncle, Zhou Zhou Xianyong. Two days ago at the First Bar, he ran into Jiang Jiang Yuyue and forgot to ask how the cooperation between Future Culture and his uncle's fashion magazine and clothing brand was going.

Just as Zhou Andong's mind was wandering like a wild horse, a huge face appeared in front of him without warning. This sudden occurrence startled Zhou Andong, and he instinctively raised his hand and slapped it.

"Smack!"

With a crisp sound, a miserable scream echoed through the room. Zhou Andong came to his senses and saw Zhang Zuo holding his slapped face with one hand, pointing at Zhou Andong with the other, shouting: "Zhou Dongzi, I didn't provoke you, why did you hit me?"

Zhou Andong gave a dry laugh: "Who told you to get so close? I was thinking about something, and when I came to, I saw a pancake-sized face right in front of me. It almost scared my soul away. You tell me, isn't that scary? You still have the nerve to blame me?"

"Zhou Dongzi!" Zhang Zuo glared, pointed at Zhou Andong, jumped up, and opened his mouth to curse, but saw Zhou Andong suddenly grab the ashtray on the desk, making a move to throw it at him.

The guy let out a howl, scared out of his wits, and turned to run without a word. His legs moved so fast they appeared as a blur. He dashed out of the office in a few steps, then clung to the doorframe, carefully poked his head out to look at Zhou Andong, and threatened:

"Zhou Dongzi, you just wait. I will definitely get revenge for this today!"

"Get lost!"

Zhou Andong raised the ashtray in his hand to throw it, and Zhang Zuo's head retracted with a 'whoosh'.

"Sigh!" Zhou Andong sighed, slowly placed the ashtray back on the table, and looked at Kan Feng: "Is the task I gave you arranged?"

Kan Feng nodded hurriedly: "It's all arranged. On Tuesday, rain or shine, the building will definitely collapse."

"Hmm!" Zhou Andong tapped his fingers on the chair armrest: "There must be absolutely no mistakes in this matter. Be cautious, be extra cautious. Before the action, make sure to check that there is no one inside."

Kan Feng patted his chest and guaranteed, "Don't you worry, I will go over and keep an eye on it myself when the time comes. If a problem really does arise, I'll bury myself there!"

"That won't be necessary!" Zhou Andong laughed, waved his hand, and said: "Alright, you go back first."

Kan Feng, relieved, slowly backed out. Then he saw Big Brother Zuo leaning leisurely against the door of Dong Tang Wenjuan's office next door, wearing a very lewd smile: "Secretary Dong, do you have time tonight? Would I have the honor of having dinner with you?"

Dong Tang Wenjuan's mouth twitched. If she didn't know that this guy had an unusual relationship with the Director, she would have immediately reported him to the security department and sent him to the Anding Hospital to have his brain checked.

"Sorry!" Dong Tang Wenjuan said very politely: "I don't have time."

"No time today?" Zhang Zuo flipped his hair, his voice syrupy: "Then do you have time tomorrow?"

Hearing Zhang Zuo's syrupy voice, Dong Tang Wenjuan couldn't help but shiver, goosebumps instantly rising on her skin: "Sorry, Mr. Zhang, I won't have time for the next few days."

"No problem!" Zhang Zuo winked at Dong Tang Wenjuan: "Brother Zuo has plenty of time. I will come every day until I move you..."

"Zhang the Second Fool!" Zhou Andong walked out of the office with the design drafts for the horse-face skirt and the stand-up collar shirt, and seeing Zhang Zuo flirting, he couldn't help but give him a kick.

Zhang Zuo reacted quickly. Hearing Zhou Andong's voice behind him, he didn't even look back, dashed out, stopped at the stairwell, and turned to point at Zhou Andong.

"Zhou Dongzi, you keep going against me, Master Zuo. You just wait."

Zhou Andong took off his leather shoe to throw it, but Zhang Zuo stepped forward and ran down the stairs, his figure disappearing at the stairwell.

"Chairman Zhou, I'm leaving too." Kan Feng didn't even wait for Zhou Andong to speak, lifted his legs, and ran.

"This bastard." Zhou Andong cursed, then asked Dong Tang Wenjuan, who had walked out: "Tang Wenjuan, what did he just say to you?"

Dong Tang Wenjuan said: "He asked if I had time and wanted to invite me to dinner. I said no."

Zhou Andong shook his head helplessly: "That guy isn't a bad person; he's very loyal. Making friends with him is definitely fine, but dating him is out of the question. He's a playboy; you mustn't be fooled by him."

"Don't worry, Director!" Dong Tang Wenjuan said with a smile: "I won't be fooled by him."

"I'll go upstairs and take a look." Zhou Andong nodded with a smile, hands behind his back, walking with a steady pace, and strolled to the fourth floor.

"Chairman Zhou!"

"Director!"

"Director!"

"Chairman Zhou!"

"..."

As soon as Zhou Andong came up, people he met in the hallway greeted him one after another. Those who called him Chairman Zhou were the police officers arranged by the Municipal Bureau and the security personnel arranged by Zhou Zhou Qianyi. Those who called him Director were the staff of the finance department.

Zhou Zhou Qianyi must have heard the greetings in the hallway, as she walked out of the accounting section and shouted when she saw Zhou Andong: "Brother!"

Zhou Andong walked over and said quite discontentedly: "You aren't needed here either. Can't you go down and stay in my office for a while?"

Zhou Zhou Qianyi said with a smile: "You just took office, and I was afraid you'd be too busy, so I didn't go to add to your trouble."

Zhou Andong asked: "Has Old Dai looked for you?"

"He has. I've already notified everyone in the finance department to work overtime tomorrow." Zhou Zhou Qianyi said with great emotion: "Over a thousand people on the ghost payroll—it really opened my eyes. It's fortunate that the Woolen Mill has a large foundation. If it were a smaller enterprise, with so many people on the ghost payroll, it would have been eaten into bankruptcy long ago."

"Let's not talk about this." Zhou Andong held the clothing design draft in front of Zhou Zhou Qianyi: "Look at what this is!"

Zhou Zhou Qianyi took it curiously, looked down, and her eyes suddenly lit up: "The design of this skirt is very unique, with a bit of a retro flavor. It must be very beautiful to wear."

"This is called a horse-face skirt." Zhou Andong introduced the horse-face skirt in detail: "Tell me, what if Jiang Jiang Yuyue wore a skirt like this and sang at the Spring Festival Gala?"

"That would be too good." Zhou Zhou Qianyi said somewhat excitedly: "The influence of the Spring Festival Gala is well known. If Jiang Jiang Yuyue wore this horse-face skirt and sang, it would definitely be a hit."

"I also think it will be a big hit." Zhou Andong was very satisfied with Zhou Zhou Qianyi's reaction: "After I finish dealing with all this trash at the Woolen Mill, I'll have Golden Time produce and stock up at full capacity. After the New Year, it will definitely sell well."

"I think so too." Zhou Zhou Qianyi's eyes were bright: "Brother, when can this trash be dealt with?"

"Soon, it shouldn't take more than a few days." Zhou Andong raised his hand to check the time: "It's already noon. Let's go, I'll treat you to lunch."

"Okay!" Zhou Zhou Qianyi went back to give instructions, and then she and Zhou Andong went downstairs.

Zhou Zhou Qianyi asked: "Should we call Brother Gu Five?"

"No!" Zhou Andong's voice fell, and the two of them reached the third floor, where they bumped into Gu Bing.

"Oh!" Zhou Andong said with great surprise: "Gu Shuji, where are you going?"

Gu Bing glared at Zhou Andong, then looked at Zhou Zhou Qianyi, a smile appearing on his face: "Zhou Qianyi, are you going to eat? Perfect, let's go together, I'll treat you."

"Oh!" Zhou Andong widened his eyes and said in disbelief: "Gu Shuji is treating? Rare. Today I must eat a lot."

"Get lost!" Gu Bing said bluntly: "I didn't say I was treating you. If you want to eat, pay for it yourself."

"Look at you." Zhou Andong said discontentedly: "We're brothers, all these years of friendship wasted. You really make me sad."

"Put away that dead look." Gu Bing snorted: "Even if you talk until you're blue in the face today, I won't treat you."

"Sigh!" Zhou Andong sighed long: "Some people, you just can't be too good to them, they forget their roots!"

Listening to Zhou Andong and Gu Bing bickering, Zhou Zhou Qianyi pursed her lips and smiled. The three of them left the plant headquarters one after another, and then saw Zhang Zuo and Kan Feng squatting by the car not far away, smoking.

"Damn it!" Zhou Andong cursed: "Why hasn't Zhang the Second Fool left yet?" ===== CHAPTER 2440 =====