Chapter 3089: Self-Exploding Truck

Chen Yufei looked at the HR Manager who had walked back in with full expectation, thinking that the matter would take a turn for the better.

But to his surprise, the first sentence the HR Manager said upon sitting down was: "I'm sorry, Mr. Chen. The group has now determined that you not only committed major negligence in your work, but also have serious problems with your personal and business ethics. According to the group's decision, your labor contract will be terminated immediately."

Chen Yufei hadn't expected that revealing the hidden details would not only fail to solve the problem of major negligence but also add a problem of professional ethics.

He could only bite the bullet and say to the HR Manager: "Manager, what did Chairman Song say? She is familiar with Master Wu after all. In this matter, I also considered that everyone is an acquaintance..."

"No need to say more, Mr. Chen." The HR Manager said coldly: "This matter is already settled; there is no room for negotiation. I have already brought the notice of termination of employment. You don't need to sign it; our legal department is here to witness it. As long as this is handed to you, we have fulfilled our obligation to notify you. Please hand over your work as soon as possible."

Chen Yufei felt despair in his heart and begged with a mournful face: "Manager, considering the hard work I've put into Jiqing Hall for so many years, even if you don't give me a chance to turn over a new leaf, at least give me N+1 compensation, right? You can't let me work for the grassroots for so many years, and in the end, leave me without a single cent and sweep me out the door, right?"

The HR Manager said indifferently: "I'm sorry, there is no compensation for being fired for major negligence. I already told you this just now. If you don't believe me, you can go to arbitration or sue. The litigation process is also very simple; you can find a law firm to help you with the litigation process, and our group's legal department will actively respond."

Chen Yufei knew very well that he would definitely not win a single one of 10,000 lawsuits in his situation. Suing would not only be a waste of effort but would also incur high attorney fees, which would be more than the loss.

Seeing the HR Manager's attitude was so resolute, he felt very unhappy. So, he could only grit his teeth and say: "Since the group and Chairman Song don't recognize this relationship with Master Hong Wu, nor do they recognize the favor I did for the group, then don't blame me for publicizing this matter. That Zhang Ermao caused me to lose my job, and I must make him lose his reputation!"

The HR Manager didn't care about his threat at all and said indifferently: "That is your freedom; the group will not interfere in any way."

"Good!" Chen Yufei gritted his teeth and said: "Then I will spill the beans on this matter and give Zhang Ermao a taste of his own medicine!"

The HR Manager nodded and said: "Alright, Mr. Chen. If you have nothing else, please help me call in the remaining employees. The group plans to temporarily terminate the operations of Jiqing Hall and terminate their labor contracts."

"What?" Chen Yufei widened his eyes: "Everyone is being fired?! Isn't that too ruthless?"

The HR Manager smiled: "It has nothing to do with being ruthless; it's just a group decision. Many companies' business adjustments are like this. This is the same logic as treating early-stage cancer: the moment a lesion is discovered, it must be removed as soon as possible to prevent it from spreading to other organs. As long as it is removed in time, recovery can be achieved."

Chen Yufei hadn't expected the other party to describe him as a cancer cell. He was furious, thinking that since he had already lost his job, he might as well beat this manager up to vent his anger.

But then he thought, the other party was the HR Manager of the Song Group, and the group's legal team was following him. If he touched him, the other party would definitely send him inside. Thinking of this, he could only grit his teeth and endure it, thinking that he would post on his Moments in a moment to expose that damn Zhang Ermao.

And what he didn't know was that at this very moment, Zhang Ermao had come alone to the entrance of Zhou Liangyun's Zhenbao Pavilion.

At this time, Zhenbao Pavilion was bustling with people coming to pay their respects and seek appraisals.

Zhang Ermao hesitated at the door for a moment, but finally steeled himself and walked in.

Since many people recognized Zhang Ermao and knew that he was no longer what he used to be, the moment he entered the shop, many people around him subconsciously called him "Brother Ermao," each attitude more respectful than the last.

Zhang Ermao felt a bit ashamed. Only at this moment did he realize that doing such low-life things was truly unworthy of the status Master Ye and Master Hong Wu had bestowed upon him.

Seeing Zhou Liangyun, he walked up feeling very ashamed.

Seeing him come, Zhou Liangyun thought he had sent someone to demand the item back and failed, so he had come himself. So, he asked with vigilance: "Ermao, what brings you here?"

Zhang Ermao suddenly knelt on one knee and said with a face full of shame: "Manager Zhou, Boss Zhou, I, Zhang Ermao, have let you down!"

Zhou Liangyun couldn't help but frown, thinking Zhang Ermao was playing some new trick, so he feigned ignorance and asked: "We are only nodding acquaintances and have never had any conflict of interest. I really can't think of any way you have let me down."

The people around were also stunned. Although Zhang Ermao's social status wasn't considered very high, it was still much stronger than most of the old acquaintances hanging around the antique street. Why did he suddenly run over to kneel and apologize to Zhou Liangyun?

Some curious and gossipy people had already started taking out their phones to secretly record videos.

At this moment, Zhang Ermao took a deep breath and said with unbearable shame: "Boss Zhou, that bronze Buddha you received earlier was a setup I secretly conspired with Vice Chairman Xiao of the Calligraphy and Painting Association and Chen Yufei of Jiqing Hall to make for you. We bought that item for ninety-eight thousand from Teacher Cheng, who is very famous in the industry. Teacher Cheng didn't know it was from the Northern Song Dynasty, and we were blind and didn't see it either. We originally wanted to trap you and make you misjudge it so you couldn't survive in the antique street anymore. We didn't expect to be too clever by half and end up in this situation. I ask you to be the bigger person and not hold it against a low-life like me!"

As he spoke, he simultaneously took a piece of paper full of words from his bosom, handed it to Zhou Liangyun, and said respectfully: "This is a letter of apology I wrote by hand. Please accept it! At the same time, I will post this letter on my Moments to apologize to you publicly!"

The onlookers were stunned.

No one expected that behind Zhou Liangyun's huge windfall, there was such an unbelievable hidden story!

Zhou Liangyun was also confused by Zhang Ermao's operation of coming to apologize. At first, he suspected Zhang Ermao was playing a game of "to let go, one must first catch," but upon reflection, he had even directly mentioned Ye Chen's father-in-law in public, which was quite intriguing.

Zhou Liangyun didn't doubt Ye Chen's ability in Jin Ling at all. Hong Wu had long become Ye Chen's loyal confidant, and Zhang Ermao was now the advisor by Hong Wu's side. Logically speaking, Zhang Ermao would only try his best to please Ye Chen's father-in-law, Xiao Changkun; it was absolutely impossible for him to do something like publicly exposing Xiao Changkun and smearing his reputation.

And since he dared to do so now, there could only be one reason: this must be Ye Chen's requirement.

Thinking of this, Zhou Liangyun instantly understood. It seemed Ye Chen already knew the whole story and was determined to teach Zhang Ermao, Chen Yufei, and his father-in-law, Xiao Changkun, a lesson.

So, he smiled and said to Zhang Ermao: "If it's just for this matter, there's no need to apologize to me. To tell you the truth, I should thank you all. After all, business in the antique street isn't easy to do, and such a great start is indeed hard to come by."

Zhang Ermao's face burned, but seeing that Zhou Liangyun didn't want to pursue it, he felt relieved and said with a devout tone: "Boss Zhou, please rest assured. In the future, I, Zhang Ermao, will absolutely not come to disturb your business again, nor will I secretly trip you up. In the future, if you have any use for me, Zhang Ermao, I will absolutely not refuse!"

As he spoke, he added hurriedly: "Also, please rest assured, Boss Zhou. We will definitely return the three hundred thousand we cheated from you without missing a cent. Please be the bigger person and don't pursue our other responsibilities..."

Zhou Liangyun reached out to help him up and said: "Once things are out in the open, we are all friends. You are welcome to come to the shop to sit and chat whenever you are free."

Zhang Ermao didn't have the face to really come, so he could only bite the bullet and say: "Definitely, definitely... Boss Zhou, you still have so many guests here, I won't disturb you..."

After saying this, he hurriedly said goodbye and left.

With his departure, Zhenbao Pavilion exploded.

No one expected that Zhang Ermao, who was shrewd to the bone, would do such a stupid thing.

Some gossipy people had already posted the video to their Moments.

And after Zhang Ermao left Zhenbao Pavilion, he immediately posted the photo of his apology letter and the text to his Moments, and even pinned this post to the top.

The apology letter detailed the whole story, including Chen Yufei coming to him for help, informing him of Zhou Liangyun's return, and him actively contacting Xiao Changkun to help him take revenge, and then designing the whole scam out of self-righteousness.

He knew this was the chance for self-rescue Ye Chen had given him, so he didn't dare to conceal or discount it by even half.

Once this post appeared on Moments, the entire antique street exploded.

Almost everyone in every shop was discussing this post. Who could have thought that the windfall Zhou Liangyun had stumbled upon was actually a setup others had painstakingly made for him.

Chen Yufei, who had been swept out of Jiqing Hall, was editing his Moments at the entrance of Jiqing Hall, preparing to splash dirty water on Zhang Ermao to vent his hatred. But just as he finally finished writing a short essay and was about to click publish, an acquaintance saw him and said: "Holy crap, Manager Chen, haven't you seen Zhang Ermao's Moments? Is what he said true? Did you three really conspire to give Zhu Liangyun that twenty-million gift?"

Chen Yufei was stunned and asked subconsciously: "What Moments? What do you mean?"

That person said: "It's what Zhang Ermao posted on his Moments. You should take a look quickly!"

Chen Yufei hurriedly exited the editor, refreshed his Moments, and immediately saw Zhang Ermao's apology letter.

Clicking into the details, he almost vomited blood from anger and blurted out: "Damn high-tech! Self-exploding truck! Zhang Ermao, you bastard! You'd rather die together than let me be a step ahead! You damn animal!"

And this post also made Xiao Changkun famous in the antique industry.

The Calligraphy and Painting Association was also half a foot in the antique circle, and Xiao Changkun being exposed for such a scandal shocked both the calligraphy and painting circle and the antique circle. Within minutes, the news reached Chairman Pei, who was jumping around in his office in a panic.

Chairman Pei also wanted to curry favor with Xiao Changkun, which was why he planned to leave the Chairman position to Xiao Changkun after his own promotion. He originally thought everything was set in stone, but who would have thought that Xiao Changkun would conspire with others to set up an antique fraud scheme. The most infuriating thing was that it was originally a fraud scheme, but in the end, they turned it into a gift-giving scheme.

Originally, many people in the association had strongly protested against Xiao Changkun, this Executive Vice Chairman who held a post without doing any work and was just making up the numbers. Especially those Vice Chairmen who were suppressed by Xiao Changkun were even more indignant.

Every one of them coveted the position of Executive Vice Chairman and had complaints about Xiao Changkun, who had very poor standards. Previously, there was no suitable opportunity to topple him, but now the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had finally arrived.

So, several Vice Chairmen joined forces with members to rush to Chairman Pei's office, demanding that Chairman Pei fire Xiao Changkun from the Calligraphy and Painting Association.

One person said: "Chairman Pei, this is illegal and criminal behavior by Xiao Changkun! If people pursue this matter, he will have to go to jail! A dignified Executive Vice Chairman of the Calligraphy and Painting Association going to prison for fraud—where will our association's face go?"

Another echoed: "That's right, Chairman Pei! This black sheep must not be allowed to remain in our Calligraphy and Painting Association! He must be fired immediately!"

Another said: "I said long ago that this guy surnamed Xiao doesn't know anything. What qualifications does he have to be Executive Vice Chairman? Now it seems he not only doesn't know anything, but his morals also have serious problems! We should fire him as quickly as possible, and then issue a statement to the outside world that this was all his personal behavior and has nothing to do with our association!"

"Yes, yes, yes! We must issue a statement! If we don't implement this quickly, the outside world will definitely say our Calligraphy and Painting Association cannot distinguish right from wrong and is shielding a fraudster! By then, the entire association will be implicated by him!"

Chairman Pei dared not agree nor refuse, so he could only say to the crowd who had come to his door: "Everyone, calm down. This matter is currently only Zhang Ermao's one-sided statement. We don't have sufficient evidence, so we cannot directly take action against Vice Chairman Xiao. So, please wait a while. Let me verify this matter before making a decision."

The crowd still wanted to protest, but Chairman Pei picked up his car keys and said: "Let's do as I said. Everyone, don't be anxious. Let the bullets fly for a while! I have an appointment with several leaders today to discuss follow-up work, so I'll go first. But everyone, rest assured, once the truth of this matter comes to light, I will definitely give everyone a satisfactory explanation."

After speaking, he hurriedly left the association and got into his car. The first thing he did was call Xiao Changkun, but the prompt on the phone was that the other party was temporarily unreachable, thinking that the person was still on the plane.

Chairman Pei was anxious and angry. He immediately sent a voice message to Xiao Changkun on WeChat: "Changkun, you are confused! It's the critical moment when I'm about to be promoted and you're about to be promoted too. How could you cause such a thing! Now everyone is coming to me with complaints, asking me to fire you from the Calligraphy and Painting Association. What do you want me to do? Call me back as soon as you get the message!"