Chu Yaozong fixed his eyes on a news article in the newspaper, his tone slightly cautionary. "Your secretary is very sharp-minded, Ah Sin. You probably don't know what he's really planning for you right now. If it weren't for the fact that it might hurt your feelings, I was already thinking of transferring him to work by my side last night while we were having soup. There are many uncertainties with this kind of person outside. If you use him well, he'll be your thoroughbred horse; if you don't, he'll be a treacherous Wei Yan."
"Father, he's just a secretary. Is it really necessary to exaggerate like that? I can fire him anytime." Chu Xiaoxin, hearing his father's words, said dismissively, "A-Yao is indeed quick-witted, but not as shrewd as you think."
"Soon you will..." Before Chu Yaozong could finish speaking, his eldest son's Rolls-Royce had already driven back and parked outside the villa. Not only did Chu Xiaozhong get out of the car, but Chao Yong Yi's Chan Ah-sap also got out.
"No need to hurry, it's right now." Looking through the bright French windows at his eldest son's beaming face and Chan Ah-sap's barely concealed excitement, Chu Yaozong sighed softly and said.
Upon seeing his elder brother appear, Chu Xiaoxin stood up, picked up the money, and prepared to leave. Unexpectedly, Chu Xiaozhong entered the room and, seeing Chu Xiaoxin about to leave, blocked his way. "Ah Sin is here too? Perfect, no need to send anyone to call you back. Sit down with us; there are some things I need to discuss with Father and you."
As he spoke, he glanced at the stacks of banknotes in Chu Xiaoxin's hands, a playful sneer in his eyes, "The business is having cash flow problems again, so you've come to my house to get money?"
"What's going on? I'm waiting to leave." Chu Xiaoxin turned around and sat back on the sofa, asking.
Chu Xiaozhong sat down next to his father and said to Chu Yaozong, "Father, I just arrived at the company and saw Ah Sap waiting there to see me. He told me some things about Secretary Ah Sin. I feel that this Secretary Song's motives are not pure. She is using our Chu Family's name to bully others. I asked Ah Sap to tell you about it."
Chu Yaozong didn't speak. He closed the newspaper and documents, picked up his Ginseng Tea, took a sip, and looked at Chu Xiaozhong with some disappointment.
At that moment, Chu Xiaozhong turned to look at Chu Xiaoxin, unaware of his father's expression. "Ah Sin, in the past six months, you've taken at least tens of thousands of yuan from home, saying you needed it for working capital in the business. If Likang Trading Company is really struggling, perhaps I should arrange for another manager from the family to take over, and you can rest for a while."
"Do you always act like a creditor every time I go home to get some money? Am I not a member of the Chu Family?" Chu Xiaoxin thought of what Song Tianyao had said when he saw Chan Ah-sap and Chu Xiaozhong appear together.
He doesn't need to complain to his father; Chan Ah-sap will do it himself.
Now it seems that his elder brother was standing up for Chan Ah-sap.
"It's fine if you take some money for entertainment, but don't do it under the guise of a business," Chu Xiaozhong said, his tone still sarcastic.
"Fine, so you're saying A-Yao has a problem? Tell me, I want to hear what my secretary did to bully others." Chu Xiaoxin threw the money back on the table, crossed his arms, and leaned back on the sofa.
"I'm going to the Chamber of Commerce later to meet with some Japan businessmen." Chu Yaozong put down his teacup, shook his head, and seemed to want to stop Chu Xiaozhong from continuing.
Chu Xiaozhong immediately chimed in, "Father, soon. The main problem is that Ah Sap is furious about this. You know how much his gang has suffered for the Ah Sap Chu Family and the Chamber of Commerce over the years. He's been kept up all night by a secretary, and he came to wait for me early this morning. We should give him a chance to speak, no matter what."
Only then did Chu Yaozong look up at Chan Ah-sap, who didn't even dare to breathe, then at Chu Xiaozhong, and finally nodded, saying meaningfully, "Alright, I'll let you all see clearly what kind of person Song Tianyao is."
Chapter Fifty Selfish Motives
"When I came in, I found Song Tianyao in Ah Sin's car. Why don't we call him in and let him hear what's going on, so he'll be convinced?" Chu Xiaozhong said to his father, seemingly not intending to let Song Tianyao off the hook.
Chu Yaozong laughed at Chu Xiaozhong's words, but Chu Xiaozhong couldn't figure out why his father was laughing.
"Uncle Yan, go outside and call Song Tianyao in. Let him come in and listen together," Chu Yaozong instructed Uncle Yan.
Not long after, Song Tianyao followed Uncle Yan in. When he saw Chan Ah-sap there, Song Tianyao showed a surprised expression, but he quickly calmed down and sat down to Chu Xiaoxin's right, placing his hands on his knees.
Seeing Song Tianyao's tense gesture, Chu Xiaozhong felt even more smug and said to Chan Ah-sap, who didn't even have the right to sit in the Chu Family:
"Ah Sap, tell me what you know."
Chan Ah-sap took a deep breath and recounted everything that happened at the Taibai Seafood Restaurant last night, including the fact that his men had destroyed the banquet. However, according to Chan Ah-sap, he acted because he couldn't control his anger after learning that Song Tianyao had secretly contacted Fuyixing and was preparing to let Fuyixing enter Chao Yong Yi's territory.
"My lord, I, Chan Ah-sap, have been serving the Chu Family since I was twenty-seven. I've accompanied Chu Family ships across the seas to Vietnam, Myanmar, and Thailand, weathering many storms over the years. I've always been loyal to the Chu Family. Now, one of the Young Master Shun's secretaries is planning to hand over the Likang Trading Company's business to outsiders because I didn't give him fourteen gold bars. Moreover, last night at the Taibai Seafood Restaurant, this Secretary Song as if it were an auction, making no attempt to hide his arrogant attitude of 'highest bidder wins.' My lord, that's the whole story."
After recounting what had happened, Chan Ah-sap lowered his head and remained silent, only glancing at Song Tianyao out of the corner of his eye. He was determined that as long as Song Tianyao lost his job as the secretary of the Chu Family today, Chan Ah-sap would make Song Tianyao go swimming in the sea before nightfall, as soon as he stepped out of this door.
Chu Yaozong nodded noncommittally. "Fourteen gold bars, that's a huge sum. The Chu Family has been in business for so many years, and even Uncle Yan probably wouldn't be so bold as to accept fourteen gold bars in private. Ah Sin, did you know your secretary did something like this?"