On Thursday at nine in the morning, the tax officers whom Cong Jinhong had originally "fobbed off" came to Jingnan Group headquarters again. With Old Yang from Finance and Li Ye giving them their full cooperation, they reopened their investigation into those invoices.
Old Yang from Finance held the financial data, while Li Ye was the deputy leader of the project construction team. The two were clearly joining forces to stir things up, and that left certain people in a panic.
After making a phone call, Shang Bin went to find Ma Zhaoxian with his face frosted over. Ma Zhaoxian's assistant hurriedly rose to stop him, only to be rudely flung aside.
The moment he saw Ma Zhaoxian, Shang Bin barked in a low voice, "General Manager Ma, what exactly are you trying to do? Do you have to make such a spectacle of this that the whole city knows and everyone gets a laugh at our expense?"
Ma Zhaoxian raised his head coldly. He first waved his assistant out and had him shut the door, then said mildly, "Whose expense? Mine?"
Shang Bin sneered. "Isn't it? Our two organizations have been merged for less than half a year, and already things are in such a shambles that chickens are flying and dogs are jumping. How do you think the higher-ups will see you?
"You're not some inexperienced young hothead like Li Ye anymore, are you? Is there any point in us insiders fighting each other like this? Is this the outcome the higher-ups wanted to see?"
Shang Bin believed his reasoning was more than sufficient.
The founding of Jingnan Group had been a major merger project vigorously promoted by many people above, and it had even been listed as a dazzling achievement in last year's annual report.
Yet only