September weather could change in an instant.
After a storm, Kang Nan returned to the company headquarters with Baffart.
Li Jinglan's sudden death had cast a gloomy, oppressive pall over the emergency meeting.
After a series of recent internal adjustments, the company's management team now had seven members. Aside from the late Li Jinglan, the other six were:
Zaxi, head of the Aquaculture and Processing Division;
Lin Qiang, head of the Transportation and Fishing Division and formerly a captain at Daya Company;
Fili, head of the Internal Affairs Department and Soldier No. 8;
Fang Xin Cheng, head of the Finance Department;
Chen Jianxiong, head of the Security Department;
Fami, head of the Logistics Department, whom Li Jinglan had recruited from Manila;
Li Jinglan had been the company's general manager, primarily overseeing commercial partnerships, personnel, investments, and related matters.
"I deeply regret Manager Li's passing." Li Qingye's expression was unreadable, and none of the six managers dared offer an opinion.
She continued, "Fang Xin Cheng will temporarily serve as general manager. Jose will take over the Finance Department. Does anyone object?"
The group exchanged quick glances, but nobody spoke up.
Fang Xin Cheng, the man she had just appointed, was also greatly surprised.
Jose was one of the soldiers, a sleeper agent previously placed in the Finance Department.
Li Qingye had chosen Fang Xin Cheng because she valued his honesty and conscientiousness.
Since taking over as head of Finance, he hadn't lined his own pockets or falsified the books. He had simply done his best to reduce the company's taxes within the law, and had repeatedly thwarted Li Jinglan and the others when they tried to feather their own nests at the company's expense.
From Jose's observations, Li Jinglan had hinted several times that Fang Xin Cheng should cooperate with him on certain matters. Fang Xin Cheng had rejected him without hesitation every time, and had even reported those approaches directly to her.
That finally helped Li Qingye understand why Fang Xin Cheng's résumé showed that he never stayed long at any job, and why he had accomplished so little despite nearing forty.
He was simply too straightforward.
People like him were clearly unpopular at work. Unless they rose straight into management, most modern companies' managers would despise them. A chairman of a family business, perhaps, might appreciate someone like that.
Fortunately, Fang Xin Cheng had crossed paths with Li Qingye. As she assembled her makeshift team, she had let him skip the ordinary employee ranks and join the management.
As a manager, Li Jinglan couldn't fire him. Even when he repeatedly made things difficult for Fang Xin Cheng, Li Qingye had seen right through it.
The company didn't need especially strong managers right now. In Li Qingye's eyes, the honest and conscientious Fang Xin Cheng was actually a good fit.
After all, Homo sapiens Company was pursuing technological development, so its management didn't need exceptional managerial skills. A basic grasp of business principles was enough.
Take the artificial breeding of eels, for example. It was a seller's market, a business with no competition anywhere in the world. If they could still mess that up, they might as well go home and grow sweet potatoes.
"Also, Kang Nan will take charge of Logistics, and Fami will transfer to the general manager's office to handle project budgets," Li Qingye continued.
Fami, head of Logistics, didn't dare say a word. Li Jinglan had recruited him, and now that Li Jinglan was dead, it was best to keep his head down.
As for the other minor members of Li Jinglan's faction, Fang Xin Cheng could deal with them.
After a series of adjustments, the management team at Homo sapiens Company had changed considerably.
Chairman—Li Qingye;
General Manager—Fang Xin Cheng (Hong Konger);
Head of the Aquaculture and Processing Division—Zaxi Diaz (Luzonian);
Head of the Transportation and Fishing Division—Lin Qiang (Luzonian Chinese);
Head of the Finance Department—Jose Sanchez (Luzonian—Soldier);
Head of the Internal Affairs Department—Fili Gonzalez (Luzonian—Soldier);
Head of the Logistics Department—Kang Nan (Luzonian Chinese);
Head of the Security Department—Chen Jianxiong (Hong Konger);
Head of the Legal Affairs Department—Wang Xinya (Malaysian Chinese);
Head of the Human Resources Department—Duke Martinez (Luzonian mixed-race Chinese—Soldier).
The company's management team was quickly reshuffled. Aside from the newly added Finance and Human Resources departments, the other departments continued operating under the previous structure.
With soldiers placed throughout the company's middle and upper ranks, Li Qingye's control over its internal affairs grew considerably stronger.
After all, the soldiers were in charge of Internal Affairs, Finance, and Human Resources, while the new general manager, Fang Xin Cheng, was an honest man. No one else could make waves.
Li Qingye then instructed Fang Xin Cheng to continue the Darte Port fish farm construction project while also cleaning up the company's internal affairs.
The farms would soon be completed one after another. With eel fry from Calagua Island, Homo sapiens Company could sell some of them while raising the rest itself.
After the meeting, Fang Xin Cheng led the others out of the conference room.
Li Qingye sat in her office chair.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she gazed out at the shimmering sea at Darte Port. The rise and fall of the waves seemed to mirror the fluctuations of the human heart, always so hard to fathom.
She told Fili to drive. Escorted by several soldiers and Natural Person bodyguards, she went to her plantation west of Darte Port.
She had bought the plantation a few months ago, intending to turn it into a private estate. Its renovations had just been completed.
Mango Manor.
The soldiers who had undergone Gene Modification and Biochip implantation were now here for rehabilitation and memory simulations. Among them were Soldier Takasugi Hei and Soldier Mada.
Rehabilitation was meant to erase the incisions on their skulls and scalp.
The memory simulations involved repeatedly questioning the subjects about their original memories, then entering those memories into a database and mapping their relationships. This allowed them to build a specialized database of templates for dealing with familiar people.
This could reduce the chance of a soldier's relatives noticing anything unusual, but the process was extremely complicated. Each soldier needed a customized program.
Only high-value individuals—Takasugi Hei, Mada, and the two members of the Fernando family—qualified for custom programs.
One was connected to the intelligence network in Japan, while the other three were local power brokers in southern Luzon.
If Li Qingye could control them, her influence could expand rapidly.
After observing the four men's training, Li Qingye considered several problems, including what to do about the Fernando family's power.
The family had people in both southern Luzon and Manila. Although Mada was one of its central heirs, he had no shortage of rivals.
Mada's younger brother, his second uncle, and his Third Uncle were all formidable. And Mada's father, Jacques Fernando, was hardly an ordinary man—anyone capable of becoming the family patriarch had to be exceptional.
Fortunately, no one had yet discovered that Mada was under their control. Even so, it remained a potential risk.
The soldiers were still too poor at adapting to unexpected situations.
To prevent any leaks and keep Mada from becoming a wasted pawn, they had to purge the Fernando family.
Only by making Mada the patriarch could they ensure the Fernando family's stability. Otherwise, Mada's father and brothers could all interfere with Li Qingye's plans.
Looks like I'll have to have a serious talk with him. Li Qingye thought of someone, then assigned Mada, Takasugi Hei, and the others their next tasks before returning to Calagua Island with Fili.
As soon as she got back to Calagua Island, she told Chen Jianxiong to come by tomorrow at noon.
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