Chapter 0503: Shown the Door

Zhao Fusheng had to admit that talking with an old fox like Zhu Hongjiang was indeed a brain-draining task.

No help for it—the other party was a wily veteran. The fact that he had taken Gree Electric Appliances from a township enterprise to the nation's largest electrical appliance manufacturer meant he was no pushover.

Zhao Fusheng even kept telling himself not to believe a single word or character Zhu Hongjiang said, and not to let him influence his judgment.

Not that Old Zhu had bad character; it was just that Zhao Fusheng didn't want to be led by the nose.

As it turned out, even in the end, Zhao Fusheng couldn't get any useful information out of him, nor did he even know how the other had guessed he was the designer.

The only thing he could confirm was that Zhu Hongjiang said he would give him an explanation regarding Wu De and Minister Chen.

Consequently, Zhao Fusheng also had to honestly complete this planning project.

But Zhao Fusheng had no objections to that; according to Zheng Yao's plan, Future Advertising was also going to take on this task and formally enter the southern advertising market.

When Zhao Fusheng and Zhu Hongjiang reappeared in the meeting room, Dong Mingzhu was shaking hands with Dong Chenxi; clearly, their cooperation had gone smoothly.

Or rather, from the moment Zhao Fusheng uttered that advertising slogan, this cooperation was destined not to fail.

Of course, there were two people in the meeting room with less-than-pleasant expressions: the former was Wu De, and the latter was Minister Chen.

"Pleasant cooperation."

"Pleasant cooperation."

Accompanied by the voices of Dong Chenxi and Dong Mingzhu, a smile appeared on Zhao Fusheng's face.

He was naturally very happy, especially seeing the crestfallen looks on Wu De and Minister Chen's faces.

A major problem with social Darwinism is that it takes a neutral law from nature to cover up processes determined by power relations, using outcomes to justify processes, erasing inequalities in rights and resource distribution and the violence, fraud, and exploitation that maintain such inequalities.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, this was utter nonsense.

Wrong is wrong, right is right; though they may be temporarily altered, truth and justice never arrive late.

He cast a deep glance at Wu De, said nothing more, nodded to Zhu Hongjiang and Dong Mingzhu, and turned to leave.

Dong Chenxi, Bai Jie, and the others followed behind him. Since things had reached this point, the remaining matters would proceed to the negotiation and signing process.

Soon, only Gree's own people remained in the meeting room. Wu De suddenly felt two gazes fixed on him.

His heart was somewhat bitter; he naturally understood where those gazes came from and why, but at that moment, he still harbored a glimmer of hope.

"Old Wu, go back and write a report. Resign."

At that moment, Zhu Hongjiang's voice rang out, like a judge's verdict, instantly draining all color from Wu De's face.

"Chairman, I..." Wu De opened his mouth, wanting to say something more.

Zhu Hongjiang sighed, shook his head, his face full of disappointment: "No need to say more. I don't want to dwell on the past. Let it be."

After all, he was an old subordinate who had followed him for years, who hadn't chosen to leave even when Gree faced major problems. But who would have thought that now, with the company thriving, Wu De would have his own issues—truly lamentable.

Having said that, Zhu Hongjiang strode out of the meeting room, followed by a group of executives. Wu De also walked out dejectedly, completely ignoring Minister Chen's pleading gestures.

"Old Chen, how many years have you been with me?"

At this point, Dong Mingzhu's voice sounded. She hadn't left, because Minister Chen was a trusted subordinate she had personally promoted. Unlike Wu De, Dong Mingzhu had high hopes for this old colleague.

But unfortunately, like Wu De, he was soon corrupted by money.

"Seven years." Minister Chen's expression was calm as he looked at Dong Mingzhu. "President Dong, I know what to do."

Dong Mingzhu nodded, waved her hand, and said wearily, "Mm, you may go."

After all, he was an old subordinate who had weathered storms with her. Since he hadn't embezzled company resources, despite his wrongdoing, Dong Mingzhu chose, like Zhu Hongjiang, to let him go.

Though from then on, these two would likely never work in the relevant industry again.

Because they knew well that if they dared to set foot in the home appliance sector, Gree would mercilessly expose their scandals.

That was also why Zhao Fusheng didn't pursue the matter further. He knew that neither Zhu Hongjiang nor Dong Mingzhu would do anything severe to Wu De and Minister Chen over this. But Zhao Fusheng was certain that for people like them, losing the chance to throw their weight around was more painful than death.

Some people would rather die amidst wine and women than live in poverty and obscurity.

At that moment, Zhao Fusheng, Dong Chenxi, and the others in the car were in high spirits.

Dong Chenxi looked at Zhao Fusheng with a beaming smile: "Fusheng, those two lines of your ad slogan were absolutely unbeatable!"

She meant it. Originally, she thought they were doomed to fail and even be bullied by Wu De. Unexpectedly, Zhao Fusheng pulled this move and won everyone over.

Dong Chenxi was still excited.

In fact, not only Dong Chenxi but also Bai Jie and the other Future Advertising staff were thrilled; the scene just now was truly exhilarating.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled softly and shook his head: "Don't praise me. I was just trying a last-ditch effort. To be honest, that slogan came to me on the spot."

Some things could be admitted, others never. Zhao Fusheng wasn't stupid enough to say he had planned it all.

"The next step is signing the contract," Bai Jie said to Zhao Fusheng. "Then we'll roll out the promotion according to your plan, and the Beijing branch will be formally established. You're right; we thought too simply before. The advertising circle in the capital is really deep."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said nothing. Some things indeed needed facts to prove right or wrong—that was beyond doubt.

He had done what he needed to do; the rest was up to Zheng Yao, Dong Chenxi, and the others to handle.

But he had confidence in them. Though they had various shortcomings, their desire for dreams and success, and their loyalty to the company, were impeccable.

Zhao Fusheng looked forward to the day when Future Advertising would truly become a behemoth.