Chapter 124: Dismissed on the Spot

Lu Ming asked, “Is it difficult to work at Jiamei?”

“Heh.” Yuan Cheng laughed. “Jiamei Group is the leading supermarket chain in the country. The pay is generous, and the benefits are excellent. It isn’t a place just anyone can get into.”

“I don’t think that’s true. Even a scumbag like you managed to get in. I’d say it can’t be all that difficult.” Lu Ming spoke in an indifferent tone.

“What did you say?”

Yuan Cheng immediately slammed his hand on the desk and rose to his feet.

“Do you really not know what I said?” Lu Ming replied coldly.

Yuan Cheng sneered. “If you’re looking for a job, then speak properly to me. Maybe, if I’m in a good mood, I’ll toss you a crumb. Otherwise, I’ll call security.”

Although Lu Ming clearly seemed to have come with bad intentions, Yuan Cheng was not afraid in the slightest.

A Duo was merely a mountain girl, while Lu Ming was dressed in a tracksuit that had probably cost only a few hundred yuan, with a pair of black canvas shoes on his feet. At a glance, they were obviously people from the lowest rungs of society. Yuan Cheng did not take them seriously at all.

Besides, so what if he had touched A Duo’s butt? What evidence did they have?

He had nothing to worry about.

“You’d better start worrying about your own job first.” Lu Ming gave a cold laugh, took out his phone, and pressed the power button.

A month earlier, when he had gone into the mountains to track Ula, he had switched off his phone. He had not turned it on again until now.

The moment it powered up, countless text messages, instant messages, and missed calls came flooding in—two or three hundred of them in all, nearly causing the phone to crash.

After the barrage of alerts finally stopped, Lu Ming glanced through them. They were all from Huo Yutong, Ye Qimei, Qin Lan, and Yun Ketian, asking where he was, what he had been doing, and why they had not heard from him for so long.

Lu Ming had no time to reply to each of them. He simply found Huo Yutong’s number and called her.

At that moment, Yuan Cheng sat with one leg crossed over the other, calmly watching him.

What power could some country bumpkin possibly possess? He was merely making a show of calling someone to threaten him. Who could he possibly contact?

How laughable.

The moment Lu Ming’s call connected, Huo Yutong answered. Her voice was filled with anxiety and concern.

“Brother Lu, why haven’t you contacted us for so long? You nearly scared us to death,” Huo Yutong complained.

“Ah, something unexpected happened and delayed me. Is your illness all right now?”

“I recovered not long after you left. I’ve completely recuperated by now.” Huo Yutong sounded delighted.

“That’s good. I’m at a Jiamei supermarket in the capital. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Lu Ming then told Huo Yutong everything that had happened between him and A Duo.

The moment she heard the story, Huo Yutong flew into a rage.

Although she was the president of Jiamei, she had always regarded the company as Lu Ming’s property in her heart. Now that Lu Ming had encountered something like this inside one of her own supermarkets, it was utterly intolerable to her.

She knew the store manager, Yuan Cheng. Jiamei had expanded too quickly in the beginning, and a considerable portion of its employees had originally belonged to Meilian.

Jiamei had taken over nearly everything, including the stores and most of the staff. After a period of training at headquarters, those employees had been sent directly to various locations to serve as store managers.

Huo Yutong had personally met and spoken with every store manager. Thus, the moment Lu Ming mentioned him, she knew exactly who he was.

“Brother Lu, put that bastard on the phone,” Huo Yutong said.

Lu Ming walked over to Yuan Cheng, held out the phone, and said, “Manager Yuan, take the call.”

“Why should I take your call? Who do you think you are? What a joke.” Yuan Cheng leaned back with his legs crossed, looking thoroughly at ease.

A country bumpkin actually dared to order him to answer the phone. Ridiculous.

Lu Ming had no choice but to say to Huo Yutong, “He refuses to take it.”

Huo Yutong was so furious she nearly exploded.

“Brother Lu, hang up for now. I’ll call his office line.”

“Fine.”

Lu Ming ended the call.

Yuan Cheng laughed. “What other tricks do you have? Bring them all out and let me see.”

Lu Ming smiled, led A Duo to a nearby sofa, sat down, and lit a cigarette.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

Yuan Cheng gave a disdainful laugh and prepared to call security.

He would have the guards teach this brat a lesson first. Then he would see whether he could remain so arrogant.

Just then, the landline on his desk rang.

Yuan Cheng immediately picked it up.

“Yuan Cheng, I am suspending you from all your duties effective immediately. I will send people to inspect your accounts. If everything is in order, consider yourself lucky. But if we find anything wrong, you can wait to go to prison.”

At the sound of Huo Yutong’s stern voice, Yuan Cheng felt a wave of dizziness sweep through his mind.

“President Huo, P-President Huo, what’s going on?” he stammered.

He could not understand why President Huo had suddenly called him, suspended him, and ordered an investigation into his accounts.

Could his accounts withstand scrutiny? Running such a large supermarket, he had naturally taken some under-the-table income as store manager. Although he had been very discreet, a thorough investigation would inevitably uncover problems. This was a matter that could cost him everything.

Then Huo Yutong’s voice came coldly through the phone.

“What’s going on? You dared to harass Mr. Lu’s friend, and you still ask me why? Let me tell you something: there aren’t many people as bold as you. Stay in your office and wait. Someone will be there shortly to deal with this.”

With that, Huo Yutong hung up.

The phone slipped from Yuan Cheng’s hand and clattered onto the desk.

The country bumpkin standing before him had to be the Mr. Lu President Huo had mentioned.

But how could this country bumpkin possibly know President Huo? And why was President Huo treating him with such respect?

After standing there in a daze for a long while, Yuan Cheng moved his trembling legs toward Lu Ming. Then, with a thud, he fell to his knees.

“Mr. Lu, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have harassed your friend. I was blind. Please forgive me. Could you say something to President Huo and ask her not to fire me?”

Yuan Cheng now looked utterly pitiful. The arrogance he had displayed moments earlier was nowhere to be seen.

He understood that being fired was a minor matter. At worst, he could find another job. But an investigation into his accounts was far more serious.

And judging from President Huo’s tone, if anything was found, she would certainly send him to prison. If that happened, his entire life would be ruined.

A Duo stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

How had the store manager, who had been so fierce only moments ago, suddenly ended up kneeling before them? She could not make sense of it at all.

Lu Ming spoke slowly. “Those who bring disaster upon themselves cannot escape its consequences. Everyone knows that saying, yet few ever use it to warn themselves. How truly pathetic.”

“I was wrong! I apologize! Mr. Lu, please put in a good word for me. I beg you. I have elderly parents and children depending on me. I can’t lose my job!” Yuan Cheng pleaded through his tears.

“If you had known this day would come, why did you act as you did in the first place?” Lu Ming said coldly.

He felt no pity whatsoever for people like Yuan Cheng.

Just then, a young man in his thirties, dressed in a Jiamei uniform, walked in.

As soon as he entered, he asked, “May I ask which of you is Mr. Lu?”

“I am,” Lu Ming replied calmly.

“Hello, Mr. Lu. I’m Yao Ziqi, the deputy manager of this store. I just received a call from our chairwoman. I’m taking over as store manager, and she instructed me to arrange everything you need.”

Lu Ming nodded without saying anything.

Yao Ziqi then glanced at Yuan Cheng, who was kneeling on the floor, and was shocked.

A moment earlier, President Huo had suddenly called him, leaving him completely bewildered.

Given his position, he was not yet qualified to contact President Huo directly, and he had no idea how she had obtained his number.

Only after President Huo gave him a stern explanation did Yao Ziqi learn that Yuan Cheng had offended an important person and been dismissed on the spot.

He had been promoted to store manager in one stroke and had been sternly warned to take care of every need of Mr. Lu. If Mr. Lu showed even the slightest dissatisfaction, Yuan Cheng’s fate would become his own.

Still shaken, Yao Ziqi had agreed at once and hurried over.

Looking at Yuan Cheng kneeling on the floor with tears streaming down his face, Yao Ziqi let out a sigh.

Yuan Cheng had never had a good reputation among the employees. Aside from being lecherous, he also liked to manipulate the accounts. All the deputy managers knew about it.

But as store manager, Yuan Cheng held all the power, and none of them dared say anything.

He could contact President Huo directly. If he decided to make things difficult for them, they could lose their livelihoods. Jiamei’s salary and benefits were excellent, and jobs like this were not easy to find.

For now, set a modest goal—for example, memorize this in one second: Book Guest Residence mobile reading website: