Chapter 38 Principles: How could Tang Yi be so good, and also so foolish?
The weather in September had already started to cool down significantly. The sky was completely covered by a curtain, and it was pitch black all around except for the villa area, which was brightly lit.
Zhang Minglang stepped out of the car, stood in front of the door, pressed the doorbell, and tightened his coat around his neck.
"Hey, it's Xiao Lang!"
Less than ten seconds after the doorbell rang, the heavy, tall door in front of him was pulled open, and Aunt Wang's joyful voice rang out from inside.
"Aunt Wang." Zhang Minglang nodded in acknowledgment, stepped inside, and helped change his shoes at the entrance.
"Xiao Lang? What brings you here today? Did you remember Grandma?" Grandma Zhang peeked out from the sofa when she heard the noise, her expression full of surprise.
But Zhang Minglang was tense and had no time or energy to respond to her.
He gave a perfunctory reply and got straight to the point: "Where's the old man?"
"She's in the study upstairs. Hey, have you eaten yet...?"
"No need." Zhang Minglang interrupted his grandmother quickly, taking three steps at a time as he went up the stairs.
"What's the rush, kid!" Grandma Zhang watched her grandson go upstairs, then turned to Aunt Wang and complained in a reproachful tone.
Zhang Minglang pushed open the study door almost without hesitation. Sure enough, Old Master Zhang was inside, holding a calligraphy brush and leisurely writing and painting on rice paper.
"How many times have I told you, don't barge in! Knock before you come in!"
He glared at him fiercely, his tone harsh.
But he still put down his pen, stood up, and shakily sat down in the antique chair next to him. He picked up the ceramic teacup, brushed aside the tea leaves floating on it, and then slowly said, "So, what have you been up to this time?"
Zhang Minglang scoffed, his tone extremely sarcastic and sharp: "I didn't do anything. I'm here today to ask you and President Lin what you did two years ago."
Mr. Zhang's hand, which was flicking away tea leaves, paused almost imperceptibly before resuming its normal motion. He brought the cup closer, took a sip, and remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.
“You don’t need to come up with any more excuses to fob me off,” Zhang Minglang saw right through the old man’s thoughts. “I just came back from the branch office today and chatted with General Manager Lin for an afternoon.”
He paused, his gaze piercing like a sharp blade as he looked directly into Chairman Zhang's raised eyes: "I just want to confirm with you, was all of this done with your tacit approval?"
Chairman Zhang spoke up, but it was about something else entirely: "What Tang Yi told you."
His statement wasn't even a question, but rather an expression of near certainty.
Even though he had expected him to say that, Zhang Minglang still felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water when he actually heard it.
Although the man in front of him, who held a high position of power, treated him harshly on a daily basis and often deliberately said things to provoke him, Zhang Minglang still respected and loved him from the bottom of his heart.
If he hadn't remained suspicious and secretly investigated the matter, and if Zhao Linrui hadn't brought it upon himself, giving him the opportunity to openly investigate his communication records, he would never have believed that his own grandfather would turn a blind eye to such a thing.
Zhang Minglang felt that everything was absurd.
Without the slightest hesitation, Chairman Zhang charged Tang Yi with the crime of "leaking secrets." Did he know that Tang Yi respected him almost more than her own grandson?
It is precisely because of this gratitude that Tang Yi has been burdened by a massive boulder, unable to escape for so many years.
Zhang Minglang smiled.
Chairman Zhang glanced at him with a complicated expression, but remained silent.
"Do you know how many times I've questioned her about her relationship with Zhao Linrui, and how many times she's refused to answer with some ridiculous excuse about private matters?"
Zhang Minglang's eyes were filled with disappointment and heartache: "She thought of the kindness you and President Lin had shown her, and of your shameless claims of 'putting the big picture' before her, and she endured it all for two years! If I hadn't found out all this, how much longer would you have kept it from me? How much longer would you have kept it from her!"
His words were filled with anguish, his voice growing louder and louder, and his eyes reddened with emotion.
Chairman Zhang, however, sat there like an iceberg, coldly watching his agitated grandson.
"Finished?" he asked, his voice deep and serious. "If you're done, let me tell you why I did this."
He sat steadily, uttering each word with deliberate force, like hailstones falling and striking Zhang Minglang's heart, making him feel colder and colder.
"First, two years ago, Junmao was at a critical stage of growth. I absolutely could not allow any missteps within the company to affect the entire company's shares."
Chairman Zhang's tone was solemn and left no room for argument.
"Secondly, I admit that Tang Yi is a very capable employee, but compared to Zhao Linrui, she is just a lowly secretary. I cannot fire a key member of the company's management team for her sake; that would be utterly absurd!"
"Third, to compensate her back then, I personally ordered the finance department to double her year-end bonus and extend her annual leave. Lao Lin went to the branch office, and you came to the head office. I didn't care about her past and still handed over the important position of general secretary to her. Isn't that compensation?"
The things that Chairman Zhang said sounded particularly reasonable.
But to Zhang Minglang, all he heard was his grandfather's high-sounding but unreasonable arguments.
Zhang Minglang clenched his teeth, almost squeezing each word out from between them: "Then let me tell you too. First, when a female employee encounters such injustice, the company not only fails to punish the perpetrator, but also coerces and entices the victim to cover her mouth. This is fundamentally wrong!"
"Secondly, your so-called rebellion against the Heavenly Gang is utter nonsense! As a senior executive of the company, Zhao Linrui should set an example. As the person in charge of the company, you are actually protecting him, which is simply disheartening!"
"Third," Zhang Minglang's voice trembled uncontrollably, his heart aching, "all the compensation you offered, whether it was a bonus or vacation time, is not as good as justice for her!"
His words were firm and resolute, causing even Mr. Zhang's serious expression to soften. He lowered his eyes, and only the walnuts spinning faster and faster in his hand could reflect the turmoil in his heart.
The study became quiet, and you could even hear the autumn wind rustling the leaves outside the window.
There was a knock on the door, and the father and son were drawn to the sudden noise, turning their heads to look.
Grandma Zhang swaggered in from outside and started scolding the old man sitting in the seat: "You old man! My grandson finally comes to visit, and all you do is argue with him! His birthday is in a few days, and all you do is make him angry!"
As Zhang Minglang listened to the two old people arguing back and forth, he felt a pang of sadness for some reason.
He thought of that night when he had a heart-to-heart talk with Tang Yi.
He remembered her saying that Grandpa Zhang actually loved him very much, and had been paving the way for him, helping him cut through the thorns, and taking care of everything for him behind the scenes.
She said, "I hope you can understand Chairman Zhang's good intentions."
Zhang Minglang couldn't understand how Tang Yi could be so good, yet also so foolish.
Even though she was suppressed by authority and couldn't say a word, and even though she watched the light before her eyes being covered by darkness, how could she still look up and smile at him, saying that he should be understanding?
The two elderly people were still arguing. Zhang Minglang walked over to them with his head down.
"I'm sorry, I was in a hurry and my tone wasn't good. Please forgive me."
Upon hearing this, both of them stood frozen in silence.
Having lived most of their lives, when had the two elders ever seen Zhang Minglang bow his head and apologize?
Grandma Zhang's eyes welled up with tears. She reached out and pounded harder on Grandpa Zhang, who was still staring blankly at Zhang Minglang in the chair, repeating, "Look at you, look at you! Look what you've done to him!"
Seeing this, Zhang Minglang felt extremely distressed. He quickly reached out to separate the two.
He took his grandmother's hands and rubbed them gently, then whispered, "He didn't force me; I really want to apologize."
Zhang Minglang looked up and saw the silver strands of hair at his grandmother's temples and her cloudy eyes. He changed his mind at the last minute: "I'd like to have dinner here tonight, is that alright?"
Grandma Zhang was taken aback at first, then beamed and went out the door, calling to Aunt Wang to hurry up and prepare the meal.
The study fell silent once again.
Zhang Minglang looked at his grandfather, who was looking down at the two old walnuts in his hand, seemingly lost in thought.
“What I said may have been harsh in tone, but it was my honest opinion. I don’t want this kind of thing to be buried in the company I’m about to lead.”
After he finished speaking, his hand was already on the cold doorknob.
"Wait a minute."
A powerful voice behind him called him back, and he turned to look at the source of the sound.
A few meters apart, the two men, one tall and one short, stared directly into his eyes. His voice was deep and slow, yet brooked no evasion: "You like her?"
Zhang Minglang's heart skipped a beat, and his fingers trembled slightly. The question came suddenly, but he understood almost instantly who the old man was referring to.
Tang Yi's name stirred ripples in his heart, and memories flooded his mind like a tide.
She rarely smiled so brightly, her voice was always calm and even, and they had worked side by side for so many days and nights. As he thought about it, a gentle smile unconsciously curved his lips.
The old man quietly observed every subtle change on his face; decades of experience had long since allowed him to understand the unspoken words of his grandson. Just as he was about to speak, Zhang Minglang, standing at the door, raised his head first.
“Yes,” his voice was clear and firm, his eyes sparkling with a joy that Old Master Zhang had never seen before, “I like her.”
After a pause, Zhang Minglang withdrew his foot that was about to step out: "But I want to help her get justice, and that's not entirely the reason."
His tone calmed down: "More than these personal feelings, I don't want to see any injustice in the company I manage. This is about principles, and it's also about the beliefs I've always upheld."
After saying this, he didn't care about the other person's reaction and walked out the door without looking back.
The heavy door slammed shut behind him with a dull thud.
At the dinner table, the unaware old lady only knew that her beloved grandson had taken the rare opportunity to eat with her, and kept urging him to serve her food, without noticing the somewhat tense atmosphere at the table.
"Eat more, Xiao Lang! Eat more, eat more!"
Zhang Minglang held the bowl and nodded to his grandmother with a smile.
"Minglang".
The old man, who had been silent since sitting down at the table, suddenly spoke.
The other three people at the table turned to look at him.
Zhang Minglang had a premonition because his heart suddenly started beating faster.
Old Master Zhang let out a heavy sigh, as if he had made a major decision, and looked up at him.
"You've passed my test. Tomorrow, I'll arrange for a few people to assist you in investigating the evidence."
Zhang Minglang felt a warmth before his eyes, and the heart that had been hanging in suspense all day finally settled down at this moment.
Aside from the father and son who knew exactly what was going on, the other two people at the table stared at each other, wondering what kind of riddle they were playing.
"Grandpa, thank you."
He looked gratefully into the old man's eyes and solemnly thanked him.
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