Chapter 120: The Company Theft Case (Part Two)

From what Zhang Baode said, it seemed he already had a plan in mind regarding the matter. So, support him and let him take the lead. He needed to build confidence and establish his reputation through his work. Yang Changfeng was fully behind this. If Zhang Baode truly had the ability, he wasn’t afraid of anyone overshadowing him.

After getting dressed and washing his face, just as Yang Changfeng stepped out the door, Chen Aijia and Anya, both in pajamas, stood in the hallway. One of them lived in the master bedroom next to Yang Changfeng’s, and the other directly opposite. Yang’s earlier voice had woken them from a deep sleep.

“What’s going on? Is there a problem with the security department?” Chen Aijia asked.

Anya rubbed her eyes beside her, planning to follow and see for herself.

“Go back to sleep. It’s nothing major. I’ll just take a look,” Yang Changfeng replied. As he reached the stairwell, he suddenly recalled something and warned, “Get up early tomorrow and leave for work ahead of time. What if this is a trap to lure us away? That would be disastrous!”

Anya yawned. “Okay, got it. We’ll leave at six-thirty. I’ll take another car, so don’t worry.”

Yang Changfeng sped off in his Audi towards the company. Halfway there, he turned back, circled around the artificial island nearby, and, seeing nothing suspicious in terms of people or vehicles, finally felt assured enough to rush to the office.

At Zhang Baode’s home, his family members returned quietly from outside. Just as they were about to lie down, the bedside lamp flicked on. An elderly woman with graying hair propped herself up and glanced softly at the peacefully sleeping children. In a low voice, she asked, “Xiaowei, is that Dezi’s call? What’s happened?”

Li Wei replied quietly, “Mom, why are you up? I was trying not to wake you. It was Dezi on the phone. Something happened at the company. He told me to be careful at work tomorrow and said that if the situation isn’t too serious, he might drive back to pick me up.”

This was Li Wei’s mother, Zhang Baode’s mother-in-law. After the couple got married, this was the first time she came to visit her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. The old man didn’t come, believing that no matter the faults, elders never bowed to their juniors.

She had prepared to criticize Zhang Baode, but upon entering and before she could feel disappointed, she was told some good news: Dezi had been promoted to supervisor at his original company. His monthly salary alone was over ten thousand yuan, and after deductions, his annual income was around one hundred thousand yuan, excluding bonuses.

This shocked the elderly woman. She knew the company Zhang Baode worked for was wealthy and promising but never imagined Zhang Baode was actually a security guard there.

She first thought Zhang Baode was exaggerating, but upon further inquiry—even Li Wei, who was unhappy at work, had become a team leader with a monthly salary of eight thousand yuan excluding benefits. The old woman immediately felt that this stubborn couple, who never spoke a soft word, had finally made some progress.

So, she stayed the night. Unexpectedly, her daughter got up to answer the phone, thinking it was Zhang Baode calling to ask if they had returned. But upon asking, she realized that he truly was someone respected in the company—a leader.

Yet, she was quite grumpy and didn’t believe Zhang Baode could handle anything well. “Yeah, yeah, he’s a leader now. But if you didn’t know better, you’d think he was some big shot. Look how proud he is, but he’s just making others do the hard work. What kind of achievements can that bring?”

Li Wei said nothing, knowing her husband was capable. This time, if the leader gave him a chance and he solved the company theft, he would earn respect within the company.

At home, it didn’t matter if her husband was a bit timid. But outside, she hated to see the man she loved looked down upon.

“It depends on how Minister Yang handles this. He values Dezi a lot and has a very good relationship with the boss. I heard they’re even a couple,” Li Wei said, yawning but not feeling sleepy.

She worried that having such an incident on Zhang Baode’s first day as a leader might make the feared Minister Yang think Zhang Baode lacked the ability.

If he were punished right after the promotion, Li Wei knew her husband would find it hard to advance in the future.

If she were there, Li Wei would have been deeply moved.

As Zhang Baode himself put it, leaders like Yang Changfeng were already rare nowadays.

Arriving at the company, Yang Changfeng stepped out and asked first thing, “Is everyone all right?”

A good leader cared for his people to encourage good work. Compared to binding them with rules, this warm approach inspired loyalty and effort.

Zhang Baode, who had been wearing a somewhat troubled expression, thought after the call about whether the leader might blame him for the theft due to incompetence.

Yang Changfeng’s question warmed his heart, and he replied, “Leaders like you are rare nowadays.”

“That’s nonsense. With so few staff and such a big company, especially these past two days, it’d be surprising if nothing went wrong. Don’t worry, Old Zhang, I’m bringing you the boss’s stance: as long as no one’s hurt, whatever loss we’ve suffered, we’ll find a way to make up for it. You’re a qualified leader,” Yang Changfeng reassured him.

Noticing only two new colleagues on duty and no others around, his expression darkened. Coldly, he said, “I guess their excuse is that the daytime training was too tough?”

Zhang Baode wanted to speak; he didn’t want to fire anyone so soon. Keeping these people around, he believed he could soon uncover the mole.

Yang Changfeng waved his hand. “This matter is yours, Old Zhang. I won’t interfere. I trust you have a plan, and I support you!”

Zhang Baode gripped Yang Changfeng’s hand tightly, his lips trembling for a long moment before saying, “Leader, I… I won’t say anything else. Just watch my performance!”

“Sounds like we’ve got some story going on between us—disgusting,” Yang Changfeng joked, pulling his hand away with a smile. “Alright, since they say it’s hard work, let them rest. Come on, let’s check what exactly was stolen!”

The two new colleagues were diligent—one stood watch at the door, the other remained in the surveillance room.

Yang Changfeng stopped and said to them, “It’s been tough lately. Please bear with it a bit more. I can’t promise much except this: the company will never treat hardworking employees unfairly!”

They never expected any special benefits.

Having gone through job hunting, and with no experience beyond military service, they had faced rejection everywhere. Now, with such a great company offering good jobs, including five insurances and one housing fund, and a monthly formal salary not less than five thousand yuan, they cherished this opportunity deeply.

This was work—giving their all was their attitude.