In an inconspicuous leisure club in Jinmen City, Xu Guangsheng placed his teacup down and glanced at the person beside him. "Lao Luan, have you really thought this through? What kind of future do you have following Lu Heming? I'm not trying to deceive you, but if Lu Heming steps down, there's no way I'll go to Hongqi. Who else would take the position of General Manager? It will definitely be someone promoted internally from Hongqi. You know my background, I can still speak to those above us."
Luan Qingsheng's eyes lit up. "Mr. Xu, do you mean...?"
Xu Guangsheng nodded, blowing on his tea. "Lao Luan, you're a technical person. I don't know what others think, but if you became the General Manager, it would definitely be more suitable than that incompetent Lu Heming. Am I clear enough?"
Luan Qingsheng's heart raced! Although a Project Manager is still a manager, compared to the company's top executive, it's a world of difference! If he could take this step...
He nodded repeatedly. "Understood, understood! Mr. Xu, let me tell you, if it wasn't for Lu Heming deliberately delaying and hindering the development progress, Shengshi C-class wouldn't have taken so long to develop! The existing problems would have been solved long ago! Since the project's inception, the development team has never been fully staffed. Not only is there a shortage of personnel, but under Lu Heming's coordination, the development process has taken many inexplicable detours. I don't understand what he's trying to do... Also, some of the development project's funds haven't been implemented. There's definitely something wrong, and there are issues with procurement as well..."
As Luan Qingsheng kept pouring out all the dirt on Hongqi, Xu Guangsheng smiled indifferently. In his heart, he was overjoyed. Lao Lu, aren't you proud of being the Association President? I'll make you lose your footing!
Xu Guangsheng was a narrow-minded and cunning person. Since failing to compete for the Association President and returning from Pu City, he kept thinking he had fallen into a trap set by Lu Heming and Li Fanyu.
Recently, the upper-level department was about to undergo personnel changes. Connecting this with Lu Heming's move, he immediately felt a sense of crisis—this Association President might be the ticket to the next step up!
So, upon returning from Pu City, he racked his brains on how to turn his disadvantage around. After careful consideration, he decided to target Hongqi internally. Thus, he specially came to Jinmen City and secretly met with Lu Heming's subordinate, Luan Qingsheng. After a round of inducement, he finally found a breakthrough.
Listening to Luan Qingsheng continuously exposing Lu Heming's flaws and misdeeds, Xu Guangsheng sneered contemptuously. In state-owned enterprises, who doesn't understand the twists and turns in the development process? If the higher-ups aren't clear about the situation, even if they send an audit team, they won't find anything. Now that he knows the specifics, is there any fear of not toppling Lu Heming?
Luan Qingsheng continued babbling. Xu Guangsheng waved his hand dismissively. "Lao Luan, are all the things you're saying backed up?"
Luan Qingsheng nodded. "Don't worry, Mr. Xu. Everyone at the bottom is talking about it. There's no escaping it."
"Good! When the time comes, if we need you to testify, will you do it?"
"Uh..." Luan Qingsheng hesitated. Stabbing someone in the back was one thing, but facing him directly... If Lu Heming doesn't fall, he would be the one in trouble.
Xu Guangsheng said nothing, playing with his teacup, watching him with interest, waiting for his answer.
This was a pledge of allegiance, and Luan Qingsheng knew it. Once he made this decision, there was no turning back. He had no respect for Lu Heming, but after working together for more than two years, he still felt a bit intimidated by him.
However, thinking about the General Manager position and how he had worked diligently for so many years, now finally encountering such an opportunity to rise, he made his decision in just two minutes.
"Mr. Xu, I can! But you have to help me secure that General Manager position." He nodded firmly.
Xu Guangsheng then laughed heartily. "Don't worry, I, Xu Guangsheng, always keep my promises. Tonight, go back and organize what you just said into a report and submit it to the higher-ups. Remember, use your real name. The rest, I'll handle. Understand?"
Luan Qingsheng gritted his teeth, took a deep breath. "I understand!"
...
Lu Heming had been feeling very refreshed these past few days. The Automobile Association was a special organization, nominally a private organization, but indeed initiated and appointed by the government.
### Chapter 205: Proud but Losing Footing
Although the organizational structure was relatively loose, it provided many opportunities to connect with higher-ups. Especially towards the end of the year, any major or minor meetings related to the industry would include him for discussions.
Don't underestimate this. Often, being familiar to the higher-ups is crucial for career advancement. In other words, having leaders recognize you is much more effective than presenting them with cold, hard data and reports.
While Lu Heming might be somewhat autocratic and harsh within the company, he performed exceptionally well in front of the leaders. For every directive from a meeting, he would study it carefully, distill the key points, polish them, and then consult the main leaders before disseminating them.
In just a few days, Lu Heming's name became well-known in the supervising departments. "Solid" and "humble"—these two words of praise from a leader's mouth are worth their weight in gold. Lu Heming earned these evaluations.
These past few days, after passing down the directives and instructions from the higher-ups, he felt refreshed and began discussing year-end benefits with the managers. When someone is happy, everything feels brighter. In his good mood, the year-end bonus for Hongqi this year was exceptionally generous.
However, joy can turn into sorrow. Just as the meeting had adjourned, someone from the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) arrived. Lu Heming had been frequenting the SASAC in Jinmen recently, so when he heard about the visitor, he thought it was for association-related matters.
Receiving a call from his secretary, he hurried back to his office from the meeting room.
"Oh, Director Liu, if you had any business, you could have just called me over. Why did you come in person...?" Before he even entered the room, Lu Heming greeted warmly. But upon seeing the visitor's expression, he sensed something was wrong.
So, he stopped smiling and cautiously asked, "Director Liu, is there an urgent matter to convey?"
The visitor didn't respond directly but took a document from his briefcase, placed it on the coffee table, and pushed it towards him.
"Take a look for yourself. Lao Lu, I'm sorry, but this is an order from the top to be strictly investigated. The auditors will be here soon. If there's anything you need to say, now is the time."
Lu Heming was startled by these words!
He quickly picked up the document and skimmed through it.
After reading just a few lines, he felt as if someone had hit him hard on the back of his head with a big stick!
Flipping to the last page, he saw that the whistleblower's name was clearly written as Luan Qingsheng, and his heart sank.
He thought to himself: It's over, there's trouble at home.
NEXTNEXT