After Rebirth, Married to a Deadly Enemy - Chapter 43

“By the way, there’s something I need to tell you,” Ji Yuanwu said as he followed Bai Xiangxing back to the office. The office used to be his, but now returning as a guest, he felt completely at ease and took a seat on the guest sofa.

 

Bai Xiangxing made tea and personally brought it over. “Please, uncle, go ahead.”

 

“You had the finance department stop my salary, didn’t you?” Ji Yuanwu had returned home happily on the third day of Bai Xiangxing taking over the company, spending the past few months traveling with his wife and enjoying life. However, he hadn’t done anything productive during this time, yet the company continued to pay him his salary, even giving him a raise at one point.

 

Feeling uneasy about receiving money for doing nothing, Ji Yuanwu called the finance department, but they said he hadn’t completed the resignation procedures and was still considered an employee, so his salary was being rightfully paid. Only then did he personally bring up the matter with Bai Xiangxing.

 

Bai Xiangxing paused for a moment, recalling vaguely that the finance department’s Zhang Hongming had asked him if he wanted to stop Ji Yuanwu’s salary. Glancing at Ji Yuanwu’s salary, which was only ten thousand star coins a month, he couldn’t bring himself to make Ji Yuanwu uncomfortable over such a small amount of money, so he waved his hand and instructed Zhang Hongming to continue paying him.

 

“Uncle, you’re the company’s vice president, it’s natural to receive a salary,” Bai Xiangxing said. After taking over as the new CEO of Xinshi, Ji Yuanwu became the vice president, but it was merely a title without any actual responsibilities.

 

“This vice president title is just for show, I don’t do anything, so why should I get paid?” Ji Yuanwu waved his hand repeatedly. “You better stop it, I feel uneasy keeping this money.”

 

“It’s not a big deal. Many companies’ shareholders hold positions in the company without actively working. Consider it an early dividend,” Bai Xiangxing suggested.

 

“A dividend is a dividend, a salary is a salary. If it’s not my money, I won’t take it,” Ji Yuanwu said, then chuckled. “Actually, I asked Old Zhang quietly, and he said I’ll receive a hefty dividend at the end of the year, enough to cover several years of my past salary.”

 

“When did you ask Zhang Hongming that? If you calculate it now, you probably have almost half of your lifetime’s salary,” Bai Xiangxing remarked silently, deciding to surprise him with it during the New Year. “So, what do you plan to do next, uncle?”

 

“Sigh, I was thinking of joining Old Du’s transportation company, but he said I didn’t meet their recruitment standards and rejected me,” Ji Yuanwu said regretfully.

 

Rejected? An ex-security team leader and company vice president and shareholder got rejected?

 

“What standards?” Bai Xiangxing was curious; Ji Yuanwu was a former military man, so he should have met the requirements.

 

“They said I exceeded the weight limit.”

 

Bai Xiangxing glanced at Ji Yuanwu’s round beer belly and couldn’t help but think that Ji Yuanwu’s style was quite different from that of the security team soldiers.

 

“Can I blame myself for that? I’ve been doing the CEO’s job all along, going out for banquets every day, with no time to exercise. But it’s okay, I’ve decided. From now on, I’ll lose weight and exercise. When I meet the standards, I’ll reapply,” Ji Yuanwu clenched his fist.

 

“If you really want to go, I can talk to Captain Du for you,” Bai Xiangxing offered.

 

“No, that would be using connections, it’s embarrassing,” Ji Yuanwu refused. 

 

“…” Alright, consider me meddling too much.

 

“All right, I won’t disturb your work anymore, I’ll leave first,” Ji Yuanwu said, finishing the tea in his cup in one gulp and getting ready to leave.

 

“Uncle, I do have a job that I’d like your help with,” Bai Xiangxing suddenly said.

 

“You’re not asking me to help manage the company, are you? Let me tell you, I can’t do it. You better remove me from the position of vice president quickly. If not, I’ll go to the HR department to resign,” Ji Yuanwu hastily replied.

 

“No,” Bai Xiangxing reassured him. “If you wanted, I’d have pressured Du Pengjing to accept you. I’m planning to establish a new department, and I need someone to head it. You won’t need to discuss business; just oversee it for me.”

 

“Go on,” Ji Yuanwu, who had been traveling for several months and enjoyed it, but found it boring to continue indefinitely, otherwise, he wouldn’t have approached Du Pengjing to join the transportation company. Now, hearing that Bai Xiangxing had a job arrangement for him, he felt invigorated. “As long as I’m capable, I’ll do it.”

 

“You are, it’s very suitable for you,” Bai Xiangxing smiled. “I’m planning to establish a school in District 64 to recruit talents. I want you to be the principal.”

 

“Principal?!” Ji Yuanwu was stunned. He hadn’t been to school for many years, and now he only had basic literacy skills left. How could he be a principal? “No, I’m not educated enough to be a principal.”

 

“In other places, principals may need educated individuals, but in District 64, we need someone like you to manage it effectively,” Bai Xiangxing explained. “Have you been to District 64?”

 

“No,” Ji Yuanwu shook his head.

 

“District 64 is a very chaotic place. People there spend their whole lives wanting to leave, but hardly anyone can. Let me tell you a story, and you’ll understand the situation there. The protagonist of the story is someone you’ve met before, Xiang Yan…” Bai Xiangxing then proceeded to tell Ji Yuanwu Xiang Yan’s story, how talented he was, how he naively wanted to leave District 64 with his independently developed formula, but ended up losing it, being oppressed, taken by underground organizations, and becoming a drug dealer, eventually getting arrested.

 

Ji Yuanwu had always been intolerant of injustice, and as he listened to the story, he gritted his teeth several times. He wished he could put on his battle armor and beat up those corrupt officials who bullied children in District 64. Such outstanding children should be nurtured by the Alliance. If not for those people delaying him, the A-grade spiritual consolation drug would have been developed long ago. How many lives could have been saved if such life-saving drugs were available a year earlier?

 

“So, the local schools in District 64 can’t be trusted anymore. I’m setting up this school to provide an opportunity for the children there. If there are geniuses like Xiang Yan, they’ll be more likely to choose us, Xinshi, for employment after graduation. It’s also a way for us to reserve talent for Xinshi. But in an environment like District 64, being the principal won’t be easy…”

 

“I’ll do it. I’ll be the principal, and I’ll see who dares to hinder my students,” Ji Yuanwu’s demeanor suddenly changed, exuding a bit of the same ferocity as Du Pengjing.

 

“That place is quite dangerous, full of unsavory characters.”

 

“I’m not afraid of anything! When I was on the battlefield back then, I saw all kinds of people…” Ji Yuanwu seemed to be feeling fierce, even swearing directly.

 

“Alright then, you can take some people to District 64 to investigate and determine the school location. There should still be some members of the security department available; you can take them with you directly. As for the others, I’ll have the HR department help you with recruitment.” Bai Xiangxing had run a school in his previous life, but that was a long time ago. He had to wait until he had enough money to establish connections before daring to set up a school in District 64. With the military backing him up in this life and having someone like Ji Yuanwu, a retired military officer, personally overseeing the school as principal, the effect should be even better.

 

Plus, he could save a lot of money!!!

 

Decision made, the salary of this principal, Uncle, will be increased by 50%.

 

Although Ji Yuanwu wasn’t good at managing a company, he had strong execution ability. After deciding to take on the role of principal, he left Bai Xiangxing’s office and went straight to Xiang Yan’s pharmaceutical research department.

 

Seeing Ji Yuanwu coming to find him, Xiang Yan looked puzzled. He had been in Xinshi for so long, but it wasn’t until today that he learned there was a vice president like Ji Yuanwu. Although the two had met in the morning, they hadn’t spoken, so why did he suddenly come to find him?

 

“It won’t be to recruit you, will it?” Dong Ziyu’s speculation wasn’t unreasonable. Unlike Xiang Yan, who had inquired about Xinshi’s background after joining, he naturally knew that Ji Yuanwu was originally the CEO of Xinshi and had stepped down to a secondary position after Bai Xiangxing arrived.

 

Xinshi is currently thriving, and ambitious people would be tempted, right?

 

“I don’t want to get involved in this,” Xiang Yan said, wanting to focus on researching pharmaceuticals.

 

“Don’t worry, with his intelligence, he can’t outsmart Bai Xiangxing. Just say a few words to brush him off,” Dong Ziyu said.

 

Xiang Yan frowned, not wanting to go out, but seeing the other party peering through the glass window into the room, he couldn’t pretend not to have seen.

 

“Fine, I’ll go out with you,” Dong Ziyu said helplessly, taking off his gloves and temporarily stopping his research to accompany Xiang Yan out of the laboratory.

 

As soon as the two of them went out, Ji Yuanwu warmly approached Xiang Yan, saying, “Hello, hello, you must be Xiang Yan. I’m Ji Yuanwu.”

 

“Mr. Ji, hello,” the two greeted politely.

 

“I have something I’d like to ask you about,” Ji Yuanwu said.

 

Xiang Yan didn’t really want to listen. “I still have research to do.”

 

“Oh? Is it urgent? Then you should hurry and research. I’ll wait for you at the door,” Ji Yuanwu said, not wanting to delay the other party upon hearing that he needed to research.

 

“…” If you’re waiting at the door, how can I continue my research?

 

The situation became awkward for a moment, and Dong Ziyu smiled and continued, “Mr. Ji, are you also interested in pharmaceutical research?”

 

“How could I understand that? I wanted to ask about District 64,” Ji Yuanwu said.

 

In military operations, the first step is to gather intelligence. Otherwise, one would be completely clueless on the battlefield and be at the mercy of others. He had never been to District 64, but Xiang Yan came from there. Inquiring with Xiang Yan would provide reliable and accurate information.

 

“Why do you want to inquire about District 64?” Xiang Yan asked strangely.

 

“Well, it’s like this. Xinshi wants to establish a school in District 64, and I’m going to be the principal. Before we go, I want to understand the situation first, so we don’t waste time when we get there,” Ji Yuanwu explained.

 

“Establish a school?”

 

“Yes, Xingxing, cough, I mean Mr. Bai, Mr. Bai told me about some situations in District 64. He thinks that the local schools in District 64 are unreliable, so he wants to establish our own school there. Our own school, as long as the students perform well and can get into college, they will all have a chance to leave District 64,” Ji Yuanwu said.

 

As long as they perform well, they can all leave District 64? How is that possible? He used to believe naively. At the age of sixteen, he participated in the college entrance examination. He clearly scored the highest in the entire district, but his name couldn’t even be found on the final list. It wasn’t just him, no one in District 64 easily left.

 

But if the current person becomes the principal and the school is established by Xinshi, independent of the administrative management of District 64, would that be possible?

 

“Really?” Xiang Yan couldn’t help but ask, his voice trembling.

 

Dong Ziyu keenly noticed the trembling in Xiang Yan’s voice.

 

“Of course, I’m about to go find a suitable location for the school. But I’ve never been there, so I wanted to ask you for some information first. After I learn about it, I’ll immediately take people to District 64. It would be great if we could catch the enrollment after the New Year,” Ji Yuanwu said, rubbing his head and then adding with a simple smile, “But it’s not urgent. You can continue your research. I’ll wait for you at the door.”

 

“I’m telling you now, what do you want to know?” Xiang Yan asked.

 

“Huh?” Ji Yuanwu looked at Xiang Yan, who suddenly became excited, and worried for him, “Aren’t you going to research pharmaceuticals anymore?”

 

Dong Ziyu covered his face. This person really didn’t catch any hints: “You guys talk, I’ll be in the lab.”

 

With that, Dong Ziyu turned and returned to the research room, leaving the space for the two of them.

 

Only then did Ji Yuanwu feel relieved and began to inquire.

 

The next day, Ji Yuanwu took six brothers from the Security Department to District 64 to prepare for the school. Meanwhile, Xinshi Transport Team led by Du Pengjing successfully completed several escort missions, including one in the most dangerous star domain of the Alliance. In just half a month, they made a profit of eight million.

 

Seeing the return on investment, Du Pengjing became more courageous and applied to purchase another battleship to expand their business. However, because some members of the Security Department still needed to continue maintaining security in the company, and some went with Ji Yuanwu to District 64, manpower suddenly became insufficient. Du Pengjing easily called back a group of former subordinates who had left Xinshi to seek other jobs.

 

The Star Pirates were also well-informed. The Xinshi Transport Company had not even opened yet, but they had already wiped out two pirate gangs in a row. They definitely couldn’t fight them head-on, but if they united, the commotion would be too big and would alarm the military. So, since they dared not touch the cargo escorted by Xinshi, they had to rob other transport companies instead.

 

Among them, the heaviest losses were suffered by the Bai family. Every once in a while, a cargo ship would depart from the capital star, and the only one not protected by Xinshi was the Bai family’s cargo ship. So the Star Pirates targeted the Bai family, robbing their cargo every time a ship left. In just half a month, the Bai family had lost fifty million worth of cargo.

 

Losses aside, if the goods couldn’t reach their destination, customers might even sue them for breach of contract.

 

“Father, what should we do? If this continues, how can we continue our business?” Bai Cang anxiously asked his father.

 

“We’ll have to find more security companies.” At present, this was the only solution. Finding more security companies would make the Star Pirates hesitate.

 

“Grandfather, you don’t know. Ever since Bai Xiangxing, that white-eyed wolf, publicly announced that their transport company wouldn’t accept our business, other transport companies have been raising their prices as soon as they see our Bai family’s orders. Our cost price for selling goods hasn’t changed, and we didn’t make much profit to begin with. If the transportation cost doubles, won’t we be losing money?” Bai Xiangqing said.

 

“What else can you do? Can you win against those pirates, or can those customers not demand compensation?” Mr. Bai looked at his disappointing and angry grandson and son. He had never been so disappointed and angry before. If it weren’t for them, Bai Xiangxing would still be an Alpha, and he would still be the CEO of Bai Enterprise.  None of this would have happened.

 

Moreover, what disappointed him the most was Bai Xiangxing. Now he could deal with him in every possible way. How didn’t he foresee the trouble caused by these idiots back then, becoming a useless Omega.

 

Seeing Mr. Bai getting angry, Bai Cang didn’t dare to speak again.

 

“Grandfather, we have to find a solution. If we don’t find a way to deliver the goods, we will lose several customers,” Bai Pharmaceutical Factory had almost lost all its customers to Xinshi. If they lost customers in other areas as well, Bai Enterprise might really be finished.

 

Mr. Bai lowered his eyebrows, a trace of coldness flashing in his eyes.