He scanned the room, did a quick count, and saw at least thirty or forty people.

’As expected of a major corporation,’ he thought. ’Just the senior management at headquarters is this numerous.’

Fang Chenyi nodded, then motioned for everyone to put their hands down before speaking again.

"Alright. Now, let’s see the department deputies. How many of our mid-level managers are here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, people from the fourth row all the way to the sixth raised their hands. By the looks of it, there were also about thirty to forty of them.

He nodded again, his gaze finally settling on the last six rows.

"Then the rest of you must all be our company’s junior management."

The words had barely left his mouth when a timid voice piped up from a corner in the very last row.

"Um, I’m not sure which level I belong to..."

At that, everyone turned to look at the back row. Their eyes fell upon an older woman in a janitor’s uniform. Instantly, the whole room broke into laughter.

Fang Chenyi couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. He smiled at the woman and asked.

"Ma’am, may I ask how many people you manage?"

The woman had only spoken on a whim and hadn’t expected the chairman to actually hear her. She was a bit frightened at first, but seeing Fang Chenyi’s smiling eyes, she puffed out her chest.

"I manage a lot of people! All the cleaners in this building listen to me! There are more than thirty of them!"

Her words drew even louder laughter from the crowd.

But Fang Chenyi just smiled and nodded.

"That’s quite a few, actually. By that logic, you should be considered senior management. Come on, come sit up front."

Fang Chenyi found the woman amusing. Plus, his own system was somewhat related to cleaning, so he invited her to the front.

He didn’t expect the woman to be so straightforward. Hearing the chairman’s words, she grinned, trotted to the front, found an empty seat—left vacant by someone not in the office—and plopped right down.

She even muttered to herself, "Wow, I never thought I’d get to sit on such a soft sofa. Hehe, thank you, Mr. Chairman."

Watching the cleaning lady, the sly smile of an old fox crept onto Lu Zhisen’s lips.

It was actually his idea to bring the cleaning lady here. He wanted to show Fang Chenyi that in this company, even the lowest-ranking janitor had to listen to him.

Fang Chenyi didn’t pay much attention to this little interlude.

Fang Chenyi took out his phone and glanced at the screen, then turned his head slightly to look at Qi Xiaotian.

Seeing this, Qi Xiaotian took advantage of the murmuring crowd to discreetly slip off the stage and exit the conference room.

After holding up a hand to quiet everyone down, Fang Chenyi picked up the microphone again and addressed the crowd.

"Alright, alright. Every position deserves our respect. I won’t emphasize that point any further. I’ve gotten a preliminary introduction to everyone now. So, let’s move on to the main topic for today. I’m here primarily to announce three personnel appointments and dismissals."

At this, Fang Chenyi paused. The room immediately erupted in discussion. No one understood what the new chairman meant. ’Is he planning to install his own cronies in the company?’

Everyone’s gazes shifted to the stern-faced, silent middle-aged man beside the chairman. They instantly understood. ’That must be it. I just wonder what kind of position the chairman will give him.’

It wasn’t just the crowd; even Lu Zhisen at the very front had long anticipated this. But he wasn’t worried. ’So what if he brings someone in? It doesn’t matter what position he gives him. Even if he makes him my deputy, a second executive vice president, so what? He’ll still be a powerless figurehead under my control.’

Sure enough, after the discussions died down a bit, Fang Chenyi turned to the middle-aged man beside him and announced to everyone.

"The first personnel appointment concerns the gentleman beside me, Mr. Bai Zhenhua. Effective immediately, he will assume the position of our group’s First Executive Vice President. All group affairs, large and small, will be handled by President Bai."

As he finished, his father-in-law took a step forward and nodded to the audience.

But the crowd below began buzzing like a swarm of flies. The senior executives, in particular, all turned to look at Lu Zhisen.

Lu Zhisen was stunned for a moment. When reality set in, he could no longer remain calmly seated. ’The First Executive Vice President is my position! Now this Bai-something is taking it, so what am I supposed to do? Are there going to be two executive vice presidents? Or am I supposed to be his deputy?’

At that thought, Lu Zhisen shot to his feet. He first swept his gaze over the crowd, then held up a hand to silence the uproar.

Then he turned to Fang Chenyi and demanded.

"Mr. Chairman, what is the meaning of this? I don’t quite understand. The First Executive Vice President is my position, isn’t it? Now that you’ve given it to this gentleman, what am I supposed to do? Are we to have two vice presidents? That won’t do. The company can only have one person in charge."

Hearing this, the senior executives below immediately began to voice their agreement.

Seeing this, Fang Chenyi simply smiled and waved his hand dismissively before looking at Lu Zhisen and saying.

"President Lu, don’t be so anxious. Didn’t I just say that I have three personnel announcements to make today? Once I’m done with the second one, the third will naturally be about you."

Hearing this, Lu Zhisen’s face filled with suspicion. He couldn’t figure out what this new chairman was playing at. He refused to believe the man could actually demote him.

This time, Fang Chenyi’s gaze swept across the senior executives in the front row, lingering for a moment on the seven or eight women among them.

"Alright, who is our Chief Financial Officer? Please raise your hand so I can see."

As he spoke, the CFO, sitting in the crowd, felt her heart drop. She remembered the phone call when this chairman had told her to get lost. ’But didn’t President Lu promise he would take care of this?’

At that thought, her eyes darted toward Lu Zhisen. Lu Zhisen’s brow was deeply furrowed. ’It seems this new chairman really has no intention of giving me any face.’

’Hmph, if I don’t show him what’s what, he really won’t know his place!’

With that in mind, he shot a meaningful look at the other senior executives, who all nodded in understanding.

Seeing their response, Lu Zhisen spoke up again.

"Mr. Chairman, the CFO didn’t recognize you before, so there may have been some verbal misunderstanding. You know the old saying, ’There is no crime in ignorance.’ You’re a magnanimous man; how about we just let this go?"

As soon as Lu Zhisen finished, the senior executives below immediately began to chime in with their agreement.

Seeing this unfold, the CFO breathed a silent sigh of relief.