When Fang Chenyi finished speaking, everyone was bewildered, wondering what game this new chairman was playing.

However, the director of the finance department, who had already thrown her lot in with Lu Zhisen, knew she had to make a stand. If she was really fired, she would have nothing left.

At that thought, she was the first to raise her hand.

Seeing this, Fang Chenyi found it amusing and couldn’t help but tease her.

"Heh, you don’t need to raise your hand. You’re already fired."

After he said this, the finance director’s face went pale, but she kept her hand raised high.

Fang Chenyi ignored her and let his gaze sweep over the others again.

Seeing this, the others hesitated. There was safety in numbers, but whoever was the first to stick their neck out would surely be targeted for retaliation later, even if they got away with it this time.

So they all looked at each other, and for a moment, no one besides the finance director raised their hand.

Seeing this, Lu Zhisen gritted his teeth in frustration. ’These guys, dropping the ball at a critical moment!’

Of course, this wasn’t the outcome he wanted. He coughed, turning his gaze to a middle-aged subordinate, and said with a chuckle:

"Old Wang, after I’m gone, the Group will be counting on you. Especially with those new aircraft procurement contracts. You have to watch those closely. Don’t let us get the short end of the stick."

Fang Chenyi didn’t stop Lu Zhisen from speaking. He wanted to see just how many people in the Group were tied to him.

As Lu Zhisen finished, the man whose nameplate read "Wang Badan, Second Vice President," jolted. He glanced at Lu Zhisen, then turned his gaze to Fang Chenyi and declared with righteous indignation:

"I’m sorry, President Lu. I’m afraid I won’t be able to help with the Group’s affairs anymore. If the company is going to fire a man of your merit, then what’s the point of me staying? I resign, too!"

With that, Wang Badan raised his hand as well.

Though his words sounded noble, inside, Wang Badan was cursing Lu Zhisen. ’That old bastard! He brought up the new aircraft procurement on purpose. He’s clearly blackmailing me about my skimming and embezzlement on that deal.’

Now that someone had taken the lead, the other senior executives no longer hesitated. One by one, they raised their hands, all announcing their resignations.

Fang Chenyi said nothing. Instead, he took out his phone, switched it to camera mode, and with a CLICK, snapped a photo.

This move baffled everyone. Their hearts skipped a beat, and a sense of foreboding washed over them.

Sure enough, Fang Chenyi’s next words sent a chill through their hearts.

After taking the picture, Fang Chenyi put his phone away. He then smiled faintly at the people below with their hands in the air and said in a perfectly calm voice:

"Since none of you intend to work for the Group anymore, it would be pointless for me to try and persuade you to stay. So be it. I accept your resignations. Effective immediately, you are no longer part of the Southern Airlines Group!"

When he finished, everyone below was stunned into silence. After a long moment, Lu Zhisen, who was standing to one side, suddenly started to laugh.

"Heh, Chairman Fang, you’d better think this through. All of our Group’s senior executives have chosen to resign. If they all leave, the Southern Airlines Group will probably be paralyzed in an instant."

Hearing this, the worries of the now-panicked executives began to subside. Just as Lu Zhisen said, without them, the Group would surely collapse.

’This new chairman must be trying to scare us,’ they thought.

And so, with sneers on their faces, the executives began to pack their belongings, putting on a show of downing their tools and walking out.

But their movements were deliberately slow. They were waiting. Waiting for Fang Chenyi to ask them to stay.

But they were destined for disappointment.

Fang Chenyi didn’t ask them to stay. He didn’t even spare them a glance.

Beside Fang Chenyi, his father-in-law said nothing, just watched the scene below with a cold expression.

"Heh, what I just told the finance director applies to you too, President Lu. You’re no longer part of this Group, so whether it can function or not is none of your concern."

After he finished, he turned to his father-in-law with a smile.

"Looks like we have more than just three appointments and dismissals today."

His father-in-law gave a wry smile and nodded, not saying anything more.

He still couldn’t figure out what his son-in-law was up to.

Fang Chenyi’s gaze passed over the first three rows of senior executives and settled on the middle managers behind them.

"It looks like today is a great day for the employees of our Group. I hereby announce the following: Effective immediately, with the exception of the finance department, all deputy department heads are promoted one level to become department heads! The now-vacant deputy head positions will be filled by selecting the most outstanding members of our junior management. Any subsequent vacancies in junior management will be filled by promoting the most qualified employees! All compensation and benefits will be upgraded to match these new promotions!"

The room erupted in an uproar.

Fang Chenyi’s words had been a bombshell, instantly setting the conference room alight.

All the senior executives were stunned. All the middle and junior managers were stunned, too.

But after their initial shock, the senior executives were filled with deep regret, fear, and resentment.

The middle and junior managers, however, were overcome with ecstasy. Who could have imagined that such a windfall would come so suddenly! Some deputy heads had toiled at the Group for most of their lives, held back and frustrated simply because they hadn’t sided with Lu Zhisen. Now, they could finally hold their heads high.

Amid the buzz of discussion, someone’s voice suddenly rang out:

"Chairman Fang is brilliant! We’ll get our departments back on track immediately! We’ll have everything back to normal in three days—no, two days, guaranteed!"

This shout resonated with the other middle and junior managers, who all began thumping their chests and making similar guarantees.

Seeing this from the stage, Fang Chenyi couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Things hadn’t spiraled out of control. This was precisely why he had demanded all management attend the meeting. ’And I have no idea what Lu Zhisen was thinking,’ he mused, ’to ’cooperate’ so perfectly with my plan for a complete overhaul.’

In the midst of the commotion, the doors to the conference room were suddenly thrown open. A middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and carrying a folder strode in.

He saw Fang Chenyi on the dais and walked briskly toward him.

"Chairman Fang, I’m Ma Dacheng, a director at Penguin Audit. Time was short, but we’ve completed a preliminary audit of your Group’s accounts for the past month. Here are the results."

As he spoke, he handed the folder to Fang Chenyi.

*PS: Fourth update of the day! An extra Chapter for all the bros in the group chat who were demanding one!*