Wen Ran's gaze swept past the speechless, shocked Zhou Mingfu as she called out to Secretary Li outside the door. The next second, Secretary Li entered and respectfully asked, "Miss Wen, what are your orders?"
Privately, Li Jie and Wen Ran were close, but in public she addressed her as "Miss Wen."
"You now need to call everyone who's taken leave. They must come to the company for a meeting within one hour. Those who don't show up—tomorrow, the Finance Department will finalize their wages."
"Wen Ran, don't you have no right to do that? They followed the proper leave procedures. You can't just fire them," protested Li Jie.
"Proper procedures? When those procedures paralyze the pharmaceutical division, can you really call that proper? And what about Uncle Zhou's remark about employees' unstable emotions? I simply don't want to force anyone. If some people are unwilling to work properly or have ulterior motives, even if it means letting the pharmaceutical division collapse, I will never give those petty people the chance to get away with it!"
Her final words were absolute—not only would she not allow the petty ones to prevail, but she would also find evidence to ensure that those responsible for her parents' death were punished by law.
"Miss Wen, I'm going to make the calls right away," Li Jie replied before leaving the office to head back to her desk.
"Uncle Zhou, will you go calm the employees' emotions, or should I?"
Wen Ran fixed her cold, resolute gaze on Zhou Mingfu. All her emotions were kept hidden behind a serene expression. She possessed the decisiveness every leader should have.
She knew she couldn't afford to be weak or afraid—even if she had to cross mountains of fire and water, she would move forward.
A malicious glint flashed in Zhou Mingfu's eyes. He realized he had underestimated Wen Ran's capability. Despite the tragedy of her parents' death and her brother's coma, she had not crumbled; instead, she had grown up overnight.
Just as he hesitated about whether to compromise, Wen Ran's phone rang. Seeing the caller ID, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes, and her slender fingers pressed the answer button, "Hello!"
"Speaker mode!"
On the other end, Mo Xiuchen's deep, magnetic voice resonated. Wen Ran paused for a moment, then quickly switched to speaker. Even over the phone, his deep voice carried an awe-inspiring authority:
"…I've already had Assistant Qin arrange for people. Whenever you need them, just let him know. And if you don't want to handle it all by yourself, I can also send someone over to help manage the pharmaceutical division."
A light smile spread across Wen Ran's face as she treated the gloomy Zhou Mingfu as if he weren't even there. In a soft tone, she said, "Xiuchen, thank you. I still have some matters to attend to here. When I need assistance, I'll contact Assistant Qin."
"Mm. And remember, if you encounter any difficulties, come to me anytime. You are my wife—your matters are my matters!"
"I know. I have a few things to handle here; I'll call you later."
After hanging up, Wen Ran looked up at Zhou Mingfu. Though he seethed with hatred inside and gritted his teeth, he had no choice but to suppress his anger. Reluctantly, he said word for word, "I'll go now to calm the employees' emotions."
"Then thank you, Uncle Zhou!"
Wen Ran raised an eyebrow, and a bright smile played on her lips. That smile was so dazzling that it seemed to irritate him further. In his anger, Zhou Mingfu couldn't help but ironically laugh as he said, "This is what I should do. Once Arin marries Zixuan, you'll be sisters-in-law. Among family, there's no need for such formalities."