That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1445 You want to use me as a pawn?
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, it was supposed to be Lao Meng's shift, but Li Ye waited from eight in the morning until eleven o'clock, and Lao Meng still hadn't come to relieve Li Ye.

Unable to bear it any longer, Li Ye had no choice but to make a phone call: "Brother Meng, when are you arriving at the office?"

Old Meng said with difficulty, "Oh dear, all my father-in-law's kids are here today. Little Li, could you cover for me for a day?"

Li Ye immediately said, "That won't do! My father-in-law has already called me twice; he's waiting for me to cook!"

Old Meng pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "I see! Then I'll have Old Gao cover for me for a while, I'll just chat with my brother-in-law for a bit and then leave."

Li Ye smiled and said, "I have no objection to that, but I'm worried someone might cause trouble. You wouldn't believe it! Someone actually called to check up on me on New Year's Eve."

Old Meng remained silent for a long time before saying in a deep voice, "Oh, alright then! Wait for me for another ten minutes."

"Okay, okay, I'll start packing now."

Li Ye hung up the phone, a faint chill creeping onto his face.

Old Meng's behavior is a classic example of taking advantage of one's age and connections. He acts like a Buddhist at work, doing nothing, taking no responsibility, and not suffering any losses, but he always tries to get a share of the benefits.

But you're usually so easygoing, and now you're trying to bully people during the Lunar New Year?
From New Year's Eve to the third day of the Lunar New Year, Li Ye and Ma Zhaoxian were on duty day and night. Only one daytime shift on the second day of the Lunar New Year was assigned to Lao Meng, but he wanted to push it back to Li Ye.

Moreover, he was also subtly talking to Li Ye about his father-in-law and brother-in-law.
How long has your father-in-law been retired? Are you really that close to your brother-in-law? My parents-in-law are still in their prime! My wife and brother-in-law also have bright futures ahead of them, and I haven't even dared to show off my superiority. What are you showing off to me for?
Around midnight, Lao Meng finally arrived leisurely. Li Ye smelled the alcohol on him and was furious!
[You old codger, did you finish drinking before you came to relieve me? Don't you know you can't work after drinking?]

And that's not all. As soon as Lao Meng arrived, he complained to Li Ye: "Hey, you know, this Jingnan Group isn't our own Jingnan Group. Shang Bin and the others are also part of the group!"
We suffered a loss when we merged; they got three out of four promotion slots, and now we're still at a disadvantage when it comes to actually doing the work.

"Tell me about the Spring Festival duty shifts. We sent three people, while they only sent one, and they even chose the third day of the Lunar New Year. It's really infuriating to compare ourselves to others."

"."

Li Ye glanced at Lao Meng, who was full of complaints, and knew that he was trying to shift the blame and transfer his own mistakes onto the people at Southwest Heavy Truck.

The people from Southwest Heavy Truck did indeed benefit, so you, Lao Meng, are trying to take advantage of me, right?
Li Ye smiled and said, "You can't say that. If we don't seize this opportunity of the group merger, who knows when everyone will get promoted?"

Old Meng immediately laughed and said, "Hehehe, yes, yes, Brother Li, you've had a smooth run these past few years, winning three levels in a row. To be honest, if it weren't for you, we would have really lost out big time in this merger."

"."

Li Ye was truly impressed.

Is Li Ye the biggest beneficiary of this group merger? It's clearly Lao Meng, isn't it?
How old is Li Ye? What great achievements has he made in the past few years? His promotion is a sure thing, it's just a matter of a few years sooner or later.

Old Meng is already in his fifties and has lived a laid-back life his whole life. He has no impressive achievements to show for it, so this opportunity to rise in rank is like a windfall for him. Yet, he still thinks that Li Ye has made a great profit.

Doesn't he realize that without Li Ye, would this group merger even exist? Even if Lao Meng had the connections, would he have gotten such a good thing?
So Li Ye laughed and said, "Yes, yes, some people clearly made a huge profit, but they still feel like they lost out, and they're not even enthusiastic about being on duty during the Spring Festival."

"Ok?"

Old Meng narrowed his eyes, looking at Li Ye with a half-smile.

He wasn't sure if Li Ye was making a veiled attack on him, but over the years, no one had ever dared to do so!

However, the next moment, Li Ye took out the Spring Festival duty roster and pointed to the phone records on it, saying, "Look, there are a total of nine duty units at Southwest Heavy Truck, and at most only three of them have people on duty."

"And look at these phone calls, they're all calling in the middle of the night to report on things. This isn't reporting on things, it's checking up on us!"

"Hiss~, they actually dare to check up on me?"

Old Meng picked up the duty roster and looked at the detailed call records, which even included the exact time and duration of each call.

He had wanted his trusted subordinate to take his place, but Li Ye said someone was checking up on him, which was why he was resentful. But now it seems...
[Could it be that I misunderstood him? Hehe~]

In a short period of time, Lao Meng had seventeen or eighteen thoughts running through his mind.

He wouldn't easily trust Li Ye; in certain matters, he'd rather kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.

Old Meng gripped the duty log and said in a deep voice, "This is a serious matter. After the holiday, you should suggest it, and we'll deal with it seriously." "Okay, okay, we'll settle this after the holiday. I'm off!"

Li Ye agreed and turned to leave.

But after he turned around, a disdainful smile appeared on his lips.

Old Meng is the kind of person who loves to eat what's readily available.

He instructed Li Ye to take the initiative to strike at Shang Bin and his group, and then wait for Shang Bin and the others to come and mediate and make concessions. In any case, Lao Meng would have to get a share during the mediation, so he could reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

Just like when Ma Zhaoxian suggested that Dong Shan be appointed as the office director a few days ago, Lao Meng didn't say a word. He just waited for Ma Zhaoxian to come and negotiate with him. In the end, he went along with it and agreed that his trusted subordinate, Lao Gao, would stay put, and he felt that Ma Zhaoxian owed him a favor.

This is a common practice in government agencies and enterprises, but using it too often has become a low-level tactic.

Li Ye has made a decision: whenever he has the chance, he will definitely get Lao Meng out of the car and will never let him stay in his car again.

As soon as Li Ye left, Lao Meng also sneered.

He threw the duty log on the table and scoffed, "You're still too green to use me as a pawn."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Li Ye rushed off work, but by the time he arrived at his father-in-law's house, it was past lunchtime.

Although Li Ye repeatedly told Wen Leyu to have dinner with her father-in-law and mother-in-law first, when Li Ye entered the house, he found that the family had not touched their chopsticks and were waiting for him, their son-in-law, to arrive before starting the meal!

What surprised Li Ye even more was that his brother-in-law and Pan Xiaoying were also having lunch at Teacher Ke's place today, which was quite unusual.

After all, if you don't visit your father-in-law's family on the second day of the Lunar New Year, he'll turn against you.

Pan Xiaoying immediately said, "I say, Deputy General Manager Li, in order to have dinner with you, your brother was already complaining of hunger at 10:30 at my dad's place, and he got my dad drunk by 11:00. But when we arrived, you were still at work. You're truly a role model."

Li Ye chuckled sheepishly, "Sister-in-law, please don't say that. I'm the youngest in the company, and everyone wants to bully me."

Pan Xiaoying glared at him: "Who bullied you? Tell me, I'm going to confront them!"

"Hehehehe~"

Teacher Ke suddenly smiled and said, "Look at Xiaoying, she's so smart. She knows that when you need someone's help, you must first lend a helping hand."

"Mom, why are you saying this about me?"

Pan Xiaoying said reproachfully, then turned to Li Ye and smiled, "Li Ye! Xiaoyu and I just discussed it, and we both think your plan is good, but you know I don't have much money, so regarding the shares..."

Li Ye looked at Pan Xiaoying, then said with a puzzled expression, "That's not right, is it? Sister-in-law, you don't have money, but my brother does!"

"Your brother is rich? How much money does he have?"

"Tens of millions, I guess!"

Li Ye hesitated for a moment, then added, "I'm talking about US dollars."

Pan Xiaoying looked at Wen Guohua in surprise, her eyebrows furrowed, and asked sharply, "Guohua, where did you get the money?"

Wen Guohua turned to look at Li Ye, and although he didn't say anything, his eyes said, "Brother, what are you doing?"

Li Ye pointed at his mother-in-law: "We have money, isn't it just because my older brother has money? Our mother has been saving her royalties for many years. Although our mother said that there is no need to touch this money, as long as our older brother says so, would our mother not give her the money?"

So, sister-in-law, do you really think my brother is a poor kid? Do you really think my brother is short of money?

"."

(End of this chapter)