Lin Minglan was not a fool; she wouldn't believe him with just a few words. What if it was a trap set by him and his daughter? She couldn't easily fall for it. Feigning concern, she asked, "Uncle Shen, is there some misunderstanding between you and your daughter?"
"No misunderstanding," Shen Zhizhong gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with hatred. "She's an unfilial daughter, she doesn't deserve to be my child!"
Lin Minglan's eyes flickered. "Can you tell me what exactly happened between you two?"
Since Shen Zhizhong wanted to cooperate with her, he naturally wouldn't hide anything, though it was difficult to speak about. "She found some baseless evidence and colluded with the company shareholders to oust me from Shen Group."
He deliberately told a half-truth. If he wanted to enter the Lin family's company, he absolutely could not let her know what he had done within his own company.
Only then did Lin Minglan believe him, and she said indignantly, "She's gone too far! No matter what, you are her father. Doesn't she know the saying 'blood is thicker than water'?"
"Doing this is simply rebellious!"
Shen Zhizhong slowly lowered his head, utterly dejected. "I never expected her to be so ruthless. It's all because I doted on my younger daughter more between her and her sister. But that's because the younger daughter grew up by my side and was always sickly. It's only natural for a father to dote on her more."
Lin Minglan nodded repeatedly. "You're right. Furthermore, there are no bad parents in the world. No matter what parents do, children should unconditionally support them."
"Miss Lin, I didn't expect you to be so understanding." He praised her first, then smoothly stated his request. "I was kicked out of the company by her. I don't dare to stay anywhere else..."
"Don't worry, Uncle," Lin Minglan was also a clever woman and immediately understood Shen Zhizhong's intention. "My family's company is indeed short-handed. If you don't mind, I can recommend you to join."
Shen Zhizhong was delighted but still put on an act. "Won't that be too much trouble?"
"Not at all. I'll arrange it for you tomorrow. You can start working directly."
Lin Minglan wore a gentle smile on her face.
Shen Zhizhong repeatedly expressed his gratitude. The next day, he got ready early and went to Lin Group. He expected Lin Minglan to give him a position, so he slicked back his hair and wore a sharp suit.
To his surprise, as soon as he arrived at the company, he was led to a workstation.
"I'll be working here?" Shen Zhizhong thought he would have a private office.
This area had over 20 people. Not only would the crowd distract him while working, but the chatter during downtime would likely be noisy enough.
The man who led him in glanced at him dismissively. "Do you think you're here to be the general manager? And you still want an office?"
Shen Zhizhong was taken aback. "Even if not the general manager, I should at least be a department manager."
Given his qualifications and age, even being a department manager would be an underutilization of his talents.
He thought this was only natural, then he heard the man opposite him scoff. "Now I understand how Mr. Shen managed to run such a large company. So it was by being thick-skinned."
Shen Zhizhong glared at him. "What did you say?"
The man, who had initially put on a polite facade, now dropped it entirely. He crossed his arms, his face full of arrogance. "I don't care what position you held or where you worked before. Here, you must obey orders and listen to your superiors, or I have the right to fire you!"
"You can't fire me, Miss Lin arranged for me to be here."
"So you admit you got in through connections? Then let me tell you the truth, even if Miss Lin arranged it, you have to prove yourself here. If you lack competence, it doesn't matter if it's Miss Lin or even Mr. Lin, I will handle matters by the book."
The man was not afraid of him at all. In fact, he felt he had lost face by being challenged by Shen Zhizhong in front of everyone. He pulled over a nearby chair and placed one foot on it.
"Today, I'll teach you the first lesson: when you join the company, you must treat your superiors with respect. Do as you're told when asked to do something."
Shen Zhizhong stared at the shoe, motionless.
"Clean my shoe, and you can stay and start your work today."
Otherwise, he would be fired.
The surrounding people had all seen the situation and were watching without anyone speaking up for him. Clearly, bullying new employees was not a new occurrence.
Most of them were even enjoying the spectacle.
Watching someone being bullied and unable to resist felt exhilarating.
Some even heckled, "Wipe it! If you don't wipe it, get out of the company!"
This was an immense humiliation for Shen Zhizhong, who was accustomed to wielding power. However, getting into this company was a rare opportunity. If he left this company...
He would only be able to stay at home.
He had held a high position in Shen Group and had accumulated many connections and made many friends over the years, but he had also made many enemies.
He gritted his teeth and endured it.
Seeing him stiffly squat down, the man felt an immense sense of satisfaction. Who didn't know he was the former president of Shen Group? Making him polish his shoes felt incredibly impressive!
Shen Zhizhong's joints felt stiff as he squatted down, his movements incredibly stiff and slow. Although it only took a second to squat down, he felt as though this second stretched on endlessly.
From shame and anger to numbness and indifference, after he finished, he felt as if he were in a dream, as if he couldn't even feel the surrounding mocking gazes.
However, after he stood up, he realized that the process of polishing the shoes was etched vividly in his memory, and a sense of humiliation washed over him. His hands, hanging by his sides, trembled slightly.
It was anger, and it was shame.
He hated Shen Qingqing even more. All of this was thanks to her!
...
Shen Qingqing had been quite busy with work lately. Shen Group had many loopholes under Shen Zhizhong's management, and it required a significant amount of time and effort to fix them all.
As a result, she had no time to look after the children.
However, she didn't feel at ease leaving the children with others. So, she called Zhang Xiaotao. Coincidentally, Zhang Xiaotao was on leave and agreed without hesitation upon hearing her request.
That afternoon, she packed up and came over.
She was fair-skinned, with delicate features, and petite. Unlike Shen Qingqing's dazzling beauty, she was more refined and petite, yet also charming.
Especially her personality, cheerful and lively, she quickly bonded with Shen Jinxi and Chenchen. Shen Qingqing had initially worried that the children wouldn't accept her, but seeing them play together, she was finally relieved.
"Then you all have fun. I'll go back to work now." Shen Qingqing still had some documents to handle at the company.
"Mommy, when will you be back?"
"About an hour and a half," Shen Qingqing had actually wanted to work overtime until late. But upon hearing her son's words and seeing his expectant gaze, she found herself unable to say it. "Be good at home, and Mommy will bring you cake when I get back."
"Miss Shen, please rest assured. I will definitely take good care of the two young masters," Zhang Xiaotao promised, patting her chest.