vncnus Chapter 22 Intensification
Chapter 22 Intensification
The lights in the top-floor office area of Yinghai Group are still on even though it is dark.
When Xu Feng left the chairman's office, he felt a deep sense of resentment, but his face remained impassive. He held the signed and stamped interim audit working papers of Tianke in his hand, his steps steady, his back straight, maintaining the demeanor of a core member of the group's audit team, upholding justice and impartiality. No one could see his disappointment at leaving empty-handed, much less the pent-up frustration within him.
He completed the entire process at Tianke in compliance with regulations, with flawless procedures and an impeccable attitude. In the end, he submitted a bland rectification report that only addressed procedural flaws and avoided touching on core interests. On the surface, everyone could say that Xu Feng was fair and tactful in his work; but only Xu Feng himself knew that he had not obtained anything that the chairman truly wanted.
What Zhao Xiankun wanted was never a few process rectification forms or a few suggestions for internal control optimization; he wanted a hard knife that could penetrate the heart of Tianke, seize financial power, split up real power, and control Huang Lilin and Xia Ming. But after two days of auditing, the knife only touched a thin layer of skin, without even drawing a drop of blood.
But Xu Feng had no way to vent his anger, much less to confront them on the spot. The entire Tianke team cooperated flawlessly, the accounts were so compliant that there was no room for criticism, and Xia Ming handled matters with impeccable discretion, always adhering to the rules, not crossing the line, not creating problems, and not contradicting anyone. In addition, with the overall listing plan looming in mind, Lin Chen firmly suppressed all internal conflicts at the top level. Even if Xu Feng was furious, he could only swallow his anger.
But that doesn't mean the matter is over.
Back in the audit department office, Xu Feng locked up the Tianke documents, sat down at his workstation, and opened the group's annual internal control audit schedule, which had been set at the beginning of the year.
The forms are in black and white, the procedures have been finalized long ago, and they remain unchanged throughout the year.
This round of special risk control audits was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, nor was it a targeted attack on Tianke alone. It was a comprehensive audit covering all subsidiaries, uniformly deployed by the group's listing compliance team, personally signed and confirmed by Lin Chen, and collectively approved by the chairman's office meeting. Tianke is just the first stop. Next, all core industrial subsidiaries with "Tian" in their names—Tiancheng, Tianhe, Tianzheng, and Tianzhu—will be thoroughly audited according to unified standards, unified criteria, and unified working papers. No one can be missed.
This is a system, a process, a mandatory compliance procedure that must be completed before listing.
Xu Feng stared at the form for a long time, a cold light slowly forming in his eyes.
Tianke is too tough, Xia Ming is too cunning, and the industry's unspoken rules are deeply entrenched. Coupled with the other party's advance planning and layered defenses, it's truly impossible to find a starting point or obtain any substantial incriminating evidence. However, other subsidiaries may not have such a solid foundation, may not have Xia Ming's comprehensive skills, and may not have laid out compliance records and closed all loopholes in the process months in advance.
If we can't crack Tianke, we can always find real problems in these remaining subsidiaries, and we can always find serious flaws that can withstand scrutiny, be brought to the forefront, and directly hold management accountable.
If the audit results of the subsequent subsidiaries are solid enough, and the violations found are significant, numerous, and serious enough, it can make up for the regret of Tianke's failure, give the chairman a satisfactory explanation, and prove that it is not a matter of lacking ability or being unable to do things, but simply that Tianke itself is too impregnable.
With his mind made up, Xu Feng suppressed all distracting thoughts, stopped dwelling on Tianke's gains and losses, and immediately began to arrange the subsequent rounds of audits.
The following morning, the Group's Audit Department officially issued an internal notice, simultaneously copying it to the Chairman's Office, the Chief Economist's Office, and the general manager's office groups of all industrial subsidiaries: This round of pre-listing special compliance audits has successfully concluded at the Tianke site. Starting tomorrow, the entire audit team will relocate and, according to the established schedule, sequentially enter the four core subsidiaries: Tiancheng Construction, Tianhe Construction, Tianzheng Municipal, and Tianzhu Labor Support. Throughout the process, standards will not be lowered, rigor will not be relaxed, and discipline will remain unchanged. The Group's unified audit red lines will be strictly enforced to comprehensively investigate operational and internal control risks and fully solidify the compliance foundation of the listing statements.
As soon as the notice was issued, everyone in the group immediately understood.
Just as things calmed down at Tianke, an audit storm with a wider scope, broader coverage, and more people involved is about to sweep across all leading industrial sectors.
Inside the General Manager's Office of Tianke Building.
When Huang Lilin saw the internal notification, he had just picked up his teacup. After reading the message, he casually put the teacup down on the table, his brows furrowing instantly. His tone was filled with obvious dissatisfaction and impatience: "Is this never going to end? You just finished investigating Tianke, and now you're going to go after everyone else? Is Xu Feng just venting his frustration because he didn't get any benefits?"
Xia Ming sat calmly on the opposite sofa, flipping through the project payment progress chart without even looking up. His tone was indifferent and composed: "It has nothing to do with Xu Feng's personal emotions. It's a group-wide audit plan that was set at the beginning of the year. It's a necessary compliance measure for listing, and we're following the proper procedures. No one can stop us."
"Even standard procedures have their timing!" Huang Lilin was still indignant. "Right now, projects are rushing to meet deadlines, payments are due by the deadlines, and government-business interactions are all happening at the right time. Everyone is so busy that they barely have time to breathe. For him to lead the audit team to each company and find fault is just adding to the chaos!"
"Making trouble is one thing, but following the rules is another." Xia Ming finally raised his eyes, his gaze steady. "President Lin's side needs absolute compliance, the chairman needs absolute control, and the listing materials need to be absolutely clean. In the face of the big picture, we feel that making trouble is not important; what's important is that the procedures are completed. Xu Feng is just a tool to carry out the mission; where the tool is used is not up to him."
Huang Lilin paused, then sighed and waved his hand irritably: "I just feel sorry for my old brothers. We're the kind of people who stick to the real economy and get things done, running around for projects, taking risks, funding, and maintaining stability at construction sites every day, and in the end, we get scrutinized and nitpicked by auditors. We're pleasing neither side. Wang Yang from Tiancheng, Lao Zhou from Tianhe, and Lao Qi from Tianzheng—they're all straightforward. How can they stand Xu Feng's ruthless, uncompromising approach to auditing?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Ming's lips curled into a faint smile: "Whether you can bear it or not, you have to bear it. Xu Feng is following the rules, which will help temper everyone's temper. Once the other subsidiaries uncover a bunch of problems and the resentment has built up enough, someone will naturally step in to clean up the mess."
Huang Lilin's heart skipped a beat: "You mean... something bad is going to happen later?"
"Something was bound to go wrong." Xia Ming nodded calmly. "Tianke has a solid foundation, its processes were completed in advance, and I checked things at every level beforehand, which is why there were only minor flaws. Tiancheng is rough and haphazard, Tianhe is lax, and Tianzheng's accounts are outdated. They are all real historical problems, management loopholes, and non-compliant old accounts. Xu Feng is using a one-size-fits-all, rigid standard to investigate, without considering the actual situation in the industry or the difficulties on the ground. He's just sticking to the paper rules, and he's bound to find something wrong with every investigation, and he'll find a whole bunch of problems."
He could see it clearly: what followed was a stage where the conflict would intensify, resentment would build up, and the situation would gradually spiral out of control.
At the same time, the offices of Yinghai Group's other top-tier subsidiaries were in an uproar.
Tiancheng Construction, General Manager's Office.
Holding his phone, Wang Yang looked at the notification that the auditors were about to arrive. His face immediately darkened, and he spoke bluntly, unable to contain his anger: "Has Xu Feng gone mad? He just left Tianke, and now he wants to raid every single one of our businesses? We at Tianke work diligently, pay our taxes honestly, and carry the group's revenue, performance targets, and cash flow day in and day out. Why should we be subjected to his constant harassment?"
The head of the cost department quickly advised, "Mr. Wang, calm down and don't get worked up. The audit is a unified arrangement of the group, not targeting us. If we insist on going through with it, we'll only suffer losses. It's better to organize the data in advance and just get by."
"Deal with it? How are we supposed to deal with it?" Wang Yang's voice didn't lessen. "Tiancheng has many small projects, many sporadic works, and many temporary workers. We've been doing it this way for years. It's all old industry practice and convention! Xu Feng is young and impetuous, he doesn't understand the hardships on the ground, and he uses rigid rules from headquarters to force frontline operations. When the time comes, he'll nitpick indiscriminately, magnifying small things and creating trouble where there is none. Who can stand that?"
Wang Yang knew very well that his company's management had always been rather lax, unlike Tianke, which had Xia Ming's meticulous control and proactive risk mitigation. If Xu Feng were to investigate thoroughly and rigorously, a host of problems would inevitably surface.
On Tianhe Construction's side, CEO Zhou Jianshe looked utterly helpless.
Zhou Jianshe has worked in the industry for thirty years, a true veteran in the construction industry, his entire life rooted in on-site work. He doesn't understand office politics or the intricacies of paperwork. Looking at the audit notice, he sighed directly in front of the team members: "We in the construction industry rely on flexible on-site scheduling, interpersonal relationships, and meeting deadlines. Variable advance payments, temporary visas, and on-site emergency expenses are all rules for survival. Xu Feng sits in his office looking at the ledgers; how could he understand the difficulties on the front lines of a construction site? After this round of audits, we definitely won't escape being criticized and taking the blame."
Qi Lu, the head of Tianzheng Municipal Administration, was more composed, but he couldn't help but sigh privately, confiding to his trusted deputy: "Xu Feng's round of audits isn't about compliance, it's about attitude. Whoever cooperates will be safe, and whoever opposes him will be in trouble. But he's too rigid and inflexible, and his investigations are too harsh. In the end, it will only alienate people and be more of a loss than a gain."
For a time, the management of several core subsidiaries were all harboring resentment.
Everyone tacitly accepts the unspoken rules, the industry's practical practices, and the need for flexibility on-site. Now, Xu Feng is stubbornly adhering to the headquarters' regulations, insisting on bringing all the unspoken rules into the open.