Chapter 90: Downfall and Incoming Calls

Despite his old age, the man with the cane spoke with such authority that Sun Dewang almost felt compelled to kneel, with beads of cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

Standing nearby, Yuan Yongle was genuinely enjoying the scene. 

Seeing Sun Dewang in trouble was immensely satisfying for him. 

If Sun Dewang were to be stripped of his heir status, his biggest competitor would be out of the way, leaving the other heirs no match for him.

"Director Yang, I—"

Sun Dewang began to explain, but his words were abruptly cut off by the elderly voice.

"Enough. Sun Dewang, you... have greatly disappointed us."

The elderly man with a full white beard, standing between the two other elders, slowly turned to face Sun Dewang. 

His face showed no signs of emotional fluctuation, as if he had weathered countless ups and downs without anything affecting his demeanor.

"Do you realize that the short-sighted folks at Battleaxe Military Industry, taking advantage of the foolish mistakes you've made recently, are about to publicly challenge our Tian'ou's business?" 

"This will cause a major upheaval that could shake the very foundation of our standing."

Sun Dewang's eyes widened in shock, and even Yuan Yongle, who had been enjoying the spectacle, was momentarily stunned.

They had known that Battleaxe Military Industry was building ocean-going passenger ships to compete with Tian'ou, but they hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

Unable to control his emotions, Sun Dewang hurriedly said:

"Director Qing, are those Battleaxe Military Industry guys really going to..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted again by the elder:

"Your dealings with the navy and the port commanders were not something I wished to involve myself with, but your actions have gone too far for us to tolerate any longer."

"Effective immediately, you are stripped of your board heir status and will be assigned as the deputy representative to Lihu County."

"This... is also Director Jian's directive. We can no longer protect you."

Hearing the mention of "Director Jian," Sun Dewang collapsed to his knees.

Among the three directors before him, unless a vote was held and his removal was passed unanimously, he would not be formally stripped of his status. 

However, Director Jian, who had been based in Orlan's capital for many years, rarely involved himself in Tian'ou's affairs, but once he did, his decisions were implemented without question.

Director Jian had helped Tian'ou through numerous crises over the past century, and even the decision to join the Zhu Hai Commercial Association had been his directive.

Since Director Qing indicated that this order came from Director Jian, it meant that Sun Dewang was now entirely eliminated from the board's heir status.

Although Sun Dewang had anticipated the worst-case scenario of losing his heir status, he had not expected it to happen so swiftly. 

The board had even decided to remove him without thoroughly investigating the enigmatic Zhang Wei.

"You needn't be too disheartened, young Sun."

Seeing Sun Dewang trembling on the floor, drained of all his strength, Director Su, who had initially spoken, showed a hint of sympathy and comforted him:

"Your efforts have not gone unnoticed by the board over the years." 

"You're still young; with hard work, you could become a deputy representative in a major city and live out your life comfortably."

Yuan Yongle, who had been eyeing Sun Dewang with malice, immediately suppressed his hostility upon hearing this. 

He understood the elderly man's warning that for the time being, he should avoid overtly retaliating against this failure.

"Go back, tidy up, and take up your post in Lihu County. We will handle it with suitable reasons for your reassignment."

Sun Dewang understood the kind intentions of the elderly man and, though he was physically heavy, he shakily rose and, despite his bulk, deeply bowed to the three elders before turning to leave.

At this point, he had no more arguments to make.

"Sun Dewang, before you leave, you must transfer all contact information for navy personnel you have to Yuan Yongle."

Just as Sun Dewang was about to reach the door, Director Yang's voice suddenly rang out.

"What? Director Yang, that's absolutely out of the question!"

Sun Dewang, almost instinctively, refused without hesitation. He turned to the three board members and quickly explained:

"Many of these contacts are private connections. Even if I hand them over to Yuan Yongle, they won't cooperate."

"How will you know without trying? Are you so confident in your personal charm?"

Yuan Yongle, with a smug smile on his painted face, looked at Sun Dewang and continued:

"Are you really daring to refuse the board's orders?" 

"Don't forget, you are no longer a board heir. Even if you keep those contact details, do you really think the navy personnel will still be as responsive as before?"

Director Yang glared coldly at Sun Dewang, his tone filled with menace:

"Sun Dewang, you now have two choices."

"First, hand over the contact information immediately, and I will arrange for you to be reassigned to a city post as soon as you arrive in Lihu County."

"Second, you can refuse, but as long as I remain in position, don't even think about returning to a city post easily."

Standing at the door, Sun Dewang stared at Director Yang, who was watching him intently, his fists clenched tightly.

On one side were his clients, many of whom were genuine friends despite the numerous transactions. 

On the other side was his future—being a county deputy would mean it would take at least a decade or so to achieve something significant for the company, if at all.

How many decades does one have in life?

Every businessman knows what choice to make in this situation.

"I…"

Sun Dewang, trembling all over, began to speak. Yuan Yongle, already anticipating what Sun Dewang would say next, was ready to step forward and take Sun Dewang's phone.

"I choose to refuse."

"What did you say?"

Not only was Yuan Yongle frozen in place, but Director Yang also looked at Sun Dewang with shock and anger.

"Businessmen should value integrity." 

"I promised them I wouldn't share their contact details with anyone, and I must keep my word. Sorry, Director Yang, please allow me to take my leave."

With that, Sun Dewang bowed his head and turned to leave the room.

"Good, Sun Dewang, you…"

"Enough, no need to force it, let him go,"

Director Yang, about to reprimand Sun Dewang, was stopped by the elderly man with the white beard, Director Qing.

"That's contact information for many navy port commanders, it's definitely crucial for Tian'ou…"

"I said, enough."

Director Yang tried to argue further, but Director Qing's calm words abruptly halted him.

He could only sigh in frustration and remain silent.

After Sun Dewang entered the elevator, he realized his suit jacket was drenched with sweat.

"Hello, Mr. Sun." "Mr. Sun, thank you for your hard work today."

As he descended in the elevator, Tian'ou employees occasionally greeted him. Sun Dewang merely forced a smile in return, though his heart was as cold as ice.

He would no longer belong here, and a decade of effort had come to nothing.

The next day, he would take over the mess in the suburbs and likely never have another chance to return to the prosperous city of Yunhai.

As he dejectedly entered the basement, got into his private car, and started the engine to head home and pack his things, his phone suddenly rang.

"Ha, someone's actually calling me now. I guess this phone will be gathering dust soon."

Sun Dewang took out his phone from his pocket with difficulty, making a bitter joke to himself.

"A public booth number? Probably a spam call."

Sun Dewang stared at the caller ID, which displayed a public booth number from Lihu County. 

After a few seconds of thought, he decided to answer.

He would be heading to Lihu County the next day, and even if it was a scammer, he could at least use this as an outlet for his frustration once he got there.

However, instead of the expected sales pitch or scam, he heard a very cute, lazy voice of a little girl:

"Hello, meow. Let me introduce myself. I'm Boss Ming, meow."

"Who are you? This must be a mistake."

Sun Dewang was baffled. Who let their child run around in public phone booths making random calls?

Just as he was about to hang up, not wanting to argue with a child, the next words from the little girl nearly made him jump out of his seat:

"Meow? Was it a mistake? Well~"

"The Iron Cross Fleet remembers you, meow."

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