The screen still showed recordings and videos of old employees colluding with Feng Kunlin, his confidantes, and close associates.
The entire content lasted for fifteen minutes and involved old employees ranging from senior management, middle management, general workers in production workshops, to security guards from the security department.
Even more outrageous was that Feng Kunlin's insidious influence had extended to the cooks in the canteen, the cleaning aunties, and the ladies working in the water dispenser room.
Among all the old employees, only a small handful hadn't been swayed; the rest were practically Feng Kunlin's people.
Out of the one hundred and thirty-five currently employed staff in the entire factory, eighty-five were old employees.
And among these eighty-five, over sixty were traitors.
As for the remaining individuals, they had been secretly bought off by Gao Fei at high prices, used to record evidence of others being swayed.
Below the stage, apart from the old employees who had not been swayed and remained completely calm, dozens of others looked ashen-faced. They stared blankly at the screen playing scenes of collusion, their gazes dull and lifeless.
The newly hired employees looked at the old employees with sneers, their eyes filled with mockery and disdain.
Ding Yao, sitting in the first row, no longer focused on the screen or her colleagues’ grim expressions.
Instead, she fixated on Gao Fei, who sat alone on the stage, lost in thought.
Ding Yao had initially thought the USB drive of videos she brought that morning would be a sharp blade to discipline the internal affairs of the factory.
She never expected that the videos playing on the screen would be even more effective in proving the collusion between the old employees and Feng Kunlin.
Furthermore, judging by the timestamps of the videos and audio recordings, Gao Fei had already been secretly investigating internally while the R&D team was still developing the new perfume.
At this moment, Ding Yao finally understood why the boss wasn't angry about the leak and wasn't keen on the launch of Poli Cosmetics' new perfume.
It turned out Gao Fei had already seen through everything and grasped the entire situation; he was now watching a farce unfold with amusement.
No wonder he had said they were watching a good show.
Looking at Gao Fei, who sat alone on the stage, surveying the entire audience, Ding Yao couldn't help but shiver.
At merely nineteen years old, to manipulate hundreds of people within his palm required not only a meticulous mind but also an exceptionally deep reservoir of cunning.
She could hardly imagine this was a young man who had just started university at nineteen.
Suddenly, Ding Yao remembered Jin Qiqi's evaluation of Gao Fei.
Jin Qiqi had once said that under Boss Gao's youthful exterior lay the soul of a century-old monster.
Whether it was in terms of knowledge, wisdom, or foresight, he was unparalleled.
Now, as someone caught in the situation, Ding Yao was beginning to understand Jin Qiqi's assessment.
Noticing Ding Yao's gaze, Gao Fei gave her a nod and a calm smile before turning his attention back to the silent crowd of employees in the auditorium.
He lightly cleared his throat into the microphone and said, "Esteemed elders of the old factory, you've watched the videos and heard the recordings. Do any of you have anything you wish to explain?"
With the evidence of their collusion with Feng Kunlin firmly established, the old employees in the audience had no more face to stand up and speak.
However, among the group of traitors, there were still those who were unwilling to concede.
For instance, Zhang Pingyu, who was the first to be exposed for colluding with Feng Kunlin, stood up reluctantly and said, "Mr. Gao, the video of Feng Kunlin bribing me was taken shortly after you acquired the factory. Since then, I have had no further contact with Feng Kunlin, nor have I revealed any information about the factory to him. Mr. Gao, I understand you are investigating the leak. Given our positions, do you think any of us could have access to the R&D secrets of new products?"
Instantly, the surrounding old employees were enlightened by Zhang Pingyu's last question.
Those who had looked ashen-faced moments before now became agitated and restless.
"Mr. Gao, we are not the ones who leaked the information. You cannot dismiss us based on this!"
"Yes, Mr. Gao, we have absolutely no access to the research and development data of new products. How could we possibly be the leakers?"
"Mr. Gao, we all accepted benefits from Feng Kunlin, but we never leaked any secrets to him. You can't just fire us arbitrarily!"
While Feng Kunlin's collusion and manipulation of them were facts, they genuinely had not leaked any information.
The previously silent auditorium suddenly erupted into a clamor.
At the same time, Zhang Pingyu, standing in the crowd, shouted again, "Mr. Gao, you can dismiss us if you want, but only if you can find the person who leaked the information!"
"Exactly. If the leaker is one of the old employees, we will resign voluntarily. But if it's not, you cannot dismiss us. You must also apologize and give us a raise!"
"I second that!"
"I agree!"
The old employees loudly echoed their sentiments once more.
The leaker had been hiding so well; they didn't believe Gao Fei could possibly find them.
Gao Fei, seeing the incensed old employees below and Zhang Pingyu smiling smugly in the crowd, simply skipped over them. He calmly sipped his tea, still sitting alone on the stage.
As the noise from the audience gradually subsided, he turned his gaze to Xiao Chunli, the workshop director.
Noticing Gao Fei's indifferent look, Director Xiao sighed and slowly stood up from her seat.
She turned to face the old employees of the factory, her expression conflicted and hesitant.
After a moment of internal struggle, Xiao Chunli took a deep breath and said with a wry smile, "Everyone, actually... I was the one who leaked the R&D data of the factory's new product to Feng Kunlin."
Her words caused the entire hall to fall silent once more.
The old employees looked at Xiao Chunli in disbelief, somewhat confused as to why she would suddenly confess.
They had still been planning to use the leaker to threaten Gao Fei and keep everyone employed at the factory.
But with Xiao Chunli's sudden confession, the traitorous old employees were caught completely off guard.
Just as Zhang Pingyu, who had been instigating others in the crowd, was about to speak, static crackled from the auditorium's speakers, and a video simultaneously played on the screen.
The content of the video was simple: it completely recorded how Xiao Chunli had sneaked into Gao Fei's office and stolen the R&D data.
The video of her being caught in the act and the negotiation process between them had been deleted.
After the video on the screen finished playing, a new video popped up.
This was also a full recording, shot using hidden cameras.
In this video, apart from workshop director Xiao Chunli, all the old employees holding positions as department heads appeared, including Zhang Pingyu, who had been leading the uproar.
The hidden camera footage captured these old employees instigating some of the new employees to defect.
It also recorded the old employees swearing promises of high salaries if they were willing to go with them to Poli Cosmetics.
Watching the footage of them being secretly filmed in a KTV while being persuaded to jump ship, the entire hall fell silent again.
The first to recover were the nine new employees who had been incited to leave.
"Mr. Gao, please let me explain. I only agreed because they drugged me..."
"Boss Gao, give me a chance to explain..."
As the nine employees were about to rush onto the stage, a group of unfamiliar security guards suddenly emerged from the sides and intercepted them all.
The leader of the security guards, holding a rubber baton, blocked one of them and shouted, "Stop them all, don't let them near Mr. Gao."
The leading security guard was not in uniform, but he was a familiar face.
It was Guo Yue, the sole survivor of the original Six Brothers.
Gao Fei stood up with his hands behind his back, surveying the entire audience with cold eyes. He said loudly, "I accepted you because you are old employees of the factory, with experience and skills.
However, I did not expect that out of over eighty of you, nearly seventy would collude with Feng Kunlin, both internally and externally.
Since you have shown no benevolence, do not blame me for being unrighteous!"
"I am now giving you an honorable opportunity. Resign at the HR department, collect your salary for this month, and leave.
If you wish to sue me and play the employee contract game, you can do so!
With the evidence I currently possess, I can directly counter-sue you for commercial crimes, and each of you will face at least a year in prison. Consider yourselves!"
After speaking, Gao Fei looked at the old employees who had not colluded with Feng Kunlin and pretended to sigh, "Old Xu, you mustn't blame me for being ruthless.
Now that all the old employees have turned against us, keeping you here will only create suspicion among the new employees.
If anyone is to blame, it's this group of traitors. They are the reason you're losing your jobs!
But rest assured, I will personally approve one year's salary for each of you!"
Old Xu, standing among the audience, smiled helplessly and did not argue.
After all, it was the general unrest among the old employees and their collusion with Feng Kunlin.
Even if their group hadn't been swayed, they had no face to remain in the factory.
Moreover, if they listened to Gao Fei and resigned now, leaving with dignity, they would still receive a year's salary. It was a win-win situation.
Therefore, Old Xu and the others all agreed.
Seeing that Old Xu and the others, who had not been swayed, accepted the terms, Gao Fei nodded friendly and smiled.
He then cast a cold smile at the old employees who were unconvinced and trying to rush onto the stage but were blocked by the security guards, and turned to leave with a flourish.
But before leaving, he didn't forget to loudly remind them, "What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and call the police! A bunch of commercial criminals. That should keep them busy for a while!"
Upon hearing the call to alert the police, Zhang Pingyu, who had been shouting the loudest, instantly fell silent.
He exchanged a glance with a senior executive next to him, and finally, they could only dejectedly retreat.
The others were the same. They immediately stopped resisting, ceased arguing with the newly hired security guards, and quietly exited the auditorium to proceed to the HR department to resign and collect their salaries.
As soon as they left the auditorium, the HR manager, Gao Qilan, was already waiting outside with her team.
Gao Qilan, wearing glasses and exuding a mature aura, held a megaphone and shouted loudly, "Everyone, after you sign your names here and collect your money, you can leave."
Under the maintenance of the new security guards, everyone orderly signed their names, collected their salaries, and departed.
West gate of the auditorium.
Gao Fei stood with his hands behind his back under the shade of a tree, watching the old employees line up to collect their money, a satisfied smile on his face.
Ding Yao, Jin Qiqi, Guo Yue, and others beside him exchanged glances, all displaying a tacit, helpless smile as they looked at his smile, brighter than the sun.
As everyone knew, the most troublesome aspect of acquiring a new factory was often the old employees.
Yet, Gao Fei, without shedding blood, had directly "dealt with" all the troublesome old employees in one fell swoop.
And he had done so in a way that forced everyone to accept the terms and leave grumbling but without causing trouble.
In the entire South City Industrial Zone, Gao Fei was undoubtedly number one.
His methods and boldness truly earned the heartfelt admiration of his new senior management team.
Main gate of the old factory.
All the old employees had gathered in front of the main gate.
They were not there to cause trouble but were blocked by Zhang Pingyu.
"Everyone, if this place doesn't want us, there are other places that will. I've just spoken with Factory Manager Feng, and he's very welcoming of your joining.
Upon returning to the new Poli Cosmetics factory, your salaries will be doubled, and you will receive the treatment of skilled workers and deputy supervisors..."
As Zhang Pingyu was inciting everyone to jump ship and join Poli Cosmetics, the new perfume product of Poli Cosmetics was coincidentally sealed by the regulatory bureau.