Outside the Nine Gates Group.
Zhang Tian saw a crowd of people pointing and discussing from afar.
He didn't need to think to know that the news was spreading.
As for which version it had spread to, Zhang Tian had no idea.
However, what made Zhang Tian a little curious was why it spread so quickly. Had all the storytellers in Bei Li been mobilized?
With some doubt in his heart, Zhang Tian quietly entered the group.
Inside the group, although Zhang Tian had not returned for years, the employees were largely the same. Those who were there were still there.
Seeing Zhang Tian's figure, no one stopped him, and they respectfully let him in.
In the President's office.
Zhang Tian sat on a new sofa.
Zhang Tian estimated that he had sat on this sofa fewer than ten times since it was bought.
"Knock, knock, knock."
Before Zhang Tian's butt was even warm, there was a knock on the door.
Su Nan stood at the door with a briefcase, his face serious.
"Enter."
Zhang Tian said faintly.
Su Nan then entered.
"Sect Master, you're back. I'll report on the company's operations over the years."
Su Nan was dressed in a sharp suit, with a hint of a commercial smile on his face.
He seemed completely unaffected by the outside world.
Zhang Tian waved his hand.
"Let's not talk about company matters first. I want to know what these rumors outside are about."
Zhang Tian said faintly, his voice rather cold.
As Zhang Tian spoke, Su Nan's expression also changed slightly.
"Reporting to the Sect Master, we are investigating this matter. Within our group, no family has openly engaged in grave robbing, nor have they used the banner of our Nine Gates to rob graves."
"Moreover, our Nine Gates are wholeheartedly dedicated to building up Xia Guo. How could we possibly oppose Xia Guo with such slogans?"
"I suspect someone is slandering us." 138 Reading Network
Su Nan's voice was cold.
A hint of indignation appeared on his face.
The group was developing well, and had even signed many major strategic cooperation agreements with Xia Guo. However, the sudden emergence of such news would inevitably have an impact.
Zhang Tian rested his hands.
He looked at Su Nan.
"Then what do you think, who would do this?"
"I'm not sure about that for now. I suspect it's a staged event. I strongly suspect that those expert groups are smearing us."
"We've also learned that those people mentioned your name."
"And, most importantly, we've investigated, and none of our people or any private grave-robbing gangs went to Yunnan to rob graves!"
Su Nan stated very confidently.
The Nine Gates had immense power.
Many families from the Old Nine Gates were also integrated within it.
Those families were renowned grave-robbing families in the martial world.
The forces behind these families were intricate, and it was easy to uncover some information.
Zhang Tian's brow furrowed.
His name was even mentioned.
And it was explicitly stated, which was indeed very intriguing.
If the company had a problem, the subordinates wouldn't dare to mention his name; wouldn't that be suicidal?
Now there was only one answer, perhaps as Su Nan said, someone was framing him.
And it was those old expert groups from Bei Li.
"We haven't wronged them, why would they do this?"
"Or, have they discovered that we've robbed many tombs, and suspect I still have other cultural relics?"
Zhang Tian pondered in his mind.
He felt this answer was the most plausible.
Only with sufficient vested interest would some people risk their lives to do something dangerous.
And it was clear that this time, it was likely that those people either felt there weren't enough cultural relics, or suspected he was hoarding them privately.
By using this opportunity, they could expose him and thus obtain those cultural relics.
Of course, the benefits outweighed the risks in this matter.
The benefit was that if they took action, they might actually obtain cultural relics, and he wouldn't be harmed. The risk was that Zhang Tian might retaliate.
However, with Xia Guo around, the chance of Zhang Tian retaliating was slim.
Zhang Tian pondered for a moment.
He simulated several possible answers to this matter in his mind.
Whether they were the true reasons, Zhang Tian was unsure.
"From now on, refuse all anonymous donations of cultural relics to Xia Guo and various museums and archaeological institutes."
"If you obtain any cultural relics, store them uniformly in the group's underground vault, and I will handle them later."
Zhang Tian instructed.
At the same time, he took out several talismans.
"When the time comes, place these talismans in the vault. Outsiders will not be able to enter."
Zhang Tian said faintly.
These talismans were formation talismans. Anyone whose cultivation or formation level was not as high as Zhang Tian's could not enter.
The reason he didn't want to donate anymore was that Zhang Tian feared feeding ungrateful people again.
Therefore, Zhang Tian intended to reach a cooperation with the Xia Guo authorities to achieve internal donations.
With this in mind, Zhang Tian looked at Su Nan.
"Alright, that's all for now. Report on the recent situation of the group."
Zhang Tian waved his hand.
Su Nan nodded slightly.
Then he began his report.
"In the past three years, we have achieved ten small goals."
Su Nan said.
Zhang Tian swallowed. Others achieved three small goals, but he achieved ten, which was indeed excellent.
It could be seen that other families were also working hard.
"The Nine Gates Construction Group has been approved. Nine Gates Technology, Nine Gates Food, Nine Gates Materials, Nine Gates Cross-Sea Engineering, Nine Gates Machinery, and so on."
"Furthermore, we have also established fifty universities in Xia Guo, which are currently being planned."
"From quality control, to supervision, and finally to frontline employees, all have been strictly audited, making it impossible to submit false expense reports or abuse power."
Su Nan spoke consecutively.
Zhang Tian swallowed.
Good heavens, in the past three years, had these people gone mad? If all these groups took off, it would truly be a massive industrial chain.
At that time, how large would the financial system be? Zhang Tian couldn't imagine.
However, it was fortunate that money was still valuable in this era, and it didn't cost much to establish a company.
The main cost was the project engineering.
However, many projects were now generating revenue, and that revenue was reinvested as construction funds. This cycle allowed the group to remain profitable each year.
"Our total investment in three years was 100 billion yuan, with a net profit of 10 billion yuan."
"The profit mainly came from overseas industries. Our industries in Xia Guo have been losing money all along."
Su Nan said.
Zhang Tian nodded.
This was something he already knew.
Xia Guo had a slow start, but its future potential was immense.
However, overseas had an early start, and money could be earned sooner.
"However, it is worth mentioning that President, your elixirs have been very well-received overseas. They were recently sold for a sky-high price of fifty million US dollars."
Su Nan said.
Zhang Tian nodded. As long as the company could survive for a few decades, the future profits would be a sure thing.
Technology, along with a series of information industries, could make Zhang Tian rich.
"By the way, report the best employees of each year to me."
Zhang Tian said.
Su Nan's eyes lit up.
He knew in his heart that Zhang Tian was about to bestow rewards.
Given that Zhang Tian had been away for so long this time, the rewards were likely to be even greater than in previous years.
At this moment, Su Nan was also somewhat curious about what rewards Zhang Tian would offer.
He hoped it would be the cultivation elixirs from before.