After Manager Fang left, Li Yicheng began to peruse the materials Manager Fang had sent over.

The contents of the materials were extremely detailed, including Lin Tianran's income details over the years, job position changes, interactions with people in the factory, the number of sick leaves taken, and so on, far more detailed than you could imagine.

Li Yicheng went through each record slowly. He didn't want to overlook anything about Tiantian's past.

Let's start with the income details. Tiantian had been working for so many years, and yet, his monthly income was barely over two thousand, not even enough to reach three thousand. Although the collective dormitory in the factory only required sharing utility bills, and the cafeteria meals cost only five yuan each, for a 30-year-old man, this income was undoubtedly meager. He must have been calculating every penny just to get by. Tiantian probably couldn't even afford fruits and nutritional supplements, considering how lean he looked.

Next was the job position change details. Despite working for so many years, why had he been shuffled around so much? He never seemed to land in any key, high-paying positions. The roles he had taken were essentially unimportant, with no future prospects. Normally, with his experience, he should have been promoted to a higher position by now, perhaps even as a team leader. Why was he being kicked around like a soccer ball, and now assigned to be a security guard?

As for his social interactions, there seemed to be none. Apart from the few people he had to interact with due to work requirements, hardly anyone in the factory paid him any attention. He ate alone, washed up alone, spent weekends alone, and did everything alone. It was like he was living the life of a recluse in an ivory tower.

Regarding sick leaves, over the years, he had taken less than a week off in total. Did Tiantian never get sick? Li Yicheng found this absolutely impossible; everyone gets sick at some point. Especially someone like him, who looked malnourished, would be even more susceptible to illnesses. Li Yicheng suspected that Tiantian might be the type of stubborn person who would rather suffer through an illness than take a sick leave.

Li Yicheng had initially planned to thoroughly review the data. However, as he continued to go through it item by item, he couldn't bear it anymore. He was afraid that if he read it all, his heartache would become unbearable.

Tiantian, these years, had truly endured a lot of hardship. Li Yicheng resolved that he must make it up to Tiantian doubly!

Li Yicheng contemplated whether to reveal his identity to Tiantian, but he was afraid that if Tiantian found out who he was, he might resent him and refuse to have anything to do with him. So, he didn't dare to.

After all, if it weren't for what happened years ago when he caused Tiantian's leg injury, Tiantian would undoubtedly be living a much happier life now, at least better than the current situation.

After much consideration, Li Yicheng decided not to tell Tiantian for now. He wanted to rebuild his friendship with Tiantian, make Tiantian accept him, and then find an opportunity to reveal the truth.

Because he was genuinely afraid of what might happen if Tiantian rejected him upon learning the truth.

Li Yicheng stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window of his office. Being on the seventh floor, he had a panoramic view of the entire industrial area. He looked down at the security booth at the factory gate, wondering if Tiantian was on duty right now. Thinking about this, a smile appeared at the corner of Li Yicheng's mouth.

"Mr. Li, the production value for last month decreased by 4.2% compared to the previous month. The main workshop decreased by 5.6%, and the auxiliary workshop decreased by 3.4%. However, the employees' salaries and daily average wages increased by 2 points compared to the previous month. The main workshop saw a 3-point increase, and the auxiliary workshop increased by 1 point, while the functional departments increased by 2 points."

During the midday meeting, department leaders sat around a long conference table, providing reports on their work one by one.

At this moment, the financial manager held data sheets and reported last month's financial data to Li Yicheng, who sat at the head of the conference table.

"The production value hasn't increased, but labor costs keep rising. How do you explain this?" Li Yicheng looked over the data presented by the finance department, rapidly circling figures with a pen, "Income and costs aren't rising in sync, so what's the explanation?"

"Well..." The financial manager was at a loss for words. Li Zhongmao had never paid attention to such details before, so the financial manager had simply done the work and never bothered to investigate the meaning behind the numbers. After all, he planned to retire after a few more years. Saving trouble wherever he could was his motto."

"Decreased production value and increased labor costs, in plain terms, means that we're spending more money while accomplishing less, right?" Li Yicheng hit the nail on the head, summarizing those complex and tedious data with a simple sentence. "I'll give you two days to write a detailed report, analyze why this is happening, and propose improvement measures."

"Ah, okay." The financial manager wiped off a bead of sweat secretly.

"Next, it's time for the Finished Goods Warehouse to report their work. Go ahead, Supervisor Zou," Li Yicheng signaled.

"Alright, next, let me brief everyone on last month's shipment data to Southeast Asia..."

After one meeting, regardless of the issue's size, Li Yicheng thoroughly questioned each department's data problems, sent back any unreasonable aspects for report rewriting, and had problematic areas reanalyzed and corrected. He didn't take anything lightly.

Although Li Yicheng was young, he was meticulous and firm in his work, displaying a stern side that made everyone present regard this young heir with three parts of awe.

"Alright, that's it for today; let's adjourn." The last department also completed their report, and Li Yicheng raised his wristwatch to check the time; it had just passed 12 o'clock.

The leaders dispersed, heading in pairs or groups towards the cafeteria.

Li Yicheng rubbed his stomach; he had a hasty breakfast this morning and was now genuinely hungry.

The CEO's office had an attached bedroom and kitchen, but it lacked a secretary. The old man's secretary had resigned before he returned to the country due to getting married.

Li Yicheng thought for a moment and decided to go to the cafeteria.

It had been nearly a week since he joined the company, and he hadn't eaten at the company's cafeteria yet.

Xiao Tian had arrived late today; he started filling out the shift schedule at 12 o'clock and hobbled along due to his limp. By the time he got to the cafeteria, there was already a long line at the food counter.

He glanced at today's menu: stir-fried bean sprouts, steamed eggplants, and the usual 5 yuan dishes.

So he joined the shortest queue and quietly waited his turn.

After getting his food and a bowl of soup, Xiao Tian carried his tray and headed to the seating area. The company's cafeteria was bustling with people coming and going.

Navigating between rows of seats, Xiao Tian spotted an empty spot by the window.

He proceeded with great caution; there were occasional drops of spilled food on the floor, and a slight misstep could lead to a fall.

Suddenly, a foot stuck out and tripped Xiao Tian heavily. With a cry, he lost his balance, and along with his tray, crashed to the ground.

Instantly, dozens of pairs of eyes turned towards him."

"Hahaha, look at the idiot with the limp!" The speaker was none other than the owner of the leg, Fat Tiger, who was sitting in the seat Lin Tianran had passed by! Several others dining with him also joined in the laughter.

The corner of Xiao Tian's clothes had been stained by the food, making him look particularly disheveled.

"You, you're too much!" Xiao Tian stood up, furious.

"I'm just eating here peacefully; it's you who can't walk properly and bump into my leg. What's it got to do with me?" Fat Tiger arrogantly retorted. It was clear that he had come to enjoy the spectacle of Lin Tianran's misfortune.

"You can bully me, but you can't waste food!" Xiao Tian looked at the scattered food and soup on the floor, feeling both distressed and regretful. Some of the food hadn't even flown out of the tray, and Xiao Tian was contemplating whether he could still eat it.

"What's the matter, wanna fight?" Fat Tiger shouted menacingly, flexing the tattoo of a tiger on his left arm, poised for action.

"Mr. Li, please, over here, watch out for the slippery floor." Li Yicheng had intended to quietly go to the cafeteria for a meal but unexpectedly encountered Minister Lu on the way, who had attached himself like a leech and was trying to lead him to a private room by the cafeteria.

The cafeteria was for regular employees, with 5 yuan dishes and a card system.

On the other hand, the private room beside the cafeteria was specially reserved for employees at the supervisor level and above within the Hua Mao Group. It had better decoration and cleanliness than the outside area, with air conditioning in summer and heating in winter. More importantly, the menu was entirely different from the regular cafeteria, with three meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and one soup, costing 18 yuan in total. Plus, there was no need to use a meal card.

Those who could dine in this private room were a symbol of status; they were core employees of the Hua Mao Group.

However, several veteran CEOs and Li Chongmao, the owner of the company, never ate here. They generally had their meals delivered to their offices by a dedicated person, and Li Chongmao, in particular, had his own kitchen in his office, where his lunch was prepared separately.

Li Yicheng had just entered the cafeteria when the commotion caught his attention.

He didn't care about Minister Lu's incessant chatter and headed straight for the scene.

"Are you okay?" Li Yicheng quickly took out his own handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to the disheveled Lin Tianran.

"Well, I'm fine, thank you." Xiao Tian looked up at the approaching person, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He shook his head and didn't accept the silky handkerchief. He was too dirty now to deserve such a pristine cloth.

"Take it." Li Yicheng pushed it into his hand and then turned his head. The previous gentleness disappeared completely, replaced by a cold stare. "What's your name?"

Fat Tiger saw this busybody in a suit and tie but couldn't identify his position because he didn't have a work badge. However, just by the stern look in the man's eyes, he had already quelled Fat Tiger's arrogance.

Minister Lu caught up, "Mr. Li, what's the matter..."

"Minister Lu, who is he?" Li Yicheng turned and interrupted Minister Lu's inquiry, asking again.

This time, things were looking bad for Fat Tiger. Seeing Minister Lu, he reacted like a common soldier in front of the commander-in-chief, his face turning an unpleasant shade of liver. Anyone who could be so disrespectful to Minister Lu and had the word "Mr." in their title was definitely a formidable figure.