Qiao Lanshu came out of the warehouse and walked toward the building where the factory manager's office was located.
Inside Yang Wenyan's office, Secretary Wen was also sitting there. Besides him, the head of the personnel department, as well as the directors and supervisors of other departments, were all present.
Liu Weihong, who had just argued with Qiao Lanshu that morning, was also standing in the crowd.
They had just finished a management meeting.
As soon as Qiao Lanshu entered, she saw the large group of people. She walked in without changing her expression, "Factory Manager, you were looking for me?"
Yang Wenyan nodded, his expression complex as he said, "Xiao Qiao, we've already had someone investigate the big-character poster incident. Preliminary estimates suggest the poster was put up late last night, but we haven't figured out exactly who did it yet."
Qiao Lanshu: "..."
Hearing this result, Qiao Lanshu wasn't terribly disappointed.
She had anticipated this outcome long ago.
Since the other party dared to do something that smeared someone's innocence, they must have taken measures to stay hidden.
It was impossible for them to be seen.
It was the dead of winter right now. The wind was strong and freezing in the middle of the night, so basically no one went out.
There was a guard on duty in the food factory's guardhouse, but the guard was old, and it was cold at midnight, so he couldn't keep an eye on the factory at all times.
Plus, in this day and age, there were basically no thieves. After all, the Revolutionary Committee was right in the city; who would be reckless enough to risk their lives stealing from the food factory?
With the lax security and low walls, it was actually quite easy for someone to climb in and put up a big-character poster.
Qiao Lanshu nodded. "I understand. Then, Factory Manager, what are we going to do next?"
Qiao Lanshu continued, "Are we going to the public security bureau to report the case, or going to the military to find someone? Or perhaps to the Revolutionary Committee?"
Everyone: "..."
Secretary Wen hurriedly said, "Comrade Xiao Qiao, let's not get agitated. The factory will definitely give you an explanation for this matter. Let's not report it to the police first; it would have a bad impact on our factory."
Qiao Lanshu only held off on reporting the case out of respect for Yang Wenyan.
Otherwise, the moment she saw the big-character poster, she would have run to the public security bureau to report it. Why would she wait until now?
Yang Wenyan was quite unlucky. Being a factory manager was busy enough, but the factory workers kept getting into trouble every few days.
However, on second thought, Yang Wenyan felt that these big-character posters were relatively minor issues.
He had heard that other work units in the province even had spies infiltrating them. Those section chiefs and directors were not only stripped of their positions but also faced labor reform.
Yang Wenyan felt he had let Qiao Lanshu down.
After getting off work, he would have to go explain things to Qin Yuanzheng, lest Qin Yuanzheng blame him.
Yang Wenyan said with a solemn expression, "I've already had the broadcaster announce that the person who put up the big-character poster should turn themselves in, and we will deal with them leniently. Otherwise, we will have the military intervene tomorrow. If they are dragged out then, the situation will be much more serious."
The head of the personnel department also chimed in, "Yes, all workshop supervisors should also go back and tell the workers in their workshops about this. If our factory handles this matter, it will just be a slight pay cut at most. But if the military takes over, it will be considered slandering a military officer, and I have no idea how that will be punished."
In this day and age, regular workers were generally not easily fired. If the person stepped forward now and admitted to it, they could actually keep their job.
Hearing this, the workshop supervisors nodded one after another, indicating they would go back and talk to the workers in their workshops.
While everyone was discussing animatedly, someone muttered, "If they can't find the person, what does it matter if the military comes? They just use military officers to scare people."
Qiao Lanshu was close by and heard it. Liu Weihong had deliberately said this for her to hear.
She turned her head to look and, sure enough, saw Liu Weihong rolling her eyes at her.
Qiao Lanshu smiled and said, "Didn't you know? The military has special investigation methods. As long as the person who put up the big-character poster wasn't wearing gloves, the military has a way to extract their fingerprints from the poster. When the time comes, they will ask all the employees of our food factory to compare fingerprints. Whoever doesn't show up is feeling guilty, and they can be arrested and interrogated."
Everyone: "..."
Without anyone noticing, Liu Weihong's face grew slightly tense.
Secretary Wen slapped his forehead and said in shock, "Comrade Xiao Qiao, you even know how to extract fingerprints?"
Qiao Lanshu wasn't entirely sure of the exact process, but if one had the heart to learn, it was definitely something that could be learned.
After all, she had read about it in a book when she was in high school in Yangcheng.
Qiao Lanshu nodded. "This method of extracting fingerprints isn't difficult, but it requires some tools, making it hard to do today. After I get off work, I'll have my family prepare it, and tomorrow we'll have the military come over to extract them."
Yang Wenyan sighed in admiration, "Comrade Xiao Qiao, you really live up to your reputation. You are so smart. Since we have this method, we don't need to investigate anymore. Tomorrow, we'll just have everyone compare their fingerprints!"
Qiao Lanshu nodded and added, "However, workshop supervisors, please still pass this message along, so no one takes a leave of absence and delays the investigation."
Yang Wenyan immediately said, "Right! We'll do just that!"
Since the factory manager and secretary both agreed, the others naturally had no objections.
However, everyone returned to their workshops with their own thoughts, feeling deeply worried.
Everyone was worried that the person who put up the big-character poster might be a worker from their own workshop.
After all, the year-end evaluations were just around the corner.
The supervisors had worked diligently and tirelessly all year—wasn't it all just to be evaluated as a model worker, a 'Five-Good' worker, or an outstanding employee at the end of the year?
If the workers in their workshops caused any trouble, all of those chances would be gone.
After everyone in the office had dispersed.
Qiao Lanshu walked up to Yang Wenyan and whispered, "Factory Manager, I have something to tell you."
Yang Wenyan couldn't be happier that Qiao Lanshu had thought of such a great method like fingerprint verification.
As long as they caught the person who put up the poster, this matter could be resolved promptly.
The New Year was approaching, and he wanted to rest peacefully for a couple of days.
He stood up and asked, "What is it?"
Qiao Lanshu lowered her voice and whispered a few words in his ear.
The more Yang Wenyan listened, the more serious he became.
He lowered his voice and asked, "Didn't we say we were going to extract fingerprints and have all the factory workers verify them? What's wrong, are we not doing that anymore?"
There was no one else in the office now, just the two of them, but the office door was open, so Qiao Lanshu kept her voice very low.
She said, "That is the clumsiest method. If the method I just mentioned doesn't work, it won't be too late to use the fingerprint extraction method."
Extracting fingerprints wasn't hard; the hard part was verifying and questioning the hundreds of workers in the factory one by one.
After all, there were no machines to do this work for them, so it was indeed a massive workload.
Furthermore, if the person wasn't from the food factory but an outsider, they would be even harder to find.
If there was a simpler method, they certainly wouldn't need to waste so much manpower and resources.
After all, it was just a big-character poster. Qiao Lanshu didn't want to blow things out of proportion and waste the time and energy of the military personnel.
After listening to what Qiao Lanshu had to say, Yang Wenyan lowered his voice and said, "I understand what you mean. Don't worry, I will personally bring my men to keep watch at the factory tonight!"
