When Qiao Lanshu went to work and had just arrived at the warehouse, Deng Weijun quietly ran over from the pickles workshop.
He leaned against the window and said to Qiao Lanshu inside, Sister-in-law, have you eaten breakfast yet?
After the previous incident, Deng Weijun had been depressed for several days and looked listless at work.
Qiao Lanshu hadn't seen him for two days.
Seeing him today, she noticed his mental state was much better, and he had returned to his usual chatty self.
Qiao Lanshu was also somewhat glad.
She put down the book in her hand, opened the window, and leaned out to chat with him, Oh, it's Weijun. What brings you here? Do you need something from me?
Deng Weijun scratched his head and smiled, Nothing much. It's just a bit slow right now, and I heard you became the warehouse keeper, so I came over to take a look.
The boiler workers in the pickles workshop hadn't been seconded to help out, so Deng Weijun was still working there.
He pulled a fist-sized, rock-hard, pitch-black object from his pocket, placed it on the windowsill, and said, Sister-in-law, this is a frozen pear I made. Give it a try.
Then he added, By the way, does your thermos have hot water? I'll go fetch some for you.
Deng Weijun probably wanted to thank Qiao Lanshu for saving his life, which was why he was being so attentive.
However, he also kept his distance, not daring to get within two steps of her. He spoke from a meter away, afraid that someone might misunderstand and word would reach Qin Yuanzheng's ears.
With Qin Yuanzheng's massive build, wouldn't one punch send him flying?
Qiao Lanshu understood his thoughts and didn't refuse. She smiled and handed over her thermos, saying, I just got here and haven't fetched water yet. I'll have to trouble you then.
Deng Weijun quickly took the thermos and said, No trouble at all! Sister-in-law, if you ever need anything, big or small, just call me. I've got plenty of free time anyway.
With that, he grabbed the thermos and sprinted toward the pantry.
It was just the start of the morning shift, so everyone's thermos was empty. Some people had brought cold steamed buns or flatbreads and needed hot water to soak them in before eating.
Because of this, the pantry was quite crowded, and Qiao Lanshu usually waited until later to go.
But since Deng Weijun was so eager to help her out, she let him fetch the water.
Qiao Lanshu looked at the frozen pear on the windowsill and picked it up to examine it.
The frozen pear was rock-hard and pitch-black, looking just like a lump of coal.
She had seen frozen pears in her past life but had never eaten one.
She tapped the frozen pear against the desk, making a loud bang bang sound.
Qiao Lanshu: ...
She put the frozen pear on the desk and placed her book in the drawer.
She wasn't actually in the mood to read, as she kept thinking about the fried dough twist incident. She wondered if the police station had managed to interrogate anything out of them last night.
A short while later, Deng Weijun returned with the thermos. He placed it on the windowsill and lowered his voice, saying to Qiao Lanshu, Sister-in-law, did you hear? Our workshop director was arrested, along with the delivery driver and the business department supervisor! None of them came to work today, and the finance accountants were all taken away by the Revolutionary Committee for questioning!
Deng Weijun said with a solemn face, What exactly did they do? It even alarmed the provincial Revolutionary Committee! Are they going to be paraded through the streets too?
Previously, Sun Mingyong had been made an example of for pretending to be a military officer to trick someone into marriage.
That was already considered a huge incident.
And now, another major event had occurred.
Qiao Lanshu already knew about this, so she wasn't very shocked. Since the matter hadn't been fully investigated, she didn't dare spread it around and simply said, Otherwise, you could ask my cousin. He definitely knows.
Yang Wenyan had also gone to cooperate with the investigation, but it was unknown when everything would be cleared up.
...
At the police station, Deputy Director Li led his people in interrogating them all night, questioning them separately.
Deputy Director Li couldn't get anything out of them at first. Guan Wenjun waited outside until the middle of the night and simply couldn't wait any longer.
He brought his people in and interrogated them personally.
With the Revolutionary Committee members present, these people became scared. Wei Zhengye was the most terrified. He feared being sent to a labor camp. If that happened, what would become of his daughter and grandson?
They wouldn't survive without him providing for them.
But Guan Wenjun was not one to be swayed by personal feelings. If he were, he wouldn't be the director of the Revolutionary Committee.
Deputy Director Li didn't know how Guan Wenjun interrogated them, but by a little after ten in the morning, those people had all confessed.
Among them, apart from the food factory's finance staff and accountants, the delivery driver Du Erniu was the most innocent.
Du Erniu genuinely knew nothing; he didn't even know why he had been arrested.
At the police station, he spent the night reflecting on his actions and even confessed to stealing a neighbor's pear when he was a child.
Guan Wenjun listened for a long time and finally walked out looking speechless.
Deputy Director Li asked, Director Guan, did you get a confession? What exactly is going on?
Guan Wenjun showed him the record sheet in his hand and said, Wei Zhengye only admitted to pulling strings and stealing sixty catties of fried dough twists. He is old acquaintances with Miao Hongwei from the business department and Purchaser Liu from the state-run restaurant, so he gave them some kickbacks. They transported the sixty catties of fried dough twists to the mobile market, sold them at a high price, and then reimbursed the base cost to avoid detection by finance.
In other words, Wei Zhengye used his own money to secretly buy sixty catties of fried dough twists at the lowest price, then sold them at a high price to pocket the difference.
When the food factory's finance department checked the receipts, the income and expenses appeared fine, so naturally, Yang Wenyan, as the factory manager, had no idea.
Meanwhile, Purchaser Liu from the state-run restaurant only had to help him write a delivery receipt to earn a kickback of over ten yuan, so of course he was willing to do it.
After all, it had no negative impact on him.
However, Miao Hongwei, the supervisor of the business department, was in partnership with Wei Zhengye. When those sixty catties of fried dough twists were shipped out, it was Miao Hongwei's relatives who helped sell them.
Deputy Director Li said suspiciously, Did Wei Zhengye say one hundred catties? That can't be right. The warehouse's shipping records show that three hundred catties of fried dough twists were sent to the state-run restaurant in the last two months alone.
Could the remaining two hundred catties have nothing to do with Wei Zhengye?
Guan Wenjun sneered, Then we'll have to ask Wei Zhengye's good son-in-law, Sun Mingyong.
Deputy Director Li: Sun Mingyong? Wasn't he sent to reform through labor?
However, on second thought, Deputy Director Li remembered that before Sun Mingyong was sent to reform through labor, he was a clerk in the food factory's business department. He was the one responsible for liaising with the state-run restaurant and the supply and marketing cooperatives.
Thinking of this, Guan Wenjun immediately said, Let's go to Sun Mingyong's house!
After Sun Mingyong was arrested and sent to reform through labor, Wei Hongmei should have moved out of the house and returned it to the food factory's personnel department.
After all, housing was in short supply, and many workers were waiting in line for a house.
But Wei Hongmei delayed moving out.
Wei Zhengye could have helped her move long ago, but he deliberately dragged his feet and didn't move her things.
It wasn't until yesterday that he asked the factory manager for a leave of absence, claiming he needed to help his daughter move. And by this time, it had been almost two months since Sun Mingyong was sent to a labor camp.
With this clue, everything would be easy to investigate.
Guan Wenjun led his men to Sun Mingyong's house. It was only upon arriving that Guan Wenjun suddenly realized the food factory's dormitory was actually quite close to that mobile market.
Wei Hongmei should have moved back to her parents' home a long time ago, but surprisingly, she was at home today.
When Guan Wenjun knocked on the door, she refused to open it. She said, I haven't moved out yet. This is still my home, and you cannot come in!
Guan Wenjun sneered and said, If you do not open the door, I am going to smash it down.
Wei Hongmei yelled from inside the house, Smash it if you have the guts! If you dare to smash it, I will die...
Before she could even finish her harsh words, a loud bang came from the tightly shut door.
It scared Wei Hongmei so much that she screamed and backed away.
Guan Wenjun clutched his agonizingly painful leg, looked at the door that had not budged an inch, and said to the people behind him, What are you all staring at? Hurry up and find a way to open the door!
His subordinates were left speechless.
They had thought Director Guan was so tough that he could actually kick the door open with a single strike.
In the end, it was the officers from the Public Security Bureau who found a comrade from the food factory's personnel department to bring a spare key, finally getting the door open.
The dormitory allocated to them by the food factory had a two-bedroom and one-living-room layout. The two bedrooms were not large, but the front hall was relatively spacious, furnished with a sofa and a dining table.
Wei Hongmei blocked the front hall, preventing them from entering the inner rooms. She screamed, If you come any further, I will smash my head and die right here!
Keeping a stern face, Guan Wenjun directly pushed Wei Hongmei aside and entered the inner room.
As soon as he walked in, he saw several boxes of fried dough twists piled up on the floor. At a rough glance, he estimated there were about seventy or eighty catties.
Guan Wenjun's face darkened as he said, So they were transferred here. Well played, Wei Zhengye, you move quite fast!
If it had not been for the conclusive evidence, Guan Wenjun would never have thought to come here and investigate.
Only then did Wei Hongmei start to feel afraid. She hurriedly said, These fried dough twists have nothing to do with my dad. It was all Sun Mingyong's doing. If you want to arrest someone, go arrest Sun Mingyong.
Wei Hongmei finally knew fear.
She was afraid that if Wei Zhengye lost his job, no one would support her and her children in the future.
Since Sun Mingyong was already sent to a labor camp anyway, she figured she might as well push all the blame onto him.
Guan Wenjun looked at Wei Hongmei and deliberately asked her, Are all five hundred catties of fried dough twists here?
Wei Hongmei froze and subconsciously replied, Five hundred catties? Wasn't it three hundred? What exactly are you trying to do?
She paused, looked at the seventy or eighty catties of fried dough twists piled in the room, and finally realized she had misspoken.
Consequently, Wei Hongmei was also taken to the Public Security Bureau for questioning, which made Wei Zhengye extremely anxious.
Wei Zhengye treasured this daughter the most; he could not bear to drag her down with him.
Ultimately, he had no choice but to confess.
While Sun Mingyong was still working, he had used his position to secretly resell fried dough twists. Wei Zhengye knew about the situation at the time but pretended to be ignorant.
After all, the money Sun Mingyong made was spent on his daughter. His daughter spent money lavishly, and the family's expenses were indeed high.
When Sun Mingyong was caught and sent to the labor camp, he left behind a debt of over a thousand yuan, which fell onto Wei Zhengye's shoulders.
Having no other choice, Wei Zhengye figured that since Sun Mingyong had resold the factory's food for so long without any issues, he would surely be fine if he did it too.
But who could have known that he would be discovered right after he started...
By nightfall, the case was concluded.
Factory Manager Yang Wenyan came to the Public Security Bureau. Looking at Wei Zhengye, he said with deep sorrow, Old Wei, you are truly foolish! It was just a debt of over a thousand yuan. If you had just told me, would I have refused to help you? How could you come up with such a terrible idea?
Wei Zhengye smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said, Factory Manager, I really lost my mind back then, but I had no other way...
He sighed, deeply regretting taking Sun Mingyong as his son-in-law.
Sun Mingyong had resold the food factory's products, not just fried dough twists, but also bread and pickled vegetables. However, the quantities were small, and he had replenished the costs in time, so the finance department never noticed.
But as a director, Wei Zhengye had discovered it early on, and he had initially scolded Sun Mingyong.
However, the profits from this illicit business were too high, and Sun Mingyong could not stop. Moreover, Wei Hongmei, who was raising a child, had been spoiled. She could not work, had no income, and spent heavily.
Wei Hongmei even helped Sun Mingyong find buyers and sell the goods.
Under such circumstances, how could Wei Zhengye stay out of it?
Thinking of the goods hidden at home, Wei Zhengye lowered his head slightly, feeling thankful that the Revolutionary Committee had not discovered them. Otherwise, he would likely have been sent to a labor camp for real.
Wei Zhengye's incident was actually not considered too severe. Since he had compensated the factory for the money, it did not constitute a true crime of theft, nor was it embezzlement. Ultimately, he was sentenced for the crime of speculation and profiteering.
He was expelled from the Party and fired from the food factory, meaning he would never be hired by a state-owned factory again. He had to accept public criticism at a factory-wide assembly and undergo a month of ideological education at the Public Security Bureau.
Although he did not have to go to a labor camp, he had lost his iron rice bowl.
Purchaser Liu received the same sentence as him, while the business department supervisor, Miao Hongwei, was sent to a labor camp for three years.
Wei Hongmei went home crying. That very night, she moved out of the dormitory, taking all her belongings back to her parents' home, leaving the apartment completely empty.
The people in the courtyard all shook their heads, discussing in private, This Wei Hongmei will probably have to get a job now, right? If she doesn't work, is the whole family going to starve?
Someone else added, Wei Zhengye was a perfectly good director, but he ruined his own career just for his daughter. I don't know what he's going to do from now on.
Wei Zhengye stayed at the Public Security Bureau for a month to receive ideological education.
Meanwhile, Wei Hongmei lived at her parents' home with her child. She still did not work, yet she ate fine rice and good dishes every single day.
When the neighbors noticed this, they all shook their heads.
They said Wei Hongmei was heartless; even at a time like this, all she cared about was eating.
Time flew by, and soon, the factory welcomed a new workshop director and a new business department supervisor.
Because of her outstanding performance and her contribution in reporting the crime, Qiao Lanshu had saved the food factory from massive losses.
Therefore, Yang Wenyan directly submitted an application to make her a permanent employee.
She was now an official worker at the food factory, holding the position of warehouse keeper.
The previous warehouse keeper, who had gone home to have a baby, was reassigned due to her negligence at work. When she returned to work in the future, she would be sent to the pickled vegetable workshop.
The monthly salary for an official worker was 42 yuan, along with a 5 yuan non-staple food ticket subsidy provided by the factory.
Qiao Lanshu's job was quite relaxed, and she worked even harder.
One day, when she got off work and had just left the food factory, she sensed that someone was following her.
Her sixth sense had always been strong. She turned around and saw, far in the distance, a few men coming out of the back door of the supply and marketing cooperative. They were holding baskets and pulling a handcart, busy unloading goods.
Qiao Lanshu observed them but did not notice anything particularly wrong, though she felt a bit puzzled. It seemed like one of the men looked quite familiar?
But she couldn't quite remember.
