Chapter 71: One Mystery After Another
At this point, Lu Qiaoge paused for a moment and continued, “If the Finance Office is too busy, it can be handed over to someone else to manage. I’ve looked into these twelve volunteers, and Du Shuang studied accounting for a year, so she can temporarily take charge. Of course, the Finance Office is a key area where outsiders cannot enter, so the money and supplies will be placed at the Neighborhood Committee. Du Shuang will keep the records for withdrawals and expenditures. This resolves the volunteers’ concerns and allows the Service Station to continue better.”
Huang Juan looked at Lu Qiaoge with a complex expression.
The small Service Station now had a security fund?
Was it going to apply next to change into a new work unit?
Huang Juan thought this way, but she felt it was impossible.
But she really liked Lu Qiaoge’s work attitude like this.
The Neighborhood Committee, apart from Money Secretary who was recuperating, the busy and arrogant Finance Office, including her and Old Hu, were all approachable and dedicated to the job.
Huang Juan realized that the environment in which Lu Qiaoge grew up was beneficial to her.
So as her Aunt Huang, she naturally supported it strongly.
Thus, the Volunteer Service Station’s Warmth Security Fund was successfully established.
Old Hu took the lead and donated thirty yuan, Old Huang twenty yuan, and the others contributed more or less money or supplies.
Lu Qiaoge had no money, so she contributed a pair of rubber shoes, a bar of soap, and a towel.
Team Leader Meng Qingshan said movedly, “We will do our best to ensure we don’t cause trouble for the leader.”
The money totaled 68 yuan, all placed in the Finance Office, and the supplies were put in the small warehouse of the General Office.
Many hands make light work, and there were quite a few supplies indeed.
Among them were some commonly used medicines.
For some reason, even if they might not be used, these twelve people felt full of emotion in their hearts.
Lu Qiaoge temporarily did not continue to promote the Volunteer Service Station. Of course, if there were suitable families willing, they could naturally be absorbed.
The roof of Xiangyang Night School continued to be repaired. Lu Qiaoge, because of her involvement in the Third Aunt-Grandmother case, naturally learned some inside information again.
For example, why did Master Liu suddenly want to chop up the bookshelf?
That was because he had a dream in which Li Ying’s ex-husband, bleeding from all seven orifices, stood in front of the bookshelf repeatedly opening and closing the drawer, over and over with that action.
Master Liu was frightened awake.
So he didn’t want the bookshelf anymore.
Now Master Liu had been suspended and was cooperating with further investigation.
Master Liu definitely wouldn’t get off unscathed.
What awaited him was dismissal from the military factory with no chance of reemployment.
No one cared what he was thinking in his heart or whether he regretted it.
Although Li Ying schemed deliberately, Master Liu did not treat his deceased wife’s two children well, so this outcome was his own fault.
Liu Xia had been sold to Paomago by Third Aunt-Grandmother, which was the place prepared to sell Zhao Xiubo.
Now the Public Security had telegraphed the Public Security there, and two Security Department personnel had also been sent from here to pick up the person.
Chai Xiaoyan used to be in the Factory Department’s Safety Section, and she did her job very well. Her parents were scientific research personnel who later sacrificed themselves on duty, and her family relatives didn’t interact much.
When she passed away, her children were young, and naturally there was no job slot left.
Liu Yu originally wanted to pick up his sister, but his health was poor and he simply couldn’t travel long distances. The Factory Department considered Liu Yu truly pitiful and recruited him into the factory to replace Chai Xiaoyan’s job, but he temporarily couldn’t go to work and needed to recuperate first.
Master Liu was also being held, after all they were a couple, and he needed to be confirmed as uninvolved and unaware before being released.
One late night, Li Ying’s three children were quietly sent away.
The Liu family’s house was vacated, and Liu Yu tidied up the room, waiting for his sister to return.
Li Ying had been transferred to a secret location for continued interrogation. In just two days, three major cases had been cracked.
The Factory Department leaders, on one hand, felt that the Political Work and Propaganda Section’s ideological education and screening were inadequate, and on the other hand, felt that these local special agents were too detestable. These dog things had no national righteousness or patriotism, so the entire factory needed a thorough investigation.
Next, the potter’s wife still in prison was indeed deceived by Li Ying’s ex-husband. They colluded from inside and out to set a fire. The local special agent was from the Research Institute, just responsible for logistics with no opportunity to contact core secrets.
So why did the potter’s wife do this?
Not because she liked the local special agent, but because the local special agent told her that the potter and his female student had fallen in love over time and were preparing to divorce her. The potter’s wife thought of her husband who left early and returned late, even not coming home for a month, and his cold expression, so she believed it. One day the local special agent came to tell the potter’s wife that the potter and the female student were having an affair in the research room, and suggested she set a fire to scare them out, without making it awkward for both sides.
The potter’s wife’s thoughts were controlled by the local special agent who had been specially trained.
Thus, the potter’s wife went to find the potter, using the pre-arranged script.
There were many guards at the time, and the security level was high, but the potter’s wife had saved the potter’s life, and her reputation was good. She only intended to light the wastebasket to disturb the potter and the female student, but she never imagined it would burn more and more fiercely, even with no possibility of extinguishing it.
The local special agent stole the design drawing amid the chaos, but was discovered by Li Ying who happened to wake up at night. Before he could act, Li Ying poisoned him to death.
It had to be said that Li Ying was a ruthless person.
Before poisoning him, she coaxed him into drinking a large bottle of liquor, getting him drunk to death.
That’s how Li Ying succeeded.
There wasn’t much rat poison, but it indeed killed the person.
At the time, Li Ying and the local special agent were famously loving couple, so no one would suspect Li Ying of killing her husband if they suspected the local special agent of killing his wife.
Now the potter’s wife was also being held.
The potter still in prison fainted upon learning this truth.
Director He and Qin Hengzhi set off overnight to Chief Engineer Gu’s convalescence place.
Director He held the five rolls of design drawings in his arms and showed them to this big shot once renowned in the scientific circles of China and the West: “Old Gu, take a look. The design drawings aren’t lost; they’ve all been found back. Don’t be sad. It’s not too late, not too late at all—everything is salvageable.”
At this time, Chief Engineer Gu lay on the hospital bed, his turbid eyes no longer possessing their former wisdom. He waved his hands about with aaaahs, and no one knew what he was trying to express.
The room was silent, everyone lowered their heads, and the atmosphere was so heavy it made it hard to breathe.
Director He cried, for that absurd reason and the hard work of these people that had been ruined.
Qin Hengzhi silently stood at the doorway, his pitch-black deep eyes gazing out the window.
The pervasive morning mist had quietly dispersed. At the distant horizon, a wisp of golden light seemed to seep out. The first awakened sparrow shook off the night clinging to its wings, fluttering past the eaves as the sanatorium’s tin chimney emitted the first puff of cooking smoke today.
This sleeping world slowly awoke in the light and shadow of the rising sun.
On the way back, Director He said to the silent Qin Hengzhi, “Hengzhi, the Factory Director and Secretary asked me to ask your thoughts again. They all hope you can stay to oversee the production and management of the 516 military factory.”
Director He spoke here full of excitement: “Hengzhi, it’s not just restarting Project We’re also starting Projects 07-09, but the most important is still 01!”
