"I’ll go back to school tomorrow morning. You must be careful these days and lock the doors and windows at home. Or you can stay at my house. With my parents here, they’ll restrain themselves no matter what."
Shu Ping did not refuse. It was not wise to put herself in danger. She immediately collected a few sets of clothes, packed her important items at home, and followed Shu Jun back home before dawn.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, they alarmed Shu Weimin and Liu Yanfang. Seeing their niece coming in with luggage, they hurriedly asked what was going on.
Shu Jun told them everything. Shu Weimin was so angry that he wanted to go to Jiang Hai to argue.
"This bastard has no humanity at all. What else does he care about except money? I, Shu Weimin, am not dead yet, but he is trying to cheat our Shu family's factory. I’ll fight him to the death!"
Shu Ping hurriedly stopped him.
"Uncle, there's no need to get angry with him. If we beat him up, we’ll be implicated. It's better to let him spend five to ten years in prison and reflect. We’ve found evidence. Brother will help me find someone in the provincial capital tomorrow. No matter how much he has embezzled, he’ll have to spit it all out in the end."
Shu Weimin sighed, and his anger passed. He felt more guilty. He felt that he had let his brother down and did not take good care of his niece. She was almost killed.
At that time, when Shu Hemin died, the family suggested that Shu Weimin take over, but he only knew how to do carpentry and didn't know anything else. He also wanted to avoid suspicion. He thought that Jiang Hai was doing a good job, and he was always valued by his brother. As long as the factory made money and his niece didn't lack anything, it didn't matter who the factory director was.
Jiang Hai made a promise at that time, but he didn't know how to judge a person's heart. He also blamed himself for trusting Jiang Hai too much and not thinking about visiting the factory often, which made the bad guys feel confident.
"Can I leave this matter to your brother? Otherwise, I'll go to the county town to ask someone. I also worked for a cadre in a police station ten years ago."
"Let's do what we discussed before. If my brother's way doesn't work, we'll go to the county town. Jiang Hai has more connections in the county than us, and we can't be sure if we'll run into him. Uncle, aunt, just pretend you don't know anything about this. Do what you should do as before, and don't tell others that I'm here. I'm afraid Jiang Hai will come here to make trouble if he finds out that something is missing."
Shu Jun also persuaded them, and finally the old couple were convinced.
Liu Yanfang knew that the brother and sister hadn't slept all night, so she urged them to take a nap. She was also worried that they were hungry, so she went to the kitchen to cook noodles for them.
Shu Ping wasn’t hungry, so she asked Liu Yanfang not to cook for her. Shu Jun digested food quickly, and he had to take a bus to the provincial capital, so he didn't refuse his mother's kindness. He ate a big bowl of egg green vegetable noodles and went out with his bag at dawn.
In addition to all the evidence he found, there was also 5,000 yuan given to him by Shu Ping in case he needed money to ask for help from someone with connections. It is always a good idea to bring more money with you.
Jiang Hai didn't really notice that he was missing anything that day. He slept until noon, went to the town to eat a bowl of noodles with gravy, and then walked around the factory. He was very satisfied to see the workers working in an orderly manner. He invited some friends to have dinner and play cards. He went home drunk in the middle of the night, and then he fell asleep.
At this time, Shu Jun had already found someone who could help. Zhou Yuanhua, the father of his classmate Zhou Zehan, made it clear that the evidence he brought was enough for Jiang Hai to go to jail.
Misappropriation of public funds, tax evasion, and forgery of IOUs were multiple crimes, and the maximum penalty for them was five years in prison. In addition to returning the misappropriated funds, a certain amount of fine would also be imposed.
"If you are sure you want to sue, I can give Anping County a call. You are all students and you lack social experience. It’s easier to do things with acquaintances to take care of it."
Shu Jun nodded firmly, "We'll sue, if it was just embezzlement of public funds, and he admitted his mistakes and apologized, we would reluctantly choose to settle privately because we had known each other for years. But he has a bad character, and he actually colluded with people with bad intentions to deceive my sister's feelings. Fortunately, she was smart and didn't fall for it. I dare not think about what would have happened otherwise. Wouldn't my sister's life be ruined?"
After saying that, he looked at his classmate's father and solemnly expressed his gratitude, "Uncle, thank you very much. If it weren't for your help, we might have gone through a lot of wrong ways."
Zhou Yuanhua was also very moved, and put himself in his shoes. If his daughter was treated like this, he would also find a way to make the other party sit in jail to relieve his anger.
"You're welcome, you and Zehan are classmates, so you should help each other. Besides, I’m a prosecutor, and my job is to maintain social justice. These kinds of people with bad intentions have no contribution to society, but are infinitely harmful. I’m very happy to see him punished by law, and when he is reformed, he’ll be released to start a new life."
When Shu Jun said goodbye and was about to leave, Zhou Yuanhua brought the fruits and tea he had given as gifts to the door and asked him to take them away. "You’re still a student, so don't learn these bad societal habits. If you don't understand something about family matters, you can call me and ask. You’re also welcome to visit our home anytime you are free. "
Such elders were very worthy of respect. Shu Jun left Zhou's house with his things in his arms, his heart surging. For a moment, he regretted not studying law. However, if he had really signed up for law, he would probably not have met Zhou Zehan, and would not have met Uncle Zhou.
It was too late to go back that day, so he went back to the dormitory to stay for one night. However, the matter has been settled. Uncle Zhou has communicated with Anping. As long as Shu Jun went to the police station at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, they would send someone to Fengxiang Village with Shu Jun to arrest Jiang Hai and Gu Zhihong for investigation.
The next day, Chen Yibin went to Shu Ping's house to find someone and found that the gate of the courtyard was locked. Then the food factory needed to go to the bank to handle a batch of raw material payments with the official seal. Gu Zhihong asked Jiang Hai to get the seal, only to find that a lot of important things were missing from the drawer. The official seal, business license, and legal person seal were all missing!
Jiang Hai turned the two drawers upside down. The tax registration certificates, shopping orders, and previously forged IOUs— he didn't even know when they were lost.
He asked Gu Zhihong with red eyes, "The drawers have been moved. Who came when I was away? Who was it?!"
Everything on the desk was swept away by him, and he looked violent like a beast trapped in a cage.
Gu Zhihong was afraid of getting into trouble, so he shook his head and said, "I didn't see it. No one can open your door and drawer except you. They’re locked well."
But now that the things were indeed lost, it meant that someone must have sneaked in. He remembered that this office, including the desk, was used by Shu Hemin before, and that the key to the office had never been changed!
"Where is Shu Hemin's previous key? Do you know who took it?"
When the old factory director was mentioned, Gu Zhihong suddenly felt guilty and scared, and his voice was a little shaky. He was timid and usually didn't dare to walk outside at night.
"I don't know, Director Shu left so suddenly that no one noticed such a small detail."
Jiang Hai didn't think of Shu Ping immediately, mainly because the original owner was cowardly and didn't seem like someone who could do such a thing. Coincidentally, Chen Yibin came to the factory without finding Shu Ping. When Jiang Hai heard that Shu Ping wasn’t at home, and thought about the lost things, he instantly understood what was going on.
"It's Shu Ping! She took the things."
Chen Yibin still didn't quite believe it. He had the most contact with the original owner, and he knew the original owner's character thoroughly. Could it be that she had been pretending all this time? That would be amazing.
"If it's not her, then who else do you think it is?"
Jiang Hai pointed at Chen Yibin after yelling, "Didn't you say that the matter was almost certain, and you were waiting to close the net? Now the person is gone, and this is what you did?"
Chen Yibin was not a pushover. He hasn't received a penny so far. If Shu Ping was really pretending to be simple, then he had wasted several months in vain. Every time he went to the school to see her, he would occasionally treat her to dinner, but he spent his own money!
"It's no use yelling at me. If you don't want people to know how you planned to take over the factory, just pay me the money I’ve spent in the past few months. "
Gu Zhihong couldn't stand it and wanted to leave. He felt that these words were not what he could listen to...
Shu Ping stayed indoors the previous day and didn't go out. No one knew that she was in her uncle's house. While Jiang Hai was looking for her, people from the Anping County Public Security Bureau had already driven Shu Jun to the entrance of Fengxiang Village. The two police cars really scared the villagers.
From the founding of the People's Republic of China to the present, Fengxiang Village never had any illegal or criminal incidents. Everyone followed the police car all the way to the food factory.
"Are you here to arrest people?"
"Who committed a crime?"
"I saw Shu Jun sitting in the car. Is it related to the Shu family?"
Jiang Hai instinctively wanted to run when he heard the noise, but he was not as fast as the police. When he was subdued, he was confused and angry, struggling and shouting, "Let go! What crime have I committed? Why are you arresting me?"
A policeman handcuffed him and said in a calm and serious voice, "Jiang Hai, you are suspected of fraud, embezzlement of other people's property, forgery of contract receipts, tax evasion, and other illegal acts. The victim has already accused you. Please go back to the bureau to cooperate with our investigation."
The villagers and workers who were watching were in an uproar. Most of them could not understand the various charges, but the police were real, and the handcuffs were real. If the police were arresting him, then he must have committed a serious crime!
Gu Zhihong and Chen Yibin, who were hiding in the distance, were so scared that their legs trembled, and they prayed that nothing would happen to them. But their last-minute prayers were obviously useless. Gu Zhihong was finally taken to the police car with Jiang Hai.
Gu Zhihong lowered his head in silence, not even saying a word of injustice. It was obvious that he knew it in his heart, but he had always been lucky. He did not expect that Jiang Hai would be sued by the Shu family, and that the charges would be so serious. In this situation, as an accomplice, he was afraid that he would be in big trouble.
Fortunately, he was more careful at the time and hid the vouchers with the real accounts. With those, he could put all the responsibility on Jiang Hai and say that Jiang Hai coerced him, and perhaps he could get leniency.
He didn't know that the account book had been found by the brother and sister. His so-called "trump card" had long lost its value. After he arrived at the police station, he confessed and was shown leniency. If he behaved well, he might be able to reduce his sentence.
The police car drove away and Chen Yibin, who was hiding in the dark, came out with weak legs. He was so scared that his body was covered with cold sweat, but he didn't care about the discomfort. He ran out of the village in a panic. He ignored the acquaintances who greeted him on the road.
"What's wrong with Chen Yibin? There's no dog chasing him."
"Who knows? Maybe he's done too many bad things."
Everyone laughed and put him behind their minds. In a few words, they talked about Jiang Hai and Gu Zhihong.