Chapter 86 The Soy Sauce Incident

On the day Yao Fanghua returned, after tidying herself up, she took two boxes of pastries and two exquisite cosmetic boxes to the Yu family's house.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they heard dogs barking, and then a small puppy rushed over. Upon seeing the third son, it quickly shrank back and hid at Madam Yu's feet.

Mrs. Yu picked it up and showed it to Yao Fanghua. "How is it? Isn't it beautiful? It's only a little over a month old. Its name is Xiaomei. It's so well-behaved and obedient."

Xiaomei, come here, let Aunt Huahua take a look.

And this one, this is the third son, the third son's older brother.

Yao Fanghua: ...Although she also loves dogs, Auntie, there's really no need for that.

While Lao San stayed in the yard to play with the puppy, Yao Fang followed Madam Yu to the living room.

Upon seeing Yao Fanghua, Yu Jun felt much more at ease.

The factory is doing better and better now, and he even just bought a car. These days, he's all the rage when he goes to meetings in the district. The leaders hope, and he eagerly anticipates, that the fan factory can reach even greater heights.

With Yao Fanghua back, this hope is now on the agenda.

"Look at you, all relaxed and radiant, you look much better. I knew it! We can't let ourselves be so down and let those scoundrels get away with it." On the sofa, Madam Yu took Yao Fanghua's hand and looked her over from side to side. "You can tell at a glance that you and that young Wu are getting along very well. Don't call me old-fashioned, but if you ask me, we should hurry up and get married."

Yao Fanghua nodded, "Yes, I know."

Mrs. Yu smiled broadly, "When are you having your wedding? Don't forget to invite me to the banquet."

Yu Jun frowned slightly as he listened. That's the downside of women; once they get married, they have to have children, and then their focus shifts.

Yu Jun: "No matter what, work should always come first."

Mrs. Yu glared at him, "Isn't family important?"

Yao Fanghua smiled and said to the factory director, "Don't worry, leader, I know what's important. I will put work first."

Yu Jun felt relieved and told his wife to quickly cook some good dishes. "You still need to eat more nourishing food. You still look thin. Health is the foundation of everything."

"We have fish at home, so Auntie will make you fish soup. Then I'll stir-fry some lean meat. Eat as much as you like." This won't make you gain weight, and at this age when you're young and care about your appearance, who wants to be fat?

Yao Fanghua: "I helped wash and chop the vegetables."

The two were cooking in the kitchen when, in the yard, the little puppy was already running after the third brother.

Both inside and outside the house, one could feel the tranquility of life. Mrs. Yu sighed, this was the scene she had imagined of spending time with her daughter. Other people's daughters were so considerate, but her own daughter, how come she only knew how to devote herself to men? How foolish! Why can't she be clear-headed?

The meal was a pleasant one for both the host and guests.

Back home, Yao Fanghua washed up and went to bed early. With so much work piled up, she knew she would be busy at work for a while.

The next day, she was full of energy and went to work early.

Then, I immediately received a notice of suspension from my duties pending investigation.

Yao Fanghua was stunned, her mind went completely blank.

Yu Jun was even more confused; how come he didn't know about this?

The order came directly from above, bypassing him and the fan factory, and sent disciplinary inspectors down. Right now, the disciplinary inspectors are waiting for Yao Fanghua in the small conference room.

In the small conference room, there was only one table. Behind the table were two disciplinary inspectors, a man and a woman, both wearing glasses, with notebooks in front of them, and their expressions were very serious.

When Yao Fanghua entered, the two became even more serious.

The two men looked Yao Fanghua up and down before saying, "Please sit down."

One of them said, "Comrade Yao Fanghua, we hope you understand that leniency will be given for those who confess and severity for those who resist. We hope you can honestly explain your problems."

The two nodded to each other, and the other continued, "Based on a report filed by a member of the public, the organization wants to question you about certain issues. We hope you will adopt a proper attitude and confess honestly!"

Yao Fanghua clenched her fists, feeling that they were interrogating a prisoner, treating him like a criminal.

"Have you done anything improper with your finances? Have you accepted bribes or taken advantage of public resources?"

"No."

The person opposite scoffed, "Looks like you won't learn your lesson until you're faced with the truth. Didn't your mother accept a bottle of soy sauce in public, right at the shop entrance, on April 20th last year?"

"have no idea."

"What kind of attitude is that? What kind of expression is that? Are you unhappy with our questions? Don't do evil even if it's insignificant. I think you, as someone who has received higher education, should have heard this saying."

Yao Fanghua lowered her head and remained silent.

"I'll ask you one more time: on April 20th last year, did your mother accept a bottle of soy sauce in front of the steamed bun shop?"

"have no idea."

"It either exists or it doesn't. What do you mean by 'I don't know'?"

Yao Fanghua lowered her head and remained silent.

Is this true?

"have no idea."

Unexpectedly, he was a difficult person. After exchanging glances, the two men sneered and continued with the next question, "Where do you live now? Did you buy the house yourself? Where did you get the money?"

"I bought it myself. The money was what I earned doing carving before I joined the factory, and I had already reported it."

The two men exchanged glances and continued, "We will verify what you said. Many people have reported that you live a life of extravagance. Is that true?"

"No."

"You think you can make all the decisions? You're a young woman, yet you're such a spineless coward. Your sophistry is utterly despicable. We've already investigated. First, your mother's place—the washing machine, the TV, the sewing machine—did you buy them all? And your own house, we heard it's even more luxurious. And where did all this money come from? Did you earn it all from sculpting?"

Yao Fanghua: "You can check and verify it."

"What kind of attitude is this? Look how arrogant you are!" She slammed her hand on the table; he really deserved a beating. "And what's more, at work, you make employees clean for you and fetch water for you. This is completely capitalist hedonism and bureaucratic style."

Yao Fanghua remained silent.

After that, Yao Fanghua either remained silent, said she didn't know, or told them to verify.

The two hadn't expected that someone so young would be such a tough nut to crack.

After Yao Fanghua, one person after another was called into the small conference room and asked to raise any issues concerning Comrade Yao Fanghua.

Most people would be afraid in this situation, even if they are not the ones being investigated, or even if they are just being asked to understand the situation.

They generally adhered to the principle of not saying nice things, but also being truthful. Even Zhang Hua, despite his jealousy of Yao Fanghua, timidly chose to be truthful at this moment. Especially when he thought about some of his own problems, he broke out in a cold sweat as he replied.

Besides Zhao Aiguo, after returning to work at the fan factory, Zhao Aiguo went to the archives of the retirement home. When questioned, he embellished his story, claiming that Yao Fanghua had improper relationships with Yu Jun, Geng Youliang, Yang Qing, and many others.

The two people behind the table exchanged a glance. This was a serious matter concerning their lifestyle, so they took it all in.

When questioned, Yu Jun became very agitated and almost pointed his finger at the two men and cursed them. After slamming the door, Yu Jun went straight to the district office.

Yao Fanghua returned to her office to pack her things; the disciplinary committee told her to go home and wait for the results. Yao Fanghua sat in her office for a long time, unable to come to her senses. She wasn't ready to say a proper goodbye to this office. Yao Fanghua held back her tears. She couldn't be so pathetic; her pathetic state would only make her a laughingstock. She had to stand tall.

When Yao Fanghua left, she ran into Shen Jiao in the corridor.

The two looked at each other, and Shen Jiao stepped forward with a smile, "You, you're accepting bribes, that's really wrong. I always said it's not a good thing for a poor person to suddenly become rich. Tsk, stay home and reflect on your actions."

"I didn't." Yao Fanghua's throat was dry. Besides being powerless to refute, she should have gone up and ripped this person's mouth apart. She thought, Wu Peng was right, she was just a paper tiger.

"There's no use in making excuses; the evidence is right there."

After walking past, Shen Jiao turned back with a smile and said, "Also, don't take yourself too seriously. This factory doesn't stop operating just because someone is gone, right?"

The day after Yao Fanghua returned home, Chen Zhiyuan was transferred to the fan factory as the head of the technical department.