"What?" Tao Jiadong was shocked.

"Qian Youliang burned down the warehouse. Secretary Tao, could you go to the supply and marketing cooperative and help oversee the work?" Director Wang said with a bitter face.

"Let's go." Tao Jiadong locked the lock he had just opened back in and followed Director Wang to the supply and marketing cooperative.

Along the way, Director Wang reported the whole story to Tao Jiadong.

This afternoon, Director Wang went to ask Qian Youliang for the account books again.

The money and grain weren't in the warehouse; they went to the hospital.

Director Wang had no choice but to patiently wait for Qian Youliang to return.

As a result, when it was time to leave work, Qian Youliang was still nowhere to be seen.

Director Wang was furious.

During dinner, Director Wang complained to his wife Cai Mingfeng about Qian Youliang: "That old Qian, he's usually so diligent, why is he sick today? I had already arranged for several employees to start taking inventory of the warehouse tonight, but Qian Youliang has ruined everything."

"Old Wang, could it be that Old Qian is afraid to hand over the accounts and is just pretending to be sick?" Cai Mingfeng said casually.

"Pretending to be sick?" Director Wang's expression changed.

Before Cai Mingfeng said that, Director Wang never imagined that Qian Youliang would feign illness.

Now that I think about it, Qian Youliang might really have been faking illness.

Otherwise, why would Qian Youliang fall ill right after he asked him to hand in the accounts before leaving get off work today?

Why would someone with money and grain pretend to be sick?

Oh no, the warehouse inventory most likely doesn't match the accounts.

Thinking of this, Director Wang couldn't sit still any longer.

After shoveling the rice into his mouth in a few bites, Director Wang pushed the bowl away and stood up.

"Mingfeng, I need to go to the office." Director Wang said this and hurriedly walked towards the office.

Director Wang felt that the inventory was an urgent matter.

Isn't having money and grain just an excuse for not having the key to the drawer?

According to the schedule, it should be Lao Jia's shift tonight, and Lao Jia definitely has the key.

On his way back to the office, Director Wang made a special detour to the homes of several employees who had been scheduled to participate in the inventory during the day, and called them over.

It's quite a coincidence.

When Director Wang and his team reached the warehouse door, they saw Qian Youliang with his back to them, striking a match and throwing it on the ground.

With a loud "boom," the fire burst into flames.

Qian Youliang turned and ran towards the door, only to be caught red-handed by Director Wang and his men.

Director Wang and his colleagues were terrified.

Some people grabbed the money and grain, while others rushed to fetch water to put out the fire.

The warehouse's fire prevention measures are fairly good.

Near the corner of the warehouse, there were several large water vats, all full of water. Next to each vat, there were several wooden basins on the ground.

With a large number of people and easy access to water, the small fire was extinguished in less than a minute.

After being restrained, Qian Youliang's eyes were glazed over, he reeked of alcohol, and he was mumbling incoherently. He was clearly drunk.

Director Wang was furious and asked Qian Youliang why he had burned down the warehouse.

No matter how Director Wang asked, Qian Youliang didn't answer, he just kept laughing.

Director Wang wanted to send Qian Youliang to the police station, but was dissuaded by those around him.

Qian Youliang was probably drunk and confused, and he probably didn't even know what he had done.

The warehouse loss wasn't significant, maybe a couple hundred yuan at most. It would be better to let Qian Youliang continue working and deduct the loss from his wages to make up for it.

Director Wang felt this was inappropriate, and after thinking it over, he came to Tao Jiadong for advice.

"Wang Qingquan, do you think this is a matter of the magnitude of the loss?" Tao Jiadong frowned and questioned.

"Secretary Tao, I also felt that we shouldn't have done that, which is why I came to you. I was just afraid of offending Old Wu, and that he would be unhappy with me!" Director Wang said with a forced smile.

Old Wu was the one who suggested going to the police station instead of offering money or grain. He was also the head of the finance department at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Director Wang might ignore the suggestions of ordinary employees, but he couldn't help but give Old Wu some face when he made a suggestion.

"Absurd!" Tao Jiadong couldn't help but curse angrily. "Qian Youliang burned down the warehouse, which is already a crime. Moreover, you guys caught him red-handed, and the evidence is conclusive. Even so, you still care about what others think and don't send Qian Youliang to the police station? Don't you, as the director, have your own ideas?"

"I...I..." Director Wang saw that Tao Jiadong was angry, and his usual philosophy of "forgiving others when possible" was on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back down.

Tao Jiadong shook his head.

This Wang Qingquan is indecisive when it comes to matters. He's really not cut out to be a leader.

"We must never tolerate illegal and criminal activities," Tao Jiadong said firmly.

"Yes, yes, that's what I think too. We can't tolerate crime," Director Wang said with a forced smile.

Tao Jiadong lost interest in talking to Director Wang and kept a stern face the whole way.

Upon arriving at the supply and marketing cooperative, Tao Jiadong first went to the office to make a phone call to the police station before following Director Wang to the warehouse.

At the entrance to the warehouse was a wide-open, flat area.

Qian Youliang was lying on the open ground, fast asleep with his eyes closed.

Around Qian Youliang stood five men: two middle-aged men and three young men.

Upon seeing Director Wang and Tao Jiadong, several people gathered around them.

"Director Wang, Qian Youliang is asleep and we can't wake him up."

"Director Wang, should we have Qian Youliang's family come to pick him up?"

"Director Wang, do we need to work overtime tonight?"

······

Everyone asked questions at once.

"Don't panic, everyone. We can't leave here yet. The police will be here soon and they'll need to take our statements. We'll have to wait for the police to let us know when we can go home."

"Director Wang, didn't you say you wouldn't report it to the police? Why did you secretly report it to the police again? If you're unwilling to listen to the opinions of us, the masses, why did you ask everyone in the first place?" Old Wu's face fell, and he was somewhat displeased.

“Director Wang, Qian Youliang was drunk, it shouldn’t have been intentional. It’s just a matter of losing a hundred or two yuan. If you report it to the police, won’t Qian Youliang’s job be affected?” A young man surnamed Tang also stood up to speak for Qian Youliang.

The others remained silent.

"A warehouse fire is a serious matter, so we definitely need to report it to the police. As for how to determine responsibility, how much compensation to pay for the money and grain, that's the police's business, we don't need to worry about it," Director Wang explained.

"Director Wang, you really don't care about the employees at all! You have to make a big deal out of this little thing and report it to the police. If a criminal really comes out of our supply and marketing cooperative, will you, as the boss, be proud of yourself or something?" Old Wu said with dissatisfaction.

"Old Wu, I didn't mean it..." Director Wang tried to explain.

While Director Wang and the others were entangled, Tao Jiadong walked alone to Qian Youliang's side and circled around him.

Qian Youliang did indeed smell strongly of alcohol. However, the smell of alcohol in his breath was very faint.

Moreover, Tao Jiadong noticed that when Director Wang mentioned reporting the incident to the police, Qian Youliang's snoring paused for a moment.

Was Qian Youliang faking being drunk?