A hint of mockery flashed in Zhou Qiang's eyes.

Wu Huaiqing usually pretended to be upright, but unexpectedly, he had an affair with a married woman.

If this is handled well, Wu Huaiqing's position as director will be his last.

"Well done," Zhou Qiang said, taking out a dollar from his wallet. "This is your reward. Next time you have news like this, let me know promptly, and you'll get your share of the benefits."

"Don't worry, Director Zhou, I will definitely do my job well."

The worker took the money and walked out of the office with a big smile on his face.

Yu Yao and Wu Huaiqing were sitting at the stone table, eating lunch and chatting.

Wu Huaiqing asked Yu Yao, "Is your canned food research and development progressing smoothly?"

Yu Yao took a bite of the food. "It went quite smoothly. I chose two kinds of beef, three kinds of pork, and one kind of duck for the canned meat. There are three kinds of canned seafood: anchovies, braised ribbonfish, and dace with black bean sauce. I also have several kinds of canned fruit. Now all that's left is to prepare the syrup."

"This canned syrup is an improvement on an old recipe. It requires some special ingredients, and I estimate that the results should be available in another half month."

Wu Huaiqing nodded, "Half a month is still enough. Once it's confirmed, give me the list and the types of items, and I'll submit it for you."

Yu Yao picked up a piece of food, her eyebrows curving into a smile, "I'll write to you once I've finished making the fruit preserves."

At this point, Yu Yao paused and asked Wu Huaiqing, "Brother, were you in charge of purchasing sugarcane for Hongxi Farm before?"

Wu Huaiqing shook his head. "Each purchasing director is responsible for a different region and farm. Zhou Qiang is mainly in charge of Hongxi Farm. Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

After thinking for a moment, Yu Yao briefly told Wu Huaiqing what had happened.

"We were short-handed to purchase sugarcane this time, so Director Li asked me and Fang Qiaoqiao, the woman who was with me that day, to go together."

"On the last day of inventory, I found that the farm had used a batch of sugarcane that looked good but was moldy inside, mixed in with the other sugarcane to get by... Although the farm later said that it was a mistake made by a new educated youth, I always felt that something was unusual."

After listening to Yu Yao's words, Wu Huaiqing was silent for two seconds, and then said, "Do you suspect that the moldy sugarcane was mixed in with the purchased sugarcane?"

Yu Yao nodded. "However, this is just my guess, and it may not be accurate. It's also possible that I'm being too sensitive and have misunderstood."

Unexpectedly, after listening to her words, Wu Huaiqing suddenly said, "Your guess may not be wrong."

Yu Yao asked in surprise, "Why do you say that? Did you discover something?"

Wu Huaiqing pushed up his glasses and said, "Do you remember what I told you about the missing canned goods before? Every year, a batch of canned goods is destroyed due to various accidents or negligence. The factory manager asked me to investigate this matter, and I have confirmed that Zhou Qiang was involved."

He let out a breath and looked at Yu Yao: "Since Zhou Qiang dared to target this batch of canned goods, he might very well tamper with other purchases as well."

Yu Yao understood what Wu Huaiqing meant.

Purchasing is a lucrative position, and it's easier to rig things than in other roles.

The food factory purchases a large quantity of various materials, especially sugarcane, with an annual purchase volume of at least 300 tons.

With such a large quantity of sugarcane, it would be too easy to tamper with it.

Not too much is needed; each purchase only requires a few hundred kilograms of inferior goods, which are then distributed across various vehicles.

With such a large number, it is difficult to detect.

"Brother, Zhou Qiang has managed to keep things perfectly a secret for so many years, he might have accomplices. You need to be extra careful when you investigate."

Yu Yao was a little worried.

Wu Huaiqing, afraid she would worry, ruffled her hair and smiled, "Don't worry, I'll be careful. Don't worry about the sugarcane for now, leave it to me. Understand?"

Yu Yao nodded, "Then I'll keep quiet for now, but don't act alone. Since the factory manager asked you to investigate the canned goods, it must mean he doesn't trust Zhou Qiang. You can ask Factory Manager Wang to send you more people."

Wu Huaiqing smiled and said, "Mm."

"I'll go to the archives later to check the natural losses of sugarcane over the years. If there are any problems, there should be traces."

The two talked about other things for a while, and after eating, they each returned to their workshops.

After get off work, Yu Yao and Fang Qiaoqiao went to the supply and marketing cooperative together.

Today she brought extra tickets and money, planning to go to the supply and marketing cooperative later, and then to the nearby dock to buy some fresh seafood to cook a delicious meal with drinks tonight.

The supply and marketing cooperative's non-staple food store sells a variety of fruit wines, packaged in large, clear glass jars.

Fang Qiaoqiao asked Yu Yao, "Yu Yao, with so many fruit wines, which one does your Commander Lu like to drink?"

Yu Yao was stumped by the question; all she knew was that Lu Ze could drink.

But he rarely drinks alcohol, and when he does, it's mostly baijiu (Chinese white liquor). I've never really seen him drink fruit wine.

Yu Yao looked at the glass jars behind the counter and asked the sales clerk, "Comrade, what kinds of fruit wines do you have here? Which ones can be mixed with medicinal wine?"

"We have lychee wine, coconut wine, longan wine, and sugarcane wine, all of which can be mixed with medicinal wine. Sugarcane and coconut wine are 25 cents a pound, while lychee and longan wine are 30 cents a pound. How much do you want?"

Sure enough, these wines were very cheap in the 1970s.

Not knowing what kind of wine Lu Ze liked, we decided to have a little of each kind.

If it tastes good, I'll make more next time.

To be honest, I haven't been a very good partner; I don't even know what Lu Ze likes to drink or eat.

On the contrary, Lu Ze knew her preferences perfectly well.

Often, he has already taken care of things without you having to ask.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!