Chapter 270 Entertainment Value I hadn't even exerted myself, and you'd already collapsed. ...

“It won’t work now, Mr. Wang. Our new factory manager, Qin Xiangxiang, is very cunning and shrewd. She’s keeping a close eye on things, and there’s also that big-mouthed Aunt Pan—” Liu Manfu broke out in a cold sweat, thinking that Mr. Wang was really asking for trouble, that he was trying to sabotage diplomatic orders. He was really tired of living and had a lot of nerve.

This Boss Wang is really trying to kill him. Boss Wang's identity is dishonorable, while he is a person of status. He can run away, but he can't hide. If the truth comes out, he'll be finished.

Boss Wang's face darkened: "Old Liu, we're in this together. I still have all those old ledgers—if you don't do this, I'll send them all to the Light Industry Bureau. If you do it, we'll make a fortune together; if you don't, you'll be going to jail."

Large beads of sweat appeared on Liu Manfu's forehead. He had been cornered by Boss Wang and was already on a sinking ship. He was going to die either way, so he might as well fight to the death.

His eyes hardened. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' order had problems, and the first person to be held accountable would be Qin Xiangxiang. If he could get away with it, wouldn't he be able to take the opportunity to bring down Qin Xiangxiang?

He wants to regain control of the Shangpu Textile Factory.

"Okay, I'll do it."

After returning home, Liu Manfu spent the night devising a meticulous plan. He intended to use his last confidant, Xu Jiabao, a warehouse keeper and a distant nephew of his. Their relationship was unknown to outsiders, which would give Liu Manfu an opportunity to sever ties with him.

He privately told Xu Jiabao that the two of them were working together, just like before, to transport out a batch of imported high-count wool fabric intended for use in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs uniforms late at night, while simultaneously bringing in inferior domestic blended fabric with a similar appearance to switch them out.

"Uncle Liu—is this really going to work? The warehouse is heavily guarded right now, it'll be very difficult for us to accomplish this."

"I can't even go into the warehouse now, and I don't know what's inside. I heard they've installed 'anti-theft' measures."

"What kind of security measures could be in such a large warehouse? Unless someone is assigned to guard it day and night, as the warehouse manager, would you have noticed anyone inside?"

"No."

Liu Manfu and Xu Jiabao had a plan to carry out their plan at night. However, Liu Manfu was unaware that the plan had been overheard by Aunt Pan from the very beginning.

Aunt Pan's old friend works at the restaurant where Liu Manfu and Boss Wang met. She told Aunt Pan that Liu Manfu went into a private room with a man. Later, Aunt Pan discovered that this man was actually a black market fabric merchant.

What is the purpose of meeting with a black market fabric merchant at a time like this?

Aunt Pan was overjoyed with this major secret discovery. "After hearing about catching spies for so many years, I've finally stumbled upon a big one!"

"If we can catch them red-handed, my whole life will have been worth it!"

For the first time, Aunt Pan, who had a big mouth, kept her mouth shut, not wanting to let the enemy know.

People in the future will probably find it hard to understand the "enthusiasm" and excitement that people had for catching spies back then. This was an honor that no amount of money could buy!

Catching spies and thieves adds a fiery spice to an otherwise mundane life.

"Factory manager, Liu Manfu has met with the black market boss!"

"This is definitely something they're up to!"

"We must catch him red-handed!"

Qin Xiangxiang: "?"

Qin Xiangxiang was a little confused. It felt like the whole world knew that Liu Manfu was going to steal fabric from the warehouse. Secretary Li hinted at it to her, and Aunt Pan found out the news directly... It was practically an open secret.

Could it be a smokescreen by the enemy? Having read too many novels about catching spies, Qin Xiangxiang couldn't help but think deeply about this at this moment.

However, she didn't know that the situation before her was actually something that "everyone in the world can understand."

Because she currently has such a strong fan base, people all go to her to tip off others, allowing her to reap all the "gossip."

"Factory manager, Deputy Factory Manager Liu is speaking privately with warehouse keeper Xu Jiabao."

"Actually, I suspect that Xu Jiabao is a distant relative of Deputy Factory Director Liu."

Someone whispered to Qin Xiangxiang to report the situation.

Qin Xiangxiang: "...???!!"

No way, is this... this is the textile factory's open secret?

In fact, even Liu Manfu himself didn't know. If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place. It wasn't that no one in the factory noticed something was wrong before, but at that time, there was someone in the factory who "covered up the truth." Many people knew about this, but they just didn't dare to say it.

If the report fails, and you end up facing severe retaliation—being accused of having the wrong class background or wrong ideology—…

The new factory manager is clearly a man of action, so let's just find him and casually reveal this.

"He...he's already laid his cards on the table, is he still going to play them?"

Qin Xiangxiang, who was originally filled with excitement and tension about catching a thief, finally felt a real sense of accomplishment as a lazy bum who had won without lifting a finger.

She clearly intended to try her best to catch a thief and experience the challenge.

Life is full of disappointments.

Qin Xiangxiang was a little confused. She felt that everyone knew Liu Manfu was a suspect. In this situation where he was surrounded by enemies, would he still take action?

Anyone with a modicum of intelligence wouldn't have acted; the entire factory was watching.

Li Jianzhi: "When you're in the martial world, you're not in control of your own destiny."

"He's gone astray, and it's not something he can just stop doing whenever he wants. It's definitely because people in the black market have their eyes on this piece of meat. They have leverage over Liu. If he doesn't do it, he'll die anyway. So, do you think he'll do it or not?"

Qin Xiangxiang: "..."

"Sigh—I thought we'd be on high alert and very nervous."

Li Jianzhi: "If you look at the strategies in 'Guanzi' (Anthology of Classical Chinese Prose), many of them are open schemes that the other party cannot avoid."

“If your factory has good fabrics, someone will definitely be interested and will have to get involved.”

"If it really succeeds, Qin Xiangxiang, this diplomatic order will be ruined, and you won't even be able to keep your position as factory director. They might even win."

Qin Xiangxiang pointed at herself: "He even beat me. On the very first day he talked to Boss Wang, someone tipped me off."

"No, Secretary Li reminded me on the very first day the new materials were put into storage."

“A worker just told me that Xu Jiabao, who works in the warehouse, might be a distant relative of his.”

Li Jianzhi: "It's similar to intelligence information. You've been given so much information, and you have to distinguish between truth and falsehood, believe what, and take what measures... However, with the support of the people, my wife, you have a good foundation among the masses, so the enemy can't do anything."

Qin Xiangxiang: "..."

"Old Li, it seems that your anti-theft device is completely useless."

Li Jianzhi: "It serves an entertainment purpose, and might even surprise a thief."

On the night Liu Manfu took action, Qin Xiangxiang was not at the factory. She left the factory looking relaxed, and it was precisely because of her "unprepared" departure that Liu Manfu decided to take action.

On a dark and windy night, Liu Manfu and his nephew furtively opened the warehouse door. Just as they were inspecting the fabric, the fishing line snapped, and in an instant, several loud "bangs!" rang out, terrifying the two men. Then, blinding lights flashed.

"What...what is this? What is this?"

Liu Manfu and his nephew were hugging when they were startled by a series of flashes of light. Then they realized that nothing happened after the flashes, as if it were just a joke playing on them.

Liu Manfu: "Is this crazy?! It's a child's toy!"

Just as the two were about to move their things out, Secretary Li and a group of security personnel stood outside the warehouse and surrounded them. Meanwhile, the men sent by Boss Wang from the black market to pick them up had already been caught by the indignant workers.

Caught red-handed, the inferior fabric on the outside contrasted sharply and glaringly with the top-quality wool fabric that was about to be transported away on such a night.

The next morning, news of Deputy Factory Director Liu's arrest spread like wildfire throughout the factory, igniting the workers' anger.

"It was one thing for this guy surnamed Liu to be greedy for personal gain when he was making purchases before, but now he's ruining the entire factory's livelihood! If the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' order uses substandard materials, our whole factory's reputation will be over!"

"I want to file a formal complaint against Liu Manfu. Haven't he and his relatives been bullying and oppressing people in the factory all these years? I want to report him! Before, when workers' safety equipment was being distributed, he instructed his relatives to use a 'double-scale' to embezzle workers' safety equipment!"

"Liu Manfu used to accept bribes, but when new workers didn't give him money, he would assign them the dirtiest and most tiring jobs."

"Liu Manfu also stole technology. The technical solution of xx was submitted by Liu Manfu in his own name."

...

"Liu Manfu and his relatives are all parasites! Bloodsuckers!"

"Kill them! Send them to the police station!"

When Qin Xiangxiang arrived at the factory, the workers' roars almost blew the roof off the factory building.

A group of people came to Qin Xiangxiang to complain about what Liu Manfu had done over the years, including the Liu family's canteen, where workers' food, oil, and meat were skimped on, labor protection supplies were weighed using a "ghost scale," and there were also bribes for new workers...

“He inflated prices when making purchases. Last winter, when he bought coal, all the coal he bought was fake. The boilers were inefficient, and the workers’ hands were covered in frostbite.”

Qin Xiangxiang stayed at the factory and listened to these things for most of the morning.

It's not that everyone is kicking someone when they're down; it's that Liu Manfu committed many evils and became too powerful to be controlled, so this is truly retribution.

"Liu Manfu's case was handled according to regulations. It was transferred to the judicial authorities for a strict investigation, and all his relatives who had been loafing around were dismissed."

...

After Liu Manfu fell from power, his downfall brought with it a host of other problems, effectively cleaning up the deep-seated issues plaguing Feiyan No. 2 Factory.

The atmosphere in the factory was greatly improved, and young key personnel such as Wang Youyou were promoted. The entire factory was more united than ever before. With the addition of new equipment and machinery, production efficiency and quality reached a new level.

"The story of catching the thief ended so inexplicably."

"Catching thieves, catching spies... it's still more exciting in novels."

Qin Xiangxiang, the factory director who had been a slacker for many years, finally felt a sense of melancholy, as if saying, "I haven't even put in the effort, and you've already fallen."