Chapter 133 People Inside
Gu Qiuyue picked up the warning letter on the table again, and a cold arc even appeared on the corner of her mouth: "They want to use this method to force me to retreat, but I won't.
The workshop must continue, and it must be run better and more prosperously. As for this idiot behind this," she threw the letter back on the table, her tone firm, "we must find him. Not just for me, but for the safety of the compound, for the peace of mind of all the sisters."
Xie Shiyu looked at the familiar light in his wife's eyes, which was a mixture of wisdom, courage and a hint of stubbornness. A complex emotion surged in his heart, including pride and worry that he could not be completely relieved. But he knew that his Yueyue was never a climbing trumpet creeper, she was a kapok tree that could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
He finally nodded heavily, wrapping his big hands around hers: "Okay, we'll do it together. I'll intensify the investigation, especially the one with the baseball cap. You on your side..."
He pondered for a moment. "The workshop will continue to operate as usual, but try to avoid going out at night for the time being. I'll pick you up if necessary. Also, don't escalate this matter for now to avoid causing unnecessary panic. But you can quietly remind a few of your close sisters-in-law to be more careful of unfamiliar faces."
"I understand." Gu Qiuyue nodded, already having a plan in mind.
Over the next few days, Gu Qiuyue did as she said, without flinching. The workshop was operating smoothly, and even busier due to the arrival of the second batch of orders.
She also started teaching at the town middle school as usual. The only difference was that Huahua and Shuangshuang also went to and from get off work with their mother, and the three of them always had company, either Sister Chen and others who had been reminded, or soldiers who were specially arranged by Xie Shiyu to go along the way.
Xie Shiyu used all his connections to track down the whereabouts of the man in the baseball cap and the source of the warning letter.
The local police station has also increased its patrol efforts.
The tense atmosphere was like a fully drawn bowstring, but the expected "next time" was nowhere to be seen. However, this calmness only made people feel a sense of oppression before the storm.
That afternoon, Gu Qiuyue had just finished calculating the accounts for the latest batch of materials in the workshop. She was walking while mentally calculating the progress of the translation manuscript when she suddenly heard someone timidly call out from behind her: "Thank you... Sister-in-law Xie?"
Gu Qiuyue turned around and saw a young woman who looked unfamiliar standing not far away. She was dressed simply, had a nervous look on her face, and was nervously twisting the corners of her clothes with her hands. Gu Qiuyue recognized that this was the family member of a company commander who had just joined the army and lived in the row of bungalows at the edge of the compound. Her surname seemed to be Wu, and she rarely interacted with others.
"Sister-in-law Xiao Wu?" Gu Qiuyue stopped and smiled gently, "Is there anything wrong?"
Sister-in-law Xiao Wu walked a few steps closer, looked around quickly, and said in a very low voice with a tremor: "Sister-in-law... I, I may... may have seen the person who stuffed something into Director Chen's mailbox..."
Gu Qiuyue's heart skipped a beat, but she remained expressionless. She slowed down her voice and said, "Don't be impatient. Tell me slowly. What did you see?"
Mrs. Wu swallowed nervously again and her voice lowered: "That afternoon, when the rain had just stopped, I came out to collect the clothes. I seemed to see a man wearing a hat, with his head lowered... going over there..." Her finger trembled, but she was pointing not to the outside of the compound, but to a group of neatly arranged residential buildings deep in the compound.
Gu Qiuyue's heart sank suddenly, but she didn't show it on her face. Instead, she softened her voice with a reassuring power: "Comrade Xiao Wu, thank you for telling me. Don't be afraid, tell me slowly. Did you see what that person looked like? Which building did he go to?"
Mrs. Wu seemed to be infected by her calmness, her breathing calming a little, but her voice remained extremely low, as if she was afraid to startle anything. "I didn't see his face clearly. His hat was pulled down very low... He wasn't very tall, a little thin, wearing a gray coat, and he walked with his shoulders hunched. He just went over there," she pointed timidly at the cadres' family buildings again. "He turned the corner behind the row of holly trees in front and disappeared."
Cadre family housing? Several possible figures flashed through Gu Qiuyue's mind, but she quickly suppressed her speculation. It was too early to make any assumptions now.
"When the rain first started falling... do you remember what time it was?" Gu Qiuyue guided her recollection.
"I remember, I remember," Xiao Wu's wife nodded quickly. "I listened to the clock strike four before I went out to collect the clothes. Not long after, I saw that person."
Around four o'clock. This time matched the time when Sister Chen found the letter.
"Sister-in-law Xiao Wu, your situation is very important." Gu Qiuyue looked at her sincerely and gently patted the back of her still cold hand. "Thank you for your thoughtfulness. Thank you for trusting me and telling me this. Have you mentioned this to anyone else besides me?"
"No, no!" Mrs. Wu shook her head like a rattle, "I... I was a little scared and didn't dare tell anyone. I just saw that he was going that way..." She glanced uneasily in the direction of the cadre building, with obvious hints.
Gu Qiuyue immediately understood her concerns. It was natural for a young woman who had just joined the army and had little background to feel fear when she saw clues that might implicate the cadres in the hospital.
"You did the right thing. Don't mention it to anyone else for now, so as not to alert the enemy and bring yourself into trouble." Gu Qiuyue said gently, "Leave this matter to me and Old Xie. Don't worry, we will keep it confidential and get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. We will never let the bad guys go unpunished, nor will anyone be wronged for telling the truth."
Her words were clear and firm, with a convincing calmness.
Sister-in-law Xiao Wu's eyes were slightly red, obviously she had been worried and frightened for the past few days. At this moment, she finally found her backbone and nodded heavily: "Yes! Sister-in-law, I believe in you and Deputy Division Chief Xie!"
"Go back quickly and pretend nothing happened. Just continue as usual." Gu Qiuyue warned her again. Looking at her hurried back, she slowly restrained the gentleness on her face and cast a sharp gaze at the neat and quiet residential building.
She didn't go home immediately, but turned around and went to the workshop first. Zhang Xiumei was still packing up inside. Seeing her come back, she was a little surprised: "Qiuyue, did you leave something behind?"
Gu Qiuyue shook her head, motioned her to go into the inner room, closed the door, and then she told her sister-in-law Xiao Wu what she had said concisely. Of course, she omitted the specific names and directions, and only said that someone might have seen a suspicious person going inside.
Zhang Xiumei's face turned pale when she heard this, she was shocked and angry. "Someone from the inside? How...how is this possible? Who is so cruel!"
"It's just a possibility now, there's no evidence yet." Gu Qiuyue said calmly, "Sister Xiumei, let's stop this for now. Don't spread it any further. Everything in the workshop should continue as usual. Deliver as needed, produce as needed. The more people try to cheat, the more we must achieve results. Lao Xie and I will handle the rest."
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