Chapter 43 No one can touch this land
Zhou Lin completely disregarded the little affection they had in the past, and didn't listen to their crying and pleas.
At daybreak, he personally escorted these people directly to the Public Security Bureau. There were witnesses and evidence, and the nature of the case was serious enough for them to spend several years in prison.
Zhou Lin knew that being kind to someone with such malicious intentions would be extremely irresponsible to himself, the project, and Su Hexi. He had to nip any potential danger in the bud.
When the people on the construction site heard about this, they all secretly cursed those people, saying that they deserved it.
"The big boss is Mr. Zhou's wife!"
"That's right. Everyone knows that Engineer Zhou treasures his wife the most. How dare he tamper with his wife's construction site? He deserves it!"
Although everyone was discussing, they were more serious in doing their work and did not dare to be careless at all.
The next afternoon, several large trucks arrived at the construction site, hauling brand-new rebar. Just as the purchasing officer was about to take delivery, Zhou Lin approached. He took one quick glance at the color and surface texture of the rebar, and his brow furrowed. He picked up a piece, flicked it with his fingers, and then carefully examined the cutout and nameplate.
"This stuff isn't right." Zhou Lin said firmly, "It's not hard enough, nor tough enough, and there are impurities on the surface. It doesn't meet our purchasing standards. Return it, we don't want it."
The delivery man was dumbfounded and quickly called the factory.
Not long after, Qi Anhai, the production line manager of the steel plant, hurried over in a car, followed by Zhou Zhisheng, who looked anxious.
"Mr. Zhou! Mr. Zhou! It's a misunderstanding, absolutely a misunderstanding!" Qi Anhai handed over a cigarette with a beaming smile as he stepped out of the car. "This batch of materials is absolutely flawless, and the quality inspection reports are complete! Feel free to use them. If any problems arise, I, Qi Anhai, will be responsible!"
Zhou Lin pushed his cigarette away, his attitude unbending. "Director Qi, I've worked in the steel mill for over a decade, and I know the difference between good and bad materials. This batch of materials is inferior, and they absolutely cannot enter my construction site."
Qi Anhai felt a little embarrassed. He pulled Zhou Zhisheng aside and whispered, "Talk to your brother and ask him to take over this batch of goods. Once they're sold, your assessment as a candidate for director will be complete. Your brother works on such a large construction site, and he won't help you with this little favor. Are you still brothers?"
After saying that, he pushed Zhou Zhisheng forward.
Zhou Zhisheng quickly scrambled closer to Zhou Lin, lowering his voice with a tone of pleading and incomprehension: "Brother! Why are you so stubborn? Director Qi said that as long as this batch of materials is successfully produced, my director assessment will meet the standards, and I will be able to become workshop director immediately! This material is fine. This is the kind of material that the factory has produced in the past six months. We have sold a lot of it, and there are no problems! Just accept it. I beg you!"
Zhou Lin turned his head abruptly, staring at Zhou Zhisheng with lightning-like eyes. His voice suddenly rose, filled with anger: "Is your position of power more important, or the safety of the building?! This steel bar is obviously substandard, its toughness and brittleness are not up to standard! Using it in the building is like burying a bomb! If the building collapses and people are killed, will you bear the responsibility, or will he?!" He pointed at Qi Anhai, "This is not a joke, it involves human lives!"
Zhou Zhisheng's face turned pale from being yelled at, but thinking of the position of director, he was blinded by greed. Seeing that soft tactics didn't work, he steeled his resolve and pulled out his final trump card, his tone becoming tougher: "Brother! Don't forget, this piece of land was given to you verbally by our family, but there's no written agreement! The deed is still at home! If you don't accept these materials today, you're not giving me, your younger brother, face, and not helping our family! So don't blame me for being cruel, I'll ask Mom to take the land back when I get home! I wonder how you're going to build this building!"
Zhou Lin's body trembled upon hearing this, and he looked at his brother, whom he had grown up with, in disbelief. For the sake of a false official position, he could actually say such words, threaten him with land, and even plant a huge safety hazard.
The air froze instantly.
Zhou Lin looked at his brother's face, twisted by desire, then glanced at Qi Anhai, whose eyes flickered and clearly had something fishy going on. His chest heaved violently, and for the first time, in those eyes that were always silent and tolerant, a huge disappointment and cold determination welled up.
Zhou Lin took a deep breath, suppressed the anger and disappointment in his heart, and his voice became unusually calm: "Okay, Zhou Zhisheng, since you want to settle it this way, then let's settle it thoroughly."
He turned around and walked home. Zhou Zhisheng was stunned and hurried to follow him.
In the Zhou family's main hall, the atmosphere dropped to freezing point.
Wang Huixian looked at her two sons, sighing, but unable to get a word in.
Zhou Lin took out a pen and paper and spread it on the table: "Mom, I want you to bear witness. I want to sign a document right now to clearly divide the land at the village head for me. I don't want any of the other land and houses in the family. From now on, everything about that land has nothing to do with you."
Zhou Zhisheng's eyes were red: "I can sign the agreement! But you must accept those materials! Otherwise, no one can touch that piece of land!"
The two were deadlocked and argued until their faces turned red.
Zhou Lanyin looked at the backs of her two brothers who were on the verge of a fight, stamped her feet anxiously, turned around and ran towards Su Hexi's studio.
The door was pushed open, and Zhou Lanyin accused in a tearful voice, "Su Hexi! It's all because of you, you evil bastard! You've caused my eldest and second brothers to become enemies!"
Su Hexi looked puzzled, "How did I cause them to become enemies?"
Zhou Lanyin told Su Hexi about the matter with an anxious and complaining look on her face.
Su Hexi thought for a while and realized that it was impossible to move the construction site and start work again. He could only continue to pour money into the current construction site.
She immediately went to Zhou's hometown.
Everyone was a little surprised to see Su Hexi coming.
Su Hexi covered her mouth and nose as she glanced at the situation inside the room. Her voice was clear and calm: "Zhou Lanyin told me roughly what you were arguing about. Zhou Zhisheng, don't you just want to sell that batch of materials?"
Zhou Zhisheng seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw: "Yes! Boss Su, as long as you accept this batch of goods, my brother will take it away immediately!"
"Child!" Zhou Lin growled.
Su Hexi raised her hand to stop Zhou Lin. She looked at Zhou Zhisheng with eyes so sharp that they seemed to see through people's hearts. "Since your brother has already said that there are problems with that batch of materials, then there is no way I will accept them. The reason I came here is to buy this piece of land in my own name."
"If you don't accept the materials, no one can touch that piece of land! Let alone buy it!"
Su Hexi frowned, "Zhou Zhisheng, wake up. Nothing comes easy. Why is your director so eager to give up his position to you? And why is he so eager to let you finish processing this batch of goods? Have you ever thought about it?"
She paused, her words falling like icicles on the ground. "There's only one explanation: there's something wrong with this batch of goods! And it's a big problem! He's looking for a scapegoat, someone to take the blame! He asked you to inspect and ship the goods, and all the paperwork went through you. If something goes wrong, and they trace it back, it's your signature in black and white, Zhou Zhisheng! You've been sold, and you're still foolishly helping them count the money!"
Zhou Lin immediately realized what was happening and said, "Right! Zhisheng! You said before that the factory couldn't even pay salaries properly and that the warehouse was overloaded with goods. Now that production has suddenly resumed, they're rushing you to take over sales. This isn't normal! If a major problem is discovered, can you bear the responsibility? You could go to jail!"
A flash of panic crossed Zhou Zhisheng's face, but it was quickly suppressed by the lure of the upcoming official position and the huge benefits. He shook his head stubbornly, "Impossible! Director Qi isn't that kind of person! You just don't want to help me and accept my goods!"
Su Hexi looked at his stubborn delusion and sneered, "Alright, since you're determined to jump into the fire pit, we won't stop you. I can't afford to delay my work schedule, and I don't have time to waste with you."
She said decisively, "I bought the batch of problematic steel you wanted to sell at market price. But from now on, the permanent use rights of this land will no longer be associated with the Zhou family, and you are not allowed to interfere with the construction site for any reason."
Zhou Lin suddenly looked at Su Hexi: "There's something wrong with that batch of materials!"
Su Hexi glanced at him, her tone calm but with undeniable strength: "I know there is a problem. The money for that batch of goods will be considered as payment for the land. We won't use a single kilogram of that scrap metal. I will let it rot in the warehouse. Now, the most important thing is to completely solve the land problem. The project cannot be stopped."
When Zhou Zhisheng heard that Su Hexi was willing to buy the problematic materials at market price, his eyes lit up immediately. He didn't care about the consequences and immediately shouted, "Okay! Let's do it! Sign a document!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
