Chapter 89 Attempt to Steal a Chicken Backfires
To ensure fairness and transparency, the investigation team asked Zhou Jianguo to hold a team meeting and interrogate Ning Xuan and several other team members who worked at the chicken farm in front of the team members.
However, to prevent the individuals from giving conflicting testimonies, they all waited for their summons at the chicken farm before being taken to the wheat field one by one for interrogation.
A total of five people came to the investigation team, all of whom Ning Xuan and her group had never met before.
Ning Xuan was the first to be interrogated.
"Ning Xuan, someone has anonymously reported that you, as the manager of the chicken farm, have been embezzling from the farm, frequently stealing chickens and eggs. Do you plead guilty?"
This is clearly a hostile visit, Ning Xuan thought, but she didn't forget to reply:
"This is completely fabricated and pure slander. The number of chickens and eggs at the chicken farm is recorded every day. Moreover, the chickens we have lost so far are all chicks, and we have directly carried out pollution-free treatment. The other employees are witnesses to this. So I could not possibly have stolen chickens, and the same goes for the eggs."
The man leading the investigation team continued, "What if you employees covered for each other and falsified the data?"
Ning Xuan continued to provide evidence, "Our daily data is sent to the brigade for Accountant Zhou to see, and the brigade leader and others also come to the chicken farm from time to time to check on the situation. You say that we employees are covering for each other, which is an insult to our character."
Other team members with family members working at the chicken farm also became anxious. If it were just a matter of convicting Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia, they would be surprised or regretful, but they wouldn't be worried. However, if it also affected their families, then the problem would be much bigger.
So they couldn't help but speak up for their own people.
“My dad is an honest man; he would never do something like stealing or covering up a crime.”
"My mom too."
...
Zhou Jianguo quickly stepped in to maintain order and calm everyone down.
While Ning Xuan was being interrogated, one of the people from the investigation team, who appeared to be from the finance department, looked through the chicken farm's accounts, found no problems, and shook his head at the person who had been questioning him.
Shi Xiaolei was somewhat surprised that the accounts were correct. Could it be that these two educated youths really didn't even steal the eggs?
Shi Xiaolei didn't actually know Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia, but he was Gou Sheng's neighbor. Gou Sheng had found his grandfather when he fell at home and helped take him to the hospital.
The two families usually got along well as neighbors. Shi Xiaolei had always felt he hadn't had a chance to properly thank Gousheng.
Gou Sheng was unhappy because he was transferred to patrol the mountains and could no longer keep an eye on Xu Jiajia and the others. So he asked Shi Xiaolei to help keep an eye on Xu Jiajia and the others.
He also knew about Ning Xuan and the others' application to set up a chicken farm last time, but neither Gou Sheng nor Shi Xiaolei had the power to stop them.
This time, Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia were anonymously reported. Shi Xiaolei happened to be in charge of the investigation, so he told Gou Sheng. Gou Sheng then asked him to investigate as thoroughly as possible, to try to give Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia a more severe sentence, and send them to the farm for reform.
Although Ning Xuan didn't know the relationship between Shi Xiaolei and Gou Sheng, she could sense the other party's malice.
Seeing that Ning Xuan's side could not find any problems, they called on the next person, Xu Jiajia, to come and examine her.
Similarly, Xu Jiajia kept very clear about her accounts, and no problems were found during the audit.
The next few elderly men and women also explained their daily work and the chicken farm's rules in detail, just as Ning Xuan had said.
I couldn't get any answers from the several people I asked.
Until the very last one, it was Aunt Liang.
Upon seeing Aunt Liang, He Yuting and He Yuting in the crowd both had a gleam of excitement in their eyes.
The two of them were thinking that Xu Jiajia and Ning Xuan wouldn't be able to escape now.
Liang's family members looked worried, especially her eldest daughter-in-law, Sun Zhaodi.
The others felt that they had finally reached the last one. They hadn't gotten any questions from the previous ones, so this one would definitely be fine too. They could finally end it.
But what surprised everyone was Aunt Liang's actions.
Suddenly, Aunt Liang knelt down on the ground with a "bang," and then confessed her "crimes" while crying.
"I didn't do it on purpose. My daughter-in-law told me that if we got the two educated youths out of the chicken farm, we could free up two more job openings. Maybe then our family would have another chance to get one."
Even if we can't add another one, I'm a long-time employee of the chicken farm. Who knows, I might get promoted and manage the chicken farm! I really didn't mean to.
The crowd gasped, especially Liang Da Niang's eldest daughter-in-law, Sun Zhaodi, whose face turned deathly pale.
"Damn it, why didn't you just stick to the original plan? Why did you have to confess everything yourself, even dragging her into it?" Sun Zhaodi's heart was pounding.
"Which one is this old lady's daughter-in-law? Come up here and ask her questions." Sun Zhaodi and her sister-in-law were very scared, but the team members still pushed them to the front.
Aunt Liang then added that her eldest daughter-in-law had asked her to identify Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia during the interrogation.
So Sun Zhaodi's younger brother and sister-in-law were released again, and Sun Zhaodi was interrogated.
"Sun Zhaodi, why did you have your mother-in-law identify two educated youths?"
Sun Zhaodi answered tremblingly, "I... I heard it from someone else. They said Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia often steal eggs. They eat meat and eggs every day, so they must be stealing eggs from the factory."
"Who told you that?" Shi Xiaolei continued to ask.
"I... I don't know. Everyone says that. Some people even told me that my mother-in-law works at a chicken farm, so she can eat eggs every day. I said no, she only occasionally brings back a broken egg, which isn't enough for the whole family."
My mother-in-law told me that the factory has strict rules. Broken eggs are considered a perk, but they can't be dishonest. There are always at least two people collecting eggs together, supervising each other.
"If that's the case, why say that the two educated youths stole eggs? Others didn't have a chance, so didn't they?" asked the person next to Shi Xiaolei.
"That's right. I don't know who muttered that Ning Zhiqing was strict. If Ning Zhiqing didn't work at the chicken farm, my mother-in-law and the others would have a chance to get more eggs, and could even be in charge of the chicken farm's management."
That's roughly what they said. When I first heard it, my brain went blank. I thought it was a great idea. Then, I don't know who said it, but Ning Zhiqing and the others were reported.
I thought this was an opportunity, so I went back and told my mother-in-law. I really didn't think that much about it. My mother-in-law hadn't stolen any eggs, and I didn't report Ning and the others. I hadn't been to the commune for two months; I worked every day, and the scorekeeper had a record of that.
In the end, they still couldn't find out who spread the rumors or who instigated Sun Zhaodi to have Liang Yinhua, also known as Aunt Liang, identify Ning Xuan and the others.
Moreover, Ning Xuan and her team had clear and accurate records, and the professionals in this field brought by the investigation team confirmed that there were no problems. The employees' testimonies also matched, and there was no evidence to prove that Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia embezzled funds.
On the contrary, Sun Zhaodi and Liang Yinhua believed the rumors and tried to slander the educated youth, but considering that Liang Yinhua realized her mistake and took the initiative to confess, she was treated leniently.
Liang Yinhua and Sun Zhaodi had to carry manure for a month and sweep chicken manure at the chicken farm for half a month, without any work points. In addition, Liang Yinhua was disqualified from working at the chicken farm.
Thus, Sun Zhaodi and Liang Yinhua's attempt to steal chickens backfired. Not only did they fail to bring Ning Xuan and Xu Jiajia down, but they also lost their jobs at the chicken farm, along with more than half a month's worth of work points.
It's a pity that the people spreading rumors and causing trouble behind the scenes haven't been caught yet.
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