Chapter 136 A Chain of Ironclad Evidence Leads to Immediate Arrest
The impact of Old Chen's phone call was greater than we had imagined.
Less than half an hour later, a car hurriedly stopped at the entrance of the alley.
The car door opened, and a middle-aged man wearing a white polyester shirt, with a slightly protruding belly and slicked-back hair got off first.
He was Wang Jianguo, his face showing a mixture of impatience at being forcibly summoned and a hint of obsequiousness.
He straightened his collar and snapped irritably at the car:
"What are you dawdling for! Get down here now! We've been given the honor of meeting the big boss, haven't we?!"
Inside the car, a tall, thin figure slowly emerged.
The man was in his early thirties, wearing a faded blue work uniform with a few oil stains on his trousers.
His hair was disheveled, his eyes were sunken, and his gaze was lifeless and numb, as if he had lost interest in everything around him.
This is Zhou Jimin.
As soon as Wang Jianguo entered the courtyard, his eyes locked onto Old Chen. He immediately adopted a respectful attitude and rushed over, his back almost bent at a ninety-degree angle.
"Mr. Chen, if you have any instructions, you can just give me a call and I'll come over. Why bother you to come in person..."
His gaze swept over Bai Shu opposite Old Chen, his smile froze for a moment, then returned to its usual warmth, only now tinged with a bureaucratic air of scrutiny and arrogance.
"And this is...?"
Old Chen didn't even lift his eyelids, and gestured with his palm-leaf fan towards the seat opposite the stone table: "Sit."
Wang Jianguo quickly pulled out a chair, sat down respectfully, and then turned to Zhou Jimin, who was still standing there, and scolded him:
"What are you standing there for? Come over here and greet Old Chen!"
Zhou Jimin's body stiffened for a moment, then he moved step by step to stand behind Wang Jianguo, his head hanging even lower.
"Old Chen, did you call us here because you have some work to instruct us on?" Wang Jianguo asked, rubbing his hands together with a solicitous expression.
Old Chen put down his palm-leaf fan, picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and said calmly, "It's not about work. I just wanted to ask you about your institute's 'Dawn' project. This is Ms. Bai, a Hong Kong businesswoman, who wants to talk to Comrade Zhou Jimin of your institute."
Wang Jianguo's expression changed instantly, but he quickly regained his composure, adopting a pained expression as he pointed at Zhou Jimin behind him and began to pour out his grievances.
"Oh, Mr. Chen, please don't mention it! It's all my fault. I didn't do my job properly and I misjudged people!"
"This Zhou Jimin is a hopeless case! Stubborn and inflexible! Nobody in the unit can get along with him! If you tell him to go east, he'll go west; he has absolutely no sense of organization or discipline!"
"When we asked him to work on projects that would yield results and generate revenue for the organization, he refused. Instead, he insisted on working on his so-called 'Dawn,' which is pure fantasy and a waste of national resources!"
With each word he spoke, Zhou Jimin's body trembled, and he lowered his head even further.
Seeing Zhou Jimin's pathetic state, Wang Jianguo became even more smug and changed the subject, turning his attention to Bai Shu:
“Ms. Bai, you are a Hong Kong businesswoman with money, and we welcome your investment. However, this money should be spent wisely.”
"Don't be fooled by some opportunists who use scientific research as a pretext to swindle assets from the country and individuals. We've seen this kind of thing far too often!"
These words were extremely oppressive and humiliating.
Zhou Jimin's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, to defend himself.
But as soon as he looked up, he met Wang Jianguo's warning, cold eyes.
All the words stuck in his throat.
He could only lower his head again, swallowing all his resentment and anger.
Just as Wang Jianguo was speaking eloquently and thought he had completely controlled the situation,
Atractylodes macrocephala moved.
She pushed a brown paper bag to the center of the stone table, her voice cold and clear: "Has Director Wang finished speaking?"
Wang Jianguo frowned. "Miss Bai, what do you mean by this?"
"Director Wang might as well take a look for himself," Bai Shu said in a cool and aloof voice.
Wang Jianguo picked up the document with suspicion, turned to the first page, and his expression changed immediately.
It was a report that detailed the various rumors circulating in the family compound of the 17th Research Institute in Beijing over the past week.
"Have you heard? Deputy Director Wang misappropriated Engineer Zhou's project funds!"
"That's right, I heard that money was used to open a restaurant for his brother-in-law."
"Zhou is really unlucky to have encountered such a leader. All his hard work has been wasted."
"Shh! Keep your voice down, what if someone hears you say you don't want your job anymore? Wang Jianguo is as petty as a pinhead!"
Each and every single incident was recorded clearly, even noting which family's daughter-in-law was speaking under which corner.
"Nonsense! Pure fabrication!" Wang Jianguo slammed the document on the table with a "bang," shouting fiercely but inwardly weakly.
"These are all gossipy old women spouting nonsense, making things up out of thin air! They don't count!"
Bai Zhu remained noncommittal and then took out a second document from the briefcase beside him.
She pushed the envelope over.
Wang Jianguo's heart skipped a beat, and he had a bad feeling. With trembling hands, he opened the envelope, which contained several photos and a photocopy of a bank deposit slip.
The photo is a bit blurry, but it's still clear that Zhou Jimin's deputy, Li Wei, is talking furtively with a man in a corner of the park.
On that deposit slip, a huge sum of five thousand yuan had appeared in Li Wei's wife's account!
Five thousand yuan! In an era when the average worker's monthly salary was only a few dozen yuan, this was an astronomical sum!
A fine layer of cold sweat instantly appeared on Wang Jianguo's forehead.
"This...this is Li Wei's personal behavior! It's because he lacks ideological awareness and has been corrupted by the sugar-coated bullets of capitalism! It has nothing to do with me!"
Without hesitation, he betrayed his trusted confidant.
"I'll investigate him immediately when I get back! He'll be dealt with severely!"
He spoke with righteous indignation, as if he were so impartial and incorruptible.
But his trembling lips and pale face betrayed his inner fear.
Zhou Jimin, who had been numb all along, suddenly raised his head. Li Wei was his most trusted student, and he couldn't believe his eyes.
"Yeah?"
Bai Zhu finally spoke, her voice tinged with sarcasm.
She slowly and deliberately took out a third item from her briefcase.
It's neither a document nor a photo.
Instead, it was a small, Sony cassette recorder.
When this machine, a rarity in this era, was placed on the stone table, Wang Jianguo's pupils suddenly contracted.
Bai Zhu extended her slender fingers and gently pressed the play button.
“Clatter.”
After a slight static sound, two men's voices came from the tape recorder. The background was somewhat noisy, like being in a private room of a restaurant.
One of the voices was Li Wei's.
"...Don't worry, I've already taken care of Director Wang and delivered the benefits. He personally guaranteed that Zhou Jimin's 'Dawn' project will be completely shut down next month on the grounds of 'no significant progress'."
"At that time, all the technical data will be 'transferred' to us under the guise of 'sealing' it away..."
Another male voice with a Cantonese accent rang out: "Well done! After it's done, you'll get every penny of the money I promised. In addition, I'll arrange for your whole family to settle in Hong Kong Island."
Li Wei's voice was filled with undisguised excitement: "Thank you, boss! Thank you, boss! That stubborn guy surnamed Zhou should have been kicked out long ago! He's sitting right next to a gold mine and still begging for food; he deserves to be poor his whole life!"
"..."
The evidence is conclusive!
The evidence is irrefutable!
After the recording finished playing, the entire courtyard fell into a deathly silence.
"Clang."
Wang Jianguo could no longer hold on; his body went limp, and he slid off the chair and collapsed to the ground.
He was breathing heavily, his white shirt soaked with cold sweat, clinging tightly to his back.
"No...no...I didn't..."
His lips trembled as he tried to explain, but he couldn't utter a single complete sentence.
Meanwhile, Zhou Jimin stared at Bai Shu in disbelief, his numb eyes now brimming with the ecstasy of a miraculous escape from a desperate situation!
He understood, he understood everything!
Why was his project halted? Why was he ostracized at every turn? Why did his most trusted student betray him?
It turns out this was a trap that had been planned long ago!
Old Chen, who had been resting with his eyes closed, finally opened them.
He didn't look at Wang Jianguo, who was slumped on the ground, but instead gave Bai Shu a deep look.
His wrinkled face was now ashen.
Have the guard dial the phone again.
Old Chen didn't waste any words: "Wang Jianguo of the 17th Research Institute in Beijing has a problem. Send someone over."
After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for a reply.
After doing all this, he turned his gaze to Zhou Jimin, who was still in a state of great shock, and his voice softened, carrying a hint of elder's gentleness.
"Little Zhou."
"From this day forward, you are free."
Old Chen pointed his hand at Bai Shu.
"This Comrade Bai Zhu is your new mentor."
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