After a moment's consideration, I said to Peach, "At this point, let's not think about financial gains or losses. Our bottom line is that we can't let Tie Nan face criminal charges. Administrative penalties are definitely unavoidable... So, based on this, here's my plan: if Tie Nan had previously created a ledger of the revenue, he couldn't possibly have carried it with him; he must have left it somewhere. If it's an electronic file, it's even easier—we can just go through his computer... We'll find the ledger as soon as possible and hand it over to the relevant departments. As for those illegal gains, I'll pay them off for him..."
Peach paused for a moment. I could tell she didn't want to drag me into this. After all, it was a sum of hundreds of thousands. Although I could afford it at this stage, I would lose everything after that.
I added, "Peach, let me make this clear to you, so don't feel guilty... This money is well spent, and I'm willing to spend it."
Taozi didn't speak, but Yang Sisi asked instead, "The money's all gone, what are you going to do now... I remember you said you wanted to set up a studio in Jiulongju."
"It's better to lose money than to suffer a terrible loss; I can't worry about anything else now."
Yang Sisi frowned, seemingly more conflicted than I was about making this decision. But kindness was still in her bones, so after weighing the options, she said, "That's all we can do for now... When Tie Nan comes out, we'll have him return the money to you... What do you say, Sister Taozi?"
Peach nodded and replied, "Of course, I'll persuade Tie Nan to take out all the money he's earned during this time..." After a slight silence, she said to me again, "Michael, can you trust me? This really isn't a small amount."
"He's trustworthy... Let's not waste any more time, let's hurry up and find his ledger."
...
So the three of us searched from noon until evening, but still found nothing, which made me very suspicious.
Could it be that Tie Nan really didn't keep any ledgers at all, just as he said? But that doesn't make sense logically, because I also run an inn. I know that when the inn is full every day, it's impossible to remember the daily revenue by human brain alone. Moreover, the payment methods are very diverse nowadays, and it's easy to overlook a transaction. If you don't keep ledgers, you can't calculate the final accounts in the end.
...
As I watched the setting sun gradually disappear behind Cangshan Mountain, my sense of crisis intensified... And for half a day, no news had come, and I didn't know if the situation over there had changed.
While I was lost in thought, Yang Sisi suddenly ran out of the inn, holding a phone in her hand and covering the receiver. She then whispered to me, "Ye Zhi is calling. Do you want to answer?"
I stared at Yang Sisi in disbelief for a long time before asking, "Why did she call?"
"I didn't want to see you looking helpless... so I told her... are you going to answer or not?"
I unconsciously took a deep breath and then reached out my hand to Yang Sisi, who handed me her phone at the same time...
The next instant, I saw the label she had made for Ye Zhi on my phone screen; she called Ye Zhi "the woman I least want to see."
The matter was urgent, so I didn't speculate too much on the details. I spoke into the microphone in a serious tone, "Hello... this is Michael."
Ye Zhi was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone before saying to me, "Sisi has already told me what happened here... I won't go into too much detail, I just want to remind you not to be too nervous... The maximum penalty for Tie Nan's mistake is administrative punishment plus administrative detention... It's impossible for him to be held criminally liable... because his behavior did not constitute the crime of illegal business operations. You should learn more about the law."
"But the investigators said they wouldn't rule out transferring cases with serious offenses to the procuratorate. They wouldn't say something like that without a legal basis, would they?"
"Not every law enforcement officer truly understands the law... Of course, it's also possible that they encountered difficulties during interrogation and deliberately aggravated the consequences..."
Despite Ye Zhi's words, I was still a little uneasy. After thinking for a while, I said, "These are special times. After the 'government' here issued relevant regulations, these people are still recklessly operating inns. This kind of provocative behavior will definitely be severely punished, right?"
Ye Zhi replied crisply, "The principle of local regulations is that they cannot conflict with the current constitution and laws of the country... so their validity is lower than that of the law and the constitution; since their behavior does not constitute the crime of illegal business operations under the laws of the country, local regulations certainly have no right to define it in this way."
After a brief pause, Ye Zhi continued, "But administrative penalties are flexible. In this case, the fine could be large or small... because the amount involved is huge. Even if it's the maximum fine, Tie Nan wouldn't be able to afford it. So the principle for handling this matter now is to actively cooperate and strive for leniency. As for the claim of pursuing criminal liability, there's no legal basis for that, so you don't need to worry about it..."
I breathed a sigh of relief, and Ye Zhi, full of knowledge and learning, seemed to have opened a window for me, giving me another perspective to deal with the contradictions and conflicts of this world amidst my panic.
After a long silence, I finally spoke to Ye Zhi, "Thank you for calling to remind me... Now that I have a clearer understanding, I will be more confident in handling this matter."
"Well, there's one more thing I need to remind you... This time, the higher-ups are really furious and taking it very seriously; so don't take any chances. The relevant departments will definitely have ways to find out all their illegal gains during this period. If they conceal any amount, the consequences will be very serious."
"I know."
"That's settled then, good luck to you."
After saying that, Ye Zhi hung up the phone decisively, while I was in a daze...
It seems that my liking for her is not just because of her appearance, but also because of a kind of admiration that looks up to her!
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