Xu Damao's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Liu Haizhong, what do you mean by that? You're the one who betrayed us, so why do you want me to pay you back now?"
"I betrayed you?!"
Liu Haizhong's mind was a little foggy, and he bounced back up from his chair as soon as he sat down. "Xu Damao, you better explain yourself. How did I betray you?"
Xu Damao sneered, "Liu Haizhong, you're quite the actor. I didn't tell the security department at all that Lao Yan and his son were involved in this. How did they know?"
"How would I know how they knew? You didn't say, so I certainly didn't say either."
Liu Haizhong was trembling with anger, and almost poked Xu Damao in the nose with his hand. "Xu Damao, stop trying to fool me. If you hadn't come to the workshop and told me, would the security department have been watching me?"
"You have to pay half of the two hundred yuan fine I was fined today."
Liu Haizhong was truly enraged and started shouting loudly without regard for anything else.
Yan Bugui and his son watched the two arguing from the sidelines, unsure how to intervene.
After a moment, Yan Bugui coughed lightly, "Listen to me, don't rush to argue. We need to find out how the security department found out about us."
"At the time, the security department told me that Jie Cheng had confessed everything, but now I realize that was just a bluff. So how did they find Jie Cheng?"
As Yan Bugui raised his question, Xu Damao and Liu Haizhong glared at each other and angrily sat back down in their chairs.
Let me explain.
Liu Haizhong caught his breath and said, "It was easy for the security department to find me. They planted spies in the workshop. Yesterday, I was chatting with someone about Yi Zhonghai in the workshop, and I guess that was reported to them, which is why they took me in for questioning."
"Perhaps when the rumors started, around last night when things got really bad, the security department noticed us, but they just lacked evidence."
Xu Damao chimed in.
Liu Haizhong snorted, "No matter what, Xu Damao, you have to compensate me for my losses."
Xu Damao stood up again in anger. "Liu Haizhong, you're wrong about that. I'm a victim too. Even if I had money, I wouldn't give you a single penny."
"You're a victim too?"
Liu Haizhong sneered, "If you hadn't been so talkative and told me, would I have been targeted by the security department? Now that I've been fined, you have to compensate me one hundred."
Yan Bugui and his son watched from the side, each with their own agenda.
Yan Bugui coughed lightly, "Da Mao, put your hand on your heart and tell me, didn't we do this for you? Now Lao Liu and I have both been implicated and fined because of this. Shouldn't you do something to help us out?"
"Old Yan, don't say that. We're fighting against a common enemy."
Xu Damao's mustache twitched. "Besides, where would I get any money? All my savings were confiscated by the fine. The twenty yuan I have on me was borrowed from my mom after get off work."
Yan Jiecheng, who had been silent until now, spoke up, "Fine, Xu Damao, you're not going to pay up, huh? Then we'll just have to spread the word about how you framed Yi Zhonghai. Once the whole neighborhood knows about it, your reputation will probably be ruined."
"Yan Jiecheng, you're talking nonsense! You were the one who came up with the idea, and you've already forgotten about it so quickly?!"
"So what? My family and an old man will help you spread the word. You'll see who people believe then!"
Xu Damao was so angry that he gritted his teeth.
"I'll say it again, even if you kill me, I have no money. Ever since that bastard Banggeng broke into my house last time, I've always carried my money with me."
Xu Damao became more and more excited as he spoke, clapping his hands repeatedly, as if it were the truth.
"This was supposed to get me fired, but I kept my job after I used all the money I had to compensate the factory for its losses. So, I really had no money left!"
Just as the group was at an impasse, footsteps suddenly came from outside.
Immediately afterwards, the door to Xu Damao's house was pushed open again.
Everyone's expression immediately changed. Their argument had been quite loud just now. If Yi Zhonghai had overheard it, or if someone with ulterior motives had informed him, things would have been very difficult.
The three old men in charge of the compound conspired to frame an innocent resident. If word gets out, they'll be the butt of gossips for three years straight!
The group held their breath until Wang Dabao appeared at the door, at which point they all breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hey, what are you guys arguing about? I can hear you fighting from far away."
Wang Dabao entered the house, closed the door, and found a chair in Xu Damao's living room to sit down.
As soon as Xu Damao saw Wang Dabao, he rushed over as if he had seen a savior.
“Da Bao isn’t an outsider either. Jie Cheng, you should talk to your Uncle Da Bao about this and let him judge whether Xu Damao should take the money or not.”
Yan Bugui handed the task over to his eldest son.
"You don't need to tell me, I already discussed it with Da Bao last night." Xu Damao stood up next to Wang Da Bao, feeling that his back was much stronger than before.
After Xu Damao explained, Wang Dabao understood.
So Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong are trying to make up for their fines by taking it out on Xu Damao.
Wang Dabao took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes and gave one to each person.
After all, he squeezed nearly 900 yuan out of these three companies today, and he already had several hundred yuan in his pocket, so what are these few Zhonghua cigarettes?
After Yan Jiecheng lit the cigarette for Wang Dabao, he was about to light his own when Yan Bugui grabbed it from him, saying, "You're wasting such good cigarettes. Let's just smoke economy cigarettes instead."
As he spoke, Yan Bugui carefully put away his son's cigarette and his own, then took out an economical cigarette and handed it to Yan Jiecheng.
Normally, Yan Jiecheng might have muttered a few words, but today he didn't dare utter a single word.
Wang Dabao exhaled a puff of smoke and laughed, "I think I understand what happened. Da Mao didn't confess to Jie Cheng, and Lao Liu didn't either. I'm the only one left who knows the truth, so I guess I'm the one who reported it."
"Da Bao, that's not what we meant!"
"Impossible, Da Bao, you wouldn't do such a thing."
"Da Bao, please don't think like that."
"Uncle Da Bao, we wouldn't dare doubt you!"
The four quickly explained that the matter was not Wang Dabao's fault.
Wang Dabao sighed: "Actually, this is easy to understand. Think about how they got hold of Da Mao's secrets. I think there must be spies in the security department in this factory."
“These people will report to the security department immediately if there is any disturbance.”
"Similarly, if Da Mao can be arrested for spreading rumors, then Jie Cheng certainly won't escape either. When he gets to the security department, they'll make a fuss and say things like, 'Your accomplices have all confessed, but you're still stubbornly resisting, and we'll deal with you seriously.' Then he'll confess everything."
"Yes, yes, that makes sense. You're so quick-witted, Da Bao."
Liu Haizhong, smugly smoking a Zhonghua cigarette, squeezed out a moment to praise Wang Dabao.
“I’m telling you, but don’t tell anyone. Captain Feng from the security department said he has informants in every workshop.”
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