Chapter 6 Hardship Allowance: Okay, let's begin mediation.
How did Jiang Ling know all this?
Of course, I saw it in Liang Jiushan's file.
We should thank the female lawyer Jiang Chunlai who helped Liang Jiushan in his case. She was meticulous and searched for all evidence in his favor in order to help Liang Jiushan avoid the death penalty.
She led her team to investigate the textile factory for a month, eventually finding an old document that clearly stated the factory subsidized the Liang siblings 200 yuan annually. However, Liang Jiushan claimed he had never received this money. Where did the money go? Someone must have embezzled it. After extensive inquiries, they finally confirmed that the money was indeed transferred from the factory's finance department to the labor union, but it had been embezzled by Zhao Yanhong, a member of the labor union committee.
Now that Jiang Ling had said it directly, Zhao Yanhong was terrified and looked to Qian Jianshe for help.
This policewoman is really something; how did she even find out about her embezzling hardship allowance? If this is handled seriously, she'll probably be fired from the factory even if she doesn't go to jail. What should we do?
Liang Qiqiao bit her lip, trembling with anger. She and her brother had been living such a hard life these past few years, having to stretch every penny in half. How dare these factory cadres, who were well-fed every day, embezzle their life-saving money?
As a leader of the textile factory, Qian Jianshe quickly recovered from his embarrassment and looked at Liang Qiqiao: "Liang Qiqiao, when your parents died, I gave you two hundred yuan on behalf of the factory. Later, we also helped you out of a lot of money. What else are you dissatisfied with? This two hundred yuan was originally a hardship allowance. Your parents received six thousand yuan in compensation for their car accident, which is not considered hardship, so it was given to the factory's employees who were in more need."
Liang Qiqiao was no match for Qian Jianshe, that old fox, and for a moment she didn't know what to say. She just looked at Jiang Ling with red eyes.
Li Zhenliang, unable to bear it any longer, mocked from the side: "Two children have no source of income. How much money do they need for food, clothing, shelter, and education? Doesn't someone as old as Director Qian know? Since 1988, prices have been rising year after year, and wages have been increasing steadily. Now, even an ordinary worker in your factory earns three or four hundred yuan a month. The six thousand yuan in compensation from 1987 lasted for six years. How much do you think they have left? If this isn't considered difficult, what do you think is?"
Qian Jianshe could only laugh awkwardly and say, "Alright, alright, it was my fault for being out of touch with the masses and for handling this matter improperly. Here's what we'll do... the factory will definitely give you the hardship allowance you're entitled to. I'll check with the finance department when we get back. Liang Qiqiao, you can come and collect it when we notify you."
Jiang Ling interrupted him: "Six years, a total of 1,200 yuan, where did this money go?"
Jiang Ling turned her gaze to Liang Qiqiao: "Here's what we'll do, Liang Qiqiao, you report this to the Economic Crime Investigation Team, and we'll have the police come and investigate."
Qian Jianshe never expected the fire to reach him. He turned pale with fright and waved his hands in front of his chest repeatedly, saying, "No, no, no, don't report it to the police. I'll pay for it first, and I'll definitely investigate and deal with it thoroughly when I get back."
How could he dare let the police come to his door to investigate? His wife had embezzled the money, and of course, she'd given the union chairman a small bribe. If things were handled strictly according to the law, no one would benefit. Besides, after so many years as deputy factory director, his record wasn't clean. If the police came and uncovered his shady dealings, not only would his leadership position be over, but he might even end up in jail.
Before Jiang Ling could respond, Qian Jianshe quickly opened the black briefcase he had brought and counted out 1,200 yuan, placing it on the interrogation table.
Even though his salary wasn't low, Qian Jianshe still felt the pinch when he had to take out 1,200 yuan at once. He gritted his teeth and kicked his son, yelling, "You spendthrift brat! I'll teach you to bully people!"
If it weren't for Qian Darong's troubles, the police would never have bothered to check whether the hardship allowance was being paid on time. Only now did Qian Jianshe realize that he should discipline his son properly, otherwise, if he were to be wronged by his son one day, he would have nowhere to seek justice.
Qian Darong's shinbone was kicked by his father, and he cried out in pain. He was usually spoiled and had never been beaten before, so he was very upset to be hit by his father in public.
Qian Jianshe's gaze was menacing. Seeing Qian Darong, he was somewhat frightened and could only tug at his mother's clothes to complain, "Mom, Mom, Dad hit me!"
When Jiang Ling pointed out the embezzlement, Zhao Yanhong was already feeling guilty and didn't care about her son's grievances. She impatiently replied, "Alright, stop making a fuss."
Having lost his support, Qian Darong quickly quieted down, his eyes darting around like a thief, his heart pounding with anxiety.
Sure enough, only by making them feel pain did they learn to restrain themselves.
Jiang Ling had no intention of letting it go. She glanced at Zhao Yanhong and said, "Embezzling hardship allowances, is this the fine tradition of the textile factory's union?"
Zhao Yanhong looked up nervously: "No! I didn't embezzle anything, it's just... it was just a little late in being distributed, but it's been made up now, hasn't it?"
Jiang Lingchong gave Liang Qiqiao a wink, and Liang Qiqiao then stepped forward and took the money in her hand.
Jiang Ling asked her, "Should we report it to the police?"
Liang Qiqiao opened her mouth, glanced at her younger brother, and then pursed her lips without saying a word.
She knew Jiang Ling was backing them up, but she couldn't decide whether to report the textile factory union for embezzlement. She worried that if she offended the Qian family too much, Qian Jianshe would retaliate severely, especially since they were still living in the textile factory dormitory.
Zhao Yanhong's heart was pounding.
We can't report her to the police! She's in charge of distributing supplies and welfare payments at the textile factory's union. She often does shady things because her husband is the deputy factory director, and the union chairman turns a blind eye. These things can't withstand scrutiny. If Liang Qiqiao reports her, it could lead to a whole mess, and things will get really bad.
After waiting a couple of breaths, Zhao Yanhong couldn't hold back any longer. She stepped forward, grabbed Liang Qiqiao's hand, and said with a forced smile, "Miss, Qiqiao, let's discuss this properly. I'll definitely give Qian Darong a good talking-to when I get back, and make sure he stays away from Liang Jiushan. I apologize for the late payment of the hardship allowance; it was our union's fault. I'm willing to compensate you, compensate you..."
Zhao Yanhong took out the five hundred yuan she was carrying: "Five hundred yuan, how about it? If you think it's not enough, I'll give you the watch." As she spoke, Zhao Yanhong took off the women's watch she was wearing on her left wrist and put it on Liang Qiqiao's wrist without saying a word.
Liang Qiqiao stepped back somewhat helplessly. Jiang Ling turned to Li Zhenliang and said, "Make a note of it. Issue an additional 1,200 yuan in hardship allowance, and compensate 500 yuan and a second-hand watch."
"Okay!" Li Zhenliang happily wrote this line in the notebook.
Jiang Ling asked meaningfully, "You wrote down the conversation from just now, didn't you?"
Li Zhenliang responded with a smile: "I wrote it down. It includes the fact that the textile factory withheld the hardship allowances for Liang Qiqiao and Liang Jiushan without authorization, and that Qian Jianshe voluntarily paid them out of his own pocket and promised to investigate thoroughly after returning to the factory. I've written all of that down."
Qian Jianshe's lips twitched. These two policemen were clearly biased towards the Liang siblings. Fortunately, only 1200 yuan was incorrectly recorded, not a large amount. Once he returned to the factory and spoke to a few key figures, the matter would be quickly smoothed over. No matter who investigated, it would only be considered a work error, having nothing to do with embezzlement.
Jiang Ling knew that the 1,200 yuan had been going on for a long time, and the loopholes in the accounts were hard to find. In addition, the threshold for filing a case of embezzlement in 1993 was 2,000 yuan, so reporting the case at this time would not achieve the desired effect. Therefore, she relented and allowed Liang Qiqiao to accept the compensation.
Liang Qiqiao, being an honest person, looked somewhat bewildered as she held the money and watch. Liang Jiushan, on the other hand, was quick-witted and repeatedly bowed to Jiang Ling and Li Zhenliang, saying, "Thank you, thank you both."
Jiang Ling waved her hand and took out a new mediation agreement: "Okay, let's begin the mediation now."
Zhao Yanhong's eyes widened: "What? We still need to mediate? We paid a total of 1,700 yuan plus a watch, and Liang Qiqiao accepted it all. Isn't that enough to settle the matter?"
Jiang Ling's eyes flashed like swords: "The 1,200 yuan hardship allowance originally belonged to the Liang siblings, the 500 yuan was late fees and interest, and as for that secondhand watch, it was your apology for your work mistake. In fact, none of these are related to this case."
"This..." Zhao Yanhong was truly impressed by this young policewoman.
She didn't know what was wrong with the weather; it was already September, yet she was still sweating profusely. The small interrogation room was completely still, making Zhao Yanhong's mouth dry and her only thought was to end this mediation quickly. But Jiang Ling remained calm and unhurried, employing a variety of methods, completely disregarding Qian Jianshe, the deputy factory director.
There were three chairs in the interrogation room. Jiang Ling and Li Zhenliang sat on the north side, Qian Jianshe sat on the south side, and Zhao Yanhong had to stand. She asked in a hoarse voice, "Um, could you please get us some water?"
Jiang Ling remained silent.
Li Zhenliang patted the record book and said irritably, "What water? We'll talk about that after the mediation is over."
Seeing that the police flatly rejected her request, Zhao Yanhong turned her head to look at Qian Jianshe, hoping that her husband could say a few words on her behalf.
Qian Jianshe's back was already soaked with sweat. The few blows he had just given his son had exhausted his remaining strength. He had no energy left to care about Zhao Yanhong. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his bald head, sat down in the chair, and sighed, "Alright, let's start the mediation then."
Only now did the couple begin to regret their actions.
I regret not disciplining Qian Darong sooner.
The more they thought about it, the angrier they became, and the couple's gazes toward Qian Darong grew stern.
This kid caused all this trouble! He's a good-for-nothing son, always dragging his father down with him, how despicable!
Qian Jianshe planned to lock his son up and give him a good beating when he got home.
Zhao Yanhong pondered how to harden her heart and discipline her son.
Liang Jiushan's eyes shone brightly as he looked at Jiang Ling.
Qian Darong said his father was powerful, that everyone in the textile factory had to listen to him, but that's not true at all! Officer Jiang from the police station wasn't afraid of Qian Jianshe.
Liang Qiqiao's slightly forward-leaning back gradually straightened, as if a warm and firm force was being injected into her body.
With the huge sum of 1,700 yuan secured, Liang Qiqiao felt that her future tuition and living expenses were covered, and the future looked bright.
Although their parents have passed away, it's good that they have the police to back them up.
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In 1993, during the early stages of market economic transformation, there was a severe crackdown on "official profiteering" and "rent-seeking" behavior, and the threshold for filing a case of embezzlement was lower than the current 30,000 yuan.
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