Wen Ruan had just reached the entrance of the family compound when she ran into Song Yan, who had come looking for her.
Wen Ruan, feeling a little guilty for some reason, took the initiative to greet him: "Off work?"
"Hmm, where did you go just now?" Song Yan went to the courtyard house and even went inside to ask the workers. They all said they hadn't seen Wen Ruan and were just worried about her.
I was wondering if he had returned, and sure enough, I ran into him.
"I didn't go anywhere, I just went to the courtyard house to check on the workers' progress in renovating it." Wen Ruan lowered her head, somewhat afraid to look at Song Yan, and said, pretending to be calm.
Song Yan frowned, suspecting that Wen Ruan might be hiding something from him.
Thinking that she would tell me when she was ready, I didn't ask any further questions...
The next morning, while Song Yan was at work, Wen Ruan went to the Housing Management Bureau and asked someone to call Hu Dali out of his office.
Seeing Wen Ruan's hurried and serious expression, Hu Dali realized that she had something important to say, so he turned around and led Wen Ruan into the reception room on the first floor.
After the two sat down, Wen Ruan repeated to him what she had said to Aunt Li the day before.
Hu Dali was very indignant: "Sister-in-law, we grew up together since we were little. You have a suitable girl in your life, but you don't introduce her to me. What's so good about that guy? He can't do anything right. Don't forget who used to keep you informed and tell you where Brother Yan is."
Wen Ruan wished she could shut Hu Dali's mouth, so she quickly told him to stop, saying that it wasn't the point, and then recounted the information she had gathered about Xing Wei's family.
Hu Dali, who had been nonchalant, suddenly became serious and sat up straight: "Sister-in-law, is everything you said true?"
"Why would I lie to you? Just go to Xing Wei's house and ask any of his neighbors." Wen Ruan rolled her eyes.
"Sister-in-law, it's not that I don't believe you, I just want to confirm. To tell you the truth, our company recently had an audit. Although it hasn't been announced yet, I have inside information that there are indeed some problems with the accounts."
"I heard they're planning to send someone to investigate secretly. Now that you mention it, I suspect it might have something to do with that kid Xing Wei," Hu Dali said thoughtfully.
Wen Ruan stood up, patted the wrinkles on her clothes from sitting down, and seemed to be leaving without a care in the world: "Okay, I'm relieved that you know what you're doing."
Hu Dali said gratefully, "I knew my sister-in-law would always think of me when something good happens. If this matter is resolved, I might even make a good impression on the leaders. I will definitely come to thank you and my brother Yan in person then!"
Wen Ruan was speechless. She was clearly thinking of avenging the original owner of the body and giving Hu Dali an opportunity, killing two birds with one stone. What did this have to do with Song Yan?
"No need for thanks, we've been friends since childhood." With that, he waved his hand and turned to leave.
After that, Wen Ruan did not take the initiative to inquire about the progress of Hu Dali's matter. Instead, she would visit Huaihua Hutong more often and chat with Aunt Li. She even learned to knit various styles of yarn from her.
She said that recently, for some reason, there seem to be a lot more strangers in the alley. In the last few days, she has encountered two groups of people who asked her about Old Xing's family when she went out.
At first, things were fine, and she managed to say a few things. But then she encountered another group of people who asked the same questions, which scared Aunt Li so much that she dared not say anything more.
She kept reminding Wen Ruan not to spread what she had told her before, as she felt the atmosphere had been a bit off lately.
This made Wen Ruan very embarrassed, and she could only nod in agreement.
Knowing that Aunt Li lived alone, her husband had passed away, and her children were all living in other places, Wen Ruan made several trips to visit her, partly to express her apologies and partly to keep an eye on her situation.
She added that her mother-in-law is also home every day, and if she has nothing to do, she can come over to visit. She also mentioned that she has been knitting recently, and her mother-in-law really likes the patterns that Aunt Li teaches her.
This made Aunt Li extremely happy, and she liked Wen Ruan, this beautiful and kind-hearted girl, even more.
This whole thing felt like it lasted for more than ten days, and it only seemed to be coming to an end when the renovations of Wen Ruan's courtyard house were almost complete.
Hu Dali also came to see Wen Ruan several times to confirm some details. Each time, Wen Ruan instructed him to keep it a secret from Song Yan.
It was said that when the group encountered Xing Wei last time, Song Yan disliked him very much and didn't want to upset him or let him know that he was involved in anything related to Xing Wei.
Although Hu Dali didn't quite understand, he always followed Wen Ruan's instructions and would call her out separately every time he came to see her.
Song Yan was puzzled, wondering what Wen Ruan and Hu Dali were up to lately, but it was obvious that neither of them wanted him to know, so he pretended not to know and remained silent.
The last time Hu Dali called Wen Ruan out, it was to tell her that their previous guesses had been confirmed.
It turns out that after Xing Wei took over his father's job and joined the Housing Security Department of the Housing Management Bureau, he embezzled public funds and colluded with his superiors, taking bribes from both his upstream and downstream employers.
Not only do they take kickbacks from both the buying and selling of houses, they also specifically target certain special houses that the housing management bureau has reclaimed, such as those previously owned by capitalists or those left unclaimed during liquidation. They set prices privately, sell them, and profit from the price difference.
Some were even sold without being registered, with the seller pocketing the full amount.
In addition to embezzlement and bribery, some buyers would bring lavish gifts in order to buy or select the houses under Xing Wei's responsibility in advance. Over time, this amounted to a considerable sum.
Anyway, through visits and investigations over the past few days, many things have come to light. It is said that when the police searched Xing Wei's house, they found more than 40,000 yuan in cash and a small box of small yellow croakers!
In an era when an average salary of just over thirty yuan could support a whole family, this was undoubtedly an enormous sum of money.
This is definitely a major corruption case, which has been taken very seriously by higher authorities. As the investigation uncovered more cases, more than a dozen people were implicated.
Finally, Wen Ruan saw Xing Wei's ultimate fate in the newspaper: he was sent to a labor farm for twenty years of reform.
At this point, Wen Ruan also fully understood the reason why Xing Wei eloped with the original owner of the body.
It's likely that Xing Wei heard rumors from somewhere that an audit was coming, and he's planning to quit his job at the housing management bureau and run away with the money he has on hand!
As for the original owner, it's likely that the two of them just happened to get in touch.
Xing Wei may indeed have some feelings for the original owner, and coupled with the fact that the original owner felt neglected after marriage due to Song Yan's busy schedule, he couldn't bear the loneliness for a while.
The two hit it off immediately, and on the surface, they eloped together, but in reality, Xing Wei still intended to run away with the stolen money.
It's also the original owner's fault for having bad eyesight, falling for such a pretty boy. After the two eloped, she didn't have a good life.
Later, Xing Wei became addicted to gambling, losing all the money he and the original owner had on them. He then sold her to a remote mountain village, where she died young in childbirth...
Wen Ruan let out a long sigh: "Wen Ruan, did you see that? I've avenged you. I hope that in your next life, you can open your eyes wider and live a good life!"
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