Chapter 14: Thunder in the Warehouse, Using Force Against Force

Deputy Director Li openly backed Qian Youfu, ordering the transfer of the "Xifeng" liquor reserved for model worker commendations—a move that struck the Procurement Department like a massive boulder thrown into a still pond.

Section Chief Zhao’s face turned ashen as he locked himself in a small cubicle for hours without emerging. Meanwhile, Qian Youfu strutted about arrogantly, shouting orders for someone to fetch the liquor from the warehouse.

He Yuzhu watched coldly from the sidelines. The shadow of high-level power struggles had already descended.

As a mere pawn, every step he took had to be steadier and more precise. The “Basic Management Knowledge” he’d learned at sign-in echoed in his mind, sharpening his awareness that in such circumstances, business acumen alone was insufficient; one must also master the art of leveraging influence and self-preservation.

A few days later, Old Chen summoned He Yuzhu to assist in verifying the warehouse's quarterly inventory sheets—a tedious but crucial task ensuring that physical stock matched the records.

Old Chen, aged and somewhat nearsighted, trusted He Yuzhu’s meticulousness and speed with numbers.

“Xiao He, here’s the preliminary inventory sheet for the labor protection supplies section. Carefully check the quantities against the ledger, focusing on gloves, soap, towels—the items that move most frequently,” Old Chen said, handing over a thick stack of forms.

“Got it.” He Yuzhu took the papers, fetched a chair to sit in a well-lit spot, and began his scrutiny.

At first, everything matched perfectly. But when he reached the entry for “abrasion-resistant gloves,” his pen froze.

Ledger balance: 785 pairs

Warehouse clerk Liu Dashuan’s initial count: 785 pairs

On the surface, the records matched. Yet He Yuzhu clearly remembered that just last week, Workshop Three had taken 150 pairs!

“According to proper procedure, the ledger balance should have decreased after issuing stock!” He immediately pulled out the stub of Workshop Three’s material requisition form from last week, which clearly recorded: recipient Zhang Dashan, quantity 150 pairs, dated three days ago!

The ledger balance of 785 pairs was the figure before that issuance. After removing 150 pairs, the actual stock should have been only 635 pairs. Yet the warehouse’s initial count still read 785 pairs. What could this mean?

A chill ran through He Yuzhu’s heart. Either warehouse clerk Liu Dashuan made a counting error and forgot to deduct this issuance during the inventory, or someone never truly released those 150 pairs—they faked the outflow in the records, leaving the goods either still in the warehouse or perhaps misappropriated!

Without showing any reaction, he continued auditing other items. Soon, he found another discrepancy.

“Labor protection soap” entry:

Ledger balance: 1200 bars

Initial count: 1200 bars

But He Yuzhu recalled that five days ago, the logistics department had distributed labor protection supplies to a new batch of temporary workers, with the requisition form clearly stating 200 bars taken!

The ledger balance should have dropped to 1000 bars, yet the initial count remained at 1200 bars.

The same trick—faked ledger outflow, goods untouched!

He Yuzhu’s gaze sharpened. This was no accident! It was a systemic mismatch between the books and the physical stock, clearly targeting easily consumed, moderately valued, and loosely supervised labor protection supplies.

And the person responsible for daily warehouse receipts, dispatches, and inventories was none other than warehouse clerk Liu Dashuan—someone personally promoted by Qian Youfu!

Like ants carrying off grains, this time it wasn’t money being moved but tangible materials. Considering Qian Youfu’s recent secretive behavior, the answer was glaringly obvious.

He Yuzhu kept quiet. He made discreet, coded marks on the inventory sheets only he could understand, circling the suspicious items. Then, he took the forms to Old Chen.

“Master Chen, these entries in the labor protection supplies section match the ledger and initial counts, but something feels off,” He Yuzhu pointed out. “Look here: the gloves show 785 pairs on both ledger and count, but Workshop Three took 150 pairs just last week, and the balance hasn’t dropped.”

“The soap too—the logistics department’s new workers took 200 bars, but the balance is still 1200. Could it be that Liu forgot to deduct these recent issues during inventory?”

Old Chen, a veteran in procurement, immediately grew grave upon hearing this. He examined the sheets carefully and flipped through the corresponding requisition stubs. His expression darkened further.

“This... this doesn’t add up! The discrepancy is huge! Xiao He, are you sure the dates on these requisitions are correct?”

“The stub dates and signatures are all here, no mistakes,” He Yuzhu affirmed.

“Let’s go to the warehouse!” Old Chen could no longer sit still and hurriedly dragged He Yuzhu to the factory warehouse.

Inside, warehouse clerk Liu Dashuan sat with his legs crossed, sipping tea. Seeing Old Chen and He Yuzhu enter, he lazily rose.

“Old Chen? What’s up?”

“Dashuan! Gloves, soap, towels—recount these immediately! Now!” Old Chen’s tone was stern as he slapped the marked inventory sheet on the table.

Liu Dashuan’s face shifted slightly; forcing a smile, he said, “Old Chen, we just counted everything; it all matched. Why count again...”

“Count if I say count! No more nonsense!” Old Chen snapped angrily.

Reluctantly, Liu Dashuan summoned two warehouse workers to recount. The results quickly emerged:

Abrasion-resistant gloves: 635 pairs! (150 fewer than ledger and initial count)

Labor protection soap: 1000 bars! (200 fewer)

Labor protection towels: 50 fewer than ledger

Irrefutable evidence! The physical stock severely mismatched the records! The missing materials matched those listed on the “issued” requisition forms!

Liu Dashuan’s face drained of color, sweat pouring down. “This... this might be because I forgot to record the last issuance during the previous inventory... I’ll fix the paperwork immediately…”

“Fix the paperwork?” Old Chen shook with rage, “Dashuan! Was it a mere oversight? This is clearly embezzlement under your watch! Where’s the stuff?! Speak! Where did the goods go?!”

The commotion drew a crowd. Section Chief Zhao arrived, and upon seeing the scene and the missing quantities, his face darkened as if dripping water. This was no longer mere mismanagement—it was a crime!

“Section Chief Zhao! Old Chen! I’m innocent!” Liu Dashuan collapsed to his knees, sobbing, “It was Deputy Section Chief Qian! He... he told me to do this! Said some connections needed to be handled, told me to fake several outflows, and he took the goods! He said it would be fine, he’d take responsibility if anything happened…”

Boom! The warehouse erupted in uproar, all accusations aimed squarely at Qian Youfu.

“Qian Youfu!” Section Chief Zhao roared, “Bring him here!”

Qian Youfu was summoned to the warehouse. Seeing Liu Dashuan kneeling and Zhao’s murderous glare, he instantly realized his scheme had been exposed. Trying to maintain composure, he asked, “Section Chief Zhao, what’s going on?”

“What’s going on?” Zhao flung the inventory sheet and Liu Dashuan’s confession in his face. “We have both witness and evidence! Qian Youfu! How dare you instruct the warehouse clerk to misappropriate state property!”

“This is slander! Slander!” Qian Youfu jumped up, pointing at Liu Dashuan. “He’s the one with dirty hands! Trying to frame me! Section Chief Zhao, you must see the truth!”

“Whether it’s slander will become clear once we search your office and home!” Zhao’s voice was icy. “Where are the security personnel?!”

At that moment, a commanding voice interrupted, “Enough shouting! What a disgrace!”

Deputy Director Li entered, hands clasped behind his back, face stern. His gaze swept the chaotic scene before settling on Qian Youfu’s panicked face, a flicker of barely concealed anger and disappointment passing through his eyes.

“Director Li! You’ve arrived just in time!” Qian Youfu clutched at him like a lifeline. “Section Chief Zhao and the others are slandering me! You have to stand up for me!”

“Stand up for you?” Deputy Director Li gave him a cold look, then turned to Zhao. “Old Zhao, what’s the situation?”

Zhao briefly but clearly reported the severe discrepancies between warehouse records and stock, and Liu Dashuan’s accusation that Qian Youfu had orchestrated the embezzlement, presenting the irrefutable evidence.

Deputy Director Li’s expression darkened further. He hadn’t expected Qian Youfu to be so foolish and corrupt, nor that he’d be caught red-handed in public—especially involving labor protection supplies, a sensitive issue among workers.

He took a deep breath and made a swift decision. Protecting Qian Youfu was too risky—under such glaring scrutiny and complete evidence, Li Huaide could not sacrifice himself for Qian Youfu.

“You despicable scoundrel!” Deputy Director Li slammed a nearby wooden crate, pointing fiercely at Qian Youfu. “The organization trusted you enough to make you deputy section chief! This is how you repay that trust?! Embezzling public property under your watch! How brazen! You’ve brought shame upon the entire factory leadership!”

Qian Youfu looked struck by lightning, staring at Deputy Director Li in disbelief, eyes filled with despair and pleading.

“Section Chief Zhao!” Deputy Director Li turned to Zhao Guoqiang, his tone resolute, “This matter is extremely serious and must be dealt with sternly. You have full authority. The Security Department will assist. Suspend those who must be suspended. Investigate thoroughly! No responsible party shall be spared! After the investigation, report to the factory party committee for further action!”

With this declaration, he completely abandoned Qian Youfu and drew a clear line.

“Yes, Director!” Zhao straightened, voice firm.

Deputy Director Li cast one last glance around the warehouse. His gaze lingered for half a second on the calm He Yuzhu, eyes complex, before snorting coldly and turning away, sleeves sweeping as he left.