The root cause of Xie Yuejin's exposure can be traced back to a few days ago.
Ever since Xu Shuang packed up and returned to the brigade to spend the winter, Xie Yuejin and Wan Guodong started their plans for this year.
What’s different from last year is that this year, because Xie Yuejin is in charge of purchasing, many things have become much more convenient.
The warehouse was filled with dried vegetables that Xu Shuang had stored for the past two months, but there wasn't much left. Xie Yuejin first bought a truckload of Chinese cabbage for winter storage, then spent all of the store's food quota, and then bought dried goods such as vermicelli, black fungus, and bean curd sticks.
Xie Yuejin was cautious in his work, and he bought all the ingredients one by one. In the eyes of the people in the town, the state-owned restaurant was no different from previous years, and it was still the same. Wasn't it the same in previous years? Stockpiling things in large and small bags
It was not until the twelfth lunar month that Xie Yuejin started to take action.
With last year's experience, Wan Guodong gave the waiters a holiday this year and only told them to pay their salaries as usual, plus a New Year gift. They were told to go home and celebrate the New Year, and to know what to say and what not to say after returning home.
The waiters had different thoughts. Some really regretted that they had taken advantage of a little bit of ease last year and now they were on the pirate ship. Some were thinking about how to get on with Xie Yuejin and Wan Guodong. They were not satisfied after working for a year and sent Xu Shuang away so early this year. It was obvious that they were making a lot of money. Wouldn't it be easier if they could get a share of the profits
After getting rid of all the people, Xie Yuejin finally started doing the same thing as last year. He would close the shop every now and then, and occasionally open the shop to sell a few pots of braised food.
After what happened last year, people in the town have gotten used to it. After all, someone asked about it last year, and Xie Yuejin replied without blushing or panting, saying that the restaurant did not have all the ingredients, some dishes could not be made, or there were not enough ingredients and they had been sold out long ago, so please come earlier next time.
Xie Yuejin fooled everyone like this, even his parents and brothers who refused to leave the town, just to give the Li family the 300 yuan as soon as possible so that he could divorce Li Ying earlier.
Just when Xie Yuejin was enthusiastically making money, the Li family could no longer sit still.
The second son of the Li family was throwing things around at home: "That son of a bitch, does he really not want Yingzi anymore? It's been such a long time! Why hasn't he come to take Yingzi back? Fourth son, that's not what you said before."
The eldest son of the Li family also had a worried look on his face: "That's right, Fourth Brother, as you said before, even if Xie Yuejin knew, he would still hold his nose and go on. Divorce has a bad reputation nowadays. We already have three children in our family, plus Yingzi... Even if we go back to the countryside, life will not be easy."
Originally, I could go back to the old house in the countryside and sell the house in town. Although there are not many buyers, there will still be people who want it at a lower price. If there is no more, five or six hundred yuan will still be enough.
When the time comes, they will divide the money and go back to the countryside to build a house and live. If they find a family with a high bride price, they will have some working money and the whole family can still live.
It was Li Laosi who said there was no need to go back to the countryside. As long as they could keep Xie Yuejin in the town, their family's living conditions would not change. In fact, they would be better.
He also said that even if Xie Yuejin knew that Li Ying was a fraud in marriage, he would not divorce her, and they would definitely still have to live together with each other.
But no matter how much he planned, who could have expected that this idiot Xie Yuejin was actually a liar!
What a restaurant chef, he got a separate house, and his parents don’t have any contact with him, they are all fucking lying to Li Ying!
What's more, Xie Yuejin actually gave up and wanted to divorce Li Ying directly.
Boss Li frowned: "The men in our family are divorced, and Yingzi, a woman, is also divorced. I'm afraid that if I return to the countryside, I will be criticized by everyone."
Isn't it? Divorce is a rare thing nowadays, and the Li family has four of them at once. Isn't it strange
Boss Li: "And we don't have much food now."
The food in the house was brought by Xie Yuejin before Li Ying and Xie Yuejin got married, in order to show his responsibility as a son-in-law. After such a long time, most of it had been eaten up. There was a risk of running out of food last month, and during this period of time, they had to buy and eat as little as possible.
"If we don't find a solution, how are we going to live in the future?"
Li Laoer was a man with a bad temper. He slammed the table and said, "If it doesn't work, we'll go beat up Xie Yuejin, leave Yingzi to him, and we'll sell the house and go back to the countryside!"
Li Laosi didn't say anything, but his wife, upon hearing what Li Laoer said, quickly tried to smooth things over: "Second brother, how can you beat up Xie Yuejin like that? After all, Yingzi has married him now, and who knows what will happen in the future. If you beat him up, how will Yingzi live?"
Li Laosi's wife tried her best to persuade Li Laoer to give up the idea. Her husband told her that they had bypassed their two brothers and asked Xie Yuejin for 300 yuan. They told Li Ying that it was 50 yuan. This money was kept secret from the whole family. When the money was taken, they and their husband would take part of the money from selling the house, and it would be enough to buy a job in the city.
Li Laosi's wife tried her best to appease her two brothers, hoping to get the 300 yuan safely, then make some extra money, sell the house and leave.
"Besides, if it weren't for you, second brother, at the wedding last time... our Yingzi wouldn't be in this situation now."
Li Laosi would not come out and say this, so Li Laosi's wife could only come out and point out Li Laoer. If it weren't for Li Laoer's stupid words at the wedding, things wouldn't have gotten to this point!
Li Lao Er's face suddenly fell: "What do you mean? Lao Si, take care of your wife!"
He said something wrong, but when a man is talking, there is no room for a woman to interrupt! And this woman dared to criticize him!
Li Laosi's wife pouted and kept silent. Li Laosi then said, "Brother, I don't think it's okay to beat up Xie Yuejin. Did you see that guy last time? As soon as we talked about divorce, he said he wanted to annul the marriage. If you beat him up, he will definitely sue you, and you might even end up in jail."
When talking about sitting in the detention room, Li Laoer remained silent.
The memory of being locked up before was so vivid that he felt uncomfortable whenever he thought about it.
Li Laosi: "Otherwise... I'll go find him later. Regardless of whether they're getting a divorce or something, they haven't gotten divorced yet. It's not too much for us to ask for some food, right? After all, Yingzi got married to him. As the old saying goes, a husband and wife are bound by love for a hundred days. Xie Yuejin should at least give us some food for Yingzi's sake."
Li Laosi made up his mind and he would just drag it out.
He waited until Xie Yuejin gave him 300 yuan, and then he pushed his two brothers back to the countryside.
What a joke! He was planning to go to the city by himself, but he didn't plan to bring his two loser brothers with him, not to mention the large group of nephews and nieces.
Li Laosi's opinion was recognized, and he went to find Xie Yuejin without delay.
But behind him, Li Laoer and Li Laoda did not disperse. Instead, they sighed to each other.
Li Lao Er was a little unconvinced: "Brother, don't you think we are too cowardly if we don't even give Xie Yuejin a beating?"
Boss Li: "You beat him? If you beat him, you will go to the detention room. If you are not afraid, then go!"
Li Laoer: "But Yingzi made him go through so much trouble, how can he get married in the future? We were originally a good family, and he ran away for a while, so now it doesn't count?"
Boss Li was also holding his breath, but he listened to the voices of his own children outside and felt helpless: "Think about the children before you do anything. If we go in again, what will happen to the children at home?"
When it comes to children, Li Laoer gets discouraged. There is nothing he can do about it. With children, he naturally cannot let himself get stuck in this. It is okay for Lao San to get stuck in this. He has no children, so he can just go in. But if it were him, with several children, he couldn't let his own mother run away and his own father go in too.
However, the anger was swelling in his chest, and Li Laoer couldn't calm down.
"Brother, why don't we go and report Xie Yuejin?"
Boss Li almost dropped his stool. "What are you talking about? Report what?"
Li Laoer: "We can't beat him, and we can't do anything to him. I can't bear not to deal with him. Look at Xie Yuejin, he is so rich, how can he be so rich? His family is also rich, how can he support his family?"
The more Li Laoer spoke, the more he felt that he was right: "You've heard what his family said, right? He sends money home every month, and he has to rent a house. He hasn't worked for a few years at all. How can he come up with so much money to host a banquet all at once?"
Li Laoer's eyes sparkled: "He must have been corrupt! He works in a restaurant, who knows how much he has corrupted!"
Li Lao Da originally thought that his brother's statement was a bit too much. After all, he was also a factory worker, and he always felt that such reporting was a bit unethical. But after Li Lao Er's fierce analysis, he felt that Li Lao Er's statement seemed to make sense.
When Li Ying was dating Xie Yuejin, they would often go to restaurants to eat without paying. If you look into this matter in detail, it is always found that Xie Yuejin took advantage of the public.
"You are right..."
Li Laoer was extremely excited.
Boss Li: "How about we not go to the Revolutionary Committee but report it to the hotel's leaders directly?"
Going to the Revolutionary Committee would mean making an enemy. Although he did not care much about Li Ying, Boss Li still felt that if they did not divorce in the end, Li Ying could at least live with Xie Yuejin.
Li Laoer thought for a moment and said, "Well, I'll go to the city in a couple of days. Isn't their state-owned restaurant part of the same system? I'll write a report and submit it to the state-owned restaurant in the county."
Li Laoer was undoubtedly a man who acted faster than he thought. Thinking that Li Laosi would obstruct the meeting in every possible way, he did not discuss it with Li Laosi again, but directly threw the letter of complaint at the door of the state-owned hotel in the county.
After throwing away the letter, Li Laoer returned home feeling relaxed.
I don’t know if the county town received the letter, but no one came to take care of it.
It was not until after the New Year that a group of internal patrols from the hotel arrived in Nanshao Town.
The leading man was wearing a pair of glasses. After arriving in the town, he dispersed the team. Two of them went to visit various places in the town and asked about the performance of the state-owned hotel in the past two years. The man with glasses took one person to the state-owned hotel.
But when they arrived at the restaurant, the man with glasses didn't go in.
The restaurant with the sign of Xipo Town State-owned Hotel had its doors and windows closed and was not open.
The person accompanying him said, "Director Zhang, what do you think we should do? Why don't you go back first and we stay?"
Their patrol team also took turns to inspect each restaurant. In previous years, they were selected or inspected on a quarterly basis. This year, it should have started in March. After all, it was not human to patrol in the middle of winter.
But the letter of complaint submitted by the state-owned hotel in the county was the first in recent years. It only stated that Xie Yuejin, a waiter at the Xipo Town State-owned Hotel, had stolen public funds. It did not say anything else, and there was no cause or effect. It was just a dry piece of paper.
The accompanying staff didn't quite understand why Director Zhang wanted to make this trip.
Director Zhang: "I won't leave. I'll stay and see."
As he spoke, he wrote something in the notebook he carried with him.
The state-owned restaurant is a public institution. It’s already 10 o’clock in the morning, but it’s still not open
Regardless of what Xie Yuejin is like, there is something wrong with the director of this store.
Director Zhang left his entourage at the entrance of the hotel and went to find a guesthouse to stay.
Others thought he was making a big fuss over a letter of complaint, and he brought people on a business trip shortly after the Chinese New Year. He must be mentally ill.
But Director Zhang himself knew that the reason he came was not only because of the letter of complaint, but also because the revenue of this state-owned restaurant in Xipo Town was really abnormal.
Director Zhang frowned. Although state-owned units don't care about revenue, a sudden drop like the one in Xipo Town will be closely monitored by higher-ups.
The reason is not because of low income, but because of the worry about internal corruption.
Director Zhang looked at the accounts of the state-owned restaurant in Xipo Town that he had copied. The sudden drop in revenue since last year was a bit abnormal. Xipo Town had not changed its chef, so why did it suddenly drop so much
There must be something fishy going on inside.
Director Zhang went out again after a short rest. When he arrived at the hotel, he found that it was not open yet.
Director Zhang's eyebrows were furrowed so tightly that they could pinch a mosquito to death. "It's already twelve o'clock. Are you closing the lunch hour?"
It's really too much!
The two people who went to visit the town also came back.
"Leader, although we didn't ask many people, we did find out a little bit. Everyone said that the restaurants in Xipo Town have rarely been open since last winter."
"One woman I asked said she wanted to buy pig's trotters last year, but restaurants were closed for most of the first month of the lunar year."
"There is no regular closing time. Many people have said that they thought the restaurant was closed because business was too good and it sold out early."
Business is good? Director Zhang, who just looked at the accounts, doesn't think so.
"Well, cheer up. Keep an eye on this place for the time being until they open. I'll go to the county town to get the workers' information for this restaurant."
The more Director Zhang thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong. He had a guess in his mind, but it was outrageous. How could someone dare to do this in a state-owned restaurant in such a small town? You know, in other places, let alone not opening the door, even if it opened a little later, there would be a lot of people staring at it.
He is really brave.
Director Zhang ran back and forth between the county and the town, and several patrol officers stayed in the town to investigate.
Finally, after seven or eight days of investigation, the police arrested a few waiters.
When they saw someone coming, the waiters were so scared that no one dared to argue, and they all told what they knew.
Although they didn't know what Xie Yuejin had done, they knew it was not a good thing.
Director Zhang knew everything, and finally on this day, the day the hotel finally opened, he brought a group of people to the door.
Early in the morning that day, Xie Yuejin's eyelids started twitching as soon as he got up. He was unsure, but he still forced himself to get up and go to the restaurant.
It has been closed for several days, it's time to open it again.
His mother turned over on the floor and slept soundly. Several brothers also slept in a mess on the ground. It was already eight or nine o'clock in the morning. Nowadays, everyone gets up early and few people sleep until this time.
But Xie Yuejin's mother can just fall asleep.
Although Xie Yuejin was angry, he could do nothing about it.
He thought that he had more money this winter because of the shopping, and when spring came, he would send his parents and brothers back to the commune.
Then settle the three hundred dollars from the Li family.
Xie Yuejin muttered while brushing his teeth, otherwise, he would inquire about jobs in the county town as early as next year
His mother found out where he lived this time, and she would come to see him in the future. She didn't come before because she didn't dare to go out and was afraid of something happening on the way. They had lived in the countryside for many years, and they didn't dare to go to the county town, let alone the town, for fear that others would bully them.
But this time, because the family had no food, his mother came and refused to leave.
The key point is that Xie Yuejin's mother is the kind of person who won't move until she finishes eating and drinking as long as there is food and drink in front of her.
Even Xie Yuejin was convinced by her. He didn't keep much food in the house he rented. After all, he ate and drank in the restaurant. He basically just left some dry noodles at home in case he got hungry at night.
But when his mother came, she started to eat the food at home.
He just eats but doesn't move, doesn't clean up anything at home, goes to sleep right after eating, and doesn't even wash a piece of his clothes when he goes out for a walk.
When Xie Yuejin said that, she felt wronged, saying that Xie Yuejin's clothes were not dirty, so why wash them? She lived in the countryside, and she would wait until spring to wash her winter clothes.
Xie Yuejin couldn't even get angry. His mother didn't ask him for anything, nor did she want clothes to wear. She was only focused on eating and drinking.
His father is the same. As long as there is a bite of food at his disposal, he will not even get out of bed and will stay still the whole time.
How could Xie Yuejin not know that these people have long been lazy
It was the same in their commune, every household had very little food in reserve, and if they had any, they would not use it. They would rather eat and drink all the food they had in reserve and wait for relief on an empty stomach.
If the brigade cadres hadn't urged me to go to the fields these years, I probably wouldn't even want to earn enough to feed myself.
Xie Yuejin walked out with a gloomy face.
When he arrived at the restaurant, he saw several guests sitting there with serious expressions.
Before he could go forward to greet them, two people from the other side came over and held him down.
Director Zhang was also unambiguous, and Wan Guodong was also kept quiet in the kitchen. The two asked questions separately, each one more pointed than the last.
Xie Yuejin's arrangement was flawless, and his accounts were clean and clear, so that no one could find out. Even if the restaurant was closed and there were problems with false accounts, it would be difficult to investigate. Xie Yuejin insisted that he only took a few things from the store, not more.
He talks tough, but he can't stand being held back by Wan Guodong.
Wan Guodong has always been immersed in the beauty of making money, he never thought that the truth would be revealed!
When he was pressed to the ground by the patrolmen, Wan Guodong seemed to be suddenly awakened from a sweet dream, and was so frightened that he could not stand.
Xie Yuejin couldn't remember any of the excuses he had made before, and could only cry and beg the inspectors to let him go.
Director Zhang took a look and immediately focused his attention on Wan Guodong.
Wan Guodong poured the beans out of the bamboo tube in one breath.
The information revealed made the entire patrol team gasp.
"You are so brave!"
How dare you steal public property like this!
Wan Guodong's face was covered with tears and snot: "Leader! I was wrong, leader! It's all Xie Yuejin's fault, it's all him! He dragged me into this!"
When Xie Yuejin heard Wan Guodong crying, he knew that everything was over.
He laughed at himself. When he heard Wan Guodong pushing the blame onto him, he stopped pretending to be nice to Wan Guodong for the first time. "Yes, it's all my fault. You didn't look happy when you heard the news. You didn't happily let me not have to open the door for the whole winter. You didn't come every few days to take food home."
Wan Guodong cursed loudly. At this point, he was really scared.
He hated Xie Yuejin for leading him down a path of no return.
Director Zhang flipped through the information in his hand and asked, "There's another cook named Xu Shuang in your store?"
Wan Guodong: "Yes, yes, yes! And him too!"
Director Zhang rolled his eyes: "Does he know about this?"
Wan Guodong couldn't wait to drag Xu Shuang into the water. He was now hoping that more people would get involved so that his crime would be lighter.
After Wan Guodong's distorted account, Xie Yuejin spoke.
"He didn't."
Wan Guodong looked incredulous, but Xie Yuejin was very calm: "He got married last year and had to go back to the village for the New Year, so he didn't know. Of course, it was because he asked for leave that I was able to do this. Otherwise, I would not have been able to do it if he was there."
Director Zhang was skeptical and asked someone to find Xu Shuang.
This was the scene that Xu Shuang and Wang Ying saw when they arrived.
Wan Guodong and Xie Yuejin looked pale, and there were several people wearing cuffs standing beside them, obviously the Revolutionary Committee had been called in. Several waiters also stood aside with their heads down, and someone was asking them questions and taking notes while asking.
As soon as Xu Shuang and Wang Ying appeared, although the upper half of their legs were covered in black water and mud from wading in the mud, the two of them standing together looked like a perfect match.
Seeing two good-looking people appear in such a troublesome official matter, Director Zhang's voice became much softer.
"Comrade Xu, I want to ask, do you know what Xie Yuejin and Wan Guodong did inside the hotel?"
Xu Shuang was silent for a moment: "I know."
"But I only found out about it in the early spring of last year, so I don't know the specific details."
Director Zhang nodded. This was consistent with what Xie Yuejin said, starting from last year.
"Then why didn't you report this to your superiors?"
Xu Shuang: "One is the issue of evidence, and the other is... do you want me to report this to Wan Guodong?"
Before Director Zhang could say anything, a young patrol officer nearby said, "Then why can't you report it to your superiors?"
Wang Ying was not happy with it. She stood up and said, "Comrade, you should think twice before you speak. Our Xu Shuang is a cook. Isn't it a cook's job to cook well? The internal management of the hotel was not his business. Yes, he was in charge of everything before. But doesn't Wan Guodong have the greater responsibility?"
"As for the reporting you mentioned, can we just report it with our mouths if we don't have any evidence? If we can't report it, how can we, Xu Shuang, live in the hotel? Also, Xu Shuang noticed it at the beginning of last spring, and when winter was about to come in the second half of last year, Wan Guodong let him rest several days in advance. Why do you still think he can get any evidence?"
"This is the inventory certificate that Xu Shuang took every winter and spring for the past two years. It has the signatures of Xie Yuejin and Wan Guodong. He has already asked for leave. Should we blame him for what happened at the hotel?"
Wang Ying handed the certificate in her hand to Director Zhang, and the young man who had just spoken fell silent.
Director Zhang checked the certificate, then checked the accounts since the beginning of last spring, and finally nodded: "It is indeed correct."
Now that the relevant personnel had been identified, Director Zhang stopped talking nonsense, took away the store's account books and some evidence, and prepared to go back for further investigation.
The patrols and the Revolutionary Committee took Wan Guodong and Xie Yuejin away. Although several waiters were not taken away, those who stayed behind had pale faces, knowing that they would not be able to keep this job for long.
Xu Shuang calmly cleaned up the store, not sure what to do, so she could only close the door and let the waiters go home first.
On the way back, Wang Ying gently pulled Xu Shuang's hand.
Xu Shuang grabbed her hand and said softly: "Xie Yuejin..."
Wang Ying understood what he meant: "When the verdict comes out, go see him. I saw him leaving just now, as if he had something to tell you."
Xu Shuang nodded slightly and said "hmm".
I thought days like this would last for a while, but within two days, Chen Dong actually appeared outside the Seventh Brigade.
Chen Dong was wearing a pair of rubber shoes. Although they were in a mess after walking all the way, they were still much better than those worn by Xu Shuang and Wang Ying that day.
Wang Ying happily brought Chen Dong a bowl of corn silk and apple tea.
Chen Dong took a few gulps before he regained his breath and complained, "This road for your team is too difficult to walk on!"
On the way here, his rubber shoes were almost broken.
Xu Shuang: "What are you doing here at this time? The ground hasn't even been thawed yet."
Chen Dong rolled his eyes at his apprentice: "It's all for you."
"The leader has decided that you will be the director of the state-owned restaurant in town. You have been promoted. Are you happy?"