Even though she wanted to make a big move, real life isn’t a short-form drama. You need a concrete plan for everything.
First, the issue is that the supply and marketing cooperative has a rat. The rat stole from the cooperative’s inventory. Now the rat wants to get rid of the inventory records, financial ledgers, and other account books. That way, there will be no proof that the inventory was stolen.
Of course, these important account books can’t just disappear without a trace. There needs to be a reason for their disappearance.
As the only employee from the village working at the cooperative, and in the finance department no less, Tian Tian is the perfect scapegoat.
Second, Tian Tian can’t possibly know all the people and evidence chains involved in this whole scheme right now.
Therefore, what Tian Tian needs to do at this point is find some key evidence.
With evidence in hand, she can seize the initiative.
Having figured all this out, Tian Tian actually followed Section Head Lu’s request very proactively, heading to the warehouse to coordinate with Xu Lifen.
Of course, before going to the warehouse, the daughter of Sister Liu (the woman who took over Tian Tian’s old job), Ma Xiaomei, came by to hand over the work.
Tian Tian thought she wouldn’t show up with her hiring letter until after the New Year. But here she was that same afternoon. Clearly, she really wanted this job.
Her arrival was perfect timing—she could help keep Xu Lifen occupied. That would give Tian Tian more time to search for evidence in the warehouse.
——
“Why are we going to the warehouse? Is this a finance department job?”
Ma Xiaomei followed Tian Tian toward the warehouse, her face full of displeasure, chattering nonstop with complaints. If she’d known she’d be going to the warehouse for some inventory check, she wouldn’t have come. The place was full of goods, sure to be filthy.
Tian Tian remained good-natured. “Comrade Ma, on behalf of the finance department, I’m supposed to work with the warehouse team to compare incoming and outgoing goods data to confirm there are no errors in this year’s records.”
Ma Xiaomei had never done this kind of work before. She grumbled, annoyed. “Why is it so complicated? There are so many people in the finance department—why you? I thought the job was just organizing documents, no?”
From what her mother had said, the job was just pasting receipts, organizing and registering them. That was the kind of work Ma Xiaomei wanted.
Tian Tian shrugged. “No choice. I came in late last year, so I didn’t get work like this. This year? I don’t really get it either.”
Ma Xiaomei curled her lip. “They’re definitely picking on you because you don’t have connections.”
Otherwise, why would a job that was both tiring and offered no credit fall to Tian Tian? Now she was being dragged into it too.
Thinking this, Ma Xiaomei muttered a curse under her breath.
Tian Tian didn’t mind. Instead, she put on a worried look. “There’s one more thing I have to tell you ahead of time. When we get to the warehouse, you’ll run into Xu Lifen.”
“What?”
At the mention of Xu Lifen’s name, Ma Xiaomei’s sparse eyebrows shot up. Her slightly plump figure trembled with agitation. Clearly, she knew all about the feud between her mother and Xu Lifen.
“Great. Just great. This job is just wonderful.”
Seeing the look of clenched teeth on Ma Xiaomei’s face, Tian Tian knew she wouldn’t be disappointed.
——
Sure enough, as soon as they arrived at the warehouse, before Tian Tian could even say a word to Xu Lifen, Ma Xiaomei went straight for her. “So you’re Xu Lifen? I heard you’re always picking on my mother?”
Xu Lifen replied, “I… that’s not true… You’re Sister Liu’s daughter, aren’t you?”
Xu Lifen had been furious that day when she heard Tian Tian had sold her job. She hadn’t expected that woman who’d taken her position to resurface so quickly.
But judging by this hot-tempered attitude, she was just like Sister Liu. Dealing with that type was Xu Lifen’s specialty.
So, from Tian Tian’s perspective, Xu Lifen quickly switched into a pitiful, fragile act. With her white sweater and white pants, she even added a touch of mournfulness.
Most of the people working in the warehouse were men.
Seeing Xu Lifen like this, they immediately gathered around, looking ready to back her up.
“Homewrecker!”
Ma Xiaomei was at least a bit sharper than Sister Liu. She muttered the insult under her breath and held back from further provocation.
Seeing this, Tian Tian knew it was her turn to step in.
“Alright, alright, we’re all colleagues from now on. Let’s not be so petty about things! Especially you, Fen. You’re so kind, so considerate—of course you wouldn’t hold anything against Comrade Ma, right?”
These words nearly made Xu Lifen lose her composure. But everyone else in the warehouse was nodding along. That made Xu Lifen even angrier. However, she couldn’t break character—especially with so many colleagues around. Xu Lifen had no choice but to endure it.
Tian Tian was thoroughly amused.
“See, Fen? I knew you were a kind, good person. Everyone here thinks so too. Anyway, I came today on orders from our Section Head Lu to help your warehouse with some data comparisons. Where should we start? The New Year is coming—the sooner we finish, the sooner we can get time off.”
Xu Lifen, overwhelmed by Tian Tian’s barrage of words, didn’t dare do anything else. She could only say through gritted teeth, “It’s great that you came to help, Tian Tian. Did you bring the finance department’s account books with you?”
Tian Tian chuckled inwardly, thinking she’d be an idiot if she had.
“Nope. The finance department’s books are too important. I thought I’d first take a look at this year’s detailed incoming and outgoing records here. If everything looks fine, then we can compare them with our books.”
Just then, someone approached from a distance.
“Oh, it’s Xiao Tian from finance, right? Your Section Head Lu mentioned this morning that he’d send you. I didn’t expect you so soon. Afen, take Comrade Xiao Tian to the defective goods warehouse first and let her pick out some stuff—as a thank-you for coming to help. The actual work can wait.”
Tian Tian deliberately pretended to be anxious. “Hello, Supervisor Liu. This work is quite urgent. Our section head is pushing for it. How about we start with the work first? We can deal with other things after the work is done.”
Supervisor Liu clapped his hands together, putting on an approving look. “Xiao Tian is really a good comrade. No wonder your Section Head Lu has praised your department’s capable new hire several times. Look, we have several people handling the work here. You really don’t need to worry. The main reason your section head sent you is to do a cross-comparison with your finance department. Don’t worry about anything else. So go pick out your things first. If you work too efficiently, you’ll make our warehouse staff nervous. And if they’re nervous, mistakes happen easily.”
“The defective goods warehouse happens to be stocked with plenty of things young women like. Go ahead and pick whatever you want. Don’t stand on ceremony with me.”
Well then. If she didn’t go pick through the defective goods, any mistakes the warehouse staff made would be her fault.
The bottom line was, they wouldn’t let her near the warehouse data. She’d expected this before coming.
After all, they just needed a scapegoat. She was never meant to get her hands on the incoming/outgoing goods data. Even if she did, it would be fake. The real records were probably hidden somewhere.
The more they kept her away, the more it meant they would make their move within the next couple of days. They couldn’t drag this out too long, after all.
Having figured out the logic, Tian Tian didn’t argue further. Instead, she smiled, thanked Supervisor Liu, and followed Xu Lifen toward the small warehouse in the back that held the defective goods.
Ma Xiaomei, seeing how things had turned out, was actually pleased.
“So this job is just a formality? And here I was worrying the whole way here. Hey, this isn’t bad at all! We actually get to pick through all these defective goods.”
Tian Tian ignored Ma Xiaomei’s muttering and carefully observed the defective goods warehouse.
The cooperative had three warehouses in total. One for large items, one for small items, and the last one specifically for defective goods.
Even though the Reform and Opening Up was underway and supplies were gradually increasing, the cooperative’s defective goods were still good stuff.
Tian Tian didn’t hold back. With two thousand yuan tucked in her pocket, she started cleaning house.
Nice towels? Twenty dozen.
Nice printed fabric? Ten bolts.
Wait, wool fabric too? One bolt.
Oh, good toothbrushes? One hundred of them.
Hmm, nice bedsheets? Ten of them.
Oh wow, they even have plastic sandals here? Fine. Fifty pairs each of men’s and women’s.
Watching Tian Tian go on this crazy shopping spree, Xu Lifen, who was supposed to be guiding her, stood there dumbfounded.
Even Ma Xiaomei, who had only been hoping to snag a bargain, was completely stunned.
Seeing their reactions, Tian Tian straightened up, even reaching back to pound her own lower back, acting like she was exhausted.
“What’s wrong, Fen? Not allowed to buy? Didn’t Supervisor Liu just say to pick whatever?”
Xu Lifen could no longer keep up her pitiful, delicate act. She stammered, “But… but you’re buying way too much!”
Tian Tian shrugged, smiling with all eight of her white teeth showing. “Not really! I just sold my job, so I have money. Besides, none of this requires ration tickets. I can afford it. Don’t worry about my wallet for me.”
Xu Lifen cursed inwardly: Who’s worried about your damn wallet!
But she didn’t dare say anything more. She’d realized by now that the current Tian Tian was not normal. She had no choice but to go find Supervisor Liu.
“What?”
When Supervisor Liu heard how many defective goods Tian Tian wanted to buy, his already dark face turned the color of pig liver. He wanted to go over and give her a piece of his mind, but Section Head Xu from the Purchasing Department, who had come to see him, stopped him.
“Old Liu, forget it. It’s just a small amount of stuff. Consider it her blood money.”
Back in the warehouse, Tian Tian naturally had no idea what Section Head Xu had said. Not that she would have cared. Since they dared to bring her to the warehouse, if she didn’t do her best to clear out the defective goods, wouldn’t she just be letting them walk all over her for nothing?
Of course, Tian Tian had her reasons for daring to act this way.
Sure enough, after spending all but 480 yuan of her two thousand, she bought everything. Then she directly called Niu Zai and told him to bring that tractor driver from last time to haul the goods away.
Niu Zai was startled. When he came with the truck and saw everything, he gave Tian Tian a thumbs up.
As they were loading, Supervisor Liu came out with a dark expression.
Tian Tian smiled and thanked him profusely. That only made Supervisor Liu’s face grow even darker. Seeing this, Tian Tian was even more amused.
After watching him turn around and storm back to his office in a huff, Tian Tian finally let her smile fade.
Back in his office, Supervisor Liu couldn’t shake the feeling that the young man helping with the loading looked familiar.
Generally speaking, if someone looked familiar, it meant they had some kind of background.
Feeling uneasy, he sent someone to ask around. The news that came back nearly made him burst a blood vessel.
He rushed hurriedly to the finance department to find Section Head Lu.
“Old Lu, what exactly is the background of that Xiao Tian in your department?”
Section Head Lu replied, “No background to speak of. She came from a small village. Both her parents are farmers.”
Supervisor Liu pressed, “Then how does she know people from the electronics shops on Smugglers’ Row?”
Hearing this, Section Head Lu’s expression turned a bit grave. The main issue was that the smuggling routes used by Smugglers’ Row overlapped considerably with their own operations.
If Tian Tian knew people from Smugglers’ Street, had she heard anything about how the cooperative moved its goods?
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