The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 211 Making Great Contributions to the Defense of the Department
Thursday, the weather was bad. It started raining in the early morning and continued into the morning.

At 7:30 a.m., autumn rain, carrying a chill, swept through the streets and alleys of the coastal city.

A tide of dark green raincoats surged out from the residential compounds of various factories and government agencies, accompanied by a massive army of bicycles heading towards their respective factories and government agencies.

The crisp sound of bells mingled with the sound of raindrops hitting the ground.

Men in overalls hunched over as they pedaled their bicycles, the aluminum lunchboxes hanging on the handlebars rattling with each bump.

Suddenly someone cried out "Ouch!" The old man riding the Forever 28 motorcycle slipped and stumbled at the street corner, splashing mud and water that stained the hem of his polyester shirt yellow, and the mimeographed "Seaside Daily" tucked under the back seat scattered all over the ground.

Immediately, the bold headline on the front page, "The Central Committee Calls for a Nationwide Discussion on the Criterion of Truth," began to bleed as the rain soaked through it.

On the bluestone slab in front of the grain store on Xiangshan Road, two girls wearing blue cloth sleeves were tiptoeing as they removed the door panels.

In the restaurants belonging to the street, the steamers were opened, and the rising white steam blurred the slogans on the wall. Workers wearing rubber shoes with worker, peasant and soldier brand logos lined up, clutching their food coupons. The unique wheat aroma of steamed buns and steamed bread wafted into people's nostrils, making the workers buying breakfast unable to help but take deep breaths.

The white steam from breakfast mingled with the soot from the honeycomb briquette stove, weaving a hazy, gray mist among the damp sycamore leaves.

Qian Jin rode his bicycle past the intersection of Xiangshan Road.

The loudspeaker at the intersection broadcast its message through the rain, reaching all directions:
"The Central Committee convened a brainstorming session to study the issue of accelerating the Four Modernizations, emphasizing the need to make full use of foreign capital and import large quantities of advanced foreign technology and equipment. The meeting also discussed the reform of the economic management system..."

The sound waves vibrated the tin thermos on the windowsill of the state-run barbershop, startling the yellow dog curled up under the canvas-covered tricycle.

The big yellow dog ran to the entrance of the state-run breakfast shop. The waitress in the white apron was carrying a bamboo basket and splashing water outside the shop. The dishwater, with scallions floating on it, washed out winding gullies on the asphalt road. The big yellow dog immediately ran over and started licking it.

There was standing water everywhere on the road.

The water reflected the hunched backs of the cyclists, much like a series of ocean waves.

Qian Jin rode his bicycle into the workplace and pushed it into the bicycle shed.

When the gatekeeper, Old Zhang, saw him, he deliberately leaned halfway out of the window, holding a steaming enamel mug in his hands: "Director Qian, you've come very early today!"

"It rained all night, and Old Liu from the boiler room said the air pressure is very low today."

"Our new department has a lot of work, so we have to come early. I guess many of our colleagues have already arrived," Qian Jin replied with a smile.

Old Zhang said, "That's right. Your Deputy Director Liao and Deputy Director Cheng have already arrived. I can see that quite a few people have come."

"I think Deputy Director Liao slipped and fell in the rain; his clothes and handbag were covered in mud and water."

"You're a really good leader; you've done a great job educating your colleagues in the department."

Qian Jin exchanged a few polite words and went upstairs.

He walked past the main office and looked inside. There were already more than a dozen employees inside, including Liao Chunfeng.

He then asked Liao Chunfeng, "Deputy Director Liao, I heard from Grandpa Zhang at the gate that you fell this morning? Are you alright?"

Liao Chunfeng still had mud and water stains on his body.

He said, "It's nothing, it's nothing. It was raining today and visibility was poor. I was in a hurry to get to work and I was riding my bike fast, so I ended up colliding with a bicycle coming from the opposite direction."

"But it's nothing," he said in a good mood, with a smile on his face. "It's just that my clothes got dirty. I'll wipe them off first, and I'll go home at noon to change."

"Oh, I just had to tell you, Director Qian, I have to go home for lunch. If you can't find me at noon, don't say I skipped work, haha."

Qian Jin laughed too: "How could that be?"

He returned to his office and hung his wet raincoat on the coat hook behind the door.

Water droplets slid down the plastic sheet, forming a small, dark puddle on the newly painted red floor.

Just as he was about to get hot water to prepare for his work, he suddenly frowned.

His teacup shattered on the floor!

This shouldn't be the case.

Just then, an employee came to him for advice, and he said in a low voice, "Something's not right. The teacup was fine when I locked the door yesterday."

The employee who came to see him was Li Xiang.

The female college student hurriedly said, "Boss, your teacup is broken? I'll clean it up for you right away. Besides, we have a new teacup in our office..."

"No, this teacup shouldn't be broken." Qian Jin's expression changed, and he hurriedly took out his key to open the drawer.

Qian Jin's hand suddenly stopped when the key was inserted into the lock.

"The lock cylinder feels wrong when it turns; it's too loose, like it's been lubricated..."

The bottom drawer was opened and pulled out smoothly, and his blood instantly congealed.

The brown paper bag is gone!

Qian Jin frantically rummaged through the drawer, even picking through paperclips and eraser shavings in the corner, but only found a thin layer of dust.

Li Xiang sensed something was wrong and panicked, asking, "What's wrong with Director Qian?"

Qian Jin took a deep breath to remain calm and said, "My office has been burgled."

Then he dialed the internal line and asked, "Is this the security department? This is Qian Jin from the foreign business office."

The phone receiver trembled in his hand, and his voice also trembled slightly: "My office has been burgled, and six thousand yuan of the department's quarterly budget has been stolen!"

Less than two minutes later, Zhou Jiqing, the head of the security department, rushed in with two officers.

This is a veteran who participated in the Sino-Indian border self-defense counterattack war and made meritorious contributions on the battlefield. After being transferred from the military, he became the head of the security department of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives.

Unfortunately, the passage of time has eroded the hero's ambition.

The Municipal Supply and Marketing Cooperative is a good organization with high welfare, good benefits, and high social status.

Zhou Jiqing, the head of the security department, had to attend banquets and social events almost every day. Over the years, his lean abdominal muscles turned into a big belly, and the fat on his face turned into excess fat.

He rushed over and asked, "You mean Director Qian? Director Qian, are you sure your department's activity funds were stolen? Could it be that you put them somewhere else and forgot about them?"

This is a big deal!

He felt he was even more worried than Qian Jin.

The Security Department of the Municipal Supply and Marketing Cooperative has won the Outstanding Unit Award for Security Systems of Factories and Units in Haibin City for five consecutive years.

why?
This is because the municipal headquarters of this very important government agency has not had any criminal cases in the past five years, and its subordinate grassroots supply and marketing cooperatives and other units have only had a handful of civil cases.

A department recently lost a huge sum of 6,000 yuan.

If this case can be solved, that's fine. But if it can't be solved, it's definitely a serious criminal case, and their department can forget about getting any rewards this year!
So he hoped that Qian Jin had made a misunderstanding.

Unfortunately it backfired.

Qian Jin said confidently, "The money is right here. Xiao Liu from your department is a witness."

Zhou Jiqing asked, "Which Liu? Liu Hongta?"

Qian Jin said, "Yes, it's Comrade Liu Hongta."

Zhou Jiqing hurriedly said to one of the officers, "Go and bring Liu Hongta over to me."

The clerk said awkwardly, "Liu Hongta worked the night shift last night and just handed over his shift to go home to sleep."

"What are you still sleeping for!" Zhou Jiqing roared. "The sky is falling and you're still trying to sleep? Go, drag him back from the bed!"

The clerk rushed off in a great hurry.

Zhou Jiqing's loud voice attracted Cheng Xia from the next office.

Both of them were retired military officers and had a good personal relationship. So Cheng Xia came over and asked a couple of questions, and found out what had happened.

Cheng Xia didn't gloat, but quickly urged Zhou Jiqing: "Old squad leader, what are you yelling about? Hurry up and investigate the case! This is six thousand yuan, not sixty yuan. Even if it was sixty yuan that was stolen, we have to find out!"

"Do you need to tell me? Don't I have to do the preparatory work?" Zhou Jiqing said, squatting down by the door and checking the door lock with a magnifying glass, his thick eyebrows furrowed into a knot.

"The keyhole is not damaged."

He pulled a small bottle from his pocket and poured some powder into the keyhole: "It was opened with professional tools, at least five hooks or more."

Then he suddenly sniffed hard with his nose, like an old hunting dog: "There's a smell of machine oil in the lock, hmm, that's the style of a professional pickpocket."

Cheng Xia was speechless: "Old squad leader, are you even capable?"

"This lock is obviously the work of an experienced pickpocket. There was no forced entry, no violent opening, and not even any marks left on the lock itself. It must be the work of an experienced pickpocket."

Zhou Jiqing cursed at him, "What the hell do you know? I'm telling you, Xiao Cheng, can't you go do your own thing? Are you bored out of your mind? Why are you just causing trouble here?"

The employees in the large office were peeking around.

Liao Chunfeng walked over carrying a teacup, his brows furrowed so deeply they looked like they could trap a mosquito.

"Director Qian, Section Chief Zhou, what's wrong?"

Cheng Xia chuckled and pushed him away, saying, "It's nothing, let's get back to work."

He then yelled at the group of people crowding at the entrance of the main office: "What are you looking at? What are you doing? Aren't you going to work?!"

Everyone quickly shrank back.

Zhou Jiqing took a magnifying glass and checked all the locks on the doors of the foreign business office.

When he returned, he sat down at his desk and began to wonder, "Something's not right."

He tapped his knuckles on the desk with a dull thud: "Director Qian, did you just put this money in last night?"

Qian Jin said, "It's in the evening, before we get off work."

Zhou Jiqing said, "Who knew you had money in here? I mean, how could a pickpocket know there was money in your drawer? And how could he have so precisely picked your office door lock and stolen the money?"

"I just checked each of the doors, and there were no signs of prying on the other locks. They came for your office!"

Qian Jin hesitated for a moment, then said, "Actually, quite a few people know that I keep money in my office."

"Liu Hongta from your department..."

“This kid is definitely fine. Besides, he was on night shift at work last night and didn’t have time to leak information.” Zhou Jiqing immediately ruled out the possibility of him being one of his own.

The officer was always protecting his own.

Qian Jin said, "I also told several colleagues in the finance department that I wanted to leave the money in my office."

Zhou Jiqing looked at another officer.

The clerk was frantically writing in his notebook with his head down when Zhou Jiqing suddenly kicked him, startling him. The ballpoint pen left deep marks on the notebook, almost piercing the paper: "Huh?"

"What do you mean, 'huh'?" Zhou Jiqing rolled his eyes. "Go and control those people in the finance department!"

He then called the security department and summoned four more of his men: "They're all my best and brightest. Don't worry, I already know the money; he can't run away!"

His head of the security department didn't get promoted by eating and drinking; he's got some skills and has already figured things out:
"This means there's a traitor within our company! It must be a traitor who colluded with a thief to steal the money!"

"What the hell are they trying to cause trouble for me, Zhou Tieshou? They don't know how powerful I am!"

"Don't worry, Director Qian, the person can't escape. I'll definitely catch him. Hmph, damn it, investigate the mole first, then find the outsider!"

One of his subordinates suggested, "Why don't we investigate both of them together, look for both of them together?"

"Boss, you have many friends in the city, and you're well-connected in both the legitimate and underworld circles. Six thousand yuan is a huge sum of money. Would an ordinary thief dare to touch that kind of money? Would they dare to touch the money in your workplace?"

"I reckon this was either done by some reckless lunatic or some greenhorn who just started out and doesn't know anything!"

Zhou Jiqing flicked his peaked cap and asked, "What do you mean?"

The security officer said, "Call a few people you know and ask them to help you check what happened last night."

Zhou Jiqing said, "Okay, I'll start making the calls now."

A car drove into the compound of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

This is President Wei Bin.

Zhou Jiqing gave Qian Jin a wink: "Don't tell the boss about this yet. Let's solve the case first and then give him a report."

Qian Jin nodded to indicate that he understood. But just as he finished making a few calls to his underworld buddies, Wei Bin stormed over, furious!
"Qian Jin!" Wei Bin's face turned ashen, his eyes flashing coldly. "You get into my office!"

He slammed the door shut and roared, "What's going on? Has the foreign business office become a den of thieves? Tell me, how did you lose six thousand yuan!"

Before Qian Jin could answer, he gritted his teeth and said, "You've only just taken office and you've already caused this mess. You're really something as the director!"

Zhou Jiqing chuckled and said, "How did you find out about this, President? Which fool betrayed us and came to you to inform on us?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Bin was so angry he wanted to curse: "Old Zhou, listen to what you're saying..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm bad with words." Zhou Jiqing immediately nodded and bowed in apology.

Wei Bin felt a lump in his throat and could only slam his fist heavily on the table.

In the end, he could only say with a grim face, "Investigate! This matter must be investigated thoroughly! Zhou Jiqing, I'm only giving you three days. If you can't find anything in three days, you'll write a self-criticism and a report!"

As for Qian Jin...

He didn't mention it again and turned to leave.

The entire morning was shrouded in an eerie atmosphere at the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives.

A group of people huddled together and whispered in each other's ears:

"Have you heard? Director Qian's office was robbed..."

"The funds for the third quarter were all stolen. It wasn't just a few tens or hundreds of yuan; I heard it was five or six thousand yuan..."

"That's for sure. The finance department has been isolated and investigated. Director Qian is really inexperienced and unreliable."

"Shh! Deputy Director Liao is coming..."

Liao Chunfeng walked down the corridor with documents tucked under his arm, his eyes slightly narrowed behind his black-rimmed glasses.

He deliberately stopped when the commotion was at its loudest, and then slowly adjusted his cuffs.

As the discussion inside suddenly fell into a deathly silence, he entered the office with a grim face:

"Do what you're supposed to do, don't ask questions you shouldn't ask, don't say things you shouldn't say, and just work hard and you'll never go wrong."

His gaze swept across the crowd.

Ma Dehua stared at him with his neck stiffened, a strange smile on his face.

Liao Chunfeng pretended not to see it and returned to his seat with a gloomy face.

This idiot!
In the conference room that served as a makeshift interrogation room, the security department's investigation had reached a fever pitch.

They worked for half the morning.

Then they didn't accomplish anything.

Zhou Jiqing paced back and forth in the room like an enraged lion, his military boots pounding the floor with a heart-pounding rhythm.

Things suddenly took a dramatic turn.

It was so abrupt.

The old-fashioned telephone in the security office rang shrilly, and when someone answered it, their expression grew increasingly strange.

The call was transferred to the conference room, and Zhou Jiqing picked it up and yelled, "Who's blind...?"

"Boss! The thief has appeared! It's a grandson named Liu Zi, and he's turned himself in!" The security officer's voice trembled. "He's on his way now. He says this counts as turning himself in, and that he's been misled, asking for leniency from the organization..."

The conference room fell silent instantly.

Zhou Jiqing's tone immediately softened: "What? You're saying the thief turned himself in?"

The clerk said, "Yes, it was a thief nicknamed 'Six,' but he says he didn't steal the money..."

“Liu Zi? Cheng Liu Zi!” Zhou Jiqing blurted out the name.

The clerk immediately flattered, "That's him! Boss, you really have a wide network of connections. You know all the criminals in our city like the back of your hand."

Zhou Jiqing unbuttoned his top button, a smug smile spreading across his chubby face.

Cheng Liuzi's name is quite unique; he had heard it once when he was having dinner with a friend from the underworld.

Zhou Jiqing had a special skill: he was good at recognizing people and remembering their names.

This skill allowed him to successfully show off, making him feel refreshed and invigorated.

He immediately inquired about the situation and personally drove his sidecar motorcycle to pick up the person.

The situation was investigated and clarified on the way.

So after the sidecar entered the supply and marketing cooperative, Zhou Jiqing first had Cheng Liuzi take him along the same route as the previous night.

After Cheng Liuzi led him up the wall, they followed the base of the wall to the side building, knocked on the door, locked it, went up to the second floor, and went directly into the director's office.

Finally, he pointed to the drawer on his desk and said, "This is it. Ma Dehua asked me to open this and take out a large brown paper bag."

“But esteemed leaders,” he bowed repeatedly to the crowd, “I truly did not know there was money inside. If I am lying, may I be struck by lightning!”

“He told me that the documents inside were classified information. He said he wanted to steal these classified documents to frame their new director. He also said that this was an order from a powerful deputy director, and he was just doing the work!”

Zhou Jiqing was extremely excited.

Caught a big fish!
So he quickly raised his arm: "Wait, don't talk about this yet, let me make a phone call."

"Hey, President Wei, come down here for a second. I've caught the criminals, and they've given me some important information—what? You want me to come up here? Oh, okay, I'll take some men up right away."

He hung up the phone and took Cheng Liuzi to the rooftop: "Tell me the whole story later, and remember to emphasize my important role in it."

"If you explain this to me properly, I'll definitely count it as a meritorious deed!"

Cheng Liuzi said with a mournful face, "Then, boss, can you guarantee I won't go to jail?"

“Boss, you’re very capable, you know a lot of people, you must know I’m innocent. How would I know that Ma Dehua asked me to help him steal money? He said he came to the office to pick up a document…”

Zhou Jiqing urged him, "If you are telling the truth, I will plead for you. You will basically not have to go to jail; at most, you will be detained for a few days as punishment."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Liuzi immediately said, "Don't worry, leader. I'll say whatever you tell me to say."

"Then tell me—hey, what nonsense are you spouting? What do you mean you have to say whatever I tell you to say?" Zhou Jiqing was very unhappy. "Just repeat the facts to our president!"

Cheng Liuzi nodded hurriedly.

Upon entering Wei Bin's office, he recounted the events from the previous evening:
“Ma Dehua invited me to dinner and drinks at the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers Restaurant on our street. He said he needed my help with something…”

"The boss really said he was going to steal a document to teach their new director a lesson, but he didn't mention money..."

"He led me over the wall into their office building, I unlocked the door, and then he led me into that office..."

"There was a large brown paper bag in the drawer, and he took it. I wanted to look at it, but he said no. I felt something was wrong because I could tell there was money inside, a lot of money. So I warned him not to mess around, but he said it was fine, and that there was a powerful deputy director directing him..."

Wei Bin's face turned ashen, like a block of iron: "Who is that powerful deputy director?!"

Cheng Liuzi said with a long face, "I don't know, I asked him but he wouldn't tell me."

"He told me that this batch of data was very important, and if it were lost, their current director would lose his position and the person behind him would have to take over, and he would definitely get a share of the benefits..."

Wei Bin was furious.

He took a deep breath and said, "Arrest Ma Dehua first!"

Zhou Jiqing immediately launched a fierce attack.

Ma Dehua was studying the contract specifications diligently when he saw Zhou Jiqing, the head of the security department, leading his men in a menacing manner as they stormed into their large office.

He wanted to greet Zhou Jiqing: "Section Chief Zhou, this is..."

“Comrade Ma Dehua, you have been arrested for allegedly stealing your department’s third-quarter activity funds!” Zhou Jiqing said righteously.

Ma Dehua was stunned on the spot.

The office exploded on the spot.

Liao Chunfeng suddenly looked up, staring in shock at Zhou Jiqing before glancing at Ma Dehua.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the helplessness in his heart.

Not surprisingly.

Ma Dehua is not a good person to accomplish things; he is indeed incapable of handling such a big undertaking.

But this kid is too incompetent; he managed to expose such an important matter so quickly!
Fortunately, I was able to stay out of it.

He mentally considered the matter.

Make sure there's nothing that could implicate you.

This put him at ease.

Ma Dehua was dragged out by two security guards, his leather shoes scraping against the floor with a harsh sound.

He was still struggling, shouting, "There must be some misunderstanding! Section Chief Zhou, Brother Zhou, what are you doing? Why are you arresting me?"

Zhou Jiqing pointed at him with righteous indignation and said, "Comrade Ma Dehua, I warn you that you'd better not struggle in vain, and even less talk nonsense."

"Your criminal activities have been investigated and verified, and the evidence against you has been seized. Let me tell you, you're finished!"

Ma Dehua said in a panic, "No, no, it must be a misunderstanding."

“Brother Zhou, we were drinking together just last week…”

"Shut up!" Zhou Jiqing glared at him.

As he passed by Liao Chunfeng, he shouted to her, "Director Liao, you have to testify for me, we were drinking together last night, weren't we?"

Liao Chunfeng cursed the idiot in his heart.

How can someone who's been drinking all night still go to work normally? And still not smell of alcohol?
He said sternly, "Comrade Ma Dehua, have you lost your mind? How could you say such nonsense?"

“We haven’t had any contact since I got off work last night. Yes, I drank last night, but that’s because I took my wife and kids to my brother-in-law’s house for a family gathering, and I drank a little there.”

“My wife and brother-in-law can all testify to this.”

Zhou Jiqing nodded knowingly and said, "We will investigate."

This infuriated Liao Chunfeng.

Wait, guys, are you really going to investigate?
These problems were all caused by Ma Dehua's nonsense. He glared at Ma Dehua, his face full of disgust.

You'd better die quickly!

Ma Dehua understood his expression and immediately burst into a shrill laugh: "Liao Chunfeng! You...you're not going to save me? Just you wait! I won't let you..."

The sound stopped abruptly, and Zhou Jiqing dragged him up and delivered a swift chop to the back of his neck:
"Stop babbling on and on, aren't you afraid of being laughed at!"

Everyone in the office was watching the spectacle, while employees from various departments outside were also peering out the windows.

Liao Chunfeng clapped slowly: "Good, good, this is truly gratifying."

His gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on Qian Jin. "Director Qian, don't you agree?"

Qian Jin didn't answer, but just gave him a smile.

Liao Chunfeng sneered inwardly.

You're an idiot too.

Even if the criminals who stole the money are caught, so what?
Even if we could get the money back, so what?
You've already lost face in front of the big boss, and your time as director is almost over!

He saw that Qian Jin seemed completely unaware of this, and secretly shook his head.

You're not suited to be a leader. After all, you only have frontline work experience. Office politics are brutal. I'll take over.

This will benefit you, me, our colleagues, and even the department!

(End of this chapter)