In the fiery red era of the heavens, refrigerators are refreshed daily.

Chapter 43. Framed
Li Weidong wasn't worried that Yang Guangming was related to Deputy Factory Director Zhao Guodong. To secure the position of full-time secretary, personal ability was the most important thing.

But he never expected that someone with connections could be so outstanding at work!

"No! We absolutely cannot let him succeed!" A hint of almost insane ruthlessness flashed in Li Weidong's eyes.

Fear and jealousy, like two venomous snakes, tightly coiled around his reason, ultimately forcing out a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve.

"We must ruin his reputation! Make him make a mistake, a huge mistake! Make the leaders completely lose faith in him!"

A thought, carrying a chilling malice, sprouted in his heart like a poisonous vine.

He forced himself to calm down, took a few deep breaths of the musty air in the archives, straightened his slightly wrinkled work uniform collar, and pushed up his slipping black-rimmed glasses.

The gaze behind the glasses had become cold and resolute.

He strode to the metal cabinet deep inside the archives where recent factory documents were stored, and, relying on his memory, accurately located the original draft of the quarterly production report that Yang Guangming had just delivered to Director Han.

The file lay quietly in the file box. Li Weidong's heart raced again, and his palms instantly became sweaty.

He quickly glanced at the doorway to make sure no one was there before pulling out the thin, neatly written report with trembling hands.

The paper made a soft rustling sound in his hands, but at that moment it sounded like thunder.

He quickly flipped to the data summary section attached to the report, his eyes scanning the lines of numbers like a hawk.

He quickly identified his target: "Breakage rate per thousand spindles in the spinning workshop: 32".

This data reflects the efficiency and stability of the spinning process; the lower the number, the better. 32 is a very good score, representing effective workshop management and mature technical operations.

Li Weidong's breathing became heavy.

That's it!

He needed to create a huge, obvious mistake, one that would enrage Secretary Tian at the factory committee meeting and make Director Han have fundamental doubts about Yang Guangming's abilities!

Change 32 to 82!

A single word makes all the difference! 32 is excellent, 82 is a serious production accident!
He squeezed a little blue-black ink from his well-worn old fountain pen and carefully dipped it onto the nib.

Ink dripped onto the rough cement floor, spreading into a small dark patch, just like the filth in his heart at that moment.

He held his breath, leaned closer to the "3" on the report, his wrist trembling slightly with tension.

The moment he put pen to paper, he could almost hear the rush of blood to his head.

He carefully controlled the pressure of his fingers, imitating Yang Guangming's slightly square but smooth handwriting, and very slowly and cautiously added a stroke to the upper left corner of the "3"—a tiny, downward-curving arc.

A clear and firm "3" was twisted and deformed under his trembling pen tip, eventually becoming an "8" with obvious signs of modification.

32 has turned into a glaring 82!

After doing all this, Li Weidong felt as if all his strength had been drained. He leaned back against the cold metal cabinet, panting heavily. His work shirt was soaked with cold sweat and clung tightly to his skin.

He stared intently at the altered number—82—like a menacing monster, grinning maliciously at his despicable act.

A wave of immense shame and lingering fear gripped his heart, making him almost want to tear the page out immediately! But it was too late. Footsteps approached from the corridor.

Li Weidong jolted awake, like a startled rabbit, quickly stuffing the report back into the file box, closing the cabinet door, and grabbing a random, unrelated document from the side, spreading it out on the table, pretending to look it up.

His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst his throat, his fingers were cold and stiff, and even turning the pages felt incredibly clumsy. Only when the footsteps faded into the distance did he collapse onto the old wooden stool beside him, utterly exhausted, unable to calm down for a long time.

At 2 p.m., the expanded meeting of the factory committee was held on time in the largest conference room in the factory building, which was covered with dark green tablecloth.

The air was filled with a mixture of cigarette smoke, tea leaves, and some kind of invisible pressure.

Secretary Tian sat upright at the top of the long table, his expression serious.

He was holding the speech draft that Han Mingqian had finalized, reviewed, and personally submitted, and was giving a mobilization report on technological innovation for the second half of the year to the factory committee members, workshop directors, and heads of major departments present.

His voice was loud and clear, with its usual persuasive quality.

"...Comrades, technological innovation is not just icing on the cake, but a crucial battle concerning the life and death of our Red Star Factory!"

Secretary Tian tapped the table and scanned the room. "We must be keenly aware of our shortcomings! Take the fine spinning process, for example. Inefficiency and inconsistent quality remain bottlenecks!"

He flipped through the manuscript, found the key data point in the report's appendix, and read it aloud:
"Look at this breakage rate per thousand spindles! Eighty-two! Comrades, eighty-two! What does this mean? It means that our equipment is seriously outdated, the workers' operating skills urgently need to be improved, and there are huge loopholes in management!"
This number is alarming! We're far behind the advanced levels of our sister factories! We…”

"Eighty-two?" Han Mingqian, who was sitting to the left of Secretary Tian and in charge of taking notes, suddenly raised his eyes, which had been lowered, and his gaze became sharp as lightning!

He clearly remembered that Yang Guangming wrote "thirty-two" on the report attachment. He personally checked the reports from each workshop and only signed the final draft after confirming that there were no errors!

How could it be eighty-two?

This mistake is outrageous!

It completely distorted the true situation in the spinning workshop, turning a bright spot into a stain. This would not only mislead the factory committee's decision-making, but also cause unnecessary panic and wrong accusations against the spinning workshop among all the factory's cadres.

If this really happened, wouldn't the workshop director of the spinning workshop cause a huge uproar?

In a flash, Han Mingqian's mind raced.

Was it a typo by Yang Guangming? Impossible!

The child was extremely meticulous, and he clearly remembered that Yang Guangming had written "32" in the attachment.

So... it's printed? Even less likely, it's a handwritten manuscript!
The only possibility is... someone tampered with it!
Moreover, this occurred during the brief interval between his final signature and Secretary Tian receiving the manuscript!

Now is not the time to investigate; the priority is to immediately correct this serious mistake and mitigate its impact.

"Secretary Tian!" Han Mingqian stood up without hesitation, his voice steady yet carrying an undeniable force, directly interrupting Secretary Tian's impassioned speech.

The conference room fell silent instantly, and everyone's eyes were focused on Director Han, who had suddenly stood up, filled with surprise and confusion.

Secretary Tian was interrupted, and his brows furrowed slightly as he looked at Han Mingqian.

(End of this chapter)