My cousin-in-law helped me achieve my ambitions.

With trembling hands, Su Ming pulled his phone out of his pocket.

His palms were sweaty, and he almost dropped his phone. He took a deep breath, opened his contacts, found Yang Jing's number, and dialed it.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

Each sound was like a hammer blow to his heart.

Finally, the call was connected.

"Hey, Xiao Su!" Yang Jing's voice came through the receiver, as enthusiastic as ever, with a bit of background noise, as if he were outdoors.

Su Ming swallowed hard and cut to the chase: "Brother Yang, that batch of IC chips is missing."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Less?" Yang Jing's voice paused slightly before returning to normal. "How much less?"

"Three thousand pieces." Su Ming's voice tightened. "A full three thousand pieces."

Another silence followed.

Then Yang Jing spoke, his tone becoming calmer and less enthusiastic than before: "This matter... I need to investigate. Well, I'm currently on a business trip, let's talk about it when I get back."

Upon hearing the words "business trip," Su Ming's heart sank.

"Brother Yang!" he cried out anxiously, "Didn't you say you were going to deliver goods just over two hours ago?"

Yang Jing laughed, a laugh that sounded somewhat distant: "Yes, that's right. I'm in a rush, I just finished delivering the goods and went on a business trip. Don't worry, it really was my fault with the goods, you definitely won't be shortchanged. No rush, we'll talk about it when I get back from my business trip."

Su Ming quickly asked, "How many days are you away on business? When are you coming back?"

"I'm done talking, I'm about to board the plane. Bye."

"Brother Yang! Yang..."

"Beep—beep—beep—"

The phone hangs up.

Su Ming stood there, holding his phone, stunned.

He called back.

"Hello, the number you dialed is currently switched off..."

Once, twice, three times.

Both are turned off.

Su Ming's face was as white as paper.

"What's wrong?"

A voice rang behind him.

Su Ming turned around abruptly and saw Tian Jing standing not far away, looking at him with concern.

She walked over, her gaze sweeping across his face, and her brows furrowed. "What happened? You look terrible."

Su Ming opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then told the truth: "Jingming Electronics' batch of ICs is missing three thousand pieces. I just called Yang Jing, and he said he was on a business trip out of town, and then his phone was turned off."

Tian Jing was stunned for a moment, then let out a cold laugh.

"A business trip?" She shook her head. "You actually believe that?"

Su Ming panicked even more: "Then... what should we do?"

Tian Jing looked at him and sighed, "Don't wait any longer. Call him again right now and ask him when he'll be back, give him a definite time."

Su Ming gave a wry smile: "It's switched off."

Tian Jing fell silent.

A few seconds later, she shook her head, her tone tinged with helplessness: "It's over. This chip is probably impossible to get back."

Su Ming felt a buzzing sound in his head.

Finished?

He recalled the number 285,000, Tian Jing's words, "Even selling you wouldn't be enough to cover the losses," and the cases she had mentioned of people going to jail for lost goods.

His legs felt a little weak.

285,000.

In 2003, this amount of money could buy a decent house in any of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen. Back in his hometown, it would have been enough to build two small houses, enough for his father to have ten surgeries, and enough for his mother to retire without having to work in the fields.

Now, he might have to pay back this money.

He can't afford to pay it back.

Seeing his sorrowful face, as pale as paper, Tian Jing's heart softened. She reached out and patted his shoulder, her tone gentler: "Don't be too sad. What's happened, face it seriously."

Su Ming looked up at her, his eyes reddening.

Tian Jing added, "No rush. Let me check the ERP system first to see when this batch of materials will be uploaded. Hopefully, it's not an urgent shipment, so I can give you some time."

Su Ming nodded and followed her back to the office.

Tian Jing sat down at the computer and her fingers flew across the keyboard. Su Ming stood behind her, watching the screen nervously.

A few minutes later, Tian Jing stopped.

She stared at the screen for a while, then stood up, tugged at Su Ming's sleeve, and whispered, "Come out with me."

Su Ming followed her back to the same corner.

Tian Jing looked around to make sure no one was watching before lowering her voice and saying, "This isn't urgent, but the release date won't be too late. It should be online in about a month and a half."

She looked at Su Ming, her eyes serious: "In other words, you only have a month and a half. Within a month and a half, find a way to retrieve this batch of goods. If you can't retrieve them..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but her meaning was already quite clear.

Su Ming felt a chill run down his spine, but he couldn't help asking, "What if we can't get it back?"

Tian Jing gave a wry smile and shook her head.

"This item is worth 285,000. If it's not recovered and it gets discovered, the factory will definitely make you pay for it. If you can't afford to pay, they might treat you as an embezzler and call the police."

She paused, her tone growing heavier: "I don't know what the final outcome will be. But similar things have happened in other factories. Hundreds of thousands of yuan worth of goods were lost and couldn't be explained, so the people involved ended up in jail."

Su Ming's heart sank to the bottom.

"Of course," Tian Jing added, "there have been cases where tens of thousands of yuan worth of goods were lost, and the boss only punished the employees. A few hundred yuan was deducted each month, and after a few months, it was just a token punishment."

"If I have a good attitude, will the factory make an exception?" Su Ming was so anxious he almost cried.

"It depends on the person!" Tian Jing looked at Su Ming with a complicated expression. "It depends on the attitude of those above. If someone protects you, things might be a little better. But you'd better not count on that. After all, you're a newbie, you don't have any backing, and no one will stand up for you."

Su Ming stood there, his mind blank.

There is no powerful backer.

No one will stand up for him.

285,000.

Go to jail.

These words swirled in his mind, making him dizzy.

Seeing him like this, Tian Jing felt bad for him too. She gently patted his arm and softened her tone, "Don't be too sad. Keep calling the boss of Jingming Company tomorrow. Maybe he really is just on a business trip and will be back in a couple of days."

Even she herself didn't believe what she said. But she still smiled and tried her best to comfort him.

Su Ming nodded, forcing a smile: "Thank you, Tian Jing."

Tian Jing looked at him, opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she sighed, turned around and left.

Su Ming stood there, watching her retreating figure, his mind a jumbled mess.

Just then, a voice came from behind.

"Su Ming, come to my office for a moment."

Su Ming turned around and saw Lin Shumei standing not far away, wearing a well-tailored business suit, holding a document in her hand, and with a faint smile on her face.

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Lin Shumei smiled charmingly, turned around and walked arrogantly towards the office building.

Su Ming had no choice but to compose himself and follow behind.

Once inside the office, Lin Shumei closed the door behind her with a click, locking it behind her.

Su Ming's heart skipped a beat. Remembering what happened in the sample room last time, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

He wondered if this woman was going to flirt with him in the office again!

Lin Shumei walked behind the desk, sat down in the boss's chair, and pointed to the chair opposite her: "Sit."

Su Ming sat down nervously, looking at her, unsure of what to say.

Lin Shumei looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"What are you worried about?" she asked casually. "I called you here because I have some good news to tell you."

good news?

Su Ming was taken aback.