I slept with my sister's classmate, and she turned out to be my boss.

On the third day after the audit team arrived in Liuhe Town, the atmosphere changed noticeably.

On the first day, Zhou Deming was able to sit behind his desk and pretend to read the newspaper, his eyes occasionally drifting over to see which page Han Bing had turned to.

The next day, he started to get restless.

He spent an hour in the finance office in the morning and then left. When he came back in the afternoon, he looked unwell. He spoke a few words to Fang Zhiwen in the corridor, his voice very low. When Chen Dapeng passed by, he only heard a few words: "contract," "acceptance," and "supplement."

On the third day, which is today, Zhou Deming simply didn't come.

The door to the finance office was open, but no one from the finance office was there.

The stacks of receipts on the table lay there, as if they had been forgotten.

The audit team ignored these concerns and continued reviewing the accounts.

Chen Dapeng stood by the window, his gaze slowly sweeping across the finance office.

He noticed a detail—the bottom shelf of the filing cabinet wasn't closed properly, revealing a stack of yellowed folders.

The labels on those folders are different from the ones above; the ones above are all printed and look neat and tidy.

The stack below is handwritten, the handwriting is messy, and the edges of the paper are curled up.

He walked over, squatted down, and opened the cabinet door.

Inside were several old vouchers, with yellowed covers and worn edges, looking quite old.

Chen Dapeng pulled out a book and opened the cover.

The date is 2019.

He turned a few pages, then his gaze suddenly stopped.

It was a payment voucher for 50 yuan, with the purpose listed as "construction payment" and the payee being "Hongda Trading Co., Ltd."

Chen Dapeng's fingers tightened slightly.

In 2019, even earlier than the 810 million.

His mind raced—the first record he found was 310 million in 2021, and he assumed that Hongda Trading's problems started in 2021.

But now this certificate tells him it's not 2021, it's 2019.

In other words, Fang Zhiwen's brother-in-law's company started receiving money from Liuhe Town in 2019.

Chen Dapeng flipped to the back of the voucher and looked at the attachments.

The attachment is a contract, contract number "LH-2019-007", the content of which is "Road Maintenance Project in Economic Development Zone", and the contract amount is 50 yuan.

An acceptance report was attached to the contract, and the signatory for the acceptance was "Qian Cheng".

The contract paper was yellowed and the edges were a bit rough, making it look like an old document that had been sitting for several years.

The signature was made with blue-black ink, and the ink has faded somewhat, but it is still legible.

Chen Dapeng stared at the contract for a few seconds, with only one thought in his mind—this is not a replacement, this is the original.

In other words, this money was already available in 2019.

那2021年的310万、2022年的240万、2023年的560万，加起来1110万，再加上这笔50万——1160万。

Chen Dapeng took out his phone, put it on silent, and took three photos—the receipt, the contract, and the acceptance report.

After taking the photo, he put the receipt back in its place, closed the cabinet door, and stood up.

Han Bing was flipping through the tent and didn't look up.

Two veteran auditors were engrossed in reviewing materials, while two young people were organizing spreadsheets.

Nobody noticed him.

Chen Dapeng walked to the window, opened WeChat, and sent three photos to He Ying.

The accompanying text read: "A receipt from 2019, from Hongda Trading, for 50 yuan. It's earlier than what we found before."

After sending the message, he put his phone in his pocket, stood by the window, and pretended to look at the scenery outside.

His heart was racing, but his face remained expressionless.

About five minutes later, my phone vibrated.

Chen Dapeng took out his phone and glanced at it.

He Ying's reply was only one sentence: "Fang Zhiwen is more greedy than I thought."

Chen Dapeng stared at the line of text for a few seconds, then put his phone away.

He walked back to the audit team and stood behind Han Bing.

Han Bing was flipping through a book of vouchers from 2020, looking at each page very carefully, spending several tens of seconds on each page.

"Director Han."

Chen Dapeng lowered his voice.

Han Bing didn't look up: "Hmm?"

"In the bottom drawer, there are receipts from 2019."

Han Bing paused for a moment, then continued flipping through the pages.

"understood."

She didn't look at the stack of receipts, but continued to flip through the one in her hand.

Chen Dapeng stood behind her without saying anything more.

He knew why Han Bing wasn't looking through it—she couldn't show any particular interest in the stack of vouchers.

If she were to search the place on the spot, Zhou Deming would know, Fang Zhiwen would know, and everything she wanted to find out would be hidden even deeper.

She could only wait.

Wait for the right opportunity, take that stack of receipts, and then casually discover the problem inside.

Chen Dapeng retreated to the window and continued to observe.

……

At 2 p.m., Fang Zhiwen appeared at the door of the finance office.

He still had a smile on his face, but that smile was different from the first day—the curve of his lips hadn't changed, but the light in his eyes had changed.

That wasn't a welcoming smile; it was a scrutinizing smile, as if the audit team was observing what they had found.

"Director Han, you've worked hard." Fang Zhiwen walked in. "Want some water and take a break?"

Han Bing looked up at him and said, "Secretary Fang, we're not tired. The audit is a heavy task with a tight schedule, and we can't afford to delay."

Fang Zhiwen smiled and nodded, "I understand. If there's anything I need to cooperate with, just let me know."

After he finished speaking, he glanced around the finance office.

First, they looked at the stack of vouchers on Han Bing's desk, then at the folders in front of the two senior auditors, and finally at Chen Dapeng.

His gaze lingered for two seconds.

Chen Dapeng didn't dodge. He met his gaze for a moment, then lowered his head and wrote a line in his notebook—it looked like he was recording work, but he didn't actually write anything.

Fang Zhiwen withdrew his gaze, turned around, and left.

The door wasn't closed completely; it was left a crack.

Through the crack in the door, Chen Dapeng saw Fang Zhiwen walk to the end of the corridor, take out his phone, and put it to his ear.

His lips were moving, but the sound was too soft to make out what he was saying.

Chen Dapeng glanced at Han Bing, who was still rummaging through the tent and didn't look up.

He put down his notebook, pretended to go get some water, walked to the door, and listened intently.

The corridor was quiet, and Fang Zhiwen's voice could be heard intermittently.

"...Yes, the audit team...I don't know what they found...Han Bing is so stubborn...I know...but there are some old accounts that we can't get around to..."

Chen Dapeng didn't dare to listen any longer. He took the water and turned back to the finance office.

……

Meanwhile, Fang Mingyuan was on the phone in his office.

"Brother, the audit team is investigating very thoroughly." Fang Zhiwen's voice came from the other end of the phone, tinged with obvious anxiety. "That woman Han Bing is going through every page of the accounts, even the attachments. This morning she stared at the vouchers for a long time; I'm worried she's discovered something."

Fang Mingyuan sat behind his desk, holding his phone in his hand, his expression calm.

"What's the panic?" His voice wasn't loud, but every word carried weight. "Is everything properly handled?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"There are some old accounts that we didn't have time to process..." Fang Zhiwen's voice was very low. "Those few transactions from 2019, the procedures weren't complete at the time. We filled in some of them later, but the traces of filling in are a bit obvious."

Fang Mingyuan tapped his fingers twice on the table.

2019 years.

He Ying investigated issues after 2021. If the audit team investigates up to 2019, then the nature of the problem changes—it's not a problem of "the last three years," but a problem of "lasting for many years."

"Have the people from Hongda Trading leave for a while," Fang Mingyuan's voice turned serious. "Zhao Zhiyong, and a few others from his company, don't stay in the provincial capital. Find somewhere to stay for a while."

"Okay. What about the audit team...?"

"I'll handle it."

Before Fang Zhiwen could say anything more, Fang Mingyuan had already hung up the phone.

He sat in the chair, staring at the phone on the table.

The audit team found more than he had expected.

Han Bing, that woman, is more difficult to deal with than he expected.

He Ying's move was more ruthless than he had anticipated.

Fang Mingyuan picked up the landline on the table and dialed a number.

It rang three times before being answered.

"Zheng Hai, it's me."

"County Chief Fang," Zheng Hai's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"How much do you know about Hongda Trading in the provincial capital?"

Zheng Hai paused for two seconds: "County Chief Fang, I haven't handled Hongda Trading's accounts. But I know that Zhao Zhiyong has some contracts with incomplete paperwork. If the audit team gets the original copies of those contracts, it might cause trouble."

"Can you handle this?"

"It's too late to deal with it now. The audit team is already investigating."

Fang Mingyuan tapped his fingers on the table twice more.

"Then let's not deal with it."

Zheng Hai was taken aback: "County Chief Fang?"

"Don't process the originals." Fang Mingyuan's voice was very low. "Replace them with a new batch of originals."

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

"What County Magistrate Fang means is..."

"Take out the old contract and replace it with the new one. Redo the date, amount, and signature completely. Make sure it's undetectable."

"Well... there's not enough time. The audit team is only staying for a week, and it's already the third day."

"Then replace them before they find out." Fang Mingyuan's voice carried a hint of coldness. "As for Zhiwen, I've told him to stall the audit team. You, hurry up. Bring as many people as you need from the provincial capital."

Zheng Hai paused for a few seconds: "County Chief Fang, this is very risky. If it gets found out..."

"It won't be detected," Fang Mingyuan interrupted him. "As long as you're thorough enough, they won't find out. Go ahead and do it."

"it is good."

Fang Mingyuan hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair.

He stared at the ceiling, his mind racing.

He Ying made a move, and he accepted it.

He couldn't stop the audit team from entering Liuhe Town, but he could manipulate the accounts.

Replace, supplement, or destroy the contracts, invoices, and acceptance reports of Hongda Trading.

Once the evidence is gone, He Ying will be powerless against him.

As for that kid surnamed Chen—

Fang Mingyuan picked up his phone, found Liu Zhiguo's number, and sent a text message: "There's a liaison officer surnamed Chen in the audit team. You're in the IT department, find a reason to get him to come back."

Liu Zhiguo quickly replied: "What reason?"

Fang Mingyuan thought for a moment and typed a few words: "Just say that the Information Department has an urgent task that requires him to come back and handle it."

"clear."

Fang Mingyuan put down his phone and frowned.

How much more does He Ying actually have?

She sent the audit team to investigate Liuhe Town, not just to check the accounts.

She was forcing him to take action.

If he makes a move, he will reveal a weakness, and if he reveals a weakness, she will have an opportunity.

……

At 4:30 p.m., Chen Dapeng's phone vibrated.

He took it out and saw that it was a WeChat message from Liu Zhiguo.

"Xiao Chen, the IT department has an urgent task. You need to come back tomorrow."

Chen Dapeng stared at the words, his heart sinking. The audit team had only been investigating for three days when Liu Zhiguo told him to go back.

Is it a coincidence?

Or is someone orchestrating this behind the scenes?

He thought for a moment and replied, "Section Chief Liu, the audit team is still working on it, and Director Han needs my coordination. Could we postpone it for a couple of days?"

Liu Zhiguo quickly replied: "No. The county urgently needs the information summary for the first half of the year. You need to come back and handle it."

Chen Dapeng held his phone and remained silent for a few seconds.

He knew this wasn't some "urgent mission"; someone was trying to transfer him away from the audit team.

Chen Dapeng did not reply immediately, but walked to Han Bing's side and lowered his voice: "Director Han, Section Chief Liu of the Information Section asked me to go back, saying there is an urgent task."

Han Bing looked up and glanced at him.

"What mission?"

"Information summary for the first half of the year".

Han Bing remained silent for two seconds.

What do you think?

Chen Dapeng looked at her and said, "I want to stay. The audit isn't over yet."

Han Bing nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. She picked up her phone and sent a message.

After waiting for about five minutes, her phone vibrated.

She glanced at it, then said to Chen Dapeng, "You stay here. I'll handle things over there."

Chen Dapeng was taken aback: "Director Han, who did you coordinate with?"

Han Bing glanced at him but did not answer.

But Chen Dapeng probably guessed in his heart that she was coordinating with He Ying.

Sure enough, his phone vibrated.

He Ying sent a WeChat message: "I've had Su Wanqing handle Liu Zhiguo's situation. You can continue to stay in the audit team."

Chen Dapeng replied with a single word: "Okay".

He put his phone away, walked back to the window, and continued to observe.

In the corridor, Fang Zhiwen's secretary was standing at the door, peering into the finance office.

Seeing Chen Dapeng standing by the window, he shrank back, and his footsteps gradually faded into the distance.