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

On Wednesday afternoon, Engineer Wu walked into Team Leader Meng's office with the stub of the retrieval request.

She placed the stub on Team Leader Meng's desk and said, "Director Meng, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs hasn't replied yet."

Team Leader Meng was flipping through the financial statements of Liuhe Town for the past five years when he heard this and looked up at her.

"How many days has it been?"

"It's been three days." Engineer Wu's voice was a little tense. "It was sent on Monday, and today is Wednesday. I followed up twice in between. The first time they said 'it's in the process,' and the second time they said 'the supervisor in charge is away on a business trip.'"

Team Leader Meng put down the report in his hand, took off his glasses, and stared at the retrieval request stub on the table.

In order to verify the original approval process of the 300 million yuan provincial rural revitalization special fund in Liuhe Town, the audit team needs to retrieve the original documents from the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Provincial Department of Finance.

Only by obtaining the original documents can we confirm what procedures the money went through in the province, who signed it, and who it was approved for.

This is the last link in the entire chain of evidence.

No reply for three days is unusual.

"What was the other person's attitude when you made the call?"

Team Leader Meng looked up and asked her.

"The first time I called, the person in the finance department said, 'Received, but we need to go through the procedures and get the supervisor's signature.' Their tone was very normal, just business as usual."

The second time I called, a different person answered, saying, "Director Huang is away on a business trip and won't be back until next week. We'll talk when he gets back."

"Huang Shide?"

"Yes. The deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in charge of finance."

Team Leader Meng remained silent for a moment.

He worked in the provincial audit department for more than 20 years and had countless dealings with the department of agriculture and rural affairs.

He knew Huang Shide; he wasn't the kind of person who would deliberately procrastinate.

The reason "I'm on a business trip" sounds reasonable, but the timing is too coincidental.

The audit team was waiting for his materials to be written in their report when he went on a "business trip".

"Call again. Be firm and say you need the audit report and ask them to make an exception."

Mr. Wu nodded, immediately picked up the phone, and pressed speakerphone.

Team Leader Meng sat behind his desk, listening to the dial tone coming from the microphone.

beep - beep - beep -

It rang three times before being answered.

Finance Department of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

"Hello, this is Wu Min from the Agriculture Division of the Provincial Audit Office. We previously sent a request for review of the original approval documents for a special fund of 300 million yuan in Liuhe Town, Qingshun County. We would like to confirm the progress again, as we need the audit report."

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

"Director Huang is away on a business trip, and the materials need his signature to be transferred. Since he's not here, there's nothing we can do."

"When will Director Huang be back?"

"Next week. I'm not sure which day exactly."

"Could we have another leader sign on our behalf?"

"Well... we have a rule here that obtaining these kinds of materials requires the signature of the supervisor in charge. Without his signature, we can't retrieve them."

Engineer Wu glanced at Team Leader Meng, whose face darkened.

"Could you please help us expedite it? We're in a real hurry."

"It's not that I don't want to help you follow up. My boss is away on a business trip and I can't get in touch with him either. I'll contact you as soon as he gets back."

The phone hangs up.

Engineer Wu put down the phone and looked at Team Leader Meng.

Team Leader Meng remained silent, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling.

He immediately realized that this was not an efficiency issue, but rather that someone didn't want the audit team to get the materials.

"Engineer Wu."

He suddenly spoke.

"exist."

"Could you help me find out who is in charge of this work in the Finance Department of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, what their name is, and what their rank is? Don't call, just ask through acquaintances within the department."

Engineer Wu paused for a moment: "Director Meng, you suspect—"

"Go and find out first."

Wu nodded, picked up his phone, found the number of a colleague in the Provincial Audit Office, and got up to leave the office.

Team Leader Meng sat there alone, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

Twenty minutes later, Engineer Wu returned.

She sat down opposite Team Leader Meng and opened her notebook.

"Director Meng, I found out. The deputy director in charge of this matter in the Finance Department of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau is surnamed Liu, named Liu Jianming. This person—" she paused, "is a distant relative of Fang Mingyuan's wife."

Team Leader Meng's brows furrowed sharply.

"Sure?"

"Confirmed. An old colleague in the department told me that Liu Jianming was drinking with people in his hometown last Chinese New Year and said it himself: 'My brother-in-law is the executive deputy county head of Qingshun County.' Nobody took it seriously at the time, but now—"

She didn't finish speaking, but Team Leader Meng already understood.

Fang Mingyuan's wife's surname is Zhao, and the Zhao family has relatives in Qingshun County and several surrounding counties.

Liu Jianming is a distant relative of the Zhao family and serves as the deputy director of the Finance Department of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. He happens to be in charge of retrieving the approval materials for this special fund.

This is no coincidence.

This is a line.

Fang Mingyuan's network of connections in the provincial capital.

His wife has a distant relative in the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, so he can call them anytime and say, "Don't give the audit team the materials from Qingshun County yet."

No need for a leader to give instructions or for pressure from above; a deputy director can simply block it.

Team Leader Meng leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a while.

He went over the matter in his mind again—the request for access had gone unanswered for three days, and he had followed up twice. The reasons kept changing, from "a signature is required" to "the leader is on a business trip," but the result was the same: he couldn't get the materials.

Now he knows why.

It's not Director Huang who's blocking things; it's Liu Jianming who's dragging things out.

It's possible that Director Huang is indeed "on a business trip," but whether Liu Jianming told him about the request for access is uncertain.

Perhaps the request for access to the documents remained in Liu Jianming's drawer until the audit team gave up and couldn't get it done, and the matter was simply dropped.

"Engineer Wu." Team Leader Meng opened his eyes.

"exist."

"On behalf of the audit team, send a formal reminder letter to the Finance Department of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau. Not a phone call, but an official document. Copy to the General Office of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, Deputy Director Huang in charge, and also to the General Office of the Provincial Audit Office."

Wu's eyes lit up.

"Director Meng, what are you planning to do—"

"Didn't he say that Director Huang was on a business trip? Then let Director Huang know that this is true. Didn't he say that a transfer requires 'a leader's signature'? Then let the leader's leader know that someone below is using 'a leader's signature' as a shield."

Engineer Wu quickly jotted it down in his notebook.

"The wording of the follow-up letter should be formal and not emotional. Just say, 'The audit is nearing completion and we urgently need the relevant materials. Please provide your assistance.' Attach the letter number, date, and follow-up record, listing each item clearly."

"clear."

Engineer Wu stood up and turned to leave.

"besides."

Team Leader Meng called her over.

Engineer Wu stopped and turned around.

"Go to Xiao Wang in the department office and ask her to help me investigate someone."

"Who?"

"Liu Jianming. I need to know when he joined the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, who promoted him, and what connection he has with Fang Mingyuan. Investigate as much as you can."

Engineer Wu nodded and quickly walked out.

Team Leader Meng picked up the landline on the table, dialed a number, and the phone rang twice before being answered.

"County Chief He, it's me, Meng Qingshan. There's something I need to tell you."

He Ying was taken aback on the other end of the phone.

"Team Leader Meng, what happened?"

"We needed to access some documents, but the Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs held us up for three days. Now the situation has been clarified."

Team Leader Meng's voice turned somber.

"The deputy director of the Finance Department of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau who is in charge of this matter is named Liu Jianming. He is a distant relative of Fang Mingyuan's wife."

He Ying was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone before speaking.

"So the person holding back the materials is Fang Mingyuan's relative?"

"Yes. But this person isn't without connections to be in this position. I've had people investigating his background to see who promoted him and what powerful figures he has in the department."

"Team Leader Meng, what are you planning to do?"

Team Leader Meng explained the matter of the urging letter.

"If Director Huang finds out after the urging letter is sent, he won't ignore it. He's the deputy director in charge, and his subordinates are using his name as a shield. He won't let it go easily. At that point, Liu Jianming won't be able to stop it even if he wants to."

"What if Huang Shide was also involved?"

Team Leader Meng paused for a moment; he had considered this possibility before.

"County Chief He, if Huang Shide is also involved, then this matter is beyond our ability to resolve. In that case, we will need to submit the materials directly to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection."

He Ying was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone.

"Send an expedited letter first. Wait for the result."

"it is good."

Team Leader Meng hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair.

The materials must be obtained and the audit report must be completed within a week.