Chapter 123

Zhou Andong and the others found a hotpot restaurant not far from the distillery, sat by the window with a clear view of the facility, but until past ten, nothing happened. Fortunately, they were regular customers who often came to eat; otherwise, the owner would have kicked them out long ago.

Yao Jun said, “Could our guess be wrong?”

Zhou Andong picked up a slice of meat and put it in his mouth: “Hope so.”

The moment he finished speaking, thick smoke rose from the direction of the distillery. Gu Bing leapt to his feet: “It’s on fire.”

Qian Zhen stared out the window, eyes blazing with anger, teeth clenched: “How dare they?”

When Jian Qiu found him, he still couldn’t believe Gao Qingkui and Zhang Deyou would dare do something like this. Now it was clear he’d underestimated their audacity.

Zhou Andong calmly sipped his beer: “If they don’t set this fire, and it gets discovered, they’ll spend the rest of their lives in prison. But if they set it, everything burns to ash—and they walk free. Why wouldn’t they dare?”

“Let’s go back and check,” Yao Jun stood up to leave.

Zhou Andong grabbed Yao Jun’s arm: “Don’t rush. If we show up right after the fire starts, people will suspect us. Besides, our factory has fire equipment. If they dared set this fire, they’ve prepared thoroughly. Especially Qu Hongqi—he’s head of Security and Safety. If the fire spreads to the brewing workshop and causes an explosion, it won’t just be prison. It’ll be a bullet in the head.”

Jian Qiu said, “They only want to burn the ledgers. They’ll control the fire.”

Gu Bing and Qian Zhen were anxious, but hearing Zhou Andong and Jian Qiu speak, they calmed down. Besides, the administrative building was some distance from the production workshops—so long as the fire was contained, nothing major would happen.

The restaurant owner stood at the door, staring toward the distillery. He knew Zhou Andong and the others worked at the distillery, but didn’t know their roles. Seeing them still calmly eating and drinking, he shook his head. He didn’t know what to say—his own factory was burning, and they still had the appetite to eat.

After about ten minutes, two fire trucks sped past, sirens wailing. Another ten minutes passed, then Zhou Andong stood up.

“Let’s go back and take a look.”

At the distillery, voices roared and shadows moved everywhere. Workers ran toward the building with basins and buckets, all driven by one thought: put out the fire as fast as possible. Their lives had finally begun to look hopeful—if the distillery burned down, how would their families survive?

“The factory director’s here! And the party secretary!” As soon as Zhou Andong and the others appeared, workers gathered around them. In the freezing winter, every one of them was soaked—clearly rushing about, water splashed all over them.

“Director!” one worker said, “The administrative building’s on fire—looks like the Finance Department. Luckily, Security had someone on duty and contained the fire before it spread. The fire trucks arrived and put it out.”

Zhou Andong patted the worker’s shoulder and called out, “I’m proud of you. When the distillery faced crisis, you didn’t hesitate—you worked together to fight the fire. Now listen: if your clothes are wet, go home immediately. It’s freezing out there—don’t catch cold and miss work tomorrow.”

“Yao Jun!” Zhou Andong said, “Take a few men and bring ten cases of ***-type Yu Gong.”

“Got it!” Yao Jun called out and led a group toward the warehouse.

Zhou Andong shook hands with the fire captain, Gong Liwu: “Thank you. Without you, the consequences would’ve been unimaginable.”

Gong Liwu smiled: “It’s our duty.”

They chatted briefly as Yao Jun and the others brought the liquor over.

Zhou Andong said, “Captain Gong, I won’t waste words thanking you. It’s freezing out, and you came all this way. Take the liquor back, have a drink, warm yourselves.”

“No, no!” Gong Liwu waved his hands in refusal.

Zhou Andong said, “It’s just a few bottles of liquor—consider it a goodwill gift from the distillery, not something precious. Besides, we’re a liquor factory; we’re short on everything except liquor.”

Gong Liwu glanced at the boxes on the ground—the ***-type label stood out clearly. He knew Jiangzhou Yu Gong liquor was nearly impossible to buy now, especially the ***-type—money couldn’t get it, each bottle sold for over three hundred yuan. Ten cases meant nearly twenty thousand yuan. To say he wasn’t tempted was false. But taking this liquor would be dangerous.

Zhou Andong noticed Gong Liwu’s hesitation: “Yao Jun, load the liquor onto the truck.”

“Got it!” Yao Jun and the others carried the liquor onto the fire truck.

“This…” Gong Liwu didn’t know what to say.

Zhou Andong smiled: “No matter how much it’s being resold for outside, here it’s just a few cases of liquor.”

Seeing Zhou Andong had said it this plainly, Gong Liwu said nothing more. Besides, in this era, rules around such things weren’t strictly enforced.

Gong Liwu left. He knew Gao Qingkui and Zhang Deyou—had no idea when the distillery got such a young director. But Zhou Andong left a strong impression: his words felt warm, far better than Gao Qingkui and Zhang Deyou. If the chance arose, he’d consider building ties with him.

At that moment, several police officers emerged from the administrative building’s entrance, flashlights in hand—clearly investigating the fire’s cause. But Zhou Andong had zero faith in their investigative capabilities.

Just as Zhou Andong was about to move closer, three small cars sped into the factory courtyard and screeched to a halt.

Cheng Zhanjun, Zuo Peiming, and Dai Hongwei stepped out of their respective vehicles. Zhou Andong, Gu Bing, and Qian Zhen hurried forward to meet them.

Cheng Zhanjun asked, “What happened?”

Zhou Andong shook his head: “I haven’t gone inside yet, but judging by the location, it’s the Finance Department. The cause? Only an investigation can determine that.”

“Director!” Several police officers rushed over to salute Dai Hongwei.

Dai Hongwei asked, “What’s the situation inside?”

A middle-aged officer said, “It’s the distillery’s Finance Department. The fire was contained quickly, didn’t spread—but everything inside is charred beyond recognition. All records are gone.”

Hearing this, Zuo Peiming fell into thought. Cheng Zhanjun frowned. Dai Hongwei stepped forward: “I’ll go see for myself.”

“What happened? How did it catch fire?” Gao Qingkui’s anxious voice came from behind. The old man staggered toward the administrative building’s entrance, as if he hadn’t seen Cheng Zhanjun or Zuo Peiming at all.

Then Zhang Deyou arrived, following right behind Gao Qingkui toward the administrative building.

Zuo Peiming snorted: “Let’s go take a look too.”

As they reached the second floor, they heard Gao Qingkui sobbing: “I’m guilty! I’m guilty! I never imagined—on the day before I retire—a fire breaks out! I failed to hold my final post…”

Zhou Andong stepped into the charred remains of the Finance Department and saw Gao Qingkui, tears streaming down his face, weeping as if heartbroken. Zhang Deyou was also crying uncontrollably, blaming himself for poor management, claiming this disaster was his fault.