Chapter 580: He Yuzhu Under Investigation

During the days that Deputy Director Zhang was away, He Yuzhu and Man Yatou spent almost every day out on the oilfield, which spanned over a thousand square kilometers.

They ran back and forth between more than thirty oil extraction points, squatting on the ground with oil workers and the Drilling Team to examine rock cores, repeatedly calculating the most precise well locations.

The wind in the wilderness was strong; Man Yatou's small face was blown bright red, but her eyes were startlingly bright.

In her entire life, she had never felt so secure—being valued, being needed, and being treated like a treasure.

In the past, she was just a wild girl no one cared about, but now, who in the base didn't respectfully call her "Small Liu Engineer"?

This feeling of being recognized was warmer than anything else.

He Yuzhu and she had already been at this drilling site for two days, and Man Yatou had finally calculated the golden well location.

She grabbed some lime, drew a circle on the ground, looked up at He Yuzhu, and said confidently, "Brother Zhuzi, it's right here! It's a cavernous carbonate structure. If we drill this well, the output will definitely be even more ferocious than the first one!"

He Yuzhu smiled with gratification and was just about to speak when a Jeep came rushing over from the distance like it had gone mad.

"Deputy Director He! The Ministry's Investigation Team is here, and they specifically asked to see you!"

Man Yatou's heart gave a sharp tug, and her palms instantly broke into a sweat.

She didn't fear hardship or exhaustion; she only feared someone causing trouble for Brother Zhuzi.

He Yuzhu saw through her thoughts at a glance and gently patted her head: "What are you afraid of? A clear conscience is a soft pillow. We haven't embezzled a single cent of public money, nor have we done a single thing to feel guilty about, so it doesn't matter who comes."

In the conference room, the atmosphere was oppressive.

Group Leader Ma slammed the table and said loudly: "He Yuzhu! Someone reported you for exaggerating production capacity, claiming an annual output of three million tons of oil—was this to swindle an official position?"

He Yuzhu leaned back in his chair and smiled with a calm expression: "If that is the only question, I can answer it right now. If there are other questions, then I will save the answer to this one for last."

"What kind of attitude is that?" Group Leader Ma slammed the table on the spot.

He Yuzhu slammed the table even harder, the loud noise making everyone's eardrums ache: "Don't try that presumption of guilt on me! I never wanted this official position in the first place. I took this job to give Director Liu face; otherwise, you wouldn't even have the qualifications to see me!"

"You have no organization and no discipline!" Group Leader Ma stood up, pointed at him, and said.

"I do not accept frame-up investigations!" He Yuzhu sneered, "You are here to evaluate a Cadre, not to interrogate a prisoner!"

Group Leader Ma was so angry his face turned green, yet he was retorted to the point of being unable to say a single word.

Suppressing his temper, he continued to press the attack: "Someone reported that you practice nepotism, promoting female Cadres and engaging in cronyism!"

He Yuzhu let out a scoff, his gaze cold and sharp: "Then let me ask you first: as a Deputy Director, do I have the authority to appoint and remove personnel?"

"You!"

"What about me! I know you are talking about Section Chief Lü, but before you ask me this question, you should have gone to investigate. The housing, logistics, food, and road repairs for the seventy or eighty thousand people at the base—which one of these wasn't carried by her? Although I am a Deputy Director, I don't do as much work as she does. Furthermore, her promotion was personally approved by Director Liu; the procedures are complete, and the files are all in the file room—feel free to look through them! If you bother me with this kind of nonsense again, I will directly refuse to cooperate with the investigation!"

An investigator nearby hurriedly leaned in and whispered to Group Leader Ma: "Group Leader, we checked the files; it was indeed promoted by Director Liu, and it really has nothing to do with He Yuzhu."

Group Leader Ma smiled and asked with some malice: "Then your corrupt lifestyle, cooking private meals, and indulging in luxury—you can't deny that, can you!"

He Yuzhu sighed and said: "The meat I eat, I hunted myself; the wood ear mushrooms and vegetables were bought from the fellow villagers; the oil, salt, sauce, and vinegar are things I brought from the Farm. Since I've been at the base, aside from group meals, I haven't eaten a single meal from the public, haven't collected a single grain of public rations, and haven't reimbursed a single cent! What I eat—does it bother you? If you have the ability, you go up the mountain and hunt too!"

Group Leader Ma looked at a comrade and asked: "Did you find anything?"

"Group Leader, he really hasn't collected any rations at the base."

Group Leader Ma's tone instantly softened: "I had heard that your temper was volatile..."

"I crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood; do you really think you can scare me with this little amateur intimidation tactic?" He Yuzhu said.

Group Leader Ma threw out his final move: "Someone reported that you purchased equipment without official invoices, passed off inferior goods as quality ones, and lined your own pockets!"

He Yuzhu laughed: "Invoices? You want them? Then I'll write them for you! However, you have to reimburse me the money! Four sets of Medium-sized Oil Refining Equipment and one set of Large-scale Synthetic Ammonia Equipment would cost at least thirty million at the normal domestic price! I only spent less than one million. The reason it was so cheap is that those main large Boilers were all sponsored by others for free, and I personally modified them. I didn't spend a single cent of the country's money—are you still going to ask me for invoices?"

An investigator in charge of finance immediately said: "Group Leader Ma! I have verified it; just those five modified Boilers have a market value of at least twenty million, and the quality is better than similar domestic products!"

"Then why did you tell me there were no invoices?" Group Leader Ma was furious.

"The modified Boilers he had indeed didn't have invoices, but he didn't ask the factory for money. This, I didn't know," said the Accountant in charge of the audit.

It was clear that Group Leader Ma hadn't seriously investigated the matter in detail at all, assuming that because there were no invoices, He Yuzhu must have pocketed the money.

"Let's stop here for today!" Group Leader Ma directly announced the end of the meeting.

He felt he had lost face and never dreamed that the Boilers He Yuzhu had brought in were actually given for free by others.

Over the next few days, the Investigation Team combed through accounts, files, and the site, and also interviewed countless workers, hoping to find problems with He Yuzhu.

The result was that the more they investigated, the more shocked they became: He Yuzhu not only didn't embezzle a cent of public funds, but many Generators, Diesel Engines, and Tank Engines used for drilling were all borrowed by He Yuzhu for free use.

The money he spent was entirely for buying equipment parts in the local county and city, as well as for the workers' labor fees.

They didn't find a single problem; on the contrary, the more they investigated, the more they admired him.

On the seventh day of the Investigation Team's inquiry, Director Liu found Group Leader Ma: "Group Leader Ma, you've been investigating for so long, I'll just ask one thing—does Comrade He Yuzhu have any problems?"

Group Leader Ma stood up and said with a solemn expression: "After a comprehensive verification: Comrade He Yuzhu is upright and clean, and has not taken a single advantage from the public; the purchased equipment is of high quality and low price, almost given for free. Therefore, we unanimously conclude that Comrade He Yuzhu has no problems."

Director Liu nodded slowly.

Group Leader Ma turned to look at He Yuzhu and asked the final question: "Comrade He Yuzhu, the investigation is over. Now, you can answer the initial question: was the annual output of three million tons of oil you set really to swindle power?"

He Yuzhu raised the corner of his mouth and said: "Three million tons—that's not bragging, it's calculated. As for how it was calculated, let Man Yatou tell you."

Man Yatou walked forward with her head held high, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote rapidly on the blackboard. Calculation formulas, well layout, rock layer structure... all the core data was explained by her clearly and distinctly.

An Expert surnamed Li at the scene felt his eyes brighten the more he listened, and his whole body was trembling.

When Man Yatou finished, Expert Li clapped his hands vigorously and excitedly stepped forward to grab her hand: "Comrade Small Liu! You are a natural mathematical genius! Would you be willing to be my student and study geology with me?"

Man Yatou didn't even think about it and refused flatly: "No! I want to follow Brother Zhuzi and learn Computer!"

Expert Li looked at He Yuzhu and smiled: "Small He, I am an old friend of Liu Xiaohua from the Military Factory, and he often mentions you to me. Why don't you help me talk to Comrade Small Liu?"

He Yuzhu immediately understood the other party's identity and advised: "Man Yatou, Expert Li is a national treasure-level figure; you won't lose out by learning from him."

"I won't!" Man Yatou shook her head like a rattle-drum.

He Yuzhu smiled helplessly and said to Expert Li: "How about this, I'll make the call: let her follow you for two or three months every year. It won't delay things here at the oilfield, and she can also gain skills from you. What do you think?"

Expert Li was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly: "Good, good, good! I don't need her to come find me; I'll come find her! My specialty is finding mines and oil. Every year, I will stay here for two months to learn from each other with Comrade Small Liu."

He Yuzhu smiled: "Expert Li, you haven't even seen her use a Computer to calculate yet! That is what you call truly astonishing."