Chapter 79

Waking up in the morning, I opened my eyes to see Xue Bing nestled in my arms like a cat, a sweet smile floating on her face. One of her legs was draped over me, and the other was curled up, her knee pressing against my buttocks.

I kissed her forehead lightly, and she woke up immediately, smiled shyly, and reached out to wrap her arms around my waist. There was a warm softness against my chest; her breasts pressed against me, bare, with the faint remains of the kiss marks I had left last night.

I whispered in her ear, "Baby, I have to go to the company."

She hugged me tighter and shook her head.

I said, "I have to handle the handover today. I can't keep them waiting; it wouldn't be good."

Xue Bing leaned her head against my chest, her fingers wandering mischievously over my chest. I felt a tingling sensation, and down below, I stood up, wanting to have a warm-up exercise. Xue Bing, however, firmly refused me.

I said, "Baby, stay home and keep Mother company. I'll come back as soon as I'm done."

She raised her wrist, stared at the bracelet, and said, "Alright, I'll go buy some things with Mother. Look at your bedsheets; I'm afraid they've been there for years. I'll go buy a new set."

I smirked, reached out to grasp her full breasts, held her head, kissed her lips lightly, and got out of bed.

Outside, Mother was preparing breakfast with light movements. Seeing me come out, her wrinkled face broke into a happy smile, and she asked me softly, "Is Xiao Xue up yet?"

I took my cup and towel to wash my face under the faucet in the small courtyard. When I went out, I saw Father laughing happily as he carried a large grass carp back. As he passed by me, he patted my back meaningfully.

After washing my face, I shouted to Mother, "Mother, I'm going to the company for some business. Xiao Xue is at home; you take her to buy some things."

Mother ran out, making a fuss, saying, "Eat breakfast before you go."

I said, "You guys eat. My colleagues from the Township Government are still waiting for me."

When I arrived at the hotel, Sister Yue Bai and the others were already up, all sitting in the room watching television. Today, Yue Bai had taken off her loose clothes and changed into a shirt with dark checkered patterns, and a pair of tight pants on her lower body, outlining her toned calves. Her hair was tied into a ponytail hanging behind her head, making her look like a youthful and lively schoolgirl.

She deliberately looked behind me and said in a low voice, "Teacher Xue didn't come?"

I said, "She's at home. She doesn't understand the handover business, so it's better for her to stay home and keep my mother company."

She smiled calmly and led the people from the Enterprise Office to follow me to the company.

Meizhu was waiting for us. Seeing the few people following behind me, a hint of an unfathomable smile appeared on her face. We sat down in my small office, and I asked Meizhu to bring all the company's account books. I walked to the warehouse in the back, preparing to go to my small room to pack up. Once the handover procedures were done today, I would have to leave this place.

The warehouse, which used to be piled full of goods, showed no trace of them. A few large iron oil drums were placed in the corner. I knocked on them, and the drums made a hollow sound, indicating they were empty. I was deeply puzzled; the store had never been short of goods. Where were they?

Meizhu followed me in, gave me a look, and we climbed up to the attic. Standing in the corridor, she stretched and said exaggeratedly, "I'm exhausted. I was busy until last night to finish it."

I looked at her, not knowing what she was talking about.

Meizhu whispered, "Don't pretend you don't know anything. A few days ago, your Aunt came with Bai Ling and told me that the Township Government Enterprise Office was going to take over the company. I thought, just letting them have it so cheaply? That definitely won't do. We spent so much effort; now that the situation has opened up and business is on the right track, they come to pick the low-hanging fruit. How can there be such a good thing?"

I stared at her. As these words spilled out of her mouth, I felt as if I had fallen into the clouds, completely confused.

"Don't look at me like you don't know me. What are you looking at? What's different?"

I chuckled and said, "Meizhu, what have you done?"

"I didn't do anything. I just did what I had to do."

"What is the thing you had to do?"

"Me? Nothing. You'll understand tonight."

I have to wait until tonight? What kind of medicine is she selling in her gourd! I asked her, "Where are the goods in the warehouse?" "There are no goods in the warehouse. Sister Hongyan only sent a truck of oil last month, and it was sold out long ago." She handed me a bankbook and said, "Put it away; this is your money."

I opened it and took a peek. A full two hundred thousand. I was startled and almost threw it on the ground.

She took the bankbook from my hand, carefully tucked it into my pants pocket, nudged her chin toward my small room, and said, "The account books are all under your pillow. Be careful, don't let them see."

I was very surprised and said in shock, "Then what about the account books outside?"

"Don't worry about it, just let them check. The accountant from Sister Bai Ling's company worked for several nights; there won't be any evidence left behind."

My heart finally understood everything completely. My Aunt, Bai Ling, and Meizhu—the three women had already emptied the company. It was indeed just an empty shell now; no wonder I couldn't see any goods in the warehouse.

"Doing this is a crime, do you know that?" I became nervous, grabbed her hand, and pulled her toward the small room.

She struggled to free her hand, her eyes reddening with grievance, and said, "I'll take the blame for the crime. What does it have to do with you?"

I was moved and hugged her shoulders, saying, "Meizhu, don't be silly. If something really happens, who would be willing to let you take the blame?"

She leaned against me gently, tears shining in her eyes, and said, "I know you are a cadre and have a bright future, but I just think that no matter how excellent a man is, he must have a firm supporter. No matter what you think, I am going to be that supporter."

I thought of Xue Bing, and my heart ached. I said, "But..."

She interrupted me and said, "I understand your thoughts. Don't worry about anything; I won't cause you any trouble."

She covered her face and cried, her shoulders heaving. I was at a loss. In my life, I couldn't bear to see women cry. Once a woman cried, my heart would be in complete chaos.

Sister Yue Bai called me from downstairs, and Meizhu and I went down.

The people from the Enterprise Office smiled kindly, pointed to the account books, and said, "Secretary Chen, the company isn't making money. You don't know until you look; it's only a little better than the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. In two years, the profit is less than one hundred thousand yuan. After deducting labor and rent, there isn't much left."

I pretended to be in a difficult position and said, "Yes, if it were easy to do, Pan Xiaoqin, whom we hired before, wouldn't have gone out to work on her own. She went back to Suxi to open a supermarket because she couldn't see any hope."

The people from the Enterprise Office laughed and said admiringly, "Don't talk about that young girl; she's still very capable. Renting the Supply and Marketing Cooperative—she has spirit and courage. If this were up to us two old men, we wouldn't even dare to think about it."

Yue Bai said, "We've seen the account books. Let's take inventory based on the quantities in the books later."

I immediately expressed my agreement. Meizhu said she wanted to go out to buy some vegetables, and we would eat together in the store at noon. Anyway, after the inventory handover, she wouldn't be eating here anymore. For the last meal, she wanted to get something good.

Yue Bai wanted to go along, saying that since she would be working in the store from now on, it was better to figure out where the vegetable market was early, so as not to lose her way when the time came.

After the two of them left, the people from the Enterprise Office asked me, "Secretary Chen, why aren't the four oil presses in the Township Government auditorium reflected in the accounts?"

I answered without thinking, "Oh, those four machines you mentioned? Secretary Liu knows; I bought them myself, and they have nothing to do with the company. So they weren't entered into the accounts."

They nodded thoughtfully, closed the account books, and said, "The accounts are clear. Once the inventory is done, we'll write a handover document."

I didn't expect the handover to go so smoothly. Thinking of the bankbook in my pants pocket, my heart skipped a few beats. It was as if I had a time bomb on me, and I didn't know when it would blow me to pieces.