Siheyuan: How the Little People Live

The investigators who were originally calm in front of him also changed their expressions slightly when they saw Secretary Xu, but the leading investigator quickly calmed down and even revealed a barely perceptible smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Secretary Xu, you misunderstood. We have in our hands the investigation letter approved by our superiors. It is not fake. Besides, we are just conducting some simple inspections and inquiries on Director Yang. We have no other intentions. Your excitement makes people feel that you are making a fuss over nothing."

Secretary Xu's anger grew stronger after hearing this. As the head of the factory, he usually delegated power to Yang Zhiming and let him take charge of daily affairs. But any instructions from the superiors would be communicated with him first, after all, he was the core figure in the factory. However, what happened today actually spared him. If Yang Zhiming hadn't called to inform him, he might have been kept in the dark.

"Comrade, I don't mean to make things difficult for you, but as the secretary of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, I must be responsible for everyone in the factory. Is it in accordance with the rules for you to come and check on people without prior notice?" Secretary Xu said in a stern tone.

"Or is it that I, the secretary, no longer exist in your eyes? Do I, Xu Weimin, really have no dignity at all?"

Xu Weimin looked at the person in front of him with a gloomy expression, and his voice was so cold that it made people shudder.

The leading investigator took a step back with a complicated look on his face. He knew in his heart that this trip today would be difficult.

Today he suddenly received a notice from his superior, asking him to investigate the progress of the recent project of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill. He did not agree to it happily at the time, but instead felt a sinking feeling in his heart.

The Red Star Steel Mill was a well-known enterprise in the entire city, and was directly managed by the Ministry of Industry. Director Yang of the Red Star Steel Mill was at the level of a director, while Zhiyue was just a small section chief of the Investigation Section, or at the level of a deputy director. He had expected that today's matter would not be so easy to resolve, and the scene in front of him left him with mixed feelings.

"Secretary Xu, can't the investigation letter from our superiors allow us to..."

The leading investigator did not say the following words directly in front of everyone, but his eyes revealed deep helplessness and pressure.

Xu Weimin looked at him coldly, with a flash of anger in his eyes: "Humph! An order from a superior? That depends on what kind of order it is! If it is reasonable and legal, I will naturally cooperate; but if someone is deliberately making things difficult, I will not sit idly by!"

His words were firm and powerful, with unquestionable majesty.

The leading investigator was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Secretary Xu, you misunderstood. We are just following the rules and have no ill intentions. Please trust our fairness and professionalism."

Xu Weimin sneered, "Fairness? Professionalism? These are just empty words! What on earth do you want to do here?"

The leading investigator took a deep breath and decided to make his point clear: "Secretary Xu, we received a report saying that there were some problems with the new project of the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill, so we came to investigate. I hope you can understand our work."

Xu Weimin frowned and asked, "What's the problem? Do you have any evidence?"

The lead investigator hesitated for a moment, took out a document from his briefcase and handed it to Xu Weimin: "This is the report letter and related evidence, please take a look."

Xu Weimin took the document and read it carefully. As time went by, his expression became more and more ugly. Finally, he slammed the document on the table and shouted angrily: "This is nonsense! These are all made up!"

The lead investigator quickly explained: "Secretary Xu, we also know that there may be misunderstandings in this matter, but we must verify it clearly. After all, Red Star Steel Rolling Mill is an important state-owned enterprise, and we cannot ignore any potential problems."

Xu Weimin calmed down, thought for a moment and said, "Okay, in that case, I can cooperate with your investigation. But I require you to handle this matter fairly and impartially, and not favor any party. Otherwise, I will report your behavior to my superiors."

The lead investigator nodded in agreement: "Secretary Xu, rest assured, we will strictly follow the procedures and will never wrongly accuse anyone."

Xu Weimin looked at him deeply, then turned and left the meeting room.

The lead investigator will never wrongly accuse anyone."

Xu Weimin looked at him deeply, then turned and left the meeting room.

Yang Zhiming looked at the scene in front of him and couldn't help but feel a little flustered. He didn't expect that things would turn around so quickly, and he didn't even have the chance to explain his current situation to Secretary Xu.

"Director Yang, since Secretary Xu has agreed to let us investigate, are you willing to cooperate with our investigation department? After all, the superiors are waiting for the results of the investigation!" The leading investigation department staff asked in a serious tone. They originally thought that Secretary Xu would embarrass them, but they didn't expect him to be so reasonable.

The leader secretly rejoiced that they had prepared all the relevant information in time.

Yang Zhiming's face turned pale, and he realized that no one could save him today. Even Secretary Xu, who he had high hopes for, abandoned him at this moment.

"Regarding the newly established supply and marketing department, our factory has been actively cooperating. However, due to some things that did not go according to plan, our project has been stalled over the land issue." Yang Zhiming said in a low voice.

The leading investigator's eyes narrowed, and he asked, "Director Yang, can I assume that your Red Star Steel Rolling Mill is not promoting this project very well? And the land issue you mentioned, have you reported it to your superiors?"

Hearing this, Director Yang's face suddenly became a little dull. He had never expected that the man in front of him would catch his words so sharply. After a while, Director Yang finally reacted and retorted: "My young comrade, you don't know our Red Star Steel Mill. I know that our Red Star Steel Mill has gone through a lot of hardships for this project. How can you erase it with a word like 'not very ideal'!"

"Then Director Yang, have you admitted that under your leadership, this project has not made any progress so far, and you have even deliberately concealed the matter?" The leading investigator looked at Director Yang fearlessly and continued to ask.

After hearing this, Director Yang couldn't help but sneer, thinking to himself, how could a small deputy-division-level cadre dare to question him, a department-level cadre? Who gave him the courage?

"I have said everything I should have said. If your investigation department insists on writing it this way, then I can't do anything about it." Director Yang frowned, shook his head helplessly, and a bitter smile appeared on his face.

The investigator who was carefully recording the conversation stopped writing when he heard this. He was stunned for a moment. However, with years of work experience, he quickly came to his senses and quickly wrote this sentence down in his notebook.

The leading investigator realized that he could not get any more useful information from Director Yang, so he stopped asking questions. He knew that getting Director Yang to cooperate with the investigation was already a great honor for the Investigation Department.

"Director Yang, since you have said everything you need to say, we will not bother you any more. If there is any need in the future, we may come to you again for more information." The leading investigator stood up and said goodbye to Director Yang politely.

Director Yang nodded slightly to show his understanding. Then, the leading investigator led the other investigators out of the office.

As the investigators left, Director Yang couldn't help but feel confused. According to common sense, this investigation should have been a carefully planned move by the other faction, but why did it end so easily? Is there some deeper plan?

But soon Director Yang dialed the phone on his desk.

"Hello, old leader, it's me, Yang Zhiming. Something important has happened here, and I want to report it to you."

As he spoke, Director Yang wanted to continue talking about what happened today, but he didn't expect the person on the other end of the line to say coldly:

"You don't need to tell me anything now, Yang Zhiming, what can I say to you? I transferred you to the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill to be the director, but you shouldn't be so arrogant. Is there anything you can't tell me, your old leader? It seems that you, Yang Zhiming, look down on me, right?"

After hearing this, Director Yang's face changed slightly. He didn't expect the old leader to look at him like this. He felt very wronged and helpless. He felt that he had always respected the old leader very much and worked hard, but now he was misunderstood like this, which made him feel extremely wronged.

However, despite his dissatisfaction and doubts, Director Yang tried to control his emotions and explained, "Old leader, it's not like that. How could I look down on you? It's just that something happened in the factory recently, and I was negligent and didn't report it to you in time. This is all my fault. Please forgive me."

Unfortunately, the person on the other end of the line did not listen to Director Yang's explanation. Instead, he became even more angry and said, "Humph! You still dare to quibble! Do you know? I just received instructions from my superiors to investigate you. You'd better give me a satisfactory explanation, otherwise you will bear the consequences!"

After saying that, the old leader hung up the phone. At this moment, Director Yang's mood was like a roller coaster, falling from the peak to the bottom in an instant. He originally thought that he could solve the problem by communicating with the old leader, but he didn't expect the result to be so bad. He felt that his world was collapsing, and he was powerless.

Director Yang sat at his desk blankly, staring at the receiver in his hand, as if he had lost all his strength. He couldn't help but begin to doubt his ability. Was it really because of his negligence that this crisis occurred? If he had been more cautious and decisive in handling those things, perhaps there would not be the current situation.

However, it was too late to regret now. Director Yang knew that he had to face reality and find a solution to the problem. He decided to take the initiative, actively cooperate with the investigation of his superiors, and do his best to clarify the truth. At the same time, he also realized that he needed to strengthen the construction of the management team and improve work efficiency and quality to avoid similar incidents from happening again.

In the days that followed, Director Yang knew that he would soon face tremendous pressure and challenges. However, he firmly believed that as long as he persevered, he would always find a breakthrough. After all, the road of life is always full of twists and turns and difficulties, but as long as you don't give up easily, you will definitely be able to overcome all difficulties and obstacles. At this moment, he could only curl up in a corner silently, licking his spiritual wounds alone, thinking about how to deal with this sudden crisis.

At the same time, he immediately thought of Ye Wenwu. For some reason, his previous contempt for Ye Wenwu had long since disappeared, and now he was full of trust in Ye Wenwu. He firmly believed that Ye Wenwu must be able to resolve the current land problem.

Just as Director Yang was racking his brains to think about how to repair his relationship with Ye Wenwu and begging him for help, the phone on the table suddenly rang.

"Damn it Yang Zhiming, you even dragged Brother Ye into this! This is such a big deal, I now have serious doubts about what you said!"

As soon as Director Yang picked up the phone, he heard a deafening rebuke from the other end of the phone, as if to tear the whole world apart. He couldn't help but shudder, his heart filled with fear and helplessness.

Director Yang opened his mouth slightly, but he didn't know how to respond. He knew that his old leader was very dissatisfied with this matter, and might even be extremely angry. He knew that no matter how he explained or argued, it would be difficult to calm the other party's anger.

"Old leader, I was just about to tell you about this matter. I also hope that you will help me for Brother Ye's sake." Director Yang plucked up the courage and tried to plead with the other party, but his voice sounded so weak and powerless.