Rebirth 70: I am a Koi

Lawyer Zhang came, looking capable and calm. He was of medium build, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, with sharp and wise eyes behind the lenses. He carefully looked through all the information we had collected, including the product inspection report, the warehouse surveillance video, and the information of the suspicious warehouse manager. He sometimes frowned in thought, and sometimes took notes quickly. The office was silent, with only the sound of paper turning and the rustling sound of the pen tip rubbing against the paper.

After a long while, he took off his glasses, rubbed his brows, and said, "The situation is indeed very tricky. Boss Zhou came prepared. Although the evidence he provided is not enough to completely overthrow us, it is enough to put us in a passive position. The most important thing now is that we have to find evidence to prove that there is no problem with our product, and evidence to prove that Boss Zhou's evidence is forged."

His words were like a beacon in the darkness, pointing us in the right direction. "Lawyer Zhang, do you have any specific suggestions?" I asked eagerly.

Lawyer Zhang pondered for a moment and said, "First, you need to review all the production processes to see if there are any links that may have problems, or any records that can prove your innocence. Second, we need to continue investigating the warehouse manager to see if we can find evidence of his collusion with Boss Zhou. Finally, we need to prepare for the worst. If we cannot find direct evidence, we need to find a way to prove that the evidence provided by Boss Zhou is forged."

His words gave us new hope and direction. Bai Hanchuan and I looked at each other and saw determination in each other's eyes.

"Jinli, you are responsible for rechecking all the production process records. I will continue to investigate the warehouse manager." Bai Hanchuan said decisively, with an unquestionable firmness in his eyes.

I nodded and immediately took action. I searched through boxes and drawers, found all the relevant records, and carefully checked them page by page. I checked every form, every line of data, and every signature repeatedly, fearing that I would miss any details. As time passed, my eyes were sore and my head was dizzy, but my heart became more and more determined. I must find evidence to prove our innocence!

Some news came from Bai Hanchuan. Through some secret channels, he checked the warehouse manager's recent call records and bank account flow. As expected, the warehouse manager and Boss Zhou did have frequent contacts, and a huge amount of money from unknown sources had recently appeared in his bank account.

"It seems that we have found a breakthrough." Bai Hanchuan's voice came from the phone, with a hint of barely perceptible excitement.

I was delighted, but at the same time I felt a little uneasy. Things seemed to be more complicated than we thought. I had a hunch that there might be a bigger conspiracy behind this...

At this moment, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and Bai Hanchuan walked in with a serious face, holding a note in his hand. He walked up to me, handed me the note, and whispered, "Jinli, look..."

I took the note and there was only one line of words on it: Be careful, someone wants to do something bad to you.

The handwriting on the note was sloppy, but it was so strong that it penetrated the paper and pierced my heart like a thorn. Who sent me this warning? Was it an enemy or a friend? My heart was in a mess.

"Who sent this?" I asked Bai Hanchuan with a trembling voice.

He shook his head. “I don’t know. I found it stuck in the door when I came back.”

I clutched the note tightly, my fingertips turning white. This sudden warning made me more alert. Since Boss Zhou could bribe the warehouse manager, he might also bribe others to deal with us. I must be more cautious.

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down. Now was not the time to panic. I had to find evidence as soon as possible to prove our innocence. I continued to look through the production process records, checking every table and every line of data over and over again, fearing that I would miss any clues.

Time passed by, and the sky outside the window gradually darkened. The office was quiet, with only the sound of papers turning and the rustling of pens rubbing against the paper. My eyes were sore and my head was dizzy, but my heart was getting more and more determined. I must find evidence to prove our innocence!

Suddenly, my eyes stopped at a delivery note. The date of this delivery note was exactly the day when the problematic product was shipped out of the warehouse, and it clearly recorded the quantity, batch and destination of the product. I carefully checked the information on it and suddenly found something unusual.

The number of products on this delivery note is inconsistent with the actual number of products shipped! The actual number of products shipped is less than the number recorded on the delivery note!

My heartbeat quickened suddenly, and a premonition came over me. Could it be... could it be that someone deliberately replaced our product?

I immediately called Bai Hanchuan and told him my discovery.

"Jinli, you did a great job!" Bai Hanchuan's voice was filled with excitement. "This may very well be the key evidence we have been looking for!"

At the same time, lawyer Zhang also brought good news. He obtained some criminal records of unfair competition of Boss Zhou through legal means. Although these materials cannot directly prove that Boss Zhou framed us, they can increase the persuasiveness of our innocence.

Things seemed to be moving in a good direction, but a shadow still loomed in my heart. That mysterious note was always lingering in my mind.

Just then, there was a knock on the office door. I opened the door and saw a strange man standing outside. He was wearing ordinary work clothes and holding an envelope in his hand.

"Excuse me, are you Ms. Mu Jinli?" the man asked.

I nodded.

"This is for you." The man handed me the envelope and turned away.

I closed the door and opened the envelope in confusion. Inside was a photo and a note. The photo showed a man sneaking out of the warehouse with a box in his hand. The note only had one sentence: I know who stole your product.

I immediately recognized the man in the photo. He was... He was an employee of our planting base!

My hands were shaking slightly, and the figure in the photo almost jumped out of the paper, stinging my eyes. His name is Li Ergou, usually taciturn, and he is responsible for the transportation work in the base. I never thought that he would be a pawn planted by Boss Zhou in our company! A chill ran from the soles of my feet to the top of my head. I immediately realized the importance of this photo and the note. It was enough to reverse the current situation!

I immediately called Bai Hanchuan and told him about my discovery at a rapid pace. "Hanchuan, I got the evidence! It's Li Ergou! He stole our products!"

On the other end of the phone, Bai Hanchuan's voice trembled slightly, "Okay! Jinli, you did a great job! I'll go find him right now!"

After hanging up the phone, I immediately kept the photo and the note in a safe place, and then continued to bury myself in the pile of production process records. I knew that just one photo might not be enough to completely bring down Boss Zhou, and I had to find more and stronger evidence. Time was running out, and every minute and every second was precious. I forced myself to calm down and carefully analyzed every piece of data, looking for any possible clues.

My efforts paid off, and I finally found some key data in a thick stack of records. These data clearly showed that all indicators of our products fully met national standards and there were no quality problems at all. I was delighted and immediately sorted out the data, then contacted Lawyer Zhang and handed him the key evidence.

"Lawyer Zhang, these data are very important. They can prove that our products are qualified!" My voice trembled slightly with excitement.

"Okay, Ms. Mu, I understand! I will submit the evidence to the relevant departments as soon as possible!" Lawyer Zhang's voice was steady and powerful, giving me great confidence.

At the same time, Bai Hanchuan also found Li Ergou's hiding place - a dilapidated hut on the outskirts of the city. He led a few people and broke in aggressively.

"Li Ergou, what else do you have to say!" Bai Hanchuan's voice was as cold as ice, filled with suppressed anger.

Li Ergou wanted to deny it at first, but in the face of irrefutable evidence, his psychological defenses began to collapse. His eyes flickered, beads of sweat oozed from his forehead, and he began to stammer. "I... I don't know anything..."

Bai Hanchuan threw the photo in front of him, "You still want to quibble! Who is the person in this photo?!"

Li Ergou's face turned pale and his lips trembled, but he could no longer utter a word.

Things seemed to be moving in a direction that was favorable to us, but I couldn't calm down. My intuition told me that Boss Zhou would not give up easily and he must have another trick up his sleeve.

At this moment, the phone in the office suddenly rang. I picked up the phone and heard a strange voice: "Mu Jinli, do you think you have won? The fun has just begun..."

My hand holding the microphone suddenly tightened...

"Mu Jinli, do you think you've won? The fun has just begun..." The voice was low and hoarse, like sandpaper rubbing against metal, creepy. I held the microphone tightly, trying to suppress my inner anxiety, "Who are you? What do you want to do?"

“It doesn’t matter who I am. What’s important is that you will soon know how powerful I am.” After saying that, the other party hung up the phone.

The busy tone echoed in my ears, and I felt a chill on my back. This phone call was like a time bomb, planting a deep fear in my heart. I immediately told Bai Hanchuan about it.

"Don't worry," Bai Hanchuan held my hand with a firm look in his eyes, "We will definitely make it through this."

I know he is trying to comfort me, but I still can't calm down. We have seen Boss Zhou's cruel methods before. If he dares to say such a thing, he must have something to rely on. We must prepare for the worst.

In the following days, we actively cooperated with Attorney Zhang and strengthened the security measures at the base to prevent Boss Zhou from sabotaging again. Li Ergou's confession has been obtained. He admitted that he was instructed by Boss Zhou to replace our products and provided some evidence of Boss Zhou's crimes. Although this is not enough to completely bring down Boss Zhou, it can at least make him afraid.

I have hardly had a good night's sleep these days. I am on edge every day, fearing that something unexpected will happen. Bai Hanchuan is the same. He goes out early and comes back late every day, busy with various affairs, and has lost a lot of weight.

"Jinli, don't worry too much, things will be fine." Bai Hanchuan looked at me with heartache, and the bloodshot in his eyes was clearly visible.

I forced a smile, "I know, we'll be fine."

Although I said this, I felt more and more uneasy. I couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was watching us from behind, as if a huge net was enveloping us and we had nowhere to escape.

Lawyer Zhang also received news that Boss Zhou was moving around trying to save the situation. It seemed that this struggle was far from over and might even become more intense.

To distract myself, I forced myself to work. I carefully checked the quality of each batch of products to ensure that everything was perfect. I also went to the fields to check the growth of the crops and worked with the workers, hoping to find some comfort from the busy work.

In the evening, the sun sets and the sky is dyed golden red. I stand on the ridge of the field, looking at the green crops in front of me, and a glimmer of hope surges in my heart. No matter what, we must persevere, for this land, for our future.

Suddenly, the phone in the office rang. It was the finance department of the base. "Manager Mu, Manager Liu from the bank is here. He said he has something urgent to discuss with you and Manager Bai."

My heart suddenly sank, and an ominous premonition came over me. Bai Hanchuan and I looked at each other, and we both saw uneasiness in each other's eyes.

We hurried back to the office, and Manager Liu was already waiting there. He had a serious face, a file bag in his hand, and said straight to the point...