Hu Lanfang rarely lost her temper, and when Gu Qingcheng, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, saw her mother radiating authority and exuding a palpable aura of sternness, she understood why Zhang Chunhua's face had turned pale.
Gu Qingcheng was not there to mediate. She found the behavior of these warehouse rats, who stole from their own community, utterly contemptible.
Today it was Lan Gui Fang, tomorrow it would be Hu Gui Fang, and wouldn't the children in the nursery starve?
Zhang Chunhua had been too lax as the director; it was time someone gave her a good talking-to.
Seeing her mother in the thick of it, Gu Qingcheng did not reveal herself.
When Hu Lanfang's anger became apparent, the matrons from the nursery rushed forward to apologize, vowing to be diligent in their duties and to perform their tasks well. They even began to cry.
Hu Lanfang felt she had made her point sufficiently; too much of a good thing could be detrimental. She spoke in a mild tone:
"Since you acknowledge your mistakes and this is your first offense, I will let you off this time. However, each of you must write me a self-criticism.
In your self-criticism, you must detail what you did wrong, how you will rectify it, and how you will ensure it never happens again."
What?
A self-criticism?
The dozen or so women exchanged bewildered glances. They were all illiterate and did not know how to write a self-criticism.
"Madam Gu, we are all illiterate and do not know how to write self-criticisms!"
Zhang Chunhua finally said with a rueful expression.
"If you don't know how to write them yourselves, that's fine. Find Mr. Huang, or ask someone in the village who can write to dictate it for you. Once it's written, have them sign it and stamp it with their thumbprint, then submit it to me."
Since she intended to discipline them, she would do it thoroughly, with a full sense of ceremony, so they wouldn't simply get away with it and dismiss it lightly.
Seeing that Hu Lanfang was serious, the women could only reluctantly agree.
Now they were in a predicament. Being illiterate and having to find someone to write their self-criticisms meant their misdeeds would be publicly revealed to the entire village, which was deeply embarrassing.
However, in this world, while face was important, being able to stay in Phoenix Village was more crucial.
They all understood that they had experienced the hardship of hunger. It was only because life had become too comfortable recently that they had become complacent, leading to this outcome.
Only now, when they risked losing their current good life, did they suddenly realize how precious this position was and how fortunate they were to live in Phoenix Village.
Hu Lanfang left the nursery and, upon stepping out of the courtyard gate, saw her daughter waiting for her.
As Gu Qingcheng accompanied her mother home, she chuckled, "Mother, you really gave them a good scare. I saw their faces turn as white as ghosts."
"Hmph. This matter is of great importance. These people cannot be left unsupervised. If we don't step up and make enemies, the ones who suffer will be the voiceless children," Hu Lanfang said indignantly.
"Mother, leave this matter of oversight to you. With you in charge, I feel at ease," Gu Qingcheng admitted. She couldn't possibly handle every detail with such meticulous care.
Once the administrative framework of the village was established and running smoothly, she hadn't paid much attention to it.
However, after this incident, she suddenly realized that every position required oversight, especially those where people could directly line their own pockets.
There were many opportunities for people to profit now. After experiencing extreme famine, some would even steal an extra bucket of milk, let alone those who would take risks and engage in other dishonest practices.
Gu Qingcheng felt that the rules regarding integrity and self-discipline needed to be further refined.
Of course, establishing a system of integrity within the village was a delicate matter. Too much mutual supervision could lead to suspicion and a lack of trust between people. Striking the right balance was truly an art.
Gu Qingcheng frowned, troubled by this.
After contemplating it for several days, Gu Qingcheng suddenly had an epiphany. Since there was so much readily available experience from later generations, why not just copy it?
The fact that those experiences had been implemented meant they were effective.
Therefore, Gu Qingcheng directly established an Audit Office, led by Hu Lanfang. She selected individuals with specialized skills from among the villagers, such as accountants, to audit every finance-related position each month.
Of course, before establishing this Audit Office, Gu Qingcheng intentionally let the news spread, causing a ripple of unease among those who had engaged in shady dealings, prompting them to quickly cover their tracks.
As the saying goes, "Water that is too pure has no fish." If, after implementing oversight, these individuals became honest, they could still be valuable.
As long as they cleaned up their act before the audit system was implemented and refrained from future transgressions, she would not pursue past offenses.
Otherwise, the scope of involvement could be too broad and deep, undermining the foundation of the village's self-governance.
When Gu Qingcheng handed this task over to Hu Lanfang, Hu Lanfang hesitated for a moment before finally accepting the heavy responsibility.
The entire village was essentially Gu Qingcheng's private property. Every needle, every thread, every grain of rice here had been hard-won by her. There were many grateful people in this world, but also many ungrateful ones. Oversight was necessary.
However, if the oversight were entrusted to outsiders, it could lead to a situation where internal and external collusion resulted in the plundering of the Gu family's assets.
Don't disbelieve it. With a hundredfold profit, how many people in this world would be willing to break the law to seize wealth?
Therefore, whom could her daughter trust the most?
Naturally, it was her.
Gu Zhaobei and Ge Hong were so engrossed in their research for a zombie antidote that they were working around the clock, neglecting everything else.
Hu Lanfang had complained a few times, but seeing his utter lack of response, she eventually stopped bringing it up.
At least Gu Zhaobei had found his passion and was utilizing his expertise, which made Hu Lanfang feel a pang of envy.
Compared to Gu Zhaobei's busyness, she felt somewhat idle.
Dealing with Lan Gui Fang at the nursery earlier was just a casual act, not a sustained, stable career; it was merely practicing her skills.
Besides that, Hu Lanfang had little else to do. Over time, the once-busy Director Hu began to feel a sense of emptiness and idleness.
Her daughter establishing an Audit Office and appointing her as its director, upon careful consideration, allowed her to find a new focus for her career.
The reason for her slight hesitation in accepting the task was her concern that this Audit Office might offend people or lead to widespread alienation.
With this concern in mind, she had a heart-to-heart conversation with her daughter. To her surprise, Gu Qingcheng's response was more mature than she had anticipated.
Gu Qingcheng stated wisely:
"Mother, I released the news about establishing an Audit Office a week ago. Those who are smart enough to cover their tracks have surely done so by now. Even if we investigate now, we won't find much.
I won't pursue past wrongdoings, but from this point forward, if they err again, if they don't restrain themselves and I discover it, then don't blame me for being ruthless.
Besides, their previous mistakes were likely minor, perhaps taking an extra bucket of oil or a piece of meat home. They weren't major offenses.
People are like that; without oversight, they will try to find loopholes and take advantage. With oversight, they will restrain themselves.
I don't quite believe in the idea that human nature is inherently good. I believe people are born neither good nor evil; they need regulation. If managed well, they lean towards good; if neglected, they lean towards evil.
Why else would there be laws?
Look at the Great Zhou Dynasty; even without an emperor, as long as the laws remained, couldn't the kingdom function by simply replacing the emperor?
Therefore, now that our village has established its management structure, what it lacks is a rigorous system of oversight.
This system will soon be written into our village rules and regulations, becoming laws that everyone must abide by. And you, my dear mother, will be the supervisor responsible for enforcing these laws."