Xu Shuming flew into a rage in his office, throwing stacks of accounting vouchers at Yang Dawu.
Xu Shuming: "You are truly audacious. Normally, when you pocketed small amounts from the company account, I could turn a blind eye!"
Xu Shuming: "After all, you call my mother 'Jiunai' (great-aunt), and we're family, so I pretended not to see. But you actually dared to touch the dedicated investment account!"
Yang Dawu: "Uncle, Little Uncle, I really didn't expect them to investigate. And the money from that special account, I didn't take much..."
Yang Dawu: "I was just in urgent need of money, so I took a few hundred thousand. I promise, as soon as the interest comes in, I'll return it immediately!"
Xu Shuming: "If we didn't have connections, do you think they would have let the Su Corporation off so easily?"
Yang Dawu: "I know, I know. It's all thanks to Little Uncle's influence. I acted on my own. Little Uncle, considering I was the one taking care of Jiunai when her leg was operated on, please spare me. I promise there won't be a next time!"
Xu Shuming: "Get out!"
Yang Dawu: "Yes, yes, yes."
Yang Dawu bowed respectfully and retreated. But as soon as he closed the door, his expression of remorse vanished.
He muttered incessantly, "What's so great about him? I only took a few hundred thousand from you. The money you spend on those women outside is far more than that!"
"We're all family. Why is it okay for you to spend money, but I get yelled at? Hmph!" Yang Dawu, indignant, spat towards Xu Shuming's office door.
Back in the finance office, Yang Dawu immediately summoned Chen Yuyong.
Chen Yuyong: "General Manager Yang, you were looking for me?"
Yang Dawu: "What happened? You didn't even handle the special account properly before submitting it?"
Chen Yuyong: "General Manager Yang, you were personally in charge of the special account. I never even looked at it."
Yang Dawu: "You! They're investigating, and several funds from this account have been used. Find a way to smooth this over."
Chen Yuyong: "General Manager Yang, to smooth it over, I need invoices indicating where the money was spent."
Yang Dawu: "Invoices?"
Yang Dawu thought back. Last time he went gambling, he had spent every last cent. How could that place possibly provide invoices?
Yang Dawu: "There are none. Find a way to get some invoices from outside."
Chen Yuyong: "General Manager Yang, this is not acceptable..."
Yang Dawu picked up his phone, pretending to make a call, then pushed Chen Yuyong towards the door, urging him to resolve the issue quickly and leave his office.
Chen Yuyong was no stranger to such messes, but he knew that if this continued, something would eventually go wrong.
In desperation, Chen Yuyong returned to his desk and pulled out the tattered business card from the phone directory. He had lost count of how many times he had called the contact person.
—During the call—
Chen Yuyong: "Hello? Ah, General Manager Liu, hello, hello. This is Chen, the accountant from Su Corporation."
Chen Yuyong: "Yes, yes, yes. I need to trouble you again. Can you issue invoices for fifty thousand this time?"
Chen Yuyong: "Yes, General Manager Liu. It's settled then. I'll pick them up this afternoon."
—Call ended—
Buying and selling invoices is a serious legal offense for any company. However, it was also what allowed companies like Su Corporation to paper over their cracks. If investigated, they would surely face severe repercussions.
Having been an accountant for many years, Chen Yuyong understood the implications. But he had already helped Yang Dawu with such matters too many times to extricate himself now.
He could either continue down this path, praying for divine intervention to keep them from being discovered or getting into trouble, or be dragged down and ruined by Yang Dawu.
***
After lunch, Chen Yuyong had collected the cash. The "General Manager Liu" from the phone call was the head of a shell company.
Under the guise of dealing in building materials, they secretly issued invoices for various companies, charging exorbitant handling fees.
Despite this, their business was booming. Without such companies operating in this gray area, it would be difficult to navigate.
According to Liu, his company was truly serving the public, a good company that met every need!
Liu's company actually had a stall in the building materials market. Whether the customers were genuinely there to buy building materials or for other services, he could always handle them appropriately, which is why he had not been discovered by the authorities for so many years.
Server: "Hello, what can I get for you?"
Chen Yuyong: "I'm here to see General Manager Liu."
The server scrutinized him and asked cautiously, "Do you have an appointment?"
Chen Yuyong: "I called. My surname is Chen."
The server made a phone call and reported the situation. Seemingly granted permission, they led Chen Yuyong out through the back door of the building materials market.
They arrived at a dilapidated residential building next door and went upstairs to find the so-called building materials company.
In fact, Chen Yuyong could have found the building materials company. This was not his first time here.
However, the prerequisite for doing business with General Manager Liu was to bring cash and inquire at the stall in the building materials market, being led by a server to open for business.
Chen Yuyong stood at the door, staring directly at the camera. Only after General Manager Liu confirmed his appearance from inside did he dare to open the door.
Liu: "Accountant Chen, please come in."
Chen Yuyong: "I have to trouble you again. Here is the cash, please count it."
Liu, while saying it was unnecessary as they were regulars, placed the money on the counting machine, listening to the sound of each bill.
Liu: "Same as before, anything changed?"
Chen Yuyong: "No, no."