Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 435 Finalized
The leaders of the first factory each had their own reasons and refused to give in to each other. Two of them, who had short tempers, almost got into a fight while arguing back and forth.

Liang Weimin was getting a headache from the whispers of the group. He couldn't help but lightly tap the desk a few times, suppressing his anger, and said:
"Alright, that's enough. You've talked for so long and haven't said anything useful."

Seeing Liang Weimin's ashen face, none of the leaders dared to retort, and they quietly sat in their respective seats listening to the leader's reprimand.

Seeing that the meeting room had quieted down, Liang Weimin tapped his fingers on the table and continued:

"Now is not the time for debate. We need to quickly reach a consensus, come up with a feasible plan, and try to find clues about the letter writer as soon as possible."

Let me tell you something: this matter is extremely serious, and I can't delay any longer. It must be reported by 5 PM at the latest.

After Liang Weimin finished speaking, the faces of several leaders from the First Branch Factory turned grim.

Once the factory bombing incident is reported, Liang Weimin will certainly bear the leadership responsibility, but the main leaders of their branch factory will definitely not fare well either. They might be transferred or sidelined. They have worked hard for half their lives to get to their current positions, so who can be willing to accept it?

The first to lose his composure was Li Weizhong. Looking at He Yuanchao, who sat silently beside Liang Weimin, he said, as a last resort:

"If your assumption about aiding Korea is correct, what are your plans? Do you have any specific ideas?"

After he finished speaking, everyone in the small conference room turned their attention back to He Yuanchao. At this moment, the leaders of the First Branch Factory no longer looked down on him; they all seemed to have grasped at a lifeline.

Regardless of whether He Yuanchao can find out who wrote the letter, at least the report will sound better, letting the higher-ups know that the comrades at the grassroots level are trying to find a solution, and the punishment will probably be lighter.

He Yuanchao listened to Li Weizhong's words but did not speak immediately. Instead, he turned to look at Liang Weimin and, seeing him nod, said:
"Secretary Li does have some ideas, but they're not fully developed yet. Let me share them so we can discuss them together."

After saying this, seeing that no one objected, He Yuanchao continued:
"First of all, I personally think this matter may not involve espionage; it is very likely that it was committed by someone inside the factory..."

"impossible."

Before He Yuanchao could finish speaking, someone next to his desk suddenly interrupted him:

"What you're saying has absolutely no factual basis. How could someone who wants to blow up the factory be someone from the factory? What's your basis for this claim?"

The man who spoke was the chairman of the factory's labor union. Everyone in the meeting room saw that the factory's good-natured man had lost his temper, and they all knew what was going on. No one said a word, but just quietly looked back and forth between him and He Yuanchao.

Fearing that this would displease Liang Weimin, Li Weizhong quickly spoke up to smooth things over.

"Old Fang, what are you saying? Deputy Director He is just speculating. He didn't say it was definitely someone from our factory who did it. If there were evidence, they would have arrested them already. Why are we sitting here discussing this?"

After saying a few perfunctory words to the factory's union chairman, Li Weizhong turned to He Yuanchao with a smile and said:
“Yuanchao, Lao Fang doesn’t understand how to solve cases, so don’t take it personally. Just keep going with your line of thinking.”

Upon hearing this, He Yuanchao smiled and said, "Chairman Fang's words make sense. Then I will explain the reasons for my deduction."

First, since the person who wrote the letter was able to come to the First Factory to ask for the smelting formula for special steel, it means that he must have done detailed investigation and knew that the First Factory could produce it.

If that's the case, why did he schedule it for three days later? You see, there's a world of difference between a factory being on guard and one not being. If we strengthen our defenses, even without handing over the formula, he won't have a chance to plant a bomb and blow up the factory. In my opinion, this is just a trick to mislead us.

Secondly, and this is what makes me suspicious, the handwriting on the letter is clearly left-handed. So, I'd like to ask everyone here, when would a person want to change their handwriting?

Ding Liangcai had also worked in security for many years. No sooner had He Yuanchao finished speaking than he instinctively picked up the conversation:

"When doing something shady or not wanting familiar people to recognize you, you'll think about changing your handwriting."

After he finished speaking, everyone in the conference room looked thoughtful and began to whisper among themselves about the possibility of what was going on.

Liang Weimin and Li Weizhong exchanged a glance and nodded slightly, while Mo Dacheng picked up the letter that had been placed in front of him and read it again.

He Yuanchao paused for a moment, observing everyone's actions. Seeing that the union chairman, who had been the first to oppose him, was silently smoking and showed no intention of speaking, he continued to express his thoughts.

"Based on the above two inferences, I personally judge that the person who wrote the letter is not a spy. Even if I am wrong, I guess his purpose is not in the special steel formula. It's just that there is too little information and I don't know what the person who wrote the letter wants to do yet."

After hearing He Yuanchao's words, Liang Weimin felt much better, and his expression improved considerably.

"Yuan Chao, if it were up to you, how would you handle this matter?"

Seeing Liang Weimin looking at him with a serious expression, He Yuanchao didn't let him down.

"If Secretary Liang's situation is really as I think, then I will first arrange for all available resources to conduct a thorough investigation of the entire factory, with a focus on all kinds of flammable and explosive materials."

Secondly, take advantage of the investigation to get a sense of the situation, find a reason to get everyone in the factory to sign, write with both hands, and check the handwriting.

Finally, strengthen security measures and closely monitor both inside and outside the factory.

After He Yuanchao finished speaking, before anyone else could speak, Ding Liangcai couldn't help but ask:
“Deputy Director He, I support the investigation of flammable and explosive materials and the strengthening of monitoring, but I oppose having everyone in the factory sign the petition. If the person who wrote the letter is really from our factory, wouldn’t that make him wary? Besides, what if the person who wrote the letter deliberately didn’t write it properly? With our level of expertise, we simply wouldn’t be able to verify it.”

Mo Dacheng, who had been silent until Ding Liangcai finished speaking, put down the letter in his hand, frowned, and took over the conversation:
“Yes, Yuanchao, handwriting identification is a highly specialized task, and no one in our factory can do it.”

He didn't mention having the factory workers sign off on the preliminary investigation, clearly indicating that he understood He Yuanchao's intentions.

“That’s not a problem. I know someone in the Xicheng branch who can do this. As long as he comes, there will be no problem with the handwriting comparison.”

Thinking of Wang Jibin, the "eldest apprentice" of the Xicheng Branch, He Yuanchao spoke with great confidence.

After listening to their conversation and seeing that Mo Dacheng had no further objections, Liang Weimin, who was seated at the head of the conference table, made up his mind. He tapped the table, and after everyone quieted down, he calmly began to speak:

“Deputy Director He already has a plan. Now I would like to ask if your branch factory has any other opinions? If not, then we will proceed with Deputy Director He’s plan.”

Liang Weimin was extremely grateful that he had brought He Yuanchao with him. Otherwise, relying solely on the people from the First Factory, it was hard to say when they would be able to figure things out!
(End of this chapter)