Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

Chapter 1135 Two Bags of Rice Are Missing

Upon hearing this, Wang An finally understood what the stone lock meant.

Shi Suo had mentioned during the competition that he was very short of money because his wife needed to take medication regularly, but the monthly salary of a guard was only a little over ten yuan, which was simply not enough.

Their director promised him that if he could win the competition between the two counties, the director would make an exception and promote him to a permanent position.

So it's clear that Shi Suo has now been promoted to a permanent position, and his salary has increased from a little over ten yuan a month to 37.5 yuan.

Having figured this out, Wang An said with a smile:

"There's no need to thank me. You earned this entirely on your own, it has nothing to do with me. Besides, I also want to win, and I don't want to lose either."

It should be noted that of the three who participated in the competition, only Shi Suo was beaten the worst, almost to the point of being unable to stand up. Therefore, it was impossible for Wang An to take credit for himself.

Upon hearing this, Shi Suo stopped arguing, waved his hand, and then said firmly:
"Anyway, I have to treat you to drinks today, and no one can change my mind."

Wang An laughed heartily and said:

"Drinking is no problem at all, so please don't mention thank you again."

Pointing to the boy who had been caught, Wang An said again:
"You take him back first, then we can chat before lunch."

Shi Suo turned around and glared fiercely at the boy, then said to Wang An:
"Brother, where am I supposed to find you later?"

Wang An pointed to the processing plant and said:
"I'm processing grain here, it won't be finished anytime soon. Just come find me here after you get off work."

Shi Suo nodded, and said with some unease:

"Then it's settled, if you dare to leave, I'll come to your house and find you."

It's clear that Shi Suo genuinely wanted to thank Wang An, which is why he was afraid that Wang An would break his promise.

Wang An laughed heartily and said:

"Where am I supposed to go? I've been waiting for lunch and I don't even have anywhere to eat. You're treating me to drinks, so I have to drink! Hahahaha."

Upon hearing this, Shi Suo burst into laughter, appearing extremely pleased.

Wang An pointed to the arrested young man and said again:

"Alright, Brother Shi, hurry up and get him back. I'm going to the processing plant to check on my grain."

Shi Suo then said reluctantly:
"Alright, brother, I'll get back to my official duties now. You'd better wait for me when I'm done."

Wang An waved his hand, and Shi Suo then led the captured boy away.

After Shi Suo and the others left, Wang An continued to wander around the area until almost noon before heading towards the processing plant.

When Wang An returned to the processing plant, all 3 jin of wheat and 3 jin of rice had been processed, and the plant owner was having the workers load them onto trucks.

Upon seeing Wang An return, the boss stood up with a broad smile and said:
"Young man, you're back! Do you want to see how your rice and flour are doing? Let me tell you, young man, your rice is simply amazing! It's crystal clear, with a hint of green. No doubt about it, it's fantastic."

Wang An smiled at the boss, flattering him, "I have to say, your processing is excellent, brother, hahaha."

Actually, all rice processed from newly harvested rice is greenish and somewhat translucent; it's the same for everyone. Only old rice is white.

However, as the old saying goes, "a sedan chair needs people to carry it," meaning that only when you support me and I support you will the world be a better place.

Wang An counted the number of bags, then frowned and asked the factory owner:
"Brother, how are my rice and wheat crops? How much rice and flour can you get from one pound?"

Seeing that Wang An's expression was off, the factory owner quickly said:
"The rice won't reach 7 liang, it'll be around 6.6 or 6.7 liang. The wheat is okay, but the flour will be around 7.2 or 7.3 liang."

People who work in grain processing plants can usually tell the approximate yield of rice and flour just by handling the grain, so Wang An largely agreed with what the processing plant owner said.

Wang An directly addressed the boss:

"Brother, have your guys unload the rice from the truck and weigh it."

The boss was taken aback for a moment, then immediately understood what was going on, and subconsciously asked:
"Brother, are you suspecting that someone at our processing plant has tampered with your rice?"

Wang An didn't say anything, but simply pointed to the bags of rice on the truck and then looked at the processing plant owner with a smile.

At this point, Wang An's attitude was clearly not one of doubt, but of conviction.

The main problem was that the flour sacks Wang An brought were all standard 50-jin (25 catties) sacks. Once they were full, the difference between the top and bottom weight wouldn't exceed 2 jin (1 catties).

Even if we calculate based on 6.6 liang of rice per jin of rice, and deduct the broken rice produced during processing, 3173 jin of rice would require at least 40 bags.

But now, including broken rice, there are less than 40 bags of rice in total, which is more than two bags short, or about 100 kilograms of rice.

However, since no one can pack bags perfectly precisely, there's always a chance of error in each bag. Wang An was also a bit unsure, which is why he suggested weighing the bags again.

As the owner of the processing plant, he knew all too well the ins and outs of the business. The owner counted the bags of rice with a serious expression, then looked at the length of the bag openings after they were tied up, and his big face immediately darkened.

Even if they are both bags of rice, the weight will definitely be different if the bag with a longer opening has a shorter opening than if the bag with a shorter opening has a longer opening.

However, the openings of the bags on the truck were noticeably too long, meaning that a bag of rice could only hold a maximum of 50 jin (25 catties).

The boss walked up to the four people guarding the rice processing machine, his face grim, and hissed in a low voice:
"Who did this? Where did you hide the rice? Tell me now."

Actually, the processing plant is only so big. If the boss wanted to find something, it would be easy for him to find it. But as the boss, how could he do such a thing?

After waiting a moment, seeing that the four people remained silent, the boss, enraged, laughed coldly and said with a sinister expression:
"Fine, fine, really fine. I've been feeding you guys well every day, and you still dare to do this to ruin my factory's reputation. You wouldn't talk about it, huh? Hehehe. You're really something. I don't believe there's anything I can't pry open."

Turning his head, the boss said to one of the workers in the factory:

"Lei Zi, go and call Brother Liu over. Tell him I need to ask him for a favor."

Then, the boss turned back and said to the four people, cursing:
"Damn it, if he can't even handle you guys, what kind of processing plant am I supposed to be? You just wait and see if he can pry your mouths open."

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(End of this chapter)