stjorthotic Chapter 103 The forgery is exposed, and panic sets in.
Chapter 103 The forgery is exposed, and panic sets in.
On the fourth morning after the winter solstice in 1963, a thin layer of ice covered the blue brick floor of the Hongxing Courtyard, crunching underfoot. Xu Damao was awakened by his wife Lou Xiao'e's cough. Opening his eyes, he saw a pale white light shining through the window paper. His irritation was stronger than the cold wind outside. After fleeing back from the alley of the scrap yard last night, he had huddled under the covers, not daring to show his face. The sight of Yi Zhonghai being scolded by the neighbors and Zhang's question, "Can you take responsibility?" were like whips lashing at his nerves.
"What are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and get out of bed to cook, or you'll be late for work!" Lou Xiao'e sat up, wrapped in a patched cotton-padded coat, her face ashen. She hadn't conceived in the three years since she married into the family, and she always felt ashamed in the courtyard. Recently, she caught a cold, and had suffered even more from Xu Damao's temper.
"Cooking, cooking, all you know is cooking!" Xu Damao kicked the edge of the bed, the tin basin clanging loudly. "Didn't you hear what happened yesterday? That brat Lin Chen ruined our plans, even Uncle Yi got caught, how are we supposed to keep our jobs at the factory now!" He gritted his teeth in hatred at the thought of Lin Chen's calm demeanor when he took out the recording pen—when was that thing recorded? Could it be that Lin Chen already knew about their plan?
Lou Xiao'e shrank back, not daring to say another word. She knew her husband had colluded with Yi Zhonghai to frame Lin Chen, but she hadn't dared to stop him—if Xu Damao could get transferred back to the film projection team through Yi Zhonghai, their family's life would be better. But now that the plan had fallen through, she feared her husband would vent his anger on her.
Xu Damao rummaged through drawers and cabinets until he found the decent-looking blue work clothes. In his pocket was the forged letter he hadn't dared to take out the night before, his palms sweating profusely. It was the "resale agreement" he'd forged all night. The paper was stolen from the factory, and even the seal and ink were bought from a secondhand market. He'd thought it was flawless, but after Lin Chen exposed his handwriting last night, the more he thought about it, the more flaws seemed to appear. But now, the die was cast—Yi Zhonghai had said that as long as he slipped this letter into the workshop director Zhou Jianguo's office and then "accidentally" leaked it to the factory, even if Lin Chen could prove his innocence, he'd still be labeled a "suspect," at least preventing him from smoothly receiving the precision engineering military orders.
When Xu Damao left with the letter in his hand, he deliberately took a long detour to avoid the public pool in the courtyard—he was afraid of running into Lin Chen, and even more afraid of the disdainful looks from the neighbors. But as soon as he reached the gate of the courtyard, he saw Lin Chen squatting on the threshold tying his shoelaces, his canvas bag placed at his feet, revealing half of a sample of military-grade parts.
"Good morning, Master Lin!" Xu Damao's voice trembled, and he subconsciously hid the hand holding the letter behind his back.
Lin Chen looked up, his gaze sweeping over Xu Damao's tense face and the hands behind his back. A faint smile appeared on his lips. "Good morning, Master Xu. You seem to be in a hurry. Are you going to the factory to take care of some business?" He had scanned the letters in Xu Damao's pocket with the system yesterday and knew that the kid was still not giving up. He had already made arrangements with the coworkers in the workshop, just waiting for him to walk into the trap.
"No...nothing much, just going to the screening room to get some films." Xu Damao hurriedly averted his gaze, staggering as he walked out, almost tripping over the threshold. Lin Chen watched his retreating figure, then took out a small metal object from his canvas bag—it was a miniature signal transmitter from the system fusion, which he had secretly attached to the back of Xu Damao's work clothes last night, so that the signal would travel wherever he went.
Upon arriving at the steel rolling mill, Xu Damao didn't dare go directly to the workshop director's office. Instead, he hid in the men's restroom. He tidied his hair in front of the mirror, then took out the letter and examined it repeatedly—he had changed Lin Chen's signature on the agreement again and again, trying his best to imitate Lin Chen's usual handwriting. However, the words "forging worker" were still written as "fitter." He only remembered this after Lin Chen pointed it out yesterday, but it was too late to correct it. "What's there to be afraid of? Director Zhou doesn't usually pay much attention to these details. As long as the letter is delivered, Lin Chen will have a hard time!" He encouraged himself, folding the letter into a small square and stuffing it into the lining of his sleeve.
The workshop foreman's office was on the second floor. The corridor was quiet, save for the sound of blueprints being turned over in the technical department next door. Xu Damao peeked in and, seeing the office door ajar and Zhou Jianguo not there, felt a surge of joy. He crept over, about to stuff the letter into the file basket behind the door, when he heard footsteps behind him: "Master Xu, what are you doing here?"
Xu Damao jumped in fright, and the letter fell to the ground with a "thud." Turning around, he saw Lin Chen and Liu Guangtian, both holding blueprints for military parts, clearly having just come from the technical department. "I...I need to see Director Zhou about something, but he's not here, so I'll wait a bit." Xu Damao hurriedly tried to pick up the letter, but Lin Chen was faster, bending down to pick it up first.
"Oh? You brought such an important 'document' to ask Director Zhou for a favor?" Lin Chen unfolded the letter and deliberately read it aloud, "'Lin Chen has sold fifty catties of precision forging scrap from the steel rolling mill to Old Wang at the scrap yard for five yuan. Both parties have signed as proof.' -- Master Xu, is this my signature?"
Xu Damao's face turned pale, and he reached out to snatch it, saying, "Don't look at it! This isn't yours!"
Liu Guangtian stepped forward to stop him, and said righteously, "Master Xu, you forged a letter to frame Master Lin, this is a serious matter! Officer Zhang warned you yesterday, and you still dare to defy the warning?" After dealing with the alleyway incident with Lin Chen yesterday, he saw through the true colors of Yi Zhonghai and Xu Damao. Now he is focused on learning the skills from Lin Chen, so naturally he has to help his master.
Just then, Zhou Jianguo came up the stairs, holding a thermos: "What's all the noise about? Making such a racket at the office door during working hours!" He frowned when he saw the letter in Lin Chen's hand, "What's this?"
Lin Chen handed over the letter: "Director Zhou, this is what Master Xu was just about to put in your file basket. He said it's the resale agreement between me and Old Wang from the scrap yard. Please take a look and see if the signature is mine."
Zhou Jianguo took the letter and read it carefully, his expression growing increasingly grim. Having worked with Lin Chen for so long, he was intimately familiar with Lin Chen's handwriting—Lin Chen, wielding a forging hammer year-round, had a strong, vigorous style, and the left-falling stroke of the character "辰" always skewed to the left. But the signature on this letter was sloppy, with the left-falling stroke skewed to the right—clearly a forgery. What angered him even more was that the letter had listed Lin Chen's job as "fitter." "Lin Chen is clearly a key technical worker in the forging workshop, when did he become a fitter? This forgery is so unprofessional!"
"Director Zhou, don't listen to Lin Chen's nonsense! I didn't write this letter, I picked it up!" Xu Damao was sweating profusely and began to fabricate a story. "I was just passing by when I saw a letter on the ground, so I picked it up to take it to you. I didn't expect Lin Chen to snatch it from me and then accuse me of forgery!"
"Found it?" Lin Chen sneered, pulling a small notebook from his canvas bag. "Master Xu, you're not right. I saw you writing this letter in your dormitory yesterday. You used the factory's official stationery, and the ink was bought from Boss Wang at the secondhand market—this is Boss Wang's testimony. He said you went to buy ink the night before last and asked him how to forge an official seal like that." He handed over the notebook, which had Boss Wang's signature and fingerprint on it, all of which Liu Guangtian had verified yesterday.
Xu Damao's face instantly drained of color, and he murmured, "You... how did you know..."
"If you don't want anyone to know, then don't do it in the first place." Zhou Jianguo slammed the letter on his desk, his voice trembling. "Xu Damao, do you know that Lin Chen is currently in charge of military parts production? If you successfully frame him and delay military production, can you take responsibility for that?!" He valued military orders the most. He was counting on Lin Chen to secure this tough deal so he could gain recognition in front of the factory. Xu Damao dared to cause trouble at this time; he was practically defying the authorities.
"Director Zhou, I was wrong! I was confused for a moment!" Xu Damao knelt down with a "plop," snot and tears streaming down his face. "It was Yi Zhonghai who forced me! He said that as long as I helped him frame Lin Chen, he would help me get transferred back to the film projection team and give me five catties of grain coupons! My family is poor, I had no choice!" He knew that only by implicating Yi Zhonghai could he lessen his own guilt.
Zhou Jianguo was stunned; he hadn't expected Yi Zhonghai to get involved. Yi Zhonghai was an eighth-grade fitter, considered a senior worker in the factory, and always considered himself a "technical expert." How could he do something like framing a colleague? "Are you telling the truth? Do you have any evidence?"
"Yes! I have evidence!" Xu Damao hurriedly pulled out a crumpled cigarette box from his pocket, inside which was half a grain coupon. "This is the deposit that Yi Zhonghai gave me first. He said he would give me the rest after the matter was settled! Also, he was there yesterday at the entrance of the scrap yard alley. He can testify!" He just wanted to push all the responsibility onto Yi Zhonghai and didn't care whether Yi Zhonghai would admit it or not.
Lin Chen had anticipated that Xu Damao would turn around and accuse Yi Zhonghai. He took out a voice recorder and pressed play: "Director Zhou, there's no need to confront Master Yi. This is a recording." Yi Zhonghai's voice came through the recorder first: "Damao, this matter is in your hands. That kid Lin Chen is too much of a nuisance. If we don't take him down, none of us will have a good life." Then came Xu Damao's voice: "Uncle Yi, what if I get arrested?" Yi Zhonghai's voice rang out again: "What are you afraid of? I'm here. I'll plead with Director Zhou."
After listening to the recording, Zhou Jianguo turned ashen with rage. He grabbed the phone on the table and dialed the factory's number: "Hello, is this the security department? This is Zhou Jianguo from the forging workshop. Xu Damao from our workshop forged letters to frame key technical personnel, and it even involves Yi Zhonghai. You need to send someone over immediately!"
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Jianguo looked at Xu Damao, who was slumped on the ground, and then at Lin Chen. His tone softened a bit: "Lin Chen, I'm sorry you had to go through this. Don't worry, the factory will definitely handle this matter seriously and will never let you be wronged." He was now filled with guilt towards Lin Chen—if he had discovered Yi Zhonghai's conspiracy earlier yesterday, Lin Chen wouldn't have suffered so much.
"Thank you, Director Zhou." Lin Chen nodded slightly. "I believe the factory will handle this fairly. The most important thing now is the samples of the military parts. I have thoroughly understood the blueprints with Liu Guangtian, and we can start trial production today." He didn't want to waste too much time on these troublesome matters; the military order was the top priority.
The security guards arrived quickly and took Xu Damao away. The news spread like wildfire throughout the factory. The forging workshop workers gathered, gossiping amongst themselves. Some said Xu Damao had reaped what he sowed, while others said Yi Zhonghai, who seemed so respectable, was surprisingly cunning. Liu Haizhong squatted at the workshop entrance, smoking, watching Lin Chen and Liu Guangtian busy at their workstations. He felt a mix of emotions—he had always thought Lin Chen was young and without connections, and wanted to take advantage of him, but now it seemed this kid was not only technically skilled but also more shrewd than anyone else. Yi Zhonghai and Xu Damao's downfall was entirely deserved.
During lunch, Liu Haizhong approached Lin Chen and placed some braised pork from his lunchbox on his plate, saying, "Master Lin, I was foolish before and offended you. Please don't take it to heart." He now understood that learning from Lin Chen was much better than following Yi Zhonghai in his schemes—Liu Guangtian's skills had improved rapidly recently, and the workshop director had praised him several times. If Lin Chen could give him more guidance, Guangtian would definitely be successful in the future.
Lin Chen didn't refuse and handed the braised pork to Liu Guangtian next to him: "Master Liu, you're too kind. We're colleagues, it's only right to help each other out. Guangtian has made great progress recently. Keep up the good work, and you'll definitely become a key technical member in the future." He knew that Liu Haizhong wanted to pave the way for Liu Guangtian, and now was the time to win people over, so he naturally wouldn't refuse him.
Liu Guangtian accepted the braised pork, his eyes reddening. He used to be bullied in the workshop, and his father didn't like him either. It was Lin Chen who taught him the skills step by step and even spoke well of him to the foreman. He remembered this kindness. "Master Lin, I will definitely learn well and never let you down!"
In the afternoon, the factory announced the results of its disciplinary actions: Xu Damao was given a major demerit for forging letters to frame a colleague, which had a serious impact, and was transferred from the forging workshop to clean toilets in the logistics department; Yi Zhonghai was suspected of instigating others to make false accusations, his level eight fitter allowance was suspended, he was required to write a written self-criticism, and further investigation was pending. The news caused another huge uproar when it reached the courtyard.
Yi Zhonghai smashed several bowls at home, while his aunt wiped away tears beside him: "What did you do for this! You gave up being a good senior technician and had to resort to those underhanded schemes. Now look what happened, your allowance is gone and your reputation is ruined!" She had long advised her husband not to always try to scheme against Lin Chen, but Yi Zhonghai just wouldn't listen. Now that he had suffered such a big setback, she was both angry and anxious.
"I'm doing this for my retirement!" Yi Zhonghai was furious, his face red and his neck thick. "That kid Lin Chen is too powerful. If we don't take him down, who will take care of us in our old age? Sha Zhu has been won over by him, and Qin Huairu is unreliable. If I don't take a gamble, I won't even have anyone to see me off when I die!" His most important thing in life was his retirement, but now not only had he not found a reliable person to take care of him, he had also ruined his reputation. How could he not be furious?
Qin Huairu, who lived next door, heard Yi Zhonghai's cursing and stopped sewing. She had heard about what happened at the scrap yard alley yesterday and felt terrible—she had always followed Yi Zhonghai in scheming against Lin Chen, and now, thinking back, she realized how foolish she had been. Lin Chen hadn't held it against her; instead, he had helped her find fabric suppliers, which had greatly improved her sewing stall business. "Mom, let's not get involved with Uncle Yi and his gang anymore. Let's focus on our business," Jia Dang said, bringing in a bowl of hot water. She had recently learned some bookkeeping skills from Lin Chen and knew that earning a living through her skills was the most reliable thing to do.
Qin Huairu nodded and patted her daughter's head: "Okay, I'll listen to you. From now on, we'll earn our living with our own hands and never do anything crooked again." She picked up her needle and thread and continued mending the clothes in her hands, secretly deciding that she would give Lin Chen some insoles she had made tomorrow as a way of thanking him for his help.
When Lin Chen returned to the courtyard house, it was already evening. As soon as he entered the middle courtyard, he saw Yan Bugui's third son, Yan Jiekuang, squatting at his door, holding a paper package. "Master Lin, you're back," Yan Jiekuang said, quickly standing up and handing him the package. "This is something my father asked me to deliver to you, as an apology."
Lin Chen opened the paper package; inside were several steamed buns, still warm. He knew Yan Bugui had sent the buns because he was afraid of retaliation. "Thank your father for me. I'll accept the buns." He took out two coarse grain cornbreads and handed them to Yan Jiekuang. "I bought these from the factory canteen. Take them back and let your younger siblings try them."
Yan Jiekuang took the cornbread, tears welling up in his eyes. His family had many children, and they rarely got to eat coarse grain cornbread, let alone white flour steamed buns. "Master Lin, thank you. My dad knows he was wrong; he says he'll never get involved with Uncle Yi and his gang again."
Lin Chen patted him on the shoulder: "It's good that you know you were wrong. Go back and tell your father to teach the child to read properly, that's more important than anything else. If Jie Kuang wants to learn newspaper drafting, come to the workshop tomorrow and I'll teach him." He saw that Yan Jie Kuang was smart and quick-witted, and had the potential to learn technical skills. The workshop was short of a draftsman, and if he could train him, it would be a great help.
Yan Jiekuang was so excited he couldn't speak, bowing repeatedly, "Thank you, Master Lin! Thank you, Master Lin!" He turned and ran home, shouting, "Dad, Master Lin is going to teach me drawing!"
Lin Chen watched his retreating figure and smiled. Entering his north wing room, he opened the system panel. His points had risen to 3000, and the system notification indicated that the "Materials Optimization" function could be unlocked. Looking at the notification on the panel, he calculated in his mind—with this function, the precision of military parts could be improved to another level. Then, not only could he complete orders on time, but he could also completely solidify his position with the factory.
Just then, there was a soft knock on the door. Lin Chen opened it and saw Qin Huairu standing there, holding a pair of insoles embroidered with plum blossoms. "Master Lin, these are insoles I made for you. They'll keep you warm in winter." Qin Huairu's face was a little red as she said apologetically, "I always listened to Uncle Yi before, which caused you a lot of trouble. Please don't take it to heart."
Lin Chen took the insole. The plum blossoms embroidered on it were lifelike, showing that it was made with care. "Thank you, Sister Jia, I like it very much," he said with a smile. "The past is the past. From now on, we are neighbors, and it's only right that we help each other out. If you don't have enough fabric at your sewing stall, just let me know. I know a few friends in fabric factories who can get you cheap fabric."
Qin Huairu was surprised by Lin Chen's generosity, and her eyes reddened: "Thank you, Master Lin. If there's anything I can help with in the future, please don't hesitate to ask." After saying that, she turned around and hurriedly went home.
Lin Chen closed the door and placed the insoles on the table. He knew that although Yi Zhonghai and Xu Damao's conspiracy had been exposed, they certainly wouldn't let it go easily, and there would be more twists and turns in the future. But he was no longer the Lin Chen who could be bullied at will in his previous life. He had a system, technology, and more and more friends. He believed that as long as he was down-to-earth and relied on his skills to make a living, there was no obstacle he couldn't overcome.
The cold wind was still howling outside the window, but Lin Chen felt warm inside. He sat down at the table, took out the blueprints for military parts, and began to study them.