Just as Aunt Dang had predicted, the matter developed exactly as expected.
After the man was taken to the Public Security Bureau, no amount of pleading could get him released.
In the end…
They still had to seek out Factory Director He.
Yang Yuan had guessed correctly.
The arrested man really was the phantom employee collecting a salary without working.
Even Aunt Dang found it unbelievable.
“He never looked like a decent fellow.”
“Ugly as sin.”
“He looked just like one of those street hooligans.”
“And who would’ve thought…”
“He’s actually Director Yang from Personnel’s brother-in-law!”
“Oh my, I never would’ve guessed.”
The “Director Yang” Aunt Dang referred to was Director Yang from Cotton Mill No. 1—
The same Personnel Director who had helped transfer Song Can’s factory position to Yang Yuan.
Remembering that perpetually smiling Director Yang…
Yang Yuan was honestly surprised.
As for the matter involving Fang Yin and Xiong Laishun in the cloth-boiling workshop…
The workshop had already finished investigating.
Fang Yin had injured his leg.
Originally, he intended to hand his job directly to Xiong Laishun.
The factory refused.
The reason was simple.
Fang Yin was an experienced senior technician.
His wages and allowances were correspondingly high.
If Xiong Laishun officially replaced him…
He would have to start from the lowest apprentice level.
His salary and benefits would immediately be cut nearly in half.
Neither man was willing to accept that.
So they skipped all official procedures.
Instead…
They quietly bribed the workshop supervisor.
Fang Yin took extended medical leave.
Xiong Laishun temporarily worked under his name.
The higher salary remained unchanged.
Once the scheme was exposed…
Everyone involved received severe criticism.
Both the Production Department chief and the workshop supervisor were harshly reprimanded by Factory Director He.
The final decision was clear.
If Fang Yin could return to work…
Then he should.
If not…
Personnel would process either a disability retirement or a formal job transfer.
Should Xiong Laishun inherit the position…
He would start from the lowest apprentice rank.
This time, they didn’t dare delay.
After asking around for favors…
The factory finally approved the arrangement.
Xiong Laishun officially became a regular employee.
But…
He had to begin at the bottom.
The boiler room case involving the elderly veteran…
Was much more complicated.
Yang Yuan never learned the full story through official channels.
Instead…
She heard everything while chatting with Aunt Dang.
According to her…
Anyone who had worked at the textile mill long enough already knew the truth.
The veteran listed in the personnel records…
Had actually died years ago.
He’d been a soldier who fought in the Korean War.
His injuries…
Along with mental trauma…
Made him unsuitable for most work.
So the factory assigned him the simplest possible job—
Watching the boilers.
Several years later…
His health deteriorated.
He passed away.
The family was desperately poor.
The kind of poor where there wasn’t enough food to eat…
Or enough clothing to wear.
His ninety-year-old mother was still alive.
Between the factory and the labor union…
The veteran’s monthly subsidies totaled nearly seventy yuan.
Four generations…
More than ten family members…
All depended on that money.
Naturally…
They couldn’t bear losing it.
So they came up with an absurd plan.
The veteran had a seventy-six-year-old elder brother who resembled him closely.
After the veteran died…
The family secretly buried his body.
They never announced his death.
Instead…
His older brother came to work pretending to be him.
The old man couldn’t actually do the physical labor.
No problem.
His grandson handled all the boiler work.
The older brother simply sat there pretending to be the veteran.
Later…
Even one grandson couldn’t finish all the work.
So they went crying to the factory director and Party secretary.
Eventually…
Another grandson was allowed to help.
Even as a temporary worker…
Some wages were better than none.
Aunt Dang clicked her tongue.
“Everybody knew.”
“They couldn’t really hide it.”
“Back when this was still the textile mill’s boiler room…”
“They stopped pretending after they were discovered.”
“A man in his seventies…”
“Dragging along his ninety-year-old mother…”
“They simply lay down right there in front of the factory.”
“‘Do whatever you want,’ they said.”
“What else could the director and Party secretary do?”
She shrugged.
“They closed one eye and opened the other.”
“As long as the boilers kept running…”
“And production wasn’t delayed…”
“They let it go.”
“It’s perfectly normal that you couldn’t find any personnel files.”
“They probably never bothered making them.”
“As for that younger grandson…”
“He’s technically just a temporary worker.”
“If you really insist…”
“You can simply create a temporary employee file and attach it.”
“There’s really no right answer to something like this.”
Yang Yuan never imagined such a story existed.
She sighed inwardly.
Ever since joining the dyeing factory…
Every day seemed to bring another unbelievable tale.
Lately…
Yang Yuan spent more and more time chatting with Aunt Dang.
The personnel files had already been organized.
It wasn’t yet the end of the month, so attendance didn’t need checking.
She had very little to do.
Besides…
Aunt Dang kept a small stove in her office.
Sitting beside it left your whole body pleasantly warm.
It was infinitely more comfortable than their freezing Personnel Office.
The more Yang Yuan got to know her…
The more amazed she became.
Aunt Dang was practically the hidden queen of gossip for the entire textile compound.
From factory directors and Party secretaries…
Down to which household had lost a bunch of scallions…
Or who’d beaten their children…
She knew absolutely everything.
Yang Yuan admired her immensely.
Incredible.
When she learned Aunt Dang’s husband worked at the Bureau of Industry and Commerce—
The government department overseeing all state-owned factories in the city—
Yang Yuan nearly slapped the table in excitement.
Suddenly…
Aunt Dang seemed to radiate a golden halo.
Isn’t this exactly the powerful connection I’ve been looking for?
The respected elder sister of the textile compound.
A senior factory employee.
A husband who worked directly above all the factories.
Someone who knew practically every piece of inside information.
She’s practically family!
Yang Yuan’s heart pounded.
Her hands trembled.
This wasn’t merely an older sister.
This was going to be her safe harbor for the next ten years.
From then on…
She treated Aunt Dang with the same warmth she showed Mother Yang.
Every time Yang Yuan looked at her, her eyes sparkled so brightly that Aunt Dang couldn’t help wondering.
This honest child…
She’s even more enthusiastic than I am.
Looks like I’ve finally met my match.
Yang Wenping had said he’d be gone for only a week.
The week passed.
He still hadn’t returned.
Mother Yang worried constantly.
She didn’t even know whom she could ask for news.
The anxiety was visibly wearing her down.
Her cheekbones seemed to grow sharper by the day.
Meanwhile…
Yang Yuan happily received her first month’s wages.
Delighted, she decided to buy some pork and make dumplings.
The next day was her day off.
She deserved a good meal after working hard for an entire month.
Thanks to Wei Junliang’s future fiancée’s fourth uncle…
Yang Yuan could buy meat directly from the slaughterhouse.
No ration coupons required.
She could even choose the best cuts.
The whole connection had come about through a rather funny incident.
One day…
Following Mother Yang’s instructions…
She went to the old city district to deliver the monthly support payment to Grandma Yang.
The bus route wasn’t convenient.
By chance, she ran into Wei Junliang.
He warmly greeted her.
Not wanting to walk along muddy roads…
Yang Yuan shamelessly asked if he could ride her a little farther on his bicycle.
He happily agreed.
When they reached the intersection…
She climbed off, smiling as she thanked him.
Then she looked up.
Not far away stood a young woman.
Dark eyes.
A cold expression.
Watching them silently.
Wei Junliang immediately wheeled his bicycle toward her.
She was his girlfriend.
He’d come specifically to see her.
Watching him laugh and chat with another woman…
She naturally felt jealous.
Yang Yuan immediately understood.
A lovers’ misunderstanding.
Since Officer Wei had kindly given her a ride…
She decided to return the favor.
Within just a few sentences…
She explained everything clearly.
The young woman lowered her head shyly.
Her jealousy instantly disappeared.
She even took Yang Yuan’s arm.
Just like that…
The two became good friends.
One introduction led to another.
And before long…
Yang Yuan had successfully developed her own valuable “meat supply connection.”
She sighed happily.
There’s no helping it.
These days…
Money alone can’t buy anything.
Even buying pork requires connections.
On the way home…
She spent another twenty cents buying a large bundle of scallions from a farmer.
Thinking about fragrant pork-and-scallion dumplings…
Yang Yuan walked home in high spirits.
“You damned little bitch!”
“Say one more word and I’ll tear your mouth apart!”
“You worthless son of a dog!”
“You’ve got the nerve to bark at me with that wrinkled old face?”
“I think you’ve lived too long!”
“You ungrateful bastard!”
“You’ve got the nerve to act shameless after I’ve already given you face?”
“Every time you open that filthy mouth, all that comes out is piss and shit!”
“If your mouth doesn’t know how to behave…”
“I’ll rip it right off your face!”
Before she’d even reached home…
Yang Yuan heard a torrent of vulgar curses echoing through the street.
She wondered who on earth was having such a spectacular argument.
But the more she listened…
The more familiar the voice sounded.
She hurried closer.
Then froze.
“…Holy crap.”
“It’s my mom!”