481: Chapter 481: Fang Min’s Dad in Trouble 481: Chapter 481: Fang Min’s Dad in Trouble “Mom and Dad, we’re back.
Huh, why is nobody here?” Fang Min looked around the house and found that her parents were both unexpectedly absent, which made her Liu Mei slightly furrowed, feeling a bit strange.
They had clearly agreed that Tangyu would come back for dinner today, so why was there no one at home?
Fang Min checked the table and saw everything was ready, with plenty of freshly washed fruit set out.
Then she looked in the kitchen and noticed that many vegetables had already been washed, and some were even chopped, seemingly in preparation for cooking.
Fang Min’s frown grew more pronounced, “Strange, the vegetables are all chopped, where did everyone go?” Inexplicably, a shade of worry also rose in Fang Min’s heart, a bad premonition forming.
After looking around the house, Tangyu also said, “Minjie, could it be that something came up and they had to step out for a bit, or maybe they went out to shop because they forgot to buy something?
Minjie, why don’t you give them a call and ask?”
“Okay.” Fang Min picked up her phone to make a call, only to hear the phone ringing inside the house: “My mom didn’t take her phone, let me try my dad’s number.
Huh, no one is answering my dad’s phone either, what’s going on?” The worry on Fang Min’s face grew even more intense.
“Your dad should still be at work, right?
Could it be he’s gone to the factory?” Tangyu said.
After thinking for a while, Fang Min said, “That’s possible.
My mom has been retired and staying at home, but my dad still has two or three years before retirement.
Let’s go, let’s go check my dad’s factory, it’s right next to this residential area.”
Fang Min and Tangyu hurriedly rushed to the factory where Fang Min’s father worked, the Bayi Chemical Plant, with its very long history and status as a major state-owned enterprise.
Although its current situation wasn’t as good as before, it was still quite a sizable chemical factory.
Fang Min’s father was also the deputy chief of a department, but given his age, having spent so many years only to become a deputy chief was indeed quite pitiful.
According to seniority, even the current plant manager was his junior, as there weren’t many of his old colleagues left—most had been transferred or promoted.
“Mom, Dad, what happened to you?” Upon arriving at the factory, they ran into Fang Min’s parents on the way, who both had stern and worried expressions, clearly indicating something had happened.
Upon seeing Tangyu, both of them immediately forced a smile, and Zhang Cuihua shook her head, “Nothing, let’s go back home.”
Fang Tangjing also struggled to regain his composure, his mood lifting slightly at the sight of Tangyu, his prospective son-in-law.
After the previous incident, both Fang Tangjing and Zhang Cuihua were quite satisfied with Tangyu and were more than willing to trust Fang Min to him.
Especially the recent hostage crisis at Linshan Middle School had sculpted Tangyu’s hero image, and in the last few days, the elderly couple had seen related reports on the newspaper and TV, which naturally made them even more pleased with Tangyu.
The better Tangyu performed, the more comforted the elderly couple felt, and their change in perception towards Tangyu was indeed immense.
“Just a minor issue, nothing important, let’s go back,” Fang Tangjing said.
Fang Min’s face showed instant disbelief as she looked at her dad, naturally not convinced it was just a minor issue, “Dad, you don’t have to lie to me, there must have been a serious problem.
Whatever happened, please tell us about it.”
“Right, Uncle, let the younger ones among us deal with whatever it is,” Tangyu said.
Fang Tangjing looked at the two of them, his lips twitching slightly, and Zhang Cuihua tugged at Fang Tangjing’s arm, “It’s nothing, let’s go back home.”
“Mom.” Fang Min was getting anxious as well.
“We’ll talk back at home,” said Fang Tangjing with a grave voice.
Once they were back home, Fang Min couldn’t help but ask again.
Zhang Cuihua went to prepare dinner in the kitchen, and Fang Tangjing, looking dejected, lit a cigarette and took several deep puffs before slowly saying, “I’ve been framed at the factory, I’m afraid my reputation is at stake now.”
“What?” Fang Min’s eyebrows immediately knitted together: “What happened?”
After Fang Tangjing explained, Tangyu and Fang Min finally understood what was going on.
Simply put, this was an economic case where Fang Tangjing made a mistake during an audit and missed an account of two hundred thousand.
This incident actually occurred nearly half a year ago, but it wasn’t until today that the company leadership discovered the oversight during their review of the accounts.
Naturally, the blame was all pushed onto Fang Tangjing, who was also accused of falsifying the accounts to embezzle the two hundred thousand.
Fang Tangjing found it difficult to clarify the situation, firstly because some time had passed and secondly because the mistake might indeed have been his.
Therefore, the company ordered him to either make up for the two hundred thousand, or they would take legal action.
“How can these people be so unjust?
Dad, you have been diligent and devoted in the factory for so many years, always careful and meticulous in your work, never slacking off.
For decades, like clockwork, you’ve never missed a single detail in the accounts.
How could you possibly make a mistake with such a large sum this time?
Dad, it’s impossible.
Think carefully again about what really happened,” Fang Min shook her head as she spoke, knowing very well what kind of person her father was.
Fang Tangjing was an honest man; otherwise, he wouldn’t have remained just a small deputy section chief in the factory for so many years.
And it was precisely because he was so responsible and meticulous in his work that the company entrusted him with the important responsibility of handling the accounts, which was a bit of real power.
There had never been any slips in all these years, so how could such a large sum have been overlooked this time?
Thus, there must have been some reason, and Fang Min actually suspected her father had been framed.
Fang Tangjing shook his head and sighed, “A lifetime of wisdom, gone in an instant.
I can’t remember now.
I did handle that account, and it was my signature on it.
It’s possible that I was just negligent this time.
It’s not that I care about the two hundred thousand; if it’s truly my responsibility, I would even use my retirement savings to make up for it.
It’s just—sigh, if I really pay back the two hundred thousand, then the case would be set in stone.
Everyone would definitely think I embezzled the money, and I wouldn’t know where to put my old face.
I wouldn’t be able to stay in the factory either.”
Fang Min knew her mother always valued face and dignity the most; no one would want to take the blame for such a matter; it was a stain on one’s reputation.
Two hundred thousand, it was not a lot, but it wasn’t a small sum either, but the Fang family could certainly come up with the money.
“No, Dad, I still feel something is off about this matter; you absolutely shouldn’t hastily take the money out.
This might not be your responsibility.
I’m very familiar with your work attitude.
Logically, you wouldn’t make such a big mistake.
Dad, think again carefully, did anything happen when you were doing the accounting and signing off on that day?” Fang Min said.
Fang Tangjing furrowed his brow, deep in thought, before he spoke after a while, “Hmm, now that you mention it, I do recall something.
I remember the day I did that account, the section chief personally brought it over.
The money in our section always went through the section chief before it came to me.
At that time, the section chief was very eager to talk to me; we talked a lot that day.
Since the account was urgent, I was doing the accounting while talking to the section chief.
Could it be—”
“Dad, that makes it even more suspicious,” Fang Min interrupted.
“Think about it; since the money first went through the section chief and then to you, before you handed it over to the factory, there’s a point there.
If you only made a mistake with the account but the money that came into your hands was not short, you would have noticed.
When you turned in the money to the factory, you would count it, and the factory would count it too.
It’s easy to find out if the numbers don’t match.
Since you didn’t notice, it’s quite clear now that the problem lies with your section chief.
It was his trap, he embezzled the two hundred thousand, and then he framed you.”
Tangyu pursed her lips; the situation couldn’t be more obvious, definitely as Fang Min had described.
In fact, with a little careful thought, it was easy to deduce the issue.
However, being caught up in the moment, Fang Tangjing had not considered that possibility.
Fang Tangjing also fell silent, his expression growing increasingly grave, as he was rather unwilling to believe this scenario.
“Our section chief gets more than two hundred thousand in a year.
If he wanted to embezzle, he wouldn’t just take this two hundred thousand, right?
Moreover, once there’s an issue with the accounts, a company audit would likely reveal the discrepancy.
Would our section chief be willing to take such a big risk?” Fang Tangjing said.
Fang Min shook her head, “Dad, you’re overthinking it.
First, the company definitely doesn’t check the accounts often, otherwise this wouldn’t have been discovered a half year later.
Second, a company audit might not necessarily uncover it.
Third, although two hundred thousand isn’t a huge sum, it’s not insignificant either.
Plus, I believe the section chief’s goal wasn’t the two hundred thousand per se, he just happened to get his hands on that much this time.
He induced you to make the accounting error because you’re too careful; that’s why only two hundred thousand slipped through.
If you hadn’t been careful, it might have been a two-million error, and he could have taken as much as your prudence allowed.
As for the section chief taking a risk, I don’t see it that way at all.
Dad, at least now, isn’t everyone in the factory pointing the finger at you?
Does anybody suspect someone else?
You’ve been framed, haven’t you?”
Once again, Fang Tangjing lapsed into silence, his complexion turning noticeably worse as the situation was indeed as Fang Min said.
“Even if you go to the company now and share your suspicions, I doubt anyone will listen to you, nor will they believe you.
Moreover, it would probably add another accusation against you—that of slandering a leader.
Then, you’d be in even more trouble,” Fang Min said.
“Now that you mention it, there’s a lot of sense in what you say.
It seems the situation is indeed so,” Fang Tangjing nodded in understanding, agreeing with Fang Min’s reasoning.
“That’s exactly the case, Dad.
You’re too kind, so you didn’t consider this angle.
This incident couldn’t possibly be your fault; you’ve been wronged,” Fang Min said.
Fang Tangjing shook his head, “Even if the situation is truly as you say, it seems to be too late to change anything now.
The factory has mostly already reached a verdict, and it seems that there’s nothing to be done at this point.
Even if I were to state this situation, like you just said, it would probably only backfire.
Without evidence to support this account, I would just end up with the reputation of falsely accusing a leader.
I only regret not having realized this at the time.
If I had thought of it and spoken up then, it might have been useful.
Saying it now seems futile.”
Fang Min was getting anxious, “So what do we do?
We can’t just take the blame, can we?
Go and talk to the factory leaders, won’t you even try?”
“It’s no use; the factory leaders made the decision themselves.
Talking to them would be pointless,” Fang Tangjing shook his head.