Chapter 327: Severe Punishment
What he was doing was pretty simple. For instance, if it was stated in the accounting doc.u.mentation that they will be receiving an intermediate spirit stone, he would leave the doc.u.mentation alone but the intermediate-grade product would be subst.i.tuted with a low-grade spirit stone.
With this, with virtually no change to the number of goods in their inventory, no one would know what was going on.
Where the item in question had no cheaper replacements in the market, he would just use fake items such as random rocks, twigs, and even empty boxes as subst.i.tutes.
Because no one had yet to reveal his operation, Zhang Youdu grew increasingly unscrupulous.
After all, greed knew no bounds.
Zhang Youdu was still grinning with self-satisfaction when Lin Jin stepped in. Despite having worked here at the Beast Appraiser a.s.sociation for many years, his career had yet to go where he wanted it to. It had taken him years of agony to finally attain the position he had today.
After so many years of misery, he lost himself upon getting the taste of success.
“The struggle for authority is all just for profits in the end!” Zhang Youdu carefully placed a bundle of premium spirit forage gra.s.s inside a wooden box before subst.i.tuting a lesser herb in its place.
“Hehe, I got some great stuff this time too,” Zhang Youdu mumbled to himself before saying to the staff beside him, “Hurry up and don’t make any mistakes.”
It was a few seconds later when Zhang Youdu realized that his staff had failed to respond to his statement.
Not only was he quiet, but the man even seemed to be shaking.
“What are you doing? Get on with your work,” Zhang Youdo scolded. Looking up, he noticed one of his other subordinates staring at something behind him with fear in his eyes.
Zhang Youdo’s heart thumped and whipped his head around to see Lin Jin standing behind him.
The stern expression on Lin Jin’s face was laced with murderous intent.
Zhang Youdu immediately trembled in fright.
“Ch-chief!”
He wanted to say something but it was clearly useless. Now that he was caught red-handed by Chief Lin, no amount of excuses could ever get him out of this.
“I-I!”
Refusing to listen to his explanations, Lin Jin lifted a hand and flicked out a needle. Zhang Youdo’s body immediately stiffened and he couldn’t move.
This was to prevent Zhang Youdo from taking desperate measures or trying to escape.
From Lin Jin’s experience, no matter the situation, it was always a wise choice to immobilize the target first.
Next, Jia Qian was instructed to check the inventory.
A group of people watched on at the entrance, no one dared to come inside.
“It’s over for Zhang Youdu.”
“He’s been getting on my nerves recently, so I say he deserves it.”
Some were delighted, some were afraid.
Somewhere in a corner of the logistics department, Dong He was busy cleaning the toilet. This place reeked and everybody avoided working here like a plague.
But Dong He had no choice.
Not only did he have to clean the toilet, but he also had to scrub the toilet bowl.
Anyone who was bright enough would never opt for a task like this but Dong He had no other choice. He also had to do a good job too or punishment awaited him.
Fear was the only emotion he had now.
Just then, someone jogged over, rus.h.i.+ng into this tiny yard.
“Brother Dong, good news has arrived, good news!” that person shouted with excitement. Dong He’s heart leaped as antic.i.p.ation made itself apparent on his face.
“What is it? What happened?” He got up and poured away the bucket of foul water he was carrying.
This messenger was one of the last few comrades Dong He had in the logistics department. Dong He sometimes had to resort to giving him some advantages for him to remain his ‘friend’, but the man’s main function was to inform Dong He of any important developments.
This time, the messenger seemed exceptionally polite.
Most days, he would address Dong He directly by his name. And now, for him to start calling him ‘Brother Dong’ must mean something had indeed gone wrong.
Could it be…
With a possibility in mind, Dong He became excited.
Soon, he learned what had happened. Apparently, Chief Lin’s unannounced visit to the logistics department meant that Zhang Youdu was caught red-handed in the back room.
“That rascal, Zhang Youdu was pilfering the a.s.sociation’s goods at the time Chief Lin entered the room. He was so shocked that he couldn’t even speak.” The messenger seemed thrilled.
He knew that Dong He was Chief Lin’s whistleblower in relation to this incident. Other than Dong He’s report, there was no other explanation for why Chief Lin decided to take action so promptly.
Hence, there was the likelihood that Dong He might be able to curry favor with the new chief.
If that were the case, it was absolutely necessary that he gained Dong He’s favor in advance. After all, if Dong He managed to rise again, he would surely need his own gophers and henchmen.
Upon hearing this, Dong He let out a hearty laugh.
Disregarding his soiled hands, he touched his face to confirm he wasn’t dreaming before looking up at the sky. He then said, “Zhang Youdu, I knew such a day would come for you. Let’s see how you’ll deal with this, haha! But there’s nothing you can do at all since you’re caught red-handed. I can smell it! You’re gonna be prosecuted and imprisoned for your fraudulent activities!”
Relatively speaking, Zhang Youdu’s would end up far worse compared to Dong He.
Dong He still had a chance but Zhang Youdu was certainly done for.
“Brother Dong, do you want to go and take a look?” the messenger asked. Dong He wavered slightly but ever since he reflected on his actions, he knew it was impossible for him to rise up again no matter what he did.
At most, he just wouldn’t be unduly pressured by people like Zhang Youdu into doing such lowly tasks.
And that was good enough for him. If he got lucky, he could even start learning about beast appraising again. After all, he had been a consultant before. With just a little more effort, he might just get that chance again.
Of course, by ‘chance’, he meant obtaining the qualifications of an official beast appraiser.
“I’m not going.” Having thought his plans through, Dong He waved before sitting back down to scrub the toilet bowl.
The messenger’s jaw dropped.
“Brother Dong, you…”
Dong He said without looking up, “Can’t you see? I still have a job to do. I advise you to stick to the rules from now on too or you might just end up like Zhang Youdu.”
Zhang Youdu was indeed done for.
That much was certain. As Jia Qian would need some time to do stock-take, Lin Jin couldn’t be bothered to waste time here so he returned to his office. Still, he got Han Dong and the a.s.sociation’s rule enforcement team to take care of things.
As it was a personal order, everyone took it seriously.
Results came back, with a firm estimate of how much Zhang Youdu had embezzled. His house was raided too and many items were found, totaling up to about several thousand silvers’ worth of merchandise.
Of course, Zhang Youdu was subsequently turned over to the authorities. Without the need to send his regards, Lin Jin was sure that the authorities would pa.s.s rightful judgment on his actions. He was sure that no one would dare to vouch for Zhang Youdu and argue to have his sentence reduced.
If anyone was that ignorant, Lin Jin didn’t mind seeking Zuo Wentang out or pay a direct visit to Bai Zhenkong.
By noon, everything had been settled. Lin Jin was currently reading.
The person in charge of arranging the evaluation reports today was Zhao Ying.
She was best in these meticulous tasks and Lin Jin could rest a.s.sured. Such a.s.signments were better not left to Lu Xiaoyun, who was p.r.o.ne to making careless mistakes.
Zhao Ying was also surprisingly good at preparing tea. Whenever Lin Jin’s teacup was empty, it would be filled to the brim in no time.
Jia Qian came in to report the updates and Lin Jin nodded.
He didn’t care much about the a.s.sociation’s affairs anyway. He just needed to know the results.
Aware that Lin Jin wouldn’t pay attention to such details, Jia Qian contemplated before she said, “Master Lin, Zhang Youdu has been sent to the authorities but the logistics department can’t just cease operations like that. We still need a manager to keep things running.”
Lin Jin was stunned.
To think that he had forgotten about that.
He was only focused on removing Zhang Youdu from power but he hadn’t the slightest idea who should replace him.
Just as Dong He had guessed, he would never let someone like Dong He regain that authority. Such a choice had never crossed Lin Jin’s mind either.
But someone had to maintain order in the logistics department.
However, Lin Jin hadn’t the slightest idea on who to appoint. At that moment, he looked up and saw Jia Qian.
He got it!
Lin Jin cleared his throat and said, “I haven’t found a suitable candidate yet so, Jia Qian, please take over his position for now.”