Chapter 30: The Anti-Smuggling Office

"Excuse me, if you have come only to make my wife uncomfortable, then I must ask you to leave."

Jiang Yan's eyes grew deep. He looked at Wang Guihua, his tone carrying a distinct note of warning. Wang Guihua was a shrewd woman; she caught the implication in his words.

"We are all family, of course, family should be closer..."

"Family?" Shen Qingyao questioned her own ears. "You can't be serious. How is it that I remember you telling me back then that you were the real family, and that my brother and I were the outsiders?" Shen Qingyao repeated the exact words from the original novel.

Wang Guihua’s face turned deathly pale. She couldn't let Shen Qingyao sever the ties between the two families so easily. Besides, Lu Shaojun had mentioned that if she wanted to be transferred back to Beijing, a letter of recommendation would be best, and the most authoritative such letter would naturally come from the Jiang family. Otherwise, Wang Guihua would never have bothered trying to build a relationship with Shen Qingyao. She knew Shen Qingyao had latched onto a powerful figure and was likely feeling quite smug, but she had her own ways to dampen that arrogance. As long as Shen Qingyao was willing to get Jiang Yan to help, everything could be negotiated, and they could all live in peace.

Wang Guihua couldn't keep up the facade for long; she only wanted to achieve her goal and go home. However, this one sentence from Shen Qingyao caught her off guard.

"I said those things in anger back then. You know how hard it is to raise three children." As she spoke, Wang Guihua turned to explain herself to Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan couldn't stand to listen any longer and ordered Chen Zheng to take them away. This was the extent of his tolerance; by military standards, they would have already been subjected to physical punishment.

Shen Mengyi and Wang Guihua returned empty-handed, blaming each other on the way back for their lack of composure. Before long, Shen Mengyi unleashed all her frustration onto Wang Guihua.

"Mengyi, if you had just held your tongue for a moment, I would have had a chance to speak to Jiang Yan, and then the matter of the recommendation letter..."

"You have the nerve to blame me? You were groveling, but did Shen Qingyao appreciate it? I told you long ago that Shen Qingyao isn't a fool, but you insisted she was easy to manipulate..."

"I don't know why you married Shen Dongsheng in the first place. If you had married someone with even a little money, I wouldn't be living this miserable life now!"

Shen Mengyi’s biting sarcasm brought tears to Wang Guihua’s eyes instantly. "Mengyi, you..." Two lines of tears fell as she looked at Shen Mengyi in heartbreak.

However, Shen Mengyi was unmoved. "Am I wrong? If you had been looking for something better, you wouldn't have married Shen Dongsheng. Growing up, I had to share a room with Shen Qingyao. My classmates all get to visit big cities, while I’m stuck here in Qingtian Village! You can't even get me a nice piece of clothing for the holidays, and I can't count on you for anything regarding Lu Shaojun..."

Shen Mengyi’s words grew increasingly cruel until Wang Guihua could no longer bear it. She raised her hand and slapped Shen Mengyi.

Chen Zheng had kept his distance since they started arguing, and when the sound of the slap rang out, he wished he could simply run away. Shen Mengyi’s cheek burned, and as she turned her head, she saw that Wang Guihua’s face was covered in tears.

"Mengyi..." Wang Guihua’s heart softened, and she reached out to pull Shen Mengyi into an embrace, but Shen Mengyi pushed her away and ran off.

Watching Wang Guihua sitting on the ground, Chen Zheng helped her up. "Auntie, please go home. Don't linger around here anymore." Not knowing what else to say, Chen Zheng left as soon as Wang Guihua found her footing.

Upon returning to the factory, Chen Zheng saw a team of men at the entrance. They were from the Anti-Smuggling Office—why would they be here? Could it be because of Shen Qingye?

Sensing that something was terribly wrong, Chen Zheng ran inside to find Jiang Yan and Shen Qingyao. Shen Qingye was already at work, and Jiang Yan and Shen Qingyao were watching him without speaking. Seeing Jiang Yan, Shen Qingye respectfully addressed him as "Commander Jiang" and nodded toward Shen Qingyao.

"It's bad, it's really bad..." Chen Zheng came in at a trot, his hat nearly flying off.

"Speak slowly."

Chen Zheng pointed at the entrance. "The people from the Anti-Smuggling Office..."

Before he could finish, the officers walked in. "Anti-Smuggling Office! We have received a report and have come to investigate. Who is Shen Qingye?"

Shen Qingyao was startled upon hearing this. She knew Shen Qingye had been hiding something, and she had forgotten to ask him what it was over the past two days. She realized that even with Jiang Yan here, he probably couldn't save Shen Qingye. Furthermore, she was afraid of dragging Jiang Yan into it.

"Who is Shen Qingye?" the officer shouted again. Shen Qingye stepped forward.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous; his heart felt as if it were about to jump out of his throat. In a planned economy, no one dared to break the rules, but as time went on, it was inevitable that some would touch the red line. Everyone knew the reputation of the Anti-Smuggling Office—people would be taken away in the middle of the night, and the fines and sentences they handed down were notorious in Qingtian Village.

Jiang Yan looked at the men and reached out to shake hands with one. "Captain Wu."

"Commander Jiang, what are you doing here?" Wu Jian almost smiled upon seeing him, but quickly restrained himself, remembering his official capacity.

As more workers gathered to watch, Jiang Yan didn't want to resolve the matter in such a public setting. He invited Wu Jian aside, leaving only the few of them in the immediate vicinity. Wu Jian looked at Jiang Yan, and a bold suspicion crossed his mind. Seeing Jiang Yan pull him aside, he grew even more convinced that the Commander was trying to pull strings. That would be a grave mistake.

"That batch of steel on the market has caught the attention of the higher-ups; we must handle this strictly."

"I know, that is why I am here as well."

Wu Jian was skeptical. "Commander Jiang is involved too?"

"Yes, my transfer order just came through. I had to inspect the factory, and that is when I discovered the problem."

Wu Jian thought it over; Jiang Yan’s character was not one to pull strings. Even if he were, Jiang Yan had no need to engage in black-market steel trading. He believed him and even began to share information. "I received a report that it was Shen Qingye from the steel mill. How is your investigation going?"

"It is currently underway."

Jiang Yan’s eyes narrowed as he looked over to see Shen Qingyao comforting Shen Qingye. Shen Qingye was deathly pale; he clearly couldn't handle the pressure.

"I have a question for you. If I helped someone bring something in, but I cannot prove the legitimacy of the money and vouchers, what should I do?"

Wu Jian didn't think twice. "Do you have witnesses? Or perhaps material evidence? If there is a voucher for every item, then there shouldn't be any problem with the investigation."