Audit 0039

  At 9:30, Lin Qiang had already gone to bed early, and his energy was the most important thing for him in the next few days. If possible, he even hoped to plan accurately to the second. In order not to affect Lin Qiang's rest, Zheng Shuai also gave up chasing the hot drama "The Temptation of Returning to the Village" and went to bed at the same time as Lin Qiang.

  At 9:45, both of them unexpectedly spoke at the same time ——

  "Are you asleep?"

  Then they both burst out laughing at the same time.

  "This rhythm, it's like our university dormitory back then." Lin Qiang lay on the bed, his hands clasped behind his head, reminiscing, "At that time, I always thought about not sleeping in late and not skipping class tomorrow, but I couldn't control myself, chatting away until dawn."

  "Later, everyone went their separate ways." Zheng Shuai turned his head to look out the window, reminiscing, "Some people took the postgraduate exam, some inherited their parents' business, some worked hard to become civil servants, and some entered the bank like us... Oh right, I heard there's a class reunion next week, someone contacted me, how about it, shall we go?"

  "Next week..." Lin Qiang calculated the time, "I'm afraid this matter is not over yet."

  "Yes, so I haven't replied yet. But this time, many classmates who went abroad will also return."

  "Let's go anyway." Lin Qiang said firmly, "It's been a long time since we last met, it won't hurt to spend one more meal together."

  "Time is not the issue, it's mainly that I'm afraid." Facing Lin Qiang, Zheng Shuai has never hidden anything from him. He let out a long sigh and said, "Those who went to become civil servants are already deputy directors by now, right? I heard some of them have gone to foreign companies, with annual incomes already exceeding 200,000 or 300,000 yuan. I'm afraid I won't dare face them. Previously at the Ji Jing branch, my name was well-known, but now..."

  Zheng Shuai said, his voice suddenly choked with emotion: "Now... I'm just a small sales office clerk, in the sales office, the lowest-ranking employee, like a service staff..."

  "Hey!" Lin Qiang shouted loudly, "Are you sick or something? The administrative level hasn't changed, it's work wherever you go, what's wrong with the business hall?"

  "Lin Lao Da... you're the boss, or at least you've had your moment in the spotlight, at least you've handled projects worth hundreds of millions, at least you once held the power to make or break a large company. But me? After all these years since graduation, I'm still just a small employee, can I really face them? You know... that girl I chased after in school... I vowed to make something of myself for her sake!"

  "Are you crying?!"

  “……”

  Lin Qiang listened to the sound of a man sobbing silently, lying quietly in bed with his eyes closed. In his eyes, Zheng Shuai was a brother who could wear one pair of pants, an absolutely trustworthy friend, and a colleague who could rely on each other through thick and thin.

  Maybe it's because I've always ignored Zheng Shuai's weak and timid side?

  No.

  It's not like that.

  He suddenly shook his head.

  Zheng Shuai is neither weak nor timid.

  Like himself, he did not kneel down under the tyranny of his superiors, insisting on his own stance, and was willing to be demoted to a remote place.

  He hesitated and regretted, he began to question his own choice, he started thinking about the possibility of compromise at that time. He was afraid of facing those who would only say "yes" in the future, but their social status would rise faster than himself.

  Society casts all people; and people, in turn, change this society.

  Sometimes it is benign; sometimes it is malignant.

  But for people like me and Zheng Shuai, who have not been thoroughly molded by society and still hold on to a thread of persistence, it must be very tiring to face the world again.

  "Cry then." Lin Qiang quietly got up and leaned against the back of the bed, "If you want to cry, come cry with me, don't go home and cry in front of your mom, she'll be sad."

  Upon hearing Lin Qiang's words, Zheng Shuai could no longer hold back and released all the emotions he had been suppressing.

  It has to be said that in Zheng Shuai's painful crying, Lin Qiang's mood also had a few points of sourness, but he knew that he must hold on, if he couldn't even hold on himself, then there would be no way to persist.

  After a few minutes, Zheng Shuai's crying gradually slowed down and turned into dry coughs.

  "Lin Lao Da... you're laughing at me again..." Zheng Shuai said in a hoarse voice, self-mockingly, "My mom was right, I've never suffered since I was young, I'm not suitable for this place."

  Lin Qiang turned his head and looked at Zheng Shuai: "The hardships you didn't experience in your childhood have been made up for now, this is not the problem. You who haven't experienced hardship understand what truth is, understand what persistence is even better. You don't know how bitter that hardship was, so you won't be afraid, won't bow your head."

  "What... what do you mean by that?" Zheng Shuai was somewhat perplexed and couldn't figure out whether Lin Qiang was praising or scolding him.

  "Zheng Shuai, do you think it's whose fault that we lost power and were transferred here?"

  “….” Zheng Shuai let out a sigh, “At first, I thought it was the fault of those bad leaders who didn’t allow others to question them and eliminated anyone who disobeyed... but now, I feel more and more that this is how the whole world is, these are the rules. And we, are people who don’t follow the rules, people who don’t follow the rules will be kicked out of the game.”

  "Yes..." Lin Qiang sighed faintly, "One has to compromise with society, one has to adapt... these are the words of advice from those who have been through it."

  "Yeah, my mom says so too."

  "I'm giving you a chance to regret. Lin Qiang stared at Zheng Shuai, his eyes seeming to emit light. From now on, we may have to be enemies with the leaders of the branch, or even bigger enemies. There will be no more room for compromise, Zheng Shuai. I don't want to drag you down with me."

  "......" Zheng Shuai remained silent.

  Lin Qiang knew that everyone had to think about their own future and path in life. Even brotherly love and righteousness were not worth mentioning when facing the torrent of society. Zhang Jiaming was like this, Hao Wei was like this, and Zheng Shuai was also like this.

  "If you run back now and say a few soft words to Rosa, accompany her for a drink or two, maybe it can still be salvaged."

  “……”

  "If you keep going on like this, maybe in the end you won't even be able to work as a bank clerk."

  “……”

  After a while, Zheng Shuai finally spoke up.

  "Lin Qiang, you bastard, you look down on people too much!!" Zheng Shuai's emotions suddenly turned, and he scolded loudly, spitting out stars. "Do I, Zheng Shuai, lack that little salary? Do I lack those clothes? I accompany an old lady every day, in exchange for honor and money, would I be happy like this?"

  "You think I'm with you for what reason?!"

  "Do you think it's just our classmate relationship?"

  "Is it just us who joined at the same time?"

  "You're wrong! Wrong! It's conviction!!" Zheng Shuai cursed, "Whether it was during our student days or after we started working, only the two of us had consistent convictions, only the two of us were not tainted by that filthy tide!! Four years now!! Four years now!! You'd give me this sentence?! You'd squeeze me out like this?!"

  Faced with Zheng Shuai's series of questions and resistance, Lin Qiang was also suddenly enlightened.

  Yes, I was thinking too much. Being able to struggle with Zheng Shuai all the time, there is no other reason, only because of the four words "like-minded and harmonious". In a lifetime, having met countless people, how many can walk together like this?

  "Great!!" Lin Qiang also became excited like Zheng Shuai, "Then I'll give you an answer, a different answer for you and everyone else, a stubborn answer like a child."

  "It's not us who are wrong, it's them."

  "The wicked drive away the righteous; who can say what is right or wrong? What cause have you to lament?"

  "No matter if it's Hao Wei, Qian Cai or Luo Sha, from that moment on, they were wrong, they are our enemies." Lin Qiang clenched his fists and stared at Zheng Shuai, "We are humans, we can move, facing the indisputable fact, why did we hesitate? There is a time for sorrow, but rather than wasting every second, even if it's crawling, we must crawl to the top!"

  "Then, beat them to death!" Lin Qiang punched the bed board, shaking the entire room. "In this world, no one is willing to speak for us, so we will speak for ourselves; no one stands on our side, so we will use our own fists to create our own sky! Did you hear that, Zheng Shuai?!"

  Zheng Shuai was left speechless by Lin Qiang's passionate outburst.

  This is Lin Qiang. When he was hesitating and entangled in his own thoughts, he had already hidden his teeth and prepared to turn around and take a fierce bite.

  "This time we'll do it together." Lin Qiang's palm slowly covered his left eye, "We will take back what belongs to us."

  "Lin Lao Da...... you......" Zheng Shuai choked back a sob, "You've made me lose sleep again! What am I going to do tonight?!"

  “……”

  Ding ding ding......

  Just then, the phone rang.

  Lin Qiang picked up his mobile phone from the head of the bed and frowned slightly at the incoming number.

  "Hey, have a good trip."

  "Sorry to disturb you so late, Xiao Lin," said Zhu Fengshan with a somewhat helpless tone. "But this time, I had no choice either. I was just about to go to bed when the phone call came."

  "What's wrong?"

  Feng Shan said word by word:

  " Audit Department spot check..."

  "What? At this time? Now?!" Lin Qiang's face suddenly changed, and his voice also rose by an octave.

  "Alas, it can't be helped. The people from the audit department are like this...". Zhu Fengshan sighed and advised, "This time we're out of luck, coincidentally drawing the Longyuan business hall, and Hao Wei just happens to be absent, so I can only trouble you."

  "Alright..." Lin Qiang took a deep breath and said quietly, "Tomorrow I'll arrive at the unit early, get the materials ready in advance, and await the inspection."

  "This... I'm afraid..." Zhū Fēngshān said somewhat strangely, "I'm afraid it won't wait until tomorrow morning, the people from the audit department are already on their way to the business hall."

  "What now?!" Lin Qiang's voice was not a question, but an outright scolding.

  "Yes, the new regulations in the industry, surprise inspections, no time to prepare, can be launched at any time. You'd better hurry up and call someone, rush to the business hall, hoping to arrive before the audit department's people."

  "Another all-night inspection......" Lin Qiang's fist clenched again.

  "Ah, this time we managed to catch up with the culprit, it's going to be a long investigation, let's get ready, good luck."

  "Alright, I'll get people organized right away."

  "Well, don't keep the audit department waiting for too long, hurry up."

  Lin Qiang put down the phone and hesitated for a moment, unable to bear it any longer. He punched the wall with one fist after another.

  Bang! Bang! Bang......

  "Damn it!! Bastard!!!", Lin Qiang was furious, "Despicable!!"

  Zheng Shuai saw this and hastily got up to turn on the light, pressed down Lin Qiang, and anxiously asked: "What's going on, is it an audit?"

  "Ah, the audit department is conducting a surprise inspection."

  "Come on! We're not afraid of the shadow being crooked if we stand upright!" Zheng Shuai had just let out a sigh of relief, thinking it was just a routine inspection. Suddenly, his expression turned serious, "Wait...it's almost 10 o'clock now...at this time..."

  "I get it now, they weren't there to check accounts at all."

  "You're now in charge of the business hall, according to regulations, you must accompany the inspection throughout, this kind of inspection usually lasts a week... They... Are they trying to exhaust you?!" Zheng Shuai's expression also changed suddenly, and he started scolding along with Lin Qiang, "If the inspection starts at night, it should end by tomorrow morning, then everyone can go back and rest. But this leads to, the next day's inspection... still starting in the middle of the night... If we keep going like this, you'll only be able to rest during the daytime! But if you rest during the daytime..."

  "One hundred million has become a distant and unattainable goal." Lin Qiang gritted his teeth and said with hatred.