Dinner table

  After bidding farewell to Lu Shifu, Lin Qiang quickly dialed a phone number, which belonged to the colleague sitting not far from him at his workstation in the video.

  Doo... doo... doo...

  Waited for the sound for a long time.

  "Sorry, the number you dialed is temporarily unavailable."

  Lin Qiang quickly dialed the phone of his second colleague.

  The ending is the same.

  Lin Qiang put away his phone and stood frowning on the spot.

  He had thought of this possibility, but hadn't expected it to be so thorough. The gossip about his transfer was spreading like wildfire, and many people in the branch knew about it. Was there really no one under heaven who would speak out the truth?

  Many mouths can praise someone to death, while many tongues can criticize someone to extinction...

  When all the answers are the same, the only difference is wrong.

  United voices can melt metal and stone; collective slander can destroy even flesh and blood.

  It's hard to imagine how something so clear and obvious could develop in this direction?

  Just then, Lu Shifu caught up and handed over his old brown briefcase: "You dropped your bag, you were in too much of a hurry, by the way this bag of yours is also too worn out!"

  "Oh, sorry......" Lin Qiang took over the document bag, dusted it off, and thanked him again.

  Lu Shifu looked at Lin Qiang's appearance and sighed: "It seems that things are not going well."

  "Hmm." Lin Qiang replied honestly, "It's okay, so many people know, there will be a way..."

  "This road isn't as easy as you think." Master Lu sighed, "Qu Yuan, you know that, right?"

  "That's all thanks to him during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday."

  Lu Shifu laughed and said: "Haha, everyone knows he's dead, but who knows why he died?"

  "This is indeed true." Lin Qiang had just heard Qiu Zhiyuan talk about this, and immediately replied, "Chu Huai Wang listened to the rumors and estranged his loyal ministers, removing Qu Yuan's position and exiling him. In the end, the Qin army broke through the capital of Chu State, and Qu Yuan could not bear to see the country perish, so he threw himself into the river and perished with the state."

  "Alas, the mouths of many can be sharper than a golden sword. At first, it seemed right, but in the end, it was a disaster." Lu Shifu sighed and said, "Everyone in the world knows that Qu Yuan is a loyal minister, and advocating for an alliance with other countries to resist Qin is the only way out for Chu State. But because of the many mouths around the emperor that can be sharper than a golden sword, right and wrong are reversed, and Qu Yuan's views have become a trouble for his lord. Qu Yuan has always been doing what is righteous and just, but instead, he suffered a calamity."

  "What a pity for a loyal minister." Lin Qiang shook his head, "But now it's no longer the era of monarch dictatorship. If slandering can succeed, I'd rather serve the king every day to bathe and dress him."

  "Oh?" Lu Shi's eyes widened in shock, he had thought Lin Qiang was a straightforward and upright guy, but didn't expect him to say something so out of character. "You're going too far with that..."

  "But he's a fool." Lin Qiang said bluntly, "Since his main idea is to resist Qin, he also knows that the surrounding ministers are all wise and self-preserving, greedy for life and afraid of death. In order to achieve his goal, he should not hesitate to use any means, even if it means pretending to be a peace-seeking faction and revealing his true face after taking power; even if it means pretending to be weak and launching a coup; even if it means being the king's favorite concubine and stabbing him to death. The quality of integrity will only be eulogized after you die. Therefore, even if he becomes famous in history, he still cannot change the outcome of Chu State's destruction. Let me add one more sentence, I respect him, very much."

  "......" Master Lu furrowed his brow, looking at Lin Qiang, and after a long while, he smiled awkwardly, "It seems I was overthinking, if you need help again, come find me."

  "Thank you, Master Lu."

  At 11:45, in the underground cafeteria of the Beijing branch, Luosa, Qiancai, Nie Xiaofeng and Lin Qiang sat at the same table. The surrounding tables were all empty, and other people in the branch deliberately kept a distance from them. This matter was a dangerous gossip, it was like a cactus full of thorns, ordinary people dared not touch it.

  Rosa still had her legs crossed, using her ring-adorned fingers to pick at the food with chopsticks, looking bored. Next to her, Qiancai was eating with gusto, seemingly having a good appetite.

  Nie Xiaofeng's hands were tightly clutching his pants, and chopsticks didn't even move.

  Lin Qiang took a bite of the sweet and sour pork ribs, and immediately praised: "The food at Fen Hang is still good, eating takeout from the small stalls next door every day has almost made me forget this flavor."

  "Hehe, if you want to, you can come often." Rosa smiled and picked up a piece of pork from her plate and handed it to Lin Qiang.

  "Thank you." Lin Qiang also didn't stand on ceremony and started eating with big mouthfuls.

  "It's said that Jian Gong Bank's cafeteria food is even better than ours." Rosa said casually.

  Lin Qiang's heart moved slightly, and as expected, Rosa began to steer the conversation in a certain direction during their casual chat.

  "I have a classmate there, and I occasionally go to eat. It's completely at the level of a restaurant," Rosa said, pressing her forehead again, "If I remember correctly, the financing department of Jian Gong Bank is recruiting people..."

  Qian Cai immediately frowned and smiled, asking: "Director Luo, isn't it inappropriate to talk about this here?"

  Rosa spread out her arms, looking puzzled: "What's wrong with that? Everyone is working hard for their own future. If there are better job opportunities, why not go for them?"

  She then turned to Lin Qiang and Nie Xiao Feng: "If you're interested, I can ask a classmate of mine for a favor and arrange an interview directly."

  Nie Xiaofeng nodded slightly: "Thank you, Director Luo..."

  "You can't go." Rosa hastily waved her hand, "This matter hasn't been settled yet, you can't leave."

  "Lin Qiang won't work either?" Qian Cai asked with a smile.

  "This... doesn't necessarily have to be the case." Rosa thought for a moment, "Lin Qiang is indeed related to the matter, but at the time of the incident, he had already left the financing department and wouldn't bear major responsibility. If he were to leave like this, there would be no way to investigate further. He just needs to clarify the facts and he can go."

  "Oh? Can't be held accountable? Speaking the truth can just walk away?" Qian Cai asked in surprise, "Can this avoid responsibility?"

  "From my experience, yes, he wasn't a direct participant after all." Rosa nodded vigorously.

  The two men stopped talking and looked at Lin Qiang with a meaningful gaze.

  In just a few words, Lin Qiang had already seen through their entire plan.

  In short, in order to make money and avoid punishment as much as possible, they have three steps to take.

  First, reverse the public opinion, let all parties involved shut up, follow their words and put the main responsibility on Nie Xiaofeng, and the secondary responsibility on themselves. However, no matter how hard they try, this matter cannot be completely pushed onto themselves who are far away in Longyuan, doing so is just to create pressure.

  Secondly, he felt pressured and had no way out, so he chose to escape and eventually compromised on his relationship with Rosa, joining Jian Gong Bank.

  In the end, as long as he himself left, there would be no one to contradict him, and they could freely distort the facts. He would even help Qiancai speak out under pressure from his relationship with Luosa and Jian Gong Bank, anyway, the person was already gone, and he could even take on some blame that wouldn't hurt or itch.

  If this step is fully achieved, although the money will still be responsible, it is highly likely to change from criminal to ordinary, and can avoid imprisonment, only with certain punishments within the industry.

  If you follow their rhythm...

  It's all over for you.

  Rosa thought of herself as a little kid like Nie Xiao Feng.

  Leaving office can shirk responsibility, why not leave for money? Throwing out bait, slightly providing benefits to lure people in, and then step by step controlling them, I suppose that's how they got Nie Xiaofeng.

  New grudges and old grievances are here, Rosa is a person who cannot be trusted at all. If you don't follow her rhythm, you're completely innocent, but once you compromise on the facts they fabricated, you'll really be done for. The position in Jian Gong Bank is a beautiful trap that lures you into the carefully designed abyss of escaping responsibility.

  "Can we sign the employment contract this afternoon?" Lin Qiang asked, looking up.

  "Huh?" Rosa was puzzled.

  Lin Qiang emphasized again and asked once more: "If Director Luo recommends me to Jian Gong Bank, can I sign the employment contract this afternoon?"

  "......How is this possible so quickly? Normally, from reviewing resumes to interviewing and completing the hiring process, it should take at least two weeks?"

  "But isn't the internal investigation going to take place in two days? Won't the Audit Bureau be coming in to investigate within three days?" Lin Qiang asked instead, "Director Luo wants to help me find a new branch, but I still can't shake off this incident."

  "Cough... " Rosa hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "Don't you trust my classmate? I'll add a word, plus your work experience, it's no problem."

  "So as a return for Director Luo's help, I should acknowledge your facts?"

  Rosa shook her head with a smile and said: "Hehe, you're so clear about things, of course it's good."

  Qian Cai also chimed in: "Lin Qiang, it's better to let bygones be bygones. Let's just drop this matter and move on. Insisting on pursuing it will only harm everyone involved, don't you think?"

  Lin Qiang ignored the two of them and turned to Nie Xiao Feng, asking: "Do you think so too?"

  "Lin Zuzhang... this..." Nie Xiaofeng lowered his head, his face full of painful wrinkles, stuttering and answering, "This... is an unavoidable thing, right? I'm already the main person responsible for the incident... should think about what's to come."

  "What's next? Things in prison? Don't want to pick up soap with perverted homosexual criminals?"

  Nie Xiao Feng's eyes were filled with fear, and his head sank down a bit more.

  Qian hastily advised: "Lin Qiang, you've gone too far, who said anything about going to jail?"

  Lin Qiang slightly narrowed his eyes, and indeed it was this trick that he had already touched on Qian Cai's sore spot.

  "Huh?" Lin Qiang asked back in an instant, "I just asked the people from the Audit Office, this matter has already been reported to the State Council, without a doubt, it has escalated to the level of serious criminal financial crime, almost certainly... no, absolutely certain that someone will go to jail, whether it's 5 years, 10 years or 20 years, depends on their own luck."

  "Director Lin..." Nie Xiao Feng trembled as he lifted his head, "Is what you're saying true?"