The director emphasized, "We truly won't have any issues!"
Shen Qingqing reassured him, "Don't worry, I'm not from quality control, nor am I here to inspect. I just have a question and came to investigate."
"What do you need to investigate?"
"You don't need to ask, it ultimately has nothing to do with you." If you weren't involved.
Hearing this, the director finally felt at ease.
Afterward, Shen Qingqing left with the items and handed them to King, asking him to take them for testing. King's efficiency was high, and the test results were out in less than an hour.
There were indeed residual traces of that substance, but very little. If more time had passed, it wouldn't have been detectable.
King returned with the test report and asked only one question, "Who did it?"
Shen Qingqing glanced at the report and said, "You don't need to worry about this matter; I'll handle it myself. Also, remember not to let anyone else know."
King squinted at her, "Are you sure?"
"Of course!" Shen Qingqing put away the test report, called Fu Jingshu, and prepared to leave. King blocked her path. She felt helpless, "Move aside."
"Whoever could do this here must be no ordinary person. Are you sure you don't need my help?" King's anger flared at the thought of someone plotting against his apprentice; it was too difficult for him not to interfere. He even wanted to tear the mastermind to shreds!
Shen Qingqing, his apprentice, knew him too well. She patted his shoulder, "I'll handle this myself. Don't get involved. I can manage. I might need your help with other things later, so you should conserve your energy."
King gazed at her for a long time. Under her insistence, he still made way.
"Then be careful."
"Don't worry."
Shen Qingqing waved her hand.
The director's head pounded at the sight of the two of them again. He thought it was over, how did they return?
He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and forced a smile, "Why have you two come back? Did you forget something last time?"
Shen Qingqing said calmly, "I saw you have surveillance cameras here last time."
The director looked troubled, "That won't do. We have regulations; apart from the factory director, no one else can access the surveillance footage."
"Then where is your factory director?"
The director was speechless.
Shen Qingqing asked, puzzled, "Your factory director is gone, so why still adhere to the rules? And isn't this factory about to go bankrupt?"
The director was rendered speechless.
What she said made so much sense that he couldn't refute it.
"When I said I wanted to acquire the factory last time, I wasn't joking."
The director's eyes widened, "But the factory isn't doing well anymore. If you take it over, you'll likely lose money."
"Shouldn't you be happy that I'm taking it over?" Shen Qingqing was a little surprised.
"That's what you say..." The director scratched his cheek, "It's just that I can't bear to see you suffer losses. The factory isn't profitable anymore; I advise you to reconsider."
Shen Qingqing stared at him for a while, making the director's scalp tingle.
He kept wondering if his thoughts had been seen through.
"I don't care what you think, but I meant it when I said I wanted to take over the factory. Even if I don't, I'll have someone else manage it." It would be a pity if a factory that did manual weaving and dyeing were to disappear.
Pei Xi wasn't a good person, but he had good taste. This factory, for instance, was very good; it just didn't have a good director.
The director finally felt relieved. "Alright, I'll go and get the surveillance footage for you right away."
He then turned and scurried away.
Fu Jingshu said lightly, "He wants to use you."
From the very beginning, when he was blocking them from watching the surveillance.
Shen Qingqing chuckled, "I can understand. It's nothing more than seeking a better future for himself. I was planning to take over the factory anyway, so it's fine to give him a clear answer."
"You're just too soft-hearted."
Fu Jingshu looked at her, his eyes filled with a hint of helplessness. If it were him...
A cold glint flashed in his eyes.
Shen Qingqing smiled without saying a word.
Soon, the director returned. He copied ninety days of recent surveillance footage onto a USB drive and gleefully brought it back.
Shen Qingqing realized that this was too much footage. Relying only on her, Fu Jingshu, and the director, they wouldn't be able to watch it all. She needed to find someone to help.
Her gaze fell upon the workers.
It happened to be their break time. She stood at the doorway and observed, noticing that they didn't have much work left.
So, she asked the director to gather the resting workers and announced that the factory would soon have a new director.
Everyone was in an uproar, chattering amongst themselves.
Various gazes fell upon Shen Qingqing and Fu Jingshu.
Shen Qingqing stood with neither subservience nor arrogance. "Starting today, I am the director here. I hope everyone can work together with me to run the factory well."
The crowd exchanged glances.
Although the director had changed, the future seemed uncertain. However, as long as they could continue to stay at the factory, it was better than being unemployed, so everyone had no objections.
"Now, I will assign the first task."
Everyone looked puzzled.
"Help me review the surveillance footage. There are thirty days of footage. With over fifty people, watching it at double speed will be very quick."
Although the workers didn't understand the purpose of reviewing the footage, they complied.
The director's presence beside them to explain and pacify also helped.
Shen Qingqing had notebooks brought over, and she began editing. With each person dedicating a portion of their time, they successfully finished watching all the footage in less than three hours.
They indeed found a suspicious person.
Seven days ago, a batch of fabric was produced, specifically custom-made dresses. Besides the one she wore, there were several other styles.
However, just before the coloring process, someone stood by the dyeing vats in the dye room for a while.
His back was to the camera, so it was unclear what he was doing, but he was indeed fiddling near the dyeing vats for quite some time.
Soon, he turned around, still with his head bowed, but some of the workers recognized him.
"Isn't that Old Liu..."
Shen Qingqing immediately looked over, "Who is Old Liu?"
"He's an employee of our factory, but he hasn't been here for a few days. He took leave three days ago."
"Why?"
"He said he was sick, a cold, I think."
Shen Qingqing then looked at the director, "Find a way to call him here, but don't tip him off."
"Understood."
The director dismissed the other employees and immediately called Old Liu. Old Liu was reluctant to return, stating that he was quite ill.
The director cajoled him, saying that a new boss had arrived and he needed to come immediately. The boss wanted to take attendance, even if he was going to resign.
When Old Liu heard that a new boss had arrived, he hesitated for a moment before agreeing.
As soon as he arrived, he was detained.
Old Liu was a middle-aged man in his forties. The moment he entered the factory, he was confined. He panicked and blurted out, "What are you doing? I haven't done anything wrong, have I?"
"Old Liu, don't panic. We just have a few questions for you." The director stepped forward and pulled him to sit down, successfully calming his emotions.
Old Liu was still somewhat bewildered, "But why did you close the doors?"
Had that matter been exposed?
His heart began to race.
The director just smiled and didn't answer.