Having achieved financial freedom, I reorganized my workplace.

Chapter 13 A Minor Compared to a Major

Tang Yuwei has been working at the Balu Water Supply Station for two months.

Lin Chen initially thought this girl was delicate and wouldn't be able to handle much, but her adaptability was surprisingly good. Most importantly, she had a positive attitude, was willing to learn and work hard, and was open to training; she was a promising talent.

Seeing her enthusiasm, Lin Chen entrusted her with managing the office's warehouse. The girl was indeed very responsible, cleaning and tidying up every day, and keeping a clear record of the materials and tools used by the workers.

People started calling her the housekeeper.

To everyone's surprise, Tang Yuwei came running in early that morning with red eyes: "Class monitor, the warehouse has been robbed!"

Lin Chen didn't even lift his eyelids: "What's missing?"

"More than fifty meters of abandoned high-pressure copper water pipe and more than ten scrapped electricity meters were just put into storage yesterday."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow. The most valuable items in the warehouse were the variable frequency high-pressure water pump and precision instruments, but none of those were touched. They were only stealing water pipes and electricity meters, and they were all scrap. Interesting.

"Is the warehouse locked? Is the door okay?"

"It's locked, and the door is intact."

Who was on duty last night?

"Monkey and Brother Chao."

Liang Wenchao was a habitual offender, greedy for small gains, but at most he would steal laundry detergent, oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar; he generally wouldn't dare to steal company supplies.

The monkey, however, was a tough character. When he went to the countryside, he stole a villager's chicken and was chased for nine blocks; he also stole sugarcane from the field and was reported to the police station.

Having worked in Balu for ten years, Lin Chen knew these people inside and out.

It seems to be a group crime.

"Go and call the monkey here."

The monkey came in with a long face: "The class monitor wants to see me?"

"Did you notice anything suspicious while on duty last night? Did you hear anything?"

"No, I go to bed early, without fail."

"Really? What happened to the warehouse?"

"How would I know? I didn't steal it." The monkey's eyes gleamed.

Lin Chen laughed: "Did I tell you the warehouse was robbed? How do you know the stuff is gone?" What a big idiot, you think you can steal things?

The monkey was speechless for a moment: "I just heard it from Tang Yuwei."

"Fei Chao has already confessed, so there's no use in you trying to deny it anymore. He said you took it."

"Damn it, you piece of trash! He steals laundry detergent and toilet paper every day, why are you blaming me? It's clearly that son of a bitch who steals!"

Tang Yuwei stood aside, watching Lin Chen get the two of them into a fight with just a few words, and secretly admired him.

Lin Chen understood the situation. He sent the monkey out and had Tang Yuwei call Liang Wenchao in, intending to take them down one by one.

"Squad leader, what's wrong?" Liang Wenchao's eyes darted around.

"How much did you sell the copper water meter in the warehouse for?"

"What do you mean, how much money? I don't know!" Liang Wenchao pretended to be clueless.

Lin Chen snapped, "Still not going to talk? Monkey has already confessed. You smuggled company supplies out to sell last night, and the security cameras at the entrance caught it. Do you want to quit? Or do you want to go to jail?"

Liang Wenchao panicked immediately: "Squad leader, it was... it was Monkey who instigated it, saying that if we don't sell it, we'll be rich, so we sold it for a few hundred yuan..." He completely forgot that the surveillance camera at the entrance had been broken for three years, and the director said that even if he had the money, he wouldn't fix it because people would know that he wasn't coming back to work.

These two are truly a pair of brilliant minds.

Lin Chen called both of them in.

"Well, you've really gotten bold," Lin Chen sneered. "Taking advantage of others is one thing, but now you're even reselling company supplies. Do you know what kind of business this is? You'll be out of work in a minute, and if you call the police, you'll go to jail."

The monkey protested, "Squad leader, it's just some junk material. There's no need for this! We don't take it during our shift, but Black Dog and Dead Cat still take it when they're on duty!"

And they even argued their case convincingly.

Liang Wenchao muttered to himself, "Yeah, if others take it and we don't, aren't we losing out big time?"

Damn it, Lin Chen was speechless for a moment. In this distorted company, "not taking it is a loss" has become the common mentality. Mrs. Lin understands these people's mentality. Saying more is a waste of breath.

"It's one thing for you to sell the water pipes, but those water meters each have a serial number and need to go through the disposal process. The company is supposed to recycle them. How am I supposed to explain this to you? Why don't you ask the station chief to handle it?"

"No, no, no! Squad leader, we'll go and redeem the water meter!" Liang Wenchao quickly begged for mercy. He was rather timid, after all, he was the only breadwinner in his family, and losing his job would be disastrous.

Lin Chen pondered for a moment: "If we get the water meters back today, then we'll call it even."

"Yes, yes, thank you, class monitor!" Liang Wenchao nodded.

"What about the money from selling the copper pipes?" the monkey asked.

Lin Chen: "I don't know about this."

Monkey: "Squad leader, you're not going to tell the director, are you?"

Lin Chen: "I know what I should and shouldn't say. Do you want me to tell the director?"

The monkey chuckled, "Thanks, class monitor," and scurried off.

Tang Yuwei watched in disbelief: "Class monitor, that's it?"

"What else?" Lin Chen shrugged.

"This is misappropriation of company property, shouldn't it be reported?" Tang Yuwei really didn't understand.

"It's been reported that they lost their jobs, and the office is short-staffed. Are you going to take over their work?"

Tang Yuwei waved her hand: "No, we can't just condone this. We should at least talk to the director."

Lin Chen wanted to say that talking to the director would be pointless, it would just be a muddling through, but he didn't say it. In the end, he said, "It's no use. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Just teach them a lesson. Keep a close eye on the warehouse from now on."

Tang Yuwei left, her face full of confusion.

In the afternoon, Monkey and Liang Wenchao indeed got the water meter back.

Just before the end of the workday, the county company had someone deliver a new batch of daily necessities, including gloves, raincoats, tissues, laundry detergent, flashlights, and other daily items. These were items that Lin Chen had planned to buy in the first half of the year, so he asked Tang Yuwei to take the receipt and sign for it.

Not long after, Tang Yuwei returned crying: "Class monitor, the items and the quantity are completely wrong, I can't sign for them."

Lin Chen asked again, "What's wrong?"

Tang Yuwei: "Nothing is right. For example, we ordered 50 gloves, but they only gave us 25. We ordered 30 rolls of tissues, but they only gave us 10 rolls. And what's even more outrageous is that we ordered laundry detergent, but they sent us cheap laundry powder, which is half the price."

Lin Chen calmly sipped his tea: "Sign it. There's nothing wrong with it; everything you need is there."

The goods were not as described, and the quantity was halved, which was reasonable; Lin Chen was already used to it.

This time at least it has everything it should have, so it's not too bad.

"Class monitor, are you out of your mind? You call this right?" Tang Yuwei couldn't believe it; she was speechless.

Lin Chen took a deep breath: "That's just how this lousy company is. It's good enough that they give you anything. Use whatever they have first. If you don't want it, then you won't get anything. Don't worry about it."

Tang Yuwei's eyes widened: "But where did the missing quantity go?"

"I wouldn't know then." Lin Chen shrugged. "Maybe in some parallel universe, or maybe in someone's pocket. Anyway, it definitely won't be wasted, don't worry."

Tang Yuwei seemed to understand but not quite: "Should we tell the director?"

"Check who signed the delivery order."

Tang Yuwei looked down and saw Director Lin Kaidong's name prominently displayed in the approval column, and suddenly she understood.

"No, class monitor, is it always like this?" She stammered.

Lin Chen: "Pretty much, but I'm not stupid. When submitting plans, I double the actual demand. Want fifty gloves? Submit one hundred. Want thirty rolls of tissues? Submit sixty rolls. Cutting it in half like that, it's just enough."

Tang Yuwei was dumbfounded.

At Xinhai Group Water Company, submitting plans is a performance art. If you want apples, you have to get a truckload of bananas first, and in the end, you have to be grateful for the two oranges you get.

Tang Yuwei stood at the warehouse entrance, looking at the "shrunken" supplies, and suddenly smiled. She finally understood why Lin Chen always turned a blind eye to the monkey and Liang Wenchao taking away some small items.

Compared to the operations mentioned above, the petty thefts by the masters are nothing but a drop in the ocean.