The New Ledger

Gao Xiaoqin was stunned for a moment. "I know about the dinner that Director Qi organized last time, but did Director Qi mention owning shares in Shanshui Manor?"

"Mr. Gao, you're a smart man. If we didn't have solid evidence, we wouldn't have brought you here, would we?"

"Director Hou, Shanshui Manor embezzled state assets. General Manager Zhao has been arrested. I knew I couldn't escape either. Even if you don't come to arrest me, I'm prepared to turn myself in."

Hou Liangping frowned slightly, tapped the table lightly with his pen, and said calmly, "President Gao, I'm referring to your collusion with Qi Tongwei to make money in Handong. Don't you have anything to say about that?"

"Director Hou, you think I colluded with Director Qi to make money in Handong? What makes you think that?" General Manager Gao crossed his legs and laughed, "I admit I made money, but Director Qi is in a high position and wants a better future. He wouldn't even look at our stinking cash!"

"President Gao won't shed a tear until she sees the coffin," Hou Liangping said sternly, taking out an account book from the side and showing it to Gao Xiaofeng. "We've found Liu Qingzhu's account book, which contains invoices for bribes made by Shanshui Manor to Qi Tongwei!"

"Mr. Gao, even now, are you still not prepared to speak?"

To Hou Liangping's surprise, Gao Xiaoqin remained completely calm. Seeing the ledger in Hou Liangping's hand, she suddenly smiled and said, "Director Hou, what a coincidence! I have another ledger belonging to Liu Qingzhu, the finance manager of Shanshui Manor. Would you be interested in taking a look?"

"Where is the other one?"

"Before they arrested me, I handed me over to Director Lu Yike. She should have already gone to have the handwriting authenticated!"

Looking at Gao Xiaoqin's calm demeanor, Hou Liangping had a bad feeling for some reason, and this feeling was getting stronger and stronger!

Hou Liangping suppressed his irritation, tapped the ledger in his hand, and said, "President Gao, the handwriting in the ledger I have has been verified. It is indeed written by Liu Qingzhu, the accountant of Shanshui Manor. So what if we have another ledger?"

"Director Hou, don't be naive!" Gao Xiaoqin rolled her eyes at Hou Liangping and explained, "Shanshui Manor has a lot of gray income, things that can't be brought to light, like Chen Qingquan, the vice president of the Jingzhou Intermediate People's Court, learning foreign languages, that kind of thing."

"So Liu Qingzhu, the finance manager, kept many ledgers, some for gray income, some for legitimate business income, and one for outsiders to see, this..."

"Wait a minute!" Hou Liangping seized on the loophole in Gao Xiaoqin's words and immediately interrupted, "Since you already have accounting books for legitimate business revenue, what do you mean by accounting books you're showing to outsiders?"

"Accounts shown to outsiders are naturally just for show, a way to intimidate others..." Gao Xiaofeng gestured towards him with her lip. "Director Hou, the account books you have are the ones our Shanshui Manor shows to outsiders!"

"You wouldn't believe it, but when Shanshui Manor was first established, both the legitimate and criminal elements caused us a lot of trouble. But when we produced this falsified ledger, they all slunk away, saving us a lot of trouble!"

"I see..." Hou Liangping's eyes were deep as he casually asked, "Does our Director Qi know about this 'for outsiders' ledger?"

Gao Xiaofeng was amused. "Director Hou is really joking. How could we let Director Qi know about this? Although Director Qi and our boss Zhao Ruilong have a good relationship and he often helps us with business, he is an official and we are ordinary citizens. We are not on the same side after all."

At that moment, there was a knock on the interrogation room door, and Hou Liangping got up and went out.

Holding an account book, Lu Yike said with a grim face, "Director Hou, the handwriting analysis results for this account book are in. It was indeed written by Liu Qingzhu, the finance manager of Shanshui Group!"

Hou Liangping flipped through the ledgers that Lu Yike had brought over, and as expected, they were all income statements from the Shanshui Group's operations!

At this moment, Hou Liangping had a terrible headache. Although it was normal for a company to have several ledgers, this meant that the ledger he had in his hands was just a piece of waste paper!

After all, the person who created the two ledgers, Liu Qingzhu, the finance manager of Shanshui Group, is dead. Who can testify which of the two ledgers is real and which is fake?

Suddenly, Hou Liangping shouted, "What? Zhao Ruilong has already confessed?"

"Okay, you guys continue the interrogation. I'll be right there when I'm done here!"

After saying that, to Lu Yike's bewildered gaze, Hou Liangping returned to the interrogation room and sat in the presiding judge's seat, laughing, "President Gao, I gave you a chance, but you didn't seize it. Zhao Ruilong has already confessed beforehand; you have no chance!"

Hou Liangping capped his pen, put away his notebook, and shook his head, jokingly saying, "What a pity. It wasn't a big problem. As long as he cooperated and explained the issues, he could have been released quickly. What a pity..."

Seeing that Hou Liangping was really about to leave, Gao Xiaoqin laughed and said, "Director Hou, it's a waste of your artistic talent if you don't go into acting. You shouldn't act here anymore. Even if General Manager Zhao is giving you instructions, you can't just lie through your teeth."

Hou Liangping, who was about to leave, paused, then smiled and sat back down in the presiding judge's seat. "General Manager Gao is indeed worthy of being called Sister Qing of Handong. Nothing can be hidden from General Manager Gao."

Changing the subject, Hou Liangping said meaningfully, "If General Manager Gao is unwilling to discuss Qi Tongwei's issues, then let's talk about Secretary Yu Liang instead..."

"Director Hou, it's not that I'm unwilling to talk about Director Qi's problems, it's just that I really don't know what problems Director Qi has."

"As for Secretary Yuliang, I know even less about him. After all, since the establishment of Shanshui Manor, Secretary Yuliang has only visited a handful of times."

Suddenly, Gao Xiaoqin seemed to remember something, and stared at Hou Liangping with a smile, "Director Hou, Secretary Yuliang is your teacher. Secretary Yuliang, you shouldn't be asking me. You should know best, shouldn't you?"

Hou Liangping's smile widened as he said, "President Gao, even if I were Secretary Yuliang's student, I couldn't possibly understand Secretary Yuliang as well as you do, could I?"

"Director Hou, what do you mean by that? I don't understand."

"President Gao, do I need to be even more blunt?" Hou Liangping leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Gao Xiaoqin, as if trying to read her mind: "Secretary Yuliang divorced Teacher Wu six years ago and remarried!"

"You're the one who'll remarry!"

Gao Xiaoqin's eyes widened suddenly, and for the first time, panic appeared in them. Her chest heaved violently, and she opened her mouth but couldn't utter a single word.

Seeing Gao Xiaoqin's terrified expression, Hou Liangping packed his things and headed for the door. "President Gao, think it over carefully. We have far more evidence than you think. Even if you don't talk, we can still convict you!"

Hou Liangping is really gone this time!

Upon exiting the door, Ji Changming, the chief prosecutor of the provincial procuratorate, was already waiting outside, his brows furrowed. He said, "These interrogations have made it clear that both Zhao Ruilong and Gao Xiaoqin seem to be in cahoots, determined to protect Qi Tongwei at all costs. This is troublesome!"

Lu Yike reminded him, "But we only have three days. In three days, the news of Qi Tongwei receiving the First-Class Merit Medal will be made public. At that time, Qi Tongwei will be hailed as a 'People's Hero' and a 'Model Police Officer,' and even if evidence is found, he won't be able to be touched for a while!"

"What do we do now?"

Hou Liangping suddenly remembered something, "Actually, we have one more person!"

"Chen Qingquan!"

"Chen Qingquan played a crucial role in the Dafeng Factory case, and he must know something. Lu Yike, arrange for Chen Qingquan to be interrogated immediately!"

……

A dozen minutes later, the thin Chen Qingquan walked into the interrogation room. He looked at Hou Liangping, the director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and Lu Yike, the director of the First Division of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, in the presiding position, with a somewhat surprised expression.

"Director Hou, Section Chief Lu, are you here to ask me about learning a foreign language?"