Chapter 69 Zhao QingSheng’s Conspiracy

Chapter 69: Chapter 69 Zhao QingSheng’s ConspiracySu Yiyi had left, and Li Yifei didn’t feel much attachment, just a nice memory—the thought of holding such a girl for a night was indeed worth savoring.

Just past eight in the morning, trucks loaded with goods arrived, and the warehouse workers arranged for unloading, counting, and registering methodically, requiring no extra effort from Li Yifei.

As the manager, he was also in charge of the warehouse, so at this time, he didn’t need to do anything but idle chat with the purchasing department staff that came over.

It took an entire day for all the goods to be properly stored, and everything seemed perfectly normal without any issues.

In the following three days, there wasn’t any special activity at the warehouse, just receiving and dispatching goods, which kept them quite busy. If Li Yifei hadn’t remembered that it was Zhao Qingsheng who had arranged for him to be here, he wouldn’t have thought anything of it.

However, on the fifth day, when there was basically nothing to do, several warehouse workers suggested they should have a good drink that evening as the next day was Sunday—there would be no incoming or outgoing goods, and they had all been busy throughout the week, so it was time to relax.

Li Yifei quickly agreed, but instead of taking everyone out, he bought some drinks and dishes and let everyone have a great time drinking in the warehouse’s canteen.

During the meal, many toasted to Li Yifei, especially two of the loaders who were particularly enthusiastic, not only toasting Li Yifei themselves repeatedly but also encouraging others to do the same.

Drinking can get rowdy, which is normal, but Li Yifei noticed something odd in the exchange of glances between the two men—it seemed they were deliberately trying to get him drunk.

Li Yifei could actually hold his liquor very well—a full bottle of white spirit wasn’t usually a problem for him. However, after six or seven shots, he pretended to be utterly drunk and, supported by Dong Chenghuai, staggered back to his room, collapsing into a deep sleep on the bed.

Later that night, after one in the morning, when everyone in the warehouse was sound asleep, two individuals sneakily made their way to the main gate, cautiously opened it, and then tiptoed back to their dormitory.

Once the gate was opened, four people slipped into the warehouse and headed straight for one of the storerooms; they pried open the storeroom door and began moving items around inside.

The warehouse contained electronic components that, despite not being large in quantity, were very valuable. A few small boxes were worth tens of thousands, and the four individuals swiftly carried out two boxes each before quietly making their way out.

The following day, the entire logistics department suddenly arrived at the warehouse where Li Yifei was. There was not only General Zheng, Zheng Xiuqin the manager, but also Vice-president Zhao Qingsheng, along with Michelle, Zheng Yajuan, and Li Zhisheng—all had come.

Seeing these people, Li Yifei was immediately surprised and greeted them, "General Zheng, what brings you here?"

Zheng Xiuqin nodded and said, "I’ve come to see how you’re doing at work. After all, you are from our logistics department; we can’t afford any mistakes. Besides, everyone’s here to see you."

Li Yifei quickly expressed his appreciation, "General Zheng, things are going well here, please come in."

In Li Yifei’s office, he invited everyone to sit down and poured water for them. Michelle, upon receiving water from Li Yifei, even gave him a smile. In the company, their relationship was the best, so naturally, she was more familiar with him than the others.

After briefly inquiring about his work, Zheng Xiuqin turned to Michelle and said, "Michelle, could you please check the inventory? Even though Little Li from our department is here, we still need to be thorough to avoid criticism from other departments that we’re not serious about our work and only look after our own."

Michelle agreed and left. Li Yifei felt a warm sensation inside; despite Zheng Xiuqin’s usual sternness, she truly regarded the logistics department as a family and was indeed a good leader.

At that moment, Zhao Qingsheng stood up and said, "I’ll help Michelle, so we can finish faster." He then followed her out.

Zhao Qingsheng wasn’t there to take advantage of Michelle today; in a warehouse busy with many watchful eyes, he couldn’t make a move. He followed her, wary that Michelle might protect Li Yifei, concealing things that should be reported.

"Michelle, you have to be serious about your work. Don’t let your relationship with Li Yifei affect your judgement," Zhao Qingsheng caught up with Michelle and deliberately used a leadership tone to remind her.

Michelle despised Zhao Qingsheng the most but dared not offend him at the moment, managing only a smile as she responded, "Thank you for the reminder, Vice-president Zhao."

They started with Warehouse One and Two, where there were many goods. Michelle was usually very meticulous, but Zhao Qingsheng kept urging her to hurry. However, when they reached Warehouse Three, which contained the electronic components, Zhao Qingsheng uncharacteristically slowed down.

Noticing Michelle’s confusion, Zhao Qingsheng quickly cleared his throat and said, "The goods in those warehouses are enormous in size. Each item weighs over a ton, and without machinery, it’s almost impossible for them to be stolen. But electronic components are easy to take—an individual could carry away two boxes, and their value is extremely high, which is why we must inspect them very carefully."

Michelle nodded in agreement, having always been diligent about checking this type of merchandise even without Zhao Qingsheng’s admonitions.

Standing aside with his arms folded, Zhao Qingsheng watched Michelle intently, waiting for the moment she finished counting. He anticipated she would be panicked, then he could seize the opportunity to accuse and expel Li Yifei from the company. After that, who would dare to interfere with his designs on Michelle?

"General Zhao, I have finished the count." To everyone’s surprise, Michelle finished counting and was ready to leave with a calm expression on her face.

"Finished? Is it correct?" Zhao QingSheng immediately asked in astonishment.

Michelle, holding the list, said, "Correct, look, the inventory count here completely matches the actual amount."

Zhao QingSheng frowned and said, "That can’t be right; I feel like there are some missing from this amount. Count it again."

Michelle was somewhat displeased. She always took her counting very seriously, and Zhao QingSheng’s words clearly doubted her work. But since he was the Vice-president, she had no choice but to swallow her anger and count again. Then she said, "This is clearly correct."

"Impossible! There are clearly eight boxes missing," Zhao QingSheng shouted loudly.

"Where is the shortage? If you don’t believe it, General Zhao, count them yourself," Michelle retorted, also getting angry.

At this point, Zhao QingSheng was no longer concerned with Michelle’s tone. He carefully recounted the boxes himself, and to his great surprise, not a single box was missing. He had definitely arranged for someone to steal eight boxes of electronic components last night, and they had even called him after the theft. So why was there no shortage now?

"I’ve got it, there must be empty boxes here, yes, there must be!" Zhao QingSheng exclaimed as if he had figured it out, then smugly added, "Go and call General Zheng over. I want to expose Li Yifei’s trickery in public. He thinks he can get away with missing goods by placing a few empty boxes?"

Michelle frowned; she didn’t believe for a second that Li Yifei would do such a thing. She ran back to call Zheng Xiuqin and others, somewhat indignant as she said, "General Zheng, I’ve counted twice, not a single box is missing, but General Zhao insists there are empty boxes and wants to open them to check. He’s clearly making things difficult for no reason."

Zheng Xiuqin frowned, she too disliked Zhao QingSheng, but due to the higher-ups, she couldn’t do much to him. However, if Zhao QingSheng were to disrupt the department’s work without reason, she wouldn’t stand for it.

But Zheng Xiuqin was a very cautious person, she turned to Li Yifei and asked, "Little Li, there’s no problem here, right?"

Li Yifei smiled faintly and said, "Don’t worry, General Zheng. I wouldn’t let our logistics department lose face."

Zheng Xiuqin nodded. If Li Yifei was still so calm in the face of such a request from Zhao QingSheng, it seemed likely that there was no issue. But Zhao QingSheng’s judgment made people suspicious.

Inside the warehouse, Zhao QingSheng was giving orders to two workers who were moving boxes around— the same two who had insisted on getting Li Yifei drunk last night.

"General Zheng, I suspect there are empty boxes here, and we’re in the process of opening them to check."

Zheng Xiuqin frowned and said, "Is your attitude of unfounded suspicion towards your colleagues appropriate?"

Zhao QingSheng immediately responded, "General Zheng, this isn’t unfounded suspicion at all. There are definitely empty boxes here. If you don’t believe it, ask these two workers."

General Zheng turned to the two workers, who at that moment glanced at Li Yifei with a touch of guilt, then nodded and said, "Today, we felt that the arrangement of the boxes was different from yesterday, so... there must be a problem."

The behavior of the two workers caused everyone to immediately look at Li Yifei, who still wore an expression of tranquility.

Zhao QingSheng saw how calm Li Yifei was and sneered inwardly, "You little punk, so good at pretending. If I hadn’t known already that stuff was missing here, you might actually have fooled me."

Zheng Xiuqin frowned and said, "Then let’s check carefully to see if anything is actually missing."

Zhao QingSheng quickly emphasized, "We have to be thorough. Don’t think just because the weight seems about right, there must be something inside—there could be stones or something meant to deceive us."

After saying this, Zhao QingSheng again looked at Li Yifei, whose face now betrayed an undeniable tension. This made Zhao QingSheng inwardly triumphant, convinced that he had finally pierced through Li Yifei’s ruse. He praised his own cleverness, for without it, he might indeed have been easily fooled.

Michelle was visibly nervous. She trusted Li Yifei and felt sure that Zhao QingSheng was up to something. She gently tugged at Li Yifei’s arm and whispered, "What do we do?"

Li Yifei winked at Michelle, leaned closer, and whispered back, "Don’t worry, it’s all right."

Being so close to Michelle, Li Yifei couldn’t help but admire internally—her skin was indeed as soft and white as snow. Her name was indeed apt.

Seeing Li Yifei’s assurance, Michelle breathed a sigh of relief, but suddenly realized how close she was to him. Her fair face flushed, and she subtly moved a step away, maintaining a little distance from Li Yifei.