dognovel Chapter 1213: Severe Punishment
Chapter 1213: Severe Punishment
Zhou Fu said anxiously, "Who took it? Or who saw it taken it? Return it immediately, otherwise we'll really call the police, and what will we do then?"
The workers were all locals, even from the village itself, and naturally they didn't want their village chief to have a bad reputation. But they really didn't know, so they couldn't just make things up.
Shen Xuening looked at the forty or fifty workers in front of her. They were all elderly and had a tough job. She didn't want to push things too far, so she said, "I'll give you one day. As long as you return the tea, I can pretend nothing happened."
After she finished speaking, she said to Zhou Fu, "Come and see tomorrow. If the tea leaves are returned, we'll let this matter rest. If they aren't, then call the police immediately."
Seeing that Shen Xuening had shown leniency, Zhou Fu had no reason to refuse and quickly replied, "Yes, President Shen."
Shen Xuening left with a displeased expression.
After Shen Xuening had walked away, Zhou Fu quickly said, "I really want to tell you guys, why did you steal things? Don't you want such good jobs anymore?"
He raised his voice, "No matter who took it, return the tea by this time tomorrow. If you don't, don't blame me for being ruthless."
He waved his hand and said, "Go back to work. This whole mess is so annoying."
After saying that, he stormed off.
The workers looked at each other, sighed helplessly, and hurried off to their work.
……
It's 6 PM, time to leave work.
As usual, Niu Fen put her tools aside, washed her hands, and then took her water bottle and other items home.
Working in the tea garden is great. Except for the busy tea picking season, it's fine most of the time. The salary is higher than in other places, enough to support a family. Plus, there are bonuses for good performance, which is something other jobs can't offer. She likes it very much and therefore cherishes it.
Niu Fen gets off work at this time every day, and goes straight home to cook for her family.
She has a son and a daughter. Her son is not very successful, but her daughter is very good. She is already married and now works at Xifulai, where she earns a very good salary.
As for this son, he was ambitious and always wanted to start his own business, dreaming of becoming rich and making a fortune. However, he started his business countless times, and each time he failed.
Running a breakfast shop is too tiring, setting up a stall is too embarrassing, and opening a shop results in too much loss... In short, every startup has its own failures.
Niu Fen sighed whenever she mentioned her son, but there was nothing she could do about it now.
Back home, Niu Fen immediately smelled the aroma of tea, which made her pause. The aroma was so familiar... Could it be...? At this thought, her heart sank. Could it be that her son had stolen the tea leaves?
Yes, yesterday my son suddenly said he would take her to work, but he disappeared after we got to the tea plantation.
Thinking of this, Niu Fen was terrified. That tea was worth ten thousand yuan a box: "Boss, what kind of tea are you drinking?"
Inside the main room, Niu Fen's son and two friends were playing cards. Each of them had a cup of tea beside them, and the rich, mellow aroma of the tea emanated from those cups. Only tea from their tea garden could smell so fragrant, and it could be detected from a great distance.
Niu Fen was furious: "Did you steal the tea leaves?"
"Mom, what are you saying? When did I steal tea leaves? I bought them myself." Niu Fen's son was very concerned about his image, and he immediately became anxious when he heard his mother say this.
“Where would you get the money to buy that kind of tea? That tea costs ten thousand yuan a pound, is that something you can afford?” Niu Fen pointed at the teacup and questioned loudly.
“You’re really looking down on me. So what if it’s 10,000 yuan a pound? I can afford it,” Niu Fen’s son retorted, sticking his neck out.
"Where did you get the money? Your pockets are emptier than your face, where did you get the money?" Niu Fen naturally didn't believe her son's words. Her son couldn't possibly carry any money in his pockets. If he had 10,000 yuan, she would know how smug he would be. She would definitely find out.
A friend said, "Auntie, don't get agitated. It's just a cup of tea. How can you not afford it? And you even said your son stole it. How can you talk about your own son like that?"
Niu Fen was already convinced that her son had stolen the tea leaves, so she was also dissatisfied with her two sons' friends: "Were you two involved in this?"
My friend quickly said, "Don't talk nonsense. Your son invited us here, saying he would have good tea for us."
Niu Fen urged them to leave, saying, "You guys go first, I need to talk to my son about something!"
"Mom, they're all my friends," Niu Fen's son said angrily. "You come home from work and start yelling at people. Is this how a mother behaves? And now you're taking it out on my friends. That's so wrong of you!"
"You think I want to control you?" Niu Fen said emotionally. "If you don't return the tea by tomorrow, President Shen will call the police. Stealing property worth 10,000 yuan will land you in jail."
Upon hearing this, the two friends panicked: "You should talk to your mother properly first, we're leaving now." After saying this hastily, the two ran off.
Upon seeing this, Niu Fen's son cursed, "You ungrateful wretch!"
Niu Fen scolded, "You're really incompetent. I told you to work hard, and now look what you've done! You've gone to steal things! Do you really want to go to jail?"
Niu Fen's son didn't want his mother to reveal what had happened, so he softened his voice and said, "Mom, it's not that serious. It's just a box of tea. Nobody knows I took it."
"You really took it! You really took it!!" Niu Fen was furious. "How could you steal something?"
"Mom, don't be so angry. Nobody knows I took it. Really nobody knows. Otherwise, why didn't anyone come forward?" Niu Fen's son comforted her.
Niu Fen warned, "You should return the tea leaves immediately, apologize to President Shen, and settle this matter."
Niu Fen's son said, "No, no one knows I took it. If I go back, won't everyone know? Wouldn't I be shameless?"
“If you had any shame, why would you steal?” Niu Fen said firmly. “There’s no room for negotiation. Return it immediately and apologize to President Shen.”
"I'm not going, I absolutely won't go, Mom, don't make a sound, you won't be able to find me." Niu Fen's son was very confident.
Niu Fen retorted, "If you're really that good, you should have kept everyone from knowing that tea leaves were missing! Now that the owner has discovered the tea leaves are missing and is preparing to call the police, instead of trying to get their forgiveness, you're trying to get away with it? What's wrong with your brain?"
Niu Fen's son said defiantly, "Mom, I told you no one would know I took it."
Niu Fen advised, "Do you know that if it's discovered you took it, you'll go to jail? Then everyone will know you're in jail for theft. Don't you have any shame?"
Niu Fen's son was unhappy: "I told you, no one will find out that I took it, Mom. Don't worry, at worst you can just quit working there."
Niu Fen earnestly advised, "Son, I'm doing this for your own good. Don't make the same mistake again, or the consequences will be severe."
Seeing that his mother was unmoved by his words, Niu Fen's son said, "Alright, alright, I know. I'll return the tea tonight."
Niu Fen breathed a sigh of relief: "Really?"
Niu Fen's son nodded firmly: "Really."
Niu Fen repeatedly urged, "You must return it. Once you return it, everything will be fine."
Niu Fen's son quickly nodded: "Mom, I understand."
……
The following afternoon, Shen Xuening called Zhou Fu: "Has the tea been returned?"
Zhou Fu looked distressed and replied apologetically, "President Shen, I'm sorry, I failed in my duty. The tea leaves were not returned."
Shen Xuening said bluntly, "Let's call the police and say that someone stole our valuable tea, worth 100,000 yuan."
Zhou Fu asked in surprise, "Isn't it...isn't it ten thousand?"
"I say how many to sell, and that's how many. We have to make an example of them, otherwise how will we manage in the future?" Shen Xuening didn't dare to be careless at all. What she needed to guard against most was theft. If others found out that theft went unpunished, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Zhou Fu took a deep breath: "Understood, President Shen."
Shen Xuening instructed: "This matter can be blown out of proportion, especially the outcome of reporting it to the police, and it must be dealt with severely."
Zhou Fuying replied, "Understood, President Shen."
Shen Xuening said, "Notify me immediately after you catch the thief."
Zhou Fu said, "Yes, President Shen."
Shen Xuening hung up the phone and started thinking. Who was so bold? The thief from before hadn't even been released from jail yet, and now another one had come along. It was like daring to mess with the powerful!
……
The police officers were quite efficient. After all, Shen Xuening had brought them so many benefits, and now that she was in trouble, they couldn't be "inefficient."
Niu Fen's son was caught in less than a day.
When Niu Fen's son was caught, he was playing cards in a teahouse in the market. With so many people around, the police publicly announced that he had stolen something and then took him away. It was like stripping off his fig leaf in public, making him extremely embarrassed.
After apprehending the man, Zhou Fu went to the police station to handle the matter, and then reported the situation to Shen Xuening: "President Shen, the matter has been investigated and clarified, and the reasons are as follows..."
He explained the matter to Shen Xuening in detail.
Shen Xuening did not speak immediately after hearing this...
Zhou Fu wanted to make amends for his mistake, so he said, "President Shen, I've had the surveillance cameras installed. This won't happen again." He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "President Shen, what about Niu Fen?"
Shen Xuening then spoke up: "Ask her if she asked her son to return the things. If he did, let her continue working. If not, fire her."
Zhou Fuying replied, "Understood, Mr. Shen."
Shen Xuening instructed: "Strengthen management in the future to prevent similar incidents from happening again."
Zhou Fu said apologetically, "I understand, President Shen."
……
News of Niu Fen's son stealing quickly spread throughout the neighborhood...
"What kind of crazy person would steal from President Shen? Don't they know her security system is state-of-the-art?"
"If you can't afford to buy it, you can ask President Shen for some. President Shen is generous and will give it to you. Why would you steal it!"
"He deserved to be arrested; don't set a bad example for us!"
"Anyone who dares to steal tea worth 100,000 yuan should be arrested, preferably sentenced to a long term, so they don't ruin the feng shui of our area."
“Young people with hands and feet, instead of doing proper work, they run off to steal things. Now they’re getting their comeuppance.”
"..."
Opinions vary, but almost everyone wants to see the bad guys punished.
Shen Wenxu heard about the theft while he was still at school. His classmates would come over and ask him if it was true, showing both gossip and concern.
Even Tao Mian came to ask him after school, "Little cousin, is someone stealing your older cousin's things?"
Shen Wenxu asked in surprise, "You know everything too?"
Tao Mian and Shen Wenxu walked out of the school together: "I know, the whole school is talking about it. People in our junior high school were just talking about it."
Shen Wenxu sighed knowingly, "It's true what they say, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast."
Tao Mian smiled and said, "So that means it's true?"
Shen Wenxu confirmed Tao Mian's question: "It must be true, there's no smoke without fire." He looked at Tao Mian, "Why are you so concerned about this?"
Tao Mian explained, "It's not out of concern, it's out of curiosity. That person is going to be arrested and imprisoned, which is a very rare occurrence."
Shen Wenxu corrected: "We students should care about our studies."
"I know, I know. I care about my studies. I'm doing pretty well in my studies now, and I can also enjoy some gossip." Tao Mian's former hooliganism had faded, and he had become much more serious.
Shen Wenxu changed the subject: "You'll be taking the high school entrance exam next year, right?"
Tao Mian asked, puzzled, "Yes, what's wrong?"
Shen Wenxu nodded: "I hope you can get into a good high school."
Tao Mian is now very confident: "Definitely."
Shen Wenxu asked, "Are you going home or coming back with me?"
Tao Mian chuckled: "Can I sleep with you tonight?"
Shen Wenxu nodded: "Sure, I can sleep alone, there's nothing wrong with that."
“Then I’ll come to your place. Tomorrow’s Saturday, I’ll treat myself to a nice meal.” Tao Mian put his arm around Shen Wenxu’s shoulder. “It’s my treat, let’s eat together.”
Shen Wenxu gave a thumbs up: "He's a true friend."
……
The rumors subsided within a few days, the festive atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival faded away, the autumn atmosphere grew stronger, the maple leaves in the mountains gradually turned red, and more and more tourists came to admire the red maple leaves...
The trial period for the lotion has ended.
Shen Xuening personally met with ten lotion testers. Their skin was terrible when they came, but by the end of the trial, their skin was fair and smooth, and they were extremely satisfied with themselves, becoming the most loyal fans of the skincare product.
After seeing off the fans, a new round of face cream trials was put on the agenda.
The face cream was developed less than a week ago, but it's made entirely of traditional Chinese medicine ingredients. Even if it's not very effective, it won't harm your skin or your body, so you can try it with confidence.
Now all the women in the factory are using the factory's skincare products, and their skin is all amazing; they've become die-hard fans.
These tasks are handled by dedicated staff; Shen Xuening only needs to listen to work reports.
Within two days, everything was arranged, and the face cream trial officially began.