063 The Fox Shows Its Tail

Could everything just now have been an act?!
A performance put on entirely for my benefit?!
A sudden realization dawned on Fang Qingye.
Yet, he kept his expression completely neutral as he followed Duan Jianming into the administration building.

Upon entering a meeting room, Fang Qingye found Zhang Chunli and Chen Mei'mei and asked, "Did you notice any irregularities?"
Chen Mei'mei shook her head.
Zhang Chunli chimed in, "I didn't find anything here either." Then, turning to Duan Jianming with a smile, she added, "Mr. Duan, your company's financial records are kept with exceptional precision—far more standardized than those of some major corporations."
"That is only as it should be. We must never keep false accounts, and besides, standardized bookkeeping is a true reflection of a company's managerial competence," Duan Jianming replied.
"Oh, let me take a look," Fang Qingye said, his interest piqued.
He casually picked up a ledger and began flipping through the pages.

Indeed, it was meticulously maintained!
Every single sales transaction in the store was accompanied by a deposit card-swipe slip or a cash receipt, the delivery orders all bore corresponding order numbers, and the recipient column invariably featured an individual signature.
Fang Qingye randomly pulled out several slips to inspect them, discovering that the signatures on each one differed in handwriting, and the color and thickness of the ink varied as well.
All sales directed toward corporate clients were backed by formal contracts, with payments settled strictly via bank-to-bank corporate transfers. The transfer receipts were pristine, each one stamped with the watermark of the People's Bank of China.

It was remarkably orderly.
Even the records of Pioneer Stamping Co., Ltd. that he had reviewed yesterday were not this clear and standardized.
For an enterprise of this scale to maintain accounts this transparent and vouchers this immaculate was truly a rarity.

However, whenever something goes against the natural order of things, there is bound to be something demonic afoot!
Recalling the unusual cleanliness of the factory grounds he had witnessed earlier, coupled with that peculiar, cryptic smile on the face of Wang, the worker demanding his unpaid wages, Fang Qingye could not shake the feeling that something deeply suspicious was hidden beneath the surface.

"Director Fang, you've all worked hard. Let's head over to the conference room to rest and have some watermelon," Duan Jianming invited at that moment.
"No rush, I'd like to look around a bit more."
Fang Qingye continued inspecting the various financial vouchers.
Suddenly, he noticed among the transfer checks one issued by Shenzhen Tongda Trading Co., Ltd. to Athena Horticultural Technology Co., Ltd. for the sum of 2,800,000 yuan, drawn on the Yannan Branch of the Bank of Communications Co., Ltd.

A transfer from the Bank of Communications?
Including the Bank of Communications, the renowned Big Five state-owned banks, now joined by the Postal Savings Bank, constituted the Big Six state-owned banks. People habitually referred to them as Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank, and so on, rarely using their full official titles such as China Construction Bank or China Agricultural Bank.

The Bank of Communications had no branch established in Nanxin; the nearest one was located in the urban district of Jinghai, making it unfamiliar to most ordinary people.
Fang Qingye stared at this check bearing the name "Bank of Communications Co., Ltd." for a moment, a faint, knowing smile playing on his lips.
Damn it!
The fox's tail has finally shown itself!

Fang Qingye pulled out his Nokia phone and snapped a photo of the check, saving it to his device.
Noticing this sequence of actions, Duan Jianming's expression shifted slightly. Abruptly, he said, "Director Fang, I think that's quite enough, isn't it? Shall we sit down in my office? There are some matters I'd like to discuss with you in private."
"Oh?" A playful smirk touched the corners of Fang Qingye's mouth.
"Very well."

The two men left the office and proceeded to the third-floor room bearing the plaque of the chairman. Once inside, seeing Fang Qingye take a seat on the sofa, Duan Jianming locked the door securely behind them. Without a word, he opened a drawer of his executive desk, withdrew a bulging plastic bag, and placed it on the coffee table directly in front of Fang Qingye.
The bag was stuffed entirely with tightly bound bundles of renminbi banknotes!
Fang Qingye made a quick mental estimation: there was at least one hundred thousand yuan.

"Boss Duan, what is the meaning of this?" Fang Qingye asked, feigning incomprehension.
"Director Fang, you are an intelligent man, so let's speak plainly. As long as today's on-site inspection passes, all of this is yours."
"Boss Duan, what you are offering here is bribery. If I were to accept these one hundred thousand yuan, it would constitute the crime of accepting bribes. According to Article 385 of the Criminal Law, it carries a sentence of fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention... I imagine I'd be looking at about three years behind bars," Fang Qingye remarked calmly.
"Director Fang, you jest. Here, only heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know. As long as neither of us speaks of it, who else could possibly find out?" Duan Jianming pressed.
"Hehe, I happen to be a rather timid person. Who's to say whether there might be a hidden camera or a voice recorder somewhere in this office..." With that, Fang Qingye stood up. "Let's head back. Our inspection for today concludes right here. Goodbye."

With those words, Fang Qingye left the office and returned to the second floor where Zhang Chunli and the others were working. He instructed Zhang Chunli to make copies of that specific check along with the other vouchers related to that transaction and bring them along.

Once inside the car, Zhang Chunli could no longer restrain her curiosity. "Director Fang, there was something wrong with that check, but why couldn't I spot it?"
"Because we don't have a branch of the Bank of Communications here, and we rarely deal with them. Let's see what Director Xia has to say about it."
As he spoke, Fang Qingye attached the photo of the check he had just taken to a multimedia message and sent it to Xia He.

No sooner had Fang Qingye started the car and driven out of the technology park than his phone rang. Seeing that the call was from Xia He, he switched on the speakerphone, and her voice instantly filled the car.
"Assistant Fang, the check you sent me is blatantly fake! The full official name is Bank of Communications Co., Ltd., and the word 'China' does not appear at the beginning at all! This Athena Horticultural Technology Co., Ltd. has been keeping fraudulent books, and there are massive problems with their operations!"
"I know. We're already on our way back; we can discuss it at the office," Fang Qingye said before hanging up.

Zhang Chunli and Chen Mei'mei, both seated in the back, were left utterly dumbfounded. After a moment of silence, Zhang Chunli murmured, "Director Fang, thank goodness for you today, or we would have been completely fooled by that Boss Duan! I never would have guessed that the full name of the Bank of Communications doesn't include 'China', unlike all the other banks."
She continued muttering to herself in disbelief.

"You weren't aware of it, and neither were the people at their company, otherwise it truly would have passed for the real thing," Fang Qingye observed with a sigh.
Even he had not anticipated that Boss Duan would be audacious enough to forge a transfer check!
"Director Fang, you are truly brilliant. Nothing escapes your sharp eyes," Chen Mei'mei, who rarely offered compliments, said with a look of genuine admiration.

Heh...
Who else could boast of having spent over a decade working in investment banking during my past life, seeing and hearing it all?
Fang Qingye smiled faintly and remained silent.

Upon returning to the sub-branch, no sooner had Fang Qingye stepped into his office than Xia He knocked on the door and walked in. "Xiao Fang, what on earth is going on here?"
Fang Qingye briefly recounted the process of their on-site inspection at Athena Horticultural Technology Co., Ltd., including his initial suspicions.
However, he omitted any mention of Duan Jianming's attempt to bribe him.
A person should always leave room for maneuver; furthermore, following this incident, Duan Jianming and his Athena Horticultural company had been permanently blacklisted by the Oriental Bank, ensuring they would not be able to borrow a single cent in the foreseeable future.

"Xiao Fang, you certainly are meticulous!" A smile bloomed on Xia He's face as she added, "It seems our staff still require more training; such a basic piece of common knowledge—that the full name of the Bank of Communications lacks the word 'China'—went completely unnoticed."
"That's only natural. The Bank of Communications has no outlets in Nanxin, and virtually none of the enterprises we serve have exchange business originating from them, so not knowing is quite normal," Fang Qingye chuckled.
"You've worked hard. Take a rest for now, and we'll have a meeting this afternoon."
"What meeting?" Fang Qingye asked.
"The loan approval meeting, of course," Xia He replied.
"I'm not even a member of the loan approval committee, why would I attend?" Fang Qingye asked in confusion.
"Starting from now, you are! President Su and I discussed it and decided to have you join the approval committee as well!" Xia He said with a beaming smile.

This?
Didn't he manage without handling specific operational lending tasks?
Suddenly, Fang Qingye had the sinking sensation of having walked into a trap.

Two days after the loan application of Athena Horticultural Technology Co., Ltd. was rejected and returned by the Oriental Bank, word came that a group of people had forcefully broken into the company's premises and stripped it clean of anything of value—it turned out that Boss Duan had defaulted on a massive usurious loan...