The whole room fell into silence after Anzim had walked out; many didn't even know what to say. The market where the supplier sold from was very nearby, and everyone tried to hold their patience even when it seemed like it had taken ages to get to the supplier. Everyone kept looking at Mu Rong, whom they deemed their source of problems in that new month.
To have meetings was almost everyone's worst moments at the district offices as sometimes the outcomes were unpredictable.
Mu Rong sat in silence with nothing to hold herself on and couldn't do anything other than to keep quiet and stay reserved.
Mr. Bangwan and Lu Zheng, being calculative towards the time they had wanted to spend in the meeting, had already discussed in private about the issue of the two invoices. To avoid any mishaps, they had avoided responding to the regional commissioner directly. Instead, they had wanted the same person who informed him to be the one to give him feedback on the meeting.
Mr. Bangwan, being the head of the meeting, opened his lips and gave his new directive to everyone concerning the issues of vendor invoices and payments as they waited for Anzim to arrive with the supplier.
"So from today, cash payments will be authorized only from the accountant himself." Yin and Mu Rong were then blocked from handling any cash payments and would only take care of invoices, project support, stock records, and other necessary secretariat duties but not cash.
Everyone in the room liked the idea, especially Rama who had felt that the girls were not qualified enough to handle cash payments.
The idea was well-welcomed by all the members who were in the meeting, and the room was lively once again with some senior members starting to converse with Mr. Bangwan.
Anzim, having reached the market, explained to the supplier that his presence was required by Mr. Bangwan to clarify a few matters regarding the previous order.
The man, being an old-time supplier of textiles and paper to the district offices, didn't hesitate much to follow Anzim even when Anzim hid the rest of the details from him. He wanted to clear his reputation and, most importantly, he needed to be in good graces with Mr. Bangwan, who had originally linked him to the supply deal.
The textiles and paper, after being received by the district offices, were always distributed by the district offices to different shop owners around Nearang and other small villages on credit to help alleviate the poverty crisis that had stricken some families due to the corruption at the offices.
The supplier, being sure he had nothing wrong on his side, asked his staff to take care of everything, and he picked up his bag and followed Anzim. Together they got a carriage which drove them to the district offices in a short time.
On arrival, Anzim paid for the ride, as Mr. Bangwan had ordered, turning down the supplier's offer to pay. They walked in gently, and Yin saw them across her office. Almost an hour had passed since Mu Rong had gone to the conference hall.
With a few staff passing around her, she had been able to gather information that Mu Rong had gone under scrutiny in a surprise meeting.
The supplier entered the hall together with Anzim and greeted everyone. He stood near the entrance waiting for directions. A seat had already been brought in for him, but he could not sit unless told so, something which was about respect.
Mr. Bangwan welcomed him and asked him to have a seat. Once again, everybody's attention grew as the person linked directly to the invoices was right there.
"We are sorry to have brought you off your duties on such a business day." Mr Bangwan apologized to the supplier, and the man accepted the apologies.
"Last Wednesday, you delivered to us two rounds of textile and paper, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Is that correct?" Mr. Bangwan asked him, and the supplier replied Yes, unable to even guess where the fault was in his delivery.
"Unfortunately, we received two invoices from you with the same serial number but different prices."
Everyone in the meeting hall became more attentive and got more eager to sort the issue out, but the supplier was even more puzzled as he couldn't even figure out how that happened.
"Sorry sir, but on that day as usual, I summarized all those items and gave only one invoice to this lady here, and the total price on it was 17,000 coins." The supplier, confident in his own words, asked for the second invoice so he could view it and confirm the allegations.
Mr. Bangwan gave the two invoices to Lu Zheng and asked him to give them to the supplier to verify.
Lu Zheng rose from his seat and walked to where the supplier was and handed him the two invoices. The supplier picked both invoices from Lu Zheng's hand and read them.
Everyone in the hall looked intently at him, but in a few seconds, the man rejected the second invoice, which was totaled at 21,000 coins.
"My invoice had 17,000 coins, however, I remember on that day that I had given a blank copy to this lady here to copy and paste from the old invoice as my handwriting was not good."
"But afterward, she handed the old copy to me, but when I reached my office, it had fallen out of my book and I think this is that copy, though it looks brand new than when I had kept it in my book."
The supplier knew that the invoice had been written by the staff who had accompanied him, and that young man had trouble writing, so he had to take the blame on himself.
Mr. Bangwan and Lu Zheng were impressed with how straightforward the supplier was with his words. After the accounts department records showed only one successful payment of 17,000 coins to him, Mu Rong was cleared, and the two invoices problem was deemed a mistake rather than an attempt to steal public funds.
Rama, defeated in his schemes to see Mu Rong highly penalized, started to connect the dots.
He had actually picked up a similar invoice on that day, and while in a hurry, he had left it with Lu Zheng whom he met at the same block. Similarly, Lu Zheng, without checking much of the details, had left it with Yin who, upon seeing no total on the invoice, totaled up everything without calculating well and filed it for Mu Rong. Mu Rong, before closure, took all the invoices of that day to the tax department without checking.
Since no one had seen the two invoices apart from Mu Rong, Lu Zheng, and Mr. Bangwan, they could not guess which invoice it was and also had less knowledge about the suppliers except for knowing them only physically.
The misunderstanding was cleared up, and the supplier was very much thanked by Mr. Bangwan. After he was excused, everyone else remained seated, and Mr. Bangwan asked Rama to make a report to close the issue.
Afterwards, everyone walked out of the conference room, and Mu Rong, relaxed at heart, walked back to Yin.