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Chapter 26: The Road Ahead
No one spoke overnight. Early the next morning, Li Yi left home with three letters of denunciation.
What he had to do today was to send the letters to Li Wenshan and relevant departments through the post office, and then wait for the matter to ferment.
There was a post office not far from the meat processing factory, but Li Yi did not go there to send the letter.
The reason was simple: the post office near the meat processing factory handled a lot of factory-related business daily, and most of the customers were from the same factory. The post office staff knew Li Yi by sight. If Li Yi sent these letters of denunciation through that post office, someone investigating would likely trace him back immediately.
So, after dropping his daughter off at kindergarten, Li Yi took the bus to the city.
An envelope cost 10 cents, a stamp cost 80 cents, and sending the three letters together cost Li Yi 2.70 yuan in total.
This was a huge sum of money for Li Yi, who was already struggling financially, and it made him feel distressed.
But in order to bring down the Liu family father and son, Li Yi endured it.
After leaving the post office, Li Yi felt a sense of relief.
His three letters were sent to different places. One was addressed to Li Wenshan, detailing the crimes of Liu's father and son—corruption, abuse of power, bullying men and women, and more.
The other two letters were sent to the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. Their contents were similar, reporting Liu Tongfu's crimes, such as embezzlement, bribery, misappropriation of public funds, forgery of contracts, and the accumulation of wealth from unknown sources.
Li Yi believed that, even with someone protecting Liu Tongfu, it would be impossible for all the involved departments to stay silent.
As long as one department took action, the attached evidence would ensure Liu Tongfu's downfall.
On the way back, Li Yi couldn't help but think about his next steps after overthrowing Liu Tongfu and his son.
Once Liu Tongfu was removed, the meat processing plant would inevitably undergo some restructuring, and the current chaotic situation would certainly change.
But this didn't necessarily mean that the plant's future would be brighter. The reality was that, with the rise of the market economy, state-supported enterprises like the meat processing plant would face inevitable decline.
This was a broader trend that couldn't be changed just by replacing a leader—it was driven by the times!
However, for Li Yi, returning to work at the meat processing plant now would be very comfortable.
Why? Because once Liu Tongfu was gone, Wei Sanpao's father, Wei Kangan, would most likely become the director of the meat processing plant.
On one hand, Wei Kangan had an impeccable reputation, and it was widely known that he had been a strong opponent of Liu Tongfu for years. Any investigation into his record would show his efforts to restrain Liu Tongfu.
On the other hand, although Wei Kangan had connections, they weren't as powerful as Liu Tongfu's. With Liu gone, Wei Kangan's network would come into play, and it wouldn't be difficult to promote him to a higher position.
Additionally, Li Yi's father, Li Fengnian, could be promoted from workshop director to deputy director.
Li Yi knew that, over the years, his father and Wei Kangan had supported each other, which helped prevent Liu Tongfu from taking full control of the plant.
But after thinking it over, Li Yi decided to wait and see.
The meat processing plant was about to undergo a major change—restructuring.
Many state-owned enterprises had successfully restructured, but the meat processing plant in Jiangnan Province had never been one of them.
Li Yi's goal wasn't just to work there but to contract the plant!
To do that, he needed to raise enough funds before the restructuring occurred.
Returning to his old job at the plant wouldn't help with that.
Currently, his salary was 85 yuan per month, plus various subsidies, bringing the total to about 108 yuan.
But after deducting various expenses, the actual amount he took home was less than 100 yuan, and Xu Qingnan received even less—under 80 yuan.
So, even if the two of them lived frugally, they could only make about 170 yuan per month.
While this was a decent amount for most families at the time, it was nowhere near enough for what Li Yi needed to do next.
Therefore, the next step for Li Yi was to make money.
At the same time, in the director's office of the meat processing plant, Liu Tongfu was furious, his anger directed at Li Yi's father, Li Fengnian.
"Director Li, how have you decided to resolve this matter?" Liu Tongfu asked coldly, smoking a cigarette.
Li Fengnian felt a tightness in his chest but knew that compared to Liu Tongfu, who was a rock in his path, he was just an egg and had no means to fight back.
Whether for his son's sake or his own family's, he had no choice but to endure.
"Director, can we have a few more days to resolve this?" Li Fengnian asked.
"A few more days?" Liu Tongfu scoffed. "I'll ask you again—wasn't the person in the hospital your son?"
Liu Tongfu leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Here's the deal: Either you pay 500 yuan today and have Li Yi apologize to my son, or I'll punish him and get him kicked out of the factory. The choice is yours."
He then took a sip from his teacup, which was emblazoned with the words "Serve the People," a strangely ironic moment.
Li Fengnian clenched his hands tightly. He gritted his teeth, "Director, we can come up with the 500 yuan, but the apology…"
Before Liu Tongfu could speak, Li Fengnian quickly added, "You know how Li Yi is—he's stubborn. Even though I'm the boss here, I can't make him apologize!"
"No, both the money and the apology are required!"
Liu Tongfu's tone softened slightly, a wicked grin forming on his face as he continued, "Director Li, surely you understand the situation. Layoffs are happening everywhere. People are scrambling for jobs. Our factory may not be profitable, but it's state-owned. It's not like we'll starve!"
He leaned back in his chair. "If your son gets fired, it won't just be tough for him to compete outside, it'll be hard to find another job anywhere. You should think carefully!"
Li Fengnian's jaw clenched, and he replied with a strained voice, "I'll give you an answer tomorrow!"
Liu Tongfu nodded with satisfaction. "Tomorrow, then. If you don't have a satisfactory answer, I'll issue the expulsion notice immediately."
"Alright, I'll let you know tomorrow."
Li Fengnian turned and left the office with heavy steps.
Once the door closed behind him, Liu Tongfu smirked and sneered inwardly.
He thought to himself, You poor people want to challenge me? Dream on!
What Liu Tongfu didn't know was that his downfall was just beginning.
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