Chapter 58: Intercepting the Denunciation Letter, The End of Li Huaide Approaches

After Wang Chunmei slunk away in disgrace, the onlookers by the factory gates burst into hearty laughter and dispersed to their respective duties.

He Yuzhu turned back and walked inside, his expression calm, though his mind was as clear as a mirror. That old fox Li Huaide had lost his nerve and pushed his own wife out to make a nuisance of herself—such a despicable tactic.

Instead of returning to the technical department, He Yuzhu walked straight into the factory's security section.

Section Chief Zhang of the security department was sipping cheap tea from his enamel mug. As soon as He Yuzhu briefly explained the visit from the women's federation, Zhang slammed the mug down onto the desk with a heavy thud, splashing scalding tea high into the air.

"Damn it! Does this bastard Li Huaide ever know when to quit? Resorting to underhanded tricks with the women's federation now? Rest assured, Engineer He, this matter is far from over!"

"I'll have my men keep a tight watch on that dilapidated union building right now! If he dares reach out his claws again, I'll chop them off!"

He Yuzhu nodded. "Thanks, Chief Zhang. Besides, I suspect he still has a backup plan and might try to stir up trouble from another angle, so please remain vigilant."

"Understood!" Chief Zhang patted his chest.

Just as He Yuzhu was speaking with Chief Zhang, Xu Damao clutched a letter and sneaked out through the back door of the rolling mill.

Avoiding the main street, he deliberately picked his way through small alleys, feeling a mixture of panic and intense excitement.

Almost there, almost there! Once he dropped the letter into the Municipal Supervisory Commission's suggestion box, He Yuzhu would be finished!

Li Huaide had promised to find a way to transfer him back to the propaganda department once the deed was done!

He could already picture He Yuzhu utterly disgraced and himself rising back to prominence.

Hugging his head low, he quickened his pace, knowing that just around the next bend lay the Municipal Supervisory Commission.

Suddenly, two hands lunged out from an even narrower side alley and yanked him inside with tremendous force!

"Who?!" Terrified out of his wits, Xu Damao tried to shout, but a rough hand clamped tightly over his mouth. Another pair of hands deftly reached into his jacket and snatched the envelope away.

He struggled desperately, but the two men pinned him firmly against the wall, rendering him completely immobile.

The men holding him wore ordinary worker's overalls, yet their eyes were razor-sharp.

"Xu Damao, right?" one of them asked in a low voice, flashing a small booklet briefly before his eyes. "Security department. Behave yourself!"

When Xu Damao caught sight of the words "Red Star Rolling Mill Security Department" on the booklet, his legs went limp, and cold sweat instantly soaked his entire body.

It was over! Everything was over! How did they find out?!

The security men released him and swiftly checked the contents of the envelope. Their faces darkened. "Take him away!"

Ashen-faced, Xu Damao was hauled up by the two men, one on either side, and dragged deep into the alley toward an old jeep parked there.

Almost simultaneously, the small building housing the rolling mill's labor union was silently surrounded by security personnel.

Chief Zhang personally led two men straight up to the second floor and knocked on the door of the storage room.

"Who is it?" Li Huaide's voice drifted from inside, feigning composure.

"Security department, Zhang Biao! Open the door!"

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds, followed by rustling noises and the sound of a lock turning.

The door creaked open. Li Huaide stood in the doorway, forcing a smile. "Chief Zhang? What wind blew you here? I'm just organizing the tug-of-war competition..."

Without a word, Chief Zhang brushed past him and stepped inside. His piercing gaze swept over the pile of junk in the room. "Search!" he ordered his subordinates.

The two men immediately set to work, rummaging through the clutter.

Li Huaide's expression changed drastically. He forced a laugh. "Chief Zhang! What are you doing? These are all union property, there's nothing..."

Before he could finish, a security officer used a pair of tweezers to extract a small, charred scrap of paper from the crack of a locked drawer. A blurry character "He" was still faintly visible on it.

Another officer pulled several torn and crumpled drafts from a pile of wastepaper. Pieced together, they formed the exact draft of the denunciation letter, written in Li Huaide's handwriting.

Li Huaide's face instantly turned as pale as paper, and his knees began to knock. "Th-this isn't mine... Someone is framing me! Yes! It was Xu Damao! It must have been that bastard Xu Damao who framed me!"

Chief Zhang sneered. He pulled out the tightly sealed envelope just confiscated from Xu Damao and waved it in front of Li Huaide. "Are you talking about this? Xu Damao has confessed everything—he said you sent him to submit it to the Municipal Supervisory Commission. Li Huaide, with the stolen goods recovered and the culprit caught red-handed, what else do you have to say?"

Gazing at the envelope, Li Huaide's eyes bulged as if they might pop out of his head. His body swayed twice before he collapsed limply onto the floor, utterly speechless.

"Cuff him! Take him away!" Chief Zhang barked harshly.

The two security officers stepped forward and unceremoniously hauled the limp, pathetic figure of Li Huaide up, slapping a pair of handcuffs onto his wrists with a sharp click.

This entire scene was witnessed clearly by the union officials who had cautiously gathered around, as well as the workers who had rushed over from nearby workshops.

Seeing the once-haughty Deputy Director Li now in handcuffs, being dragged out of his office by the security department, everyone was stunned before erupting into a wave of heated discussions.

"Serves him right!"

"Retribution!"

"That'll teach him to play dirty!"

As Li Huaide was escorted downstairs, every step he took was met with looks of contempt and disgust.

He kept his head buried low, refusing to look at anyone.

Chief Zhang did not leave immediately. Standing in the second-floor corridor, he announced loudly to the crowd of workers gathered below, "Li Huaide is suspected of false accusations, framing others, retaliation against the factory's technical backbone, and sabotaging military production tasks! The nature of his offenses is extremely vile! The evidence is now conclusive!"

"The factory security department will handle this with the utmost seriousness and report it to the municipal authorities! Everyone disperse and return to your workshops to work diligently!"

The news swept through the entire factory in an instant.

In the technical department office, He Yuzhu heard the commotion outside and the faint sound of the announcement.

He walked over to the window just in time to catch a glimpse of Li Huaide being shoved into the back of the jeep.

With an indifferent expression, he merely glanced at it casually before returning to his desk to continue writing his technical summary report.

It was as if everything happening outside had nothing to do with him at all.

Less than half an hour later, the factory's loudspeaker system suddenly blared to life.

First came the passionate opening chords of *We Workers Have Strength*, followed by the clear, firm voice of the factory broadcaster:

"Comrades and workers of the factory! We will now broadcast a joint notice from the factory party committee and the security department!"

"Former Deputy Director Li Huaide, driven by personal grievances and in complete disregard of organizational discipline, repeatedly resorted to despicable means to falsely accuse and frame our factory's outstanding technical cadre, Comrade He Yuzhu, severely disrupting and sabotaging crucial military production tasks with utterly vile consequences!"

"Upon deliberation by the factory party committee and approval from higher authorities, it has been decided to strip Li Huaide of his party membership and dismiss him from public office! His illegal and criminal offenses have been handed over to the judicial organs for prosecution!"

"The factory party committee calls upon all workers and staff to take Li Huaide as a negative example, learn from this lesson, correct your ideology, and devote your full energy to production and work, making even greater contributions to the country and the factory!"

The broadcast echoed across the sky above the rolling mill, clearly audible in every corner.

Inside the workshops, workers halted their tasks, listened to the broadcast, and enthusiastically applauded.

"Good! Should've happened ages ago!"

"Engineer He is amazing! Justice always triumphs!"

"Finally, some peace and quiet!"

Over in the scrap yard, a shift supervisor listened to the broadcast, spat onto the ground, and cursed, "Bah! Worthless scum!" Then he turned and bellowed, "Did you all hear that? Get back to work honestly and don't act like that fellow Li!"

Meanwhile, locked inside a small, dark room in the security department, Xu Damao squatted facing the wall. Hearing the distant strains of the broadcast filtering in from outside, all color drained entirely from his face.

It was over.

Li Huaide had fallen. Next in line would undoubtedly be him.