Dong He did look somewhat pitiful right now. The arrogant demeanor he used to have was now completely undetectable.
Though Lin Jin wasn’t fond of Dong He, he was still a member of the Beast Appraisal Association. As chief of the association, Lin Jin had an obligation to intervene if something bad had indeed happened.
Upon hearing Lin Jin’s words, as if he had gained support in the man, Dong He began to explain his pitiful experience while choking on his own snot and tears.
It seemed like after his last farce, his entourage stopped following him around. Given how incompetent Dong He was, he could no longer manage his consultation hall on his own.
His sister and brother-in-law had then abandoned him so Dong He could only return to the logistics department to take up odd jobs. To think a previous manager would end up doing menial tasks one day. One could only imagine how unbearable and downright humiliating it all felt.
Fortunately, Dong He was able to endure it.
The problem wasn’t the fact that he was demoted. That he was able to endure. What he couldn’t tolerate was the intentional bullying.
At first, no one dared to bully him.
However, several days ago, his greatest pillar of support, his brother-in-law and also one of the association’s elders, was transferred to the imperial capital. His sister obviously went along with her husband.
With no one left to protect him, Dong He’s work-life went on a rapid downward spiral.
This intensified after Lin Jin returned and became chief. Almost everyone in the association knew about Dong He’s past conflict with Chief Lin so some people thought that by discriminating against Dong He, they would please their new chief.
After hearing Dong He’s story, Lin Jin roughly understood what was going on.
Many people in the association had now begun to pick on Dong He just like how he used to pick on others in the past. But Dong He had admitted to his past faults.
After all, he had initiated the bullying in the past so he couldn’t retort because it was karma in action.
However, things were obviously getting out of hand.
“Chief Lin, it’s true that I’ve done some wicked things in the past and I apologize for my actions. I don’t mind it if they make things hard for me, but the current Manager Zhang is worse than how I used to be. He would do everything I would have refrained from doing, and he’s been nothing but vicious to me. He doesn’t treat me like a human at all. For the past few days, I’ve been tasked to work in the warehouse for consecutive nights. He wouldn’t let me rest. I- I’ve even lost a couple pounds because of that!”
Dong He looked aggrieved.
Lin Jin glanced at Dong He. True enough, the guy had lost quite some weight so he must have been putting up with a lot of stress. Of course, if they were just assigning more responsibilities to him, Lin Jin couldn’t be bothered with such trivial matters.
However, from Dong He’s elaboration, it seemed that the current manager was breaking the rules.
Lin Jin instructed Dong He to spill the beans, which he did.
He explained how Manager Zhang had abused his position to steal large quantities of the association’s resources. At the same time, the man had discreetly arranged for outsiders to work within the association and, according to Dong He, these were the people who bullied him the most.
“Why hadn’t anyone else realized this?” Lin Jin asked Dong He.
As chief, if what Dong He reported was true, Lin Jin had to sort the issue out. And if he couldn’t take care of it well, the blame would fall squarely on his shoulders.
Hence, Lin Jin saw it as a significant problem.
Still, if Manager Zhang’s actions were so brazen, why didn’t anyone else realize it? Why was Dong He the first person to report the issue?
Being a somewhat intelligent man, Dong He could hear Lin Jin’s doubt so he held up his hand and declared, “Chief Lin, I would never run my mouth when it comes to this. The others don’t know about the matter because Manager Zhang is very subtle and covers his tracks flawlessly. Still, no matter how good he is with accounts, he can never deceive me. Think about it. Who am I? I’ve been the logistic department’s manager for so many years so I know better than anyone what belongs where. He can’t deceive me. It’s also for this reason that he’s targeting me. He’s literally trying to force me to quit. Once I leave, no one will notice what he has done.”
Dong He had spoken with great confidence.
Lin Jin glanced at Jia Qian and the latter was frowning hard. Seeing Lin Jin’s gaze on her, Jia Qian understood what it implied, so she nodded.
Lin Jin knew what she meant.
She wasn’t nodding because she assumed Dong He was telling the truth. Rather, it was a possibility.
After all, no matter how incompetent he was at beast appraising, one could not overlook Dong He’s experience in the logistics department. He should reasonably be able to detect fishy deals that were going on within the association.
This was why they had to investigate this matter.
“Alright, I got it. Is there anything else you’d like to say?” Lin Jin asked. Dong He shook his head. “Chief Lin, I know that you’re not fond of me, but I’ve changed and mended my ways. It’s true! What I’ve said is absolute truth and I wouldn’t dare to lie to you.”
“Okay. You may leave now.” Lin Jin waved. Dong He dared not say more and left quickly.
Once Dong He was out, Lin Jin turned to Jia Qian.
“You’ve been in charge of our general affairs for the past two days. What’s your opinion on this?” Lin Jin asked. Jia Qian immediately told him what she knew.
“The current manager of the logistics department is someone named Zhang Youdu. He’s an old man who has been an apprentice for over ten years. He seems to have worked as a consulting appraiser too but due to some minor issue, he lost his qualifications. Since then, he’s been doing miscellaneous work in the logistics department. After something happened to Dong He, he recommended himself and was appointed as the department’s manager. Master Lin, I’m sure you know that Chief Tan never sticks to a certain pattern when choosing who to appoint.”
At this, Lin Jin understood Jia Qian’s opinion.
She clearly didn’t think very highly of Zhang Youdu either.
This person’s reputation wasn’t exactly the best.
Though, Tan Lin was a stranger from the royal capital back then so she didn’t understand the situation in the association well enough. What’s more, Zhang Youdu was good at selling himself so Tan Lin ended up promoting him.
“I’ve also heard one other thing. Zhang Youdu regularly declares himself as belonging to Chief Tan’s faction. It’s said that wherever he went, that was his mantra. Most of what he said would be about Chief Tan.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Jin couldn’t resist laughing out loud.
It seemed like Tan Lin didn’t know about this. Because if she did, knowing her, Tan Lin would never ignore it. More likely than not, she would teach Zhang Youdu a grave lesson.
In a way, Zhang Youdu was pretty talented as well. Credit where credit was due, it was surprising how much he had achieved by using Tan Lin’s influence to his advantage.
“Go and investigate the matter. I’m not good with the association’s internal politics,” Lin Jin said to Jia Qian. Jia Qian shuddered, feeling slightly incredulous.
After all, she only assumed Lin Jin was busy so he had her help out with work. And most of what she dealt with were just daily tasks that only required her to report to Lin Jin.
However, the task she was faced with now was usually reserved only for the chief.
To think Lin Jin was willing to delegate such authority to her.
Soon, Jia Qian came to her senses.
She knew she had been thinking too much.
