It was even easier than the office jobs held by the accountants.
Zhu Xi Ning was already there when Nan Yue arrived. Dawn Rubber Factory didn't use punch cards.
They used to, but the idea to stop was proposed by Tang Yu.
The university student said it was to optimize management processes and cultivate the workers' sense of autonomy. It was about using people to manage people rather than using a system.
The people in the factory found it novel, and not having to clock in was a good thing. Although some people were lazy, everyone in the factory knew each other, so over time, the lazy ones felt too ashamed to continue.
The warehouse doors were open, and people were rushing to start their shifts. The two women didn't speak. One was gentle and silent, while the other had a cold face and rolled her eyes.
They waited until the announcements from the loudspeakers stopped and the roar of the factory machinery began. Only when the roads were empty did they finally speak.
"A-Nan, your eyes..."
Nan Yue briefly explained the clues she had gathered and her deductions. Then, both fell silent.
"Do you think this Xiang Guang is a person or a ghost?" Zhu Xi Ning muttered to herself.
"Everyone around here knows him. Among the younger generation in the factory, Xiang Guang and Zhong Guochao were originally the most popular. Now with Tang Yu, there are three of them."
"If he weren't human, someone would have noticed."
Nan Yue thought so too. "Xiang Guang might not return from his business trip for another five or six days. Either that, or this is a long-term mission. If we go by the usual mission duration, we probably won't be here by then."
The danger of a mission increased as time progressed. Experience showed that if one hadn't left a mission by the fifth or sixth day, the difficulty would reach a hellish level.
"That means Xiang Guang isn't important. Even though he's your husband, he only serves to establish your character's background." Zhu Xi Ning flipped through the warehouse ledger. "Or maybe he's just an indirect witness."
Perhaps the noises last night were meant to serve as a reminder.
There were plenty of clues, but none related to the secret yet. Their progress was still insufficient.
"Did anything strange happen to you last night?"
Zhu Xi Ning's movements stopped, and she turned to look at Nan Yue.
"I'm not sure."
Zhu Xi Ning had heard a cat meowing. To be precise, it wasn't a cat. It was a person. A person mimicking a cat.
"Meow, meow, meow."
The sound drifted in and out, appearing to be just outside. Zhao Mingming's home was on the first floor, so it was normal for there to be stray cats, but that sound was clearly not a real cat. It was a human imitation.
The imitation was clumsy and perfunctory. One could tell at a single listen that it was a human.
"I got up to check."
Zhu Xi Ning wasn't a coward. She was disgusted by gory scenes, but she was fine with the supernatural.
She had grabbed a flashlight and left the house under the pretext of using the restroom. The restroom was fifty meters away from the first floor, and she searched carefully.
She didn't see anyone.
Zhu Xi Ning's expression darkened as she recalled the memory. "But after I entered the restroom, the meowing clearly got closer."
The restroom at Dawn Rubber Factory was an old public one. There were clover-shaped ventilation holes in the earthen walls, through which moonlight spilled in.
Zhu Xi Ning didn't actually use the toilet; she just walked around to make the act convincing. Then, a louder meow came from the ventilation hole.
She could tell the person outside was very excited. "Meow~ meow~"
The voice was even trembling slightly. It was clumsily eerie.
However, Zhu Xi Ning still saw nothing when she came back out. She eventually fell asleep, and there were no more significant disturbances during the latter half of the night.
"Both of us heard sounds but couldn't see anyone on the first night."
Nan Yue pursed her lips. "I wonder if it's the same for the others?"
Although Zhao Mingming's father was paralyzed, her mother still had a position in the factory canteen.
That place was a hub for gossip, so she knew everyone in the factory.
"Tang Yu is the first university student in the factory and was assigned to the factory office. He should have some work connection with the warehouse. Let's wait to find Old Jiang and ask about his situation."
One concern was whether anything strange happened at night, and the other was Wen Xiang Yuan's whereabouts.
Wen Xiang Yuan should be staying in the women's dormitory, while Nan Yue and Zhu Xi Ning were in the family housing area, so they couldn't easily contact her.
Gu Xiang Kai was even less likely. He and Jiang Siyan were in the men's dormitory. Worse, Gu Xiang Kai was in a technical role, responsible for equipment maintenance.
Fortunately, they had learned some basic knowledge at the academy. Gu Xiang Kai probably spent the whole night catching up on his studies.
Unexpectedly, before Nan Yue could think of a way to visit the factory office, Jiang Siyan came to the warehouse first.
"Comrade Li, the factory is getting a new batch of equipment next week. The old equipment needs to be stored in the warehouse. Is there still room?"
Nan Yue led Jiang Siyan deeper into the warehouse. "There is, but if there's too much, it might not be enough. We'll need to submit a report to see if we can scrap some old stock."
With Zhu Xi Ning keeping watch at the door, Jiang Siyan got straight to the point.
"Wen Xiang Yuan isn't a factory worker. Her name isn't on the employee roster."
Nan Yue's brows furrowed, but Jiang Siyan continued. "She's a family dependent."
"She's a relative of Granny Zhao, also known as Zhao Cuifen. She didn't join the factory and just assists Granny Zhao."
Granny Zhao was a retired factory worker who had become a barefoot doctor. Some people in the factory said she had lost her husband in her old age and wasn't mentally stable, often acting quite superstitious.
She didn't live in the family housing area either. She lived on the other side, at the end of the small path Zhu Xi Ning had taken when she returned that day.
It was originally an abandoned security post that had been converted into a two-room house.
Around the time Granny Zhao retired and her husband passed away, she found a four or five-year-old girl outside the factory.
She spent a long time cursing the person who had abandoned the child before taking the girl home that evening to raise her.
The girl took Granny Zhao's surname, with the single given name Yao, like the character for medicine.
She never went to school or learned a trade. She just spent her time working with traditional Chinese medicine alongside Granny Zhao. It seemed she was destined to inherit Granny Zhao's legacy.
Despite their talk, the factory workers felt the grandmother and granddaughter had a hard life and often helped them out. Even after Granny Zhao passed away, Zhao Yao wouldn't be kicked out of the factory.
"Did anything happen to you last night?"
Jiang Siyan didn't speak, just looking at Nan Yue.
Nan Yue felt something was strange. A moment later, a flash of insight hit her. "Does it have something to do with me?"
"No," Nan Yue corrected herself immediately. "Does it have to do with Li Hui?"
In reality, both statements meant the same thing, as Nan Yue was currently Li Hui.
Jiang Siyan nodded. "I heard your voice last night."
Jiang Siyan had heard Nan Yue's voice. As a single man, he shared a dormitory with the accountant, Sun Zhi.
He slept in the inner room while Sun Zhi slept in the outer one, with only a curtain separating them.
In the middle of the night, Jiang Siyan heard Nan Yue calling him.
"Tang Yu..."
"Tang Yu..."
Nan Yue's voice was cold and clear, yet it carried an indescribable suggestive undertone.
At first, Jiang Siyan even wondered if he had let his emotions affect the mission.
Then he realized something was wrong. It wasn't Nan Yue calling him. It was Li Hui calling Tang Yu.
Nan Yue was somewhat stunned. Was this the secret?
Li Hui and Tang Yu...
Jiang Siyan didn't say anything either. He felt a bit self-conscious right now.
He was currently reflecting on whether he had shown any signs of unease while describing what had happened the previous night.
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