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Chapter 622: Chapter 612 Being Investigated (Part 2)
The leader next to him, who had been coughing, spoke up, "There’s no problem with you buying things, we just want to understand where the substantial amount of money for these basic living necessities came from?"
Shen Yunfang thought to herself that this was indeed because she had been too ostentatious, attracting envy, but she managed to look somewhat angry on the surface, "Leader, what I buy is my own family’s business, and it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the military. Is it okay for you to ask so casually where my money comes from?" This concerns personal privacy, and it’s not like anyone can just come over and brazenly ask where the money in your wallet came from just because they think the stuff you bought is expensive.
It was now the turn of the leader who had spoken first to cough.
"Cough, cough, since Comrade Shen has doubts about the military, then I won’t hide it from you. We asked you here about this because this afternoon we received a report letter, accusing Comrade Li Hongjun of abuse of power and accepting bribes, with income and expenses seriously mismatched. Our logistics department has the function of inspection and supervision. When such a report appears, we definitely must investigate and gather evidence. So, we hope Comrade Shen can cooperate. Rest assured, we won’t wrong a good person, nor will we let a bad person off." His face lost its smile as he said the last sentence, becoming very serious.
Shen Yunfang’s face was a tangled mess of consternation, leaving the leaders opposite her scratching their heads in confusion.
"Comrade Shen, if you have anything to say, please feel free to speak up, without any reservations," the leader said with understanding.
Shen Yunfang seemed reluctant to speak but felt she had to ask, "Comrade Leader, no disrespect to soldiers, but for someone like our Li Hongjun, a mere battalion commander, what power does he have to abuse anyway? And accepting bribes—who would even offer him gifts? Is it to ask him to run a few less laps on the training ground?" Shen Yunfang wasn’t being provocative. She genuinely believed this to be true.
She wasn’t ignorant, but with Li Hongjun as just a battalion commander, where could he possibly be corrupt, and who would enable him to be corrupt?
Now all four leaders across from her started to cough.
Shen Yunfang looked at them with some worry. Was everything alright? Had she said something inappropriate? She reflected on her own words in her heart.
"Comrade Shen, we all know that Li Hongjun is a good comrade," the leader began by affirming the quality of Li Hongjun as a war hero. To any discerning person, it was clear that Li Hongjun was simply too ostentatious and had provoked jealousy. Moreover, even if there were such mistakes, most people would hide them carefully, keeping a very low-profile so as not to be discovered, there certainly weren’t many who spent money as ostentatiously as the Li Hongjun family. "But now that someone has reported him, as full-time staff we must verify this. We have to investigate and find out the truth to give everyone an explanation. And now from our investigation, the money you’ve spent recently on basic living supplies is indeed beyond what a battalion commander like Li Hongjun can afford. That’s why we called you over, hoping you can explain clearly to the organization where all this money came from."
Shen Yunfang seemed quite pleased with the leader’s assessment of Li Hongjun’s character, and so her face revealed a hint of a smile.
The leaders opposite her all frowned—was this woman too heartless and heedless? They were being investigated, the situation was urgent, yet how could she still smile?
"Comrade Shen, we hope you can take this matter seriously. This is a big issue related to Comrade Li Hongjun’s future, and we hope you will consider it and answer truthfully," a certain leader still had high hopes for Li Hongjun as a person and did not wish him to be ruined by his unreliable wife. Therefore, he had to speak out and remind her.
"Leaders, you can be assured, my husband Li Hongjun has said that he loves the military, and he wants to spend his life in the army, protecting our country alongside all the soldiers. As a military spouse, I devote myself wholeheartedly to my profession. Having chosen a soldier, I will definitely support him to the end," Shen Yunfang began by expressing her and Li Hongjun’s determination to win some favor, then continued, "As for what you said about our family’s expenses not matching our income, I think I’m the one who should have the most say."
Everyone looked at her.
Shen Yunfang said confidently, "Hehe, I wanted to ask the leadership, if you think Li Hongjun’s income doesn’t match our family’s expenses, why don’t you consider that a family isn’t just supported by the man’s income? Nowadays, it’s said that women can hold up half the sky. I am also a member of this family."
"What do you mean?" the leader asked with a frown.
"I mean, although Li Hongjun’s salary isn’t much, my earning ability is quite alright, so our family can afford a TV, a refrigerator, and even new furniture. Our money doesn’t come from Li Hongjun’s corruption or bribes; it comes from my hard work," Shen Yunfang replied strongly.
"You?" This was a voice filled with disbelief.
"I heard that you just graduated from college. Can you explain how you earned so much money? Do you have any proof?" This was a questioning voice.
"Yes, it was like this: the year I got into university, I was still studying in S city... Through a leader in S city’s provincial government, I signed a cooperation contract with a publishing house in Germany... The comic books we published sold quite well in Europe and America, and as per the contract, the German publishing house would send my share of the profits to China every month... Over the years, our family hasn’t had many big expenses, so we’ve been able to save up gradually. Now that our family has moved here, Li Hongjun says he really likes the atmosphere, and after discussing it with me, he said that if there’s no major change, he’d like to settle down in the Z Province Military Region. I think it’s good to be able to settle down, so this time, I properly arranged our little home. I didn’t expect that this would make others jealous and lead to such an absurd situation," Shen Yunfang briefly explained her collaboration with Joseph, thinking that in the future she wanted to start a farm. If she didn’t clarify the source of her substantial funds now, it would be troublesome if she were reported again. It was better to explain once and for all to avoid future hassles.
The leader across the table was astonished, never having imagined that this seemingly ordinary and somewhat attractive military wife had such capabilities. Although she didn’t specify how much money she had made, they could guess that it mustn’t be a small amount. Li Hongjun was indeed fortunate, marrying a wife from the countryside who turned out to be such a treasure.
However, the tone of Comrade Shen’s words seemed somewhat dissatisfied with the Z Province Military Region, which was unacceptable. The Z Province Military Region had always received high praise, and they certainly couldn’t let people be disheartened by them.
Of course, it wasn’t as if they would take Shen Yunfang’s word for everything; the matter still required verification.
The leader in the middle called over the stern-faced man at the door, whispered a few instructions to him, and then watched as he walked out. Only then did the leader turn back to Shen Yunfang.
"Xiaoshen, I didn’t expect you to be so talented. Li Hongjun is lucky to have found a wife with your capabilities; he must have ancestors who accumulated good deeds." This address had changed from Comrade Shen to Xiaoshen.
This alone was proof enough that even though the leader had sent someone to verify her story, he had already believed what she said. Indeed, with something so significant, an investigation would quickly reveal the truth—nobody would tell such a lie aimlessly.
Besides, they indeed didn’t believe that Li Hongjun was corrupt or took bribes, which made them more inclined to accept Shen Yunfang’s explanation.
