Chapter 302: Xu Chaoyang's Predicament

The ledger was not large.

It had a black cover, with the corners wrapped in red fabric, resembling the kind of account books commonly found in every household at the time.

However, the contents inside were extremely shocking to Li Xian!

The ledger began recording from 1988, using the most common accounting method of addition and subtraction. Every entry related to the wood storage yard, logging yard, inspection stations, neighboring brother forests, and even some units of the forestry bureau revealed figures that were simply staggering to Li Xian.

Li Xian originally thought that such a large forestry area only dealt with the modest profits from winter timber. However, after thoroughly reading the ledger, he realized how wrong he was.

Utterly wrong.

The losses from the wood storage yard, the labor hours in the logging yard, fuel consumption, theft of measuring tools at inspection stations, and the hidden benefits within the forestry departments… just from this small ledger, the inflow and outflow of money over the past five years were alarmingly large. The illicit transactions of private timber sales during the winter harvesting period were particularly shocking.

Last winter, Li Xian had also acquired a batch of timber from Xu Chaoyang, which made him a substantial profit. At that time, he thought the money was surprisingly easy to earn. But now, seeing the ledger, he realized his initial methods were extremely naive. If that batch of timber had been handled by the private timber merchants recorded in this ledger, the profits could have been at least double.

Not to mention the benefits High Dayi and Liu Yuan gained through these transactions, which were likely more than what a regular forestry worker could earn in a lifetime.

Although incomplete, a profit chain centered on the timber industry had been unveiled before Li Xian, revealing its hidden layers.

"Grandfather,"

After finishing the ledger, Li Xian looked sternly at Li Daoyun, "Where did you get this ledger?"

Seeing his grandson's serious expression, Li Daoyun chuckled, "Found it."

Li Xian closed the ledger, glanced around to make sure no one else was present, then tucked it into his coat pocket and sat down beside Li Daoyun.

Without pressing his casually given answer, Li Xian whispered, "Grandfather, if this ledger gets leaked, the forestry bureau will be in turmoil!"

"That's why it's called a death-and-life talisman," Li Daoyun chuckled nonchalantly, "I didn't expect the forestry bureau to be this deep. I originally planned to use this ledger to make Liu Yuan and a few others behave, but now it seems this ledger is like a nuclear bomb. It's not something to be handled lightly. I don't know what to do with it; I'll leave it to you. You decide whether to destroy it or keep it for future use."

Li Xian understood his grandfather's meaning. With this ledger in hand, he could grasp the key weaknesses of those involved in the forestry bureau's timber industry chain. If he chose to exploit it, he could cause major upheavals within the bureau.

But using such critical information for leverage could make him a target for revenge. If he threatened lives for personal gain, he would inevitably face severe consequences.

Feeling the weight of the ledger in his coat, Li Xian sighed with a bitter smile.

"It's called a death-and-life talisman, but it seems more like a hot potato to me."

Hearing his grandson's comment, Li Daoyun laughed heartily, "That's your problem now. I've handed it over to you; I won't get involved."

Seeing Li Daoyun's seemingly innocent demeanor, Li Xian shook his head.

…

Xu Chaoyang had initially planned to use the development of secondary forestry industries at the 89 Forest Farm, including the establishment of initial processing plants and pickled vegetable factories, to give the forest farm directors a lesson. However, just before his departure, an event in the bureau made him uneasy.

Recently, the Forest Industry General Bureau had been urging all forestry bureaus to embrace the spirit of the 14th Congress, boldly innovate, and encourage deep reforms to boost the economy. It was based on this directive that Xu Chaoyang dared to transfer the Berry Research Institute to Li Xian using a lease-to-sell approach.

However, just a few days later, the Forest Industry General Bureau organized an inspection team to investigate the assets of the forestry bureau. The first stop for this team was the Berry Research Institute!

Xu Chaoyang felt this was no coincidence.

Last year, after transferring the tile factory to Li Xian following a reform model, an inspection team was immediately dispatched. At that time, Xu Chaoyang didn't think much of it, as the 14th Congress had just concluded and the shift from planned to market economy was not yet clear. His actions were bold and thus attracted attention.

Now, facing a similar situation again under the established national shift towards a market economy, he was subjected to scrutiny, indicating a targeted effort against him.

Someone, or a group of people, seemed intent on forcing him out of his position as bureau chief.

This made Xu Chaoyang feel very uncomfortable.

He did not accompany the inspection team. The cooperation with Li Xian was clearly stated in the contract, with transparent financial records. The valuation of the Berry Research Institute and the status of its staff were also clear, so Xu Chaoyang was not worried about the inspection.

He let the team handle it themselves and chose to ignore them.

Instead, he was deep in thought about the repeated attempts to undermine him.

In his office, Xu Chaoyang rarely smoked a cigarette, watching the thin blue smoke rise towards the ceiling, letting the cigarette butt burn out on the desk as he pondered.

At this moment, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in."

Xu Chaoyang snapped out of his reverie and responded.

"Director Xu," it was Secretary Liu Qingkui, who entered directly upon seeing Xu Chaoyang alone in the office, "The forest farm directors are all here, and the 89 Forest Farm has called, asking when you will arrive so they can arrange the reception."

"Oh."

Xu Chaoyang slapped his forehead, checked his watch, and extinguished the cigarette that had burned out on its own.

"Tell them to head out now."

He stood up from behind his desk, picked up his coat, and asked Liu Qingkui, "By the way, I asked you to contact the bureau's newspaper office. Did you notify them?"

"I've informed them, Director Xu. They're waiting outside."

Xu Chaoyang nodded.

As he left the office and saw the familiar Berry Research Institute in the distance, he paused.

Thinking for a moment, he instructed Liu Qingkui, "By the way, Xiao Liu, the development of the initial processing plant and pickled vegetable factory at the 89 Forest Farm is part of diversified secondary forestry industry development, right?"

Liu Qingkui was taken aback, adjusted his glasses, and smiled, "Of course, it counts."

Xu Chaoyang nodded, "Okay, Xiao Liu. Go to the Diversified Management Bureau and bring Director Han along. Let him also visit the 89 Forest Farm for observation and learning."

"Understood, Director Xu."

Liu Qingkui digested the sudden addition to the itinerary, nodded, and walked out of the office building.