Doug Feng spotted his father's truck nestled in a corner of the warehouse—a hefty, flat-nosed beast loaded with steel bars. Today, his father would be hauling that load all the way to the neighboring city of Yangjian.
"Hey, Boss Doug! Come sign off on this steel load," called Old Wang, the man in charge of Yard 5 and inventory inspections.
Doug's father, Doug Changsheng, climbed up, glanced over the cargo, then scribbled his name in Old Wang's worn-out logbook.
This wasn't just procedure—it was self-protection. Each shipment was worth fifty to sixty thousand yuan, at the very least. Before a trip, the driver had to inspect the goods and sign off. Then, once the delivery was made, the receiving side would do the same. This way, if anything went wrong, the responsibility lay squarely with the driver.
Doug Feng stood nearby, his mind already racing.
How did Li Zuming manage to swap out a whole truckload of steel without anyone noticing?
He didn't know the "how" yet—but he had no doubt that Li Zuming had something up his sleeve. The problem was, they were in the dark, while the enemy had already lit the match.
"Alright, Xiao Feng, hop in. The sooner we leave, the sooner you can hang out at your aunt's place," Doug Changsheng said, slamming the logbook shut.
Just as he opened the truck door—
"Team Leader Doug! Team Leader Doug!"
A voice echoed across the warehouse.
Doug turned to see a man in neatly pressed slacks and a tucked-in shirt approaching—Liu Hanming, the company's clerical officer and the boss's personal secretary.
"What's up, Liu?" Doug asked, closing the truck door again.
"It's nothing urgent," Liu said with an apologetic smile. "Just a minor discrepancy in your group's driving logs this week. Could you stop by my office to double-check the entries with me?"
Liu handled all driver logs and reported directly to the finance office. More importantly, he was rumored to be related to their boss, Liu Yanqing, which made his words carry more weight than his modest job title suggested.
Doug hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. We've been running quite a few trips this week anyway. I've kept my own records."
He pulled a worn notebook and a pen from his shirt pocket.
"Great. Shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes." Liu's eyes flicked to Doug Feng. "And this young man is?"
"My son," Doug Changsheng replied with a nervous chuckle. "Since we're heading to Yangjian and my sister-in-law lives there, I figured I'd bring him along."
He tried to keep his voice casual, but he knew full well that bringing passengers was against company policy. Everyone did it, sure, but if someone decided to make an issue of it, there would be trouble.
"No worries. Kid just looks a bit skinny," Liu joked, then his eyes sparkled with a new idea. "Tell you what—I bought too much breakfast this morning. Why don't you both come to my office and eat something before you go?"
Doug Feng's alarm bells went off instantly.
Oh. So that's how this is going to play out.
Liu Hanming was trying to separate him from the truck. It was all starting to make sense now. Liu was clearly working with Li Zuming. This "discrepancy" in the records was just bait to lure his dad away from the vehicle. Once the coast was clear, Li Zuming would swoop in and switch out the steel for a truckload of junk—maybe rocks, maybe scrap—classic bait-and-switch.
If Doug hadn't tagged along today, there would've been no one guarding the truck. And once his dad signed off at the destination, he'd be the one holding the bag.
But now Liu was trying to eliminate the unexpected variable—him.
Too bad for you, I'm not leaving this truck alone.
"Thanks, Uncle Liu, but I'm full. Ate a ton this morning," Doug Feng said, patting his belly. Then, all of a sudden, he doubled over. "Agh! Stomach… something's wrong… Dad, I think that breakfast didn't sit right. Where's the bathroom?"
"Right over there, past the forklifts," Doug Changsheng said with concern. "Is it bad?"
"Not too bad, but I might be a while. Wait for me when you're done, okay?"
Clutching his belly, Doug dashed off in the direction of the restroom. As he went, he glanced back and saw Liu Hanming smirking ever so slightly.
Enjoy your little victory, Liu. Let's see you smile when this all blows up in your face.
Doug darted into the restroom, waited a moment, then peeked his head around the corner. From this vantage point, he had a clear view of the truck bay. It was a bit of a distance, but the line of sight was clean. He could still see the steel-loaded truck, just sitting there.
Sure enough, Liu tugged Doug's father toward the office. "Let's go get those logs matched. I've got some extra breakfast in my office too—take some to your son later."
Doug watched as the two disappeared into the administrative building. Now he just had to wait.
And when Li Zuming made his move… Doug would be ready.