Siheyuan: Being a fisherman in 1962

As the two of them talked, the atmosphere in the cafeteria instantly froze, and even the air was filled with a tense atmosphere.

Director Yang had been waiting for a long time. He sat at one end of the long table with a serious expression on his face. His eyes glanced back and forth between Sha Zhu and Chen Fei, as if he was examining a mystery that was about to be solved.

"Silly boy, I heard you have something to say to me?" Director Yang's voice was not loud, but it was loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly.

Sha Zhu slowly walked towards Director Yang, bent his knees, and actually knelt down. This action stunned everyone present.

"Director, I... I admit that I was wrong, but I never instructed Ma Hua to poison!" Sha Zhu's voice was a little choked, but also extremely firm.

He looked up at Director Yang, his eyes full of pleading and innocence.

Chen Fei stood aside, watching coldly, but nodded secretly in his heart.

Although Sha Zhu took this step in a clumsy way, it was also the key to his self-rescue.

"Oh? Then tell me, where did you go wrong?" Director Yang's voice was emotionless, like a piece of cold stone, knocking on Sha Zhu's heart.

Sha Zhu gritted his teeth and continued, "I was wrong in that I shouldn't have ignored the canteen rules because of a momentary anger, and I shouldn't have been too harsh on Ma Hua. I admit that I treated him unfairly, but this is definitely not a reason for me to instruct him to poison!"

At this point, Sha Zhu's eyes reddened slightly, and he looked at Ma Hua who was standing beside him and looked very weak.

Ma Hua lowered his head, his body trembling slightly, and it seemed that he didn't even have the courage to look up at Sha Zhu.

"As for the poisoning, although I don't know the details, I am willing to cooperate with the investigation to find out the real culprit behind it and clear the cafeteria's name!" Sha Zhu's voice resounded throughout the cafeteria, and every word was loud and clear, as if he was declaring his determination to everyone.

Upon hearing this, Director Yang's eyes flickered slightly. He looked at Fade Chen, as if seeking some kind of confirmation.

Chen Fei nodded slightly, with a faint smile on his face. That smile showed both recognition of Sha Zhu's courage and anticipation for the next development of the situation.

"Okay, Shazhu, since you have realized this, I will give you a chance." Director Yang stood up, his voice more majestic, "But remember, you only have one chance. If you do it again, you will be severely punished!"

Following Director Yang's announcement, the atmosphere in the cafeteria finally eased.

Qin Huairu and Yi Zhonghai hurried forward to help Sha Zhu up, with both heartache and relief in their eyes.

And Sha Zhu seemed to have unloaded a heavy burden at this moment. He looked at Chen Fei with more gratitude and admiration in his eyes.

"Chen Fei, thank you." Sha Zhu said in a low voice. Although these four words were light, they were full of too much emotion.

Fade Chen smiled and patted Sha Zhu on the shoulder. "Don't thank me, you've earned it yourself. Remember, true strength does not lie in never making mistakes, but in having the courage to face mistakes and work hard to correct them."

The factory yard was brightly lit, but the depressing atmosphere could not be concealed.

Chen Fei stood at the edge of the crowd, his eyes stern, as if all this was within his expectations.

Ma Hua's face turned pale as paper, his hands clenched into fists, and he kept shaking his head to explain: "I really just added more salt, I didn't put any laxatives!"

There was a hint of despair in his voice, but no one believed it.

Sha Zhu stood aside with a blank look in his eyes, all his previous arrogance gone.

Thinking back to Fade Chen's meaningful smile, an ominous feeling welled up in his heart.

It turned out that all of this was Chen Fei's plan. He cleverly took advantage of Sha Zhu's impulsiveness and ignorance, and escalated a simple conflict into a major case of poisoning and revenge.

"That's enough!" Director Yang's voice sounded like thunder. "Whether you did it intentionally or unintentionally, this behavior has violated the law and must be punished accordingly."

There was no emotion in his words, but they made people feel an irresistible force.

The security guards quickly stepped forward and surrounded Sha Zhu and Ma Hua.

The two looked at each other, their eyes full of helplessness and fear.

Sha Zhu was even more disheartened. He could never have imagined that he would end up like this.

At this moment, Fade Chen slowly walked forward with a faint smile on his face, but there was a sharp edge hidden in that smile.

"Director Yang, I think we shouldn't jump to conclusions before the matter is fully investigated." His voice was not loud, but it was clearly heard by everyone.

Director Yang frowned slightly, obviously surprised by Chen Fei's sudden appearance.

"Fade Chen, what do you want to say?"

Chen Fei smiled slightly, his eyes swept over everyone present, and finally landed on Sha Zhu and Ma Hua.

"I believe that the two of them did not have any malicious intent to poison. In fact, all of this was done deliberately by someone with the purpose of framing them."

As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

A ray of hope instantly ignited in the eyes of Sha Zhu and Ma Hua, as if a drowning man had grasped the last straw.

"What evidence do you have?" Director Yang asked in a deep voice, with both doubt and expectation in his tone.

Chen Fei calmly took out a miniature recorder from his pocket and gently pressed the play button.

In the recording, the voice of a strange man can be clearly heard. He planned in detail how to take advantage of Sha Zhu's impulse and escalate an ordinary dispute into a poisoning incident in order to achieve the purpose of revenge.

As the recording played, everyone's expressions changed from surprise to anger, and finally settled on shock.

Director Yang's expression also eased a lot, and there was a little more appreciation in his eyes when he looked at Chen Fei.

"Fade Chen, you did a great job. However, this matter still needs further investigation."

"Of course, Director Yang." Fade Chen nodded, his eyes gleaming with determination. "I will assist in the investigation until the truth comes out."

"Shazhu, you keep saying that you only asked Ma Hua to add more salt and didn't ask him to use laxatives, then why did collective diarrhea suddenly break out in the factory?" Director Yang's voice was low and powerful, and every word was like a heavy hammer, striking the hearts of everyone present.

Sha Zhu raised his head, his eyes firm, not flinching at all: "Director Yang, although I am a rough man, I know my limits and will never joke about the health of the people in the factory. Ma Hua...he just followed my instructions and added more salt to the dishes to make them taste better. He has absolutely no intention of harming anyone."

Ma Hua stood aside, his face pale, his hands clenched into fists, and said, "Director, I can swear to heaven that there is absolutely no laxative in the food! If I am lying, may I be struck by lightning!"

Just as he finished speaking, an inopportune noise broke the solemn atmosphere - it was Ma Hua. He suddenly farted with such a loud noise that the whole cafeteria instantly became quiet, followed by a burst of awkward laughter and whispers.

Ma Hua's face turned red and he wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

Seeing this, Sha Zhu did not laugh at the situation. Instead, he stepped forward, patted Ma Hua on the shoulder, and gave him silent comfort: "Old Ma, don't be afraid. We are upright and have nothing to fear. One day, the truth will come out."