In 1978, China was in the early stages of reform and opening up, and the social atmosphere was full of passion for change. Against the backdrop of this era, Cai Xia, a young woman who had just retired from the army, came to work in a Suzhou Fertilizer Factory. Cai Xia was born into a powerful family. Her mysterious and powerful background paved the way for her career in a fertilizer factory to a certain extent.
Although military life is supposed to foster good style and discipline, Cai Xia did not bring these qualities to her new job. In the fertilizer factory, Cai Xia behaved indulgently in the factory because of her life experience and background. She was often lazy and even took advantage of small things, which caused a lot of dissatisfaction among the factory colleagues. However, due to her family background, most people chose to remain silent and did not dare to make public accusations. In 1980, relying on her family's influence and connections in the factory, Cai Xia was promoted to vice president of the labor union and concurrently served as director of the Family Planning Office. The promotion of this position gave her more power and resources. However, instead of using these resources to do things that benefit the factory and employees, Cai Xia began to use her position to seek personal gain for herself.
In the 1980s, Suzhou was very lively. Supply and salesmen from all over the country gathered here. People from all over the world were lying in the hotel's Datong shop. Cai Xia found that many supply and sales staff purchased fertilizer products from the factory and shipped them to other places for sale. The production cost of those products in the factory is extremely low, and they are very cheap, less than one-fifth of the purchase price of the salesman. Cai Xia discovered that due to the fluctuations in the fertilizer market, the prices of some fertilizer products in the factory had skyrocketed, and this was an excellent opportunity for him to seek personal gain. He began to secretly embezzle fertilizers from the warehouse and sell them at high prices through black market channels to earn the difference. At first, she operated on a small scale, but as the first deals became successful, he became bolder and bolder.
In 1982, by chance, a colleague encountered Cai Xia talking to an unidentified person outside the warehouse. At first, the colleague didn't think much about it, but then, by chance, he discovered Cai Xia's unusual behavior in the warehouse. He began to observe secretly and gradually revealed Cai Xia's secret. Cai Xia forged the trademarks of the factory's fertilizer products, illegally manufactured fake agricultural supplies, and asked her relatives to increase prices and resell them in distribution units and fertilizer factories across the country, seriously disrupting market management and destroying the socialist economic order.
Over time, Cai Xia accumulated a lot of wealth. Her lifestyle began to become extravagant, which stood out among ordinary fertilizer factory workers. Although some colleagues began to be suspicious, no one dared to question it openly out of awe of Cai Xia's background.
However, the truth cannot be hidden after all. An auditor at the plant discovered some unusual data during his annual financial audit. After in-depth investigation, Cai Xia's illegal behavior was finally exposed. Faced with overwhelming evidence, she could no longer defend herself. The factory was shocked by the incident, but also very embarrassed. Cai Xia's family background prevented the factory from taking too harsh measures against her. In the end, after some weighing by the leadership, it was decided to punish Cai Xia, but she was not severely pursued legally. At the factory-wide meeting, the leadership decided to publicly humiliate her as a warning. In front of the entire factory staff, Cai Xia was forced to stand on the stage and endured the criticism and ridicule from her colleagues.
As time passed, Cai Xia's behavior did not change because of the public humiliation and mild punishment. On the contrary, these experiences seem to have strengthened her belief that only power and money can guarantee her status and security in this world. She turned a blind eye to her criminal behavior and even began to rationalize it to some extent. Cai Xia began to use her title to disguise her identity. When she was sent to the Suzhou Municipal Party School to study, Cai Xia did not truly receive education and reflection. Instead, she used this opportunity to expand her network of relationships. She didn't realize the responsibility and burden behind this, and was more planning how to use the new relationships to seek greater benefits for herself.
