Chapter 22: Fault Lines (Revised)
The next morning, Chen Rui arrived at the factory before dawn.
He found Li Wei waiting for him in the QA office, holding a clipboard.
"The Ningyuan parts are compromised. I want to sever the contract."
Chen Rui nodded. "Do we have alternatives?"
"One, in Luoyang. Slightly more expensive, but they meet every standard."
"Then do it."
As internal audits expanded, Xu Lian brought more disturbing data: certain shipments had been marked "expedited," but bypassed full testing. The signatures were real—but rushed, under pressure.
One such part had already been installed in dozens of finished motorcycles.
"Should we recall?" Li Wei asked.
Chen Rui paused. "Not yet. Let's trace which customers got them first. Quietly. Then we replace the parts on-site."
"You're risking a scandal."
"I'm trying to avoid one."
That same week, a surprise inspection order arrived from the local Bureau of Industrial Safety.
No warning. No delay.
"They've been tipped off," Chen Rui muttered, holding the official document. "Someone wants us caught off guard."
Li Wei narrowed his eyes. "You think it's Liang's group?"
Chen Rui didn't answer.
He just said: "Get the factory spotless. Triple-check every unit. No mistakes."
In an anonymous office across town, a woman in a gray blouse made a phone call.
"They're purging suppliers," she said. "The internal cleanup's begun."
The man on the line replied: "Then we have to move faster. Delay their shipments. Hit their distribution next."