Chapter 21 Old Henry

The day after Tomna went to Jack, Jack took the three-thousand-word guarantee letter written by Tomna and went to the sub-branch to find Old Henry.

When Old Henry saw Jack, he was overjoyed, and the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen a bit.

Jack didn't stand on ceremony either. He directly put the guarantee letter in front of him and said, "I'd like to trouble you to go to the security department of the city branch and settle the matter of Tomna's violation."

The smile on Old Henry's face disappeared, but then it reappeared. "This matter? I know about it. Director Li from the security department called me yesterday and gave me a good scolding."

"Aren't you two fellow villagers?"

"What fellow villagers? We live more than a hundred li apart."

Jack smiled. He thought, You always say that you and Director Li from the security department of the city branch are fellow villagers whose hometowns are next to each other. Why aren't you now? Could it be that both of your hometowns have moved?

"Chief Henry, a hundred li isn't far. After all, you're from the same place. He will surely give you some face."

"Jack, you don't know. What Tomna did isn't a small mistake. It's—"

"I know, I know. But she has already realized her mistake. You can't just stand by and do nothing, can you? Besides, if the city branch punishes Tomna, it will also make you look bad, right?"

Old Henry fell silent, his face turning dark, looking as long as a donkey's face. In fact, he had a good personal relationship with Director Li from the security department of the city branch, and they were indeed fellow villagers.

But Tomna was Old Tom's sister, and Old Henry didn't have a good relationship with Old Tom, so he didn't want to take care of Tomna's business.

However, Jack said that Tomna was from the sub-branch, and if the city branch punished Tomna, it was equivalent to punishing the sub-branch. If this matter wasn't resolved as soon as possible and President Gao found out, Old Henry, as the chief of security, wouldn't have fulfilled his responsibility.

When Old Henry heard the name of President Gao, his face indeed changed. He knew that Jack was right. Tomna's matter had to be settled as soon as possible. Otherwise, if the city branch really imposed a punishment, he would lose face.

It was obvious that his usual supervision and urging were not in place, which led to Tomna's violation.

After thinking for a while, Old Henry's face softened a bit. Looking at Jack, he said, "I'll go to the city branch right away. As for whether Director Li will give me face, it depends on luck."

Jack smiled and said, "With you, Chief Henry, stepping in, who dares not to give you face? Besides, this time you not only made back the money you lost in stock trading but also bought a whole pig leg and took it home. You're in high spirits now, and you'll succeed in everything you do. Tomna's matter will surely be solved."

Old Henry also smiled and said, "Everyone knows about the pig leg. It's really true that good news never goes beyond the gate, but bad news spreads far and wide!"

After listening to Jack's words, Old Henry didn't cut his losses on the stocks he was trapped in. As a result, during this period, the stocks not only rebounded but also made him some money. Old Henry knew well that the stock market was deep, so he closed his positions and got out.

Unfortunately, that day he was seen taking a whole pig leg home. So, the news that Old Henry made money from stock trading and bought a whole pig leg spread throughout the bank.

The two of them chatted about stocks for a while, and then Jack changed the topic to the buffer door. As far as Jack knew, the feud between Old Henry and Harold originated from the buffer door matter.

In the rationalization proposal submitted by the intern to Harold at that time, only the function of the buffer door was written, and there was no mention of how he came up with this idea. In fact, the intern didn't know how it was thought up either, because it was actually Jack's idea.

So, when Harold asked Old Henry, who was in charge of security work, whether the buffer door was feasible, while Old Henry affirmed it, he also asked Harold how he came up with such a good idea.

Harold told him that he just thought and thought, and then he came up with it.

But Old Henry was a bit unhappy when he heard this. He thought that he was the chief of security and had been pondering security work all day long, yet he hadn't come up with such a good idea. Instead, Harold, who sat in the office all day, had thought of it.

Could it be that people with less hair on their heads must be those who think more?

Old Henry suddenly felt that as the chief of security, he was a bit incompetent and had been outshone by Harold.

Presumably, seeing that Old Henry wasn't happy, Harold generously said that since he had consulted Old Henry, Old Henry could be considered as one of the participants in the invention.

In this way, the names of both Harold and Old Henry appeared on that rationalization proposal.

In the end, Harold and Old Henry gained honors and each received a rationalization proposal bonus of twenty thousand dollars.

What was frustrating was that most of the money Harold used for stock trading this time was from that bonus.

And Old Henry also used his twenty thousand dollars for stock trading. At first, he cut his losses and lost money, but finally, he made it back.

Jack thought that the matter of the buffer door was already like this, but the bonuses that the two of them received because of this matter must be given back.

"Chief Henry, you don't have a good relationship with Director Harold. What's the reason? I've been working in the office for almost a month, and I haven't found any major flaws in Director Harold."

"You're young, too young to see through Harold's true character. Back then, because of the buffer door matter, Harold wanted to take the opportunity to go to the city branch. I didn't go because I felt that I didn't contribute much to this matter. As a result, Harold was unhappy and has had a grudge against me ever since."

Jack understood. These two were fighting among themselves.

Having said this, Jack thought he could ask that question.

"Chief Henry, do you really believe that Harold came up with the idea of the buffer door?"

"No, he's always busy with trivial things. How could he have thought of the buffer door?"

Jack asked again, "Since you don't believe him, why did you—"

Jack didn't finish his sentence. He wanted Old Henry to say it himself.

Old Henry said, "The buffer door is indeed useful. You know that before this, there were almost annual reports of savings offices being robbed by criminals. What's annoying is that every time the criminals entered through the access door.

Since there has been the buffer door, such a thing hasn't happened even once. So, as soon as Harold showed me that proposal, I was delighted. No matter where he got the idea from, as long as it's useful, that's fine."

Jack nodded. He thought that everything was clear now. Harold was shameless, and Old Henry had taken advantage of the situation.

"Chief Henry, I remember you said that you would go to the hospital after dealing with the stock matter, right?"

Old Henry nodded and said, "Tomorrow, I'll go tomorrow."

Jack asked again, "Are you going for surgery?"

Old Henry nodded slightly.

Jack hesitated, not knowing whether he should tell him the truth about the buffer door.

Seeing that Jack seemed to have something else to say, Old Henry asked, "Do you have anything else? If you have something, say it quickly, or else—"

Jack shook his head slightly. He thought it was better not to. After all, the buffer door had been put into use and had played its due role, and that was enough.

As for Old Henry, if his illness could be controlled, he probably wouldn't go to work anymore.

Let him spend the rest of his life in peace.