Chapter 105: Walk Your Own Path, Making It Hard for You to Walk (8000 words, please subscribe)

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Although Tian Zhengfu harbored doubts, seeing Ning Weidong's incredibly resolute gaze, he decided to carry out Ning Weidong's plan.

After all, he himself had no safer method.

After parting ways with Tian Zhengfu, Ning Weidong called out Ning Wei and Liu Dong to ask about the situation regarding their investigation into He Yongbiao last night.

Although Xia Dongqiang had already mentioned some details about He Yongbiao earlier, Ning Weidong intended to both use and guard against Xia Dongqiang.

Therefore, before getting off work last night, he had instructed Ning Wei and Liu Dong to investigate He Yongbiao's situation, especially his recent financial status—whether he had suddenly become wealthy or owed a large gambling debt.

"Third Brother, that's about the situation." After reporting the findings, Ning Wei said with a serious face: "Your prediction was spot on. Just last month, he played poker with some people; it's said he lost a full seven hundred yuan in one night, and by the end, his eyes were bloodshot from the loss."

Ning Weidong chuckled; once a person gets hooked on gambling, they are no longer themselves.

There were quite a few people present at the time, and they all thought He Yongbiao was finished.

Although he was a State-owned Worker and a Grade Six Turner, with a salary plus subsidies totaling over seventy yuan a month, he couldn't withstand such gambling~ seven hundred yuan was enough to keep him from eating or drinking for a year.

Not to mention he had a whole family to support; they wouldn't be able to recover for two or three years.

However, unexpectedly, just the very next day, He Yongbiao paid off the seven hundred yuan gambling debt in one go.

Not only that, but the cigarettes he smoked changed from 'Great Front Gate' to 'Peony Cigarettes'.

As for how he paid it off, he remained tight-lipped to everyone.

When Xia Dongqiang mentioned He Yongbiao earlier, he hadn't brought this up.

Perhaps he didn't know, or perhaps he knew and deliberately concealed it.

But that didn't matter; what mattered was that this He Yongbiao definitely had issues.

Ning Weidong pursed his lips and said: "Xiao Wei, have the others continue to keep an eye on He Yongbiao for me."

Ning Wei nodded.

Ning Weidong looked at Liu Dong again and smiled: "In the next few days at the factory, help me pay more attention to Xia."

Liu Dong's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly pledged his loyalty: "Leader, don't worry, I understand."

Ning Weidong having him watch Xia Dongqiang clearly showed a lack of trust in Xia Dongqiang, and the implication of having him do it was that he trusted him.

This made Liu Dong overjoyed.

Ning Weidong nodded: "You go first; I have some family matters to discuss with Xiao Wei."

Liu Dong acknowledged this and left in a hurry.

Once he was far away, Ning Weidong asked in a low voice: "How is he?"

Ning Wei made a sound of disapproval and hesitated: "Hard to say. This person seems very ambitious. He was suppressed quite badly by Liu Wenbao here before, and it was only when he was pushed to the edge that he suddenly stood up that day."

Ning Weidong said: "It doesn't matter if it's hard to say. You take your time to observe and study him; just treat it as practice."

Ning Wei agreed, though he was somewhat worried about whether he might ruin Ning Weidong's big plans.

Ning Weidong laughed and said: "What big plans? The things we are racking our brains over now are, in the eyes of some people, nothing more than petty, sordid trifles."

Ning Wei was stunned, not knowing why Ning Weidong had such a sentiment.

What they were doing now was still a small matter!

In his view, this was already quite high-level; in a large factory with tens of thousands of people, it directly involved the power struggles and mutual undermining between the factory director and the Deputy Factory Director—it was just like watching a movie.

……

That same evening, near the end of the shift.

Throughout the entire day, there had been no movement on Ning Weidong's end.

Just as he had judged, before the project at the General Assembly was finalized, the responsibility wasn't significant enough for Wang Kaifeng to make a move.

Ning Weidong could still have peace for two more days.

After four o'clock, Ning Weidong was on the phone with Ning Weiguo: "Brother, tell your sister-in-law when you get home that if there are no special circumstances, I will be staying at the factory for the next few days; don't save any food for me."

Ning Weiguo acknowledged this and didn't say anything more.

At this time, it was indeed inappropriate for Ning Weidong to go home; if a sudden situation arose at night, there was no phone at home, which could easily cause delays.

He urged Ning Weidong to be careful in everything before hanging up the phone.

As luck would have it, just as Ning Weidong put the phone down, before he could even let go, it rang again.

Ning Weidong picked it up again, and it was the factory's internal line; it was Zhao Ruyi calling: "Ning Weidong, I'm craving meat; let's go out for a meal tonight."

Ning Weidong hadn't expected Zhao Ruyi to take the initiative to ask him out.

Unfortunately, he was in no mood right now, nor did he have the leisure to pursue a relationship.

He said in a deep voice: "Not today. I have to be on duty at the factory for the next few days. Once I'm done with this busy period, I'll take you to Donglaishun to satisfy your craving."

Zhao Ruyi was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected her own invitation to be rejected! She hung up the phone sullenly, feeling a bit resentful.

However, she was not from an ordinary family after all. When her older brother asked her to make that call to Ning Weidong yesterday, she had already sensed some clues.

It was just that Zhao Ruyi hadn't liked to ponder these things since she was a child; when she encountered problems, she preferred to use her fists to solve them.

But not liking to ponder didn't mean she didn't understand.

Zhao Ruyi frowned slightly, immediately went downstairs to get her bicycle, and planned to go back and ask her brother what exactly was going on.

……

At the same time, Ning Weidong and Tian Zhengfu arrived together at the small private room in the Second Workshop.

The two of them ate and talked.

Ning Weidong used a ceramic spoon to slurp up some piping hot stewed tofu and asked: "Is everything arranged?"

Tian Zhengfu nodded: "Don't worry. The person is from our former reconnaissance company in the battalion; after being demobilized, he lost his job because of a fight..."

Ning Weidong nodded.

Tian Zhengfu said with some concern: "Can you really do this? Let's not make a mess of things."

Ning Weidong said: "Don't worry~ what we're doing doesn't even count as burning our bridges; it's nothing more than the crying child getting the milk. Old Tian, if we limit ourselves to the factory, you and I, the two of us, will always be at a disadvantage against Vice Factory Director Wang's side. To turn the situation around, we must escalate the matter and introduce external factors to offset their advantages."

Tian Zhengfu also understood that, in theory, Ning Weidong's words were completely fine.

But this method was truly a bit out of line.

However, things had reached this point, and he was riding a tiger and could not get off, so he simply hardened his heart and began to eat in silence.

By the time the two finished eating and Ning Weidong returned to the duty room, it was already nearly six o'clock.

In principle, this duty room had to be manned twenty-four hours a day.

But in the past few years, there had not been many special tasks in the Fourth Workshop, so the workshop had arranged for long day shifts, and the duty room had consequently canceled the shift rotations.

But now that the confidential task for the General Assembly had come down, it would be unjustifiable not to keep someone in the duty room.

According to the daytime roster, one person stayed every night, and today, the first day, happened to be Xia Dongqiang.

When Ning Weidong returned, Xia Dongqiang was roasting potato slices on the duty room stove; seeing Ning Weidong push the door open and enter, he couldn't help but be stunned: "Leader, why have you come back?"

Ning Weidong said with a chuckle: "Going home means squeezing in with my nephew, it's not as comfortable as being here."

As he spoke, he leaned in close: "Roasting potatoes, huh~ smells quite good!"

Xia Dongqiang gave a foolish laugh, but felt depressed inside.

The area of the duty room was not small, and a place to sleep had been partitioned off in the inner room of the Office, roughly the same as the West Gate where Ning Weidong had been before.

Originally, one could also sleep there when night shifts were required.

Inside, there was no bed, but a row of heated brick beds had been built along the window; if they squeezed, seven or eight people could sleep there.

Originally, Xia Dongqiang had thought that when it reached eight or nine o'clock in the evening, he would just wash his feet and go straight to the heated brick bed to sleep.

But now, damn it, Ning Weidong was here keeping him company; how was he supposed to sleep?

Yet he couldn't say this, so he could only bottle up his frustration inside.

Ning Weidong, however, was perfectly at ease, eating a few bites of roasted potato slices along with him, then going to turn on the duty room radio; he didn't tune to a channel, just listened to whatever was on, as having some noise in the room made it feel lively.

Xia Dongqiang chatted along with the topic in a desultory manner: "Leader, your housing conditions at home aren't good either?"

Ning Weidong said: "I'm living with my brother~ how good could the housing conditions be."

Xia Dongqiang said: "But you don't need to worry, you are a Cadre; as long as you get married, the Manager will definitely prioritize allocating you a house."

Ning Weidong said: "It's not that easy. Right now, there's a sea of people in the Manager waiting for housing, and quite a few Cadres too. I'm just a young man, why should I squeeze to the front?"

Xia Dongqiang gave a dry laugh, but the conversation had been killed by Ning Weidong.

Instead, Ning Weidong restarted a topic and asked: "Xia, I heard you are a relative of Liu Wenbao's wife?"

Xia Dongqiang's expression changed, but he immediately controlled it and asked back: "It was Liu Dong who told you, right~"

Ning Weidong was noncommittal, just looking at Xia Dongqiang with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Xia Dongqiang immediately realized he had said the wrong thing.

When a leader asks you a question, you damn well ask back—are you looking to die?

He hurriedly said: "A cousin eight poles away. You saw Liu Wenbao yourself; he's just a hooligan and a scoundrel. To form cliques in the Manager, he insisted on claiming kinship with me, and I had no choice but to accept it. During holidays, I even have to prepare an extra gift for his mother-in-law."

Xia Dongqiang spoke with extreme reluctance, his face full of grievance.

Ning Weidong smiled and didn't continue.

Bringing this up just now was meant to give Xia Dongqiang a warning.

Liu Wenbao's situation was basically settled; even if he didn't get a bullet, his life was as good as over.

Getting involved with such a person could be a big deal or a small one; some people needed to understand what was going on and not harbor any delusions.

Subsequently, the radio began to play the news, and neither of them spoke again.

At this time, Nanyang was at war, and the news was mainly about that.

Listening to it, Ning Weidong couldn't help but feel a bit dazed.

Until the news finished, Ning Weidong got up and went to the inner room to lie down.

The heated brick bed in the inner room was very warm; Ning Weidong lay on it, his back pressed against it, feeling hot and very comfortable.

But at this moment, he couldn't sleep no matter what.

Ning Weidong knew something was happening tonight, but he didn't know exactly what time Tian Zhengfu had arranged for it.

Listening to the sound of the radio in the outer room, Ning Weidong glanced at the clock on the wall from time to time.

Before he knew it, it was nearly ten o'clock.

Suddenly, a "Bang" of a gunshot came from outside! Immediately followed by two more "Bang, bang" shots.

Ning Weidong's heart tightened; he knew it had begun.

He rolled off the heated brick bed, got on the floor, and put on his shoes.

At the same time, Xia Dongqiang from the outer room pushed the door open abruptly and shouted: "Something happened!"

Ning Weidong said with a serious expression: "Go take a look quickly!"

As he spoke, he went to the outer room, took the key hanging from his waist, inserted it into a blue iron cabinet, and opened the lock with a click.

Inside was a row of well-maintained, gleaming 56 style Semi-automatic Rifles.

Ning Weidong picked one up and tossed it to Xia Dongqiang, then grabbed one for himself, felt for two magazines, inserted one into the gun, and stuffed the other into his pocket.

Before traveling through time, when Ning Weidong was young, he had served in the county armed forces department, and the biggest perk back then was being able to shoot guns.

Especially every summer, when it coincided with student military training, this kind of 56 style Semi-automatic Rifle could be fired at will.

He was quite familiar with this type of gun.

Xia Dongqiang didn't hesitate either; after inserting the magazine, he pulled the bolt back with a clatter, chambering a round with an expressionless face.

That gunshot just now had already indicated the severity of the situation; at a time like this, harboring any delusions was being irresponsible to his own life and the lives of his comrades.

Ning Weidong narrowed his eyes and said: "Let's go!"

Xia Dongqiang was a sensible one; after chambering the round, he took the initiative to walk in front, and the two went one after the other, heading out in the direction of the gunshots.

The two were very taciturn; neither of them was stupid enough to turn on a flashlight.

Using a flashlight in the dark is equivalent to being a living target for the enemy.

The sound of the gunshot just now was roughly to the east of the Fourth Workshop; it is not a short distance to go around from the duty room.

Ning Weidong and his companion had not gone far when they saw a shadow flicker ahead.

Ning Weidong's eyesight was extraordinary, and he recognized it as Tian Zhengfu at a glance.

Xia Dongqiang saw it too and subconsciously raised his gun to aim.

Ning Weidong hurriedly called out, "Representative Tian!"

Tian Zhengfu responded from over there, and only then did Xia Dongqiang react and hurriedly lower his gun.

The three converged, and before Ning Weidong could ask, Tian Zhengfu said with a serious face, "The shot just now must have been fired by Comrade Wan Jiaming." As he spoke, he pointed to the northeast of the workshop: "Over there! Follow me."

After speaking, he immediately trotted over, and Xia Dongqiang followed without a word.

Ning Weidong reacted half a beat slower, but he discovered that the positioning of Tian Zhengfu and Xia Dongqiang was very particular.

Ning Weidong had a sudden inspiration and immediately quickened his pace, moving forward to fill the position; it was the classic Three-Three Tactics formation.

It stands to reason that Tian Zhengfu was a veteran, so that was no problem.

Xia Dongqiang had never been a soldier and had only received militia training, yet he had such awareness and quality, which spoke volumes.

One must know that they had not practiced this before; it was just a natural reaction.

Ning Weidong clicked his tongue in secret.

No wonder the once-mighty Soviet Union weighed the pros and cons several times and ultimately dared not make a move. This was still in '79; if it were '69, the average quality of the militia would certainly have been even higher than Xia Dongqiang's.

Once they mobilized, they could very likely reach a terrifying force of hundreds of millions.

Perhaps only such a foundation could support a genius-like "base-swapping" plan.

And make the enemy believe that it was practically feasible.

Ning Weidong's thoughts drifted, but in a flash, he had already arrived at the side door of the Fourth Workshop.

Tian Zhengfu suddenly shouted, "Wan Jiaming!"

In the pitch-black shadow ahead, one could not see anyone at all from this angle, yet a voice responded, "Over here."

The three immediately went over.

At the same time, a man of about thirty with a medium build emerged from the shadows, holding a 54 Pistol.

Ning Weidong had not seen Wan Jiaming when he went to find Tian Zhengfu last time; he did not know if it was because he had just fired a shot, but this unremarkable man seemed to have a murderous aura about him.

Tian Zhengfu asked in a low voice with rapid speed, "What's the situation?"

Wan Jiaming said, "I just came out to use the restroom and saw something going on here. When I came over to look, there was actually someone here!"

Tian Zhengfu and Ning Weidong exchanged a glance, and the two understood each other perfectly.

Afterward, the few of them joined together and continued to pursue in the direction Wan Jiaming pointed.

However, the person who had crossed paths with Wan Jiaming just now had long since run far away, and this pursuit did not catch them.

But those few gunshots just now had already alarmed the entire factory, and those on duty at the South Gate and West Gate had also brought guns over.

Almost simultaneously, the important leaders of the factory received phone calls.

Li Weibing and Wang Guoqiang were both startled; they immediately called for cars, left their homes, and rushed back to the factory at the fastest speed.

Neither of them had expected such a situation to occur at this time.

Especially Wang Guoqiang; although he was posturing to deal with Ning Weidong, the timing was not yet right, and he was not yet prepared.

But he was still uncertain in his heart—could it be that his subordinates couldn't sit still and had leaked their tracks prematurely? By the time the two arrived at the factory one after another, the matter was already over.

Because of the commotion from the gunshots, no one except Wan Jiaming had seen the person who had snuck into the Fourth Workshop.

……

Inside the Factory Office Building, in a conference room on the first floor.

Li Weibing and Wang Guoqiang were sitting and standing with serious expressions, both of them puffing away on cigarettes.

Besides the two of them, several other Deputy Factory Directors of the factory had also come after receiving the news; Deputy Factory Director Liu was also among them, and a strange look flashed in his eyes the moment he saw Ning Weidong.

Ning Weidong, Tian Zhengfu, and Wan Jiaming were called over.

As soon as he entered the room, Li Weibing threw his half-smoked cigarette on the ground, ground it out with his foot, and said in a deep voice, "Representative Tian, what exactly is going on tonight?"

Tian Zhengfu was a Military Representative; although his rank was not high, his status was special, so even Li Weibing and Wang Guoqiang had to give him some face.

Tian Zhengfu immediately stood at attention and saluted, saying, "Report to Factory Director Li, tonight Comrade Wan Jiaming was out on routine patrol..."

Blah blah blah, Tian Zhengfu recounted the prepared statement, his language clear and his logic sound.

Finally, he looked at Ning Weidong: "That is roughly it; does Officer Ning have anything to add?"

Ning Weidong also acted the part, stood at attention, and shouted a report.

The Security Division belonged to a militarized management system, so the proper forms required for formal occasions had to be observed.

Ning Weidong said, "My observations are roughly the same as Comrade Tian Zhengfu's. Tonight, Comrade Xia Dongqiang and I were on the night shift. At 9:55, we suddenly heard gunshots. We reacted immediately, carried our firearms to the scene of the incident, and converged with Comrade Tian Zhengfu at 9:57..."

Wang Guoqiang raised an eyebrow: "You arrived in less than two minutes?"

Ning Weidong looked at this Deputy Factory Director. In the original owner's memories, he had seen him at factory-wide meetings, but this was the first time Ning Weidong had seen the real person since crossing over.

Wang Guoqiang had a thin face, a pair of sharp eyes, and a hooked nose that gave people an aggressive impression.

Ning Weidong said, "Report to the Deputy Factory Director, at that time, Comrade Xia Dongqiang and I were not asleep. Moreover, as the Fourth Workshop is an important protected unit of the factory, we are deeply aware of the heavy mission on our shoulders and dared not slack off for a moment..."

Wang Guoqiang's mouth twitched; Ning Weidong, a mere deputy, had disgusted him.

Generally at this time, if Li Weibing was present, one would usually call Li Weibing "Factory Director" and add the surname for other deputy factory directors, without emphasizing the "Deputy" part.

But this guy Ning Weidong, damn it, dropped his surname and called him "Deputy Factory Director" directly.

Yet he couldn't say anything; for one, strictly speaking, Ning Weidong was not wrong, and for another, his faction had already broken with Ning Weidong.

Wang Guoqiang could only shut his mouth, though he was secretly annoyed at how Wang Kaifeng was handling things—the project at the General Assembly hadn't even arrived yet, so why pull this stunt? At this time, Tian Zhengfu said, "Factory Director Li, Factory Director Wang, given that the Fourth Workshop is about to undertake an important task issued by the General Assembly, as well as the situation that occurred tonight, I have reason to suspect this is not a coincidence. The hostile elements have wolfish ambitions; this is a targeted conspiracy. I will file an application to my superiors to strengthen the security level, and I hope the factory can provide cooperation."

Li Weibing and Wang Guoqiang were both old foxes, and their hearts skipped a beat upon hearing this.

Ning Weidong and Tian Zhengfu quickly exchanged a look.

This was the ultimate goal of their performance tonight: to force the Manager to raise the security level.

It wasn't enough for just the Military Representative Tian Zhengfu to file a report; he needed the cooperation of the Manager.

Now, Li Weibing and Wang Guoqiang were effectively being held over a fire; if they didn't agree, it would mean they didn't value the confidential project from their superiors, and if anything went wrong, they would have to bear joint liability.

Realizing this, the two of them looked at Ning Weidong in unison.

A flash of malice crossed Wang Guoqiang's eyes; he had already realized what was happening.

Others might not know, but he knew best that they had wanted to make a move in the Fourth Workshop to bury Ning Weidong.

But their plan hadn't been implemented yet.

Yet this incident happened, and once he excluded his own side, looking at this matter, it was too obvious.

Sensing his gaze, Ning Weidong didn't avoid it; he met it head-on and returned a smile.

Wang Guoqiang clenched his fists, knowing he had been played.

At the same time, Li Weibing also tasted the situation and gave Ning Weidong a look that was half-smile, half-serious.

This move of seizing the initiative was quite clever; knowing what you were going to do, I did it first, let's see what you do now.

Li Weibing swept his gaze over Wang Guoqiang, his partner and rival who was more than ten years younger than him.

If it were a dozen years ago, or if he were about the same age as Wang Guoqiang, he wouldn't be afraid of this rival at all.

But now, his age left him in an incredibly awkward position.

There is a saying that time spares no one, and it is truly not false at all.

At his age, no one would invest extra resources in him anymore, and what he held in his hands would only decrease bit by bit.

This was also why, despite having managed the Red Star Factory for so many years and having remained unscathed even during the most difficult and turbulent times, he had been made to look like a fool by an outsider in the last two years.

Was he, Li Weibing, senile, or was his ability failing?

Neither; it was simply that he was old and had no future.

Seeing Wang Guoqiang get frustrated at this moment made him feel very satisfied, and he immediately made the call: "Representative Tian's consideration is very correct. The Manager will certainly cooperate fully to ensure that the task assigned by the higher-level unit is completed on time, on schedule, with quality and quantity, and safely." As he spoke, he looked at the Vice Factory Director: "Old Wang, don't you agree~"

The Vice Factory Director immediately responded; no matter what he thought in his heart, he had to ensure his stance was correct in his words.

Li Weibing took the opportunity to say: "I think we must appropriately increase manpower over at the Fourth Workshop." As he spoke, he looked at Ning Weidong: "Comrade Ning Weidong, go to the Security Division tomorrow and pull ten people first. At the same time, the patrol routes of the Factory Protection Team must also be adjusted..."

The Vice Factory Director remained silent on the side, but he was holding back a breath of frustration.

Just then, following a knock on the door, Wang Kaifeng burst in, panting and out of breath.

As the acting head of the Security Division, he had also received a call just now.

But he didn't have the authority to call for a car immediately, so he had come by bicycle.

Yet, as soon as he arrived, he was met with Wang Guoqiang's unkind gaze.

Wang Kaifeng's heart tightened; he hadn't figured out what was going on yet, and he thought to himself, I haven't provoked anyone, why is he coming at me?

With Li Weibing finally setting the tone to add more manpower to the Fourth Workshop, the big show tonight came to an end.

Ning Weidong and Tian Zhengfu returned to the Fourth Workshop.

Manpower had already been temporarily increased here, with seven or eight people transferred from other parts of the factory to stand guard.

In truth, it was just for show; there wasn't anything truly important in the Fourth Workshop yet.

After sending Xia Dongqiang and Wan Jiaming away, only Ning Weidong and Tian Zhengfu remained.

They didn't look for a sheltered spot either, just stood on the main road in front of the Fourth Workshop.

It was the most open area here, pitch black all around, not a soul in sight, only the sound of the wind howling.

This time, Tian Zhengfu took out a cigarette first and handed one to Ning Weidong, saying with some excitement: "Brother Ning, I'm truly impressed!"

After this, the relationship between the two had improved significantly, and their forms of address had changed accordingly.

Ning Weidong smiled and asked: "Brother Tian, what's your estimate~ how many people can you get transferred over on your side?"

Tian Zhengfu thought for a moment and said: "I've looked at this project, and based on my experience, it will take at least one squad, maybe two."

Ning Weidong nodded and quickly calculated in his mind: "Counting twelve people on your side, plus you and Old Wan, that's fourteen people. I have five people originally, I'll pull a few more tomorrow, and try to find a way from the Factory Protection Team; at least the personnel won't be stretched too thin."

Tian Zhengfu nodded.

At least tonight hadn't been a waste of effort; they originally had only seven people in total, and now it had multiplied several times over.

But this still wasn't enough; just having people infiltrate the Fourth Workshop wasn't enough, there had to be a strategy for the people infiltrating.

Early the next morning, inside the Office of the Vice Factory Director.

With a "Bang," a white enamel tea mug was smashed hard onto the floor.

The tea and tea leaves inside splashed all over Wang Kaifeng's pants and shoes.

Yet he didn't dare to move a muscle, only able to stand where he was with his head lowered.

Wang Guoqiang's gaze was cold and gloomy; it took a long time before he spoke: "How did you handle things! Who told me that as long as Ning Weidong was moved to the Fourth Workshop, it would be foolproof?"

Wang Kaifeng remained silent; he had understood Wang Guoqiang's temper well over these years. At a time like this, if he dared to offer a single word of defense, he would face an even more violent storm.

Silent endurance was the best choice; wait until the other party finished venting their emotions before speaking.

After several minutes, having been sprayed with spit, Wang Guoqiang finally calmed down.

Only then did Wang Kaifeng tactfully pick up the tea mug from the floor, nimbly go to rinse it with hot water, brew fresh tea leaves, and place it in front of Wang Guoqiang.

Wang Guoqiang let out a "Hmph," picked up the teacup and took a sip; this meant it had passed.

"Tell me, what should we do next?" Wang Guoqiang asked while chewing on the tea leaves that hadn't fully steeped.

Wang Kaifeng had already learned about what happened last night and said calmly: "Although we let them take a small advantage last night, it doesn't change the overall situation. Think about it, with so many people in the entire Fourth Workshop, even if they add more manpower, how many can they have? Can they keep an eye on everything?"

Wang Guoqiang nodded, considering it an agreement.

Wang Kaifeng continued: "Besides, there is only the thief who steals for a thousand days, never the one who guards for a thousand days. We hold the initiative; we can move whenever we want, and they can only wait. I don't believe they can keep their guard up for a long time."

Wang Guoqiang frowned; although he did not speak, he knew in his heart that their time was not unlimited.

There were people watching him from behind as well, so he could not drag this out for too long.

Wang Kaifeng also knew this point and, without needing a reminder, took the initiative to say, "Rest assured, I have arranged everything. We are just waiting for the project from that side to arrive, and we can make our move at any time."

Wang Guoqiang turned and asked again, "What is the situation with He Yongbiao?"

Wang Kaifeng said, "Just as you expected, as soon as we cast this bait out, someone took the hook immediately."

Wang Guoqiang nodded; he was still very satisfied with these arrangements.

He waved his hand and said, "Alright, you may go."

Wang Kaifeng acknowledged this and turned around, about to leave.

Yet at this moment, the telephone on Wang Guoqiang's desk suddenly rang.

Wang Guoqiang frowned as he picked it up: "Hello, I am Wang Guoqiang... What! The Japanese... Good, I know, I understand!"

Wang Kaifeng had not yet reached the door when his footsteps suddenly paused, and he turned back.

Waiting for Wang Guoqiang to hang up the phone, he asked hurriedly, "Uncle, just now I heard something about Japanese people?"

Wang Guoqiang's expression was grim as he said in a deep voice, "Just now, over at the Fourth Workshop, a discarded note was found in the Workshop Director's Office."

Wang Kaifeng was surprised; what did this have to do with the Japanese? Wang Guoqiang said, "The note had some shorthand symbols similar to a code, which are very close to the Japanese language. Some suspect that the person who snuck into the Manager yesterday was very likely Japanese."

Wang Kaifeng felt a chill in his heart; his thoughts raced, and he stomped his foot, saying, "Damn it, they want to smear us!"

Wang Guoqiang pursed his lips solemnly; if Wang Kaifeng could think of it, how could he not?

Originally, he believed that Ning Weidong and the others pulling this stunt last night was just a case of a crying child getting candy, wanting to use the opportunity to demand more people.

In his view, this was just a deathbed struggle and had no meaning at all.

In the factory, even with more people, could they stop someone who was intentionally trying to cause trouble? Therefore, although Wang Guoqiang was angry just now, he did not think there was any major problem.

But now, since it might involve the Japanese, the nature of the situation had completely changed.

By doing this, Ning Weidong was effectively stacking a buff on himself; this time, whoever targeted the Fourth Workshop would be an accomplice of the Japanese.

This bucket of dirty water was splashed with quite a high level of skill.

Next, it would depend on how Wang Guoqiang's side responded.

Although Ning Weidong did not expect to scare off Wang Guoqiang and Wang Kaifeng with this, it could at least increase the psychological burden on the other side.

Whatever they did next, they had to consider one issue: if things were exposed, they must be able to clear themselves of any connection to the Japanese.

But once it involved outsiders, especially the Japanese, it would be hard to say.

______ Eight thousand words, seeking monthly tickets, seeking subscriptions! (End of chapter)