Chapter 109: Work, Housing, and Gold Bars (Seeking Subscriptions)

Listening to Ning Weidong's explanation, Lu Zhou suddenly felt as if he had been enlightened.

He had never thought about these things before, and no one had ever told him.

He opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to refute, but suddenly didn't know what to say.

Because he realized that what Ning Weidong said were all pearls of wisdom, words worth a thousand pieces of gold.

Looking back now, he had always hoped to show off or even flaunt his abilities in front of his leaders, thinking he was impressive, which was simply foolish beyond measure.

Ning Weidong patted him on the shoulder and continued, "I remember you said last time that you wanted to be a Deputy Section Chief?"

Lu Zhou nodded subconsciously.

Ning Weidong said, "A Deputy Section Chief is not a Deputy Division Chief or a Deputy Factory Director. Old Lu, given your qualifications, this request is truly not excessive. As long as you properly recognize your position and do what you ought to do, becoming a Deputy Section Chief will be a natural outcome."

Lu Zhou couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva; he realized that Ning Weidong might be feeding him empty promises, yet that previous speech was indeed full of wisdom.

If one followed Ning Weidong's logic, given his situation, was the requirement to be a Deputy Section Chief high?

Lu Zhou closed his eyes, struggling to adjust his emotions.

A moment later, he said in a deep voice, "Alright, I understand."

Ning Weidong nodded: "Then let's talk about today's matter~"

Lu Zhou said with a deadpan face: "I know, you should have learned from Li Peihang that there is someone in the Fourth Workshop named He Yongbiao..."

Ning Weidong was in no hurry to reveal that He Yongbiao had already been dealt with by him, and patiently listened to Lu Zhou continue.

Lu Zhou said: "This He Yongbiao is just a smokescreen; Wang Kaifeng's true trump card is the Deputy Workshop Director of the Fourth Workshop, Wu Dazhou."

Ning Weidong's heart gave a start.

According to the information he had previously gathered from Li Peihang, both the director and deputy director of the Fourth Workshop were Li Weibing's people, and the ones to worry about were the people in the various work teams below.

He hadn't expected Lu Zhou to bring him such significant news.

If his information was correct, the Fourth Workshop's Deputy Workshop Director Wu Dazhou had defected.

Ning Weidong frowned and asked: "Is the news reliable?"

Lu Zhou said with absolute certainty: "I stake my life on it. Before the New Year, Wu Dazhou secretly went to the maternal home of Wang Guoqiang's wife. A comrade-in-arms of mine lives in the same building as them, and I happened to see it with my own eyes when I went to visit during the New Year."

Ning Weidong's eyes narrowed slightly; while his face remained calm, he secretly rejoiced in his heart. The morale on Li Weibing's side had truly collapsed; fortunately, he hadn't counted on them from the start, otherwise, he would have been dragged to his death by these pig-teammates.

If even Wu Dazhou was on the other side, there were even more opportunities for them to play tricks from below.

If Ning Weidong had truly made plans for strict defense, he would have lost this round for sure.

But there was no need to tell Lu Zhou about these circumstances. Ning Weidong said with a serious face: "I know, I'm leaving now."

Without saying more to Lu Zhou, he left the restroom directly and followed the corridor to the large staircase in the middle of the Office Building to head downstairs.

Lu Zhou followed him out from behind, watching Ning Weidong's figure disappear, but he turned in the other direction and went up the small staircase on the side.

The first floor of the Red Star Factory's Office Building had three staircases: the large staircase in the middle and two small staircases on the sides.

Lu Zhou went up and arrived at the third floor.

In the third-floor stairwell, he happened to run into Feng Wen, who was smoking.

Feng Wen was not surprised, but instead asked indifferently: "Done?"

Lu Zhou nodded, his eyes somewhat obscure.

Feng Wen was long accustomed to his deadpan face; he pushed up his glasses and added: "Did he believe you?"

Lu Zhou said: "He should have."

Feng Wen gave an "en," said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Lu Zhou watched him enter Wang Kaifeng's office; he did not follow, but instead turned and went downstairs.

Ning Weidong left the Office Building and returned to the Fourth Workshop's duty room.

The information Lu Zhou provided just now was, theoretically, very useful. If Ning Weidong intended to defend strictly and plug the major loophole that was Wu Dazhou, it would undoubtedly be quite important for the overall situation.

Unfortunately, Ning Weidong had no intention of waiting until that point.

If it really reached that point, he might as well have surrendered this round.

Therefore, the situation provided by Lu Zhou was, in reality, of no value to Ning Weidong.

But the fact that this matter had no value did not mean that Lu Zhou himself had no value.

Regarding Lu Zhou, Ning Weidong had never truly trusted him.

Let alone someone like Lu Zhou, even someone like Liu Dong, who had a cleaner background and had taken the initiative to stand out and offer a pledge of allegiance under those circumstances, still needed to be cultivated little by little, let alone someone like Lu Zhou.

If Lu Zhou providing the news about Wu Dazhou was intentional on the other side and had ulterior motives, Ning Weidong would just go along with it and let them think they had succeeded.

Struggles are always complex, and this complexity often stems not from the matters themselves, but from the people involved.

One can never know what is in another person's heart.

Therefore, rather than trying to guess people's hearts, it is better to focus on the matters at hand.

Ning Weidong did not spend too much effort on Lu Zhou. After returning from the Office Building, he waited to go to Zhang Dajun's place in the afternoon.

Having arranged to meet after work in the afternoon, Ning Weidong made some arrangements before four o'clock and left by bike.

Tomorrow is March 1st; the good days for that brat Ning Lei are over, as school is finally starting.

It just so happens that today is the second day of the second lunar month, the "Dragon Raises Its Head."

Ning Weidong, however, had no time to eat pig head meat and rode his bike in one breath to the Suifu Border Police Station.

Before five o'clock, the sky was already dim.

Ning Weidong arrived at the Police Station, parked his bicycle, found Zhang Dajun along the way, and called out, "Brother Zhang."

Zhang Dajun looked up and said with a smile: "Brother, you haven't eaten yet, right~ It just so happens we can eat and talk. There is a State-owned restaurant up ahead that makes good Muxu Pork."

Ning Weidong did not stand on ceremony: "That sounds great, I am actually a bit hungry."

As Zhang Dajun spoke, he tidied up the things on his desk, put them into a black artificial leather bag, zipped up the brass zipper, and went out with Ning Weidong.

The two of them didn't ride their bikes either; they walked south along the alley in front of the Police Station, and before long, they saw a restaurant with its lights on, though it wasn't the Limin Canteen they had visited last time.

The restaurant's storefront wasn't large; Zhang Dajun pushed the door open and went in, calling out, "Master Chen, hurry it up, one plate of Muxu Pork, and bring a clay pot of boiled pork slices too."

A bald man in his forties inside responded, and while pouring water to wash the pot, he asked with a smile, "Zhang, how come you're running over to my place for dinner tonight?"

Zhang Dajun said, "I've brought a friend; let us use your inner room to talk about something." As he spoke, he pointed toward the back kitchen.

Master Chen chuckled, "Help yourself, old friend."

Zhang Dajun familiarly led Ning Weidong along the side corridor to the room inside that could be considered a private booth.

Calling it a private booth was a stretch; it was actually a storage room. Besides an Eight Immortals table and four benches in the middle, there were several crates and other sundries piled up on the north side of the room near the window.

It was likely that regular customers who liked to drink and brag, but couldn't get into big restaurants with private booths and felt restricted by the open seating outside, would just come here.

Zhang Dajun slipped off his overcoat and hung it on the coat rack next to the door, which was covered with New Year pictures to prevent it from rubbing against the whitewashed wall.

He then took it upon himself to grab a rag from the side and wipe the table.

Ning Weidong also hung up his overcoat and sat down with him.

Just then, a middle-aged woman with a face full of smiles came in from outside, greeted them with a smile, served a small plate of peanuts, and asked, "Are you two not going to have a drink?"

Zhang Dajun waved his hand, "Not today, maybe next time."

The woman didn't pester them and turned to leave.

Ning Weidong was somewhat impatient and asked, "Brother Zhang, what's the situation?"

Zhang Dajun said, "The situation regarding Lu Yong is quite clear. Ever since he died in a work-related accident last year, his family received compensation from the Manager, and his two sons and one daughter were all given jobs..."

As soon as Ning Weidong heard the compensation terms listed by Zhang Dajun, he knew there was definitely a problem.

Normally, work-related accidents in factories weren't rare, especially in heavy industry factories; according to standard regulations, it was impossible for Lu Yong's family to receive so many favors.

Just then, a shout came from outside: "Muxu Pork is ready~"

That meant the two of them should pause their conversation inside while the food was served.

After waiting a few seconds, the woman from before came in carrying a plate of steaming Muxu Pork, while her other hand skillfully balanced two large bowls of rice.

After setting them down, she nimbly retreated.

Once she was far away, Zhang Dajun continued, "Zhan Shengli lived in Nanluoguxiang. I asked a comrade-in-arms to look into it; although it's not as detailed as this side, the general situation is more or less the same."

Ning Weidong nodded, just as he had expected.

Having grasped this situation, it could basically be determined that the deaths of these two people were not simple work-related accidents.

Otherwise, the factory wouldn't be so guilty; to turn a big issue into a small one and a small one into nothing, they had to appease the victims' families.

The dead were already dead, but the living still had to go on living.

The question now was whether Wang Kaifeng had directly executed this matter and what methods he had used.

If these things were exposed, would it be enough to crush Wang Kaifeng?

At the same time, these two work-related deaths must be separated from those other accidents.

Ning Weidong's goal from beginning to end was only one: to take down Wang Kaifeng.

Everything else was just a path and a means; one must never put the cart before the horse regarding this.

Although those accidents looked intimidating, if one were to act rashly, it would only be counterproductive.

As the saying goes, with Ning Weidong's current weight, he couldn't carry such a heavy burden.

Instead, he would encounter enormous, uncertain resistance from the outside world.

It was conceivable that such power was at least on the same level as the Wang Family and the Zhao Family, perhaps even stronger.

Being able to control such a large chain of interests and siphon off the factory's resources was something an ordinary person couldn't do.

Ning Weidong picked up a piece of Muxu Pork.

It had to be said, no wonder Zhang Dajun specifically mentioned it; the heat was controlled perfectly, especially when eaten with the steaming rice—one big mouthful, and it was delicious.

Subsequently, the clay pot of boiled pork slices was also brought up; these clay pot dishes were all prepared in advance, and when a customer ordered one, it was taken out and boiled on the fire.

After the food was served and no one else disturbed them, Ning Weidong continued to ask Zhang Dajun, "Brother Zhang, are there any suitable breakthrough points on either side?"

This was the key; one had to find the critical point and the critical person.

Although it was said that the dead were gone and the living must go on living.

But Ning Weidong didn't believe that those children from the two families were all so heartless and content.

They were all in their teens or twenties; they must surely want to know how their own fathers actually died.

It was just that no one had stirred things up before, and coupled with the immense power Wang Kaifeng had displayed, they were fearful and chose to muddle along.

But as the saying goes, people's hearts are easily changed; they might have retreated then, but that doesn't mean they will now.

Zhang Dajun understood Ning Weidong's thoughts and immediately said, "These two have a total of five children. Lu Yong had two sons and a daughter, and Zhan Shengli had a son and a daughter. Zhan Shengli's children were older, both married with families of their own, so they had many concerns..."

Ning Weidong nodded, understanding what he meant; there wasn't much hope on Zhan Shengli's side.

Zhang Dajun continued, "However, Lu Yong's youngest son is just nineteen this year, and he's at that hot-blooded age. Back then, he had doubts about the cause of Lu Yong's death and even went to the factory and the Police Station to make a scene."

Ning Weidong raised an eyebrow; this was the kind of person he needed.

Regardless of the motive—whether he truly wanted to find out the cause of his father's death or wanted to take the opportunity to demand more benefits.

As long as he had the courage and dared to be the first to stick his neck out, that was enough...

Next, Zhang Dajun spoke in detail about the situation of Lu Yong's youngest son.

This person was named Lu Xuesong, and he currently worked at the Red Star Factory in the Security Division.

It was estimated that when Wang Kaifeng arranged for him to be in the Security Division, he wanted to keep him under his nose; after all, Lu Xuesong was the only thorn in the side among those two families.

As for the others in the Lu family, the eldest, Lu Shuishan, didn't work at the Rolling Mill; he used to be a manual laborer carrying heavy sacks at the Cotton Textile Factory, which was the most bitter and tiring work.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he was transferred directly to the Logistics Department. Wang Kaifeng used his connections there, so not only did he earn more, but the work was also the lightest.

Currently, he was supporting the old lady of the Lu family, and he had two sons below him, one four years old and one two years old.

The other daughter of the Lu family was a teacher at an elementary school, having started just last year.

After getting a job, he is currently in a relationship with someone from a Tax Bureau and has already reached the stage of discussing marriage.

All things considered, this Lu Xuesong has the fewest ties.

Ning Weidong said, "Brother Zhang, where is this Lu Xuesong now?"

Zhang Dajun said, "He had an unpleasant falling out with his family that time, and in the end, because of a disturbance, he was dragged in and locked up for two days before he agreed to the conditions. Later, he moved directly into the Manager and applied for a bachelor dormitory."

Ning Weidong frowned: "In the Manager?"

Zhang Dajun nodded, also feeling a bit troubled.

Large-scale factory mines are self-contained systems; even if he went over there, he would be helpless.

Besides, if he went looking for him, would it alert the enemy?

Ning Weidong thought for a moment, used his chopsticks to pick up a large clump of pickled cabbage from the casserole, put it in his bowl, slurped it down, ate it straight into his stomach, and mumbled, "Brother Zhang, let's be quick; once we're done eating, we'll go meet this Lu Xuesong."

At this moment, time is victory.

Ning Weidong could not delay for even a moment.

Tomorrow afternoon, people from the higher-level unit will arrive at the Manager, and at the latest by the day after tomorrow, the production process can be finalized.

By then, it will be time for Wang Kaifeng to make his move.

There is not much time left for Ning Weidong...

Having made up his mind, the two men ate even faster, and before long, they had polished off everything.

Zhang Dajun offered to pay the bill, and Ning Weidong did not fight him for it; this was all small money, no need to be too calculating.

Anyway, Ning Weidong had already calculated in his heart that once this matter was finished, he would definitely thank Zhang Dajun properly.

Regardless of what Chu Zhongxin says on his end, this is the friendship between him and Zhang Dajun. Leaving the restaurant, the two returned to the Police Station to retrieve their bicycles.

Ning Weidong thought for a moment, picked up the phone, and dialed the Manager.

Before long, after being transferred by the switchboard, Ning Wei picked up the phone.

Ning Weidong said, "Xiao Wei, I'm not going back tonight; you should come out too~"

Ning Wei responded on the other end, and the two hung up.

Zhang Dajun frowned and said, "Do you need me to call a couple of people over here?"

Ning Weidong shook his head and said, "No need, I have people over there."

In fact, when Ning Weidong made the call just now, he originally wanted to ask if Liu Dong and the others knew a person named Lu Xuesong.

Among the people currently in the Fourth Workshop, Liu Dong is considered relatively reliable.

But phones in this era require transfers, especially when calling the Manager, as they are all transferred by the switchboard.

At night, some bored telephone operators would listen in on people's calls.

As for what was said to Ning Wei just now, it was a pre-arranged code.

Telling him to come out meant waiting at the factory gate, going home meant meeting at Ning Weidong's house, and asking the Fourth Brother meant asking Chu Zhongxin for help...

Ning Weidong and Zhang Dajun rode their bicycles out. Ning Weidong first took a detour to go home, then headed straight for Red Star Factory, but did not go directly into the Manager.

Quite a distance from the South Gate of the factory, the two saw Ning Wei standing at the entrance of an alley by the side of the road.

Ning Weidong and Zhang Dajun went straight over and ducked into the alley.

Inside were three others: Liu Dong, Wang Xuewen, and Zhao Chunming were all there.

Seeing Ning Weidong, Ning Wei immediately wanted to ask about the situation, but noticed Zhang Dajun was still following, so he was unsure of the situation and immediately kept his mouth shut.

Ning Weidong asked first about the situation with He Yongbiao.

Originally, he had arranged to deal with He Yongbiao tonight to show the outside world that he was trying every possible way to check for leaks and fill gaps.

Ning Wei said, "Handed it over to Wang Weiran."

Ning Wei has the ability to adapt to circumstances; originally Ning Weidong told him to go, but then suddenly called him, so there must be something more important.

He simply handed the He Yongbiao matter to Wang Weiran and met up with Ning Weidong first.

Ning Weidong nodded, quite satisfied with this arrangement.

Ning Wei indeed has the potential to handle things on his own.

Only then did he ask Liu Dong: "Xiao Liu, do you know Lu Xuesong from our Security Division?"

"Lu Xuesong?" Liu Dong thought for a moment and said, "You mean the one in charge of the equipment room, right~ I know him! Leader, are you looking for him?"

Ning Weidong nodded and said, "Can you call this person out?"

Liu Dong nodded immediately: "Lu Xuesong lives in the bachelor dormitory at the Manager. I have a friend who also lives there, and I go over often; it's right next door to him."

Confirming that Liu Dong knew Lu Xuesong, Ning Weidong and the others immediately got on their bikes, bypassed the South Gate of the factory, and went straight to the West Gate.

The Logistics Department of the factory is on the side of the West Gate, and the dormitory and bathhouse have an extra small gate opened.

When the group arrived, the two-story bathhouse was brightly lit. To the south of the bathhouse, entering through the Moon Gate, was the factory dormitory.

In a place like Red Star Factory, there are many young men who are single and have no housing, and many live in bachelor dormitories, especially at night, when it is chaotic.

Ning Weidong glanced inside through the Moon Gate and gave Ning Wei and Liu Dong a look, signaling them to go over.

The two had serious expressions, nodded immediately, and walked in.

The dormitories inside were all single-story houses; Lu Xuesong was in the second row of houses inside, and they disappeared from sight once they turned in.

It was crowded and noisy here, people from different workshops didn't necessarily know each other, and people were coming and going; you move in today, he moves out tomorrow, there's nothing fixed.

So there was no fear of Ning Wei and Liu Dong being noticed.

After a while, a young man, not tall and with some childishness still on his face, came out with Ning Wei and Liu Dong.

Arriving at where Ning Weidong was, he frowned and looked Ning Weidong and Zhang Dajun up and down: "Are you looking for me?"

Ning Weidong asked in return, "Are you Lu Xuesong?"

The young man nodded, his expression becoming more guarded: "Who are you people?"

Ning Weidong said, "I am Ning Weidong, an officer from our factory's Security Division."

Lu Xuesong was somewhat surprised: "You are Ning Weidong?"

He was also in the Security Division and had heard of Ning Weidong's name.

This was not strange; a while ago, when Ning Weidong transferred from the West Gate to the Office Building, he was indeed discussed for a while among the young people in the Security Division.

Ning Weidong then introduced Zhang Dajun: "This is a comrade from Public Security."

Zhang Dajun smiled and reached out his hand: "Hello, Comrade Lu Xuesong, my name is Zhang Dajun."

As he spoke, he took out his credentials and flashed them in front of Lu Xuesong.

Upon hearing it was Public Security, and being young and lacking experience, Lu Xuesong hurriedly shook hands with Zhang Dajun and said, "Hello, Comrade."

Ning Weidong said, "This evening, the factory leadership asked me to accompany Comrade Zhang to find you and learn about some circumstances. Is that okay?"

Lu Xuesong hurriedly said, "No problem, um... right here?"

Ning Weidong had already made up his mind: "Let's go outside to talk."

The few of them left the dormitory and followed the door by the bathhouse to the outside of the factory area.

Across the road was the workers' residential area of the Red Star Factory, which was a large expanse of single-story houses.

Beside the single-story houses, there was a three-story red brick building, which was the factory's guesthouse.

Ning Weidong and the others arrived at the guesthouse and went to the counter at the entrance.

Behind the counter, a girl with two braided pigtails and wearing a pair of sleeve covers lifted her eyelids to look, and asked listlessly with her mouth full as if holding a rag: "Official business or personal?"

Ning Weidong said, "Personal. I'm from our factory's Security Division, and a few friends have come."

The girl behind the counter glanced over, saw they were all grown men and no women, and reminded them: "Be careful, no money allowed in poker, and no loud noise after ten o'clock..."

This kind of thing was not rare; young people like Ning Weidong, when friends came over on the weekend, would stay at the guesthouse if they were well-off, or make do for the night in the bachelor dormitory if they were strapped for cash.

After opening a four-person room and paying the deposit, Ning Weidong had Liu Dong register their work IDs, and the group went up to the second floor.

The guesthouse of this era certainly couldn't compare to the hotels of later generations, but fortunately, the heating in the room was good, connected to the factory's large boiler.

Arriving in the room, he let Ning Wei and Liu Dong go outside to smoke, leaving only Ning Weidong, Zhang Dajun, and Lu Xuesong in the room.

Knowing that Zhang Dajun was from Public Security had already made Lu Xuesong uneasy, and he felt even more constrained now.

Ning Weidong took out cigarettes, handed him one, and said, "Don't be nervous. We have no malice toward you; we just want to understand the situation regarding your father back then."

Lu Xuesong's expression stiffened, then he said with a bitter face, "Don't test me anymore. I really won't look into it, and I won't report it either. I accept it!"

Ning Weidong caught the implication.

It was likely that after Lu Xuesong was settled previously, Wang Kaifeng was not at ease and must have set a trap to test him, conducting a fishing expedition once.

Because of this, Lu Xuesong had learned his lesson.

Ning Weidong comforted him: "Comrade Lu Xuesong, I think you've misunderstood." As he spoke, he took out a lighter to help him light the cigarette: "I don't know what situation you encountered before, but justice may be delayed, but it will never be absent..."

Blah blah blah, Ning Weidong said a whole lot, finally making Lu Xuesong believe they were not there to fish for information.

"You... really want to investigate my father's case?" A glimmer of hope appeared in Lu Xuesong's eyes.

Ning Weidong exchanged a look with Zhang Dajun.

Zhang Dajun said in a deep voice, "Comrade Lu Xuesong, please don't worry, I can guarantee it to you."

Lu Xuesong frowned, smoking his cigarette with his head down, and only after a long while did he say, "I know, you want to use me to deal with Department Head Wang, right?"

Ning Weidong was slightly surprised; he hadn't expected this Lu Xuesong to be quite smart.

Lu Xuesong continued, "I understand, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Ning Weidong did not deny it and admitted, "Of course, you aren't wrong to understand it that way. In any case, our goals are the same. You wouldn't want your father to have died in such an unclear way, would you?"

Lu Xuesong fell silent again.

This time, Ning Weidong was not in a hurry to speak.

From the conversation just now, it was clear that this Lu Xuesong was not stupid, nor was he blindly reckless.

At this moment, saying more was useless; he had his own set of rules in his heart.

After about three or four minutes, Lu Xuesong spoke again: "Do you guarantee that you can definitely topple Wang Kaifeng?"

Although Lu Xuesong was not stupid, his vision was limited after all, and the biggest boss he could see was Wang Kaifeng.

Or rather, he did not know the chain of interests and extensions involved, and was not even willing to think about Wang Guoqiang, who was behind Wang Kaifeng.

Because it was Wang Kaifeng who did the specific deeds, he focused the conflict on Wang Kaifeng.

However, this was exactly what Ning Weidong wanted; it would have been harder if he weren't targeting Wang Kaifeng.

Moreover, Ning Weidong estimated that when Wang Kaifeng handled the aftermath for Lu Yong and Zhan Shengli, he must have used a method of both kindness and severity.

Besides giving those two families benefits, he must have also killed the chicken to scare the monkey, and the 'chicken' killed was Lu Xuesong.

Of course, that was just a metaphor; he didn't actually kill Lu Xuesong, but Lu Xuesong must have suffered a great deal, far more serious than what was currently known.

Ning Weidong said, "Comrade Lu Xuesong, since we are going to investigate, we will certainly not let a single bad person go. As long as you can stand up and bite down on Wang Kaifeng, I can topple him from my end, and give your father justice, and give you justice."

Lu Xuesong fell silent again.

Ning Weidong knew that he was holding out for a better price. Since it involved substantive issues, painting big pictures and saying nice things was meaningless; he had to produce something concrete to move him.

Ning Weidong said, "After this matter is successful, I can transfer you to the Office Building."

Lu Xuesong's eyes lit up.

His current job was managing some of the Security Division's equipment and materials, mainly for the Factory Protection Team; although the work was leisurely, he was a marginalized person.

If he were forty years old now, he would definitely think this job was perfect, but he was only nineteen and had many ideas.

Ning Weidong was very good at gauging the needs of young people; a job with more room for imagination could easily move someone.

But this was far from enough, so Ning Weidong added, "Next year when the factory builds family housing, there will be a spot for you."

This was nonsense, because Ning Weidong had no idea whether the factory would build family housing next year.

However, for Lu Xuesong, who lived in a bachelor dormitory, owning a house of his own, even if it was just an empty quota, was enough to make his heart race.

But this is still not enough; to make people risk their lives, just saying "after the matter is done" or "wait until next year" is not enough; there must be something that can be cashed in on the spot.

This is not just a deposit, but a kind of credit endorsement, making people believe you can fulfill your promise, rather than just flapping your lips and talking nonsense.

Ning Weidong had long been prepared; he reached out, pulled a Big Yellow Fish from the inner pocket of his clothes, and with a "slap," slammed it heavily onto the bedside table next to him.

Just now, after coming out of the Police Station, Ning Weidong had specifically gone back for a trip, just to get this.

Last time he got three Big Yellow Fish from the Cellar, and at a critical moment, he took one out directly.

This one Big Yellow Fish, if exchanged for cash, is over four thousand yuan.

But if Wang Kaifeng can be toppled, let alone one, even if all three were taken out, it would be worth it.

What's more, what is being fought for now is time; Ning Weidong has no spare time to slowly haggle with Lu Xuesong to save money; he wants to cut the Gordian knot and see immediate results.

In this instant, even Zhang Dajun was shocked, staring with wide eyes at the yellow fish glowing with golden light under the lamp on the bedside table.

He remembered going home with Ning Weidong just now, letting him wait outside for a moment; Ning Weidong went in, and in less than two minutes, came out of the courtyard; it must have been to get this.

But... is this too exaggerated? A mere Lu Xuesong, on what grounds does he deserve a job, a house, and a gold bar! Ning Weidong, however, did not think so; Lu Xuesong is certainly not worth it, but Wang Kaifeng is!

As long as Lu Xuesong is turned into a lethal dagger that can stab Wang Kaifeng to death, then he is worth this price.

Lu Xuesong didn't react at first; he looked at the bedside table for a full seven or eight seconds before he realized that it was a gold bar.

At the same time, he realized that it was given to him by Ning Weidong, and he couldn't help but stammer, looking at the gold bar and then at Ning Weidong, back and forth several times, his breathing becoming heavy: "This—this is for me too?"

Ning Weidong said expressionlessly: "Of course, if you feel it's inconvenient, it can also be exchanged for cash, four thousand yuan."

Hearing this amount, Lu Xuesong's heartbeat quickened.

Back when his father was still alive, their family's conditions were considered quite good; his father's monthly salary was 45.5 yuan, supporting a whole family.

His mother was good at managing the household and could save a little bit each month, but after more than ten years, she had only saved five hundred yuan, which was almost their family's entire fortune.

Now Ning Weidong had actually slammed a gold bar worth four thousand yuan in front of him.

He didn't know the value of a Big Yellow Fish, but he had a concept of four thousand yuan.

With his current salary, he wouldn't earn that in ten years even if he didn't eat or drink.

With a "gulp," Lu Xuesong swallowed a mouthful of saliva; he reached out wanting to touch the Big Yellow Fish, but felt a bit timid, and looked at Ning Weidong.

Ning Weidong simply raised his hand, picked it up, and stuffed it into his arms.

Lu Xuesong had never seen gold and didn't know how to verify if it was real gold, so he just listened to what the elders said about real gold being able to take a tooth mark; he immediately didn't care if the gold bar was dirty or not and put it directly into his mouth to take a bite.

He carefully saw the clear tooth mark on it.

Lu Xuesong was convinced without a doubt; he gripped this Big Yellow Fish tightly with both hands, looked at Ning Weidong and Zhang Dajun again, flames seemingly igniting in his eyes, and gritting his teeth, he said fiercely: "Leader, what do you want me to do?"

Seeing this attitude of his, Ning Weidong secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If it had come to this point and Lu Xuesong was still insatiably greedy, he would have had no choice but to make him drink the forfeit instead of the toast.

Some people are just cheap bones; if you talk to them nicely, they don't listen, and you have to give them a slap in the face before they behave.

Fortunately, Lu Xuesong was not that kind of person; he was still quite smart and knew when to advance or retreat.

Ning Weidong lifted his butt, sat on the bed on Lu Xuesong's side, raised his hand to put it around his shoulder, and asked: "You are a smart person; regarding that matter back then, you must have left a backup plan, right?"

(End of this chapter)