Chapter 119: Taking It Out

The inpatient department of the People's Hospital.

Wang Guoqiang lay on the hospital bed with a deathly pale face, the air permeated with the smell of disinfectant.

Wang Guoqiang had vomited blood and fallen unconscious that morning, and was immediately sent to the hospital for emergency treatment.

After a bout of turmoil, it turned out to be just Qi stagnation attacking the heart; there was no danger to his life.

But at this moment, Wang Guoqiang felt incredibly stifled, feeling even worse than if he had swallowed a fly.

Everything had been planned perfectly; as long as Wang Kaifeng was successfully fished out, he could immediately reverse the situation upon returning to the Red Star Factory and regain the initiative.

Yet he never expected that, despite all his precautions, he would end up capsizing in the gutter because of Ning Weidong.

Before today, he hadn't put this young man Ning Weidong in his eyes at all, having been constantly guarding against any moves from Li Weibing.

This was because the Wang Family and the Zhao Family had already clearly ceased their activities, not wanting to participate further in the power struggle within the Red Star Factory.

This was the big picture.

And as a pawn of the Wang Family, Ning Weidong should not have caused any problems under these circumstances.

Wang Guoqiang could not figure out how Ning Weidong dared to do it!

Could it be that the Wang Family was just letting this kid run wild?

Even now, Wang Guoqiang could not understand how things had turned out this way.

And then there was Wang Kaifeng, usually such a shrewd person, spending his days pondering Go, putting on the airs of Zhuge Liang or Liu Bowen, yet he had actually hidden those things at home.

And he had even exchanged for so many US dollars—what on earth was he thinking?

The more Wang Guoqiang thought about it, the more his head ached, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh, trying to ease his oppressive mood.

Yet at this very moment, the telephone beside the hospital bed suddenly rang.

He was staying in a Cadre ward, a single room with a telephone and a bathroom.

A young man accompanying him immediately picked up the phone, said "hello," and then immediately handed it to Wang Guoqiang.

Wang Guoqiang sat up from the bed, took the receiver, and knowing who was calling, said with a face full of guilt: "Old leader, I... I have failed your trust."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, then a somewhat hoarse voice came through: "Guoqiang, I heard you vomited blood?"

Wang Guoqiang smiled bitterly: "You already know~"

The other side said: "I know your character; don't get too hung up on things. A lost battle does not mean a lost campaign, and a lost campaign does not mean the failure of the whole situation. You are still young; there is plenty of time ahead."

Wang Guoqiang felt even worse; he hadn't expected the old leader to call not to hold him accountable, but instead to counsel him.

The other side added: "However, the impact of this incident is very bad. You must handle the aftermath well and not leave any handles for others to use, understand?"

Wang Guoqiang's heart tightened; he slowly closed his eyes, a tear at the corner of his eye, and said in a deep voice: "Old leader, I understand. I will not make things difficult for you."

The other side gave an "um," sighed, and said: "Guoqiang, rest well and return to your post as soon as possible. Also... stop the actions targeting Ning Weidong and the Wang-Zhao marriage alliance."

As the other side hung up, Wang Guoqiang listened to the dial tone for a long time before handing the phone to the person beside him.

He understood that this time, Wang Kaifeng could not be saved at all.

This "could not be saved" did not just refer to his position at the Red Star Factory, but to the person himself.

He had to handle the loose ends; Wang Kaifeng could not become the fuse that would affect the whole body if one hair was pulled. This person... must not be kept! Wang Guoqiang felt a complex mix of emotions.

Wang Kaifeng had been with him since he was twenty-three; he was not just his nephew, but sometimes, he was better than a son.

Over these twenty years, the time he had spent with Wang Kaifeng exceeded that with any of his own biological sons.

And now, he had to perform a true "warrior cutting off his wrist" to survive.

Wang Guoqiang absolutely trusted Wang Kaifeng and believed that Wang Kaifeng was a smart person who would never talk nonsense.

But Wang Kaifeng knew too much, and others within the faction did not have this same trust.

Now that a situation had arisen, the hidden danger had to be eliminated.

Wang Guoqiang lay on the hospital bed, feeling infinitely helpless.

Especially that last sentence, which was an even greater blow to him.

He couldn't even go to seek revenge on Ning Weidong; not everyone had the qualifications and the guts to be as willful as Ning Weidong.

In the faction, everyone had their own position and persona; this was destined from the very beginning.

Wang Guoqiang's personality was not particularly strong within his faction; he had gained the favor of his superiors through solid performance and excellent work ability.

This was his foundation; he was not qualified to do anything out of line.

Thinking of this, Wang Guoqiang smiled bitterly again, even harboring the thought of withdrawing from the Red Star Factory.

This failure caused him a significant loss; continuing to stay at the Red Star Factory would surely lead to being suppressed by Li Weibing.

Moreover, after this, it would be difficult for him to obtain more support from above in the short term.

This was the most fatal thing for him.

Before this, the reason he could suppress Li Weibing in the factory was by leveraging the resources behind him to create an atmosphere of succession, which could make people have infinite fantasies.

The power of this fantasy was quite great; even some of Li Weibing's die-hard supporters had to consider the future and have some reservations about him.

And his own people, when facing Li Weibing, were brave and advancing, completely fearless.

Because they had a thought in their hearts: even if they were suppressed for a while, as long as Factory Manager Wang was still there, as long as they waited a few more years, they would have their day.

That was how the previous situation had come to be.

But this time, Ning Weidong's counter-kill of Wang Kaifeng was equivalent to breaking his "invincible golden body."

It would be very difficult to gather that kind of momentum again in the future.

It was still that old saying: once people's hearts are scattered, the team is hard to lead.

Previously it was Li Weibing, and now Wang Guoqiang was facing the same problem.

But leaving was not easy either; if Wang Guoqiang left, who would take over this mess? Unless he just washed his hands of the entire Red Star Factory.

That was clearly impossible.

The means of production occupied by the Red Star Factory were scarce resources; how could the faction Wang Guoqiang belonged to, having finally managed to seize most of the control, just say they didn't want it anymore?

Therefore, even if Wang Guoqiang conceived the idea of retiring, he could not leave, unless someone replaced him.

Thinking of this, Wang Guoqiang felt helpless in his heart.

……

On the other side, at the Manager.

Ning Weidong had just sat down after returning to the Office when Ruyi came running in, full of energy.

As soon as she entered the room, she went to the desk and stared blankly at Ning Weidong, as if she were meeting him for the first time.

Ning Weidong raised his hand and waved it in front of her eyes, then casually pinched her slightly chubby cheeks.

Ruyi then swatted his hand away: "Ouch! That hurts~"

Ning Weidong chuckled: "You still know it hurts? I thought you had gone delirious~"

Ruyi rolled her eyes at him and said crossly: "You're the one who's delirious~ Hey, I heard you made Wang Guoqiang vomit blood from anger this morning, and he almost didn't make it. Is that true or false?"

Ning Weidong raised an eyebrow: "Who did you hear that from?"

Ruyi said: "No need to ask who I heard it from, it's spreading all over the Manager now~ They also say Wang Kaifeng is completely finished this time." Ning Weidong smiled: "He did vomit a mouthful of blood this morning, but saying he didn't make it is an exaggeration; Vice Factory Director Wang's health is actually quite good. As for Wang Kaifeng... it'll be tough for him to get out in three or five years."

Ruyi's eyes brightened, and the look she gave Ning Weidong carried a different kind of emotion.

She hadn't expected that Ning Weidong would actually pull it off! Previously, when she listened to her father and brother discussing it at home, they both felt Ning Weidong didn't have much of a chance of winning, yet Ning Weidong had done it.

This was her man, the lover she would marry in the future.

After confirming the news, Ruyi's emotions gradually calmed down, but she still couldn't help but giggle happily, "Weidong, you're truly amazing!" Ruyi's praise came from the bottom of her heart; Ning Weidong had really saved face this time.

He had single-handedly won a battle that seemed to have no chance of victory! Whether some things are good or bad does not lie in the things themselves, but in comparison.

Originally, when Ruyi found a partner like Ning Weidong, those young sisters she grew up with, regardless of what they thought in their hearts, more or less felt that Ning Weidong wasn't good enough for her.

Even knowing that Ning Weidong looked good—tall, handsome, with thick eyebrows and big eyes—they couldn't help but categorize him as a "flowery pillow."

There were also a few who had never gotten along with Ruyi since childhood, and now they all had engagements or were already married.

The partners they found, good or bad, were at least on the surface well-matched in social status, all from the various large compounds.

Only Ruyi had found someone from outside the compounds.

Since she was little, Ruyi relied on her strength and martial arts skills to handle even the boys, let alone these girls; her tongue wasn't very sharp, but she had one principle: whoever dared to nag, she would punch them.

Because of this, she had made no shortage of enemies.

The boys were all thick-skinned and would forget about it after a fight, but the girls were different—they were quite vengeful.

Now that they had finally caught an opportunity to disparage Ruyi, how could they let her off easily?

Ruyi felt depressed inside but couldn't win an argument, so she could only secretly sulk.

Until this time, when Ning Weidong displayed his great power and, after that old leader had spoken, stood firm against the pressure and took down Wang Kaifeng.

This stunning performance completely overshadowed those so-called elites of the compounds.

After all, even among the compound descendants, those who could obtain family resources like Zhao Lichun were a very small minority.

Most were just scraps who couldn't be brought to the table, let alone become a powerful Section Chief of a State-owned large factory in their early twenties.

With this, Ruyi could return the words those women had said about her word for word.

It was precisely because of this that she was so excited and came running over in such a rush.

Ning Weidong was also in a very good mood and said with a grin: "Just talking with your mouth, no actual action?"

Ruyi's face turned red, she muttered "pervert" under her breath, and took the initiative to lean in and kiss Ning Weidong on the cheek.

She had intended to just taste it briefly, but unexpectedly, Ning Weidong reached out and hugged her.

At over one meter seventy and nearly one hundred and thirty jin, she was like a child in Ning Weidong's arms.

Ruyi let out an "ah," and before she could react, she was already held on his lap.

Previously, Ning Weidong didn't have a private Office, so naturally, he couldn't mess around outside.

But now, there were only the two of them in this Office, and others had to knock before entering, so he became unscrupulous.

Ruyi still wanted to struggle, but her mouth was blocked by Ning Weidong, and he began to kiss her fiercely.

Ruyi pushed him twice, found she couldn't push him away, and simply gave up, justifying it to herself that it wasn't that she was willing, but that Ning Weidong was as strong as a bear and she simply couldn't push him.

Yes, she simply couldn't push him!

Thinking this, Ruyi simply stopped struggling until they separated when she was almost out of breath.

Ruyi was panting heavily, only then discovering that at some point, Ning Weidong had skillfully reached under the hem of her clothes.

Feeling him against her skin, Ruyi's face turned even redder, and meeting Ning Weidong's eyes, she stammered: "You... what are you doing! Take it out quickly!"

Unexpectedly, Ning Weidong was truly obedient; as he replied, he lifted her clothes, revealing a large expanse of fair belly.

Ruyi hurriedly pressed her chest, both shy and angry: "What are you doing!"

Ning Weidong blinked his eyes and said innocently: "Didn't you tell me to take it out?"

"Damn it!" Ruyi held her breath in her throat; was that what I meant? I meant for you to take your hand out, not to take it out and touch me!

However, based on her understanding of Ning Weidong since they met, she couldn't reason with this guy at all, so she simply stopped talking, wanting only to escape quickly, otherwise, if she were really eaten clean, she wouldn't even have a place to cry.

Having delivered herself to his door, how could Ning Weidong let her run? He pulled her into his arms and kissed her again.

Ruyi was dazed and almost stripped like a little white lamb.

Fortunately, this was an Office, and someone could come in at any time, so Ning Weidong couldn't be too reckless, otherwise, he would have definitely taken her right there.

Ruyi usually always called Ning Weidong a pervert, and this time it was exactly as she wished.

Coming out of the Office, Ruyi let out a long breath, looked down at her clothes—she had already tidied them up inside the room—and then prepared to go back with composure.

……

By the time they got off work in the evening, the news that Wang Kaifeng was completely finished and Wang Guoqiang had vomited blood and been hospitalized had spread throughout the entire factory.

Most people didn't believe this explosive news at first, but as Wang Guoqiang did not appear for the whole day.

And at noon, news came out from Li Weibing's Office that Vice Factory Director Wang was unwell and had been hospitalized for an examination.

This completely confirmed the previous rumors.

Some of the more sensitive people at the Manager had already realized that the wind had changed.

For the entire afternoon, Li Weibing's Office became lively, with people coming in from time to time to report on their work.

There were also some people who were still watching from the sidelines, holding their ground.

These people were divided into two types: one was simply slow to react, and the other had connections and wanted to wait for the situation to become clearer, as they had no need to take risks and act rashly at a time like this.

Ning Weidong's Office also welcomed quite a few people; they were all mid-level Cadres from the Office Building, from various departmental offices, so he at least became familiar with their faces.

Only at this step could Ning Weidong be considered to have firmly secured his position as Deputy Section Chief.

Previously, although Li Weibing had presided over the meeting and passed the promotion of Li Peihang to Deputy Division Chief of the Security Division and Ning Weidong to Deputy Section Chief.

Most people were still watching and waiting for the response from Vice Factory Director Wang's side.

It was not until this moment, with the victory clearly decided, that the dust finally settled.

……

Over the next three days, the Red Star Factory remained as usual, as if nothing had happened at all, and everything operated just as it had before.

Facts proved that as long as a system is large enough, it can still operate normally even if it loses one of its links.

Whether it was Factory Director Li or Vice Factory Director Wang, neither was as important as imagined.

On the third day, after a Sunday, Wang Guoqiang finally left the hospital and returned to work.

Although he had vomited blood and it looked quite serious, he was not actually suffering from a severe illness; at the time, it was just a case of extreme anger affecting his heart.

His physical condition was good, and he was not too old, so after resting for a few days and adjusting his mindset, he recovered.

An unexpected situation occurred on Wang Kaifeng's side; on the second day after being taken away by Zhang Dajun, he developed severe discomfort.

Zhang Dajun was quite sharp and immediately sent him to the hospital; after an examination, it was confirmed to be heart failure, and it was fortunate that he was sent to the hospital in time, otherwise it would have been dangerous.

Upon learning the situation, Zhang Dajun broke out in a cold sweat and immediately called Ning Weidong.

If Wang Kaifeng had really died in his hands, the matter would have been impossible to explain. ——It seems I've caught an infection and have a fever. That's all for today. I'll see how things go tomorrow; the amount isn't certain, but I won't stop updating.

(End of this chapter)