Chapter 137: Let's Go, You and I Will Go Fire a Few Shots

The next day, Ning Weidong slept until past eight.

He washed his face and picked out a few presentable clothes in his room.

As the old saying goes, people rely on clothes and horses on saddles; it is not without reason.

Going to meet the Li family siblings today, the first impression is very important.

Especially given Ning Weidong's current situation.

Regardless of what Ning Weidong himself thinks, and regardless of what Zhao Ruyi's intentions are, in the eyes of outsiders, his marriage alliance with Zhao Ruyi is essentially Ning Weidong having hit the jackpot, only then climbing the high branch of the Zhao Family through Wang Yuzhen.

Under these circumstances, Ning Weidong has to accept this reality whether he is willing or not.

Unless one day his importance becomes greater, enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Wang Family or the Zhao Family.

Ning Weidong thought as he went outside, preparing to buy two fried cakes.

The appointment with the Li family siblings today is for eleven o'clock; they will likely be having lunch together.

However, it also depends on how the talk goes; perhaps it will fall apart as soon as they meet, and there will be no need to talk further.

Therefore, one still needs to eat a bite in the morning to pad the stomach.

As soon as Ning Weidong stepped out, he saw Bai Fengqin at her doorway, sitting on a small stool washing clothes.

She only has this one day off a week, so she always has to wash the week's dirty clothes, and then go to the bathhouse to bathe.

In this era, due to objective conditions, personal hygiene cannot compare to later generations; almost no one showers every day to smell fragrant.

But it is strange to say, at this time there were actually not so many strange diseases, and people's hair volume was also very abundant.

Instead, as sanitary conditions get better and better, various problems have increased.

"Fengqin, washing clothes?" Ning Weidong greeted her with a smile.

Bai Fengqin looked up: "Brother Weidong~"

Ning Weidong nodded and walked out without stopping.

Bai Fengqin pouted, suddenly feeling a bit dispirited, and threw the clothes in her hand onto the washboard.

At this moment, Bai Fengyu came out of the room leaning on a crutch, happened to see it, and asked her what was wrong. Bai Fengqin turned her head and hurriedly covered up: "Nothing, it's just... it's almost time for the exam, I'm feeling a bit... I can't say."

Bai Fengyu smiled and comforted her: "Don't be too nervous, I believe my sister will definitely pass!"

Bai Fengqin said "Mm," nodded vigorously, the back of Ning Weidong walking away appeared in her mind, she gritted her teeth and said to herself: "I will definitely pass!"

Ning Weidong arrived at the front courtyard, catching the good weather today, Lu Daye and his wife had brought out their cotton quilts to sun.

The old man was holding a wooden stick and "thumping" away, beating the dust out of the bedding, and by the way, making the cotton fluffier.

Seeing Ning Weidong, Lu Daye greeted him with a smile: "Oh, Weidong, going out so early."

Ning Weidong said: "Buying some breakfast, what would you like to eat, shall I bring some back for you?"

Lu Daye waved his hand: "No need, I've eaten this morning, go do your business~"

Ning Weidong walked toward the gate with a smile, but at this moment Wang Zipeng darted out from the back courtyard and hurried a few steps to catch up with Ning Weidong at the gate.

The two exchanged pleasantries until they reached the alley outside; Ning Weidong saw he had something on his mind and it wasn't convenient to talk in the courtyard, which is why they went outside.

He simply stated it directly.

Wang Zipeng laughed dryly and rubbed his hands: "It's like this, it's about my eldest cousin's family affairs; they want to invite you to a meal to express their gratitude."

Ning Weidong raised his eyebrows; he feared it was not that simple.

He waved his hand and said: "No need for such trouble." But in his heart, he curled his lip, thinking anyone wants to treat him to a meal, yet he said: "Besides, I did this for your sake; I don't know anyone else."

Wang Zipeng couldn't help but feel pleased.

In reality, he wasn't very happy that his eldest cousin intended to invite Ning Weidong this time.

By logic, things shouldn't be done this way.

To his eldest cousin, Ning Weidong is Wang Zipeng's connection, and if there is anything in the future, they should look for Wang Zipeng first.

But this invitation intended to bypass him and get to know Ning Weidong directly.

Wang Zipeng was already unhappy about it, but his eldest cousin was not just anyone, and since she made this request, he couldn't easily refuse.

Now that Ning Weidong politely declined, it was exactly what he wanted.

After the attitude was clear, Wang Zipeng didn't mention it again, and instead asked: "By the way, that old woman Wang Jinfeng from our logistics department introduced a partner to Ning Wei, do you know?"

Ning Weidong's heart stirred.

Wang Zipeng is a person with some schemes; he wouldn't bring this up for no reason.

"There's such a thing?" Ning Weidong feigned ignorance: "Where is the woman from, and what is her family situation?"

Wang Zipeng said: "The woman's conditions are quite good, and there's no burden at home; the only bad thing is that both of them are not old enough."

Speaking of this, Wang Zipeng stole a glance at Ning Weidong's expression and probed: "You say, that old woman Wang is also senile; the woman is nineteen this year and will be twenty in a few months, but our Ning Wei still has more than two years until he's twenty-two~"

Ning Weidong frowned slightly.

Although Wang Zipeng has some petty cleverness, he couldn't have thought of Ning Wei's age through this matter; it's not that Ning Weidong looks down on him, he really doesn't have that kind of mind.

Now that he mentions this, he must have heard wind of it through some other channel.

Ning Weidong sank his face and said: "Brother Wang, I treat you as a friend, don't beat around the bush with me. What exactly is going on?"

Wang Zipeng was startled, his smile became more sycophantic, he looked left and right, and lowered his voice: "I heard this yesterday; by chance, I left work half an hour late, and as soon as I came out, I saw old woman Wang and Feng Wen whispering together..."

Ever since Wang Kaifeng fell, Feng Wen couldn't stay in the Security Division.

But he has a proper State-owned establishment, so he couldn't be fired easily.

Not to mention that Wang Guoqiang is still a Deputy Factory Director.

Feng Wen was transferred from the Security Division to the Labor and Personnel Section.

Wang Zipeng continued: "I know exactly what kind of person this grandson Feng Wen is~ I kept an eye on it at the time and listened in on the side."

Ning Weidong narrowed his eyes; he had already suspected that Ning Wei's partner came about suspiciously and intended to have Lu Zhou investigate.

He didn't expect that there would be no movement from Lu Zhou's side, but Wang Zipeng came first.

He asked: "What did they say?"

Wang Zipeng said with a bitter face: "They weren't very close at the time, and I didn't dare poke my head out, so I only caught a snippet; they mentioned the name of Brother Ning Wei."

Ning Weidong frowned. He had listened for a long time only to hear Ning Wei's name; so it was all based on a name, and everything else was just guessing. Wang Zipeng continued: "I figured that the only thing that could involve an old woman like Wang Jinfeng would be matchmaking. Sure enough, I went to ask around, and the old woman had just introduced a match for Xiao Wei. I thought this matter might be unusual, so I shouldn't let them dig a pit for us..."

Ning Weidong suddenly realized. No wonder Wang Zipeng could get along well at the Manager; he indeed had some cleverness.

He asked: "Did they discover you yesterday?"

Wang Zipeng swore: "No, definitely not! I was afraid of being discovered and alerting the enemy, so I hid behind a tree and didn't move at all."

Ning Weidong nodded: "Alright, I know about this. Thank you, Brother Wang."

Upon hearing the word 'thank you', Wang Zipeng said it wasn't necessary, but he felt pleased inside: "We grew up in the same courtyard; of course, our own people help our own people."

After having a bite at the breakfast stall with Wang Zipeng, Ning Weidong returned home still pondering the situation Wang Zipeng had provided. If Wang Zipeng hadn't lied, it was now almost certain that there was definitely something fishy about this matchmaking for Ning Wei.

And it was highly probable that Wang Guoqiang was the one behind it.

It was just that the other party's goal was still unclear.

To go to such great lengths, setting up a situation and laying a trap, just to target Ning Wei, was truly making a mountain out of a molehill.

Even if Ning Wei was Ning Weidong's trusted aide, he was currently just a small fry; even if the plan succeeded and Ning Wei was fired, it wouldn't deal much of a blow to Ning Weidong.

Nor was there any deterrent of equivalent retaliation.

Unless the other party had an unknown motive that could allow this move to unleash a more lethal power.

For a moment, Ning Weidong couldn't figure it out either.

He simply stopped thinking about it and would wait to see what Lu Zhou said tomorrow.

Collecting his thoughts, Ning Weidong checked the time.

Without realizing it, over an hour had passed, and it was already past ten o'clock.

It took about half an hour by bicycle from Ning Weidong's home to the agreed place; it was on the way to meet Zhao Ruyi first, then head over.

Ning Weidong got on his bike.

The weather in May was sunny, and the sunlight felt warm on his body.

The weather had warmed up, and taking off the bulky winter clothes made people look more energetic.

Ning Weidong rode off in a flash to pick up Zhao Ruyi.

Today, Zhao Ruyi had also dressed up, looking even more radiant than usual.

She didn't ride a bike either, sitting directly on the back rack of Ning Weidong's bike.

It was tough on the bicycle; the two of them together weighed nearly three hundred jin, and as soon as Zhao Ruyi sat down, the wheel rim immediately let out a "creak."

Fortunately, the bike was of high quality, and it managed to hold up after that creak.

Zhao Ruyi complained from behind: "I told you to hurry up and change to a 28-inch bike. You're a grown man riding a 26-inch one; sitting behind you, my shoe soles are scraping the ground."

Ning Weidong retorted: "You've got so much to say sitting in the back. Why don't you come to the front and ride, and I'll sit in the back—I'm not afraid of scraping my soles."

Zhao Ruyi reached an arm from behind around Ning Weidong's waist, pinched his belly through his clothes, clicked her tongue, and whispered: "You're not afraid, but I am. You're up to no good wanting to sit in the back. Do you think I don't know what you're thinking, you rogue~"

Ning Weidong pedaled the bike and said stubbornly: "What am I thinking? I don't even know that you know, so that makes you the rogue~"

Zhao Ruyi said: "Whoever is the rogue knows it in their heart. Hurry up and speed up, don't be late."

The two of them exchanged words, and before long, they arrived at the place where Zhao Ruyi and Li Kangmei had agreed to meet.

It wasn't a restaurant, club, or anything of the sort, but a shooting range.

This place had no name, and there was no sign on the gate; only insiders could enter.

Ning Weidong and Zhao Ruyi arrived with fifteen minutes to spare before eleven o'clock.

Entering from the gate, there was first a tree-lined path inside.

It was unclear what kind of unit it had been originally, but judging by the age of the trees on the path, the history of this place was certainly not short.

Passing through the tree-lined path, inside was a gray-white three-story European-style building, designed with a wrap-around layout that looked quite imposing.

Passing through the lobby of this building, about a hundred meters further along a square-brick path was a fairly large shooting range.

Ning Weidong and Zhao Ruyi arrived first; the Li siblings had not yet arrived.

Zhao Ruyi was familiar with the place and called a staff member over.

This place was clearly for recreational purposes; besides the essentials for shooting, there was also food and drink.

After Zhao Ruyi finished speaking with the staff, she turned to Ning Weidong and said: "How about your shooting? You should know how to play, right~"

In this era, there really weren't many people who didn't know how to shoot.

Regardless of whether they came from a military family, in the city, as long as it was a factory or mining unit, and in the countryside, it was by production team, there was regular military training every year.

Not to mention that Ning Weidong was from the Security Division.

Ning Weidong smiled, indicating it was no problem.

Before he transmigrated, there was a period when he was particularly obsessed with shooting; although guns had long been banned in the country at that time, as long as one had connections, one could always find a way to play.

This had allowed Ning Weidong to practice decent marksmanship; at the very least, he wouldn't embarrass himself at the shooting range.

Just at this moment, a voice called "Ruyi" from behind.

Ning Weidong and Zhao Ruyi turned to look.

They saw two people walking over one after the other on the square-brick path. The woman in front was not yet thirty, looked quite good, had short hair, and was full of heroic spirit; it must be Li Kangmei.

Following behind her was a young man of twenty-four or twenty-five, taller than Li Kangmei, about one meter seventy-five, with a square face and thick eyebrows and big eyes; he looked seventy percent similar to his sister, so he must be Li Yuanchao.

Zhao Ruyi turned to greet them and said with a smile: "Fifth Sister, ever since my second sister got married, you haven't been to our house. How long has it been since we last met?"

Li Kangmei laughed: "You certainly have a sharp tongue." As she spoke, she looked at Ning Weidong: "This must be Weidong~" She looked him over carefully: "Truly a fine man, a real husband!"

Ning Weidong smiled: "Hello, Li Jie." He reached out and shook hands lightly with Li Kangmei.

Immediately, Li Kangmei half-turned and introduced: "My younger brother, Li Yuanchao."

Li Yuanchao stepped forward, reached out his hand, and said with a smile, "Ning Weidong, I have long heard of your great name."

Ning Weidong chuckled and said, "Brother Li, your great name is the one that is like thunder piercing the ear; back then, all of us little soldiers considered it an honor to be able to see you once."

A flash of complex emotion crossed Li Yuanchao's eyes, and he waved his hand, saying, "Young and frivolous, it is not worth mentioning."

Even so, Ning Weidong could tell that Li Yuanchao did not hold a completely negative attitude toward his former self.

Although from the current perspective, he had paid a quite painful price, which was equivalent to directly cutting off his official career.

Ning Weidong bringing up those old matters clearly drew his relationship with Li Yuanchao closer.

After getting to know each other, Li Kangmei and Zhao Ruyi walked hand in hand to a nearby set of white-painted iron tables and chairs and sat down.

The two had not seen each other for a while and indeed had much to say, chattering away and rambling about this and that.

Ning Weidong and Li Yuanchao sat to the side for a long time, only interjecting a word or two to keep the conversation from going cold.

Ning Weidong could feel that both Li Kangmei and Li Yuanchao were observing him.

An ordinary person would certainly feel uncomfortable in this situation, especially someone like Ning Weidong who came from a humble background.

Moreover, coming here today was not for idle chatter, but as agreed beforehand, there was serious business to discuss.

However, this level of posturing was truly too amateurish for Ning Weidong.

After more than twenty minutes, Li Yuanchao took the initiative to suggest, "Weidong, let them talk. Come, let's go shoot a few rounds, how about it?"

(End of this chapter)