Chapter 142: Nothing Beats Dumplings

On Saturday evening, Ning Weidong returned home after work.

There was nothing of note this past week; Ning Weidong spent it working and studying.

On Monday, Lu Zhou reported the investigation results, mentioned findings different from what Wang Zipeng had provided, and also implicated Li Dazhi from the Second Workshop.

But other than that, Lu Zhou did not discover anything more.

Ning Weidong was not in a hurry, so he simply put the matter aside to see what moves the other party would make next.

Regardless of whether Wang Guoqiang or Deputy Factory Director Liu was behind this, since they had set their sights on Ning Wei, their next move would inevitably be directed at him.

In this situation, it was equivalent to Ning Wei becoming a firewall on the periphery for Ning Weidong.

Ning Weidong was happy to see this result.

And tomorrow was the day Ning Weidong would visit his prospective father-in-law.

Last Sunday, after meeting the Li Family siblings, Ning Weidong had formally mentioned to Zhao Ruyi that he wanted to go to her home for a visit.

On Wednesday, Zhao Ruyi replied that her father had agreed and asked him to come over at ten o'clock this Sunday morning.

Ning Weidong had made full preparations over the past two days; his attire for the visit and the gifts he needed to bring were all perfectly arranged.

Getting these things ready himself would have been quite a hassle, but fortunately, he had his sister-in-law, Wang Yuzhen, to help him cover every detail.

Just then, someone at the door called out, "Weidong."

Ning Weidong snapped out of his thoughts, gathered his focus, and got up to go from the inner room to the outer room.

He knew it was Bai Fengyu just by the sound of her voice.

Sure enough, he saw Bai Fengyu standing at the doorway, smiling happily while holding a large tray.

Seeing Ning Weidong come out, she stepped inside and walked in, saying, "Weidong, I made some dumplings—beef and celery."

On Thursday, Bai Fengyu had already gone to the hospital to have the cast on her leg removed.

The doctor said the recovery was good and that as long as she was a little careful from now on and avoided any overly strenuous exercise for a month, it would be fine.

At this moment, when Bai Fengyu walked, perhaps due to a psychological effect, one could still see it was not quite natural, but there was no major issue.

Ning Weidong smiled and said, "I've been waiting for this!"

Yesterday, Bai Fengyu had said she would be making dumplings tonight.

Since she had been injured, many people in the courtyard had helped out, so now that she was better, she had to show some appreciation.

Bai Fengyu's current circumstances were not bad, so she simply bought a few catties of meat to make dumplings, using less celery and packing in a meatball, the kind that would leave your mouth oily with every bite.

In this era, people were still lacking in food and didn't have much fat in their diets, so being able to eat a meal of dumplings with a meatball in each was quite good.

Bai Fengyu had started preparing in the afternoon, calling over a few older women from the courtyard who had good relationships with her and were quick at working.

Bai Fengyu was now with the Neighborhood Committee, and because she had received a commendation for this injury, there was a good chance her status as a Temporary Worker would see some changes.

These older women were quite happy to help.

What's more, Bai Fengyu was a generous person; as long as you put in the effort, you could eat the dumplings, so why wouldn't they be happy to do it?

By evening, just as work was ending, Bai Fengyu's home started steaming them; they steamed five large pots in total.

Two tiers per pot; she sent a plate to everyone who had helped this time, as well as to the elderly in the courtyard and those who had helped wrap the dumplings.

For a family of three or four, relying on this to get full certainly wouldn't work, but as a dish, eating a few each to satisfy a craving was quite nice.

Ning Weidong walked up with a smile, but he didn't go for the dumplings—he went for the person.

With a smack, he kissed her and asked, "Did you wrap these yourself?"

Bai Fengyu's cheeks turned red; feeling guilty, she glanced at the door and whispered, "Someone might see!"

Ning Weidong also glanced at the half-closed door and said with a smile, "Who would see?"

Bai Fengyu rolled her eyes and said, "You're incorrigible. This plate is all wrapped by me; hurry up, they'll get cold if you leave them out any longer."

As she spoke, she placed the full plate of dumplings on the table, took a head of garlic out of her pocket, and asked, "Is there any vinegar left in the house?"

Ning Weidong laughed, "How did you know I was out of garlic?"

Bai Fengyu curled her lips, went to the kitchen to get a bowl, poured in soy sauce and vinegar, and said crossly, "Ever since Brother Weiguo and Sister-in-law Yuzhen moved out, have you ever actually gone to the market to buy groceries properly?" She peeled the garlic while she spoke.

Ning Weidong thought about it and realized it was true.

He picked up a steaming dumpling with his chopsticks, took a bite, and was immediately met with a burst of savory juices.

Because they weren't fresh out of the pot, although they were steaming, they didn't burn his mouth.

You have to give credit where it's due; the dumplings Bai Fengyu made were really quite good.

"Is it good?" Bai Fengyu handed him a freshly peeled garlic clove, her eyes filled with a bit of anticipation.

This was the first time she had made dumplings for Ning Weidong.

"Delicious~" Ning Weidong said with his mouth full.

As the old saying goes, nothing is as delicious as dumplings, and nothing is as fun as...

Bai Fengyu could be said to satisfy both.

"As long as it's delicious~" Bai Fengyu felt relieved, then added, "I'm going to send some over to Lu Daye's place."

Ning Weidong said "Mm," but just as she stood up, he asked, "Can you come over tonight?"

Bai Fengyu blushed and whispered, "Wait for me. After Fengqin finishes dinner, she's going to her classmate's house in the front yard to study, so she won't be back tonight."

Ning Weidong smiled, knowing that Bai Fengqin wouldn't go to a classmate's house for no reason; there must have been some subtle pushing and pulling from Bai Fengyu behind the scenes.

After Bai Fengyu left, Ning Weidong ate his dumplings and thought about Bai Fengqin's entrance exam.

A few days ago, he had asked Chu Zhongxin for help and had indeed found someone in the know to help analyze Bai Fengqin's situation.

Based on Bai Fengqin's current grades, if she wanted to attend a law-related school and work in a procuratorate or court later, the hope of staying in a Beijing institution was very slim; she could only choose schools elsewhere, and they couldn't be in particularly good locations.

This era was not like the one before Ning Weidong transmigrated, where young people flocked to the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta.

Right now, Liaoning Province was the most popular place.

When it came to university graduate assignments, even for those studying metallurgy, people would fight to go to the Shenyang Smelting Plant, but they wouldn't be willing to go to Baosteel in Shanghai.

Every era has the characteristics of its era.

This is the current situation.

It is the same principle for Fengqin's college application; she cannot go to popular provinces or cities.

However, having said that, if one has connections, it is not impossible to attend university in an outside province or city and be assigned back later.

The other party did not know Fengqin's true situation.

Previously, when Chu Zhongxin entrusted her to him, he only said she was a relative of his family.

That person considered the connection with Chu Zhongxin and thought that being assigned back in the future, or finding a way to transfer, should not be a difficult matter.

Fengqin just listened and did not reveal her true situation.

Although she was not old, since she lost her own father and mother, she had seen plenty of the warmth and coldness of human relationships.

She knew that people were accustomed to judging others and treating them accordingly.

The reason the person in front of her explained things so patiently was because he misunderstood her as a relative of Chu Zhongxin.

If she were to truly clarify that she had no such connection at all, she feared his attitude would change immediately.

As for how exactly to apply, she had an idea in her mind.

That evening, when Fengqin returned, she specifically came over to thank Ning Weidong and also expressed her intention to go to another place to attend university.

Ning Weidong was not surprised by Fengqin's idea. Through their contact during this period, Ning Weidong had long discovered that Fengqin was a quite calm and rational person.

It was just like her relationship with Ning Weidong.

If it were an ordinary girl, having a suitor rejected would surely lead to cutting off all contact, or even if they bumped into each other, she would just huff and walk past with her head held high.

But she did not act like that toward Ning Weidong at all; instead, she interacted and engaged as she should.

This attitude alone was something an ordinary person could not achieve.

Moreover, Ning Weidong suspected that Fengqin had very likely already discovered the relationship between him and Bai Fengyu.

It was not that this possibility did not exist.

Although it did not happen often, and Bai Fengyu was very careful every time, with Fengqin's attentiveness, it was not impossible for her to have discovered traces.

Even if she could not be certain, she likely had some suspicions.

Not to mention anything else, just the matter of this college application, her confidently asking Ning Weidong for help was proof.

However, Fengqin's "cleverness" was not a bad thing for Ning Weidong; at the very least, it could save a lot of trouble.

Before long, a plate of dumplings was finished.

Knowing Ning Weidong had a big appetite, Bai Fengyu had specifically taken the largest plate.

Ning Weidong had just taken the bowl and plate to the kitchen and thrown them into the sink when someone came from outside.

"Weidong~ brother?" Following the voice, Wang Zipeng arrived at the doorway and stood outside, saying: "Are you home?"

Ning Weidong came out from the kitchen and said with a chuckle: "Oh, Brother Wang~ come in quickly."

In the courtyard, Ning Weidong never put on the airs of a Section Chief.

Wang Zipeng came in and asked: "Have you just finished eating?"

He had actually calculated the time before coming, just to avoid the awkwardness of catching Ning Weidong eating.

Ning Weidong responded and went to the washbasin stand to wash his hands: "Brother Wang, you came just in time. Two days ago, my brother's classmate just gave him some of this year's spring tea. I managed to get two liang; let's have a taste, brother."

Wang Zipeng's eyes lit up: "Really! Then I've caught it today."

Nowadays, even with money, new tea is not easy to buy.

Wang Zipeng usually loved drinking tea.

Ning Weidong told him to wait, dried his hands, went back to the inner room, took out a tin box, and opened it to reveal the paper-wrapped tea leaves.

The paper wrapping was opened, and Wang Zipeng sniffed it and hurriedly said: "Fragrant! Good tea, good tea indeed!"

Ning Weidong smiled and went to get the kettle.

But he was stopped by Wang Zipeng, who said: "Don't! Brother, such good tea must be made with freshly boiled water to control the temperature. When was the water in your thermos boiled?"

Ning Weidong laughed: "Fine, you are the expert, you do it, you do it~"

As he said this, Ning Weidong simply became a hands-off manager and let Wang Zipeng handle it.

After some busying about, they finally got to drink this tea.

Only then did Ning Weidong ask what Wang Zipeng had come for.

He figured it wasn't anything urgent, otherwise Wang Zipeng wouldn't have the mood to slowly brew tea.

Wang Zipeng gave a "hehe" laugh, took a sip of tea, and said: "How should I put this~"

Ning Weidong smiled and didn't take the bait; no matter how you put it, you have to say it anyway, I'm not responsible for providing a way out.

Wang Zipeng was also sensible; seeing no reaction from Ning Weidong, he continued on his own, sighed, and said: "Sigh~ it's still that troublesome fellow from my eldest cousin's family..."

Ning Weidong raised an eyebrow.

Regarding that person's situation, Ning Weidong was actually already informed.

Ning Wei had reported it to him two days ago.

This Wang Bingyi was fine for the first two days after arriving, but after staying for a few days, his true colors were revealed.

This guy was not a person who worked at all; he was lazy, slack, and sloppy.

However, everyone also knew he was a connection-hire, so no one bothered to argue with him.

Ning Weidong hadn't expected that before he had said anything, Wang Zipeng would take the initiative to come over.

With an expressionless face, he said: "What happened to him again?"

Wang Zipeng was such a shrewd person, how could he not see that Ning Weidong was unhappy?

In fact, he knew Ning Weidong wouldn't have a good look on his face when he came today.

After all, no one likes trouble, and the child of his eldest cousin's family was a person who created trouble.

Wang Zipeng also couldn't figure it out; his eldest cousin and her husband were both people with eight hearts, so how did they give birth to a son who seemed to be missing a screw?

However, he guessed that there was a reason why Ning Weidong would be unhappy yet still come on this trip.

Wang Zipeng said, "Brother, to be honest, I'm embarrassed to even come over because of their family's messy business. I said exactly this to my eldest cousin's face just now. I told that guy Wang Bingyi, if he can do the work, do it; if not, get lost. Those were my exact words."

Ning Weidong chuckled; it had to be said that Wang Zipeng really knew how to talk.

He asked in return, "Since you said all that, why did you still come?"

Wang Zipeng chuckled and said, "Brother, I was afraid that if you found out later, you'd blame me for acting on my own initiative..."

Ning Weidong raised an eyebrow and instantly understood what was going on.

It seemed that Wang Zipeng's eldest cousin had offered tribute again, and it was quite a lot.

Many things are just like this; whether it is "in principle" or "according to reason," nothing can stop "giving too much."

Sure enough, Wang Zipeng continued, "My eldest cousin knew that the jade piece last time caught your eye, so she brought another one this time; it's also something used by the imperial palace..."

As he spoke, he took a cloth bundle out of the bag he had been carrying.

This cloth bundle was wrapped layer after layer, over a dozen layers in total, and inside it revealed a cyan-blue jade pendant.

The carving technique was not complicated, giving one an impression of ancient simplicity and grandeur, but it wasn't as concise as the "Han Eight-Knife" style either; in any case, it looked extraordinary at a glance.

Ning Weidong didn't stand on ceremony and took it directly into his hand.

Although he had some fondness for jade itself, it was only average.

What really interested him was that the seal of the Cian Empress Dowager from last time had a warm current that he could absorb.

Although he didn't know what that warm current was actually used for.

But Ning Weidong could feel that his body felt exceptionally comfortable after absorbing it, so it was definitely beneficial and harmless.

After that, he specifically went to browse the Trust Store, where there was a counter dedicated to selling jade wares, and quite a few exquisite jade pieces were displayed there.

But Ning Weidong picked out a few that looked good and tried them, yet none of them were like that seal.

This made him somewhat disappointed, and he wondered if only things used by the former imperial family had that kind of effect? However, real imperial items were not easy to find.

Ning Weidong thought about it, but because the use was unclear, he didn't go looking for them intentionally; he hadn't expected that just at this moment, Wang Zipeng's eldest cousin would send one to his door again.

As soon as the jade pendant was in his hand, Ning Weidong immediately felt a faint current of Qi flow into his body through his palm.

This warm current was clearly not as strong as the one from the Cian Empress Dowager's seal before.

Ning Weidong experienced it for a moment, then calmly put the jade pendant down, looked up at Wang Zipeng, and said indifferently, "Speak, what kind of trouble are they causing this time?"

(End of this chapter)