Chapter 145: Just to Compete for a Chance to Bear the Risk

When Zhao Ruyi first had this thought, even she herself was startled.

In her mind, her eldest brother Zhao Lichun had always been the cream of the crop among their peers; whether in ability or temperament, no ordinary person could compare to him.

Looking at Ning Weidong, when the subject of finding her a marriage partner first came up, Zhao Ruyi only had two impressions of him: first, that he came from a humble background and was Wang Yuzhen's brother-in-law; second, that he was tall and sturdy with thick brows and big eyes, and was exceptionally handsome.

As for his abilities or anything of the sort, she had never held any expectations for Ning Weidong from the very beginning.

However, to her surprise, the person she had assumed was just a pretty face actually had real substance inside.

This brought Zhao Ruyi a sense of mental satisfaction that far exceeded any physical pleasure.

Zhao Ruyi knew her own situation; from the day she was born, her family never expected her to achieve anything great, which was why they let her act as recklessly as she pleased.

Yet Zhao Ruyi was not truly naive; she knew that with her father's doting, no one dared to look down on her during the first half of her life, but the second half was hard to say.

By then, it would depend on whom she could marry.

At first, when she heard that the person she was to marry was not a member of the Wang Family, but a nobody from Wang Yuzhen's husband's family, Zhao Ruyi felt resistant.

However, she also knew the situation in her family; whether her father would advance further or remain where he was this time was very important.

The marriage alliance with the Wang Family was imperative, and she had to shoulder her family responsibility.

So even if she was unhappy inside, Zhao Ruyi never thought about ruining things with Ning Weidong.

She hadn't expected to unexpectedly draw the best possible lot.

Today, Ning Weidong's performance in front of her father could be called stunning.

Zhao Ruyi didn't quite understand some of the things—something about external capital, something about internal resources—but in any case, Ning Weidong's proposals were more brilliant than her eldest brother's.

After lunch, Ning Weidong did not stay long, and Zhao Ruyi saw him out, feeling delighted.

Ning Weidong pushed his bicycle and said with a chuckle, "How was it? My performance today wasn't bad, right~"

Zhao Ruyi couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth and glanced back.

Seeing no one around, she quickly gave Ning Weidong a peck on the face: "Not just 'not bad', it was too amazing! Your mouth is just too good at talking; even my dad was bluffed by you."

Ning Weidong laughed and said: "This has nothing to do with the mouth; no matter how well you can talk, if your brain is empty, you can't say anything of substance."

Zhao Ruyi "hmphed" and said: "I suspect you're implying something, making veiled criticisms."

……

On the other side, in the Zhao Family study.

Just now, when Ning Weidong was about to leave, Zhao Lichun had seen him to the door; now he had returned to the study.

The elder Zhao sat behind the desk, quickly scratching on paper with a fountain pen; hearing Zhao Lichun push the door open, he put away his pen and looked up.

Zhao Lichun called out "Dad" and came to the side of the desk.

The elder Zhao stood up and fished a cigarette from his pocket, but didn't light it immediately; he just held it under his nose to smell it, and said unhurriedly: "This Ning Weidong... I really didn't expect it."

Zhao Lichun nodded in agreement.

The elder Zhao said: "What do you think of his argument just now?"

Zhao Lichun pursed his lips and said: "It certainly has some reference value; I will consider it carefully."

The elder Zhao said: "Regarding the view on foreign capital, I have to say Ning Weidong sees it very thoroughly. Currently, there is a great divergence within our ranks, and rashly stating a position makes it easy to be labeled..."

Zhao Lichun said: "Father, are you more inclined toward his ideas regarding township enterprises?"

The elder Zhao nodded: "This entry point is very good, very pragmatic, and effective. The most important thing is that there is no need to bear political risks." Speaking of this, the elder Zhao looked deeply at his eldest son: "Lichun, I know your intentions, but in doing things, one must avoid being overly hasty; if you are hasty, it is easy to make mistakes."

Zhao Lichun said: "I understand."

The elder Zhao said: "A career is not built in a day, and the Four Modernizations cannot be achieved overnight. Your temperament is impatient, and at times you are headstrong; these are flaws in your character that are easily exploited by others. You must be aware of this yourself."

"Yes~" Zhao Lichun replied again.

The elder Zhao added: "In the future, interact more with Weidong. Don't put on airs; he is your brother-in-law. You must make him become one of our Zhao Family, not a member of the Wang Family. Do you understand~"

Zhao Lichun was slightly stunned; he hadn't expected his father to give such a specific reminder.

He had already increased the weight he gave to Ning Weidong, but he hadn't expected the elder Zhao's assessment of Ning Weidong to be even higher than he had anticipated.

But on second thought, such talent was indeed rare.

"Dad, don't worry," Zhao Lichun replied: "I will."

The elder Zhao gave an "um" and said: "Alright, you go. In another month, you will be leaving the capital. In a few days, Xiaomin will be back; you two should spend some time together. Don't just busy yourselves with work as a married couple..."

Zhao Lichun agreed, but he actually knew the elder Zhao's thoughts.

In his generation, there were two younger sisters and only him as a male heir.

And after he got married, he had two daughters in a row, and to this day, he still had no son.

With the family planning policy about to come down, it wouldn't be good to have more children then.

In fact, Zhao Lichun was also anxious inside; their Zhao Family could not have their ancestral line broken with him.

Otherwise, what was the point of his father's generation—with several brothers shedding blood and sacrificing their lives? ……

On the other side, Ning Weidong said goodbye to Zhao Ruyi and left the Ministry Compound, but he didn't go straight home; instead, he rode his bicycle directly to find Ning Weiguo and Wang Yuzhen.

Today was Sunday, and according to custom, Ning Weiguo and his wife were supposed to take the child back to the Wang Family.

But today, Ning Weidong had given them a heads-up in advance that he was going to the Zhao Family to pay his respects to his prospective father-in-law.

Ning Weiguo and Wang Yuzhen simply didn't go, staying at home waiting to hear about the situation from Ning Weidong.

Ning Weidong ran up the stairs with a "thump, thump, thump".

Just as he reached the door, he saw the door was open, and Ning Lei poked his head out from inside, grinning: "Third Uncle, it really is you."

Ning Weidong guessed it was Ning Weiguo or Wang Yuzhen who had heard him coming up the stairs and figured it was him.

"You little rascal~" Ning Weidong smiled, reached out to ruffle Ning Lei's hair, and followed him into the room, calling out, "Sister-in-law~ Big Brother~"

Ning Weiguo was sitting on the sofa in the living room, while Wang Yuzhen had just come out of the kitchen, carrying a basin of freshly washed tomatoes.

Seeing Ning Weidong enter, she first observed his expression.

Seeing the joy on Ning Weidong's face, she couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief; it seemed the result of this trip to the Zhao Family was good.

Wang Yuzhen said, "Weidong, hurry and eat a tomato to quench your thirst."

Ning Weidong let out an "ah," reached out, and grabbed a large one.

After he took a bite, Wang Yuzhen asked, "How did it go at the Zhao Family today?"

Ning Weiguo was listening from the side; although he could tell from Ning Weidong's appearance that it should have gone well, he didn't know the specifics.

Ning Weidong didn't keep them in suspense either; he swallowed the tomato in his mouth and recounted the important parts of the situation at the Zhao Family.

Ning Weiguo and Wang Yuzhen were both taken aback after hearing it.

Especially regarding the question of Zhao Lichun's next posting, they hadn't expected beforehand that Father Zhao would use this matter to test Ning Weidong.

And they certainly didn't expect that Ning Weidong could provide such an answer.

At the very least, Ning Weiguo reckoned that in the same situation, facing the same question, it would be very difficult for him to answer better than Ning Weidong.

Moreover, due to the limitations of his own work, his understanding of local work was limited, and it would be even more impossible for him to propose the idea of township enterprises.

When it came down to it, in Ning Weiguo's mind, this concept simply did not exist.

Wang Yuzhen was much the same; she was relatively more isolated from information at the school.

But regardless, Ning Weidong's trip to the Zhao Family this time was quite good in terms of results. Wang Yuzhen couldn't help but pat Ning Weidong on the back: "Weidong, you're capable! I just knew our Weidong would succeed wherever he went."

Although Ning Weiguo didn't speak, one could see he was very happy.

After today, the marriage between Ning Weidong and Zhao Ruyi was set, and there was a ninety-nine percent chance there would be no more mishaps.

This result was extremely important for Ning Weidong and for him.

At this moment, their Ning Family had effectively completed a class leap.

The Ning Family had gone from a common, humble household to entering the true upper echelons in one stroke.

Before, with only Ning Weiguo, the overall situation of the Ning Family could not be changed.

After all, the resources he himself could obtain from the Wang Family were not much, and he didn't have enough for his own use, so it was hard to support the family.

But now it was different; with Ning Weidong marrying Zhao Ruyi, Ning Weiguo's situation in the Wang Family would also become more relaxed.

Besides the identity of a son-in-law, he also gained the role of a bridge.

This was also the reason why Ning Weiguo had tried every possible way to help Ning Weidong secure this opportunity for a marriage alliance.

"Weidong, have your sister-in-law stir-fry a couple of good dishes tonight." Ning Weiguo waved his hand, his pride and satisfaction evident in his expression.

Since transmigrating, this was the first time Ning Weidong had seen Ning Weiguo release his emotions like this.

For a long time, the personality Ning Weiguo displayed had been steady and self-restrained, even a bit wooden, with unusually stable emotions.

Wang Yuzhen, on the side, also smiled knowingly.

She was very clear about Ning Weiguo's repression, yet she couldn't change anything.

Because in reality, Ning Weiguo had to face these problems and simply couldn't avoid them.

There's a reason they say it's not easy being a live-in son-in-law; soft rice is easy to eat, but hard to digest.

Regardless of how she and Ning Weiguo started, how their relationship as a married couple was, or what they thought in their hearts.

The biggest label on Ning Weiguo was that of the Wang Family's son-in-law.

This label was an aid to his promotion, but it inevitably brought side effects as well.

Ning Weiguo had to have the appearance a Wang Family son-in-law should have; he couldn't be reckless, couldn't be willful, and even less could he make mistakes.

Sometimes Wang Yuzhen felt heartache just watching him.

Why did her own man have to be like this?

But she was powerless to do anything, and could only try her best at home to be good to Ning Weiguo, good to Ning Weidong, and good to this family.

……

In the afternoon, the Ning Family was immersed in a joyful atmosphere.

In the evening, although Ning Weiguo said he would let Wang Yuzhen stir-fry a couple of good dishes, he was actually the one cooking, with Wang Yuzhen helping.

Ning Weidong and Ning Lei, those two, were responsible for serving the dishes and bowls.

Ning Weiguo was quite happy today and opened a bottle of aged Bamboo Leaf Green wine he had stolen from Wang Yuzhen's father.

Wang Yuzhen also drank two cups along with him.

After finishing the meal, Ning Weiguo was sixty or seventy percent drunk, his cheeks flushed, and his mood was excited.

But that was only at the dinner table.

After the meal, Ning Weiguo's mood quickly returned to normal.

Ning Lei had finished eating early and went downstairs to play.

Wang Yuzhen wasn't in a hurry to clear the table either; she brewed a pot of tea, and the three of them chatted while sobering up.

Wang Yuzhen poured the tea and asked, "Weidong, now that your business with Zhao Ruyi is settled, what are your plans for the future?"

Ning Weidong understood that Wang Yuzhen was asking about his career planning.

Originally, staying at the Red Star Factory was naturally a very good choice for Ning Weidong, but now, with the success of the marriage alliance, Ning Weidong would have more choices.

Ning Weidong said, "I don't have any thoughts for the time being; I'll stay at the Manager for now, finish my diploma, and talk about it next year or the year after."

Wang Yuzhen nodded slightly; it was not easy for Ning Weidong to remain steady under these circumstances.

After finishing, Ning Weidong looked at Ning Weiguo: "Actually, Big Brother, if there's an opportunity, it's best to move."

Ning Weiguo and Wang Yuzhen were both stunned.

Ning Weiguo had just been promoted to a section-level position not long ago, and it was a department with real power, and he was an important person who held the 'seal' in his hands.

It was not easy to occupy this position.

Yet Ning Weidong was telling him to move; what did this mean? Ning Weiguo and Wang Yuzhen certainly wouldn't believe that Ning Weidong was jealous or had ill intentions, and given Ning Weidong's performance over this past year, he must have some reason for saying this.

Ning Weiguo didn't rush to speak, steadied himself, and asked, "Why?"

Ning Weidong said, "Big Brother, Sister-in-law," his gaze sweeping over the two of them: "This position looks very good and is also very important, but it's not easy to sit in it securely, and if you stay too long, something will definitely go wrong."

Ning Weiguo could not help but frown seriously: "Tell me in detail."

Ning Weidong said: "Every important position in an important Ministry holds significant power; these are targets for everyone, no problem with that, right?"

Ning Weiguo and Yuzhen nodded.

Ning Weidong continued: "Throughout history, there has never been a reason for one family to occupy all the benefits. Not to mention now, even in ancient times, the imperial family of feudal society had to govern the world together with great clans, nobility, and scholars."

Ning Weidong gazed at Ning Weiguo: "Big brother, I know that you must have had practical needs to reach this position. But as the situation changes, once the problems are solved, you must not be greedy, otherwise, disaster will surely follow."

Ning Weiguo's brows were tightly locked.

In fact, it was not that he had not considered Ning Weidong's warning.

The so-called greater the power, the greater the responsibility.

In his current position, he holds the red seal and directly controls the power of approval; while the power is indeed great, looking at past experience, once something goes wrong, the backlash will be even more violent.

It is just that previously, the Wang Family needed to place him in this position; this was not just the Wang Family's affair, but a requirement of the entire faction.

Ning Weiguo has no power to decide, unless he quits, lies flat from now on, and retires with Section Level benefits.

As long as he is not content, he must bear this risk.

In reality, for young talents of Ning Weiguo's background, if they want to make progress in their official careers, they almost must bear this kind of risk; no one is an exception.

People even break their heads trying to fight for a chance to bear such risks.

Ning Weiguo's situation is still considered good; at least Yuzhen and he are a sincere married couple, and at critical moments, as long as things are not at an absolute dead end, the Wang Family will not easily use him as a scapegoat.

Even so, this position is not so easy to sit in; it is no exaggeration to say it is like having thorns on one's back.

And the reason Ning Weidong brought this up today is that, previously, bringing it up would have been useless.

Given Ning Weiguo's situation, he only had this one bargaining chip; if he wanted to sit at the table, he had to take risks, otherwise, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to sit at the table at all.

Until today, after Ning Weidong went to the Zhao Family and met with Father Zhao, the relationship was confirmed.

If the Ning Family brothers are viewed as a whole, they originally only had one bargaining chip, but now it has become two.

Naturally, some things can now be calculated and planned.

(End of this chapter)