Chapter 164: Slamming the Table, Pinning Labels

On the first floor of the Factory Office, inside a small conference room.

Ning Weidong and Li Peihang came down from upstairs together; as soon as they entered the room, they saw quite a few people sitting inside.

The people from the Manager were all acquaintances; generally, the heads of every office had arrived.

Besides these, there were six unfamiliar faces, old and young, with serious expressions; they were likely the Investigation Team from above.

Ning Weidong sat down following Li Peihang and couldn't help but take a few extra looks.

Someone in the Investigation Team met his gaze, and their eyes locked.

Ning Weidong frowned; judging by the other person's gaze, they should know him, yet he had never seen this person before.

This person was very young, about twenty-six or twenty-seven, with regular features, a square face, and broad shoulders, giving off an impression of someone not to be trifled with.

Ning Weidong faintly sensed that this person did not seem very friendly toward him.

He did not know how he had offended the other party.

After sitting down, he tilted his chin toward Li Peihang beside him and said in a low voice, "Brother Li, who is that person? He looks like he's looking for trouble."

Li Peihang took a look and replied, "Officer Yang from the Ministry. I heard he has some connections at home, but I don't know his specific background."

Ning Weidong frowned, still unable to recall when he had seen this person.

At this moment, that Officer Yang also withdrew his gaze and looked elsewhere.

Soon, everyone arrived, and the meeting began.

At first, Ning Weidong didn't take this meeting too seriously; this incident at the Fourth Workshop was a production accident and didn't have much to do with the Security Division.

He and Li Peihang had come over just to go through the motions; the necessary formalities still had to be observed.

However, as the meeting progressed to a certain point, Ning Weidong suddenly became vigilant.

He sensed that the tone of the conversation was wrong; why was the Investigation Team starting to shift the responsibility onto the Security Division?

Although, in principle, production accidents didn't have much to do with the Security Division, the Security Division was in charge of the factory's safety affairs; now that an accident had occurred, if they insisted on pinning it on the Security Division, it wasn't entirely impossible.

Ning Weidong immediately tugged at Li Peihang and whispered, "Brother Li, this isn't right!"

Li Peihang also frowned at this moment; he wasn't stupid and naturally sensed the trend.

Just then, after some build-up, that Officer Yang from the Investigation Team suddenly launched an attack, stood up, and said in a deep voice, "Deputy Section Chief Ning, as far as I know, according to the work assignments in the factory, you were previously in charge of the security and safety work for the Fourth Workshop. Now that this kind of accident has occurred, you bear an inescapable responsibility."

Ning Weidong was startled; the truth had finally come out.

Li Peihang had originally been worried, thinking the Investigation Team was targeting him, since he was the leader currently presiding over the work of the Security Division.

He hadn't expected the other party to bypass him and fixate directly on Ning Weidong.

"Comrade Ning Weidong, do you have any defense?" Officer Yang's gaze was like a torch, staring at Ning Weidong, who was sitting beside the conference table.

Ning Weidong had a serious expression and slowly stood up.

At this time, he absolutely could not back down; if he wasn't careful, this pot of filth would be dumped on his head, and once the matter was set in stone, it would be difficult to turn things around.

Ning Weidong said, "This comrade from the Investigation Team, is there something wrong with your brain? I suggest you go to the hospital and get it checked..."

Officer Yang's expression changed: "What did you say!" He glared at Ning Weidong with knitted brows and wide eyes.

Ning Weidong narrowed his eyes slightly and retorted, "What did I say? It seems your ears aren't working too well either. If your health is failing, hurry to the hospital; revolutionary work can be handed over to comrades who are capable of handling it..."

At this time, another member of the Investigation Team, who was older, frowned and spoke up: "Comrade Ning Weidong..."

But Ning Weidong didn't give him a chance to speak; this wasn't a game of chess where you make a move and I make a move.

They were all in the same group, and Ning Weidong wasn't sure what relationship this speaker had with Officer Yang or what agreements they had behind the scenes.

So he simply didn't let him speak, acting as if he hadn't heard the person's voice, and continued, "The factory already determined the nature of yesterday's accident; it was a production accident caused by an unexpected event. What does this have to do with our Security Division?"

Ning Weidong's voice was loud and high-pitched, immediately suppressing the other person's voice and making it impossible for him to continue.

He continued, "Or is it that the higher-ups no longer trust the leadership team of our Red Star Factory?"

At this, the expressions of the several people from the Investigation Team changed slightly.

Although they were from a higher-level department, Li Weibing and Wang Guoqiang were not people to be trifled with, and their ranks were higher than theirs.

Moreover, before they came, the Ministry had also approved the Red Star Factory's determination of the nature of this accident.

If they were to overturn it now, it wouldn't just offend Li Weibing and Wang Guoqiang; it would also be difficult to explain back at the Ministry.

Seeing this, Officer Yang also felt a chill in his heart; he hadn't expected Ning Weidong to react so quickly.

The reason he singled out Ning Weidong at the meeting this time was to launch a surprise attack, catching Ning Weidong off guard.

He hadn't expected Ning Weidong to not fall for it at all. He immediately slammed the table: "Ning Weidong, stop using the banner of the higher-ups to intimidate us! We are talking about your problems now; stop dragging other things into this."

Ning Weidong retorted tit-for-tat, "I don't think I'm the one using the banner to intimidate; it's some people who are looking for a pretext to frame others! Slamming the table and throwing your weight around—who doesn't know how to slam a table!"

After finishing, Ning Weidong raised his hand, gathered his strength, and slammed it fiercely onto the office table in front of him.

Since he had transmigrated, his strength had been great, and recently, having obtained those two pieces of jade, his body had been nourished, making his strikes even more powerful.

This time, he didn't hold back at all, and with a "slap," he slammed his palm down.

The pine wood conference table in front of him, with a tabletop as thick as two fingers put together, was actually shattered across a large area by Ning Weidong's palm!

In an instant, the conference room fell into dead silence; no one had expected this result.

Even less did they expect that Ning Weidong's hand strength would be so great; that was high-quality pine wood from the Northeast Daxinganling, not paper.

Let alone breaking it with a palm strike, a normal person would definitely have a sore hand for half a day after hitting it, while the table would be perfectly fine.

And Officer Yang, who had been aggressive just a moment ago, was now dumbfounded.

He hadn't expected Ning Weidong's reaction to be so intense, and even less did he expect that Ning Weidong really had martial arts skills.

More importantly, this palm strike from Ning Weidong signaled a tough attitude, the subtext being that whoever dared to mess with him, he would kill them.

Furthermore, Officer Yang didn't believe Ning Weidong didn't know how powerful his strike was, yet he didn't hold back and shattered the table; this was also telling the Investigation Team that he wasn't afraid of escalating the matter—if they had the guts, they could come at him, blade to blade, in close-quarters combat.

With such a tough response, not only Officer Yang, but the other members of the Investigation Team also had to consider the subsequent impact.

Officer Yang had his reasons for targeting Ning Weidong, but the others might not be willing to bear the consequences with him.

Sure enough, after a few seconds of silence, the middle-aged man leading the Investigation Team adjusted his glasses and said with a smile, "Young man, don't be so hot-tempered. We are all comrades; if there are problems, we can fully discuss them and exchange opinions..." As he spoke, he looked toward Shen Weizhen from the factory's Logistics Department, whom he likely knew, and said half-jokingly, "Also, Old Shen, I have to criticize you this time. Such a large Red Star Factory, how come the table in the conference room is broken, and you don't even know to replace it."

Shen Weizhen was taken aback, thinking to herself, how did this get dragged onto me?

What broken table? This was clearly a conference table replaced only last year; even termites wouldn't have chewed it to pieces that quickly—but she also understood that this was providing a way out for both sides.

Shen Weizhen's reaction was not slow; if she didn't pick up the cue at this moment, she would offend both sides.

Don't look at Ning Weidong's tough performance just now; it precisely showed that he did not want to escalate the situation. Only this kind of tough, or even extreme, attitude could demonstrate his determination and deter the enemy.

Seek peace through struggle, and peace shall exist. As for the Investigation Team, regardless of the cause of the matter, Ning Weidong smashing the table in front of them was a blow to the Investigation Team's authority.

It just so happened that Ning Weidong was not someone to be trifled with; not only did he have people behind him, but he also didn't flinch at critical moments, acting the moment he decided to.

Therefore, in order to maintain the Investigation Team's face, this shattered table could only have been broken to begin with.

Ning Weidong had only touched it lightly and it shattered.

Shen Weizhen laughed dryly and agreed to the matter, while simultaneously giving Li Peihang a wink.

Li Peihang also had a tacit understanding and immediately said, "Weidong, you injured your hand, hurry to the infirmary. What kind of mess is this..."

As he spoke, he pulled Ning Weidong directly out of the conference room.

The remaining people continued the meeting.

After this small interlude, the atmosphere in the entire conference room was quite strange, and it ended hastily shortly thereafter.

The people from the Red Star Factory all dispersed, leaving behind the six members of the Investigation Team.

Officer Yang kept his head down and said nothing.

He knew he had messed things up today.

Countered by Ning Weidong in one stroke, the Investigation Team failed to substantiate the charges against Ning Weidong, which was equivalent to losing the initiative of striking while the iron was hot.

The middle-aged man who had spoken earlier had a gloomy expression, and he said in a deep voice, "Little Yang, I don't care who told you to do this, today's matter ends here. I don't want there to be a next time."

Officer Yang gave a muffled "Yes."

The middle-aged man didn't elaborate; this Investigation Team was temporary to begin with, and although he was the team leader, he didn't have much authority.

To put it bluntly, if others gave him face, they called him team leader; if they didn't, he had no way to deal with it.

Officer Yang's targeting of Ning Weidong just now was clearly not simple, and he couldn't be bothered to care; if Ning Weidong's reaction hadn't potentially affected the big picture, he wouldn't have spoken up just now.

At this time, another young man in the team, about the same age as Officer Yang, smiled and patted him: "The old saying goes, people who aren't of the same family don't enter the same house; you didn't even stop to think about what kind of person Zhao Ruyi would take a fancy to."

The corners of Officer Yang's mouth twitched; listening to their tone, they clearly knew Zhao Ruyi and were quite familiar with her.

The young man continued, "To be taken a fancy to by that tigress and still be able to get along, he must be some kind of reckless person. You really are something, daring to provoke him."

Officer Yang's expression was uncertain.

He understood that the other party was hinting to him that Ning Weidong was no ordinary person.

Helplessly, he revealed a bitter smile; of course he knew Ning Weidong was no ordinary person, and he was unwilling to step forward to provoke such an enemy.

But since he had stepped forward today, he had his own reasons; choosing a side also requires paying a price.

On the other side, Ning Weidong and Li Peihang had just come out of the conference room.

Both of their expressions darkened in an instant.

Although Officer Yang only targeted Ning Weidong just now, in reality, if Ning Weidong's responsibility were truly substantiated, Li Peihang would definitely be implicated.

Li Peihang fished a cigarette out of his pocket and handed one to Ning Weidong, but he stared at Ning Weidong's hand: "Brother, is your hand alright?"

Ning Weidong took the cigarette, held it in his mouth, and waved his hand in front of Li Peihang: "It's just smashing a table, what could happen."

Li Peihang said "Damn it": "You're tough. Was that just smashing a table? You smashed the table to pieces!" He then added: "But that guy surnamed Yang was really damn evil just now; it was obvious what was going on, yet he actually wanted to splash dirty water on us."

Ning Weidong said: "He's just someone taking orders; the root cause is still in our factory."

Li Peihang nodded, agreeing with this view.

Ning Weidong said: "Brother Li, who do you think is behind this person?"

Li Peihang narrowed his eyes, lit his cigarette, put it in his mouth, took a deep drag, and said in a deep voice: "It definitely isn't Wang Guoqiang. He is currently focused on Old Chu and won't come to provoke me again."

Ning Weidong gave an "Mm."

That was indeed the logic; if Wang Guoqiang were to strike at Li Peihang again at this time, it would be equivalent to forcing Li Peihang to cooperate with Deputy Factory Director Chu.

The situation of having finally divided, cut off, and defeated them one by one would be ruined in an instant.

And besides Deputy Factory Director Chu, the person with the motive to pull this off was already obvious.

Li Peihang frowned and said: "Good old Chu, he was actually waiting for me here."

Ning Weidong pursed his lips, but felt it shouldn't be that simple.

Officer Yang's move just now was at most a feint.

Because it was obvious that the main responsibility for the accident in the Fourth Workshop definitely did not lie with the Security Division.

Even if they insisted on pinning it on Li Peihang and Ning Weidong, given the backgrounds of the two, they would certainly not let themselves be manipulated.

In the end, even if Ning Weidong hadn't smashed the table and they had continued to tangle and pull, it would have been dismissed lightly in the end.

Moreover, Deputy Factory Director Chu could be valued by Li Weibing, so he was definitely not a good-for-nothing.

At the very least, in Li Weibing's mind, Deputy Factory Director Chu was much better than Li Peihang.

Ning Weidong's background was no secret; what Deputy Factory Director Chu wanted to deal with was Li Peihang, not Ning Weidong.

Dragging Ning Weidong into this brought no benefits to Deputy Factory Director Chu.

Therefore, if Officer Yang was truly behind Deputy Factory Director Chu, targeting Ning Weidong right from the start was definitely not the real goal.

However, Ning Weidong did not remind Li Peihang at this time; instead, he gave more thought to that Deputy Factory Director Chu, wondering what his next move would be.

Just at this moment, Chen hurried down from upstairs.

Seeing Li Peihang and Ning Weidong, he immediately trotted over: "Division Chief, Section Chief~"

"Something up?" Li Peihang asked.

Chen hurriedly said: "There was a phone call from above for Section Chief Ning, from the Mechanical Bureau, saying it was Section Chief Ning's older brother."

Ning Weidong was stunned; what could Ning Weiguo possibly have to call him about at this hour?

He looked at Li Peihang: "Brother Li, I'm going to take a call."

"Go ahead," Li Peihang nodded.

Ning Weidong went upstairs with Chen, and when they reached the second floor, Chen suddenly said: "Section Chief, I still have some things to attend to..."

"Go do your work," Ning Weidong continued upstairs, but when he reached the first Office on the third floor, he did not see Wen Aiying.

Presumably, Chen did not really have things to attend to just now, but was deliberately avoiding him.

Ning Weidong walked over, picked up the telephone receiver sitting on the desk, and said, "Big Brother?" (End of chapter)