Chapter 165: College Entrance Exam

Ning Weidong picked up the phone and said "Hello," and heard Ning Weiguo's voice.

After the two finished their call, Ning Weidong's expression was somewhat strange; he had not expected this to be the situation.

After listening to what was said on the phone, Ning Weidong frowned and said, "Big Brother, do you mean that Chu Chengfu took the initiative to find you... that this time the Investigation Team will target me first... and then I will have an excuse to stay out of it..."

Ning Weiguo indicated that he had been unaware of it beforehand; Chu Chengfu had just called him, and he had immediately called to confirm with Ning Weidong.

Ning Weidong made a "tsk" sound and said, "Old Chu is certainly calculating."

Ning Weiguo sensed the unusual tone in Ning Weidong's voice and immediately asked what was going on.

Ning Weidong explained the situation that had just occurred in the conference room.

Upon hearing it, Ning Weiguo immediately understood what was happening.

The reason Deputy Factory Director Chu had only called him at this moment was likely because he was waiting for Ning Weidong's reaction.

If Ning Weidong failed to react in time and was saddled with the blame, he would have other plans.

For example, using the trouble Ning Weidong was in to conduct an exchange with Ning Weiguo.

Even if Ning Weiguo knew clearly that this was Deputy Factory Director Chu's arrangement, faced with this situation, he would still have to accept it.

This was the rule; without the power and courage to break the rules, one could only act in accordance with them.

Likewise, since Ning Weidong did not fall for the trap, Deputy Factory Director Chu could only accept it.

Although Ning Weiguo did not say it, Ning Weidong knew that to make Ning Weiguo place this call, Deputy Factory Director Chu must have paid a price.

Deputy Factory Director Chu's goal was also very simple: to make Ning Weidong remain neutral in his conflict with Li Peihang.

Ning Weidong held the receiver and said, "Brother, I understand. Old Chu is indeed more clever than Li Peihang."

Hanging up the phone, Ning Weidong returned to the Office, fished a cigarette from his pocket, leaned back in his chair, and lit it.

Sure enough, that Chu Chengfu could be favored by Li Weibing meant he was indeed no mere empty suit.

With this single move, he had cut off one of Li Peihang's sources of support.

Regardless of what Ning Weidong personally thought, the Wang Family and Zhao Family behind him certainly did not want to add any more trouble at the Red Star Factory.

Otherwise, when Ning Weidong had toppled Wang Kaifeng, it would have been a good opportunity for both families to intervene directly.

Since neither family had made a move, it meant they did not want to waste resources here.

It was precisely based on this judgment that Deputy Factory Director Chu had targeted Ning Weidong through the Investigation Team.

By stirring things up, whether the blame was pinned on Ning Weidong or, as it was now, pushed back by Ning Weidong, he could achieve his goal.

He had directly eliminated the possibility of Li Peihang using Ning Weidong to skirt the rules and dragging the Wang Family and Zhao Family in when necessary.

Ning Weidong thought to himself, finished the cigarette, pressed the butt into the ashtray, raised his hand to glance at his watch, and silently calculated that Li Peihang should be arriving soon.

Sure enough, not two minutes later, Li Peihang arrived.

"Brother Li~" Ning Weidong instantly got into character, his face full of bitterness.

Li Peihang's heart skipped a beat: "Brother, what's the situation?"

Ning Weidong slapped his thigh: "Sigh, my brother just called me. I don't know what connections that guy surnamed Chu pulled, but the old man from my sister-in-law's family asked about our factory's business..."

Upon hearing this, Li Peihang couldn't help but suck his teeth.

When he heard Ning Weiguo was calling earlier, and after waiting for Ning Weidong to go upstairs, he had thought it over carefully and guessed it might be bad.

He had just held onto a shred of wishful thinking, which was why he had followed him over.

Sure enough, one shouldn't have wishful thinking.

Li Peihang said helplessly: "Brother, it's fine, I know your predicament."

Ning Weidong sighed and said nothing.

After seeing Li Peihang off, the look of worry on Ning Weidong's face faded, and he opened the Correspondence Education textbook on his desk as if nothing had happened.

How Wang Guoqiang, Li Peihang, and Chu Chengfu fought from here on out had nothing to do with him.

In the blink of an eye, another month passed.

In July, the day of the college entrance exam finally arrived.

Early in the morning, Bai Fengqin got up, washed, and sat in front of a small mirror while Bai Fengyu stood behind her, carefully braiding her hair into two pigtails.

Bai Fengqin sat upright, her gaze firm, not saying a word.

Bai Fengyu tied the hair ties and said with a smile, "Fengqin, Sister wishes you success, to become the first college student in our family."

Bai Fengqin pursed her lips and nodded: "Sister, I will definitely pass!" Her voice was not loud but exceptionally firm.

After checking her schoolbag one last time, Bai Fengqin slung it over her shoulder and walked out.

Ning Weidong was waiting outside, leaning on his bicycle, and smiled when he saw the two of them come out.

Bai Fengqin usually walked to and from school, but today the exam site was not at their school.

A few days earlier, Bai Fengqin had sought out Ning Weidong, hoping he could take her to the exam site on the day of the test.

If it were anything else, Ning Weidong might have tried to avoid suspicion, but he agreed to this without hesitation.

"Brother Weidong~" Bai Fengqin called out naturally when she saw Ning Weidong, then turned to Bai Fengyu and said: "Sister, don't worry, I'm going."

Bai Fengyu nodded and watched Ning Weidong and Bai Fengqin leave the courtyard.

Just as they reached the front yard, Lu Daye was standing at his door; seeing them, he immediately stepped forward and said: "Little Fengqin, taking the college entrance exam today~"

Bai Fengqin nodded. Lu Daye smiled and said: "Good luck."

Before he had finished speaking, Lu Dama hurried out from the room, holding two eggs wrapped in a handkerchief: "Girl, Dama boiled two eggs for you to take along. If you get hungry or tired, eat one to replenish your energy."

Bai Fengqin felt a warmth in her heart; it had to be said that ever since she came to this courtyard, Lu Daye and Lu Dama had indeed been very good to her.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I..."

Lu Dama stuffed the eggs into her hand and patted the back of Bai Fengqin's hand: "Girl, don't be nervous, do well on the exam!"

After leaving the courtyard, Bai Fengqin couldn't help but let out a long breath.

Aside from Lu Daye and his wife, other people in the courtyard also came out to offer their blessings, which instead added quite a bit of pressure to Bai Fengqin.

It made it seem as if something terrible would happen if she didn't pass the exam.

Arriving outside the gate, Ning Weidong got on his bicycle and signaled for her to sit on it.

Bai Fengqin responded with a sound, sat sideways on the back rack of the bicycle, and held onto Ning Weidong's waist with one hand.

Ning Weidong pushed off with one foot, and the bicycle began to move forward.

Bai Fengqin was swayed by the movement and couldn't help but hug Ning Weidong tighter.

Ning Weidong said from the front, "Don't feel pressured. Nowadays, only five out of every hundred people pass the university entrance exam. It's no big deal if you don't pass; just perform at your normal level."

Bai Fengqin let out an "mm," her mood feeling exceptionally complicated.

These words should have been spoken by her own family, yet she hadn't expected them to come from Ning Weidong's mouth.

But she also knew that now was not the time for wild thoughts, so she simply emptied her mind, trying her best not to think about anything.

Before long, Bai Fengyu, sitting on the back of the seat, felt a bit dazed; she only came back to her senses when she suddenly felt the bicycle stop, and looking up, she saw they had arrived.

Bai Fengqin hurriedly got off and, holding her schoolbag with one hand, said, "Brother Weidong, thank you, I'm going in."

Ning Weidong smiled and said, "Go ahead."

By this time, quite a few examinees had already arrived early; Bai Fengqin merged into the flow of people and soon disappeared.

Ning Weidong didn't leave either; he parked the bicycle under a tree in front of the exam site gate, fished a cigarette out of his pocket, and smoked it by himself.

For this past month, the situation at Red Star Factory could be described as turbulent.

Due to his age and health, it was almost certain that Li Weibing would retire to a secondary role by the end of the year at the latest.

Under these circumstances, Li Weibing had absolutely no heart for the fight and did not want to tangle with Wang Guoqiang personally.

This time, he simply pushed Deputy Factory Director Chu to the front.

As soon as Deputy Factory Director Chu stepped up, he was met with a show of force from Wang Guoqiang, and coupled with the obstruction from Li Peihang, his progress was difficult.

However, Chu Chengfu was no pushover; utilizing the foundation left by Li Weibing and his support, although he was suppressed by Wang Guoqiang, he held on tenaciously and at least didn't collapse.

As for the accident in the Fourth Workshop, it became less important against this backdrop.

After the investigation team arrived and conducted an inquiry, they left with a lot of thunder but little rain.

The workshop subsequently resumed production.

Because Ning Weidong had jumped out early, he did not participate in it.

Instead, during this period, Chu Zhongxin and Zhang Dajun made considerable progress.

After discovering that Section Chief Zhang might have issues, Chu Zhongxin invested a little manpower and resources and managed to break through using Section Chief Zhang as the entry point.

Furthermore, he discovered that Section Chief Zhang had a close relationship with Manager Wang of the Erqing Lushe.

It could basically be locked in that this Manager Wang was also an important figure in the other party's network.

It was just that what Ning Weidong didn't expect was that this guy, Section Chief Zhang, targeting Bai Fengyu wasn't purely out of lust, but rather a desire to control a group of women with outstanding looks like Bai Fengyu, bribe them with money, and then use their charms to drag others into the water.

And what surprised Ning Weidong even more was that, besides Bai Fengyu, Shi Xiaonan was also one of their targets.

Thinking of Shi Xiaonan, ever since she was caught on the street with a kitchen knife after Wang Kai got drunk last time, she hadn't returned to the courtyard, and her marriage with Wang Kai had entered a countdown.

It was just that divorce wasn't that easy in this era, which was why they hadn't obtained the certificate immediately.

Learning about Shi Xiaonan's situation again from Zhang Dajun, Ning Weidong was taken aback.

Because the result of Shi Xiaonan and Wang Kai's situation was actually due in no small part to Section Chief Zhang and Manager Wang secretly meddling.

At the time, Zhang Dajun even sighed that those two were truly too wicked, having forcibly broken up a perfectly good couple.

Ning Weidong didn't say anything, but he didn't agree in his heart.

Given the situation between Shi Xiaonan and Wang Kai, honestly, even without outsiders stirring things up, they would have at most maintained it for a while longer; the two would have divorced sooner or later.

To put it plainly, a woman like Shi Xiaonan was simply someone Wang Kai couldn't hold onto, given his ability and character.

At the same time, just as Ning Weidong sent Bai Fengqin into the exam hall.

In an Office Building less than two hundred meters away, Shi Xiaonan hurried to the front of an office door.

With an anxious look on her face, she raised her hand to knock on the door.

But at the last moment, she steadied her emotions, forced herself to pull back her hand, took two deep breaths, and only then raised her hand again to knock three times rhythmically.

Waiting until a "come in" came from inside, she pushed the door open and entered.

In the office, a person wearing a dark blue Zhongshan Suit looked toward the door, and seeing it was Shi Xiaonan, immediately stood up with a smile and said, "It's Little Shi~ I was just looking for you even if you hadn't come."

(End of chapter)