Chapter 198: Stabbing Three Times

Ning Wei did not understand; Ning Weidong had clearly already decided on that detached courtyard house, yet after finishing, he suddenly asked about an apartment.

Had he changed his mind again?

That shouldn't be the case; he understood Ning Weidong's style of doing things very well—whether it was a major or minor matter, he was always thoughtful, and it was rare for him to change his mind overnight. Or could it be that Ning Weidong wanted both the courtyard and the apartment?

Ning Wei asked in surprise, "Third Brother, you want to keep that apartment too?"

Ning Weidong nodded: "The apartment has heating, so you don't have to light a fire yourself; it's convenient in winter and warmer. Liushen is in poor health, and your house doesn't face south, so the room never sees sunlight all year round. It just so happens that you can take that apartment this time, charge the cost directly to the company's account, and have Liushen move over."

Ning Wei couldn't help but be stunned; he truly hadn't expected that Ning Weidong asking about the apartment was for his mother.

In an instant, a warm current surged from his heart, but by the time it reached his face, it turned into a sour ache, and the tears in his eyes almost fell.

If one wants to win people's hearts, the most effective way is to be inadvertent, to provide an unexpected surprise.

Just like now, Ning Wei had completely not expected that in the middle of summer, Ning Weidong had already thought about the hardships his mother would face in winter.

"Third Brother..." Ning Wei didn't know what to say; a thousand words gathered into just one "Third Brother."

Ning Weidong patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Alright, you're a grown man, don't go getting all teary-eyed with me; what does that look like?"

Ning Wei hurriedly said "Mm," and forced back the tears that were about to surge out.

Ning Weidong added, "Take good care of Liushen, and in a couple of years, I'll find you a good girl, and when you have a big, chubby boy for the old lady, that will be complete."

Mentioning this, the corners of Ning Wei's mouth twitched, and his expression became strange.

It was just that the aftereffects of that female doctor from last time were too strong.

Ning Weidong didn't say anything more and patted him again: "Alright, go on."

Ning Wei responded and ran off in a flash.

Ning Weidong picked up the phone and dialed Ning Weiguo: "Hello, Big Brother, it's Weidong; there's a matter I need to tell you about..."

Previously, his understanding with Ning Weiguo was that the matter regarding Qian Xiaopeng should just end there.

But now, since Qian Dacheng was being relentless, he definitely had to tell Ning Weiguo.

After lunch, Wang Zipeng came over to talk about the restaurant arranged for the evening.

Yesterday, when Ning Weidong said he wanted to treat Feng Bing to a meal, it wasn't just empty politeness.

More friends mean more paths; more enemies mean more walls.

For someone like Feng Bing, Ning Weidong didn't mind forming a good connection; in any case, it was just a meal.

Given Feng Bing's situation, that was about the value of this one meal; if he wanted to have a private meal with Ning Weidong in the future, it would depend on whether he could provide greater value.

Wang Zipeng was worldly-wise and handled such matters with ease; Ning Weidong didn't need to worry at all.

Especially since he had received a promise from Ning Weidong's lips last night, he went home and told his wife, and the two of them went to his father-in-law's house overnight.

After some discussion, they were both stunned by the benefits contained within.

Seeing Ning Weidong again today, he was even more attentive than usual.

Meanwhile, Zhang Dajun was busy deploying his men to launch an investigation.

On the other side, in the corridor outside the Bureau Chief's office on the upper floor of the Mechanical Bureau.

Ning Weiguo's leather shoes stepped on the terrazzo floor, the iron heel plates making a crisp metallic sound, and he stopped outside the Bureau Chief's office to knock neither too lightly nor too heavily.

Hearing a "Come in" from inside, he pushed the door and entered.

"Bureau Chief, you called for me~" Ning Weiguo was proper and gently closed the office door.

He had just received a call in his office telling him to come over.

"Little Ning~ come and sit." Bureau Chief Chen stood up with a smile and gestured for Ning Weiguo to sit on the sofa.

This Bureau Chief Chen was a former subordinate of Wang Yuzhen's father and belonged to the Wang Family faction, so he naturally treated Ning Weiguo, the Wang Family's son-in-law, differently.

After chatting about family matters for a while, he took out the Report Letter that Feng Bing had shown Ning Weidong yesterday and said in a deep voice: "Weiguo~ yesterday the Discipline Office received a Report Letter, which involves your younger brother Ning Weidong..."

Ning Weiguo already knew the situation from Ning Weidong's side; seeing the envelope on the coffee table in front of him, he wasn't very surprised and immediately stood up: "Bureau Chief, I have a clear conscience regarding my work and life, and I also trust the organization and the leadership; I accept any arrangements you make."

Bureau Chief Chen smiled and raised his hand, signaling him to sit down, and said with a chuckle: "Young man, don't be agitated; I fully trust your party spirit and character."

Ning Weiguo sat down slowly; in truth, he wasn't agitated at all.

Bureau Chief Chen continued: "I called you over today just to understand the situation."

Actually, for this kind of matter, Bureau Chief Chen wouldn't need to come personally just to understand the situation, but Ning Weiguo's status was special; he was not allowed to have any flaws.

Bureau Chief Chen had to ensure there were no mistakes.

Ning Weiguo knew that Bureau Chief Chen wasn't worried about him, but about Ning Weidong's situation.

Ning Weiguo had been carefully selected by the Wang Family and was right under their noses, so there was a high probability he wouldn't have any problems.

Ning Weiguo's younger brother, however, was a different story, and according to the claims in the Report Letter, Ning Weidong had transformed from a gatekeeper in a Big Collective to a Deputy Section Chief in the Security Division in just half a year, making it hard for people not to suspect there was something fishy going on.

Ning Weiguo could guess Bureau Chief Chen's thoughts and immediately explained the process of Ning Weidong's step-by-step promotion.

At the end, he said: "Bureau Chief, regarding my brother's matter, it can fully withstand investigation."

Bureau Chief Chen nodded; regarding Ning Weidong's promotion, he really couldn't say anything.

Don't look at the Mechanical Bureau as nominally the superior unit of the Red Star Factory; in reality, the Red Star Factory was under dual management by the Ministry and the local government, and as long as there wasn't an obvious error in personnel, the Mechanical Bureau couldn't interfere.

Bureau Chief Chen said: "That's good, then I'll suppress this letter."

Ning Weiguo pursed his lips and said: "Bureau Chief, I'm afraid that Qian Deputy Bureau Chief..."

Bureau Chief Chen raised an eyebrow: "How did Old Qian get dragged into this?"

Ning Weiguo simply explained the cause and effect, and finally said: "Look, isn't it obvious? The matter happened just before, and the letter reporting my brother arrived at our bureau right after; if this is a coincidence... you tell me, isn't it too coincidental?"

Bureau Chief Chen naturally understood that Ning Weiguo was trying to smear Qian Deputy Bureau Chief.

But from his perspective, this smear was quite effective.

Bureau Chief Chen still had one concern and frowned: "Then~ the Worker-turned-Cadre status..."

The policy for Worker-turned-Cadre had come out not long ago; if Ning Weidong held a Worker-turned-Cadre status, it would be quite difficult to handle.

Ning Weiguo immediately said, "Rest assured, Weidong has already taken the Correspondence Secondary Specialized School exam and received his Secondary Specialized School Diploma."

Bureau Chief Chen was suddenly enlightened; no wonder Ning Weiguo was so confident. He thought for a moment and said, "Since that's the case, then shall we investigate?"

Ning Weiguo smiled and bowed slightly: "It all depends on your instructions."

The Qian family's move was ultimately aimed at wanting to negotiate an exchange, while simultaneously displaying a certain tough stance.

If you seek peace through struggle, peace survives; if you seek peace through compromise, peace perishes.

The idea seemed good, but the actual execution had major problems.

The biggest problem was that the weakness of Ning Weidong they imagined was not actually "weak."

……

With Bureau Chief Chen's push, the Mechanical Bureau's efficiency was quite high, and the Discipline Office dispatched an Investigation Team the very next day.

Feng Bing was surprisingly among them.

The Investigation Team came to the Red Star Factory, but of course, they couldn't come directly targeting Ning Weidong by name; instead, they came under the pretext of investigating workers acting as cadres.

"Brother, have you heard..." Li Peihang came over immediately.

Ning Weidong knew it clearly, but on the surface, he smiled and said, "Heard what?"

Li Peihang said, "The Bureau's Discipline Office Investigation Team has arrived; it's said they are specifically taking stock of the situation regarding workers acting as cadres."

Ning Weidong smiled.

Li Peihang leaned in and gave a thumbs up: "Brother, I have to say you are still the cunning one, having taken the Correspondence Secondary Specialized School exam so early; otherwise, this would have been really troublesome."

Li Peihang's mood had been very good lately.

Previously, he had been lectured by his uncle and completely abandoned the idea of competing with Chu Chengfu, turning instead to go find Zhao Ruyi with Li Ge.

In this regard, they possessed an inherent advantage in upstream resources, far more convenient than Wang Kaixuan.

In just one week, they had successfully negotiated two deals; Li Ge split four thousand five hundred, and Li Peihang received three thousand.

Ten-yuan Big Unity notes, one thousand per bundle, three full bundles.

Although Li Peihang had some gray income before, he was only one link in the chain, and including Li Ge, they couldn't get the lion's share and were always on edge.

Having received the benefits, his attitude toward Ning Weidong was naturally more attentive.

Ning Weidong said, "That's why the ancestors said, 'In books, there are houses of gold; in books, there are beauties like jade.'"

Li Peihang laughed: "You didn't see it, but all those workers acting as cadres in the Office Building are all panicking."

Ning Weidong knew these people were suffering collateral damage because of him.

Just at this moment, someone came to the door of Ning Weidong's Office and knocked.

It was summer, and Ning Weidong hadn't closed the door, so there was still a cross-breeze.

Turning his head to look, it was indeed Qian Dacheng.

Li Peihang also looked over, slightly surprised, and said, "Old Qian~"

Qian Dacheng hadn't expected Li Peihang to be here, but since he had already reached the door, not entering would seem abrupt.

Ning Weidong looked on with a half-smile and said indifferently, "Section Chief Qian~"

Qian Dacheng nodded to Li Peihang: "Division Chief Li~" Then he looked at Ning Weidong: "Section Chief Ning~"

Li Peihang was a sharp person and immediately sensed that the relationship between Ning Weidong and Qian Dacheng was not right, so he couldn't help but glance at Qian Dacheng.

His relationship with Qian Dacheng was decent, but Ning Weidong was his god of wealth; he couldn't afford to offend Ning Weidong, no matter who else he offended.

As for offending Qian Dacheng because of this, Li Peihang didn't care at all.

Qian Dacheng's fourth uncle was a Deputy Bureau Chief, but he couldn't reach into the factory anymore.

Ning Weidong didn't want to let Li Peihang get involved: "By the way, Brother Li, didn't you say you had something to do at the Finance Section?" Li Peihang nodded knowingly, laughed it off and said, "Right, the Finance Section still owes us a sum for equipment fees, I'm off~"

Li Peihang left and conveniently pulled the door shut behind him.

Only Ning Weidong and Qian Dacheng remained in the room.

Ning Weidong said "Sit" indifferently and sat down on the sofa to the side by himself.

Qian Dacheng didn't stand on ceremony either; he sat at the other end with a seat in between and got straight to the point: "Section Chief Ning, killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of your own—there's no need for us to end up like this."

Ning Weidong didn't look at Qian Dacheng; he sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, looking down and carelessly smoothing the hem of his short-sleeved shirt, and said indifferently, "End up like what? I don't understand what Section Chief Qian is talking about."

Qian Dacheng was angry inside and gritted his teeth: "Why must Section Chief Ning play dumb? The Investigation Team from the Bureau's Discipline Office arrived at the factory early this morning; how do you think they got here?"

Ning Weidong looked up and swept a glance: "So you really were the one who wrote that Report Letter? Your imitation Song typeface is not bad."

Qian Dacheng was startled.

It wasn't strange that Ning Weidong knew about the Report Letter, but what did "the writing is not bad" mean? Could it be that Ning Weidong had already seen it?

Thinking back to yesterday morning when he met Ning Weidong at the bike shed, a thought couldn't help but pop into Qian Dacheng's mind: Ning Weidong had known about this Report Letter for a long time and had seen it with his own eyes! Thinking of this, an ominous premonition surged in his heart.

But he couldn't lose his composure now; Qian Dacheng steadied himself and said in a deep voice, "Section Chief Ning, how about we both take a step back?"

Ning Weidong said unhurriedly, "How do we take a step back?"

Qian Dacheng said, "I can guarantee that this time the Investigation Team is just going through the motions."

Ning Weidong's expression was playful: "And then?"

Qian Dacheng said, "My younger brother's matter was entirely a misunderstanding. Two young people were courting; our family is very fond of that Miss Bai and is willing to offer one thousand yuan as a betrothal gift..."

Ning Weidong narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself that the Qian family was certainly generous; they opened their mouths and offered a one-thousand-yuan betrothal gift.

In this era, there was no such thing as an exorbitant betrothal gift for marriage.

Ning Weidong said, "Section Chief Qian, you can't talk to me about this. I just live in the same courtyard as that girl; we aren't related by blood or marriage. If your family wants to marry her, go talk to the girl directly~"

Qian Dacheng's expression was serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Section Chief Ning, must you make it so everyone looks bad?"

Ning Weidong said, "I don't like hearing that. Your brother was the one who started the trouble. I was acting in righteous defense; I hit him, and he deserved it. What, is your family still not satisfied? And you even wrote a Report Letter..."

Speaking to this point, Ning Weidong sneered: "Do you think I'm afraid of these petty, underhanded tricks?"

Qian Dacheng's face turned gloomy, realizing that the situation had exceeded his expectations.

The so-called conspiracy lies in the word "conspiracy"; it requires keeping the enemy in the dark. Once a conspiracy is brought into the sunlight, it is no longer called a conspiracy.

Ning Weidong's unconcerned appearance made it clear that this Investigation Team had not exerted the deterrent force it should have.

It was a coincidence that just at this moment, the telephone on the desk rang.

Ning Weidong stood up, walked over, picked up the receiver, and said "Hello."

Immediately, he glanced at Qian Dacheng with a playful expression and said indifferently, "Alright, I understand."

Putting down the phone, Ning Weidong looked at Qian Dacheng, returned to the side of the sofa, sat down with a thud, and said sarcastically, "Section Chief Qian, you really should properly discipline that precious younger brother of yours..."

Qian Dacheng's heart suddenly tightened. He had already had a premonition of disaster, and at this moment, he was even more certain that something had happened to Qian Xiaopeng.

"You—" Qian Dacheng pressed on the armrest of the sofa, about to stand up, but forced himself to hold back and said in a deep voice, "What did you do to Xiaopeng?"

Ning Weidong spread his hands and said, "Look at what you're saying. Your brother is locked up at the Police Station; what could I possibly do to him? However... some things can never be wrapped in paper forever. Did you really think the things Qian Xiaopeng did could be kept hidden forever?"

Qian Dacheng's complexion changed abruptly.

Just a moment ago, Zhang Dajun's side had already obtained the evidence of Qian Xiaopeng's past crimes.

Just as Ning Weidong had anticipated, a dog cannot change its habit of eating excrement. A person like Qian Xiaopeng, who dared to snatch someone in public, was certainly not acting on impulse or committing a first offense.

Sure enough, once Zhang Dajun sent his men out to investigate, they quickly discovered clues.

In fact, there was no need for an investigation at all; Qian Xiaopeng's exploits were no secret in the circles around him.

All Zhang Dajun had to do was follow those rumors one by one to verify them and find the relevant victims.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have called Ning Weidong to report back in less than two days.

Ning Weidong watched Qian Dacheng with a look that was not quite a smile: "Gathering a crowd for gambling, picking quarrels and provoking trouble, causing injury and disability, and even rape... Section Chief Qian, would it be an exaggeration for me to say that your brother is guilty of every conceivable crime?"

"You..." Qian Dacheng felt as if he couldn't catch his breath. Every charge Ning Weidong listed felt like a sledgehammer smashing onto his head.

Yet he couldn't deny it, because no one knew better than he did what kind of person Qian Xiaopeng was.

Moreover, Qian Dacheng hadn't expected Ning Weidong to pull the rug out from under him like this.

Qian Dacheng took a deep breath, suppressed the chaotic thoughts in his mind, organized his words, and wanted to say something.

Ning Weidong, however, raised his hand to check his watch and said indifferently, "Well, Section Chief Qian, it's getting late, and I still have some things to attend to here, so you see..."

In the past, if someone had so obviously tried to kick him out, Qian Dacheng would have immediately flicked his sleeves and left.

But now, he didn't dare; his brother's life was in Ning Weidong's hands.

Qian Dacheng hurriedly forced a smile and said, "Section Chief Ning, don't be like that... I, I submit!" But his smile was uglier than crying.

Ning Weidong glanced at him without responding.

If he had said "I submit" before the Wang Family had stirred up trouble, it might have been enough, but now... it was too late. The matter had already been exposed, not only involving Bureau Chief Chen of the Mechanical Bureau, but Ning Weidong had also utilized Zhang Dajun's resources at the Sub-bureau.

These things were not free; a simple "I submit" was not enough.

Ning Weidong said, "Section Chief Qian, don't try to play word games with me."

Qian Dacheng was also someone who knew how to bend and stretch.

Now that things had reached this point, he stopped putting on airs and lowered his posture significantly: "Section Chief Ning, you have the final say on everything; I absolutely have no second words."

Ning Weidong raised an eyebrow: "Old Qian, it would have been great if you had been like this earlier. Now that it's turned out like this, the case was investigated by the comrades at the Sub-bureau; it's not something I can just push back with a single word."

"This..." Qian Dacheng was speechless for a moment, but he understood what Ning Weidong meant.

It was just that this price was not one he could afford to pay.

To put it bluntly, the Wang Family's greatest resources were with his Fourth Uncle; otherwise, as a Deputy Section Chief in the Logistics Department, how could he possibly arm-wrestle with Ning Weidong?

Now that he had submitted, he would have to cut meat from his Fourth Uncle accordingly.

This was also why Bureau Chief Chen was willing to cooperate.

Because as long as he lifted a finger, he could use this matter to manipulate Qian Deputy Bureau Chief later.

Otherwise, even if Ning Weiguo was the son-in-law of the Wang Family, Bureau Chief Chen would not have been so easy to talk to.

As for the fact that Qian Deputy Bureau Chief had ostensibly never participated and Qian Dacheng had been the one managing the operations,

that could not serve as an excuse for him to shirk responsibility. Such an excuse might fool those below him, and he could use it to stall Ning Weiguo, but it was useless against Bureau Chief Chen.

On Bureau Chief Chen's side, the Fourth Uncle would inevitably have to bleed.

Correspondingly, Ning Weiguo would also be able to get a share of the spoils.

Qian Dacheng's mouth twitched, and he could only continue to humble himself, pleading, "Section Chief Ning, please show me a way out."

Ning Weidong said, "Old Qian, it's not a matter that can be solved by just one way out now. Put your brother's matter aside for a moment. What about the Report Letter you wrote to the Mechanical Bureau, intending to borrow a knife to kill someone? Call your Fourth Uncle first and let him think carefully about how he's going to explain this to Bureau Chief Chen."

Qian Dacheng knew he had been too clever by half, but even now, he couldn't understand why Ning Weidong was so unconcerned.

Ning Weidong could roughly guess his complicated mood, but he didn't intend to tell him that he had already obtained his Secondary Specialized School Diploma, letting him continue to be confused.

He continued, "As for Qian Xiaopeng, I can still maneuver things, as the case hasn't been reported to the Sub-bureau yet. If it is reported, given his situation, a bullet is inevitable."

Upon hearing this, Qian Dacheng's face turned deathly pale: "This... this shouldn't be necessary!"

Until now, he hadn't thought the situation was this serious.

Ning Weidong sneered: "Not necessary? Fine, then let's follow the procedure..."

Qian Dacheng realized what he had done and hurriedly said, "No, it was my clumsy mouth; I misspoke."

Ning Weidong softened his tone: "Actually, it wouldn't have been necessary, but you all were too clever for your own good and made a big deal out of it first. Section Chief Qian, if your brother suffers any bad consequences, remember, it's not because of me; it's because you brought it upon yourselves. It was originally a matter of being detained for a dozen days, tsk tsk tsk..."

In the end, Qian Dacheng returned, looking dejected.

Just as he arrived at the Logistics Department, someone shouted at him: "Qian Dacheng, you bastard, whose pants zipper is left open, exposing you!"

Qian Dacheng was stunned, only to see a bald middle-aged man sitting in his seat in the Office. Seeing him enter from outside, the man immediately stood up and cursed loudly.

Qian Dacheng recognized this person; it was Section Chief Liu from the Material Section of the Logistics Department. They usually had a decent relationship, so why was he acting like a madman today, cursing so viciously?

He soon understood what was going on.

Section Chief Liu glared with wide eyes: "You son of a bitch, you secretly wrote a Report Letter to the Bureau, specifically targeting us workers-instead-of-cadres..."

Qian Dacheng was dissatisfied with the reaction, and immediately understood that it was Ning Weidong who had leaked the news.

This move had thoroughly roasted Qian Dacheng over the fire.

In the Red Star Factory of over ten thousand people, there were quite a few in the factory involved in "workers acting as Cadres," but Ning Weidong had obtained his diploma early and had Cadre Status.

Others did not have this, so when the Mechanical Bureau Discipline Office suddenly sent an Investigation Team down, it touched the sensitive nerves of many people.

These people dared not lash out at the Investigation Team, so they could only pour their resentment onto the head of Qian Dacheng.

Thinking this through, Qian Dacheng's brain was buzzing.

He suddenly realized that Ning Weidong had stabbed him three times, and every strike was fatal.

The first strike: playing along with the scheme to have the Bureau's Investigation Team come down and drag his fourth uncle into the water.

The second strike: attacking where he must save, by digging up all the evil deeds Qian Xiaopeng had committed.

The third strike: "blossoming on the tree"—Qian Dacheng had originally targeted Ning Weidong, but it had turned into targeting everyone in the factory who was a worker acting as a Cadre.

Especially with the third strike, Qian Dacheng realized that he was afraid he would no longer be able to stay at the Red Star Factory in the future.

(End of this chapter)