Chapter 199: Ning Weidong's Alternative Approach

Facing the verbal abuse, Qian Dacheng remained silent.

Seeing his reaction, that Section Chief Liu who was doing the scolding gradually lost his momentum; he knew very well in his heart that finding Qian Dacheng would not solve the problem at all, and he had only come to vent some of the resentment in his heart.

Seeing that Qian Dacheng would not talk back to the abuse, he suddenly felt it was pointless and simply stopped speaking.

Seeing him leave, Qian Dacheng sat back down in his chair, feeling utterly helpless, and gritting his teeth, he slowly squeezed the words "How ruthless" through his teeth.

He knew that this time, he was completely finished.

It was not just that Qian Xiaopeng was going to go to prison; he himself would no longer be able to stay at the Red Star Factory in the future.

At the same time, far away at the Mechanical Bureau, Qian Deputy Bureau Chief learned of the situation, and his complexion was no better than Qian Dacheng's.

However, being able to sit in this position, Qian Deputy Bureau Chief was no ordinary person; after thinking it over carefully, he took the initiative to go find Bureau Chief Chen.

More than half an hour later, Qian Deputy Bureau Chief came out of Bureau Chief Chen's Office with a dark, sunken expression.

Although the matter had been largely suppressed, he had paid a price for it.

……

In the afternoon, Ning Weidong received a call from Ning Weiguo.

This signaled that the matter had completely settled; in the end, Qian Dacheng would likely be transferred to a collective enterprise below.

For him, this counted as being demoted and exiled.

As for the culprit Qian Xiaopeng, because too many things had been uncovered, he certainly could not be let off lightly; although he would not face a firing squad, three or five years was definitely unavoidable.

As for the side of Bai.

Actually, the true cause of this matter was Bai and his wife.

These two were blinded by greed and intended to sell Bai Fengqin; otherwise, none of these subsequent events would have happened at all.

However, Ning Weidong did not intend to move against him, not because Ning Weidong was soft-hearted, but because there was simply no need.

Now, the Qian Family wanted to destroy Bai even more than Ning Weidong did.

That the Qian Family fell to this result was undoubtedly due to Ning Weidong, but the power Ning Weidong displayed made them fearful, so they would retreat to the next best option and count the whole affair against Bai.

Bullying the weak and fearing the strong is human nature.

Ning Weidong did not need to lift a finger at all; once the Qian Family had the spare capacity, they would naturally discipline that man from the Bai Family.

Furthermore, that person was, after all, Bai Fengqin's own brother; bones are connected by tendons, and Ning Weidong did not want to get involved.

Right now, Bai Fengqin was in a fit of anger, but when her anger faded in the future, he would still be her own brother.

Ning Weidong did not want to end up being blamed after clearly helping out.

……

After work in the evening, Ning Weidong left a few minutes early.

He did not ride his bicycle, but walked out of the factory gate, and from afar, he saw a green 212 Jeep parked on the side of the road.

Ning Weidong quickened his pace, and inside the car was indeed Zhao Ruyi.

Ning Weidong opened the door and sat in, and without a word, he gave her a peck.

After eating lunch, the two had spoken on the phone, planning to go to the hospital after work to see Liu Yun, that sister-in-law from the Soviet Union.

According to feedback from the hospital, after these few days of treatment, Natasha's condition had improved rapidly.

Natasha's physical constitution was good, and with the nutritional conditions and medical resources in Beijing supporting her, her illness was clearly healing.

After the kiss, Zhao Ruyi nimbly started the car.

Ning Weidong then asked, "Did you bring the things?"

It is never good to go to the hospital to visit a patient empty-handed.

Zhao Ruyi looked at the road ahead and said, "I brought them, they're in the back~"

Ning Weidong looked back and saw, sure enough, a mesh bag sitting on the back seat, containing two cans of fruit, two cans of luncheon meat, a few apples, and a bunch of bananas.

Ning Weidong withdrew his gaze and wiggled his bottom to find a more comfortable position.

Zhao Ruyi asked, "Has the matter with Qian Xiaopeng been resolved?"

Ning Weidong replied, "Resolved. Big brother called this afternoon and said that Bureau Chief Qian has already conceded."

Zhao Ruyi was not too surprised; this result was entirely within expectations.

However, she reminded him, "Be careful and show some restraint when you act in the future."

Ning Weidong gave an "Mm."

Zhao Ruyi added, "Right, I got you a little gift, it's in the back~ You can get it yourself."

Ning Weidong was slightly surprised, not knowing what trick Zhao Ruyi was playing.

He turned back to look at the back seat again.

Sure enough, next to the mesh bag was a black cloth pouch.

Ning Weidong twisted his body, reached over to grab it, and it felt very heavy in his hand; even through the cloth, he could feel the metallic texture inside.

Ning Weidong looked at Zhao Ruyi's profile in disbelief, already knowing what was inside.

When he opened the cloth pouch, it was indeed a pitch-black pistol! Ning Weidong held it in his hand, felt it, and frowned, "Ruyi, why did you get me a gun?"

Zhao Ruyi said, "You don't like it?"

Ning Weidong said, "That's not it."

Zhao Ruyi continued, "Your Security Division should have gun permits, right~ Just use it for self-defense, and when something happens, take it out to scare people, so that hot-headed fools like Qian Xiaopeng don't know the depth of things."

Ning Weidong was left between laughter and tears; he hadn't known Zhao Ruyi had this kind of logic, as if brandishing a gun at people counted as having restraint~ But thinking about it, it didn't seem strange; Zhao Ruyi's way of thinking was different from the average woman's to begin with.

Although he didn't think much of carrying a gun around, there was no need to be a killjoy at this moment.

After playing with the gun for a while, he looked into the black cloth pouch again; good heavens, there were several dozen bullets at the bottom of the bag.

Ning Weidong was speechless, reached in and grabbed a handful, which made a "clinking" sound of collision.

He simply put the pistol back into the cloth pouch and turned to ask about the situation at the company over the past few days.

As the two spoke, they soon arrived at the city hospital.

They drove the car straight through the main gate.

In this era, driving still carried some privileges.

After parking the car, the two got out, and Ning Weidong carried a mesh bag.

Because there was a gun in the car, Zhao Ruyi was extra careful to lock it.

They walked into the inpatient department and followed the stairs up to the third floor.

This was the ward for Cadres; the conditions were quite good, with single rooms, private bathrooms, and even televisions.

When Ning Weidong and Zhao Ruyi arrived, Liu Guangzhi was there taking care of things.

Seeing the two of them, Liu Guangzhi was startled and hurriedly greeted them at the door: "Section Chief Ning, Manager Zhao, why have you come! How could I trouble you so~"

Ning Weidong shook hands with him, while Zhao Ruyi nodded and walked into the ward.

They saw a blonde woman with exceptionally fair skin lying diagonally on the hospital bed, looking to be in fairly good spirits.

"This must be sister-in-law~" Ning Weidong, seeing Natasha for the first time, smiled and introduced himself: "I am Ning Weidong, Liu Yun's classmate, and this is my spouse Zhao Ruyi..."

Natasha sat up from the bed and said with a smile: "Comrade Ning, Comrade Zhao, I have heard everything from Guangzhi; thank you both so much this time."

Natasha's accent carried a very distinct Northeast flavor; if one didn't look at her appearance, it would be hard to imagine it coming from the mouth of a blonde, blue-eyed woman.

This contrast made Ning Weidong feel a sense of humor for no reason.

Natasha was quite pretty; perhaps because her living conditions hadn't been great before, combined with the heavy labor on the farm, she hadn't put on weight after marriage or evolved into one of those tank-like Soviet Union matrons.

One could tell she must have been even more beautiful a dozen years ago.

After some polite pleasantries, Ning Weidong sat by the bed to chat about daily life and incidentally asked about Natasha's family situation.

Regarding this, Natasha was clearly unwilling to talk.

Ning Weidong didn't press her, just touched on it briefly and stopped.

After sitting in the ward for a while, they didn't stay long and rose to take their leave.

Liu Guangzhi hurriedly followed them out to the corridor.

Ning Weidong shook his hand: "Brother Guangzhi, go back now~ Take good care of sister-in-law. As for your future life, you don't need to worry. Once sister-in-law is discharged, you can first register with Ruyi's company and see what you can do..."

Although Ning Weidong had told Liu Yun before that Liu Guangzhi could work at Dongyi Company after he returned.

That was just a passing mention; today was the first time he had formally told Liu Guangzhi.

Liu Guangzhi was endlessly grateful, and the last stone hanging in his heart had finally landed.

Otherwise, he had truly felt uncertain after returning from the Northeast.

In ancient times, there was the lament that "living in Chang'an is not easy."

The Beijing of today was the same.

Although he was a native of Beijing, his household registration had been moved away when he went to the countryside. Now that he was back, he could re-register according to policy, but Natasha and the child could not.

It meant one person's grain ration book had to feed the whole family.

Now with Ning Weidong's promise, it had completely provided him with a safety net.

Arriving at the stairwell, Ning Weidong insisted he stop seeing them off. Liu Guangzhi watched the two turn the corner of the stairs before returning to the ward.

Natasha, wearing her hospital gown, had just come out from using the restroom. Seeing Liu Guangzhi push the door open, she asked: "They left~"

Liu Guangzhi nodded, closed the door behind him, and clicked his tongue: "Nasha, help me analyze this. These two, Ning Weidong and his wife, helping us like this—what exactly are they after?"

Natasha returned to the bed, but instead of lying down, she sat cross-legged and pondered: "At first, I always thought Ning Weidong must have had something going on with Xiao Yun..."

Liu Guangzhi grimaced; he had thought the same thing at the beginning.

After all, everyone knows what a man is after when he is particularly proactive in helping a woman.

Natasha continued: "But after seeing that Zhao Ruyi... don't take offense at what I'm about to say, but our Xiao Yun can't compare to her."

Liu Guangzhi said: "Why would I take offense? It's the truth. Ning Weidong doesn't have his eye on our Xiao Yun, otherwise I wouldn't have to rack my brain."

Natasha said: "If it's not Xiao Yun, there must be another reason. People don't treat us well for no reason."

Liu Guangzhi licked his lips and said: "Nasha, you say... could it be because of your side of the family?" Natasha's expression changed, and she remained silent without answering.

Liu Guangzhi continued: "I've thought it over and over, our family has nothing worth them plotting for. If there's anything special about us, it's your maiden family..."

In reality, Natasha understood this logic too.

But her feelings for that father in her memories were very complicated.

Natasha's father, Jiluoliaofu, was among the first batch of Soviet Union experts to come to China.

It was the early fifties, and Jiluoliaofu had an extramarital affair with another female Soviet Union doctor.

Originally it was nothing, just two people in a foreign land comforting each other, but to their surprise, she ended up pregnant.

Because of the climate, the birth rate in Russia had always been poor.

That female doctor was in that exact situation; she had never been able to conceive back home, so she let her guard down and didn't take precautions.

Who knew that China was truly nourishing; she actually got pregnant!

Natasha's mother, out of some considerations, finally decided to give birth to her.

Even before 1960, Natasha had enjoyed a relatively wonderful childhood.

At that time, Jiluoliaofu and that female Soviet Union doctor were like a married couple, effectively forming another family in China.

However, everything changed as relations between the two countries deteriorated, and Moscow issued an order to recall all experts.

This instantly shattered Natasha's illusory happy life.

Jiluoliaofu and that female doctor both had to return to their country, but little Natasha became a burden.

In the end, they left Natasha in the care of a friend of Jiluoliaofu's who had a good relationship with them, planning to find a way to bring her over after they returned.

But once they left, contact between the two sides was almost completely severed.

Furthermore, the friend who had temporarily taken in Natasha was caught up in the aftermath in the following years, was sent down to the Northeast, and soon passed away from illness.

At that time, Natasha left with them, which could be considered a complete break in contact with her parents' side.

Natasha pondered in silence, then calmed herself and said, "I won't think about it anymore. If they really have any intentions, they will make them clear sooner or later. Rather than letting my imagination run wild, it's better to wait patiently."

Liu Guangzhi nodded.

……

On the other side, Ning Weidong and Zhao Ruyi took a car back to the company's Siheyuan.

In the car, Zhao Ruyi asked half-teasingly, "How was it? You finally saw the person you've been thinking about day and night today. Any thoughts?"

Ning Weidong gave her a speechless look and said irritably, "Is your backside itching? Are you asking for a beating?"

Zhao Ruyi pursed her lips.

Ning Weidong explained, "What thoughts could I have? This Natasha is just a lead; I'm seeing if I can use her to get in touch with her biological father's side."

Zhao Ruyi became serious: "Actually, I've always been a bit puzzled. Why must you get involved with the Soviet Union? Everyone else is currently eyeing America, Europe, and Japan."

Ning Weidong said, "You're actually wrong about that. Rather than saying we are eyeing them, it's more accurate to say they are eyeing us. What are those Capitalists thinking? Nothing more than that there is profit to be made here. And what are those people who are fixated on Europe and America thinking? They're just thinking about how to use this opportunity to fill their own pockets first."

Zhao Ruyi frowned and said, "You can't put it that way. After all, it's the general trend, and the higher-ups have already set the tone."

Ning Weidong said, "Of course I know it's the general trend, but they have their general trend, and we have ours. Having said that, it looks very good over there, but that is general and macro-level goodness. When it comes down to the micro-level, if we go there, we would only be obtaining resources corresponding to what we have now."

Zhao Ruyi nodded slightly; in any era, within an ecosystem, resource allocation and power are equivalent.

Ning Weidong continued, "So, if we jump out and find another path to open up a track that belongs to us, we can obtain excess returns."

Zhao Ruyi pursed her lips, simply turned the steering wheel, and parked the car on the side of the road: "I've never been able to figure it out. You say 'find another path,' but even if we open up the connection with the Soviet Union, how do we profit? Don't tell me you also want to engage in Smuggling..."

Last time, the An Family in Hong Kong went through An Ning to find Ning Weidong, hoping to contact the Zhao Family, just because they wanted to engage in Smuggling.

That time, Ning Weidong's attitude was very clear: he did not want to cooperate with the An Family.

Zhao Ruyi thought Ning Weidong had an aversion to Smuggling itself, but who would have thought that when it came to the Soviet Union, his attitude would completely change.

It's just that regarding the Soviet Union, she really couldn't think of any goods that could be smuggled.

If one speaks of vast territory and abundant resources, the Soviet Union is the truly vast and abundant one, especially at this point in time, as it is at the peak of its entire life cycle.

Relying on the massive Council for Mutual Economic Assistance system, powerful industrial production capacity, and rich oil resources, its economic activity is quite prosperous.

Although their industrial products leave people with the impression of being "clunky and crude" because their basic technological level is a notch inferior to the West, there is absolutely no shortage of variety or utility.

Looking at China during the same period, having inherited the old industrial system of the Soviet Union, the technical level of its industrial products was not even as good as the Soviet Union's.

Even for the Soviet Union's relatively weaker light industry and agriculture, China was not necessarily stronger, and domestic supply was already stretched thin.

Hearing Zhao Ruyi's skepticism, Ning Weidong said dismissively, "What's the problem with that~ Who says we must sell our own products to the Soviet Union? We can completely import goods from Japan and then sell them to the Soviet Union."

Zhao Ruyi widened her eyes, not expecting such a maneuver.

Ning Weidong continued, "After the war, America set up a Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls specifically targeting the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe."

Zhao Ruyi nodded; she knew about this, having heard her father talk about it at home.

Ning Weidong said, "As we improve relations with the West, the restrictions of the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls on us will surely be relaxed somewhat; we can just take advantage of this loophole."

Zhao Ruyi blinked her eyes, always feeling that Ning Weidong's idea was somewhat whimsical.

But then again, if this matter were truly accomplished, the benefits obtained would be absolutely immeasurable.

If those eyeing Europe, America, and Japan were following the trend, Ning Weidong's plan was to blaze a new trail and walk a path that didn't exist before.

……

Starting the car again, the two returned to the company's Siheyuan.

Qin Huairu was already preparing dinner in the kitchen; seeing Ning Weidong and Zhao Ruyi return, she immediately stepped forward to greet them warmly.

Zhao Ruyi was pondering what Ning Weidong had just told her, so she responded perfunctorily and walked into the Chuihua Gate.

Ning Weidong was actually a bit hungry, so he asked with a smile, "Aunt Qin, what's for dinner tonight?"

Qin Huairu hurriedly said, "Manager Zhao said yesterday that she wanted to eat cold Two-Rice Meal, so I'm stir-frying a mixed vegetable dish, and I fried some fresh small river fish I bought at the market this afternoon."

Upon hearing this, Ning Weidong's appetite was greatly stimulated.

After the start of the dog days, the weather in Beijing became even hotter; eating cold rice with small fried fish sounded refreshing.

Just at this moment, someone entered from outside the Siheyuan gate, and upon seeing Ning Weidong and Qin Huairou in the courtyard, she immediately called out "Mom" in a crisp voice.

Ning Weidong looked back and saw a young girl who looked seventy or eighty percent like Qin Huairou walking over.

Ning Weidong immediately guessed the other party's identity; she must be Qin Huairu's youngest daughter, and because she was a posthumous child, she was given a nickname called Huaihua.

Ning Weidong stepped aside and sized up this girl.

She was about the same age as Bai Fengqin, wearing two pigtails with a very impressive volume of hair; both braids were very thick, looking like reins.

Her facial features were carved from the same mold as Qin Huairu's, and her figure had also developed quite well; not only did she inherit her mother's excellent genes, but she had also never lacked nutrition since she was small. She was well-built and tall; when she came up and stood next to them, she was even taller than Qin Huairu.

Qin Huairu said, "Huaihua, why are you here?" She then introduced her to Ning Weidong: "Section Chief Ning, this is our youngest daughter, called Huaihua... Huaihua, greet Section Chief Ning."

Huaihua was also sizing up Ning Weidong.

She had seen Ning Weidong when she entered the gate, but only saw his back, thinking he was exceptionally tall and sturdy. When Ning Weidong turned around and she saw his face, her heart suddenly started racing.

She was at the age of a young girl's first love, and seeing a man like Ning Weidong who was both masculine and handsome, and didn't look very old, naturally, all sorts of thoughts arose.

"Section Chief Ning, hello~" Huaihua lowered her head and greeted him somewhat bashfully.

Ning Weidong responded with a smile, thinking to himself that he had met Xiao Dang before.

Although she also looked quite good, she didn't look as much like Qin Huairu as this one.

Ning Weidong sighed inwardly, but had no other thoughts; after the greeting, he didn't linger and turned to walk into the inner courtyard.

Huaihua couldn't help but follow him with her eyes for a moment, only to be pinched by Qin Huairou.

With an "Ouch," Huaihua rubbed the soft flesh on the back of her arm: "Mom, why are you pinching me?"

Qin Huairu said irritably in a low voice, "That is Manager Zhao's spouse!"

Huaihua was taken aback; she had seen Zhao Ruyi before: "Manager Zhao's spouse?"

Qin Huairu didn't continue the topic and asked, "What happened? Why did you run over here?"

Huaihua said, "It's nothing much. Grandma introduced a suitor to my second sister a few days ago, and he's coming over tonight to meet her, so they sent me away. I didn't have anywhere to go, so I came here."

Qin Huairu frowned; she knew about this matter, but she did not really approve of it.

The man's family conditions were average, and if they really were to get married, they wouldn't even have a house.

But then again, Xiao Dang's own conditions weren't that great either; although she was good-looking, she didn't have a proper job.

This was also why Qin Huairu had tried every possible way to get Xiao Dang into the company before.

If she could have a job, even if it were just in the Big Collective, she could move up a level when looking for a partner.

Unfortunately, in the end, it didn't go as she had hoped.

Qin Huairu frowned and said, "Has your second sister said anything in private about what her thoughts are?"

Huaihua pursed her lips and said, "You know how she is; she didn't even tell you, so what could she possibly say to me?"

Qin Huairu sighed, but then remembered that she hadn't finished cooking, so she called her youngest daughter to lend a hand and ducked back into the kitchen.

……

Inside the Siheyuan, Zhao Ruyi returned and first turned on the water heater to take a shower, then changed into some crisp, comfortable clothes.

She took the opportunity to apply prickly heat powder to her neck and armpits, and she also found a hairpin to pin her hair up at the back of her head to avoid the heat of letting it hang down.

Ning Weidong sat under the sunshade in the courtyard, holding a cattail leaf fan in his hand, fanning himself unhurriedly.

Zhao Ruyi came out, having changed into a set of pure white martial arts practice clothes made of a very light and thin chiffon material.

She sat down on the stone stool nearby and said, "Aren't you going to wash up?"

Ning Weidong said, "I'll do it later; I'll just get sweaty again after eating. By the way, is there any beer left in the fridge? Qin just said she has some small fried fish, which will go perfectly with a drink."

Zhao Ruyi had just sat down but got back up and said, "I'll go check, I think there are still two bottles..."

Just at this moment, Ning Wei came in from outside, and upon seeing Ning Weidong, he immediately trotted over: "Third Brother, you really are here~"

Seeing him covered in sweat and panting, it was obvious he had run over, and Ning Weidong wondered what had happened.

(End of this chapter)