Chapter 204: Meeting Zhao's Father

Huaihua ran in from outside; although she looked very flustered, she did not lose her composure and went to the east room first.

Ning Wei was usually there, but today Zhao Chunming, Wang Xuewen, and Ning Wei had gone out, so there was no one inside.

Ning Weidong did not know what had happened to Huaihua, but seeing her appearance, he knew she definitely wasn't looking for Ning Wei to chat, so he walked to the window and called out.

Huaihua came out of the room, still a bit dazed; hearing the call, she turned her head to look: "Section Chief Ning! Do you know where Ning Wei went?" As she spoke, she trotted over.

Ning Weidong said: "Xiao Wei went out to handle some business. Did something happen at your home?"

Huaihua hurriedly said: "It's not me, it's Mother Ning..."

It turned out that Ning Wei's mother had accidentally fallen at home just now. Huaihua happened to be at Ning Wei's house, so she managed to help the old lady onto the kang and immediately ran to find Ning Wei.

As for why Huaihua would appear at Ning Wei's house, it was also obvious.

Once Ning Weidong heard this, he knew she was trying to "steal the house"; it was nine times out of ten Qin Huairu's idea, knowing Ning Wei was a devoted son, and that if she got his old mother settled, Ning Wei wouldn't be able to run away.

Ning Weidong asked about the situation with concern.

Fortunately, Ning Wei's mother was not yet particularly old, and although her health was not very good, she did not have osteoporosis; she had fallen quite hard, but she shouldn't have injured her bones.

Ning Weidong breathed a sigh of relief; at this time, he still had to wait for Zhao Ruyi's call and definitely could not leave here.

Ning Wei was out, and in an era without mobile phones, he couldn't be called back for a while.

Fortunately, there were people at the company, so Ning Weidong immediately went to call Wang Kaixuan over.

Having automatically hung a title of Deputy Manager at Dongyi Company, this guy Wang Kaixuan was actually quite proactive about work and basically checked in every day.

"Old Wang, I have some urgent business here and can't get away," Ning Weidong said to Wang Kaixuan: "You take someone and go with Huaihua. Xiao Wei's mother, my Sixth Aunt, just had a fall; help take her to the hospital to get checked out."

Wang Kaixuan was a warm-hearted person to begin with, and besides, he didn't have any serious business on weekdays and had a good relationship with Ning Wei, so he immediately agreed.

Just at this moment, the phone in Zhao Ruyi's office rang.

Ning Weidong's heart tightened, and he immediately turned around and flew back.

That left Wang Kaixuan and Huaihua.

Wang Kaixuan looked Huaihua over and couldn't help but secretly praise what a pretty girl she was, saying with a chuckle: "You must be the younger sister-in-law, right~"

Huaihua blushed, but she didn't deny it, only urging Wang Kaixuan to hurry.

Wang Kaixuan, however, had his own way of doing things: "You wait a moment, let me call one more person... right, and call a flatbed cart..."

Back on Ning Weidong's side, he returned to the room and grabbed the phone.

It was indeed Zhao Ruyi calling back: "Weidong, come over here for a moment."

Upon hearing this, Ning Weidong felt a weight lift from his heart; this result was a relatively good outcome among those he had anticipated.

He said "I'll be right there" and hung up the phone.

The Siheyuan of Dongyi Company was not too far from where Zhao Ruyi's father worked, and Ning Weidong arrived in twenty minutes by bicycle.

Just as he reached the bottom of the building, he saw Zhao Ruyi waiting outside the office building, and upon spotting Ning Weidong, she immediately came down the stairs to meet him.

As the two met and walked inside, Ning Weidong asked: "What's the situation here?"

Zhao Ruyi shook her head and said: "It's hard to say. I told him the whole situation just now, but Dad didn't express an opinion, he just told you to come."

Ning Weidong didn't ask any further, just followed Zhao Ruyi inside, all the way to Zhao Ruyi's father's office.

Zhao Ruyi's father's office was on the third floor and was very spacious inside.

When the two entered, Zhao Ruyi's father was wearing glasses and reading a document.

He had called Ning Weidong over twenty-some minutes ago; Zhao Ruyi's father's work was busy, so he certainly wouldn't just wait around.

Even when Zhao Ruyi brought Ning Weidong in, he didn't look up immediately, but instead waited a few minutes until he had finished handling the matter at hand, only then looking up at Ning Weidong with composure.

Zhao Ruyi pulled Ning Weidong to sit on the sofa to the side.

Meeting his gaze, Ning Weidong immediately stood up and called out "Uncle."

Zhao Ruyi's father gave an "mm," showed no special expression, stood up from behind his desk, sat in the single seat of the sofa, and went straight to the point: "Ruyi told me the whole situation just now. You want to use this Natasha to open up contact with the Soviet Union?"

Ning Weidong sat down as well, but kept his back straight, sitting only on the edge of the sofa, and said in a deep voice: "Yes, Uncle Zhao, I was wondering if we could use this opportunity to open up contact with the Soviet Union's Far East region..."

Ning Weidong rambled on, not hiding anything from Zhao Ruyi's father, and laid out some of his thoughts.

Zhao Ruyi's father did not interrupt, listening patiently until he finished, then mused: "How much hope do you think there is to realize these ideas of yours in the current situation? Why do you think the Soviets would agree?"

Ning Weidong did not believe that Zhao Ruyi's father lacked an understanding of the current situation, or that his understanding was not profound enough.

Raising this question now was more of a test.

Ning Weidong had long prepared his draft and answered calmly: "Uncle Zhao, this is how I see it: in the past, our relationship with the Soviet Union has been very complex, with both struggle and cooperation..."

Zhao Ruyi's father nodded slowly.

Ning Weidong continued: "But from Moscow's perspective, the conflict with us has never been the primary contradiction. Their focus is in Europe, and their greatest enemy is America. If we apply the theory of contradictions, only after the primary contradiction is resolved will the secondary contradiction rise to become the primary one. That is to say, applying this to the present, before they defeat America, we are not Moscow's number one enemy."

Zhao Ruyi's father leaned back on the sofa, offering no comment on Ning Weidong's viewpoint.

Ning Weidong, unhurried, continued: "Secondly, the news a few days ago said that Amin in Afghanistan overthrew the pro-Moscow Taraki. This must have angered Moscow and left Comrade Brezhnev in an awkward position..."

Having said this, Ning Weidong paused, looked firmly into Zhao Ruyi's father's eyes, and after a few seconds, said slowly: "Therefore, I conclude that within the next half month, at most a month, the Soviet Union will definitely take action against Afghanistan!"

Ning Weidong's decisive tone made Zhao Ruyi's father slightly moved for the first time.

His eyes narrowed slightly; he had not expected Ning Weidong to have such keen insight at such a young age.

There was a reason for Zhao Ruyi's father's reaction; just in these past few days, the upper echelons in Beijing had already been discussing the possibility of the Soviet Union sending troops this time.

Currently, the inclination was that there was a very high probability that Moscow would send troops.

This conclusion was based on a large amount of secret intelligence.

Ning Weidong certainly could not have had access to this intelligence; to be able to be so certain and reach this conclusion based solely on public news and newspapers was quite extraordinary.

But it was only for an instant, and Zhao Ruyi's father returned to normal, signaling for Ning Weidong to continue.

Ning Weidong said: "I have studied Brezhnev's geopolitical strategy over these years. Although he has always claimed how much he cares about Europe, in actual action, Moscow subconsciously gave up the idea of continuing to expand into Western Europe long ago, instead investing limited resources into Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia—especially the Middle East and Central Asia, which are directly adjacent to the Soviet Union. Coupled with Afghanistan's special geographical location, known as the heartland of the Eurasian continent, once they control Afghanistan, they can control the entire continent, and subsequently open up an outlet to the Indu Ocean to the south..."

Ning Weidong spoke with reason and evidence, finally saying: "In summary, I personally conclude that this time Moscow will definitely send troops directly, and it will be on a large scale, mobilizing at least one hundred thousand people, and they will be bogged down in a protracted war."

Zhao Ruyi's father frowned.

If the analysis Ning Weidong provided earlier could be considered reliable, he did not agree with this final conclusion.

What kind of strength does the Soviet Union have? How much effort would it take to deal with a mere Afghanistan? Would mobilizing an army of one hundred thousand really lead to a protracted war? However, Zhao Ruyi's father did not immediately refute this, as it would have been meaningless.

The discussion today was fundamentally about whether it was practically feasible for Ning Weidong and Zhao Ruyi to establish a connection with the Soviet Union's Far East.

Ning Weidong said, "In this situation, regardless of what the propaganda says in Moscow, they will certainly find a way to ease relations with us in their actual actions."

Zhao Ruyi's father said, "We have now clearly leaned toward the West; do you actually think relations with the Soviet Union will ease?"

Ning Weidong said, "Yes, Uncle Zhao. Ultimately, the purpose of applying pressure is to tame and control. It is like two children, where one says to the other, 'If you don't do such and such, I won't play with you.' The goal is not to stop playing with you, but to make you obedient. This is similar to our situation with the Soviet Union; they always want us to be obedient, which is why they apply various pressures and threats. But now they have discovered that we are truly not playing with them anymore. Saying that kind of 'I won't play with you' talk is meaningless now. They only have two choices: either vent their anger and strike us down directly, or, if they lack that determination or cannot strike us down, they must adjust their mindset and change the way they interact with us."

As Zhao Ruyi's father listened, he pulled a cigarette from his pocket but did not light it, instead rubbing it in his hand the whole time.

Ning Weidong continued, "Therefore, at this stage, I feel that our relationship with the Soviet Union will not worsen; on the contrary, it will tend toward easing."

……

Ning Weidong spent about forty minutes in the office of Zhao Ruyi's father.

It was not until the Secretary of Zhao Ruyi's father came in to interrupt, saying there was an important meeting in ten minutes, that Ning Weidong and Zhao Ruyi left. Watching his daughter and future son-in-law walk out, Zhao Ruyi's father took a deep breath, braced his hands on his knees, and stood up from the sofa. Instead of rushing to the meeting, he grabbed the phone and dialed Wang Fu: "Hello, old company commander... that boy from the Ning Family just came here with our girl..."

Zhao Ruyi's father roughly explained the situation and Ning Weidong's point of view.

On the other end of the line, Wang Fu was also taken aback.

He had only met Ning Weidong once; he was a handsome young man.

Although he had heard from his daughter and son-in-law before that his son-in-law's younger brother had suddenly made a lot of progress and was stirring up some activity at the Red Star Factory.

But in his view, it was all small-time stuff and not worth mentioning.

He hadn't expected that this time, there would actually be a sense of foresight.

With Wang Fu's political wisdom, he saw through Ning Weidong's goal of opening up the Far East at a glance; to put it bluntly, he intended to "warm up a cold stove."

The tone had already been set: they were to cooperate with the West to resolve economic difficulties.

This was certainly a top priority, but it was not without side effects; it was simply a measure of last resort.

No one knew yet what the ultimate consequences would be once Western capital returned.

However, in any case, looking toward the West was the general trend; many people were already preparing in secret, and some had even begun to act.

It was just that, given the scale and strength of the Wang Family and the Zhao Family, they did not possess any advantages in this trend. They could only be said to be following the crowd, obtaining corresponding resources based on their current status.

On the contrary, Ning Weidong's idea was to blaze a new trail, and the effect it could produce if truly accomplished would be immeasurable.

It was precisely because of this that after listening to Ning Weidong's explanation, Zhao Ruyi's father decided to agree to Ning Weidong's request after some thought.

For one thing, it wouldn't waste any resources, and for another, he could take the opportunity to see if Ning Weidong was actually capable of doing things or if he was only good at talking.

……

On the other hand, Ning Weidong and Zhao Ruyi came out of the Office Building.

The two stood on the steps in front of the door and let out a sigh of relief in unison.

Although Zhao Ruyi was his own daughter, she had almost never had such a formal discussion with her father about a major event concerning the future.

Ning Weidong, meanwhile, was secretly happy; with the resources of the Zhao Family, his subsequent plans would gain a lot of convenience.

The first step was to utilize Tan Limin, who was in Eastern Europe, to deliver Natasha's letter into the hands of her father.

Walking down the steps, the two climbed into the car and discussed the next steps while heading back.

Ning Weidong said, "Next, it depends on how Comrade Jiluoliaofu responds after receiving the letter."

Zhao Ruyi held the steering wheel and said, "How do you estimate he will respond?"

Ning Weidong said, "There are only three possibilities: if he doesn't want to get involved with us, it will be like a clay ox entering the sea—no sound, no trace. The second is a reply, the content of which isn't important. It would show that Natasha, as a daughter, has some weight in his heart and he should feel some guilt. As long as he replies to this letter, it can at least make Natasha's life better here with us."

Zhao Ruyi nodded, understanding Ning Weidong's meaning.

Ning Weidong added, "There is a third possibility, which is to send someone over directly. If that happens..."

Hearing him suddenly pause, Zhao Ruyi couldn't help but turn her head and glance at him: "What?"

Ning Weidong clicked his tongue and said, "If that happens, the situation will be very complicated~"

Zhao Ruyi was even more curious.

Ning Weidong said, "If someone comes, it goes beyond the scope of Natasha being an illegitimate daughter, and it's not something Jiluoliaofu, a mere tractor factory director, can decide on his own. It would mean Jiluoliaofu likely has connections in Moscow and reported this matter up, obtaining instructions from above to make contact with us."

Zhao Ruyi suddenly understood.

Ning Weidong added, "However, I don't think this possibility is very high..."

As the two spoke, the car had already returned to the front of the company's Siheyuan.

Ning Weidong got out of the car first, watched Zhao Ruyi park the car against the wall, and then they entered the gate together.

Just as they entered the middle courtyard, they saw Ning Wei sitting on a stone stool in the yard drinking soda.

Ning Weidong was slightly surprised and called out, "Xiao Wei, Huaihua came just now and said Liushen had a fall. I had something to do earlier, so I had Old Wang help take her to the hospital. Why are you still here?"

Ning Wei hurriedly stood up to greet them, called out "Third Brother, Sister-in-law," and explained, "I just came back from the hospital. It's nothing, just a scare, some scraped skin. Aunt Qin and Huaihua are watching over her there~"

Zhao Ruyi didn't know yet and asked about it in detail.

Hearing that it was nothing, Ning Weidong also felt relieved.

However, after this incident, he estimated that the relationship between Ning Wei and Huaihua would likely make progress.

As the old saying goes, "A woman chasing a man is separated by a layer of gauze," and it is not false at all.

Especially with a pretty girl like Huaihua, if she also has a bit of brains, the average man simply cannot resist.

Just like this time, Ning Wei's mother was injured, and Huaihua was busy helping out; given Ning Wei's temper, he would definitely have to give her an answer.

When the time came, the two would naturally be together.

As for love or whatever, with Huaihua's little appearance and those big eyes, even if it wasn't love at first sight, he could still be moved by her beauty.

However, if the two wanted to get married, the earliest would be next year, as they weren't old enough yet.

After finishing this topic, Ning Wei immediately reported on the situation of the house.

Ning Weidong asked in surprise, "So fast?"

Ning Wei chuckled and said, "Such a large house is hard to sell to begin with; in all of Beijing, how many people can pull out ten thousand yuan at once, and of those who can, how many are actually willing to buy that courtyard?"

Ning Weidong thought that was true, so he didn't give any further instructions; in any case, Ning Wei was becoming more and more thorough in how he handled things.

If he were to settle down and have children in another two years, he would be even more steady.

After reporting on the house, Ning Weidong told Ning Wei to hurry to the hospital and that he didn't need to stay here.

Ning Wei acknowledged this, but Zhao Ruyi called out to him, "Xiao Wei, wait a moment."

Ning Wei stopped quickly and watched as Zhao Ruyi turned and went into the house, returning a moment later with two cans of powdered milk, which were covered in foreign writing.

Zhao Ruyi said, "Take these two cans of milk powder to your aunt to help her supplement her nutrition."

Ning Wei didn't stand on ceremony, said "Thank you, sister-in-law," and took the mesh bag containing the milk powder before leaving.

Zhao Ruyi was still thinking about the Soviet Union, so she sat down and said, "Weidong, if we manage to make a connection over there this time, what do you plan to do next?"

Ning Weidong pursed his lips slightly, tapped his fingers on the stone table, and said seriously, "I plan to start with alcohol as the first step."

"Alcohol?" Zhao Ruyi hadn't expected this approach from Ning Weidong.

Ning Weidong said, "People in the Soviet Union are obsessed with alcohol. They have been trying every possible way to restrict people from drinking since the fifties, but to this day, not only has it been ineffective, it has actually intensified. I read a news report before that because of alcoholism, the average life expectancy of their men dropped from 66 in the sixties to 63 in the seventies. How much do you think they drink in a year?"

Zhao Ruyi didn't know any of this and listened in a daze.

Ning Weidong continued, "I estimate that in the next few years, they will definitely implement stricter policies to restrict alcohol." Speaking of this, he chuckled, "But with this kind of thing, the stricter the restrictions on the surface, the greater the profits will be underground; it will actually result in the more they restrict, the more rampant it becomes."

Zhao Ruyi listened and thought, then asked, "Specifically? We can't just take domestic white spirits and sell them over there, right?"

Ning Weidong smiled; people in this era were still too innocent, and he already had a plan in his mind.

He replied, "Of course that won't work. The taste of people in the Soviet Union is different from ours; if we want to sell well, we must cater to their tastes. As for the alcohol itself, the cheaper the better; just blend it a little, put it in new bottles..."

Zhao Ruyi couldn't help but widen her eyes and blurted out, "This... isn't this fake alcohol?"

Ning Weidong glared and said, "What kind of talk is that? Passing something off as something else is fake alcohol; we are designing our own brand, so how could it be fake alcohol?"

(End of chapter)