Chapter 23: Department Head Wang, Section Chief Li

Ning Weidong thought to himself as he arrived at the West Gate guardroom.

At this time, there were still more than twenty minutes until the shift change.

With a "creak," he pushed the door open and entered the room.

Two people were sitting inside, both ready to get off work.

The day shift Squad Leader was not there; he had likely left early.

Ning Weidong greeted them and signed the shift change logbook.

One person smiled and said, "Dongzi, you're here early today~"

Ning Weidong put down his pen and said, "Nothing to do staying at home anyway."

The other person let out a "whoa" and exclaimed fussily, "You got a haircut~"

The person who spoke first only then reacted and followed up with a couple of teasing remarks.

The three of them chatted for a while, then Wang Yong arrived and joined the conversation.

Promptly at four o'clock, Xu Jinshan arrived right on time, swaying as he walked in. His cheeks were flushed and his speech carried the scent of alcohol; it was clear he had just been drinking. As soon as he entered the room, he sat down carelessly.

Wang Yong knew how to handle things and immediately went to brew him a cup of hot tea.

Xu Jinshan blew on the tea leaves floating on top a few times and took a slurp, braving the heat.

Ning Weidong said with a smile, "Squad Leader, which leader were you accompanying today?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Jinshan immediately felt pleased.

It wasn't that he particularly favored Ning Weidong, but rather that this sentence from Ning Weidong hit the mark in his heart.

There is a saying: "To be wealthy and not return home is like wearing fine silk in the dark."

Flattery is simple if you know how; it's just about saying what people want to hear.

The problem is, what is pleasant to hear? Knowing what the other party wants to hear is a skill.

The likes of Wang Yong, who pours tea and asks after one's well-being, is only at the most elementary stage.

From the moment he walked in, Ning Weidong saw at a glance what Xu Jinshan's most intense psychological need was at that moment.

It was practically written on his face: "Hurry up and ask me who I drank with this afternoon."

And even if he had guessed wrong, saying it this way was fine; regardless of whether Xu Jinshan was actually accompanying a leader, it elevated him to a status where he could sit at the same table as a leader.

But the specifics still depend on the person. Xu Jinshan was quite satisfied; he immediately beamed, put down his teacup, and said, "Dongzi, you really hit the nail on the head." As he spoke, he raised his thumb and pointed behind his ear: "This afternoon, our Department Head Wang invited a friend from the Ministry to dinner and specifically called me to accompany them."

Upon hearing this, Ning Weidong couldn't help but feel a stir in his heart.

The "Department Head Wang" in Xu Jinshan's mouth was Wang Kaifeng, the Deputy Division Chief of the factory's Security Division.

If Wang Kaifeng invited a friend to dinner and could call Xu Jinshan over, it showed that his relationship with Xu Jinshan was not ordinary.

Wu Bingzhong had just told him to keep an eye on the West Gate; could it be aimed at Wang Kaifeng? Ning Weidong's thoughts raced, and he wore an appropriately surprised expression on his face: "Damn, Squad Leader, really? Department Head Wang invited you to accompany him for a meal!"

Xu Jinshan had said "called," but when it came out of Ning Weidong's mouth, it became "invited." A single word of difference sounded so pleasant.

Xu Jinshan blinked his eyes, feeling for the first time that Ning Weidong was becoming more and more pleasing to the eye.

"Could it be... because of the haircut?" This thought popped into his mind, and he just took it as the reason.

He laughed and said, "That~ it's all about serving the leaders, serving the leaders."

Wang Yong, who was to the side, was a bit confused and didn't know where to interject.

Usually, this was his job! What was wrong with Ning Weidong today? Besides, he hadn't really said anything, so why was Xu Jinshan smiling like he'd eaten honeyed excrement?

After laughing, the alcohol hit Xu Jinshan, and he waved his hand, saying, "I'm going inside to nap for a while."

After saying this, he took another sip of tea, stood up, went into the inner room, and with a bang, lay down on the bed. That left Ning Weidong and Wang Yong.

Ning Weidong fished a cigarette out of his pocket and handed one over: "Brother Wang, have one."

Wang Yong was slightly stunned. In the last few months, he had clearly felt that Ning Weidong was financially strapped; he had been smoking rolled cigarettes and had even switched to loose tobacco. He had even heard that he had started the Black Signature Society.

Today he had brought out a rolled cigarette again; could it be that he had recovered? Wang Yong took it, struck a match to light it, helped Ning Weidong light his first, and then moved it to his own mouth.

The two of them chatted idly while smoking.

Before long, an hour had passed. The sound of the end-of-shift bell rang out everywhere in the factory, followed immediately by the large loudspeakers starting to broadcast...

There was a large loudspeaker right in front of the guardroom, and the sound was extremely loud. They couldn't talk anymore, so they simply shut up and did their own things.

After about half an hour, the factory broadcast ended.

Wang Yong couldn't help but rub his ears and complain, "We should make a suggestion to move that loudspeaker at the gate further away, so we don't end up deaf while we're still young, damn it."

Ning Weidong echoed the sentiment, but he didn't feel that making such a suggestion would have any effect.

In any case, the loudspeaker was already installed there; counting on the Logistics Department to move it was absolutely impossible.

Everyone who was supposed to get off work had left; only the frontline workshops in the factory were still working in shifts.

There was nothing going on at Ning Weidong's West Gate either. Generally, those delivering goods preferred to come during the day, unless there were special circumstances, like yesterday, when vehicles went in and out a dozen times all night.

Ning Weidong asked, "Brother Wang, how are you handling dinner tonight?"

Wang Yong said, "Don't worry about me, I just ate before I came."

Ning Weidong stood up and said, "Then I'll go check out the cafeteria."

Actually, Ning Weidong wasn't hungry either; he had eaten quite well with Ning Wei in the afternoon, but he was just using this as an excuse to go out and walk around.

It was almost six o'clock, and it was completely dark. The lighting facilities inside the factory were still quite good, unlike the streetlights outside, where at least three out of ten were broken.

Ning Weidong walked along the concrete road toward the cafeteria, still thinking about the matter Wu Bingzhong had approached him with.

Unfortunately, he had too little information, and he calculated in his heart that he must discuss this with Ning Weiguo when he got back.

He could just take this opportunity to get closer to Li Kebian.

The original owner had been transferred from the Factory Protection Team to the guardroom by going through this Li Kebian's connections.

But everything had been handled by Ning Weiguo, and the original owner had actually spent over a year in the factory without having any contact with Li Kebian.

What do you call this? Purely a blockhead who didn't know how to handle things.

Generally speaking, in the original owner's situation, he was one of Li Kebian's people.

Not to mention climbing the social ladder or rushing to cozy up to him, at the very least, one should observe basic etiquette and visit during holidays.

The original owner had absolutely no concept of this.

Ning Weidong really didn't know what to say; if it weren't for Ning Weiguo and his wife helping out, given the original owner's pathetic state, he wouldn't even be able to get a hot meal.

If there had been prior contact, in this situation, Ning Weidong could have gone directly to Li Kebian without even needing to go through Ning Weiguo.

But then again, if it weren't for this situation, Wu Bingzhong wouldn't have been able to set his sights on him.

Given the original owner's nature, having been at the factory for over a year without any contact with Li Kebian, no one would ever consider him to be a connection of Li Kebian.

Even if they knew it was Li Kebian who transferred him to the security post, they would likely just assume it was a favor done between acquaintances.

Coupled with the fact that the original owner didn't use his brain when doing things, this was what made Wu Bingzhong think he was easy to exploit.

Thinking of this, Ning Weidong couldn't help but smile.

(End of this chapter)