Chapter 25: Three Types of People

Late at night, if one were to look down from the sky, most of Beijing in this era would be pitch black.

Nightlife did not exist at all; only the gates of certain work units and the streetlights on the roads remained lit.

The roads were empty, and the commuter bus moved at high speed; what took forty minutes by bus in the morning only took twenty minutes to reach the vicinity of Fuchengmen at this hour.

Ning Weidong got off at the stop, with four or five hundred meters left to go before reaching home.

He yawned after getting off the bus and walked home along the sidewalk under the streetlights.

It took only a few minutes to reach the entrance of the Dazayuan.

In years past, when living in this kind of Dazayuan, there was a designated person to open and close the main gate at night, usually an old man from the front courtyard who held the key; if one happened to come or go, one had to knock on the door and call for him.

In the last two years, they gradually stopped locking the gate, and some Dazayuan even took the door panels down entirely.

Ning Weidong walked inside, and the lights in every household in the front courtyard were off.

He passed through the Moon Gate and returned to the East Cross Courtyard.

Ning Weidong originally intended to go straight to his room to sleep, but he did not expect that even in the middle of the night, the light in the Upper Room was still on! His footsteps paused, and he turned to walk toward the Upper Room, knocked twice at the door, and asked, "Brother, still not asleep?"

It was the middle of the night, and if Wang Yuzhen were also there, it would be awkward to barge in.

Inside the room, Ning Weiguo gave an "Mm" and said, "Come in."

Only then did Ning Weidong push the door open, lift the door curtain, and duck inside.

Beside the square table, Ning Weiguo was draped in an overcoat, his face showing signs of fatigue.

A number of books were scattered across the table.

"Off work?" Ning Weiguo put down his fountain pen, stood up, and stretched.

Ning Weidong gave an "Mm," glanced at the manuscript Ning Weiguo had half-written, sat down nearby, and said, "The pressure lately hasn't been small, has it?"

Ning Weiguo showed a hint of surprise; he discovered that Ning Weidong's tone, gaze, and manner of speaking were all quite different from the past.

Ning Weiguo replied with composure, "What makes you say that?"

Ning Weidong said, "A key position implies key power, and key power is always scarce. Sister-in-law can at most fight for the opportunity, but whether you can sit firmly in it depends on yourself. How could the pressure not be great?"

Ning Weiguo could not help but be startled.

Regarding his promotion to Section Chief, he had not kept it from Ning Weidong, but he had always assumed that Ning Weidong did not understand what this small Section Chief position signified.

This position was very difficult to hold, and the reason it fell into Ning Weiguo's hands was not necessarily anything other than a stopgap measure after a power struggle.

Ning Weiguo let out a long breath and said with a bitter smile, "Weidong, you kid is really..."

Having said this, he did not know how to describe this younger brother.

It was as if he had suddenly become enlightened overnight.

The change in his brother made Ning Weiguo very happy, and the exhaustion from writing materials all night was relieved quite a bit.

He turned to ask if something had happened at his work unit.

Logically, returning in the middle of the night, given Ning Weidong's personality, even if he saw the light on, he would mostly just go back to his room to sleep and would not come over specifically.

Ning Weidong pursed his lips and said, "There is a small matter, and since I saw you weren't asleep, I came over."

He then recounted that Wu Bingzhong had sought him out during the day and asked him to pay attention to the situation at the West Gate.

Ning Weiguo's expression became serious.

After Ning Weidong finished speaking, he pondered slightly and asked in return, "Weidong, what are your thoughts on this?"

Over these past few days, some of Ning Weidong's changes had made Ning Weiguo look at him with new eyes, especially those few sentences just now, which were spoken with considerable insight.

Ning Weidong said, "Brother, I feel that this matter might involve quite a lot behind the scenes, and I want to find Li Kebian to report the situation."

Ning Weiguo was an old hand in the bureaucracy; how could he not hear what Ning Weidong meant? He wanted to use this matter to cultivate a relationship with Li Peihang. It was true that Li Peihang was Ning Weiguo's classmate from technical school, but the original owner had been at the factory for over a year and had yet to make a connection with the Section Chief.

Ning Weiguo nodded: "You want me to take you there?"

Previously, Ning Weidong was clearly not the type for this, and Ning Weiguo did not have many thoughts on it; at worst, he would pull some strings later to help Ning Weidong transfer to a better position.

But now that Ning Weidong had suddenly become enlightened, Ning Weiguo could not help but develop the sentiment of "brothers fighting tigers together."

He did not need Ning Weidong to have great success; as long as he could reach an average standard, that would be enough.

Don't forget that Ning Weidong had another advantage: he was a spirited-looking person.

At over 1.8 meters tall, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, handsome and masculine, he fit perfectly into the current aesthetic.

If he could then be introduced to a partner with a good family background through Wang Yuzhen, it was not impossible for him to live off his spouse.

By then, the brothers would each have their own path of resources, coordinating with each other, and they would be more at ease.

In reality, this had always been Wang Yuzhen's idea as well.

The reason Wang Yuzhen had such a strong opinion of Bai Fengyu was partly due to this.

It was a pity that the original owner had always been like mud that couldn't be plastered onto a wall; no matter how good he looked, he was just a donkey-dung egg—shiny on the outside.

Ning Weidong said, "No need, I'll go myself. Tomorrow, you make a phone call in advance; otherwise, it won't be easy for me to show up."

"That works too." Ning Weiguo nodded, feeling more admiration for Ning Weidong's plan to go himself.

The experiences of these past few years had taught Ning Weiguo one truth: in critical moments, one must absolutely not pin one's hopes on others.

After finishing the serious business, Ning Weidong stood up: "I'm going back, you should rest early too; you still have work tomorrow."

"Got it." Ning Weiguo responded, saw Ning Weidong to the door, and reminded him: "This person, Li Peihang... he's not simple. When dealing with him, be sure to be careful."

Ning Weidong gave an "Mm," knowing from this sentence that Ning Weiguo's relationship with Li Peihang was limited to being classmates and there was no deeper friendship.

Ning Weiguo added, "His uncle is Li Weibing."

Ning Weidong felt a jolt. Although the original owner was a bit of a blockhead, he had been at the Red Star Factory for over a year and knew who the big leaders in the factory were.

Li Weibing was the top leader of the Red Star Factory; to think he was Li Peihang's uncle!

Originally, Ning Weidong wanted to use this opportunity to establish contact with Li Peihang and then slowly cultivate it, biding his time.

Who would have thought he had stumbled upon a big fish right away!

But on second thought, it was not surprising.

Ning Weiguo and Wang Yuzhen had many classmates from technical secondary school, but after more than ten years, those they still associated with were nothing more than three types of people.

Either they were close friends who could share their hearts, or they had strong personal abilities, or they had a background.

Li Peihang surely had to account for one of these.

……

The next day, Ning Weidong slept until past nine in the morning.

Yesterday, he had finished the afternoon shift and returned home at nearly one o'clock; after talking with Ning Weiguo for a while, taking off his clothes, and crawling into bed, it was already past one.

After letting his mind wander for a while, he didn't fall asleep until two in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, he was on the night shift today, so he was in no rush to get up.

Ning Lei had run out early in the morning; there were less than ten days left until school started.

This brat realized that there wasn't much time left for him, so he started to seize the time... to play wildly.

(End of this chapter)