Chapter 51: A Serious and Reliable Person

The next morning, Ning Weidong finally didn't have to rush to catch the bus on time.

After finishing his meal, it was past seven; he left the house at a leisurely pace, kicked the kickstand up, and pushed his bicycle out.

As luck would have it, he happened to run into Bai Fengqin heading to school, coming out of the house with her schoolbag slung across her shoulder, reciting English vocabulary words.

This year was the national unified examination, and English had become a test subject; although it wasn't counted toward the total score, it was considered a priority during the admissions process.

Bai Fengqin was also taken aback when she saw Ning Weidong pushing a gleaming bicycle: "Brother Weidong, you bought a bicycle~"

Yesterday, she had seen this bike parked under the Ning Family window, but she hadn't thought it belonged to Ning Weidong.

Bai Fengqin looked down on Ning Weidong in her heart; he had grown a handsome face for nothing, but was a good-for-nothing who didn't study.

Yet, a person like that dared to look down on her; it was simply outrageous.

She secretly steeled herself, determined to get into university.

Who would have thought that in just two days, he would have bought a new bike.

Bai Fengqin couldn't help but feel deflated; it really was true that comparing people only leads to frustration.

Ning Weidong didn't know about Bai Fengqin's petty thoughts; he nodded at her and walked straight past.

Once out of the alley and onto the main road, Ning Weidong began to pick up speed.

Honestly, this bike Ning Wei got was quite light to ride, and combined with Ning Weidong's physical fitness, he overtook a large crowd as soon as he hit the road.

In less than half an hour, Ning Weidong rode to the factory entrance.

He greeted the people he knew and headed straight for the bike shed once inside the factory.

He parked the bike before going to sign in.

Whether it was intentional or just a coincidence, he happened to arrive just before or after Wu Bingzhong while signing in.

When he was done and came out, Wu Bingzhong followed him out.

Ning Weidong knew he had something to say, so he stopped at the newspaper reading board in front.

Wu Bingzhong took out a cigarette and handed him one, pretending they were just chatting while smoking, and whispered: "Weidong, keep an eye out these next two days..."

Ning Weidong's heart stirred; what did Wu Bingzhong mean by this? Could it be that there were secret arrangements on that side, and things were coming to a head in the next two days, forcing Xu Jinshan to react?

Ning Weidong thought to himself while saying "I understand" out loud, not lingering with Wu Bingzhong, and headed straight to the West Gate.

Wu Bingzhong was considered quite clever, but only to a limited extent.

In Ning Weidong's view, his biggest flaw was his love for self-righteously taking petty advantages.

Just like this time, his superiors gave him money to handle a task, and instead of thinking about how to handle it thoroughly, he was thinking about how to get the job done while still pocketing the money.

Ning Weidong sneered inwardly; arriving at the West Gate guard room, he was surprised to see that Xu Jinshan had actually arrived early.

This was clearly unconventional.

Usually, Xu Jinshan only arrived late and never early; at least for the past year or so, Ning Weidong had never seen it.

After a greeting, Xu Jinshan nodded in response.

Ning Weidong could see he was distracted, and combined with what Wu Bingzhong had just said, he couldn't help but ponder: was something really about to happen? Not long after, Wang Yong arrived too; although he was smiling as usual when he came into the room and immediately started working, Ning Weidong could still tell that Wang Yong was also not in his right state of mind.

It really was like being handed a pillow just as one felt sleepy.

Ning Weidong was just thinking about finding an excuse to go see Li Peihang, and here it was.

Although he didn't know the specific situation, looking at the behavior of these three—Wu Bingzhong, Xu Jinshan, and Wang Yong—it was definitely unusual.

In the morning, he used a "bathroom break" as an excuse to slip out, took a detour, and headed straight for the Factory Office Building.

Coming a second time, Ning Weidong was familiar with the route.

The office at the head of the hall from last time still had its door open; Ning Weidong walked straight over, and no one chased after him.

He arrived at Li Peihang's Office and knocked three times; a voice from inside replied, "Come in."

"Section Chief~" Ning Weidong closed the door behind him and took two steps inside. Seeing it was him, Li Peihang was surprised for a moment, then immediately stood up with a smile and came out from behind his desk: "Weidong, is there a situation?"

The only reason Li Peihang could think of for Ning Weidong to seek him out was this.

If it wasn't, it could only mean Ning Weidong didn't know how to conduct himself.

And how could someone who didn't know how to conduct himself get things done?

Ning Weidong immediately nodded: "Section Chief, there is a situation, and I'm not sure about it."

Li Peihang nodded inwardly, thinking that this younger brother of Ning Weiguo was truly not a fool, and his demeanor became even warmer: "Don't worry, sit down and tell me."

It was the same spot as last time; the two sat down.

Ning Weidong didn't waste words; he didn't have the luxury of playing coy with Li Peihang, so he went straight to the point: "Section Chief, just as work started, Wu Bingzhong came to find me..."

Blah blah blah, he concisely explained the situation.

Ning Weidong didn't mention the state of Xu Jinshan and Wang Yong; that was his own subjective judgment, and there was no need to spill it.

Such speculation wouldn't earn him points if he were right, but would lose him points if he were wrong, and it carried the suspicion of showing off, which would make people think he wasn't mature or reliable.

Ning Weidong was already young, so he was even more wary of leaving such an impression.

What he needed to do now wasn't to stand out, but to make Li Peihang feel that he was a serious and reliable person.

Sure enough, after hearing Ning Weidong finish, Li Peihang felt very comfortable.

Concise language, accurately conveying the information to be expressed, without adding his own judgments, such as "I think" or "I feel."

At this moment, he didn't realize that the reason he had this feeling was actually because Ning Weidong's level was higher than his own.

From his attitude toward others to his way of speaking.

The things Ning Weidong had experienced before his transmigration, the height of his perspective, and the channels through which he obtained information were far beyond what Li Peihang could compare to.

Li Peihang fell into thought: "Could it be that something really went wrong on Xu Jinshan's side?"

Xu Jinshan was his man, and he knew clearly what was going on at the West Gate.

The last time Ning Weidong came, he had already sought out Xu Jinshan to hurry up and handle the loose ends; was it that Xu Jinshan didn't listen, or what was the situation?

Li Peihang didn't speak, and Ning Weidong didn't make a sound either.

A moment later, Li Peihang collected himself, sent Ning Weidong away, paced back and forth in the Office a few times, and immediately unable to sit still, went out the door and headed upstairs.

……

In the Manager's office, Li Weibing, with his graying hair, stood by the window looking down.

The Factory Protection Team was drilling; the group of people lined up, and it actually looked quite professional.

Li Weibing, however, frowned deeply; the expansion of the Factory Protection Team within the Manager had always been pushed by Deputy Factory Director Wang Guoqiang.

Although Wang Guoqiang was a Deputy Factory Director, he was in the prime of his life and had a very deep background.

Furthermore, diverting unemployed youth was the top priority at the moment, so even though Li Weibing was the head of the Manager, and even though he was unhappy about it, he could only hold his nose and accept it.

It wasn't that Li Weibing was pained by that bit of wages; with over four hundred people in the Factory Protection Team, even calculating the wages on the high side at twenty per person per month, it only totaled eight thousand yuan.

For such a large factory, it was nothing at all; what really bothered Li Weibing was the bad atmosphere it created.

The Factory Protection Team was created out of thin air and had no necessity.

Although the wages were only half that of regular workers, considering the labor intensity of the front-line workers at Red Star Factory, a large group of people doing nothing but receiving half the wages would make anyone have thoughts and ask, "On what grounds?"

Over time, it would inevitably lead to slack work, mutual shirking of responsibility, and overstaffing.

All Li Weibing could do was strictly demand that the Security Division increase the training intensity of the Factory Protection Team, letting others see that these wages were not easy to earn.

Just at this moment, Li Peihang arrived.

(End of this chapter)