Chapter 54: Production Accident

The next afternoon, Ning Weidong was on the middle shift.

He had just arrived at his unit when he heard some explosive news.

"There's been an accident in the workshop!" As he went to the Factory Protection Team to sign in, he heard people inside discussing it.

Ning Weidong caught a bit of it, but didn't take it too much to heart.

In a heavy industrial factory the size of Red Star Factory, production accidents were not rare; those machines were all made of iron, and with the slightest lapse in attention, one could end up with broken bones or torn tendons.

But when he reached the guard room at the West Gate, the moment he stepped inside, he saw Wang Yong looking as if he had lost a parent.

"Weidong, you're here~" Seeing Ning Weidong, Wang Yong forced himself to act normal and squeezed out a smile.

Ning Weidong responded with a sound, as if he hadn't noticed anything unusual about Wang Yong.

He checked the time; it wasn't four o'clock yet, not time for the shift change, and the three people from the previous shift were nowhere to be seen.

Just then, Xu Jinshan rushed in from outside, his face ashen. He seemed about to say something, but stopped abruptly when he saw Ning Weidong was also there. He choked for a moment before saying, "Weidong, keep an eye on things. Wang Yong, come with me."

Wang Yong responded and immediately followed him out.

Ning Weidong realized that the situation seemed extraordinary; Xu Jinshan had clearly lost his composure.

Could the accident during the day have something to do with Xu Jinshan? Ning Weidong was just thinking this when the phone on the desk suddenly rang, giving him a start. He reached out and picked it up: "Hello, West Gate."

On the other end of the line was Li Peihang's voice: "Hello, is that Weidong?"

"Section Chief, it's me." Ning Weidong quickly replied.

Li Peihang said, "Where is Xu Jinshan? Put him on the phone."

Ning Weidong said, "Squad Leader Xu just took Wang Yong and went out."

Li Peihang was silent for a few seconds, said "Alright," and hung up the phone.

Ning Weidong slowly put down the receiver, even more certain that this workshop production accident was not ordinary.

It hadn't just made Xu Jinshan lose his composure; Li Peihang was also involved.

Ning Weidong became increasingly curious about what exactly was going on.

But unfortunately, the original owner had only been in the factory for a little over a year and hadn't built up any connections; wanting to inquire about the situation, he couldn't think of anyone to ask.

Just then, Wu Bingzhong came in from outside. Seeing that Ning Weidong was the only one in the room, he immediately took two steps forward: "Where's Old Xu?" As he spoke, he glanced into the inner room, confirmed no one was there, and lowered his voice: "Weidong, what's the situation on your end?"

Ning Weidong said, "Brother Wu, I'm on the middle shift today."

Wu Bingzhong looked at the time, and a realization dawned on him.

Ning Weidong asked, "What happened?"

Wu Bingzhong said, "At three this afternoon, an accident occurred in the Second Workshop. A technician was seriously injured..."

Ning Weidong felt a chill in his heart, thinking of the person who had come looking for Xu Jinshan aggressively two days ago. It seemed his name was Liu Xinwen, he was from the Second Workshop, and he was a technician. Could it be him? On the surface, however, he said with surprise, "Really! What's the situation? Tell me in detail, how is he?"

Wu Bingzhong had originally wanted to ask Ning Weidong for information, but forgot that he was on the middle shift today and hadn't been in the factory during the day. He was very disappointed and had no heart to say more.

He said a few simple words and then left in a hurry.

But even these few words gave Ning Weidong a good deal of information.

It was just as he had guessed: the one who had the accident today was indeed Liu Xinwen, and the situation was quite serious.

They said he was seriously injured, but judging by Wu Bingzhong's implication, the man was likely in grave danger and was currently hanging on by a thread.

Ning Weidong concluded in his heart that this matter was unusual.

At the same time, he was secretly shocked; the waters at Red Star Factory were deeper than he had expected.

He then thought of the look in Xu Jinshan's eyes after the second time Liu Xinwen came to find him.

Could it be that this Liu Xinwen had gotten hold of some leverage on Xu Jinshan, thought he could feed off him for a lifetime, and then ended up in an accident?

Did Xu Jinshan really have that kind of nerve? Ning Weidong pondered, waiting until the five o'clock shift-end bell rang, but Xu Jinshan and Wang Yong still hadn't returned. Instead, near six o'clock, the phone rang again.

"Hello, West Gate." Ning Weidong picked it up.

"Weidong~ let Xu Jinshan answer the phone." Li Peihang's voice came through the phone.

Ning Weidong's heart stirred; Xu Jinshan had been out for over an hour and was not with Li Peihang.

He replied, "Section Chief, well~ Squad Leader Xu just went out; he said he went to relieve himself."

Li Peihang was silent for a moment and said, "In an hour, come to my office."

After saying this, he hung up the phone directly.

Ning Weidong put down the receiver; it seemed Li Peihang couldn't sit still either, staying past his shift.

Another half hour or so passed, around six-thirty, when Wang Yong returned.

He sat down in the room, looking soul-less, but there was no sign of Xu Jinshan.

Ning Weidong didn't tactlessly chime in, and until nearly seven o'clock, he stood up and said, "Brother Wang, I'm going to the latrine."

By this time, Wang Yong had recovered slightly, but his face still looked terrible.

Ning Weidong pretended not to see it, and regardless of whether he responded or not, he got up and went outside.

The weather was nice tonight, and the moonlight was very bright.

Ning Weidong headed straight for the Factory Office Building.

Usually, at this hour, the Factory Office Building would have long since turned off its lights, but today, from a distance, he could see many offices still lit up.

With such a serious accident during the day, especially not knowing if Liu Xinwen was dead or alive, tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for many.

He entered the Factory Office Building and went up the stairs.

The office that had been open the previous two times he came was now closed.

Ning Weidong walked over, arrived outside Li Peihang's door, knocked, heard a response, and pushed the door open to enter.

"Sit down~" Li Peihang was clearly in a state of mental exhaustion; the Zhongshan Suit he had worn buttoned to the collar the previous two times had the top two buttons undone, revealing the collar of a sweater.

In the same spot as last time, Ning Weidong sat down and called out, "Brother Li."

He called him Section Chief during the day, but now it was night, and it was dark outside, so there was naturally no need to be so formal.

Besides, Li Peihang calling him over at night was certainly not for official business, but to find one of his own people.

It would be too much of a mood-killer to call him Section Chief now.

"Ning Weidong, stop lurking at the West Gate," Li Peihang said, getting straight to the point.

Early this morning, Wang Zipeng had come to report to him, telling him about the situation with Ning Weidong yesterday.

Li Peihang had originally intended to wait a few days before bringing Ning Weidong in to use a mix of favors and threats, then transfer him out of the guard post.

With Ning Weiguo there, regardless of the final result of the probing, Li Peihang had to use Ning Weidong; the only thing affected would be how he was used.

In reality, in Li Peihang's eyes, in terms of personal ability alone, there was no difference between Ning Weidong and Wang Yong, or anyone else in the Security Division.

The only special thing was that his brother was Ning Weiguo and his sister-in-law was Wang Yuzhen.

Even Ning Weiguo and Wang Yuzhen themselves had no value; it was just that they held certain resources worth exchanging.

As for Ning Weidong personally, his ability to handle affairs, his character, and his loyalty carried negligible weight when considering whether to promote and use him.

Ning Weidong understood these rules well and was not surprised to hear Li Peihang say this.

He immediately stood up to state his position: "Leader, I am just a soldier under your command..."

(End of chapter)