Chapter 64: Zhonghua is Just Silk Clothing

Ning Weidong rode his bicycle out from the Manager and headed toward the Suifu Border Police Station.

His home was also in this vicinity, and he had the specific location in his memory.

He passed Fuchengmen but didn't go directly there, turning home for a visit first.

Ning Weidong pushed his bicycle inside and ran into Lu Dama walking out, her forehead marked with her signature red stamp.

"Lu Dama, are you going out?"

Ning Weidong couldn't fathom where such a great addiction came from; in the few days since he had transmigrated, he hadn't seen Lu Dama's red stamp fade away once.

"Oh my, Weidong, why are you back just after starting work?" Lu Dama asked with curiosity.

Ning Weidong smiled and said, "I left something at home, came back to grab it." As he spoke, he didn't stop his pace and entered the side courtyard.

Just then, Lu Daye came out from the room and asked, "Who are you talking to?"

Lu Dama waited a step, and the two walked out together: "I saw Ning Weidong. You tell me, it's no wonder the Ning Family looks down on that girl Bai Fengyu; in just these few days, Ning Weidong has gone from guarding the gate to sitting in an Office in the Office Building."

Lu Daye asked in surprise, "Ning Weidong? Why is he back at this hour?"

Lu Dama said, "He said he was picking up something..."

Just as they were heading out the courtyard gate, they suddenly bumped into Bai Fengqin standing under the corridor of the grand gate.

Lu Dama felt awkward for a moment; she had just been saying the Ning Family looked down on Bai Fengqin, and now she was face-to-face with the person in question, not even sure if she had heard.

She gave a dry laugh: "Fengqin, why aren't you at school today?"

Bai Fengqin called out "Dama," her expression slightly unnatural: "School officially starts soon, so I'm resting for two days."

After finishing, she nodded to Lu Daye and walked quickly inside.

Lu Dama turned her head to watch her turn into the side courtyard and whispered, "Old man, did that girl hear what we were saying?"

Lu Daye curled his lip and said, "It wasn't 'we,' it was you; I didn't say a thing."

Lu Dama rolled her eyes at him: "Old thing, hurry up and walk."

……

Ning Weidong arrived home and headed straight for the high-low cabinet in the Upper Room.

Inside were the good cigarettes and alcohol that Wang Yuzhen had scavenged from her father's house.

The original owner had a prickly personality and was too embarrassed to take advantage, but Ning Weidong didn't have those hang-ups.

He opened the high-low cabinet and took a look; there was truly quite a lot of stuff inside.

There were five pairs of Moutai, four and a half cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes, as well as other cigarettes and alcohol, iron-canned malted milk, powdered milk, and chocolates imported from Yugoslavia.

Ning Weidong didn't go too far; as the saying goes, they weren't his biological parents after all, so no matter what, he had to mind his boundaries, otherwise he would become a nuisance.

He picked up the half-carton of Zhonghua, fished out two packs and stuffed them into his left pocket, then took out another pack and stuffed it into his right.

He came back out of the room, ready to push his bicycle out, when he happened to bump into Bai Fengqin entering through the Moon Gate.

The two met face-to-face, which neither had expected.

"Sister Fengqin," Ning Weidong greeted her first: "Not at school today?"

Bai Fengqin puffed out her cheeks, a stifled anger brewing in her heart. Why do you, Ning Weidong, look down on me? Just because you're tall and can fight? Just because you're a pretty boy with a spirited look? Just because you got transferred to the Office Building to sit in an Office...

Bai Fengyu felt more discouraged the more she thought about it; thinking this far, even she felt she was a bit unworthy of Ning Weidong.

Angry, she let out a "Hmph," twisted her bottom, and ran back into her room, secretly resolving in her heart that she must get into university!

Ning Weidong was left feeling baffled by her, but he had no time to ponder this girl's thoughts, so he pushed his bicycle and headed straight for the Police Station.

Arriving at the place, he parked his bicycle in the shed at the entrance and followed the courtyard gate inside.

Just as he reached the gatehouse, a middle-aged man's face appeared in the small window and he shouted, "Hey, comrade, who are you looking for?"

Ning Weidong stopped and said with a smile, "Hello, comrade, I'm looking for Zhang Dajun. My name is Ning Weidong, from the Security Division of the Red Star Factory." The middle-aged man sized him up: "Red Star Factory Security Division, do you have an Introduction Letter?"

Ning Weidong said, "This isn't official business; my brother is a friend of Zhang Dajun's and asked me to come over to pick up something. Could you ask for me?" As he spoke, he glanced through the small window at the telephone on the desk.

The middle-aged man saw he didn't look like he was talking nonsense and waved his hand: "Go on in, second courtyard, west wing room."

Ning Weidong hurriedly thanked him and walked inside.

He reached the inside, the west wing room, and opened the door to enter.

The three rooms inside had been opened up into one large Office, with seven or eight desks arranged.

A blue cotton door curtain covered the entrance, and between the stove and the smoking, the room was filled with a choking odor.

Sitting closest to the door was a young man who didn't know what had upset him; discovering someone had entered, he raised his eyebrows and said unpleasantly, "Who are you looking for?"

Ning Weidong wasn't surprised; in this era, even at a State-owned restaurant, the servers didn't give you a good look, let alone here.

He said with a chuckle, "Hello, comrade, I'm looking for Zhang Dajun. Section Chief Chu from the Bureau sent me."

At the gatehouse, Ning Weidong hadn't revealed Chu Zhongxin, as they were outside after all.

Once in this room, there was no need to hide it anymore.

The young man was stunned for a moment; he probably didn't know which Section Chief Chu, and since he only said "the Bureau," whether it was the district or the city, he didn't react immediately.

At this moment, inside the large Office, from a small side room that had been converted from a storage room, a shout came through the open door: "Ning Weidong?"

Ning Weidong looked over; inside, two desks were placed opposite each other, and a man with a square face stood up from behind a desk, leaned forward, and beckoned to the outside.

He guessed this person must be Zhang Dajun, who had heard him talking outside just now and had gotten up to call him.

He nodded to the young man at the door and walked straight inside.

"Brother Zhang, hello," upon reaching him, Ning Weidong took two quick steps and extended both hands to shake Zhang Dajun's hand.

Zhang Dajun was of medium build, but his hands were extremely large, with calluses on the webs of his thumbs; he shook Ning Weidong's hand firmly: "Section Chief Chu just called me and said you were coming."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ning Weidong sat down in the room, his back to the large Office outside, which happened to block the view from outside, and he fished the two packs of Zhonghua out of his pocket: "Brother Zhang, this time I'm relying entirely on you."

Zhang Dajun glanced at them, didn't hypocritically refuse, and scolded with a smile: "You kid."

The two packs of Zhonghua didn't look like much in terms of price; Zhonghua cigarettes were divided into 'large' and 'small', with the large ones usually costing seventy-five cents and the small ones sixty-two cents, so two packs were only a little over a yuan.

The problem was that they couldn't be bought on the market at all; even if you had the coupons in your hand, you still had to rely on luck and connections.

Ning Weidong came over and tossed out two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes; he was showing his attitude, that he was a sensible person, and that since Zhang Dajun was helping him with the matter, he would remember the favor and not take it for granted just because Chu Zhongxin had spoken up.

Of course, even if Ning Weidong hadn't offered a token of appreciation, Zhang Dajun would still have helped, but the situation would have been different.

Out of respect for Chu Zhongxin, Zhang Dajun would certainly have done the job, but whether he did it to a sixty-point standard or a ninety-point standard would be up to him, as both would be enough to fulfill the task.

As for the cigarettes, they didn't necessarily have to be Zhonghua; two packs of Great Front Gate would have conveyed the same meaning, as long as the attitude was there.

The reason Ning Weidong chose to bring Zhonghua was due to another layer of consideration.

Zhang Dajun was likely a capable subordinate of Chu Zhongxin, and since he was at the Police Station right on his doorstep, there was no guarantee he wouldn't be needed in the future.

Chu Zhongxin might not necessarily have explained Ning Weidong's background beforehand.

As the old saying goes, respect the clothes before respecting the person.

These two packs of Zhonghua were Ning Weidong's "clothes."

Having the connections to get hold of Zhonghua, and being willing to toss them out casually, meant Zhang Dajun could not look down on him.

With this contact made, and by keeping in touch a little more, the next time something came up, for minor matters, Ning Weidong would be able to go directly to Zhang Dajun without needing to go through Chu Zhongxin.

(End of chapter)