Chapter 79: Third Uncle, I Thank You

After leaving Li Peihang's home, Ning Weidong rode his bicycle home at a leisurely pace.

He had delivered the news; the next step depended on what Li Peihang would do.

Previously, Wang Kaifeng had acted in secret to gain the upper hand, but now that Li Peihang had reacted, the information gap had been leveled.

Next, it would depend on which side was more skillful, or had better luck, in finding Xu Jinshan first.

He returned to the Dazayuan.

Although he had only stayed at Li Peihang's house for a short while, the trip there and back had taken over an hour.

By the time Ning Weidong entered through the main gate, it was already nearly ten o'clock.

Most of the families in the courtyard had turned off their lights and gone to sleep, but the Wang Family in the west wing still had their lights on; shadows were flickering inside, and although he heard no arguing, it did not seem like everything was fine.

Ning Weidong glanced at it, then turned and entered the East Cross Courtyard.

The light in Bai Fengyu's room was on as usual.

School was about to start, and with only one semester left, Bai Fengqin's academic pressure was growing.

She was burning the midnight oil every day.

After parking his bicycle, Ning Weidong went to the Upper Room first.

Ning Weiguo and Wang Yuzhen were both waiting.

He entered the room and recounted the situation at Li Peihang's house, which was nothing outside of what the two had expected.

Wang Yuzhen looked at Ning Weiguo and said, "If this isn't handled well, I'm afraid Li Peihang will be in big trouble."

Ning Weiguo nodded and mused, "I'll find time tomorrow to go see our father so he can be prepared."

Although the words were cryptic, Ning Weidong understood: Ning Weiguo was preparing for the collapse of Li Weibing's faction.

If Xu Jinshan fell into Wang Kaifeng's hands, regardless of whether the Wang and Li families had reached a tacit understanding or ceased hostilities for a time, Wang Guoqiang would seize the opportunity to launch a fatal blow.

This was not about betrayal, but rather that the reaching of any agreement is a weighing of the situation and strength.

Once this premise was broken, the agreements reached on that basis would naturally no longer count.

And the Red Star Factory, as a unit that directly controlled the means of production, was an important resource for any major faction.

Because of Li Weibing's active overtures previously, the Wang Family had not been without their own ideas.

The next day, Ning Weidong arrived at the office in high spirits.

He had slept well last night, but some people had not slept at all.

Feng Wen was yawning incessantly, his hair a mess, looking like a man down on his luck, glaring at everyone as if they owed him money.

Ning Weidong guessed that after Lu Zhou left Zhang Minghui's place last night, there had been follow-up actions that also involved Feng Wen.

It was also possible that Feng Wen had acted alone.

But judging by his state, he had likely wasted the whole night for nothing.

Ning Weidong saw it all but acted as if he knew nothing.

After a while, Chen and Wen Aiying arrived one after another; Feng Wen forced himself to chat for a few sentences before collapsing onto the desk to sleep.

Yet not long after, just past nine o'clock, the telephone on Chen's desk suddenly rang.

The old-fashioned phone made a loud noise, startling the sleeping Feng Wen into a jolt.

Chen picked up the phone and looked at Feng Wen: "Little Feng, Department Head Wang is looking for you."

Feng Wen woke up instantly, immediately got up to go over, took the receiver, said a few words, and hurried out.

A few minutes later, the phone rang again; this time it was for Chen, who was called over by Li Peihang.

In the blink of an eye, only Ning Weidong and Wen Aiying were left in the office.

Wen Aiying was completely clueless.

Ning Weidong, however, guessed that it was ten-to-one that there was news about Xu Jinshan, and both sides were exerting their strength, waiting to see who would emerge victorious.

Sitting in the office, sipping the jasmine tea just brewed in his enamel mug, Ning Weidong looked out the window and couldn't help but sigh.

Who would have thought that Xu Jinshan, a mere gatekeeper, would become the key to determining the future of the factory? By the time he got off work in the evening, neither Chen nor Feng Wen had returned.

After dragging it out until the end of the shift, Ning Weidong went downstairs to get his bike and followed the crowd out of the South Gate at a leisurely pace.

Just then, he heard someone call his name.

He turned his head to look and saw Wang Zipeng pushing his bike from the Logistics Department, hurrying a few steps to catch up, and saying with a smile, "Let's go together~"

It was on the way, so Ning Weidong didn't refuse; the two left the main gate and rode their bikes toward home.

Once they were away from the factory area and there was no one around, Wang Zipeng immediately said with excitement, "Hey, Weidong, did you notice anything today?"

Ning Weidong's heart stirred: "Notice what?"

Wang Zipeng said, "Something big might be about to happen..."

Wang Zipeng was indeed someone who could get along with everyone in the factory, but in reality, he didn't have any concrete news, nor had he entered the core circle on Li Peihang's side.

But Wang Zipeng was very sensitive to the atmosphere of his surroundings.

He had felt that the atmosphere was wrong the moment he started work today; there was a sense of swords drawn and bows bent.

He hadn't run into Ning Weidong by chance after work either; he had been waiting there specifically to fish for information from Ning Weidong.

Wang Zipeng knew that with his connection to Ning Weiguo, Ning Weidong must know some things he didn't know since he had been transferred to the Office Building.

Unfortunately, Ning Weidong was far more seasoned than he had anticipated, chatting about this and that along the way without ever taking the bait.

By the time they reached the Dazayuan, Wang Zipeng watched Ning Weidong push his bicycle into the East Cross Courtyard, feeling a surge of frustration.

He hadn't realized before that this kid Ning Weidong was slipperier than a loach.

Helplessly, he pushed his bike to the back courtyard, and just as he entered the room, he heard his wife say, "Zipeng~ we're out of soy sauce, go to the grocery store and get a catty of soy sauce~"

Wang Zipeng was already feeling depressed and said irritably, "Oh, just make do for today, I'll go tomorrow."

Before the words were out of his mouth, he saw a twenty-five or twenty-six-year-old woman in a floral shirt poke half her body out of the kitchen with a spatula in her hand: "Hurry up! Why so much nonsense when I ask you to do something~"

Wang Zipeng pursed his lips; he didn't dare talk back and obediently went away.

His wife was named Qian Fangqi; she wasn't exactly a shrew, but he couldn't afford to offend his father-in-law.

Qian Fangqi's father worked in the city, and although his position wasn't high, his influence was not small.

……

On the other side, Ning Weidong had just arrived outside his home when he heard a sound like a pig being slaughtered inside.

He was stunned for a moment, then immediately felt schadenfreude; a few days ago he had seen that this kid Ning Lei was not one to show off, but while he should have copied homework secretly, he had done it with great fanfare, so wasn't this just asking for trouble.

A couple of days ago, whether Wang Yuzhen had been too busy or was giving him a chance, she hadn't held it against him.

This kid still didn't know how to restrain himself.

Entering the house, there was no one in the outer room.

Ning Weidong went to the inner room, and sure enough, Ning Lei was lying on the kang, snot and tears streaming down his face.

Wang Yuzhen was clutching a broom handle, greeting his backside with it.

Ning Weiguo was not there; it was unclear if he was late getting off work today or had other business.

"Third Uncle! Third Uncle!" Ning Lei spotted Ning Weidong and looked at him as if he were a life-saving straw.

Schadenfreude was one thing, but he still had to intervene when necessary.

Ning Weidong hurriedly stepped forward: "Sister-in-law, what are you doing! If the child is wrong, just lecture him; there's no need to beat him like this."

Wang Yuzhen had also just been caught up in the moment; it was her own son, and she felt heartache after the beating.

Ning Weidong went up to grab the broom handle, and she took the opportunity to let go, though she still wouldn't let it rest: "Weidong, don't stop me..."

She rattled on for a while, but she didn't try to snatch the broom handle back.

Ning Weidong could see right through it and said with a grin: "Sister-in-law, I'm not stopping you; after hearing what you said, this kid really deserves a beating, but don't finish beating him all by yourself. My brother hasn't come back yet, right? If you beat him too hard, how will my brother be able to lay a hand on him?"

Wang Yuzhen was taken aback, realizing he was teasing her, and she couldn't help but laugh despite herself.

Ning Lei, however, was dumbfounded, with only one thought in his mind: "Third Uncle, I thank you!"

(End of this chapter)