Chapter 369

Dusk settled, the off-duty bell of the Steel Rolling Mill echoed across the empty factory grounds.

Yet in the West Wing courtyard, the lights were turned on earlier than usual.

An old blanket was spread on the floor of the main room.

Li Nuanqing, over a year old, wore a thick cotton jacket, resembling a round ball, and was struggling to break free from her mother's support.

Lin Xueqing half-squatted behind her, arms outstretched in a protective gesture, her eyes gentle yet tense.

"Qingqing, come, come to Mom."

Xiao Nuanqing's dark, shiny eyes fixed on her mother a few steps away, her small mouth pursed as if gathering courage.

She tremblingly lifted one little foot, testing a forward move.

Her body swayed.

Lin Xueqing's heart also tightened a bit.

But the little girl actually steadied herself!

Then the other foot followed.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Although she stumbled like a waddling fat penguin, she really walked several steps on her own and lunged into Lin Xueqing's open arms!

"Oh! Our Qingqing can walk!" Lin Xueqing exclaimed in delight, scooping up her daughter and kissing her tender face over and over.

Li Yaozong, who had just run in from outside, happened to witness this scene.

He still clutched a dry branch he had picked up somewhere, pretending it was a treasure sword, and now stared wide-eyed.

Immediately, great joy rushed onto his small face.

"Little sister can walk! Little sister can walk!"

He threw down the "treasure sword", rushed over, jumping and shouting around Mother and little sister.

"Dad! Dad! Come look! Little sister is a great hero now! A heroine who can walk!"

Li Ping'an walked out from the inner room, a smile on his face.

Seeing his son's excited, flushed face and his wife's daughter giggling in her arms, the soft spot in his heart was gently touched.

He walked over, took Xiao Nuanqing from Lin Xueqing's arms, and lifted her high.

The little girl, being lifted high, wasn't afraid but laughed even more happily, waving her small hands wildly.

"Good, our Xueqing is really amazing." Li Ping'an's voice revealed a rare warmth.

At this moment, the factory's worries, the shadow of secret agents, seemed to temporarily fade away.

Only this ordinary family's joy, genuine and warm.

However, this warmth did not last long.

The next afternoon, Li Ping'an had just finished processing a document when the office door was knocked.

The knocking was heavy and regular, carrying an unusual meaning.

Chen Jianghe went to open the door, his face instantly changed.

Three people stood at the doorway.

All wore dark, unmarked Zhongshan suits, with solemn expressions and sharp eyes.

The leader was a man in his forties, of sturdy build, with a slight bulge at his waist.

He produced a certificate.

"Municipal Armed Forces Department Inspection Section. Comrade Li Ping'an, having received public reports and superior instructions, we are now conducting a suspension review for your alleged serious disciplinary violations. Please immediately surrender your service weapon and documents, and cooperate with the investigation, Comrade Li Ping'an, please come with us for investigation."

Li Ping'an stood up, his expression calm, as if he had expected it.

"Do I need to inform the factory leadership?"

"No need. You are currently suspended pending investigation. Specific matters, we will communicate with you. Please." The middle-aged man's tone was businesslike, leaving no room for doubt.

Chen Jianghe anxiously said: "Comrade, could there be some misunderstanding? Our section chief..."

Li Ping'an raised his hand to stop him.

"Jianghe, cooperate with work. During my absence, the daily work of the Security Department will be temporarily handled by you, following established procedures; for major matters, please report to Factory Director Yang Changzhang or Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide."

He tidied the documents on the desk, locked the drawer, and placed the key on the desktop.

Then, he followed those three people out of the office.

In the corridor, many Security Department clerks heard the sound, poked their heads out, seeing this scene, their faces filled with shock and bewilderment.

Li Ping'an did not look back.

His steps remained steady, his back straight.

Only in his usually calm eyes flickered a trace of extreme coldness.

The shopkeeper's counterattack began.

Moreover, it came so directly, so fiercely.

Suspension investigation.

This is to temporarily kick him out, disrupt the rhythm of the Steel Rolling Mill's Security Department, and even... open a gap from him to reverse‑undermine the investigation?

The news of Li Ping'an being taken away for investigation was like a bomb, exploding simultaneously in the Steel Rolling Mill and the No. 95 Siheyuan at dusk.

Within the Steel Rolling Mill, undercurrents surged.

The light in Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide's office stayed on for a long time.

He walked back and forth with his hands behind his back by the window, his face showing no joy or anger, but a glint deep in his eyes.

Li Ping'an was suspended, leaving the Head of the Security Department position vacant.

This is an opportunity.

He needed to find a way to push his trusted people upward and take control of the Security Section.

At least, we must not let Yang Weiguo's side get ahead.

Factory Director Yang Weiguo sat behind his desk, listening to the secretary's report, his fingers lightly tapping the tabletop.

Li Ping'an is the person he wants to win over—capable and steadfast in position.

This sudden suspension, with people coming directly from the Municipal Armed Forces Department, is definitely not simple behind the scenes.

It is very likely related to the espionage case under investigation.

He must stay steady, not easily declare his stance, but also ensure the Security Department does not descend into chaos, and certainly not let certain people take advantage to reach in.

The factory's mid-level cadres privately discussed and speculated about various possibilities.

In the siheyuan, however, it was quite a different scene.

At off‑work time, households gradually returned.

The news had already spread like wind to every corner.

In the front courtyard, Yan Bu Gui took off his glasses, wiping them carefully, his small eyes gleaming with calculating light.

"Li Ping'an suspended? Serves him right…… I just don't know who will take over as head of the Security Department next—could I perhaps get on good terms with the new chief?"

He pondered, after all he was one of the Three Elders of the courtyard, also a cultured person.

In the central courtyard, the Jia family—Jia Zhangshi was dipping her steamed bun in thin porridge when she heard the discussion next door, and Sanjiao Yan's eyes lit up immediately.

"Pah! I told you so! That Li Ping'an kid usually puts on a respectable front—he's definitely up to something! Corruption and embezzlement! Eating alone won't make you fat! Look at his house—whenever meat aroma drifts out, where does that meat come from? A legitimate source couldn't supply meat every day; he must have stolen from the factory! He deserves it!"

The more she spoke, the more excited she got, her spit almost spraying onto Qin Huairu's face opposite.

Qin Huairu silently lowered her head to eat, not responding, though her heart felt somewhat complicated.

In the rear courtyard, Liu Haizhong had just finished disciplining his second son, Liu Guangtian, and was seething with anger.

Hearing Xu Damao's wife Wang Cuihua gossiping in the courtyard that Li Ping'an had been taken away, he first froze, then a strange sense of delight welled up in his chest.

Although Li Ping'an seldom spoke in the courtyard, his steady aura always made this self‑styled "officials‑fan" feel somewhat overwhelmed.

Now it's settled!

"Hey! Li Ping'an suspended?" He walked out with hands behind his back, belly thrust out, voice deliberately raised: "What does this show? It shows the organization's eyes are sharp! If there's a problem, deal with it! From now on, in our courtyard, it's still us few elders who will uphold justice!"

He felt he had rediscovered the sensation of being a leader.

Yi Zhonghai also heard the news.

He sat in his own house, slowly puffing on dry tobacco.

Amid the curling smoke, his gaze grew somewhat deep.

Li Ping'an's suspension left the courtyard lacking someone who could hold the scene down.

This period is precisely a good opportunity for him to reestablish the prestige of the First Elder and truly take control of the siheyuan.

He needs to plan carefully.

As for whether Li Ping'an has been framed—

that is not his primary concern.

Xu Damao was still lying in the hospital; Wang Cuihua came back to fetch a change of clothes, becoming a source of the news.

Her face bore a strange expression, a mix of lingering fear and relief.

"I was just saying being an official is risky, but my Damao is fine—though injured, that's merit! Li Ping'an, on the other hand, got taken away straight off… tsk tsk."

She even harbored a dark thought: if Li Ping'an really fell, wouldn't Xu Damao's 'merit' appear all the greater?

Only Sha Zhu, rinsing his lunchbox under the faucet with a splashing sound, hearing the nearby chatter, furrowed his thick black brows into knots.

"Nonsense! Ping'an Ge is such an upright person—how could he have problems? It must be those officials blind as bats, or else someone is framing him!"

He shouted loudly, his voice carrying half the courtyard.

Ma Dongmei quickly grabbed his sleeve.

"Zhuzi! Keep it down! What nonsense are you spouting?"

"I'm telling the truth!" Sha Zhu objected, but lowered his voice a bit, shaking water off his hands: "What a good person Ping'an Ge is—how many folks in the courtyard he's helped? Just take the last time…"

He recalled how Li Ping'an had previously mediated several of his disputes with Xu Damao and reminded him of work matters, making him feel even more aggrieved.

In the west annex courtyard, the atmosphere was heavy.

Lin Xueqing already knew the news, told to her quietly by Chen Jianghe.

Her face turned slightly pale as she held Xiao Nuanqing, sitting in a chair, her fingers unconsciously gripping the edge of her daughter's clothing.

Li Yaozong sensed his mother's unease, standing obediently to one side, not daring to make a fuss as he usually did.

Li Ping'an returned in the evening.

As he pushed his bicycle into the courtyard, his expression was normal, even more relaxed than usual.

"Dad!" Li Yaozong lunged forward.

Lin Xueqing rose, her eye sockets slightly red, wanting to ask something but not knowing where to begin.

Li Ping'an parked his bike, walked over, first patted his son's head, then took the daughter from his wife's arms.

"It's fine," he said calmly, "just cooperating with the investigation—suspended for a while, a good chance to rest."

"But…" Lin Xueqing's voice trembled, "how could they…"

"The organization has its procedures." Li Ping'an cut her off, gazing at her calmly, "Trust me, also trust the organization. The innocent will clear themselves."

He paused, then his tone lightened.

"Now that's settled, I have time. Tomorrow I'll take Yaozong to the river to fish and teach him to skip stones."

Lin Xueqing looked at her husband's calm face, and her panic miraculously eased a little.

She knew her husband was no ordinary person.

What he said must have his reasoning and confidence behind it.

"Mm." She nodded, took the daughter, "I'll go heat up the meal."

At dinner, Li Ping'an had a good appetite and even drank an extra half bowl of porridge.

He asked his son what he learned at kindergarten today, and asked his daughter how many steps she had walked during the day.

It seemed as if the sudden disturbance that afternoon had never happened.

Only Li Yaozong, looking at his father, whispered: "Dad, are you not going to work at the factory anymore?"

"Not for now." Li Ping'an gave him a piece of vegetable with his chopsticks, "Staying home to keep you and your sister company, okay?"

"Okay!" Li Yaozong immediately smiled, but being a sensitive child, he still felt that something was different.

The night grew deep.

The children had all fallen asleep.

Lin Xueqing leaned against Li Ping'an's shoulder and whispered softly, "Ping'an, I'm a little afraid."

"Afraid of what?" Li Ping'an put his arm around her shoulder.

"Afraid…… that someone might harm you."

Li Ping'an smiled lightly, his fingers gently stroking her arm.

"Those who wish me harm have always existed. But look, I'm fine, aren't I? Rest assured, I know what I'm doing. During this time, it's a good chance to see which demons and monsters will show up."

His gaze turned to the dark night outside the window.

Shopkeeper, you've made your move.

Suspended?

This is merely the prelude to a storm.

Also fine.

Then let me step back behind the scenes for now.

Let's see your game; how will you make your next move?

And the whispers in the courtyard, the schadenfreude, the kicking someone when they're down.

In this larger game, they are nothing but insignificant dust.

He needs patience.

He also needs to give the opponent a little illusion.

The illusion that he has already been eliminated.

The illusion that they can now rest easy.

In the night, the corner of Li Ping'an's mouth curled into a cold, confident arc.

Fishing is not just fishing.