Chapter Fifty Better Late Than Never

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  From Hongze to Pingyuan, it's just over 60 kilometers away, and there is only one national highway to take. Qin Hai drove along the national highway southward. At first, he was still a bit cautious and didn't dare to drive fast. After passing half of the road, he became familiar with the performance of the Jeep and the road conditions at that time, and gradually increased his speed to over 60 kilometers per hour.

  The old Jeep didn't have an air conditioning system, so Qin Hai rolled down the windows and let the wind blow in, causing the objects inside to rattle. He felt a sense of joy in his heart - having a car was such a cool thing in this era, he reckoned that when Ning Mo and the others saw this car, they would be shocked out of their wits!

  The Jeep drove into the industrial area of Pingyuan East Suburbs, and there were more pedestrians and bicycles on both sides of the road. Qin Hai dared not to be too presumptuous, slowed down the speed, and slowly headed towards Qingfeng Factory. When turning from in front of the pesticide factory gate, Qin Hai's eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.

  "Director Ning!" Qin Hai stepped on the brake, stuck his head out of the window and waved at Ning Zhongying, who was riding a bicycle with a girl.

  Ning Zhongying heard the shout and turned his head to take a look, seeing a young man sitting in the driver's seat of a jeep waving at him. For a moment, he didn't react to who it was. It was the girl sitting on the back rack of his bicycle who exclaimed: "Dad, it's Qin Hai! Qin Hai is driving a car!"

  That girl was naturally Ning Zhongying's daughter, Ning Jing. Ning Zhongying received this reminder and finally recognized Qin Hai. He stepped on the brakes to stop the car and asked in surprise: "Little Qin, how did you come to drive a car? Whose car is it?"

  Qin Hai stopped the car, pulled down the handbrake, got out of the car and walked to Ning Zhongying's front, looked at the father-daughter pair and asked: "Director Ning going downtown?"

  "Oh, I'm going to Beixi." Ning Zhongying replied.

  "Are you going to Beixi by bike?" Qin Hai's eyes widened in surprise, wondering if he had misheard.

  Beixi City is the superior administrative region of Pingyuan County, located in the southwest direction of Pingyuan County, with a distance of nearly 200 kilometers from Pingyuan. If Ning Mo said that he rode a bicycle for 200 kilometers to Beixi, Qin Hai could understand it as a kind of weight loss exercise, and maybe even borrowed a bicycle to accompany him. But Ning Zhongying's age, carrying a daughter, how is it possible to ride a bike to Beixi?

  "What are you thinking!" Ning Jing jumped down from the rear rack of Ning Zhong's bicycle, adjusting her skirt and giggling, "You're really silly, my dad is going to the county town to take a train, how could he possibly ride a bike to Bei Xi?"

  "Oh." Qin Hai just realized he had made a fool of himself. He looked at Ning Jing and asked: "What, are you going too?"

  Ning Jing said: "No, my dad rode a bike to the county town, then he took the train, and I rode the bike back. Got it, Comrade Qin?"

  After saying this, Comrade Xiao Qin laughed again, seemingly finding it very interesting to joke with someone who had already started working. A girl of her age wouldn't normally talk to males of the same age, let alone tease them. For some reason, she found Qin Hai so approachable, perhaps because her brother Ning Mo treated Qin Hai like an elder.

  "Hmm, I just understood." Qin Hai acknowledged, "Director Ning went to Beixi on business? Also, doesn't the factory provide a car?"

  When it comes to dispatching a car, Ning Zhongying's face sank and he sneered: "I went to Beixi to report Wei Baolin's case, how could Zhai Jianguo possibly send a car for me?"

  "What's going on? How is this possible?" Qin Hai was puzzled.

  Originally, the situation at Qingfeng Factory had changed again in these few days. With Ning Zhongying's support, Xiang Jiyong and others began to formally submit an application to Wei Baolin, requesting the development of automatic clamps and the initiation of high-frequency induction welding treatment for rotary tiller blades. In his report, Xiang Jiyong specially requested that the factory leaders respond formally to this issue, whether in agreement or disagreement, and that there must be a reason that can withstand scrutiny.

  Wei Baolin was extremely annoyed at this kind of forcing method, but Xiang Jiyong and others were indeed in the right. Xiang Jiyong put forward a very detailed calculation from the perspective of the production department, and the conclusion was that as long as an investment of around 1,000 yuan was made, it would be possible to revive the 50,000-yuan worth of blades in the warehouse, which was a business that no company should give up.

  To make Xiang Ji Yong and others surrender, Wei Bao Lin came to the county seat and found County Magistrate Guo Ming, asking Guo Ming to back him up. Guo Ming had always been on good terms with Wei Bao Lin, and the report submitted by Wei Bao Lin on the transfer of washing machine production was written in a flowery and ornate style, making people feel that as long as they followed this report, not only would Qingfeng Agricultural Machinery Factory quickly turn losses into profits, but even Pingyuan County could take off overnight and enter the ranks of the top 100 counties nationwide.

  With this misconception, Guo Ming instructed Pan Shengjie, the director of the county economic committee, to personally attend a coordination meeting at Qingfeng Factory and specially notify Ning Zhongying to attend. At the meeting, Pan Shengjie highly praised Wei Baolin's reform plan and reminded Ning Zhongying not to be an obstacle to reform without mentioning his name. Regarding Ning Zhongying's statement that the research office has the final veto power, Pan Shengjie also continued the tradition of speaking loudly but softly, stating that this is only a principled right, and in the daily decision-making of enterprises, old comrades should still fully respect the autonomy of young comrades and not interfere arbitrarily.

  Ning Zhongying was too lazy to argue with Pan Shengjie, he knew that Pan Shengjie's trip was just to convey Guo Ming's instructions. To put it bluntly, he was just a eunuch delivering an imperial edict. What's the point of arguing with a eunuch about whether the emperor's decree is correct? Isn't that like playing a lute to a cow?

  After the coordination meeting, Wei Baolin's courage increased greatly. First, he directly returned the report submitted by Xiang Jiyong, then ordered the warehouse to seal up the rotary tiller blades, and arranged a series of tasks for Xiang Jiyong, Leng Yuming, Xiao Dongping and others, forcing them to shift their energy away from the rotary tiller blades. After the previous fuss, Wei Baolin didn't dare mention selling the blades again, thinking only of putting this matter on hold until everyone lost interest.

  Ning Zhongying watched all these changes, his anger burning, and he could no longer sit still. If he hadn't come out to intervene in this matter, perhaps he could have continued to sit back and watch, but since he had already taken action and failed to achieve anything, it was equivalent to being slapped in the face by Wei Baolin, a humiliation that the old man couldn't tolerate.

  Then, Ning Zhongying arrived at the factory office and found Diao Jianguo, instructing him: "Send a car, I want to go to Beixi."

  "Are you going to Beixi for something?" Di Jian Guo asked timidly, although Wei Bao Lin had already fallen out with Ning Zhong Ying, as a lackey, Di Jian Guo still lacked the courage to directly provoke Ning Zhong Ying.

  Ning Zhongying's eyes widened and he said, "Why do I need to report to you what I'm doing in Beixi?"

  "No, no, of course not." Ji Jian Guo hastily said. He rolled his eyes a few times and continued, "However, Director Ning, it's very unfortunate that the two small cars in the factory are both unavailable at the moment. One has gone to Hongze on business, and the other is being repaired and won't be fixed for a while. Would you consider rescheduling your visit for another day?"

  "When will it be changed?" Ning Zhongying asked.

  Duan Jianguo carefully counted on his fingers: "Tomorrow, Wei Changzhang is going to the provincial capital for a meeting. This is an official business, so it's not suitable to send a car. The day after tomorrow, Liao Changzhang has arranged to go to Hongze for medical treatment... you see, if we don't send a car for him either, that wouldn't be suitable. The day after that, arrangements have been made to pick up Ruan Changzhang from the provincial party school. If we can't go to pick him up, it would be best if you could personally call Ruan Changzhang to explain, so as not to make things difficult for our people below..."

  Ning Zhongying sneered and said: "Zhai Jianguo, you've become more skilled? You dare to play tricks in front of me?"

  Dai Jianguo pounded his chest and stamped his foot, saying: "Director Ning, you're being unfair to me. These things were all arranged in advance. Originally, the factory had two small cars that could have been used for rotation, but unfortunately, the Gangshan brand car broke down and has not been repaired after several days of repair. Otherwise, I'll go and urge the vehicle team again to hurry up and fix the car, and once it's fixed, I'll prioritize arranging it for you?"

  Ning Zhongying heard this and didn't say anything else, turning around to leave. He was a strong-willed person, in his own factory where he had been the boss for years, being treated so coldly was something he couldn't accept. He didn't even have the interest to scold Chu Jianguo, because doing so would only make people think he was at his wit's end.

  As Ning Zhongying walked away, Di Jiankui's face revealed a scornful smile. He picked up the phone and dialed the motorcade team, asking: "Is that Gangshan Jeep fixed yet?"

  "Director Di, hurry up." The other party replied.

  "Let it be for now, don't rush to fix it." Ji Jian Guo instructed.

  "What's going on?!" The other party was stunned, and when they wanted to ask more questions, Di Jian Guo had already hung up the phone.

  Ning Zhongying was duped by Jia Jianguo, and his anger grew even stronger. He had originally planned to go to Beixi to discuss the Qingfeng Factory with a former leader who used to work in the county government, so as to use the city leader's words to put pressure on the county. However, after seeing Jia Jianguo's attitude, he changed his mind and decided that this trip would mainly be about reporting (someone) to the authorities. Since he had already fallen out with Wei Baolin, he must thoroughly defeat him; if not, he would suffer a backlash - Ning Zhongying understood this logic very well.

  He packed two sets of clothes, grabbed his suitcase, called out to his daughter Ningjing, hopped on his bike and headed towards the county town, planning to catch a passing train to Beixi. Unexpectedly, just as he was leaving the factory gate, he ran into Qin Hai driving back in his Jeep.

  "Qin Hai, you haven't told me where this car came from yet, and how can you drive a car?" Ning Jing asked curiously beside Ning Zhongying. She was still young and although she knew some of the adults' grudges, she wasn't very interested, but Qin Hai being able to drive a car made her feel extremely curious.

  Qin Hai briefly and selectively told Ning's father and daughter about borrowing a car from the provincial military region. After finishing, he smiled at Ning Zhongying and said: "It's better to come late than to come early, since Wei Baolin won't give you a ride, I'll drive you to Beixi instead."