radicalducati Chapter 265 Secretary Wang Comes to the Steel Mill Again
Chapter 265 Secretary Wang Comes to the Steel Mill Again
A few days later, Secretary Wang came to the canteen of the steel mill again. This time, he did not rush to find Sha Zhu, but walked around the canteen first to observe the workers' discussions. Sure enough, the recent turmoil in the Jia family had become a topic of conversation among the workers after dinner.
"Have you heard? Qin Huairu's son was nearly stabbed to death in a fight recently..."
"Qin Huairu is also pitiful. She has been supporting the Jia family alone since Jia Dongxu's death, and now her son..."
"Tsk, she's pitiful? She followed Li Huaide and was transferred to the warehouse where she had less work and higher salary. Li Huaide was always greedy and took more money when he was the boss. After he became the boss, he could still take less money. How could Qin Huairu take less money after following him? You're still sympathizing with her. Think about whether your four children have enough to eat, right?"
"You just say the grapes are sour because you can't eat them. I've already seen that you have feelings for Qin Huairu."
"Don't talk nonsense. She's a widow who has given birth to three children. How could I be interested in her?"
"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let anyone hear you!"
Secretary Wang smiled slightly and then walked towards Sha Zhu who was giving orders in the kitchen.
"Director He, are you busy?" Secretary Wang stood at the door with a calm tone.
Sha Zhu looked up and saw that it was him. His heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show it on his face. He wiped his hands and walked over: "Comrade Wang, what are you doing here...?"
Secretary Wang lowered his voice and said, "Excuse me for a moment."
The two walked to the small warehouse behind the cafeteria, and Secretary Wang said directly: "Director He, I came here to ask you for a favor."
Sha Zhu frowned: "How can I help?"
Secretary Wang looked at him thoughtfully. “You are the canteen director. You can easily hear what the workers talk about while eating. What we lack now is witnesses and details about Li Huaide’s case. If you can help collect some… reliable information, it will be of great help to the organization’s investigation.”
Sha Zhu's heart sank, it was obvious that he was being asked to be a spy. He scratched his head and pretended to be hesitant: "Comrade Wang, I'm not good at talking, I'm afraid it will delay things..."
Secretary Wang patted him on the shoulder and said meaningfully: "Director He, you are a sensible person. If this matter is handled well, it will only benefit you."
Sha Zhu knew he couldn't refuse, so he nodded: "Okay, I'll give it a try. But I can't guarantee that I can find out anything useful."
Secretary Wang smiled with satisfaction: "Okay, I'll come see you next week."
On weekends, Sha Zhu went to cook for the retired but still influential "big boss" as usual. After cooking the last dish, he wiped his hands, hesitated for a moment, and finally said: "Boss, there is something I want to ask you."
The big boss was tasting the food and looked up at him: "Tell me, what's the matter?"
Sha Zhu lowered his voice and said, "Recently...someone has been investigating Li Huaide and came to me."
The big boss paused, his eyes suddenly sharpened: "Who is looking for you?"
"A secretary named Wang said he was sent by the higher-ups to investigate," Sha Zhu said truthfully. "He asked me to pay attention to the workers' discussions in the cafeteria to see if I could find any evidence of Li Huaide's crimes."
The big boss put down his chopsticks, slowly leaned back in his chair, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Zhu Zi, don't get too involved in this matter."
Sha Zhu was stunned: "But I have already promised him..."
The big boss shook his head and said, "Behind Li Huaide is the Zhao family. Li Huaide's father-in-law, Old Man Zhao, is at the same level as me, but he didn't stand aside. Now someone is investigating Li Huaide, not just for him, but for the Zhao family. If you, a canteen director at a steel mill, get involved in a struggle at this level, you'll be crushed to pieces if you're not careful."
Sha Zhu's heart tightened: "Then...does Secretary Yang still have a chance to make a comeback?"
The big boss sneered, "Xiao Yang? Forget it. As long as the Zhao family doesn't fall, he will never have a chance. But even if the Zhao family falls, it won't be his turn - the newcomers still won't use him."
Sha Zhu was silent. He had originally hoped that if Secretary Yang could come back to work, he could also benefit from it, but now it seemed that hope was slim.
Seeing his expression, the senior leader softened his tone: "Zhu Zi, remember - in this matter, you should neither help Li Huaide nor cooperate too much with the investigation team. The water on both sides is too deep, you can't afford to offend them."
Sha Zhu nodded and said with a wry smile: "Okay, I'll listen to you. I'll just play dumb and get away with it."
The big boss gave him a meaningful look and said, "Sometimes, pretending to be stupid is the real smart thing."
That night, as soon as Sha Zhu entered the courtyard, he saw Qin Huairu standing at the door of his house with flickering eyes.
"Zhu Zi, can we talk?" Her voice was soft, but with a hint of urgency.
Sha Zhu sneered in his heart - this woman must have heard the rumors and came to ask questions. But he didn't show it on his face, and just said calmly: "Let's talk about it tomorrow. I'm tired."
Qin Huairu stopped him and lowered her voice: "I heard...someone wants to investigate Li Huaide recently?"
Sha Zhu raised his eyebrows: "You are well-informed, right? But this matter has nothing to do with me, so I won't ask about it."
Qin Huairu's face changed slightly. She wanted to say something else, but Sha Zhu had already walked away, leaving only one sentence: "Take care of your Bang Geng, don't cause a bigger disaster one day! You may not be so lucky next time!"
Sha Zhu said "Mind your family's jokes" in a loud voice, and Jia Zhang heard it clearly in the room. She sat up from the kang, her old face trembling with anger, and pointed at the window and cursed:
"This damn idiot! How dare he curse my grandson? Who the hell is he! Is he jealous of our excellent Bang Geng?"
The more she cursed, the more nasty it sounded. Words like "bastard" and "bastard" came out of her mouth one after another. Her voice was low, but every word was vicious. Qin Huairu stood in the outer room, with a cold face and no words, but her heart was in turmoil - what did Sha Zhu mean by what he said just now? What can Bang Geng do now that he has just been discharged from the hospital? Or... is Li Huaide's matter implicated in Bang Geng?
The thought of Li Huaide made Qin Huairu panic. She had secretly taken two gold bars from Li Huaide's private vault and hid them under Banggeng's bed. If this was discovered, she would be finished!
But now Li Huaide was exiled to Qinghai and there was no news from him. She didn't even have a way to find out about him.
Seeing Qin Huairu ignoring her, Jia Zhang became even more angry and yelled at her, "You are such a jinx! You only know how to flirt with men all day long. Now that your backer has fallen, I wonder how you are going to live in the future!"
Qin Huairu finally couldn't help it and said coldly: "Mom, please stop talking. The situation outside is tense now. If you keep shouting, you might bring trouble home!"
When Jia Zhang heard this, she was even more furious: "What? You still dare to teach me a lesson? If you are not incompetent, how can you be bullied? If anything happens to my grandson, I will never forgive you!"
Qin Huairu was too lazy to argue with her anymore. She turned and went into the inner room, closed the door, and sat on the edge of the kang in a daze: What should I do now? The gold bars are hidden at home. What if someone comes to confiscate the house...