Knowing that Ning Zhiheng had something to say to his younger brother, Liu Datong nodded in agreement, greeted Ning Zhiming, and then turned and quickly left.

Ning Zhiming watched Liu Datong leave before asking in a low voice, "Second brother, this Director Liu is the dignified Director of the Police Department, yet he didn't even dare to sit down in front of you. What exactly does your official position do? Father and eldest brother usually forbid me from asking!"

Ning Zhiming had a very good impression of Liu Datong. This Director Liu was always approachable and often visited his father with gifts. He was very close to the Ning family. The last time Ning Zhiming shot and injured someone, it was Director Liu who personally took him home.

However, this seemingly powerful figure outside behaved with utmost respect in front of his second brother, daring not to slack off in the slightest, which made him even more curious about his second brother.

Normally, he only knew that his second brother was extremely mysterious and rarely showed himself. He had asked several elders about him, but no one had said a word to him, clearly because they were very wary of him. Now, he finally couldn't help but ask Ning Zhiheng directly.

Ning Zhiheng frowned upon hearing his question, shook his head and smiled, "You'll know in time. Don't ask around, and don't talk nonsense when others mention my name. No matter who asks, don't mention me."

Ning Zhiheng was afraid that his younger brother, being young, would reveal his relationship with the Ning family, which would not be good for either him or the Ning family.

Ning Zhiming was still not satisfied with the answer, and was naturally quite disappointed. He sighed and said, "I understand. My father and elder brother also told me not to mention you in front of outsiders."

Ning Zhiheng patted his head with a smile and then said, "This is all for your own good. I've made quite a few enemies over the years, and I'm afraid they'll come after you. You need to understand my good intentions."

Ning Zhiming had actually had some similar suspicions in his mind, and upon hearing his second brother's explanation, he immediately nodded in agreement.

Ning Zhiheng then asked, "What did you want to say just now? I see you don't want to talk about it anymore. Is there anything I can help you with?"

Hearing Ning Zhiheng's question, Ning Zhiming thought for a moment but couldn't help but speak up, "Second brother, you said our Ning family is rich and powerful, even the police chief has to obey our orders. I can kill someone and get away with it, and I can use the best anti-inflammatory medicine to save my life when I'm injured, but why can't my classmates? They are all young people with ideals, talents, and ambitions, but just because they don't have money, they have to put aside their studies and go around trying to make a living. Isn't this social injustice? I asked Father to sponsor the school before, but he was always unwilling. Doesn't that count as being rich but heartless?"

"Shut up! A son should not speak ill of his father. The more you say, the more outrageous it becomes!" Ning Zhiheng shouted.

Ning Zhiming was so frightened by his second brother's glare that he trembled and dared not say another word.

Ning Zhiheng's expression softened, and he tried to explain calmly: "My father has been in contact with Principal Chen to discuss the matter of sponsoring the school. Your school should be able to resume classes soon. It's not that he's unwilling to spend money, he just doesn't want to be too conspicuous. You've misunderstood my father."

Regarding your question about fairness, that's a very broad topic, and I can't answer it directly. Classes and status differences will always exist in society; completely eliminating them is impossible, at least not at present! You'll have to explore and judge this yourself through social experience. I won't impose any ideas on you. Frankly, I'm also quite confused myself, but I believe our country will move forward and our social structure will become more rational. However, this will take time!

Ning Zhiming originally thought that his remarks would be severely scolded by his second brother, followed by a lot of dogmatic reprimands and rebuttals. However, to his surprise, his second brother did not say anything preachy. He even said that he himself could not see the road ahead. Instead, he encouraged him to explore and choose according to his own wishes in the future. Ning Zhiming was very surprised by Ning Zhiheng's open-minded attitude.

At this moment, Ning Zhiheng got up and suddenly reached under his pillow to pull out a book. Ning Zhiming's expression changed drastically, and he quickly tried to snatch it away, but Ning Zhiheng waved it away.

The book's cover indicated it was a collection of essays, but when Ning Zhiheng opened it, he discovered that apart from the first few pages which were essays, the rest of the content had nothing to do with essays. Despite the changed cover, he was very familiar with the book's contents; he could even recite passages from memory, because it was none other than a manifesto of the Communist Party!

Ning Zhiheng's expression changed immediately, and he quickly whispered to Ning Zhiming, "What do you think of this kind of book?"

Ning Zhiming was stunned for a moment, but he pretended to be innocent and said with a forced smile, "What's wrong? I'm just reading some random books in my spare time, there's nothing wrong with that!"

Ning Zhiheng threw the book in front of him again and said irritably, "Do you really think I'm stupid? You think you can fool everyone by changing the cover? I knew there was a reason behind what you said today, since it seemed so nonsensical!"

Ning Zhiming quickly grabbed the book, stuffed it back under his pillow, and pressed it down tightly. He said with a forced smile, "So you read these kinds of books too, Second Brother. I thought you only read the Three Principles of the People! I'm just using it as a reference. Didn't you say that we need to learn through practice? I'm reading more to gain a better understanding."

Ning Zhiheng shook his head, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I don't object to you learning more about ideas and opinions, but you must never let outsiders know about them. These books are too conspicuous. I saw them this time, but what if someone else sees them next time? You must know that this is Chongqing, the heartland of the Kuomintang. Don't give anyone a reason to criticize you, or it will cause a lot of trouble. Even I can't save you. Burn these books as soon as you finish reading them. You must not keep them with you."

"I borrowed this with great difficulty!" Ning Zhiming said hurriedly.

"Besides, Second Brother, now the two parties are cooperating. After the war of resistance is won, we will form a government together and be one family. It's not as serious as you say, is it?"

"Naive! Differences in ideology will eventually escalate into a life-or-death struggle. If we could all sit down and talk, China would have become rich and powerful long ago. Why would we let tiny Japan bully us?"

At this point, he emphasized, saying each word carefully, "I don't care what path you choose in the future, but you must always be vigilant and not let these trivial matters cause you trouble. You must learn to protect yourself and your family, understand?"

Ning Zhiheng's words made Ning Zhiming realize that his second brother's meaning was clear: he was not preventing him from contacting these opinions and ideas, but rather telling him to be more discreet, to be vigilant about the current situation, and not to be too optimistic!

"Understood, Second Brother, I will be careful!"