Two days later, on the weekend, Sun Zhengguo got up early and prepared to go to Hongqi Steel Plant to see what Wang Lefeng was up to.
Ning Xiaowei, who had just gotten up and hadn't even had time to wash up, saw Sun Zhengguo about to leave and quickly asked him what was going on.
"Zhengguo, when will you be able to come back from Hongqi Steel Plant?"
"Don't worry, honey. If the car is fast, we'll be back this evening. If there are any special circumstances, it might be tomorrow. Just stay in the courtyard and don't go anywhere else."
"Okay! Be careful on your way."
After saying goodbye to his wife, Sun Zhengguo walked to the station, bought a ticket to Changyang Town, and waited for more than twenty minutes before boarding the bus to Changyang Town.
The bus swayed and bumped along the way, breaking down twice before finally getting back on the road thanks to the driver's quick repairs.
By the time we arrived in Changyang Town, it was already past noon.
"Sigh!" Sun Zhengguo sighed inwardly, feeling a pang of regret.
"If I'd known this old bus was so unreliable, I wouldn't have overestimated buses from this era! Now look what's happened, I'm definitely not going home today..."
As soon as he got out of the car, Sun Zhengguo looked around at Changyang Town.
However, to his disappointment, the so-called "town" here was a misnomer.
The streets were deserted and quiet, with hardly any people around, and you couldn't even find a decent shop.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. I'm used to living in Beijing, and my standards are high, which is why I look down on small towns like this.
After looking around and finding nothing particularly interesting, Sun Zhengguo asked an old man for directions.
"Hello sir! I'd like to ask how to get to Hongqi Steel Plant?"
The old man being questioned immediately greeted Sun Zhengguo warmly and politely upon seeing his urban attire.
“Hongqi Steel Plant is the largest factory here. If you walk south along this road for another two or three miles, you will see a large river, and Hongqi Steel Plant is right next to it.”
"Thank you, sir!"
Having asked for directions, Sun Zhengguo headed south in the direction the old man pointed.
About ten minutes later, the largest factory that the old man who gave directions had mentioned appeared before Sun Zhengguo's eyes.
Looking at the dilapidated wall and the crumbling gate, with a few low bungalows inside, it's hard to imagine that this is the largest factory the old man who gave directions mentioned earlier.
Sun Zhengguo didn't rush into the factory. Instead, he went to a secluded spot not far from the factory to treat himself first, since it was almost one o'clock and his stomach was already growling with hunger.
When you're out and about, you don't have to be so particular. Sun Zhengguo just found a tree stump and sat down.
Then, he took out steamed buns from his spatial storage, along with a plate of sliced pork head meat and a bowl of chicken soup. With that, lunch was ready.
After finishing three steamed buns and all the meat, he let out a soft burp.
Sun Zhengguo put the bowl and plate into his spatial storage, wiped the grease from his mouth with a handkerchief, stood up, patted the dirt off his buttocks, and then walked towards the Hongqi Steel Plant.
At the gatehouse of Hongqi Steel Plant, Grandpa Li, as usual, kept an eye on the pedestrians at the factory gate.
When he was young, Mr. Li was also a soldier, so he was very vigilant.
When he saw Sun Zhengguo emerge from the nearby woods and walk towards the Hongqi Steel Plant, he quietly picked up a wooden stick and loudly asked.
"Halt! Who are you? Why are you sneaking out of the grove of trees over there?"
When Sun Zhengguo saw the wooden stick in the old man's hand, fearing it might cause a misunderstanding, he quickly stopped and explained.
"Sir, please don't misunderstand. I'm a technician from Beijing, here on a business trip to Hongqi Steel Plant. I just got off the bus and haven't eaten yet, so I ate two steamed buns in the woods."
After hearing Sun Zhengguo's explanation, Grandpa Li breathed a sigh of relief, but he still didn't put down the stick.
"Since you're from a government-affiliated institution, where's your letter of introduction?"
"Yes, yes, yes! I'll get it for you right away."
After Sun Zhengguo finished speaking, he quickly took out a letter of introduction from his canvas bag. It was the day before the holiday, and he had asked Director Yang to issue it. He didn't know if Director Yang would accept the letter of introduction.
When Grandpa Li saw that there really was a letter of introduction, he put down his wooden stick, took the letter through the crack in the door, and began to read it carefully.
"Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill? And he's just a deputy section chief?"
When Grandpa Li saw these two keywords, he was puzzled. They were completely unrelated, so why did they come here?
However, the official seal on the letter of introduction couldn't be faked, so Grandpa Li still politely welcomed the people in.
"I'm sorry, Deputy Section Chief Sun, I mistook you for a bad guy earlier."
"It's alright, sir, this is your duty."
Seeing that the young man was quite polite, Grandpa Li became curious about what people from the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill were doing here, so he asked.
“Deputy Section Chief Sun, your Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill and our Hongqi Steel Mill don’t have any business dealings. Why are you suddenly here?”
"Sir, to be honest, I came here today to visit Wang Lefeng. I wonder how he is doing now?"
Upon hearing Wang Lefeng's name, Grandpa Li's face immediately darkened, and he asked unhappily.
"What, are you his superior? Are you here to take him back?"
Sun Zhengguo nodded, because he was now indeed Wang Lefeng's superior.
As for whether or not to take him back, that depends on the situation.
"Don't you know that Technician Wang has gone insane? How can he go back with you?"
Seeing Grandpa Li's unreasonable behavior, Sun Zhengguo didn't know why, so he could only patiently explain.
"Sir, I didn't say I absolutely had to take him away. I just came to check on him. Why are you so resistant? Is there something you're hiding from us?"
It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because once he did, it was like stirring up a hornet's nest, and Grandpa Li immediately started shouting loudly.
"Help! Help! Someone's causing trouble and trying to kidnap Technician Wang."
This shout startled Sun Zhengguo. "I didn't do anything? What's going on?"
Before Sun Guo could react, a series of noisy footsteps approached from afar.
A dozen or so workers, who looked like farmers, carrying pitchforks and iron bars, quickly ran over from all directions and surrounded Sun Zhengguo in an instant.
Sun Zhengguo was surprised that even though it was the weekend, there were still people working at this rural factory. It seemed that things wouldn't end well today.
"Uncle Li, is this pretty boy causing trouble? Should we teach him a lesson?"
One of the burly men pointed an iron rod at Sun Zhengguo and said...
"No, can't you guys be reasonable? I didn't say anything, and a whole bunch of you are surrounding me, what do you want?"
Sun Zhengguo loudly questioned.
Sun Zhengguo wasn't afraid of being surrounded by these people. Even if just as many more came, it would be a piece of cake for him. He was confident in that.
The key issue is that we don't even know what's going on. Isn't it too frivolous for a conflict to erupt like this?
"Hmph! You still won't admit it? Just now you personally nodded and said you wanted to take Technician Wang away."
"Sir, what you're saying is unreasonable. Wang Lefeng works for our Ministry of Metallurgy. Why can't I take him away?"
"Everyone heard that, right? It's not that I'm being unreasonable, it's that he's determined to go against our Hongqi Steel Plant. Since that's the case, why should we be polite?"
Grandpa Li stirred up the crowd's emotions again, and it looked like the group of men were about to make a move.
"Beat him up!"
The man who had been holding the iron bar gave an order, and several workers immediately surrounded him.
As the saying goes, even a clay figure has a bit of temper, let alone Sun Zhengguo, who is not a clay figure at all.
He wasn't going to sit idly by and wait to die. If you want to fight, then come on! You're no heroes if you're afraid.
A major battle is imminent!
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