Chapter 149 An Ning, Zhao's Sister-in-law, Liu Yun At Liming Hotel, when Ning Weidong walked over slowly, An Ning had been waiting here for half an hour. Just now, when she heard Ning Weidong's call, she immediately rode her bike over here. She was anxious and rode fast. They arrived earlier than Ning Weidong expected. Ning Weidong came over at this time. She had actually been waiting for more than half an hour. However, when she met Ning Weidong, An Ning did not show any dissatisfaction. She knew very well that she was not qualified to show disrespect in front of Ning Weidong. Ning Weidong did not shy away from the question and said with a smile, "Sorry for the long wait." An Ning said: "No, I just got here too." The two of them arrived at the restaurant. An Ning had already requested a private room and asked, "It's almost noon. Can we talk while we eat?"

Ning Weidong nodded and walked into the store. "Hey, Chief Ning, after all this fuss, this female comrade is waiting for you~" A middle-aged man in the hotel saw Ning Weidong and immediately came out from behind the counter to greet him. Ning Weidong said with a smile: "Old Wang is busy. This is my classmate. He wants to talk to me about something." I just gave An Ning the identity of a "classmate". After her identity was clarified, a lot of rumors could be reduced, especially those about relationships between men and women. After ordering four dishes and a soup, the two went into the private room. Ning Weidong said: "Their chef used to work at Taifenglou, and he is quite skilled at cooking." An Ning didn't care about Taifenglou at this moment. All she had in her mind was the pie in the sky that Ning Weidong had painted for her. But An Ning was able to keep her composure and held back from speaking. He spoke slowly only after all four dishes and a soup were served. Ning Weidong took the chopsticks, swallowed the pork intestines in his mouth, and asked instead of answering: "What did your cousin say when you went back yesterday?" An Ning knew that she had no initiative in the conversation, so she could only follow Ning Weidong's words. "Of course he didn't give up and still wanted to meet you." Ning Weidong snorted: "You are so short-sighted. You really think that going S is a great way to go." An Ning hesitated for a moment and asked, "Actually, I've always been a little confused. Why are you so opposed to walking on the sidewalk? According to him, it has always been practiced in the south, since the Ming and Qing dynasties..." Ning Weidong raised his eyebrows and said, "I am not against going private, but I am against small-scale operations like theirs. To put it bluntly, how much money can I make by cooperating with them, taking risks and being worried? Taking a step back, how much do you think money means to me and the Zhao family?" An Ning didn't know what to say for a moment. Ning Weidong continued: "Do you know why I want you to run a factory?" An Ning subconsciously wanted to nod, but finally shook her head slowly. She thought she understood what Ning Weidong meant, but his words just now made her confused again.

Ning Weidong asked himself and answered: "The focus of domestic development in the future will definitely be the economy. In the future appointment and removal of officials, economic indicators will definitely be the top priority." Having said that, An Ning already understood what Ning Weidong meant. Sure enough, Ning Weidong continued, "What's the point of going S? No matter how much you earn, it's not enough to show it on the table. If you want to convert this kind of money into power, the efficiency is very low." An Ning pursed her lips and said nothing. Ning Weidong added: "If the Zhao family just had no ambitions and didn't want to go any further, and just wanted to cash out and put the money in their pockets, they might be interested in this kind of deal. But it's obviously not the case now. The Zhao family has lofty ambitions, and my father-in-law is young and strong, and he still wants to go further. How can he tarnish his innocence?" An Ning had similar thoughts in her mind, but they were not as clear as Ning Weidong's. Ning Weidong continued: "So, we must make money within the scope allowed by the rules, otherwise it will be difficult to last long, do you understand?" An Ning nodded. She had heard her father say this when she was a child. Ning Weidong added: "Be patient when doing things, don't always think about making quick money. If you eat a carrot quickly, you will get a stomachache." An Ning said, "I understand. What about when I go back to An Zhiyuan?" Ning Weidong smiled and said, "That's not necessary. Although the cooperation failed, there is still friendship. It never hurts to make friends." An Ning was not surprised, as she knew roughly how Ning Weidong treated An Zhiyuan. Knowing what was going on, he turned to ask what she was most concerned about: what kind of factory Ning Weidong wanted her to run. In fact, An Ning had already decided to work with Ning Weidong at this time, so she was so concerned about this issue. Ning Weidong said: "I plan to start with clothing." An Ning frowned and said, "Making clothes?" Ning Weidong glanced at her and said, "Why, do you look down on people who make clothes?" An Ning was silent. Although she didn't say anything, she didn't hide her disappointment. She originally thought that Ning Weidong had the support of the Wang and Zhao families, so if he wanted to run a factory it must be a high-end one. I didn’t expect it to be a garment factory. Ning Weidong said: "Among the necessities of life, clothing, shelter and transportation, clothing comes first and is the purest rigid demand. If we can gain a certain share in this market, won't it satisfy your appetite, Miss An?" An Ning choked. Ning Weidong said: "No matter what industry, there is no difference in essence. Since you are connected with Hong Kong, you should have some understanding of the external situation. Various concepts and technologies are dazzling and seem to be quite eye-catching. But I tell you, the essence of those is that they can't get the entry ticket to rigid industries such as food, clothing, housing and transportation, so they have to hype various concepts and use marketing methods to create new demands. If you give them the opportunity and make them qualified to enter the rigid industry, do you think they are willing to do it?" Ning Weidong picked up a half-burnt scallion with chopsticks and put it into his mouth: "And don't underestimate the clothing industry. There are many tricks here." At this point, An Ning also became interested and immediately perked up. Ning Weidong said: "The most basic requirement for clothing is to keep warm, and then the style and fabric can make people different. In the past ten years, under external pressure, we had to prepare for battle. In order to enhance cohesion and centripetal force, we once tried our best to eliminate this difference, make people converge, and highlight everyone's commonality, so that we can better fight against common enemies. But in the future..." Ning Weidong took a deep breath. "With the changes in the external environment and the increasing solidity of our own foundation, the threat posed by this enemy to us is decreasing. We no longer need to give up everything for survival, nor do we need to deliberately suppress people's differences. Clothing is just the first step. It can be seen now that on Sundays on the streets of Beijing, you can already see clothes of various colors and styles." Ning Weidong leaned back and took out a cigarette from his pocket: "Once this trend appears, there will be no going back. This is just the beginning. We don't need to design it ourselves. We can just send people to Hong Kong and Japan to take pictures of their seasonal clothing styles and then make them accordingly. As for the raw materials..."

Because of the introduction of European 'Dacron' production lines in the past few years, cloth is no longer as scarce as before. But it was not supplied openly, and cloth coupons were still required. For an ordinary small collective factory, it is almost impossible to get a large amount of cloth. And this is the value of Ning Weidong's existence. Ning Weidong said: "I will find a way to solve the raw material problem. You just need to build the factory for me, and then continue to expand the scale and absorb people into employment. The bigger the better!" An Ning blinked her eyes. She had a lot of ideas before coming here, but she didn't expect Ning Weidong to do this. And in the end, what Ning Weidong said shocked her heart. Suddenly I realized that Ning Weidong had other intentions~ The bigger the scale, the better; the more people employed, the better. What is the purpose of this? However, this thought only flashed through An Ning's mind and he did not say it out loud. It’s too early to talk about those things now. The most urgent task is to build the factory first. As she thought about it, she felt more confused and didn't know where to start. Ning Weidong had already thought about it, and continued: "When I pass the diploma exam next month, I will add a labor protection factory under the Security Department. It will nominally produce work clothes, but it is actually a clothing factory. You can go there directly then." An Ning nodded, thinking that it was indeed easier to get things done with someone around. If Ning Weidong hadn't been there, she wouldn't know how many twists and turns she would have encountered if she wanted to set up a collective factory... The two of them had this meal until after twelve o'clock. An Ning suppressed her excitement and left. She knew that her chance had really come this time. If she had some doubts about Ning Weidong before, after this in-depth conversation, she was completely determined to follow Ning Weidong. Ning Weidong, having had his fill of food and drink, walked slowly towards the factory. Just as he was about to enter the factory office building, Zhao Ruyu called him from behind: "Where were you just now? No one is looking for you." Ning Weidong turned around and saw Zhao Ruyu and a colleague of similar age coming from the cafeteria. They had probably just finished lunch. Ning Weidong stopped and said with a smile: "I just had to go out for something." Then he greeted the female colleague who was traveling with him, "Hello, Sister Wang~" Sister Wang smiled and said, "I won't be a light bulb while you two are talking." After saying that, she ran away. Zhao Ruyi confirmed her relationship with Ning Weidong, and asked without any shyness, "Have you eaten?" Ning Weidong said: "I've already eaten outside, and someone wants me to do something. Can they leave me hungry?" Zhao Ruyi thought so too, and then asked, "By the way, how are you preparing for the correspondence exam? When is the exam in June?" Ning Weidong said confidently: "Don't worry, it's just a technical secondary school. I still have to take the college entrance examination next year~" Zhao Ruyu curled her lips and said, "Look at what you can do. By the way, my sister-in-law will be back from abroad in a few days, and my brother said we should get together." "That's great~ We have known each other for such a long time, but I haven't met my sister-in-law yet~" Ning Weidong answered happily. He had known about his daughter-in-law Zhao Lichun since he first met Zhao Ruyu. Zhao Lichun and Tan Limin's marriage is a typical political one. Tan Limin comes from a family of foreign teachers, and her father and brother are very influential.

All in all, Zhao Lichun is trying to get ahead of himself. However, Zhao's father has greater potential, which is also the main reason why the Tan family took a fancy to Zhao Lichun. Ning Weidong said: "You ask big brother to arrange the time, I will be there whenever you call." Zhao Ruyu said "hmm" and looked very happy. Zhao Ruyu never said anything about her sister-in-law, but she felt a little inferior in her heart. Foreign teachers are different from other departments in that they have very high technical barriers. Even now, there is family inheritance, and the Tan family is such a family. Long before liberation, their family held positions in the Foreign Education Department. After liberation, it still stands firm. Because of this background, Tan Limin has a natural scholarly air, and her every frown and smile is a template of a lady from a noble family. Although Zhao Ruyu was carefree and never said it, she was actually a little girl at heart who longed to become a princess. And Tan Limin is the image that she longs for in her heart projected into reality. Therefore, from the first time he met Tan Limin, Zhao Ruyu had very complicated feelings towards this sister-in-law. …… In the afternoon, Zhao Ruyu left Ning Weidong's office. The two of them stayed together for the whole afternoon, but although the office was exciting, Zhao Ruyu didn't dare to go too far no matter what. Ning Weidong was very happy. He made a cup of tea and prepared to study. But at this time another phone call came. Ning Weidong frowned and suddenly felt a little annoyed. Is this still a way to let people study? Helplessly, the phone kept ringing, and he could only pick it up and say "Hello". A woman's voice came from the other end of the line with some noise: "Hello, hello, is this Ning Weidong from the Red Star Factory, Chief Ning?" Ning Weidong thought back and felt that the voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was. He said in a deep voice, "It's me. May I ask who you are?" There was a chuckle from the other end of the phone: "Ning Weidong, you really are an official now. You can't even recognize the voice of your old classmate! I~Liu Yun." Ning Weidong suddenly remembered that the last time he and Zhao Ruyu went to the barbecue season, they happened to meet Liu Yun and her lover. Liu Yun was a classmate of the original owner. She recognized him and chatted with him for a while. Ning Weidong didn't take it seriously, and he didn't even remember Liu Yun's lover's name. He only vaguely remembered that he worked at the Housing Management Office. Unexpectedly, Liu Yun actually called him today. Ning Weidong laughed: "Hey~ Look at my ears! Liu Yun~ I was wondering why it sounded so familiar~ It turned out to be you. But you can't blame me, the voice on the phone is so different from yours in person." After some pleasantries, the two got down to business. Liu Yun said, "By the way, Ning Weidong, when are you free? Old Yang and I will treat you to a meal." Ning Weidong had guessed long ago that she must have something to do when she made this call.

But it's hard to refuse. Otherwise, Liu Yun will spread the news among her classmates, and Ning Weidong will no longer recognize his old classmate after becoming the section chief. It will not sound good anyway. He smiled and said, "Great! We haven't seen each other for many years, so it's a good opportunity to invite a few more people." Liu Yun and her husband have something to ask, so they must want to talk to Ning Weidong alone. But Ning Weidong didn't understand the situation clearly, so he couldn't easily agree. What if it was a trap? Liu Yun was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone and said, "Well, there will always be opportunities for classmates to get together. Let's not do it this time. I have something to do and need your help." Ning Weidong said with a smile: "Well, we are all old classmates. If you have something to say, just tell me. With your temper, you are like a hot pepper. If I don't help, won't you block our door?" The implication is to talk on the phone first and see what's going on. If we can discuss it, we can talk about it. If it doesn't work out, there's no need to meet. (End of this chapter)