Chapter Thirty-Two: The speaker is insincere; the listener is deliberate.

  When it comes to being ruthless with words, Qin Hai is no match for Ning Zhongyan. Ning's mouth is the result of countless exercises and sharpening, with all sorts of idioms, witty remarks, and absurd jokes almost coming out effortlessly, a few sentences can leave someone speechless and cornered.

  Wei Baolin had already experienced Ning Zhongying's sharp tongue when he was under Ning as a subordinate, and even though he was once known as the "Old Ninth" among the four great talents of the Chinese Department at Anhe University, he didn't dare to engage in a battle of wits with Ning.

  "Old factory director, the situation is this: each profession has its own specialization. However, the agricultural machinery market is not as prosperous as it used to be. If our Qingfeng Factory insists on clinging to the agricultural machinery business, we will eventually be eliminated by the market, and by then it will be too late to regret." Wei Baolin explained.

  Ning Zhongying said, "The agricultural machinery market will never be depressed at any time. The key is whether there are products suitable for the market. Washing machines are indeed a good product, but we have no experience in producing washing machines. Our workers are all from an agricultural machinery background. Once they switch to producing washing machines, what about the surplus technical personnel? How do you plan to deal with the original equipment of Qingfeng Factory?"

  Ning Zhongying was speaking based on his own understanding, the speaker had no intention, but the listener did. Wei Baolin keenly caught a piece of information from Ning's words and asked back: "Old factory director, do you also think that washing machines are good products?"

  Wei Baolin came to Ning Zhongying's home to verify whether Qin Hai's statement that washing machines had no market was made under Ning Zhongying's instruction. In his opinion, the only person in the factory who could instruct Qin Hai to disrupt decision-making was Ning Zhongying. However, from Ning Zhongying's previous words, it seemed that he did not express pessimism about the washing machine market, but rather appeared to be optimistic about it.

  Isn't Qin Hai's remarks coming from Ning Zhongyan?

  Ning didn't know about the various secrets in between, and even less expected Wei Baolin to suspect himself. Upon hearing Wei Baolin's question, he nodded and said: "Old Song has also been thinking of buying a washing machine recently, she said that washing machines are extremely scarce on the market, and producing washing machines is indeed a profitable business."

  The old Song that Ning Zhongying was talking about refers to his wife, Song Yulan, who is a cadre in the county health bureau. Because Ning Zhongying's home is located in the residential area of Qingfeng Factory, everyone often lowers their heads and doesn't see each other, so Wei Baolin and Song Yulan are also very familiar with each other.

  "But now there's a rumor going around the factory that the tightness of the washing machine market is only temporary, and after a while, the market will be saturated, and then washing machines won't sell well. So Qingfeng Factory shouldn't switch to producing washing machines." Wei Baolin asked again.

  Ning Zhongying was taken aback for a moment, and then asked back: "Who first spread this rumor, is there any basis for it?"

  "I've figured it out, he's a young man named Qin Hai, who graduated from an agricultural machinery technical school and was assigned to work at the factory. He's only been here for less than five days. His reasoning is that washing machine factories are being built all over the country, and our Qingfeng Factory is already too late to get into the game." Wei Baolin said this while secretly observing Ning Zhongying's expression, looking for any unusual reaction when he heard Qin Hai's name.

  "Qin Hai? Never heard of him." Ning Zhongying shook his head, "Is what he said true or not, have you guys gone to verify it? Now there are so many places nationwide that are making washing machines, this issue indeed needs to be clarified."

  "We're on it," Wei Baolin replied.

  A cold smile welled up in his heart, Old Man Ning, you're quite the actor. However, even with a hundred precautions, there's still times when your acting falls short. If you said you knew Qin Hai but didn't know what he had said, I might have been fooled by your calm demeanor. But since you brazenly claimed to have never heard of Qin Hai's name, that's just too obvious.

  Who doesn't know that the eldest son of your family, Ning Mo, is now together with Qin Hai every day, and it's only a matter of time before they move in together? You actually said you've never heard of this name?

  Wei Baolin, who thought he had already grasped the situation, didn't want to stay any longer. Ning Zhongying refused to acknowledge his relationship with Qin Hai, so whatever he said would be useless. From what he understood tonight, Ning Zhongying at least hadn't taken drastic measures yet, and even finding a proxy required some secrecy, which meant this old man had already admitted defeat and wouldn't rush to the front line to stir up trouble.

  With that in mind, Wei Baolin and Ning Zhongying chatted for a few more sentences before excusing themselves to go back and supervise the kids doing their homework. Ning Zhongying saw him off at the door, and after they said their goodbyes, Wei Baolin seemed to remember something and patted his head, saying: "Right, Old Factory Director, Xiao Mo seems to have a pretty good relationship with that Qin Hai, they're in the same workshop."

  "Oh." Ning calmly nodded and didn't say anything extra.

  See off Wei Baolin, Ning Zhongying opened the door and returned to the living room. He picked up the box of tea leaves that Wei Baolin had brought, looked at the origin, label and other information on it, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

  If Wei Baolin hadn't said that last sentence when he was about to leave, Ning Zhongying would probably still be in the dark, not knowing why Wei Baolin suddenly wanted to come visit him and mention a nobody young worker Qin Hai in front of him. But with that last sentence, Wei Baolin's actions became crystal clear.

  Qin Hai was originally Ning Mo's friend, or at least they knew each other. Qin Hai spoke recklessly in the factory, and his words were unfavorable to Wei Bao Lin, so Wei Bao Lin suspected him and came to test him. As for Wei Bao Lin's last sentence, he was actually shouting to himself from afar, indicating that he was well aware of the tacit understanding between Ning Zhong Ying and Qin Hai, and warning Ning Zhong Ying not to plot anything.

  The problem is that Ning Zhongying never had any ulterior motives from the very beginning, and all of this was just Wei Baolin's own imagination. Wei Baolin has always liked to show off his cleverness, but in reality, he lacks both IQ and EQ, and loves to flaunt himself in front of others, which is something that Ning Zhongying is all too familiar with.

  "Xiao Jing, Xiao Jing!" Ning Zhongying shouted towards the inner room.

  The door of the room opened, and a tall, ponytailed girl with a beautiful sunny disposition came out. She was Ning Mo's sister, Ning Zhongying's youngest daughter, Ning Jing.

  "Dad, what's up?" Ningjing asked.

  "Where's your brother?" Ning Zhongying asked.

  "Shall we play outside?" Ning Jing replied.

  "Who has he been with these days, do you know?" Ning Zhongying asked again. Ning Mo hides at home when she sees Ning Zhongying and doesn't dare to talk to her much, so Ning Zhongying can only ask her daughter for information. Ning Zhongying only has two children, the brother and sister have very different personalities, but their relationship is extremely close.

  Ning Jing shook her head and said, "I didn't hear him say that. He's still with Yu Haitao and Miao Kun, isn't he?"

  "Has he been abnormal these past few days?" Ning Zhongying asked.

  "Abnormal?" Ningjing was slightly surprised, not knowing why her father asked this. She thought for a moment and then smiled: "Now that you mention it, my brother has been acting a bit abnormal these past few days."

  "What's wrong?" Ning Zhongying asked.

  Quietly walked up and whispered: "Dad, I'm telling you, don't say it was me who said it."

  In countless families, children telling on their siblings to their parents is a common practice. They tell their parents about their brothers' and sisters' business, but also remind them not to say it was they who said it. In fact, this is just a game between children and their parents. If there's really something that can't be told to the parents, they won't casually reveal it.

  Quiet is pretty, has a good personality, and her grades are not bad either. As the youngest daughter, she gets more pampered by her parents than Ningmo. She has a very good relationship with Ningmo, who never hides anything from her, but she can't keep secrets and often sneaks to tell on Ningmo to their parents.

  Every time Ningmo was scolded or beaten for quietly tattling, he would warn his sister not to tell on him again and claim that from then on, he would never share his secrets with her. However, this oath of his never lasted more than three days, after which he would once again shamelessly discuss all sorts of things in front of his sister.

  Ning Zhongying and Song Yulan were also used to the tacit understanding between this pair of siblings, and whenever they encountered something related to Ning Mo, they would ask Ning Jing about it.

  "Tell me, what's been going on with your brother these days?" Ning Zhongying asked.

  "Hey Dad, listen to me, you must hold on tight and don't get scared stiff. I'm telling you, my brother came back yesterday and said he's found a new boss!"

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Ning Zhongying asked strangely.

  Ning Jing said: "Dad, haven't you seen Hong Kong movies? The big brother is that kind of person who is particularly capable and fierce, it's... equivalent to what we call a gang leader."

  "What? He's mixed up with hoodlums!" Ning Zhongying was shocked beyond measure. His son, Ning Mo, he knew well - lazy, gluttonous, and idle, but absolutely unrelated to the street thugs. Ning Zhongying scolded Ning Mo, lectured Ning Mo, but had always been confident in Ning Mo's moral integrity, believing that Ning Mo would never bring shame to him. Now, hearing that Ning Mo had actually acknowledged some "Big Brother", Ning Zhongying was chilled to the bone.

  Ning Jing Gege burst out laughing: "Dad, I told you you'd be scared, didn't I? Don't worry, I asked my brother and he knows that old big shot. He's not a real thug, but a technical school graduate who just started working at our factory. According to my brother, he's really talented, even more so than Leng Shu."

  "Is this person named Qin Hai?" Ning Zhongying asked with a slightly settled but still somewhat uneasy tone.

  "Really? Really? The name he mentioned is Qin Hai!" Ning Jing stared at her father with her beautiful big eyes, "Dad, you knew all along?"