Chapter 62

Outside the gates of Dongfang Hardware, several brand new Passat sedans were parked. Perhaps because the roads in this area were not easy to navigate, these Passats looked a bit disheveled, with the lower parts covered in a lot of dust. Next to the cars, eight people, both men and women, were standing together, talking to each other, pointing at the factory buildings of Dongfang Hardware, and all of them were holding their heads high, displaying a sense of superiority.

"Director Wang!" He Xiangdong, who approached first, greeted the person who seemed to be the leader, then extended his hand and shook the hand that Director Wang offered. He Xiangdong said, "It's a bother to have Director Wang and all the other leaders come to inspect the work on the weekend. It's truly a great honor for us at Dongfang Hardware to have you here. Welcome, and please follow me inside. We can talk as we walk."

The workers around, who were watching the scene, clapped in welcome after the factory manager finished speaking, understanding his intention. He Ping and Dong Dapeng followed the group, observing these people. No one paid attention to the two children, as the leaders only thought they were the children of some employees. Although the factory was a restricted area, such small matters were common nationwide, and no one would make things difficult for He Xiangdong in this regard.

He Ping carefully observed the group behind these people. He noticed that the leader, whom He Xiangdong called Director Wang, seemed to be somewhat familiar with He Xiangdong. Although their relationship was not intimate, there were no obvious conflicts. It appeared that he was not there to deliberately cause trouble for He Xiangdong. This inspection seemed to be a routine check, just happening on a weekend without prior notice.

Most of the other people behind Director Wang looked distracted, which was understandable. On a weekend, no one wanted to work, especially for those who worked in government positions. On weekends, they all wanted to go home and rest, spend time with their families. Now, they had to work overtime for the inspection, so they were not going to be diligent. They just wanted to go through the motions and go home as soon as possible.

However, one person among them was clearly different. He followed behind Director Wang, ahead of the others, indicating that he was the second-in-command in the group. This was a middle-aged man, around forty to fifty years old. He Ping keenly noticed that this man's expression seemed to carry a hint of excitement. His eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings, clearly different from the others who wanted to slack off.

He Ping frowned. He had not noticed this earlier, but now he realized that this man bore a slight resemblance to Jiang Dezhi and Jiang Xiaolong. Could he be a relative of the Jiang family? If so, it would explain why someone came to inspect the factory the morning after the incident last night. Jiang Dezhi must have colluded with this person, and this inspection was initiated by him.

"Mom." He Ping gently pulled on the sleeve of Yin Xiulan beside him, lowering his voice and pointing to the man. "Who is that? The one following Director Wang."

"That's him." Yin Xiulan revealed a look of disgust. "Jiang Deming, Director Wang's deputy, a sycophant who only knows how to use underhanded methods."

"Jiang Deming?" He Ping was taken aback. Jiang Deming and Jiang Dezhi, could they be... He continued, "Is he related to Jiang Dezhi from Qingshan Machinery..."

"You know Jiang Dezhi?" Yin Xiulan was a bit surprised. A sixth-grader shouldn't know such things, but since it was her son, she had no reason to doubt him. She just felt surprised. "Jiang Deming is Jiang Dezhi's brother."

Brothers? He Ping pondered. This was information he did not know in his previous life. When he started paying attention to Jiang Dezhi, it was already after he had started his business. At that time, he mainly focused on the situation of Jiang Dezhi's family, concentrating on the business world and not paying attention to any relatives of Jiang Dezhi in government positions. No wonder the acquisition of Qingshan Machinery went so smoothly; this Jiang Deming must have played a significant role.

As they talked, the inspection team and the Dongfang Hardware management, led by He Xiangdong, arrived near the workshop. Dongfang Hardware was so large that even if the inspection team had no other tasks, it would be impossible to inspect everything. Therefore, they could only randomly select a few workshops or other areas to check. The first location they chose was the first workshop.

The first workshop was the earliest and the only workshop when the factory was built. The production line inside was the one acquired from Qingshan Machinery, although it was old, He Xiangdong was well aware of this and had put the most effort into its maintenance. After the inspection team looked around, they found no issues, and everyone looked pleased. The sooner they finished, the sooner they could go home. However, Jiang Deming's face showed a forced smile, with a hint of malice in his eyes.

After leaving the first workshop, the inspection team continued to check the warehouse, canteen, and other auxiliary areas, finding no issues. Seeing this, He Ping was extremely impressed by He Xiangdong. Being able to pass an inspection without prior notice and without any issues indicated that He Xiangdong and Dongfang Hardware did an excellent job in their daily operations, which was rare for a private enterprise.

As they walked, they arrived at the entrance of the third workshop. Initially, it seemed that Director Wang did not intend to go inside, but Jiang Deming would not let this happen. After waiting for such a good opportunity last night, if the inspection team did not go inside, it would be meaningless. So, when Director Wang and He Xiangdong were not speaking, Jiang Deming casually said, "This is also a workshop, right? Why don't we go in and take a look?"

Since Jiang Deming had spoken, Director Wang had to give him some face, and the other members of the inspection team would not object to their leader. He Xiangdong and the Dongfang Hardware management would not stop them either. Thus, Director Wang and Jiang Deming entered the third workshop, surrounded by the group. As they entered, He Ping clearly saw a hint of satisfaction on Jiang Deming's face, and a slight sneer on his lips.

The third workshop was no different from the others. The inspection team members walked around as usual, but when they reached a corner, Jiang Deming casually glanced around. Suddenly, his expression changed. Nothing! There was nothing! The wooden box that should have been hidden there was gone! Jiang Deming immediately turned to look at He Xiangdong, but he only saw a puzzled look in return.

[PS: Second update of the day!]

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