Chapter 130: The Older, the Wiser

To their surprise, just as they stepped out of the kitchen door, they saw Dawei Li pushing Weiwei Li in a wheelchair. The father and daughter showed no shame or guilt over what Wei Xing had done earlier. On the contrary, they greeted Wei Xing’s acquaintances warmly, then, in full view of everyone, they pushed past Siwen Liu and sat beside Dazhao Liu. Without hesitation, they presented a gift to celebrate Wei Xing’s shoe store opening—a finely packaged bottle of Moutai liquor.

In 1982, Moutai could sell for as much as ten yuan a bottle. Ordinary families would hardly part with such a luxury as a gift. Dawei Li’s gesture toward Dazhao Liu clearly showed deep sincerity.

Of course, this infuriated Siwen Liu. He had intended to expose Dawei Li’s prior misdeeds against Wei Xing in front of everyone, but the next moment he froze, as did Dawei Li and Weiwei. None of them knew what to do.

It turned out that Dazhao Liu, sensing something was amiss and unwilling to embarrass Wei Xing or leave him vulnerable, pretended to be drunk, collapsed onto the wooden table, and fell asleep, even snoring loudly. Since he had already drunk a lot earlier, even if everyone realized he was faking, no one would comment. This move was shrewd—he defused his own awkwardness while protecting Wei Xing, killing two birds with one stone.

When Siwen Liu snapped out of it, he was furious. Pointing at Dawei Li, he grabbed the Moutai bottle and marched over to Director Wu: “What kind of person behaves like Dawei Li? He’s shameless beyond belief.” Then he opened the package and poured a full glass for Director Wu.

Director Wu didn’t drink. He gave Siwen Liu a cold look. Even a fool could tell that officers on duty weren’t allowed to drink. If their superiors found out, they would be reprimanded.

Dawei Li, a sharp man, noticed Director Wu’s displeasure and quickly stepped over, snatching the bottle from Siwen Liu’s hand: “Do I look shameless to you? You know Director Wu can’t drink while on duty, yet you use my liquor to curry favor and want to get Director Wu into trouble? That’s ill-intentioned.”

The two men’s sharp exchange made it clear to everyone that the meal would no longer be peaceful.

Wei Xing had planned to send them both away, but Xiangjun Zhang stopped him, whispering: “The matter is now public. Don’t get involved. Let your uncle handle it. After all, both Dawei Li and Siwen Liu are well-known in HY City. Offending either badly won’t end well for anyone.”

“Alright,” Wei Xing resigned himself to watching from the sidelines.

Seeing Siwen Liu ready to argue again, Wei Xing frowned and helped Dazhao Liu up from the table, leading him toward the backyard. For him, it was better to remove his father from this troublesome scene.

Yet, as soon as they reached the backyard, Dazhao Liu suddenly sobered up, pushing Wei Xing’s hands away firmly: “Why are you such a handful?”

“Eh?” Wei Xing was puzzled but not surprised by his father’s sudden clarity. With his keen eyes, he had seen through the fake drunkenness before.

Dazhao Liu said, “I don’t know Dawei Li personally, so I won’t judge him yet. But Siwen Liu is clearly a sly old fox, skilled in scheming. You promised him you’d repair the bottling equipment. Why hasn’t there been any progress?”

“Not true! Siwen Liu is talking nonsense,” Wei Xing retorted angrily. “You know what? Today was the first time I ever met him!”

“Really?” Dazhao Liu was stunned.

Siwen Liu was truly a master of saying whatever suited his audience, no matter how contradictory. Was he not afraid of being exposed and kicked out?

“Whatever,” Wei Xing had no choice but to reveal everything about the incident with Siwen Liu and Dawei Li coming to the shoe store, including Dawei Li’s collusion with Director Zhang to frame him and the explosion at the Hengshui distillery workshop. He hid nothing. At this point, hiding anything was pointless.

Dazhao Liu listened intently, then gasped sharply before his face darkened with anger: “So Dawei Li and Siwen Liu are both rotten to the core—cunning old foxes all around?”

“Pretty much,” Wei Xing nodded.

“What are you going to do about them?” Dazhao Liu asked with concern.

Judging by the current situation, if Wei Xing didn’t repair the bottling equipment, they would keep pestering him endlessly.

“I don’t know either! But the initiative is in my hands. They probably won’t act recklessly,” Wei Xing pondered. “Dad, why don’t you go back and work the fields? Leave this mess to me. Your presence here only makes things more difficult, giving Siwen Liu and Dawei Li opportunities to take advantage.”

“Alright, that’s what I was thinking. But once you’re done here, remember to come home and work the fields! We have over ten acres, and with just your mother and me, I don’t know how long it will take,” Dazhao Liu said, patting Wei Xing’s shoulder with sincere advice.

Wei Ye and Zi Ran usually avoided fieldwork during busy seasons. Even if called on weekends, they would sulk and refuse to help, so this time he wouldn’t call them. Wei Xing, having grown up understanding their reluctance, always helped out during the busy season and was as fast as an adult at transplanting and harvesting. The capable must shoulder more labor—he needed to prepare Wei Xing in advance.

“Got it,” Wei Xing smiled.

“I’ll head back now,” Dazhao Liu said, picking up Guazi, who was nestled at his feet. “Does Black Calf want me to help lead him home?”

“How can you lead him? Don’t forget you have to bring Wei Ye and Second Sister back as well,” Wei Xing reminded him.

“Oh, right,” Dazhao Liu laughed awkwardly.

Seeing that it was getting late, he set Guazi down and rolled the old two-eight bike out of the backyard.

After a trip to the restroom, Wei Xing took Guazi’s small hand and left the backyard. To his surprise, during his brief talk with his father, everyone else at the meal had left, except for Zhao Gou, Zhao Liang, Zhang Jinde, Niu Lianfang, Ding Lan, Xiangjun Zhang, Director Wu, Dawei Li, Siwen Liu, and Weiwei. The rest had vanished completely.

It was clear they sensed trouble brewing between Siwen Liu and Dawei Li and wisely chose not to stay and watch. This rational move pleased Director Wu greatly.

Siwen Liu and Dawei Li, however, felt uneasy. With Dazhao Liu and other family members of Wei Xing present, they had more room to maneuver. But now, they had no choice but to sit quietly at the wooden table and listen to Director Wu’s instructions.

There was no alternative; Director Wu was the highest authority present. Though both men were heads of factories, they were insignificant compared to him.

Seeing Wei Xing holding Guazi’s hand, Siwen Liu suddenly approached: “Little Liu, Uncle Wu has already agreed to let you repair the bottling equipment at my Zhongyi Distillery. As for payment, we can discuss that later.”

Wei Xing looked at Director Wu in surprise.

“Don’t listen to his lies. Do you think I can call the shots here?” Director Wu glared at Siwen Liu. “My point is, since things have come this far, you three—Siwen Liu, Dawei Li, and Wei Xing—should sit down and have a proper talk. There’s still room for negotiation.”

“That’s exactly what I mean,” Siwen Liu added quickly.

“You’re just a sycophant,” Dawei Li couldn’t help but retort.

“I’m happy to be one. If you have the guts, try flattering Director Wu yourself!” Siwen Liu replied proudly without a hint of shame.

Wei Xing, a man reborn with keen insight, could hardly stand it. He gave Siwen Liu a sharp look. “I don’t understand why you insist I repair the bottling equipment at Zhongyi Distillery. Aren’t the repairmen from Zhaoqing Machinery Factory better suited for the job? After all, they made the equipment—they should be more skilled at fixing it.”

Indeed, since the bottling equipment was their own manufacture, they should be the most competent to repair it.