Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 434 Threatening Letter

As soon as the jeep came to a stop, Li Weizhong forced a smile and quickly walked over to open the passenger door.

Liang Weimin, who got out of the car, didn't give Li Weizhong and the other factory leaders any face. With a cold expression, he didn't even look at them and strode into the factory.

Li Weizhong was cunning. He gestured with his lip to signal the other leaders to follow quickly, while he himself turned around and went to He Yuanchao, who had just gotten out of the car, to seek outside help.

“Brother Yuanchao, Secretary Weimin has always valued you. Please, please say a few good words to help me out later.”

He Yuanchao shook hands with Li Weizhong, and as he followed the others into the factory, he said with a troubled expression:
"It's not that I don't want to help, boss, I still don't know what happened!"

Upon hearing this, Li Weizhong was stunned for a moment, then asked incredulously, "Secretary Liang didn't tell you?"

"No."

He Yuanchao shook his head and whispered to Li Weizhong beside him, "Old leader, can you tell me what exactly happened in the factory?"

Upon hearing He Yuanchao bring up this matter, Li Weizhong felt as if he had swallowed a bitter pill, and his expression instantly turned quite ugly.

“Brother Yuanchao, when a person is unlucky, even a fart will hit their heel. I guess I didn’t check the almanac before I went out, and bad luck just came knocking on my door for no reason.”

At this point, Li Weizhong let out a long sigh: "Forget it, the more I talk about it, the more frustrated I get. I'll just talk about it all at once later, so as not to get more upset if I say too much."

His words were as good as nothing. Mo Dacheng, who was standing next to the two, glared at Li Weizhong angrily and couldn't help but let out a soft snort.

He Yuanchao didn't get the result he wanted, and he cursed Li Weizhong for being cunning in his heart. But he also knew that Li Weizhong was worried about Liang Weimin, who was walking ahead of the others, so he didn't ask any more questions. He turned his head and looked around at the branch factory he was visiting for the first time.

The factory was originally the Asaka Steel Works, built in 1938 by a small group of people. It was taken over by the Kuomintang government in 1947 and returned to the government in 1949. Later, due to production and construction needs, a steel rolling production line was built in 1958, and it was merged into the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill in the same year. (The two factories have no hierarchical relationship; this is purely fictional. Please forgive any inaccuracies.)
The office building of the branch factory is the same as that of the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, also a three-story building, but its overall scale is smaller than that of the Hongxing Mill.

He Yuanchao followed the group to a conference room on the first floor. As soon as he entered, he heard Liang Weimin's greeting.

"Minister Dacheng, Yuanchao, come sit next to me."

Upon hearing this, Mo Dacheng and He Yuanchao nodded to the branch factory leaders who were looking at them, and then quickly walked to Liang Weimin, who was standing at the head of the conference table.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Liang Weimin didn't waste any time. He waved for everyone to sit down and then said directly:
"Li Weizhong, tell us what really happened? Have you confirmed whether what you said is true or false?"

Liang Weimin's tone was very impolite. Li Weizhong, with a mournful face, stood up and said cautiously:

“Secretary Liang, I still don’t know the specifics of what happened! Not long after I arrived at work this morning, the security office found a threatening letter. The matter in it was too serious for us to make a decision on our own, so we called you.”

"What about the letter?"

Upon hearing Liang Weimin's question, Li Weizhong quickly turned to look at a middle-aged man sitting at the end of the conference table.

This man was the head of the security department of the No. 1 factory. He Yuanchao had met him once at the security department of the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. His name seemed to be Ding Liangcai. He was also a demobilized soldier who returned to his hometown in 1949 after being wounded.

At Li Weizhong's signal, Ding Liangcai reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a folded kraft paper envelope, stood up, walked to the conference table, and handed it to Liang Weimin.

Upon opening the envelope, Liang Weimin took out the letter and glanced at it. His brows furrowed, and although he didn't say anything, his expression suggested he was quite angry about the contents of the letter.

He Yuanchao looked at Liang Weimin, whose face was ashen, and was guessing what was written on the letter when it was handed to him. "Yuanchao, take a look. The person who wrote this letter is too arrogant. Can you think of a way to find this person?"

"Secretary Liang, let me read the letter first."

After responding, He Yuanchao took the letter from Liang Weimin's hand.

The letter was short, just a few dozen words. It basically said that the first branch factory had to hand over a special steel smelting formula within three days. If they didn't agree, the first branch factory would be blown up. After reading the whole thing, He Yuanchao's face darkened.

Liang Weimin was right; the person who wrote the letter was indeed very arrogant. But what puzzled He Yuanchao was why the person who wrote the letter insisted on receiving the formula three days later. Shouldn't such a matter be resolved quickly to avoid any unforeseen complications?

"Yuan Chao, have you discovered anything?"

Liang Weimin was in a state of desperation and, seeing the thoughtful look on He Yuanchao's face, immediately asked him impatiently.

Upon hearing Liang Weimin's words, everyone in the small conference room turned their attention to He Yuanchao. Even Mo Dacheng, who was about to ask for the letter, withdrew his outstretched hand, his face full of curiosity, wanting to see what his subordinate could have discovered in such a short time.

Li Weizhong said with a hint of anticipation in his eyes, "Brother Yuanchao, don't hold back. There are no outsiders here, so just say whatever you want."

"Secretary Liang's move is putting himself in a very difficult position!"

Looking at the actions of everyone around the conference table, He Yuanchao muttered something to himself, then handed the letter in his hand to Mo Dacheng and voiced his doubts.

Several leaders of the First Branch Factory shook their heads after hearing this, not taking it too seriously. Some even thought that He Yuanchao was all show and no substance and was trying to curry favor with Liang Weimin.

Upon hearing this, Ding Liangcai's eyes lit up, and the mystery in his heart seemed to loosen, but he couldn't find a breakthrough for the moment. Frowning, he subconsciously asked:

"Deputy Director He, could you please elaborate on your specific thoughts?"

The leaders of the First Factory did not approve of He Yuanchao's idea, but they could not come up with any other suggestions. Seeing that Ding Liangcai had taken the lead, they all pretended to be thinking, but in reality, they were all preparing to watch the show.

Liang Weimin knew that He Yuanchao was not one to talk big, and he was also considering what he had said, but he couldn't come up with a solution for the time being. Hearing Ding Liangcai's words, he seized the opportunity to speak:

“Yes, Yuanchao, tell me your specific thoughts. What you just said was too one-sided.”

He Yuanchao, without hesitation, glanced at the people around the conference table and spoke:

"Suppose I define this as a espionage and sabotage operation, then I want to ask everyone a question: is it better to do this kind of thing quickly or slowly?"

With a specific focus, everyone's thinking instantly found direction.

Li Weizhong spoke first: "Although I have never done underground work, I know that these things are better done sooner rather than later, because the longer it takes, the greater the risk of exposure."

As soon as he finished speaking, a man around fifty years old sitting to Li Weizhong's left chimed in:

“Secretary Weizhong, I agree with your point of view. Is it possible that this person wants to refine the formula while also causing sabotage, and is using this as a feint to mislead us?”

Seeing that the factory's top two leaders had spoken, others also began to express their opinions, and the small conference room suddenly became lively with discussion.

(End of this chapter)