Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

These words were like a cold awl, piercing straight into Li Defu's brain.

Li Defu shuddered violently, his eyes instantly filled with panic.

He scrambled back, shaking his head like a rattle-drum, and began to play dumb.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about!"

Li Defu's face was covered in mud, and his voice trembled, "What appointment news... I just need money, I just want to take the machine out and sell it to the Russians to get money to save my son... Nobody ordered me to do this!"

Zhao Shanhe's eyes grew colder and colder.

He took a step forward, his voice as if pulled from an ice cave: "Still not telling the truth? Welding those dozen or so fake shells, exactly the same size as the foreign machines, will take at least several days. I only received Director Li's appointment at home last night and learned that these machines were going to be shipped back to the factory. But you knew about it days ago and even prepared the swapped shells!"

Zhao Shanhe stared intently at him, his words piercing his heart: "If no one in the Municipal Bureau leaked the information to you, how would you have known to prepare those fake shells in advance?"

Li Defu gritted his teeth, his facial muscles twitching violently.

He shook his head frantically, then simply closed his eyes and became a dead dog, uttering not a sound.

When Zhang Dafa saw that the old man was still stubbornly resisting, the suppressed anger suddenly surged back up to his head.

"You son of a bitch! You're about to die and you still dare to protect that traitor?"

Zhang Dafa, his eyes bloodshot, rolled up his sleeves and charged forward, shouting, "I'm going to knock all your teeth out one by one today, then we'll see if you talk!"

Just as Zhang Dafa's fist was about to strike, a rough and powerful hand suddenly clamped down on his wrist.

Zhang Dafa turned around in surprise.

It's Liang Tiejun.

The old factory director, with his gray hair, had his facial muscles taut. He glanced at Li Defu, who was trembling on the ground, then looked up at Zhao Shanhe and slowly shook his head.

"Old Liang, why are you pulling me!" Zhang Dafa exclaimed anxiously.

"Stop hitting...it's no use."

Liang Tiejun's voice was low and deep. He stared intently at Li Defu on the ground, took a deep breath of the cold air, and didn't say another word.

Just then, an extremely piercing police siren suddenly sounded outside the gate of the Red Star Factory.

Three police jeeps and trucks bearing municipal license plates crushed the ice on the ground and drove directly into the factory square.

The car door opened.

Director Li of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, wearing a heavy black woolen overcoat, led his officers down the street quickly.

His face, which had been tense and pale, suddenly froze when he looked up and saw the large truck loaded with machinery in front of the steps.

He received an urgent telegram early this morning about a fire in the Hongxing Factory warehouse. His mind went blank, and he thought that this attempt had failed again.

Seeing the dozen or so intact German machine tools, Director Li let out a long breath of stale air, feeling a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

But then he frowned, looking at Li Defu and the others who were tied up like dead dogs on the ground, and turned to stare at Liang Tiejun and Zhang Dafa who were walking towards him.

"Old Liang, what exactly happened?"

Director Li asked sternly, "The bureau received an urgent telegram saying the warehouse was on fire, so what's going on at the main gate? How did Li Defu get kidnapped?"

Liang Tiejun, his face filled with shame, said, "Director Li, I, Liang, was blind! That beast Li Defu colluded with the logistics department, the security department, and the motorcade to weld together a bunch of fake shells that looked exactly like the foreign machines beforehand, and then switched out all the real ones! The fire in logistics was just a smokescreen to cover up the crime and delay our attention!"

Liang Tiejun turned around, grabbed Zhao Shanhe beside him, his eyes red-rimmed: "If it weren't for the sharp eyes of the new factory director Zhao, who immediately recognized that what was burning in the fire was a fake shell, and followed the clues to bring back the real machine! Just now, in front of thousands of people in the factory, he exposed all these traitors who were colluding with each other with just a few words... Today, the very foundation of our Hongxing Factory would have been completely uprooted by these scum!"

Upon hearing these words, Director Li's pupils constricted sharply.

He turned his head and looked Zhao Shanhe up and down again, who was standing calmly in the wind and snow. The shock in his eyes instantly turned into ecstasy.

On his very first day in office, just after entering the gate, Zhao Shanhe had already accomplished such a great feat! I knew I hadn't misjudged him!

He strode up to Zhao Shanhe, grabbed Zhao Shanhe's hands with both of them, and shook them forcefully twice.

"Shanhe, you've truly shouldered this heavy responsibility!"

Director Li's eyes were bloodshot, but his tone was filled with barely suppressed satisfaction. "Good lad, you've really done a great job! Today you not only brought honor to the Municipal Bureau, you've also provided a solid safety net for the city! My decision to bring you in was absolutely the right one!"

Zhao Shanhe straightened up, met Director Li's gaze, and a calm smile appeared on his lips.

"That's right."

"Now that I've taken on the task you assigned me, I can't let it go to waste."

Hearing these unpretentious and straightforward words, Director Li felt the pent-up frustration in his heart dissipate completely, and he threw his head back and laughed heartily twice.

As the laughter subsided, the expression on his face gradually turned serious.

Director Li's gaze passed over Zhao Shanhe's shoulder and looked across the vast factory area.

Thousands of workers stood in the howling wind and snow, their eyes fixed intently on him, the high-ranking leader from the city.

Looking at these workers, Director Li felt a sudden pang of sadness, and a complex mix of emotions welled up within him.

He patted Zhao Shanhe heavily on the shoulder, said nothing more, and strode up to the top of the office building steps.

Director Li turned around, facing the thousands of workers in the square amidst the swirling ice shards, cleared his throat, and spoke loudly.

"Comrades, fellow workers!"

Director Li's voice carried far through the wind and snow, carrying an extremely powerful tone: "Today, on behalf of the Municipal Foreign Trade Bureau and the organization, I, Li Yuanchao, would like to express my gratitude to everyone! You have all done a great job. With your conscience and integrity as workers, you have protected our national and collective property with your lives!"

Thousands of workers listened quietly.

"What kind of factory is our Hongxing Factory?"

Director Li waved his hand sharply, his voice rising abruptly, filled with undeniable pride and sorrow, "That was one of the earliest backbone machinery factories established in our province after liberation! The first row of heavy-duty gears in the entire province was milled in your workshop! Parts from our Hongxing Factory were used on the drilling rigs of Daqing Oilfield! The medals of honor for the Republic's industrial construction bear the blood and sweat shed by your fathers throughout their lives! The name 'Hongxing' was a banner for our entire city back then!"

The square was completely silent, save for the howling of the wind and snow.

When the old fitters and machinists with their heads full of white hair heard about these long-forgotten honors, they could no longer hold back their tears, which streamed down their faces.

"But in the last two years, the factory has gone downhill. The blast furnace shut down, and wages haven't been paid on time."

Director Li paused, his tone becoming extremely heavy and earnest, "Is it because our workers aren't working hard enough? Is it because our workers have lost their skills? No! Our workers are still the most hardworking and resilient heroes!"

"Our factory's equipment is too old, too outdated! It's an old lathe from decades ago, the gears are all worn down, and the precision is no longer up to standard! Even if everyone had three heads and six arms, no matter how skilled they were, they couldn't produce the fine work that foreign trade companies demand now with that old, broken metal! You can't cook without rice!"

Director Li grew increasingly angry, pointing sharply at Li Defu and the others on the ground: "It's because the factory hasn't kept up with the times! It's these parasites who only care about filling their own pockets! Not only do they not strive to upgrade the equipment, but they even sell off the very weapons we're using to save our lives! It's us leaders who failed to see through these scoundrels sooner, failed to equip everyone with better weapons sooner, causing everyone to suffer!"

Upon hearing these heartfelt words, suppressed sobs rose from the crowd.

"But comrades, this time, it's different!"

Director Li abruptly raised his hand, pointing directly at the dozen or so machines on the truck. His voice boomed, "Look closely! This batch of state-of-the-art German export machine tools isn't just a few cold pieces of iron! It's a historic opportunity that the city fought tooth and nail to win for everyone! It's the capital for our Hongxing Factory's rebirth! With these real machines, our workers can fully unleash their skills! We can get export orders and win a spectacular turnaround!"

Director Li's gaze was sharp as he stared intently at the faces below the stage, roughened by the wind and snow.

"We not only want to survive, but Hongxing Factory also wants to go further! We want to get the workshops smoking again, and we want the 'Hongxing' brand to shine brightly in this new era! We want the machines made by Hongxing Factory to go global and become a resounding name card for Chinese industry!"

"The city knows everyone was fighting the fire this morning, and then spent the whole morning freezing in the snow. It must have been tough and exhausting! The logistics department specially allocated eight large pork hocks, which were all loaded onto the truck behind!"

Director Li announced loudly, "The canteen will have stewed meat for lunch today! Everyone, eat as much as you like! Eat your fill, get plenty of rest, and tomorrow morning, you'll be with Director Liang and Director Zhao, using these new machines to get the furnaces of our Red Star Factory roaring to life!"

After a brief silence.

The entire square of the Red Star Factory erupted in applause and cheers that seemed to overturn a blizzard!

Amid cheers, the police officers quickly escorted Li Defu and his accomplices into the police car.

Director Li pulled his coat tighter and prepared to turn around and get into the car.

Amid cheers, the police officers quickly escorted Li Defu and his accomplices into the police car.

Director Li pulled his coat tighter and prepared to turn around and get into the car.

"Director Li."

Zhao Shanhe chased after him, his footsteps piercing the snow.

The two walked to the jeep, avoiding the crowd.

Zhao Shanhe lowered his voice: "Li Defu got the news that this batch of machines was going to be delivered to the factory earlier than I did."

Upon hearing this, Director Li abruptly stopped pulling on the car door.

"real?"

"Really!" Zhao Shanhe nodded heavily.

Director Li turned his head, his pupils suddenly contracted, his eyes instantly became incredibly sharp, and he stared intently at Zhao Shanhe for two seconds before slowly nodding.

He raised his hand and patted Zhao Shanhe's shoulder heavily, his voice extremely calm.

"Leave it to me."

I'm all burned out! /(ㄒoㄒ)/~~