48: Chapter 48 The Changes at the Instrument Factory

The time had now arrived at four in the morning, which was still nearly a full day away from midnight.

However, Zhang Wei still prayed that Tian Lirong had not escaped Shenghai City, as that would give the intelligence system hope of tracking him down.

Zhang Wei said to Zhang Hong and Wang Sheng, "You two brothers worked hard today. Go back and get a good night's sleep. You can put off the farm work for now. I might need you for something tonight, and I'll find you at the Instrument Factory then."

"Brother, it's fine. We can take shifts sleeping, so it won't interfere with the farm work," Zhang Hong replied with a smile. The greenhouse was still under construction, and he didn't want all their efforts to go to waste.

With that, everyone returned home. Having worked all night, Zhang Wei went back to Jiangnan Garden and immediately collapsed into bed. When he opened his eyes again, it was already noon.

Just as he was about to order takeout for lunch, he received a call from Xue Zhongde. Zhang Wei answered without thinking much: "Hello? Leader Xue, are you looking for me?"

Xue Zhongde sounded hesitant on the other end: "Zhang Wei, if it's convenient, could you come over here? I have something I need to discuss with you."

Zhang Wei's heart stirred. He remembered the other piece of intelligence from yesterday—could this be about the Instrument Factory Director targeting him?

Thinking this, he sneered internally. He had only taken the land contract for the imperial seal in the first place. Now that he had the imperial seal, the planting was just something he was doing casually. But if someone dared to provoke him, Zhang Wei wouldn't mind giving them a little lesson.

He told Xue Zhongde on the phone that he would arrive immediately. After hanging up, An Xiaoxi had just woken up and walked out of her room. With her grandmother's successful burial yesterday, her biggest burden had vanished, and she had slept soundly.

"Order takeout for yourself while you're home. Also, in the afternoon, help me look into the situation with the Instrument Factory Director. They might feel that we've blocked his path to wealth and want to make things difficult for us. If you can find evidence of his illegal activities, that would be best."

An Xiaoxi was very angry upon hearing this. She had been looking forward to eating the lamb at the Instrument Branch Factory. She vowed to investigate this damn director thoroughly.

After silently mourning for the director for three seconds, Zhang Wei drove off towards the Light Industry Bureau.

When he arrived at Xue Zhongde's office, the latter looked quite grim. Seeing Zhang Wei, he said apologetically, "Little Zhang, come with me to see the Factory Director. But if you hear any bad news later, don't clash with the Director. I will coordinate things afterward."

Zhang Wei nodded, and the two proceeded to a separate office upstairs. Xue Zhongde stepped forward and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Pushing the office door open, a middle-aged man was sitting at the desk reviewing documents, his brow tightly furrowed, looking very busy.

He didn't acknowledge them upon their entry, treating them as if they were air and continuing to review his documents.

"Such arrogance. Is he making me stand here as punishment?" Zhang Wei snorted inwardly. He already knew the old fox's intentions through the system's intelligence. Since he enjoyed playing games, Zhang Wei had nothing to do in the afternoon and would play along.

With that thought, Zhang Wei didn't bother with formalities. He directly found a chair, sat down, and said to Xue Zhongde, "Director Xue, aren't you going to introduce us?"

Xue Zhongde felt miserable internally. Zhang Wei had always handled things flawlessly before; why was he so impatient today?

Still, he addressed the man: "Director, let me introduce you. This is Zhang Wei, who contracted the land from our branch factory. This is the head of our Instrument Factory, Factory Director Zhang. It's quite a coincidence; you share the same surname."

Factory Director Zhang couldn't pretend to be busy any longer. He said with a forced, insincere smile, "Oh? That is indeed a coincidence."

Zhang Wei wanted to see what this man was up to, so he asked directly, "I wonder what Factory Director Zhang needs me for?"

Upon hearing this, the Director adopted a formal, business-like demeanor: "Boss Zhang, it's like this: the reason we agreed to contract this land to you was for industrial transformation, leaning towards green and environmental protection. Currently, the environment at the Instrument Branch Factory can be described as wasteland. My intention is that the planting in this area should not focus mainly on fruits and vegetables, but rather on planting trees. At the very least, the green coverage within the factory area must be adequate."

Zhang Wei was speechless for a moment. I paid money to contract the land for planting, and now you want me to provide greening for you free of charge? And it must be adequate coverage? It's true that planting trees on contracted land happens, but trees grow slowly, and contracts are usually measured in decades. The cost of saplings is also enormous. This is clearly making things difficult for me.

Moreover, the greenhouse construction is already half-finished; I can't just tear it down and sell it for scrap, can I?

Xue Zhongde quickly stepped in to mediate: "Director, Boss Zhang contracted 20 mu of land. Asking him to be responsible for all the factory area's greening—isn't that too much? After all, he has only just started planting, and even the greenhouse isn't finished. Furthermore..."

"Little Xue, don't forget your position," Factory Director Zhang directly interrupted Xue Zhongde. "I am doing this for the factory's transformation. Don't you want to see the Instrument Factory rise again?"

Then he turned to Zhang Wei and said, "This matter is settled. Boss Zhang, go back and prepare the funds. I will arrange for a designated greening company to coordinate with you then."

Zhang Wei sneered internally. This old fox was truly shameless. If he didn't agree, he would be kicked out of the deal. If he agreed, he could guess with his toes that the greening company the Director found would be shady. Wouldn't they easily skim off kickbacks? They might even sell him sick trees, and once they died, they could extort more money.

Xue Zhongde still wanted to persuade him but was forced back by the Director's sharp gaze. At this point, he could only sigh on the side.

Zhang Wei thought that although Old Xue wasn't a paragon of virtue, at least he wasn't a bad person; he did what he was paid for. He could give him a hand.

With that in mind, Zhang Wei decided not to waste any more time arguing with this disgusting Director. He said loudly, "Forget about the greening, don't look for me. The contract clearly states what I'm responsible for. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."

"Young people just lack patience," Factory Director Zhang thought smugly.

He had just finalized plans with his brother-in-law yesterday to contract all the branch factory land at a bargain price and then sublet it to nearby villagers for planting, pocketing the difference. If he drove Zhang Wei away, he could legitimately report to his superiors that the rent was too high. This way, his brother-in-law's contracted price could be justified. If the other party reluctantly agreed to plant trees instead, that would be even better. Once the one-year contract expired, he could kick Zhang Wei out, and the saplings would directly become his own.

"I should thank this young man for coming up with such a way to make money. If he has to blame someone, he can only blame running into me."

Thinking this, Factory Director Zhang threatened in a cold tone: "If Boss Zhang is unwilling, I won't force you. I will report to my superiors, and then the agreement being voided won't be something I can control."

Zhang Wei burst into laughter upon hearing this: "No need to trouble yourself with reporting. The Mayor is scheduled to meet me privately in a few days. I will naturally report the whole story of this matter to the Mayor then, especially the role Factory Director Zhang played. That will certainly be the most important part."

"The Ma-Mayor? Which Mayor?" At this moment, Factory Director Zhang's previous composure vanished, replaced by a panicked inquiry.

Zhang Wei smiled: "Who else? Of course, it's the Mayor of our Shenghai City. Factory Director Zhang has worked so hard for the Instrument Factory's transformation; I will certainly have to say a few good words about it then."

"No, no, Boss Zhang, let's talk!" Factory Director Zhang was drenched in sweat, completely losing his composure. He hadn't expected this young man to have such powerful connections.

Zhang Wei ignored him and said to Xue Zhongde on the side, "Let's go out and discuss this. You'll come with me then. I'm just a young man and might lack discretion; you can remind me. Seeing the Mayor, I might say the wrong thing."

With that, he ignored Factory Director Zhang's attempts to keep him, grabbed Xue Zhongde, and strode out.