Lu Weimin had never understood why Party Secretary Gu Mingliang rejected his entry into the factory at the Party Committee meeting.
Before that, Deputy Party Secretary Guo Zheng and Deputy Factory Manager Zhen Jingcai had clearly told his father that, given his father's long-standing status as a model worker in the factory, the factory would prioritize this and resolve the issue of his entry. Moreover, Party Secretary Gu Mingliang had basically agreed with this opinion.
However, at the Party Committee meeting, Gu Mingliang turned against this opinion, nominally because it would set a precedent, but everyone knew the real reason was not that. No one dared to ask Gu Mingliang, who was known for his decisive word in the factory.
The real reason was only known eight years after Gu Mingliang had retired.
It was during a chance encounter while fishing with Gu Mingliang that his father, with some regret, mentioned that someone had told Gu Mingliang that he was too active in school and had performed poorly during the 1989 turmoil, showing a serious tendency towards bourgeois liberalization. This was the reason why he did not agree to his entry into the factory.
His father did not ask who had reported him to Gu Mingliang, and even if he had asked, Gu Mingliang would not have said. After all, the decision was in his hands, and it was his problem.
But Lu Weimin, who was already working in the Nantang County Party Committee, knew that at that time, the only person who could have reported him through this special channel, besides Deputy Party Secretary Guo Zheng, was Deputy Party Secretary and Discipline Inspection Commission Secretary Chen Fazhong.
After all, in personnel matters, they had the most say. Guo Zheng and Deputy Factory Manager Zhen Jingcai had a good relationship and were known for their integrity, so they would never do such a thing. Therefore, it had to be Chen Fazhong.
Chen Fazhong had a close relationship with the brothers Yao Zhibin and Yao Zhishan. Yao Zhibin's son, Yao Ping, was also a university graduate and was pursuing Zhen Ni. The final result was that Lu Weimin was assigned to Nantang, hundreds of miles away, while Yao Ping and Zhen Ni entered the factory together.
Seeing her son's strange expression, Chen Changxiu approached Lu Weimin with some concern, touching his head. Last night, he had been carried back by someone, and he had been restless all night, unable to vomit. He finally fell asleep in the early hours of the morning, so she didn't wake him up, letting him sleep in.
Chen Changxiu knew that her son was upset. What was supposed to be a sure thing had gone wrong, and he might be assigned back to his hometown, Nantang. Compared to Changzhou, Nantang was like heaven and earth, and he might never have the chance to return to Changzhou. Thinking about this, Chen Changxiu felt a pang of sadness.
"Mom, I'm fine, really," Lu Weimin glanced out the window. In July, even in the early morning, the temperature in Changzhou had already risen. What would happen today?
In his memory, the next day after he was rejected by the factory, Zhen Jingcai, Zhen Ni's father, would be investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). The result was that six months later, Zhen Jingcai was forced to retire due to some unsavory matters, and the original 35th workshop director, Yao Zhibin, took over as deputy factory manager.
Without her father's protection, Zhen Ni's situation in the factory became difficult. After Yao Ping launched a fierce pursuit, they broke up after half a year, and she eventually ended up with Yao Ping.
However, in his memory, Zhen Ni and Yao Ping's marriage did not last long. Before the end of the 20th century, Zhen Ni divorced Yao Ping and raised her child alone.
He remembered that at the time, he was already the deputy director of the Longtai County government office, and she had come to him for a loan. He almost didn't recognize her. The once beautiful flower of 715 Factory had become a common woman, and the hardships of life had erased her former beauty. That night, after she left, he couldn't sleep.
Lu Weimin realized that something was off in this world. He didn't know what was happening, but if everything was proceeding according to historical events, then today Zhen Jingcai would be taken away for investigation by the CCDI.
At the time, the corruption case in 195 Factory in 1990 was a major news story in Changzhou. Deputy Factory Manager Zhen Jingcai was suspected of accepting bribes and was investigated by the CCDI.
Logically, Zhen Jingcai was only a department-level official, not high enough to warrant the CCDI's involvement, but the CCDI did intervene. It was said that the case involved a vice-provincial level official, and how many vice-provincial level officials were there in 195 Factory?
Two: Party Secretary Gu Mingliang and Deputy Party Secretary and Factory Manager Liang Guangda.
Targeting Zhen Jingcai was like Xiang Zhuang's sword dance, aimed at Peigong.
Zhen Jingcai was in charge of logistics and infrastructure in 195 Factory, but he had a close relationship with Party Secretary Gu Mingliang and a strained relationship with Factory Manager Liang Guangda.
The CCDI's investigation of Zhen Jingcai was undoubtedly targeted. However, in Lu Weimin's memory, Gu Mingliang was not significantly affected by this incident and remained Party Secretary for several more years before retiring.
More bizarrely, the bribery case against Zhen Jingcai dragged on for over a year. He was detained by the procuratorate for half a year, but in the end, he was not held criminally responsible. However, he was dismissed from his position as deputy factory manager and expelled from the Party.
This meant that the criminal investigation into his bribery did not make much progress, but Zhen Jingcai indeed had some other issues, which led to his disciplinary and administrative sanctions.
According to Lu Weimin, Zhen Jingcai was relatively clean in financial matters; otherwise, he wouldn't have been close to the always upright and strict Gu Mingliang. However, Zhen Jingcai had some issues with women.
There were always rumors about his ambiguous relationships with the factory radio station's announcer, nicknamed "Black Peony," and a woman from the factory's propaganda department. However, such matters were not considered serious issues until someone wanted to find a way to bring you down.
After Zhen Jingcai was released from detention, expelled from the Party, and dismissed from his position, he resigned and left 195 Factory, abandoning his family and heading to the coastal area. It wasn't until many years later, when he became the executive vice president of a well-known national private enterprise group, that he returned to Changzhou, but that was a long time later.
Zhen Jingcai's case was always a mystery. His bribery issues were never conclusively resolved, but other issues were uncovered. The CCDI's investigation ultimately resulted in only disciplinary and administrative sanctions against a department-level official, which was an unimaginable fact. However, this also demonstrated Zhen Jingcai's cautious and meticulous nature.
Lu Weimin learned about this case many years later, when he accidentally overheard a friend from the provincial CCDI discussing a major internal and external collusion theft case that occurred in 195 Factory.
One of the suspects in this case was a well-known private businessman in the scrap metal industry in Changzhou. This businessman was arrested for receiving stolen copper, molybdenum, and other alloy materials stolen from the factory.
After the case was solved, due to the large amount involved, the businessman, to redeem himself, confessed that he had been instructed to report Deputy Factory Manager Zhen Jingcai for bribery and corruption, which led to Zhen Jingcai's arrest.
However, his confession was ignored by the provincial CCDI and the procuratorate. Later, Lu Weimin gradually learned why the provincial CCDI and the procuratorate remained silent on this matter.
At the time, the evidence was not strong, but the case was a higher-level assignment that required serious investigation. Even though the evidence was insufficient, they had to provide a clear explanation.
Although the evidence for Zhen Jingcai's bribery was insufficient, he did have some issues with his lifestyle, which led to the delayed handling of the case in the manner it was handled.
Thinking about this, Lu Weimin suddenly stood up and walked out, startling Chen Changxiu.
"Sanzi, where are you going? It's almost noon."
"Mom, I'm going out." Lu Weimin pushed out his father's 28-inch Phoenix加重 (heavy) bicycle, hopped on, and rode straight to the Jia Er living area.