I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

Zhou Weiguo patted Li Huaide on the shoulder and comforted him, "Don't get so worked up, it's not a big deal. You're the head of a factory now, don't be so impulsive."

"Let's go meet these guys and see what tricks they're up to. But since they're going to play this game, they can't decide when it ends." After saying that, he walked to the door, whispered a few words to the guard, and then strode towards the factory gate.

The two arrived at the west gate of the steel rolling mill and saw a large crowd gathered there.

Leading the group were District Chief Zheng and Deputy District Chief Wang. When they saw Li Huaide and Zhou Weiguo come out, a hint of smugness flashed in their eyes.

Before Zhou Weiguo could speak, Li Huaide quickly stepped forward, forcing a smile as he greeted them: "District Chief Zheng, Deputy District Chief Wang, what brings you two here to inspect our steel rolling mill? If you had called ahead, I would have come to welcome you much sooner."

The man surnamed Zheng grinned insincerely and said, "Director Li, we're not here for an inspection. We received a report from the Municipal Bureau of Industry stating that your steel rolling mill is using outdated energy-consuming equipment and production processes, and has exceeded its energy consumption limits without rectification, causing significant disruption to the city's electricity supply. The Bureau of Industry has issued multiple warnings, but you have not corrected the situation. We request that your steel rolling mill cooperate with our inspection immediately."

Li Huaide frowned. In this era, these problems were almost universal in the industry. Which factory didn't do this? This was clearly just deliberately picking a fight.

He glanced at Zhou Weiguo subconsciously, and seeing Zhou Weiguo's relaxed expression, he immediately felt emboldened and said irritably, "District Chief Zheng, since you put it that way, then please give those factories directly under the city and district governments a good overhaul, such as the machine repair shop across the street. I heard that many factories in the district have been criticized by higher authorities."

Upon hearing this, Zheng's face instantly darkened. Before he could retort, Deputy District Chief Wang stepped forward and shouted sternly, "Li Huaide, how dare you speak to your superiors like that? Is this how your father-in-law taught you? You country bumpkins, even if you become sons-in-law in the city, you're still country bumpkins at heart!"

These words thoroughly enraged Li Huaide, whose face instantly turned ashen as he glared at the man surnamed Wang.

He was most sensitive about others mentioning his son-in-law and father-in-law, and now that they had humiliated him in public, how could he not be furious?

"Wang Dajun, don't push your luck! What rank do you think you are? What are you putting on airs in front of me, Li Huaide? I'm a factory director at the provincial level, watch your mouth! And you even mentioned my father-in-law? You're just a nobody who just entered the deputy provincial level, what kind of airs are you putting on in front of me? You're just a deputy district head in charge of public security, what do you have to do with my steel mill? If you have something to say, say it; if not, get lost!"

Zhou Weiguo watched Li Huaide unleash his full power and was secretly surprised. He hadn't expected Old Li to have such a formidable side.

By the time Li Huaide finished cursing, the man surnamed Wang's face had turned ashen, and after holding it in for a long time, his face had turned purple.

He glanced at District Chief Zheng beside him, then stepped forward and said, "Li Huaide, you don't know yet, do you? Just two days ago, District Chief Zheng joined the municipal party committee. Now he's a full-fledged deputy provincial-level cadre. How dare you speak to our Committee Member Zheng like that?"

Li Huaide's expression changed slightly, but he still stubbornly said, "Our steel rolling mill is directly under the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry. Whether it's the district or the city, they have nothing to talk to us about."

At this moment, a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties stepped out from behind Deputy District Chief Wang. His face was gloomy as he said, "Very well, Director Li Huaide is indeed formidable! What a powerful position you hold under the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry. It seems that our local industrial bureaus are nothing in your eyes. No wonder factories and units often complain to me that your steel rolling mill bullies us small local factories just because it is directly under the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry. It seems I need to report these matters properly."

Zhou Weiguo listened to their back-and-forth bickering and felt it was all meaningless.

He reached out to stop Li Huaide, took two steps forward, and looked directly at Deputy District Chief Wang, saying, "Deputy District Chief Wang, and Committee Member Zheng, right? Are you sure you want to escalate things to this point? Let me give you a piece of advice: it's not too late to back down now and let everything return to normal. Our grudges can be settled privately. But if you insist on going your own way, don't blame me for being impolite once things get out of hand."

Upon hearing this, the man surnamed Wang suddenly burst into laughter, his eyes fixed on Zhou Weiguo with a sinister glint in his eyes: "Chief Engineer Zhou, what do you mean by that? What personal grudge do you have against District Chief Zheng and me? Some things were just accidents, and have nothing to do with you. But the mistakes your factory made must be rectified, otherwise we can't explain to our superiors, right, Committee Member Zheng?"

"That's right, Chief Engineer Zhou Weiguo, you have to stand up straight when you're being punished, and you have to correct your mistakes. There's nothing to discuss about that. Let's not waste everyone's time, Director Wang, let's begin." The man surnamed Zheng chimed in.

Upon hearing this, Deputy District Chief Wang smugly produced his police chief's identification and an official letter, directly confronting Zhou Weiguo: "Chief Engineer Zhou, our Dongcheng Branch has received reports from informants and members of the public that your steel rolling mill is hiding dangerous items left behind by enemy agents, and that these items are intended for a terrorist attack in Beijing. Please cooperate with our investigation immediately!"

Zhou Weiguo glanced at the man surnamed Wang with surprise, and subconsciously activated the friend-or-foe identification function.

Upon closer inspection, he was startled. The man surnamed Wang was faintly emanating a black aura, while the man surnamed Zheng had a stronger black aura. Based on his experience with the depth of color, this concentration of blackness was at most a result of contact with enemy agents or unintentional acts of espionage, and should not be considered an enemy agent in itself.

Looking at the director of the Industrial Bureau behind them, his aura was as black as ink, making him undoubtedly a hostile agent.

It seems there's a big fish hiding behind these people! And several people in the crowd behind them, wearing Zhongshan suits, also have a distinct aura of darkness about them. Could it be that we've stumbled upon a den of enemy agents?

Zhou Weiguo ignored the other person and instead pulled the puzzled Li Huaide aside, whispering, "Who is the director of this Industry Bureau?"

Li Huaide lowered his voice and said, "His name is Chen Baoguo, I think he's Zheng's brother-in-law. He's in charge of the city's light and heavy industry system. This bureau usually doesn't have much of a presence. The big factories in Beijing are all directly under the higher authorities, so they can only manage the light industry factories."

Having gained a better understanding, Zhou Weiguo asked again, "Do you know who Zheng's powerful backer is?"