Major Heavy Industry: Starting with a Fake Marriage

He put down the ladle of molten iron, wiped his sweat, and walked towards the factory manager's office. Along the way, the workers he encountered gave him strange looks. He knew what was coming—it had finally arrived.

The factory director's office was quite crowded. Director Zhou sat behind his desk, his face grave. Beside him sat Lao Meng, the head of the technical department, and two other people in uniforms—not Zhongshan suits, but the kind of gray-blue uniforms that clearly belonged to the public security system.

Beside the two uniformed men stood another person—Sun Jianguo. He had a faint smile on his face, which deepened when he saw Jiang Cheng enter.

"Jiang Cheng, sit down." Director Zhou's voice was a little hoarse.

Jiang Cheng sat down. One of the men in uniform spoke up: "You're Jiang Cheng?"

"it's me."

"We're from the Shencheng Public Security Bureau. My surname is Chen, and this is my colleague." He pulled out an ID card and waved it. "We're here today to verify some information."

Jiang Cheng nodded, waiting for the other party to speak.

Police Officer Chen opened his notebook: "Someone reported that you are suspected of abusing your position to steal state technical secrets and transferring them to outsiders without authorization. Is this true?"

Jiang Cheng's heart sank. Stealing trade secrets? Transferring them to outsiders? This was no small crime.

"No," he said. "I've never done such a thing."

Officer Chen stared at him, his gaze sharp: "There are witnesses, and there's physical evidence. Are you sure you don't have any?"

Jiang Cheng's mind raced. Who was the witness? What was the physical evidence? He suddenly remembered Li Jianguo—his friend from Anshan Iron and Steel. Could they be targeting Li Jianguo?

"Comrade Chen, may I ask who the witness is?"

Police Officer Chen shook his head: "It's not convenient to disclose that. But we can tell you what the physical evidence is." He took out an envelope from his bag and pulled out the contents—a stack of photos and a document.

Upon seeing the photos, Jiang Cheng felt a sense of relief. The photos showed him and Engineer Wu in the research institute's laboratory, and the documents were his planer modification design. It seemed someone had been monitoring him all along.

"These photos, you took them at the Provincial Mechanical Research Institute, didn't you?" Chen Gong'an asked. "What would a fitter from a factory be doing at a research institute? And those documents, you brought them out, didn't you?"

Jiang Cheng took a deep breath and was about to speak when someone knocked on the door.

Factory Director Zhou was taken aback: "Who?"

The door opened, and Zheng Huaiyuan walked in.

Factory Director Zhou was taken aback: "Professor Zheng? What brings you here?"

Zheng Huaiyuan looked at the people in the room and nodded: "Director Zhou, I'm here to testify."

Police Officer Chen frowned: "You are—"

"Professor Zheng Huaiyuan from Shenyang Institute of Technology," Zheng Huaiyuan said. "He is also Comrade Jiang Cheng's father-in-law. The materials he mentioned were obtained in my laboratory during my spare time and have nothing to do with the factory."

Police Officer Chen and Police Officer Liu exchanged a glance. They had heard of Zheng Huaiyuan's name.

"Professor Zheng, can you prove it?"

"Yes," Zheng Huaiyuan said. "I have a complete set of experimental records, detailing when it was done and what materials were used. These records can prove that Jiang Cheng's research was his personal amateur activity and has nothing to do with the factory's technical secrets."

Sun Jianguo, standing nearby, grew anxious: "Professor Zheng, you are his father-in-law, your testimony—"

"What's wrong with my testimony?" Zheng Huaiyuan looked at him. "I'm a professor who has dedicated my life to research. My testimony is far more reliable than some people's accusations."

Sun Jianguo's face turned ashen, and he was speechless.

After a moment's thought, Officer Chen said, "Professor Zheng, we will consider your testimony. However, this matter still requires further investigation."

"Then let's investigate," Zheng Huaiyuan said. "I'm ready to cooperate at any time."

Police Chief Chen nodded and stood up: "Comrade Jiang Cheng, that's all for today. But in the near future, you must not leave Shenyang and be ready to cooperate with the investigation at any time."

Jiang Cheng nodded: "I know."

The two policemen left. Sun Jianguo followed them out dejectedly. Only Director Zhou, Zheng Huaiyuan, and Jiang Cheng remained in the room.

Factory Director Zhou breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Zheng Huaiyuan: "Professor Zheng, thank you so much for today."

Zheng Huaiyuan waved his hand: "Of course. But—" He looked at Jiang Cheng, "this is just the first wave. They won't let this go."

Jiang Cheng nodded: "I know."

After Zheng Huaiyuan left, Factory Director Zhou kept Jiang Cheng behind. He closed the door and said in a low voice, "Jiang, do you know who reported you?"

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment: "Sun Jianguo?"

Factory Director Zhou nodded: "And Old Meng from the technical department. The two of them wrote the report together and submitted it to the Public Security Bureau."

Jiang Cheng remained silent. He had long anticipated that Sun Jianguo would take action, but he hadn't expected it to be in this way. Stealing trade secrets—if this charge were proven, the lightest consequence would be dismissal, and the heaviest would be imprisonment.

"Factory manager, do you trust me?"

Factory Director Zhou looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and said, "Xiao Jiang, whether I believe you or not is not important. What's important is that you have to provide evidence to prove your innocence."

Jiang Cheng nodded. He knew that the non-destructive testing report in his hand was his last trump card. But now was not the time to reveal it.

It was already dark when Jiang Cheng came out of the factory manager's office. Instead of returning to his dormitory, he went to the logistics warehouse. Huang Deqing was still there; seeing him come in, he didn't ask anything, but simply pointed to a stool.

Jiang Cheng sat down and recounted the events of the day. Huang Deqing listened in silence for a long time.

"Chengzi, are you scared?"

Jiang Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Master, it would be a lie to say I'm not afraid. But I feel that I haven't done anything wrong, so I'm not afraid of them investigating."

Huang Deqing nodded: "That's right. You haven't done anything wrong, so you have nothing to fear. The more they investigate, the more painful the slap in the face will be in the future."

Jiang Cheng smiled and said, "Master, you have so much confidence in me?"

Huang Deqing looked at him, his eyes holding something indescribable: "Chengzi, you're different from others. There are some things I can't quite put my finger on. But I just feel that you're a capable guy."

Jiang Cheng felt a warmth in his heart. He knew that his master was encouraging him.

Back in the dorm, Zheng Yanxi was still awake. Seeing him come in, she stood up, asked nothing, and simply walked over and gently hugged him.

Jiang Cheng was stunned for a moment, then reached out and hugged her back.

"It's alright," he said. "It's alright."

Zheng Yanxi didn't speak, but buried her head in his chest, her shoulders trembling slightly. Only then did Jiang Cheng realize that she was crying.

"Don't cry, it's really okay." He gently patted her back.

Zheng Yanxi looked up, her eyes red-rimmed: "I know you're alright. I'm just... just scared."

Jiang Cheng looked at her, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him. This woman, who had married him only to secure a room for him, was now living in fear for him. He didn't know if this could be considered love, but at least they were now the most important person to each other.

"Yanxi, don't worry," he said. "I'll be fine. I still want to spend a good life with you."