Fated Love With the Billionaire
Chapter 202: Waiting for Her Here

Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Waiting for Her Here

The man glanced nonchalantly at the work order in Chen Ningxi’s hand, dismissing it as just a scrap of paper. He shook his head and said,

"You can’t come in. Whether you inspect or not has nothing to do with me. The boss just told me to watch the gate. The boss isn’t here, so come back tomorrow."

On field assignments, they often encountered people unwilling to cooperate. Chen Ningxi said, "Brother, how should I address you?"

The man said, "Wu Youshan."

"Wu, we’re here for a routine maintenance inspection. We have formal documents, and the inspection is legal and compliant. Could you give me the boss’s phone number? I’ll give him a call."

Wu Youshan said, "I don’t know. How could I know the boss’s number? Wait until tomorrow; the boss will be here then."

Liu Shaojun, who had been silent, loomed like a wall behind them. He stepped forward and said, "Do you not know, or do you just not want to say? You’re working here, and you don’t even have the boss’s number? Who are you trying to fool? Keep this up, and we’ll contact the village to get them involved, or the police station if necessary. Have you remembered yet?"

Wu Youshan, seeing that the three were persistent, still did not relent and continued his previous refrain, "The boss really isn’t here. No matter who you find, the boss isn’t here."

Tian Quan said, "Cooperate with us a bit. We’re conducting a lawful inspection. First, tie up the dogs so we can talk inside. It’s awfully sunny out here."

Wu Youshan neither tied up the dogs nor responded, showing a pained expression, "You all should come back tomorrow. I can’t let you in. If the boss doesn’t say so, nobody can come in. If you come in and those dogs bite you, who would be responsible? I don’t dare to let anyone in, or the boss might fire me if he found out."

He was a tough nut to crack; he replied to every sentence but answered none.

Chen Ningxi looked beyond him and saw that originally four chimneys were smoking, but now only two were. Something was definitely wrong. He was just stalling for time. Chen Ningxi exchanged a glance with Tian Quan beside him, "I’ll go make a call."

The number they had was supposed to be provided by the village, but when dialed, it turned out to be void, leaving them unable to reach the kiln factory owner.

Chen Ningxi walked some distance away, standing on the slope with roadside weeds and wildflowers growing near clumps of pine and elm trees. She dialed the village’s number.

"Hello, Village Chief Bai, the number you gave me is a vacant number. Do you have Xiong Chengbin’s cellphone number?"

Village Chief Bai said, "Hold on, I should have his wife’s."

Chen Ningxi replied, "Thank you, sorry for the trouble, Village Chief Bai."

There was a rustling in the receiver, then Village Chief Bai’s voice came on again, "Hello, Manager Chen."

"Hey, I’m here, Village Chief Bai. Go ahead."

Village Chief Bai recited a string of numbers, which Chen Ningxi noted down, "Thank you, Village Chief Bai."

After hanging up, Chen Ningxi dialed the local police station, "Director Zhao, this is Chen Ningxi from Danjiang Electric. Hey, hello... You’ve heard? Director Jiang mentioned it, right... It’s a tricky factory to deal with. If you have time, could you come over? ... Okay, sure... We’re right at the factory gate... There are two big dogs inside, and the gate is locked. The gatekeeper said without the boss’s word, no entry... No, he’s just following the boss’s orders... I’m trying to reach the brick factory owner’s wife. If I get through to her, that might work too... Great, you’ll be here in about ten minutes, right? Thanks."

Chen Ningxi was sweating profusely, her white short sleeves dampened in patches. She gulped before dialing the owner’s wife’s mobile.

Ring... ring... This time the call connected, but no one answered.

After it hung up, Chen Ningxi called again. The brick kiln had to be inspected today; there was certainly something fishy inside.

The phone connected on the second try, and Chen Ningxi said, "Sister-in-law, are you home?"

The woman on the other end was caught off guard, "Ah, I’m at home. Who is this?"

Chen Ningxi said, "Sister-in-law, I’m Manager Chen Ningxi from Danjiang Electric, here for a power line inspection at the brick factory. Brother Xiong isn’t here, and your gatekeeper refuses to let us in. Can you reach Brother Xiong?"

"Isn’t he, isn’t he there?" The woman began to play dumb.

Chen Ningxi said, "The gatekeeper, Wu, said he’s not here, and Brother Xiong’s phone is a void number. Sister-in-law, what’s Brother Xiong’s cell number?"

"He, uh," the woman tried to claim she couldn’t remember, but that was too far-fetched. "Manager Chen, could you come to inspect tomorrow?"

Chen Ningxi remained firm, "Sister-in-law, not an option. Please give me Brother Xiong’s number, and I’ll contact him."

The woman stammered as she gave the number, "Manager Chen, I remember now. He went out. Could you come tomorrow instead?"

Chen Ningxi turned away, facing the pine-covered mountains with a straight shadow cast on the ground, "Sister-in-law, this inspection must happen today. I see from the records that you’re the legal entity for the brick factory. It’s perfect you’re home, as your presence is needed during the inspection process."

The woman was taken aback, not expecting her roundabout calls to catch up to her now.

"I, I have something to do shortly, I can’t make it." The woman began to stall, "How about this, come tomorrow morning, okay?"

Chen Ningxi saw a white and blue police car driving up the village road, "Sister-in-law, this inspection is headed by the electric company, with assistance from the police station. If you don’t come, we’ll have no choice but to send the police car to pick you up."

The woman realized there was no escaping, "... Fine, wait for me, I’m heading to the factory."

"Alright, sister-in-law, we’ll wait for you," Chen Ningxi hung up and exhaled a breath.

Returning to the gatehouse, she addressed Wu Youshan inside, "Your boss’s wife will be here shortly."

Wu Youshan’s eyes widened, then he blinked a few times, turning to look inside the kiln factory, where only one chimney was now smoking.

He said, "Ah, she’s, she’s also not the boss, our boss has to give the word."

Holding onto a folder, his black sleeveless shirt was mottled with dried sweat stains, and his navy pants had turned gray from brick dust, barely recognizable. The loafers on his feet had deformed underfoot pressure, with worn-down backs.

Chen Ningxi said, "Your boss’s wife is the legal entity of the brick kiln. If she doesn’t have the authority, then who does?"

Wu Youshan did not reply. He fished a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, the box crumpled, and the cigarette he took was slightly bent. He put it in his mouth, lit it, and took a hard drag, saying,

"We’ll wait till she gets here to talk."

Seemingly casually, Wu Youshan glanced toward the factory inside again. Chen Ningxi noticed this was his third or fourth time turning back, daringly guessing that Xiong Chengbin was inside.

Chen Ningxi smiled and said, "Wu, can you tie up the dogs? The police car is almost here."

Wu Youshan let out a sound, startled into peeking over Chen Ningxi’s shoulder, "Oh my..."

Seeing the police car, he bit the cigarette dangling from his mouth and went to leash the two big dogs flopped against the gate. The smoke stung his eyes to a squint, but he was strong, yanking one large dog by the collar into a cage with each hand.

Chen Ningxi swiped the sweat from her forehead, still jittery but relieved, "Finally, we can get this inspection under way."