Siheyuan: I just came across and wanted to chase me away

Chapter 1075 Everyone started to feel afraid.

Gu Nan stood quietly to the side, his hands hanging naturally at his sides, his gaze calmly fixed on Deputy Factory Director Li, as if watching a farce that had nothing to do with him. Deputy Factory Director Li was no longer the arrogant man he used to be, pointing fingers in the workshop. His face was deathly pale, even his lips were bluish, and his legs trembled like leaves, his trousers shaking with each sway. Cold sweat streamed down his forehead, gathering into beads on his chin, dripping onto his shirt collar and leaving a small, dark, damp stain, making him look extremely disheveled. Looking at the several serious-looking senior leaders before him, his heart pounded like a drum—the accounts of embezzled public funds, the list of those who improperly promoted their cronies, the recordings of bribery… each and every one of these things was laid bare, the evidence as irrefutable as nails driven into the ground. How could he possibly hope that those above him could protect him?

"Tell me yourself," the top leader tapped his finger on the table, then slammed a thick stack of investigation materials onto it. The crisp sound of the papers clattering against the table was particularly jarring in the quiet office, startling Deputy Factory Director Li so much that he nearly collapsed to the floor. "Don't you know how many wrong things you've done? Even now, you still want to deny doing anything?"

Deputy Factory Director Li opened his mouth, his throat feeling like it was stuffed with a wad of waterlogged cotton. He struggled to move it, but couldn't utter a single word. He finally understood that all his meticulous planning—intending to use the rumors of "Gu Nan cheating on the exam" to bring down the other party and secure his own position—had backfired spectacularly. People had followed the trail and uncovered so many scandalous things, leaving him in this predicament. Which of these things hadn't he done? The more he explained, the more it seemed like he was trying to cover something up. He could only watch helplessly as the handwriting on those documents, like sharp, icy knives, pierced his heart.

Gu Nan was also somewhat surprised. He had only intended to compile a report on Deputy Factory Director Li's covert interference with technical assessments and his forming cliques to spread rumors, but he hadn't expected the higher-level department's investigation to be so thorough and detailed. They had even unearthed old grievances from years ago, such as Li embezzling workshop funds to build his own house and falsifying equipment purchase prices for personal gain. They had even listed the names of the purchasing agents involved and the transfer records, providing far more detail than he had gathered privately. He had only intended to give this old man a warning and make him behave, but instead, they had directly exposed his past—it seemed that Deputy Factory Director Li had no chance of making a comeback this time.

"Gu Nan, you bastard!" Deputy Factory Director Li suddenly turned to Gu Nan as if he had gone mad, his eyes bloodshot and bulging frighteningly, his voice hoarse like a broken gong, "Was all of this your doing? You've disliked me for a long time and deliberately set a trap to harm me!"

Gu Nan looked at his hysterical state and just smiled faintly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes: "Deputy Factory Director Li, at this point, do I need to say anything?" He glanced at the materials on the table, his tone carrying an undisguised sarcasm, "I didn't expect you to have done so many 'good deeds' in the factory over the years. Explain to the leaders slowly, I won't bother you any longer."

After saying that, he turned and walked out. There was really no point in talking to such a completely hopeless piece of trash—it would be a waste of time to say another word. Deputy Factory Director Li's fate was entirely his own fault; greed had pushed him into the abyss. Whether he had to beg and plead for favors or spend his time reflecting on his actions in jail was none of his concern.

As he reached the door, Gu Nan stopped and nodded slightly to the senior leaders. His tone was calm: "Since there's nothing for me here, I'll head back to the workshop. The commissioning of the new rolling mill in the factory still needs my attention; it can't be delayed."

The leader nodded, a hint of approval on his face, and his tone softened: "Deputy Factory Director Gu, congratulations. We have verified your senior engineer assessment results; they are truly impressive. We will issue an official notice to the entire factory later. Keep up the good work. If the steel rolling mill wants to move forward, it needs technical backbones like you to take the lead."

"Thank you for your trust, leader," Gu Nan replied, turning and pushing open the office door before striding out. The sunlight was perfect, bathing him in warmth. The distant roar of machinery from the workshop, deep and powerful, seemed to beckon him. He took a deep breath, his chest filling with crisp air, and his steps quickened—the matter with Deputy Factory Director Li was finally settled; he could finally shake off this headache. Now, he could focus all his attention on the technological upgrade project.

The news that Deputy Factory Director Li was being escorted out by two uniformed men spread like wildfire throughout the steel rolling mill in no time. The machines in the workshop were still clattering away, but the workers slowed down, their eyes constantly glancing towards the office building, and they were already buzzing with gossip.

"Did you see that? When Deputy Factory Director Li was taken away, his face was as white as paper!"

"That's right, I heard they found out he embezzled a lot of public funds and colluded with outsiders to resell steel..."

"That's great! With him gone, the factory director's position will most likely fall to Deputy Factory Director Gu!"

The murmurs concealed their own thoughts. Those who hadn't dared to take sides before and had just dutifully worked on the machine tools remained calm, tightening screws as needed and swinging sledgehammers as required—after all, no matter who was in charge, someone had to do the work, and as long as they didn't slack off, they would always get a meal.

Those who had followed Deputy Director Li from the beginning and had helped him spread rumors about Gu Nan in the canteen and bathhouse were now as uneasy as if they had a ticking time bomb. An old worker with rolled-up sleeves squatted in a corner of the workshop, twirling a wrench in his hand, his voice barely audible: "You tell me... before, when we followed Deputy Director Li, we talked a lot of bad things about Deputy Director Gu behind his back, saying things like 'young and inexperienced' and 'got promoted through connections'... Now that Deputy Director Li has been arrested, and Deputy Director Gu is about to be promoted, do you think he won't target us first?"

A younger worker nearby rubbed his hands together, a fine layer of sweat beading on his forehead, his shirt soaked through: "Who says otherwise! We were out of our minds back then, listening to that old geezer Yi Zhonghai's instigation and blindly following along. Now that I think about it, Deputy Factory Director Gu has treated us quite well—last time the punch press in the workshop broke down, delaying production, it was him who led the technicians to repair it overnight, working until the wee hours without even having a hot meal..."

A chorus of agreement rippled through the crowd, each face etched with lingering fear. Someone stamped their foot and sighed, "I was even telling him at the bathhouse last time that his production innovation was a complete waste of time..." Another paced anxiously, "I handed Deputy Factory Director Li the workshop's attendance sheet; will he think I'm a spy?" The murmurs were filled with panic—no one could fathom Gu Nan's temperament. They'd heard he was technically superb, but also straightforward; if he held a grudge, they feared they'd lose their place in the workshop.