Chapter 2562

Su Xinghui found it amusing; with such a lack of tact, he wondered how this Deputy Director Li had managed to reach his current position in this government office.

That afternoon, Su Xinghui got the answer from Xing Guodong. It turned out that Li Hong had risen rapidly because an article of his had once been appreciated by a central leader. However, after he was promoted to deputy director of the Policy Research Office, that leader had retired to the second line, so he had remained stuck in this position.

Su Xinghui did not take such a person to heart; to bicker with him would be beneath his dignity.

Life in the Policy Research Office was relatively comfortable. As for the work in the office, since he had just arrived, he spent his days reading internal publications, familiarizing himself with the situation, and attending meetings.

Of course, Su Xinghui still had to conceptualize and prepare to organize his insights on governance into an article; this was also a task assigned to him by Premier Nan.

In short, being in the Policy Research Office was the most leisurely and comfortable period since he had started working.

Previously, in local government, Su Xinghui rarely managed to go home on time after work, as there were almost daily social engagements, meetings, and receptions. But now, he could go home on time every day, and Lu Xiaoya was also very satisfied with this.

In government offices, there was certainly no shortage of infighting, but they were merely competing for positions and money. Neither of these held much appeal for Su Xinghui.

What could he compete for in terms of a position? Su Xinghui was already a deputy director; he couldn't possibly compete for the director's position now, could he? Besides, his ambitions did not lie there; he still preferred doing concrete work in local areas, so in this regard, he had no conflicts of interest with the people in the Policy Research Office.

As for money, Su Xinghui had even less to compete for. The Policy Research Office was a "clean" department; with just that bit of salary and bonus, it was rare for outsiders to come begging for favors, and Su Xinghui was not a greedy person.

Su Xinghui saw two dignified division-level cadres in the office arguing until they were red in the face over a bonus of a few dozen yuan; such things always made him feel somewhat amused.

Su Xinghui did not compete for positions or money, and he had no conflicts of interest with the people in the Policy Research Office. Soon, others discovered this, and gradually, their wariness of Su Xinghui vanished. Only Li Hong still treated him with cold disdain.

Su Xinghui's status in the Policy Research Office gradually became transcendent.

In March, Su Wenjun called to say that his retirement application had been approved, and he would soon be able to go to the capital with Guo Suhua.

This news made Su Xinghui very happy. He had Lu Xiaoya tidy up the room where the old couple would stay and air out the bedding, making preparations so they would be comfortable once they arrived.

Over these days, he had restored the set of ten chairs to a like-new condition and had also restored a long dining table, which he placed in the home's dining room. It looked quite impressive; if they invited guests to eat here, it would be very prestigious.

Next, Su Xinghui proceeded to restore the other pieces of Republican-era furniture one by one. He planned to restore the two incense stands and the bed last, because these items were too precious; he had to hone his craft further, otherwise, if the work turned out mediocre, that would not be good.

However, through this period of practice, Su Xinghui had already acquired quite decent woodworking skills.

Yu Ruizhi and Yu Ruoqiu had both visited twice and seen Su Xinghui doing woodworking. Upon seeing his craftsmanship, they were full of praise, especially for the ten chairs, which left Yu Ruizhi amazed.

Yu Ruizhi said, "Xinghui, I didn't expect you to be such a master at woodworking. These chairs were originally broken and in a sorry state, but after your restoration, they really look impressive!"

Su Xinghui said with a smile, "Brother Yu, you can't recognize them anymore, can you?"

Yu Ruizhi shook his head, "I really can't. I was actually curious that time why you asked me to keep such a pile of rotten wood. I didn't expect they could be restored to look like this."

Su Xinghui said, "There are also these two incense stands and this bed; they are even better items."

Yu Ruizhi became interested at once and asked, "What kind of good items are these? Tell me about them."

Su Xinghui then told Yu Ruizhi about the materials, the era, and the value of these items. Upon hearing that these few pieces of junk could actually be worth over a million, Yu Ruizhi was stunned.

A million didn't mean much to the current Yu Ruizhi, but these were pieces of junk someone had given away. To casually pick up a few items of such high value—this luck was truly not bad.

Yu Ruoqiu smiled, "If it weren't for Xinghui's keen eye, you wouldn't recognize a treasure even if it were right in front of you. Second Brother, could you have recognized that these were treasures?"

Yu Ruizhi shook his head repeatedly, "I certainly couldn't have. If it were me, I would have thrown these things into the trash heap for sure."

Yu Ruoqiu said, "Exactly. If someone without ability has treasures thrown in front of them, they wouldn't even recognize them."

Yu Ruizhi feigned anger, "Alright, are you saying your brother has no ability?"

Yu Ruoqiu said, "Why wouldn't I dare say it? Compared to Xinghui, you just don't have the ability."

Yu Ruizhi shook his head helplessly, wanting to say something but stopping himself. Seeing his expression, Yu Ruoqiu and Lu Xiaoya both laughed.

Yu Ruizhi really had no temper when it came to this younger sister.

Yu Ruizhi said to Su Xinghui, "Xinghui, since you have such valuable items at home, you should keep a few dogs. As it happens, the big yellow dog at Grandfather's house has had a litter of puppies. You should go and bring two back next time."

The big yellow dog at Elder Yu's house was very smart and loyal, suitable for guarding the house. It was indeed a good dog. Since Su Xinghui's courtyard was so large, keeping two dogs was quite appropriate. With so many valuable items at home, keeping two dogs could also prevent theft.

Although public security in the capital was quite good, there were always thieves, so it was best to take precautions.

Su Xinghui nodded, "Alright, then I'll bring two dogs back to raise when I go to Grandfather's house next time."