Chapter 1007: Gift

The bed at the International Hotel was large, especially when sleeping alone.

He Yu Shui suffered from insomnia, just like that bastard who left cleanly, freely, and extremely dashingly.

When she went upstairs with him, she had a few points of trepidation, a few points of surprise, and a few points of joy.

But when he stood at the door, gesturing to the room and saying to her: "A woman always has a few days when she speaks without using her brain; the most suitable solution is to be alone and quiet."

She really wanted to raise her hand and punch him at that moment, just hitting that mouth of his that invited hatred.

However, she only thought about it and didn't take action; she was just angry, not crazy.

This bastard told her that the room was booked and wouldn't be refunded, five yuan and five mao at the internal price for one night, including breakfast, and she could order meals to the room by phone.

After speaking, he didn't care about her resentful gaze, turned and left, clean, neat, and crisp.

He Yu Shui really had the heart to follow him downstairs and go home at that time, but thinking of what her sister-in-law said when she came out, and looking at the magnificent room again.

She knew, Li Xuewu wasn't a bad person.

But he was a bastard, a bastard with feelings and righteousness, more annoying than a bad guy, making people...

French-style wall decoration, golden pillar carved large bed, white curtains, green table flag, purple velvet heavy curtains... this guest room was impeccable, only lacking a trace of warmth.

Even if this was the most comfortable, most luxurious room Yushui had ever slept in, one she had never dared to imagine, she still couldn't sleep alone.

There is no lack of love at first sight in this world, or childhood sweethearts, but often there is no far-fetched love.

If it were really as her sister-in-law said, a forced melon wouldn't be sweet, then why would he tolerate and take care of her like this.

If he really didn't have feelings for her, why would he pretend to be such a gentleman, not provoking dust.

If he were really a gentleman, then what kind of appearance were the things she had heard and seen before.

Could it be that she wasn't even as good as Qin Huairu and Yu Li?

This night, He Yu Shui tossed and turned, her thoughts thousands of miles away; she never thought men could be this complicated, waiting for him in the cold night, he should know what this meant.

Even if she decided to go on a blind date and restart her life, she still clung to this unexpected joy, wanting to struggle again.

But life is a mud pit, a swamp; the more you struggle, the deeper you sink, and it's hard to turn back.

Time can sometimes be very, very slow, just like the dawn outside the window of the International Hotel that Yushui saw, which didn't come for a long time.

Time can sometimes be very, very fast, just like the work calendar on Li Xuewu's desk, ticked off and disappearing.

On January 28, the industrial production equipment for electronics and electricity entrusted by the steel mill to be purchased by Japanese merchants, Hong Kong merchants, and Five Harvest Bank arrived at the Yingcheng Port wharf.

Chief Engineer Xia Zhongquan led a team to Steel City to guide and deploy the installation and maintenance of mechanical equipment.

On January 29, the People's Publishing House contacted Li Xuewu; the "Emergency Dual Pre-plan" was reprinted for 200,000 copies.

It was good news, but there was no manuscript fee, because after the reform of the manuscript fee system, there was no manuscript fee for reprints.

Not only was there no manuscript fee for reprints, actually writers in this period had no manuscript fees, belonging to "integrated" management.

On the 29th, there was also a "good news" that made people curse; the matter Li Xuewu had been talking about for the past few days came true.

The "People's Daily" published a notice today: In compliance with the requirements of the broad masses, the above officially announced "breaking old customs, no holidays for the Spring Festival."

Li Xuewu didn't know who the "broad masses" were; anyway, they were as mysterious and unspeakable as the "relevant departments."

Not only were there no holidays for the Spring Festival, but family visit leave was also suspended, saying it would be made up later.

Making it up later is like your friend borrowing 200 yuan from you and saying they'll pay it back later.

You shouldn't count on them paying it back; since you want to lend it, just treat it as a donation, or lose it.

Peng Xiaoli was full of complaints, not daring to say it in front of Li Xuewu, but muttering in his mouth, all unhappy.

He was unhappy, and actually the workers of the steel mill were also unhappy.

But this notice wasn't made by the factory, but issued directly by the above through the newspaper.

Major train stations and bus stations were all using the broadcast method to play the notice of no holidays for the Spring Festival in turns.

Many people who had originally bought train tickets and bus tickets intending to go home for the New Year, after hearing this notice, went to the ticket office to return their tickets one after another, returning to their work posts to continue working.

Not everyone in this era was as daring as Peng Xiaoli to express and speak the truth.

Anyway, someone proposed it, and the above notified it, so everyone could only follow suit.

And it wasn't aimed at one person; even if you wanted to reason, who could you reason with.

Actually, what Peng Xiaoli didn't know was that for the next ten-plus years, there would be no holidays for the Spring Festival.

He wouldn't suffer just once; it would accompany his entire youth.

Anyway, just what Li Xuewu knew, in these ten-plus years, regardless of whether it was government cadres, factory staff, or service personnel in shops, supply and marketing cooperatives, and hotels, no one had holidays, no one went home, and everyone had to actively participate in production labor.

You say this regulation only tortures city people, only tortures workers and government cadres?

Of course not; it was an all-around, three-dimensional notice; no one should be idle.

Winter is originally a slack season for farming, but farmers also had to participate in labor, changing winter slack to winter busy.

Of course, Peng Xiaoli dared to speak the truth in front of Li Xuewu, but in front of others, he still supported the above's decision very much.

Not only did he support it, but even when everyone gathered to chat about this matter, what they said was all support.

One by one, they competed to be advanced, competed to sell their strength, and no one said how absurd this decision was.

However, the helplessness that couldn't be hidden in each other's eyes was there; after all, there were only these few days of vacation in a year.

No one was popped out of a crack in a stone; everyone was raised by parents, so there had to be a time for reunion.

No one was a machine; as long as you gave a little machine oil, connected to a power source or power, you could run without stopping day and night.

Factory leaders were actually very helpless, and discovered the dark currents and emotions hidden under this piece of support.

It was still Li Xuewu, as the Deputy Director of the Office, who added a sentence when the document was transferred to him for review: weekends rest as usual.

The smart ones had already seen the meaning behind adding this opinion.

On the eighth of next month, the eve of the New Year, it was exactly that weekend.

In other words, this year's no rest could be rested, even if it was a weekend-style rest.

However, the discussion about this matter in the factory still didn't stop, and even Peng Xiaoli nagged him for a day.

This kid had a tendency to be talkative recently; he was still clear-headed, knowing he couldn't speak casually.

On the 30th, Li Xuewu officially contacted the Dongcheng Credit Cooperative on behalf of the Red Star Steel Mill.

Both sides conducted visits and inspection work regarding the projects mentioned in the last meeting.

Including the third-production projects of the steel mill in Beijing, and the trade train project dispatched by the Tianjin Trade Management Center.

Yingcheng and Steel City were too far, so there was no need or plan for inspection for the time being.

However, regarding the projects that were currently mature and under construction, Bao Peigang was still very satisfied.

Especially the glass steel project in cooperation with the Beijing Glass Factory, the electronic supporting project in cooperation with the TV factory, and the auto parts supporting industry in cooperation with the chemical plant, etc.

This part was introduced by Li Xuewu as the auto parts supply chain project that the steel mill was currently building.

In the process of explanation, Li Xuewu revealed that the steel mill intended to rely on existing auto industry projects and parts supporting capacity to build a parts solution service for auto manufacturing plants.

The plan was committed to solving the current status of auto manufacturing plants over-relying on self-production of all parts, advocating the optimization of technology and production models, and building a new pattern of upstream and downstream auto production in zones.

This wasn't a new project of the steel mill; one could see that the steel mill had long had a layout from the inspection and investigation actions of auto parts production factories across the country.

It was just that the engineering project department executing this order might not understand, but it was in the plan Li Xuewu submitted to Li Huai De and other leaders.

Auto production absolutely wasn't completed just by building and creating a jeep or motorcycle factory.

Mastering upstream and downstream industries, fully mobilizing resources, and integrating resources was the ultimate goal of the auto industry.

Of course, this project was a backup and extension program for auto manufacturing, and didn't involve additional investment or budget situations.

The steel mill still retained the purpose of the parts procurement team, which was just this.

The cost might just be the personnel cost of this team, but for the steel mill's own people, the cost was almost negligible.

But once the supply chain project was achieved, the benefits and influence produced would far exceed the auto industry in Steel City itself.

Of course, the development of the supply chain project couldn't be built in a day.

It should be developed synchronously with the steel mill's auto industry, avoiding being top-heavy.

The current cooperative units only had the Beijing Second Auto Works, and the procurement channels within the supply chain were also based on short-term customized contracts.

But in the future, the supply chain would change this production and procurement pattern, and even conversely acquire parts processing plants, and then integrate the upstream areas of auto production.

Bao Peigang saw a small part of the Red Star Steel Mill's third-production industry from Li Xuewu's introduction.

But the sheer grandeur revealed by the tip of the iceberg already left him awestruck, and he was even more impressed and awed by the steel mill's existing, highly clear, and powerfully executed development goals.

It wasn't that the supply and marketing cooperative had too much money and came out to find investment projects; on the contrary, it was because there was less money that it was like this.

Precisely because there was less money, they needed money, needed to earn more money, and had to treat investment with caution.

Good projects were rare, and projects with stability and controllability were even rarer.

Bao Peigang was indeed very willing to reach a financial investment cooperation with the steel mill, and even invited Li Xuewu to go with him to inspect the service outlets of the credit cooperative.

The case happened in Dongcheng, and the key figures and contradictions were also in the Dongcheng Credit Cooperative.

The above adjusted the management layer of the credit cooperative in time; Bao Peigang was newly transferred here, so naturally he had a drive.

He understood the management and actual situation of the Dongcheng Credit Cooperative very well, did a lot of homework, and even applied to call up the case materials at that time.

From a certain detail, which was the opinion Li Xuewu registered on the case interrogation record for the current office system of the credit cooperative, as well as the security and financial accounting system, when he interrogated the main culprit accountant.

Li Xuewu really didn't pay attention; it was written by the clerk, and he glanced at it and signed it.

He didn't expect that someone really looked carefully at his opinion on the current office system of the credit cooperative, as well as the security and financial accounting system.

Bao Peigang also followed this opinion and checked the investigation context of the whole case.

He didn't know until he checked, and was shocked; it turned out that the major case that shocked the whole Dongcheng was broken by this criminal investigation expert named Li Xuewu from beginning to end.

Especially combined with that opinion that wasn't obvious but very unexpected to him, it made him even more interested in this person named Li Xuewu.

After coordinating and understanding with the person in charge of the case, he also investigated Li Xuewu's personal data, as well as the steel mill's production data.

Combined with all the investigation results, Bao Peigang was certain that he had met a young man with true talent and great ability.

This wasn't his evaluation, but the evaluation of the person in charge of the case, and those people during his investigation process toward Li Xuewu.

So he contacted friends in the supervision side, wanting to see Li Xuewu.

It was just that he didn't expect Li Xuewu to be official and not private, making his meeting with him an official matter.

But this way, the meeting between the two was magnanimous and normal, and there was a second meeting.

In the process of inspection, Li Xuewu naturally wouldn't scold his son in front of his parents, only saying some of his own opinions and insights during the symposium.

Bao Peigang could see that Li Xuewu's speech was still relatively cautious, very concerned about the environment and identity.

He wasn't disappointed, but instead became even more surprised and recognized Li Xuewu's maturity.

There were many problems in the credit cooperative, but freezing three feet wasn't a day's cold; if they wanted to solve the problems from the root, they still needed to take it slowly.

Therefore, even if Li Xuewu had valuable opinions on the reform of the credit cooperative, he wasn't in a hurry to obtain them at this time.

As long as there was cooperation, as long as they became friends, there would be plenty of time to sit down and communicate and exchange in the future.

At the end of the inspection, Bao Peigang, on behalf of the Dongcheng Credit Cooperative, officially proposed the intention and wish for comprehensive economic cooperation to the Red Star Steel Mill.

The Dongcheng Credit Cooperative intended to inject capital into the trade and third-production industry and infrastructure projects owned by the steel mill in the form of investment and loans.

It intended to invest in the commercial category of the steel mill worker village project, and applied to build savings service stations.

It intended to cooperate with the steel mill to explore the training mechanism and practice of financial personnel and security personnel, and participate in the Red Star training ground project.

……

The officially submitted cooperation intention letter listed quite a few cooperation projects; they marked cooperation intentions for the projects Li Xuewu mentioned and the projects they understood themselves.

Li Xuewu was naturally willing to send money; other projects could be discussed, but only on the matter of savings, he had different opinions.

He didn't know how the development of credit savings would be in the future, but it was impossible for the steel mill workers' money bags to be in other people's hands.

Li Xuewu raised his opinion on this cooperation intention at the communication meeting, saying that if they wanted to do savings, they could, but it must be in the form of cooperation.

It should be jointly invested and built by the Dongcheng Credit Cooperative, which had the qualification for savings management, and the Red Star Steel Mill, which had a huge number of workers and cooperative factories and units, to build a new unit with savings, development, and investment functions.

This unit would be jointly led by both sides, with completely autonomous funds, jointly developed investment projects, mainly facing factory asset processing, worker wage issuance and savings, engineering project investment, etc.

Bao Peigang attached great importance to Li Xuewu's opinion and was also thinking about the possibility and pros and cons of this cooperation.

Rome wasn't built in a day; this meeting was also only the second meeting between the two sides.

Even if the credit cooperative officially proposed the intention of cooperation, Li Xuewu and Bao Peigang both knew very well that there were still many roads to walk before reaching the day of cooperation.

After all, it was relatively rare for units with bank nature to cooperate with production units to develop capital operations.

The most common was actually worker wage issuance and savings, generally with the credit cooperative providing capital solutions as a service party.

Now Li Xuewu wanted to reach in and scoop money, and wanted to grasp the money bag, influencing and intervening in the management and operation of funds, which was truly a big problem for Bao Peigang.

When reporting this work to Jing Yunong after returning, Jing Yunong also said he was a model of plucking hair from a passing wild goose, wanting money from everything.

Li Xuewu was angry, complaining on one side that he was doing it for the factory's good, and threatening her on the other side that next time he would let her try what it meant to pluck "hair" from a passing wild goose.

"Why is time passing so fast?"

Li Xuewu looked down at the work calendar through the thick glass on the desk.

"A month has passed in a flash, and it's the end of the month again?"

"You're busy; in the mountains there are no months, in the world a thousand years have passed."

Peng Xiaoli teased: "You really should relax; otherwise, in a blink of an eye, you'll see the factory labor union beating drums and gongs to send you a retirement certificate."

"I actually wish they would; it would be good if they sent it to me now!"

Li Xuewu laughed and pointed at the calendar, asking: "Is Deputy Director Jing going to the International Hotel today?"

"Yes, Deputy Director Jing is leading the team, and Director Sha also went over."

Peng Xiaoli introduced: "The docking meeting started last Thursday, and there hasn't been much substantive progress; they are all still in the understanding stage."

"Director Sha is actually very attentive."

Speaking of this, he even took the initiative to credit Director Sha: "Several production bases of our factory were taken by him to turn around with those commercial travel groups; everything that should be seen has been seen."

"Isn't this his job?"

Li Xuewu smiled and pointed out, didn't care about his words, and asked again: "Has the personnel adjustment work been completed?"

"It was the responsibility of Deputy Leader Yu; the report was submitted on Monday."

Peng Xiaoli introduced while finding the corresponding document from the file grid and placing it in front of Li Xuewu.

"It was mainly work handover and order reading; Deputy Leader Yu watched it personally, and it went very smoothly."

This wasn't an application document, nor was it a review document; it was a procedural document reported after handover, which didn't require immediate signature or approval, so Peng Xiaoli didn't arrange it in the work documents.

It was an arrangement made by Li Xuewu, and only needed to be taken out when the leader asked or inquired.

Regarding Li Xuewu's office habits, Peng Xiaoli had already figured it out; there was no longer the initial restraint, hand-in-hand, and hand-in-foot, but a true feeling of ease and confidence.

"Leader, today is Saturday, don't you want to go over and take a look?"

"Hmm?"

Li Xuewu was looking at the document; hearing him say this, he raised his eyebrows and glanced at him.

Peng Xiaoli smiled and reminded: "There is a dance party at the International Hotel tonight; not only are the guests in the hotel, but the staff and family members of the Foreign Affairs Department are also willing to go."

"You know this too?"

Li Xuewu's face moved slightly, and he said: "It seems the safety and security work of the International Hotel is not in place."

"Don't scare me."

Peng Xiaoli curled his lips and said with a bit of emptiness in his voice: "The International Hotel doesn't entertain the public, and it's a counterpart entertainment unit of the Foreign Affairs Department, and also the steel mill's own entertainment unit, so it doesn't violate taboos."

"Another thing, this news isn't known to everyone; I dare say not many people in our factory know."

"You know it, don't you?"

Li Xuewu closed the document, pointed and said: "Tell Deputy Leader Yu to arrange a post inspection after the New Year to see the performance of duties."

"Also!"

After finishing the explanation, he pointed at Peng Xiaoli and exhorted: "Tell the International Hotel to be low-key, don't be flamboyant, and at the same time tell the Security Section to strengthen safety management."

"I know, I'll go handle it right away."

Peng Xiaoli saw Li Xuewu speaking seriously, so he also responded very seriously.

Waiting until he saw the leader had nothing else to explain, he said a word and turned to leave the office.

Actually, Li Xuewu didn't deny the weekend dance party; this was a social means, especially aimed at those foreigners.

With the Foreign Affairs Department and the Investigation Department over there, it was impossible for just anyone to enter the dance hall as Peng Xiaoli thought.

Furthermore, the dancing activities carried out over there weren't started by Han Yating and Zhang Songying acting on their own.

Just think about it, who had this ability, and liked dancing, and dared to require the International Hotel to hold such social activities.

Otherwise, why would Li Xuewu say Old Li was both incompetent and loved to play, being held up by girls like Zhou Miaomiao, really thinking his dancing skills were superb.

A few days ago, he called Li Xuewu late at night and was scared to death; these few days he saw nothing happened, and he wanted to find happiness again.

Li Xuewu also heard Zhang Songying mention it, saying that the weekend dance party over there was liked not only by foreign businessmen, but also by foreign affairs envoys and their families.

Perhaps the environment was superior, perhaps the safety guarantee was done well, and there really was a feeling of debauchery over here.

Of course, the International Hotel also earned a lot in this wave, otherwise you thought the internal price of high-level rooms was five yuan and five mao, where did the money go.

The internal price was five yuan and five mao; for foreign businessmen or foreign affairs individual guests, it was even more outrageously high.

Even if the internal equipment and facilities were advanced and excellent, and the service was particularly thoughtful and considerate, it was ten or twenty yuan a night; the foreigners didn't feel heartache living there, but those waiters were shocked.

On one hand, they sighed that foreigners were really rich, and on the other hand, they sighed that their unit was really black-hearted.

If you want to talk about black-hearted, it had to be the teahouse and coffee shop in the International Hotel, and then the high-level kitchen.

Li Xuewu handed over the set of foreigners earning money from the country's people to Zhang Songying.

Chef Shang was a ready-made health-preserving chef, letting these foreigners who were obsessed with Chinese culture also taste the beating of capital.

Don't make the dishes large, make the dishes exquisite, make more fancy decorations, and take a few fairy-like names.

What they were eating wasn't food, but culture and cultivation, focusing on a pit with style.

However, the ingredients here were indeed excellent; Shen Guodong took the order, and except for beef, mutton, and seafood which came down from joint trade, other fresh vegetables were all supplied by him.

Capital is all flowing; a big fish turns the river and the sea, and naturally there is a group of people following to eat the melon.

With the small volume of the recycling station, just relying on the steel mill, there was endless wealth to operate.

The news brought back by Old Biaozi last weekend was that the matter in Steel City had been completely settled, and the influence of Guandong earlier had basically been eliminated.

Regarding the development of the recycling station and the shipping wharf in Steel City, he also

Fortunately, Dong Wenxue was at the steel mill, and since he knew him, communicating wasn't difficult.

Relying on the steel mill and its recent bold and large-scale construction projects, Lao Biaozi could be said to have seized the opportunity and made quite a name for himself.

He not only assisted Dongfeng Construction in carrying out local project recruitment but also coordinated with several parties to complete the procurement of construction materials.

Not to mention the profits he skimmed off the top, the connections he made during the process were also a significant fortune for him in Steel City.

What's more, the steel mill also had a quota for recruiting one thousand personnel in Steel City, and there were quite a few people pulling strings.

Even though the steel mill set strict academic requirements for different job positions, the quota for one thousand people was still highly sought after.

Li Wenbiao naturally knew not to cause trouble for Li Xuewu, so all personnel operations were completed through Dong Wenxue.

This was doing favors for the steel mill and helping the steel mill maintain local relations, so naturally, he had to give them some face.

Under the condition that basic requirements were met, Li Wenbiao did indeed arrange for some people to enter the factory to work.

This also opened up his perspective and thinking for his work in the locality, and he could be considered to have made a name for himself in Steel City.

There were always problems between the locality and the steel mill that were inconvenient to communicate and solve directly; through his coordination and operation, a solution could always be found.

This was also the main reason why he could make a name for himself and live well in Steel City.

After settling things in Steel City, the work in Jicheng became much easier to handle, and Li Wenbiao also freed up his hands and ran to Jicheng twice.

With the help of his second uncle, Xilin also gained a foothold in Jicheng.

Although he wasn't as well-connected as Li Wenbiao and wasn't familiar with the locality to a certain extent, his relationship with the forestry department had stabilized.

After winter began, coordinated by Li Xuewu, the Xicheng Third Prison and the recently partnered Chadian Farm successively consumed four train cars of raw logs from Jicheng Forestry, which really solved a big problem.

This portion of timber was originally an off-plan product; if it wasn't processed this year, after the plan started next year, this portion would be considered wasted and would all be allocated into the plan.

So the forestry department was also thinking about how to make money and how to dispose of these raw logs.

The last time Li Xuewu went to Jicheng, he sat down with their leaders along with his second uncle and brought up this matter.

At the time, their leaders didn't seem to trust Li Xuewu's connections too much; it was just a "try it and see" mentality.

Unexpectedly, after winter began, Xilin took the initiative to contact them to purchase timber, and even the transport trains were prepared.

In fact, these logs weren't hard to sell; whoever had the ability to transport these logs out could make a lot of money.

But the prerequisite was that you had to have that capability; just the scheduling of train cars was a big problem.

Furthermore, not just anyone could cooperate with the forestry department; even if these logs were surplus, they couldn't be casually allocated to an individual—what if something went wrong?

After all, this was off-plan; the portion exceeding the plan had already been written off in the forestry department's books, and whether the money went into the logistics department or someone else's pocket didn't matter.

The accounts were gone, so if there were suddenly an investigation, it would be troublesome.

Therefore, when Xilin came knocking with the procurement documents from the Xicheng Third Prison and Chadian Farm, asking for goods batch after batch, it truly allowed the forestry side to see the possibility of continued stable cooperation.

It was only January, and there were still two or three months of winter left; there was plenty of off-plan timber in the forest farm, all depending on how much Xilin could move.

Li Xuewu was quite optimistic about this line; it was simple and clear, and didn't involve many units.

Especially for the Xicheng Third Prison and Chadian Farm, whether for furniture or papermaking, the demand for timber was particularly large.

Just regarding furniture alone, the recycling station's Da Lao's toolbox hadn't been opened for a long time; they couldn't keep up with supply at all.

Tables, chairs, benches, household furniture, and chess packaging were all produced by these two units.

Prison labor didn't cost money, and since these two places had the First Prison as a model, they were also bold enough to invest in machinery.

Coupled with the liquidity of United Trade, as long as these wooden goods were manufactured, and the packaging and installation needs were redesigned, they would be packed up, loaded onto trains, and transported to where they were needed.

As long as something was purchased with coupons, it was definitely an in-plan commodity with tight supply and demand.

Furniture was truly a large item and a rigid necessity for marriage; ordinary people or units needed it year-round.

Da Lao now had no time to do things himself; he was mostly busy with furniture design.

Li Xuewu arranged for the purchase of many foreign furniture design books and materials from Hong Kong to be sent back for Da Lao to reference.

Now that the recycling station still held the resources for furniture production, they always had the confidence to take a share of the dividends.

The consequence of glass coffee tables becoming popular in Beijing was that the glass factory had already researched techniques for acid-alkali etched patterns and was mass-producing them to seize the furniture market.

No business could last a lifetime; this day had been anticipated long ago.

Da Lao had already gotten used to this situation; it was just that Shen Guodong was a bit narrow-minded and had grumbled about it a few times.

Li Xuewu gave him an idea: create modular furniture to tie down the market and improve competitiveness.

What is modular furniture?

It's very simple: you need a cabinet, but I don't sell you a cabinet; I sell you the parts.

All the components that could be assembled into a cabinet were separated for production and sale.

Customers could buy exactly the size, number of compartments, and patterns they needed and assemble them themselves.

It was convenient for customers to purchase and choose, and convenient for the factory to produce and transport.

The main thing was reducing costs for both sides and competing directly on price with those furniture factories.

This was Li Xuewu's old trick of "throwing sand"—starting a price war at the slightest disagreement.

The only disadvantage of modular furniture was that the design needed to be particularly exquisite and the dimensions grasped very carefully.

But compared to the advantages, design had become the work most worth investing in.

Shen Guodong had really thought about it; relying solely on this item and the production capacity of the Third Prison and Chadian Farm, they could completely monopolize the market.

Hearing him say this, Li Xuewu just smiled and didn't call him delusional.

When starting a business, you shouldn't kill their enthusiasm with one blow; if this project could cultivate Shen Guodong's big-picture view, it was worth it regardless of how much money was made.

At the very least, it would let Shen Guodong know the hardships of entrepreneurship and let him know how big this country was.

Don't talk about monopoly at every turn; except for tobacco, salt, etc., everything else was just a joke.

Monopolize furniture? Keep dreaming!

"Leader, there is mail for you."

Peng Xiaoli returned to report and brought back his letters at the same time.

Even with telephones, letters were still the most important way of keeping in touch in this era.

Many people wrote to Li Xuewu, from all over the country.

Some talked about work, some about life, some about family, and some were just full of nonsense and idle chatter.

Li Xuewu didn't pay attention to this letter at first, but after finishing the documents in his hand, he glanced at it and then became serious.

Forwarded from Steel City, from Nakamura of the Japanese firm.

The letter was very thoughtful and used Chinese; it first inquired about his health, then talked about this machinery procurement and the expectations for the electronics and appliance factory.

At the same time, it also mentioned the development of the international electronics and appliance industry, specifically pointing out Singapore, saying that they were also producing appliances there.

The entire letter gave Li Xuewu a feeling that time waits for no one.

At the end of the letter, Nakamura mentioned that he was grateful for the gift Li Xuewu gave him last time and had specially prepared a generous gift in return.

If Nakamura hadn't reminded him, he would have forgotten what he gave last time—it was that book he wrote himself.

Opening the list attached to the letter, Li Xuewu's eyes narrowed, and then he shook his head with amusement.

What did Nakamura send?

A three-piece set of color TV, washing machine, and refrigerator, all of which were quite high-end.

Why did Li Xuewu narrow his eyes, and why did he find it funny?

Narrowing his eyes certainly wasn't because he felt Nakamura was bribing him or causing him economic trouble.

He felt that the Japanese always acted with pettiness and were always calculating in their hearts.

Shipping them from so far away just to send him these three household appliances.

Do you think Nakamura doesn't know that these things can be obtained domestically?

Actually, he knew, and he knew even better that Li Xuewu had the ability to buy these, but he still sent them.

Why?

On one hand, it meant introducing actual products; on the other hand, it also meant showing off.

Most importantly, it might be a reminder or a way to highlight the gap in cooperation between the two sides.

I'll send you three household appliances; you use them and compare them to see if ours are better or yours are better.

Playing psychological warfare, they were afraid that the steel mill would have other ideas, take their investment and support, and turn to producing things themselves.

It was very likely that the steel mill's choice to cooperate with three foreign firms in procurement had aroused their vigilance.

Why else would Li Xuewu think they were ridiculous? All their scheming was used on this.

"We already have a washing machine at home; it was bought by my mother-in-law."

Li Xuewu pointed at the list and instructed Peng Xiaoli, "It's inconvenient for Deputy Director Gu to live alone; give this one to her."

After speaking, he pointed at the color TV and instructed, "Director Li has a habit of watching TV news every night; give this one to him."

"This refrigerator will be given to..."

"Hey! Leader~~~"

Seeing the leader give away all the gifts from the foreign firm in just a few words, Peng Xiaoli felt his heart ache, and the corners of his mouth twitched.

There were reasons for giving the first two to Deputy Director Gu and Director Li, but giving away the refrigerator as well made him feel sorry for Li Xuewu.

At this moment, he held down the list and reminded him with a bitter smile, "This was sent to you; aren't you keeping one for yourself?"

"Hehe, what's there to treasure?"

Li Xuewu looked at him with a light laugh, let go of the list, leaned back in his chair, and said, "They're just household appliances. Our appliance factory will be completed this year; maybe next year you can have a refrigerator at home too."

"I wouldn't dare to think about it!"

Peng Xiaoli said with a bitter smile, "This thing doesn't look cheap, and it was shipped from abroad."

He picked up the list and looked at it, still feeling pained, and said, "Even if our factory produces them, I still can't afford one."

"Have some ambition!"

Li Xuewu said to him, then waved his hand and said, "I don't need a refrigerator at home either; give it to Deputy Director Jing."

"This..."

Peng Xiaoli didn't expect the leader to really give away all the appliances, not leaving a single one.

Hearing his hesitation and pain, Li Xuewu tilted his head and signaled to him, "Go, go arrange it."

"Yes!"

Seeing the leader was determined, he could only follow orders, took the list, and went to make arrangements.

On the third floor of the main office building, he first went to Deputy Director Gu's office, knocked gently, entered, explained the reason for the foreign firm's letter and gift, and then relayed Li Xuewu's suggestion for the transfer.

For the first time, he saw an expression of surprise and amusement on Deputy Director Gu's face.

Actually, Peng Xiaoli had hesitated about whether to relay Li Xuewu's original words.

Although he knew Deputy Director Gu was currently single, there was no need to use that as a reason to give a washing machine, right?

However, he still said it; on one hand, he didn't dare to change Li Xuewu's opinion, and on the other hand, he also wanted to see what Deputy Director Gu's reaction would be.

"Thank your team leader for me."

Gu Weijie looked at him with amusement, then nodded and said, "I really need something convenient for washing clothes; I almost didn't have clean clothes to wear."

"Hehe, leader, you're joking."

Peng Xiaoli also heard Deputy Director Gu's teasing and joking, but the leader did indeed accept the gift, which really made him understand a few things.

When he arrived at Deputy Director Jing's office and explained his purpose, he received a different reaction.

"In this freezing winter, you're giving me a refrigerator?"

Jing Yunong was still reviewing documents, but her words sounded genuinely dissatisfied.

"Is there anything that won't freeze solid in the minus ten or twenty-degree weather outside?"

"... This"

Peng Xiaoli almost broke into a sweat from her question; how did giving a gift turn into trouble?

You don't even want a refrigerator; what do you want, a stove?

"Hehe~"

Just as he was forcing a stiff laugh, racking his brains on how to reply to the leader, he saw Deputy Director Jing laugh out loud.

"Alright, go back. Tell Li Xuewu that I don't lack a refrigerator at home; tell him to keep it for his own use."

"Leader, we..."

Peng Xiaoli still wanted to explain, but saw Deputy Director Jing had already waved her hand and lowered her head to look at the documents again.

He had no choice but to exit the office and wait to go back and ask the leader how to handle it.

If a gift wasn't delivered, that meant his work had a problem.

When he arrived at Director Li's place, it was finally normal; the leader didn't tease him anymore, nor did he cause any more trouble.

Director Li nodded in a way that was both unexpected and not very unexpected, indicating he accepted the gift.

However, when he came out, he clearly saw the meaningful look in Secretary Li Haiyang's eyes.

Having both come up through the factory office, how could he not understand what the other party meant?

It seemed that this batch of appliance gifts was already known to everyone before it even reached Deputy Director Li's hands.

At least he didn't see any excitement or other expressions in Secretary Li Haiyang's eyes, which only meant this kid had known about it for a long time.

Director Li's performance was spot on; he still had a way to go.