Chapter 1117: Why is he so popular with young girls?

"Every family is like this now; otherwise, you'd be drenched in sweat just from being busy for a while in the morning."

Qin Huairu had just finished washing her face and was pouring the water into the basin when she saw Li Xuewu carrying Li Shu over from the back courtyard and greeted him.

Li Shu found it very novel to see every household in the courtyard setting up small stoves to stir-fry and cook.

Even Li Xuewu couldn't help but take a few extra looks, which led to Qin Huairu's explanation.

"I really have to say, Guodong is very thoughtful!"

Qin Huairu explained, "Which family would be willing to use a tin bucket as a coal stove? He helped get paint buckets from the construction site, and they are just the right size when cut."

As she was introducing it, Li Xuewu only glanced at it and knew what this thing was.

They existed in later generations too; street vendors would use tin buckets for fire stoves, pack them with cement inside, and then poke a hole on one side for a flue, which was very convenient.

One coal ball, or one honeycomb briquette, was enough to prepare breakfast for a whole family.

"Good heavens, all the sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty flavors are all here in this courtyard—"

Li Xuewu smiled and nodded, saying, "I think there's no need to eat; just walking around once is enough to be full."

"Wouldn't that really mean drinking the northwest wind?"

Jia Zhangshi smiled as she served stir-fried salted vegetables from a large spoon and greeted Li Xuewu, "You two just got up? I saw Dr. Gu carrying the child over early this morning."

"It's a rare weekend with nothing to do, so we slept in."

Li Xuewu looked at the daughter in his arms and said with a smile, "She wouldn't sleep at all last night and insisted on staying with me in the front-row room, so she didn't get up this morning."

Li Shu also knew that her father was talking about her, so she felt embarrassed at this moment.

"Oh my—look, she even knows how to be embarrassed."

Qin Huairu teased her and smiled, greeting Li Shu, "Eat with Auntie this morning; Auntie will boil some eggs."

"No, I want to eat with my little brother."

Li Shu hugged her father's neck and dodged Qin Huairu's hand, but her eyes were still curiously examining the morning in the courtyard.

The time had come; once April passed, the weather would get hot.

If you want to talk about how to muddle through the noon meal, anything works; after all, the sun is high at noon, and it's hot in the courtyard.

Just making do with the leftovers from the morning, how could one not be full?

Furthermore, those who eat at home at noon are mostly the elderly or children.

Since they aren't engaged in production, the allocation of daily necessities isn't as abundant.

But the two meals in the morning and evening cannot be muddled through; those going to work and those coming home from work both need to eat at home.

It's fine for a cadre like Qin Huairu who works in service; in the past, no matter how difficult her family was, they had to ensure she was well-fed.

It's the same for other worker families; if the breadwinner isn't well-fed, can the money still be earned?

If the money to support the family isn't earned, the whole family would starve to death.

Therefore, it's very common that as long as the family isn't in special difficulty, the food for these two meals is quite good.

Don't talk about stir-frying three dishes and steaming two; that's not realistic, but at least the calories are there.

Coming over from the back courtyard, Li Xuewu saw every family setting up stoves in the courtyard. As he walked by, it was clear that the quality of food this year was higher than last year.

If you want to say that the launch of the Great Learning campaign brought certain influences to the lives of the common people, that is inevitable, but that is speaking generally.

This general population is in the hundreds of millions, not just the portion of people living in Beijing who have family members working in factories.

Although everyone's wages haven't risen, the level of market supply has improved, and there are times when the ration coupons that were previously held tightly in hand have empty slots.

That is, the situation where you are issued a certain type of coupon, but it's extremely difficult to buy that item.

After entering May, the first batch of greenhouse vegetables began to be supplied, greatly easing the tension in the common people's vegetable baskets during the period between harvests.

Furthermore, the industrial economy is developing and advancing in a positive direction; although the completion rate of industrial indicators in the first quarter wasn't as high as last year's, it was still completed ahead of target.

Qin Huairu saying she would invite Li Shu to eat breakfast at home and have boiled eggs—she wouldn't have dared to say this in the past.

It wasn't just that her family didn't have the conditions in the past; she couldn't even get her hands on eggs.

In 1965, the year Li Xuewu returned, it was very difficult to buy eggs to supplement Li Shu's nutrition.

You couldn't say they weren't on the market, but by the time you arrived, they would have long been sold out at the stalls.

Unless you had special circumstances, you could only buy them with coupons or special certificates.

Just two years later, the market situation had changed significantly.

Now, if you want to find eggs on the market, you can't say they are everywhere, but as long as you get up early and queue up, you can definitely buy them.

Eggs are just a microcosm of the richness and prosperity of the consumer market; other things, including meat and vegetables, are also constantly improving in supply levels.

With wages unchanged and prices unchanged, the supply volume has increased, so the virtual value of goods has decreased.

To put it bluntly, aren't eggs just for eating?

We need them because of their nutritional value.

But when materials are scarce, this nutritional value is infinitely magnified, leading to the situation where it's hard to find a single egg.

When prices return to their true value, look back at that egg; if you don't eat it, didn't you still survive?

This trend of influence and the fluctuation of market value clearly show the current state of economic development.

If you want to say Li Xuewu just got up late, was aimlessly wandering on his way out from home, thinking randomly in his heart, and seeing every family eating breakfast in such an elaborate way.

Understanding the ways of the world is all learning; Li Xuewu is not a local cadre, so caring about the rice bowls and vegetable baskets of the neighbors isn't about focusing on the people's livelihood economy.

Within the scope of the planned economy system, the industrial economy is an important link.

This courtyard can be considered a small society; there are all kinds of people here.

Cadres, workers, temporary workers.

The elderly, children, and young men.

Even among these cadres and workers, they are divided into workers from the Red Star Factory and workers from other factories.

Li Xuewu wants to see how the living standards of the Red Star Factory workers are, and then compare them with the living standards of workers from other factories.

There are specialized departments in the Red Star Factory that investigate this, and local statistical departments also compile reports.

But hearing is false, seeing is believing.

Looking at this kind of data from behind an office desk is completely different from looking at it while walking among the masses and workers.

"Oh—Seventh Sister-in-law, you're eating quite well this morning!"

Li Xuewu was carrying his daughter past the third gate and saw Seventh Sister-in-law cooking breakfast outside the gate.

Cornmeal porridge, stir-fried baby bok choy, and a basin of fermented bean curd.

These, of course, don't count as hearty dishes, nor are they enough for Li Xuewu to praise as eating well.

Looking further into the pot, there were yellowish white-flour steamed buns lined up on the steamer, along with three salted duck eggs.

The white-flour steamed buns were, of course, white; the yellowish tint wasn't Li Xuewu's eyes playing tricks on him, but because they were mixed with cornmeal.

Drinking something thin, eating something dry, and having salted duck eggs—one cold, one hot.

"Are you making fun of me—"

Seventh sat in the corridor of the third gate with a small dining table in front of him, surrounded by a circle of children.

He smiled and greeted Li Xuewu, "Can this kind of food even catch your eye?"

"Seventh Uncle, Seventh Aunt—"

Li Shu had a very sweet mouth, especially since she had spent a lot of time playing with the old lady in this courtyard.

When Northeasterners take children out, the final instruction is: "Greet people when you see them; don't be like a mute."

No lie, that's how it is; when taking a child out, if the child doesn't greet people, it's a huge loss of face for the adults.

If you want to talk about getting along well, Li Xuewu didn't get along as well in this courtyard as his daughter did.

Seventh and Seventh Sister-in-law heard this greeting and immediately beamed with joy, feeling that they had a lot of face.

Seventh Sister-in-law reached out and pinched a piece from the steamed bun that had just been taken out of the pot and forced it into Li Shu's hand.

Li Shu was sensible and just declined, saying she didn't want it, which made Seventh Sister-in-law feel embarrassed.

"Seventh Aunt gave it to you, take it and eat."

"Thank Seventh Aunt—"

Li Xuewu saw his daughter looking at him while holding the steamed bun, so he smiled and nodded, teaching her to say thank you.

Li Shu imitated her father's words, looked at Seventh Sister-in-law, and said, "Thank you, Seventh Aunt—!"

"Hey—what's there to thank!" Seventh Sister-in-law smiled and said, "Taste Seventh Aunt's craft; if it's fragrant, Seventh Aunt will give you more."

"You little brat, why don't you know how to greet people!"

Seeing Li Xuewu teaching the child, hearing Li Shu's cleverness in taking the initiative to greet people, and then looking at his own cubs, each of them burying their heads and grabbing food, Seventh felt he had no face.

He slapped his eldest son on the back of the head and scolded him with dissatisfaction.

The eldest was already used to his father's sudden attacks, didn't mind the slap, raised his head with a grin, and called Li Xuewu "Uncle."

Li Xuewu responded, pointed at Seventh, and said, "I heard from people that Yang Seventh from Workshop Eight is awesome; he passed the top-level skill test this year in one go."

"That's right—you don't even look at what kind of craft I have!"

The sudden improvement in the food standard of Yang Seventh's family had an absolute relationship with his promotion in wage grade.

This matter had actually long passed its peak, and he had boasted about it quite a bit in the courtyard two months ago.

It was just that now that Li Xuewu brought it up again, he felt he had a lot of face.

"In the workshop, if I say no problem, this piece is absolutely in the bag when it reaches my hands; if I can't do it, no matter who the director finds, they won't be able to do it."

"Look at how capable you are—!"

Seventh Sister-in-law was quite respectful and reverent toward her man; look at how she was being modest now—that was saying the opposite of what she meant.

In this era, no one understood what "Versailles" meant, but the cooperation between Seventh and his wife could definitely be called a classic Versailles combination.

Li Xuewu naturally knew what kind of character he had; while carrying Li Shu and walking out, he said to him, "Alright, promoted to level four this year, you can be considered a backbone; I'll look for you if there's a task later."

"No problem, no problem—"

Seventh heard Li Xuewu's words, excitedly stood up, waved his hands, and said, "I'm ready at any time!"

"You silly woman, why are you so stingy!"

Watching Li Xuewu pass through the moon gate, Seventh sat back down and scolded his wife in a low voice, "Didn't I give you a wink!"

"So what if you winked?" Seventh Sister-in-law retorted with dissatisfaction, "Giving a steamed bun is enough!"

"Do you think he cares about your steamed bun!"

Seventh glared at his wife, picked up a salted duck egg from the steamer, cracked it, and muttered, "Just these two things, and you're still rolling your eyes!"

"If you don't care, don't eat it—"

Seventh Sister-in-law was a formidable character; she retorted at this moment, "This was brought by my mother for the children; do you think I'd let you take it to do favors?"

"Besides, he was just saying a few words to tease you; are you really taking it seriously!"

"What do you mean teasing me? What do you mean taking it seriously?"

Seventh said with dissatisfaction, "Do you think he cares to play with me? Who do I think I am that he would go out of his way to praise me!"

"Since he said he heard it from others, it just shows that my technique is really good!"

"Alright, alright, stop talking nonsense."

Seventh Sister-in-law curled her lips and said, "I don't know you, but don't you know yourself?"

She glanced at the back courtyard and said, "If it weren't for the fact that First Uncle was assessing your group, could you have picked up this bargain? And passed in one go!"

"Just say it in the courtyard; don't say it until you believe it yourself."

"Hey—you silly old woman, what nonsense are you spouting!"

Seventh was poked in his soft spot by his wife and scolded angrily, "I passed the test properly by finding First Uncle; how did it become favoritism in your mouth!"

The liveliness in Seventh's home in the front courtyard didn't attract the attention of the neighbors.

Because this morning, starting from five o'clock when the sky was bright, there was no lack of noise and clamor.

Even if the shouting of parents waking up their children wasn't noisy, the sound of spatulas fighting with iron pots was noisy enough.

There was also a large group of people eating breakfast in the front-row room every morning, but the place for cooking was still in the kitchen.

Seeing Sha Zhu was the head chef; he said where to cook, so that's where it had to be cooked.

People in the courtyard asked Shen Guodong for help and bought some scrap tin buckets to make fire stoves, and Shen Guodong even asked Seeing Sha Zhu if the recycling station should make a few too.

Seeing Sha Zhu's opinion was that in the kitchen, stir-frying and cooking on a proper stove was the most basic respect for food.

Setting up a fire stove in the courtyard—isn't that like a beggar!

In the past, beggars would squat on the street and beg from door to door; the leftovers and soup they collected would all be cold, and you couldn't just pour them into your stomach directly.

Three bricks, half a casserole, wherever it was convenient in a corner, that's where they would gather.

Filling it with firewood to heat up the begged food together, eating something hot so the body wouldn't be cold.

That's how a beggar would cook and eat outside.

Look at Seeing Sha Zhu going to do jobs for others, weddings and funerals, having to set up fire stoves outside—that also had to be brick-built, not carried with buckets.

Xiaoyan and the others all said Seeing Sha Zhu was poor and fastidious, with a dead duck's mouth.

Early this morning, the fire was lit in the kitchen, cooking breakfast for a dozen or twenty people; just that large pot of cornmeal buns was hot enough.

Seeing Sha Zhu was stubborn; he endured no matter how hot it was, saying that being a chef was just this kind of work.

He even used the factory canteen as an example; the canteen was so hot, but he hadn't seen the chef team move their kitchen utensils outside to stir-fry and cook.

Therefore, upon entering the front-row room, one could clearly feel that the temperature in the corridor at the entrance was high, and there was a lot of steam.

"What are you eating? Give me a bite!"

Shen Guodong was like Hu Zi; seeing Li Xuewu carrying Li Shu in, he leaned over and scared him.

He was doing it on purpose; Li Shu was just pinching a steamed bun to her mouth when she was almost startled by his sudden move.

Yu Li came over from behind and slapped him, scolding him for being irresponsible as an uncle, and then took Li Shu from Li Xuewu's arms.

Li Shu wasn't afraid of this; she imitated her little aunt and glared at Uncle Guodong, chattering, "I'm not afraid of you—!"

"You're not afraid of me?" Shen Guodong raised his hand to scare her, "I'll beat you up and then you'll know to be afraid of me!"

"Stop teasing, you've teased her until she's thick-skinned—"

Liu Yin waved her hand, telling Shen Guodong not to tease her anymore; Li Shu wasn't afraid of being scared now.

One Shen Guodong, one Seeing Sha Zhu—teasing children and loving children, they were both irresponsible, teasing the children until they weren't afraid of them anymore.

"Who gave you the steamed bun? Tell Auntie, is it fragrant?"

Yu Li used a handkerchief to wipe Li Shu's little mouth and asked with a smile, "Why are you eating as you walk?"

"Seventh, Seventh Aunt gave it—"

Li Shu ate the steamed bun in her mouth, explained chattering, and then stuffed the rest of the steamed bun in her hand into her little aunt's mouth.

She couldn't bear to give it to Uncle Guodong who teased her, but she was very willing to share delicious food with her little aunt.

Yu Li wasn't greedy for this bite of steamed bun, but since it was given by Li Shu, she ate it very happily.

"Passed by the third gate, Seventh Sister-in-law forced it on her."

Li Xuewu said with a smile and sat down by the long dining table.

Like last night, it was the same group of people eating breakfast, and the same seats as last night.

Yu Li held Li Shu and sat opposite him, asking with a smile, "Did you notice, Seventh Sister-in-law is pregnant again."

"What? Pregnant again?"

Li Xuewu was more shocked to hear this news than hearing that Yu Li was pregnant.

He asked in surprise and amusement, "What do this couple want to do? They've almost given birth to a whole class, and they still want to give birth?"

"Seventh said, more children, more blessings."

Yu Li joked, "He said having children is like farming; you don't know which crop will bear good fruit, so you plant a few more rows."

"This idea is very unique!"

Li Xuewu picked up his chopsticks and bowl and joked, "Has he ever thought that the fertilizer in the field is limited, and if there are too many crops, they won't grow tall—"

"Go, don't talk nonsense—"

Liu Yin smiled and scolded him, came out of the kitchen, and gave each of the people carrying children an egg.

Fei Shanying and Di Liya still wanted to be polite, but were stopped by her waving her hand.

The Li family was used to it; all three meals a day were eaten here. Zhao Yafang ate eggs, so how could she be embarrassed to eat alone?

Usually, at home, she would feed the egg yolk to the child and eat the rest herself, but since she happened to be here today, no one could be left out.

Li Shu even got one; it was handed to her by her grandmother, and her little aunt helped her peel the eggshell.

Breakfast was also very simple, but with many people and many dishes, it seemed lively.

On the kang table and the floor table, there were two large basins, cornmeal porridge and egg-drop soup.

Li Xuewu wasn't very hungry, so he didn't touch the cornmeal porridge and used a spoon to scoop himself a bowl of egg and cucumber soup.

However, this basin of soup looked like it had plenty of eggs and cucumbers, but when he really drank it, the taste wasn't that rich.

He pinched a cornmeal bun, turned his head to look at the basin of soup on the kang table, and it was the same, so he asked, "These two large basins of soup, how many eggs did you beat?"

"How many eggs? What kind of beautiful dream are you having—!"

Seeing Sha Zhu finished making breakfast, carried a large bowl of cornmeal porridge, pinched a cornmeal bun, and said with a smile, "Today is Sunday, and since you came, I applied to the Finance Section Chief for one egg."

He pointed his finger at Xiaoyan eating on the kang and said, "Just for this, Section Chief Chen gave me a good scolding, saying that bourgeois ideology is emerging and I need to do long-term ideological study."

"One egg? Really?"

Li Xuewu looked at the cucumber and egg-drop soup in the basin and gave Seeing Sha Zhu a thumbs up.

He said, "It's a real waste of talent; with your craft, if you were in our army back then, in the logistics kitchen team, you would have at least received a third-class merit!"

"Hahaha—!"

Seeing Sha Zhu couldn't help but laugh out loud at Li Xuewu's teasing.

Shen Guodong tasted a mouthful of soup and laughed, "That's right, a bucket of water, half a cucumber, and one egg, and he actually made a portion for twenty people!"

He winked at Li Xuewu and said, "At the very least, it should be a second-class merit!"

"A third-class merit is enough for him!"

Li Xuewu curled his lips and said amusingly, "For someone like him, being able to retire from the kitchen team alive is considered his life is tough and resistant to beating."

"Stop saying cool words—"

Seeing Sha Zhu shoveled a few mouthfuls of cornmeal porridge, used his chopsticks to pick up some stir-fried salted river shrimp, and emphasized, "I'm doing this for the sake of everyone in our recycling station."

"You don't know, Section Chief Chen has emphasized to me many times that our logistics pressure is very tight!"

He said in a strange way, "As the highest manager of the recycling station kitchen, I have the responsibility and obligation to do the logistics work well; one egg must achieve the results of ten eggs!"

"Brother Zhuzi, stop mocking me!" Xiaoyan sat on the kang and was so happy she couldn't eat, she scolded, "When did I ever say that to you!"

The account books and financial rights of the recycling station were still held in the hands of the grandfather.

Xiaoyan was only responsible for the procurement of materials or the management of daily expenses.

Seeing Sha Zhu was just joking on purpose, saying Xiaoyan was the Finance Section Chief of the recycling station; the recycling station didn't have this position, and the kitchen didn't have a highest manager.

"I think, one egg is already a bit too much!"

Li Xuewu teased him, "How about half an egg steamed in a large bowl of egg custard; egg custard is even better to eat."

"You might as well kill me—!"

Seeing Sha Zhu said angrily, "Even Huang Shiren isn't as ruthless as you!"

"Hahaha—!"

"Oh—Xuewen is back."

"Hey, Auntie, are you going out?"

Li Xuewen pushed his bicycle into the main gate and greeted the neighbors with a smile.

First Uncle came out from the moon gate, saw Li Xuewen pushing the bicycle, was stunned for a moment, and then asked with a smile, "Why didn't you store it in the west courtyard?"

"Don't even mention it, the west courtyard gate isn't even open—"

The moon gate faced the window of the front-row room; Li Xuewen replied to First Uncle while looking into the front-row room, but there was no one there.

"It was lively this morning; Xuewu is back, and the whole family was eating here."

First Uncle also took a look and nodded, "Ask the west courtyard; I just came over, and there was no one at your house either."

This courtyard is just like this, with no privacy.

The Li family's side faces the sun, bright and clean; one can see if there's anyone at home just by walking by in the courtyard.

Li Xuewen nodded in response, then pushed his bicycle through the screen gate of the outer courtyard and walked toward the west courtyard.

He muttered, "Usually at this time, the gate is open."

It wasn't until he passed the west courtyard gate that he saw everyone was in the west courtyard basking in the sun.

"I was just saying, I didn't see you this morning, and thought you weren't coming back this weekend."

Zhao Yafang sat on a stool, held Li Tang, and greeted Li Xuewen.

Beside her were Gu Ning holding a child, Seeing Sha Zhu, and Fei Shanying, as well as Liu Yin and the old lady.

Did some strange people mix into this group?

That's right, after Seeing Sha Zhu was promoted to a new dad, his social circle immediately adjusted to the nursing mother group.

Their family's He Zhuang is truly sturdy, almost twenty jin; He Yu Shui had been holding him all morning and was already begging for mercy.

The grandfather at the recycling station had long stopped doing carpentry work; furniture production was uniformly handled on a scale in Chadian.

However, the west courtyard still stored some tables and chairs; they weren't made by the grandfather, nor were they second-hand, but had flaws and were thrown off the truck.

The grandfather felt sorry for this furniture, so he used his spare time to repair and polish it, and then sold it after re-organizing it.

At this moment, Seeing Sha Zhu was putting in effort, putting four eight-immortal tables together, which looked like a large stage, or could be called a baby wrestling ring.

Because several children were placed on the eight-immortal tables learning to crawl and sit, and a circle of parents stood around the square table, just watching the children and laughing.

Li Xuewen came home every week, but only returned on Sunday morning and left on Monday morning.

He couldn't bear to leave the excellent reading environment in the prison, and even more couldn't bear to leave those diligent and inquisitive "students."

It must be said, regardless of foundation or quality, the students in the training class he hosted in the prison were the best-learning batch he had ever seen.

Really, if they couldn't learn or keep up with the progress, those "students" would be so anxious they would cry.

Graduating from the electronics training class meant entering the prison's electronics factory, which meant they could do light work, eat well, and sleep well.

Nothing else can be guaranteed, but students who graduated from the prison's electronics training class would have absolutely no problem being responsible for an appliance store after they got out.

Li Xuewen even thought, if all students were as diligent and hardworking as the prisoners in the prison, would there be no illiterates in the world?

Of course, no matter how much he couldn't bear to leave those books and those students, what he couldn't bear to leave most was his own son.

"This chubby boy, who's back?"

Li Xuewen parked his bicycle, walked to the square table, found his son, and called out twice.

But Li Tang was still young; he recognized people, but there were many children today, and he was dazzled and didn't have time to look at his father.

After calling a few times, Li Xuewen finally had no choice but to hold the child from the table and love him, which made everyone laugh out loud.

"Why is everyone here having a tea party today?"

Li Xuewen took a look; it wasn't just his own family gathered here, and it wasn't just those with small children; some old ladies also came here to sit and bask in the sun.

It was past eight or nine o'clock; the sun at this time was very fierce, and children needed to bask in the sun, but no more than half an hour at most.

By the time he came back, everyone was about to disperse.

Seeing Sha Zhu was also a bit embarrassed standing here; it wasn't easy to see Li Xuewen, so he explained.

"You came back late; Guodong and the others received the truck at the large warehouse yesterday, and today they all moved over."

He pointed to the warehouse in the courtyard and said, "There are many people today, and he is preparing to tidy up the things in these warehouses; sell what can be sold, and process what can't."

"Moved away just like that?"

Li Xuewen had heard about this, looked at the courtyard, and asked, "Did Xuewu go too?"

"Went to the club, said there was something to do."

Seeing Sha Zhu nodded and said, "The large warehouse is more convenient; I went to see it, and the courtyard is much brighter than this one."

"I was saying why it's not open today; it turns out the trucks aren't here anymore."

Li Xuewen looked at the gate and asked, "Since scrap won't be stored here anymore, did they say what it's for?"

"Store things collected from the store, and also store things sold by the store."

Seeing Sha Zhu introduced, "Guodong hasn't determined exactly what to do yet, but I heard him say he wants to borrow apprentices from you to engage in electronics appliance maintenance and assembly."

"Borrow apprentices from me? What do you mean?"

Li Xuewen didn't understand, held his son, and asked, "Aren't appliances all repaired in the prison?"

"Maybe it's not convenient anymore; didn't they tell you over there?"

Zhao Yafang took over the conversation and said, "Didn't Liu Guangfu come back? Said he learned a craft, and Guodong took a fancy to him, thinking it wouldn't be bad to open a clothing factory."

"What is he thinking?" Li Xuewen asked with a smile, "Just thinking about recruiting people from the personnel released from the prison to do things?"

"A task given by the neighborhood, isn't this killing two birds with one stone."

Zhao Yafang was afraid that Seeing Sha Zhu and Li Xuewen would speak too loosely; not everyone sitting here was a trusted person.

She took over the conversation, and this was said much more securely.

"The neighborhood not only has to manage unemployed youth, but these people released from labor education also have to be managed; if there is a small collective willing to receive them, they are very happy."

"Isn't that wishful thinking?" Li Xuewen was skeptical; he shook his head and said, "The management environment is different; can they manage those people?"

"Is Shen Guodong afraid of this?"

Zhao Yafang stood up, greeted everyone to walk into the courtyard, saying that if they continued to bask, the children would get tanned, which made everyone laugh.

She found an opportunity to instruct Li Xuewen, "Don't get involved in these things!"

"You know how ruthless Guodong and the others are; now that they have the neighborhood supporting them to run a small collective, who dares to mess with them? If things go wrong, they might even be sent back to prison."

"Did you really let Liu Guangfu go to the west courtyard to work?"

Yu Li handed a cup of tea to Li Xuewu and asked, "Aren't you afraid he'll cause trouble for you again?"

When she came out in the morning, she saw Liu Guangfu, but she didn't know when Liu Guangfu came back, and even less did she know that Liu Guangfu came to work in the west courtyard as soon as he returned.

"It doesn't count as working; what work is there in the west courtyard for him to do," Li Xuewu looked at the account book and said, "Recycling station, whoever has the ability can earn this money."

"Was that tricycle arranged by Guodong?"

Yu Li reminded, "Many people are queuing up waiting for tricycles to be arranged; he got one as soon as he came, be careful of making people dissatisfied."

"Shen Guodong isn't his father; why would he arrange a tricycle for him as soon as he comes."

Li Xuewu raised his head and glanced at Yu Li, explaining, "That tricycle was indeed arranged by his father; he spent a lot of money."

"Liu Haizhong bought it? Really or fake? Can he be willing to invest this on his son?"

Yu Li also found it funny, sat opposite Li Xuewu, and asked curiously, "How did Liu Haizhong talk to you? How did you think of agreeing to help him?"

"Living in the same courtyard, it's not like killing or arson," Li Xuewu explained casually, raised his head to look at Yu Li, picked up his teacup, and asked while drinking tea, "Why are you suddenly concerned about their family? Do you have a grudge?"

"No grudge, what grudge could I have—"

Yu Li pursed her lips, reached out and tapped the table with her fingernails, and asked in a low voice, "Liu Haizhong met me at the gatehouse the night before last; do you know what he said to me?"

"What did he say? Said he likes you?"

Li Xuewu saw Yu Li glaring at him, curled his lips and smiled, "I'm not a fortune teller, how could I guess!"

"He told me he wanted to introduce a partner to me."

Yu Li looked at Li Xuewu meaningfully and asked, "Do you know who he introduced to me?"

"Hmm, he really does like you!"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows; in an instant, he guessed who Yu Li was talking about, and joked, "A woman three years older is like holding a gold brick; I think it's just right."

"Can you be serious—"

Yu Li glared at him reproachfully and said, "Tell me what he's thinking; am I that cheap and unwanted?"

"Not necessarily; it's hard to say who's losing out in this matter—"

Li Xuewu leaned back in his chair, swinging his right leg, and said, "If he really finds you a sixteen-year-old, wouldn't you be secretly happy."

"If you say that again, I'll be angry—!"

Yu Li looked at him angrily, stood up, and said, "Be careful, inviting a wolf into the house, you'll regret it too late!"

"Hey—! Really angry?"

Li Xuewu looked at Yu Li who left like a little air-bag, shouted with a smile, didn't call Yu Li back, but called Zhou Xiaobai in.

"When did you come back? Didn't go home again?"

"What's wrong? You don't welcome me?"

Zhou Xiaobai also realized that when getting along with Li Xuewu, you can't be too reserved.

Be open and straightforward; the more direct, the better. If you like him, rush at him; if you rush at him, he won't dare to hit you, and even less dare to scold or beat you.

Therefore, as soon as she entered the room, she didn't care about Li Xuewu's attitude, bypassed the desk, stood on tiptoe, and sat on the table.

Li Xuewu helplessly pursed his lips, tapped the desktop with the pencil in his hand, and reminded, "Girl, you're wearing a skirt, and you're facing me like this?"

"You're a gentleman, you won't look," Zhou Xiaobai swung her little legs, teasing Li Xuewu, "Unless you admit you have ulterior motives toward me."

"I admit it, I want to strangle you."

Li Xuewu raised his hand to push away the unlucky child's thigh, pulled out a document from underneath to continue reading, and asked, "How are things in Tianjin?"

"Which matter are you asking about?"

Zhou Xiaobai rested one arm on the table, looked down at the document in Li Xuewu's hand, and didn't care whether she could understand it or whether it was convenient; she was just being noisy.

"Wu Laoshi's matter? Or Yang Zhao's matter? Or the matter of the recycling station's resident agency?"

"Hmm, you came prepared!"

Li Xuewu heard Zhou Xiaobai mention the recycling station, didn't raise his head, but his words had a bit of teasing, "How is it, do you have a feeling of being terrified, sitting on pins and needles, or walking on thin ice?"

"Forget it, just those few people, those few guns, you're not even as good as Hu Chuankui," Zhou Xiaobai looked down at Li Xuewu and said, "Is that why you're so cautious?"

"Hmm? Did you misunderstand something?"

Li Xuewu raised his head, looked at Zhou Xiaobai, and said, "Red Star Factory is Red Star Factory, recycling station is recycling station, I am I, you are you, understand?"

"Understand—I understand very well!"

Zhou Xiaobai sighed helplessly, reached out to touch Li Xuewu's hair, and said with concern, "Brother, you're too tired."

"Are you sick?"

Li Xuewu frowned, leaned back in his chair, looked at Zhou Xiaobai like she was a fool, and asked, "What did you see, or did someone tell you something?"

"No one told me, I figured it out myself."

Zhou Xiaobai rested her hands on the table on both sides of her thighs, stared at Li Xuewu with bright eyes, and asked, "You're doing that seafood supply chain, that recycling station, all for me, right?"

Looking at Li Xuewu's surprised gaze, she raised her hand and pointed at Li Xuewu, with an expression of "I guessed it right," and said, "I knew it was like this!"

"You arranged for Wu Laoshi and Yang Zhao and the others to go to Tianjin to help me, just to train me, to teach me how to do things, right?"

"Hiss—Zhou Xiaobai, when did you become so smart?"

Li Xuewu was startled by this noisy child; he thought she had seen through something, but he didn't expect that after all that noise, this was all she saw!

"I've always been smart—"

Zhou Xiaobai's mouth curved, but she looked at Li Xuewu very seriously and said, "You think I'm too young, too naive, and have no brains for doing things, so you arranged it this way, right?"

She rested her hands on the table, suddenly jumped down, sat directly on Li Xuewu's lap, hugged his shoulders, and said, "You just want me to grow up quickly, right?"

"……This, Xiaobai, could you get down first."

Li Xuewu really didn't know how to explain it to her; this girl's brain circuit had confused him.

"About growing up, let's talk about it properly; you can make any suggestions you have."

"I won't—! I've thought about it, I have to do something for you."

Zhou Xiaobai hugged Li Xuewu's shoulders and promised very seriously, "You've done so much for me, paid so much."

She gradually approached Li Xuewu, who had nowhere to retreat, and said softly, "Seafood supply chain, you've been busy back and forth, gave me the wages, and now you're afraid I'm tired, found people to help me..."

"Cough cough—oh, whispering?"

A teasing voice came from the door; Li Xuewu had long discovered that when Zhou Xiaobai was talking, Huang Gan was standing at the door watching the fun.

Zhou Xiaobai was startled by the voice behind her and jumped off Li Xuewu's lap.

When she saw that the one speaking ill at the door was Huang Gan, she blushed and walked out, and even scolded him for being annoying as she passed by Huang Gan.

"Hehehe—disturbed your good thing?"

Huang Gan rolled his eyes, entered from the door, sat opposite Li Xuewu, and teased, "I really can't tell, what exactly is so good about you, why are you so popular with young girls."

"Knew you disturbed me and still came?"

Li Xuewu also saw Huang Gan appear, so he didn't push Zhou Xiaobai away hard, fearing he would hurt the girl's self-esteem.

As for Zhou Xiaobai sitting on his lap, it didn't matter if Huang Gan saw it; he knew Zhou Xiaobai's identity very well, and even more knew that he wouldn't cross the line.

"Looking at you so proud, is the red flag at home standing firm, or is the colorful flag outside fluttering?"

"What red flag, colorful flag, don't compare me with you, I'm a decent person!"

Huang Gan rolled his eyes and said seriously, "I've talked to her openly and honestly."

"And then?" Li Xuewu threw the pencil in his hand and asked, "Friends in the future?"

"Fart—" Huang Gan sighed helplessly and said, "She said she hates me and will never forgive me in her life." ===== CHAPTER 1118 =====