Chapter 1120: Kind-Eyed Uncle Li

"Ten, J, Q, K, A—do you want it?"

Huang Gan gestured excitedly with the remaining poker cards in his hand, bluffing the others at the table: "Only two cards left! If you don't want them, I'm going out!"

"You dare to bring out a 'fart dragon' to anchor the bottom? No one's going to let you get away with that! Three 2s!"

Shen Guodong was sitting at Huang Gan's immediate left. Seeing that no one else at the table wanted to challenge it, he raised his hand and slapped down three 2s to crush the play.

"Do you want it? I don't believe you have a pair of Kings in your hand."

"You play! You play! Let's see what you've got—!"

Huang Gan only had two cards left, so naturally, he couldn't beat Shen Guodong's three 2s.

But even if you lose the game, you don't lose your spirit. You can play mahjong gently, chatting while you win, but poker is different.

When playing poker, you have to play with intensity!

You have to play with that drive, play with that sound, play with that momentum.

Even if you only have two "fart 3s" in your hand, you have to put on the posture of holding two Kings.

Mahjong, in the end, doesn't progress as fast as poker, which is why it's so interesting when people like Huang Gan and Shen Guodong get all worked up.

After lunch, the side room became lively.

It had been a long time since everyone had gathered, and since it was the end of the month and everyone was free, they let their hair down and had some fun today.

Huang Gan and Shen Guodong naturally knew each other. Hu Ke was from the Northeast but had been working in the capital for over two years.

Ren Xiaoyu was Li Xuewu's brother-in-law, and Xiang Yun was an acquaintance of Ren Xiaoyu.

As for Wang Xiaoqin and Wang Zheng, both were in the club's management and were very casual with everyone.

The men had drunk a little alcohol, but it was only midday, so they didn't drink to the point of intoxication; they just chatted and laughed, relaxing.

Huang Gan had organized the card game. He didn't usually have the chance to set up such games, and due to the nature of his work, he rarely let loose like this.

The tables in the club restaurant were Eight Immortals tables, suitable for mahjong, but not for several people playing poker.

Wang Xiaoqin and Wang Zheng didn't play poker, especially since there were so many men today, so they didn't want to join the table.

Zhou Yao was just there to keep company and had no standing to join the table.

So, including Li Xuewu, the six of them played "Upgrade."

In the side room of the restaurant courtyard, the inner room also had an Eight Immortals table, but the tea table in the outer room was a classic round table, perfect for six people to play in teams of three.

Huang Gan, Hu Ke, and Li Xuewu played against Shen Guodong, Ren Xiaoyu, and Xiang Yun.

Huang Gan and Shen Guodong were the loudest, Li Xuewu and Hu Ke were eloquent, Ren Xiaoyu had a steady style, and Xiang Yun spoke little but played the best cards.

Actually, starting last year, playing poker wasn't encouraged and was even classified as a vulgar form of entertainment.

In the first half of this year, poker factories across the country stopped printing playing cards, and stationery stores stopped selling them too.

The poker factories used their machines and materials to print cards with quotations on one side and songs on the other.

Of course, if you were determined, you could collect a set; the borders still had poker symbols and traces.

It's just that because the batches and materials were different, the collected poker cards didn't match at all.

The deck Li Xuewu and the others were playing with wasn't the kind circulating on the market, nor was it the kind with quotations; it was a proper deck of cards.

These were products produced earlier when the First Detention Center was involved in papermaking and printing. Now that the paper and printing factories had moved to Chadian, they still produced things like poker cards.

The Management Committee strictly investigated the supply and marketing system, forbidding the circulation and sale of poker cards, but they couldn't control the internal circulation of various units.

The small factory in Huang Gan's hands belonged to the legal system and was a joint venture, so he didn't care about outside inspections at all; they produced whatever they wanted.

It was just that the supply channel to the Dongcheng Supply and Marketing Cooperative had been cut off, but other channels remained open.

Places like the club's service department, the Red Star Factory's welfare supply cooperative, and special licensed stores for special or negotiated-price goods.

Even the supply chain system—as long as someone wanted it, he dared to produce it.

Investigate? How would they investigate? The people over in Chadian were almost starving to death!

After Huang Gan moved those small factories that no one wanted to run over there, the people there guarded them like treasures.

In this era, the prison supervision system was very wild. You dare to cut off their financial path? That would be as heartless as killing their parents.

You can guarantee you won't go to a bookstore, won't go to a mall, and can even invite a doctor to your home for a check-up.

But, do you dare guarantee you won't enter a detention center in your lifetime?

If you truly offend these people, or rather, offend this system, beneath those high walls, your cries to heaven and earth will go unanswered.

Therefore, many things that were prohibited outside, or not encouraged to circulate, Huang Gan dared to do as long as there was internal demand and profit to be made.

He lived up to his name—as long as the channel wasn't dead, he would just do it!

"Mom—I'm hungry—"

The door to the main room was open. It was the hottest time of midday when a young boy ran into the courtyard.

His head was covered in sweat, and before he even entered the room, he shouted out.

Only when he saw so many people sitting in the main room playing cards did he realize he should be embarrassed.

"Come in, what are you staring at by the door!"

Wang Xiaoqin heard her son's shout. Seeing him standing at the door looking timid, she called out: "Don't you know how to greet people?"

"I know. Uncle Huang, Uncle Shen."

The boy, intimidated by his mother's authority, greeted the elders he recognized in the room one by one.

After finishing with Aunt Wang, he didn't know what to call the rest of the people.

Wang Xiaoqin introduced them to her son: this was Uncle Hu, that was Uncle Ren, and there was Uncle Li.

Finally, when introducing Zhou Yao, she had her son call her Aunt Yao.

Zhou Yao smiled and responded, grabbing a handful of peanuts and melon seeds from the tray on the small table and handing them to the boy.

In this era, no woman would dislike a child calling her "Aunt" and feel old, nor would they strangely ask a child to call them "Big Sister."

The future? The future doesn't count; future relationships belong to the chaos of the world.

Zhou Yao called Wang Xiaoqin "Sister," so naturally, she had to be called "Aunt" by Wang Xiaoqin's son.

"Take them, what are you staring at me for?"

She scolded her son first, then introduced him to Zhou Yao and the others in the room: "Our eldest boy, he insisted on coming along to join the fun today."

She hadn't seen the child during lunch, but she had seen Wang Xiaoqin delayed at the restaurant before coming to the private room.

Huang Gan and Shen Guodong were already familiar with the boy; Wang Xiaoqin had taken him to the club and the station before, but Li Xuewu hadn't met him.

"Such a big kid, how old are you?"

"My name is Zhang Shuangqing, I'm thirteen, in the first year of junior high this year."

The boy was quite bold. Seeing Li Xuewu glance at him and ask his age, he wasn't restrained and answered generously.

And before Li Xuewu could ask again, he proactively volunteered all the questions elders usually asked.

"Hahaha—!"

This cocky attitude made everyone in the room laugh. Thirteen years old—he was hitting his rebellious phase.

Li Xuewu also grinned, but this smile almost gave Zhang Shuangqing a fright.

He had seen this scarred face before, just never had it introduced to him directly.

Don't look at the fact that the kid was only thirteen; he had at least two and a half years of experience "mingling in the world."

His parents were busy with work, no one managed him, and he was almost becoming a street urchin.

Just hearing that his mother could train and practice shooting at the club, he had pestered her and followed along several times.

When his mother didn't come, he would secretly take her membership card and sneak in.

It's just that the shooting range had rules: without an adult accompanying, the little brat couldn't play.

But the training facilities or the movie theater and such had no restrictions for them.

Many children of members came here to play, and at noon, they could mix a meal at the restaurant; how much they ate was all recorded on their parents' accounts, waiting for the end of the month to settle the bill and get a beating.

"Mom, give me some tickets, I'm going to get something to eat."

Zhang Shuangqing leaned over to his mother and whispered, asking for the club's internal circulation tickets.

"Are you Zhu Bajie reincarnated?"

Wang Xiaoqin glanced at her son and said: "You polished off four big steamed buns at noon and you're hungry already? It's only been a little while!"

"Oh—you know me!"

Zhang Shuangqing had a silver tongue, pulling on his mother's arm: "Isn't this the time when a growing boy eats his father out of house and home!"

"Hahaha—!"

The people playing cards heard the child's words and were all amused.

Huang Gan waved at Zhang Shuangqing: "Come, come over to Uncle's side."

As he said this, while sorting his poker cards, he pulled a "Tractor" (a bill) from the pile of money by his hand and slapped it into Zhang Shuangqing's hand.

He waved his hand and instructed: "Help me buy two packs of Da Qianmen, the rest is yours."

"Thank you, Uncle Huang—!"

Wang Shuangqing got his "runway fee" and was much more excited than asking his mother for internal consumption vouchers.

Before his mother could even be polite, he ran out of the living room like a streak of smoke, heading toward the service department.

Wang Xiaoqin complained: "Why give him money? He's not hungry; he's looking for trouble."

"Hey—it's just a runway fee," Huang Gan waved his hand indifferently: "Besides, I won money today, I have to spread the wealth, otherwise how can I win again!"

"Look at how smug you are—"

Wang Zheng was sitting next to her brother, muttering with a curl of her lip. She was watching both hands of cards and couldn't speak, so she just rolled her eyes at her brother.

Huang Gan didn't care about his sister's mockery, looking at the crowd and teasing: "If the winner doesn't act smug, should the loser act smug instead?"

"Right? Hahaha!"

"You've lost all sense of decency; you're you when you win, but not you when you lose."

Li Xuewu turned his cards face down and gestured for Zhou Yao to move the electric fan to the side. Being besieged by these old chain-smokers, he really couldn't take it anymore.

Before he quit smoking, he really didn't feel that the smell of smoke was that choking.

But after quitting, he was particularly sensitive to secondhand smoke; smoking too much made his throat ache and his lungs uncomfortable.

Zhou Yao's performance today was quite good, serving the drinking game, serving the card game, and being very lively with these big brothers and sisters.

Especially when settling the accounts, with wins and losses, it was noisy and bustling.

Seeing these big brothers, who were all cadres, haggling over every cent was particularly interesting.

Is there winning and losing in "Upgrade" too?

Of course, the wins and losses weren't small, and even if you won the game, you might still lose money.

This way of playing was similar to "Striving for the Top" or "Great Leap Forward," where points were calculated based on who finished first or last, which also related to winning and losing.

"Yo—looked around and couldn't find anyone, so you're all here!"

The room was lively when Yu Li walked in with Ma Jun and the others.

"Whoa! You're late! We called you this morning and you didn't come!"

Li Xuewu greeted Ma Jun: "Come, come, come, here's your seat, take a turn, I'm going to the restroom."

Actually, he didn't need to go, he was just making an excuse.

At the club, he was the host, and Ma Jun and the others had officially joined the club this May, so he had to act like a host.

Playing cards was considered entertainment, and since there was no one else to fill the spot, he naturally had to join the table; he couldn't ask Aunt Wang to join a table with a bunch of men.

Now that Ma Jun and the others had arrived, he naturally couldn't sit at the table and greet them, so he hurriedly left the table.

Ma Jun and Ao Zhongliang declined for a while, and Ma Jun took Li Xuewu's seat.

Li Xuewu hadn't won or lost, but when he left the table, he didn't touch his stake, leaving it for Ma Jun; this was considered a gesture of courtesy.

It wasn't much money, just eight or ten yuan, but leaving it there to back Ma Jun was a matter of face.

No wonder Li Xuewu had so many friends; just looking at this generosity, who wouldn't ponder it in their hearts?

Li Xuewu left the room, Ma Jun took the seat, and the liveliness in the room continued.

"Isn't it hot? Do you want me to find you a vest to change into?"

After Yu Li sent Ma Jun and the others into the room, she followed Li Xuewu out.

She tugged at Li Xuewu's sweat-soaked shirt from behind: "You're still blowing the fan; what if you catch a chill?"

The person most concerned about Li Xuewu's health was still Yu Li.

The "chill" she spoke of wasn't the kind that caused a cold, but rather, if a cold wind blew after sweating, he would break out in patches of red bumps.

The symptoms were like that, and severe cases could damage internal organs, especially the kidneys.

"The room is smoky, it's choking."

Li Xuewu stood under the big tree in the courtyard, blocking the sun overhead, and looked at Yu Li: "Are you done with the front?"

"Just that little bit of work; business isn't busy on weekends, it's mainly members coming to play."

Yu Li explained, looked up at Li Xuewu, and said: "Come, I'll help you wipe off your sweat, you should get some fresh air too."

As she spoke, she walked out of the courtyard, gesturing toward the side room next to the restaurant: "You rest for a bit, I'll go fetch a basin of hot water."

Li Xuewu went to the restroom to "release water" first. Although he didn't need to earlier, well, he was a man; if you squeeze, there's always something.

The Dongfeng Club was a large mansion, distinct from a Sihe Academy.

The mansion was composed of several Sihe Academy courtyards, with uniquely set up main rooms and other living facilities.

In the restaurant courtyard, the inverted rooms had been converted into a collective restaurant, while other rooms had become private rooms of various sizes.

"Do you need me to prepare dinner?"

Yu Li walked in carrying a basin of hot water, with a white towel draped over the basin.

She placed the basin on the Eight Immortals table in the small hall and walked into the inner room to help Li Xuewu take off his outer shirt.

"If you're going to play late, tell me if you have any arrangements."

"No arrangements. If they want to play until night, they can eat in the restaurant; I'm not staying with them."

Li Xuewu sat on a round stool, letting Yu Li help him take off his short-sleeved shirt, wiped the sweat from his back, and grinned: "The weather is too hot; it's fine if you don't move, but one move and you're drenched in sweat."

"That's why I tell you to be careful."

Yu Li rinsed the hot towel and helped him wipe his body. A cool breeze blew in, relieving the bitterness of early summer.

The upward-opening window was half-open; he couldn't see the courtyard, but the shaded west side room was still cooler than the east side room diagonally opposite.

"Are there any business trips next month?"

After wiping him once, she rinsed the hot towel and wiped him a second time, very seriously and carefully.

Standing in front of Li Xuewu, the towel passing over Li Xuewu's thick chest, Yu Li asked: "Are there a lot of things in the Northeast recently?"

"It's alright, why ask that?"

Li Xuewu took the towel from her hand and wiped his body himself, looked at her, and asked: "Do you want to go to the Northeast?"

"I don't want to go; the mountains are high and the roads are long, I wouldn't dare to go through that trouble."

Yu Li looked Li Xuewu up and down: "What about you? Are you going to the Northeast? Steel City?"

"Where did you hear that? Who said I was going to Steel City?"

Li Xuewu smiled and said: "I'm doing just fine in the capital, why go to Steel City?"

"Why? Are you afraid I'll go to Steel City and you can't bear to part with me?"

"What do you think?"

Yu Li took the towel from his hand, clutched it, and looked down: "What will I do if you go to Steel City?"

"Just for this?"

Li Xuewu had long seen the sorrow in Yu Li's brow. She hadn't shown it last night, but she had been hesitant to speak several times this morning at the club.

He reached out and pulled Yu Li's arm, pulling her to sit on his lap: "This worry is a bit redundant, don't you think? Would I not notify you if I were going to Steel City?"

"Would you notify me? I'm afraid I'd be the last to know."

Yu Li leaned into his embrace and pouted: "By then you'd be in Steel City, where would I go to find you?"

"It's not like I'm going to the moon; are you afraid I'll run away and not want you anymore?"

Li Xuewu patted her bottom, held her in his arms, and said: "It's nothing. Old Biaozi told you, right?"

After asking, he didn't wait for Yu Li to answer and explained: "It's impossible in the short term, at least not within a year or two; I'll still be in the capital."

"As for the future, it depends on specific work arrangements, and the same goes for you."

Li Xuewu lowered his head, kissed her, and comforted her softly: "You're the person in charge of the club now, and the person in charge of the recycling station's office; don't you want your job anymore?"

"I want you—"

Yu Li reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering: "You can't leave me here alone; I only have you in the capital."

"Is it that serious? Are you crying already?"

Li Xuewu saw that Yu Li was truly crying, smiled, held her, stood up, and went to the side of the bed. He already knew why Yu Li was like this.

The more alone one is, the less one can bear to see families reunited and the bustle of human life.

Li Xuewu's family reunion, the noise and liveliness in the courtyard, Li Shu's cuteness and playfulness, and Old Biaozi's nonsense magnified Yu Li's loneliness infinitely.

She wanted a home, a home like the normal residents in the courtyard.

Originally, she thought that having a house and a job meant having a home.

So, following Li Xuewu, she had a job and a house.

But the house was built, she moved in, and she didn't feel the warmth of a home.

Especially after Li Xuewu got married, moved out of the courtyard, and didn't live there anymore.

Yu Li only felt that every time she returned to the courtyard, it was a burden, or rather, she was living there for others to see.

The reason she showed such care for Li Shu was more because she wanted to receive the same care from Li Xuewu.

She even looked at Li Shu as if she were her own child, in case she never had children of her own in this life.

Women are emotional; when encountering things, they don't use rational thinking to consider the essence of the matter.

This is true for things, and even more so for life and feelings.

A little bit of triviality, or a little bit of feeling, will make them associate it with themselves.

Under normal circumstances, Li Xuewu would come to the club every week, and she would see him every week.

This was the fundamental reason she had been able to persist longer than Qin Huairu.

She liked Li Xuewu more than Qin Huairu liked Li Xuewu.

Precisely because she liked Li Xuewu too much and cared about him too much, she was more prone to anxiety and losing her way.

Last time, her younger brother Yu Zhe's mischief had caused Li Xuewu to give him a cold face, which had almost scared her.

A sensitive heart is easily hurt and even more easily frightened.

Since then, Li Xuewu's business trips and busyness had made his visits to the club unstable, which also made her emotions and thoughts unstable.

She blamed herself for being hesitant and talkative, blamed her brother for causing trouble for her, and feared that Li Xuewu would grow tired of her and annoyed by her.

Every time she saw Li Xuewu come, she was cautious, very afraid that she would say too much or go too far and make him angry.

She didn't even dare to actively seek emotional comfort, fearing that Li Xuewu would reject her.

Last night, lying alone on the kang, she had stared at the moonlight outside the window for half the night.

And hearing the news this morning that Li Xuewu might be transferred to Steel City had made her heart sink completely.

Even when Li Xuewu was in the capital, she couldn't see him many times a month; if he went to Steel City, she wouldn't see him for three or five years—how could their relationship possibly continue?

What is doubting identity and ability?

There was more life in Steel City; where would there be a place for her to stay by Li Xuewu's side?

So, thinking of the future, she couldn't help but cry.

Li Xuewu didn't know how to comfort people, especially women.

If it was comforting his own woman, he always had one routine.

Coax and persuade first; if that didn't work, then get physical.

This was a restaurant decorated in an ancient style, retaining the original furniture, looking quite tasteful.

Since it was a private room, naturally there was a bed.

It's just that the bedding on the bed was very simple, just for show.

But this kind of "hardship" didn't hinder doing some special things.

Yu Li was placed on the bed by Li Xuewu, listening to him comfort her with a few words, but her tears hadn't stopped yet when he pressed down on her.

"Aren't you afraid someone in the courtyard will hear?"

Looking at that face she had been thinking about day and night, so close at hand, Yu Li was too nervous to cry, propping Li Xuewu up and reminding him: "The window isn't even closed."

"Are you done crying?"

Li Xuewu smiled and looked at her: "Then I'm going back to play cards."

Yu Li changed from propping to grabbing, clutching Li Xuewu's neck and pulling him down: "I promise I won't cry out loud—"

How could she hold it in? She didn't cry, but she couldn't help wanting to shout, especially in such a stimulating environment.

This canopy bed was furniture left over from buying the mansion; after a simple repair by Master Dou's engineering team, it had unexpectedly gained a new lease on life.

The mortise and tenon structure was tight and solid; even with strong shaking, there was only a tiny creaking sound.

Li Xuewu looked at Yu Li, who had stuffed the towel into her mouth, amusedly took it out for her, and before she could speak, lowered his head and blocked her lips.

"Mmm—"

"Uncle Huang, I bought the cigarettes back for you, I'll leave them here!"

Zhang Shuangqing ran in from the courtyard gate, rushed all the way into the private room where they were playing cards, put down the cigarette pack, and wanted to run.

"Stop! Why is there only one pack!"

Huang Gan had just wanted to agree, but when he looked down, he saw only one pack of cigarettes.

He turned back, grabbed Zhang Shuangqing's arm, and bluffed: "You dare to embezzle your Uncle Huang's money? Do you believe I'll lock you in the detention center?"

"Uncle Huang, I'm really sorry!"

Zhang Shuangqing shook his arm but couldn't shake him off, raising the firecrackers in his pocket: "They're three cents a big box; if I bought you two packs of Da Qianmen, I could only buy one box of firecrackers!"

"And then? You deducted my military pay?"

Huang Gan teased him: "Used my cigarette money to buy your firecrackers?"

"I didn't want to do this either, after all, you trusted me to come here," Zhang Shuangqing said with a clever wit: "Later I thought, it's all just for fun!"

He pointed to the cigarette pack on the table and slapped the firecrackers from his pocket to the side: "My mom said smoking is bad for your health; I'm caring about you."

"I bought one less pack of cigarettes for you, but I bought an extra box of firecrackers; at worst, you can smoke this box of firecrackers for fun."

"Hey—you little brat!"

Huang Gan grabbed him and tickled him twice, not caring about Wang Xiaoqin scolding her son Zhang Shuangqing, and laughed and scolded: "Is there such a thing as smoking firecrackers? I'll light one and stuff it in your crotch and see!"

"Hahahaha—!"

Zhang Shuangqing saw that Uncle Huang had really struck his lighter and went to take the box of firecrackers, so he hurriedly shook off his uncle's hand, grabbed the firecrackers, and ran outside.

Huang Gan had indeed managed to pluck one firecracker from the paper box. Seeing Zhang Shuangqing run away, he lit it with his lighter and threw it outside the door.

Bang—!

"Hahaha—!"

Hearing the firecracker pop, everyone in the room laughed out loud, and Zhang Shuangqing in the courtyard outside was laughing too.

This kid was mischievous to the point of smoking; he struck a match, lit a firecracker in his hand, and threw it back, but seeing his mother chasing him out, he threw it haphazardly and ran.

That firecracker he threw haphazardly landed outside the window of the private room near the restaurant.

Bang—!

"You wretched child! Don't you think your skin is itching for a beating!"

Wang Xiaoqin only had time to scold him once. Seeing her son run off without a trace, she laughed in anger and returned to the room.

"Funny, you're the one teasing him, and now he's out of control."

"Hey! Big Sister, can this still be blamed on me?"

Huang Gan was younger than Wang Xiaoqin; logically, Zhang Shuangqing should call him "Uncle."

It's just that among colleagues and friends, this kind of address isn't that strict. Huang Gan was older than Li Xuewu, who was younger, so calling him "Uncle" was more appropriate.

Of course, calling him "Uncle" today and "Uncle" tomorrow was the same thing; no one cared.

Unless the two families were truly close, lived as neighbors across the door, or were in the same courtyard and could meet every day, then the address would be fixed.

Speaking of which, Huang Gan's "Uncle" title was picked up from Shen Guodong, who was one year older than Wang Xiaoqin.

But this "Uncle Huang" of his didn't have the slightest bit of an elder's demeanor; he loved teasing children the most, especially bad boys of twelve or thirteen.

"If you didn't tease him, he'd be honest," Wang Xiaoqin scolded: "Why didn't he act up when he saw Xuewu just now?"

"Xuewu? Someone like Xuewu—I'm scared even when he glares!"

Huang Gan curled his lip: "It's only someone kind-eyed like me that children feel close to."

"Ew—you really can gild your own face!"

Wang Zheng curled her lip, looking at her brother with disdain: "Do you want to look in the mirror and try glaring too?"

Warden Huang had been working in the prison system for almost ten years; who would believe he was kind-eyed?

Everyone looked at Huang Gan, sizing him up, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Wang Xiaoqin was thinking about Huang Gan's words, glanced outside the door, and asked: "Where did Xuewu go?"

"Fell into the latrine? Hahaha—!"

Huang Gan waved his hand: "Never mind him, he's like Zhuge Liang—exhausting his heart and strength until his dying day; his heart is filled with nothing but work."

"Busy all day long, don't know what he's busy with," he threw two cards out and muttered: "Asked him out to dinner last month, and he just said he was busy."

"Asked him out to see a play a few days ago, and he told me he was so busy his feet didn't touch the ground, and not to bother him with these things again. Don't you think this guy is going too far?"

"He's truly busy; the Red Star Factory has been making big moves recently."

Wang Xiaoqin explained: "I heard they are negotiating with French businessmen, and there's also domestic business expansion."

"The domestic one should be our Liaodong Industry."

Hu Ke smiled and took over: "Director Li just came back from our place; I even went back to host him."

"Director Hu, what kind of program is it? Can you reveal a little?"

Huang Gan smiled and looked at the opposite side, asking: "I heard there's a big cooperation? A ten-million investment?"

"Yo—your news is quite well-informed!"

Hu Ke smiled at Huang Gan and explained: "Big moves aren't certain, but there's no need to explain the ten-million investment."

He played two cards and said: "The Red Star Factory's total investment in Steel City and Ying City has long exceeded ten million."

"Steel City is a key point in their factory's industrial layout."

Shen Guodong played a card and took over: "He's also paving the way for his own future."

He looked at Hu Ke and said: "Xuewu mentioned it to you, right? Their factory intends to arrange for him to take a position in Steel City."

"He didn't mention it, but I've heard about it."

Hu Ke nodded and said: "The stir and influence caused by the Red Star Factory's cooperation with the Santa Ya Group are not small; our Liaodong Industry is also paying close attention."

"Of course you have to pay attention; most of this cooperation is going to settle in Liaodong."

Huang Gan glanced at him, the corner of his mouth raised: "Being able to see you here shows that Xuewu doesn't treat you as an outsider, which shows the foundation of the cooperation is very solid."

"Hahaha—I think so too!"

Hu Ke was very open-minded. It was his first time being invited by Li Xuewu to play at this club, and he had met so many interesting people.

Of course, he also envied Li Xuewu for having so many connections and friendships.

The conversation of the few people just now was clearly adding weight to Li Xuewu and was also a form of support.

Perhaps Huang Gan, Shen Guodong, and the others didn't know the purpose of Li Xuewu inviting him here to play, but they all unanimously believed it had something to do with Li Xuewu's trip to the Northeast.

These people weren't in the industrial sector, but their units were all, more or less, related to the Red Star Factory because of Li Xuewu.

You couldn't say it was as serious and close as "one prospers, all prosper; one suffers, all suffer," but with Li Xuewu, it really was "one prospers, all prosper."

If Li Xuewu developed well at the Red Star Factory and the business he was in charge of developed well, these people would have more opportunities to create achievements in their units.

A steel mill had connected all the relationships and established these friendships; Hu Ke's evaluation of Li Xuewu had risen another level.

Especially this club in the mansion—what he saw was probably just the tip of the iceberg.

"Did you set off firecrackers in the courtyard this afternoon?"

Li Xuewu didn't stay at the club for long. After four o'clock, he sent Hu Ke off and said goodbye to Huang Gan and the others.

They were still playing in the private room, and Li Xuewu didn't ask them to see him off. Yu Li, however, saw him to the parking lot.

Before he could even get in the car, he heard a firecracker pop.

It wasn't a holiday, so the firecrackers children could get were limited, unless it was a mischievous kid who loved playing with them.

"Li—Uncle Li—"

Zhang Shuangqing was having fun when he suddenly saw that ruthless man with the scarred face staring at him.

He knew this was his mother's colleague, but he couldn't help but be afraid; even his greeting was stuttering.

Li Xuewu smiled slightly: "Throwing firecrackers to play is boring; it's just listening to a sound."

Zhang Shuangqing was slightly stunned. He had thought this fierce-looking uncle was going to lecture him, but he didn't expect him to say that.

He just stood there stunned, not daring to ask how to play with firecrackers to make it interesting.

Fortunately, this "kind-eyed" Uncle Li proactively told him: "Don't throw them after lighting them; step on them with your feet—that sound is interesting."

Li Xuewu pretended to be mischievous, blinking his eyes, and got into the car under Yu Li's secretly smiling expression.

He didn't pay any attention to the stunned little brat and directed the car to drive out of the courtyard under Zhao Lao Si's salute.

Zhao Lao Si had this ability; it was as if he could calculate—as long as Li Xuewu came, he was definitely at the gate, and when Li Xuewu left, he was still at the gate.

You didn't know how he calculated when Li Xuewu would arrive, and you didn't know how he calculated when Li Xuewu would leave.

He always appeared at the point Li Xuewu was paying attention to, and it was even a bit too professional.

Even Huang Gan had said that Old Si was wasting his talent here; if he could enter a unit, with this ability, he would have long since become a lackey by a leader's side.

"Director Yu, a little brother of mine sent me two hazel grouse; I put them in the kitchen."

After sending off Li Xuewu's car, Zhao Lao Si trotted over and smiled at Yu Li: "That thing is a delicacy; I've already arranged it, you can go get it tonight."

"For me?"

Yu Li looked at Zhao Lao Si in surprise and asked with a smile: "Or is it prepared for the leader? Who are you giving it to?"

"Look at what you're saying, the leader has already left, how could it be for him?"

Zhao Lao Si smiled and said: "Besides, the leader doesn't lack this bit of respect from me; I prepared it specifically for you."

"Prepared for me? Why? Want me to do something for you?"

Yu Li looked him up and down: "If you have something, just say it directly; I can't understand what you want."

"No! Absolutely not! Nothing at all!"

Zhao Lao Si waved his hand: "I've been taken care of by you, working here for so long, I have to say thank you to you, don't I."

He really knew how to talk, just shaking out his purpose clearly, and didn't say much more, as if afraid Yu Li would decline again, gesturing to the gatehouse behind him: "You're busy, I'm going back to my shift."

"Is it really prepared for me?"

Yu Li saw that he really just left, and asked with a smile: "Then I'll thank Zhao Sige."

"Don't tease me, hahaha!"

Zhao Lao Si loved hearing others call him "Zhao Sige," especially the female attendants working in this courtyard.

But when Yu Li called him "Zhao Sige," he couldn't take it, waving his hands repeatedly and laughing as he returned to the duty room.

"Hmph—sycophant!"

Zhang Shuangqing, who had been standing by watching, snorted and muttered: "He looks more like a translator than the translator in the movie 'Tunnel Warfare'!"

Yu Li glanced at him, and hearing the child's words, almost laughed out loud.

Zhang Shuangqing was at the age where people disliked him and dogs hated him, and it was also the age where he loved to show off the most, especially in front of young, beautiful women.

He didn't understand where this desire to show off came from; it was just the impulse of youth that made him say these things.

After saying this, seeing Yu Li smile, he showed off even more, lit a firecracker, and stepped on it under his feet.

"Hey! You—!"

Yu Li didn't expect this kid to be so reckless; that bad guy Li Xuewu was clearly teasing him, and he actually stepped on it!

Zhang Shuangqing just felt he was majestic, cocky, afraid of nothing, and dared to do anything.

The more things that could attract people's attention, the more fun he thought it was, and the more face he had.

Seeing Yu Li looking at him nervously, he held his little neck high, hands on his hips, waiting for the firecracker under his feet to pop.

Bang—!

"Hehe—hehe—"

Nothing happened, just his foot felt a bit numb and a bit chilly.

Zhang Shuangqing heard the beautiful aunt exclaim in surprise and shook his legs smugly, but he didn't expect his sole to suddenly feel uncomfortable.

He looked down and saw that the new plastic sandals his mother had bought him at the supply cooperative that morning had been blown apart at the sole by the firecracker!

Firecrackers, especially in this era, didn't have any precision; there was no such thing as a safe amount of gunpowder.

As long as the children liked it and could hear the sound, they could dismantle the gunpowder from a "double-kick" firecracker.

Throwing this thing out naturally made a loud sound, and there was no danger.

But those who worked with dangerous goods knew that explosions in confined spaces were more serious.

Stepping on firecrackers with plastic sandals was even more fun—Li Xuewu was really rotten to the core!

Looking at the child's dumbfounded, bewildered expression, Yu Li just felt that this bad guy was really out of line.

People say a gentleman's revenge is not too late in ten years, and a villain's revenge is sooner or later.

It was just that the two of them had been startled by the sound of firecrackers outside the window while they were doing "that," and he hadn't been affected, so why was his desire for revenge so heavy?

"It's over, my mom is definitely going to beat me—"

Zhang Shuangqing no longer had the heart to act cool and handsome in front of the beautiful aunt. He shook the half-broken sandal hanging on his foot, looked at the half-broken sole on the ground, and almost cried.

"These sandals were bought this morning, right?"

Yu Li looked at this silly boy and asked with amusement: "Your mom is Political Commissar Wang Xiaoqin, right?"

"Yes—woo woo woo—"

It would have been better if she hadn't mentioned the new sandals and who his mother was. Zhang Shuangqing had been thinking about going to a shoe stall to patch them up, but seeing the beautiful aunt say this, his tears really fell.

He cried, partly because he was afraid of being beaten, and partly because he had lost face in front of the beautiful aunt.

"My mom bought them for me this morning—"

"Who told you to be so mischievous—"

Yu Li reached out and wiped his tears with amusement, asking: "Where did you buy them? Auntie will take you to buy a pair just like them."

"Woo woo—thank you, Auntie—"

Zhang Shuangqing was truly scared. His mother beat him very hard; things like setting off firecrackers in the courtyard would just get him a lecture at home, not a beating.

But playing with firecrackers and blowing up shoes—that would definitely earn him a whipping with a belt.

"Thank you, Auntie, you're so kind!"

"Don't be so mischievous next time, you know?"

Yu Li pointed at him with amusement: "Firecrackers aren't allowed in this courtyard; what if you scare someone else?"

"I know, Auntie, I promise!" Zhang Shuangqing nodded, wiped his tears, and said: "Next time I'll only blow up that Uncle Li!" ===== CHAPTER 1121 =====