Chapter 1146: This woman wants money, not her life

"Does Mr. Li not like drinking coffee?"

Chantal looked at the teacups in front of Li Huai De and Li Xuewu and said with a smile: "This is what I brought from France; don't you want to taste it?"

"Thank you, I'm not used to drinking it—"

Li Xuewu politely refused; let alone that she brought it from France, even if she brewed it, he wouldn't touch it.

The translator behind Li Huai De was very capable and translated in real-time; he also shook his head.

"I prefer drinking tea, green tea."

The welcome wine banquet was still continuing, but the main guests present had already dispersed.

This kind of commercial banquet, especially held in the morning, is like a beauty in Europe.

The attraction is high, but it's only for a while; when you see her rough skin and the body odor covered by perfume, you will leave early.

Around 11 o'clock, only those technical personnel and some reporters who came to take advantage were left at the scene.

Actually, their days in the country were not that easy.

After all, the material and living standards here were limited, and even if they had money in their hands, they couldn't spend it.

This was also the reason why the International Hotel had such high food and accommodation prices yet still had people patronizing it.

Even if the chef's level here was average, there was fresh seafood and food from outside.

Hong Kong special transport; eating that was very refreshing, and you definitely couldn't afford it without hanging a bill.

Of course, whether it was foreign affairs personnel or resident reporters, they all had units to reimburse them.

Therefore, although the scale of the International Hotel was not large, it was indeed the unit with the highest standard of goods intake among the businesses managed by Zhou Xiaobai.

These foreigners really dared to eat.

The food at the banquet was carefully prepared by the Foreign Affairs Office's chefs and the International Hotel's chefs.

The big shots only tasted a little, retaining their demeanor and not wanting their stomachs, so it was cheap for them.

Now the big shots either left early to maintain their mystery and status, or went to a lounge with higher privacy for a small talk.

They could fully let go of their hands and feet and deal with those seafood and meat dishes.

Of course, this was naturally as it should be; the Saint-Aya Group had already paid the bill for them.

This banquet could be worth a month's turnover of the International Hotel.

If you add the extra bonuses and tips... just look at the smiles on those waiters' faces and you'll know; this amount was definitely not small.

No wonder the service department of the factory always asked about this place when selecting waiters.

Zhang Songying also had ideas; since Li Xuewu asked to build the International Hotel into a business card for the Red Star Factory's foreign service, she dared to ask Li Xuewu for policies and standards.

The waiters in the International Hotel, except for those trained at the reception center in the early stage, were all transferred after long-term observation.

What does that mean?

Waiters were of course arranged and transferred by the service department, so how did it become her choice of personnel?

This was the power and policy Li Xuewu gave.

Zhang Songying had worked at the reception center for more than a year, and what she was responsible for managing was service work.

She believed that whether it was an interview or a written test, it couldn't test the excellence of a waiter.

"Distance tests a horse's strength, time reveals a person's heart."

She only selected and picked from the reception center or other service departments and logistics departments at fixed points.

Looking at the long-term service state of a waiter, they must have culture and motivation.

What's important is obedience and discipline; better and better treatment and an excellent working environment made this place a siphon point.

Then were the reception center and other service departments willing to let her pick and choose?

Was the service department in charge of service work willing to delegate power to let her decide this matter?

First of all, there was no problem with the authority, because the competent unit of the International Hotel was the Management Committee Office.

Li Xuewu had the final say, so Zhang Songying could do it.

Secondly, Qin Huairu and the others had opinions at the beginning, but after a long time, they were willing instead.

Service personnel in the unit paid special attention to their performance on weekdays in order to compete for the quota of the International Hotel.

The siphon effect was formed like this; the higher the service standard of the International Hotel, the greater the work pressure on the waiters in the factory, and the more serious they became.

Therefore, the first sentence Chantal said when she came out of the banquet hall and saw Zhang Songying was praise.

She was very happy to see such high-standard service personnel here.

Polite, enthusiastic, and bright smiles.

Zhang Songying was very polite and even took the initiative to ask the other party to talk about the shortcomings of their service.

This made Chantal even more satisfied; on the way from the banquet hall to the lounge, she took the initiative to chat with Zhang Songying about hotel service management.

After entering the lounge, Zhang Songying, together with the service personnel, served them tea and coffee.

When she learned that the Red Star Factory was preparing to build the International Hotel into a business-oriented service unit, she very much agreed and expressed support.

Zhang Songying timely and simply expressed the difficulties of the country in hotel operation, service standards, and management models, and Chantal took the initiative to offer help.

She would invite a hotel management expert from the country to support the Red Star Factory's construction work in this regard in the name of the Saint-Aya Group.

Li Xuewu also represented the Red Star Factory and expressed gratitude to the Saint-Aya Group and Chantal.

Zhang Songying and others left, and the two sides started chatting in this reception room, which was also a lounge.

The cooperation between the Red Star Factory and the Saint-Aya Group was very much watched by the higher-ups.

The reason why it appeared so casual and didn't have more departments participating was entirely due to the special situation under the current situation; how many pairs of eyes were watching.

Using purely commercial means to complete foreign trade was also a kind of test and experiment.

Technical and trade blockades were a shackle for the country, which had to be broken through at all times.

The Red Star Factory's current practices and achievements were all very good, and Li Huai De was a person who knew how to maintain relationships.

Therefore, one would rarely see leaders or departments coming to the factory to ask about this or check that.

Of course, this was when nothing happened.

As long as the Red Star Factory was smooth sailing and achievements continued to rise, all one saw were smiling faces.

Li Huai De also felt more and more that he was walking on a tightrope, so he was very cautious even about this kind of meeting.

If it were Li Xuewu, he would dare to meet the other party with a foreign affairs person.

But Li Huai De didn't agree; the Red Star Factory side, besides Li Xuewu, also brought a secretary and a translator.

And Chantal was not alone; besides the translator she brought, Foreign Affairs Department Cultural Commissioner Maggie Roman was also there.

Correspondingly, the Foreign Affairs Department, and also the International Hotel's Deputy General Manager Zhou Gancheng, were also there.

There were quite a few people in the room, but only a few were really talking.

Maggie Roman and Zhou Gancheng just sat on the side and listened; they both belonged to the third party.

And Li Haiyang did service and recording work, and the translator sat behind Li Huai De and did simultaneous interpretation.

If you ask about the cooperation between the Red Star Factory and the Saint-Aya Group, it was an economic project; why was the cultural commissioner of the French Foreign Affairs Office accompanying Chantal? Then there was a lot to say about the story here.

Except for the first day of meeting, when Maggie Roman and Amandina accompanied Chantal, after that, the one who communicated with Li Xuewu was Cultural Commissioner Maggie Roman.

Even when Chantal returned to the country to prepare for cooperation, private news was provided to Li Xuewu through Maggie; doesn't this explain anything?

Maggie was very daring; while completing the tasks Chantal gave her, she also told more information to Li Xuewu.

Including the two or three things that had to be said between Chantal's husband, Foreign Affairs Office Counselor Alain Adrian, and Amandina.

The wife flew on the international trade line all year round, and even if she had free time, she mostly returned to the country to visit her children and family.

Especially since the entry and exit environment of the country was complex, Chantal had to delay for a long time when she came once.

Unless there were enough holidays, the two couldn't see each other once a year.

One for career, one for life; the couple lived apart for a long time, but always maintained the correctness of the marriage, cooperating tacitly.

I don't know how Chantal was outside, but Maggie said that even the waiter sweeping the floor in the Foreign Affairs Office knew about the affair between Mr. Alain and Ms. Amandina.

Just now, Li Xuewu watched with his own eyes as that Mr. Alain left with the Economic Commissioner.

And Chantal faced all this with indifference, and there wasn't even a bit of disappointment or contempt in her eyes.

Oh my, foreigners really know how to play.

"Is foreign coffee any different from ours?"

Li Huai De looked at Chantal drinking with endless aftertaste, raised his eyebrows, and said: "I tried it once; the bitterness and mellowness are not as good as green tea, the richness is not as good as black tea, the sweetness is not as good as white tea..."

He shook his head slightly and said: "If it's just to refresh the mind, I still think drinking tea is better, and it's also good for the body."

"I also like drinking tea very much—"

Chantal said with a smile: "It's just that I'm used to the working environment and living environment."

She looked at Li Huai De and Li Xuewu and asked: "Do you drink milk tea?"

"No, I know you are talking about English milk tea, but I have never tried it."

Li Xuewu saw Li Huai De was a bit confused, and while answering Chantal, he also reminded him that it was not the milk tea from Inner Mongolia.

"Our ancestors tried various ways of drinking tea, and in the end, they only kept the most primitive taste; this is the essence of taste."

Speaking of which, during the Tang Dynasty, they even added green onions and salt to the tea water.

He was also talking nonsense, chatting about everything, as an opening pleasantry, just chatting.

Waiting for everyone's nerves to adjust, only then did they start today's relatively formal conversation.

"I heard that your factory reached an aircraft production line procurement agreement with Japanese merchants?"

Chantal looked at Li Xuewu very unexpectedly and said: "I thought that what you mentioned during the negotiation was just an intention."

"Without intention, why would I mention it?"

Li Xuewu smiled on his face, but he was ruthless in his heart; this news, although not top secret, was not something that a waiter sweeping the floor could know.

Damn it, someone must be leaking secrets, and it was targeted.

"But this project is still being discussed, and we don't know the final result yet."

He naturally wouldn't tell the truth; "the art of war is based on deception."

"Why, are you interested in this project too?"

Li Xuewu looked at Li Huai De and asked with a smile: "Is there any news about the projects mentioned in the last negotiation?"

"You know this is impossible."

Chantal looked at Li Xuewu and shook her head, picked up the coffee cup and took a sip.

Although there was no clear reply, there was no clear refusal either.

There are many impossible things; can you believe the words in a merchant's mouth?

Li Xuewu didn't care about her attitude; when it can be discussed, it will naturally be discussed.

"I want to know about the promotion arrangement of the cooperation agreement; Mr. Robin mentioned it to me."

Chantal looked at the two and asked: "I don't know what happened; why did he tell me that your production hasn't been decided yet?"

"I think I have already explained this question clearly to Mr. Robin."

Li Xuewu spread one hand and explained: "I don't know how he told you, but I can explain it to you again."

"Regarding the production work of hardware parts, we have always been pushing it forward."

He signaled Li Haiyang to take the document from the other party's hand and hand it to Chantal.

"In order to cooperate with the Saint-Aya Group's project, our factory's attitude is very firm; we specifically acquired a large machine processing enterprise in the Northeast region."

"A large enterprise?" Chantal confirmed while taking the document: "Is it the kind of large-scale I understand?"

"I don't know if an enterprise with more than a thousand machine tools counts as a large enterprise in your eyes."

Li Xuewu nodded with a smile and said: "But in our concept, it already counts."

Chantal looked at Li Xuewu, and only then did she open the document folder in her hand.

Very in line with commercial rules, it was translated into French inside, so she could read it directly.

Of course, this was just a project plan; the name of the acquired enterprise and sensitive information had been hidden.

The content Chantal saw only knew that the Red Star Factory acquired a large machine processing enterprise and would merge sixteen factories in the next half year.

After integrating all resources, the processing enterprises managed by the Red Star Factory would include machine tool production, hardware parts processing, production line customization, etc.

She naturally didn't believe that the Red Star Factory would specifically prepare so much for the Saint-Aya Group's project.

But tangibly, she could see that the Red Star Factory was preparing for another major project in the industrial field.

"In the Northeast? Liaodong?"

Chantal had limited information in her hand; she frowned slightly and looked at Li Huai De: "Steel City?"

Li Huai De seemed not to hear it, holding the teacup and drinking slowly, tasting carefully.

Li Xuewu took the initiative to take over the conversation and explained: "Because we want to acquire this enterprise, integrate our factory's own machine processing capabilities with it, and at the same time merge and transform the mechanical enterprises we merged, so this project is very large and needs time to complete."

"However, the integration work is in progress, and production work will not stop."

He took another document from Li Haiyang's hand and handed it to the other party, explaining: "Our factory has already made relevant production work arrangements."

"That is to say, we have already signed a production agreement with the acquired enterprise?"

"Can our orders be produced now?"

Chantal looked at this agreement and looked up at Li Xuewu: "Is it now?"

"If we were in Liaodong, I guarantee you would hear the roar of machines."

Li Xuewu gave a very humorous answer, winning a roll of the eyes from Maggie Roman.

"While ensuring production, we will promote resource integration work as soon as possible."

He tapped the two documents on the coffee table and emphasized: "Even in France, acquiring such a large enterprise, and still integrating ten?"

"What about you?"

Chantal turned the tables on Li Xuewu and asked: "Can the work you mentioned be completed in half a year?"

"We can complete it—" Li Xuewu answered very confidently, as if he was waiting for her to ask this, and said straightforwardly: "Our enterprises are all organized, all of the people."

"Therefore, while complying with commercial rules, we can have better coordination."

I don't know if it was intentional, but Li Xuewu looked into Chantal's eyes and said: "We never have to worry about whether workers moving from one factory to another will have discomfort or contradictions."

"Because we are all one family, a big collective, a big family."

He nodded very confidently: "We have common beliefs and goals."

"Perhaps—"

Chantal should have understood the deep meaning in Li Xuewu's words and nodded noncommittally.

She naturally could see that the one responsible for talking to her today was Li Xuewu.

The Red Star Factory's person in charge, Li Huai De, didn't take her words at all and only cared about drinking tea.

So, she didn't bother with Li Huai De anymore and talked with Li Xuewu instead.

Chantal mainly wanted to talk about the arrangement of the machine processing project, the subsequent production of engineering machinery, the manufacturing of special vehicles, the manufacturing of special equipment, etc.

In the cooperation agreement, there are textile, agricultural, engineering, light industry, food processing machinery parts, as well as special vehicles such as excavators, bulldozers, graders, road rollers.

There are also elevators, tower cranes, concrete mixing equipment, truck cranes, piling machinery. Machine tools (metal processing industry, mold manufacturing), metal and plastic processing equipment, etc.

As for the valves, bearings, connectors, hardware, steel structural parts, etc., mentioned earlier, these are all the first basic trade projects to start.

Besides this, the Red Star Factory also signed a regional agency agreement with the Saint-Aya Group.

That is to say, the Red Star Factory's own products will also be sold overseas through the other party.

This includes hardware small commodities, motorcycles, jeeps, electronics, motors, etc.

Correspondingly, the Red Star Factory also requested in the agreement that the Saint-Aya Group help the Red Star Factory get world-class metallurgy and steelmaking technology.

This includes introducing oxygen top-blown steelmaking technology from Austria, high-furnace heavy oil blowing technology from France, high-furnace high-temperature and high-pressure technology from the United States and the Soviet Union, steelmaking deoxidation technology from West Germany, continuous casting steel technology from Switzerland, and strip steel rolling technology from the United States.

Li Xuewu's goal was very clear, and he even provided Chantal with a cooperation procedure plan.

That is, the project completion schedule.

The Red Star Factory would prepare to accept production equipment and technology according to this schedule.

The nearest one is the Austrian oxygen top-blown steelmaking technology; this needs to get exact data and agreements this year.

It's not just the Saint-Aya Group putting pressure on the Red Star Factory; Li Xuewu also wants to put pressure on the other party.

Within three years, these technologies must be implemented, because the Red Star Factory wants to use this set of technology as a foundation to upgrade the steelmaking plant located in Steel City into a special steel preparation center that crowns the Liaodong industry.

Either don't do it, or do it the best.

The steelmaking plant must not only provide raw materials for the steel rolling industry but also provide raw materials for the machine processing industry, automobile industry, shipbuilding industry, etc.

In the future, the Red Star Factory's light-heavy mixed industrial downstream industry will urgently need special steel and metal.

Secondly, an important industry that the Red Star Factory will deploy in the future also urgently needs construction steel.

That is the engineering team trained after completing three years of major construction and five years of major production.

In the established goal of groupization, this construction engineering team is mainly responsible for relieving the pressure of worker diversion, undertaking the work guarantee for workers eliminated in the Red Star Factory's personnel reform to settle down and make a living.

In industrial reform, personnel is a very realistic work.

Workers who can engage in special production operations have shorter working years; workers engaged in ordinary processing industries, with the improvement of production technology, will have more and more requirements for them, gradually being eliminated.

Li Xuewu just told Chantal that the Red Star Factory is an enterprise of the organization and the people.

The Red Star Factory will not leave workers alone, but workers must also undertake work within their capabilities.

Therefore, physical labor is the last guarantee work arranged by the Red Star Factory for workers.

Of course, this is also a guarantee arrangement for the Red Star Factory in future personnel reform.

If these workers are really left alone, I'm afraid their lives will be unsustainable, and anything could happen.

Compared to this, the workers at this time are really working in dedication and dedicating in work.

Labor value is underestimated, and the factory has the responsibility to be responsible for their second half of life.

The conversation in the reception room lasted a long time, and both sides talked a lot about cooperation.

Especially Li Xuewu and Chantal, for convenience, they talked directly in French.

The speaking speed was very fast, and the translator behind Li Huai De was about to explode, only able to translate the important parts.

At the end of the conversation, Chantal also mentioned that the food machinery provided by the Saint-Aya Group, including canning machines, filling machines, capping machines, bottling and canning machines, frying machines, baking machines, freezing equipment, and vacuum packaging machines, etc., had arrived at the port.

Li Xuewu expressed gratitude for Chantal's help; the Red Star Factory's food industry really needed to speed up progress; Wufengxing was already urging them.

Including canned food, sausages, candies, dried fruits, nuts, etc., packaged food.

Wufengxing had already gotten a whole set of instant noodle production lines and was transporting them back.

The Red Star Factory's food processing industry was affected by the speed of infrastructure and raw material channels, so it might be late before a large amount of side food came off the line.

No matter which food factory, they would encounter such problems in the early stage of preparing for production.

Food production is completely different from parts production; these are two tracks.

The Red Star Factory was also very anxious, but Li Xuewu did not urge the relevant persons in charge.

Parts production is sloppy, which is just defective products; if food has problems, it's a matter of life and death.

Especially the small snacks produced by the Red Star Factory, which are aimed at teenagers, must pay more attention to quality and safety.

Better to produce late than to have safety problems.

When coming out of the International Hotel, it was already past 3 o'clock in the afternoon; the two sides talked for more than three hours without interruption; Li Huai De didn't participate in the specific talks, but felt tired just sitting there listening.

Li Xuewu didn't feel anything, but after getting in the car, he let out a long breath first.

"This woman wants money, not her life—"

In a blink of an eye, the time arrived on Saturday.

In three days, the technical team formed by the Saint-Aya Group had already started work at the Red Star Factory.

The first to integrate were naturally the engineering construction team; as soon as the engineering machinery supported by the Saint-Aya Group arrived, they started coordination work with the Red Star Factory's Engineering Command Center.

Some of these engineering machines were simple and usable, while others were incomprehensible and unusable.

Machines arrived before people, but if people didn't arrive, the machines couldn't be used.

This could also show that the current domestic construction was still at a relatively backward stage.

With the help of these engineers, the Red Star Factory transferred all the machines in stock.

The specially trained operators also started construction operations under the command of the engineers.

It must be said that mechanical equipment is much more convenient than manpower and simple machinery.

Especially under extreme operation conditions, the professionalism of engineering machinery is higher.

The division chief in charge of engineering, Lang Zhennan, is a ruthless person; with such a long operation, he had long been familiar with every construction site.

These foreign monks could only be responsible for chanting scriptures; he had his own set of efficient management methods.

Moreover, the construction team on the Red Star Factory's construction site was not familiar with this engineering technical team, so the current cooperation was still limited to the Engineering Command Center, acting as staff guidance.

The design team's integration work was slower; it wasn't that they were lazy, but because of work reasons.

They needed to practically understand the Red Star Factory's design plan and planning, and then look at the drawings.

It must be said that these people were prepared before coming to the country, and their willpower was very firm.

They didn't point fingers as soon as they came up, but understood materials with a cooperative spirit.

This also made Lang Zhennan breathe a sigh of relief.

When the technical team didn't come, he hoped they would come; when the technical team came, he was afraid that these people would be arrogant and treat them as students.

Fortunately, the other party appeared with a cooperative posture, making the work atmosphere of the Red Star Factory Engineering Command Center much more harmonious.

Li Xuewu's instruction was that all design plans and schemes in the Red Star Factory Ecological Industrial Park could be shown to the other party, completely, all of them.

Including the three-defense project that had been designed and was under construction.

If the technical team had any opinions, they could report to the Engineering Technology Office for research and decision.

The Red Star Factory's investment in this project was very large, and the attention was also very high.

Dou Yaozu put all his energy into it, including monthly income.

Except for distributing wages to workers and office and safety expenses, all other funds were smashed into equipment updates.

Li Xuewu applied for a car indicator for him, but Old Dou didn't want to spend it, always renting the club's Volga M24 to use.

Rent a car for important occasions, borrow the project department's jeep for general occasions, and ride a bicycle when there was really nothing to do.

Can you imagine a company head with tens of thousands of engineering workers riding a bicycle to work?

Dou Yaozu was such a person; he communicated with Li Xuewu very apologetically that there would be no dividends this year, and all income had to be used to buy equipment.

Li Xuewu naturally agreed and even proposed the opinion of capital injection.

But Dou Yaozu thought about it and didn't agree, feeling that the current development was just right.

Li Xuewu didn't make excessive demands and just managed it according to

The management model of Dongfeng Construction was very unique, somewhat similar to a firm.

They worked together when there was work, and disbanded when there was none.

The company's operating capital was very simple, and their largest expense was even labor protection supplies.

Benefiting from the low labor costs at the time and the reasonable construction budget provided by the Red Star Factory, Dongfeng Construction had made money.

But under Li Xuewu's guidance, Dou Yaozu had also been spending money the entire time.

This included not only construction machinery but also architecture professors from various universities.

Just within the technical office established by the Red Star Factory for the engineering project, there were more than twenty architectural experts from Dongfeng Construction.

Even with the Red Star Factory putting such great effort into recruiting experts and scholars, why did Dongfeng Construction still have so much talent?

Daring to spend money; Dou Yaozu truly dared to spend money for these people.

There were over twenty architectural experts in the technical office, and in Steel City and Ying City, Dongfeng Construction's project teams had many more technical talents.

Previously, when Li Xuewu asked Dou Yaozu to spend money on equipment, he had been heartbroken.

After the machinery and equipment were put into operation, he never spoke of being heartbroken again.

When Li Xuewu asked him to study architectural knowledge and invite experts to the company to help, he executed it without a second word.

Li Xuewu did not know what Dou Yaozu was thinking, but after these experts exerted their true value, old Dou kept shouting that it was "truly fragrant."

How could it not be fragrant? A makeshift team had attracted a bunch of experts and university students; they were even more impressive than the city's construction companies.

The city's construction companies hadn't even secured the factory construction tasks for the Red Star Factory, yet Dongfeng Construction had gotten the fattest piece of meat.

Everyone had heard that the three major construction sites of the Red Star Factory had all been given to Dongfeng Construction.

With an investment of over ten million yuan, tens of thousands of people participating in construction, and work that couldn't be finished in three years—isn't this fragrant?

Never mind what happens to Dongfeng Construction in three years; even now, that relative of Dou Yaozu's at the city engineering company treated him like a biological brother.

A mason without a formal job had leaped to become a special cooperative builder for the Red Star Factory.

You want to investigate his problems?

How would you investigate? They were relying on the Red Star Factory for construction and not taking outside work; how could you manage that?

In other words, they only needed to eat the Red Star Factory's projects to survive; would they even care about your management?

Dou Yaozu had come together with Lang Zhennan, along with the technical team's engineering lead, Adolf, and the designer, François.

The group stood before a large square table newly added to Li Xuewu's office, pointing at the layout plans spread out on it and beginning to discuss.

Because Li Xuewu was in charge of coordination, his office also had many more blueprints.

Especially on the wall, there were three engineering construction progress charts that were frequently consulted.

Every week, people from the project management center would come to make updates and annotations, letting Li Xuewu know the progress of the project.

You might say that Li Xuewu, a cadre with a background in security, understood nothing about construction, so why bother with all this effort?

Lang Zhennan did not think so at all; only by letting Li Xuewu know the project progress could the leadership know what they had done, and only then could they ensure that applications for various project expenses wouldn't get stuck at the top.

Moreover, for engineering construction, workers needed wages and Dongfeng Construction needed project payments; he needed results.

If he didn't tell Li Xuewu these things, should he go to the leaders above to talk about his own achievements?

Stop joking; Li Xuewu actually understood a bit of engineering business, while the factory leaders understood absolutely nothing.

In fact, their main purpose for coming today was to report, to provide a briefing on their ideas for carrying out work after integrating the technical team, and at the same time, to obtain Li Xuewu's consent to delegate more authority to him.

Li Xuewu did not hesitate; after listening to the relevant reports, he pointed out several key locations to ask about their preparations, showed concern for the supply of building materials and the safety of the workers, and then signed his name on the submitted application.

His signature was crucial; only after passing Li Xuewu's hurdle could these applications reach the desks of the factory leadership.

Especially on Director Li's side, he wouldn't even look at them without Li Xuewu's opinion and signature.

Are you saying Li Xuewu monopolized the Red Star Factory's business work?

But that was the reality; if the deputy director of the Factory Management Committee wanted to see a document, he could only look at it privately without Li Xuewu's consent.

To go through the formal channels of the Committee Office, the kind that required stamps and signatures, one had to obtain Li Xuewu's approval.

Otherwise, even if you bypassed him and submitted the application, begging the supervisor to sign it, what would happen next?

The Committee Office wouldn't bother with you; would you go find finance or other departments to execute it yourself?

Never mind that finance wouldn't recognize this application at all; even other departments wouldn't dare to execute it.

Therefore, submitting applications for general work and coming to report on important work had become the daily work requirement for mid-level cadres at the Red Star Factory.

You could choose not to come, but Li Xuewu would still call to ask about the relevant work.

As long as you didn't mind the trouble, or if it couldn't be explained over the phone, he would reject it for you directly.

Now, people in the offices all said that the Red Star Factory had two pens: one pen was surnamed Li, and the other pen was also surnamed Li.

"Let me offer you a suggestion, Division Chief Lang."

Just as Li Xuewu handed the signed documents to Lang Zhennan, he gestured toward the experts discussing by the square table and reminded them: "You must be united, and you must do a good job in coordination and management."

"Don't you worry—"

Lang Zhennan nodded very seriously and guaranteed earnestly: "I guarantee the mission will be accomplished."

Li Xuewu smiled slightly, reached out to shake the other's hand, and said: "The era belonging to the Red Star Factory has arrived; I wish the project team all the best."

"Thank you—"

Lang Zhennan knew that his work had received Li Xuewu's support and trust.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't excited inside, even though the other party's rank was lower than his own.

However, he was very clear that he might advance after this project was completed, but Li Xuewu didn't need to wait for the project to be completed to advance; he was definitely ahead of him.

Therefore, Li Xuewu was a factory leader, and there was no hesitation in his heart.

The discussion about the engineering project continued for a few more minutes, and it only had to end when Peng Xiaoli brought people in.

"Leader, the comrades from the Ice Flight Factory have arrived."

"Good—"

Li Xuewu just nodded, first greeting Dou Yaozu and the others, then signaling Peng Xiaoli to see them out, before finally welcoming the group from the Ice Flight Factory.

"Deputy Director Li, this is Deputy Director Lu from the Ice Flight Factory, Deputy Division Chief Zhao, and Comrade Zhu Dingsong."

Ao Yuhua had brought them over and took the initiative to introduce both sides: "This is our factory's Deputy Director Li, who is in charge of security business coordination."

"Hello, Deputy Director Lu, welcome to the Red Star Factory—"

Li Xuewu smiled and shook hands with the cadre standing in front, saying: "I have been waiting for a long time."

"I am Lu Dake; I heard of Deputy Director Li's great reputation back in Bingcheng."

Lu Dake detected the sharpness in Li Xuewu's words, and his reply also carried a bit of edge.

They had almost been startled when they first walked in the door; why were there foreigners in this room?

They had heard the gibberish of a foreign language in the hallway, but didn't expect there to be actual foreigners.

It was just that these foreigners were also wearing work uniforms, looking rather out of place.

Everyone knew the Red Star Factory had channels for foreign trade, but they didn't expect they could even bring in foreigners?

What surprised him even more was that after arriving at the Red Star Factory, the first person they met was Ao Yuhua, who was responsible for reception work at the Committee Office.

And after a brief exchange of pleasantries, Ao Yuhua didn't guide them to see Li Huai De, but brought them directly across the way to see this Li Xuewu.

They had received the news on Tuesday; no matter how urgent the situation was, they had to know themselves and the enemy.

So they had rushed to visit on the last working day of the week, which was Saturday.

The information he had gathered was that this case was being handled by a deputy director of the Red Star Factory's Committee Office.

What on earth did this mean? A deputy director of the Committee Office dared to call them to come and pick someone up?

He had wanted to see the top leader of the Red Star Factory to trade blows, but he hadn't expected that this punch he threw would almost cause him internal injuries.

It was Li Xuewu who received them, and in his "busy schedule" at that; you tell me what he was thinking.

Li Xuewu didn't care what he was thinking; he released his hand and shook hands with the second person.

"Zhao Yuanding, Deputy Division Chief of the Ice Flight Security Division; hello, Deputy Director Li."

Zhao Yuanding was quite polite, maintaining an attitude of handling matters.

As for the last one, whose specific position Ao Yuhua hadn't introduced, Li Xuewu could guess who he was; after all, his surname was Zhu.

"Please sit—"

He waved at Peng Xiaoli, who had returned from seeing the guests out, signaling him to pour tea, while he himself invited these people to sit on the sofa.

As soon as Lu Dake sat down, he looked at the engineering chart on the wall and asked with a smile: "Deputy Director Li is also responsible for engineering business?"

"Coordination work; one has to be involved in a bit of everything."

Li Xuewu replied simply, then looked at Zhu Dingsong, who had sat down in silence, and asked directly: "May I ask, what is your relationship with Zhu Lei?"

"I am his father." Zhu Dingsong didn't show any signs of resentment and answered very calmly: "Xiao Lei has caused trouble for your factory."

"It's good that the parent has come; this way, we won't be accused of bullying a child."

Li Xuewu opened fire right from the start, causing all three of the other party to frown in unison.

He, however, ignored them, waved his hand, took a document from Peng Xiaoli's hand, placed it on the coffee table, and signaled for the three of them to take a look.

"This is Zhu Lei's own confession; if you don't believe it, the person is downstairs."

It was clear that Zhu Dingsong held a certain rank; he was the first to pick up the document.

But the moment he saw the transcript, his face turned livid; the content above was truly shameful.

"Call it acting on impulse, or call it being young and ignorant; if you treat him as a child, then we must do our work thoroughly."

Li Xuewu sat on the single sofa with his legs crossed, his tone very blunt as he said: "Inviting you all here is not just to talk about Zhu Lei's matter, but also about the problems of the entire 701 team, as well as the necessity of our cooperation."

He said with a serious expression: "We have sufficient reason to suspect the attitude and willingness displayed by your factory in this cooperation; this unprofessional attitude almost caused us to lose this project."

"What do you mean by that?" Lu Dake asked with a frown: "Is the Red Star Factory preparing to cancel the cooperation agreement?"

"It's not just about canceling the cooperation agreement; we also intend to pursue accountability for this matter."

Li Xuewu looked directly into his eyes and stared back, stating: "The joint investigation team from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Investigation Department, and the Confidentiality Department is downstairs, and our factory has already sent a letter to the Third Ministry of Machine Building to question this matter."

"But..."

Zhao Yuanding asked hesitantly: "When you sent us the message, didn't you say it was for discussion?"

"That's right, but you didn't come, did you?"

Li Xuewu turned his head to look at him and stated: "How long does it take to take a train from Bingcheng to the capital? Can an aircraft manufacturing factory not afford a plane ticket?"

"Or is it—that you don't value this matter, and value our Red Star Factory even less?"