Chapter 1209: Is your old man at home?

Those familiar with history might know that the British Empire before World War I was a true powerhouse.

What about before World War II?

Similarly, the influence of the British Isles even swayed most of the important negotiations in Europe.

Remember that joke Chamberlain told?

"In our history, this is the second time that a glorious peace has been brought back from Germany to Downing Street."

Just think, even Hitler had to pretend to be compliant and compromise.

Any force, in the process of communication and negotiation, had to listen to the opinions of the three islands.

Just like the America of later generations, the hat of world policeman was worn very crookedly... very crookedly, indeed.

The influence of the British Empire in the world was enough to make it stand tall and point fingers at any country.

However, after two wars, the British Empire finally...

The sun sets behind the western mountains—and the sky turns black—

The ruling power in the colonial areas declined one after another; withdrawing troops from Turkey became the fuse for the independent flags raised in various places, and also marked that the sky of the British Isles had turned black.

Look at the world influence map of the British Empire before World War I, and then compare it with the decline process along the way; it's not hard to find that this is a timeline of economic contraction.

What is the direct manifestation of the decline in influence?

Previously, the currency that was very strong in the world trade market—the pound sterling—completely became toilet paper.

National strength declined, causing the international credit of the pound sterling to also follow, and it was rolling down.

This is also called the Pound Crisis.

Note, what I'm talking about here is the Pound Crisis, not the world economic crisis.

In fact, speaking of the Pound Crisis, ever since Britain abandoned the gold standard in September 1931, its status as an international currency had already begun to shake.

Some people said, the British Empire was just bored, why did it mess with the pound sterling for no reason!

In fact, one can't just blame the British Queen; starting from 1926, the relatively serious economic crisis of 1929 that swept through capitalist countries didn't let the Great British Empire go either.

The Great Depression from 1929 to 1931 led to gold outflows and international balance of payments deficits.

Specifically why, I won't talk about it here; I'll just say that to deal with this situation, what did the British Queen do?

That's right, it abandoned the gold standard.

Exchange rate fluctuations, opening up the market, letting capital flow, and turning on the printing press to print money like crazy.

The cost of paper and ink is so low; printing them together makes them pounds, then they become valuable, and then they buy, buy, buy.

Especially during the war, people all over the world were trying to find ways to preserve their assets so they wouldn't depreciate.

Under the credit support of old-brand capitalist countries, everyone chose the pound sterling as foreign exchange reserve funds.

The result was that the British Queen didn't talk about martial virtue.

On one side, they were constantly reserving pounds, and on the other, the British Queen was constantly turning on the printing press.

The result was that the war ended, and the British Empire's influence on the world economy also ended.

Economic strength continued to decline, inflation worsened, international balance of payments was in long-term deficit, capital flight was serious, foreign exchange reserves plummeted, causing the credit of the pound sterling to deteriorate every day.

The British Queen was forced to announce on September 18, 1949, that the pound sterling would depreciate by 30.5%, and the exchange rate against the US dollar would drop from 1 pound equals 4.03 US dollars to 2.80 US dollars.

That is to say, on this day, those big shots holding pounds almost jumped off buildings, and the whole sky turned black.

That's right, the British Queen made the people of the world curse her mother.

Total assets shrinking by nearly one-third; anyone would curse their mother.

Do you know what currency depreciation means?

Imports decrease, commodity prices rise, capital flight, corporate competitiveness declines, consumer purchasing power declines, residents' quality of life declines...

(Don't apply it randomly; I'm talking about the UK)

Coincidentally, the things that happened in '49 happened again in '67; the pound sterling depreciated for the second time.

The two depreciations had their similarities, both meaning that Britain's status in international trade and finance was further weakened.

Some people asked, so many years have passed, why hasn't the US dollar had this problem?

Because America is more vicious, more malicious; they transferred the credit of the US dollar into the oil system.

I won't talk much about this either; let's still talk about the pound sterling.

The decline of the pound sterling's influence had its objective reasons, and also its subjective reasons.

The pound sterling is just like the old British Queen, arrogant and conceited.

It is more like a regional currency than an international currency; the related regions are the British Commonwealth and the British Empire.

It is those former colonies that continued the pound sterling peg system, inherited pound sterling reserves and were newly independent, as well as countries where Britain had troops stationed and oil companies established.

(For example, Iran and Kuwait)

To be narrower, in the vast majority of international transactions conducted in pounds sterling, either the buyer or the seller is a resident of the pound sterling area.

What an arrogant currency; it deserves to be slaughtered.

Li Xuewu remembered very clearly that this year, the British Queen announced another depreciation of 14.3% on November 18, and the exchange rate against the US dollar dropped to 1 pound equals 2.40 US dollars.

He remembered that history described the pound sterling at this time as: one of the most unstable and weakest currencies among the currencies of Western countries.

Hong Kong, as a pound sterling trading area, if Li Xuewu didn't collect some colonial taxes that had been collected for so many years, could he be worthy of the British Queen's decline and the novice gift package?

Yu Li teased Li Shu for a while, finished talking about work with Li Xuewu, and then went to the club.

Li Xuewu was lazy, lying on the heated brick bed and unwilling to move; after saying what needed to be said, he didn't follow.

A whole morning passed between him and Gu Ning chatting about family affairs, and lunch was also eaten in the inverted house.

In the afternoon, he drove by himself and walked around the homes of several teachers; one was to hand in homework, and the other was to ask about the situation.

School resumed classes, and those professors from the Steel Institute who taught him also had to resume their normal teaching life.

He was alone, and it wouldn't be good to affect the professors' teaching arrangements, so he took the initiative to ask if he could follow the students to study.

The professors had also just received the school's notice and hadn't figured out the specific arrangements.

After giving him a lecture and leaving corresponding homework, they asked him to continue waiting for the notice.

When he couldn't have classes anymore and had to return to the classroom, they would notify him then.

These professors were also entrusted by the president of the Steel Institute, Pei Dayu; giving him special tutoring was a special situation.

Even if he returned to the classroom, Li Xuewu would have to skip two grades; after all, he hadn't delayed his studies for these two years.

Coming out of the professor's house, Li Xuewu thought about his own study career and felt it was funny.

For no reason, he became a college student, and he made rapid progress, becoming the only seedling inheritance of the professors.

From the beginning of '66 to now, he could be considered blessed; he hadn't stopped studying himself, and the professors hadn't stopped his education either.

Compared to those classmates whose names he couldn't call, how could he not say he was lucky?

Driving to visit teachers, walking and walking, he came to Teacher Ran's home.

Why? Teacher Ran wasn't a teacher anymore?

Even if she was the principal of Red Star Primary School now, couldn't she still be called Teacher Ran?

"Why did you come?"

Ran Qiuye looked at Li Xuewu standing at the doorway in surprise, her face unable to hide her excitement and joy.

Li Xuewu stood at the doorway with his hands in his pockets, teasing her and asking, "What? You don't welcome me? Is your old man at home?"

"Go away—"

Ran Qiuye couldn't suppress the smile at the corners of her mouth; her eyes were filled with affection, and she glared at him.

With a near-urgent mood, and also with deliberate restraint, she walked to the main gate to open it for him.

"Went to the teacher's house to hand in homework," Li Xuewu explained while walking into the courtyard, "Later I thought again, it seems I haven't been to Teacher Ran's place yet."

"Nonsense, why are you so improper—"

Ran Qiuye blushed, pushed him, and the two walked up the steps together.

The house was burning very warmly; as a primary school principal, her salary and welfare benefits were all good, and she was living alone.

"Tea or water?"

Ran Qiuye started getting busy as soon as she entered the house; there was hot water ready on the stove, and she could make tea at any time.

She was wearing a tight white sweater; her coat from when she went out was hung at the doorway, and she looked even more beautiful now.

Li Xuewu looked at the books in the bookcase on the wall and responded, "Whatever, the guest follows the host."

"Anyway, I'm not here to drink tea."

"Quickly put away your childish jokes."

Ran Qiuye knew he was definitely going to say he was here to hand in homework, which would be too embarrassing.

She made a cup of hot tea and placed it on the coffee table, then hurriedly tidied up the books scattered randomly on the sofa.

"The house is a bit messy, don't mind; sit anywhere."

"It's okay, my study is also very messy," Li Xuewu pulled an English book from the bookshelf and flipped through a few pages, responding, "These books were kept?"

"They are my father's collection; he is very reluctant to part with them."

Ran Qiuye walked to Li Xuewu's side, looked at the old book in his hand, and introduced, "At that time, we really wanted to burn these books to avoid trouble."

"But my father and mother couldn't bear it no matter what; they cried while reading them."

She said a few words in a somewhat desolate tone, turned to look at Li Xuewu, and gave a slight smile, "I also want to thank you."

"Thank me for what?" Li Xuewu closed the book in his hand, stuffed it back into its original position, and asked casually.

"Everything, everything you gave me—"

Ran Qiuye took the initiative to open her arms and hugged him, who had suddenly come to visit; she was a bit surprised and a bit pleasantly surprised.

Li Xuewu stood in front of the bookshelf, looking at the full bookcase and the elegant woman under the bookshelf.

"I believe everything is fate's arrangement," she tilted her head slightly and looked into his eyes, "For me, it's the best arrangement."

"Paralyzing yourself like this won't do."

Li Xuewu embraced her body and said with a smile, "You have to think that today's me is me, and tomorrow's me is not me."

"Everyone deserves a better life, instead of confining themselves to a certain period of time."

"Do you think I'm 'The Man in the Case'?"

Ran Qiuye swayed in his arms, her tone slightly dissatisfied, "I am an independent self."

"Of course, I certainly believe that."

Li Xuewu held her melon-seed face with both hands and kissed her, saying with a smile, "A new-era woman with independent thought and a foundation in literature and art."

"Defining me so rashly?"

Ran Qiuye tightened her arms somewhat dissatisfied, lying on his chest and asking back, "Besides being a new-era woman with independent thought and a foundation in literature and art, can't I have other labels? For you?"

"My teacher?" Li Xuewu asked with a smile.

This answer made Ran Qiuye very dissatisfied, and she teased, "I'm your teacher? You're so disobedient—"

She swayed Li Xuewu's body, her eyes full of affection as she asked, "Do you like me being your teacher? Can't I be your lover?"

"Of course, like a white rose in winter."

Li Xuewu smiled and stroked the affection she gradually let go of, possessing that beautiful face.

He lowered his head and said softly, "Teacher, it's time to hand in homework—"

Do the residents of the Four Nine Cities like sleeping on beds or heated brick beds?

Who the hell said they like sleeping? Stand out!

If we talk from the time the Manchus entered the pass, the Manchu masters actually preferred sleeping on heated brick beds.

Saying Manchu masters is because for three hundred years, the last dynasty had the greatest influence on the Four Nine Cities, right?

You talk about the Ming Dynasty; that's from how many generations ago; examining the sleeping situation of Ming Dynasty people is no longer sufficient as evidence.

Looking further back thirty or forty years, all kinds of forces came in and out of the Four Nine Cities, and people from all over the country came here.

Some people liked to set up a stove in the room, burning it warmly, and then sleeping on a bed.

Some old folks were from the north, hated that coal smoke smell, set up the stove and furnace in the outer room, and slept on a heated brick bed.

You can't say whether sleeping on a bed is better or sleeping on a heated brick bed is more comfortable; these two are the most solid and the most comfortable.

"Don't ponder it; I'll just change to that room to live later."

Ran Qiuye had already changed her clothes and walked in from the door of the inner room; seeing him still looking at the collapsed bed, she said with a smile, "I'll find someone to fix it later."

"How are you going to explain it to people?"

Li Xuewu stood up slowly, sighed, and asked, "Just say you were jumping on the bed for no reason?"

"Go away—"

Ran Qiuye blushed and teased, and said casually, "What's there to explain? Just say it's broken, so what?"

"Not rigorous; what if someone asks?"

Li Xuewu walked to the outer room to wash his face, took the towel she handed over, and instructed, "Just say a child came to the house and broke it while being naughty."

"So you were squatting there pondering for half a day, just to ponder this, right?"

Ran Qiuye was really convinced; she raised her hand and patted him, saying, "Alright, alright, a child came to the house and was naughty..."

As soon as she said this, she was somewhat shy and annoyed; what was this and what was that; thinking of the "naughtiness" of the two just now, she...

That solid wood bed was bought by her father for her when she was a child; it was a particularly thick wooden bed, particularly thick, thicker than Li Xuewu's face, but the result?

He insisted on... that movement, with a "crack," it almost gave them a fright.

"I'll find someone to help you build a heated brick bed," Li Xuewu finished tidying himself and said with a smile, "Using red bricks and cement boards, it's definitely stronger than a wooden bed."

"Next time I'll make you sleep on the floor!"

Ran Qiuye was so shy she couldn't stand it; fortunately, they were at home; she glared at him and said, "Go, go quickly—"

"I don't have many postures on the floor; I'll really have to ask Teacher Ran to teach me."

Li Xuewu smiled and put on his leather jacket with her help, and after being hit by her, he walked out of the room.

"Didn't the old man and old lady say they wouldn't come back to teach?"

"Asked them; they don't want to come back," Ran Qiuye sent him to the doorway, hugged her arms, and said, "They said they like the nature and tranquility on the mountain."

"You decide for yourself; the situation has eased somewhat; it doesn't matter if they come back."

Li Xuewu nodded, looked at her, and instructed, "I heard you work very seriously and very responsibly; take care of your health."

"If you don't leave, I'm going to keep you for dinner—"

Ran Qiuye liked his concern and liked listening to his instructions even more, but this bit of liking had to be cherished.

Stop when it's enough; too much is as bad as too little.

She didn't yearn, and she also understood that he didn't belong to her; she only confirmed that she could guarantee she was his confidante.

Ran Qiuye didn't want to be his stumbling block, making things difficult for him and herself; she was more willing to be his stepping stone, fulfilling him and fulfilling herself.

When he came, he said not to paralyze herself; what Ran Qiuye recognized wasn't fate, but this person.

With him, there was this life.

If the emptiness before her eyes was like a dream bubble, she would rather immerse herself in this life he bestowed upon her.

At least the current her was happy and joyful.

"Look at what the newspaper says!"

Li Xuecai sat in the chair, holding the newspaper in his hand obliquely against the light and reading, " 'Instructions on Educational Reform'..."

"The school is still a mess, no different from before."

Zhao Yafang peeled the orange in her hand, removed the skin from the leaves, and fed them to Li Tang and Li Ning.

Although the two little guys had grown teeth, they couldn't eat oranges with soft skin yet.

Li Tang was a bit silly; his little hand reached out to grab the orange peel to eat; he didn't know why, but he just liked this bite.

Oranges were brought back by Li Xuewu; in previous years, eating this thing wasn't even a daydream.

But with the establishment of Red Star Factory offices in various places and the completion of the trade network, the first batch of dividends had already materialized.

Local specialties and economic crops from all over the country took the Red Star Factory's special train to Beijing and were distributed everywhere.

The staff of the Red Star Factory and joint units could also eat fruits and dried fruits from thousands of miles away.

Zhao Yafang couldn't bear to eat this precious thing; even the oranges were eaten carefully.

Even if Li Xuewu took boxes of them home, he had to take care of the old and the young.

Li Shu, the Great Demon King, didn't need anyone's help; she held the orange and stuffed it into her mouth one petal at a time.

The two younger brothers were still small; one was in the eldest sister-in-law's arms, and the other was in the mother's arms.

This afternoon, the family had all returned, gathering together to talk.

She liked this time the most, because she liked talking very much, and everyone liked listening to her talk very much.

A Great Demon King with a strong desire for expression.

"What did the school say?"

Liu Yin walked over and stood behind Li Shu, preventing her from falling off the chair.

Regarding the work and studies of her son and daughter-in-law, she couldn't understand much, and she could only care about this much.

Zhao Yafang didn't look down on her mother-in-law and explained very patiently, "Currently, it's still in the stage of restoring order; I'm helping in the Academic Affairs Office, and Xuewen is helping in the Student Office."

"The situation at our school is about the same."

Li Xuecai saw that no one was listening to the newspaper he was reading, so he put it away and said with a sigh, "More than ten million people; how to handle it?"

The more than ten million people he mentioned referred to the accumulated number of students from the '66, '67, and '68 classes.

Not assigned, staying at school for major study; these more than ten million people had already become a problem.

"I went back to school and looked; oh my~"

He shook his head helplessly and said, "There are more people in the whole school, but fewer people in our class."

"Some who live far away are still on the road, but there are also quite a few who can't come back, sigh—"

"Good things are hard to come by; having school to attend is much better than having no school to attend."

Li Xuewu poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to the old lady and his mother, emphasizing, "Wait a bit longer for your matter."

He looked at his eldest brother, who hadn't spoken, and asked, "Eldest brother, what do you think?"

"What else can I think," Li Wenbiao's tone also carried a slight regret, "Just do whatever is arranged."

"Those people at school aren't looking for trouble for you again, are they?" Liu Yin asked with concern, "If it really doesn't work, just..."

Just what, she couldn't say either;

Li Xuewu nodded, however, and said: "If you are impatient with those matters at the school, just submit a report to the Red Star Factory's research institute; it's a collaboration with your school anyway."

"Transfer your establishment to become a researcher. If you really can't bear to part with your status as a teacher, then go through the secondment process; you can go back whenever you want to teach again."

He gestured toward Zhao Yafang's direction and said: "Your sister-in-law is better suited for working at the school; she's better than you."

Li Xuewen had no objections or resistance to his younger brother's words; he also knew he was too lazy to deal with those people and matters. If it were up to him, the First Prison was the best.

It was just that the First Prison and the school no longer had a collaboration, and he had no excuse to linger there without returning to the school to report for duty.

However, going to the Red Star Factory's research institute still had a hurdle: with his younger brother there, it would ultimately be somewhat inappropriate.

This was his psychological burden; if he slacked off and people gossiped, and then he caused more trouble for Xuewu, it wouldn't be worth it.

"Let me take another look at things at the school."

Li Xuewen thought for a moment, but still politely declined his younger brother's suggestion, replying: "The school won't let people go at this time."

"That's fine too, decide for yourself either way."

Li Xuewu nodded and said: "Our factory has set up an aircraft research institute. If you're interested, come take a look. As for the school side, I'll have Jingrong handle the paperwork for you."

He had already spoken his mind clearly; there was no need for more words beyond this.

Whether he goes or not, it's actually not up to the eldest brother; this mushroom has a bit of decision-making phobia.

Isn't that right? His sister-in-law is here; as long as she understands, that's enough. The couple can chat about it again tonight.

Since Li Xuewu returned, two years had passed quietly.

Time passed too quickly, gone in the blink of an eye.

The Li family's population had grown, the people presiding over meetings had changed, and the younger generation had begun to take charge.

Li Shun had long been busy on the mountain with the Chinese herbal medicine planting and development project, so the ones in charge at home were Li Xuewu and Zhao Yafang.

Matters discussed by the uncle and sister-in-law were basically considered settled; others couldn't see the full picture and couldn't speak to it fully either.

Li Xuewen also knew he was just an attendee with no real say, so he simply acted as a hands-off manager.

After talking about school matters for a while, the family began discussing their respective work and children.

It was Li Xuewu who started it, beginning with the sister-in-law's need to go to work, and discussing whether to have their mother come back to help take care of the children.

"Why are you coming up with one thing after another?"

Zhao Yafang glanced at him and then said to her mother-in-law: "Let's wait until school matters are settled. We can tidy up the dormitory there, and it will be convenient for the old lady to go to school with me."

Liu Yin actually didn't know her son's thoughts; she was also confused at this moment and looked at Li Xuewu, not understanding what he meant.

"It's too much of a hassle, and the old lady can't look after them all by herself," Li Xuewu explained: "It would be better to have Mom come back; Grandma is getting on in years, after all."

"I'm actually fine, what's there that I can't look after?" the old lady said while sitting on the kang: "In the winter, it's just a bit of an effort to go upstairs, nothing else."

"It's better to have Mom back so there's someone to look after things at home."

Gu Ning wanted to explain, but she was not good with words and could only look at Li Xuewu while speaking.

Li Xuewu gently explained to his mother: "If you return home, you can look after Li Tang with Grandma, and during the day you can help look after Li Shu. I can just pick her up and drop her off on my way to and from work."

"With Qinru watching Li Ning at home, this way you can manage things, and it will save you from worrying about the house."

At this time, it was not appropriate for Zhao Yafang to speak, as they were discussing helping her look after the children.

Grandma is over sixty, and Mom is also over forty. The children are at the age where they are just learning to crawl and are mischievous; if you rely on one person to look after them, they will surely be exhausted.

Li Shu is slightly older and only plays in the room, and there is a constant stream of people in the front and back courtyards, so she is easy to look after.

"I brought it up with Xuewu this morning," Gu Ning said while everyone was pondering: "I was thinking that since the sister-in-law is going to work, Mom must be worried about the house."

"Don't I worry when you go to work too—"

Liu Yin sighed, looked at the three grandchildren by her side, and asked with a helpless smile: "Is this what they call happy troubles?"

"Hehehe—" Li Xuecai chuckled somewhat mindlessly: "Wait another two years, and we will also..."

He only said half of this sentence before being poked back by Ji Yuxiu, who was standing behind him with a face flushed red.

Seeing the young couple, everyone couldn't help but curl their lips and laugh out loud.

Hearing the meaning in their mother's words, she had already agreed, and Li Xuewu and Gu Ning felt settled in their hearts.

They were truly afraid that their mother would overthink things and worry about the children; this was the best of both worlds.

They didn't eat dinner at home; after the family meeting concluded, they took advantage of the fact that it wasn't completely dark and drove back.

In the eleventh lunar month, darkness is synonymous with dropping temperatures; sunlight is the synonym for warmth on the earth.

Compared to later generations, the temperature in the capital is very low, sometimes reaching minus eleven or twelve degrees.

If you hit a bitterly cold day, it can reach minus twenty-something degrees, which is rare even in the Northeast of later generations.

Cold weather isn't necessarily all bad; at least there are fewer young people wandering around aimlessly on the streets.

Li Xuewu looked out from the car window; these young people could jump around for at most another year, at most one year.

This coming year...

"This is made of peanuts, this is made of sunflower seed kernels, this is made of fried dough twists..."

In the conference room, the clerks of the economic office distributed snacks to the factory leaders.

At the same time, the person in charge of the food factory gave an introduction.

"Zheng Xudong, not bad—"

Cheng Kaiyuan fiddled with the table full of snacks and praised him with a smile: "You have great ideas!"

"It's the leaders' suggestions that are good," Zheng Xudong, the person in charge of the food factory, replied with a smile: "I just did some management work."

Jing Yunong glanced at him without speaking, looked at the snacks in front of her, but didn't reach out.

She was the one who promoted this person, but she didn't expect him to have such ungrateful eyes.

What do you mean the leaders' suggestions are good?

As far as she knew, the categories and development of these snacks were mostly planned and suggested by Li Xuewu.

When mentioned earlier, the food factory's reports inevitably had to include Li Xuewu's name to ensure the application materials could be approved by the leaders.

Now there is news coming out of the factory that some key positions in the factory will be adjusted at the end of the year.

This includes the security group; nothing more specific was said, but what has been rumored about who it is is already self-evident.

Don't look at how she treats Li Xuewu coldly on the surface, and sometimes even rumors of conflict between the two spread, but she pays close attention to Li Xuewu.

Some gossip sounds very plausible; if you say no one is pushing it behind the scenes, who would believe it?

"Alright, the food factory has finally started production," Cheng Kaiyuan, who is now in charge of the tertiary industry, smiled like a chubby man and praised happily: "It lived up to expectations, it's gratifying and worth celebrating."

"Coming here today is mainly to ask the leaders for criticism and to give our food factory more suggestions."

Zheng Xudong wore a reserved smile and took the initiative to say: "This batch of snacks will be supplied to the supply and marketing system for the time being, and adjustments will be made after feedback is received."

He couldn't help but glance at Deputy Director Jing, coughed lightly, and continued: "The ultimate goal is to supply export orders, with the main destination being Hong Kong."

"Small snacks, big business—"

Li Huai De walked in from outside the door with Li Xuewu and said this after hearing Zheng Xudong's introduction.

Li Xuewu glanced at the conference table as he passed by.

Of course, he also received the look from Deputy Director Jing; is it encrypted?

"What is this?"

After Li Huai De sat down, he let Li Haiyang tidy up the notebook and teacup in front of him, picked up a tube of snacks, looked at it, and said with a smile: "So it's hawthorn flakes."

"The packaging is a bit poor, but the taste is acceptable."

Li Xuewu took it, opened it, gave half to Old Li, and stuffed a few pieces into his own mouth to taste.

Li Huai De looked at the half-tube of hawthorn flakes in his hand and smiled helplessly, thinking to himself that no one treats me like a child except you; I really thank you for sharing your snacks with me.

"Paper packaging is conducive to the preservation of hawthorn flakes," Zheng Xudong was afraid of Li Xuewu coming and afraid of the other party making suggestions, so he hurriedly explained: "We are also helpless."

"It's not that paper packaging isn't allowed."

Li Xuewu held up the half-piece of hawthorn flake in his hand and gestured: "Take a look at what kind of paper this is?"

"Is the paper burned for grave sweeping earlier better than this?"

He put down the snacks in his hand, drooped his eyelids, and said: "Change the packaging; this paper is absolutely not okay."

"Ask more, experiment more."

Cheng Kaiyuan smiled and smoothed things over: "Zheng Xudong, you should go to a tea shop or a steamed bun shop to take a look around."

He turned to Li Huai De and said: "This wrapping paper is indeed a problem; kraft paper is sturdier and more aesthetically pleasing."

"Hmm, a small problem, it's still a lack of oversight on the details."

Li Huai De looked carefully at the wrapping paper in his hand and said indifferently: "Coordinate with the packaging factory later."

"Understood, I will handle it immediately, Leader."

Seeing that the leaders didn't pursue the matter, Zheng Xudong hurriedly nodded and expressed his stance.

Li Xuewu flipped through the snacks on the table and picked out a few problems to talk about.

Trademark, packaging, taste, shelf life...

He didn't save face for Zheng Xudong, but he wasn't deliberately making things difficult for the other party either.

Of course, he didn't know how the other party thought, but this was work; who has the leisure to joke with him?

Regardless of who he stands behind, the work that needs to be done must be completed, otherwise, it's the Red Star Factory's face and money that are lost.

Cheng Kaiyuan defended him, and Li Xuewu could naturally see it; he didn't intend to stand up for Jing Yunong either, despite the look she gave him.

If it were in private, Li Xuewu really wouldn't have spoken so bluntly; in the conference room, since the other party took the initiative to ask for their opinions, he said what needed to be said.

Li Xuewu's integrity never needed to be explained or emphasized to anyone.

Finally, when Zheng Xudong went out, his face was full of sweat because Li Xuewu's one sentence had stripped him back to his original form.

"Leave professional matters to professional people; this applies to management and technology. Stop giving blind commands."

Whoever is scolded knows it; anyway, there was more than one person with a cold face in the meeting.

"Leader, I..."

In Cheng Kaiyuan's office, Zheng Xudong complained with some grievance: "I didn't offend him."

"What kind of talk is this?"

Cheng Kaiyuan glanced at him, waved his hand impatiently, and gestured for him to sit down and talk.

"What do you mean by offend? Didn't Deputy Director Li speak about the actual situation? Wasn't he doing it for your own good?"

He threw a cigarette over and emphasized again: "Your subjective consciousness is not good; it's very dangerous."

Zheng Xudong held the cigarette the leader had just thrown over, not knowing whether to smoke it or not.

With this scolding and then pulling him in, he really couldn't understand what the leader meant.

Initially, it was Deputy Director Jing who transferred him from the finance department to the food factory to serve as deputy factory director.

He was naturally very grateful for Deputy Director Jing's promotion, but things have changed; now it is Deputy Director Cheng who is in charge of the tertiary industry.

He couldn't just ignore the olive branch of the supervising leader and cling to the old feelings of his former leader, could he?

Besides, he felt that he was working for the Red Star Factory and for the organization; he was very upright.

So in the conference room today, facing Deputy Director Jing's attitude and gaze, he dodged and also stood his ground.

It's just that he didn't expect that the factory leaders' initial praise would change its tone after Deputy Director Li entered; he became the target of criticism.

More importantly, the opinions Deputy Director Li gave were all practical and useful.

Everyone knows he wasn't deliberately looking for trouble.

However, couldn't these opinions have been stated earlier?

When the food industry development plan was formulated, Deputy Director Li was directly involved.

The snack categories placed in front of the leaders today were projects that Deputy Director Li participated in designing and formulating.

Why weren't the corresponding requirements raised when these were being done initially?

Now that they have been designed and exposed in front of the leaders, it makes them look incompetent.

Zheng Xudong felt somewhat aggrieved; his face was very ugly when he came out, and after being called over by Deputy Director Cheng, he just complained a little and was met with so many reprimands.

Actually, Cheng Kaiyuan really didn't intend to reprimand him, or rather, he couldn't be bothered to talk to him.

It was just that he had just taken control of the tertiary industry and was in the process of using people; he didn't think much of someone like Zheng Xudong.

But, everyone understands the principle of buying a horse's bones for a thousand gold; he couldn't just have no direct influence.

It's just that he didn't expect the other party to be so unbearable; he couldn't stand it just because a few more opinions or suggestions were raised.

"Don't complain, don't grumble; you are a cadre of the food factory—"

Cheng Kaiyuan patiently taught him: "Do you dare to say that the products produced by your factory have no shortcomings?"

"Then tell me, are the situations Deputy Director Li mentioned true or not?"

Seeing Zheng Xudong lowering his head and not speaking, he glanced at the other party and said: "Deputy Director Li is very capable in economic work; it's very rare for him to give you practical suggestions."

"So many departments are begging for his guidance; they can't even get in line."

"Yes, I thought about it the wrong way, Leader."

Zheng Xudong also knew the principle that when under someone else's roof, one must bow one's head.

If he offended Deputy Director Jing and then offended Deputy Director Cheng, he wouldn't be able to work in the food factory anymore.

At this time, even if Deputy Director Cheng said he was dog shit, he would admit it, let alone the fact that the leader's words could not be refuted.

"Don't treat your work as a joke."

Cheng Kaiyuan lit the cigarette in his hand, threw the lighter to the opposite side, and said: "It was a good thing originally."

"As a result, look at the conference room; Deputy Director Li was speaking, and Director Li was also listening."

He tapped the table and reminded: "The leaders have seen your attitude; how am I supposed to talk about you?"

"Are you stupid? Are you a young person who just started working?"

After speaking, without waiting for the other party to explain further, he waved his hand and said: "Alright, correct mistakes if you have them, and guard against them if you don't; cultivate your state of mind more."

He flipped through the documents in his hand, took a puff of his cigarette, and said: "I don't care what opinions you have; go back and rectify things properly according to the situations Deputy Director Li mentioned."

"Just like you reported, test the waters with the supply and marketing system first, and then open up the foreign trade market."

Cheng Kaiyuan looked at him seriously and instructed: "I'll make it clear to you: domestic trade and foreign trade are completely different things; you must ensure food safety."

He pointed his finger at the other party and said: "If something goes wrong, it will definitely be you management personnel who are held responsible."

"And I will also bear joint management responsibility."

"Understood, I will definitely be serious and responsible."

Regarding responsibility, the Red Star Factory's agency and office management system had been implemented for more than a year.

The relevant division of responsibility is very clear, especially for food safety; whoever is responsible for the area where the incident occurred will be held accountable.

Moreover, the supervising leader will bear management responsibility, and the management committee will also pursue accountability.

After sending Zheng Xudong away, Cheng Kaiyuan sighed, muttered "waste" to himself, called the secretary in, and asked about the situation of the foreign affairs office.

It was mainly because on the 15th of this month, Guangzhou would be hosting a trade fair; at the earliest by the end of the month, and at the latest by next month, a trade delegation would be coming from Guangzhou.

Some foreign businessmen came last year, but most are here this year because of their reputation.

The production scale of the Red Star Factory this year is vastly different from last year, including the trade management center, which can accommodate the procurement needs of more foreign businessmen.

Truly connecting with international merchants, using Hong Kong Oriental Trade as a bridge, the Red Star Factory is truly moving toward the international stage.

Jing Yunong is keeping an eye on this matter, and he is also keeping an eye on these foreign businessmen.

From this month to next month, an investigation team from above will come to research the performance of the Red Star Factory's leadership team.

The recent achievements that can be presented, and which are also bonus points, are inevitably these foreign businessmen.

If he can really secure a few major projects, no matter how the future situation changes, his position in the Red Star Factory will become increasingly stable.

Once he has a firm footing, he will also be able to flex his muscles.