Chapter 1224

"Does it hurt?"

Li Xuewu looked at the grimacing "Big Brother" and handed over his own teacup, which he hadn't touched yet.

"You aren't being wronged at all for getting beaten up!"

"Hehehe, it's nothing—"

Old Biaozi rubbed his arm and chuckled: "Just teasing her; it's marital fun. Do you expect us to treat each other like guests?"

"Yo, you've really been studying, haven't you?"

Li Xuewu pretended to be surprised, sized up his "Big Brother," and nodded with a smile: "Not bad, a bear in a gown—you've become a person."

"Keeping up with the times, as you often say."

Old Biaozi picked up the teacup, took a gulp, and glanced out the window: "The Steel City is always forcing me to do homework."

"She's probably using me to practice; she dreams of being a teacher."

"Hmm, learning together, progressing together—good—"

Li Xuewu nodded with a smile, picked up the teapot to fill his cup, and poured one for himself.

"I won't talk to you about the class struggle stuff; you should know yourself that at the current stage, knowledge can indeed change destiny."

"When can it not?"

Old Biaozi raised his eyebrows and said: "I feel like knowledge can change destiny at any time!"

"Don't look at the current situation; I've tasted it myself: those with learning are always better than those without."

He held the teacup in his hands to warm them, curled his lips, and emphasized: "Anyway, when my daughter grows up, she must go to university."

"Not to mention anything else, when Qinglan and I went to the Steel City, I couldn't learn the ledgers and business even after ten days or half a month, but Qinglan figured it out in one morning. Isn't the one with learning better than me?"

"Convinced?"

Li Xuewu teased him with a smile, not telling him when knowledge cannot change destiny.

When the channels for acquiring knowledge and its application value cannot be fully realized, knowledge cannot change destiny.

In elementary school essays from the past, "{Me in 20 Years}" all had to write about becoming doctors, scientists, astronauts, etc.

Because in the cognition of children and parents, these professions could change life and destiny.

But in later generations, if you ask elementary school students what their life ideals are, many children say they want to be internet celebrities.

Why?

Because acquiring knowledge has become particularly popular and easy, even to the point where one must "roll" (compete intensely) to get ahead.

But even with cram schools and various efforts, getting into a good university, the ability to acquire a material life is not as fast as an internet celebrity making money.

Because even parents know that any pig can fly if it hits the wind.

People who haven't been to school for many days can earn hundreds of millions a year; do you think they would be willing to let their children focus on the classroom for over a decade?

Conversely, if you really want to be a doctor, scientist, or astronaut, do you think children from ordinary families can do it?

Li Xuewu doesn't like the ideological situation of this era, but he cherishes the simplicity and seriousness of this era even more.

At least this era gave many people an average opportunity.

At least the people around him are all living very hard.

If it were in later generations, looking at the "Big Brother" in front of him, he would definitely be material for a big internet celebrity.

If you want to talk about bullshitting, who can beat him?

"What do I have to be unconvinced about?"

Old Biaozi drank a mouthful of hot tea, not caring about the face issue, and said frankly: "I was convinced long ago."

"From the moment she handled the ledgers faster than me and understood how to soothe people's hearts better than me, I knew that the saying in plays that martial artists conquer the world and scholars govern the world makes sense."

"You can also become a scholar—"

Li Xuewu hadn't expected that after having a child, his "Big Brother" would grow so fast.

Evaluating a man always requires going through several special stages.

When young, look at the elders; after starting a family, look at the wife; at the age of thirty, look at the children.

If you want to see if a person is okay from a young age, just look at the character of his parents; you'll have at least 30% certainty.

If you want to see if a person is okay when he grows up, look at the character of his wife; you'll have at least 40% certainty.

If you want to see if a person is a father but still doesn't understand how to discipline his children, then stay away from him as early as possible.

"Bear children" (spoiled brats) aren't scary; the parents of "bear children" are scary.

As of now, his "Big Brother" has a 40% chance of becoming a talent.

He didn't have a good father, but he has a good wife.

To become a talent, it still depends on personal cultivation; given Old Biaozi's family environment, he's just hanging out with Li Xuewu; otherwise...

"A scholar—I'm afraid I won't make it in this life," Old Biaozi chuckled: "But a 'man of letters,' I can manage—"

"You're looking for a beating again!"

Li Xuewu responded to his "Big Brother's" joke, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and asked: "Did you go home?"

"Hmm, went back yesterday afternoon."

Obviously, after Li Xuewu finished asking, the smile on Old Biaozi's face faded; he still had a thorn regarding his family.

"Did you take the child back?"

Li Xuewu glanced at him, not caring about his emotions; every family has its own difficult scriptures to read.

Old Biaozi seemed to have let go; having a knot in his heart was inevitable, after all, it had been so many years.

It was just that he had already started a family and didn't live near home, so how much could he care?

"Hmm, Qinglan insisted on going back to take a look."

He tilted his head to look out the window and said as if he didn't care: "Just sat for a while, didn't eat."

"Is everything okay at home?"

Li Xuewu put down the teacup and said in a flat tone: "Guodong is in the neighborhood office; he might know about things at home."

"I've rarely returned to the courtyard recently, so I hear less about it."

"Still the same, what else could it be."

Old Biaozi said indifferently: "They didn't feel like they lost a son, and I didn't think I lost a pair of parents."

"I told Qinglan to just treat them as distant relatives, worry less, and stop adding trouble to their 'happiness'."

"Does your brother have children?"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and said: "I seem to have heard Guodong mention it; was it last year or the year before that he got married?"

"Hmm, the year before last, has a little boy."

Old Biaozi drank a mouthful of hot tea and said: "Like his lifeblood; you know, 'the youngest son, the eldest grandson'."

"Didn't ask you for money?"

Li Xuewu picked up the teapot to refill his tea and said: "They should know what you're living like now, right?"

"Hmm, they should know; they're just pretending not to."

Old Biaozi smiled and said: "They hinted around about how hard life is, saying my brother is working as a temp and it's tough."

"But I didn't pay any attention; Qinglan left the two old ones 10 yuan as a New Year's gift, and they were very unhappy about it."

"Hahaha—"

Li Xuewu couldn't help but laugh at the little schemes of this couple.

In the past, when his parents thought he wasn't doing well and didn't like him, he would throw 100 or 200 when he went home for the New Year.

This year, knowing that the family had realized it, he only threw 10 yuan; if this isn't intentional, what is?

No wonder they say Old Biaozi found a good wife; she's incredibly smart, especially at handling human relationships.

"Qinglan said, the more they ask, the less you give."

Old Biaozi chuckled and said: "She even intentionally had me drive the car home and asked for good cigarettes for the neighbors."

"This kinship, sometimes it's really as thin as paper and as cheap as firewood," he shook his head slightly with emotion: "I don't know how much it burns them to know that this 'waste' is living better than their precious son."

December 28th, Sunday.

Shen Guodong chose the 30th to get married, which made many people dissatisfied.

But this kid didn't want a big wedding, and was even more low-key than the brothers in the courtyard.

No friends invited, no relatives, just the brothers; those who could come back would set up a few tables and call close people to liven things up.

Old Biaozi came back early, arriving in Beijing on Saturday morning.

Originally, Li Xuewu called Xilin, asking her and Gelin to come back to hold the wedding with Shen Guodong and Xiaoyan.

But Xilin insisted on not coming back; their marriage certificates were handled by Shen Guodong through someone in the neighborhood office.

Don't doubt it; marriage certificates could also be "handled by proxy" in those years, as long as you had connections and credit to guarantee it.

Shen Guodong is doing quite well in the neighborhood office; by July next year, he will be an official Party member, belonging to "our own people."

And precisely because he didn't want this matter to be affected by the wedding, his and Xiaoyan's wedding was particularly low-key.

According to regulations, Xiaoyan still had to wait two years to get married, but "getting on the bus before buying the ticket" was almost a universal phenomenon at that time.

The two calculated well; Tuesday is the least busy time for the recycling station, and also the busiest time for those working in units.

Old Biaozi didn't care, and neither did Erhai from Tianjin; taking advantage of Guodong's wedding, they came back to report on their work at the end of the year.

Right at the Dongfeng No. 1 Club, on this Sunday, the main people in charge of the recycling station had all arrived.

Li Xuewu, Li Wenbiao, Shen Guodong, Yang Zhao (Erhai), Ye Jizu (Second Grandpa), Yu Li, Lou Yu.

Li Wenbiao is responsible for the Northeast business, Shen Guodong for the Beijing business, and Yang Zhao for the Tianjin business.

Li Xuewu's grandfather no longer manages things, mainly focusing on woodworking guidance and research.

The direction of response is mainly wood procurement in Jicheng and the production of modular furniture in Chadian.

So, grandfather did not attend this meeting, but instead sent Second Grandpa Ye, who assists Shen Guodong, to come.

Second Grandpa Ye is now mainly responsible for the recycling station's business, freeing up time for Shen Guodong to do management work.

The remaining boys of the "Thirteen Guardians" are also following along to learn and help out; basically, none of them are out collecting scrap anymore.

Small picture books, clothing, stationery, sports equipment, second-hand flashlight products, etc. —the Thirteen Guardians are all participating in these businesses.

Of course, this year, Li Xuewu also gradually cultivated and introduced outsiders to participate.

For example, Luo Yun is responsible for the clothing business, and Zuo Jie is responsible for small picture books, stationery, and sports equipment.

It also includes the supporting distribution network built by Zhou Xiaobai in Beijing.

Pei Pei and Ou Xin are also being cultivated; they are people from the club and can also be used in business after observation.

Actually, Old Biaozi had selfish motives; when he brought Su Qing in, he wanted her to learn and do things together.

As long as she gained Li Xuewu's recognition, she could start from basic business and even become management at the recycling station.

No one understands the value and energy possessed by the recycling station better than Old Biaozi.

Even without changes in the situation, Su Qing graduates from university and starts working; can she earn more than Yu Li?

Of course, one doesn't deny the future advantages possessed by college students of this era, who can even become "gold-topped" (elite).

But given Su Qing's background, what he can see is that in the next five to ten years, she definitely won't have a better development than here.

How much does Yu Li earn now?

Let's put it this way: Yu Li has the purchasing power for everything sold in Beijing's shopping malls.

Su Qing has been arranged by Li Xuewu to help Yu Li; is there any need to doubt the future?

It's a pity; as soon as she heard that school was resuming, Su Qing immediately ended her work here and returned to school.

But what Old Biaozi learned was that resuming classes is resuming classes, but what is being resumed is not classes, but management.

Haven't Li Xuewu's elder brother and sister-in-law also calmed down and started doing what they should be doing?

Li Xuewu still holds a job at the school, but basically goes there as little as possible.

It's either the First Prison or the Red Star Factory, where there is a research institute of Huaqing.

Zhao Yafang is the same; besides taking care of the children, most of her time is spent on Li Xuewu's career.

The time allocated to the school is very little; both of them are a bit discouraged, and if it weren't for Li Xuewu's persuasion, they would have gone home completely long ago.

Li Xuecai is the same; he checks in at school, and if he's not practicing driving, he's going to work at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.

The situation hasn't changed at all; Li Xuewu really hit the nail on the head.

Old Biaozi feels sorry for Su Qing, but people's fate is destined by heaven; since his wife returned to Beijing, he doesn't dare to have any more dealings with her.

Moreover, from what he learned from Yu Li, Li Xuewu has no intention of seeing Su Qing, and has even cut off contact.

He understands Yu Li's words perfectly well.

As the director of the club's management office, her more urgent work is to be Li Xuewu's Office Director.

This office manages all branches of the recycling station system; Yu Li's meaning is Li Xuewu's meaning.

At the meeting, everyone was very familiar with each other; perhaps only Erhai and Second Grandpa were slightly unfamiliar with Lou Yu.

Old Biaozi and Shen Guodong couldn't be more familiar with him.

The think tank on the mountain is nominally coordinated by Lou Yu, but in reality, it is controlled by Li Xuewu's people.

In the past, it was Old Biaozi, later it was Shen Guodong.

Including daily necessities, information transmission, etc.

The communication of business and tasks is done by Yu Li; inviting his "cheap father-in-law" to attend the meeting today was also requested by Li Xuewu.

Holding a meeting for his own people, Li Xuewu was much more relaxed.

Time is precious, so he only talked about the dry facts.

The Beijing sales business needs to be adjusted.

Li Xuewu explained at the meeting that the recycling station currently doesn't have enough manpower to organize distribution work.

The Red Star Factory has more and more products, and the distribution pressure is getting greater and greater; Shen Guodong and Luo Yun can't handle it at all.

What to do?

Change the form of operation; since there is a lack of manpower, outsource the human resources work, and even outsource the distribution work.

The marketing network built by Zhou Xiaobai will gradually replace the existing distribution model next year.

That is to say, those "client managers" are responsible for contacting business (including acquisition), and the recycling station is responsible for processing the business.

This greatly saves time for business processing and also expands the scope of business expansion.

If someone asks about the commission for "client managers," this is money that the recycling station has to spend.

The Red Star Factory has higher and higher requirements for distribution; if the recycling station can't keep up with the rhythm, it can only give up the business to others.

So, considering everything, the distribution model must change.

Some people say that those "client managers" are unreliable, and the pyramid distribution model is getting bigger and bigger, which will have limitations.

Moreover, when the pyramid develops to the end, after the potential is consumed, there will be internal involution, and even a collapse.

Regarding this point, Li Xuewu is not worried.

Because by the end of next year, a large number of those "client managers" will disappear, and the ones remaining will all be elites in Beijing.

"Gathered, they are a ball of fire; scattered, they are stars all over the sky."

The pyramid distribution team will become the third layer of the relationship network woven by Li Xuewu, following the Dongfeng No. 1 Club and the Youth Club.

Naturally, those who have eaten at the table of the pyramid distribution team will inevitably remember whose rice bowl they were eating from.

The top management of the pyramid are all members of the Youth Club, and in the future, they will also become members of the Dongfeng No. 1 Club.

Gathering upward, everyone will consciously strive to become the tip of the pyramid, become a member of the Youth Club, and become a member of the Dongfeng No. 1 Club.

The scattered stars will also bring business and surprises to the recycling station at some point in the future.

They go to a broader space; if they want to develop and want to come back, they must climb a rope.

Those with ability at home don't need this, but what about those who have no connections or can't borrow strength for the time being?

Even those with connections need this relationship network to expand their own interpersonal relationships.

Therefore, from the beginning, whether it was Zuo Jie or Zhou Xiaobai, they were all seeds buried by Li Xuewu in this circle.

What he is doing is not business, but a circle.

Zuo Jie, Luo Yun, and the Thirteen Guardians will gradually take over business work formally starting next year.

Shen Guodong will gradually withdraw from business and turn to management.

Old Biaozi is the same; the Steel City business is also being adjusted.

Besides cooperating with Beijing and continuing to dig deep into trade potential, they must also use local relationships to establish more distribution city outlets.

The key link of the "Coachman Plan" is to let those outstanding people in the black market accumulate a certain amount of wealth by establishing distribution outlets in their respective cities.

Li Wenbiao's work focus next year is to plant the flag of distribution outlets in all economic cities in the Northeast.

Fengcheng, Jicheng, Bingcheng—three points connected to form a line, expanding from the line to the surface, formally forming a large distribution pattern the year after next.

Why the year after next?

Because by the end of next year, the "client managers" will scatter, and the Northeast will become a key receiving area.

By then, these restless guys will definitely become important pioneers under Li Wenbiao's distribution network.

And in the Coachman Plan, three years is enough for those outstanding people to accumulate the strength to buy ships and go to sea.

The rest is the big business of the "China-Japan-Korea Private Trade Zone" that Li Xuewu wants to engage in, which we won't mention for now.

The recycling station is laying out in Beijing, laying out in the Northeast, and also laying out in Tianjin.

Wu Shuping and Yang Erhai are mainly responsible for this piece.

Because the Red Star Factory's Trade Management Center is in Tianjin, the distribution docking work has become simpler.

The Trade Management Center generates distribution orders every day; they only need to follow the procedures to take them and contact the docking units.

The rest can be done by the corresponding teams.

For those needing beef and mutton, the Trade Management Center must contact the Frontier Office.

In the process of signing procurement contracts, the recycling station can prepare for distribution work.

The recycling station's Frontier Station will prepare the beef and mutton needed by the Red Star Factory Office and quickly send them to the target cities.

This is true for regular business, and it is also true for non-regular business.

If the share of goods provided by an enterprise cannot reach the sales share of the Trade Management Center, the excess part will be thrown out.

The price of these goods must be handled by the distribution units in the form of market prices.

That is the so-called "tail order," and the price naturally has to be lowered a lot.

The Tianjin Recycling Station gets it and contacts recycling stations everywhere, and will take it down with the best distribution plan.

Just because the unit can't eat it doesn't mean the black market can't eat it.

After talking about the layouts of the most important Beijing, Steel City, and Tianjin, Li Xuewu talked to Lou Yu about the work in Hong Kong.

He told Yu Li that he only treated Sister Lou's career in Hong Kong as a game and a dream.

That's what he said, but he still has to dream his own wealth dream.

This time, Li Xuewu actively intervened, requiring Hong Kong to lay out in advance, on one hand to take down the retail network, and on the other hand to short the pound.

Acquiring and operating the retail network is to build a bridge of interconnection with the Tianjin Trade Management Center.

There must be his own sales channels so that the commodity channels marketed by the Trade Management Center can be stabilized and not be choked.

Possessing foreign trade is an important advantage of the Trade Management Center.

This is a major killer move for the Red Star Factory to manage the supply chain, possess cash flow, and change the industrial production model of the industry.

This killer move, supplemented by the United Savings Bank, truly achieves the construction of the trade system and the improvement of quality.

The Oriental Era Bank also needs the real economy and huge cash flow to create blood and return blood for the shipping and real estate industries.

The Oriental System controlled by Sister Lou will become a node connecting the internal and external economic trade of the Red Star Factory.

Internally connecting the Trade Management Center and the United Savings Bank, externally connecting the sales network and the industry core.

With the support of mainland resources, the Oriental System can continuously acquire energy, break through the original capital shackles of Hong Kong, and build and form a new trade economic system with the bank as the core.

When going to Hong Kong at the beginning, Li Xuewu, together with the Lou family and other old money families, raised 1 billion in start-up funds for Sister Lou.

In the past year, Sister Lou has shown her grand plans, not only standing firm in Hong Kong but also stabilizing and developing shipping and real estate.

This time, Li Xuewu contacted the Red Star Factory and Wufeng Hong, as well as the system behind Wufeng Hong, and took the Oriental System to the dining table to enjoy a delicious meal.

Having opened his "Heavenly Eye," he forcefully required the think tank system to cooperate with the Steel City to prepare for sniping the pound.

Of course, he doesn't understand economics, but he gave a condition: the pound would collapse within a certain date.

Lou Yu doesn't believe it, and the entire think tank system doesn't believe it; the pound collapsed more than a decade ago, and it's going to collapse again? Does the face of the "Empire on which the sun never sets" not matter?

The result is: they don't want face!

At the meeting table, the look in Lou Yu's eyes when he looked at Li Xuewu was filled with deep awe and surprise.

Never mind "calculating with fingers," let alone "spying on secrets"—things that happened in December, the "Empire on which the sun never sets" wouldn't have had any clear signals in September; how did he know?

Li Xuewu started doing this at the beginning of the year.

Don't ask; if you ask, it's "core technology."

"With money, naturally you have to buy, buy, buy."

Li Xuewu listened to Yu Li finish introducing the situation in Hong Kong and said to everyone in the meeting room: "Women, you know—"

"Hahaha—"

Everyone habitually echoed with a burst of light laughter.

But looking at their gazes, every one of them was filled with shock and surprise.

Although Yu Li didn't mention specific profit data in the briefing, one could guess it.

Shen Guodong blindly guessed that this time Hong Kong earned 5 million net!

Old Biaozi said it was impossible; it earned at least 10 million.

Yang Erhai understands the situation in Hong Kong, and looking at Wu Ge's good mood, he psychologically estimated that Miss Lou earned at least 20 million this time.

Second Grandpa couldn't guess it, because he doesn't understand the specific situation, but just looking at everyone's surprised gazes, he knew money had been made.

Only Lou Yu, who was able to access key information on the mountain, was the reason they couldn't come down from the mountain.

The think tank team participated in this financial operation from beginning to end.

Note: it wasn't just the stock market; an important reason why Sister Lou could unite Wufeng Hong, as well as the attached Red Star Factory and the capital behind it, was that she had a bank.

A great advantage of the bank acquired is that the business scope is wide, and the financial license is more valuable.

As a platform, the Oriental Era Bank participated directly in this action against the pound in the form of capital operation.

The clean and neat slashing action cut off the thickest piece of fat before the pound market retreated, completely making the Hong Kong financial world remember this Miss Lou.

Rarely appearing, almost never attending commercial cocktail parties, making her even more mysterious and powerful.

Slashing the pound in the financial market, she turned around and gave the stock market a "returning horse spear" (a surprise attack).

Affected by the pound market, the confidence of the Hong Kong stock market that had just recovered was once again poked with a big hole.

Having confirmed that the stock market had a trend of warming up, how could Sister Lou let go of the opportunity to bottom-fish in finance?

This time, Li Xuewu gave her another 700 million in confidence, and as a woman, she truly started big moves of buying, buying, buying in the market.

"I heard she bought quite a bit of land."

Old Biaozi smiled and said: "Third Uncle sent news; he isn't coming back this year, and told Third Aunt to remember to teach the child to call him 'Dad'."

"Hahaha—"

Everyone chuckled, all feeling that among Li Xuewu's old team, Wen San'er was the most interesting.

"Buying land is one aspect; I heard she integrated quite a few real estate enterprises and ate the dividends of the previous wave of real estate warming."

Shen Guodong smoked a cigarette and said with a smile: "If I hadn't heard Wu Ge explain it to me, I wouldn't have understood what was going on."

"It's mainly the bank," Lou Yu glanced at the few people and lowered his gaze, saying: "During this period at the end of the year, Xiaoe's main energy has been placed on this."

"Merging more banks at this point in time is a net profit," he explained: "It's not just property and assets; rapidly expanding the terminal network is also one aspect."

"There's news from Watsons, too," Li Xuewu looked at the financial report in his hand and nodded, saying: "This matter has finally landed."

"People say Miss Lou is barbaric and unreasonable—"

Erhai chuckled and said: "Mount Tai pressing down, pulling the firewood from under the cauldron—she made a big trap for the Li family."

Regarding this contest over Watsons, because of the participation of Wufeng Hong, it appeared particularly passive.

The original plan was the same as the Li family's: first get the shares, then implement business expansion and cannibalization policies.

As a result, Wufeng Hong was afraid that the Oriental System would grow big and independent, so it directly intervened with the share qualification of Oriental Trade.

Because of their actions, the stock market instantly fed back a more complex situation.

Up and down, Sister Lou fought particularly hard here.

It's not that she didn't complain about Wufeng Hong's methods, but Ai Jiaqing also made a promise that she would definitely give a satisfactory answer.

The answer was more financial gains, a smaller shareholding ratio, and completely taking down Watsons.

Those who don't know the specific situation naturally say that Miss Lou of the Oriental System is young and ignores "martial ethics," and is barbaric and unreasonable in doing things.

Which real business war doesn't involve smiling and toasting at parties, only to come back and stab someone in the back?

Lou Xiaoe rarely attends such face-saving parties, doesn't notify anyone, and doesn't give anyone face—she just draws her sword and cuts.

The Hong Kong financial world calls her the "Iron Lady."

"I don't care how she does it," Li Xuewu waved his hand at Lou Yu and said: "If you're not in that position, don't seek that government."

Lou Yu looked at him and nodded imperceptibly.

Regarding this point, it is also what he admires most about Li Xuewu: he never points fingers at the operations in Hong Kong.

From Lou Xiaoe's initial weekly report to the current monthly report.

From the reports from the beginning to the present, one can see that it is precisely because of Li Xuewu's non-interference and non-influence that Lou Xiaoe has had more opportunities for growth and self-confidence in handling affairs.

He hasn't seen the private letters between his daughter and Li Xuewu, and even Yu Li hasn't seen them.

But what is known is that in public business contacts, the content of personal subjectivity is obviously less.

Objective data and reports on daily work have become the main information connected through the mountain's telecommunications network.

Just looking at Li Xuewu being able to persuade his daughter to snipe the pound, one can know that the two have other channels of contact.

Or the mountain's telecommunications has other confidential contact methods that he and the think tank are unaware of.

After returning from Hong Kong, his management authority was basically stripped clean.

Even those old friends, the partners who are also equity holders, implicitly support Li Xuewu in doing so.

The reason is simple: what he did in Hong Kong was not authentic and was very dangerous.

Another reason is that Lou Xiaoe has served as the representative of everyone's capital operation in Hong Kong, so Lou Yu is no longer qualified to be responsible for the think tank's business.

His current position is similar to Li Xuewu and Yu Li: Director of the Think Tank Office, responsible for organization and coordination.

Of course, his power is not as good as Li Xuewu's, and his activity ability is not as good as Yu Li's.

Whether there was resentment before is unclear, but now he has none at all, and doesn't dare to have any.

The partners of the think tank are the same; the 700 million asset explosion made everyone see Li Xuewu's energy clearly.

Without absolute self-confidence, Li Xuewu couldn't have so firmly required them to do so.

And this kind of self-confidence and firmness is precisely the influencing factor for their speculation that Li Xuewu has greater energy behind him.

"This profit cannot represent the broad victory of Hong Kong finance, nor can it represent that the Oriental System is already invincible."

Li Xuewu poured cold water at the meeting.

He said: "Leave professional matters to professional people; I trust Sister Lou, and Sister Lou should also let us trust her."

"Whether it's capital operation, commerce, stocks, funds, or other products, they still need to be handed over to professional teams..."

After the meeting ended, Li Xuewu invited Lou Yu to stay for a few more nights; after all, he is his father-in-law and an important partner.

But Lou Yu politely declined; the attitude he expressed to Li Xuewu was very clear: the times have progressed, and they should also retire.

Except for necessary work, the think tank's role in Hong Kong will gradually turn to cooperation, reducing command and control influence.

Lou Yu also said that his main energy now is placed on the education of his eldest grandson, and he doesn't care much about anything else.

Whether he has truly let go or his heart has gone cold, Li Xuewu doesn't know, but he guesses it might be that his heart has gone cold.

Lou Yu knows his physical condition; he doesn't even dare to guarantee whether he can live until the daybreak, so he doesn't dare to make trouble.

A while ago, Li Xuewu didn't stop him from going down the mountain to participate in those "ventilating" activities.

The result?

The wind blew down, and it almost scared him to death.

Just in time for other activities in the city, Lou Yu completely died of the heart to go down the mountain, and the other partners were the same.

Since Li Xuewu dared to let them go down the mountain, he wasn't afraid of them doing other things.

The facts proved precisely that it is still a harsh winter, not the time for them to show their heads.

So the old guys wisely chose to hide their light and cultivate the next generation of their respective families with their limited lives.

Actually, it's not hard to calculate: once he dies, the Lou family will all belong to Li Xuewu.

Look at Lou Xiaoe, who is far away in Hong Kong and might not see Li Xuewu for many years, but Lou Yu knows his daughter's mindset best.

With such a Li Xuewu who "plans strategies within a tent and decides victory a thousand miles away," does Lou Xiaoe dare to have any dangerous actions?

Can't he feel that besides laying out Lou Xiaoe in Hong Kong, Li Xuewu has other backhands?

Power is stronger than people; you can't win by fighting.

What he can do now is to let his eldest grandson grow up as soon as possible, stand on his own, and at least possess the ability and belief to restore the family.

As long as Lou Ting grows up, with those partners watching, Li Xuewu won't eat everything dry and leave nothing for the Lou family.

He is gambling—gambling on his daughter's feelings, and also gambling on Li Xuewu's character.

Lou Yu is gambling, and others don't even have the qualifications to gamble.

If one day the sky clears and it's time to harvest, Li Xuewu arranges for people to dig a hole in the mountain gully and bury them all—who would know?

Hong Kong's financial development is a money game for Li Xuewu; for them, why isn't it a dream?

Earning too much is instead more dangerous.

Gambling on Li Xuewu's character—does Li Xuewu have character?

"Big news! Holy crap—"

December 29th, Monday.

The bell for work hadn't rung yet, and "Unity is Strength" was playing on the radio; the agency became lively.

The reason is simple: the news from last weekend continued to ferment, and now it has completely exploded.

The financial deficit problem investigated by the working group was perfectly solved just a few days before the end of 1967.

Before getting off work on Saturday, the Finance Department received a business letter notifying the Red Star Factory Finance Department to dock with Wufeng Hong and verify the capital accounts.

At first, everyone didn't know what exactly needed to be verified, only knowing that there was news about the 25 million financial deficit.

At that time, what everyone thought was: there's no need to know exactly where it is; just confirming that the 25 million is back means not only will the working group be in trouble, but some people will have to eat crow.

Who was it that actively confessed in front of the working group and found meeting minutes to prove their "innocence"?

How aggrieved they were in the middle of the month, that's how stupid they are now.

That was a deficit; now it's called a success.

On Monday morning, people in many departments learned that the Finance Department had worked overtime collectively and hadn't rested over the weekend.

Originally, the Finance Department had to audit and process financial problems, so working overtime on the weekend was necessary.

But the content of the overtime changed; they would rather delay the year-end financial accounting for a few days than not wipe out the financial deficit.

The number spread on Saturday was 25 million, but by Monday, this number had become 56.75 million.

"Wasn't it 25 million?"

Gu Cheng was a bit confused, looked at Peng Xiaoli, and pursued: "Where did the extra 30-plus million come from?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask!"

Peng Xiaoli rolled his eyes, took a hard drag on his cigarette, looked at the snow scene outside the window, and muttered: "Where did the money come from?"

"I knew the leader had arrangements!"

After Gu Cheng and Peng Xiaoli were silent for a moment, he slapped the windowsill hard and said to his good buddy: "You just wouldn't believe me!"

"... Is what you're saying human language?"

Peng Xiaoli was truly convinced by him; he glanced at him with contempt and asked: "Who was the first one to say the leader fell into a pit?"

"It definitely wasn't me!"

Gu Cheng stuck out his neck, peeked around the corner of the wall, and seeing that Li Xue hadn't arrived yet, raised his eyebrows and said: "Let me say something—"

"You say, Deputy Director Jing, and our leader...?"

"What do you want to say?" Peng Xiaoli narrowed his eyes slightly and reminded him: "Think carefully before you speak."

"I'm talking about the rumors in the agency—"

Gu Cheng scratched his chin and explained in a low voice: "When they were being investigated by the working group, Deputy Director Jing's expression..."

"Think again: when our leader was being investigated, wasn't he also wearing an 'in danger' expression?"

"And then?"

Peng Xiaoli glanced at him and said: "Are you suspecting the leader, or suspecting the relationship between the two?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying!"

Peng Xiaoli clapped his hands and said: "Now what we know is that Deputy Director Cheng fell into a pit; who dug that pit?"

"And it's not just a pit problem now; there's water in the pit, and there are nails in the water!"

He leaned in and whispered: "Do you think the leader and Deputy Director Jing jointly dug such a big pit?"

"After all, Deputy Director Cheng's precautions against the leader were already airtight; so what happened?"

"The result is that you're just guessing blindly—" Peng Xiaoli bumped him and reminded him: "Don't talk nonsense; the leader and Jing..."

He scanned the corner of the stairs, and seeing no one, whispered: "Who doesn't know the relationship between the two is bad?"

"Then how do you explain Deputy Director Cheng folding?"

Gu Cheng curled his lips, rolled his eyes at him, and said: "There is definitely a situation here that neither you nor I know about; even Li Xue doesn't know."

"Hmm, you mean—"

Peng Xiaoli glanced at him sideways and asked: "The leader even tricks his own sister?"

"You two are here."

Just as the two were whispering, Li Xue walked over and asked gloomily: "Am I very stupid and very naive?"

"How could that be—"

Gu Cheng looked at her and said: "If you were stupid, there wouldn't be any smart people in the agency."

"Did you hear someone say something about you?"

Peng Xiaoli raised his eyebrows and asked: "Don't listen to those nonsense, those ramblings..."

"It was Deputy Director Jing who said it," Li Xue raised her head, looked at the two, and said gloomily: "She said I was very stupid and very naive."

"Right when I asked her why she was so angry when she came out after the talk with the working group that day, she said that to me."