Chapter 1235: Soul Designer

"Pork is here, lamb is here, green onions are here..."

Qin Jingru lay on the restaurant cabinet, checking items off with a pen while muttering to herself.

Li Xuewu, holding Li Ning who had crawled over, glanced inside and asked with a smile, "What are you mumbling about?"

"Hi, don't interrupt—"

Qin Jingru pressed her hand on the notebook, shook her head impatiently, and continued muttering about needing to buy sesame oil and whether or not to buy balsamic vinegar.

"Planning for the New Year's feast," Gu Ning said, coming out of the bathroom to explain to him: "I heard the big market is closing before the New Year."

"Didn't Guodong get everything sorted?"

Li Xuewu teased his daughter, gathered both his son and daughter into his arms, and walked over to sit on the sofa.

"If there's anything missing that you can't buy, tell me, and I'll find a way."

"Forget it, as if we'd need you!"

Qin Jingru stood at the restaurant entrance, clutching her pencil, and teased: "If people heard that a big Department Chief went out to buy sesame oil, wouldn't it be a laughingstock—"

"Look at you, isn't this trying to make me detach from life, detach from the masses!"

Li Xuewu also laughed and joked: "Who says a Department Chief can't bustle about for the sake of daily life?"

"Sesame oil, right? I'll bring it back tomorrow after work."

"Just joking with you—"

Hearing Han Jiankun enter the house, Qin Jingru put down her pencil, walked into the foyer, and gave him a few more instructions.

It was nothing more than bringing in some firewood from the courtyard and clearing the accumulated snow at the entrance to avoid slipping.

"We're eating soon; tidy it up when you have time."

Seeing her ordering Han Jiankun around, Li Xuewu waved his hand, expressing his appreciation for his driver's hard work.

But Han Jiankun was long used to it; he listened to him at work, and had to listen to Qin Jingru at home.

"It's fine, dinner will take a while yet."

Qin Jingru smiled and handed him a pair of gloves, even helping him tighten his collar to keep the wind out.

"There's pickled cabbage and meat stewing in the pot; the meat was smoked this afternoon, it'll be tender if it simmers a bit longer."

Actually, even without this explanation, Han Jiankun wouldn't have had anything to say; before she had even finished speaking, he had already gone out.

It was just that his wife's words in the cold night made his heart warm, and he had energy to work.

Don't look at how Qin Jingru ordered him around here; at home, she rarely let him help.

From the moment he entered the house until he lay on the heated brick bed, she served him meticulously.

She even brought foot-washing water to the edge of the bed; what more could a man ask for?

He wasn't a stubborn seventeen-year-old kid; he understood everything.

The couple ate three meals a day at the leader's house, five in total; Qin Jingru ate three, and he ate the morning and evening ones.

If he didn't help with chores on top of that, not to mention the leader getting annoyed with him after a long time, even he himself wouldn't feel comfortable.

Qin Jingru had told him long ago that their future life depended entirely on Li Xuewu.

The better they performed, the less Li Xuewu would treat them unfairly.

Others said Li Xuewu was cold and didn't recognize people, but she had him figured out; Li Xuewu was the type who responded to soft tactics, not hard ones.

Therefore, she could never lose this nanny job, and he had to be diligent and observant when he came to the house.

Han Jiankun agreed with his wife on this point; how tiring could doing more work be?

During the day, Li Xuewu didn't have field work, so he could lie in the motor pool's duty room all day; this bit of work was just to stretch his muscles.

Chopping wood, clearing snow, sweeping the courtyard, and fixing things that were broken in the house with his toolbox—that was all.

Usually, Qin Jingru did the work she could do at home.

She felt sorry for her husband, and Han Jiankun felt sorry for her; the couple even explained it once specifically, fearing the old lady at home would misunderstand.

The old lady saw it clearly and waved her hand, telling them not to worry about her; her body was sturdy, so where would all this filial piety come from?

Her son had such a good job; if he did well, he would surely have a bright future.

In the past, the bodyguards and attendants of wealthy families often rose to prominence if they played their cards right; weren't they better than poor scholars?

And hadn't one heard that a seventh-rank official serves at the Prime Minister's gate?

During dinner, Li Xuewu told the two of them about the arrangements for the New Year.

On New Year's Eve, he had to be on duty at the factory; in the morning, Han Jiankun would take the mother and children to the compound, and he would return to the compound for the New Year after getting off work.

After Han Jiankun dropped him off, he could go home for the New Year.

Qin Jingru didn't need to come on the first and second day of the New Year; they could come back to the house after returning from the compound on the third day.

Qin Jingru shook her head, saying the stove still needed to be lit here, and it wouldn't do if there was no one, instructing Han Jiankun to come once in the morning and evening to keep the heating running.

"This home wouldn't be the same without Jingru."

Li Xuewu raised his glass of beverage to the young couple and said with a smile: "You've worked hard this year."

"What are you saying, you're the one who's worked hard."

Qin Jingru stood up with a grin, raised her glass to clink with his, and then teased Li Shu into taking a sip as well.

Sometimes Han Jiankun felt his wife was a bit bold, and sometimes he felt she was very simple.

Looking at it as a whole... it could be summarized with one number.

"Hmm, Xuewu is here, come in and sit."

Li Huai De put down his teacup and beckoned to Li Xuewu, who had appeared at the door.

Without waiting for him to knock or greet him, he gestured for him to sit down opposite his desk to talk.

"Director Wei is here too—"

Li Xuewu stepped into the office, nodded to Old Li, and then teased Wei Zai.

Wei Zai smiled nonchalantly, gestured to him, looked at Old Li, and complained: "Look at his face, having gained an advantage and still acting innocent."

"He hasn't gained any advantage!"

Li Huai De laughed and gestured toward the tea cabinet to Li Haiyang, who had followed him in: "Brew that box of black tea for him."

"Understood, Director Li—"

Li Haiyang responded, nodded to Li Xuewu with a smile as a greeting, and then went to the tea cabinet.

When it came to cadres in this agency, who had the most face with Director Li, there was no need to guess; it had to be Deputy Director Li.

What Li Haiyang admired most wasn't that Deputy Director Li had so much face, but his ability and his composure.

Wouldn't a young person with this kind of treatment have been arrogant long ago? Who would have thought Deputy Director Li would be so steady and mature?

Every time he came, he would brew tea for this "Master," and every time he would receive a thankful acknowledgment.

Whether he wanted it or not, Deputy Director Li could always express it with the most appropriate politeness, making one feel like they were bathed in a spring breeze.

It was exactly this quality—

Li Haiyang had filled two notebooks, and his goal was to learn this temperament from Deputy Director Li.

Director Li knew of this idea but didn't oppose it, only saying that the goal he had set for himself was too high, and the possibility of learning Deputy Director Li's temperament within ten years was slim.

Without the accumulation of time and special experiences, it was difficult for young people to settle down to do things and think things through.

Director Li said that if he could learn it within ten years, he would at least have a future as a full-level Department Chief.

Looking at the list of organizational cadres, you might think full-level Department Chiefs are everywhere and Deputy Section Chiefs are a dime a dozen, but in reality?

The Red Star Factory originally had over ten thousand employees and over two thousand cadres, but only sixteen full-level Department Chief cadres; do you think that's a lot?

Never mind full-level Department Chiefs, even Deputy Section Chiefs were something many people spent a lifetime striving for.

Time, place, and people—if you lack one, you can't get up, sit steady, or last long.

He was now a top secretary, looking very glorious, and had also resolved his treatment as a Deputy Director-level clerk last year.

But to go a step further—how to advance, where to advance, and where to advance to—all had their nuances and required careful selection.

In the agency, they call this "one wrong step, every step wrong."

Li Xuewu had two secretaries before and after, one was Sha Qizhi and the other was Peng Xiaoli; whose potential do you think is higher?

Both were secretaries; Li Haiyang was now comparing himself to the secretaries of other factory leaders, and it would be the same when he went down later.

Now the luck had been exhausted, and the rest depended entirely on strength.

He felt that looking at the whole agency, Deputy Director Li had the most strength, and he had to learn from him.

"Extraordinary times, it's difficult to move."

Li Huai De looked at Li Xuewu sitting down with great emotion, nodded slowly, and said: "Currently, we need a pillar, you'll have to work hard."

"It's my duty, I dare not speak of hardship."

Li Xuewu smiled and gestured to Wei Zai beside him, asking: "Is Director Wei here to complain? Don't want to take the post?"

"Hahaha—"

Everyone in the office laughed, even Li Haiyang, who was bringing the tea, laughed.

Wei Zai pointed at him and scolded with a smile: "You are the worst friend I have at Red Star Factory."

"Then we're still friends—"

Li Xuewu glanced at him nonchalantly, gestured to Li Haiyang who was setting the tea, and said to Li Huai De: "How is Haiyang arranged?"

"If you're willing to part with him, send him to me."

He said very straightforwardly: "Sun Jian needs to move; let him take over Sun Jian's position."

Li Haiyang's fingers, which were setting the teacup, trembled, and he almost spilled the tea.

When it concerned his own future, no one could remain composed.

The leaders' gazes gathered on him; Li Haiyang didn't dare to have a trace of panic and tried hard to keep his expression calm.

Go to the Security Group?

If it was to take over Director Sun Jian's position and serve as the Director of the Security Group's Comprehensive Office, that was indeed a very good post.

However, everyone knew that Deputy Director Li's time in the Security Group had entered a countdown.

If he went over at this time, the time he could learn from the other party would be very limited, and they might even miss each other.

Moreover, the arrival of Deputy Director Su made the Security Group the front line of internal strife within the Management Committee; this post was a bit complicated.

Although the leaders were talking about his arrangement, he didn't have a single word of say here and could only listen.

Wei Zai looked at the top secretary of the Management Committee office and didn't speak; he knew Old Li had arrangements for his own secretary.

Li Huai De glanced at Li Haiyang, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then shook his head slightly: "Not mature enough, let him train for a while longer."

This evaluation of "not mature enough" didn't know whether it meant the timing wasn't mature or Li Haiyang's ability wasn't mature enough.

"Hehe, you're already late—"

Wei Zai only spoke at this time; he nodded to Li Haiyang and said to Li Xuewu: "I've been eyeing him for a long time."

"I said before that he should come to the Political Group; personnel or propaganda would both be fine, it's quite good for training people."

He paused and added: "A few days ago when I saw him, I was still asking Director Li if he wanted to arrange for him to go on a trip with me."

"Hmm, education and medical care would also be fine."

Li Xuewu looked at Li Haiyang and said: "A ten-thousand-foot building rises from the ground; this is the best time to build merit."

"Are you planning to arrange for him to train in the Production Management Department?"

He looked at Old Li and asked this, smiled at the other party's non-committal appearance, and said: "Actually, it would also be fine for him to come to me and be responsible for safety production supervision, and then transfer to production management later."

"Let's slow down; his affairs are easy to handle."

Li Huai De ended this topic and looked at the two of them: "What's making me difficult now is the work in your hands."

"I had no choice but to do this for your side."

He pointed to Wei Zai and said: "The meaning of the leaders above is that the big waves wash away the sand, and only after the lead is washed away is it gold."

"If you want to serve as a department head after the group formation, you must possess a certain cultural and management foundation and possess the basic literacy to coordinate and master comprehensive work."

Speaking of this, Old Li sighed and said: "The people above are setting a difficult problem for me, and I'm also very troubled."

"Education should be nothing now; medical care should be the key work this year."

Li Xuewu took over the conversation and looked at Wei Zai: "On one hand, it's the construction of the hospital area, and on the other, it's the construction of medical forces."

"Hmm, I understand what you mean."

Wei Zai nodded and said seriously: "I do lack relevant management experience and basic literacy; training is necessary."

"I also know that being able to work in the Education and Medical Administration Bureau is the leaders taking care of me and cultivating me."

He gestured to Li Xuewu: "I talked with Principal Jing Rong; education is still a continuous process."

"And my idea for medical care is to grasp both hands, and both hands must be hard."

Wei Zai reported with great spirit: "Regarding the construction of the park, the bureau will actively communicate with the engineering side."

"While ensuring the construction progress, we will try our best to compress the time for equipment and gear installation to shorten the overall construction period."

He paused and continued: "The construction of medical teams is mainly divided into two aspects: one is the construction of the administrative system, and the other is the construction of the medical system."

"Here I have to thank Xuewu and Deputy Director Gu for doing a lot of work in advance, so that our factory's medical strength has always been in a saturated state."

"You still have to grasp this aspect."

Li Xuewu pursed his lips and reminded him: "The construction of departments and the allocation of medical resources are the key points for the future."

"And our factory's medical construction still has second and third-phase projects; saturated medical strength is not yet up to standard."

"Hmm, you have to pay attention to what Xuewu said."

Li Huai De tapped the table and emphasized: "Our factory has absolute authority in some departments, but it is not comprehensive in all departments."

"The time I give you is limited," he pointed at Wei Zai very seriously: "At most one and a half years."

"You must at least perfect the First Hospital of Beijing and set up the framework for the Second Steel Hospital and the Sanatorium."

He tapped the table and emphasized: "You must also ensure the coherence and integrity of medical reserve forces."

"The task is arduous, and the time is tight."

Li Huai De looked at Wei Zai, nodded slowly, and said: "During this period, you must also strengthen your studies and make up for the cultural deficiency."

"Yes, I guarantee to complete the task."

Wei Zai gritted his teeth and nodded to accept Director Li's request, turned to look at Li Xuewu with an envious expression, and said with a bitter smile: "You still had foresight and read a university."

"Everyone says that opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared, but those who say this are all hindsight."

Li Huai De waved his hand: "No one is a fortune teller who can look five hundred years ahead and five hundred years behind."

"According to my original expectation, there was no need to take off your pants to fart, which is superfluous."

He shook his head slightly: "But later I thought about it, and the arrangements and requirements from above also make sense."

"The big waves wash away the sand to reveal the true color of gold; the baptism of the rain makes the green pine stand taller."

After speaking, the three of them were silent for a long time, savoring the decision from above and the helpless move of the factory.

Most cadres at the group leader and deputy group leader levels, that is, full-level and deputy-level Department Chiefs, were arranged to serve as heads of branch factories and branch companies.

The favorable side is that the local cadres of Red Star Factory know the business and development better and can better shoulder the heavy responsibility and determination for development.

At the same time, the construction of branch companies and branch factories needs these core cadres who have grown up following the development of Red Star Factory to step up.

Old Li naturally hopes that at the time of promotion and group planning, he will see these young and strong cadres dedicate their youth, burn themselves, and provide strong support for the development of Red Star Factory.

However, whether from a personal perspective or from the overall situation of Red Star Factory, this is a dedication and a burning.

The homophone of dedication is risk; without risk, where does the spirit of dedication come from?

This shows the unfavorable side.

Someone like Wei Zai is fully qualified to serve as the head of a large department after the group transformation, but he is fighting in the arena at this time to take a future—isn't it unjust?

The organizational structure of the group is different from that of companies and factories.

The current organizational structure of Red Star Factory is a large department responsibility system, which means that the department level is the highest level of the executive layer.

But this is not the case in the organizational structure of the group; why call it group formation and transformation?

The reason is that the management of the group takes large departments as the executive core, small departments as the service and supervision levels, and assists branch factories and branch companies to complete executive instructions.

That is to say, before, departments could decide how to do things, but after group formation, the right to speak is concentrated in large departments and branch companies.

Small departments are sandwiched in the middle, having neither management rights nor the right to speak, becoming administrative and coordination structures.

Therefore, group leaders or deputy group leaders like Wei Zai must go out and fight to compete for the position of head of a large department.

If they can't compete for it during the group formation process, then there's no need to compete anymore.

After serving two terms in branch factory or branch company posts, young ones can compete for a large department position again, and those who reach the second line basically have to return to the agency's labor union or logistics department to wait for retirement.

Is it cruel?

But this is the organizational ecology.

All things compete, and the fittest survive.

Middle-level cadres of Red Star Factory whose age and qualifications have reached the point, and who have no time to waste in departments or wait for opportunities, must all enter the arena.

It's not that Old Li pushed them into the arena, they have to jump down themselves.

Just like in the story of the myth "Investiture of the Gods," the Jie Sect and the Chan Sect have to fight for this timing and must enter the arena to fight.

Cadres from sixteen enterprises, cadres transferred from the ministry, and cadres transferred from other systems and industries.

The branch factories and branch companies set up by Red Star Factory have to accept these people to earn a future; how could Red Star Factory be allowed to eat alone?

Old Li is also fierce enough and responsible enough.

Bearing the pressure from above, he insisted on arranging the positions of heads of various branch factories and branch companies on the eve of promotion.

Just look at the cadre adjustment list for this round; the heads and deputies of various agency departments have basically been arranged.

Since large departments and branch factories/companies have the say, the position of head of small departments can be selectively abandoned.

Before the group formation process has started, Li Huai De doesn't mind letting the positions go; even if the heads of various agency departments are transferred from other units, it doesn't delay work, right?

To give is to receive; without giving, how can there be receiving?

If Red Star Factory had ten years to develop, there would be no need to merge enterprises from the outside; why suffer this hardship and crime?

There's no way; the volume is expanding rapidly, and it is inevitable to endure balanced and compromised arrangements.

Li Huai De values Wei Zai very much, which can be seen from arranging for him to serve as the Director of the Education and Medical Administration Bureau.

This is purely picking up credit; the education system has been built, and the medical system has also laid a sufficiently thick foundation.

Just waiting for the hospital to be built in the first half of this year and for various departments to complete organizational and business construction, he can harvest the results.

Speaking of the Second Steel Hospital and the Sanatorium, they can actually completely copy the model of the First Hospital of Beijing and paste it over.

Even the medical forces are ready-made; there is no shortage of doctors in this era, only a shortage of receiving units in the city.

Wei Zai is an old organization man; Li Huai De uses him just like he uses Li Xuewu—they are both key figures plugged into the most troublesome and time-consuming holes.

That's why he said he only gave Wei Zai one and a half years, which can be considered a promise.

With things said to this point, how could he not risk his life?

"How is the Security Group?"

After watching Wei Zai leave, Old Li drank a cup of hot tea and asked Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu naturally knew what he wanted to ask; why hadn't he cared about the work of the Security Group before?

It wasn't because Su Weide had come, and he was always thinking about him in his heart.

Therefore, what Old Li asked wasn't about the Security Group, but how Su Weide, who was in charge of the Security Group's work, was doing.

"Deputy Director Su is still quite concerned about discipline and supervision work."

Li Xuewu scratched his eyebrows and replied: "In the past two days, he has reviewed the discipline and supervision work data within two years and is still familiarizing himself with the work."

"Hmm, I heard—"

Li Huai De didn't know what it meant, sighed long, looked out the window and said: "The trees want to be still, but the wind won't stop."

After speaking, he turned his head back to look at Li Xuewu, who was holding a cup and drinking tea, and asked: "How do you view discipline and supervision work?"

"Doing it is better than not doing it, right?"

Li Xuewu smiled helplessly and said: "Various departments of the Security Group are facing adjustments and challenges."

"The surge in the number of employees, the establishment of various branch factories and subsidiaries, the matching of security departments, the initiation of multiple projects, and so on."

He shook his head and said with a face full of exhaustion: "Even if the number of people in the security group has increased, the training and cultivation of new security personnel is still a burden for us."

"Sigh—it's always like this."

Li Huai De nodded slowly and said with empathy: "This is the growing pain of enterprise progress, a process that must be experienced."

"We must allow our comrades to make mistakes while busy, try our best to care for them and organize forces to support them, and do less blaming."

He tapped his fingers on the desk and said: "Comrade Wei De had a talk with me, just yesterday."

"He put forward some opinions and suggestions on the current organizational structure of the security group, and I did consider them."

Li Xuewu knew what Old Li was going to say; things happening in the agency could not be hidden from him.

It was just that with this mutual understanding, he also had to maintain the necessary restraint and calmness.

He did not pick up on Old Li's words, but just waited for the other party to speak.

Old Li also knew his thoughts.

Moving Dong Wenxue and Li Xuewu out of the security group was something he had fought for using a series of conditions.

At the same time, both sides also maintained friendly cooperation and mutual trust.

On this basis, they were able to jointly facilitate the current political ecology pattern of the Red Star Factory agency.

It was just that the arrival of Su Wei De broke the peace that should have existed, causing a slight fluctuation in the relatively stable ecological pattern.

The most obvious was the personnel arrangement; before Dong Wenxue left, he had already arranged the personnel work of the security group with Li Xuewu.

Now that Old Li said Su Wei De had opinions, what would that make Dong Wenxue and Li Xuewu think?

Does Su Wei De really have opinions, or do you, Old Li, have opinions, or is Su Wei De sowing discord?

It couldn't be said; if such things were said too clearly, the original trust and meaning would be lost.

So, caught in a dilemma, Old Li still spoke it out.

"Regarding the opinion on Comrade Wang Xiaoqin of the Third Guard Regiment serving as the deputy leader of the security group, I agree."

Hearing Old Li say this, Li Xuewu's eyebrows moved slightly, but he covered it up with the action of drinking tea.

This sentence of Old Li's was easy to distinguish; it was nothing more than Su Wei De disagreeing, and Old Li rejecting it for the other party.

They were all members of the same team, and Su Wei De was a comrade who had just arrived; having rejected one of the other party's proposals, he couldn't reject a second one.

Therefore, listening to the tone, what was the second opinion?

"He doesn't understand the core and essence of our factory's security work, which is understandable."

Li Huai De first explained, then added: "He also mentioned to me his opinion on strengthening discipline inspection work."

"I don't have any opinion on this either."

He looked at Li Xuewu and said: "Currently, the security group mainly undertakes several functions: security, supervision, emergency response, and production safety."

"Security and emergency work naturally don't need to be mentioned; achievements have been made in these within the system."

He paused, glanced at Li Xuewu's complexion, and then said: "Supervision and production safety work can be further strengthened."

"Mm, I obey the organization's decision."

Li Xuewu nodded and accepted Li Huai De's arrangement very calmly, without any excessive reaction.

Li Huai De nodded slowly and said: "I know you; you have a sense of the big picture, you have ideas, and you have ability."

Is this a case of hitting with a stick and giving a sweet date?

Not necessarily; after coming out of Old Li's office, he received the news.

The security group would be assigned two more deputy leaders, both of whom were deputy division-level cadres.

The one responsible for production safety work was named Tai Juncai, who came from the sixteen merged enterprises and was previously the deputy director of the Production Management Division.

Having someone in charge of production manage production safety wasn't actually a perfect match, but as a person in charge, there weren't very high requirements.

The deputy leader responsible for discipline inspection and supervision work was someone Li Xuewu knew, and he had dealt with him quite a bit.

Thinking about it, it felt ridiculous; is the world just a makeshift stage?

"Is this the only extent to which it can be done?"

Li Xuewu rested his hands on the desk, carefully looking at the sedan blueprints, his fingers tracing the drawings bit by bit.

Wang Zhi, the person in charge of the Vehicle Research Institute, smiled bitterly and said: "We made seven versions just for the design and calculation formulas."

He pointed to the blueprints on the square table and said: "This is the approach with the highest cost-performance ratio according to your requirements."

"Under the premise of balancing performance, quality, and safety, we have compressed costs and various economic indicators as much as possible."

"But it can't be compressed too much, right?"

Li Xuewu tapped the interior decoration part of the blueprints and emphasized to Wang Zhi: "People who buy and use cars only look at two sides."

He put the two blueprints together and said: "The inside and the outside; this is the owner's face."

"It needs to look beautiful and be optimistic to drive; we have to grasp the customer's psychology."

Seeing the difficult expression on Wang Zhi's face, Li Xuewu carefully examined the blueprints in his hand and said: "Don't forget, this sedan of ours is a completely export-oriented model."

A two-door, two-seat sedan, no matter how cheap it is, has no market in the country.

Have you ever seen a leader's secretary who can both do office work and drive?

An office vehicle needs at least four seats; in this day and age, besides office needs, who would ride in a sedan?

It seems that old-money types like Lou Yu had long since disposed of the cars in their hands; could they be waiting for those who raid homes to come and nail them down?

After two years of efforts in the Great Learning movement, one wouldn't dare say 100%, but 99.99% of the cars running on the road were official vehicles.

Therefore, the two-seat, sedan-coupe-style "Gemini" sedan was not suitable for the domestic market.

As early as the beginning of the design, Li Xuewu hadn't thought about supplying it to the domestic market; this was the key requested by Smith Parker to open up the foreign automobile trade market.

Quantify the brand, form absolute influence, and then research high-end sedans to earn brand premiums.

If one relied purely on prices matched to costs and quality to sell, then all car companies in the world would never develop.

Look at luxury cars in later generations, whether it's Porsche or Ferrari, or Cullinan, Maybach, Rolls-Royce, etc., all of them harvest profits by earning brand premiums.

Don't hesitate or doubt; BBA is the same. The manufacturing, transportation, and sales costs of a car are far less than what you spend.

Just listen to those news reports saying that the prices of BMW and Mercedes-Benz have plummeted, losing money like crazy.

Nonsense; they can only say they earned less, there is absolutely no situation of loss.

Have you ever seen a fool who sells at a loss to earn a shout?

Even if there were such fools, would they be willing to cross the ocean and travel thousands of miles to send you benefits?

You have to think, if their prices have dropped to this extent and they can still earn your money, how high must their brand premium be?

The marketing strategy Smith Parker discussed with Li Xuewu was to do the opposite.

When innate advantages in technical design, brand influence, and marketing channels cannot be realized, a "conscience" price that benchmarks quality and brand might not fail to move people's hearts.

Sincerity is the strongest ultimate move, after all.

Of course, the "conscience price" mentioned here needs double quotation marks, because Li Xuewu also had no compassion to travel thousands of miles to send benefits to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

Earn a little less; small profits but quick turnover. The Red Star Factory's investment in the sedan project had long since been earned back.

What, you can't cheat investors' money, right?

"Leader—"

Just as Li Xuewu was "studying the car," a knock came at the door.

Li Xuewu straightened his waist to look, and seeing it was Fan Hua, he waved his hand and said: "Come in."

His gaze returned to the car blueprints, and he instructed Wang Zhi: "Let's leave it like this for now; let's refine the details a bit more."

"Since more plastic parts are used, then improve the comfort of the seats; make the parts visible inside the car more refined and beautiful."

He stepped aside, signaled for Fan Hua to take a look, and instructed: "Send a copy to Hong Kong when it's ready and ask for the dealer's opinion, but don't listen to them entirely."

"Okay, leader," Wang Zhi said with a smile: "Mr. Smith has indeed mailed a lot of car information over."

"If reading books could design and manufacture cars, then this world would be full of cars."

Li Xuewu tapped his own head and joked with Wang Zhi: "Design still requires an interesting soul."

"That's for sure—"

Wang Zhi didn't mind being teased and flattered Li Xuewu in front of several people: "You are the most soulful design master I have ever seen."

Others hearing Wang Zhi's words might think he was flattering, but to Li Xuewu, it sounded like this kid was scolding him!

"Is this a newly designed car?"

Fan Hua looked around curiously, not really understanding much.

It wasn't until Li Xuewu casually pulled out a rendering that she was amazed.

"This little car is so beautiful!"

"It seems I really have talent!"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows at Wang Zhi and the others, causing everyone to laugh out loud.

After giving instructions, he stopped paying attention to them and waved to Fan Hua, signaling her to come to the desk to talk.

Fan Hua looked at the car rendering with reluctance, listening to the engineers who were tidying up the blueprints laughing and talking.

When she arrived at Li Xuewu's desk, she asked with a smile: "When will this car be produced and launched?"

"What's wrong? Do you want to buy one?"

Li Xuewu opened the tea cup lid to look, then raised his head and teased her amusingly.

Fan Hua was able to take a joke; she curled the corners of her mouth and said: "If this car was the same price as the Comet motorcycle, I would buy one no matter what."

"Hearing you say that—"

Li Xuewu smiled and shook his head slightly, saying: "Forget it, don't delay the sales work of the Comet motorcycle."

"What's wrong? You didn't come to find me to buy a car, did you?"

"Hearing you say that, how could I afford it."

After joking, Fan Hua reported seriously: "I came to you to borrow troops."

"The business travel group has entered the pass and is still receiving training and learning in Yangcheng; they are expected to arrive in Jingcheng after the New Year."

She complained: "I have only just figured out the work of the Foreign Affairs Office; no matter how much I rush, it's too late."

"So I can only increase the manpower and material resources for preparation, and complete the preparatory work as soon as possible in the last half month or so."

"Mm, if you have difficulties, look for the organization."

Li Xuewu scratched his eyebrows; he didn't criticize her and understood her difficulties very well.

"It's not very convenient to use people from the Commission Office right now, but I can choose a partner for you; she will definitely have a way to support you."

Just when Fan Hua was distressed by his refusal, his tone changed, and he gave this sentence.

Fan Hua was very hopeful that someone would come to help her share the pressure; the important thing was that the other party could bring in manpower support.

Since the leader had already said it, and it was to be her deputy, what was there to worry about? It was definitely someone from the same circle.

What circle?

She didn't know how to describe it; anyway, she wouldn't use terms like "lackey" to describe herself.

Li Xuewu didn't say anything more, but picked up the phone to call the Commission Office, and at the same time, the other party came over.

Fan Hua sat opposite Li Xuewu's desk and waited for about ten minutes.

The people from the Design Division and the Research Institute had all left, and the leader had also approved several documents before the other party appeared at the office door.

"Team Leader Li, you're looking for me—"

"Zhou Miaomiao, come here."

Li Xuewu raised his head to look at the other party, then lowered his head to continue processing documents, while greeting her.

After Zhou Miaomiao approached the desk and the two opposite had exchanged glances, he put down the documents.

"You both know each other, right?"

He gestured with his hand at the two and asked with raised eyebrows: "Do I need to introduce you?"

"No need, hehe—"

Both of them chuckled, and Fan Hua took the initiative to show goodwill: "I especially liked your dance performance before; it's a pity."

This "it's a pity" bridged the distance between the two.

Why else would people say that smart people are easy to get along with? These were two smart women, after all.

"Thank you for your kindness, Director Fan," Zhou Miaomiao nodded with a smile and said: "We met when you came to the dance troupe to inspect work, but we didn't talk much."

This last sentence was an explanation to Li Xuewu, clarifying the relationship and state between the two.

Li Xuewu nodded indifferently, and while flipping through documents, he introduced: "Comrade Zhou Miaomiao currently works in the Economic Leadership Group Office, responsible for organizational preparation business."

"Comrade Fan Hua, Director of the Foreign Affairs Office, is preparing for the foreign business trade travel group project."

He arranged it straightforwardly: "There are parts of your work that need contact and communication; since the Foreign Affairs Office lacks manpower, you should help each other, okay."

"Leader, what do you mean—"

Zhou Miaomiao asked hesitantly, looking at him: "Are you asking me to be seconded to the Foreign Affairs Office?"

"Not seconded, consider it support."

Li Xuewu picked up his fountain pen, looked at her and said: "Originally, this project also needed coordination from the Economic Group; consider it business pre-positioning. You'll have to work hard."

"In terms of manpower, you can borrow comrades from the Economic Office, or you can talk to the Art and Propaganda Team to borrow old colleagues."

He unscrewed the fountain pen and just as he was about to look at the documents, he glanced at Zhou Miaomiao and asked with a smile: "What? Thinking of working in the Commission Office?"

"No, just asking—"

Zhou Miaomiao denied it, but still smiled and expressed her inner thoughts.

Li Xuewu pursed his lips and signaled to Fan Hua, who hadn't spoken: "The work of the Foreign Affairs Office is not easy; you've seen it."

Seeing Zhou Miaomiao look over, Fan Hua gave her an "exhausted to death" expression, which made Zhou Miaomiao laugh.

Li Xuewu nodded knowingly and said: "Finish this busy period first, okay? You should also experience the work intensity of the Commission Office."

"Thank you, Team Leader Li—"

Zhou Miaomiao knew he had agreed, thanked him with a smile, and joked: "I mainly want to learn more from you."

"Mm, I know—"

Li Xuewu nodded helplessly with a smile and said: "You've already learned enough postures; do you still need to learn more?"