Chapter 1238: Not a coincidence

"Hey, Li Xuewu is home too—"

Yi Zhonghai and Yan Fugui entered the room, first greeting Li Xuewu with a smile.

Li Shun stood up to invite them to sit, while simultaneously calling for Li Xuecai to brew some tea.

Yan Fugui chatted politely with Li Shun with a smile, but when addressing Li Xuewu, he used the title "Li Chu."

It wasn't just Li Shun who found it awkward to hear; even Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

Li Xuewu didn't indulge him either; since he had called him that, he just responded vaguely, without correcting him, nor did he call him "Third Uncle."

Some people just have no shame; they remember the eating but forget the beating.

If you insist on giving him face, wouldn't that just further encourage his shameless attitude?

Yan Fugui's use of "Li Chu" wasn't a sincere congratulation to Li Xuewu, and certainly not a compliment from the bottom of his heart.

There is a saying in these times: if you aren't from the same gate, you aren't from the same family.

It means that since the two of you aren't in the same unit and have no professional entanglements in daily life, even if you are a cadre, I don't need to suck up to you.

Why?

Because the mobility of employees in these times is extremely low; basically, whatever unit you enter, you are still in that unit when you die.

Just think about it, if there are no entanglements, why would anyone suck up to you?

In the past, for the sake of his son and himself, Yan Fugui had to control himself and live under Li Xuewu's shadow.

Now it's different; even though his eldest daughter-in-law is at the Red Star Factory, he isn't there, and he isn't on good terms with his eldest daughter-in-law and second son's family.

So, when he learned that Li Xuewu had advanced further, this petty jealousy slipped out from his mouth.

He was envious, jealous, and just wanted to provoke the tiger.

I called you "Li Chu," do you dare to answer?

Didn't you, Li Xuewu, often humbly say that at home and in the courtyard, there's no need for formalities, and one should call people whatever they should be called?

Since you've touted your own kindness and put on a posture of being close to the people, as the Third Uncle of the courtyard, I've called you that, so shouldn't you face me with an even lower posture?

He wasn't necessarily evil; he was just unconvinced and jealous in his heart.

If it were back when Yan Jiecheng was alive, the whole family relied on that son to have a future, so of course they would have to suck up to Li Xuewu.

But now?

Hey! I can provoke you!

It's just that he never expected that Li Xuewu had just stood up to greet Yi Zhonghai as "First Uncle," but when it came to him, he just gave a vague grunt.

What's this? I called you Li Chu, and you really answered!

"Sit, don't just stand there, drink some tea."

Li Shun perhaps noticed his awkwardness; he had no intention of reprimanding his son, merely inviting them to sit and drink tea.

Li Xuecai brought the two cups of tea over and placed them on the square table, politely calling them First Uncle and Third Uncle.

Yi Zhonghai nodded with a smile, just about to speak, when he saw Yan Fugui beat him to it, responding to the tea and saying it was good.

"Heh, Xuecai has really grown up quite a bit!"

"Not at all, Third Uncle, you're flattering me."

Having spent over a month mingling in the hospital, Li Xuecai had also learned to chat idly; his response to the compliment even carried a lively flavor.

To say "thank you" when faced with a compliment requires a very confident and proud mindset; this is rare in this era.

If someone compliments you, or compliments your child, and you say thank you, doesn't that mean you're admitting to it?

"My son is untalented" was still the mainstream at this time; it was the impact of foreign culture after the Reform and Opening-up, as well as national self-confidence after rapid development, that gave people the mindset to say thank you.

While Li Xuewu might be disliked, Yan Fugui still liked a good child like Li Xuecai.

He looked Li Xuecai up and down with a smile and showered him with praise, praising him so much that Li Xuecai felt surprised—could it be that this Third Uncle wanted to introduce a match for him?

Only a matchmaker would praise someone like that.

Yi Zhonghai and Li Shun understood clearly: Yan Fugui was pulling one up while stepping on another.

He was praising Li Xuecai on the surface, but actually disparaging Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu, however, didn't care; he listened with a smile, occasionally asking the First Uncle a few casual questions.

"I heard Xuecai has started working?"

Yan Fugui turned to look at Li Shun and asked, "Isn't he still in school? Did he take over your job early?"

Situations like the one he mentioned weren't unheard of; one might be halfway through university, but the family arranged for them to take over a job.

Why?

Because the resumption of university classes seemed remote and uncertain, and they couldn't afford to wait, so it was better to be steady and enter a factory as a cadre with a high school diploma.

Of course, such situations existed, but they weren't the majority.

University students in these times couldn't be controlled by their families because their household registrations were in their own pockets.

There were currently two and a half university students in the Li household.

Li Xuewen's household registration wasn't under Li Shun's account, but was a separate household, re-registered at the neighborhood office.

Li Xuewu had also taken his household registration with him when he joined the army, and re-registered it after returning from his transition to civilian life.

But when handling his university study procedures, he had already started working, so it was handled as a special case, and his household registration wasn't moved.

Li Xuecai's household registration wasn't at home either, but on the school's collective account, and would be registered upon graduation according to the assignment certificate.

There was a possibility that Li Xuecai would be assigned to another region upon graduation, in which case he wouldn't be a Beijing resident.

Such situations were very common in this era, but most followed the principle of "returning to where one came from."

Unless they happened to catch a change in policy or situation, Li Xuewu knew that next year's major assignment would see such situations.

That's why he had arranged for Li Xuecai to intern at the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital early on; he was afraid this silly younger brother would end up with a non-Beijing household registration.

Li Shun didn't know the purpose of Li Xuewu's arrangement, thinking he just couldn't stand the third son being idle.

He supported the decision to let the third son intern at the hospital.

Hearing Yan Fugui ask about it now, he spoke directly.

"He's still in school; he's just using his spare time to help out at the hospital and practice his studies along the way."

"Oh—that's what I thought—"

Yan Fugui responded in a slightly disappointed tone, his gaze shifting from Li Xuecai's face to his teacup.

Li Shun exchanged a glance with his second son, his eyebrows slightly raised, and looked at Yi Zhonghai, asking, "What brings you two here..."

"Ah, nothing much, just visiting."

Yan Fugui beat Yi Zhonghai to the punch again; before he had even finished his tea, he explained, "Isn't this what the neighborhood office requested?"

"The messenger came to convey it this morning, requiring every courtyard to investigate and visit the residents' situations during the New Year period."

After introducing this, he asked seemingly casually, "Hey, Xuewu, you aren't coming back to live here, right?"

"Who said that?"

Unlike the earlier harmony and politeness, the moment Yan Fugui's voice fell, Li Xuewu frowned and retorted.

Yan Fugui's hand holding the teacup shook, his expression stiffened, but he still explained with a smile, "Nothing, just asking casually; you bought a house outside after you got married, didn't you?"

"Plus the house in the backyard."

He lifted his chin, gesturing toward the outer courtyard, and said, "And I haven't seen you living in this inverted house..."

"I have been living here; perhaps you didn't see me?"

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow and said, "No choice, I'm lucky, I was allocated a bit too many houses, but there are many people in the family."

He crossed his right leg and counted on his fingers, "I have to support my grandfather, plus the children, and it's already not enough to live in."

"Nothing, the neighborhood office is just asking."

Seeing his tone was stiff and carried a hint of danger, and that Yan Fugui's expression was even stiffer, Yi Zhonghai had to speak up.

"I heard the higher-ups want to take statistics on housing allocation; we don't know the specifics either."

"Mm, no worries, just asking."

Li Xuewu smiled slightly and said, "If there's a need, you can contact me at any time, or go to the neighborhood office."

He patted his left hand resting on his knee and said with a smile, "I'm still a resident of this courtyard; my household registration information is all here."

"Is it the outer courtyard or the backyard?"

Yi Zhonghai asked very frankly, "If it's registered in the outer courtyard, then there's no trouble."

"The outer courtyard; I hadn't bought the backyard then."

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow, catching the meaning in the First Uncle's words, and nodded, saying, "The backyard is personal property."

"Mm, I know, the Xu family's."

The First Uncle seemed to be emphasizing something, drinking his tea while making his point clear, seemingly being a bit pedantic.

Who in this courtyard wouldn't remember that Li Xuewu's house in the backyard was given to him by Xu Damao? Why say it again like this?

"Alright, that's it—"

After finishing a cup of tea, not giving Yan Fugui another chance to speak, Yi Zhonghai stood up and said, "We'll go visit other families."

"Leaving already? Sit a while longer."

Li Xuewu stood up with a smile and invited them, "If you need anything, just say the word; come by and sit more often."

"Did the First Uncle and Yan Fugui go to your house?"

Li Xuewu had specifically gone to the backyard after leaving home, and was pulled into the room by Sha Zhu when passing by his house.

Sha Zhu's main room was built quite impressively, especially in this position facing south.

He had borrowed money from the First Uncle the summer before last and had rebuilt the house with all his might, insisting on fighting for this face.

Li Xuewu had just finished looking at his own backyard and compared it to Sha Zhu's house, always feeling there were too many shortcomings.

The biggest shortcoming was this innate condition; facing south could never be matched.

"No trouble, not thirsty, drank at home."

Seeing him about to brew tea, Li Xuewu quickly waved his hand to refuse.

He sat on the edge of the kang, looked at the furnishings in the room, and asked, "How did you know they went to my house?"

"They went specifically to block you, why wouldn't I know?"

Sha Zhu chuckled, insisted on bringing over a cup of tea, and explained, "The Third Uncle has been eyeing your house for several days."

"He knew you had to come back on the weekend, so he came to the First Uncle's house early in the morning to lie in wait, just to check your house."

"Heh, there's always someone eyeing good things."

Li Xuewu laughed and asked, "Did they check you too? Is it that house of the old lady in the backyard?"

"Me? I don't indulge him—"

Sha Zhu smirked, pulled a stool to sit on the edge of the kang, tilted his head, and said, "You're a person of status and can't do reckless things, but I'm different; who am I afraid of?"

"So just because I have status, I have to be bullied?"

Li Xuewu found it both funny and helpless; as Sha Zhu said, could he really kick Yan Fugui twice?

But Yan Fugui dared to act tough with Sha Zhu, and Sha Zhu might really kick him twice.

"Forget it, don't bother with him."

Sha Zhu took a sip of tea and said, "That's just the kind of person he is; if he doesn't take advantage of something, he considers it a loss."

"I heard he can't sleep all night!"

"Heh—"

Li Xuewu chuckled and said, "Don't let him get seriously ill; it's the New Year, don't let him extort me."

"That's what I said, that's why I'm reminding you."

Sha Zhu shook his head, put down the teacup, and explained, "He's eyeing your inverted house, saying it would be good to be allocated one room."

"Is he dreaming?"

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow and asked, "What does he want to do? Doesn't Yan Jiekuang have to stay home to support him in his old age? Is he splitting the family?"

"Talking nonsense, Yan Jiekuang is only fifteen, splitting the family my foot; he's thinking about splitting the house."

Sha Zhu pouted and said, "Isn't it because he heard there's news about house allocation in the factory? He's been busy with that."

He gestured toward the front courtyard outside the window and said, "He's dying to build a wall in the porch just to count it as indoor area."

"He's really lost his mind—"

Li Xuewu crossed his right leg, took a sip of tea, and said, "Why doesn't he write 'Yan' on the toilet at the entrance too?"

"Hehehe—" Sha Zhu heard him say this and chuckled, "You think he doesn't want to!"

"Greed knows no bounds!"

He waved his teacup and said, "With the area of their house, they could at least be allocated a building apartment of over forty square meters."

"They only have one son to support them in their old age, how big a house do they need!"

"I didn't bother with him; the First Uncle went along."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "I could tell he was very troubled; he must have been dragged along by him."

"He's stupid, is the First Uncle stupid too?"

Sha Zhu raised an eyebrow and said, "The neighborhood office said to investigate, so it counts?"

"Why doesn't he think about how much he weighs, to be able to drag over the inverted house."

Sha Zhu didn't say this too bluntly; saying it more bluntly would be too explicit.

Li Xuewu's godmother is the neighborhood office director, and Shen Guodong is now a rising star in the neighborhood's small factory.

Just say whether Yan Fugui has a brain or not; he only thought about himself no longer teaching students at the Red Star Factory, but didn't think about where he was.

"That's why I said don't bother with him," Sha Zhu pointed to his own head and said, "He has a problem here."

"Really?"

Li Xuewu saw that Sha Zhu didn't look like he was spouting nonsense, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Is it a blood vessel issue?"

"Don't know about that, everyone just feels it."

Sha Zhu was also being serious, picked up a peanut from the basket, shelled it, and ate it, saying, "It started in the second half of this year."

"You haven't been back much, so you probably didn't catch it; sometimes he mumbles to himself, like he's mentally ill."

"Could he be faking it—"

Li Xuewu looked out the window; sitting here, he could see the situation in the front courtyard through the third gate.

"He had a criminal record before; have you forgotten how he deliberately played crazy to deceive people because he was afraid of losing face?"

"Doesn't look like it this time," Sha Zhu shook his head, "He hasn't been at odds with anyone; it wouldn't last this long."

"You saw what happened to him; does he look like a normal person?"

"How does he teach?"

Li Xuewu glanced at him suspiciously and asked, "It should be visible at school, right?"

"Forget it, do you really think Banggeng's poor grades are all his own problem!"

Sha Zhu laughed, "If it were really his own problem, how did he keep up at our factory's middle school?"

"You don't know yet, Banggeng's grades were good this semester, his mother is showing off to everyone."

"You mean it's the teacher's problem?"

The muscles on Li Xuewu's face twitched; he thought Banggeng's previous teacher was Ran Qiuye.

"What do you think? At least half the reason!"

Sha Zhu nodded and said, "Even Yan Fugui himself said he hadn't taught much in two years; who could tell?"

"Besides, he's not very serious; maybe he realized he had a problem himself and is restraining it."

"Didn't his family discover it?"

Li Xuewu sat up straight and said, "Early treatment for this kind of illness is still urgent."

"Who would discover it?"

Sha Zhu said frankly, "Even if they discovered it, they wouldn't say anything; just muddle through one day at a time!"

This was true; mental illness wasn't a good thing in these times, and people's words were to be feared.

Furthermore, if one got sick, they couldn't teach anymore, and without teaching, where would the salary to support the family come from?

"We all guess it's a blood vessel issue," Sha Zhu took a sip of hot tea, "After all, it wasn't treated properly in the beginning."

"Who are you talking about? Brother Wu is here too."

Just as the two were talking, Diliya came in from outside with the child, accompanied by Yushui.

"Nothing, just chatting idly—"

Sha Zhu stood up to take his son, teasing him with a smile.

Diliya and Yushui took off their coats, greeted Li Xuewu with a smile, and said auspicious words for the New Year.

After two years of marriage to Sha Zhu, she finally walked out from under the Tianshan Mountains, no longer a melancholy girl, and had the flavor of the city.

She used to be afraid of Li Xuewu and wouldn't talk to him no matter what, but now she was normal.

Li Xuewu felt his pocket and beckoned He Zhuang, who was crawling on the kang after his father had stripped off his cotton coat, to come over.

The little chubby boy was bold and fearless; seeing him beckon, he crawled over with a thud.

"Uncle is giving you New Year's money in advance."

Li Xuewu folded a ten-yuan note into the shape of an ingot and stuffed it into the little chubby boy's jacket pocket, leaving He Zhuang stunned.

"Why give him so much? One yuan or fifty cents would have been fine."

Diliya felt a bit embarrassed, walked over, and wanted to take the money from her son's hand to be polite with Li Xuewu.

The little chubby boy took it out of his own pocket; seeing his mother wanted it, he reached out to hand it over.

Sha Zhu smiled and waved his hand, "Keep it, it's not much."

"If we really let Li Chu give one yuan or fifty cents, wouldn't that be insulting him? Since he gave it, just accept it—"

"You talk too much!"

Diliya was embarrassed by what he said and really couldn't bring herself to return it, so she turned around and gave Sha Zhu a swat.

Li Xuewu smiled, reached out to pick up the little chubby boy, and asked, "How much does he weigh? Is he twenty-five jin yet?"

"Yes, he's tall, almost twenty-six jin."

Sha Zhu leaned against the chest, smiling, "My arms can't take it after holding him for a long time."

"He really followed your father's build."

Li Xuewu pinched the little chubby boy's arms and legs, teasing, "When you grow up, learn wrestling from your father too, he's a top-notch expert."

"My son should still learn culture."

Sha Zhu smiled and scratched his neck, "Culture is still useful; I heard your Li Shu can already recite poetry."

"Babbling, reciting nonsense."

Li Xuewu smiled, handed the little chubby boy to his mother, and looked at Yushui, who was standing by the windowsill in a pink sweater, asking, "Not working?"

"Off duty, on holiday—"

Yushui crossed her arms, her tone very flat, but she was thinking, "So you finally remembered to see me."

But who would have thought that Li Xuewu's attention to her was fleeting; after asking her that, he started chatting about the electrical appliances in the house.

"First Uncle says I'm wasting money, but I don't care about that."

Sha Zhu also crossed his arms, pacing on the floor, gesturing to the electrical appliances in the house for Li Xuewu.

"I can only afford these for now; when I have money later, I'll move the television back and it'll be complete."

"That's good; your house is the best off in this courtyard."

Li Xuewu nodded with a smile, stood up, and said, "If televisions really become popular, our factory will have to start a television station too."

"That would be great—"

Seeing him stand up, Sha Zhu asked, "What's up? Sit a while longer, have something to eat at my place tonight?"

"Forget it, no time."

Li Xuewu nodded to Diliya and Yushui and walked out, explaining, "If he hadn't gone to my house to ask, I would have been too lazy to come to the backyard; I would have left long ago."

"Don't bother with him, don't let him extort you."

Sha Zhu saw him to the door, playfully reminding him, "I stay far away from this piece of dog-skin plaster."

"Alright, you get busy—"

Li Xuewu waved his hand and walked toward the front courtyard.

Sha Zhu watched him leave before entering the room.

Diliya changed the child into thinner clothes, pouted, gestured to the ten-yuan ingot on the chest, and asked, "What to do?"

"What do you mean what to do?"

Sha Zhu said without much thought, "Their family is coming back for the New Year, we'll just return it then."

"There are two children, how much should we give?" Diliya nagged, "Giving five yuan doesn't look very good..."

"Don't struggle with that—"

Sha Zhu waved his hand, "I'm telling you, he really doesn't care about this, it's just for fun."

"If you take it seriously, then it's really meaningless."

He tidied up the teacups on the edge of the kang and said, "Don't worry about ten or five yuan, just give one yuan, give it to all three Li children."

Before Diliya could say more, he emphasized, "You can buy some tobacco for the old lady and his grandfather; if you feel bad, make a pair of cloth shoes, that's also a gesture."

"Then I'll make a pair of cloth shoes," Diliya thought for a moment and said, "The old lady and Aunt Liu also helped us look after the child."

"Make another pair for the First Aunt..."

"As you wish, don't calculate so much."

Sha Zhu said very casually, "The biggest taboo in relationships is calculation and counting; the more you calculate, the thinner it gets."

"What were you two talking about in the room?"

Diliya had calculated it in her heart, coaxed the child to crawl on the kang, turned around, and asked Sha Zhu, "Who wasn't treated properly?"

"The Third Uncle in the front courtyard, he went to extort Li Xuewu for a house."

Sha Zhu saw Yushui turn and return to the inner room after hearing his words, shook his head with a mix of amusement and anger, looked at Diliya, and asked, "Do you think the Third Uncle is mentally ill?"

"An old man eating arsenic, looking for trouble!"

He pouted, "Everyone in this courtyard is waiting to see his show; it's just Li Xuewu who can't be bothered with him."

"Don't you provoke him!"

Hearing He Yuzhu's tone, Diliya warned him, "No family has money to subsidize him, and he can't withstand you cleaning him up."

"No need to remind me, I'm not stupid—"

Sha Zhu looked toward the front courtyard outside the window, "Now it's my turn to watch the show!"

"Why haven't I seen you buy electrical appliances?"

Liang Zuodong, deputy director of the Management Committee Office, chatted with Li Xuewu with a smile, "Your house doesn't need these?"

"Not for now, how about you?"

Li Xuewu looked at him with a smile and asked, "Didn't go to buy some? The opportunity is very rare."

"I did, I sent my brother-in-law."

Liang Zuodong was very frank, his two large front teeth sticking out arrogantly when he laughed.

He leaned back in his chair, straightened his body, and said, "I pulled a whole tricycle load home; I have to take advantage of this legitimate bargain."

"Did you buy a television?"

Li Xuewu said with a smile, "The price is appropriate now; later on, it's hard to say which line will be executed."

He was talking about the planned market price, the kind with attached coupons, and the price of the tertiary industry supplying the internal market.

Which price to execute depends on whether this year's televisions will be required to go through planned market channels.

This thing is still a high-demand material; a village might not even have one, it's far scarcer than bicycles.

If the Red Star Factory goes all out to produce, supplying the whole of Beijing is actually quite enough, and there might even be a surplus.

It's just that, not to mention foreign trade orders, even the components can't keep up with the production speed, not to mention the opposition from the Beijing Television Factory.

The planned economy has its own unique economic system; free market trade can only play a supplementary role and must never affect its foundation.

Actually, the Red Star Factory isn't willing to do domestic trade either; the price is hard to set, and the profit isn't very high.

But some commodities must be traded domestically to exchange for necessary production materials and supplies through the Trade Management Center.

The production system currently being built by the Red Star Factory is particularly complex, where one move affects the whole situation.

Liang Zuodong had already learned about this and shook his head slightly, "One is that I can't afford it, and two is that I don't look down on it."

He said to Li Xuewu with a smile, "I went to see, there are only a few programs in total, and I'm tired of watching them over and over."

"It would be great if our factory could run its own television station," he turned to Li Xuewu and said, "I heard that our factory's radio and newspaper were changed like this with your support?"

"I have to say, it's much stronger than our original unit, especially in the richness of the programs."

"Not at all, you misunderstood—"

Li Xuewu explained with a smile, "I'm not responsible for these two jobs, so how can it be called support and help."

"Even if there was, it was just making two small suggestions at the meeting."

"You're too humble—" Liang Zuodong said with a smile, "The comrades at the radio station all said they wanted to thank you."

"Hehehe, I don't believe it!"

Li Xuewu chuckled and sat up straight; he had already seen the leader bring people in, so he restrained his topic and expression.

"I called you here for one thing," Gu Weijie didn't sit either, waved her hand, gestured to the two people she brought, and introduced, "This is Comrade Bai Changshan, who has come to our Management Committee Office to serve as deputy director."

She raised her hand again to introduce the other one: "Comrade Zhou Zechuan, I believe everyone knows him, so he doesn't need an introduction."

Gu Weijie looked at the two and gestured to the sofa side, "Comrade Liang Zuodong, deputy director of the Management Committee Office, also just transferred here."

"Comrade Li Xuewu, head of the Security Group and deputy director of the Management Committee Office, an old comrade of our factory."

"Li Chu is not old—"

Zhou Zechuan took the initiative to shake hands with Li Xuewu with a smile, "We meet again, Li Chu."

"Meet again—"

Li Xuewu shook his hand with a smile and said, "I was saying when I saw the bulletin that day, whether it was the same name, hehehe."

"Revisiting an old place, inexplicably happy."

Zhou Zechuan let go of his hand with a smile and said, "I'll learn more from you in the future."

"Too polite, let's learn from each other."

Li Xuewu nodded and looked with a smile at Bai Changshan, who had just finished shaking hands and exchanging greetings with Liang Zuodong.

The other party reached out very actively and said politely, "Hello, Li Chu, I've long admired your name."

"You're too polite, what great name."

Li Xuewu shook hands with a smile and asked, "Are you and Comrade Zechuan colleagues?"

He asked this with technique, because Gu Weijie didn't introduce his background, so guessing is not as good as asking directly.

Even if asking, one must pay attention to technique; since he knew where Zhou Zechuan came from and who transferred him, otherwise he would lean upward.

It's very simple; the other party is definitely not Zhou Zechuan's colleague, and certainly not transferred by the same person as Zhou Zechuan.

It's precisely because he knew this that he asked deliberately.

Because the other party will also provide an answer when denying.

"No, I just met Deputy Section Chief Zhou."

Bai Changshan explained with a smile, "I originally worked at the Information Office of the Beijing Industrial Bureau; please help me more in the future, Li Chu."

"Is that so? I haven't seen you—"

Li Xuewu also showed enthusiasm toward him, and after shaking hands, looked at Gu Weijie and said, "The factory is really generous this time; did you hear us shouting that we were tired? Hahaha—"

"I heard it on the third floor!"

Gu Weijie responded to his joke, glanced at him, and said to Zhou Zechuan and Bai Changshan, "Li Chu will arrange your subsequent work; I'll send you here."

"Thank you, Deputy Director Gu—"

The two thanked her in unison and sent her out with a smile.

"Sorry, personnel adjustments are too frequent."

Li Xuewu took the initiative to provide a step for the two and explained, "There is no way or energy to organize an inauguration ceremony, it's a bit simple."

"It was the same when Deputy Director Liang came."

He gestured to Liang Zuodong and pointed to himself, "I was also appointed in this batch, just a piece of paper."

"Hahahaha—"

The four people in the office were not very old, and once they spoke openly, it was nothing.

Of course, what calculations they had in their hearts, that's unknown.

Even if there were, there was no way; it was just a small-scale meeting when Su Wide came, their deputy division level is not worth money.

Having Li Chu, a person who carries two burdens on one shoulder, to receive them is already enough.

Hearing the two say they didn't care much about these ceremonies, Li Xuewu just smiled and moved on.

"How about this, Deputy Director Liang came a few days early."

Li Xuewu gestured to Bai Changshan and said, "You take Deputy Section Chief Bai to familiarize yourself with the work of our committee office, okay."

He gestured to Zhou Zechuan again and said, "I'll take Comrade Zechuan back to the Security Group; let's gather downstairs at noon."

"The first day, and it's the New Year, it's fate that we gather together; I'll treat you to a meal at the guesthouse."

"How can I be embarrassed—"

Bai Changshan said politely with a smile, "Just eat something at the canteen; the days ahead are still long."

"No, the future is the future."

Li Xuewu shook hands with him again with a smile and said, "Today you just arrived; I can't give you a ceremony, so I must wash away the dust for you."

"Hahaha, then thank you, Li Chu!"

Zhou Zechuan was very frank; after all, he had been squatting here for almost two months, and saying he was a new colleague with Li Xuewu could also be considered an old friend.

It's just that the word "friend" needs double quotation marks, because whether they are friends or not remains to be seen later, so let's eat this meal first.

"Then I'll respectfully obey!"

Bai Changshan said with a smile, "Meeting Li Chu really made me experience the warmth of finding an organization."

"Reporting before the New Year, it's really hard work."

Walking down the stairs, Li Xuewu said to Zhou Zechuan beside him, "I thought you would come after the New Year."

"The leader has requirements, no way."

Zhou Zechuan shook his head and said, "Urging us to handle the procedures well, then calling the factory to come and lead people."

"Hehe, no psychological gap?"

Li Xuewu looked at him and laughed, "Before you were the leader of the working group, now you are a comrade of the Security Group."

"Hahaha—"

Although Zhou Zechuan is in discipline inspection and does have a cold face at work, he has a very easygoing personality in private.

It's just that I don't know if this is an appearance or essence, or a means to deliberately paralyze others.

"What psychological gap, none."

He said very frankly, "I'll tell you, don't laugh at me, actually, coming to Red Star Factory was my own application."

"Oh, why is that?"

Li Xuewu's eyeballs turned and asked, "Down to exercise?"

"You're really straightforward—"

Zhou Zechuan was a bit unable to parry when he saw him asking without concealment.

He took the initiative to explain at this moment: "Sitting in the office for a long time, unhappy, meaningless, especially seeing the benefits of your factory."

Walking to the lobby on the first floor, he gestured to the benefit bulletin on the bulletin board and said enviously, "I just like this."

"Hehehe—"

Li Xuewu chuckled, thinking in his heart, "Believe your ghost!"

"I'll say something, don't cry."

He deliberately lowered his voice and said cautiously, "You didn't come at a good time; the benefit bulletin you saw was from last year."

"Oh? Is there any difference?"

Zhou Zechuan seemed to really care about work benefits, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Less this year?"

"Mm, not less, but much less."

Li Xuewu smiled helplessly and said, "More than 10,000 people became more than 90,000 people; you know how to calculate division, right? That's what it means."

"Wages and positions, we also spent a lot of effort to arrange."

He emphasized, "It's like last year's benefit treatment; at least the Red Star Factory must complete the group construction and digest this opportunity."

"Huo, are you serious—"

Zhou Zechuan asked in surprise, "Then I'll call the leader now and ask if it's too late to regret."

"Hahaha—"

Li Xuewu can be sure now, he is talking nonsense!

He called the deputy head of the Security Group and the cadres of each section to the conference room and introduced Zhou Zechuan to everyone.

Zhou Zechuan delivered a short speech to the section cadres with a relatively gentle expression.

And then Li Xuewu and Sun Jian sent him to the prepared office, and this process was considered finished.

The Security Group now has four group-level cadres, one principal and three deputies; since the establishment of the Security Group, they have never fought such a wealthy battle.

However, he estimated that the deputy group head would still have to come.

Why?

Because he has to leave; Yu Decai is a cadre of Red Star Factory, Zhou Zechuan is air-dropped from above, and Wang Xiaoqin is foreign aid.

Didn't you notice what's missing among these people?

That's right, it's the cadres of the sixteen enterprises based on Beijing Industry, or the cadres of Beijing Industry.

The current Security Group is still the Security Group of Red Star Rolling Mill; according to the agreement with Beijing Industry, what will be handed over to Beijing Industry in two years is a complete management team of the Rolling Mill.

Just look at the current three-shift system in the workshop, overstaffing in the organs, and overstaffing in the team, and you know that the Security Group is still missing one person.

This state of redundancy will not last long; the three-year plan has already passed one year.

Since last year, the Steel City side has already been building the factory area of the Rolling Mill, just waiting for the Santa Ya Group to finalize the introduction of rolling steel technology from America, and the design plan here will be perfected.

And Beijing side has also selected the factory site for the new Rolling Mill under Beijing Industry, which will break ground in the first half of the year.

That is to say, within two years, these redundant cadres, structures, workers, and equipment will all be stripped away.

And within two years, the Red Star Factory will just happen to carry out slimming work for groupization, and the rhythm and plan are perfectly matched.

This, of course, is not a coincidence, but designed long ago.

At that time, there will be two types of people stripped away; one type is the personnel already determined by the original sixteen enterprises.

The other type is the original employees of the Red Star Factory Rolling Steel Industry who are unwilling to work in Steel City and can follow to the new Rolling Mill.

Li Xuewu, who participated in the design of this slimming plan, estimated that 20,000 people would be reduced at that time.

That's right, the scale of the new Rolling Mill opened by Beijing Industry must be larger and more perfect than the current Red Star Factory.

In addition to accepting all existing rolling steel industrial equipment of the Red Star Factory, they also merged some enterprises to engage in mechanical processing.

This is still riding the wind of the supply chain; rolling steel matches mechanical processing, and even doing OEM can support 20,000 employees.

The construction company currently being prepared by the Red Star Factory, the largest project besides the Liangmahe Industrial Zone and the Steel City Industrial Zone, is the New Beijing No. 1 Rolling Mill located in Fengtai.

Red Star Rolling Mill was originally named Shou D Third Rolling Mill, later merged with the Second Factory, Fourth Factory, and Fifth Factory, and was renamed Red Star Factory.

Now Beijing Industry is also ambitious, directly building the First Rolling Mill, which seems to have the meaning of calling out to the Red Star Factory.

Otherwise, why would Old Li mutter that after teaching the apprentice, the master would starve to death.

In the existing organizational structure, the cadres trained for Beijing No. 1 Rolling Mill are all deputies and are not full.

The purpose is very simple, just don't want to spend more money, giving the other party a complete team, how much salary will it cost in two years.

First match one to hang on, and then make a surprise attack in the last half year to match a complete team.

Doing so, Old Li also has a special purpose.

At that time, the Red Star Factory will be groupized, and some thorns who don't listen will be directly matched to the team of Beijing No. 1 Rolling Mill and kicked away.

Promoted, and appointed, those can't say anything, can only accept their fate.

Where to work is not work, at least stay in Beijing.

This Deputy Director Bai Changshan who just came to the Management Committee Office is not such a role.

With obvious labels, all will leave in the future, which also formed a circle within the Red Star Factory.

The cadres in this circle will naturally unite, and even briefly affect the organizational ecology of the Red Star Factory.

So Old Li uses ruthless people, such as Li Xuewu.

PS: Coughing severely, the brain is aching, barely finished writing and went to sleep, hope to get better soon.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 1239 =====