Chapter 1265: [Chapter 1265]

"What did you talk about for so long?"

Zhang Songying had waited for over two hours without seeing Li Xuewu return, and she was almost asleep.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, she braced herself to sit up from the sofa and glanced at her watch.

Good heavens, it was almost two o'clock.

"I won't have time to deal with her tomorrow."

As Li Xuewu took off his clothes, he explained, "The French Foreign Affairs Office wants to build a 'Cultural Corridor' in the Liangma River Industrial Zone as a testament to ecological industry and cultural exchange."

"This matter is a bit troublesome."

Seeing Zhang Songying walk over to help, he spread his arms and waited for her to take over.

"If it were just behind closed doors in the compound, I wouldn't care; it would just be a charade to swindle money anyway."

He closed his eyes slightly and said, "But since it's open to the public and serves as a window for cultural export, I have to be cautious."

"What is a 'Cultural Corridor'?"

Zhang Songying unbuttoned his shirt and looked at his face, asking, "Is it like those covered walkways in parks?"

"The meaning is similar, but the architectural manifestation is different," Li Xuewu said, stretching his arms slightly to let her take off his shirt, then turning around. "In the Chinese architectural system, a corridor is never fully enclosed; fully enclosed ones are called underground passages."

"The definition of a 'Cultural Corridor' is quite broad. The Foreign Affairs Office's idea is for the Red Star Factory and the Santa Ya Group to jointly build a museum-style structure."

He sat on a chair, letting Zhang Songying help him take off his trousers, and continued to explain, "The building will include exhibition halls, cultural halls, restaurants, tea rooms, painting galleries, concert halls, and so on—all industries related to culture and art."

"Isn't that a bit inconvenient?"

Zhang Songying frowned and reminded him, "Building cultural and artistic structures at a time like this, won't it invite trouble and criticism?"

"That's inevitable; I'm considering that too."

Li Xuewu let out a long breath, leaned his head back against the chair, closed his eyes slightly, and enjoyed Zhang Songying's massage.

"The factory has created a Riverside Economic Corridor in the Liangma River Ecological Industrial Zone. Now that the stage is set, there must be performers."

His voice sounded somewhat weary as he continued, "There must be commercial elements like markets, shops, and restaurants, as well as services like banking, security, and maintenance."

"Besides that, we need venues for cultural construction and propaganda work," Li Xuewu paused before saying, "It would be best to turn this commercial area into an economic incubation market with the corporate culture of the Red Star Factory."

"What you're saying is too complicated; I'm starting to not understand."

Zhang Songying kneaded his thigh and asked with a chuckle, "You two just talked about work until this late?"

"Otherwise? Talk about romance?"

Li Xuewu raised his head slightly, glanced at her, and said with a laugh, "A foreign girl who traveled thousands of miles across the ocean to work in China keeps you in her room in the middle of the night—what else could we talk about?"

"Eww—" Zhang Songying flicked her finger upward, curled her lip, and said, "Do you think I can't tell what kind of person she is?"

"Even if I couldn't tell what she is, can't I tell what you are?" She pointed at Li Xuewu's boxers and said, "Even if I couldn't tell what you are, I can at least see this. You didn't even bother to clean up."

"Hmm—?"

Li Xuewu sat up in confusion, looked down, and saw a small wet patch on his boxers.

"It's all her fault, she was the one who initiated it!"

"You really are something—"

Seeing Li Xuewu confess so quickly while shifting the blame, Zhang Songying was both annoyed and amused.

"Do you think my eyes are blind and my nose is broken?"

She glared at Li Xuewu reproachfully and said, "I smelled it the moment you walked in, and I knew you had just finished by your expression."

"Then you really do have eyes like torches!"

Li Xuewu held her face with both hands, examined her carefully, and said, "Let me see, are you really that sharp?"

"Get lost, did you wash your hands?"

Zhang Songying pouted and said, "Those foreigners all have a strange smell on them; I don't know how you could bring yourself to do it."

"You can say Western food doesn't taste good, but you absolutely cannot say it's bad without having tasted it," Li Xuewu lay back down and said with a smile, "I'm doing this to view the issue dialectically; it's all to critique Western food."

"Are they really that casual?"

Zhang Songying stood up, sat beside him, pulled a blanket over him, and asked, "Didn't you say she wasn't married yet?"

"Their culture is just like that."

Li Xuewu shook his head slightly and said, "Before marriage, they can keep testing love until they find true love."

"Of course, they aren't necessarily that loyal after marriage either. France is the country with the most lovers in the world, for both men and women."

He turned his head, looked at Zhang Songying, and said, "If she were married, she wouldn't have traveled so far to work."

"Either you suffer for a while, or you suffer for a lifetime."

"Listening to you, does that mean French women are all finding their ideal partners?" Zhang Songying raised her eyebrows and asked, "Testing love from eighteen or nineteen until twenty-eight or twenty-nine? Until they test until they find a suitable one?"

"Not necessarily—"

Li Xuewu turned on his side to hug her and said, "This is a drawback of economic development and cultural openness, what is called decadent thinking."

"However, this kind of thing should still be viewed dialectically."

He smiled at Zhang Songying and said, "Those who marry at twenty-eight or twenty-nine don't necessarily find true love; they might just be afraid of not finding anyone better."

"So French people also encounter marital problems, huh?"

Zhang Songying seemed particularly interested in this topic and said with a smile, "Even for people like us who marry at eighteen or nineteen, problems still arise."

"It might be an influence from the cultural environment," Li Xuewu shifted his body on the sofa to lie more comfortably, continuing, "Those who marry at eighteen or nineteen don't necessarily have to divorce, and those who marry at twenty-eight or twenty-nine aren't necessarily any more mature. It still depends on individual feelings."

"If there aren't so many conflicts and trivialities in a couple's life, and no excessive anxiety over daily necessities, why would they want to divorce?"

"Why are you looking at me?"

Zhang Songying glared at him and scolded, "I'm not divorced."

"Oh my, I forgot!"

Li Xuewu feigned surprise, pulled back his hand, and said seriously, "Sorry, sorry, I offended you just now."

"You really are a bad egg!"

Zhang Songying got annoyed, pounced on him, and devoured him...

Once men and women break through that layer of window paper, this fiery passion seems to forget how to be restrained or reserved.

Moreover, this time it happened to be a case of "a short separation is better than a new marriage," so with the atmosphere right, they didn't even finish two sentences before they were tangled together.

How to describe it?

The battle was intense, the plot is premium, to make a long story short:

People, big, individuals, from, people, boiling...

The International Hotel has six floors and over a hundred guest rooms. From the top floor down, there are luxury suites, luxury double rooms, luxury standard rooms, ordinary standard rooms...

The higher you go, the fewer luxury accommodation resources there are, and the more comprehensive the service.

But generally speaking, staying in a standard room at the International Hotel is also a kind of enjoyment.

Think about the location, think about the status of most guests staying here, and think about the accommodation and dining costs...

The guests staying here are of noble status, and the staff and cadres working here also consciously want to show a better, more thoughtful side.

Anyone who travels frequently and has stayed here will say that in all of Beijing, the service at the Red Star National Hotel is the best.

The standard comes from strict management and the pursuit of service quality.

Early in the morning, the International Hotel's Deputy General Manager, He Yu Shui, led a team to begin inspection work; this is something the deputy general manager on duty needs to do every day.

On one hand, it's to check service and hygiene, and on the other, it's to avoid guests and arrange today's work as quickly as possible.

As luck would have it, Li Xuewu had just come down from upstairs, preparing to go to the restaurant for breakfast, when he ran into her at the entrance.

"You stayed here last night?"

"Nonsense, who comes here from home for breakfast in the early morning?"

Li Xuewu heard her tone as if he had done something shameful and had been caught by her.

He Yu Shui didn't pay attention to his tone; she gave a few instructions to the department manager behind her and followed him into the restaurant.

Li Xuewu replied to her just to acknowledge the encounter; he didn't even notice when he entered the restaurant, and only realized she was sitting opposite him when he sat down to order.

"What's up, do I have to treat you to breakfast?"

"I can treat you too—"

He Yu Shui flipped through the menu in her hand, ordered bread and vegetable soup, and also asked for sausage and eggs.

Eating Chinese food flavors in a Western restaurant—Li Xuewu was really afraid she would pull a "scallion pancake with egg" style trick on him.

"I'd better treat you—"

Li Xuewu shook his head helplessly, ordered a similar, as-little-Western-as-possible breakfast, and then handed the menu to the waiter.

The waiter certainly recognized him, and even if they didn't, they recognized their deputy general manager.

Strictly speaking, He Yu Shui was a supervisor and shouldn't be dining in the restaurant, as it would affect the service and guests here.

But since Li Xuewu was sitting there, the waiter didn't feel any awkwardness, and naturally, He Yu Shui didn't either.

"What are you looking at me for?" Seeing Li Xuewu looking at her with slight impatience, He Yu Shui rolled her eyes at him sensitively and muttered, "What kind of look is that? I haven't even scolded you yet—"

"Scold me for what? Do I need you?"

Li Xuewu picked up his teacup, took a small sip of warm tea, looked to the side, and asked, "Don't you eat breakfast when you come to work?"

"I do, aren't I hungry if I don't?"

He Yu Shui mimicked his manner, took a small sip of hot tea, and replied bluntly, "I'm just here to keep you company today, afraid you'd be lonely."

"Even if I didn't eat when I came out in the morning, I wouldn't eat here."

She pointed at the dining table and said, "Only a fool would eat the food here. Wouldn't it be better to do something else with a yuan or two?"

The waiter serving the food almost popped their eyes out upon hearing this; they had never heard a supervisor talk to a leader like that.

Li Xuewu noticed the waiter's strangeness, turned his face away, and couldn't be bothered to deal with this mental patient.

Let her call him a fool; when he goes home later, he'll still have to let Qin Jingru make a portion, which is bound to be a hassle for her.

Besides, he couldn't stand being hungry.

There was a bit too much activity last night, especially the physical labor, which is the most tiring, so he got up a bit late.

If he didn't replenish his energy quickly, this big guy might faint halfway.

"Your table manners are too ugly—"

Seeing him eating bread in big bites, one sausage per bite, He Yu Shui couldn't help but remind him, "You're a big leader now, after all!"

"Is that so? How does a big leader eat?" Li Xuewu asked while eating the bread in his mouth, "Why don't you teach me?"

"Your attitude—" He Yu Shui rolled her eyes at him and asked, "How did you suddenly think of staying here?"

"Could it be because of that Zhou Xiaobai?"

She suddenly widened her eyes, observing Li Xuewu's expression, and asked, "Did you really... with her?"

"Comrade He Yu Shui—"

Li Xuewu tapped his plate with the fork in his hand and reminded her, "You're a leader now, after all; are you just going to slander someone's innocence like this?"

"Do you have any innocence?"

He Yu Shui pouted and scolded, "You're just a bad egg who is good at disguising, prone to sweet talk, and fickle in love."

"Then you might as well shoot me—"

Li Xuewu was so annoyed by her that he wanted to curse. Is she calling him a scumbag?

Is he a scumbag?

He just forgot to say "let's break up"!

"Did I lie to you or sweet-talk you?"

He widened his eyes and said, "I kindly invited you to breakfast, and you came here specifically to annoy me, right?"

"Then who did you come with?"

He Yu Shui tilted her head, completely unafraid of his changing expression, and asked bluntly, "It couldn't be that you got tired of living at home and came out for a change of pace."

"That's none of your business—"

Li Xuewu curled his lip, ate the bread on his plate, and said, "Don't provoke me; it's the weekend, and I'm finally in a good mood."

"Heh—"

He Yu Shui took a big bite of bread and started muttering again.

Li Xuewu watched her vent, and after a while, he retorted, "You're not young anymore, be sensible; you can't live at home forever."

"Mutual destruction, is that it?"

After swallowing the bread, He Yu Shui looked at him and challenged, "Fine, introduce one to me then. I don't have any other requirements, just as long as he has money."

"Do you want the foolish son of a landlord?"

Li Xuewu looked at her with disdain and said, "With your attitude, you want to find someone rich? Who would want you?"

"You have no temper, no patience, and you're not even as good-looking as me, yet you want to find someone rich!"

"What's wrong with wanting to find someone rich?"

He Yu Shui said provocatively, "At least they can afford the bread here and sleep in the suites here."

This goal was too specific; she might as well have reported Li Xuewu's ID number.

Li Xuewu glanced at her; to be honest, this girl wasn't ugly.

Her current attitude was entirely because she was competing with him; in daily life, she was a bright and cheerful Beijing girl to others.

As for being vain, Li Xuewu didn't believe it, but it was possible she was coveting his body and had her eyes on him.

Lu Xun once said that when men go out, they must protect themselves well.

"If you put it that way, then I have to ask you," Li Xuewu teased her, raised his eyebrows, and asked, "Is anyone who can stay here suitable for you?"

"I didn't say everyone who can stay here is rich, and I didn't say all rich people are good men, but money can at least filter out some bad people."

He Yu Shui poked the bread on her plate with a fork and said, "Haven't you heard people say that rich people pursue you just because they want to sleep with you, but poor people pursue you because they want to sleep with you for a lifetime."

"Plus washing his clothes, cooking for him, giving birth to his children, taking care of his parents, and if things go wrong, having to pay off the family's debts with him..."

"Think about which one is more terrifying?"

"I think you're quite terrifying."

Li Xuewu looked at her for a long while, and seeing Xu Sinian swaying into the restaurant, he pointed at him and asked He Yu Shui, "Him, do you like him?"

"Director Xu's salary level can definitely satisfy your material needs, and his backyard is currently on fire, burning in a mess."

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and asked, "How about I help you stir things up so he gets divorced? Then you can take advantage of the situation. Am I being a good buddy?"

"Are you being wicked or what!"

"You're back, have you eaten breakfast?"

Qin Jingru had just come out of the garden, with dirt still on her feet.

She opened the main gate for Li Xuewu and asked with a smile, "There's still some leftover steamed bun from the morning; shall I heat up some porridge for you?"

"Don't bother, I ate in the morning."

Li Xuewu waved his hand, looked back at Han Jiankun who had just gotten out of the car, and asked, "Have you eaten?"

"I ate at home in the morning, my mom made it."

Han Jiankun, very observant, took the pickaxe from his wife's hand and gestured outside, saying, "I parked the car at the entrance for you; I filled it up with gas last night."

"Going out again?"

Qin Jingru washed her hands at the faucet, stood up, watched Li Xuewu walk into the house, and followed, saying, "Sister Aunt Xiao Ning is upstairs."

"I know, I'm going to change clothes and go to the club."

Li Xuewu's voice came from the foyer, and he was already heading up the stairs.

She looked back at Han Jiankun and asked, "The leader is staying outside alone? Why didn't you follow?"

"I'm with Director Xu."

Han Jiankun was always a man of few words outside; even with his wife, he was straight to the point, only speaking about key content.

Qin Jingru glanced upstairs, understood what Han Jiankun meant, and didn't say anything more.

In the study on the second floor, Gu Ning was reading a book.

Li Shu and Li Ning were sitting on the floor playing with toys; the sisters were having a great time.

Perhaps because she was a bit older and more sensible, Li Shu could see many differences between herself and her younger brother in the mirror.

Actually, it wasn't that Li Shu hadn't asked him and Gu Ning why her younger brother didn't look quite like her and didn't have yellow hair.

The two had long ago agreed on a story, explaining the difference in their appearance by saying that their uncle, father, uncle, and aunt didn't look exactly the same either.

There must still be doubts in Li Shu's heart, but children in this era were mostly malnourished, and many had yellow hair.

Although not that yellow, Li Shu's hair wasn't golden yellow either.

So until she was fully sensible, Li Xuewu and Gu Ning didn't plan to tell her the truth; it was a very cruel fact for her.

Especially during adolescence, when she would be sensitive and feel lost and inferior; this was the problem Li Xuewu and Gu Ning least wanted to face.

They could only give Li Shu the best education and the best family environment, letting her understand that there was no difference between her and her younger brother.

"Daddy—"

Li Shu heard his footsteps and jumped up first, followed by Li Ning, who was wearing open-crotch pants and chasing after him clumsily.

The sisters, one in front and one behind, one fast and one slow, were all caught in his arms and lifted up together.

For children, Daddy's arms are always a place where ships can dock and horses can run.

Li Xuewu kissed this one, then that one, never getting enough of them.

Gu Ning rested her chin on her hand, looked at the father and his two children, and a smile curled at the corner of her mouth.

"Are you going on a business trip?"

She remembered the phone call he made yesterday after work that Qin Jingru told her about.

Even though Li Xuewu had reported it to her and she knew he had reached a key position, she still felt he was getting too busy to take care of the family.

Although this was the first time he hadn't returned home for the night.

"No, there are no plans for a business trip for now."

Li Xuewu teased his son, kissed his little hand, and placed them both on the large desk.

"Liaodong wants to absorb the Red Star Factory's capital and integrate coal resources," he explained, "The factory wants to expand the freight terminal in Yingcheng, and taking this opportunity, they also want to move a portion of the tertiary industries in Beijing over there."

"The two sides have only just begun contact and haven't reached the stage of making sky-high demands or sitting down to negotiate prices, so I don't plan to waste time going to Liaodong."

"What you say sounds simple."

Gu Ning rested her chin on her hand and looked at him, saying, "Yesterday, Sister-in-law called and said Zhao Yajun and his partner are coming to visit."

"Is that so? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Li Xuewu didn't blame Gu Ning, but rather spoke of Zhao Yajun.

He laughed, "I saw him the day I got back and urged him to use his vacation time to handle his personal affairs properly."

"Sister-in-law said he went home, then went to Wang Lu's house, and has been visiting relatives recently; he should have plans to get married."

"Hmm, it should be that Wang Lu's family is in a hurry."

Li Xuewu smiled and explained to Gu Ning the significance of Zhao Yajun's trip back in terms of work, "Her uncle is the chief engineer at the factory; he's very calculating."

Gu Ning smiled faintly and said, "They said they'd come in the morning; are you still waiting for them?"

"If I'm not busy, I should keep them for lunch, right?"

"Even if I'm busy, I have to see relatives; otherwise, wouldn't that be heartless?"

Li Xuewu let his son grab his face and replied, "I'll go out in the afternoon; the club matter isn't urgent, and I'll go to Mom's house in the evening."

Basically, he would go home to sit for a while or have dinner every week.

Although he would also go home during the weekdays in the morning and evening to pick up Li Shu, it was always a hurried trip, with no time to accompany his mother and the old lady.

It wasn't that he couldn't leave his mother and family, nor that he was a mama's boy, but he was afraid his mother would miss him and not have enough time or opportunities to see him.

"You go ahead and get busy; I'll change clothes and take them out to play."

Li Xuewu knew Gu Ning was working hard recently; the profession of a doctor is always on the road of learning, with no end in sight.

Besides her main job at the Seventh Hospital across the street, she also had a training program organized by the system last year, similar to graduate courses.

Young and promising, with a resilient mindset and politically qualified, and having rich work experience (battlefield rescue), Gu Ning naturally became the hospital's cultivation target.

Compared to before, Gu Ning's work environment at the hospital had improved a lot.

Especially with Li Xuewu's steady promotion, her family connections had shifted from her father's influence to her lover's range of influence.

Beijing is big, but also small; there are always roundabout relative relationships that connect the two people's work units.

Moreover, in the past two years, the Red Star Factory had been frantically absorbing surrounding medical resources, and there were many doctors or nurses who were classmates or relatives working at the Red Star Factory.

So, when Gu Ning's colleagues talked about Li Xuewu, they used "your family's Secretary-General" as a substitute, appearing very eager.

In the past, when resources were tilted toward Gu Ning at the hospital, it was inevitable that people would say she had a good father and a good mother.

Now, however, very few people said that.

On one hand, Gu Ning's personality was simple; she didn't care if people said more, and she was even too lazy to listen.

And this simple personality also created her rapid progress in medical skills; coupled with diligent study, she had now become an important lead surgeon in the hospital's surgery department.

A steady mindset means steady hands, and the knife in her hand is even steadier.

In this era, there was no such thing as minimally invasive surgery; it was all about opening the chest and abdomen with a knife, which was the ultimate test of a person's mindset and technique.

Long-term training meant that her medical skills had reached a bottleneck and needed further breakthroughs, which also meant progress in status.

Compared to administration, the medical system has professional limitations and tests.

Gu Ning rejected Vice President Zhang's suggestion and didn't transfer to administration, so she could only follow the medical professional title system.

Constantly performing surgery, constantly progressing, constantly training, constantly learning—this is the doctor's path of growth.

Li Xuewu actually loved learning too, especially now, as the content he needed to learn was increasing.

Besides the big books on ideology and politics, he had "innate" experience to rely on, but for other things like mechanical manufacturing, automotive industry, aerospace industry, chemistry, physics, etc., he needed to understand them.

You wouldn't really think he didn't understand design, would you?

Let's put it this way: as long as they aren't incompetent operational leaders, their knowledge base is quite broad.

He might not be able to explain very specific professional knowledge, but at least he could understand what you wanted to do when you spoke.

When you see leaders coming down for inspections in the newspapers, they aren't all just going through the motions; there are also powerful figures, like the one in Datong, who really understands.

Whether you see him scolding this person or that person, he must be scolding them on the point, leaving the person speechless and unable to provide an explanation.

Old Li wasn't very willing to go down to the front line for inspections, unless he brought Li Xuewu, because Li Xuewu could always bring him to the point.

This was also the reason why Old Li was determined to pull him into the position of Secretary-General.

"Don't go too far—"

When Li Xuewu was holding his son and leading his daughter out, Qin Jingru, who was growing vegetables, reminded him, "If they come, I'll let Jiankun find you."

"We'll be by the lake, don't worry."

Sometimes Li Xuewu felt she was a bit like his mother—not that she looked like his mother, Liu Yin, but her daily care and tone of voice were like his mother's.

She really treated him like a child.

"Daddy, let's go fishing—"

Li Shu walked beside her father, jumping and skipping, very happy.

Today the sun was just right, spring was in the air, the trees by the roadside already had new leaves, and there were even a few spots of yellow and pink at the corners of the walls—early spring flowers.

The drainage ditch was also an open channel; with the scouring of last year's flood, the old mud was long gone.

However, with the cover of a winter's snow and the accumulation of dust, there was gray-black mud, which also provided space for wild grass to survive.

Li Shu was like a little curious child, looking here for a while, running there for a while, and she didn't even let go of the small tree sticks on the road.

In her colorful small cotton-padded jacket, with a colorful small hat on her head, she wasn't even as tall as the curb when she jumped, but her voice was sharp and loud.

All the way from home to the big lake, she chattered away, finishing everything she had in her heart, and then started reciting ancient poems and singing nursery rhymes.

Anyway, since she was out, her mouth couldn't be idle.

"It's Grandpa Fish—"

Walking down the steps, her eyes were sharp, and she saw the old grandpa who often gave her fish to eat at a glance.

At this moment, she called out in a milky voice, waking up not only Old Zhang but also the big monk playing chess opposite him.

"Yo! Fishing and bringing along someone to dispel disasters and resolve difficulties?"

Li Xuewu, holding his son, squatted down unceremoniously beside the two people's chessboard and joked, "You must know your sins are heavy."

He wasn't wrong; the bald one was indeed an old monk, not "just released"—the monk still had ring scars on his head.

It's just that this old monk's appearance didn't look good; he was like a deflated ball, left with only a mangy dog's skin.

You see this old monk's face doesn't look good? His mouth is very sharp.

"Your friend?" He pointed at Li Xuewu, looked at the person opposite, and said, "You're living younger and younger; you've started making friends with little kids."

"Cherish blessings, I don't have such a friend," he glanced at Li Xuewu and continued to stare at the chessboard, curling his lip, "Keep some virtue in your mouth—you!"

The old monk raised his eyebrows, turned his head to look at Li Xuewu, the meaning being: Who are you?

"Still empty—"

Li Shu had even less awareness than her father; she habitually leaned over the fish basket to look, and it was indeed empty.

Old Zhang didn't care about Li Xuewu's bastard words, but he was flushed red by Li Shu's words, silently reciting "children's words are innocent," don't be angry, don't be angry.

"With a compassionate person who speaks of virtue in the mouth here, it's a wonder you can catch any fish."

Li Xuewu's ironic remark was no less sharp than the old monk's mouth.

On the surface, it was a compliment, but secretly he stuffed a mouthful of dog shit into the other person's mouth, not playing by the rules.

Li Shu didn't understand this, and didn't care why there were no fish in the fish basket; she squatted by the lake, looked at the big lake, and muttered, "There isn't even a toad—"

"How can there not be?" The old monk looked at the little girl with a kind face and said with a smile, "Isn't there a little frog here croaking?"

"Hmm, that's right—"

Li Xuewu nodded indifferently and said, "We also came to take a look because we heard the old turtle's movement; I didn't expect there to be two."

"Sharp-tongued—" The old monk examined Li Xuewu's face carefully for the first time, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said meaningfully, "The benefactor is not a kind person."

"If you hadn't looked at the gun on my waist while speaking, I would have believed you were an enlightened high monk," Li Xuewu curled his lip, told Li Shu not to play by the lake, coaxed his son in his arms, stared at his daughter, and said, "Stop playing tricks on me—"

"How about it? Have you seen it?"

Old Zhang looked at his silent old friend, his eyes full of the look of watching a good show, his mouth carrying an unclear smile as he said, "That's a toad!"

"Hmm, learned something—"

The old monk nodded, looked at the scarred-faced young man who was holding his children and getting up to chase his daughter, turned back to his old friend, and said, "Hard fate and a cruel heart, definitely not an ordinary person."

"Then you guessed right—"

Old Zhang laughed, continued to stare at the chessboard, and didn't even care about the fishing rod by his feet.

The old monk also withdrew his gaze from the father and his two children and stared at the chessboard; the board was very intense, and for a full ten minutes, the two old men had been frowning and thinking.

It wasn't until Li Xuewu saw Han Jiankun appear at the entrance steps, walking the two children back, and passing by the chess stall, that he heard Old Zhang ask, "Whose turn is it?"

Unexpectedly, the old monk also had a blank face: "I don't know either."

"I asked myself before, whether to start a family first or establish a career first."

Li Xuewu waved his hand, signaling Wang Lu and Zhao Yajun not to be polite, and they sat on the sofa.

"Starting a family first has its benefits: childhood sweethearts, young couples, deep feelings, working together to build a career, and moving toward a good life."

Seeing Qin Jingru prepare tea for the two, he grabbed the melon seeds and candy from the tea tray and gave them to the two.

"Establishing a career first also has its benefits."

Li Xuewu crossed his right leg, leaned on the sofa, and said with a smile, "With a successful career, full of spirit, choosing a beautiful person to spend a lifetime with."

Zhao Yajun was still under pressure in front of Li Xuewu and sat straight.

Conversely, Wang Lu, because she worked opposite Li Xuewu's office and often sent materials to the office, saw him often.

Especially since her personality was bright and generous, calling Li Xuewu "Second Brother" was very natural and intimate; she was a good girl who knew how to recognize relatives.

At this moment, both were listening carefully to him speak, with respect for his status and admiration for his ability.

After all, Li Xuewu was now a leader, the goal for all young people in the factory to strive for, and a model to learn from.

Li Xuewu examined the two and concluded with a smile, "Later I figured it out too: whether to start a family first or establish a career first, it doesn't matter which comes first."

"Starting a family first seeks a virtuous wife and mother; establishing a career first is for the sake of starting a family and establishing a career," he said with a tone of earnest instruction, "If you reverse the reading of 'virtuous wife and mother' and 'starting a family and establishing a career,' everything becomes clear."

After Zhao Yajun and Wang Lu recited it in their hearts, they couldn't help but be stunned, and then looked at each other, both understanding the meaning of Second Brother's words.

Looking at their smiling faces and somewhat shy expressions, Li Xuewu nodded with satisfaction, skipped this topic, and chatted about daily life.

"My uncle won't let me go."

When mentioning Li Xuewu's next arrangement, Wang Lu also complained somewhat, "He said I can't always trouble you."

"Your uncle is being politely fake."

Li Xuewu smiled, held his daughter who had leaned over, and said, "If he were really afraid of troubling me, he wouldn't have come to me for help in the first place."

He pointed at Zhao Yajun and introduced him to Li Shu, "Call this Uncle, and call this Aunt."

"Uncle, Aunt—"

Li Shu had a sweet mouth and wasn't afraid of seeing strangers; whatever Li Xuewu taught her to call them, she called them with a smile.

The two had been here for a while, and Wang Lu was no longer a stranger to Li Shu and Li Ning; she smiled and took Li Shu from his hands.

Zhao Yafang should have instructed the two before they came, so seeing Li Shu, neither showed excessive surprise or curiosity.

Li Shu also liked the beautiful and cheerful Wang Lu and sat on her lap, chattering away.

"You are so beautiful—"

It could be seen that although there was surprise in Wang Lu's eyes, there was more genuine love for this doll.

Li Shu was most proud when others praised her for being beautiful; her little shoulders shrugged, and she couldn't suppress the corner of her mouth.

"What are the arrangements for Yajun next?"

Li Xuewu smiled at Wang Lu and his daughter, turned his head, and asked the somewhat reserved Zhao Yajun, "Did your section chief talk to you?"

"Yes, Li Kezhang Zhou asked for my opinion," Zhao Yajun listened to Second Brother asking about work and put down his teacup to answer seriously, "I still want to stay in the factory guard team."

"Haven't you heard since you came back?"

Li Xuewu glanced at him and reminded him, "The security group is going to undergo a group-based organizational structure reform in the next two years, establishing a unified management framework."

"That is, the Security General Team, Firefighting General Team, and Inspection General Team."

He reminded Zhao Yajun, "You have to think clearly; this is a rare opportunity."

"I understand what you mean."

Zhao Yajun thought for a while, raised his head to look at him, and said, "But I don't have much education, and I can't sit still in the office; I only have this strength to use."

"Hmm, it still depends on your willingness."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "Things you don't like doing won't have your heart in them, and it will be counterproductive. You should go to the Security General Team."

He agreed with Zhao Yajun's choice, then looked at Wang Lu and said with a smile, "Tell your section chief to hand over the work at hand, and you can come to the Management Office. I'll talk to your uncle about that side."

"Thank you, Second Brother—"

Wang Lu didn't fake politeness and agreed with a smile.

Li Xuewu's intention to take care of her was very obvious; even Zhao Yajun could see it and said thank you very embarrassedly.

Taking care of her was genuine; Wang Lu wasn't as resilient as Zhao Yajun, and with her personality, she would suffer sooner or later without a few years of tempering and growth.

Keeping her by his side wouldn't cause people to say anything; after all, she wasn't his own younger sister, nor his own sister-in-law, and there was the relationship with Xia Zhongquan.

Gu Ning heard the movement downstairs, finished her work, and hurried down to greet them, accompanying them to chat about daily life.

Although Wang Lu had learned about the situation in this family from her sister-in-law before coming, she was still a bit nervous and surprised when facing the elegant, virtuous, and quiet Gu Ning, not as bright and cheerful as when talking to Li Xuewu.

Gu Ning saw Wang Lu for the first time; she had long heard about her foolish deeds, but also understood that this was a girl with a simple heart, so she couldn't help but look at her a few more times.

At the dinner table, Li Xuewu asked about the two's plans; Zhao Yajun answered little, while Wang Lu said more.

It was mid-March now, and the two planned to get married on May 1st.

The house was prepared by Wang Lu's family; to keep Zhao Yajun from feeling awkward, they used the excuse that Wang Lu had burned the house down, which counted as compensation from the in-laws.

Actually, the Zhao family also understood that the eldest son had found a good father-in-law.

They didn't let Zhao Yajun refuse the father-in-law's good intentions, and they also understood the Wang family's good intentions in taking care of their daughter. Zhao Gen brought his wife, Yin Xiumei, to the city to specifically meet the in-laws.

Wang Lu had good parents, and Zhao Yajun's parents weren't bad either.

The two sides of the in-laws sat together without any meaning of disdain or inferiority, and their interaction was very close.

So the two's marriage was settled like this.

Today they came to visit Li Xuewu, meaning to thank the matchmaker.

It has to be said that Li Xuewu was a good matchmaker, pointing at a pair and succeeding, with a success rate of one hundred percent, far ahead.

(End of chapter)