Chapter 1402: Willing to Risk One's Butt

"How many bowls of rice can you eat in one meal?"

Fu Zhidong looked at Banggeng curiously and asked: "Can you eat three bowls?"

"What's three bowls of rice? I can eat six bowls in one meal!"

Banggeng curled his lips, glanced at the kitchen, and said to the child beside him: "I'm afraid I'll eat your family into poverty."

"So amazing! —"

Fu Zhidong really looked at him with a look of worship, widened his eyes and asked: "How do you eat it?!"

"Nonsense, of course I eat it with my mouth." Banggeng slanted his eyes and said: "Could it be that I eat it with my butt—"

"Pfft—" Fu Zhidong couldn't help but laugh out loud, then felt that Banggeng was really rude, looked the other party up and down, and the look in his eyes was uncontrollably strange.

Banggeng could naturally feel the disdain from this little brat, but he had recently understood a truth, which was that when people are under the eaves, they have to bow their heads.

Eating other people's rice, one has to endure other people's white eyes.

He used to be like a little emperor in his own home, but he had never suffered such anger. However, it was acceptable.

Wu Shu was busy every day, leaving early and returning late, and had no time to pay attention to him. Aunt Zhou was also busy, besides housework, she also had to go to the wharf and the company. His task every day was to run around blindly with Aunt Zhou.

Wu Shu naturally had nothing to say to him, and Aunt Zhou was not bad to him either, especially in life, and even bought him new clothes.

Except for not knowing his appetite on the first day, the staple food at home had doubled since then, allowing him to eat his fill.

They all say that a half-grown boy can eat his father to death; he was at the age where he ate lunch at 11:30 and was hungry by 12:00.

Saying it was a grievance was helpless. Actually, thinking about it in his heart, it had been a week since he came to this home. Except for Wu Shu and Aunt Zhou not treating him as a child, he really couldn't pick out any faults.

Perhaps only the little brat beside him treated him as a child, but he didn't bother to be regarded as the same kind of person by the other party.

What kind of future could a child who feels guilty even when saying a dirty word have? Only he, Banggeng, could be considered a man.

Being despised by a little brat, he could only swallow his anger. After all, this was Aunt Zhou's child.

"I want to ask you something, but you have to keep it a secret—"

Banggeng glanced at the kitchen and the study, then asked Fu Zhidong in a low voice: "Who do you sleep with at night?"

"I'm by myself, what for?" Fu Zhidong looked at him vigilantly and reminded him: "If you are afraid to sleep alone at night, just turn on the light. Don't think about me accompanying you."

"Who is afraid!" Banggeng widened his eyes, as if this slander was even more important than the question he wanted to ask just now, and explained hard: "I don't even fear sleeping in a graveyard!"

"Bragging—" Fu Zhidong curled his lips and said with full suspicion: "Since you said so, can I follow you to the graveyard in the middle of the night to watch you sleep? You're lying."

"Pfft—" Banggeng shook his head and said: "Wu Shu slept in a graveyard when he was a child. This is the tradition of the children in our hutong to practice courage. You don't understand a ball—"

"Courage still needs practice? That's just having no courage—"

Fu Zhidong always had something to say. He looked Banggeng up and down and said: "You really are afraid to sleep alone at night."

"Go, go, go—" Banggeng waved his hand impatiently, and then remembered the question he wanted to ask.

"What was I just about to ask? I almost forgot."

He leaned over again and asked softly: "You sleep alone, then Aunt Zhou and Wu Shu..."

"Zhidong, Jia Geng, it's time to eat."

Just as Banggeng was about to ask the question that had been in his mind for these days, Aunt Zhou's voice came from the kitchen.

Although his question wasn't finished, Fu Zhidong already knew what he wanted to ask.

"What do you want to ask?" He looked at Banggeng, and seeing the panic in the other party's eyes, said lightly: "I'm still young, I don't understand. I'll help you ask Wu Shu later."

"Better not, it's nothing."

Banggeng knew that his curiosity was wrong. Aunt Zhou had already warned him not to go upstairs.

The surface meaning of this sentence was not to let him go upstairs, and the deep meaning was not to ask about the family's affairs.

He understood the surface meaning that day. The deep meaning was that he often saw Wu Shu resting upstairs these days, and thinking of his mother and that person at home, he was always very curious.

Of course, he also knew that this kind of curiosity was not liked by adults, so he hurriedly stopped Fu Zhidong at this moment.

Fu Zhidong looked at him lightly, got up and walked toward the study, and then the sound of him calling his uncle to eat came.

Banggeng looked at that look, and this maturity that far exceeded his age. For some reason, he was even a bit afraid of him.

Li Xuewu came out of the study, smiled and put his arm around his godson's shoulder, saying: "Is the winter vacation actually not easy to pass?"

"Hehe—" In front of his godfather, Fu Zhidong had already changed into a child's smile. "It's a bit lonely."

He pulled his godfather's hand on his shoulder and said: "I want to have a vacation when I'm in school, and I want to go to school when I'm on vacation. It's truly annoying."

"Hmm, I also had this kind of annoyance when I was in school." Li Xuewu nodded very understandingly and said: "But the time I was in school has passed for a long time."

He patted his godson's shoulder, signaled to Banggeng who was walking from the sofa, and said: "If you want to solve this annoyance, you can consult your Big Brother Banggeng. He has very rich experience."

"Actually, it's not that rich—"

Banggeng was a bit embarrassed when Wu Shu praised him like this, the corners of his mouth tilted up slightly and he said: "It's nothing more than skipping class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, choosing to skip on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and don't let the teacher find the parents on Sunday."

"Look, I said your Big Brother Banggeng has rich experience—" Li Xuewu smiled and said to his godson: "Don't think that the technique of skipping class is simple. You have to experiment with your butt. And you have to experiment once every semester. You have to be willing to lose face and be willing to risk your butt."

"Can you teach my son something good?"

Zhou Wang Yamei stood at the entrance of the dining room and glared at Li Xuewu: "He's only in the second grade, and you're teaching him to skip school?"

"And you, Jia Geng." She looked at Banggeng again and emphasized: "You are not allowed to teach your younger brother to skip school. That is wrong."

"Hmm, it's wrong." Banggeng was now a wall-grass. Whoever was serious between Aunt Zhou and Wu Shu, he would lean toward that side. At this moment, seeing Aunt Zhou reminding him very seriously, he hurriedly nodded in agreement and said to Fu Zhidong: "Look, I really regret skipping school back then. I regret it so much that—my intestines have turned green."

"Really or fake?" Fu Zhidong looked him up and down and said: "Why didn't I see the look of regret on your face? It looks more like you regret skipping school too late?"

"You can even see this?"

Banggeng widened his eyes and looked at him in disbelief, as if he were looking at a little god in "Journey to the West."

Zhou Wang Yamei and Li Xuewu looked at each other and curled their lips together. Is this the effect of having one more child in the family?

Banggeng coming to the family did bring many inconveniences to Zhou Wang Yamei. Not only did she have to prepare an extra portion for cooking and laundry, but also double the reminders to study hard and develop good habits.

She is a psychologist. Although she is not as professionally sick as some doctors, she also has good living habits.

Don't say that Qin Huairu won't serve children, and don't say that the family conditions of the two families are vastly different. Just say that a half-grown boy like Banggeng is at the age of not being hygienic.

Clothes are dirty and he doesn't know how to change them, underwear can be worn for several days, he only washes one spot when washing his face, and only folds the four corners when folding the quilt.

Just say brushing teeth. Zhou Wang Yamei asked him to brush his teeth at night, but Banggeng's answer was that he was too lazy to brush even in the morning.

Since Banggeng entered this home, Banggeng felt constrained, and Zhou Wang Yamei also felt tired. It would be better for Fu Zhidong to be brought up by her side, and the habits had already been formed.

She is now very afraid that because of Banggeng's arrival, Fu Zhidong will develop a rebellious psychology toward his previous life.

Banggeng, who is in the early stage of puberty, already has rebellious manifestations in his personality, which can easily lead other children astray.

The living environment and educational environment that Fu Zhidong has been exposed to since childhood were carefully selected and maintained by Zhou Wang Yamei.

It's not that Fu Zhidong hasn't heard people scolding, nor that he can't scold, but that Zhou Wang Yamei warned him seriously the first time she heard him scolding, and also taught him how to be an excellent person.

Just in the week that Banggeng came, Zhou Wang Yamei had heard him scolding dirty words countless times from this kid's mouth.

Just in the one week since Banggeng arrived, Zhou Wang Yamei has already heard this kid curse countless times.

Every time Zhou Wang Yamei would remind him, or teach him when doing housework together at night, and tell him tirelessly like ear-to-ear instructions.

Saying it was tireless, actually Banggeng was annoyed and she was annoyed.

No way, Banggeng couldn't leave Li Xuewu, and Zhou Wang Yamei couldn't tolerate low quality, so they could only collide head-on like this.

Fortunately, there is a great god Li Xuewu in this house, so Banggeng didn't dare to be presumptuous, and didn't dare to talk back or throw a face at Zhou Wang Yamei.

Even if he was unhappy, he just lowered his head and didn't speak. Whenever Zhou Wang Yamei called him, he would respond actively.

But what comforted Zhou Wang Yamei was that this child could still be saved, and essentially he wasn't a bad child.

If Banggeng was really that kind of spoiled, incorrigible bad kid, even if Li Xuewu wasn't willing, she would have to drive Banggeng out. Bad people are not allowed in this house, except for Li Xuewu.

Today, Banggeng could take the initiative to talk to her about reading, which was a manifestation of progress and enlightenment. And she also found that the frequency of Banggeng saying dirty words in front of her was getting less and less, which was also a progress.

She is not a perfectionist, and even less a moral saint. She knows that men should be masculine, but masculine doesn't mean rude, and one cannot be full of dirty words casually.

Even a man like Li Xuewu who grew up as a little hooligan wouldn't say dirty words easily. What can't be taught to Banggeng?

The reason why he hasn't been regulated at this age is entirely due to the lack of family education. It is indeed Qin Huairu's dereliction of duty.

Actually, Zhou Wang Yamei didn't have any difference in life and speech norms for Banggeng and Fu Zhidong. It's just that Fu Zhidong already knew how to protect himself without using dirty words at the age of 8, while Banggeng didn't know at the age of 13, which shows that he lacks a sense of security.

Having one more child, besides these inconveniences, also brought some joy and fun, and a few more points of liveliness.

No, it shouldn't be said that it brought a few more points of liveliness, it should be ten, dozens of points. This kid Banggeng is too lively.

It's not that he speaks loudly, jumps up and down, but the jokes and liveliness he brings himself.

Dinner time, at the round table in the dining room, Li Xuewu and Zhou Wang Yamei had already put down their chopsticks after Banggeng finished his third bowl of rice, and only Fu Zhidong was accompanying him.

And Zhou Wang Yamei looked at Banggeng, who was going to serve rice again, and couldn't help but widen her eyes, thinking, is the dinner tonight very delicious?

Is it possible that her craftsmanship has improved?

Impossible. Li Xuewu and Fu Zhidong are the same as usual. Is it possible that Banggeng is hungry?

Just as she was thinking, Banggeng had already finished this bowl of rice quickly under Fu Zhidong's encouragement and admiration.

"Jia Geng—" Looking at the child going to serve rice again, Zhou Wang Yamei said worriedly: "Are you very hungry?"

"Hmm, not full yet." Banggeng looked back at her and said: "Can I eat another bowl?"

"You can eat two more bowls, just don't overeat." Zhou Wang Yamei got up and handed him a glass of warm water, reminding him: "The food at home is not lacking. I won't limit you from eating at any time, but you must not eat until you have a stomachache. You will suffer yourself."

"Then I'll eat two more bowls at the end."

Seeing Aunt Zhou agree, Banggeng smiled and went to serve rice. He felt that the rice at Aunt Zhou's house was better than his own.

Fu Zhidong raised his eyebrows excitedly. Although he didn't dare to cheer out loud, he was waiting for Banggeng to break the record.

Li Xuewu and Zhou Wang Yamei didn't know what happened, just felt curious about Banggeng's situation, which was different from usual.

Zhou Wang Yamei glanced at him and reminded him with a smile: "You have to work hard to earn money, otherwise I won't be able to support you."

"Hehe—" Li Xuewu said with a light smile: "Eat with peace of mind. Even ten more kids won't eat me into poverty."

"It won't eat you into poverty, but it will tire me out—"

Zhou Wang Yamei rolled her eyes at him and handed the warm water to Banggeng, who had returned from serving rice: "Drink some water first to smooth your stomach."

"Aunt Zhou, don't worry, my appetite is big."

Banggeng put down his rice bowl and gestured with his hand: "Buns this big, my grandma made them, I can eat 12."

"Wow—" Before Zhou Wang Yamei and Li Xuewu could speak, Fu Zhidong was surprised first. He stood up from the stool, looked at Banggeng and said: "12! You mean this big?"

Seeing Banggeng nod proudly, he curled his lips, looked at his mother and said: "Can I invite him to perform talent at our school? Just perform eating buns, it will definitely scare them!"

"Eat well, don't make trouble."

Zhou Wang Yamei glared and emphasized: "Eating is for health and physical needs, not for talent performance."

She seemed to see something, turned to Banggeng and said: "Eating too little affects health, and eating too much also affects health. You don't want to become a little short fat pig because you eat too much, right?"

"Little—short—fat—pig?"

Banggeng was startled, looked at Aunt Zhou and asked: "My grandma said that eating more can make me grow tall, how can I be short?"

"It's no problem to eat a little more at your age, but eating too much affects development."

Zhou Wang Yamei signaled to Li Xuewu beside her: "If you don't believe me, ask your Wu Shu how he grew tall."

"Wu Shu—" Banggeng and Fu Zhidong were both curious about this question and looked at Li Xuewu together.

Li Xuewu said amusedly: "Eating too much is indeed not good, but growing tall is related to parents."

Fu Zhidong also had ambitions for height, and turned to look at his mother, thinking of his mother's height, because he didn't have a father.

Not coincidentally, Banggeng was the same. He could only think of his mother's height, but couldn't remember how tall his father was.

From the time he could remember, his father was just a photo.

The two children fell silent together, making Zhou Wang Yamei's face darken a bit. She could never make up for the lack of fatherly love.

"Besides genetic factors, maintaining physical exercise can also promote healthy physical development."

Li Xuewu said with a smile: "Actually, neither of my parents were as tall as the three of us brothers. It has a certain relationship with our love for exercise."

"Wow—" Fu Zhidong regained his spirit and looked at him expectantly: "Then I also want to exercise."

"Me too—" Banggeng looked at him, eager to try, very afraid that Fu Zhidong would grow tall and he would become short.

Whether it's eight years old or thirteen years old, they are all children. A word from an adult can change their mentality.

Zhou Wang Yamei glanced at Li Xuewu, got up to clean up the kitchen, leaving the three of them at the dining table to discuss the collective exercise that would start tomorrow morning.

"How do you plan to arrange him?"

Zhou Wang Yamei gathered her scattered hair, came out of the bathroom, and looked at Li Xuewu, who was leaning on the head of the bed yawning.

"Who? Banggeng?" Li Xuewu blinked, lay down, and said: "Let's see first."

"There should be a goal, right?" Zhou Wang Yamei took hand oil from the dressing table and applied it to the back of her hand, sat on the edge of the bed while wiping, and looked at Li Xuewu sideways: "It's better to let me know how to lay a foundation for him. Cultivation also needs a direction."

"Like that—" Li Xuewu curled his lips and said: "Do you still want to cultivate him into some high-achieving student?"

"That depends on what you need."

Zhou Wang Yamei shook her head with a smile, proudly: "Didn't you find that I only used one week to help him cultivate the habit of reading?"

"Don't be happy too early—"

Li Xuewu pointed at her and said with a smile: "This child is a famous naughty kid. His interest is likely only aimed at that one book. If you change to another one, it might not work."

"That doesn't matter. Good interests are cultivated, and good children are praised."

Zhou Wang Yamei raised her eyebrows and said to Li Xuewu: "Do you believe I can cultivate him into a talent?"

"Use him as an experiment?" Li Xuewu had already seen her idea and asked with raised eyebrows: "Will it be a loss?"

He sat up and said: "With this time and energy, you could have cultivated two useful people."

"That depends on what kind of person it is."

Zhou Wang Yamei turned back and lay in his arms, looked up at him and said: "Even if I cultivate Zhou Changli, can you trust him?"

She asked so straightforwardly: "Furthermore, if I cultivate someone else, can you still trust me?"

"Hehe—" Li Xuewu pointed at the tip of her nose and said with a light smile: "Note, don't say things that affect unity."

How did that saying go?

Hmm, Mr. Lu Xun said, hard work may not be seen, but rest will definitely be seen.

Banggeng had already forgotten last night's lofty aspirations. Fu Zhidong was still in a daze when he came to call him to get up.

"Exercise! Grow tall!"

Fu Zhidong had already changed his clothes. Seeing Banggeng's expression, he put on a running posture to remind him.

"Ah?" Banggeng hadn't woken up yet, his eyes full of confusion when looking at Fu Zhidong.

"Little—short—fat—pig—"

Although Fu Zhidong didn't have a biological father to be a role model, he had a godfather, but his godfather didn't teach him anything good.

Just this poisonous mouth, and the skill of observing people's hearts inherited and learned from his mother, were formidable.

Seeing Banggeng sitting there without moving, just one sentence ignited the enthusiasm of this little fat pig.

It's just that this enthusiasm was a bit violent. Where would a thirteen-year-old boy have too many scruples? One sentence almost caused a human life.

Li Xuewu changed into sportswear and came down from upstairs. The fierce battle last night didn't bring him any fatigue.

The gold content of the sentence "youth is capital" was fully reflected. Seeing Zhou Wang Yamei's spirit in the morning without exercise was enough to prove that he was still young and had strength.

It's just, what's the situation with this kid Banggeng?

At a young age, why is he sleepy-eyed, looking more tired than him who worked overtime last night?

"Do you want to go back and sleep for a while?"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and looked at the big-faced cat: "I'm afraid you'll die in your sleep halfway."

"Better not—" Zhou Wang Yamei carried the hot water bottle out of the kitchen and said amusedly: "I'm also afraid he'll die in his sleep on the bed, then my house will be ruined."

"Aunt Zhou—" Banggeng called out with a slightly dissatisfied voice.

Hmm, puberty, also the voice-changing period. This kid's voice is changing from a little boy to a duck voice.

"You really should exercise well." Zhou Wang Yamei reminded him with a smile: "You were panting after going around the wharf, and people were calling you a little fat pig."

"I know—" Banggeng followed Wu Shu and the active Fu Zhidong out the door to run.

It's truly rare. In this era, there is no shortage of old men and old women going to the park to do Tai Chi and gymnastics, but there are very few young people running in the morning. Today, there were three on the big road far away.

Indeed, as Zhou Wang Yamei said, this kid Banggeng started to shout tired after running for less than five minutes, panting.

"Do you want me to call a stretcher for you?"

Li Xuewu stopped his steps amusedly and turned back to Banggeng: "Is this how you look when you fight at school?"

"Who—who fights—by running—" Banggeng was already out of breath, and answering Wu Shu's words was also reluctant.

Li Xuewu asked amusedly: "It's okay if you can beat them, what if you can't?"

"Hard—hard carry—" Banggeng supported his knees with both hands, panting like a cow, sweating like rain.

This is only the second month of the lunar calendar. How did that sentence describe the second month?

I say you are the second month of the human world; the laughter lights up the wind on all sides... No, that's the fourth month.

Oh, right, it should be this sentence:

The spring breeze of the second month is like scissors, cutting hair and still being coquettish.

"Tomorrow I will lead a dog from the Security Division." Li Xuewu smiled evilly at Banggeng: "If you run slowly, be careful that your butt loses a piece of meat."

"Ah—" Banggeng wailed painfully: "Uncle, are you walking the dog or walking me—"

When Zhang Enyuan and Yu Zhe came to pick up Li Xuewu for work, they found that the kid from the new family was a bit unusual.

How to put it? He was tired and sticking out his tongue.

Perhaps it was because of the fierce exercise in the morning, the first long-distance run made Banggeng very uncomfortable.

He ate less breakfast than usual, his spirit was a bit empty, looking like he was going on strike.

Zhou Wang Yamei and Li Xuewu didn't pay attention to him, only Fu Zhidong seemed to have found a playmate, muttering to continue tomorrow.

"Secretary-General, good morning."

Zhang Enyuan knocked on the door and entered the room. The first thing he saw when standing in the entrance was Li Xuewu, and then he nodded to Zhou Wang Yamei and greeted: "Ms. Zhou, good morning."

"Secretary Zhang, good morning." Zhou Wang Yamei nodded with a smile: "Have you eaten breakfast?"

"I've already eaten, thank you."

Zhang Enyuan said this almost every time he came to the house, and was very polite to Zhou Wang Yamei.

Describing him with a "seven-aperture exquisite heart" is not appropriate, because no one has ever said that about him after mixing in the agency for so many years, and he hasn't shown a very clever side either.

If he were smart enough and ruthless enough, he wouldn't have sat in the office for half his life.

He was able to quickly adapt to his current position after Li Xuewu pointed him out, entirely relying on his accumulation over the years.

Zhang Enyuan firmly believes in one sentence: diligence can make up for clumsiness.

As long as he is diligent enough, even if he is a bit stupid and slow, the leader won't blame him.

So every morning, he arrives at the office first to clean up, prepare hot tea, and then comes here with Yu Zhe.

Unlike Yu Zhe who sits in the car waiting for the leader, as soon as the car stops, he opens the car door. After ringing the doorbell, he follows the Secretary-General's previous instructions to open the courtyard gate and walk into the courtyard.

The Secretary-General told him that he could come to the house to pick him up, so he followed the leader's meaning and only walked to the entrance and stopped.

"There is a lot of work today, I might come back a bit late." Li Xuewu looked at his watch, put on his overcoat with Zhou Wang Yamei's help, and instructed: "You take them to eat."

"If work ends early, you can call home, so I can prepare dinner."

Zhou Wang Yamei also instructed him, and quickly helped him tidy up the wrinkles on his overcoat.

Zhang Enyuan stood respectfully to the side until he took the leader's briefcase from Ms. Zhou's hand, then turned and opened the room door and waited to the side.

Yu Zhe's butt is heavy, and he won't easily come down to open the car door. He still has to run a few steps to open the car door in front of Li Xuewu at the right time and invite the Secretary-General to get in the car.

"Secretary-General, good morning—"

Yu Zhe turned his head and greeted Li Xuewu, who was getting in the car, and then started the car after Zhang Enyuan got in.

The Volga M24 drove along the road, which was still quite spacious, and went straight to the Metallurgical Plant as usual.

Like other secretaries, Zhang Enyuan also likes to connect with the leader about the day's itinerary and yesterday's work summary in the car.

This point was taught to him privately by Han Zhan, the person in charge of the Security Division, who is the only person he can contact who has worked with the Secretary-General.

Han Zhan told him about the work situation and habits of the Secretary-General's first secretary, who is now the person in charge of the International Department of the Group Sales General Corporation, Comrade Sha Qizhi, which gave him a bottom line and made adjustments according to his own situation.

Li Xuewu doesn't have the habit of making things difficult for his secretary. Whether it is in the form of a briefing or a report, he recognizes it. The difference lies in the arrangement of time.

The higher the position in the Group, the less freedom of time, and the more influence the secretary has on him.

Choosing Zhang Enyuan as his secretary when coming to the Steel City to work was mainly because he was old and steady enough in doing things.

Sure enough, as he had expected, Zhang Enyuan, this secretary, was steady enough and very experienced in doing things.

"The work meeting is scheduled for 9 o'clock in the morning." Zhang Enyuan put the most important work at the end and asked Li Xuewu for instructions: "Do you have any special requirements?"

"It's just a normal meeting, no need to be so nervous." Li Xuewu put down the documents in his hand, looked up and instructed him: "Help me contact Factory Director Xiao of Fengcheng Machinery."

Watching Zhang Enyuan take out his notebook, he slowed down his speech and said: "I will go to Fengcheng on the evening of the 5th. Please ask him to contact Director Hu Ke of Liaodong Industry on my behalf, and I will visit Director Lu on the 6th."

"Then I will adjust your itinerary for the 5th and 6th." Zhang Enyuan recorded quickly, and asked: "Should the itinerary for the 7th also be postponed appropriately?"

"Hmm, let's see—"

Li Xuewu nodded slowly, looked out the car window and said: "I should be able to make it back on

Li Xuewu nodded slowly, looked out the car window, and said, "I should be able to make it back by the evening of the 6th."

This statement was also very vague, because travel is extremely inconvenient due to the traffic conditions of this era.

There aren't many expressways; the road from Fengcheng to Steel City was originally a dirt-based gravel surface, built during the time of the "Little Devils," and later developed frost boil problems due to insufficient maintenance, then rebuilt into a gravel-based road in 1950.

Large trucks can barely manage on it; for Li Xuewu's high-end sedan, a round trip of over two hundred kilometers is a test for the car, and also a test for the person.

If you're talking about taking the train, the limitations are even greater; passenger train services in this day and age aren't as frequent as in later generations.

There are plenty of freight trains, though; the route from Fengcheng to Steel City is still a major railway transport line in the Northeast.

But Li Xuewu can't exactly take his secretary back and forth on a freight train now; it's not that he can't endure hardship, it's just unnecessary.

Now you should know why the vehicle failure rate in this era is so high, right? The quality of the cars is one aspect, but the roads are also a problem.

Li Xuewu has already set the tone for the Group's Liaodong industry, and today he can also set the rules for the Metallurgical Plant.

Then the next step is to connect with the local authorities, open up the situation as soon as possible, let this pool of water flow, and let the economy develop.

Who says industrial enterprises don't need to develop the economy? It is precisely these industrial enterprises that should pay the most attention to economic work.

Li Xuewu emphasized in the industrial development plan that all industrial enterprises of the Group in Liaodong should actively and proactively contact the Group's Sales Corporation, Engineering and Construction Corporation, and other enterprises to provide new ideas during the process of local development and construction.

To put it bluntly, it's about helping each other expand business scope; factories have unique geographical advantages locally, while the Sales Corporation and Engineering and Construction Corporation have Group resources that factories lack—cooperation between the two is the most reasonable work layout.

The reverse is also true; the Sales Corporation and other enterprises will also help factories achieve greater profit plans.

Li Xuewu already stated at yesterday's meeting that he won't take the account books of the various industrial enterprises, but he will manage how they live their lives; whoever can't manage their household well shouldn't blame him for reaching too far and needing to help them manage it.

He doesn't care how Dong Wenxue viewed the business linkage between industrial enterprises and the Group's Sales Corporation in the past; starting with him, an integrated and centralized cooperation system must be built and normalized, and only by achieving market coverage across the entire Northeast can they pursue the coveting and development of the Northeast Asian market.

That's right, he still hasn't forgotten the Northeast Asian market; this is the only way for the Northeast to maintain its rise and high-speed development, and in the absence of a breakthrough in foreign relations, prioritizing economic and trade development is perfectly feasible.

This opinion wasn't proposed by Li Xuewu, but was a remark made by Mr. Zhou at the symposium with the Japanese trade delegation in Beijing.

Developing industry, developing technology, and developing the economy—the Red Star Steel Group perfectly fits the policy requirements; the economic portion of the first "Three-Year Plan" has already been completed ahead of schedule according to progress, and the first "Five-Year Plan" is also advancing in an orderly and steady manner.

The draft of the second "Three-Year Plan" has already passed the discussion of the Group's Management Committee, and the next step is expert argumentation.

In the second half of this year, the second "Three-Year Plan" will be announced; those will be the three critical years for the Group's take-off and development.

During these three years, the enterprise will complete its transformation into a Group, continuously revise its development path, and actively accumulate strength, aiming to achieve steady improvement and rapid progress in the next three years.

For the Red Star Steel Group to achieve continuous growth in industry and the economy, the first difficulty to overcome is the management of industrial enterprises.

Although the Group has established professional sales, construction, and other companies, its foundation remains the light and heavy industrial cluster enterprises.

And the Group's foundation is in Liaodong, in Steel City; for Li Xuewu to achieve the take-off of industrial enterprises within the next three years, he must communicate well with the local authorities, link development, and progress in coordination.

In Zhang Enyuan's view, the Metallurgical Plant work meeting held today is more important, but in Li Xuewu's view, the problems of the Metallurgical Plant are not important; the development of the entire Group's Liaodong industry is more important.

As for the few kittens in the Metallurgical Plant—it's not that Li Xuewu looks down on them, it's that his status determines the long-term perspective of his vision.

The first work meeting of the Metallurgical Plant Management Committee for the New Year was held in the small conference room; attendees included the Group Secretary-General, Leader of the Liaodong Industrial Leading Group, Director of the Metallurgical Plant Management Committee, and Factory Director Li Xuewu; Deputy Director Yang Zongfang, in charge of fire, security, and inspection work; Deputy Director Yang Shuxing, in charge of service, engineering, and logistics work; Deputy Director Yin Zhongyao, in charge of organization, personnel, and propaganda work; Deputy Director Liu Yongnian, in charge of technology and production work; Deputy Director Wang Shuqiong, in charge of scheduling, sales, and marketing work; and Union Chairman Dou Changfang, in charge of the Workers' Union.

Liao Jinhui, Director of the Management Committee Office, attended as a non-voting delegate to take meeting minutes.

Li Xuewu is more particular about rules and more magnanimous than Li Huai; facing Dou Changfang, he didn't let the other party "get sick" and be hospitalized.

There are seven people on the Management Committee, each performing their own duties and holding their own ground, but because Li Xuewu's status is special, the original balance was completely disrupted, forming a situation where one family dominates.

Li Xuewu also gave them no room for discussion, appearing somewhat overbearing in his work, saying one thing and meaning it.

Some personnel appointments were simply mentioned to Yin Zhongyao and then delegated; this was even when he called Yin Zhongyao to his office for a talk, rather than going to the other party's office to discuss.

Yin Zhongyao felt uncomfortable, but was helpless; although Dong Xuewen was already a Deputy Director of the Group Management Committee when he left, that was achieved in Steel City, where everyone had face, the distinction in their levels wasn't so obvious, and work could be discussed.

But it's completely different with Li Xuewu; he even told people below that he had no face in front of the Secretary-General.

Face my ass; the Metallurgical Plant wasn't even enough for him to clean up alone, and everyone became a prop that just listened to orders.

Can you not be convinced? You can!

Look at Yang Zongfang, how is he? He wanted to use the death of his father-in-law to win the sympathy of the Group's leadership and turn around to set Li Xuewu up, but what was the result?

Li Xuewu not only easily resolved it, but also slapped him in the face, and he obediently came back to work.

If Yang Zongfang, who really lost his father-in-law, is like this, let alone the posturing Yang Shuxing.

Beijing is very far from Steel City, but information doesn't travel far; what happened in the hospital is known to everyone in Steel City.

The face Yang Shuxing lost this time is not small; after coming back, even the sound of his voice has weakened, and he is extremely unconfident.

It's just that Li Xuewu doesn't want to bother with him; otherwise, if he were to settle scores, it would be like peeling a layer of skin off him.

It's just that Li Xuewu doesn't say it, so will others not say it?

Yang Shuxing still has to ponder this matter himself; does he dare to make trouble again, and will Li Xuewu be this polite next time?

With these two being so obedient, Dou Changfang, who often complained about his seniority after Li Xuewu came to Steel City, also shut his mouth.

Dou Changfang's qualifications are indeed very old; he was already the Secretary when Li Xuewu came to Steel City to handle the Luo Jiaping case.

However, what does seniority have to do with work? Li Xuewu can be polite to old cadres, but the other party hasn't retired yet.

It's just that Dou Changfang is clever and restrained his attitude in time; otherwise, as the class monitor, he would have to express concern, resign on the other party's behalf to the Group Management Committee, and arrange for the other party to retire voluntarily.

Unlike the affability when holding meetings with Dong Wenxue, Li Xuewu got straight to the point as soon as he started.

"The first matter: starting from March, initiate the organizational structure reform of the Metallurgical Plant in accordance with the requirements and deployment of the Group Company."

He tapped the tabletop with his finger and said while looking at the documents at hand: "The Group requires that, in principle, the Management Committee structure be retained only at the Group management level; other branch factories and branch companies must all undergo reform and adjustment according to modern enterprises."

"That is to say, my term as Director of the Metallurgical Plant Management Committee has come to an end." When he reached this point, Li Xuewu scanned everyone and emphasized: "Including everyone present, deputy directors will be renamed deputy factory directors, and relevant business work will be adjusted."

Seeing that everyone was mentally prepared and had no objections, he then looked at the document and continued: "The second matter: according to the Group's unified requirements for the organizational structure reform of industrial enterprises, deputy factory directors will, in principle, only retain the scope of business work management."

"Secretary-General—"

"Listen to me finish."

Li Xuewu knew someone would want to speak when they heard this, but he didn't want to give them the chance.

The Metallurgical Plant had a transitional stage of Management Committee management during the process of the Red Star Plant's overall structure becoming a Group; this is a historical issue and has certain conflicts with modern management.

But whether the Metallurgical Plant's reform is thorough is already related to the progress of organizational structure reform for other enterprises in similar situations, such as the Yingcheng Shipyard.

Therefore, since Li Xuewu is at the Metallurgical Plant, he will start by cutting himself first, taking the lead in completing the promotion of organizational structure reform.

As for the different voices at the meeting, he is confident that he can suppress them; if they feel it's unfair, they can go to the Group to provide feedback.

It's just that he has already emphasized in his speech that this is work uniformly deployed by the Group; who are they going to find to express their opposition?

What is the fundamental contradiction of organizational structure reform?

It is the submissiveness of vested interest holders in the process of industrial enterprise management moving toward modernization and specialization.

Li Xuewu wants to cut off part of their business management and readjust the division of labor; will they be willing?