Chapter 1410: Worse than death

"Hmm, Qizhi, is something the matter?"

Li Xuewu heard Sha Qizhi's greeting on the phone and asked with a smile: "Don't tell me you're calling to wish me a Happy New Year?"

He looked at the documents on hand and raised his head, saying: "You never visit a temple without a cause."

"Yes, I accept the criticism." Sha Qizhi said apologetically: "I'm always troubling you, afraid of disturbing you, yet having no other way. I'm truly sorry, Secretary-General."

"Hehe—" Li Xuewu laughed lightly, "Go ahead, go ahead. Let me hear what kind of matter has made you, the General Manager of the International Business Department, feel so troubled."

"I really wouldn't dare to trouble you, but Deputy Director Gao was also troubled, so she asked me to consult you."

Sha Qizhi explained apologetically before detailing the purpose of today's call.

Li Xuewu listened very carefully, even putting down his work. Whatever could trouble Sha Qizhi definitely wasn't a small matter.

The soldiers he brought up—Han Yating, Xu Ning, Han Zhan, Wei Tong, and others—were from the business side and were all former colleagues from the Security Department. As for secretaries, there were only Sha Qizhi and Peng Xiaoli.

Peng Xiaoli was now the Deputy Section Chief of the Production Section of the Food Corporation, and Sha Qizhi was the General Manager of the International Business Department of the Sales Corporation.

If looking at their positions, Sha Qizhi and Xu Ning had the best development, while Han Yating was delayed.

Delayed by whom?

Who else but Ji Weidong?

Han Yating got married and had children, delaying her for a full two years. These two years were also the golden period of her career.

Xu Ning, from the same batch, was already the Deputy General Manager of the Energy Corporation and had the experience of training in Hong Kong, which was very useful.

Sha Qizhi, who also had the experience of special training in Hong Kong, had even propped up the sky of the Red Star Steel Group's foreign trade.

Whatever could trouble him and make him take the initiative to call Li Xuewu definitely wasn't a small matter.

Sure enough, Li Xuewu listened to his account and was thinking in his heart—Gao Yaqin's actions were really not small.

Of course, whether it was Gao Yaqin's move or Sha Qizhi's trouble, Li Xuewu didn't feel surprised.

Gao Yaqin was in charge of economic construction, and the Sales Corporation was under her jurisdiction, which naturally included Sha Qizhi.

Since Li Huai De served as the Director of the Management Committee in 1966, he had taken the lead in establishing the Economic Leading Group, with Deputy Directors including Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu.

In reality, at that time, the Red Star Plant's economic construction work was completed by Li Xuewu in cooperation with Jing Yunong. In the process of group formation and organizational structure change, Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu, according to Li Huai De's opinions and requirements, withdrew from economic construction management work, which was the position of the Economic Leading Group.

In fact, as the leaders in charge of finance and personnel, Jing Yunong could still offer opinions on the Group's economic construction work, and so could Li Xuewu as the Group Secretary-General.

However, after completing the division of labor, neither Jing Yunong nor Li Xuewu had directly interfered with the Group's economic construction work, which naturally included the Sales Corporation.

People in the organs were saying how many people Jing Deputy Director and the Secretary-General had promoted in the economic management sector and how great their influence was.

These words were a burden for Li Xuewu and Jing Yunong, and even more of a pressure for Gao Yaqin.

It wasn't obvious at ordinary times, but upon closer inspection, some unusual things could be discovered. For example, Sha Qizhi almost never contacted him through phone calls or other forms in the sales sector, and for another example, Gao Yaqin would communicate with him cautiously about some work.

Seeing this, Li Xuewu felt very helpless, and others felt very tired, but some things couldn't be said clearly.

Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu had made important contributions when they were in charge of the Red Star Plant's economic construction work, the most important of which was helping the Red Star Plant open up channels for foreign trade and building a formal mechanism for foreign cooperation.

Currently, the Group's sales sector was still operating along the ideas they had set at the beginning. This was an objective fact.

And in the few years Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu were in charge of economic construction, the total amount of foreign trade exports had exceeded 100 million. This was the greatest pressure Gao Yaqin faced after taking over the relevant work.

Whether in terms of the number of export targets or the growth of foreign trade, she had to make enough achievements to prove that the Group handing over economic construction work to her was correct.

This pressure was quite significant.

It took three years to make an order of over 100 million. Even if she were given three years, it wasn't certain she could make 200 million.

So Gao Yaqin was anxious. When a woman was anxious, she could do anything. She actually thought about snatching the clients of the Yangcheng Export Trade Fair. You say, was her courage big or not?

The Yangcheng Export Commodity Trade Fair was held in April and October each year. The one in April was called the Spring Trade Fair, and the one in October was called the Autumn Trade Fair.

Speaking of snatching clients, Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu had done this kind of thing, and had even done bad things like smashing the venue.

To date, the Red Star Plant had only participated in one Yangcheng Export Commodity Trade Fair, and it was precisely at that meeting that the Red Star Plant's products shone brightly, attracting the attention of many foreign businessmen.

In order to be able to safely withdraw from Hong Kong at a critical moment and try to avoid bearing any responsibility, the British could be said to have racked their brains.

On the issue of resettling the "meritorious officials" who once helped the British maintain public order, the British played dirty tricks.

During this period, there were about 20,000 to 30,000 public order management personnel in Hong Kong, including family members, there were 90,000 to 130,000. For the British, resettling them was not a small burden.

So the report suggested that besides helping them find a place to settle overseas, they shouldn't bear "any responsibility." The report also doubted the loyalty of these public order management personnel when the British withdrew, because they were not their own people after all.

This report also revealed the hypocrisy of the British on the issue of Hong Kong management. The report showed that the British firmly opposed free choice of managers in Hong Kong because they were worried that certain people would win the election.

This was diametrically opposed to the attitude the British later had on the Hong Kong issue. The Hong Kong Governor had no confidence at all in ensuring that the British had enough strong popular support in Hong Kong.

Old Li just happened to see through the British's guilty and hypocritical mentality, and wanted to repeat the old trick, feeling that Hong Kong's economy at this time, that is, the stock market's reaction, would definitely be very strong.

He was greedy for cheapness, ate a piece of fat meat with the Oriental Times Bank in the capital operation market the year before last, and felt that he could still get a fragrant bite this time. His thoughts couldn't be hidden at all.

Li Xuewu knew about this matter, but had no reaction, and didn't even lay out any plans within the Red Star Steel Group. Why was this?

It was very simple: history had already verified that the British's various worries were nothing more than "measuring a gentleman's belly with a villain's heart." The mother had never thought about raising her hand to teach the wandering son a lesson, nor could she cut off water and food to Hong Kong. The mainland had always hoped that Hong Kong could be prosperous and stable, and return to the embrace of the motherland step by step.

Therefore, Li Xuewu determined that these plans of the British would end in nothing. It was very likely that some people with ulterior motives in Britain were deliberately making trouble to increase their own value.

So, the matter had happened, and it would definitely cause some waves, but it absolutely couldn't stir up a stormy sea.

This didn't need to be thought about. As long as the mother didn't make a move first and remained still, it wouldn't cause any problems.

On the contrary, the British who were self-directed and acting, making a mess, were about to lose the hearts of the people and damage their own prestige.

Gao Yaqin had been staring at Li Xuewu's expression, but unfortunately, she didn't see even a trace of fluctuation on his face.

She was first surprised at Li Xuewu's well-informed news, being able to obtain such news almost simultaneously with Director Li.

And then, in Li Xuewu's silence, she gradually cooled down the radical ideas in her heart and became silent as well.

This silence precisely proved that she was even more surprised now than when she just realized Li Xuewu had channels to obtain this news.

Being able to remain calm and deal with it at such a critical time—at least she couldn't do it.

The news was revealed to her by Director Li. She naturally expressed extreme excitement, and then thought about how the Red Star Steel Group should break the situation in this change, and had many ideas in her head.

Based on these ideas, she gathered people overnight, consulted some previous materials, prepared a detailed economic work idea and method, and submitted the plan to Director Li.

After Director Li read the report she submitted, he didn't give an immediate reply, but asked her if she could take a trip to Steel City, because the plan she prepared was still based on the report generated from the summary of the last cooperation with the Hong Kong Oriental Times Bank.

Gao Yaqin wasn't very clear about what Director Li meant. Was he doubting her ability compared to Li Xuewu, or was he not sure of his own mind, asking her to bring this document to consult Li Xuewu?

But thinking along this line, whether it was the former or the latter, it proved that she was not as good as Li Xuewu.

This feeling was really too suffocating. It was under Director Li's insistence that she brought the document to Steel City.

Landing in Steel City, she and Sun Jian rushed to the Metallurgical Plant without stopping and found Li Xuewu who was working.

After both sides sat down, she only said one sentence!

Yes, that's right, she only said one sentence, and hadn't even had time to hand over the report in her hand. Facing Li Xuewu's silence, she had already completely calmed down and completely lost the confidence to take out the report and discuss it with Li Xuewu.

What else was there to take out? This obvious attitude was enough to show Li Xuewu's disapproval of this matter.

As for why Li Xuewu didn't approve, could it be that Li Xuewu had more foresight than her and Director Li?

No, it couldn't be said that way. It should be said that Li Xuewu had more long-term vision and foresight than her.

Compared to Director Li? Not necessarily.

Why say that? Because now that she recalled Director Li's expression and attitude at the time, she had a third guess.

That was: Director Li was just as excited as her when he first heard the news, but seeing the report she submitted, he thought of the Secretary-General far away in Hong Kong.

In determining that the news he could obtain, Li Xuewu could also receive, and Li Xuewu, who could also receive this news, had no reaction, which was a far cry from his usual wisdom.

Gao Yaqin had long heard that Director Li's trust in the Secretary-General on certain matters exceeded the imagination of ordinary people.

Previously, she didn't believe it, especially the things that happened before and after the New Year, which made her scoff at such remarks.

But now she discovered that it wasn't that Director Li's trust in the Secretary-General exceeded the imagination of ordinary people; it was clearly that Director Li regarded the Secretary-General as a god.

Ah, he first proposed that the opportunity was rare, and everyone followed him to jump high. When he discovered that some people didn't jump up, he instantly stopped jumping, but didn't have any intention of reminding them.

In total, traveling thousands of miles, Director Li was just sending her to Li Xuewu here to sober up?

Then was Director Li trusting the Secretary-General, or not trusting the Secretary-General, wanting her to come and explore the truth?

This point actually didn't need to be thought about. Although it was thousands of miles away, even if he was afraid that telephone communication would hinder confidentiality, the Red Star Steel Group had secret radio contact between several key plant areas.

In other words, if Director Li had obtained this news and wanted to do something, he should have contacted and communicated with the Secretary-General in the first place, rather than finding her to talk about it.

Therefore, Director Li himself didn't have much confidence in this matter; he was completely pushing her out to test the water.

Hmm, hmm, now she had become the one testing the water.

"Sha Zong contacted me a few days ago." Li Xuewu finally started speaking, but what he said wasn't the previous topic. The previous topic stopped at Gao Yaqin's first sentence.

Gao Yaqin's face turned gray for a few moments, and then she pulled herself together and paid attention to Li Xuewu's words.

"I don't know what your plan is." Li Xuewu looked at Gao Yaqin and asked: "Are you planning to establish a corresponding foreign trade service and management mechanism this year?"

"If it can be like this, of course, the faster the better." Gao Yaqin nodded and replied: "In fact, the conditions for establishing normalized foreign trade service and guidance work in Jinmen and actively promoting communication and exchange between foreign businessmen and United Trade are already very mature. I think we should take a step forward."

"I fully agree with your point of view and ideas." Li Xuewu first fully affirmed Gao Yaqin's opinions and ideas, but in the subsequent conversation, he also raised questions about the specific implementation plan and details, "How do you plan to handle the difficulty of foreign businessmen entering and leaving the customs, and further realize normalized communication?"

He raised his eyebrows and said: "You should have communicated with the Import and Export Corporation, right? What did they say? Can they allow us to build a foreign trade service bridge from Hong Kong to Jinmen? Even if we promise to only do high-end foreign trade."

"I don't have a way to give you an answer to these questions now, because I am also racking my brains for the relevant work." She first looked at Li Xuewu apologetically and smiled bitterly, then raised her eyebrows and asked: "Perhaps you can give me some suggestions to help me clear up the thoughts inside?"

"Hehehe—" Li Xuewu laughed lightly, raised his hand to offer tea, and teased: "You aren't here to send for the scriptures, but to seek the scriptures."

"If Tathagata has true scriptures, why regret traveling three thousand miles." Gao Yaqin spread her hands frankly and said with a smile: "I am full of sincerity and full of confidence in you."

"I am not Tathagata, and you didn't travel three thousand miles." Li Xuewu smiled, picked up the teacup and took a sip, saying: "As the saying goes, 'the one who tied the bell must untie it'."

He looked at Gao Yaqin sitting opposite him playfully and said: "To break this problem, it still falls on you in the end."

"Me?" Gao Yaqin never expected that after Li Xuewu came to Steel City, his ball skills had grown so fast, and he was kicking the ball better and better, making it impossible to defend.

"Hmm, it should be you." Li Xuewu put down the teacup in his hand, nodded and said: "To achieve a new breakthrough in the Group's foreign trade and truly connect the Andrew Buyer Club with the Jinmen Binhai Business Club, building a bridge requires a special pass."

He raised his eyebrows, looked at Gao Yaqin seriously and emphasized: "The reason for giving up the rapid operation connected to Hong Kong and stopping at the situation of mutual cooperation between bank capital, I have reported in detail to Director Li, and he should know."

This sentence unexpectedly explained to Gao Yaqin why Li Xuewu didn't give her a positive reply after she arrived at the office.

After going around in a circle, Gao Yaqin seemed to understand. The risk of the Red Star Steel Group's foreign cooperation mainly came from operational norms and rationality. While lacking this foundation, the Group lacked the necessary confidence when carrying out any foreign trade activities.

To put it bluntly, the name wasn't right and the words weren't smooth.

She sat opposite Li Xuewu and pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked: "At this time... is it suitable?"

"What do you think?" Li Xuewu smiled and asked back: "When do you think it's more suitable?"

"Is this Tathagata of yours a fake monk?" Gao Yaqin said with dissatisfaction: "Could this be the Little Thunder Sound Temple?"

"Hahaha—" Li Xuewu smiled and leaned back in his chair, saying: "If you believe, it exists; if you don't believe, it doesn't. If your heart is sincere, it exists; if your heart is not sincere, it doesn't. Whether I am a fake monk doesn't matter; whether you are a true Wukong still needs to pass through the demon-reflecting mirror—"

"You are the one who needs to pass through the demon-reflecting mirror—"

Gao Yaqin glared at him with dissatisfaction, then turned to look at Sun Jian and asked: "Director Sun, don't you plan to say something?"

"Me? Me? What should I say?"

Sun Jian hadn't reacted yet. How could he have imagined that Deputy Director Gao would kill him with a return shot? He hadn't said a word of nonsense since entering the office. Why kill him with a return shot?

Gao Yaqin glanced at him sideways, only feeling it was too troublesome. Could it be that only she was the only one who fell into the eyes of money?

"The hot spring on the mountain is not bad. Why don't we go together at night to relax?" Li Xuewu looked at Sun Jian with a smile and said: "Although it's mid-March and the weather isn't that cold, it's still suitable for soaking in hot springs for Steel City."

"You are too polite. I am a little ghost and have to listen to the King of Hell." Sun Jian also saw some clues, smiled and replied to Li Xuewu, but his eyes were glancing at the Deputy Director Gao beside him.

"Am I that fierce? Is it enough to make you so afraid?" Gao Yaqin glared at him, turned to look at Li Xuewu and complained: "With such a good place, why did you hide it until now to say it? You didn't go up the mountain to have fun much since coming to Steel City, right?"

"I won't lie to you, I haven't had time to go up the mountain yet. I've been exhausted recently."

Li Xuewu sat up straight, stretched his shoulders and said: "If it weren't for you coming, I wouldn't be willing to go."

"Look, we should be grateful." Gao Yaqin turned to look at Sun Jian sideways and said: "I'll say it in advance, I don't have a penny, and I have nothing to repay. Why don't I leave you here for three years to pay off the debt?"

"I am willing, but I'm afraid the Secretary-General won't look down on me." Sun Jian looked at Li Xuewu with a smile and said: "With Comrade Lu Guoyuan as a pearl, I shouldn't have wishful thinking."

"They are all the same, all good comrades."

Li Xuewu stood up with a smile, tidied the wool sweater on his body, and said to the two: "Travel fatigue, go to the guesthouse to rest first, and give me a chance to fulfill the duties of a host tonight."

"Then I will respectfully obey—" Gao Yaqin stood up and shook hands with him, saying: "I'll let you spend money."

"Hehehe—" Li Xuewu nodded with a smile and said: "Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar?"

He looked at Zhang Enyuan who appeared at the door and instructed: "Send Deputy Director Gao and Director Sun to the guesthouse to rest."

The characteristics of this era were that the titles were all messy, and one couldn't tell which was high and which was low between Deputy Director and Director.

Of course, for people in the workplace, this point didn't need to be worried about. There was no big fool who could mix up these titles and corresponding relationships.

Zhang Enyuan politely sent the two away, and Zhang Jing arrived at Li Xuewu's office shortly after.

"You help me arrange it." Li Xuewu's mouth moved, and while thinking, he instructed: "Ask if Factory Director Kuang, Factory Director Lv, Factory Director Bi, and Factory Director Kong have time tonight. The hot spring pool on the mountain is still open, so let's relax."

"Are you going to inspect the Qianshan Hot Spring Mining Area?"

Zhang Jing had been in Steel City for several years and was naturally very familiar with the environment of Steel City, especially since Dong Wenxue liked this.

Li Xuewu accompanied Li Huai De to Steel City that year and played in the hot spring area of Qianshan for a whole day.

At that time, Dong Wenxue was also there, and Zhang Jing, who was Dong Wenxue's secretary at the time, was naturally there too, so Zhang Jing thought of it as soon as Li Xuewu mentioned it.

"Hmm, let's go over and take a look first."

Li Xuewu turned to look at him and said: "You help me make an appointment with the Qianshan Hot Spring Park Management Office first, about ten people's standard. If your section has nothing to do tonight, go together. I'll treat you. You add the number of people yourself."

"How can I be embarrassed—"

Zhang Jing smiled and said: "Our section, including Comrade Enyuan, is already seven people. How can I let you spend money?"

"Don't be polite. You've really worked hard recently."

Li Xuewu naturally could hear that he was being falsely polite, but it was also a true joke. Since he said it, he was willing to spend the money.

There is one point to emphasize here: Li Xuewu had never added a penny of his own money to any public activities in Steel City, and had never used a penny of public money for any private social activities.

Even when entertaining guests from the Group or other units at the guesthouse, as long as it was outside of working meals, it was all settled by Zhang Enyuan on his behalf.

Li Xuewu's mind was meticulous, and any consumption had to have a list and the signature of the relevant person in charge.

Zhang Enyuan understood Li Xuewu's temper and would arrange the settlement method according to the occasion.

So much so that Zhang Jing and the others were used to his principle of handling affairs, so Zhang Jing wasn't surprised at all when Li Xuewu said he would treat them. He was long used to the Secretary-General's principle of handling affairs.

Some people gossiped, saying Li Xuewu was treacherous but appeared loyal, one set on the surface and another behind the back, and it was impossible to be so clean and honest.

Perhaps people who could say such things didn't understand Li Xuewu's daily life, and had never seen his self-discipline with their own eyes.

People who truly knew the Secretary-General's life could see that the Secretary-General wasn't short of money—he was truly the kind of person who wasn't short of money.

How much was the Secretary-General's salary? This wasn't a secret; it was clearly written on the payroll and couldn't be faked.

And many people knew that the Secretary-General took two salaries. This wasn't a secret.

Plus, the Secretary-General's family was a dual-career family, and his wife was a chief surgeon at the hospital. It was too normal not to be short of money.

There was also a saying that the Secretary-General wasn't short of money because someone gave him money, but the Group had experienced so many storms, and no one had been able to produce relevant evidence. It was mostly hearsay.

Even some Group leaders had overturned, but the Secretary-General's conduct remained firm. No matter how much gossip there was, it couldn't bring him down.

Saying the Secretary-General wasn't short of money, the reason the section admired and respected him wasn't because of his "wealth" but his generosity.

Even if the salary was high, the righteousness and sociality shown in his interaction with them were truly textbook-level. No wonder the young people who had learned and interacted with him all had a sense of greatness in their personalities.

Of course, Li Xuewu's greatness and righteousness weren't for everyone; at least it had to be someone he could see and appreciate.

Zhang Jing's performance recently was excellent, especially in leading the team. The people in his hands were all fresh recruits who couldn't stand alone.

Zhang Enyuan was an old oil stick, but he basically couldn't help Zhang Jing much, and often "borrowed" Ma Baosen.

Although the section still had several great gods like Liu Yao, the deputy factory director in charge of technology at Steel Auto, and Shangguan Qi from the Aircraft Research Institute, these people were mostly hanging names and were hung in the section for the convenience of the Secretary-General's consultation. Usually, one couldn't see the real people.

So now, the Leading Group Office only had Zhang Jing to hold up the beam, and he also had to be responsible for the audit's preparatory work.

Li Xuewu saying he would treat them to leisure was a reward and also a generous treatment. The cattle and horses under his hands couldn't just plow the land without being fed grass.

Besides, soaking in hot springs was all for old men. Gao Yaqin couldn't let go, so she had to have a female comrade to accompany her.

"What is this?" Gao Yaqin picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks and asked curiously: "Is it chicken?"

"Feilong, it's hazel grouse." Kuang Yusheng took the initiative to introduce it to her: "The scientific name should be hazel grouse." He gestured to the dish in front of Gao Yaqin and said: "This is authentic Northeast cuisine, monkey head feilong, very famous."

"It seems that the Secretary-General really spent money." Gao Yaqin put down her chopsticks and said with a smile: "This makes me feel embarrassed."

"It doesn't matter. It's a beautiful thing that the wise gather and the young and old gather." Li Xuewu raised his wine glass to everyone and said: "I also thank you all for giving me this opportunity to let me relax properly."

"Hahaha—"

It was rare to come out to play, and it was with colleagues at work, which felt quite like team building in later generations.

The people sitting at this table were indeed as Li Xuewu said, the wise gathered and the young and old gathered, and there was no middle layer.

Not a single deputy factory director of the Metallurgical Plant was invited, and the deputy positions of other plants were not on the invitation list either.

This wasn't Li Xuewu being stingy, but a kind of attitude.

"This Northeast cuisine, the more you eat, the more you see." Li Xuewu looked at Gao Yaqin with a smile and said: "Animals you couldn't see in the zoo in the early years can all be seen in Northeast cuisine."

"I've heard of it—" Gao Yaqin nodded with a smile and said: "It's just that I haven't seen much of it."

"I'm also showing off my knowledge to you. In fact, I haven't eaten it either. This time, I borrowed your light."

Li Xuewu gestured to the food on the table and said: "I dare to eat this feilong, but I don't even dare to look at the others on the menu."

"To be honest, except for the feilong being a hard dish, the others are just mountain treasures and wild game, not worth mentioning."

He turned to Zhang Jing and said: "Things like orchid bear paw, wine-stewed camel paw, and scalded hashima oil are too expensive to eat."

"I haven't seen any of them." Zhang Jing smiled and pointed to the feilong: "There are plenty of these things in the mountains."

"It's really a good place where people are outstanding and the land is spiritual." Gao Yaqin looked out the window of the guesthouse and sighed: "No wonder it makes the Secretary-General dream about it, saying he must come no matter what."

"Sigh, I love this land, I love it deeply."

Li Xuewu raised his wine glass and offered wine again. Gao Yaqin was a Deputy Director and also a guest, so he had to show something.

Everyone followed and drank a cup, and the atmosphere gradually became enthusiastic. There were people like Wang Min whispering under the dining table, and there were people like Bi Yuding and Sun Jian chatting about the past. Everyone ate and chatted, very lively.

Kong Xiaobo from Steel Aviation seemed a bit lonely. He hadn't been at the Red Star Plant for long. Although he was longer than Gao Yaqin, he had never integrated well into the Red Star Plant's system.

Even Shangguan Qi and his family, who came with him, lived very well in the Red Star Steel Group, but he always felt uneasy, even though he was already the factory director of Steel Aviation.

"Can the first helicopter be mass-produced this year?"

Gao Yaqin suddenly looked at him, who hadn't spoken for a long time, and asked this question.

Kong Xiaobo was startled, and then replied: "Yes, Deputy Director Gao, the mass production of the KH-4 model helicopter can be realized this year."

"What about the other two helicopters?" Gao Yaqin asked Li Xuewu beside her this time, "Next year? Or the year after?"

"You still have to ask Factory Director Kong about this."

Li Xuewu smiled and drank the wine in his cup, saying: "I hope the other two helicopters can be mass-produced this year."

"That's impossible." Kong Xiaobo shook his head with a bitter smile. Seeing everyone at the table stop their conversations and look at him, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous and embarrassed.

He thought for a while, and then replied seriously: "The end of next year, or the beginning of the year after."

"Let me emphasize one thing first—I'm not in a hurry."

Li Xuewu gestured to him with the wine glass he had just filled, saying: "I know the principle of slow work producing fine products, but Deputy Director Gao is a bit anxious, so you have to understand."

"The Secretary-General knows how to pretend to be a good person."

Gao Yaqin glared at Li Xuewu with dissatisfaction, then also raised her wine glass to gesture to Kong Xiaobo, saying: "I'm just asking, not urging you. Work hard."

"Thank you, Secretary-General, thank you, Deputy Director Gao, for your understanding." Kong Xiaobo raised his wine glass and toasted: "We will definitely do our best."

Saying that, he also finished the wine in his cup.

Kong Xiaobo was an engineer by background and had very rich project and team management experience, so Li Xuewu suggested to Li Huai De to put him in the position of the person in charge of Steel Aviation.

Facts proved that Kong Xiaobo did indeed do a good job, doing his best, and Steel Aviation developed very well.

Receiving the KH-4 helicopter production line handed over and installed by the Sanhe Stock Company—although it was second-hand, it was precious to the Red Star Steel Group.

Furthermore, the Jaguar transport helicopter and Alouette 3 helicopter production lines helped purchased by the Santa Ya Group had been installed for half a year and were still under construction and installation.

If counting the process of training, debugging, and trial operation, Kong Xiaobo saying it could be mass-produced next year was really not certain.

In fact, Gao Yaqin asking Kong Xiaobo suddenly wasn't intentionally making things difficult for him; she just saw him sitting there without speaking and felt he wasn't gregarious, so she pulled him.

As for where to pull, it depended on Kong Xiaobo's own understanding and performance. He was a clear-headed person.

Dinner lasted for a full two and a half hours. The moon was in the middle of the sky, and everyone was wearing thick cotton clothes, wrapped in bath towels inside, and came to the indoor hot spring bath, separating men and women on each side.

Currently, the country really couldn't play those tricks of the Japanese, engaging in mixed bathing—that was an act that damaged customs.

Why did Li Xuewu let Zhang Jing bring people together? At least Zhou Peilan could accompany Gao Yaqin to soak.

You ask why Gao Deputy Director's secretary didn't accompany the leader?

The answer is very simple: because Gao Yaqin's secretary was a male comrade, Wang Qiang, who was currently with Li Xuewu and the others.

Gao Yaqin, a female comrade, why did she choose a young man as her secretary? There are some reasons for this.

Too complicated things don't need to be said. If I say them, you won't understand. Let's just talk about the shallow ones.

Male leaders aren't suitable for female secretaries, as it seems frivolous. Female leaders don't have to avoid male secretaries, which makes them appear firm and serious about work attitude, not minding any difficulties.

If a female leader uses a female secretary, she will generally show carefulness, seriousness, and even pedantry about business work.

Separ

"It's a good thing you can eat, big guy, proving you're growing, but you can't get bloated."

Zhou Wang Yamei sighed lightly and said: "Starting tomorrow, let's eat dinner earlier. After you finish dinner, go out for a stroll."

"Ah! Then I'd better not eat."

Banggeng turned his head to look at Fu Zhidong, who was smiling at him on the sofa, and said with a grin: "Run in the morning, and run at night too?"

It turned out the big-faced cat misunderstood that Aunt Zhou wanted them to run and exercise at night too. How could he take that?

Five kilometers in the morning, and running at night too—the meat on his body was hard-won, and it would be a waste if he lost it.

Li Xuewu was listening intently to the news on the radio. It was that the matter in the North had developed further.

Now propaganda had also made progress. The matter on the 15th was decided to be published in the newspaper last night. The matter happened during the day today, and it was broadcast on the news at night. It seemed that self-confidence was fought out.

The content broadcast today was mainly based on shelling. It seemed that the other side was also beaten to fear and didn't dare to cross the line easily.

It was a bombardment, so it depended on whose range was longer. The trick of children peeing to see who peed further sounded ridiculous.

Zhou Wang Yamei finished washing up, saw that Banggeng and Fu Zhidong were asleep, and then returned to the master bedroom.

"You're not asleep yet? I didn't hear any movement upstairs, so I thought you were asleep."

She walked to the dressing table by the bed, took some hand oil and wiped it on the back of her hand, looked at Li Xuewu and asked: "Did something happen?"

The reason she asked this was because Li Xuewu's gaze had been on the radio, as if he could see a television effect from the radio. Li Xuewu wouldn't be like this without a special situation.

"Nothing, it's just that the North isn't peaceful."

Li Xuewu turned his head and looked at her, asking: "Are the children asleep? Is Banggeng okay?"

"If you're worried, you shouldn't tease him."

Zhou Wang Yamei glared at him, and while wiping the hand oil, she said: "A child this big is at the age of being heartless. Whoever says something, he believes it. It's a waste of him trusting you so much."

"I wasn't really asking him to eat more."

Li Xuewu moved his body and lay down in the quilt, saying: "His mother wrote to me, asking how Banggeng was doing here. I said life was extremely bitter, worse than death."

"You—" Zhou Wang Yamei glanced at him with amusement and said: "A child traveling a thousand miles, the mother worries. Qin Huairu at home doesn't know how worried she is about her son, and you still say that."

"If I didn't say that, she would be even more worried." Li Xuewu twitched the corners of his mouth and said: "You tell me, does she believe me or you?"

"You just know how to talk nonsense with a straight face—"

Zhou Wang Yamei rolled her eyes and said: "She's been eaten to death by you. She only feels at ease when she hears your nonsense."

"This is also a kind of trust, right?"

Li Xuewu tilted his head and said: "If I said Banggeng was living very well here, she definitely wouldn't believe it, because in her cognition, only she is the best to Banggeng, and that home in Beijing is the place where Banggeng can enjoy warmth the most."

"And by saying that, I lowered her psychological expectations and established trust in distrust."

"You are the master of psychology!"

Zhou Wang Yamei finished wiping the hand oil, turned back and tied her hair up. Don't ask why she tied her hair when she was about to sleep; those who understand, understand, and those who don't will understand later. I won't explain much here.

"Let me tell you something. Just now when the children were there, I didn't find a chance to say it." Zhou Wang Yamei tied her hair, then looked at Li Xuewu seriously and said: "Zhao Dezhu went to Ying City for a turn and said someone was doing mortgage loans."

"What the hell?" Li Xuewu opened his eyes and asked with raised eyebrows: "Is it the serious kind of mortgage loan?"

"What do you think? How could this thing be serious."

Zhou Wang Yamei rolled her eyes at him and said: "There are more and more people asking about speedboats this month, and there are even many who are in debt to buy boats, just to gamble on a rich life."

"How can there be so many rich lives—" Li Xuewu turned over and lay on the bed, saying: "Wealth is destined, no need to be busy. They are gambling with their heads on their belts, and they will never get wealth. Even if it's temporary wealth, they can't escape the word 'greed'."

"Who can be as clear-headed as you? They have long fallen into the eyes of money." Zhou Wang Yamei looked at Li Xuewu and asked: "Biaozi left some situations when he left. Do you mean for me to continue to handle it according to his ideas, or..."

"What's your judgment?" Li Xuewu looked at her and asked: "What do you think? Moved by compassion?"

"Where does this come from? At most, it's the benevolence of a woman." Zhou Wang Yamei said lightly: "I also have self-knowledge. Now, stopping them is being their enemy."

"You can't stop this matter."

Li Xuewu shook his head slightly and said: "The general trend is irreversible. The Sanhe Stock Company discovered the problems in the market long ago and has been thinking of ways to solve them. It seems they are about to take action."

"What are they going to do?" Zhou Wang Yamei frowned and asked: "Use inspection forces?"

"Not necessarily. It's also possible to actively open the market." Li Xuewu shook his head slightly and said: "Since the Yazi brand products are rampant in the appliance market, it's better to open the gate and release the flood."

"You mean—" Zhou Wang Yamei widened her eyes and asked: "They want to actively dump goods to increase the market share of Yazi appliances in the distribution area, and then borrow this trend to sell higher-end products?"

"Perhaps that's what they think. Kill the competitors first, then talk." Li Xuewu thought for a while and said: "Fewer competitors, doesn't that also cause the market to expand?"

"Can they do that?" Zhou Wang Yamei asked in surprise: "What about their losses?"

The losses she mentioned were that electrical appliances exported to Japan went through regular channels and had certain costs.

Li Xuewu said firmly: "Don't worry, they won't lose money. Just watch. Those who run the 'big fly' are about to usher in a golden period. It just depends on who is bold and who can make money."

"They—" Zhou Wang Yamei seemed to understand. In an instant, she thought of a possibility.

"Biaozi's heart is too cruel. No wonder he said when he left that he wouldn't stay in Steel City for long and would leave sooner or later."

Zhou Wang Yamei looked at Li Xuewu and said: "This time, the big sale of fishing boats, the money those people earned from running boats in the early stage has reached our account again. How do you plan to use this money?"

"Wait first, don't be anxious." Li Xuewu shook his chin and said: "There are more people running boats, so there are more boats. When the time comes, we won't need to hire people to run them. We still need funds to operate and receive the goods they bring back. You prepare a bit."

"How can people not be moved? Even a fool would be moved if they heard what they said." Zhou Wang Yamei lifted the quilt and sighed slightly, saying: "One trip can be worth a year's harvest. The money for three trips can buy a boat. Ten trips can save enough for a lifetime of spending. Run..."

"Most people can't run ten trips."

Li Xuewu closed his eyes and enjoyed it while saying: "This is called 'life and death are destined, wealth is in heaven.' One boat is rich, one boat is poor, one boat is life, one boat is death—" ===== CHAPTER 1411 =====