Chapter 1462: King of War

"Hey! We meet again, Li."

Art smiled honestly, walked up quickly, and embraced Li Xuewu, who was waiting for him in the office.

Honestly, Li Xuewu really didn't want to hug him; there was a strange smell that could be smelled from far away.

However, his status limited him; he had to respect international friends, and even more so, foreign businessmen.

"Was the journey smooth?"

After Li Xuewu released the other party, he took the initiative to reach out and shake Art's hand, greeting him with a smile, "I was very happy to suddenly hear the news that you came to the mainland."

"I was also very happy; the journey wasn't lonely; Ji was with me."

Art sat on the sofa with a grin and chattered a few words of idle talk.

At this time, Zhang Enyuan served hot tea to both, especially taking care of Art, and even asked him if he wanted to drink coffee.

Art waved his hand to decline his kindness, looked at Li Xuewu, and said a sentence in Chinese: "When in Rome, do as the Romans do."

How should one put it? Foreigners learning Chinese is a bit difficult, but learning dialects is absolutely standard.

No one knew where Art found the time, but a mouthful of heavy dialect almost knocked him out.

"Have you been well lately?" Li Xuewu took a sip of tea and then looked at Art and asked, "I heard you couldn't attend this year's spring club reception."

"It's not that I didn't want to, but I didn't have time."

Art shook his head slightly and said with emotion, "You should be glad that your motherland is united; although surrounded by foreign enemies, it also has a powerful iron fist."

"If you go to Africa and see it, you'll know that living is really not as good as dying; it's too difficult."

He sighed and said very seriously, "The whole of Africa is at war; I estimate the number of civilians who starved to death exceeds two million."

"And this is just my estimate; the specific number should be far more than that."

"Is it that serious?" Li Xuewu frowned and asked, "Is it war or natural disaster?"

"Where there is natural disaster, there is man-made disaster, and man-made disaster is worse than natural disaster." Art sighed and said, "You haven't seen it; how a one or two-year-old child with a big belly crawls on the ground is a kind of visual impact that makes one unable to bear looking; that is hell—"

"So tall, such a small child, can possess a Type 56, and dares to open fire and kill people."

Art raised his hand to gesture to a position a little higher than his waist, stared at Li Xuewu, and introduced, "I can't see any childhood innocence or humanity in their eyes at all; they are like lunatics."

"Type 56? Did you send them?"

Li Xuewu could always grasp the key point of the conversation, looked at Art, and asked back, "Are you repenting?"

"I... I am narrating."

Art suddenly ran out of words, spread his hands awkwardly, and said, "This is what I have seen and heard from a third-party perspective; you should understand this kind of tragedy."

"What does it have to do with me?"

Li Xuewu frowned and said, "It's not very long ago; just thirty or forty years ago, on this land under your and my feet, the same tragedy you just described was happening."

"We can have today's peaceful life, not by sympathy and pity, but by the sacrifice and resistance of tens of millions of compatriots."

"This..." Art hesitated and said, "I have also heard of that history, but it has never been as shocking as seeing it with my own eyes."

"Then did you come here this time to solve this kind of chaos and tragedy?"

Li Xuewu nodded slowly and said, "Then you need food or medical supplies; we may need time to prepare."

"That... food and medicine are also needed." Art looked at Li Xuewu awkwardly and asked, "After listening to my description, don't you have any empathy or a heartfelt desire to do something?"

"Why?" Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and asked back, "Did I bring war to Africa? Or was it because of me that the children were displaced?"

"If neither is true, then why should I bear this kind of guilt and responsibility?"

He spread his hands and said, "If you are here for help, I can only say that my country has not yet achieved enough food and clothing at this time."

"If you are here to do business, then I will welcome you and open my arms."

Li Xuewu finally tapped the table and reminded Art, "If you are here to scam, then I can only send you back home."

"Of course not, of course not—"

Seeing Li Xuewu reveal his fangs, Art waved his hands repeatedly to deny, "I am here to do business."

"That's the best; the Red Star Steel Group is actively expanding its overseas trade; you came at the right time."

Hearing Art's words, Li Xuewu, like a dog, immediately changed his face.

Even Art felt that he changed his face too quickly and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

When he did things in Europe and America, he liked playing the sympathy card the most; as long as he described the disasters and tragedies caused by regional conflicts with emotion, he would often get unexpected preferential policies.

The old money loved to bestow pity from a high position, pretending to be charitable, or having the face of a god saying insincere concern and compassion.

Who cares—

At least Art was very clear that Africa was in a mess; who would believe it if there was no instigation from the old money.

France, Italy, Britain, the Soviet Union...

Let's put it this way, anyone with a little international influence wanted to take a dump on that land.

Especially France, known as the stirrer of shit in Europe, was the most active and frequent intervener in related activities.

Ten disturbances, eight were participated in by France; this period was exactly when France's international influence was shrinking rapidly and was entangled with traditional British forces.

The rise of emerging forces and the environment of bipolar opposition made this hot land of Africa suffer pain it shouldn't have.

Precisely because dozens of countries were in a mess, it made war vultures and hyenas like Art meet spring and have a good opportunity to show their skills.

"You haven't been to the Red Star factory for a year."

Li Xuewu spread his hands with a smile and introduced, "Our development will definitely make you feel surprised."

"Of course, the Red Star factory can even produce helicopters; I came for this."

"No, no, no, Art, my friend, you should have some patience; the best dishes are always at the end."

Li Xuewu shook his index finger and said to Art with a smile, "We don't just have helicopters."

"Tantu cars, right? I know everything." Art nodded knowingly and said, "Your competition with the North is really intense."

His preemptive answer was to remind Li Xuewu that his concern for the Red Star Steel Group far exceeded Li Xuewu's cognition.

But the content Li Xuewu wanted him to know far exceeded his imagination.

"Art, I won't maliciously speculate and structure a friend's business, but I have a suggestion."

Li Xuewu stood up very seriously and looked at Art and said, "If you want to become the King of War, you must first understand what war is."

"What is war? War..."

Steel City Metallurgical Plant Guest House, Art scratched his head and looked through the "Art of War" in front of him.

Ji Wang Weidong, who happened to come to find him, could only shake his head helplessly at this situation.

He had said it long ago; international profiteers like Art could only be considered kindergarten graduates in front of Li Xuewu, with no ability to resist at all.

He had talked to Li Xuewu in the morning and was arranged to go to the pier, which was the stronghold of the Investigation Department.

He had reminded Art when he left that he had to be careful with Li Xuewu and not be too honest in negotiations.

And the result?

Art had clearly shown him a cunning side and even guaranteed with certainty that he would definitely make Li Xuewu sympathize with him, pity him, and support him.

Now looking at Art, who was holding a book and muttering in the room, and the other books scattered on the desk, he knew Art must have fallen into a pit.

This kind of performance was very obvious; when Li Xuewu was scamming people, he would often confuse the other party first.

Just like now, seeing him enter the room, Art stood up excitedly and took the initiative to ask about the content of the "Art of War" in his hand.

"Why read this book?"

Although he already knew the result, Ji Wang Weidong still wanted to know the process; he wanted to know how Art fell into the pit.

Art's mental state was much more focused than he had imagined; seeing him ask, he explained happily, "This book is really a treasure—"

Ji Wang Weidong didn't say anything, raised his chin slightly, looked at Art, and waited for his answer.

The "Art of War" had been translated into many languages and published countless times worldwide.

Art holding this book like a treasure and acting crazy could only mean he was unlearned and hadn't eaten fine grain.

If he was this excited over one "Art of War," he would probably go to heaven if he saw "On Protracted War."

"It was Li, it was Li who recommended it to me."

Art patted the book in his hand excitedly and said, "He told me that if I want to become the King of War, I must first understand what war is."

"I must admit that my understanding of war was too one-sided before."

He shook his head with regret and sighed, "If I could have learned this book earlier, perhaps today's Art would be different."

"King of War?" Ji Wang Weidong's eyelids twitched, and the corners of his mouth also twitched; he looked at Art suspiciously; did this brother not have a shred of self-awareness?

Sure enough, it was the same secret recipe, just changing the soup without changing the medicine.

Art, a regional arms dealer, Li Xuewu actually gave him such high expectations and even raised such expectations from the level of thought and value.

He could only say Art was finished; he had fallen into the trap designed by Li Xuewu and couldn't get out.

You want to persuade him? Stop joking.

"Yes, that's right, Li is really a strange person!" Art looked at him with burning eyes and said, "If he were born in Africa, he would definitely be able to unify Africa."

See, hopeless.

Li Xuewu fed this kid a kind of soul-stealing medicine called cognitive reconstruction; no matter how you persuade him, he is debating values and ideological intentions with you based on the cognition the other party has already reconstructed.

This is equivalent to you playing a game with Li Xuewu according to the rules he set; isn't this looking for abuse?

"Did he recommend new weapons to you?"

Ji Wang Weidong looked at Art suspiciously, wondering if the other party had bought a pile of junk.

Did he really buy Poseidon's manure fork?

"No, Li is sincere."

Art shook his head slightly, and seeing that he seemed to doubt the intention of his spiritual mentor, emphasized very seriously, "He hopes my career has value."

"F***—" Ji Wang Weidong sat on the sofa, scratched his forehead helplessly.

He had persuaded Art in Hong Kong not to go to the mainland, saying he could procure whatever he wanted on his behalf.

Ji Wang Weidong even guaranteed to Art that he would definitely get a surprising price.

However, Art didn't trust him, feeling he could do it himself and be like a fish in water on the mainland.

Just like the previous few times, throwing out orders of millions of dollars and becoming a guest of the Red Star factory.

How should one put it? Ji Wang Weidong didn't tell him too bluntly, only telling him that the current Red Star factory was different and had already developed into the Red Star Steel Group.

Art didn't care at all, feeling that whether it was the Red Star factory or the Red Star Steel Group, as long as Li Xuewu was still there, he could be like a fish in water on the mainland.

Ji Wang Weidong really didn't know how to talk to him; the Red Star Steel Group without Li Xuewu was soft bread, otherwise, it was an iron rooster.

Wanting to take advantage of the Red Star Steel Group?

How could this kid think that? The Red Star Steel Group had founded a buyer's club in Hong Kong, and international trade had already become normalized; foreign businessmen were treasures to other enterprises in the mainland, but they were no longer rare species to the Red Star Steel Group.

Art going to the mainland at this time, the status and treatment he could obtain were naturally far inferior to before.

Of course, if he could provide orders of tens of millions, he would still be a guest of the Red Star Steel Group.

However, did Art have tens of millions?

"You might as well call him Li Sincere."

Ji Wang Weidong curled his lips and said to Art, "Before he recommends weapons to you, you'd better think clearly about what you need."

He tapped the sofa armrest and emphasized, "Don't listen to his bragging about this being good or that being good; as long as weapons haven't been tested by war, ignore them all."

Does Ji Wang Weidong have a grudge against Li Xuewu? Why is he helping an outsider?

The two are good friends, so naturally, there's no grudge, but Art is his key training object; although not as exaggerated as Li Xuewu described, and what King of War, it's about the same meaning.

He was really afraid that Li Xuewu would bluff Art into a limp, buying a pile of junk and being unable to recover after it got stuck in his hands.

"Do you suspect Li will deceive me?"

Art looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Or did you hear something?"

"I'm doing this for your own good!"

Ji Wang Weidong glared at him with a mix of anger and amusement and said, "Don't be ungrateful; I warned you long ago that ten of you tied together wouldn't be a match for him; he is the most scheming person I have ever seen."

"I don't feel that way—"

Art raised the book in his hand and said, "He didn't deceive me and even advised me to study more."

"Then can you learn it?"

Ji Wang Weidong pointed to the book in his hand and said, "I've read this book more than you, but the content I truly understand and grasp is less than one-tenth."

"What can a foreigner like you learn?"

He raised his eyebrows and said, "I'm not belittling your knowledge, just wanting to tell you that half-understanding and pretending to understand will only harm you."

Some people are like this; when they know nothing about a trade, they won't be deceived, because they don't understand, so they won't easily make contact, and even lack trust.

Only after reading a few books and listening to discussions a few times do they have a half-understood experience.

Just like the antique trade; can you say that all the national treasure helpers are big fools? They also know in their hearts they've been deceived, but they still persist, very afraid of breaking the facade and shattering the dream of pretending to understand.

Ji Wang Weidong's meaning is also like this; Li Xuewu must be planning a big move for Art this time, otherwise, he wouldn't have gone such a long way around, and even learning what war is; is he going to open a class for Art?

Li Xuewu is doing it on purpose, wanting Art to understand China's cultural heritage, including the interpretation and realization of war, to shatter Art's past cognition.

Reconstructing the cognitive system under his guidance and influence is just setting the game rules Li Xuewu wants.

Playing tricks within Li Xuewu's rules, who can beat him? Art will definitely be deceived.

Ji Wang Weidong has already thought about it; if Art is still stubborn, he will have to suggest to his superiors to change the training object, and keep him away from bastards like Li Xuewu.

Art isn't stubborn, he just doesn't understand why he is warning himself like this.

According to his thoughts, Li Xuewu didn't impose any ideological constraints on him, let alone require how he should understand war.

He read the books recommended to him, although some were in Chinese characters, which he couldn't read yet.

However! He understood this French version of the "Art of War" and even had some insights.

That's right, just in the short time at noon, he only read a few chapters and had profound insights.

It was really like being thirsty; having never eaten fine grain, he only felt how stupid he was before.

He didn't understand such simple principles before, and couldn't even find a way to break the situation.

Now it's different; with the insights and summaries of past experiences, he can better understand the philosophy and meaning in this book.

Just from this point, Li Xuewu made no mistakes, and he should even thank the other party.

Now Ji Wang Weidong denied Li Xuewu's purpose and said some ambiguous words.

At this moment, Art is like a blind person standing at a crossroads, looking left and right, not knowing how to go.

On one side is the King of War, on the other is an ambush on all sides; he really regrets not learning this book earlier.

"Then I can't wait until I've fully learned this book before coming to find him, right?"

Art put away the book in his hand very cherishly, looked at Ji Wang Weidong, and asked, "Do you have a way to help me buy helicopters and other weapons?"

"If you hadn't come to the mainland." Ji Wang Weidong sighed helplessly, looked at Art, and said, "Now that you've taken the initiative to deliver yourself to the door, how could they easily let you go without taking a big bite out of you."

"Don't tell me you've already told Li Xuewu you want to buy their helicopters."

Ji Wang Weidong widened his eyes and said, "You wouldn't be that honest, would you?"

"Of course... no, no."

Art's answer was a bit weak, his attitude wasn't very firm, and he lowered his head as if thinking about something.

Seeing him like this, how could Ji Wang Weidong not know that this kid had spilled all his secrets.

It's over; if Li Xuewu doesn't swallow him alive, he dares to perform a handstand and eat shit!

"Good luck, Art."

What else could Ji Wang Weidong say? He couldn't warn Art to run away quickly; Li Xuewu would kill him.

The account in Hong Kong hadn't been settled yet; if he added new debts, Li Xuewu could make him swim back to Hong Kong.

"Did you see the book I gave you?"

At 2:30 in the afternoon, accompanied by Office Director Sun Jia, Art arrived at the industrial exhibition hall.

The scale here wasn't very large, especially under the crowded display conditions of various industrial products.

When he arrived at the exhibition hall, Li Xuewu was already standing there waiting for him.

"Thank you, Li, I am deeply shocked."

Art shook his hand earnestly and thanked him, "Chinese culture is indeed powerful."

"Learn slowly, don't be in a hurry."

Li Xuewu nodded with a smile and then said, "I don't know if you've heard a sentence, which is also related to war."

"Soldiers and horses move, food and grass go first."

Seeing Art listening carefully, he raised his hand to signal the other party to walk into the industrial exhibition hall together.

The industrial exhibition hall in the Red Star Steel City industrial zone was still under construction, but Li Xuewu had already requested the leadership group office to prepare and set up a temporary exhibition hall.

The temporary exhibition hall was in the office building complex where the group was stationed in Steel City, spanning six whole floors.

"The meaning is very simple, which is that before the war begins, you must prepare the materials needed for combat."

Li Xuewu turned his head to look at Art and said with a smile, "I don't know if you understand."

"Of course, I can understand what you mean."

Art nodded knowingly and said, "Before fighting a war, you always have to raise funds, purchase equipment and weapons, and have the living supplies needed for combat."

"Then have you ever thought about the significance of professionalizing logistics supplies?"

Li Xuewu took him to the front of the exhibition table, pulled out the compressed rations from the shoulder strap, handed them to Art, and signaled, "Do you want to try?"

"What is this? Biscuits?"

Art had also seen and eaten things; although his working environment was very harsh, it didn't mean he was poor.

A business of risking one's life, you want to know how big the profit is; to be able to take a cargo ship to the mainland to purchase weapons at this time, how much must this profit be?

As long as there is profit to be made in this world, someone will definitely take the risk; Art is such a person.

So whatever Li Xuewu took out, he wouldn't be surprised, just showing slight surprise.

"You can call it compressed biscuits."

Li Xuewu smiled and signaled how to tear open the vacuum packaging outside, which was very simple.

Art was very surprised this time, looked at the compressed dry rations in Li Xuewu's hand, and asked, "I didn't expect you to have mastered vacuum packaging technology."

"You are in China now, my friend."

Li Xuewu reminded him earnestly, "This is not Africa; you should wake up."

"Hehehe—" Art also knew he had said the wrong thing and laughed.

Is vacuum packaging technology difficult?

The technology isn't difficult; what's difficult is the material; what Art was surprised by was the plastic packaging of the compressed dry rations.

Actually, Li Xuewu was also pretending; this set of equipment was transferred from the Southeast Asian market by the Santa Ya Group and was still very rare in the mainland.

The Santa Ya Group was originally dumping mechanical equipment in the Southeast Asian market, including food production equipment.

Vacuum packaging is a revolutionary invention that changes the way food is stored, especially the progress of material science.

If the Santa Ya Group had recommended this equipment to the Red Star Steel Group three years ago for the food factory to use, the group wouldn't have accepted this suggestion.

Why?

Because three years ago, the North China region couldn't produce food-grade plastic, and it wasn't until 1967 that plastic production technology was introduced from Japan, which solved the packaging problem.

The dry rations Li Xuewu gave Art weren't standard issue products; the General Logistics Department inspected them but didn't purchase them.

There might be many reasons for this; the current situation being relatively solidified was one of them.

Li Xuewu could accept this solidification; whether it was production technology or packaging technology, this kind of product hadn't reached the lowest cost value.

Producing it now could only define this kind of ration as an emergency need, unable to meet regular needs.

"Hmm, a bit dry—"

Art's courage was really big; he wasn't afraid of Li Xuewu poisoning him, and he stuffed the dry rations into his mouth.

"The taste is not bad, a bit sweet, a bit salty; what is this made of?"

"Soybeans, wheat, oil, salt, and sugar." Li Xuewu pursed his lips and pointed to the introduction on the packaging bag, "It's all written here."

"Can't tell what it is at all."

Art chewed carefully, feeling this taste, "Is this the food and grass you just mentioned?"

"That's right, food and grass with very high calories."

Li Xuewu pointed to the packaged food and canned food on the exhibition rack and introduced, "These are tactical rations convenient for individual soldiers to carry."

"This one bag of dry rations in your hand is enough for a soldier to replenish a day's combat consumption."

He took another can of braised pork and said with a smile, "Eat this, and I guarantee you won't be hungry for a whole night; it's very magical."

"Is this pork?"

Art looked carefully at the instructions on the packaging; there were actually English and French annotations.

Obviously, this was prepared to be sold to them, so naturally, it had to be marked with languages they could understand.

"Chinese cooking method for pork."

Li Xuewu introduced it simply, and then introduced beef and lamb canned food to Art.

"Believe me, you can find the most delicious tactical rations in the world here."

He nodded confidently and said, "If you have procurement needs in this regard, I can supply them to you at a friendly price."

"Friendly price? How much is that?"

Art asked curiously, "I didn't expect our friendship to have value."

"This is our way of handling human relationships."

Li Xuewu nodded at him and said, "I will always take care of old friends."

"Then thank you very much—"

Art asked with great interest, "However, how much is our friendship worth?"

"Five percent off; you are the only one."

Li Xuewu emphasized very seriously, "No other procurement merchant has ever been able to take away even a penny of discount from me, except you."

"Thank you, Li, we are good friends."

Hearing him say this, Art reached out very excitedly to shake his hand.

Li Xuewu also raised his hand with a smile, signaling to the exhibition rack in front, "Let's continue looking."

"Ethiopia is in civil war, Somalia is in civil war, Syria is in rebellion, Nigeria is suppressing rebellion..."

Art walked forward following Li Xuewu's footsteps, introducing the situation in Africa at this time.

Different from the situation understood from newspapers, he was introducing his own observations and experiences to Li Xuewu from a unique perspective.

Li Xuewu didn't doubt that he was lying or exaggerating; there had always been information cocoons in this world.

The world you understand isn't comprehensive, and might even be created for you by others.

Art talked about the large-scale famine in Biafra, the comprehensive collapse of the economy and military, and the large-scale humanitarian disaster in the local area; these were all true.

It couldn't be said that these had anything to do with Art; even if Art hadn't participated, other arms dealers would have entered this market.

The market created the merchant, not the merchant created the market; the arms market is like this.

There is demand, and Art will appear; he is a battlefield vulture, a hyena.

"Can I go to Steel City to see you?"

The voice on the phone was a bit hoarse, but still strong, without a trace of weakness.

This wasn't a request, but a need.

"Yes, I'll wait for you in Steel City."

Li Xuewu's answer was very concise and clear, not giving Wu Shuping pressure, and not making things difficult for her.

He didn't ask Wu Shuping if she had seen Lai Jiasheng, let alone what the two had talked about.

Since Wu Shuping had made the call, it meant she was prepared.

There were two travel options from Tianjin to Steel City; one was to take the Red Star Steel Group's commuter passenger ship, departing from Tianjin, and could reach Steel City.

But this route required at least two days, and Wu Shuping couldn't wait, so she chose to take the train.

She knew nothing about what happened in Hong Kong, and was likely the last person to know about this matter.

Yu Li didn't deliberately hide it from her, but she also didn't have the authority to master the communication channels with Hong Kong.

Li Wenbiao went to Hong Kong and represented Li Xuewu in all matters, almost without sending news home.

Yu Li could know about the changes in Hong Kong through other channels; at least Li Wenbiao hadn't reported it.

Li Xuewu suddenly sent Lai Jiasheng to her, to the villa in Tianjin.

Honestly, when she first saw Lai Jiasheng, she almost screamed with joy.

In the end, she still cried, just not so loudly; she was afraid of scaring the child.

Lai Jiasheng was just like before, wearing a well-fitting suit, his hair combed meticulously.

When he saw her, his gaze didn't have the surprise and longing she had imagined; it was very complex.

She could understand; the two had been separated for four years, and even the closest lovers would grow distant.

But as long as the feelings didn't change, and the heart of mutual understanding didn't change, then love wouldn't deteriorate.

Moreover, they also had the crystallization of love.

For the first time, she cried and pulled her son to teach him to call him Dad, but Li Xin's hesitation deeply stung Lai Jiasheng's heart and also lowered the atmosphere of the family reunion to freezing point.

"You should know our situation in the mainland; if it weren't for Li Xuewu's care..."

Wu Shuping looked at him and explained earnestly, "A-Xin must have an identity that can be justified."

"The identity of an illegitimate child?"

Lai Jiasheng didn't doubt whether the son was his own; Li Xin's appearance was exactly the same as his childhood photo, just like being carved from the same mold.

The blood was his, but the son seemed to no longer be his son.

Only at this moment did Wu Shuping notice that along with Lai Jiasheng came Yang Zhao.

Yang Zhao brought two people in and didn't leave, but stood in the corner.

But no matter how silent, it wasn't invisibility; she could finally see.

This posture didn't look like he had come to send Lai Jiasheng back for a reunion, but rather like an escort.

Especially the tone of her lover.

Yang Zhao didn't explain anything, just handed her a letter, a letter from Hong Kong.

The letter was written by Li Wenbiao, without too much personal emotion, just narrative text, detailing what happened in Hong Kong, related to Lai Jiasheng.

When she learned of Lai Jiasheng's actions in Hong Kong, Wu Shuping was like being struck by lightning.

She suspected Li Wenbiao was wrong, and even suspected Li Xuewu was wrong, but didn't suspect Lai Jiasheng for the first time.

But when she put down the letter in her hand and looked at Lai Jiasheng, he was silent.

"This is the residence of me and the child for the past four years."

Wu Shuping was a strong and wise woman after all; she calmly put away the letter and introduced her life with the child to Lai Jiasheng in a complex tone.

"This house has two floors; the upper floor is my and the child's room, and the lower floor is Lu Jie's room, as well as the kitchen and dining room."

Her voice was a bit trembling, and she even forgot to let Lu Jie come out to hold the child and leave.

Li Xin could see his mother's sadness and hugged her thigh very sensibly, giving her support.

Wu Shuping picked up the child and came to the sofa side, handing him to Yang Zhao.

Yang Zhao had come here many times, and Li Xin was naturally familiar with him and willing to follow him.

"A year ago, a girl lived here; her name was Zhou Xiaobai, the daughter of Deputy *** Zhou."

She wiped a tear as she spoke and let out a long breath, saying, "Every letter I wrote to you was mailed to you through Yang Zhao."

Lai Jiasheng looked at her silently and didn't look at the person coaxing the child following her gesture.

He didn't know Yang Zhao; the other party picked him up from the port after he got off the ship and sent him directly here along the way.

There was no greeting on the road, no conversation, not even eye contact; he knew his situation.

From Hong Kong to the mainland, he didn't have the good mood of revisiting old places, nor the fear of being on the edge of an abyss.

It was a heart like dead ashes, the regret of falling short of success.

Only when he saw his wife and child did he know what he was so crazy for.

Wu Shuping's situation made him angry, and even more so, it was self-blame and displaced anger.

He thought his wife and child were living a life of fire and water in the mainland, so he worked hard, hoping to get Li Xuewu's help to take care of them.

At first, Wu Shuping wrote in the letter that Li Xuewu had placed her in the detention center.

He didn't resent Li Xuewu at all, but felt it was a kind of protection.

Wu Shuping wrote to him, introducing her life after coming to Tianjin, saying she needed to cooperate with Li Xuewu to act, to give the child an identity.

Lai Jiasheng completely trusted his lover and also trusted Li Xuewu's character.

Because Li Xuewen and Zhao Yafang were there, Li Xuewu couldn't be that bad even if he were bad.

Being able to save Wu Shuping meant he wouldn't ruin his own reputation; he could trust both of them.

Then the son was born; Wu Shuping mailed him photos, which he treasured and looked at every day.

He looked forward to the reunion of the whole family and longed for his wife and child to come to Hong Kong to reunite with him.

Lai Jiasheng had been paying attention to the port policy situation and hoped to obtain some resources by virtue of his influence in the financial world.

Starting last year, he discussed in his letters to Wu Shuping how to welcome her and the child to Hong Kong.

Wu Shuping also expressed her hope in her reply, and she looked forward even more to reuniting with her lover.

It was just that plans couldn't keep up with changes; problems appeared in the Dongfeng 31 construction, and Li Xuewu, in order to eliminate the contradiction between him and Li Huai De, transferred her to Beijing to take on this important task.

With Li Huai De's tacit approval, the danger brought by her past identity was unexpectedly resolved.

With the protection of the Red Star Steel Group, plus the complex equity structure of the United Construction, the news of her serving as the company's vice president didn't cause even a ripple.

She told this news to Lai Jiasheng and also looked forward to solving the identity problem through normal channels.

If the child could have a good learning and living environment, that would be even better.

Especially the identity of the vice president of the construction company, and mastering the channels of the reorganized Tianjin Shunfeng Trading, she truly achieved freedom from worry about food and clothing in the mainland.

With Li Xuewu's support, her career advanced by leaps and bounds, especially her knowledge applied to work, which won the respect and recognition of her colleagues.

If she didn't love this land deeply, why would she come here from thousands of miles away.

If she could be accepted by this land, then why would she be tearful and bitter every day.

It was also from that time that Wu Shuping's letters to Lai Jiasheng were filled with the joy of career success and happy stories of her son's growth.

There were even fun interactions between her son and children in kindergarten; her words no longer had fear and worry about the situation, but were full of happiness and satisfaction in life.

This made Lai Jiasheng's preparations go down the drain, and even brought a kind of anger of betrayal.

He began to discuss the possibility of the whole family reuniting with Wu Shuping in his letters, and in Wu Shuping's replies, which were affirming on one hand and considering the overall situation on the other, it escalated to discussions and criticisms of the situation and policies.

Wu Shuping didn't want to discuss these with him, only emphasizing Li Xuewu's care and help for her and the child, and also persuading Lai Jiasheng to give Li Xuewu some time, saying there would always be a suitable opportunity to help them escape.

Lai Jiasheng said she was getting deeper and deeper, and even couldn't leave her current life, reluctant to part with this identity.

The two had a quarrel in their letters, and there was no correspondence for a month; it was still Wu Shuping who took the initiative to write to him, only talking about life and the child's situation.

Lai Jiasheng's replies became fewer and fewer, mostly just greetings to the child, and no more discussions about reunion.

The more urgent the hope, the more disappointment would make people lose their reason and faith when the hope was shattered, even if it was just delayed.

Lai Jiasheng could have today's achievements entirely because a belief was supporting him.

After this string loosened, in the paper-drunk and gold-obsessed world of Hong Kong, he relaxed his requirements for himself.

After sinking, he couldn't help but think of what Wu Shuping had once told him about acting with Li Xuewu, and he also became suspicious.

He himself wasn't clean, so he couldn't tolerate others being clean.

So, he turned his resentment towards Wu Shuping and his hatred towards Li Xuewu into revenge against the Oriental Era system.

He knew the Oriental system was Li Xuewu's layout in Hong Kong; he didn't have the guts to lift this lid, but he had the determination of an ant moving house.

Collapsing a building could start from the details.

If he couldn't cause problems in his own work, he could only let others cause problems.

Internal strife was undoubtedly the most direct and ruthless way to topple an enterprise.

Li Xuewu trusted Watching Lou Xiaoe, otherwise, he wouldn't have handed over such a large company to her to operate.

Li Xuewu also trusted Wen Hanzhe; he knew they were childhood friends and brothers in suffering.

Li Xuewu trusted Ji Wang Weidong even more; Prince Port was as stable as Mount Tai; he naturally knew whose credit it was.

Dealing with one alone was too difficult; only by provoking relationships could they be made to fight internally.

He knew Ji Wang Weidong had long been dissatisfied with Wen Hanzhe's working style and personal behavior, and even more so with Watching Lou Xiaoe's gradually expanding confidence and ideas.

He just gave a light push to let the contradictions between several people gradually escalate, and then sat on the mountain to watch the tigers fight.

He never expected that he would be exposed. ===== CHAPTER 1463 =====