Chapter 1470: Rules of the Jianghu

"Just tell me how many people you can take in."

Li Li Xuewu, too lazy to haggle further with Xu Sinian, pointed directly at him and emphasized, "This is not up for negotiation."

"How many can you take? You say it."

Xu Sinian smiled bitterly and said, "If I said I could take twenty thousand, would you believe me?"

"If we really had to take in twenty thousand people, we'd be drinking northwest wind for the rest of the year."

"Cut the bullshit; can you handle three thousand or not?"

Li Li Xuewu tapped his finger on the desktop, glanced at Ji Ji Jiuzheng sitting opposite him, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Ji Ji Jiuzheng had rarely worked alongside him; even during the period when he was in charge of the Joint Energy General Company and frequently worked in Liaodong, he had little contact with Li Li Xuewu.

The Energy General Company fell under the Group's leadership, with Zhang Jinsong as the supervising leader, while Li Li Xuewu merely held the position of local territorial leader.

However, he knew Li Li Xuewu's working style very well; when he furrowed his brow, it meant he was getting serious and truly concerned.

Xu Sinian on the other end of the line didn't need to see his expression; he could sense Li Li Xuewu's attitude from the increasingly impatient tone in his voice.

"I can't place three thousand; two thousand three hundred is the maximum," he stated plainly. "I have to reserve 700 slots for next year's Vocational and Technical College."

"Keep dreaming; 700 people, my foot."

Li Li Xuewu let out a cold laugh and said, "I'm giving you two thousand eight hundred. You don't need to reserve that many slots; if you can snatch even 200 people, I'll consider your hands fast enough."

"What if there aren't enough slots?"

Xu Sinian tried to bargain, saying, "I urgently need talent related to shipbuilding."

"If next year's slots aren't enough, I'll get more for you."

Li Li Xuewu snorted and said, "Everyone is short-staffed; how many graduates come out in a whole year?"

"Enough, stop trying to bargain with me."

Not wanting to listen to Xu Sinian's nagging any longer, he urged, "You have one week to prepare. Next Monday, the Group will contact you directly to coordinate the placement of workers awaiting post reassignment."

"Let me remind you: the leadership's opinion and requirement is proper placement, so don't try to pull the wool over our eyes."

"The dock construction site needs people."

Xu Sinian's voice sounded a bit weak; rubbing his face, he explained, "I was thinking of squeezing a few more positions over there."

"Do I need you to squeeze positions at the dock construction site?"

Li Li Xuewu frowned and emphasized, "The task is exactly this much; no one has been left out, so don't talk nonsense."

"Don't worry, don't worry; since it's landed on my head, I'll make sure everyone is placed properly, truly properly placed."

Xu Sinian nodded in resignation and bargained, "Then next year, request a few more university graduates for me."

"Hello? Hello? Damn, hung up so fast!"

Li Li Xuewu's hand was faster than Xu Sinian's mouth; he hung up the phone before the other man could continue bargaining.

He lifted his teacup and took a large gulp, then looked at Ji Ji Jiuzheng opposite him and said, "You ran fast; otherwise, you'd have a share of this too."

"Hehe, sharing the burden for the organization, of course."

Ji Ji Jiuzheng seemed to have already adjusted his work emotions and smiled very openly.

This time, coming to Gangcheng in his capacity as the Group's Deputy Secretary-General, his purpose was to assist Li Li Xuewu in executing personnel appointment work.

Though called assistance, it was actually the Group dispatching him here to express their stance and urge implementation, hoping the Liaodong Industrial Management Group would resolutely carry out the reassignment and placement of workers awaiting posts.

Among the tens of thousands eliminated from existing posts, some refused to leave Jingcheng and leveraged connections to transfer to the New Capital No. 1 Factory or other factories in Jingcheng to continue working.

Others, cherishing the benefits and treatment of the Red Star Steel Group, chose to compete for posts or voluntarily apply for transfers.

Whether they failed the competition for posts or voluntarily applied for transfers, the Group had to take responsibility as the safety net.

The Construction Engineering General Company, the Logistics Development General Company, and the Joint Energy Development General Company—these three major employers absorbed the vast majority of reassigned and transferred personnel.

Other tertiary industries and manufacturing sectors accepted relatively few people, or even none at all.

After all, these people were eliminated from the manufacturing and industrial systems; how could there be any chance for them to flow back in?

Transfer meant there would be no more opportunity to return to workshop work; they would have to switch to other types of jobs.

Changing job types also meant changes in both the company affiliation and treatment; naturally, the workers were unwilling, but there was no other way.

Some might think the Logistics Service Company was also a major absorber of laid-off workers, but that was not the case within the Red Star Steel Group.

Whether it was the Logistics Service Company or the Property Management General Company currently being organized, the requirements for professional talent were extremely high; at the very least, one had to obtain a vocational skill level certification.

High-altitude operations, hazardous operations, hot work operations, and so on—since the Group intended to achieve comprehensive reform, it had to perfect its management systems at the fundamental level.

Furthermore, these systems were gradually perfected along with personnel flow; they could not allow the backflow of workers to affect units that had already completed their personnel reforms.

Therefore, the current generation of young people with university degrees was squeezing the survival space of younger cadres with lower educational qualifications.

Meanwhile, soon-to-graduate secondary and junior college students with vocational skills training experience were entering into competitive relationships with the workers in the workshops.

Thinking about it this way, every year saw young, educated graduates with greater development potential and higher technical standards, whom the Group had focused on cultivating and training, entering the workshops; since the number of workshop positions was fixed, workers who could not keep up with the production rhythm would inevitably be eliminated.

Workers who were eliminated but had not yet reached retirement age could only transfer to other positions.

Year after year, excellent graduates arrived at the Red Star Steel Group and entered the production workshops; unless one possessed genuine ability, the future would truly belong to the young.

Did the shipyard count as a manufacturing industrial enterprise?

It did, but many positions in the shipyard required only physical exertion; especially in the last two years, as Yingcheng Shipbuilding continuously invested in new shipbuilding operations to expand manufacturing business, there was a need to increase personnel positions.

Xu Sinian had planned to request personnel from the Group bit by bit, or to recruit locally from the region.

However, coinciding with the Group's organizational and personnel reform, local recruitment was now impossible; they would have to wait until the Group had fully absorbed its original workforce before considering it.

Ji Ji Jiuzheng had been requested by Li Li Huai De to come to Liaodong to convey the Group's requirements regarding related work to Li Li Xuewu, as well as to inspect the situation of personnel transfer and placement and solicit opinions from the staff below.

"That's all for now."

Li Li Xuewu glanced at the list in his hand, took a sip of tea, and said, "We also have to place retired and transferred military personnel; this is also a target set by the Group."

"We will proceed according to your instructions," Ji Ji Jiuzheng nodded and said. "The development of industry in Liaodong this year cannot stagnate due to personnel placement."

"On one hand, there is industrial development; at this moment, the Group's various industries stationed in Liaodong are still in a critical period of reform."

Li Li Xuewu shook his head slightly and said, "It is even more about seizing opportunities demanded by shifting policies and circumstances."

"Mm, I can feel that point."

Ji Ji Jiuzheng nodded and agreed, stating, "The Management Committee's opinion is that starting from the end of the year, we must mobilize at least fifty thousand cadres, workers, and their families from the entire group to actively participate in the war-preparation system."

"According to Director Li's opinion, we should take day-and-night shift excavation as the basic condition, and expand excavation and construction based on the existing emergency air-defense system."

He lowered his head slightly and stated the group's target requirements for war-preparation work: "Liaodong Industry, according to target allocation, needs to excavate two thousand three hundred meters and five thousand six hundred square meters of underground space."

Listening to his words, Li Li Xuewu did not rush to emphasize the importance of production work; Li Li Huai De was no fool, of course knowing that war-preparation work would affect industrial production.

The group had merely issued task targets; it had not dictated how he should do it or what methods to use.

Just like the underground space the group had already excavated in the Liangma River Industrial Zone, which had already satisfied most air-defense requirements.

Some said this was purely scaring oneself, wasting manpower and resources, and achieving nothing.

Actually, that was not the case; in this era, vigilance and defense against 'fried eggs' were all-encompassing.

Precisely because we possessed such an indestructible weapon did we understand its danger and destructive power.

Air-defense war preparation emphasizes not conditions, but capability and psychology; this is the key to this operation.

"To reinforce and support this activity, the Group Party Committee and the Management Committee have decided to transfer a batch of cadres and staff from various departments to various industrial enterprises to participate in production labor, receive re-education from the working class, and explore experiences of transformation..."

"Isn't this just being full and having nothing better to do?"

Kuang Kuang Yusheng said in bad temper, "Making workers and families participate in air-raid shelter excavation work, then transferring cadres and staff from the group to participate in labor production work."

With an expression of utter absurdity on his face, he said, "Then why not directly arrange for cadres and staff to dig the air-raid shelters?"

"That way, we would save ourselves from delaying industrial production while also achieving the work of re-education and experience exploration."

"Grumbling is permitted."

Li Li Xuewu glanced at him, nodded, then looked at the others present and emphasized, "But what must be executed still must be executed; too much grumbling will break one's intestines."

"Hehehe—"

Everyone was finding joy in bitterness; their laughter carried helplessness, and indeed, no one was willing to relax requirements on industrial production at this time.

Among them, Kuang Kuang Yusheng was the most nervous and under the greatest pressure, because industrial production at Steel City Rolling Steel Plant had not yet fully commenced, with some workshops still waiting for workers.

"As for the cement plant, cut out the superfluous and simplify."

Li Li Xuewu thought for a moment and said, "We have a power plant and a mining company; let's integrate them."

"Coordinate further with local authorities to see if we can substitute production for capital and achieve a swap of land resources."

What he had in mind was exchanging production capacity for resources; regardless of whether these air-raid shelters could be used in the future, now that the policy had come down, it had to be done.

"How has the site selection for the air-raid shelters been considered?"

Kuang Kuang Yusheng knew he could not avoid the question, frowned, and asked, "Go into the mountains?"

"What use is going into the mountains?"

Lü Yuanshen smoked, puff after puff of smoke blowing from his nostrils like a stove.

"If artillery shells really fall, by the time we run up the mountain, the day lily will be cold."

"Then excavate on the spot?" Kuang Kuang Yusheng glanced at him, weighing the pros and cons within.

"It would be great if we could build warehouses."

Xiao Xiao Zihong had participated in the group's, that is, the Liangma River Industrial Zone's, planning work, having joined the coordination efforts at the time as a representative of the Security Department.

Because he had similar thinking, he made a suggestion along this line: "It would be best if we could make use of them."

"In this flat plain region, where can we find such a suitable place for you to excavate a warehouse district?"

Kuang Kuang Yusheng lit a cigarette for himself, puffed on it, and said, "This is a completely different matter from the group company building underground parking lots."

"This experience can be referenced, but not copied, because the cost is too high."

Bi Bi Yuding emphasized, "Several underground projects in the Liangma River Industrial Zone took over a year to complete; if we include the later supplementary excavation parts, it was two years."

"Even with the support of mechanical equipment, it still required two years; now, we..."

"Mechanical equipment—"

Xiao Xiao Zihong thought for a moment and said, "Our factory might be able to coordinate some excavators and loaders."

"However, they are all equipment returned to the General Construction Engineering Company for repairs; whether they can be used, or how long they can be used, is hard to say; that depends on the actual situation."

He turned his gaze toward Li Li Xuewu and asked, "Does the group have any intention of allocating funds or mobilizing engineering machinery to support this project?"

"Only tasks and targets."

Li Li Xuewu tapped the documents Ji Ji Jiuzheng had brought before him, passively inhaling secondhand smoke, and said, "How to do it and what to do are all for us to figure out ourselves."

"All industrial factory zones have already completed their civil engineering; digging air-raid shelters now is just destroying the foundation—" Kong Xiaobo was also smoking, speaking in a depressed tone, "If it doesn't work, just dig down from the streets."

"Dig down from the streets?"

Li Li Xuewu's eyebrows moved; a rough map of the Red Star Steel City Industrial Zone automatically appeared in his mind.

He mentally calculated this suggestion, considering the positions and directions of several streets, as well as their specific lengths and areas.

Kong Xiaobo had spoken without much thought; he hadn't expected his casual remark to make Li Li Xuewu start thinking.

"What good would digging up the streets do?"

Lü Yuanshen was also curious about Li Li Xuewu's thoughts; he looked at Kong Xiaobo, saw the other man was equally bewildered, and found it both amusing and absurd.

Digging up existing factory zones is self-destruction of the foundation; does digging up streets not count as destroying the roadbed?

"How far is it from the industrial zone to the urban area?"

Li Li Xuewu stood up, walked to the map of Steel City hanging on the wall, and Secretary Zhang Enyuan handed him a ruler.

In an era without electronic maps, calculating distances using scaled maps was standard practice.

Gesturing as he spoke, Li Li Xuewu said, "How about building an underground passage from the industrial zone to the urban area?"

—

Question marks appeared simultaneously on the foreheads of everyone in the conference room; they did not understand what Li Li Xuewu meant by this.

From the industrial zone to the urban district? An underground passage?

Not taking the main road on the surface but insisting on going underground—what kind of idea is this?

"It's a bit far—"

Kong Xiaobo also thought of something; he actively stood up, walked over to Li Li Xuewu's side, and looked at the map on the wall.

"Calculated this way, it exceeds the standard, and the engineering volume is simply too massive."

"Then think about it in reverse." Li Li Xuewu gently swept the ruler in his hand, pointing the target at the distance between the industrial zone's main artery and the living district.

"This—" Kong Xiaobo was stunned; if following Li Li Xuewu's previous statement, they should be building a subway.

After all, an underground passage leading to the urban district could only be a subway, and this was precisely the idea he was questioning.

But with Li Li Xuewu reversing the direction like this, could it be that they intended to build a subway within the industrial zone?

In this era, subways were not considered high-tech products; Jingcheng had long possessed a subway system.

It was just that building a subway inside the industrial zone made little sense—excavating the underground to build railways in circles?

"If we take the main artery as the direction of travel and combine it with the surrounding engineering conditions, how about constructing underground warehouses, parking lots, and commercial facilities?"

Li Li Xuewu turned around and, addressing everyone in the conference room, explained: "We can combine the underground civil air defense projects with living needs, strengthen the foundation, and integrate them with the cargo transportation requirements of various industrial enterprises."

He walked to the blackboard at one end of the conference room, picked up a piece of chalk, and with several swift strokes, drew a schematic diagram.

"The industrial zone constructs transport ramps from underground to the surface, or large lifting cranes."

"An underground transportation network?"

Kuang Kuang Yusheng frowned and asked: "What is the difference between this and excavation within the factory zone?"

"This is regional planning excavation, whereas the factory zone is fixed-point excavation; how can they be the same?"

Kong Xiaobo, however, saw some of the intricacies; staring at the blackboard, he lectured: "Have you seen 'Tunnel Warfare'? This counts as skipping the single tunnel and directly upgrading to connected tunnels, plus adding commercial functions."

"Urban construction planning is a profound science; what we can master is merely the superficial aspects."

Li Li Xuewu put down the chalk, walked behind Xiao Xiao Zihong, stood still, rested his hand on the back of his chair, and addressed the crowd: "The development plan for Gangcheng Industrial Zone is still too compact; the living district also needs a certain commercial service area."

"If we can integrate necessary facilities such as the Comprehensive Service Office, I believe our civil air defense projects will gain new momentum."

He did not force everyone to continue racking their brains; instead, he patted the chair back, strode toward his own seat, and said: "Alright, let's end today's meeting here; everyone go back, combine your own ideas and experience, and submit a feasibility report, which will also serve as an explanation to the Group."

As Li Li Xuewu passed by, he also pointed at Ji Ji Jiuzheng, who had been sitting by the conference table without saying a word, and emphasized: "We must at least make things passable for our Deputy Secretary-General."

"Hehehe—" Everyone detected the attitude in Li Li Xuewu's tone, and their hearts instantly felt much lighter.

Dig, then; since the higher-ups want digging, let's dig slowly, digging with planning and digging with a schedule.

Keep digging, and eventually, no one will emphasize this matter anymore; activities and policies are alike, both being just a passing wind.

By that time, these civil air defense projects will have become logistical projects meeting their respective needs; after returning, we truly must think this over carefully.

"Zhang San still hasn't been found."

Zhao Zhao Lao Si's face was already wrinkled; sitting on the sofa with a worried and bitter expression, his legs felt weak and hollow.

Li Li Xuewu's expression was not much better either; leaning back on the sofa with his right leg crossed, he asked: "Can a person grow wings and fly away?"

"Flying is impossible, but I suspect he has fled."

Zhao Zhao Lao Si explained: "He cannot hide on the surface; we have scraped the ground clean."

"Even if he were playing the 'hiding under the lamp' trick, we would have found him long ago."

After thinking for a moment, he raised his head, looked at Li Li Xuewu, and said: "Considering the confessions from his accomplices we have arrested one after another, he either went north or east."

"The Russians? The Koreans?"

Li Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes slightly and asked: "How did he get out?"

"There must be some unknown connections involved."

Zhao Zhao Lao Si analyzed: "Zhang San has operated in Fengcheng and the Northeast region for so many years; his network of relations is already everywhere."

"A cunning rabbit has three burrows; perhaps he arranged this escape route long ago, otherwise how could he vanish into thin air?"

"If he vanished, where could he have gone?"

Li Li Xuewu lifted his head slightly, looked at him, and asked: "What about Zhang San's family assets and his family?"

"That is exactly why we say he was fully prepared."

Zhao Zhao Lao Si's expression became even more bitter and depressed as he said: "His relatives disappeared long ago, and his family assets are reduced to only what could not be carried away."

"Distant relatives can still be found, but it is of little significance; making a big move is likely to cause complications."

He let out a long sigh, glanced at Li Li Xuewu, and asked softly: "Should we ask those people from the Investigation Division for help to see where the person actually went?"

"Would it be useful? If it were useful, they would have extended a helping hand long ago."

Li Li Xuewu truly did not think highly of those old soldiers at the dock; he reminded Zhao Zhao Lao Si: "Those people are either beneficiaries of nepotism or just marking time; asking them for help is useless."

"Send a message to Ji Wang Weidong, telling him that his chance to redeem himself through merit has arrived, and don't say the Organization didn't give him an opportunity."

"Can he help?" Zhao Zhao Lao Si asked with some hesitation: "Regarding this Northeast Asia side..."

"Rest assured, he is capable enough."

Li Li Xuewu nodded and said: "He can navigate Southeast Asia clearly, so Northeast Asia is no problem."

"Southeast Asia is not as critical as Northeast Asia."

He merely muttered this sentence and did not continue discussing this topic.

At this moment, Bang Geng walked out of his room, glanced at them, and then silently walked over to the sofa and sat down.

Li Li Xuewu pondered for a while before looking at Bang Geng and asking: "Did you sleep well?"

"I didn't fall asleep." Bang Geng replied in a flat tone, keeping his head slightly lowered, his personality having become much more silent.

Li Li Xuewu indeed did not pay much attention; he lifted his teacup, took a sip, turned to Zhao Zhao Lao Si, and instructed: "It doesn't matter if Zhang San has fled; the world is only so big, where can he run to, unless he changes his appearance and surname?"

"Don't wait for those existing minions; deal with them as they come, following the rules of the Jianghu."

What are the rules of the Jianghu?

A life for a life, a debt repaid in full.

"Understood, I'll go back and arrange it immediately."

Zhao Zhao Lao Si nodded seriously, stood up to acknowledge the order, and even patted Banggeng's head as he left.

Banggeng simply endured it, displaying none of his former mischief or playfulness; returning this time seemed to have changed him into a different person.

Growth always comes at a price.

He just sat silently beside Li Li Xuewu on the sofa, and only after about half an hour did he finally react to Li Li Xuewu's questioning.

"Seeing Seeing Gelin took people north, saying they must find them alive or recover their corpses dead."

It was Li Li Xuewu who asked about Yingcheng, and Banggeng recounted the memorable details one by one.

By the end, regarding the whereabouts of Seeing Seeing Gelin and the others, he knew only a little more and could say nothing else.

Li Li Xuewu listened while thinking, waiting until Banggeng finished speaking before truly sizing him up.

"How did you feel about this trip to Yingcheng?"

Feel? It felt extremely unpleasant.

Banggeng pressed his lips into a thin line, hanging his head in silence; clearly, this tour of Yingcheng had been neither happy nor relaxing.

"You are no longer a child; the path you take is your own choice, and I will only give you this one opportunity."

Li Li Xuewu stood up and, walking toward the study, stated, "Think carefully about which path you wish to take."

Banggeng lifted his head to look at Wu Shu's retreating figure, his inner turmoil mirroring his brows, which were tightly knitted together.

"Haa—"

Just as Banggeng wore a look of deep worry, a Miss descended from the stairs on the second floor, wearing simple silk pajamas that revealed a very well-proportioned figure.

She looked as though she had just woken up, letting out a long yawn as she came down.

Banggeng turned his head to glance at her, his brows knitting even tighter.

"What are you staring at? Don't recognize me?"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling adjusted her clothes to cover the cleavage accidentally exposed, while chiding the half-grown boy who was looking at her with such eyes.

Banggeng, however, had no interest in her and asked in an indifferent tone, "Why have you come again?"

"Why can't I come?"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling glanced at him and said, "This isn't your home; does your presence here mean mine is forbidden?"

"I am here to work."

Banggeng frowned as he sized her up, his gaze listless as he remarked, "You're here to work too?"

"Can't I be here as a guest?"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling seemed to find amusement in bickering with him; she plopped down on the sofa deliberately to provoke him and asked, "So young, what kind of work do you do?"

"Is that any of your business?" Banggeng slanted his eyes at her and said, "Ask fewer questions about society's affairs."

"Oh—so you're a man of society, are you?"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling smiled faintly, shaking her head as she looked at him and said, "Truly didn't see that coming."

"A true master never reveals himself; one who reveals himself is no true master."

Banggeng turned his head and remarked, "If you could truly figure it out, would I still be called a man of society?"

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling nodded with feigned understanding, then asked, "Then which territory do you roam, and how many brothers do you have?"

"I already said, ask fewer questions about society's affairs—"

Could Banggeng answer? Was he supposed to admit how miserable his situation was, with only two or three stray cats for brothers?

"Banggeng, go order dinner."

Li Li Xuewu's voice came from the study; tonight, it was once again "ordering takeout."

There was no choice but to order takeout; they couldn't exactly go hungry.

Banggeng had arrived home this afternoon and hadn't yet recovered his strength, while Zhou Zhou Xiaoling had arrived last night and, judging by her appearance, was someone whose ten fingers had never touched spring water; so what were they to eat tonight?

"Uncle, what are we eating tonight?"

Hearing the summons, Banggeng immediately transformed from the unruly youth of moments before into the demeanor expected of a disciple.

He hurried to the study door and asked respectfully, "Should I go to the restaurant to pick it up?"

"Let them deliver it; it gets dark early."

Li Li Xuewu lifted his head to look out the window and instructed, "Order two extra dishes; your Zhou Yan Jie has arrived."

"Alright, I'll go make the call right away."

Banggeng did not take up the mention of Zhou Yan Jie but merely replied softly in assent, fearing to disturb his godfather's writing, then turned to make the phone call.

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling rose from the sofa, shuffled in white cotton slippers, and stepped into the study.

"Second Brother, not resting?"

"Mm, writing something." Li Li Xuewu's mind was not on her; he hadn't even registered what she asked, merely responding out of habit.

His pen tip swished across the paper, leaving behind a string of clean characters; this was an idea he had only developed in the past few days.

"Public Security Management Studies?" Zhou Zhou Xiaoling read aloud the title on the manuscript lying to one side.

She knew Li Li Xuewu had written several books; she had even bought and read them personally just to get closer to him.

In fact, she knew that Xiaoxiao had also secretly read his books, though she found them somewhat difficult to get into.

How to put it? They were too specialized; especially the concepts and applications of psychology and the case analyses targeting criminal investigation work left an outsider like her utterly confused.

Criminal Psychology was like that, and so were the later works Defend the People and Defend Industry; the latter two were even more theoretical, making them fuzzier to read and so boring they made her want to sleep.

To capture a man's heart, if you cannot capture his stomach, then you must capture his mind.

If you do not even understand what the other person is thinking or doing, how can you speak of sharing hearts and achieving understanding?

"Did you sleep the entire day?"

Li Li Xuewu finished writing this passage, lifted his head to glance at her, his gaze lingering on her nightgown for several seconds.

Just past eight o'clock last night, he had suddenly received a phone call from Zhou Zhou Xiaoling at the airport.

She said there were no rooms available at the Metallurgy Factory guesthouse, and the airport guesthouse was full, so she wanted to stay overnight at his place.

What could Li Li Xuewu say? Was he supposed to call the Metallurgy Factory guesthouse and ask them to clear a room?

Instead, he called the driver squad, arranged for a car to pick her up and bring her to his home.

He knew all about this Miss's little schemes; she wanted to compete with him in fishing ability and technique.

"Not at all—I went out this morning."

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling deliberately smoothed the nightgown slipping off her shoulder, covering her fair skin.

Her face flushed slightly, yet her eyes remained fixed on the manuscript paper, as if she were very interested in the article he was writing.

"Second Brother, what is this you're writing?"

Having found an opening for conversation, she finally lifted her head to look at Li Li Xuewu and asked, "Aren't you no longer responsible for security work?"

"A whim; I suddenly felt like writing."

Tired from writing, Li Li Xuewu capped his fountain pen, stood up, and walked to the window to look outside; the October wind blew down the last stubbornly clinging withered leaves in the courtyard, from the vegetable garden that Zhou Wang Yamei had cleared with Zhao Zhao Lao Si and Zhou Zhou Changli.

"You are truly so talented."

Holding his manuscript, Zhou Zhou Xiaoling read while praising him: "Why do you have such excellent writing style and train of thought? Is it because you write so much?"

"I write much, and I read much."

Li Li Xuewu folded his arms without turning around, watching the sparrows hopping on the wall as he said, "If you have an interest in writing, you can also try reading and writing more."

"I don't possess your talent."

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling sheepishly put down the manuscript in her hands, looked at his back, and said in a tone of admiration, "If only I had your insight and mind."

"There are people who envy this?"

Only after watching the sparrow fly away did Li Li Xuewu turn around to look at her and ask, "Do you have no work today?"

"Are you trying to chase me away?"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling changed to an expression of eager longing and asked aggrievedly, "Did I disturb your writing?"

"I was just asking about your work."

Li Li Xuewu walked back to the desk, picked up his fountain pen, and said while unscrewing the cap, "Do not linger too long."

"Hee-hee—I won't—"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling waited until he sat down before standing behind his chair and reaching out to pinch his shoulders.

"Since I'm eating and staying here for free, you won't get annoyed with me, right? Should I pay for my meals?"

"Are you planning to stay here long-term?"

Banggeng suddenly appeared at the study door, looked at her, and said, "I can give you my room; the rent is 15 yuan per month."

"Who wants your room—"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling turned her head and glared at him, scolding playfully, "Didn't I tell you to order meals?"

"I've ordered them; there was nothing you like to eat."

Banggeng seemed to be targeting her deliberately; ignoring her signaling glances, he refused to leave, standing at the doorway with his arms folded.

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling could see he was doing it on purpose, yet she still could not bear to leave Li Li Xuewu's side.

Li Li Xuewu, however, could not stand the two of them bickering; he turned his head and said to her, "Go on, find a book to read, or go back to sleep; when the food arrives, let Banggeng call you."

"Yes, look how sleepy you are; go sleep again, and I'll come call you when the meal is ready."

Banggeng raised his eyebrows, imitating Wu Shu's words, making no attempt to hide the teasing and mockery behind his speech.

"Understood, Second Brother—"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling glared at Banggeng, then responded in a gentle tone, pinched his shoulders two last times, and walked out of the study.

"Ruining my good things—"

As she went out the door, she even tapped Banggeng's forehead, threatening softly, "Just you wait!"

"Wait for what?" Banggeng folded his arms, turned his head, and glared at her, refusing to back down an inch as he said, "Wait for you to come and deal with me?"

"I can't wait to get close to you—"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling replied fiercely yet in that same gentle tone, reaching both hands to his face and rubbing it hard.

Banggeng had never experienced such a situation; this was different from how his mother teased him.

When a simply dressed girl rubs your face, her coquettish breath also blowing against your skin, how do you feel?

This wicked girl is actually quite good-looking!

"Second Brother, shall I have a drink with you?"

In the end, Zhou Zhou Xiaoling did not want to let Li Li Xuewu go; holding a bottle of red wine and a stemmed glass, she went up to the second floor.

At the position of the second-floor balcony, Li Li Xuewu sat there looking at the night scene outside the window, during the leisure time after dinner.

Guanshan Road did not border a main thoroughfare; both sides of the street consisted of such detached buildings, with very few dense residential areas.

Precisely because of this layout, there was a tranquil environment, especially regarding the amount of greenery surrounding it.

In this era, workers' residential areas had not yet emphasized green environments; mostly, a few trees were planted and that was it.

The location of Zhou Wang Yamei's house was very good; sitting on the second-floor balcony, one could clearly see the forest on the slope not far away.

Lush and verdant, dark and glossy.

Several autumn rains had already fallen; the vegetation that remained, besides the large trees, was only the small grass with tenacious vitality.

"What are you looking at?"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling placed the wine bottle and wine glass on the small table, followed his gaze into the distance, seeing only a pitch-black expanse.

It was October; the days grew dark early. Before six o'clock, night had already fallen completely, limiting how far she could see.

"The mountains, the distant mountains."

Li Li Xuewu turned his head to look at her and asked, "What made you think of drinking? And where did you find this?"

"If I wanted a drink, I had one—"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling poured some wine into both his glass and her own, joking, "Besides, you don't charge me for meals anyway."

"Where was this wine hidden that you managed to find it?"

Li Li Xuewu glanced amusedly at the bottle of red wine on the small table; it was clearly Zhou Wang Yamei's private stash.

If they drank this today, how would he answer when Zhou Wang Yamei came looking later? Claim that Haozi had stolen it and drunk it?

"You'll never guess."

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling pressed her lips together, smiling as she said, "Right in the cabinet of the room where I'm staying."

"Oh, so that's where it was hidden."

Li Li Xuewu shook his head slightly; he hadn't searched carefully, merely reminding Zhou Wang Yamei not to indulge excessively in alcohol.

Zhou Wang Yamei seemed to care deeply about his opinion, unwilling to let him see her drinking.

So, was she still drinking heavily now?

Almost not at all; she was too swamped with work to have time for melancholy sentiments.

Only those with leisure had the time to slowly savor red wine, and even then, it required an interesting soul and story to accompany it.

"If you hadn't become a group leader, you would certainly have been an outstanding writer."

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling raised her glass in flattery, saying, "Isn't there a saying that gold shines wherever it goes?"

"No, gold cannot be seen at night."

Li Li Xuewu glanced at her, lifted his glass to clink against hers, and emphasized, "Gold also needs a light source to reveal it, to set it off."

"Just like me? Heh—"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling tentatively looked at him, then drank the wine in her cup with some excitement.

In truth, red wine held little mellow flavor; such descriptions were merely the emotional definitions of wine tasters.

If Li Li Xuewu were to speak on it, the only significance of drinking red wine was its strong afterkick, which easily intoxicated people.

Zhou Zhou Xiaoling was clearly aiming to get herself drunk to give him an opportunity; no matter how love-addled she was, she couldn't possibly believe she could drink Second Brother under the table, could she?

"Gold does not shine on its own."

Li Li Xuewu gave her a meaningful look, then turned his gaze toward the window; after the evening breeze passed, a chill set in.

It seemed another autumn rain was brewing, ready to fall at any moment.