Chapter 1552: A Change in the Weather?

"Brother—" Zhou Xiaobai trotted into the lobby of the International Hotel, stamping her feet at the entrance.

"There's so much snow in the capital this year."

"Not only is there a lot, but it's heavy, too—"

Zuo Jie was waiting for her. He took a broom from a waiter and handed it to her, gesturing for her to brush the snow off her pant legs.

"I'm so unlucky; I took a spill right at the door."

Zhou Xiaobai grumbled a complaint, took the broom to sweep the snow off herself, and at the same time curiously raised her head to look at Li Xuewu, who was talking not far away. She raised an eyebrow at Zuo Jie and asked, "Who is that?"

When she had just entered, she had greeted him proactively, but seeing Li Xuewu only turn his head to glance at her before continuing his conversation, she hadn't really paid attention to what he was doing.

"Oh, he's from the Sanhe Corporation."

Zuo Jie just glanced over and explained indifferently, "Wu Ge came here tonight specifically to see him off."

"A Japanese person? Pfft—" Zhou Xiaobai straightened her back, curled her lip, and asked, "Do you know him?"

"Don't be ridiculous, how would I know him?"

Zuo Jie waved his hand with a chuckle, saying, "Wu Ge told me; otherwise, how would I know who he is?"

"What are you doing here?"

Zhou Xiaobai shifted her gaze away from the Japanese man and sized Zuo Jie up instead.

Zuo Jie was almost amused to the point of laughter. He retorted irritably, "What? Am I an eyesore to you?"

"At least you have some self-awareness."

Zhou Xiaobai rolled her eyes at him, walked around him, and headed straight toward Li Xuewu.

"…Although it is regrettable that we could not reach further cooperation, our partnership continues."

Nishida Kenichi's Chinese was quite good; Li Xuewu had never found communication difficult since he first met him.

In fact, in this era, whether they were Japanese or Korean, many people could speak Chinese.

After all, they were people who had come from vassal states; the admiration and covetousness they held for Chinese in those years were very complex.

So much so that in later variety shows, Koreans would treat 80-year-old Chinese calligraphy as antiques, and the Japanese language itself could not exist without its Chinese components.

Of course, the more one cannot obtain something, the more restless one becomes.

Nishida Kenichi's mood right now was exactly like that. Watching Li Xuewu's unhurried and composed response, although he was very angry and anxious, he still had to handle things steadily.

Coming to the capital this time, he admitted he had underestimated the Red Steel Group and, even more so, had failed to place his opponent in the position they deserved.

This led to his approach in the cooperation negotiations being overly aggressive, which affected the next steps of the technical cooperation.

He knew the Red Steel Group had introduced a lot of industrial technology from East Germany, but he didn't know exactly what.

This was the fatal point, and the root cause of his anxiety. What if there was cooperation on electronic industrial technology?

Although East Germany was a paper tiger, living off the remnants of the past, who could deny that it was the front line of the Cold War?

The technical tilt from the entire economic cooperation organization still allowed East Germany to live quite comfortably.

Economic cooperation between organizations in the international market was a very normal situation, just like the Japanese economic delegation frequently visiting the mainland—wasn't that also a form of economic cooperation?

This was essentially no different from the mainland visiting East Germany, but for the Sanhe Corporation, the Red Steel Group's gains and technological rise represented a crisis.

Having not rested well for several days, since that conversation with Li Xuewu, Nishida Kenichi had reflected on himself. He even personally visited a senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who had worked on the mainland for many years to ask about the current state of the mainland's economic development and the direction of its economic policies.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had technical officers specializing in this research, so his questions naturally had answers.

Whether it was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other Japanese businessmen, the conclusion given was that it was positive and upward-moving.

They participated in the Export Commodities Fair held in Yangcheng every year, unless the mainland didn't allow it.

Although since 1966, some turmoil had appeared on the mainland, which had affected their trade work.

However, after several years of restoration and development, the trade environment on the mainland had regained hope.

Especially with the adjustments and probings in policy, enterprises represented by the Red Steel Group were experimenting with a market economy, which also allowed many Japanese businessmen to see the dawn of cooperation.

It wasn't that no one had criticized Nishida Kenichi's methods, believing them to be too base.

Nishida Kenichi admitted that this failure stemmed entirely from his arrogance and pride, and he was currently learning his lesson.

Although it was regrettable, he did not continue to seek cooperation, hoping for a recovery period after this contact.

Even if he urgently hoped to sign further technical cooperation documents with the Red Steel Group before East German technology entered the mainland, he also knew he could not be overly eager for success.

Tomorrow he would return to Japan with the delegation, and Li Xuewu had come today to see him off.

Li Xuewu represented the Red Steel Group and also participated in the farewell banquet held at the Great Hall of the People as a cooperation representative for the Sanhe Corporation, subsequently returning to the International Hotel where Nishida Kenichi was staying during his visit.

The purpose was to maintain contact with the Red Steel Group, and with the convenience of the International Hotel, how could he not stay here?

That Li Xuewu could rush over to see him off also represented an attitude of the Red Steel Group.

"I look forward even more to our next meeting."

Still in a calm tone, Li Xuewu had been talking to him the whole way, and they had chatted quite a bit while standing in the lobby just now.

It was clear that Nishida Kenichi very much hoped to reach these agreements during the delegation's visit, but Li Xuewu simply didn't intend to give him that much face.

If he really followed his wishes, how would they negotiate next time?

The greed of the little devils could never be satisfied; one had to keep them hanging. One couldn't let them bite back, and one had to mind the boundaries, giving them a jolt from time to time to keep them quiet.

"I must also express my apologies for my previous presumption." Nishida Kenichi noticed the young woman beside Li Xuewu, and after a smiling nod, he said softly, "I have already handed that car over to the resident office to use. I am very sorry for the trouble I caused you."

"It's fine. One shouldn't accept rewards without merit."

Li Xuewu nodded with a smile and gestured toward the stairs, saying, "It's very late. I won't see you off tomorrow. I wish you a good night's sleep and a smooth journey tomorrow."

Nishida Kenichi thanked him reservedly and took a serious look at Zhou Xiaobai before heading up the stairs.

Li Xuewu watched him leave before turning to look at Zhou Xiaobai and asking, "Aren't you staying in the dormitory?"

"The dormitory conditions are too harsh." Zhou Xiaobai shook her head reluctantly, saying, "And I'm scared."

"Scared? Scared of what?" Li Xuewu pointed toward the lounge and signaled for Zuo Jie to join them.

"Is someone in your dormitory bullying you?"

"It's not that—" Zhou Xiaobai walked beside Li Xuewu, explaining in a clingy manner, "They all say a student hanged themselves in our dormitory before."

"Heh—" Li Xuewu turned his head to look at her and asked, "Have you asked? Is it true?"

"Who would I ask—" Zhou Xiaobai rolled her eyes and said, "I asked the dorm manager, but the manager wouldn't dare talk about it. But they pass it around with such vivid detail."

"They say she was in a relationship on campus, her family opposed it, and in a fit of rage, she hanged herself."

She followed Li Xuewu into the lounge, listless and slumped. Seeing that Li Xuewu didn't care, she emphasized very seriously, "At night, I keep hearing the bathroom door creaking."

"Wind blowing? Someone using it? Or is someone deliberately trying to scare you all?" Li Xuewu listed several possibilities. After sitting on the sofa, he pointed to Zuo Jie, who had followed them in, and asked, "Did you have things like that when you were in school?"

"Plenty. We were even worse back then."

Zuo Jie sat on the armrest of the sofa with a grin, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Our dormitory was right across from the bathroom. People were always using the bathroom at night, disturbing our sleep, and the smell was terrible. So, a few of us made up ghost stories to scare people."

Zhou Xiaobai leaned against Li Xuewu on the sofa, looking at Zuo Jie and saying, "That's really mean."

"Can't help it. The school wouldn't let us change dorms, so we decided nobody should be able to use the bathroom."

He blinked his eyes mischievously and said, "Back then, we also spread rumors that someone had hanged themselves, and that someone had jumped to their death from that bathroom window, haunting the place at night to scare people."

"That's not it. The one at our school might be real—" Zhou Xiaobai looked up at Li Xuewu and emphasized, "They say the body wasn't claimed by any family members and was sent to the lab as an anatomy teaching aid."

"You're already taking anatomy classes, and you're still afraid of this?"

Zuo Jie looked at her boldly and asked, "Aren't angels in white supposed to be compassionate, saving the dying and healing the wounded, and impervious to all evil?"

"I'm studying at a medical college, not becoming a Taoist priest on a mountain!" Zhou Xiaobai glared at him irritably and retorted, "Compassionate, pfft—"

"Then you should just go home and live there. You're still using that little motorcycle, aren't you? It's convenient for school."

Li Xuewu let her lean into his arms; it was clear she was under some psychological pressure.

If she believed in such things, she would have found someone to perform a ritual for her by now, and they would definitely say she had offended something.

Li Xuewu didn't oppose others believing in this, and he had never said whether such things existed or not, but he didn't believe in them.

He only believed in the truth tucked at his waist; if the truth at his waist didn't work, he had a greater truth in his hands.

"I'm cold—" Speaking of this, Zhou Xiaobai leaned further into his arms. It was unclear whether she meant it was cold riding the motorcycle to school or if her body was cold now.

Li Xuewu reached out and touched her forehead; there was no sign of a high fever or low temperature. Her complexion was a bit pale, so it should be an emotional issue.

"What's wrong? Are you staying here tonight?"

"Mm—that would be best—"

Seeing him say this, Zhou Xiaobai finally smiled, showing her little white teeth, though she still looked listless.

Li Xuewu looked at her with amusement, raised his head, and said to Zuo Jie, "How is the task I gave you coming along?"

"Brother, don't worry, I have a plan."

Li Xuewu looked at her with a smile, then raised his head and said to Zuo Jie, "How is the task I entrusted to you coming along?"

"Be careful, don't mess up."

Li Xuewu sized him up and asked, "Are you handling this yourself, or did you find someone to arrange it?"

"How could I hand a matter like this to someone else?"

Zuo Jie shook his head and said seriously, "But Brother, don't worry. Who would notice a small character like me? And even if they did, what could they do to me?"

"What did you have him do?" Zhou Xiaobai curiously raised her neck to look at Li Xuewu and asked, "Do you need my help?"

"No need, you can't help."

Li Xuewu refused her without a second thought, lowered his head to look at her, and said, "Just focus on your studies."

"I'm working very hard—" Zhou Xiaobai emphasized listlessly, then grumbled, lowered her eyelids, and started picking at her fingers.

Li Xuewu ignored her and instead instructed Zuo Jie, "Safety must come first. Once someone is watching you, get out early. Don't worry about anything else."

"Understood, Brother. I will."

Zuo Jie also nodded seriously, looked at Zhou Xiaobai, and asked, "Are you really not feeling well?"

He was also suspicious if this girl was doing it on purpose, acting spoiled and sick in front of Wu Ge just to get a "meal."

"Do you need me to take you to the hospital?"

"I don't need you. If you have nothing else, you can leave." Zhou Xiaobai took Li Xuewu's hand and placed it on her chest in front of him, looking up and saying infatuatedly, "I have a heart ailment; I need to see a psychiatrist."

"Heh heh—" Zuo Jie teased, "Wu Ge studied criminal psychology; you've found the wrong person."

"None of your business—" Zhou Xiaobai hated that he had ruined the atmosphere she had worked so hard to create. She glared at him and asked, "Do you have something else to do?"

"Alright, I'm an eyesore to you then."

Zuo Jie stood up with a smile and said, "I won't disturb your rest, old lady. This servant is withdrawing—"

He even performed a mock bow, truly cooperating with Zhou Xiaobai's playfulness.

"How did you get here?" Li Xuewu looked at Zuo Jie and asked, "Did you drive or ride a bike?"

"Drove. I'd freeze to death riding a bike in this weather." Hearing him ask, Zuo Jie explained, "Li Yuanchao transferred that car to me at a low price; he took a loss of a thousand."

"How much?!" Zhou Xiaobai wasn't listless anymore. Hearing this price, she sat up in surprise and said, "He spent 7,980 to buy that car, and he took a 1,000 loss to transfer it to you?"

"Where did you get 7,980—" Zuo Jie reminded her with a smile, "I gave him the approval slip, and there was a discount."

"Actually, he only spent less than six thousand to buy this car; it just happened to coincide with the Antelope model change."

"Even so—" Zhou Xiaobai raised an eyebrow, looked at him, and asked, "Where did you get so much money?"

She asked suspiciously, "Did you rob a bank?"

"Don't be ridiculous, me rob a bank?"

Zuo Jie pointed at himself and said with a bitter smile, "If I had that ability, I would have been shot long ago. Would I still be living like a human now?"

"That car cost me 4,800."

He counted on his fingers and calculated for Zhou Xiaobai, "I saved some money working all these years, and the rest I borrowed from Yu Jie. She's letting me pay it back slowly."

"Yu Jie? Yu Jie from the club?"

Zhou Xiaobai looked back at Li Xuewu and then at him, asking, "Why would she lend you money?"

"You have to mind this too?" Zuo Jie rolled his eyes at her, imitating her earlier gesture, and said, "Just mind your own business."

"Perfect, you can give me a ride."

Li Xuewu had already stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, "You're on the way to Haiyuncang anyway."

"Brother—" Hearing that Li Xuewu was leaving, Zhou Xiaobai couldn't care about envy or jealousy anymore. She grabbed Li Xuewu's hand pitifully, calling out like a little puppy.

"I'll open a room for you in a while. Get some good rest; we'll talk about school tomorrow."

Li Xuewu pulled his hand away, patted her head, and comforted her, "Be good, okay? If you run out of money, tell Zuo Jie; he can lend you some."

"Brother…" Zuo Jie gave a bitter smile, not knowing how to explain. Didn't he know who Yu Jie was?

"Then I'll come to your unit to find you tomorrow." Zhou Xiaobai still had that pitiful look, tugged on his pants, and asked, "Is that okay?"

"Okay, I'll find you a place to live."

Li Xuewu checked the time on his hand; knowing she didn't want to go home, he agreed to her request.

He could afford to have her stay at the International Hotel, but with people coming and going here, it wasn't very convenient.

If Zhou Xiaobai still had her previous status, it wouldn't matter, as she would be a business person.

But now she was just a student; such lavish spending would arouse suspicion among her classmates at school.

The capital seemed very large, but in reality, the circle wasn't that big. If she came in and out of here, it was very likely she would be seen by classmates.

Zhou Xiaobai being able to enter medical college meant she had obtained her parents' consent, and being able to come find him must have also been tacitly approved by her parents, but he couldn't ignore this tacit approval.

Taking care of Zhou Xiaobai didn't mean indulging her, or even harming her. He believed her parents also hoped she could be independent.

So, finding her a place to live would be convenient for her schooling, and even for her future work.

Speaking of her studying medicine, Li Xuewu was also speechless. Why were doctors so good, and why were they all piling up together?

Can you guess what happened? Zuo Jie's ex-girlfriend, Luo Yun, had also returned to the capital and, like Zhou Xiaobai, had entered medical college.

Back then, she had played around so much just to pursue a future in the military, even causing such a scene with Zuo Jie, and what was the result?

Life, spinning around and around, was like a donkey turning a millstone; it seemed one could never walk out of that circle.

"Brother, that money wasn't lent to me by Yu Jie."

Once in the car, Zuo Jie confessed. He would rather have Li Xuewu lecture him for not attending to his proper duties than bear that suspicion. Yu Jie's signboard couldn't be used casually.

"Mm, where did the money come from? Did you strike it rich?"

Li Xuewu sat in the passenger seat. The interior decoration of this engineering vehicle was very average, but the seats were okay.

He actually didn't care about Zuo Jie's explanation. Even if Yu Li really lent him money, so what? He could distrust Zuo Jie, but could he distrust Yu Li?

"You know me, I'm timid."

Zuo Jie steered the car out of the International Hotel's courtyard, leaned forward to check the road, and explained, "That money was saved from doing seafood distribution."

"Seafood distribution?" Li Xuewu turned his head in surprise and asked, "You did that back then too?"

"Mm, but I didn't reach out myself; I had my buddy do it." Zuo Jie explained with some trepidation, "I was afraid you'd say I was reaching too far, so I didn't dare tell you."

"Then why do you dare to say it now?"

Li Xuewu sized him up. In the dim light, this kid didn't dare look at him, yet he dared to lie?

"If I said I had a clear conscience, that would be bullshitting, but I really didn't touch the money in the account. Yu Jie knows about this."

Zuo Jie knew he couldn't lie. Wu Ge had said that one lie requires ten or a hundred lies to cover up.

Facing Li Xuewu's questioning, he said whatever came to mind, and after saying too much, he hurriedly added, "You must not blame Yu Jie; it was I who begged her not to tell you."

"Mm, go ahead, what's the situation."

Li Xuewu leaned back in his seat and asked, "If you wanted to make money, why did you have to be so sneaky?"

"I was afraid—"

"Cough—" He had just said one sentence when Li Xuewu coughed and reminded him irritably, "Don't learn from Zhou Xiaobai and pull this kind of stunt on me!"

Zuo Jie grinned, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Back then, I was responsible for connecting resources. I was afraid everyone would doubt my fairness and impartiality, so I didn't dare tell you. I was afraid you… afraid you…"

"Everyone knows money is easy to spend."

Li Xuewu didn't wait for his hesitation; he already knew what he was afraid of. He said indifferently, "But a gentleman loves wealth and acquires it through proper means. Do you know what 'means' means?"

"'Means' refers to rules and proper channels and methods, that is, morality and righteousness."

He turned his head to glance at Zuo Jie and asked, "Think about it, did you have 'means' in earning this money?"

Zuo Jie remained silent, and the car drove very slowly.

"I understand you all very well. Who the hell doesn't want to live a good life? Who the hell doesn't want to have money to spend?"

Li Xuewu raised his hand to scratch the scar on his face and said, "But you have to know how to earn this money, and you have to know how to spend it."

"Think for yourself, why did this car end up in your hands, and why did Li Yuanchao buy it but couldn't keep it?"

He said indifferently, "Virtue not matching position leads to disaster; talent not matching wealth leads to loss."

"I don't oppose you making money, and I don't oppose you using the resources in your hands to make money, but I hope even more that you know why you are making money and what you are doing with it."

"Brother, I think I understand what you're saying."

Zuo Jie wasn't a fool, and he wasn't a hot-blooded youth blinded by money. He still trusted Li Xuewu very much, especially the things he said and did.

"As long as you understand, that's good. I'm just afraid you don't."

Li Xuewu tightened his clothes and taught him, "Cars, houses—these are all superficial appearances, the concrete manifestation after you have mastered wealth."

"I think you should know, Zhou Xiaobai didn't earn less than Li Yuanchao and the others back then, right?"

He turned his head to look at Zuo Jie and asked, "How much savings do you think she has left now?"

"This…" Zuo Jie really hadn't thought about this question.

"If I said she doesn't even have a hundred yuan in her pocket, would you believe it?" Li Xuewu shook his head with a smile and said, "The money that passed through her hands could have bought two cars, but all that's left is that little iron donkey in her hand."

"When she was earning money back then, she also vowed not to buy a car, but to save money to buy a house and be independent. And what was the result?"

"I really didn't know that." Zuo Jie scratched his head and said, "When she lived here back then, wasn't it said that the company paid for it?"

"But she didn't spend it well herself either."

Li Xuewu leaned back in his seat and said indifferently, "Spending money is addictive. By the time you realize you're addicted, you can no longer control yourself."

Credit cards work on this principle. Banks cultivate your "good" habit of spending money, not even fearing that you won't be able to pay it back. Once you're addicted, you become a slave to the credit card.

"Don't just look at the moment. I also know it's cool to have your own car, but you have to be able to afford to keep it."

Li Xuewu reached out and patted his shoulder, saying, "Don't let me down."

"I know, Brother."

"Wang Xin from Shenfei is here, in the reception room." Seeing Li Xuewu come down from upstairs, Dong Wenxue reminded him, "Do you want to go over and take a look?"

"It's fine, General Manager Gao is responsible for this."

Li Xuewu smiled and explained, "Perhaps Wang Xin doesn't want to see me right now."

"Heh heh—" Dong Wenxue pointed at him and gestured toward the general manager's office, saying, "Then go to Director Li's; he was just asking about you."

"Good, I'll go over now."

Li Xuewu dug the water out of his ears; the towel hadn't dried them properly, and they were still damp.

He went back to his office to change clothes before coming to old Li's office, where Cheng Kaiyuan was also present.

"Heard you went swimming?" Seeing him come in, Li Huai De didn't stand up, just asked with a smile.

Li Xuewu raised his hand to greet Cheng Kaiyuan before replying, "I have to say, the water really wasn't cold."

"Did they release water upstairs?" Cheng Kaiyuan asked in surprise, "Is the swimming pool open?"

"First day today, you didn't know?"

Li Xuewu sat next to him, opposite old Li, and Liu Bin deftly served him a cup of tea.

"Thanks. You're quite spirited today."

He was complimenting Liu Bin; even Cheng Kaiyuan gave him an extra look, not having time to answer Li Xuewu's question.

"When a person encounters happy events, they feel refreshed—"

Li Huai De also teased his secretary, pointed at him, and explained to the two, "He's going on a blind date at noon."

"Yo! That's a good thing—"

Li Xuewu turned his body and sat sideways in his chair, looking at Liu Bin and asking, "Is the other party from our group?"

"No, it was introduced by my mother's colleague."

Liu Bin explained with some embarrassment, "My situation is already considered a 'hard-to-solve' case in our family."

"How can you say that." Cheng Kaiyuan also turned back to tease him, "The older a man gets, the more popular he is. You didn't know that?"

"You're just comforting me." Liu Bin said with a smile, "My mother gave me an ultimatum, saying if this one doesn't work out, I don't have to go home."

"Oh my, that's serious—"

Cheng Kaiyuan looked at him with a smile and asked, "With your conditions, it shouldn't be that hard to find a partner, right?"

"I've looked, but one after another fails."

Liu Bin held the thermos and refilled hot water for him and Li Huai De, explaining with a bitter smile, "You know what my work is like, leaders. Where would I have time to slowly get to know each other?"

"Hey! You can't be a hooligan—"

Cheng Kaiyuan was truly bad; he pointed at him, deliberately picking faults in his words.

Liu Bin's skin was naturally thick enough; he didn't mind and explained, "I'm 27 this year, she's 25. We both have a striving personality; we're quite a match."

"How did you come up with this logic?"

Li Xuewu looked at him with amusement and gestured toward Li Huai De, who was sitting opposite like an old cat, saying, "If your dates keep failing, you should hold Director Li responsible."

"It's all his fault for arranging so much work for you, leaving you no time to date."

"No, no, I didn't mean that." Hearing him say this, Liu Bin waved his hands repeatedly and looked at Li Huai De to explain. The Secretary-General was too bad! Worse than General Manager Cheng; neither of these two were good people!

"Mm, I do have to take some responsibility."

Li Huai De was easy to talk to; he reached out and stroked the two cricket-antenna-like hairs on his head, saying with a smile, "I'll give you three days of vacation this time. You must complete the task, okay?"

"Leader, I really didn't mean that."

Although Liu Bin was explaining with his mouth, there was already a smile on his face. He really had to thank Li Xuewu.

"Alright, get out." Li Xuewu waved his hand with a smile and shooed him away, saying, "Go find your comfortable love; don't embarrass yourself in front of us."

"Hahaha—"

Liu Bin's father was from Sichuan; sometimes his accent would have a Sichuan flavor, and it would be even more pronounced when he was anxious.

Seeing him leave, Li Huai De took a sip of tea, gestured toward Li Xuewu, and asked, "When will the bus production project start?"

"Of course, the sooner the better."

Li Xuewu straightened his expression, looked at Li Huai De, and said, "My suggestion is that we can prepare now. At the very least, we have to build the factory building, right?"

He looked at Cheng Kaiyuan again, tapped the desk with his finger, and emphasized, "Mechanical equipment won't arrive in March or April. Five?"

"Can it be that early?" Cheng Kaiyuan frowned slightly and asked, "How come I heard East Germany is dragging its feet? Will there be any changes?"

"Just a posture they're putting on."

Li Xuewu shook his head indifferently and explained, "The bus project isn't a contract signed directly with us; they have no reason to drag this project."

"As far as I know, the camera production technology and equipment that Jilixing Shipping is working on have already started to be allocated."

He sat up straight, pressed his hand on the desk, and said, "We can't pay for assumptions and 'ifs.' The preparations that should be made should be prepared."

"Building the factory building, this time."

Li Huai De also frowned and pondered, "The budget is easy to solve; the funds are quite sufficient. But building materials can't be satisfied. Where can we apply for them at this time?"

"No way, just rob Peter to pay Paul."

Li Xuewu picked up his teacup and said indifferently, "Anyway, the construction period is in the hands of the construction company."

Li Huai De stopped talking, and Cheng Kaiyuan didn't know how to pick up this topic.

Anyone could think of this method, but they didn't dare say it. They all knew which project's building materials Li Xuewu wanted to misappropriate. This was a red line.

"The three-defense project in the Steel City Industrial Zone started in October and hasn't stopped all winter."

Li Xuewu put down his teacup, looked at Li Huai De, and introduced, "If compared with other enterprises in the same period, it is already ahead. And there are supporting industries for the power plant."

He gestured toward the conference room on the same floor and said, "General Manager Gao's side is talking smoothly. Perhaps next year's building material indicators will far exceed what we are misappropriating now."

"You're gambling." Cheng Kaiyuan reminded him silently, "What if?"

"Unless this project is postponed."

Li Xuewu shrugged indifferently and gestured to Li Huai De, "Wait for the news about the bus project equipment before starting construction. The crossover time will be very long."

"And the engine project."

Li Huai De was thinking about the several questions Li Xuewu brought back; he still had some substance.

"Let's see how General Manager Gao talks."

Li Xuewu replied, "I am more inclined toward Shenfei OEM, joint research and development, and sharing scientific research results."

"Actually, we didn't lose out. Using a jet engine project can pry open Shenfei's entire scientific research resources and open the door to communication for our scientific research institute. Isn't it worth it?"

He smiled and said, "To put it bluntly, that technology is just technology, and it's backward technology."

"I didn't treat it as a treasure that I couldn't bear to part with."

Li Huai De naturally understood what he meant, sat up straight, and said, "Then let's make two preparations."

He pointed at the desk and looked at Li Xuewu, saying, "Your pressure is even greater. You have to stabilize the three-defense project and ensure the bus project is invested and built."

"The key is the power plant project. It's not that I don't trust Comrade Bu Qingfang, but you have to keep an eye on her."

"Comrade Bu Qingfang can still be trusted."

Li Xuewu thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "If she needs support from Liaodong Industry, I will not shirk my responsibility."

Old Li's words had a hidden meaning; he couldn't just take it over, as it would easily arouse his suspicion.

United Energy was directly under the group company and was not within the jurisdiction of the Liaodong Industrial Management Group. Even if most of United Energy's current mineral development and other energy projects were placed in Liaodong, they couldn't just mess around.

Old Li said to keep an eye on her, but he could only say he would do his best. Otherwise, Bu Qingfang wouldn't last long at United Energy.

He had no grudge against Bu Qingfang and believed she could lead United Energy to open a new chapter, so he wouldn't hold her back in front of old Li.

Li Huai De understood the meaning of his words, nodded slightly, and looked at Cheng Kaiyuan, saying, "You follow up on this project. After all, it is production work."

Cheng Kaiyuan knew he had to carry this pot. Li Xuewu was doing the work, but if something went wrong, he would be responsible. There was no reason to talk about it.

Did he have a choice?

Even if he had a choice, he had to choose this.

Li Xuewu made this project a success, which was an expansion within the scope of industrial production and also his management scope. If results were achieved, he would naturally have a share.

Even if Li Huai De didn't say it, could he hide? Li Xuewu had just helped him untie the knot; he had no reason or ability to refuse Li Xuewu.

Seeing that he had no objections, Li Huai De pulled out the document that Liu Bin had already annotated from the pile of documents at hand, unscrewed his fountain pen, and signed his opinion and name.

Li Xuewu took it and pushed it to Cheng Kaiyuan. For a project to be established and work to be carried out, it needed the signature of the supervisor. Having only old Li was not in accordance with the rules.

Of course, he also had to sign.

When this report was sent over, there wasn't a single signature on it, just to discuss whether it would pass.

Now that old Li said it could pass, it could pass.

This situation of inverted signatures was not uncommon in enterprise management, but the risk was extremely high.

Cheng Kaiyuan was also a straightforward person. Since he couldn't resist, he would just silently endure it. What if it felt good?

After he signed, Li Xuewu took it, pulled out his Parker fountain pen from his breast pocket, and wrote "Agreed" with a flourish, then signed his name.

The Parker fountain pen was a gift from Lou Xiaoe; the nib was pure gold, and it was dazzling in the sunlight.

It had to be said that the Germans had indeed contributed many achievements in the process of industrial development.

Of course, this wasn't to whitewash Parker. One of those who supported the failed art student back then was them.

There was no need to beautify any big brand; none of those that could grow up were good people.

Li Huai De only glanced at it and didn't pay any more attention, because he had many such fountain pens.

Expensive was expensive, but human favors weren't cheap.

Counting the people who asked him to do things in a year, there had to be eight hundred if not a thousand. If they really got things done, shouldn't there be some expression?

In this era, there really weren't any big gifts, but small ones were absolutely constant. At any time, it was a society of human favors.

Don't ever say the air in Europe was cleaner, or that there were no situations of soliciting or accepting bribes among foreigners. Except for some domestic magazines that would brag about these non-existent things, even they themselves didn't believe it. Just look at the movies they made; how many private transactions were there?

However, it had to be said that there was indeed a clear atmosphere in this era. Even old Li never thought that being a cadre was for getting rich. You could say his purpose in pursuing progress wasn't pure, but you couldn't say he didn't have the heart to do business.

Seeing Li Xuewu finish signing, Cheng Kaiyuan took the document and left. Staying for even a moment longer made him feel the pot on his back solidify, making him feel uncomfortable.

"Tell you something, be mentally prepared." Li Huai De took a sip of hot tea and looked out the window, saying, "Our group's jurisdiction might change."

"Changing?" Li Xuewu frowned and suddenly remembered something, but he pretended not to know and asked, "Where is it going to be returned to? Is there any change in the ministry?"

"Not in the ministry, but below."

Li Huai De turned his head, sighed helplessly, and said, "Spinning around and around, we're back."

"If I had known there would be today, why bother tossing and turning back then."

"Still have to toss and turn." Li Xuewu already knew what the jurisdiction change he wanted to talk about was. He also said with a heavy heart, "Crying children have milk to eat."

"Heh—" Li Huai De was also finding joy in sorrow, looked at him, and said, "This matter hasn't been completely settled yet. I'm also striving for it, but the hope isn't great."

"It still needs to be tossed about." Li Xuewu already knew what he meant by the change in management, and he said with a heavy heart, "The crying child gets the milk, after all."

"Strive if you can strive; if you can't, there's no other way." Li Xuewu scratched his head. He really ignored this matter, but he couldn't blame it all on him.

Enterprise ownership had changed I don't know how many times in the entire economic development process. This time the time span was considered long, and it wasn't until the end of the eighties that it was changed.

At that time, Li Xuewu had experienced the last wave of reforms, so how could he remember when the last change was?

Listening to old Li say this, it should be this year. If it wasn't changed, the time behind wouldn't match up.

"Don't worry, the group is stronger than the factory-level unit." Li Huai De was worried to death, but still had to comfort him, "At worst, just run to the ministry a few more times."

"I'm afraid it won't be up to us by then."

Li Xuewu looked at him with a bitter smile and reminded him, "If you have proposed the Red Steel Group's economic construction plan and still don't get an accurate reply, then we have to keep a hand."

"I'm afraid it won't be up to us by then."

"Not necessarily." Li Xuewu comforted him again, "Wait a bit. Perhaps you can go a step further, at least you have to hold something."

"Forget it, I'd rather curry favor with people than get involved in those things."

Li Huai De was a master who could bend and stretch. At this moment, he was already doing psychological construction for the upcoming storm.

"I thought about it, you try your best to integrate Liaodong's industrial resources. If it doesn't work, establish a branch company."

He emphasized as if he had made some decision, "Anyway, don't put all your eggs in one basket." ===== CHAPTER 1553 =====

"I've thought about it; try your best to consolidate the industrial resources in Liaodong. If that doesn't work, establish a subsidiary company to manage them."

As if he had made a decision, he emphasized, "In any case, you can't put all your eggs in one basket."