Chapter 1574: Enjoying the Joys of Grandparenthood

"Grandma! I missed you!"

"Grandma! I missed you too!"

"Grandma! Grandma!..."

What is called a happy annoyance? Ding Fengxia stood by the boarding stairs, and before she could decide whom to hug first, she suddenly felt as if there were a hundred little ducks quacking in her ears.

"Alright, alright, alright! I know."

She smiled as she looked at Li Shu, then at Li Ning, and asked her son-in-law, "Have you had lunch?"

"They didn't stop talking the whole time on the plane."

Li Xuewu smiled and gestured toward Gu Weijie and Gao Yaqin, introducing them.

Of course, his introduction was very simple.

When introducing the two of them, he used the term "colleague," and when introducing Ding Fengxia, he called her "mother-in-law," which was quite personal.

Gao Yaqin had never met Ding Fengxia, but Gu Weijie had, and both of them knew Li Xuewu's status as a son-in-law.

They had just been thinking about how to greet her, but now with Li Xuewu's introduction, they were spared the trouble.

"Hello, you must be tired from the journey."

Ding Fengxia smiled warmly and greeted them, "The children were playful; I hope they didn't cause you any trouble."

"It's livelier with them around." Gao Yaqin touched Li Ning's little cheek and said with a smile, "He chatted with me the whole way."

"Little brother can really talk—"

Li Shu complained like a little adult, "I couldn't even keep him under control."

"Is that so? He's that talkative?"

Looking at her helpless expression, Ding Fengxia was incredibly fond of her and wished she could kiss her a few more times right now.

"If you don't have other plans, come to the house for dinner. I've already prepared everything."

After all, they weren't her own colleagues, so Ding Fengxia had to seek her son-in-law's opinion first.

Li Xuewu pointed to the motorcade and the cadres who had come to pick them up and were standing over there, explaining, "There are still scheduled activities later. I might have to go see you and Dad a bit later."

"Oh." Ding Fengxia nodded knowingly and asked, "How many days are you staying?"

"Hehe, that depends on our leadership." Li Xuewu chuckled and, using a joking tone, gestured to Gu Weijie who was standing to the side, "This time, Deputy Director Gu is leading the team."

"That's fine. As long as the Secretary-General arranges it, we can stay for as many days as we like." Gu Weijie knew he was intentionally giving her a cue, so she also joked, "Isn't it good to enjoy the hospitality while someone is hosting us?"

"If possible, then stay and play for a few more days." Ding Fengxia saw their casual attitude and knew what Li Xuewu's status in the unit was, so she also politely invited them, "If there is anything you need, feel free to tell Xuewu."

"Xuewu, you all go ahead and get busy. I'll take the children back first." She also knew her son-in-law was busy with work, so she didn't delay any further, ending the pleasantries in just two sentences.

Zhou Xiaoling, who had come down to deliver the luggage, was very observant and helped her hold Li Shu, while the driver who had come along had already picked up Li Ning.

"Thank you." Ding Fengxia was not an arrogant person and was kind to everyone, even service staff she hadn't met before.

Li Ning, who was being held by the driver, saw that his father hadn't followed them and anxiously stretched out his little hands, calling for his father.

Ding Fengxia couldn't afford to be polite anymore; she chased after them to coax her grandson, saying that his father would follow in a moment.

"Goodbye, Dad—"

Li Shu was much more worldly than her little brother; she waved her hand, knowing how to say bye-bye to her father.

"Deputy Director Gu, General Manager Gao, Secretary-General."

It wasn't until Ding Fengxia had coaxed the children into the large Red Flag car that Zhuang Cangshu, the General Manager of the Sales Corporation who had been guarding the side, walked over and took the initiative to greet them.

He didn't know that there were others coming to pick them up today, and he certainly didn't know there were other important passengers on the Red Star No. 1.

He had arrived at the parking spot with the motorcade first, and it was only before the plane landed that this large Red Flag car had suddenly driven over.

Including the middle-aged woman who got out of the large Red Flag and the accompanying driver, none of them had bothered to greet them or even explain anything.

Saying it like this is a bit funny; Zhuang Cangshu wasn't drunk, so how could he not know his own rank? Did he really need them to explain to him?

So, after confirming that the other party was also here to pick someone up, especially after the Secretary-General who got off the plane called the other party "Mom," he wisely waited to the side.

If he confirmed the other party's identity from the Secretary-General's "Mom," then the initiative taken by Deputy Director Gu and General Manager Gao also proved this point from the side.

The other party was clearly here to pick up the children, and the "big shots" he had just speculated about were the Secretary-General's son and daughter.

As for Deputy Director Gu and General Manager Gao, this had nothing to do with them, and they could have clearly signaled him to go pick them up, yet they had started chatting with the other party instead.

Regarding the Secretary-General's background, the staff or cadres who had joined the factory in the last few years might not be very clear about it, but he had attended the Secretary-General's wedding.

Of course, he didn't remember the faces of both sets of parents at the wedding banquet that day very clearly, but he had remembered their backgrounds perfectly.

Especially after Li Xuewu's career blossomed, this was considered basic knowledge.

"Sorry about that, the elders miss the children." Li Xuewu smiled and explained while shaking hands with him, "I've kept you waiting for a long time."

"Understood, understood." Zhuang Cangshu smiled and replied, "What elder doesn't miss their children?"

Just after the three of them had shaken hands and chatted with the management team from the Sales Corporation who had come to pick them up, he raised his hand and gestured to the cars parked not far away, saying, "Well, three leaders, let's get in the cars first. I'll report the preparations in detail on the way."

Very much in line with the Red Steel Group's reception standards, the Jin Ling Regional Company had prepared two Hongtu No. 1 cars for them, almost identical to the one in the group.

This was also the preferred mode of transport for the Red Steel Group's leadership collective when attending events or going out for research. Parked on one side of the two Hongtu No. 1 cars was one Hongxing Lingyang Generation II and two Hongyun vans.

There was no need to guess about the Hongxing Lingyang Generation II; it must be the lead car and the security car, while the two Hongyun vans were prepared for the propaganda cadres and clerks who had come to pick them up.

Li Xuewu and the other two, along with their accompanying secretary, got into the first Hongtu passenger car, while the other management staff of the Sales Corporation who had come with Zhuang Cangshu got into the second Hongtu passenger car.

Zhuang Cangshu and Deputy General Manager Yang Xiaofen got into the first one, which was the passenger car where Li Xuewu and the others were.

In the new round of organizational structure reform, proposed by Gu Weijie, it was proposed to appoint Yang Xiaofen as the First Deputy Director of the Sales Corporation.

In fact, it wasn't just the Red Steel Group that was undergoing such organizational structure reform; such structures had already appeared nationwide.

Those with "First" in their deputy titles, according to the requirements of superiors and the organization, generally would be responsible for organization, personnel, and ideological management work, which was the original position of the Party Secretary.

Since the launch of the "Great Study" activity, changes in position settings like this had been very frequent; it was a process of exploration and reform of management structures.

In the various units, large and small, in the country at present, the organizational structures they possessed were very complex, and it was hard to say which was more excellent and which was more backward.

Only after the waves washed away the sand would one know which form was more suitable.

In the process of washing away the sand, this kind of exploratory position setting appeared, which generally wouldn't be too outlandish, especially in larger units.

The Red Steel Group had already passed the wild period of reckless development, and in the latest three-year plan, it had been clearly stipulated that whether it was economic construction or industrial development, it must achieve progress while maintaining stability.

The meaning of this couldn't be more straightforward: the Red Steel Group's framework had already been set up, and next, it just needed to develop steadily; there was no need to court disaster.

Thus, the First Deputy Director, equivalent to the position of General Corporation Party Secretary, was born.

Of course, not all deputy positions prefixed with "First" were Party Secretary positions; there were also those in charge of leadership, or other full-time leadership positions.

But in the Red Steel Group, it was temporarily like this, because it was another round of organizational structure adjustment and reform presided over by Gu Weijie, making fine-tuning to the round done by Li Huai De.

There was no need to think about these things too complexly; the organizational structure of any unit wouldn't be immutable. If you couldn't grasp the position, just look at the rank.

According to Zhuang Cangshu's introduction, and Gu Weijie's commentary on it in the car, Li Xuewu already knew that Yang Xiaofen's rank would be on par with Zhuang Cangshu's.

Just like the purpose of Beijing Industry arranging for Zhou Wanquan to come to the Red Steel Group, the Red Steel Group also had to supervise and manage the branches below.

Who would carry out the supervision work?

In the latest instructions on organizational work, especially in the "Organizational Work Restoration Measures and Plan" just promulgated by Liu Xiangqian, it was already very clear: the organization was the only institution that led the group.

In fact, starting from the beginning of last year, the Red Steel Group had been following the instructions and requirements of its superiors, carrying out organizational member investigation and registration work at the grassroots level, and rebuilding grassroots Party organizations.

Gu Weijie was the leader in charge of this work, and in the car, she also briefly introduced the achievements in organizational development and restoration over the past year.

Just like the timing of Liu Xiangqian's promulgation of the relevant work spirit, which was perfectly timed, she stated very firmly in her introduction that the group's grassroots level had completely finished the Party organization construction work.

That is to say, in the fifth year of the "Great Study" activity, the group would also take the organizational construction of the middle and high levels as one of the key tasks this year.

From the core leadership group institution announced by Li Huai De, one could see that the aorta of organizational construction had already completed its restoration and setup, just waiting for the reconstruction of the branch veins.

It was just that how the organization and the group management structure should overlap after reconstruction, or how the work division issues should be coordinated, still had to wait for further instructions and requirements from above.

This kind of organizational structure adjustment that looks one step and walks one step, as well as directional testing, was the so-called reform.

Why did Su Weide jump so fiercely before and after the New Year, fanning the flames for Li Xuewu in Steel City, staring at Dong Wenxue in Beijing and refusing to let go, and even daring to stab Old Li in the back?

The purpose of his doing this was this so-called reform, the so-called core leadership group established during the reform process.

From the time the group was just established until a day ago, according to organizational procedures, all the group's work was jointly studied and decided by the Group Management Committee, which is to say, eleven people, eleven votes.

Don't say Old Li was a dictator, and don't say whose influence was greater; in reality, on a certain matter, among these eleven people on the Management Committee, everyone had a voting right.

Now it's better; the voting right is still there, but the content of the meeting is controlled by the core leadership group. Even if you have a voting right, if you can't vote, what's the use?

Of course, if you ask if relevant motions were just casually put to a meeting before? Not really.

According to the regulations of the work implementation plan after the group established the Management Committee, it was the Director of the Management Committee who decided the agenda of the office meeting.

That is to say, all eleven people had the right to propose motions, and it was Li Huai De who decided the discussion content of this meeting.

And after the establishment of the core leadership group, what was actually constrained was Li Huai De. The mechanism seemed sound, but the power of the two people who constrained Li Huai De was concentrated.

Don't discuss which system is more excellent; there is no absolutely excellent system in the world, and there is no method to perfectly solve contradictions.

In the latest list of the group's management layer, Li Huai De would serve as the Director of the Management Committee and General Manager of the Group, and serve as the Leader of the Core Leadership Group within the organization.

Gu Weijie, like Zhou Wanquan, was also a Deputy Director of the Management Committee and a member of the Core Leadership Group, one responsible for organizational construction and propaganda work, and the other responsible for discipline inspection and supervision work.

The three formed a triangular structure relationship, forming the first sequence of the group's management layer.

What about below?

Su Weide served as the Safety Director, Xue Zhifu served as the Chief Engineer, Jing Yunong served as the Chief Accountant, and Gao Yaqin served as the Chief Economist.

The four were also Deputy Directors of the Management Committee, but their actual positions were business supervision and management posts.

Under the triangular structure relationship, the four formed a stable second sequence of supervision and management.

What about further down?

Dong Wenxue, Zhang Jinsong, and Cheng Kaiyuan were all Deputy General Managers and Deputy Directors of the Management Committee.

These three were actually the group's main business management posts, and were the persons in charge who directly cooperated with Li Huai De, the General Manager, to implement management of all the group's businesses.

The three of them formed the third sequence of business management posts under the supervision and management posts.

What about further down?

Further down, only Li Xuewu was left, and Xiong Bencheng didn't count.

It wasn't because Xiong Bencheng had been recuperating in the hospital for years and had no say in the group. The reason he wasn't in the management structure was that the labor union didn't count as the management layer.

That's right, the labor union didn't belong to the enterprise management layer, nor did it belong to the organization and organs, but was a relatively independent mass organization.

How independent was it?

Let's put it this way: the independence of the labor union was reflected in its legal status and organizational relationship; it was a mass organization of the working class voluntarily combined by employees, legally representing and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of employees.

Organizationally, the labor union was led by the higher-level labor union, and the enterprise labor union's superior might be the labor union of the competent department or the local labor union where it was located.

But this kind of leadership was business guidance within the system, not administrative subordination within the enterprise.

Take the Red Steel Group, for example; among the subordinate branches, all units with the word "General Corporation" had established relevant labor union organizations, and these organizations were uniformly led by the Group Labor Union.

The Red Steel Group Labor Union had always belonged to the leadership of the Beijing Municipal Labor Union, and even when the group was established, the organizational relationship had not been changed.

From the nature of the labor union, one could see that as long as it was a formal occasion, especially at the employee representative meeting, Xiong Bencheng's position was on Li Huai De's left hand.

If one used horizontal comparison to describe it, in the whole group, the only one who could have a face-to-face dialogue with Old Li was Xiong Bencheng.

It's a pity he didn't have this ability.

Of course, under non-special circumstances, the organization wouldn't allow him to possess this ability.

The specific contradiction relationship was hard to explain, and couldn't be explained clearly.

Then, if you ask, did Xiong Bencheng have a voting right at the Management Committee meeting?

Of course not; he wasn't even management, so what voting right could he have?

But he had the absolute right to suggest and the right to raise opinions. For his opinions and suggestions, Li Huai De, as the person in charge of the management layer, still had to make a positive explanation and response.

It was precisely based on this involvement that Xiong Bencheng would also be arranged to attend many business work meetings; this was his right and obligation.

When he raised opinions, the Management Committee also had to respect them; only then did the situation of him often attending the Management Committee before exist.

Now, leaving Xiong Bencheng aside, what did Li Xuewu count as? The fourth sequence?

From the organizational structure, rank, and position setting, one could see that the sequence he was in wasn't just him alone.

What was the core leadership group that Li Huai De and the others served in?

It was an internal organizational position, a management layer formed based on a centralized leadership system where the organization led the enterprise.

The organization led the enterprise; they were the management layer within the organization, the hierarchy that implemented management, construction, and supervision; that was the absolute management layer.

What about the Management Committee?

The Management Committee was a temporary enterprise management institution established according to the spirit of the superior's instructions after the launch of the "Great Study" activity.

Whether it was the Director of the Management Committee or the Deputy Director, or even Li Xuewu's Secretary-General, it was an identity of participating in the group's management, not a management position.

What is a management position?

Li Huai De's General Manager, Su Weide and the others' "Three Masters and One Supervisor," Dong Wenxue and the others' Deputy General Managers, as well as Li Xuewu's Liaodong Industrial Leadership Group Leader and his Metallurgical Factory Factory Manager, were all management positions; the difference was whether they were business management posts or supervision management posts.

Looking at it this way, one would know: Li Xuewu could attend the Management Committee, but couldn't attend the Core Leadership Group office meeting.

If one day the Management Committee was no longer the group's only management institution, then he couldn't attend other management layer meetings either.

He was the buffer zone between the management layer and the execution layer. From the nature of his work and the departments he managed, one could see that the work he did was connecting the preceding and the following.

To use an inappropriate example: do non-commissioned officers count as soldiers or officers?

In essence, they are soldiers, but in reality, they are managers. Li Xuewu was in this stage of being neither here nor there.

So in the Management Committee, he counted as a colleague with Gu Weijie and Gao Yaqin, but in the group's management sequence, both of them counted as his leaders.

Whether it was the respect from others in the Management Committee or the obedience of the persons in charge of other branches, it was more based on his identity as Secretary-General and his influence.

Take Zhuang Cangshu, for example; did he dare to treat Li Xuewu differently when receiving the three of them?

If Li Xuewu were only the Secretary-General, there would definitely be a distinction from the other two; in the documents for this trip, it was Li Xuewu accompanying Gu Weijie and Gao Yaqin to participate in the activity.

But in actual work, the attitude Zhuang Cangshu showed toward him was even more respectful and cautious than toward Gao Yaqin and Gu Weijie.

No other reason; Gu Weijie was the leader in charge of organizational construction and propaganda work, not his vertical superior; on the contrary, the Chief Economist, Gao Yaqin, who was in charge of the Marketing Management Department, was his superior.

Then why was his respect for Li Xuewu greater than for Gao Yaqin?

Li Xuewu wasn't just the Secretary-General; he was also the person in charge of all the group's heavy industry and light-mixed industry, and the helmsman who formulated the group's development plan.

The Secretary-General himself was there to serve the Management Committee and was the first person responsible for presiding over the Management Committee's daily supervision and restraint of execution work.

If Gu Weijie was dissatisfied with his work, she might criticize him in a roundabout way at the Management Committee work meeting, or deny his work in a vote, but she wouldn't directly deny his work.

Gao Yaqin did have the right to directly manage and deny him, but as a superior leader, she generally wouldn't tear her face off and directly use the knife; otherwise, who would obey her in the future?

On the contrary, Li Xuewu, in the process of supervising execution work, not only had the right to directly feedback and report to the Management Committee, but also the right to directly communicate with superior leaders, and even the Director of the Management Committee.

Look at Li Xuewu's influence again; it was the existence that could directly deny him at the Management Committee meeting. Could he not be cautious, could he not be respectful?

The motorcade arrived at the residence where the Jin Ling region was located; the time was just 4:30 in the afternoon.

"The age of these buildings isn't old, less than thirty years."

Before getting out of the car, Zhuang Cangshu introduced it to the three leaders in the front row seats.

"Quadrilateral structure, three floors above ground, two floors underground, a total of five floors."

At this time, the motorcade passed through the gate guarded by security and entered the regional company's courtyard, where a welcoming team was already looking over here.

"The buildings facing the street and on the left and right sides are used for trade management, and this building in front is used for office and financial management."

Following his introduction, Gu Weijie and the others got off the Hongtu No. 1 one by one, and cadres had already brought the welcoming team to greet them.

"This is Comrade Sha Qizhi, the Deputy General Manager of our Sales Corporation in charge of international business work."

After Zhuang Cangshu introduced him, Sha Qizhi took the initiative to greet them: "Deputy Director Gu, General Manager Gao, Secretary-General."

The titles for group leaders were still very vague before, generally called Deputy Director, but now there was a distinction.

From Su Weide downwards, everyone was called "General," Zhou Wanquan and Gu Weijie were both called "Deputy Director," only Li Xuewu was called "Secretary-General," but without a surname, because only deputy positions carried surnames.

As for Li Huai De, those in the business line called him "General Manager," and those in the organizational line called him "Director Li."

Sha Qizhi only had a junior high school education, but after following Li Xuewu to train and study for just over a year, he had achieved today's success.

Gu Weijie, who knew his background, took a careful look at him when shaking hands; she hadn't paid attention before, but looking at him now, he was indeed steady.

Li Xuewu himself was very young, and even though he possessed very important influence in the group, he rarely meddled in personnel work.

From what Gu Weijie and Gao Yaqin understood, he only promoted some young cadres during his time in charge of security work, and these young cadres were indeed very capable and competent.

The most direct manifestation was that it was Li Xuewu who promoted them, but it was Li Huai De who appointed them.

Was there a difference?

The difference was huge. To what high position could Li Xuewu promote them when he was Deputy Director of the Security Department?

At most, it was a regular section level, but looking at it now, whether it was Sha Qizhi or Xu Ning, or Han Yating and others, they were no longer at the regular section level.

Li Xuewu rarely cultivated his own people in his subsequent work; at least that was what Gao Yaqin and Gu Weijie thought.

There was one main reason: personnel work in the group was handled by Jing Yunong.

It seemed that it was also from that time that Li Xuewu gradually distanced himself from personnel work, and many people felt he was forced to.

Of course, Gu Weijie and Gao Yaqin also thought so subconsciously.

Even the two of them had this perception, so the group's view of the progress of Sha Qizhi and others would no longer be associated with Li Xuewu.

Except for occasions like today, when Sha Qizhi met Li Xuewu directly, some people would remember that he was once Li Xuewu's secretary.

But regarding this relationship, some people were envious, but very few complained or attacked Li Xuewu's intention of cultivating his own people.

It hadn't been heard that a few "melon seeds and dates" could affect a group, and what's more, even if these "melon seeds and dates" he cultivated and promoted didn't belong to his management now.

Sha Qizhi was in the sales line, Han Yating was in the propaganda line, and Xu Ning was in United Energy; you tell me who he could manage and who he could take care of.

Even now in Liaodong Industry, his signed personnel appointment applications had cases of being blocked by Jing Yunong, which showed his difficulty in personnel work.

It was precisely based on this situation that Sha Qizhi and others didn't suffer any involvement in their work; more was based on their work ability.

Did Sha Qizhi have work ability?

"Personally built the group's foreign trade window and held up a piece of the sky for the International Business Department."

This was Gao Yaqin's evaluation of him; she had been on business trips to Hong Kong several times, and from her contact and research with the staff of the International Business Department, she could see his management ability.

"Not everyone can go to the airport."

Zhuang Cangshu smiled and explained: "Comrade Qizhi has relevant activity organization ability, so I left him behind to sit in the rear."

Gu Weijie and the others shook hands with him one after another, and in Zhuang Cangshu's explanation, they also smiled and asked Sha Qizhi a few questions.

There were quite a few people in the welcoming team on the scene, and it was very lively; it was also the excited mood of celebrating the establishment of the Jin Ling region.

They didn't go directly to the office building, but stood in the center of the courtyard, and Gu Weijie and the others delivered a speech that wasn't too long one after another.

The content and core of the speech were, of course, encouragement and support, as well as exhortation and expectation.

Li Xuewu's speech was relatively short, but it started from reality, talking about the main direction of work, as well as the Group Management Committee's work requirements for the Jin Ling region.

The applause on the scene was constant, lasting until the cafeteria.

When Gu Weijie walked into the cafeteria first, whether they were eating or queuing, everyone applauded enthusiastically, and when they walked closer, they even said words of welcome.

The smiles on the faces of Gu Weijie and the others didn't stop; just as she mentioned in her speech, the establishment of the Jin Ling region wasn't a split of the Jinmen Trade Management Center, but an inevitable choice under the background of business development and institutional expansion.

The formal full name of the Jin Ling Regional Company was: Red Star Steel Group Sales Corporation Jin Ling United Trade Management Center Branch.

And in the group's internal address, it was distinguished from Jinmen; after dividing into two regions, north and south, with the Yangtze River as the boundary at the present stage, it was called the Jin Ling region and the Jinmen region.

Correspondingly, there was also a very simple license-changing ceremony in Jinmen; the Jinmen United Trade Management Center, which was originally the only trade management service institution of the Sales Corporation, was formally revoked and stopped handling business south of the Yangtze River, belonging to the management and service of the Jin Ling region.

The license would also be changed to Red Star Steel Group Sales Corporation Jinmen United Trade Management Center Branch.

"Secretary-General, I'll sit with you."

Sha Qizhi carried his tray and took the initiative to sit beside Li Xuewu, smiling and greeting him.

Regardless of what kind of arrangement or purpose it was, Li Xuewu and the others didn't eat "small stove" (special meals), but had dinner in the cafeteria.

Zhuang Cangshu learned from his mistakes and didn't dare to arrange big fish and meat casually, and even less dared to let the leaders "detach from the masses," so after communicating and confirming with the Group Comprehensive Management Department, he arranged for them to eat in the cafeteria.

"The food standard here isn't low."

Li Xuewu pointed to the braised pork in the tray and said: "In Liaodong industrial enterprises, this can only be eaten once a month."

"The food standard of the whole group is the same; do we dare to engage in special treatment?" Sha Qizhi knew that this question of his was a trap; if he didn't answer well, he would easily get disciplined.

Having served Li Xuewu for so long, how could he not know his old leader's "badness"? He also smiled and turned it away.

"You aren't in charge of the Jin Ling region, so you know this too?"

Li Xuewu didn't let him off just like that, but took a look at him and asked: "How many days have you been in Jin Ling?"

"To tell you the truth, I only arrived one day earlier than you." Sha Qizhi explained frankly: "I just flew to Hong Kong from Jinmen, and after handling the work there, I flew to Jin Ling."

"Alright, you've become an 'airman'."

Gao Yaqin was his superior leader, and she joked with a smile: "Your flight volume alone is almost equal to all of ours combined."

"Leader, business trips are hard work."

Sha Qizhi smiled bitterly and explained: "The journey is long, and you can't even rest. Whoever catches this feeling of running around everywhere knows it."

He looked at Li Xuewu again and complained: "Now my wife has to queue up to see me, let alone the children."

"You're busier than me?" Li Xuewu looked at him amusedly, then looked at Gao Yaqin opposite and said: "Your evaluation of him isn't empty, right?"

"I'm also seeing it with my own eyes." Gao Yaqin smiled at Sha Qizhi, then said to Li Xuewu: "How do you handle the conflict between family and work?"

She gestured to the cadres and staff sitting around their dining tables and suggested: "You should also share some excellent ways and methods with us. Many people here are working away from home, right?"

"Hahaha—" Laughter and applause erupted around them instantly, and everyone was looking over here.

Li Xuewu took a look at her and said amusedly: "Can you stir up so many things just by eating a meal?"

Seeing Gao Yaqin smile, he turned his head and stared at Sha Qizhi again, saying: "You did this on purpose, right?"

"How dare I." Sha Qizhi smiled and said: "But I really want to hear your opinion."

"What opinion do I have? It's all because my wife made sacrifices." Li Xuewu put down his chopsticks, looked at the cadres and staff sitting around and looking at him, and said seriously: "Just like everyone's wife and relatives, she took the initiative to shoulder the heavy responsibility of taking care of the family."

"I don't know if everyone here is married or unmarried, has children or is preparing to have children, but raising children is hard work."

His emotion was recognized by the comrades who were married and had children, and applause rang out instantly.

Now it's good; Li Xuewu couldn't eat his meal, and under Gao Yaqin's instigation, he started doing ideological work.

"There's a good old saying: one doesn't know the kindness of parents until one raises children, which shows how hard this kindness is." He nodded, looked around, and said: "But I haven't tasted much of this hardship; it's my wife who fully supported my work, letting me have no worries behind me."

"I also know that many comrades here have the same situation as me, having a wife who supports you and loves you."

Just after the atmosphere on the scene settled for a few seconds, he nodded and said: "Today I won't represent the Group Management Committee, after all, Deputy Director Gu and General Manager Gao are here."

"Hehehe—" There was a light laugh on the scene because of his teasing.

"I'll just represent myself." Li Xuewu also smiled, stood up, looked at everyone, and said: "I want to say 'thank you for your hard work' to the comrades who are fighting far away from their hometowns, and I also want to say 'thank you for your hard work' to your families, wives, and children."

After speaking, he bowed to the cadres and staff in four directions respectively. After a burst of silence, more enthusiastic applause rang out on the scene.

One has to admire his eloquence and wit; Gu Weijie and Gao Yaqin were also applauding. This meal of theirs in the cafeteria already had meaning.

"Did you drink?" When the car stopped downstairs, Ding Fengxia knew it was her son-in-law, so she went downstairs to greet him. The first sentence she saw him was, "Do you need me to make you some hangover soup?"

"Mom, I didn't drink; I just had a working meal in the cafeteria."

Li Xuewu didn't carry any gifts when he went to his father-in-law's house, because the gifts he brought were brought back in advance by his mother-in-law along with the luggage.

"Come in quickly, were you in meetings until now?"

Ding Fengxia was extremely satisfied with this son-in-law, looking at him even more affectionately than at her own sons.

Of course, her son-in-law was also closer to her than her sons were; to use Gu Yan's words, his brother-in-law only knew how to suck up to his mother-in-law.

And the result?

Ding Fengxia could only sigh that the pig in her own house had arched someone else's cabbage, and before she had thought about how to compensate, the pig was lost.

Li Xuewu certainly wouldn't turn around and mock his brother-in-law's virtue of sucking up to his mother-in-law being worse than his own; he would only try his best to perform in front of his mother-in-law.

The better this pig of his performed, the more it could reflect the lack of conscience of his brother-in-law's pig.

Can you see it? He is a ruthless person.

"The schedule was mainly too tight." Li Xuewu took off his coat in the entryway and glanced at the living room, asking: "Has Dad not finished work yet?"

"He's back, he came back early."

Ding Fengxia glanced upstairs and said with a smile: "He's playing with the children."

"Did they bother you?" Li Xuewu said embarrassedly: "I originally planned to only bring Li Shu, but Li Ning kept clamoring that he missed Grandma and Grandpa."

"Of course, you have to bring both—"

Ding Fengxia said very firmly: "I don't even see the children once a year. Now that there are convenient conditions, why not bring them?"

She greeted Li Xuewu to enter the house, and at the same time shouted upstairs: "Li Shu, Li Ning, your father is back."

"Dad!" "Dad!"

Li Xuewu's hands hadn't even warmed up yet when the two little ones had already flown down from the stairs, laughing and pouncing over.

It was just that looking at the children covered in sweat, as well as the hair stuck to their faces by sweat, it looked like it was very lively upstairs.

"Dad." Li Xuewu touched the little heads of his daughter and son, and seeing his father-in-law coming down from the stairs, he asked with a smile: "Are you a bit unaccustomed to it? Is it too noisy?"

"Children should be a bit more lively."

Gu Haitao pointed to the sofa direction and said: "Sit down first. Have you had dinner? Your mom saved you some food."

"I've eaten, I ate with my colleagues." Li Xuewu held the little hands of the children and came to the sofa. After waiting for his father-in-law to sit down, he sat on the sofa next to him.

"Don't worry about your dad; he wishes the children were even noisier." Ding Fengxia brought hot tea for the two of them, and Li Xuewu hurriedly got up to take it.

"There are only the two of us at home, it's quite lonely." She smiled and looked at the two little ones, saying: "Only with them does the house feel warm."

"Grandma, you've worked hard—" Li Shu knew how to do things; seeing Grandma making tea, she pulled Grandma's finger to let her sit, and went to get Grandma's water cup herself.

"Grandma, I'll pound your back!" Seeing her sister go to get tea, Li Ning didn't want to be outdone; he climbed onto the back of the sofa, rode behind Grandma's shoulders, and pounded Grandma's shoulders and back with his little fists in a funny way.

Li Xuewu felt embarrassed; he glanced at his son and reminded him: "You can't do this; Grandma will be uncomfortable."

"It's okay! It's comfortable, my big grandson is really good—" Ding Fengxia couldn't bear to hear anything bad about her grandson; even if Li Ning's little fists pounded ten times without one being in the right place, she was happy as could be.

Seeing Li Shu coming over with the water cup, she took it with both hands and praised her big granddaughter like a flower.

Li Shu looked just like a flower now; she was quite radiant.

Gu Haitao was no longer as serious as before; his eyes looking at the two grandsons were full of kindness and softness.

"Why didn't Aunt Xiao Ning come?" Ding Fengxia wasn't blaming her son-in-law, but complaining about her daughter: "She can let go of us, but can she let go of the children?"

"Don't blame her; I didn't even suggest she come with me." Li Xuewu smiled and coaxed his mother-in-law: "Their unit is indeed short of manpower, especially for a backbone doctor like her."

First, he praised his wife, then he explained: "I've been working in Liaodong for over a year, and the heavy burden of the family has fallen on her alone. It's really hard to take care of two children."

"Even without this opportunity, I was thinking of finding time to take the two children to Liaodong for a few days, so she can relax and rest."

He smiled and looked at his father-in-law, saying: "I have a clear conscience about work, but I feel a bit guilty toward Aunt Xiao Ning and the family; I can only try my best to make it up to her."

Hearing him say this, Ding Fengxia hadn't really blamed her daughter in the first place, and now she couldn't bear to say another word to her son-in-law.

"You just spoil her—"

She smiled and pointed at Li Shu and Li Ning, saying: "Who brought these two children? I don't know? You just know how to say nice things."

This sounded like a reprimand, but the meaning of praise and appreciation couldn't be more intense.

Her son-in-law was good to her daughter, as meticulous as ever; not only was he excellent in his work, but he was also dedicated to his family. What else did they have to be picky about?

"Are you going to open a branch in Jin Ling?"

Having finished pounding Grandma's back, and feeling that the praise he got wasn't enough compared to his sister's, Li Ning jumped off the sofa and ran to Grandpa's side, once again riding on Grandpa's neck and kneading his shoulders.

He had never seen this kind of shoulder kneading before, but he didn't see Gu Haitao show any reprimand; he even cooperated with his grandson's movements, his face full of gratified smiles.

Li Xuewu felt his mouth twitch. ===== CHAPTER 1575 =====