Chapter 1589: Beauty's Invitation

"Judging from the current sales data, second-quarter revenue will certainly surpass that of the first quarter."

Yang An, the person in charge of the Riverside Street General Department Store under the Jingcheng Supply and Marketing Branch of the Sales Headquarters' Supply Chain Division, walked at the very front, turning his body slightly to give an on-site report to the Group's Secretary-General and the accompanying delegation conducting the inspection.

Accompanying them were Zhao Yuzhi, Deputy General Manager of the Sales Headquarters; Cai Fang, General Manager of the Joint Supply and Marketing Company of the Supply Chain; and Deputy General Manager Huang Yang Zongfang, among others.

"A gap between the old and the new, is that right?"

Li Li Xuewu wore a navy-blue wool jacket left unbuttoned, his white shirt underneath making him appear particularly capable and mature.

Most of the cadres surrounding him were dressed similarly, with some jokingly referring to the style as "White Plus Black."

There was a distinction between the uniforms of the Honggang Group's administrative offices and those of the frontline staff, which could be seen clearly by observing the attire of the employees inside the department store.

Though the clothing differed, the class status was the same; work uniforms were always meant to serve the convenience of the job, otherwise, being naked would be even more comfortable.

Li Li Huai De had once made a statement at a work meeting, saying that uniforms could not divide classes and that everyone was a comrade.

Li Li Xuewu, however, felt that in this era, Old Li's words carried not a shred of emptiness or falsehood.

It was all for the sake of work; in his view, the frontline employees' uniforms were looser and more comfortable, a suggestion he had raised during the initial design phase, referencing the style of baseball jackets.

In fact, based on feedback regarding the attire, the employees actually liked the newest style of frontline workwear very much, especially regarding its color coordination, craftsmanship, fabric, and other fashionable aspects.

Yang An, the person in charge of the department store, had clearly done his homework in advance, knowing his attitude toward work, and thus wisely chose to wear a frontline employee's jacket, which was quite smart.

"That is correct, Secretary-General."

Walking at the very front of the corridor cleared by several security guards, Yang An gestured with both hands toward the stalls on either side as he explained, "Thanks to our internal supply system, our store has never experienced any interruption in the supply of seasonal vegetables and fruits."

Li Li Xuewu looked in the direction Yang An indicated; the vegetables, fruits, and other non-staple foods neatly arranged on the stalls were a dazzling array, indeed as abundant as he had described.

It was evident that the collective greenhouses of Hongxing Village and the vegetable reclamation zone of the Third Guard Regiment had given the supply system ample confidence.

Looking ahead, the aquatic products section and the meat food section were still the most bustling; most of the foot traffic entering the mall was converging there, suggesting that the employees' spending power had also increased.

"How is the vegetable supply situation?"

Li Li Xuewu walked over to a vegetable stall, picked up a cucumber, and examined it; with flowers still attached and spines intact, it was clearly harvested not long ago.

"It takes only four hours from the greenhouse to the market; we have a dedicated transportation team to ensure this."

The person in charge stood beside him, using the cucumber in his hand as an example to begin his introduction, covering everything from procurement to sales, and even including details such as loss rates and weighing methods, showing that he was well-prepared.

Li Li Xuewu did not mind this kind of workplace cleverness; it would have been awkward if the man had been clueless about everything.

He was not certain whether the person in charge knew every single category of goods in the mall inside out, nor was this a mandatory requirement.

For a department store, its manager should manage and maintain its operations from a higher perspective, rather than needing to be so familiar with the ins and outs of a single cucumber.

Of course, if he could truly master every detail, then the day of his promotion would not be far off.

"What is the current price of cucumbers?" Li Li Xuewu tossed the cucumber in his hand and asked the salesclerk standing behind the stall.

"Cucumbers are currently twenty fen per jin."

Seeing a large crowd rushing over, led by their market leaders, the salesclerk answered the question somewhat nervously.

Li Li Xuewu paid it no mind, smiling as he spoke to those beside him: "That's not cheap; a single plate of smashed cucumber would cost over ten fen."

"That is the case now," Yang An explained with a smile. "After all, all vegetables in the market come from greenhouse cultivation."

"Actually, you may not know that at this price, many citizens might queue up at the city's supply and marketing markets and still not be able to buy any."

An older salesclerk chimed in with a smile: "Only our Group's supply market can offer stable vegetable prices and sufficient supply."

"Is that so?" Li Li Xuewu looked at her and asked with a smile, "Then how are cucumbers selling now? Can the employees and their families afford them?"

"They still sell very well," the older woman said, gesturing to several empty bamboo baskets behind her as she explained, "Look, these are all sold out; there are only a few baskets left."

"You've come a bit early; if you wait until the Group and the factory zones finish their shifts, you won't be able to buy these fresh vegetables."

"It seems our employees' households have a decent consumption level," Li Li Xuewu said, looking at the delegation behind him and pointing vaguely with his finger as he spoke with a smile. "This proves we did our work correctly."

"The construction of the supply and marketing market has indeed enriched the vegetable baskets of employees' families and guaranteed their basic living needs," Cai Fang, the General Manager of Joint Supply and Marketing, added with a smile. "We must say this is due to the Group's strong support; otherwise, the market's construction would have been delayed by another year or two."

"That is certain; safeguarding employees' livelihoods must always be ranked first," Li Li Xuewu said, putting down the cucumber in his hand and looking at the few men as he emphasized, "Projects related to livelihood security and service institutions must be prioritized ahead of other engineering projects."

"However, let me remind you."

His gaze swept over the crowd of cadres from the sales company present on-site, and he emphasized in a slightly relaxed tone, "Policies and fiscal resources will tilt toward employee welfare guarantees, but your work principles and discipline are not allowed to tilt; remember this."

"Yes, Secretary-General, we remember."

Cai Fang nodded with a smile in agreement, raised his hand to gesture forward, and invited him to continue the inspection.

Seeing him nod, Li Li Xuewu looked at the others; cadres of this era still possessed a certain degree of integrity.

Amidst a relatively relaxed atmosphere of chatter and laughter, the group continued walking forward, and Li Li Xuewu asked about the sales situation of meat products.

"The internal supply sources for meat products within the supply chain are quite extensive," Deputy General Manager Huang Yang Zongfang volunteered to explain. "Nearby sources include Hongxing Commune, the Third Guard Regiment Pasture, Chadian Farm, and others."

"Further away, there are pastoral areas in Inner Mongolia, the border regions, and other provinces, with the meat transported back via refrigerated trains."

It was evident that the Group's employees still harbored great enthusiasm for purchasing meat products.

As Li Li Xuewu and his delegation walked toward the meat supply stalls, the queue ahead was already very long, even though it was only five o'clock in the afternoon.

"Besides meat products, sales figures for aquatic products and seafood are also quite substantial, especially for aquatic products."

Just as Yang An was giving his introduction, sounds of arguing came from ahead; everyone looked over to see an extremely lively scene.

"Hey! Hey! Excuse me, make way—!"

An old woman holding a child's hand squeezed her way toward the front of the stall, holding up a strip of pork, not caring if she greased anyone with it.

Precisely because of this bullying attitude, combined with the strip of pork she held aloft, the people queuing actually made way for her.

This didn't look like someone cutting in line to buy pork; it looked more like someone looking for trouble, and upon seeing a spectacle, everyone naturally hurried to watch.

The old woman arrived in front of the pork stall, holding up the three-finger-wide strip of pork in her hand and shouting loudly, "Take a look, hey! Everyone come and take a look, hey!"

She glared at the salesclerk behind the stall and demanded accusatorially, "Tell me, was this sliced off your mother's heel? How can it be so lean!"

"Ah! Are you bullying us because our child is small!" The old woman threw the strip of meat onto the counter, knitted her brows, and demanded, "Do you have any conscience slicing meat like this, or do you not!"

"This is the meat we have; take it or leave it—if you don't want it, forget it," the salesclerk replied with extreme coldness, wearing a white cap identical to those worn by nurses. "If you think it's too lean, go buy it outside—"

"You have fatty cuts hanging here, so why didn't you slice one for our child?" The old woman glared, pointing at the fat meat on the counter and demanding, "You're saving it, saving it all to stick onto those two mistresses of yours!"

"Hahaha—"

They say onlookers never mind if things get worse; hearing the old woman's colorful cursing, the crowd joined in the clamor.

The other salesclerks could still endure it, but the gazes sweeping over from the men gathered before the meat stall were truly unbearable.

It was as if—as if her two breasts were truly pasted on with fatty meat; even though she was middle-aged and retained some fighting spirit, she was powerless against this shameless old woman.

In truth, this was just the daily routine of the supply and marketing market, except that today the leaders had happened to stumble upon it, leaving the person in charge with an awkward expression.

Damn it, what terrible timing; Yang Yang Zongfang knew that if he mishandled this incident today, his several months of effort would be wasted.

"Hey, hey, old lady, please stop making a scene."

He shoved aside the market cadre following him, stepped into the crowd, and waved his hands, saying, "If there's an issue, let's discuss it calmly; there's no need for cursing."

"I cursed at her? You all be the judges of this!"

The old woman, extremely agitated, stretched out a strip of meat from the cutting board, waved it around, and demanded, "Is there any bullying like yours?"

No one at the scene responded; everyone was waiting to watch the spectacle, wishing she would make an even bigger fuss.

"Secretary-General, perhaps you could..."

Cai Fang was extremely embarrassed; he raised his hand, gesturing toward the second floor, hoping to invite him upstairs for a tour to avoid the quarrel ahead.

Li Li Xuewu indeed did not move; gazing at the commotion not far away without speaking, he seemed very interested.

Cai Fang and Yang Yang Zongfang exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with panic; wasn't this just rotten luck?

The Secretary-General had worked in Liaodong for a long time; even when returning to the Group these past two years, he only attended important meetings or presided over key tasks, rarely coming down for inspections.

Especially at this particular time, with rumors that he was about to return to Liaodong, yet he squeezed out time to inspect the market; what did this signify?

They were unclear about what the Group planned to do next, but from these whispers and shadows, they could see that the upcoming moves would not be small.

They did not fear great waves; they feared a fire at the city gate leaving them no time to dodge, for dying like that would be truly unjust.

They had managed to get this far, with the leaders satisfied with their work all along the way, only for such a situation to occur.

Grassroots cadres, or those who had joined the Group in recent years, did not understand Li Li Xuewu's temper and character.

As for Cai Fang and Yang Yang Zongfang, who had followed the Group since its beginnings at the Red Star Factory, they knew clearly that the Secretary-General placed the utmost importance on employee welfare and security, and even more on sales and service work.

He had emphasized the importance of service in sales work more than once during work meetings.

There was precedent for him discovering poor service attitudes during on-site inspections and directly disciplining managing cadres.

Having witnessed this incident today, and judging by the leader's attitude, it seemed he was testing and evaluating their service quality work.

To say that this vegetable market was like a fight every day was no exaggeration; the personal quality of employees and their families in this era was generally mediocre, and besides speaking in loud voices, they dared to curse and even fight.

In truth, everyone was an ordinary person; who did not understand the saying that poverty shortens one's ambitions? Having lived through hard times, everyone knew how big a difference there was between fatty meat and lean meat when running a household.

Regardless of how unreasonable the old lady buying meat was, or how aggrieved the salesclerk selling it felt, from the attitude the salesclerk displayed at the very first word, they instinctively knew where the problem lay.

It was not about looking at the problem from another's perspective, but from the perspective of Secretary-General Li Li Xuewu; in that light, she was simply wrong.

Of course, the leader had not spoken; in such a venue and under such circumstances, how could a leader possibly express an opinion?

However, his persistence in standing there, accompanied by his entourage, watching that side, was already a statement in itself.

Now, whether it was Cai Fang or Yang Yang Zongfang, neither had any reason or opportunity to step forward and handle this matter anymore.

They could only hope that Yang Yang Zongfang could appease both parties and resolve this incident as quickly as possible.

In truth, Cai Fang and the others were not entirely correct in their guesses; the reason Li Li Xuewu stood on the spot watching the spectacle was not only to see how the sales company handled such disputes and to reflect on issues of service attitude, but also because he recognized the old woman cursing while accompanied by a child.

"Grandma—" Little Little Huaihua tugged at her grandmother's hand, wanting to remind her to stop cursing, as she had seen Wu Shu.

Standing in the center of the crowd, they looked in one direction where a path had just been cleared by the market cadre; there, standing on the other side watching them, was Wu Shu, a former neighbor from the same courtyard.

"Never mind—" Jia Jia Zhangshi was in the midst of a furious tirade, nearly ready to fling the meat in her hand onto Yang Yang Zongfang's face.

She was angry at the salesclerk for bullying people, and angry at Little Little Huaihua for being useless, sending her out to buy meat yet remaining silent when bullied.

"Just tell me what you're going to do about it!"

"When we sell meat, we cut sequentially down the side of pork; we don't give more fatty meat to one person and less to another."

Yang Yang Zongfang explained amicably, "It just so happens that this is what we reached; surely you wouldn't expect us to skip over the fatty parts to cut?"

He gestured to the queue behind him and asked, "If everyone like you wants only fatty meat and none of the lean, then who are we supposed to sell the lean meat to?"

"So your meaning is that whoever gets it is just unlucky, is it!" Jia Jia Zhangshi, surprisingly agile in her legs, lifted her buttocks and sat right on the pork cutting board, glaring with wide eyes as she demanded, "Then let me ask you, do your family's pigs grow only lean meat, with not a bit of fat?"

She pointed at the strip of pork Little Little Huaihua had bought and said, "Even if it had just a sliver of fatty meat, I wouldn't call you heartless; so your market is just foisting all the lean meat off on honest children, is it!"

"I don't care; today you must exchange this for fatty meat!"

Folding her arms, Jia Jia Zhangshi stubbornly confronted Yang Yang Zongfang, saying, "Even if you have to cut a strip of fatty meat from her buttocks, you must cut one for me!"

"Hey! You old lady, really—"

Yang Yang Zongfang was about to persuade her further when he heard someone behind him ask, "How much is the fatty meat, and how much is the lean?"

"Secretary-General, you..."

His feet went numb; he knew who had arrived. In the time it took to speak just two sentences, the leader could no longer wait.

Of course, a leader's time was inherently tight; how could he wait for him to dawdle here for so long?

Regret struck; Yang Yang Zongfang suddenly realized that what he urgently needed to handle now was not the old lady, but this incident itself.

The salesclerk selling meat had a fleshy face; accustomed to customers' flattery in daily life, she usually wore a sullen expression.

Now, however, her face was filled with panic; while she did not recognize the others, she had certainly encountered the leaders of the Supply and Marketing Company before.

These leaders had all visited when the department store opened in March, yet now they were all gathered around an even younger leader.

The worse her expression toward customers had been in the past, the worse the expression these leaders now directed at her became.

The one asking about the pork price was Li Li Xuewu; he walked up to the stall, paid no attention to the stunned Jia Jia Zhangshi, reached out, and picked up the strip of lean meat she had just thrown onto the cutting board, saying, "Cut a fatty one for me, charge the highest price, and exchange it for her lean one."

Before Cai Fang behind him could speak, Zhang Enyuan, carrying a bag, had already stepped forward and handed money and coupons to Li Li Xuewu.

The salesclerk's face turned greenish-white; at a loss, she looked toward the market manager, and then to the leaders of the Supply and Marketing Company standing behind.

"It's fine; just weigh it for me."

There was not a trace of seriousness on Li Li Xuewu's face; his tone was very warm, as if he had come merely to solve a problem.

Seeing Yang An nod in signal, the salesperson pressed her lips tightly together, reached for the knife on the cutting board, and sliced a strip from the fatty meat.

"Alright, what else are you looking at? Get down."

Only then did Li Li Xuewu turn his head to look at Jia Jia Zhangshi, whose eyes were equally full of panic, and gestured to her, saying, "How dirty this board is."

"Um—" Jia Jia Zhangshi slid off the ground awkwardly and explained with embarrassment, "I didn't mean to... it was just that..."

"Uncle Wu—" Little Little Huaihua was not shy; seeing Uncle Wu looking at her, she forced a smile and took the initiative to greet him.

"Mm." Li Li Xuewu smiled gently, reached out to pat the back of her head, and said, "You've grown taller; have you already learned to help your family buy groceries?"

"No... I'm not good at buying..."

Little Little Huaihua was nine years old; in recent years, as her family's living conditions had improved, it was obvious that she had grown taller and her face had filled out with flesh.

Thinking that it was all because of her that her grandmother had come to the market to argue with the meat stall and had lost face in front of Uncle Wu, she couldn't help but lower her head.

After only two sentences of dialogue, the expressions of those cadres standing behind him had changed, and Yang An's eyes were full of shock.

The salesperson had just placed the sliced fatty meat on the scale; hearing their conversation, her hand fiddling with the scale weight began to tremble.

"We have all come through hard times; our stomachs are all deficient in oil and fat, so everyone can understand this desire to eat fatty meat."

Li Li Xuewu put his arm around Little Little Huaihua's shoulders, looked at Yang An and the others, and lectured, "But a market is a market; one cannot use 'understanding' to weigh the scale weight, nor can one use 'understanding' to judge fat versus lean, correct?"

"I am not a salesperson, nor have I ever worked in a slaughterhouse; I will offer one immature suggestion for your reference."

He nodded and continued, "One cannot say this meat is absolutely fat or lean, but the knife for slicing the meat is in your hands."

"From a single pig, one can always distinguish several regions: some lean, some fatty, and some marbled with both."

Li Li Xuewu turned to look at the salesperson and said, "You are all able to separate bones and offal to sell individually; why, then, cannot you, with a heart dedicated to serving the people, distinguish between the fatty and the lean?"

"I personally like to eat lean meat; if you include even a little bit of fat, how can you sell me this meat?"

He pointed at the surrounding crowd and said, "Then there are those who like to eat only fat, who cannot tolerate even a bit of lean, and others who like a mix of both; such situations exist, do they not?"

The salesperson stood there, her mind filled with panic over the leaders' arrival; where would she have noticed what he was saying? Whatever he said was right; she just needed to nod.

"To be honest, I rarely enter the kitchen at home, let alone come to the market to buy meat."

Li Li Xuewu's tone remained consistently unserious and gentle; at this moment, he even smiled and made a self-deprecating remark about himself.

The atmosphere eased, and only then did he continue, "But I do know there is five-flower meat, there is leaf lard, and there is front leg meat."

"As for the rest, I am not very clear."

This self-mockery born of half-knowledge instead drew the attention of everyone present to him and to his words.

"Manager Yang," Li Li Xuewu turned to look at Yang An and said, "To resolve contradictions in operations, one does not necessarily have to start with service attitude; one must also work hard on management."

"Yes, Secretary-General; afterward, we will definitely reflect," Yang An replied with a trembling voice, "We will definitely rectify."

"We are all comrades from the same unit."

Li Li Xuewu took the meat from the salesperson's hand, put down the money and coupons, pointed at her, and said, "You must not be impatient."

"Yes, Leader; I was wrong."

The salesperson nodded awkwardly; she already knew what situation she was about to face.

"It's just this small matter." Li Li Xuewu handed the fatty meat to Little Little Huaihua, reached out to lift the strip of lean meat, glanced at it, and then said to Jia Jia Zhangshi, who was lowering her head knowing she had done wrong, "You should also leave some face for Qin Qin Huairu; this is a vegetable market, not a no-man's land."

"That... that thing..." Jia Jia Zhangshi lifted her head and said, "I just couldn't accept them bullying an honest child."

"Alright, from now on, you specifically choose to buy the fatty parts."

Li Li Xuewu glanced at her, then turned to Yang An and said, "Follow market demand; if everyone wants fatty meat, then raise the price of fatty meat slightly. I don't need to teach you about that balance, do I?"

"No need, no need," Vice General Manager Yang Yang Zongfang hurriedly explained, "Tonight we will hold a meeting to finalize the detailed sales policy for pork, and tomorrow morning when the market opens, we will implement the new policy."

"We will also investigate other product categories to minimize the occurrence of such contradictions as much as possible."

As a female comrade, she still had a way with words; this was a declaration of stance to Li Li Xuewu, as well as to the market staff and the other onlookers, naturally winning enthusiastic applause.

In truth, the workers and family members buying meat did not care how much the meat cost; anyway, it would not be higher than at the city's supply and marketing market.

If pork were truly divided into regions and sold separately, those who wanted fat could buy fat, and those who wanted lean could buy lean; that would actually be more convenient.

The reason this was not done before was entirely because the salespeople were too lazy to do the work; they roughly mixed the meat together when slicing, knowing that they could keep the good meat for themselves anyway.

Now hearing the leader propose this opinion, everyone felt very satisfied; there would be no need to argue in the future.

However, the salespeople standing behind the counters knew in their hearts that they were the ones who would suffer the loss.

But today, the leaders had happened upon this matter; who asked them to be so blind as to cause such a huge commotion? Apart from swallowing their broken teeth, what else could they say?

If they dared to say anything, would that not mean losing their original aspiration of serving the people?

"Secretary-General, this meat—"

Cai Fang awkwardly grabbed his hand; how could he let the leader take the meat away? Did he not want to advance in his career in the future?

"What's the matter? Do you also like to eat lean meat?"

Li Li Xuewu looked him up and down and asked, "Or is it that you just like this strip of meat in my hand?"

"Give us a chance; we will definitely resolve this matter tonight. If you don't believe us, come over tomorrow morning and see."

He was an old hand; he could see that Li Li Xuewu did not wish to make things difficult for him. He took that strip of meat, handed it to the secretary behind him, waved his hand to indicate it was settled, and then said earnestly, "We are not afraid of leaders discovering problems, because we possess a heart eager for progress."

"Is that true or false?" A few more traces of a smile appeared on Li Li Xuewu's face as he said, "You dare say you are not afraid of leaders discovering problems, but have you considered that the problems reported by the masses are the most direct?"

"Rather than waiting for leaders to discover problems during their inspections, would it not be easier for you to walk the markets more often yourselves, listen to what the masses are saying, than to carry out overnight rectifications?"

He strode toward the car and spoke in a warm tone, "Workers dedicate their strength to the enterprise and create value; you serve the workers, so you must also create value through your service."

"You must be mentally prepared; there will be more and more households in the Workers' New Village, and the market will definitely not consist of only you."

Zhang Enyuan stepped forward a few paces to open the car door for him, but he stopped in his tracks, looked at Cai Fang and the others, and emphasized, "Your mission is absolutely not merely to serve the worker masses."

"Our group is a market-oriented experimental enterprise; sooner or later, you will have to face all the citizens."

Speaking to this point, Li Li Xuewu's expression became slightly more serious as he said, "Have you considered whether your current state of supply and marketing service can satisfy greater market demand?"

"What I am referring to is not only the sales end, but also channels, procurement, storage conditions, and so on; you must think this through thoroughly."

He patted Cai Fang's arm and said, "I'll leave this slab of pork to you; the next time we meet, you must serve me a dish that is perfect in color, aroma, and taste before I will be satisfied."

"Rest assured, Secretary-General, absolutely."

Cai Fang knew the leader did not lack these few cents' worth of meat; the moment he accepted this slab, he had already known he could not offer the leader money or coupons.

Under such circumstances, the benefit of these few cents from the leader was not easy to claim; he would have to repay the debt with several times the hardship and effort.

Watching the survey convoy depart, he did not yet know that the reporter from the "United Industry News" traveling with them was already preparing in the vehicle to write an article titled "A Slab of Lean Pork."

"All buildings confirmed as dangerous, or those containing irreparable risk sources, will be demolished."

The person in charge of the United Construction Steel Rolling Plant Project Department pointed at the construction site while introducing it to Li Li Xuewu: "This also includes buildings already marked for abandonment on the planning blueprints."

"How many production workshops have been demolished?"

Li Li Xuewu stood more than fifty meters away from the demolition site, surveying the scene following the project leader's gestures.

There were both manual laborers and mechanical equipment, with trucks waiting one by one along the roadside to load and transport construction debris.

"Workshop Seven and Workshop Sixteen can no longer be used."

The project leader introduced: "The location of Workshop Sixteen will be used to widen the passage to the tertiary industrial zone; the main structure of Workshop Seven has fractured, and the Engineering Division has classified it as a dangerous building."

Glancing at the materials in his hand, he pointed again toward a more distant area and explained: "The original Hardware Factory and Garment Factory are to be demolished, the factory clinic will also be relocated, and a new building will be constructed in that location for the Research Institute."

"The original experimental building has already been allocated to the Research Institute's Automotive Engineering Research Office," introduced Wang Yan Shengli, Deputy General Manager of the United Construction General Corporation, standing beside Li Li Xuewu: "The canteen next door, however, has been retained and will continue to be used."

He looked at Li Li Xuewu, nodded, and said, "However, it will undergo a certain degree of renovation, after all, it must bear the responsibility of ensuring meals for all employees of both the Research Institute and the Light Industrial Zone."

"Actually, this is quite good," Li Li Xuewu said, wearing a hard hat and clasping his hands behind his back as he looked toward the canteen building in the distance: "In the Liangma River Industrial Zone, land is as precious as gold; high-level resource integration means that scientific research and production capabilities have been released more fully."

"The overall planning is proceeding with precisely this goal in mind," Wang Yan Shengli introduced, turning slightly to the side: "The redesigned blueprints have incorporated numerous changes, especially regarding the formulation of reconstruction plans for each building."

"The new plan incorporates several buildings currently in temporary use into the ten-year reconstruction schedule."

Spreading his hands to explain this reconstruction plan, he noted that within the next ten years, resources and space from the plant's reconstruction would be fully utilized to upgrade several relatively cramped buildings.

Apart from those few newly constructed office buildings, other structures had basically lost the necessity for renovation.

This factory still retained many buildings from forty years ago; the planning of that time conflicted with both the present and the future, the only difference being whether they were demolished now or later.

"The original dormitory area is to be completely demolished."

Wang Yan Shengli pointed at the blueprints held open by the secretaries and introduced: "The staff apartment buildings can basically meet the current accommodation needs of single employees; the dormitory buildings have suffered from years of neglect, several sections are already dangerous structures, and there is no necessity for repair."

"Mm, that plot of land is still very important."

Looking at the blueprints, Li Li Xuewu nodded and said, "Whether it is used for industrial land or scientific research land in the future, either is acceptable."

"However, there is one point you must pay attention to."

Pointing his finger at the residential buildings next door, he emphasized: "No matter how this land is used in the future, it cannot be at the cost of endangering or affecting the living environment of the employees."

"The design team has already taken this into account," Wang Yan Shengli introduced: "Because the plot's location is close to the residential area, it has been allocated to the Research Institute; they plan to construct several office buildings there, corresponding to the joint laboratory of the Research Institute and the Vocational and Technical College."

The Honggang Group has its own Research Institute and its own education system, so the laboratories are shared.

If a child of an employee works hard enough in their studies, they will have the opportunity to go directly from the nursery, kindergarten, and the elementary and middle schools of the United Education School to enter the Vocational and Technical College.

At the Vocational and Technical College, they will receive training from the nation's finest educational resources, completing their associate degree studies in three years, then entering Jingcheng Iron and Steel College through an internal channel.

Of course, they need not worry that changing learning environments will affect their studies, because Jingcheng Iron and Steel College cannot offer teaching for so many subjects; it is merely a nominal arrangement for delegated training.

In other words, except for some students who must go to Iron and Steel College to study for two years, most students will still remain at the Vocational and Technical College to complete their studies, or shuttle between the two.

The Hongxing United Education System was jointly created by the Group together with Tsinghua University, Iron and Steel College, and many other institutions; unless there are necessary courses, where else could one find something better than their own school?

If this student is excellent enough, they will have the opportunity before graduation to enter the Research Institute for an internship, learning professional knowledge alongside the finest researchers; if their performance is outstanding, they will remain directly at the Research Institute after graduation to work as a researcher.

This is the cultivation system for scientific researchers; an excellent one can also enter the Group to work at any stage after graduating from the Vocational and Technical College, embarking on different paths.

But given the Group's level of emphasis on scientific research work, being able to work at the Research Institute is tantamount to stepping straight into heaven.

The Honggang Group has constructed residential buildings specifically for scientific researchers; most are two-person apartments, though there are also family-unit residences, and many professors can even enjoy villa-style housing in the Riverside Garden, with benefits and treatment higher than those of ordinary cadres.

On this point, Shangguan Qi had deep personal experience; with her large family, moving from Bingfei to the Hongxing Factory, they were treated almost as the classic example of buying a horse's bone with a thousand gold.

The current Shangguan Qi is the person in charge of the aircraft project and also serves as the technical support staff for Li Li Xuewu in the Liaodong Industrial Management Group; she has research funding and also receives a technical salary.

If one were to speak of the groups within the Honggang Group with the best treatment and the first to purchase automobiles, apart from families with existing assets like Wang Lu's, it was young people like Shangguan Qi who bought the most.

Those reluctant to spend or afraid of accidents would buy a Comet motorcycle, which was very convenient for both commuting to work and entering the city.

Those with confidence in the Group and confidence in the future, like Shangguan Qi, directly used their own wages to buy a small sedan, driving it to shield against wind and rain, which was quite comfortable.

Approaching the end of the workday, she came out of the laboratory; taking the plant road would save time, yet she did not expect to see Li Li Xuewu here.

"Secretary-General, so you are here."

She parked her car by the roadside, glanced at the accompanying team, and walked over with a smile to greet them.

Li Li Xuewu turned his head to look at her, nodded with a smile, and asked, "Are you getting off work?"

"Nothing much to do today, so I left a bit early."

In front of him, Shangguan Qi showed not a trace of constraint, politely exchanging greetings with the other cadres.

As she approached, Wang Yan Shengli and others even shook her hand, smiling as they discussed the matter of the Research Institute's site selection.

"Our Research Institute operates each fighting their own battles."

She said with a smile: "Nominally we are one department, but in reality everyone does their own work; our office locations and laboratories are not in the same place, and many of us are not even familiar with each other."

"Hehe—" Li Li Xuewu pointed his finger at several office buildings on the planning map and said: "In the future, the Research Institute will have its own office building; you are all precious treasures."

"Secretary-General, I don't like hearing that—" Shangguan Qi had obviously adapted to the working atmosphere and life of the Honggang Group, no longer possessing the trembling fear she had when first arriving at the Hongxing Factory.

Joking, she said: "We are all comrades; no one is nobler than anyone else, so there are no 'precious treasures'."

"Hahaha—" Li Li Xuewu laughed and pointed at her, saying: "Look, I spoke wrongly again."

"Leader, please don't take offense—"

Shangguan Qi smiled, glanced at the other United Construction cadres, raised her eyebrows, and asked: "Are you preparing to plan more laboratories for us?"

"The bread will come," Wang Yan Shengli introduced with a smile: "The laboratory requirements you submitted are too numerous; we must carry out construction in phases, and it absolutely cannot be completed within one or two years."

These words were spoken for Shangguan Qi to hear, and also for Li Li Xuewu to hear, fearing that the Research Institute might rush to seek out the Group leaders.

Li Li Xuewu was watching the site where the grappling hooks were being dismantled; he pointed toward the dispatch center and asked, "What is going to be built over there?"

"Integrated warehouses for the light industrial zone."

Wang Yan Shengli introduced, "Thanks to the convenience of the railway, the dispatch center will not be completely demolished but will undergo renovation and upgrading, while a new storage area will be constructed in the freight yard."

"A massive project," Li Li Xuewu nodded, remarking with emotion, "This year, the group's finances have been primarily allocated to these constructions."

"Are there many projects in Liaodong?"

Shangguan Qi, seemingly unprepared to leave without even saying goodbye, stood aside and asked about Liaodong instead.

"Mm, it's also a massive project," Li Li Xuewu glanced back at Wang Yan Shengli and said, "And it's an underground engineering project."

"If we hadn't made the parking lots and underground works so complete during the planning a few years ago, Jingcheng would still have to break ground," Wang Yan Shengli explained, "Nowadays, our relatively comprehensive civil defense projects have saved us quite a bit of money."

"That must be credited to the Secretary-General's long-term vision."

He smiled and explained to everyone, "Back when planning the Liangma River Industrial Zone, the Secretary-General proposed the idea of integrating civil defense works with the group's underground engineering construction."

"That was the collective opinion; what does it have to do with my vision?" Li Li Xuewu waved his hand, cutting him off, "With the construction of the Liangma River Industrial Zone, the Steel City Industrial Zone now has a reference template."

Turning around, he looked at the crowd and said, "The difference lies in the fact that the Steel City Industrial Zone is larger and more complex."

"Compared to the existing Liangma River Industrial Zone, the Steel City Industrial Zone lacks necessary commercial functions, so placing them in the underground works is more suitable."

Li Li Xuewu pointed toward the residential district in the distance and explained, "Steel City's Worker New Village cannot compare to the scale of Jingcheng, and naturally, its other service equipment and facilities also fall short of Jingcheng's."

"However, your Research Institute could consider establishing a branch campus or specialized laboratories in Steel City."

Looking at Shangguan Qi, he said, "After all, the group's main industrial strength lies in Steel City; whether for experiments or scientific research, there is technical support available."

"We don't need to consider that; it's already under construction."

Shangguan Qi smiled and said, "The scientific research forces jointly established by the Aircraft Research Institute and Steel Aircraft will form a research team within Steel Aircraft to build corresponding experimental institutions."

"Your institute has relatively close ties with Shenyang Aircraft regarding scientific research and production, so this is achievable."

Li Li Xuewu nodded and said, "I hope even more to establish a metallurgy laboratory and an energy laboratory in Steel City."

"Are these joint energy projects?"

Shangguan Qi asked curiously, "If they are joint energy projects, will it be possible to secure support from foreign investors?"

"What? Feeling envious?" Li Li Xuewu looked at her with a smile and said, "Your Aircraft Research Institute can also obtain support from foreign enterprises, but it depends on the quality of your scientific research results."

"Mm, in the end, it all comes down to competing on strength."

Shangguan Qi nodded with a smile and extended a generous invitation, "Secretary-General, do you have time tonight? May I treat you to a meal? Please help us offer some advice."