Chapter 1606: Great Expectations

"Deputy Secretary-General, want a cigarette?"

Wu Jiafu, a secretary at the Party Affairs Office, was standing at the corner of the stairwell smoking. Seeing Deputy Secretary-General Ji Jiuzheng approaching, he greeted him politely.

He was a secretary who had been working at the group for three years and had just been promoted to a staff member this year. He was still a long way from the position of Deputy Secretary-General, but he did not fear Ji Jiuzheng.

To put it nicely, this Deputy Secretary-General Ji had no airs and was approachable; to put it bluntly, he also lacked ambition, especially after being transferred back.

Compared to Deputy Secretary-General Bu, he really didn't measure up, to the point where even a clerk would dare to joke with him.

Of course, this had to be in private and within certain limits; no one dared to use foul language or be truly disrespectful.

This was the group's recognized smoking corner, where staff members would usually gather to smoke a cigarette and shoot the breeze.

Ji Jiuzheng had his own independent office, but he preferred the more relaxed environment here.

He felt that smoking should be a state of mind rather than just an act, which was why he often came here.

"Oh—smoking such a good cigarette?"

Ji Jiuzheng didn't stand on ceremony; he reached out, took the cigarette from Wu Jiafu, glanced at it, and smiled. "Da Qianmen, huh."

He held it in his mouth and refused the other man's offer to light it, striking a match to light it himself instead.

"What's up? Did you win the wage defense war against your wife?"

Just as Wu Jiafu was familiar with him, he also had a rough understanding of the situations of the people in this corner.

So, exhaling a puff of smoke, he also cracked a joke, teasing Wu Jiafu, who often argued with his wife over wages; it served as a sort of opening line.

Wu Jiafu didn't feel embarrassed; he had teased Ji Jiuzheng before, so the two were now considered even.

"What's wrong with Da Qianmen? I don't have any other hobbies, I just like a puff—"

He said with a hint of grievance, "I'm not trying to keep up with anyone. Look at Gu Cheng, he doesn't even bother smoking Da Qianmen anymore; every time he pulls one out, it's a Zhonghua."

"You want to compare yourself to him?" Ji Jiuzheng glanced at him amusedly and said, "What's his situation? Don't you know?"

"I know, that's why I don't compare myself to him."

Wu Jiafu shrugged, took a puff of his cigarette, and said, "But I just don't like smoking the cheap stuff. At eight cents a pack, I might as well be smoking tree leaves."

"Heh heh heh—" Ji Jiuzheng chuckled and said, "Your wife is pretty tough on you."

"You're telling me—" Wu Jiafu, as if he had found support, raised his eyebrows and argued, "Look at the Secretary-General, didn't he love this Da Qianmen the most back in the day?"

"Ha—" Ji Jiuzheng couldn't help but laugh when he heard him mention Li Xuewu. "But the Secretary-General quit smoking a long time ago. Why haven't you quit?"

"Besides, you've only seen the Secretary-General smoke Da Qianmen. Don't you know he also likes smoking Zhonghua?"

"Impossible—" Wu Jiafu shook his head with certainty and said, "Gu Cheng and Peng Xiaoli said here that the Secretary-General basically doesn't touch Zhonghua. According to Gu Cheng's guess, the Secretary-General probably coughs when he smokes Huazi."

"Nonsense—" Ji Jiuzheng sneered, flicked the ash from his cigarette, and said, "He just doesn't want to irritate your nerves; he hopes to blend in with you all."

"Just like you?" Wu Jiafu looked at him meaningfully, raised his eyebrows, and said, "Deep among the masses, rooted in the masses, understanding the masses?"

"No, no, no, I wouldn't dare compare myself to him. He genuinely hopes to hear your voices."

Ji Jiuzheng raised his hand, gestured with his cigarette, and said, "I just purely like this puff."

"Hahaha—" Wu Jiafu took a hard puff of his cigarette; this time, he was genuinely teased into coughing by him.

"Hey, by the way." Wu Jiafu tilted his head, glanced at the corridor door, and seeing no one coming, whispered, "Why did the Secretary-General suddenly come back?"

"How would I know that—"

Ji Jiuzheng glanced at him and asked, "Don't you have any inside information?"

"If you don't know, then our inside information would just be wrong information."

Wu Jiafu shook his head bitterly and said, "They were just studying this here for a long time and couldn't figure it out. I was hoping you knew."

"Why study this? It has nothing to do with you." Ji Jiuzheng narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Don't tell me you're still hoping to calculate something out of this?"

"Don't joke, us?"

Wu Jiafu patted his stomach self-deprecatingly and said, "The little bit of ink in our bellies isn't enough to look at."

"But they did say something." He raised his eyebrows, looked at Ji Jiuzheng, lowered his voice, and explained, "They said the Secretary-General came back to have a showdown with Director Li regarding the Steel Flight incident. You should know about this."

"Hmm, and then?" Ji Jiuzheng nodded slightly and asked, "What did you all figure out?"

"We don't know anything else, we just know Deputy Secretary-General Chen is in trouble."

Wu Jiafu's eyebrows twitched as he said softly, "Someone heard that the Secretary-General gave him an ultimatum: if he doesn't go to Hong Kong, he won't need to go at all."

"Is that so?" Ji Jiuzheng shook his head slightly and said, "I haven't heard this news."

"Forget it then—" Wu Jiafu smiled indifferently, took the last puff, threw the cigarette butt away, and said, "Just wait to preside over the work."

"Heh—" Ji Jiuzheng shook his head slightly and chuckled, "Preside over the work? Nonsense—"

"How can this be nonsense!"

Wu Jiafu emphasized, "The Secretary-General won't be able to get away from Steel City for a while, and Deputy Secretary-General Chen has been exiled to Hong Kong to undergo a trial. If it's not you presiding over the work, who could it be?"

"Don't tell me you heard some news? Is the higher-up planning to arrange another Deputy Secretary-General to come?"

"I don't know about that." Ji Jiuzheng exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "I just know I won't be presiding over the work."

He lowered his head and said faintly, "Besides, who told you the Secretary-General can't get away?"

"Ah?" Wu Jiafu was stunned for a moment and asked hesitantly, "Could it be that the Secretary-General is returning to the group now?"

"He hasn't left yet." Ji Jiuzheng raised his head, took his own cigarette out of his pocket, flicked one out to give back to the other man, and asked with a smile and raised eyebrows, "Why don't you go ask him yourself?"

"Hahaha—" Wu Jiafu couldn't help but laugh and said, "If I dared to ask him, would I need to be here shooting the breeze with them?"

He lit another one himself, puffed smoke from his nostrils, shook his head slightly, and said, "Recently, our group has had really too many things going on, one after another."

"What of it? If the sky falls, there's someone taller to hold it up." Ji Jiuzheng looked out the window and said faintly, "We should go to work when we should, and smoke when we should."

"You're the one who can think openly." Wu Jiafu smiled and said, "If it were me, hey—"

He didn't have the nerve to say the words that followed; what man hadn't dreamed of holding power?

"Wang Xin has come to the capital, are you going to see him?"

Gao Yaqin pushed open his office door, holding a notebook, walked over, looked at him, and asked, "If you're going to see him, we'll go together."

"No, I can't be bothered to deal with him."

Li Xuewu was looking at the materials in his hand, shook his head slightly, and said, "I don't want to see anyone from Shenfei."

"He really has offended you."

Gao Yaqin shook her head slightly, took a piece of candy from the jar on his desk, unwrapped it, put it in her mouth, and said, "Are you blaming him for kicking you while you were down?"

"You know me." Li Xuewu raised his head, looked at her, and explained, "What do soldiers fear most?"

"I'm not afraid of the hail of bullets in front of me."

He shook the jar, found a chocolate-flavored one inside, placed it in front of her, nodded, and said, "I fear bullets from behind the most."

"Are you overreacting?"

Gao Yaqin picked up the candy, unwrapped it, stuffed it into her mouth, and said indistinctly, "Didn't you say it yourself? This is just a game; whoever comes has to follow the rules of the game. You can't have a glass heart."

"Heh—" Li Xuewu chuckled and shook his head, saying, "It's not that I have a glass heart; I want to kill the chicken to warn the monkeys. The current Red Steel can't afford this level of betrayal from a partner unit. Letting it go unchecked will sooner or later be a disaster."

"Regardless, the person is here."

Gao Yaqin looked at him and reminded him, "Director Li said, there's no reason to lock people out."

"So you can hide from him, but I must see him. I came back from Yingcheng just for this."

She reached out, knocked on Li Xuewu's desk, looked at him seriously, and said, "It's not just you and me, almost everyone, including those in the leadership team, and even Shenfei, and Wang Xin himself—in the end, you two have to sit down and talk for there to be a result, right?"

"Then dragging it out has no meaning."

Gao Yaqin gripped the candy wrapper in her hand and said, "Instead of everyone wasting time, it's better to speak openly about each other's conditions. The matter has already happened; can you really just watch the cooperation break down?"

"This is a partner you worked so hard to pull in; you can't just kick them out the door yourself, can you?"

"Did Director Li ask you to say this?"

Li Xuewu looked at her suspiciously, leaned back in his chair, turned his head to look out the window, and didn't want to answer her.

Gao Yaqin let out a long breath, threw the candy wrapper in her hand into the trash can, and said faintly, "Who said it doesn't matter; what matters is that everyone understands the logic. Why bother—"

"Yeah, why bother—"

Li Xuewu crossed his hands over his lower abdomen, curled his lips, and said, "Can't break the cooperation, right."

"I reckon they thought the same before making this decision, don't you think?"

He turned his body to look at Gao Yaqin and said, "It's precisely because they were certain we wouldn't fight to the death that they dared to be so treacherous..."

"Comrade, this isn't called treachery."

Gao Yaqin spread her hands helplessly and reminded him, "I know you're under a lot of pressure right now, but you should be clear that they have countless reasons to explain the pressure they are under."

"After all, they are managed by the Third Ministry of Machine Building."

She tilted her head, looked at him, and emphasized, "Their budget all comes from the ministry; they don't have as much say as we do. How much can you blame him?"

"Yes, I admit, what they did really hurt our brotherly feelings, and then what?"

She frowned and asked, "But besides condemning them for not notifying you in advance, what else can you say?"

"If you really want to destroy the cooperation between each other just to warn other partners, then I have nothing else to say."

Gao Yaqin raised her hands and said, "Standing from a comrade's position, I support you unconditionally."

"However, you need to think carefully."

She nodded slightly and said, "You are the group's most outstanding management layer, and also the head of Liaodong industry. The group needs you to make the most correct decision."

"Did Wang Xin promise you any benefits?"

Li Xuewu turned his body to the side, picked up his teacup, looked at her, and said, "Worth you speaking up for them like this."

"Heh—" Gao Yaqin smiled bitterly, pinched her eyebrows, and said, "Stop it, you need to make a decision. Better early than late. Everyone can live without anyone, right?"

"Tell Wang Xin to bring enough sincerity and go to Steel City to talk." Li Xuewu stood up, walked toward the tea cabinet at the door with his teacup, and said faintly, "Also, I'm giving them a chance for your sake."

"Otherwise, I would never accept their surrender."

"Just keep pretending—" Gao Yaqin walked over, gave him a slap from behind, and left helplessly.

Li Xuewu, however, didn't care and refilled his hot water; he had plenty of time to play with the other side.

It was just that Gao Yaqin had brought the collective opinion of the Management Committee, and he couldn't help but compromise. After all, at the current stage, the one targeting him, or rather the one he needed to counterattack, wasn't Shenfei.

He held grudges, held them very deeply, and could even be described as someone who would pay back every slight, but there were also times when he would compromise.

Politics itself was an art of compromise.

If he were still the Security Li Kezhang, he could completely pull out his weapon and have a standoff with the other side. Anyway, he wouldn't lose anything in the end; at worst, he'd just start over.

But now that he was in this position, he had to learn to use political thinking to solve problems and contradictions.

Because some problems couldn't be solved with a pistol, even though he still possessed one now.

Wang Lu became his temporary secretary and made an appointment for him with the Deputy Factory Director of Beijing Chemical in his own office.

Bai Zhangmin was indeed prepared to see him, but he hadn't expected him to return to the capital suddenly and hadn't received any news at all.

"Why are you suddenly thinking about the fertilizer plant?"

The two met at a fertilizer plant under Beijing Chemical. Bai Zhangmin had chosen the place, which was quite fitting; Li Xuewu just happened to want to see chemical production.

"This really is very sudden." Li Xuewu was examining the chemical production workshop, looked back at him, and explained with a smile, "It was the person in charge of the Liaodong Industrial Bureau, Hu Ke, who came to me personally and said they needed a fertilizer plant."

"You should know him, right? He was the former Deputy Director of the Liaodong Office in Beijing, the one who could really talk."

"No impression." Bai Zhangmin shook his head slightly and asked, "What are your thoughts?"

"Third-party industry, what are your thoughts right now?"

Li Xuewu waved his hand, refused the cigarette he offered, gestured toward the workshop direction, and asked, "Your chemical plant still allows smoking in the courtyard?"

"Oh, I forgot about that." Bai Zhangmin didn't care, put away the cigarette, and explained, "We have a new leader, you should know that."

"I talked with the new Director Zhang."

He pondered and said, "He doesn't oppose third-party industry; after all, you all paved this path."

"However, he holds a conservative opinion on whether our plant's current scale can adapt to this kind of model transformation."

"What does that mean?" Li Xuewu was confused and asked with a frown, "It's just a third-party project to set up a plant in another location, how did it get to model transformation?"

"I'll tell you in advance, I'm just the one connecting the dots, I'm not responsible for enterprise operations."

He emphasized very seriously, "There's nothing for Red Steel Group here, and nothing for me."

"Then what's there to talk about." Bai Zhangmin looked at him and said bluntly, "Without any endorsement, do you think we have a reason to convince Beijing Industry to achieve the goal of setting up a plant in another location?"

"And set up another Red Steel Group right under their noses? How am I supposed to report to Director Zhang?"

"Damn—" Li Xuewu patted his forehead helplessly and asked in return, "Then what do you want to do?"

"Don't tell me you want to drag us along to create some kind of monster?" He reminded the other party helplessly, "We have no plans to expand chemical industry this year."

"And not in the future either; at least I can guarantee that in the next five years, we won't be doing chemicals."

"We don't reject Red Steel." Bai Zhangmin's words surprised Li Xuewu. He said bluntly, "We even welcome Red Steel to enter the chemical industry field. This is a broad industrial field; there is no competitive relationship, especially between us."

"I'll just say it straight—"

He looked at Li Xuewu, nodded, and said, "Director Zhang's meaning is that he wants to introduce your management model and transformation experience to support Beijing Chemical's transformation."

"Transformation? Toward what?" Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and asked, "You want to do heavy industry too?"

"Heh—stop joking—" Bai Zhangmin calmly brushed aside Li Xuewu's intentional disruption and topic shifting, looked at him very seriously, and said, "We also want to become a group company, a company."

"Why?" Li Xuewu spread his hands and asked, "Aren't you doing quite well right now?"

"Weren't you all doing quite well before?"

Bai Zhangmin asked faintly, "Then why did you all want to transform into a group company?"

"We..." Li Xuewu hesitated, rolled his eyes, couldn't find a suitable reason, and could only make something up: "We were just bored and messing around."

"Heh—" Bai Zhangmin was really something, chuckled and said, "What a coincidence, our eggs have been hurting quite a bit recently too, and we also want to mess around, playing the same way as you all."

"You've been waiting for me, right?" Li Xuewu hummed twice and asked, "Premeditated, right?"

"Say whatever you want." Bai Zhangmin sighed as he looked into the distance and said faintly, "This is our choice, isn't it?"

"Also." He turned his head back to look at Li Xuewu, raised his eyebrows, and said, "I heard your work hasn't been going smoothly recently? Have you thought about developing in the chemical field?"

"What does that mean?" Li Xuewu curled his lips, glanced at him, and asked, "Seducing me?"

"Don't put it so ugly." Bai Zhangmin smiled and said bluntly, "Director Zhu appreciates you very much. During the handover, he mentioned your affairs, as well as your work ability and adaptability, quite a few times to Director Zhang."

"If you have any intention, I can convey it on your behalf. Beijing Chemical is facing transformation; you should know how rare this opportunity is."

He said without concealment, "If you come, you'll at least be a vice president; you won't be worse than me."

"Damn—" Li Xuewu was amused by him, turned around speechlessly, leaned against the front of the car, and said arrogantly, "You really should say this in front of those leaders of our group, so they can know what it means to have eyes but not recognize Mount Tai."

"Li Xue—" Jing Yunong called out to her former secretary alone after the meeting.

Li Xue was stunned, stood up, and replied, "General Manager Jing."

"Come." Jing Yunong didn't intend to talk to her in the meeting room; it was too crowded with people coming and going.

The two walked all the way to the ninth-floor office. Jing Yunong threw her notebook on the desk, leaned against the front of the desk, crossed her arms, looked at Li Xue who had followed her in, and asked, "You should know, right?"

"Uh—" Li Xue was a bit confused, looked at her suspiciously, and asked, "Leader, what are you talking about..."

"Aren't your brother and sister-in-law teachers at Huaqing University? You should have known long ago."

Jing Yunong reached back, found a newspaper, handed it to her, and said, "Regarding the news of Yan University and Huaqing resuming admissions, didn't your brother and sister-in-law tell you?"

"Oh, you're talking about this."

Li Xue took the newspaper and didn't look at it much, because she had already read it, every word of this report.

But the more this was the case, the more complicated her mood was, yet what she showed was increasingly calm.

How did that saying go? Beneath a calm lake surface, there are always surging waves and raging billows hidden.

"What are your thoughts?"

Jing Yunong looked at her and asked faintly, "Have you thought about going to school?"

"I know you've always had a regret in your heart, which is that you couldn't get into university, right."

"Yes." Li Xue lowered her head, her gaze lost as it fell on the newspaper, but she couldn't take in a single word.

"And then?" Jing Yunong turned her body to look at her expression and asked, "Any thoughts?"

"No—" Li Xue raised her head to look at her and said, "This requires recommendations from the masses. I don't have any mass foundation, so I definitely wouldn't qualify."

"Just this?" Jing Yunong looked at her and said, "Didn't you look carefully? This also requires approval from leaders, combined with school re-examination."

She pointed at the newspaper Li Xue was holding with both hands and reminded her, "Yan University and Huaqing, I won't even mention how rare the opportunity is. You can tell me if you have any thoughts."

Li Xue raised her head to look into her eyes and said hesitantly, "I... I..."

"Is there anything difficult about this?"

Jing Yunong smiled, looked at her, and said, "If you want to go to university, then prepare well."

"Of course, there's no problem on my end, plus your brother and sister-in-law, the opportunity is still very big."

"Of course." She nodded slowly and emphasized, "If you go to study, you need to give up your current job position and accept the condition of being reassigned after you return."

"Hmm, I've read the relevant materials."

Li Xue lowered her head again, her voice soft as she explained what she had done for this matter over the past few days.

"What is your second brother's opinion?"

Jing Yunong looked at her for a long time before asking, "Does he support you going to study, or does he hope you stay and continue working?"

"My second brother, he..." Li Xue pinched the newspaper in her hand and said, "He's busy enough now, I don't want to trouble him anymore."

"Even if he's busy, he still has time to give an opinion, right?"

Jing Yunong raised her eyebrows and asked, "Hasn't he discussed this with you before?"

"Hmm, he has mentioned it." Li Xue explained hesitantly, "He said to let me wait a few years and see."

"Actually, this matter still depends on what you think yourself." Jing Yunong tucked her chin, frowned slightly, looked at her, and said, "Your second brother's opinion is important, but this is your life, you should make the choice yourself."

"Hmm—" Li Xue just responded, but standing there, she still had a hesitant look.

Jing Yunong found it amusing, raised her eyebrows, and asked, "Do you want to hear my opinion?"

"General Manager Jing..." Li Xue raised her head to look at her.

"Perhaps my opinion isn't comprehensive enough, but it can serve as a reference for you to make a decision."

With Li Xuewu as her brother, Jing Yunong was actually very humble, using a tone of concern.

"Actually, I don't support you going to study right now."

She reached out and pointed at the newspaper in Li Xue's hand and said, "Although I'm not as accurate as your second brother in grasping the situation, I know that experiments always carry risks."

"Worker-Peasant-Soldier students, going to university with a political purpose?"

She raised her eyebrows, looked Li Xue up and down, and said, "For you, it's superfluous, isn't it? You don't lack the soil and environment to learn management thinking; it's right here, right in the group's organs."

"Do you mean..." Li Xue was twenty this year, not a child anymore, so of course she could understand her meaning. She frowned slightly and asked, "I don't need to go... or rather, this kind of teaching environment..."

"Some things you have to think about yourself."

Jing Yunong reached out, grabbed her arm, pulled her toward herself, and reminded her softly, "A university education experience doesn't mean anything, especially in the current environment; you have more choices."

"Let me be realistic. You go to university, three years later you graduate, do you have any thoughts?"

She raised her eyebrows and said, "You are currently a deputy section chief. After you return, you need to be reassessed. If the policy changes and you need to start over from an internship to gain experience, are you willing?"

"Even if your rank is restored, where would it be so coincidental that there's a place to arrange for you?"

Jing Yunong patted her arm with both hands and said earnestly, "You were promoted to deputy section chief last year. Three years later, you have a chance to be promoted to section chief. Think carefully about the gains and losses here; it's not just a matter of one sentence."

"Even if you have the status of a university graduate, how is Zhou Yao from the Security Section compared to you? She is your second brother's capable general, promoted by your second brother. Are you sure there will be such an opportunity waiting for you later?"

"Oh..." Li Xue looked at her blankly, blinked, and responded hesitantly.

"Do you think your second brother will arrange everything for you?" Jing Yunong smiled and poked at her little thoughts, saying, "Don't think like that. No one can guarantee what it will be like three years later. Maybe he will have been transferred away long ago."

"Do you know how many units there are now, how many people are thinking about him? I tell you, many."

"Then what about you?" Li Xue looked at her and said, "I never thought my second brother would help me with anything."

"Heh—" Jing Yunong smiled, smiled very happily, and even felt a bit gratified, because she heard Li Xue treat her as the person who could provide help.

"I have even fewer choices than your second brother." She explained to Li Xue bluntly, "He might be chosen to be cultivated as the successor of Red Steel Group, but I don't have this opportunity, absolutely no possibility."

"So you must choose carefully." Jing Yunong pursed her lips, reached out, patted her shoulder, and said, "As I said, you have the right to make the choice you think is correct for your life; don't regret it."

"Thank you, General Manager Jing—" Li Xue was very moved, and even reached out to pull her hand. This was a gesture she had never made before, making Jing Yunong feel very gratified.

For Li Xue, Jing Yunong was her leader and also her teacher. It was Jing Yunong who taught her hand-in-hand how to become a deputy section chief from a clerk.

Even now, a recognized fact within the group's financial system is that General Manager Jing has a very bad temper and often scolds people, but she has never scolded Li Xue, never once.

So gradually, everyone's impression of Li Xue transformed from the Secretary-General's sister to General Manager Jing's former secretary.

No one in the group's financial system has ever dared to give her a hard time, because even the supervising leader has never done so.

Thinking about her smooth sailing in her work, it would be absolutely impossible for her to have reached this position today without the support and care of the leader in front of her.

Sometimes Li Xue would even mistakenly feel that the care she gave her was a very excessive one, meticulous to the point that it was like... her sister-in-law?

"What are you doing? Blocking me?"

Li Xuewu came out of the headquarters building and encountered Wang Xin, who was leaning against the car smoking, at the entrance.

Passing employees were all secretly sizing up this alternative cadre. He was wearing black and white, but didn't look like a group person. Was he here to provoke or perform a parody show?

"Phew—" Wang Xin exhaled a puff of white smoke, threw away the cigarette butt, stood up straight, and stepped on it to extinguish it.

He took off his sunglasses, looked at Li Xuewu, and said bluntly, "That's right, General Manager Gao told me you were in the capital."

"So what?" Li Xuewu curled his lips, looked him up and down, and said, "Here to demonstrate against me?"

He looked back at the building and asked faintly, "How was your talk with our Director Li?"

"Not great." Wang Xin put away his sunglasses and said faintly, "He's not very professional."

"Heh—" Li Xuewu chuckled and walked over, preparing to get in the car, but was blocked by the other party.

"How about we talk?" Wang Xin reached out, pressed on the car door, and said very seriously, "As friends, perhaps if we are still friends."

"What do you want to talk about?" Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at him, asking, "The topic in Steel City?"

"Fine, let's not argue about this."

Wang Xin waved his hands, shook his head slightly, and said, "Let's just talk about this Steel Flight matter, okay?"

"Didn't General Manager Gao bring my words to you?"

Li Xuewu frowned and looked at him, asking, "Or do you think I have no principles?"

"No need to point at the mulberry to curse the locust; you can completely point at my nose and curse me for being treacherous and a villain."

Wang Xin was actually very calm, placed his hand on the car, and said bluntly, "You said that about me, huh? I admit, I am such a bastard."

"Heh—" Li Xuewu chuckled and shook his head, saying, "You're wrong. I never target individuals. If you don't have this awareness, and wrongly transfer the contradiction to the relationship between us..."

He reached out, pointed at Wang Xin's chest, and reminded him, "Perhaps you don't need to bring sincerity to Steel City either."

"Hey!" Wang Xin, like a rascal, blocked the car door again. Seeing Li Xuewu's face change, he quickly said, "Cooperation, cooperation, how about it?"

Before Li Xuewu could get angry, he quickly explained, "Regarding Steel Flight, regarding those helicopters, how about we coordinate? Count it as ours, count it on us."

"What does that mean?" Li Xuewu suppressed his anger, narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at him, and asked, "What does it mean to count it as yours?"

"You want procedures, right." Wang Xin explained helplessly, "We'll issue the procedures for you, secondment."

He pulled a document from the bag on the car roof and handed it to Li Xuewu, saying, "Shenfei seconds ten helicopters from Steel Flight for scientific research, with Xifei, a cooperative relationship."

Afraid that Li Xuewu wouldn't understand, Wang Xin pointed his finger at the key parts of the document and introduced, "The aircraft will go through our internal channels with Xifei, and then be entrusted by Xifei to the flight brigade for experimental use."

"Took a big detour." He shrugged and looked at him, asking, "Are you satisfied now?"

"What does it mean that I'm satisfied?"

Li Xuewu looked at the document, returned it to the other party, frowned, and asked, "Tell me, who gave you this idea? It couldn't be General Manager Gao, right?"

"None of your business—" Wang Xin handed the document over again and emphasized, "As long as you agree, I can have the R&D team report to Steel Flight again right now."

"I want to ask you what price the other side paid; you definitely won't tell me, right?"

Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes and sized him up, saying, "And you didn't suffer any losses, did you?"

"You hate us that much?" Wang Xin looked at him helplessly and said, "You feel uncomfortable if we don't suffer losses?"

"Heh—" Li Xuewu glanced at him, took the pen the other party handed over, pressed it against the front hood, and signed his name on the document.

"I don't care." He returned the pen to the other party and said faintly, "This isn't the end; this is the beginning."

"Hey—" Wang Xin put away the document and tried to persuade him helplessly, "Forgive others when you can."

"You've already dragged him around like a dog; he knows you, Uncle Li, aren't someone to be trifled with."

He was actually good at persuading people, turned to look at Li Xuewu, and acted as a lobbyist, "Just do it for my sake?"

"You?" Li Xuewu looked at him suspiciously and asked with a sneer, "You don't think we'll still be friends after this, do you?"

"You—" Wang Xin pouted, "You wouldn't be such a narrow-minded person, would you."

"Wrong, I never target individuals."

Li Xuewu pointed his finger at him again and reminded him, "Remember, I won't give you all the opportunity to make such wrong decisions again in the future."

He didn't care what the other party said anymore, got into the car, and slammed the car door shut.

Wang Xin wanted to persuade him again, but the driver had already started the car, leaving him at the entrance of the group building.

"Why do you have to be like this—"

He reached out helplessly, as if he could pull Li Xuewu back, but he also knew it was futile, just like he couldn't persuade Li Xuewu to give up revenge.

"You, you, why did you provoke him!"

"Peter still has no news." After receiving Li Xuewu's call, Shangguan Qi rushed over immediately.

It was at the newly built and trial-operated Liangma River Tuanjie Hotel; the tea restaurant here had a very good taste.

It had to be said that Qin Huairu was an ambitious woman. Although she had passed the peak of her career promotion period, she had won the trust of the group's leaders through hard work and meticulousness, and was able to continue to manage the headquarters reception center.

In the group's planning for reception service business, in the future, Tuanjie Hotels with ordinary consumption levels would be built in major cities across the country, and international hotels would be operated in major large cities to undertake important reception tasks.

Currently, the Beijing International Hotel had been built to the fortieth floor and had already attracted attention from many parties.

And no matter how vast the future reception service market would be, there was only one first international hotel and one first Tuanjie Hotel in the whole country, and they were born in the capital.

Unlike He Yu Shui, the head of the International Hotel, Qin Huairu didn't have a high degree. Coming from a rural background, she achieved a leap in her career just by relying on the bits of knowledge she had learned over the years and the work experience she had accumulated.

The level of the Liangma River Industrial Zone reception hotel had far exceeded the original small reception center. If she hadn't been outstanding enough, the group's leaders wouldn't have continued to use her.

And the tea restaurant, which was a core signature along with the International Hotel's western restaurant, was created by her single-handedly.

The name had quite a bit of old Hong Kong charm, but the core was still business, not a synonym for breakfast.

Here, there were all kinds of pastries that had been hidden in the capital for many years, tea drinks that gathered the best of the country, and local snacks. Relying on the sales company's network, she really made this brand big and strong, becoming a must-have and first choice for those wealthy families who came to the riverside park to play on weekends.

When Li Xuewu first walked in, he was also startled by the liveliness of the restaurant, wondering why there were so many people.

He was here to talk about things and wanted to find a quiet place. Thinking he hadn't come to Tuanjie Hotel to see it yet, he chose this location, not expecting it to be so noisy.

It was Xiao Jin, the person in charge here, who discovered him first. He didn't let him leave, but invited him into a private room and introduced the operation of the tea restaurant.

Shangguan Qi had been here a few times and was familiar with the place, but she was in no mood to taste the delicacies now.

"If he is in danger, you will definitely hear news." Li Xuewu took a sip of Longjing. This pot of tea wasn't expensive, but it couldn't be called cheap either; it was indeed very business-like.

"But—" Shangguan Qi frowned and said, "Not only was the work of the Photoelectric Research Institute delayed, but people are also panicking, and the action of recruiting foreign scientific researchers has also been hit. Who would dare to come here to work in the future?"

"Hmm, indeed." Li Xuewu frowned slightly, looked at her, and asked, "Has anyone come to ask you?"

"No." Shangguan Qi shook her head and said, "This is what I'm worried about. I can prove his origin."

"Heh—" Li Xuewu sneered, "Perhaps they don't want to know how Peter came."

"Then—" Shangguan Qi asked worriedly, "Will he be in danger? Or do you know something?"

"I don't have news of him either." Li Xuewu sighed and said, "This matter has already been handed over to Deputy Director Zhou by Director Li. I believe there will be a result."

"Deputy Director Zhou?" Shangguan Qi frowned and said, "Didn't they say Deputy Director Zhou is..."

"Is what?" Li Xuewu glanced at her and reminded her, "This matter has nothing to do with you. Don't put yourself in a dangerous situation."

"Peter's matter is very simple. As long as he doesn't seek death himself, he won't die. Now it depends on his decision."

"He is my friend." Shangguan Qi looked into his eyes and emphasized, "I was the one who persuaded him to come."

"No need for you to remind me, he was tricked here by me." Li Xuewu stood up and said bluntly, "I will try my best to do the work, that's all."

"You—" Shangguan Qi reached out, grabbed his arm, gathered her courage, and asked, "Are you leaving just like this? Can you stay and sit with me for a while longer?" ===== CHAPTER 1607 =====