Chapter 1637

"You can reserve your opinion and report directly to the higher-ups."

That was what Li Huai De told Su Weide and Zhou Wanquan before leaving the conference room: "As the team leader, I absolutely do not support you in causing trouble like this!"

These words almost tore off the mask of civility and shattered the situation of unity within the group's leadership that he had been maintaining all along.

The expressions of everyone in the conference room varied, but they all remained silent.

Li Xuewu was very calm as he packed up his materials and notebook, while Dong Wenxue appeared somewhat desolate, sitting there without moving.

Jing Yunong glanced at the few of them, lifted her chin slightly, picked up her packed materials, and was the second to walk out, her secretary immediately following.

Looking at the others, Cheng Kaiyuan, Zhang Jinsong, and Xue Zhifu looked at each other, their brows furrowed as they looked at Dong Wenxue and Li Xuewu.

And Li Xuewu?

He packed his things, stood up, and turned to walk outside as if nothing had happened, Zhang Enyuan receiving his notebook and materials at the door and following behind.

"Ahem—"

Gao Yaqin coughed lightly and glanced at Gu Weijie, who was sitting diagonally opposite.

Her secretary very proactively walked over to help her pack her documents and notebook, allowing her to leave gracefully while holding her water cup.

Gu Weijie, however, did not look at her, but instead stared at the stern-faced Zhou Wanquan and Su Weide.

She was somewhat confused. Just as Cheng Kaiyuan and the other two shook their heads helplessly and stood up, she narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, "Comrade Weide."

Su Weide raised his head. He did not look very surprised as he looked at her, his eyes full of determination, as if he did not want to hear any advice from her.

Zhou Wanquan, on the other hand, was much more composed, looking at the other side, waiting to hear what this First Deputy Director had to say.

Cheng Kaiyuan and the other two stood up in unison, then left quickly without any hesitation.

What the three people remaining in the conference room said was known to no one except the three secretaries waiting at the door.

And what kind of reaction the group leaders had upon returning to their respective offices was perhaps known only to their secretaries.

"Leader, does today's itinerary need to be changed?" Zhang Enyuan asked cautiously after sending Li Xuewu back to his office, "If you have other arrangements, I will notify the Research Institute immediately."

"No need, just carry on as planned."

Li Xuewu took out a study material from his drawer and began to read, saying calmly, "Rest assured, the sky won't fall."

"Understood." Zhang Enyuan actually had great confidence; he had confidence in his leader and did not feel that there were any problems with the Secretary-General's work.

At this time, others might doubt or speculate, but he, who spent his days by the leader's side, would not.

Perhaps Li Xuewu's work arrangements might bypass many people or be hidden from many people, but he would never bypass or hide anything from him.

If this were a section chief, perhaps his work arrangements would have a certain degree of autonomy and concealment.

But at Li Xuewu's position, the only one of its kind in the entire group, with so many people watching with magnifying glasses and so many people discussing his decisions after tea and dinner, how could such base behavior as Su and Zhou described in the conference room occur?

Regarding what happened in the conference room, Zhang Enyuan felt he was not of a high enough rank, nor did he have the necessary status to discuss or evaluate it.

However, as Li Xuewu's secretary, he knew what he should do and what he should not do.

What he should do now, and what he could do, was to appear as confident and calm as the Secretary-General, after all, he was being watched by many people too.

"Secretary-General."

Li Xuewu returned to Beijing every month, and every time he returned, if time permitted, he would go to the Research Institute for research, which had almost become a convention.

The cadres and research personnel here were very familiar with him and had long been accustomed to his habit of traveling light and going deep into the laboratories.

But every time he arrived, the person in charge of the Research Institute, General Manager Xia Zhongquan, would definitely accompany him; everyone knew the two were very good comrades.

The turmoil in the Management Committee had not yet affected the ivory tower focused on scientific research; here, it was tranquil yet appeared passionate.

In the season when winter was approaching, the research personnel were burning their youth, adding fuel to the group's cause.

Li Xuewu got out of the car, merely shook hands with Xia Zhongquan, and then raised his hand to gesture toward the experimental workshop, saying, "Let's talk as we walk."

The cadres and staff of the Research Institute might not yet know about the impending turmoil in the group's management, but Xia Zhongquan already knew.

At his position, if he couldn't even receive news of such a situation, he should really go home and hold his children.

"Is the situation very serious?"

Xia Zhongquan walked beside him, frowning, "I have seen the results fed back by the School of Architectural Engineering. How can it be blamed on just one person?"

He said angrily, "I think there are some people who can't sit still and want to move their positions, right?"

"How old are you now?" Li Xuewu looked back at him with amusement, "Why are you still so hot-tempered like a young man?"

"There are some things I just can't stand—"

Xia Zhongquan still frowned, "The group has just gotten on the right track, everything is developing in a good direction, and suddenly this happens."

He paused here and said hesitantly, "Especially at this time, the situation is so complex, what exactly do they want to do?"

"Mm—" Li Xuewu looked at the experimental workshop of the Vehicle Engineering Research Institute and sighed, "People have their own aspirations, one cannot force it."

He took the lead and walked toward the workshop, truly not taking Xia Zhongquan's worries to heart, but instead showing great interest in the new car project.

"Is this a complete replica?"

Li Xuewu looked at the two identical Mercedes-Benz sedans parked in the open space of the experimental workshop, his eyes filled with consideration.

"Take a guess, which one is the original."

Xia Zhongquan pressed down the anxiety in his heart, walked to his side, and examined his masterpiece, the corners of his mouth unable to help but brim with a little pride.

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows, although he admitted that the Vehicle Engineering Research Institute concentrated almost all of the group's high-tech talent in the automotive industry.

No, strictly speaking, except for a few special factories, or those senior designers or senior technical workers that their leaders were unwilling to let go of no matter what, the Red Steel Group had a better talent reserve than anywhere else in the country.

Unless they were in the research institute since the beginning of the automotive maintenance industry and had technology that others couldn't replace, the rest of the engineers or technical researchers were almost all university graduates.

In this era, this proportion of educational background was almost heaven-defying.

It was said that there were monsters hidden in the Red Steel Group's research institute, and projects were being conquered one after another, which had exceeded the scope of normal understanding.

But Li Xuewu, who single-handedly created this myth, didn't think it was hard to understand: leave professional matters to professional people, and actively create a research environment and improve the welfare and treatment of research personnel.

Especially providing reasonable bonuses for conquering key projects, all these actions were the foundation for the Research Institute to create myths.

Replicating a sedan was not just testing industrial standards.

Li Xuewu just walked around the two sedans once, then stood in front of the one he identified as the original Mercedes-Benz and looked at Xia Zhongquan, who had stopped smiling.

"I admit, our craftsmanship still has a certain gap."

Xia Zhongquan raised his hand, although he was saying words of surrender, his tone sounded like he was unconvinced.

"After all, this is a product from their assembly line, we are just drawing a tiger based on a cat, making it bit by bit."

"I didn't say anything about you, what's the rush?"

Li Xuewu used only one sentence to make Xia Zhongquan break down again; he opened his mouth but couldn't speak, his face turning red.

Li Xuewu only felt his performance was somewhat funny, especially his seriousness about the project, which was craftsmanship, but also a bit too childish.

"Don't learn the form of others, learn the spirit of others."

He reached out and patted the front hood of this Mercedes-Benz, saying with some envy, "Our large sedans will eventually have such a day."

Hearing him say this, Xia Zhongquan's expression returned to normal, and he walked over, gazing at the car and saying, "There will be such a day."

"Is the design draft ready?" Li Xuewu walked to the driver's seat, opened the door, and sat in; it had to be said, the Mercedes-Benz of this era really had substance.

When domestic sedans were still habitually using the Soviet-style large sofa set, Mercedes-Benz was already using split seats.

"Just finished reassembling, the project department is studying and analyzing the data, I haven't even seen the first version of the design draft yet."

Xia Zhongquan stood outside the car door, watching him fiddle with the mechanical buttons in the cockpit, and even started the car.

"How much was it again?"

Li Xuewu looked at him and asked, "It's not very expensive."

"That depends on the channel."

Xia Zhongquan said with a smile, "We bought it for 15,000, but how could it be less than 800,000 or 900,000 if bought through normal channels."

Don't believe his nonsense; the car the Red Steel Group bought was a new car, but it was indeed not through any regular channel, so the price naturally couldn't be compared.

Li Xuewu knew, but he couldn't say who it was; that person quite liked this Mercedes-Benz sedan, didn't even use the Red Flag, just used this car.

It was quite special in that circle, but because his status was also very special, whenever this car appeared, one knew who had arrived.

The Red Steel Group didn't buy the car to drive on the road, but to dismantle and study; even many of the cars bought, including this one, couldn't be driven on the road.

Why?

The logic was simple: no paperwork.

You say the vehicle management system of this era was relatively primitive, and it was very simple for the Red Steel Group to apply for a license plate, it was indeed very simple, but it just wasn't allowed.

The Red Steel Group had its own automotive industry, so it couldn't drill loopholes in such matters; buying a car to dismantle and study was one thing, but dismantling it and reassembling it to drive oneself was another.

If it weren't for the fact that the Red Steel Group didn't have its own large sedan, and if it weren't for Li Huai De forcefully giving it to him to show appreciation, he wouldn't even use a Volga.

Even if the Aries was more sluggish, he would still be willing to use an Aries.

As the person in charge of a group that owned an automotive industry, if the car he used wasn't his own, where would the trust and reliance come from?

Currently, official vehicles below the middle level of the Red Steel Group were almost all Aries or Antelope Generation II.

Special vehicles were all Hongyun, Hongtu, etc., and some special departments were already using Cruisers and Tundras, which were quite flashy.

For example, the group's Security Division, with three independent brigades, had completed internal procurement, and the configurations were quite complete.

These were mobile advertising vehicles, and the unit spray-painting on the car doors represented the group's hard strength.

Now, Steel Auto finally started to fill a short board in the automotive industry field, which was the large sedan, also called the official sedan by Li Xuewu.

The Aries was still too thin and lacked a certain momentum, although it had been included in the procurement list by many units and departments, it was still not Li Xuewu's first choice.

Of course, if you said Xia Zhongquan and the others could design a car with the same domineering temperament as this Mercedes-Benz, then he would be the first to change his car.

Another reason why the car Li Xuewu was test-driving couldn't be driven on the road was policy restrictions.

Think about it, it sold for -dollars abroad, which converted to -yuan in the mainland; if the car market were truly opened up, the domestic car companies would be completely finished, and no one would look at their own cars anymore.

However, it wouldn't be many years before it opened up; at most, give the Red Steel Group another ten years, and if they still couldn't produce a competitive sedan, the market would still belong to others.

Was the Red Flag good? It was good, but there was a gap in how good it was.

The Red Flag's production capacity and quality couldn't compare to others, so how could other sedans compete?

If it weren't for the protection policy of that year, which required joint ventures and cooperation, where would there be an opportunity for electric vehicles to rise?

"As soon as possible, don't take too big a step."

Li Xuewu drove out for a spin, and after returning, he turned off the engine and walked out to say to Xia Zhongquan, "First make a mid-range model, and after accumulating a certain amount of experience, then make a high-end model."

"We have this psychological preparation."

Don't look at Xia Zhongquan's stubborn posture just now, he knew in his heart that Li Xuewu not putting pressure on him was the best result.

Why else would he be willing to hang out with Li Xuewu? Although talking about the age gap didn't sound good, as if he had no depth.

But! Li Xuewu had qualities that commanded absolute trust, and he never willfully interfered with technical research.

He would raise questions, inquire, and ask for advice, but he would absolutely never call a deer a horse or talk nonsense.

Furthermore, perhaps there was no worship of Li Xuewu in other fields, but in the group's automotive industry, Li Xuewu was a top design genius like a god.

No one dared to stand up and criticize his designs; to this day, those "abstract" design manuscripts were still preserved in the memorial hall.

And the designers at the Vehicle Research Institute also continued this abstract design tradition; every project would have a spoof first draft.

Xia Zhongquan was already used to it; he could even translate Li Xuewu's masterpieces, let alone those follow-up works.

Before leaving, Li Xuewu set the project name for this mid-range sedan that hadn't seen a draft yet: it followed the naming rule of the twelve constellations—Taurus.

The opinions of Su Weide and Zhou Wanquan at the meeting affected the progress of the Organization Representative Assembly that was supposed to be prepared this month.

Li Xuewu returned this time to attend this meeting, and it was originally decided that the group should elect a new Organization Committee at this meeting.

Li Huai De was very angry, directly calling a halt to this meeting, and even sternly criticized their willfulness in non-public occasions.

His anger was useless; the key was to see what others thought and did.

The meeting was canceled, and Li Xuewu immediately booked a train ticket back to Liaodong, not even applying to use the official aircraft.

But Li Huai De insisted on keeping him for two days, letting him return to Liaodong on Monday.

This was a kind of appeasement, and also a kind of support, because the official aircraft could fly to Fengcheng on Monday, making it convenient for Li Xuewu to meet the leaders of Liaodong Industry.

After the Beijing Chemical Group project was finalized, the publicity fermented quickly, and the eyes within the system were not only fixed on Beijing Chemical and Liaodong Industry, but even the Red Steel Group, which acted as an intermediary, was repeatedly mentioned by major newspapers.

When Li Huai De was suddenly interviewed by reporters while attending relevant meetings, he stated that the Red Steel Group did not directly participate in this project, but completed relevant work through the United Savings Bank in the form of technical consulting.

He explained it very vaguely; the concept of technical consulting had not yet been fully popularized, so his statement was somewhat advanced.

Of course, the protagonists of this news were still Beijing Chemical and Liaodong Industry, and the United Savings Bank easily completed its invisibility.

However, in the eyes of the leaders above, this means of capital operation still exceeded a certain policy scope.

But who let the Red Steel Group wear the label of marketization experiment? After being examined by a magnifying glass, the United Savings Bank's operation did not essentially violate regulations, which blocked many people's mouths.

Even if there were controversies, most of them revolved around whether this method of capital intervention and operation conformed to the current system.

As long as one focused on the matter and not the person, many things were easy to say and easy to do.

The relevant controversy did not affect Li Xuewu; even at the signing ceremony held in Beijing by Beijing Chemical and Liaodong Industry, he received an invitation and a phone call, but still did not attend.

Since he decided to keep a low profile for a period of time, he had to play the part well, play it to the end, and not accidentally get implicated or suspected.

Suspicion was not a direct denial, but a labeled identification was more fatal than a direct denial; the path he took in the future could not have any relationship with that matter.

Why did he rush back to Beijing a few days ago? It wasn't entirely as Li Haiyang and Yang Zongfang, who were sitting in Steel City, speculated, but because he received a call from Xu Sinian.

It was truly a life-or-death situation; ten helicopters weren't enough, and now he wanted large ships.

Xu Sinian didn't dare to take this on, so he called Li Xuewu, as if Li Xuewu dared to take it on.

His reply to Xu Sinian was very conservative: do what he should do.

He didn't know if Xu Sinian cursed after hanging up the phone, but if this matter were placed on him, if the leader replied like that, he would definitely curse.

What was meant by what one should do?

All responsibilities and consequences are to be borne by oneself; that was what it meant.

The key was that Xu Sinian didn't want to bear it, and he couldn't afford to bear it, so Li Xuewu ran away, and he followed suit.

He chose a very sufficient reason: his father-in-law died, and he had to hold a funeral.

He wrote a leave application using this reason and handed it to Li Xuewu. After reading it, Li Xuewu really wanted to curse.

Don't say he wasn't reasonable; he and Xu Sinian couldn't be called best friends, but it was certain they had a friendship.

Others didn't know about Xu Sinian's family affairs, but didn't he know?

He had already given this gift the year before last!

Understand what that meant? Xu Sinian's father-in-law had already died once the year before last. You tell me, how did he die again this year!

In order to run away, Xu Sinian didn't hesitate to drag his own father-in-law out to be reborn, and then executed him again. He actually had a bit of conscience and didn't plan to accept gifts.

Someone said it was his mother-in-law's new partner who died. Don't mess around; Li Xuewu wanted to laugh when he heard it.

But laughing was laughing; he had to approve this leave application. Regardless of whether Xu Sinian truly dug his father-in-law out of the grave for a rescue, he had to acknowledge this matter for the sake of reason and emotion, and he had to give him the vacation.

He couldn't run away himself and leave Old Xu behind; it wasn't his fault if he couldn't keep up, but since he had followed, he had to pull him along.

So, on Sunday, he called Xu Sinian's home in Beijing, expressed his condolences, and expressed his regret and mourning for his father-in-law's death.

On the phone, he could even hear his wife's dissatisfaction and blame, as well as Xu Sinian's helplessness and defense.

As compensation, Xu Sinian extorted a lunch from Li Xuewu, which they ate at the club restaurant.

"You don't say, the craftsmanship of the cook here is really something!"

Xu Sinian was also an old gourmet, the same as Li Huai De, who only loved good food and wine; at middle age, that was all the hobby he had.

Li Xuewu, however, only tasted it and didn't drink much, and didn't talk much; it was all Xu Sinian talking alone, rambling on.

"Two leaders, let's have another dish."

Zhou Xiaobai suddenly knocked on the door and entered, actually carrying a tray in her hand, with two hot dishes placed on it, her face still wearing a triumphant smile.

"Yo! This is truly a long time no see!"

Xu Sinian naturally knew Zhou Xiaobai; he glanced at Li Xuewu, and seeing his surprised expression, said with amusement, "Where did you come from?"

"Coming from the Great Tang in the East—"

Zhou Xiaobai smiled and placed the hot dishes on the table, then served herself a bowl of rice and sat down at the dining table very naturally.

Originally, Li Xuewu and Xu Sinian had almost finished drinking, but after being interrupted by her, they completely lost the urge to drink more.

"How come you've become prettier?"

Xu Sinian was not honest in Yingcheng; he had long practiced the art of coaxing people, and plus he had drunk some wine, his words were even more pleasant.

However, Zhou Xiaobai was also someone who had seen it all; after giving him a roll of her eyes, she pouted and said, "Uncle, is your health still okay?"

"Hahahaha—" Xu Sinian burst into laughter and looked at Li Xuewu, finding it even more amusing to see his full expression of impatience.

He pointed at Li Xuewu and asked Zhou Xiaobai, "You call me uncle, what do you call him?"

"Call him grandpa." Zhou Xiaobai was truly willing to go all out, but Xu Sinian was troubled, his smile even becoming somewhat stiff.

"You really have nothing better to do—" Li Xuewu couldn't bear to look at this pair of living treasures, turned his head, and said to Zhou Xiaobai, "Eat quickly, we've been waiting for you."

"Eating too fast will choke on the wind, and my stomach will hurt."

Zhou Xiaobai explained with justification, but she didn't dare to talk back to Li Xuewu, just her movements remained slow and deliberate.

Her upbringing was very good, it was just that she lost the constraints of campus during puberty and met these bad people at the club.

The club was the world of adults; these young girls broke in and found everything fresh, even the way adults talked to each other.

If it weren't for Li Xuewu providing her with a rich material life and establishing a very correct outlook on life and values, her parents would definitely have been furious.

Even if Zhou Zhennan and his wife didn't care about her now, it was because she had truly grown up and had the appearance of a big girl in her words and actions.

"Eat slowly, don't rush."

Xu Sinian didn't learn his lesson after being tricked once; he teased Zhou Xiaobai, then looked at Li Xuewu and asked, "Are you really going back just like that?"

"Mm, what else?" Li Xuewu glanced at him and said, "You can go back later, you have to wait until your father-in-law's seventh day after death at least."

"Your father-in-law died again? ——!"

Zhou Xiaobai, who was eating, was very disciplined; she knew that when Wu Ge was discussing matters, she couldn't interrupt, let alone say anything.

But! She truly couldn't hold it in!

The year before last, she was still working smoothly in Tianjin, often going to Yingcheng to play with Wu Ge, and had already met Xu Sinian.

At that time, she had also given a gift for Xu Sinian's father-in-law's funeral; after all, it was a friendship, and she was following Wu Ge's scene, so she went.

Hearing the bad news of Xu Sinian's father-in-law again today, how could she not be surprised? Was there truly a resurrection technique in this world?

Looking at her expression of full surprise while holding her dinner, Xu Sinian twitched the corners of his mouth and didn't want to explain.

"Eat your food." Li Xuewu glanced at her, then said to Xu Sinian, "If someone in Beijing wants to talk to you, push it to Director Li, say you applied but weren't allowed."

"This—" Xu Sinian was stunned; he didn't expect Li Xuewu to let him push it to Old Li, and asked hesitantly, "Will this work?"

"If it doesn't work, what then? Are you really going to build them a boat?" Li Xuewu glared at him and said, "Director Li is the person in charge of the group; you should have reported this matter to him in the first place."

"Then I... will go report it tomorrow."

Xu Sinian knew that Li Xuewu was letting him remedy the situation; his body was too thin, and he truly couldn't bear this kind of tossing.

Li Huai De didn't care; his position was already under the spotlight, and he had been receiving attention and favor from above one after another.

Now, if one wanted to move Old Li, one really had to consider it; without something to show for it, an ordinary person couldn't move him.

Li Huai De represented the Red Steel Group and also represented the exploration of marketization; denying Li Huai De wasn't that denying this decision?

Unless the decision was wrong, otherwise, Li Huai De's golden body wouldn't be broken for a while, and there would be no problem even if he took the blame.

"What about you? What are you going to do?"

Xu Sinian frowned and asked, "Old Su won't let it go just like that, right?"

"I heard they still want to investigate Yu Zhe, and then link it to you?"

Zhou Xiaobai, who was eating, pricked up her ears to listen, but with Wu Ge's requirement, she didn't dare to speak.

"Yu Zhe is fine now." Li Xuewu said calmly, "It won't be linked to me for a while."

"But regarding Deputy Director Dong—"

He sighed slightly and said, "It's not convenient for me to see him for the time being; if you have time, go talk to him."

"I know." Xu Sinian nodded very seriously and said, "Deputy Director Dong is just too kind and too law-abiding."

"What's the use of saying all that." Li Xuewu turned the wine glass in his hand and said, "If it weren't for this temper, I wouldn't be where I am today."

"That's true." Xu Sinian nodded and said, "But if that's the case, Director Li won't allow it either, right?"

He raised his eyebrows and said, "I heard the meeting was very unpleasant; Old Su won't really poke a hole in the sky, right?"

"Don't know, maybe he truly has the guts."

Li Xuewu raised the corners of his mouth, not without sarcasm, and said, "He also knows he can't stir up any waves in the group; it's just a death struggle."

"It's his own fault, too stupid."

Xu Sinian frowned and said, "When these leaders came to the group, which one didn't integrate steadily? Only he is an exception."

"He is just stupid—"

Speaking of this, Xu Sinian said somewhat angrily, "If not stupid, what is it? Now he's reduced to being a gun for Old Zhou."

"It would be fine if he were a clear gun."

Li Xuewu pouted and said, "I'm afraid he won't even be a good gun, just shooting wildly. When the time comes, he'll pat his butt and leave, who will clean up the mess?"

"That's what I fear most." Xu Sinian glanced at Zhou Xiaobai, who had put down her chopsticks, and said indignantly, "If it doesn't work, push him."

"Don't look for trouble for yourself—" Li Xuewu glared at him and warned, "Manage your own affairs."

"Also, have you cultivated a successor for yourself?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Xu Sinian, saying, "If no one can take your position, you must have the intention to work in Yingcheng for a lifetime."

"Sigh—" Xu Sinian sighed and said, "What's the use of me cultivating one, can the group truly use them?"

He poured the last bit of wine into his stomach, but it had already cooled, yet it turned into a burst of heat, rushing straight to the top of his head.

"What Old Xu just said..."

After sending Xu Sinian away, Zhou Xiaobai didn't leave, but followed him to the backyard; this was a separate courtyard, the courtyard where Lou Jue used to live.

The club never turned off the fire; after the weather turned cold, all the rooms' fire kangs and heating had to be turned on.

Although the weather in the Four Nine Cities didn't change as fast as in the Northeast, this year's winter came early, and the weather was somewhat abnormal.

Generally speaking, it shouldn't be this cold before December, but a heavy snow fell on the 10th of this month.

If it were the Northeast, it would be possible, but for Beijing to cool down so early this year was a rare occurrence in many years.

If it were the old days, the Emperor would have to wait until the Winter Solstice to burn the kang, but it wasn't like before; if it was cold, just burn it.

Not burn? The cast-iron heating pipes would freeze and crack, so the restaurant, and the room he entered, were all warm.

Li Xuewu didn't fake it with Xu Sinian; he truly drank some wine. He had a headache from thinking about things, so he wanted to drink some wine and sleep.

He slumped on the fire kang, and before he could kick off his shoes, Zhou Xiaobai helped him, and she also got on the kang to help him spread the quilt.

"Don't toss, I'll just lie down for a while."

Li Xuewu's voice was a bit heavy; he lay down with his head toward the inside of the kang, but was dragged by the stubborn Zhou Xiaobai to change direction.

"You can't lie with your head down after drinking, you'll definitely get a headache."

She glanced out the window; she felt it was cloudy when she came back, and it looked like it was going to snow again.

People's emotions were very strange, especially during cloudy and snowy weather, they would always be affected and lose interest in anything.

Seeing Li Xuewu snoring, she reached out and touched his beard, and seeing him frown, she took a pillow and crawled into his arms to lie down.

Li Xuewu didn't answer her discussion at the dinner table, and had no interest in talking about work; she simply didn't ask anymore.

Even if she asked, Li Xuewu wouldn't let her do anything; even if she could do something, it was limited.

Really beg her parents? With what reason?

She had a holiday today; because she had work experience, she couldn't really play with her classmates.

Luo Yun also returned to Beijing and was also at the Medical College, but she hadn't come to find Zuo Jie; the two had truly broken up.

And Zuo Jie seemed to have a new situation, a girl from the compound who worked in the postal and telecommunications system.

That was also true; with Zuo Jie's current family background and work situation, if he were looking for a partner seriously, how could he remain single all the time?

Li Yuanchao's car was sold to him; although it was registered at the club, it was actually his own. How many players in Beijing were as carefree as him?

Even Zhou Xiaobai rode a small motorcycle; her family didn't agree to her driving a car, she was still in school, it was too flashy.

Luo Yun had changed; Zhou Xiaobai knew she had changed too, but Luo Yun changed in a way that made her feel like a stranger.

She seemed to have forgotten that past event as a dream from childhood to adulthood.

She wasn't someone who would go out of her way; Luo Yun distanced herself, so she pretended not to know her, and they became strangers.

However, she didn't have many friends; whenever she had a holiday, she either went home or came here, and coming here was also to look for past memories, which lacked a bit of fun.

In the past few years, the situation had been complex, and the number of members coming to the club had decreased a lot; either they were purely discussing matters, or purely exercising.

There were fewer people hanging out here, and the compound looked much less lively, even if there were dinners and internal movies on weekends.

Of the friends she knew a few years ago, only Ou Xin remained, and even the club manager had been replaced by Sister Zhou from Steel City.

Pei Pei often went to Tianjin; they hadn't met, but the number of times was very few, and they didn't have a deep friendship to begin with.

Now, the only thought she had when coming to the club was probably the person in front of her.

Li Xuewu slept for a full three hours; when he woke up, the sky outside was about to turn dark.

It was already afternoon, and it happened to be cloudy; the quilt was warm, and there was a girl in his arms smiling at him.

"What are you giggling about?"

"I'm not giggling!"

Zhou Xiaobai was indeed giggling, giggling foolishly; she arched into his arms and pouted, "Where am I silly?"

"Hehe—" Li Xuewu rubbed her head, lay on his side, and said, "You don't go home all day, doesn't your mother scold you?"

"She's busy now, where does she have time to pay attention to me."

Zhou Xiaobai reached into the quilt, looked up at him, and said, "You're in my arms, and you don't want to do anything bad?"

"What are you suspecting?" Li Xuewu twitched the corners of his mouth and reminded her, "There are no curtains in this room."

"I'm not afraid, what are you afraid of?"

Youth is truly fierce; she didn't care if there were curtains or not, as long as there was a quilt, she dared to do anything.

When Li Xuewu came out of the courtyard, Zhou Xiaobai hadn't gotten up yet; she said she didn't want to move and would sleep here tonight.

No way, he went to the office to tell Zhou Ya Mei, and then drove toward the compound; at this time, snowflakes were already drifting in the sky.

At the end of October, Hate Yi Zhonghai and his wife moved back to the compound from the Workers' New Village, looking like they were preparing for the funeral.

Li Xuewu went to see the old lady this morning, but didn't catch her; the eldest sister-in-law Zhao Yafang had taken her out to play, saying that old items were being sold in the mall again.

This time she was sick, the old lady smoked less, and the family tried every way to coax her to be happy.

Gu Ning didn't live here, which was a pity; the children had bright eyes, and when the old people were about to leave, all sorts of messy things would come up, fearing the children would be scared.

Li Xuewu thought about coming again in the afternoon, and visiting the eldest aunt by the way.

Although he had asked Yu Shui to bring things last time, that was a helpless move; now that Hate Yi Zhonghai and his wife had moved back, they were all in the same courtyard, so it was much more convenient for him to go again.

Because the weather was cold, plus the matter of the eldest aunt, Li Xuewu didn't let Gu Ning and the children come home.

Gu Ning was fine, but the children had bright eyes, and when the old people were about to leave, all sorts of messy things would come up, fearing the children would be scared.

Li Xuewu entered the courtyard when it was lively; listening to the movement in the courtyard, even the inverted room was lit, and there were people talking on both sides.

Seeing him enter the courtyard, Shen Guodong came out of the east room to greet him and also explained the reason for the liveliness in the courtyard today.

"Not to that extent, right? So serious?"

Hearing that the eldest aunt's health had further deteriorated, many neighbors and street residents rushed to visit during the weekend, so there were many people in the courtyard.

"The eldest uncle asked us to help calculate." Shen Guodong threw away the cigarette butt in his hand and said, "The eldest aunt doesn't want to be cremated, she wants to use a coffin."

"Not a difficult matter, right?" Li Xuewu frowned slightly and said, "What did the eldest uncle say?"

"This is what we are discussing." Shen Guodong gestured toward the west room and said, "Zhu Ge has already expressed that he will send her off, and the eldest uncle also said that all the funeral affairs will be decided by him."

Sha Zhu waved at him from the window of the west room at this time, signaling him to enter the room to talk.

Li Xuewu nodded, gestured toward his home in the front courtyard, and said, "In a while, I'll go home to see the old lady first."

Sha Zhu saw him say this, so he went back, looking at the many people in that room.

"Is she going to be unable to make it in these few days?"

Li Xuewu glanced at Shen Guodong, looked from the hanging flower gate to the backyard, and asked, "Didn't go to the hospital to see again?"

"The eldest aunt said she didn't want to lie on the operating table and not be able to get down, and the eldest uncle also said he couldn't bear to see her cut up like a rag, so they didn't go."

Shen Guodong's tone was very flat; sometimes life is like this, some people leave, some people send them off, this is already a very good ending.

"You go see the old lady first, they are back."

Shen Guodong raised his chin and said softly, "Wait a while, you have to come; if he didn't see you, it would be fine, but if he saw you, and you didn't help say a few words, he would overthink it."

Li Xuewu knew he was talking about Sha Zhu, nodded, and entered the hanging flower gate.

Seeing Sha Zhu waved at him from the west room window at this time, signaling him to come inside to talk.

Li Xuewu nodded, signaling toward his home in the front courtyard: "In a moment, I'll go home to see the old lady first."

Seeing him say this, Seeing Sha Zhu went back inside, looking at the many people in that room.

"Is she not going to make it in these few days?"

Li Xuewu looked at Shen Guodong and then looked toward the backyard from the hanging flower gate, asking: "Didn't you go to the hospital to check again?"

"Aunt Yi said she didn't want to lie on the operating table and not be able to get down, and Uncle Yi also said he couldn't bear to see her cut up like a rag, so they didn't go."

Shen Guodong's tone was very flat. Sometimes life is just like this; some leave, some send them off, and this is already a good ending.

"You go see the old lady first, they're back."

Shen Guodong raised his chin and said softly: "You'll have to come later. If he didn't see you, it would be fine, but if he sees you and you don't help say a few words, he'll start overthinking."

Li Xuewu knew he was talking about Seeing Sha Zhu, nodded, and entered the hanging flower gate.