Chapter 1661: The New Year and the New Situation

"Why did you think of writing this again?"

Zhou Wang Yamei had just washed her hands and walked in when she saw him sitting in the study; she was still wiping her hands with a towel as she asked him.

Li Xuewu turned his head to look at her, let out a long sigh, and said helplessly, "What else can I do? The group still lacks some professional fire management capabilities in terms of production safety."

What kind of "humble-brag" is this?!

So, the professional management capabilities your group lacks are all meant to be filled by you writing theoretical books?

However, looking at it from Zhou Wang Yamei's perspective, one really couldn't mock Li Xuewu for bragging.

Over these years, he had written quite a few books one after another while on the job, all of which were theoretical or practical in content.

For example, when he was at the branch bureau, he wrote "Criminal Psychology," and while at the Security Division, he wrote the "Security Trilogy."

Even when he left the security department, he still wrote a book called "Public Security Management."

How should one put it? This person writes wherever he goes and writes about whatever line of work he is in; he can be considered to have solidified his right to speak on theory.

During the short period he concurrently managed production safety, he facilitated the first domestic version of the emergency management dual-plan system and promoted the establishment and implementation of the "Production Safety Management Regulations" and "Production Safety Standardization."

If one were to ask who in the Red Steel Group had the most qualifications to write a book on emergency fire science at this time, it would certainly be him.

"Do you have time to write?"

Zhou Wang Yamei had returned with the child to visit, which could be considered "staying temporarily" here.

Over the past two years, she had been tossed about so much by Li Xuewu that even she wasn't sure where her home was.

In previous years, she had held onto this place because this house held the most precious and cherished memories for her and her son.

But as her son grew up day by day and her own work changed, the concept of "home" had already leaped beyond this house.

So, returning here again and looking at the rooms and furniture tidied up by Yu Li, she had quite a feeling that "things remain, but people have changed."

However, the person living here hadn't changed; it was still him, which gave her and her son a sense of security and belonging.

Fu Zhidong was fiddling with the television in the living room; he was delusional about being able to tune into a program, even if it were just a boring promotional video, but in Yu Li's eyes, it was absolutely wishful thinking.

That television had rarely been "at work" since it arrived in this home; Li Xuewu had said that in a situation where television signals hadn't fully covered the area, it was just a luxury ornament.

Actually, getting a television to put there was absolutely not Li Xuewu's fault; on the contrary, it was Bang Geng chasing a trend.

This kid had recently changed his ways and followed Wen San'er to Yingcheng; he was under orders to escort his "Third Grandma" and several uncles and aunts back to the capital, which was also returning home to visit relatives at his "Third Grandpa's" request.

Wen San'er was Li Wenbiao's uncle; Bang Geng had to acknowledge this seniority to mix in this circle. If he called him "Uncle Biao," then he had to call Wen San'er "Third Grandpa," and that made Fei Shanying his "Third Grandma."

Although the "Third Grandpa" and "Third Grandma" weren't very old, the uncles and aunts were also very young.

Bang Geng felt that Wen San'er was very impressive in Yingcheng and wanted to follow him to learn skills, so he brought this up that night.

Li Xuewu had no objections; a young calf grows sturdier when raised in the wild, and going to the sea to brave the wind and waves wasn't a bad thing.

Wen San'er had no problem accepting such a follower, but he also set a condition, which was to return to the capital to visit relatives.

Come to think of it, this year was Li Xuewu's third year in Steel City, and also Bang Geng's third year away from home.

Even in ancient times, an apprentice should return home to visit after three years; what if his mother gave birth to a little brother or sister for him? Wouldn't life have more joy?

However, given Qin Huairu's scheming, even if she were still young, she wouldn't give Liu Guoyou a child; what if she gave birth to a son?

Even now, Jia Zhangshi didn't go to their house; if she gave birth to another son, wouldn't they fight until the house was smoking?

Liu Guoyou was a fart compared to the things Dorgon couldn't handle.

It's not that a single woman with a son can't be touched, but she can't be married home, and even less can the son be raised as one's own.

Then someone might ask, if he can't be raised as one's own son, how can one capture the heart of the child's mother?

The answer is to raise him as a godson.

Don't look at the difference of only one word between these two types of sons; from the perspective of concept and execution, they are vastly different.

One can hit a biological son, but not a godson; one can give resources to a biological son, but not to a godson.

A godfather must have his own boundaries and must also make the godson consciously determine these boundaries.

Fu Zhidong couldn't fix the television, and hearing the voices in the study, he followed them in and leaned over the desk to look at his manuscript.

"Write a little when you have time, and stop when you don't." Li Xuewu smiled and patted his godson's shoulder, asking, "Did you find a program on the TV?"

"No—" Fu Zhidong said helplessly, "I didn't find anything; it was a total waste of my time."

"Didn't I tell you there were no programs?" Zhou Wang Yamei glanced at her son and said amusingly, "You didn't believe it yourself."

"I just didn't believe there could be a TV without programs."

Fu Zhidong mimicked his godfather's gesture of spreading his hands and said, "In the capital, there are programs every night."

This was actually true; a few years ago, the Beijing Television Station already had programs like operas and promotional videos.

In recent years, with the rise of radio and television services, programs like news, propaganda, and movies had also appeared on TV.

The television in Li Xuewu's home was Er Ya's treasure for passing her spare time; she was very obsessed with this thing.

"Steel City is still too small, right?"

He smiled, touched Fu Zhidong's little head, and asked, "You didn't feel that way before, did you?"

"Hmm, I don't have much of an impression from before either." Fu Zhidong thought for a moment, looked at him, and said, "I only remember the environment at my front door and my grandpa's house; I've forgotten the rest."

"Have you forgotten the kids in kindergarten too?"

Li Xuewu teased him on purpose and asked, "Do you want to go see your friends this time you're back?"

"Forget it, I'm already in elementary school."

Fu Zhidong thought for a moment, but still shook his head and said, "What if they don't remember me anymore?"

It was clear that he still wanted to see those classmates, but he just didn't understand what "homesickness" meant.

Li Xuewu raised his head and asked Zhou Wang Yamei, "Going to your mother's house tomorrow?"

"Hmm, I've already told them."

Zhou Wang Yamei looked at her son and explained, "I wrote a letter in advance; they should have received it."

"I don't want to go—" Leaning against his godfather, Fu Zhidong finally spoke the words he had hidden in his heart for a long time.

When saying this, he didn't even dare to raise his head to look at his mother, and his voice grew weaker as he spoke.

"If you don't want to go, stay home with your aunt."

Zhou Wang Yamei seemed to have seen her son's hesitation long ago and said very calmly, "Mom will be back at noon."

Fu Zhidong raised his head abruptly and looked at his mother in disbelief; he hadn't expected to get such an answer.

Li Xuewu, however, patted his shoulder and chatted with Zhou Wang Yamei about work matters.

Zhou Wang Yamei and Fu Zhidong only stayed in Steel City for three days; Li Xuewu had to return to the capital, and they followed along.

Along the way, it was obvious that Zhou Wang Yamei's mood was a bit low; perhaps she was hiding many unspeakable secrets in her heart.

Li Xuewu didn't have the bad habit of deconstructing the human heart, so even on the road, he was writing his new book.

In an era without computers, writing a book wasn't just mental labor; it was also physical labor.

How did Lu Yao pass away? Wasn't it because he worked hard flipping through materials while writing "Ordinary World," drawing sources from piles of old paper, and finally exhausted his body while cooped up in his room?

Li Xuewu's ability to acquire resources was certainly much stronger than his; Zhang Enyuan could get whatever materials he wanted.

Even if Zhang Enyuan couldn't get them with his own ability, a single phone call from him could open the doors of libraries or archives everywhere.

Furthermore, writing about emergency fire management belonged to a new field, and more of it involved acquiring materials from a global perspective.

Zhang Enyuan mostly used the channels he provided to contact Hong Kong to collect and bring back important literature.

If one were to talk about writing articles for newspapers, the ink in Li Xuewu's belly and his work experience were quite sufficient.

But if one were to talk about writing work-guidance books, he had to ensure that every clause had mature theory as support.

If one couldn't build a ladder of progress for future generations, then such "tofu-dreg" engineering was better left undone.

On January 15th, just the second day after Li Xuewu returned to the capital, the Red Steel Group, under the slogans of "Prepare for war, prepare for famine, for the people" and "Raise vigilance, prepare for war," required employees of all factories to form camping training groups to conduct "camping drills."

How should one put it? This kind of camping training, which was full of the flavor of the era and popular among employees, was a normalized activity for industrial enterprises, and it was the kind where they opened the warehouses and used real knives and guns for drills.

This work was generally organized by the Armed Forces Department in other units, but in the Red Steel Group, it was the responsibility of the Quality and Safety Department.

Li Xuewu had originally planned to talk to Dong Wenxue this time he returned to the capital, but he didn't expect to run into such a thing.

Dong Wenxue, now as the person in charge of the Quality and Safety Department, certainly had to keep an eye on the scene, organize employees of the entire group to conduct rotation training, and also cooperate with Cheng Kaiyuan to ensure production work.

The Red Steel Group currently had 50,000 employees; after removing the old, weak, sick, and disabled, at least 40,000 people could still participate in the training.

Looking at the numbers, of course, one couldn't reflect the exaggeration of this action, but one had to know that if hundreds of people stood in front of you, your legs would go soft.

If it were a grand scene of tens of thousands of people, even a TV series couldn't film such a magnificent aura.

Others might not be clear about what was in the Red Steel Group's weapons warehouse, but Li Xuewu, who had once been in charge of the Security Division, was clear; he even replenished and replaced a batch of equipment the year before last.

Other factory drills might have shooting competitions, anti-aircraft machine guns shooting balloons, or even infantry-tank coordination drills.

But in the Red Steel Group, the training subjects provided by the Security Division included helicopter coordinated operations and special operations.

This drill was completely independently commanded and executed by the Red Steel Group Security Brigade.

Raise an army for a thousand days, use it for a moment.

The soldiers Li Xuewu had trained, if truly thrown into actual combat, he also had the confidence to devise strategies and report frequent victories.

But just like handling the mess of Liu Wei in Steel City, Li Xuewu deliberately hid his figure in this activity; he even hid in the crowd at the oath-taking rally.

He wasn't interested in the training, but he went to the Optoelectronics Research Institute after the oath-taking rally ended.

Just at the beginning of the year, which was the beginning of this month, invited by Peter Grewitt, 16 scientific research personnel in the field of optoelectronics from Western Europe, represented by Professor Hans, visited the Red Steel Group.

Li Huai De, together with Gu Weijie, held a symposium for these foreign scientists and explained the Red Steel Group's investment and development attitude in the field of scientific research.

At the symposium, of course, they had to invite the "horse bones" bought with a thousand gold—that is, Peter Grewitt—to speak from his own experience.

Peter was absolutely not stupid; he certainly knew his positioning and academic ability in the research institute.

He didn't start by talking about how good the Red Steel Group was, but first recounted his own difficult experiences over those years, which gradually led to the time he spent living in the Red Steel Group.

Following him was Shangguan Qi, representing the local overseas-educated faction, sharing the work situation at the Red Steel Group Research Institute.

Finally, Xia Zhongquan, the person in charge of the research institute, announced the welfare benefits and scientific research environment for foreign experts in the institute.

He also learned a few points of Li Xuewu's "big bluffing" ability, talking at length in the announcement about the construction scale of the research institute and the wide coverage of disciplines, including their own comprehensive university.

Foreign experts could not only achieve scientific research accomplishments here but also display their ambitions of teaching and educating people on the podium.

Here, there were the most perfect urban living facilities and also the country's first ecological industrial concept; the brush for painting the industrial blueprint of the new era was in the hands of these experts.

Upon hearing this posture, these 16 scientific research personnel, not to mention salary and welfare benefits, just feeling this atmosphere of being respected, had a certain confidence to try staying here to work.

So, after the symposium ended, Gu Weijie, Vice Director of the Red Steel Group Management Committee, and Xia Zhongquan, Dean of the Research Institute, signed a three-month probationary contract with these foreign experts.

During the probationary period, foreign experts enjoyed equal treatment and scientific research projects; after the probationary period ended, both sides would make a two-way choice on whether to stay or leave based on the actual situation.

This frankness created a comfortable buffer zone for the research institute to introduce foreign experts; even if not everyone could stay after the probationary period ended, they would take this courtesy back with them.

"I've thought about it, even if only one can stay."

Xia Zhongquan walked on the path with Li Xuewu, gesturing with his fingers to emphasize, "That will also become a seed."

"This seed will sprout sooner or later."

He said with great confidence, "And our future will harvest more seeds until technology is no longer hungry."

"Have you ever thought about the 'technological ecology'?"

Li Xuewu raised his hand and gestured; his navy blue wool coat paired with black sheepskin gloves was very distinctive.

If he wore a large-brimmed hat and sunglasses, he wouldn't even need makeup to be a character actor at the Beijing Film Studio.

"What is 'technological ecology'?"

Xia Zhongquan was inspired by him every time, to the point of being very sensitive to the appearance of new terms.

"Like a small world."

Li Xuewu smiled, pointed to the landscape pond in front, and raised his eyebrows to explain, "You want to plant a seed and harvest a full granary, but have you ever thought about doing something for the seed?"

"Watering, fertilizing, weeding, protecting the seedlings, etc."

He turned his head to look at Xia Zhongquan, who was frowning in thought, nodded slowly, and said, "I said in Liaodong that the growth of employees should be synchronized with the enterprise; you can understand that, right?"

"You mean—" Xia Zhongquan tilted his head and tried to ask, "They also need a growth environment?"

"Of course!" Li Xuewu smiled and said, "It's very good that you didn't just talk about material things at the symposium."

He stopped his steps, looked at the other party, and said, "But you have to know, scientific research personnel can easily obtain wealth; then what else do they pursue?"

"Besides profit..." Xia Zhongquan hesitated for a moment, but still said, "That would be fame."

"Right, and also not right." Li Xuewu pointed at him, continued walking, and said while walking, "Fame can be understood as spiritual pursuit; the concept of spiritual pursuit is richer."

"Being respected, being valued, sense of achievement, etc."

He looked at Xia Zhongquan and asked, "Think about it, is it easier to get ahead in an environment surrounded by strong enemies or in a relatively relaxed environment?"

"Scientific research is a state."

"How to understand that?" Xia Zhongquan sometimes couldn't understand his thinking, but felt it was very correct.

"My daughter, Li Shu." Li Xuewu smiled and explained, "Actually, she isn't very smart, nor is she very studious, but she is in two different states in kindergarten and elementary school."

"Her living environment is more affluent; she hasn't lacked nutritional supplements since she was little, and I even hired a tutor for her."

He pursed his lips, paused, and continued, "When she was in elementary school, the children in kindergarten were generally weaker than her."

"I'm not just talking about physical state, but also learning and living state."

Li Xuewu emphasized, and said very seriously, "She can sing and dance, has an active mind, and is very liked by teachers."

"At first, my wife and I weren't willing to let her read elementary school so young, but she was already unsatisfied with the learning environment in kindergarten, which was low-end relative to her."

Xia Zhongquan listened carefully, but didn't think of it as family trivialities, and even roughly understood the meaning of his words.

"But ever since she started elementary school, the whole state of the child has changed; she looks like she has grown up."

Li Xuewu shook his head slightly and said, "But I'm a bit worried, because the teaching tasks and attitudes of elementary school teachers and kindergarten teachers toward children are different."

"How would elementary school teachers coax you to learn or coax you to play? Right? She has suffered a bit of frustration."

"I seem to understand what you mean."

Xia Zhongquan frowned and nodded, "You mean those scientific research personnel don't get the opportunity to display their talents in research institutes relatively rich in technology, and also lack such scientific research confidence, right?"

"That's exactly what I mean." Li Xuewu nodded and said, "What state would Li Shu be in if she returned to kindergarten?"

"I understand—" Xia Zhongquan hesitated and said, "Are these foreigners treating us as a kindergarten?"

"Hey! It's not necessarily a bad thing!"

Li Xuewu smiled and emphasized, "Li Shu told me that she also learned the content of first-grade learning in kindergarten."

"If these foreigners can obtain more opportunities for trial here and shoulder more responsibilities, perhaps they can show more fierce scientific research enthusiasm than foreign scientific research institutions."

He asked with a bit of bad taste, "Think about it, making a big stir that shocks the world's scientific and technological field in a kindergarten-level scientific research institution, is this feeling cool or not?"

"You really are—"

Xia Zhongquan looked him over, grinned, and sighed, "You really are a master of bewitching people's hearts."

"This is called psychology, don't be so old-fashioned."

Li Xuewu smiled, patted his arm, and joked, "The older generation always likes to attribute things they don't understand to ghosts and gods; seeing through the essence of facts is science, right?"

"I believe in your ghost!" Xia Zhongquan muttered, and accompanied him into the Vehicle Engineering Research Institute.

"In the first half of this year, the entire series of models will be upgraded." The research institute's engineer was reporting work, and Xia Zhongquan accompanied him while listening and watching the laboratory operations.

"Including the advanced technologies we introduced from countries like East Germany, Japan, and France over the past year."

Actually, the technology introduction mentioned by the engineer here mostly came from East Germany, because the results of that visit were very fruitful.

So much so that even though casualties occurred, the East German side still chose to forgive under the condition of receiving a large amount of compensation.

There was no way; the Red Steel Group gave too much, to the point where they couldn't even say the words to question it.

Of course, the Red Steel Group was so generous this time not because "Old Li" had become rich or Li Xuewu had changed his nature, but because they were being generous with others' money; there was no need to leave money for the Sanhe Stock Company.

Anyway, this compensation would eventually be paid by Nishida Kenichi; the Red Steel Group was just paying it in advance.

In Hong Kong, Ji Weidong was already using methods on Nishida Kenichi; at least Nishida couldn't return to Japan now.

"Non-load-bearing thermoset plastic parts, front double-wishbone rear trailing-arm, Red Star third-generation engine..."

The engineer introduced it in great detail, because he also knew that this Secretary-General was an expert, so he didn't dare to fool him.

"How is the third-generation engine?"

Li Xuewu suddenly interrupted his introduction and asked, "What changes are there compared to the second generation?"

"It's like this, Secretary-General," the engineer introduced seriously, "The Red Star third-generation engine is a series."

"This series includes a variety of adaptability; for example, the Ant Jeep will use the Red Three-A gasoline engine, which is a 3.5-liter inline six-cylinder engine."

The engineer pointed to the engine part being assembled in the experimental workshop and introduced, "This engine can achieve a maximum power of 105 horsepower."

"Higher than the 212, right?"

Li Xuewu turned his head to look at Xia Zhongquan and asked with some surprise, "How much horsepower was that engine used in the 212 now?"

"75, that's their standard configuration."

Xia Zhongquan couldn't suppress his smile as he introduced, "I heard last year that they were experimenting with a new engine, but I haven't heard any movement until now."

"Okay, okay." Li Xuewu nodded repeatedly, and there was a smile on his face, "Exceeded their 30 horsepower."

This wasn't a simple arithmetic problem, but the result of the Red Steel Group spending money to establish a Vehicle Engineering Research Institute and cultivating it for four years, gradually accumulating results.

From the first-generation imitation product to the second-generation upgraded product, and then to the brand-new breakthrough today, how much money had been burned in these four years.

"We also developed two eight-cylinder engines for the 'Tantu' and 'Cruiser'; one is 5.5 liters, and one is 6.6 liters."

The engineer introduced with a smile, "The 5.5-liter model can output a maximum of 180 horsepower, and the 6.6-liter can output a maximum of 225 horsepower; the power is quite strong, belonging to the 'fist' product."

"225 horsepower, that's really okay."

This number could already refresh the data in his memory regarding automotive power; it could be considered a modern car.

"Red Star Ant, Aquarius, Gemini, Hongyun, Hongyuan, Tantu, Land Cruiser, Grassland Tiger, etc."

Xia Zhongquan spread his hands and said with great confidence, "In the first half of this year, the entire series will be upgraded and replaced."

"Kill the 212, don't give them a chance."

Li Xuewu pointed at the engineer and said very domineeringly, "At that time, I will let you personally tell them that they have fallen behind an era, and we are the strongest."

The engineer was so excited that his face turned red, and he grinned foolishly; perhaps he was already fantasizing in his mind about how he would be proud, pointing out the country, and reaching the peak of his life.

Xia Zhongquan shook his head helplessly when he saw him like this; what did he say?

Li Xuewu is a monster who bewitches people's hearts!

Not to mention the young people under his hands who put all their minds into scientific research, even those old "slippery" people who had been trained in government offices for several years would howl after hearing Li Xuewu's words.

He had to admit that some people said this was the charm of a leader, and also a necessary talent; he really couldn't learn it.

On the third day of returning to the capital, Li Xuewu gave four classes in the morning and returned to the group to handle work in the afternoon.

But he saw Wang Yajuan's name on the briefing on his desk; it was a promotion list.

Comrade Wang Yajuan is proposed to serve as the Li Kezhang of the Fourth Propaganda Section, concurrently serving as the Troupe Leader of the Art Troupe.

It seems there is no change in the position; why promote her again?

Of course, there is a change; she was previously the Art Troupe Leader and Deputy Li Kezhang of the Second Propaganda Section, but now she has been confirmed, and the Art Troupe position is ranked lower, indicating that she has taken another small step forward.

The Enterprise Propaganda Department of the Red Steel Group has one office and two divisions, and the two divisions manage four propaganda sections.

The first section is responsible for business, the second section is responsible for the labor union, the third section is responsible for external propaganda, and the fourth section is responsible for party propaganda.

There is no need to go into detail about the ways here; those who understand, understand.

Ring—

He had just put down the briefing when the phone on the table rang; it turned out to be from his elder brother, Xuewen.

"What's wrong?"

Before he could finish asking, Li Xuewen on the other end of the phone explained that Zhao Yafang's grandfather had passed away.

Li Xuewu was in a trance for a moment, remembering the old man who took him to the neighbor's house to buy a dog that year.

"How is it arranged?" He said, "You let Yajun drive the third brother's car; the four of you go back together."

"That's all we can do."

Li Xuewen sighed and explained, "When we went back during the Mid-Autumn Festival, he looked quite good; I didn't expect..."

"At such an old age, and it's in the mountains."

Li Xuewu comforted him, "Persuade your sister-in-law more; the children are still young, so don't toss the children about."

"Hmm, I know." Li Xuewen sighed, and then hung up the phone.

Actually, he didn't need to call his younger brother for this kind of thing at all; the funeral at the in-laws' house was just a matter of paying a gift.

Not to mention the dealings between relatives, the Red Star Commune and the Red Steel Group could be considered to have had close cooperation over these years; this bit of affection was still there.

Perhaps it was habit, or perhaps his heart was at a loss; whenever he encountered something, Li Xuewen's first thought was still his younger brother.

At this moment, the image of the head of the family had been established in the minds of everyone in the Li family.

Li Xuewu thought for a moment, but still called Shen Guodong and instructed him to go on behalf of the recycling station.

He had no time; he had to return tomorrow after finishing today's work. Old Li was carrying out personnel assessments in the group with great vigor, and no longer needed him to offer advice.

Li Xuewu certainly had this self-awareness, not to the point of making their relationship tense at such a time.

If it weren't for the necessary work every month, he really wouldn't want to return to the group headquarters.

Even so, Old Li was still urging him to select a Deputy Secretary-General as soon as possible; it could be seen that he was very dissatisfied with Ji Jiuzheng.

"How old?" Gu Ning returned home, heard this news, and asked curiously.

Li Xuewu thought for a moment and replied, "Must be eighty, right? If not eighty, then at least over seventy."

"The medical environment in the countryside is not good."

Gu Ning took off her coat, walked into the living room, and said, "Adults are fine, but for the elderly and children, minor illnesses drag on into major illnesses."

"It's not necessarily an illness." Li Xuewu looked at the newspaper and said casually, "Just based on your sister-in-law's personality, if she really saw that it wasn't good, she would have brought him to the city for a physical examination long ago."

"Big brother also said on the phone that when they went back during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the old man's spirit looked quite good."

"It could also be what he ate." Gu Ning sat on the sofa, glanced at the two children playing in the inner room, and said, "People can't eat too well; the internal organs can't take it."

"Hehe, have you also started learning Traditional Chinese Medicine?" Li Xuewu raised his head amusingly and looked at her, asking, "Or did you hear it from Dad?"

"I'm learning it myself." Gu Ning sighed, lowered her head slightly, and said, "Don't you often talk about the combination of Chinese and Western medicine?"

"What I said was a topic."

Li Xuewu explained amusingly, "You will definitely try this form of medical treatment in the future; it makes sense to complement each other."

"My thesis was returned."

Gu Ning raised her head, looked at him, and said, "I received the notice this afternoon; the leader said I shouldn't be doing these things at this stage."

"Hmm?" Li Xuewu frowned first, then put down the newspaper, sat beside her, and asked softly, "Is it the one you wrote a while ago?"

"Hmm," Gu Ning glanced at him, and then explained, "The leaders in the institute don't look favorably upon it, and the opposition from the expert group is even greater."

"It doesn't matter; it's not necessarily your fault."

Li Xuewu hugged her shoulder and comforted her softly, "Sometimes, if insights are too advanced, they will be pulled and doubted by the power of this era."

"There will eventually be a day when it proves your direction is correct, and they are the old stubborn conservatives."

"Hmph—" Gu Ning rarely encountered setbacks; her lack of desire for anything in her career made her smooth sailing, and she really hadn't encountered such serious criticism.

She spoke lightly, but Li Xuewu could hear the trembling in her voice; she was clearly heartbroken.

Just hearing this "hmph" with a hint of dissatisfaction, one could know how confident and serious she was about her thesis.

And her pretending to be calm after entering the door, and even stealing a glance at the children, was because she was afraid of showing her weak, childish side in front of Li Shu and Li Ning.

Li Xuewu, however, really treated her like a child, saying increasingly nonsensical things softly.

When Er Ya came out to call them for dinner, her mood was already much better.

"My qualification for participating in the professional rank evaluation this year has been canceled."

Just as Li Xuewu pulled her up, she still couldn't help but say the result of the handling in a low voice.

Li Xuewu, however, widened his eyes and asked, "Do you need me to do something for you? To take revenge fiercely?"

He pinched his wife's hand and said, "Do you want to change units and come to work at our group's hospital?"

"I'll exert more effort and try to pull away those backbone forces in your hospital, and see who they rely on to do the work."

"No point—" Gu Ning believed he could do it, but also knew he was being nonsensical.

If she really wanted to seek justice, why would she need to tell him? She just needed to call her mother and cry once.

The leaders in the institute explained to her personally that this was the expert group's assessment opinion and couldn't be changed; what else could she say?

Using her own identity to get special treatment? She couldn't do it, and didn't want to do it either.

"Fall down where you stand and climb up from there?" Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and teased her on purpose, "Good, this idea is good; when the time comes, use more cases to prove your theory is correct, and then slap those old stubborn faces fiercely!"

Gu Ning's mood, which was originally very aggrieved, was almost teased into laughter by him; she glanced at him and scolded, "I didn't think that way."

"It doesn't matter; the more indifferent you are, the more you can highlight their incompetence." Li Xuewu raised his chin and said, "Wife, you just need to work hard; when the time comes, I'll find connections to help you announce it to the world, and slap them into the trash heap with one palm!"

"Stop talking..." Gu Ning's face turned red with shame; she pushed him away and walked toward the dining room, listening to him still talking nonsense; although she couldn't help but feel secretly happy in her heart, thinking like this was too shameful.

Time is like an Ant car that has changed its engine; not paying attention, it didn't step on the brake, and it was New Year's.

This year's New Year and New Year's Eve, Li Xuewu still couldn't return to the capital to spend the New Year; as the group's main person in charge in Liaodong, he had important work and tasks.

Visiting old comrades, comforting employees in difficulty, visiting comrades sticking to their posts on the front line, and even leading teams to inspect late at night.

On New Year's Eve, Yu Li was still organizing to make dumplings, but he had already determined that he had no time to come back to eat the New Year's Eve dinner together.

He had to organize the families of the remaining cadres and employees to make dumplings in the cafeteria, and also had to lead the team members to send dumplings to the workshop.

Although they hadn't celebrated the "Old New Year" in recent years to respond to the call of superiors, everyone still kept the Lunar New Year in their hearts.

The Red Steel Group didn't avoid this, but generously integrated the New Year's celebration into production work.

Distributing Spring Festival gifts, organizing art performances, adjusting shift rest times, etc., and even organized fireworks programs in the Workers' New Village.

The capital has a Workers' New Village, and Steel City also has one; Li Xuewu even approved the same fireworks performance for the factories and projects in Fengcheng and Yingcheng.

The whole world celebrates, congratulating the New Year.

"If you don't come back, I'm going to fall asleep." Yu Li yawned, sat up from the sofa, and asked, "Did you eat dumplings?"

"I ate them; I ate them after the cafeteria finished wrapping them." Li Xuewu took off his coat and changed into slippers at the door, walked in, and asked, "Did you eat?"

"I ate, it's just boring."

She leaned on the sofa a bit emotionally and said, "This year, it's me alone again, all by myself."

"How can you say it's one person?" Li Xuewu amusingly took a red envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her, saying, "Look, I wish you great luck and prosperity in the New Year, and to be forever young and beautiful."

"What kind of blessing is this?"

Yu Li also found it amusing; she supported herself on the armrest, stood up, touched his chest, and said, "Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year." Li Xuewu hugged her, kissed her, and said, "I sincerely wish you to be forever young and beautiful."

"I believe you," Yu Li said amusingly, "Only then will you always like me."

"What kind of person do you take me for?"

Li Xuewu patted her butt and said, "Am I the kind of person who only likes young and beautiful people?"

"Aren't you?" Yu Li curled her lips and said, "Aren't all men like this?"

"I'm different." Li Xuewu emphasized seriously on purpose, "I like young, beautiful, and sensible girls."

He lifted Yu Li's chin and asked, "Are you sensible?"

Yu Li curled her lips and asked, "How do you say sensible, and how do you say not sensible?"

"Sensible girls never make things difficult for men."

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "At this time, they should have been ready to cherish the person in front of them and be happy forever."

"I'm really convinced—" Yu Li patted him, pushed him to the door of the bathroom, and said, "Just relying on this mouth of yours, you can hook a silly girl like me anywhere."

The 4th is the Beginning of Spring, the 5th is New Year's Eve, the 6th is the first day of the New Year; Li Xuewu returned to the capital on the 8th, which was the third day of the New Year.

On the evening of the 8th, their family had a reunion dinner in the courtyard and also took a family photo with a camera.

Big brother Xuewen didn't show anything, but sister-in-law had lost a lot of weight; there was less meat on her face, and her chin was pointed.

Li Yue could already run, jump, and be naughty during the New Year; last year at this time, she had just learned to walk; how fast time passes.

Li Shu was, of course, the child king of the family, especially after the little aunt no longer threatened her status.

Everyone had grown up this year; Xuewen big brother had both a son and a daughter, looked more mature, and even started to grow a beard.

The more Li Xuewu looked at his current appearance, the more he had the demeanor of an old scholar; it was clearly toward that direction.

However, big brother didn't keep all the beard; he just left it above his lips, and the rest were still shaved off.

But this way, he really had a bit of Lu Xun's flavor; it's a pity big brother didn't have a single literary cell.

Sister-in-law's work was basically determined to be transferred to a management position, but now that teaching power was in short supply, she, as a backbone, had to be capable of multiple tasks and hold multiple positions.

He didn't need to talk about himself; although Gu Ning's career encountered a thesis storm, it was generally considered smooth.

The third brother and his wife's career was also smooth; the only thing that worried mother Liu Yin was that Ji Yuxiu's belly had no movement for a long time.

So much so that at the reunion dinner table, Ji Yuxiu always avoided her mother-in-law's gaze, and she spoke much less.

Regarding the matter of having children, the young couple had originally discussed letting it be; they didn't expect that they still hadn't conceived after two years.

Li Shun couldn't ask his daughter-in-law, but he had diagnosed his son's pulse and also let his son check his body.

What about Ji Yuxiu?

She was more anxious than anyone; she didn't dare to go to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, so she went to Gu Ning's hospital for an examination, and it was also determined that there was no problem.

This was very strange; there was nothing wrong with the bodies of the couple, so why was there no child for a long time?

Liu Yin was so anxious that she wanted to go to the temple on the mountain to "tie a doll," but unfortunately, there were no such activities now.

Monks and old Taoists were forced to change jobs; where would anyone prepare mud dolls for them to grab? They could only pray for their own blessings.

This matter fell on the reunion dinner table organized in the inverted room the next day; Sha Zhu privately asked Li Xuecai if he wanted to believe him; he had some ancestral positions to ensure he could give birth to a son.

It angered Li Xuecai so much that he gritted his back teeth and asked him, since it was ancestral, where did sister Yushui come from.