Chapter 1667: Robbery

"Zhang Minghua is not an honest man."

Xu Si took a drag of his cigarette, turned his head to look at Li Xuewu, and said, "He's considered quite the slippery character even within the agency."

"You know about that too?"

Li Xuewu glanced at him and asked, "Aren't you supposed to be in Yingcheng, oblivious to the world outside your window?"

"If that were really the case, wouldn't I have died long ago?"

Xu Si chuckled, took a deep drag of his cigarette, blew out a puff of smoke, and then said, "And the kind of death where you wouldn't even know how you died. It would be damn pathetic—"

Li Xuewu drooped his eyelids; he was truly impatient with this kind of old fox who had rolled through the frying pan more times than he could count.

Old foxes are never as easy to fool as young ones.

Take someone like Ma, give him a sweet date and set up a scheme, and you can work him like a beast of burden.

But if it were someone like Old Xu, trying to order him around? Dream on!

"I'm just practicing passive defense."

Seeing Li Xuewu staring at him, Xu Si reached out to pat the cigarette ash off his trousers and explained, "It doesn't count as being cunning and treacherous."

"At least you have some self-awareness."

Li Xuewu looked toward the soft-sleeper cabin entrance where Ma appeared and asked, "Did you find out the reason?"

They were on a train heading to Yingcheng, and for some reason, it had been stopped in the middle of nowhere for over half an hour.

Li Xuewu was going to the Yingcheng port area for research, while Xu Si was returning from a meeting in Fengcheng; they just happened to run into each other.

"I heard it's a temporary inspection," Ma explained hesitantly, "but you know how they are; they never give a straight answer."

That was true; the staff on the train were extremely tight-lipped, so how could they possibly tell the truth?

Even if the roadbed ahead had been washed away by a flood, they would only say it was a scheduled stop for passing trains and that it was nothing serious.

Of course, for railway workers, as long as it was a project that could be repaired, it wasn't considered a big deal.

That's how railway passenger transport is; even if they told you why the train stopped, could you get off and help anyway?

Li Xuewu didn't really expect Ma to find out the truth; it was just that Xu Si had something to say and had deliberately sent him away.

Seeing Ma's nervous expression, Xu Si chuckled and asked, "Is this your first time on a train? Are you scared?"

"No—" Ma explained earnestly, "I take the train whenever I go to my grandfather's house."

"Hahaha," Xu Si found it amusing, glanced at Li Xuewu, and saw him looking out the window.

"Delays on this line are normal."

Xu Si rarely showed such patience as he explained to Ma, "With the increase in freight volume, temporary tasks are frequent, and the dispatchers are overwhelmed."

"By the way, speaking of this, I forgot to tell you."

He looked at Li Xuewu and said, "That container factory we're running with the Beijing Railway is really taking off now."

Seeing him rambling on, Ma picked up the thermos and deliberately moved closer to him, wanting to refill his teacup.

Xu Si found him in the way, leaned to the side to see Li Xuewu, and continued, "They've even opened a branch factory in Yingcheng."

"Our group holds a significant share in that container factory, too."

Li Xuewu reached out, took the teacup from the small table, took a sip of the warm tea, nodded, and asked, "Has it been transferred to the investment company now?"

"You bet it has. That kid Wang Yuzheng is really full of himself—"

Xu Si patted his thigh with envy and said, "What was he before? He was incredibly arrogant when he came out of the Finance Department."

"Later, he just happened to get lucky."

Speaking of this, Xu Si smacked his lips, raised his eyebrows, and smiled, "Last time, that business between you and Shen Fei really made him furious."

Hearing Xu Si speak with such a heavy Northeastern accent, one might think he was a local, but in reality, he had only been in Yingcheng for a little over four years.

The Northeast is truly a magical region; whether you're from the Northwest, the South, or even a foreigner, as long as you live there for a while, your accent will be assimilated into a Northeastern one.

Don't even ask him about it; if you do, he'll just say, "I don't have an accent!"

"He can do whatever he wants; why should he be furious with me?" Li Xuewu knew exactly what he was going to say, but he deliberately played dumb.

Xu Si chuckled and said, "Shen Fei took away most of the tertiary industries, and he was still hoping to make a big splash."

"You probably don't know this, but he even met with Wang Xin in private."

"Met Wang Xin?" Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow, lifted his chin, and asked, "Does he want to carry two burdens on one shoulder?"

"Hahaha—" Xu Si found the thought amusing, picked up his teacup, and without minding that the water Ma had just poured was hot, took a hearty slurp.

"That guy, you don't know him; he's just as cunning as Zhang Mingyuan."

After evaluating Wang Yuzheng, he tilted his head, put down his teacup, and added, "Wang Yuzheng's nickname is 'Three-Surname Slave'."

"Your sources are quite well-informed."

Li Xuewu moved his eyebrows, looked him over, and said, "You return to Beijing even less often than I do, right? How can such things reach your ears?"

"That's because I'm afraid of dying!"

Xu Si didn't feel the least bit ashamed in front of Li Xuewu; he was just as shameless now as he was when he surrendered back then.

He called others cunning, but having been in the Red Star Factory for so many years, and even into the Group era, as Yang Fengshan's office director, he had remained standing and even thrived—how could he be an honest man?

However, being a fence-sitter who thrives is also a kind of ability. This old fox was famous in the Group for his sharp eye.

When Old Li was about to take off, he knelt; before Li Xuewu had even taken flight, he had only shown his ruthless side, and Xu Si had already laid flat.

As a result, looking back at those people from back then, who was doing better than him?

Anyone who had any connection with Yang Yuansong and Yang Fengshan had been marginalized by Old Li over the years.

Except for Old Xu, there was only one other: Sun Jian.

Sun Jian was Yang Fengshan's secretary and later became the office director of the Security Department, which saved his life.

Li Xuewu saw that he really had some ability, so he brought him along to cultivate him; he didn't expect him to actually amount to something.

Sun Jian was now the director of the General Manager's Office, returning from being a factory director's secretary to the position of chief secretary.

He was a classic example of an internal agency transfer—a secretary who didn't go to the grassroots but instead moved horizontally within the agency.

Although his foundation wasn't stable, his comprehensive ability was very strong, and he was usually cultivated to be a person in charge of organization or personnel.

Old Li found him very easy to use now; after all, with the connection to Li Xuewu, Sun Jian was even more effective than Ji Jiuzheng.

As for the Wang Yuzheng that Xu Si mentioned, he was actually a protégé of Jing Yunong, and later he bowed to Gu Weijie's dock.

Calling him a "Three-Surname Slave" was because later, when they were competing for the Red Star United Investment Management Corporation, this kid sucked up to Li Huai De again.

Jing Yunong had long ago given up the idea of taking root and sprouting in the Red Steel Group, so she wasn't very attentive in taking care of him.

Helping Wang Yuzheng operate the tertiary industries back then was to sing a counter-tune to Li Xuewu, and later she deliberately made things difficult for Old Li.

It was just that she had fallen more than a little behind in her confrontation with Li Xuewu, so she simply raised the white flag and gave up.

Later, the two had some kind of "tacit understanding," and Wang Yuzheng became a spare piece for Jing Yunong.

This old guy was best at reading people; once Jing Yunong stopped paying attention to him, he went to bow to Gu Weijie.

Gu Weijie had originally wanted to set up a formation against Old Li, but unfortunately, her formation was disrupted by one arrangement after another from above.

When the United Tertiary Industry Management Office was to be upgraded to the Investment Management Corporation, Wang Yuzheng panicked and could only defect to Old Li.

Such characters were countless within the Group, but it was rare to see someone achieve such seamless transitions as he did.

Those with some backbone, like Yang Zongfang, had caused quite a few obstacles for Dong Wenxue in Steel City.

It was just that Dong Wenxue had a soft personality and mild methods, so he didn't really take action to clean him up.

Once they reached Li Xuewu's hands, with a big sword on one side and sweet dates on the other, standing in the middle still meant getting cut—who dared to oppose him?

Li Xuewu actually saw Wang Yuzheng quite often; whenever he returned to Beijing, if he had time, Old Li would organize a card game.

He would be there eight times out of ten; he knew how to stroke Old Li's pulse and was best at making people happy.

Every time he saw Wang Yuzheng's sycophancy toward Old Li, Li Xuewu hated that he couldn't have risen to power sooner.

He never hated such people; he only hated that he wasn't the one benefiting.

Just as Xu Si was rambling on, the train suddenly swayed and then slowly started moving.

"This line is about to get busy."

He pulled up a corner of the white curtain to look outside and said, "Once the Yingcheng port opens, this will be a golden route."

"Are there still people hopping trains?"

Li Xuewu had heard Zhao Lao Si mention it a few times, which was why he was curious about train hopping.

He glanced out the window and said, "Is it only at night that people do this?"

"Does doing this distinguish between day and night?"

Xu Si glanced at him, dropped the curtain, and said amusingly, "But the trains are faster now, especially passenger trains."

"You haven't seen it; those guys are all like rats, lying in the wilderness."

He gestured with his hands to introduce, "When the train comes, they all run out to chase it, hanging off it like dangling ornaments."

"Isn't that very dangerous?" Ma, hearing him describe it so mysteriously, couldn't help but ask, "What if they fall off?"

"Fall off? Heh—"

Xu Si finally had someone to play the straight man, glanced at Ma, and hummed, "Falling off is still the lucky part; the real fear is falling onto the tracks—Crack!"

He described it with his mouth and slapped his thigh, giving Ma a jolt, and finally chuckled, "Legs gone."

"Oh my—" Ma already had a bloody scene in his mind, grimacing and shaking his head, "That's too scary."

"Do you know how much they can earn in one trip?"

Xu Si tilted his chin and said earnestly, "Hopping coal trains is the least profitable and the most tiring; how much can a shovel scoop off?"

"They aim for the containers; as long as they spot one from the freight station, there are definitely people waiting to get on the train and steal things."

"Then doesn't anyone catch them?"

"Of course they do!" He looked at the nervous Ma and said with a smile, "Do you know what kind of container is the unluckiest to encounter?"

"What?" Ma was actually cooperating.

"The kind without standards." Xu Si widened his eyes and said, "Clack, the door opens, and a gun barrel is pressed against your forehead."

"Try dodging that!"

He really knew how to tell a story, vivid and colorful, and damn it, he even performed it.

Ma was listening intently, as if he were the unlucky train hopper; hearing about the gun, he couldn't help but shrink back.

Xu Si was so malicious; he gestured with his finger, pressing it against Ma's forehead, stretched his arm forward, and pursued, "Bang! One bullet for you."

Ma was jolted again, which made Li Xuewu laugh, so he quickly turned his head to look out the window.

Why else would one say Ma was still green? He had long since realized Xu Si was just teasing him.

The story of train hopping might be true, but it definitely wasn't as if Xu Si had seen it with his own eyes.

He was the head of Yingcheng Shipping; it would be a damn miracle if he encountered train hoppers—there were clerks sitting right at the entrance.

Old Xu said he was afraid of death, and that was definitely no nonsense; he always brought clerks when he went out, and although they were called clerks, they actually carried weapons at their waists.

Li Xuewu rarely brought anyone, because he carried his own weapon, and just looking at his face, who would dare to approach him?

Don't doubt the intelligence of bad guys; bad guys just have bad hearts, not bad brains.

Ma's business trip this time was a treat; following Li Xuewu, he not only gained knowledge but also got to listen to Factory Director Xu tell stories for free.

Xu Si was just bored; Li Xuewu didn't talk much, and he couldn't stand the loneliness, so he could only tease Ma for fun.

Only Ma dared to come into this soft-sleeper cabin, so if he didn't tease Ma, who would he tease?

The train conductor did come to greet them halfway, and very enthusiastically brought them noodles, just in time for mealtime.

Xu Si looked down on these railway people; he didn't know when he had been taken advantage of, but his expression was indifferent anyway.

Li Xuewu was very humble; the other party wasn't asking him for anything, so why put on airs?

Although they were delayed by over an hour, it wasn't dark yet when they arrived in Yingcheng.

Li Xuewu had talked enough with Xu Si on the way; after getting on the train, he just looked out the window, watching the changes in Yingcheng over the past two years.

Actually, speaking of urban development and changes, the Liaodong region had to be Steel City, because in less than four years, dozens of factories had been added.

There were those from the Red Steel Group, those from joint enterprises, and those built locally, forming a cluster industry with mechanical processing as the main project.

With more factories, there were more workers; when workers earned money, they had to live and consume, and with consumption, the city's supply and demand were pulled up, and the economy improved.

Once the city had money, it could invest and build on basic projects, and construction projects could create linkages with Red Steel Group's projects.

The underground projects of the Red Steel Industrial Park had almost become the benchmark for underground air defense projects in the Liaodong region.

If they kept digging like this, Steel City would start to suspect that Red Steel was going to build a subway.

Each factory area in the Red Steel Group Industrial Park had built freight elevators for vertical transport; the underground could not only be used for warehousing but also for transfer and transport.

There was actually a distance from the power plant to the mountainous area, but over the past two years, the underground project had dug out so much soil that it had literally created a small hill over that distance.

"Yingcheng's development is not slower than Steel City's, nor is it worse."

Xu Si pointed out the newly built bridge to Li Xuewu and introduced, "It was just completed a while ago; it's the largest and widest cross-river bridge in Yingcheng."

"Look at the buildings on both sides of the river."

He introduced with pride, "If we hadn't been tossing and turning in Yingcheng these past few years, they would have had to wait a few more years."

"Didn't Ge Ping come to you for alms?"

Li Xuewu looked at Yingcheng outside the window, turned his head to look at him, and said, "Xiao Zihong has already complained to me about this."

"He just doesn't know how to handle things—"

Xu Si said amusingly, "This kind of thing can't be prevented; if you have to give, you have to give, just treat it as sending off a ghost."

"If you're an iron rooster that doesn't pluck a single feather, they'll treat you according to the rules, and then the work won't get done."

Begging for alms—anyone who has managed a factory will have encountered it more or less, and Li Xuewu was no exception.

Of course, Wang Lu wouldn't dare to ask him for money openly, and even if she really wanted to, she would communicate with him with a very good attitude.

This is what's called "the guest is too big to bully the shop."

Where does the money to deal with these ghosts come from?

In any case, it can't come out of one's own pocket, because they are all proper cadres.

And one can't spend the factory's money recklessly, so it can only be operated cleverly, without affecting the Group's audit and without refusing outright.

This tests a cadre's comprehensive management ability and is also an indicator for the Group to see if a person in charge can shoulder the burden.

Some people can't understand why they have to try every possible way to do something that is clearly wrong?

Because this is the game rule.

Which jobs are most lacking in resource investment in this era?

No need to think, it must be medical care and education.

Just remember, no matter what era, medical care and education are the most lagging compared to other work.

Why?

Because neither medical care nor education produces immediate results.

Both medical and educational systems are bottomless pits; no matter how much money you throw in, it won't make a splash, and it might not show results for ten or twenty years.

Steel City builds a factory for one million, and it earns over one hundred thousand a year; build a hospital or a school for one million, how long will it take to earn over one hundred thousand?

It's not that this era doesn't value medical care and education; even if the general environment and situation are like this, this era has never neglected these two jobs.

Last year, Wang Lu wrote a note to Zhang Jing, saying that the running conditions of the village primary school relocated after the industrial zone was zoned were too poor, and there was no place for the school buildings.

Education funding was just that little bit, and there had been no news for years; the ball was kicked to Wang Lu's feet, and she kicked it to the Red Steel Group.

It wasn't that the Red Steel Group had to take responsibility just because it occupied the land, but Wang Lu knew that the Red Steel Group had the money to solve this.

The first piece of land was given for free by Steel City, but the later land was bought by the Red Steel Group with its own money.

The money was given to Steel City, and the relocated households couldn't find the Red Steel Group.

Now the note had been delivered, and Wang Lu called him personally, saying, "Brother, what should we do? Help out, it's not much money."

It wasn't much money, but Li Xuewu had to find a name to spend it under.

Usually, they called each other Deputy Director Wang or Secretary-General Li, but now she called him brother or big sister on the phone—do you think the matter would get done?

This wasn't just official business; Wang Lu was asking him for help with the influence of her position.

If he refused, Wang Lu wouldn't do anything, but there would inevitably be a knot in her heart; if it didn't break out now, it would sooner or later.

Li Xuewu had Zhang Jing make an application, and on the grounds of supporting local construction, applied for twenty thousand yuan, and used the engineering company to build three rows of school buildings.

Not only were the school buildings repaired, but the playground was leveled, and he had Zhang Jing get some sports equipment from the hardware factory to set up, making it look like the real thing.

How thick was the face he gave? Wang Lu was naturally happy.

Why didn't Li Xuewu open his mouth, and Liu Wei still had to help him regardless of her own future and against Fang Yuan's pressure?

Once Fang Yuan left, the joint investigation team moved completely in the direction Li Xuewu wanted, without a moment's hesitation.

He didn't need to speak; Liu Wei was a cadre of Steel City, she understood what was going on, Wang Lu understood, and those teachers and students all understood.

As for the Group's finance, Jing Yunong also understood, so as long as this kind of expenditure was used in the right direction, she basically wouldn't make things difficult.

Why was Xu Si's influence in Yingcheng higher than Xiao Zihong's in Fengcheng? The reason was right here.

"Drink less tonight; I definitely can't outdrink you."

Xu Si sent him to the Tuanjie Hotel and explained softly, "After dinner, I'll arrange some programs for you to relax."

"Where to relax?" Li Xuewu pointed to his belt and asked, "Do you relax often?"

"Hi—" Xu Si explained with a smile, "Just dancing, chatting for a while, nothing like what you're thinking."

"You should be a bit more serious; the joint investigation team hasn't disbanded yet."

Li Xuewu pointed at him, walked into the room, and said, "If you really get sent in, I'll feel unbearable."

"Your words are worth it to me."

Xu Si patted his chest and guaranteed, "I've seen big storms and waves; can I still capsize in a gutter?"

"You don't want to capsize, but you can't stop others from pushing the waves."

Li Xuewu took off his coat and gestured to the window, asking, "Is it noisy here at night? My sleep quality hasn't been very good lately."

"It's not noisy..." Xu Si looked at him and asked hesitantly, "What's wrong? How old are you, why can't you sleep?"

"Hmm, I wrote a book, my head hurts."

Li Xuewu sat on the sofa, rubbed his head, and said, "I stayed up late writing a bit last night, and I'm still uncomfortable now."

"Then rest early today?"

Xu Si tried asking, "Should I call Old Ge tomorrow night, and we'll drink again?"

"Forget it, I don't want to see him."

Li Xuewu raised his chin and instructed, "Don't arrange any messy things tonight; just eat something simple."

"Tell Yu Decai, he doesn't need to come; I'll go to his place tomorrow."

He came to Yingcheng for research, and Yu Decai didn't go to the station to pick him up, nor did he wait for him at the Tuanjie Hotel; it wasn't that Yu Decai was floating, but that he didn't allow it.

Zhang Jing had long ago sent notices to all units through the office that leaders were not allowed to engage in welcoming and sending off, and were not allowed to engage in entertainment and reception during working hours.

Yu Decai knew Li Xuewu didn't like him, so how could he dare to bump into the muzzle of a gun now?

However, he didn't dare to pretend he didn't know, so he tried to probe through Xu Si whether he could meet him tonight.

This was Yu Decai's caution; the leader had arrived, and he, the head, hadn't been able to meet him in advance, which would be considered an unstable foundation.

Especially with Dong Wenxue's successive encounters over the past two years, even he had been affected.

The Yingcheng port area was definitely the most important unit for the Group in the next ten years; he came early to occupy the position, and who knew how many people were aiming at him and exerting force.

As long as he revealed a single flaw, they would rush up and tear him to pieces.

"You're making it difficult for me, and for him too."

Xu Si smiled and asked, "How about just the three of us? Eat something simple?"

"Are you two wearing the same pair of pants now?"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows, looked at him, and asked, "Or did he promise you some benefits?"

"Hi, aren't we in a united and friendly comrade relationship?"

Xu Si clapped his hands and said, "Alright, I know it's not easy for you to come here; if he can't see you, he won't sleep tonight."

"Besides, his work is hard to do, and you'll be tired too, right?"

Saying this, he stood up, waved his hand, and said, "That's it, you rest first; I'll come call you when the food is ready."

Ma Baosen sent him out, and after returning, couldn't help but complain, "Factory Director Xu can really talk."

"His mouth is rented," Li Xuewu stood up, leaning on the armrest, gestured to the inner room, and said, "I'll nap for a while; you go about your business."

"Leader, do you want me to find a doctor to take a look?"

Ma Baosen still couldn't help but ask, "Your complexion doesn't look good?"

"Didn't rest well, it's nothing."

Li Xuewu said, walked to the inner room, kicked off his leather shoes, and lay on the bed.

Not even three minutes had passed when Ma Baosen, who was packing his luggage, heard snoring.

"I'm also considered lucky."

At the dinner table, Xu Si glanced at Yu Decai, saw his cautious appearance, felt helpless, looked at Li Xuewu, and said, "I still have to thank you."

Li Xuewu didn't speak, picked up two chopsticks of light dishes.

He hadn't felt anything on the road, but after a nap, he realized his nose was a bit stuffy; it seemed he had a cold.

His physical fitness was quite good; he wouldn't catch a cold once a year.

This was in Yingcheng; if it were in Steel City, Yu Li would have been frantic, with Chinese medicine and chicken soup coming in turns, insisting on making it up to him.

"Damn it, making me build a big warship!"

Xu Si twitched the corners of his mouth, shook his head in amusement and anger, and said, "If I had the guts and ability, I would have conquered the world long ago."

Hearing this made Yu Decai's heart pound; in front of Li Xuewu, Xu Si was the only one in the Group who could talk such nonsense.

But this also showed that the two had a good relationship; if there wasn't this trust, would Xu Si dare to talk nonsense?

"He called you; what did you say?"

Li Xuewu put down his chopsticks, looked at Xu Si, and asked, "Just said you couldn't build it?"

"How would I dare—"

Xu Si explained with a smile, "Whatever he said, I agreed; even if he asked me to build a rocket, I would say okay, okay, okay."

"Anyway, I'm not a designer or an engineer; whether it can be built is up to me, but whether it can be built is not up to me."

"What about the progress?" Yu Decai asked at this moment, "Did you really arrange a warship construction project?"

"Dog fart!" Xu Si spread his hands and said, "Does it count on the blueprints?"

"Heh—" Li Xuewu looked at his cunning appearance and said, "Director Li didn't ask you anything, right?"

"No, he wouldn't ask."

Xu Si picked up his chopsticks again and said while picking up food, "He avoids this matter as much as he can; how could he come to get involved?"

"Then you have to think it through," Li Xuewu tapped the dining table and reminded him, "How to get rid of this involvement."

"Damn it, even getting involved is not okay!"

Xu Si cursed, put down his chopsticks, and said, "I knew there wouldn't be anything good in this; otherwise, how could they have found me?"

"If they really want to build a big warship, can't they assign the task through the ministry?"

He looked at Li Xuewu and said, "You have to save me; you're the only one I can count on."

"Transfer away?" Li Xuewu looked at him and asked, "Transfer you to the frontier; then you won't be involved at all."

"Then I might as well die."

Xu Si sat up straight and said, "Anyway, I haven't done anything; even Professor Zhang, who is in charge of this project, is an old man about to retire."

"He's busy with those students, really thinking he's got a big project, preparing to exert his remaining heat for another ten years."

He couldn't help but laugh when he reached this point, shook his head, and said, "I said this is a secret project and not to spread it; guess what?"

"Hahaha—" Before he even started, he couldn't help but laugh, "The whole factory knows about this project, except for him and his students who don't know that the whole factory knows."

Xu Si was smart; he was afraid of getting involved in karma, so he simply leaked the project, and the plan was left unsettled.

Especially after the joint investigation team traced it to Yingcheng Shipping, those people didn't even dare to contact him anymore.

The rope around his neck was broken, and only then did Xu Si have the guts to sit here and brag.

He had forgotten how terrified he was at the beginning, and when he received the notice from the joint investigation team to return to Yingcheng to assist in the investigation, he almost peed his pants.

Yu Decai couldn't feel the danger of this matter, even though he and Xu Si were neighbors in Yingcheng.

The Yingcheng port area was adjacent to Yingcheng Shipping, but he rarely went to the shipping side to hang around, and even less dared to touch these rights and wrongs.

"Warships can't be built, but you can try patrol ships."

Li Xuewu thought for a while and reminded Xu Si, "Yingcheng port will be operational soon; by then, Bohai Bay will be lively."

"The current patrol boats are still too small and not suitable for long-term patrol at sea; this is also an opportunity for you."

"This—" Xu Si's brain turned fast; he looked at him and asked, "This can count as a reason, right?"

Yu Decai at the same table was slightly stunned, and only then did he react to what the two were talking about; it turned out to be the clearing of the relationship just mentioned.

"A normal project, it can also be considered a reason."

Li Xuewu frowned slightly and said, "But it's not so easy to explain clearly; in the end, it depends on whether Old Li protects you."

"If he doesn't protect me, I'm dead."

Xu Si said it miserably, but there was no worry on his face; it seemed as if he was saying that if Old Li dared not to protect him, he would drag Old Li to die together.

However, Xu Si still had something in his hands over the years; otherwise, Old Li wouldn't have been so lenient toward him.

"Burn incense often, so you don't have to hug Buddha's feet temporarily."

Li Xuewu turned to look at Yu Decai and asked, "How is the progress of the port area project? Can it be operational by the end of the year?"

"It should be no problem." Yu Decai saw the topic turn to his side, sat up straight, and reported, "I've been keeping an eye on the project progress."

"Just keeping an eye on the project progress is not enough; you have to make all preparations."

Li Xuewu emphasized in a calm tone, "In this one year, all projects related to the port area operation must be docked."

"Have the logistics and service companies contacted you?"

"Yes, we've been meeting recently."

Yu Decai thought for a while and reported, "The progress of each project is okay; you can go to the site to take a look tomorrow."

"Hmm, be more careful in doing things."

Li Xuewu glanced at him, stopped talking about this topic, and turned to ask Xu Si about the spring flood.

Li Xuewu stayed in Yingcheng for three days, first looking at the construction site of the Yingcheng port area, and then looking at the completed office building.

On the second day, he met with the Yingcheng side on behalf of the Group to consolidate the relationship.

On the third day, he held a meeting and looked at the ore dressing plant project.

Xu Si asked him if he wanted to go to the shipyard to take a look, but there was no time; Hu Ke had gone to Steel City, and he had to return home.

"Why did you come without a sound? You should have said hello in advance." Li Xuewu took the initiative to shake hands with Hu Ke, and Wang Lu was also at the scene.

"Who knew you were out busy?"

Hu Ke looked at Wang Lu with a smile and said, "I called in advance to ask you, right?"

"This matter is not my fault," Wang Lu explained with a smile, "You said you were coming, I called Zhang Jing, and he said Secretary-General Li was at home."

"I was at home that day, am I at home every day?"

Li Xuewu explained amusingly, "The Yingcheng port is almost done, so I went over to take a look."

"Hey, we were just talking about it."

Hu Ke gestured to the restaurant direction and said, "Let's go, let's talk while eating."

"Does your port need a lot of workers?"

He asked Li Xuewu while walking, "Is it local recruitment, or internal digestion?"

"What era is this? Still manual handling?"

Li Xuewu looked at him amusingly and asked, "How long has it been since you went to Yingcheng, and how long has it been since you went to Yingcheng port?"

"Really, are you fully mechanized?"

Hu Ke was also very surprised, looked at him and asked, "That can't be, Jingu port is advanced enough, are you more advanced than them?"

"Yingcheng port has a bulk cargo terminal and a container terminal."

Li Xuewu walked into the restaurant, sat next to Hu Ke under Wang Lu's gesture, and explained, "Needless to say, the container terminal is a fully lifting procedure."

"Let's talk about the bulk cargo terminal; you wouldn't think bulk cargo means goods are sent on and off the ship loosely, right?"

He looked at the people at the table and explained with a smile, "Our bulk cargo terminal mainly loads and unloads coal, iron ore, and grain."

"Just think, counting by tons, how long would it take for a ten-thousand-ton cargo ship to be loaded and unloaded by manpower? Time is cost."

"Look at this mess," Hu Ke explained with a smile, "I was thinking of solving the employment problem, but I didn't expect to make a fool of myself."

"It's hard to say now, it was okay before."

Li Xuewu shook his head slightly and explained earnestly, "The Group is now controlling the number of people; you should know this."

"Hmm, I know your plan."

Hu Ke watched the waiter serve the cold dishes, didn't disturb Li Xuewu's speech, and responded while pouring him wine.

Li Xuewu saw him pouring wine personally, and knew there was something tonight, but could only drink it with a stiff scalp.

"In just these two years, we have cut nearly three thousand people."

He gestured with his fingers and said, "The current policy is that those who lack labor ability should retire, or even be arranged to retire early."

"Those with labor ability, unless their self-learning ability is in place and their age is within the limit, can go to production units; otherwise, they all have to go to construction units."

"How many people does your construction company have?"

Hu Ke finished pouring the wine and asked him, "Is it the largest engineering construction company in the country now?"

"No—far from it—"

Li Xuewu shook his head and introduced, "It's not even in the top ten, and the number of people is only about ten thousand; the current means is mainly placement."

"Production units cut people, either to service units or to construction units; service units are full, so they can only do physical labor."

He straightened his body and said, "Just think, pure physical labor, is the elimination rate of construction workers high?"

"No need to think about this, Steel City First Construction is an example."

Wang Lu used the time to interject and gestured for the leader to use chopsticks, and continued, "The old are old, the young are young, and there is no connection."

"Our Group is now a slope-style placement."

Li Xuewu gestured with his hand and explained, "From production to service to construction, and finally to diversion and placement."

"Where can diversion go? It can only be to form a transport company."

He picked up a chopstick of food, looked at Hu Ke and asked, "You just mentioned the personnel placement problem to me; have you ever thought about doing transport?"

Hu Ke looked at Wang Lu; he knew Li Xuewu wouldn't talk nonsense, and after making such a big circle, he was waiting for him here.

"Is there any prospect in a transport company?"

He picked up his wine glass and asked, "That also has to have costs, right?"

"What doesn't have costs?"

Li Xuewu touched glasses with him amusingly and gestured to Wang Lu, "Robbery doesn't have costs; go back and study this."

After he finished speaking, he saw everyone laughing, and only then did he drink the wine in the glass in one gulp.

Hu Ke shook his head, put down his wine glass, and said, "If I could rob, I wouldn't need to learn from you; it's just that I can't rob now."

"Look, you let it slip."

Li Xuewu pointed at him, looked at Wang Lu and asked, "What did he come for? It wouldn't really be to rob me, right?"

"Hahaha—" Wang Lu was amused and shook her head repeatedly.

Hu Ke nodded, amusingly, and said, "Are we still friends? Why are you defending against me like a Japanese?"

"This friend is not easy to be."

Li Xuewu said seriously, "If there is something, you have to help; if you don't help well, you will be complained about."

"Look, I said Secretary-General Li wouldn't spare idle talk."

Hu Ke looked at Wang Lu, deliberately complained about Li Xuewu, and then touched his arm with the back of his hand and explained, "I came for the school-enterprise cooperation factory."

He looked at Li Xuewu and asked, "Do you still remember what you told me?"

"Hmm, remember, remember." Li Xuewu nodded and said, "Didn't you say to study how to produce after the school has a good project?"

"This road doesn't work," Hu Ke waved his hand and said, "It's too slow, and there's no direction; it still needs you to provide demand."

He raised his chin and said, "My meaning is, do you have any projects suitable for our universities here, even if it's an internship factory?"

"You also know my conditions."

Li Xuewu said, "School-enterprise cooperation is okay, and an internship factory is also okay, but we must have the right to recruit graduates."

He looked at Wang Lu and said, "We are not great philanthropists, selfless dedication, right? How can we not give us some reward?"

"I don't want much; as long as they are students who come to our factory for internships or participate in school-enterprise cooperation, we only want a 10% quota."

"And you said I was going to rob—"

Hu Ke looked at him speechlessly and asked, "Are you teaching me how to rob now?" ===== CHAPTER 1668 =====