Chapter 1704: Seven years younger

"Li Ge, are you going out?"

Er Ya was watering the vegetable garden. Seeing him about to go out, she asked, "I'm about to make dinner."

"Not eating dinner at home, the unit has an activity."

Li Xuewu pointed outside the door and said, "Qi Yan is here to pick me up. You guys eat tonight, make some meat dishes."

"Okay—" Er Ya smiled and asked, "Do you need me to tell Sister Xiao Ning?"

"No need, I told Li Shu."

Li Xuewu waved his hand and was about to go out, but heard Er Ya call out. Turning his head, he saw her chasing after him.

"What's wrong?"

"Almost forgot, I was just thinking about it." Er Ya came to his side and explained, "Sister Qin came to the house a few days ago, saying that when you return, let you go see the house."

"House? Oh—" Li Xuewu was dazed for a moment, then remembered that the unit had also allocated a house to him.

Qin Jingru couldn't sit still after giving birth and wanted to come out to find work again, but for her, where was a suitable place?

Last year, she begged him again. She was embarrassed to compete with Er Ya, but didn't want to rely solely on Han Jiankun to support the family.

A girl from the countryside always has a kind of resilience. In days without earning money, spending money is a kind of torment.

Li Xuewu remembered her feelings of taking care of Gu Ning, as well as the relationship with Han Jiankun, so he let her be responsible for the new house in Riverside Garden.

Actually, the new house didn't need self-renovation. Whether it was the Engineering Department or the General Engineering Company, they wouldn't treat the leaders poorly.

However, it was just that Qin Jingru and Shen Guodong felt that the hard decoration should be a bit better, so that Li Xuewu would be comfortable living there for a long time.

Other leaders didn't pay much attention to it. Why?

The reason was quite simple: the other six-story buildings in Riverside Garden, large-area units, were all sold to cadres at the deputy section level and above, except for the thirteen western-style houses by the lake, which were not for sale.

The iron camp, the flowing soldiers. Similarly, the house allocated to Gu Weijie hadn't been lived in by her to this day.

These thirteen western-style houses were already determined at the beginning of the design to be for the group leaders working in the group to live in.

That is to say, upon leaving office or retiring, they had to move out, which was also a manifestation of public spirit.

Seeking welfare for all cadres and employees of the group, building residential areas, only the group leaders didn't have long-term residency rights.

Of course, the single apartments and talent dormitories in the Workers' New Village all had rent, while the leaders' western-style houses didn't.

This was another kind of compensation for the leaders, or welfare. It sounded complicated, but it was very practical.

Li Huai De and other leadership team members were able to pass this resolution at the meeting because they were mentally prepared.

They couldn't work in the Red Steel Group for a lifetime. Except for Xiong Bencheng, who wanted to retire at this step in the group?

Having to live together after leaving office, just thinking about it felt inconvenient, so no one wanted the house here.

They didn't lack houses either. In this era, the unit had long ago allocated houses to them, and they hadn't thought about lacking a place to live.

Without the concept of commercial housing, the commercial housing produced by the Red Steel Group was definitely an alternative.

If it weren't for the signboard of a market-oriented experimental unit, this kind of thing would have been picked out long ago.

The reason there wasn't too much of a stir was probably because those above also saw the advantages of this commercial housing policy of the Red Steel Group, especially the advantages in housing placement for employees.

So even if there were different voices and feedback, those above didn't call a halt to this policy.

However, those in the Group Management Committee all felt that the house allocated to Li Xuewu should be well tidied up.

They might not be able to work in the group for many years, seven or eight years at most, three or five years at least, but Li Xuewu was different.

Starting from now, Li Xuewu could still work in the group for ten or eight years, or even longer.

But he didn't feel so himself. He had a car to pick him up and drop him off for work, and living here was convenient for Gu Ning to go to work.

If you want to talk about a good environment, of course it's Riverside Garden, after all, it's a new house, transportation is convenient, and it's convenient for children to go to school.

If Er Ya hadn't mentioned it, he really wouldn't have remembered this matter. After all, he hadn't been transferred back from Steel City yet, so he couldn't think about it.

On the way to the International Hotel, Qi Yan, who was driving, was silent, and Li Xuewu didn't have the mood to chat.

In June in Beijing, the flowers had withered, the green leaves were lush, and unless it was a flower with a long flowering period, only a piece of deep green remained before the eyes.

The bicycles off work rang with bells, and what was different from memory was that there was a bit more noise on the streets of the Four Nine Cities.

The three-wheeled motorcycles specifically for hauling goods drove fast, and when overtaking three-wheeled motorcycles for passengers, they deliberately twisted the throttle a few times.

One was showing off, the other was unconvinced.

The Four Nine Cities now lacked nothing but passenger and cargo transport power. Many units organized and established transport teams.

Those without personnel placement pressure did it for their own unit's transport tasks; those with personnel placement pressure did it to give workers a bowl of rice.

Now the uses of the Red Bull three-wheeled motorcycle were quite clear: the light model was used for passengers, and the heavy model was used for cargo.

Previously, transport teams organized by units that bought cars and affiliated them were all dual-purpose for passengers and cargo.

But the market is like this: when many people do it, naturally, the market must be subdivided. You can't have both fish and bear's paw.

If you are dual-purpose, when hauling cargo, people dislike you for hauling passengers, and the carriage is inconvenient; when hauling passengers, customers dislike you for hauling cargo, and the carriage is not clean.

The market has self-regulating ability. Now, situations of dual-purpose for passengers and cargo rarely appear. Each does their own thing, and no one is convinced by anyone else.

In the courtyard where Li Xuewu's parents lived, many of the old neighbors had bought three-wheeled vehicles to do this.

It was also under his hint. Yan Jiefang from across the street was the first, Liu Guangfu was the second, and Sha Zhu was the third.

Yan Jiefang not only bought a three-wheeled vehicle himself but also changed from a light one to a heavy one, with one for each of his younger brother and sister.

Liu Guangfu and Sha Zhu were the same, both seeing that Yan Jiefang bought a car and made money, so they also bought cars.

However, they didn't use the three-wheeled vehicles themselves; they were hung on the street transport team and rented out.

Last time Li Xuewu came back and heard them nagging, the market wasn't good anymore. Those willing to rent couldn't give much, and those with a little money all wanted to buy, not willing to rent anymore.

However, the two's cars weren't idle either. Liu Guangfu worked in the street sewing cooperative; could his car lack work?

Sha Zhu was the same. He and his apprentices started a catering business. In these years, there were few weddings and funerals that went to restaurants. The more it was like this, the better the business.

However, there were more cars on the road, and there were more problems.

The three-wheeled vehicles of the unit transport team didn't count; they were on salary, wishing they could run at idle speed to save themselves the hardship.

But those affiliated three-wheeled vehicle owners were different. Ever since the Red Steel Group and the Beijing Railway freight station started calculating freight based on pieces, they changed their past mentality of dragging their feet.

The freight station didn't care when you did it, whether you came or not, even if you ran continuously for 24 hours without stopping.

So these car owners who raised cars wished they could run the wheels off, and after delivering to one place, they had to go back and haul another trip.

The unit's three-wheeled vehicles all stopped at 5 PM and got off work at 6 PM, but they were good; those who could grab money could work until midnight.

The men of the Four Nine Cities don't have good mouths. They call these people who raise cars the Xiangzi of the new era, Camel Xiangzi.

It's just that this title has a bit of envy and jealousy. Those who can really afford to buy a car and are willing to put in the effort to run the car have all made money, especially the earliest batch.

Don't look at Sha Zhu nagging about how the car doesn't make money when he sees him; his car capital had long been earned back.

The BJ130 of Beijing Second Auto now still sells for 22,000 yuan each, and you have to say you have a slip to get it.

When in Japan, Gu Litong chatted with him. Their car didn't sell well, but finding a relationship to coordinate still required about 24,000 to 25,000 yuan.

It's not easy to buy, and it's not easy to sell. This is where Gu Litong's distress lies.

Their BJ130 started trial production in 1966, just catching the rise of Red Star Auto, which could be considered catching a wind.

In 1968, they carried out small-batch production, and it only achieved mass production last year. Their engineers even said it was fortunate.

If it had followed their original plan, it was estimated that it would have taken until 1973 to achieve mass production.

More than 20,000 yuan each, don't complain about it being expensive, because you can't buy it. If you want to spend this money, you don't have the opportunity.

The street transport team and the recycling station needed new cars. Shen Guodong contacted Gu Litong and took four units at the ex-factory price.

Good fellow, this news spread from the street, what a big face. Whoever sees him has to praise him for having ability.

The flat-head truck is this price. There are two other types on the market: the Jiefang CA10 of the 17th Factory and the Yuejin NJ130 of Nanjing Auto.

Shen Guodong asked, the lowest price for NJ130 is 26,000 yuan, and CA10 is at least 32,000 yuan, and they can't haul much more than the BJ130.

How could Gu Litong not say that Li Xuewu's control of the market was studied to the bone.

The Red Bull three-wheeled motorcycle of about 2,000 yuan stunned these flat-head trucks into hitting the south wall.

Selling poorly, besides the high price, was also due to market competition. Three-wheeled vehicles don't look good, but they are easy to use.

Li Xuewu looked from the car window. It couldn't be said how high the representativeness was, but Red Star Auto was definitely a hegemon-level existence.

Three-wheeled vehicles were like this, and taxis were also like this.

Since changing to the Aries generation last year, Shouqi had received a lot of praise, and there had been new procurement orders every quarter since last year.

Steel Auto specifically redesigned and produced a batch of taxi-type Aries for them, and some functions were adjusted.

The appearance also changed, mainly adding imported signboard lights to the roof, and the body was painted according to Shouqi's requirements.

Looking at it this way, Beijing's taxis were considered to be in line with international standards, at least much better looking than the previously imported Warsaw and Fiat, and the body space was larger and more comfortable to sit in.

Of course, even if Shouqi increased the number of taxis every quarter, it was still too few in Beijing.

Mainly because in this era, not many people were willing to take a taxi. You had to have a white shirt and black leather shoes.

Think about it, the starting price is 1.8 yuan, the kilometer unit price is 0.3 yuan, and the waiting fee is 0.2 yuan for every 15 minutes.

Those who dare to use taxis are all foreign guests, government agencies, and high-level cadres. Ordinary employees have a monthly salary of only thirty or forty yuan; they would be crazy to call a taxi.

Taxis in this era are not hailed to stop; they need to be reserved by phone or go to the dispatch station to call a car.

It was precisely because of the pride of taxis that there was a market for Red Bull light three-wheeled motorcycles for passenger transport.

One kilometer for 0.1 yuan, much cheaper than a taxi.

It was also precisely because of Red Star Auto's alternative approach and market share that there was the Dongfeng BM021J passenger three-wheeled motorcycle of the Beijing Motorcycle Manufacturing Factory, which also sold very well.

It's just that the production capacity of the Beijing Motorcycle Manufacturing Factory wasn't as strong as Steel Auto's, so the products could mostly only cover the North China region.

And with the competition of Red Bull motorcycles, the pressure wasn't small. He didn't even need to look at the market research report; Gu Litong would come to nag him every three to five months.

There were three or four Shouqi Aries taxis in front of the International Hotel, which should be cars called by hotel customers.

The Red Steel Group also had units similar to taxi companies, but they didn't serve the public.

Under the Comprehensive Service Center of the Labor Service General Company, there was a Car Rental Service Center under the Transportation Service Department.

The cars in the service center were the same as Shouqi, divided into high-end and ordinary types. Shouqi's high-end taxis were big Red Flags, and the service center's high-end taxi model was the Volga M24.

The ordinary models were about the same, but besides providing Aries, the service center also had Hongtu No. 1, etc.

The reason why the service center's business didn't serve the public was that it only served the group's customers, such as the three hospitality units under the Hospitality Service Management Company of the Property Service Management General Company: Red Star International Hotel, Red Star Unity Hotel, and Red Star Business Club (Jinmen Seaside Business Club).

Li Xuewu's car entered the courtyard of the International Hotel and saw the service center's cars parked in the parking spaces.

The management structure of the Red Steel Group was becoming more and more complex, and it had to be fully considered during the design.

For example, the International Hotel and the Car Rental Service Center didn't belong to the same general company. The reason didn't need to be explained.

Starting this year, the autonomous authority of each general company had been improved, and they cooperated with each other in business, with few situations of buck-passing.

From waiting to do it in the past to actively doing it now, it was definitely not just about money, but also about the hat.

Anyway, Old Li had already spoken at the latest cadre training meeting that next, organizing assessments of business ability and work performance would definitely be the focus.

The situation of being able to advance by bragging was absolutely gone, and even such people were in danger of being marginalized.

Actually, this era was still far from the situation of redundant personnel in later generations. One section chief and forty-plus deputy section chiefs were the crisis.

The organizational structure of the Red Steel Group was fixed, which meant that there was at most one principal and three deputies in a section, and that was for the largest section.

General sections only had one principal and two deputies or one principal and one deputy.

Before the establishment of the group, cadres only went up and not down. After the establishment of the group, the situation changed a lot.

According to Li Xuewu's statement at the Employee Representative Congress at the beginning of the year, all cadres in the group, from top to bottom, were the same: they could go up and down.

This year happened to be Gu Weijie leaving and Li Huai De making trouble, so both sides didn't use less of this matter to compete with each other.

There was also Zhou Wanquan exerting effort in it, so the group organized several cadre appointment assessments and investigation actions one after another.

The first assessment directly removed seventeen cadres above the deputy section level, and more than seventy people were left on post for assessment. The intensity was quite high.

There was no mistake in nine-to-five, but the time of a cup of tea, a cigarette, and a newspaper for a day was truly gone.

With the workload pressed down, there had already been active coordination between departments, and even active overtime.

Of course, Li Xuewu didn't suggest or recognize overtime culture. He himself hated this kind of work atmosphere.

He had told the cadres at the meeting that overtime could only mean that management had problems, that the person in charge hadn't coordinated well below, and the mistake should be borne by the person in charge.

Dragging feet at work and wanting to perform after work, the group didn't recognize it.

Li Xuewu didn't recognize the thoughts between Li Huai De and the others, but he was very supportive of the cadre assessment.

By June, from the group headquarters to the city-level branch level, a total of three assessments had been organized. He had signed and taken down more than sixty people.

The capable go up, the mediocre go down. These people who went down didn't mean everything was fine and they could retire successfully. They had to do whatever they could, and their rank and salary also had to be adjusted.

If you were a worker, there was no way. The technical position salary was stuck there; a level-four worker couldn't be given a level-three worker's money, but cadres were different.

Although cadres also had ranks, the Red Steel Group paid more attention to the actual responsibility and effect of the position, and the management bonus was the big head.

Today, the Group Management Committee leadership team was holding a farewell for Gu Weijie at the International Hotel. I don't know how many people clapped and cheered, celebrating that she finally left.

In less than half a year, Gu Weijie had burned her bridges, not caring about the good image she had accumulated in the past. She was truly decisive and didn't hesitate at all.

She was transferred to the Red Star Factory in 1967. By this year, she had worked in Red Steel for more than four years. It was just this last half year that she had the most prestige and the most forceful speech.

At the dinner table, everyone was smiling, holding wine glasses and wishing her a bright future. She was also thinking, what if she had been ruthless earlier?

Of course she had to think this way. The reason she couldn't take over from Li Huai De in four years was also because her prestige was insufficient and she couldn't support the scene.

Old Li usually looked smiling and happy to everyone, but those who knew him knew that when he should talk about principles, he was more ruthless than anyone else.

Not to mention the distant ones, everyone saw how his recent secretary Liu Bin was handled.

That was a young man he personally selected and wanted to cultivate as a confidant, yet he sent him away as soon as he said so.

If Old Li were a little more selfish and gave Liu Bin a chance, no one would say anything about him. Even if they looked for trouble later, who could hold onto it?

Who didn't have a secretary? Who could guarantee they wouldn't encounter a similar situation in the future?

But Old Li was just that ruthless, not giving Liu Bin a chance, nor giving others a chance. If you look at him now, he is still the most harmonious one at the dinner table.

"Deputy Director Gu, we two should have a drink."

Li Xuewu took advantage of the others' break, carried his wine glass, and took the initiative to come to her side, saying with a smile, "If you talk about it, our feelings are the deepest."

This was pure nonsense. If it weren't for Gu Weijie, Li Xuewu wouldn't have had such a hard time going to Steel City. If it weren't for Li Xuewu, Gu Weijie wouldn't have left so early.

From the first time the two met, they didn't leave a good impression on each other. It was at Dong Wenxue's house that they talked openly.

However, Han Shu's influence was still insufficient. Under the situation where Dong Wenxue suffered repeated blows, Gu Weijie stood firm, but still deviated from the track.

The two sides went from close cooperation to drifting apart, and even occasional friction and collision, which all happened in these four years.

The friction and collision with Gu Weijie were different from those with Jing Yunong. Gu Weijie was for real and had made up her mind. Jing Yunong and Li Xuewu were another kind of "friction" and "collision."

But times have changed. After today, the past accounts would all be written off, and no one could hold a grudge.

Even Old Li praised Gu Weijie over and over at the dinner table, counting the contributions she had made to the group and the factory over the years. It was truly sincere.

Li Xuewu naturally understood the ways of the world, so he took the initiative to lower his posture. The past matters were all concluded in this glass of wine.

Gu Weijie naturally didn't want to offend him. Jumping out of the Red Steel Group and looking back, how far could such a young deputy general manager level cadre go in the future?

Others didn't know, but she was the person in charge of the group's organization and propaganda work, coordinating with the Discipline Inspection side, and handling how many violations of discipline and rules.

But this kind of thing involved whoever it involved, and it would never involve Li Xuewu. He could be called an insulator of discipline violation.

Li Xuewu didn't even want people in the unit to go to his house, and even requested not to call his house unless necessary.

Work needs should be solved during work hours. Except for emergencies, everything else was ignored.

The phone at Li Xuewu's house could only be called by members of the Management Committee leadership team or the group's duty room. Who else would dare?

Think about it, he didn't even answer the phone, let alone benefits.

After jumping out of the Security Department, Li Xuewu rarely took special care of any subordinate. Almost no one said he was forming cliques and cultivating confidants.

Strong work ability, even stronger organizational principles. If such a young man couldn't go far, she wouldn't believe it.

Perhaps one day, she would have to call Li Xuewu leader. If they weren't harmonious now, they really wouldn't be able to be harmonious then.

So, Li Xuewu came to toast, and she took the initiative to hold Li Xuewu's hand, saying with a smile, "These words are not false at all. Who could be closer than us two?"

"You two still have a kinship?"

Knowing there wasn't, Zhang Jingsong still teased them.

"Hahahaha—" Gu Weijie said with a smile, "That depends on how you discuss it. If you discuss it from Han Shu, I don't know how to call it."

"I'd better call you Deputy Director Gu," Li Xuewu raised his wine glass and said, "Now I don't know how to call you."

"Before today, you can only call me comrade. After today, if you call me Sister Gu, I'll agree." Gu Weijie drank the wine in the glass quite boldly, and her words were also heartwarming.

"You two are discussing sisters and brothers," Cheng Kaiyuan, who was sitting on the other side, teased, "We are all related to you."

"Eating meat can't block your mouth!"

Gu Weijie rolled her eyes at him and said amusedly, "Why are you everywhere?"

"It's okay, I can't call him brother-in-law."

Li Xuewu teased her, which made Gu Weijie slap him.

Since it was a farewell banquet, it couldn't be too dull or too serious. Gu Weijie was going to work in the ministry, not going underground.

A farewell banquet, not a send-off meeting.

The banquet lasted until after nine o'clock in the evening. Everyone had drunk a bit too much, and Gu Weijie had drunk too much early on, just persisting because of her good alcohol tolerance.

After sending her into the car, Li Xuewu and Li Huai De stayed until the end.

"Thinking about it, it's quite meaningless, right?"

Li Huai De watched everyone's cars leave, then turned his head and smiled at Li Xuewu, saying this.

Li Xuewu also smiled and didn't say anything.

"Before the year, they were in a life-and-death situation, but now they are crying and thinking about each other's good."

Old Li said this not about himself, nor about Li Xuewu, but about Gu Weijie.

Drinking to the end, Gu Weijie was a bit out of character, especially when talking about previous work. The pressure on everyone in the group in these few years of groupization had been very great.

Now that groupization had finally been achieved, they had to part ways. Thinking about the people in the leadership team when she first came, how many were left?

Under this mood, she wiped away a few tears, making the mood of everyone at the table heavy.

The banquet ended under this situation. When the scene ended, right in front of the International Hotel, Gu Weijie even hugged Li Huai De.

This was a situation that hadn't happened in the past, or since he had known Gu Weijie. It was truly out of temperament.

In the group's leadership team, it wasn't that there were no people who drank too much and acted crazy. Cheng Kaiyuan once grabbed the microphone and sang after drinking too much. It couldn't be more unpleasant.

The singing actor from the art troupe who came to perform thought about all the annoying things in her life, but couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth that were raised.

There were those who made fools of themselves, and there were those who shed tears. Gu Weijie wasn't the first, nor would she be the last.

However, Gu Weijie was the only one from the Red Star Factory to the Red Steel Group who enjoyed a farewell banquet in the leadership team.

Think about it, from Yang Yuansong, Yang Fengshan, Deng Zhiwang, Nie Chenglin... how many of them left well?

It wasn't just in the First Ministry of Machine Building. If you talk about the industrial system, the organizational ecology of the Red Steel Group was considered the most complex and dangerous.

When Li Xuewu suggested Gao Yaqin come for training, her leaders had advised her not to wade into this muddy water.

The water in the Red Steel Group was not only muddy but also damn deep.

It was Gao Yaqin who believed Li Xuewu's nonsense, but her leaders broke into a cold sweat for her.

She had known Li Xuewu for a long time and had suffered losses from him, and she knew what kind of virtue he had, so she determined the goal of fishing and leaving early, which was how she stood firm in the Red Steel Group.

She was from the foreign trade system. Jumping back was the best choice, so naturally, she didn't need to compete for influence and resources with Old Li and the others.

Jing Yunong was less lucky than her. She had fallen into Li Xuewu's big pits several times before she woke up.

Gu Weijie was a bit stubborn, so this time leaving, don't look at her crying and laughing, in fact, it couldn't be said she had no regrets.

She left with regrets, and Old Li had them too.

Li Xuewu had originally intended to go home, but he pointed to the gate and signaled to walk together.

The Beijing of this era couldn't compare to later generations. It was past 9 o'clock, and you couldn't see anyone on the main road.

Even though it was June now, it was cool at night but not cold. But wouldn't it be good to sleep at home? Why wander on the main road?

And there were joint defense patrols on the road. If they caught you, you couldn't avoid being checked, and they would lecture you for having nothing to do and causing trouble for others.

Li Huai De and Li Xuewu were different. They walked in front, and three cars followed at idle speed behind. Which joint defense person would be blind enough to come here to find trouble?

"Time passes so fast, in a flash it's been more than four years."

Li Huai De walked on the sidewalk with his hands behind his back, looking at the Four Nine Cities under the streetlights, and said with emotion, "She has been here for more than four years, and you?"

He turned his head to look at Li Xuewu and said, "Five years?"

"Mm, it will be six years in November."

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "Who says it isn't? In a flash, when I transferred back, I didn't even have a place to live, and now I have two children."

"Heh—" Li Huai De gave a light laugh and said, "Since you said so, I don't blame myself for looking so old so fast this morning."

"Hi, you just pick nice things to say."

Li Xuewu also smiled and continued walking forward, saying as he walked, "Our family has children, so I'm not old yet?"

He shook his head and said, "The eldest child is already in elementary school. If I, as a grandfather, am not old yet, I would really become a monster."

"It still depends on the mindset. If the heart isn't old, the person isn't old." Li Xuewu joked, "Isn't there a saying about an old urchin? You still have to play."

"Me?! Hahahaha—"

Li Huai De felt it was quite amusing, waved his hand, and said, "Now I have no interest in playing anything, except mahjong."

"I'm afraid I can't help with that."

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and reminded him, "I already told Gu Ning today that I'm going home to live. Don't put me in a difficult position."

"Hahahaha—" Li Huai De was very happy that he could make such a joke, stopped his pace, sized up Li Xuewu, and said, "You are a good one."

"Why so polite all of a sudden?"

Li Xuewu said amusedly, "Don't tell me you can't play mahjong and want me to help you find someone?"

"Not playing tonight, I'm tired."

Li Huai De smiled, nodded, and said, "Sincere, seeing she's about to leave, I have to say you are a good one."

Li Xuewu looked at him without speaking, waiting for him to speak.

"If it were someone else, it would have been stiff long ago." Li Huai De narrowed his eyes slightly, grinned, and said, "It's just you."

"Can't say that either, after all, they are all my leaders." Li Xuewu understood what he meant, smiled, and said, "It's all as it should be."

"Otherwise I would say you are a good one."

Li Huai De nodded and said, "You said one sentence well: endure loneliness, keep prosperity."

"Some things, can't be rushed. What should be yours will be yours sooner or later."

Saying this, he pursed his lips and signaled to the back, which was the direction of the International Hotel. They had already walked very far.

Of course, he wasn't talking about the International Hotel, but the dinner party today, or rather, he was referring to Gu Weijie.

Li Xuewu just nodded and didn't express anything.

Perhaps Gu Weijie drank too much, Old Li drank too much, but he didn't drink too much.

When you are sober, don't talk dream talk or drunk talk. Tonight, everyone has the qualification to evaluate Gu Weijie, except him.

As someone who had confronted Gu Weijie head-on, and also as a comrade who had once cooperated with Han Shu, Li Xuewu had said everything he needed to say at the dinner table.

Li Huai De walked so far before telling him his heart's words, not to let him keep it secret, but to let him think about it carefully.

After speaking, he waved his hand to signal the car to come over, patted Li Xuewu on the shoulder, and got into the car.

"Alright, go back early," he said to Li Xuewu in the car, "Lest Dr. Gu worry."

The driver got his signal, slowly started the car, and gradually disappeared into the night.

Qi Yan signaled the Security Department's car to follow, and he parked his car on the side of the road, standing with Li Xuewu for a while.

Actually, he wanted to hand the leader a cigarette. In this atmosphere, if he didn't smoke, he always felt something was wrong.

But he also knew Li Xuewu's character. He had insisted for so many years; if he said he didn't smoke, he absolutely wouldn't smoke.

"Giving you a vacation, how many days have you stayed at home?" Li Xuewu turned his head, looked at him, and said with a smile, "Don't miss home?"

Qi Yan's hometown was not far from Beijing, a small county town under Hebei Province, but their family didn't have urban household registration.

When he was demobilized, if it weren't for Gu Ning's arrangement, he could only have gone home to be a militia company commander.

But who could say which path was right? Following Li Xuewu east and west, now he had even been to Japan.

Returning from Japan, Li Xuewu specially gave him a vacation to let him go home to visit relatives. After all, he had been out for more than a year, so he had to go home and take a look.

Qi Yan went home and told about his experience of going abroad. The relatives in his hometown were very envious. In the old days, the older generation could fight over, but he actually flew over.

"Nothing interesting, just missed it for a while."

Qi Yan smiled and said, "Couldn't stay for more than three days before I wanted to come back. It was my mother who insisted I stay one more day."

"Did they set you up on a blind date?" Li Xuewu asked with a smile, "What do you think yourself? Do you want to marry someone from the same village, knowing the roots and the bottom? Or do you want to find someone in the city to settle down?"

"Haven't thought about this problem yet."

Qi Yan thought for a moment and said, "Let fate decide. If I can settle in the city, of course it's the best. My father and mother are both looking forward to this day."

"Nothing to be embarrassed about," Li Xuewu nodded and said, "You are just missing a house and a wife now. It's fast if you say it's fast."

Qi Yan wasn't his personal driver; he was arranged by him to the Red Steel Group. He wasn't a worker, but a driver, one of the eight major personnel.

Saying he settled in the city, actually, his work was implemented, and his household registration had long been settled in the group's collective household registration.

It's just that he wasn't married and didn't have a house, so psychologically he was still a rural person.

"I didn't agree to the one introduced by my hometown. She was too young."

Qi Yan explained with some embarrassment, "The daughter of our brigade accountant, seven years younger than me."

"Isn't that just right—"

Li Xuewu said amusedly, "Men, who doesn't want to marry a younger one."

Qi Yan smiled, just taking it as him joking. Could what he thought and reality be the same thing?

"Do you like Er Ya?" Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and teased him, "There's nothing to say about housework and serving people. She's from the Northeast, and I know the roots and the bottom. If you like her, I'll be the matchmaker for you."

He emphasized with a smile, "The age difference isn't much, and both are in the city. Look at Qin Jingru and Han Jiankun, aren't they very suitable?"

"Don't tease me." Qi Yan said embarrassedly, "She's five years younger than me. I usually treat her as a little girl."

"Is that what you think?" Li Xuewu said amusedly, "She was already seventeen when she came to my house. Now she's nineteen. If she doesn't find a partner, she'll be anxious."

"Don't blame me for not reminding you. Good girls won't be in this village once they pass this shop. She's not a crooked melon or a cracked date that no one wants."

He looked at Qi Yan and introduced, "Don't look at her coming from the mountain countryside. Her cousin works at the recycling station and is now the person in charge of Bingcheng."

"Their village isn't considered poor now, belonging to the top rich within a hundred miles. Her father-in-law's family has many brothers and sisters, so you don't need to support them."

Li Xuewu saw Qi Yan dodging his gaze, smiled, walked to the car, opened the car door, and said, "Think it over and tell me as soon as possible. If I forget and she has an object of affection, I won't care about you."

Qi Yan couldn't win against him. Seeing him get in the car, he didn't say anything more and started the car to send him home.

Li Xuewu almost fell asleep in the car. Thanks to driving with the window open, when he got home, the two little ones had already fallen asleep, and Er Ya was washing clothes.

"Li Ge, you're back."

"Mm, have a washing machine but don't use it, washing by hand?"

Li Xuewu looked at her and said, "It's so late, rest early."

"The children's clothes, washing by hand is cleaner." Er Ya smiled and said, "I only have these two pieces left, just one more rinse and I'm done. You should also rest early."

Li Xuewu nodded. How she did at home, he didn't need to show off; he saw it all in his eyes and remembered it in his heart.

Qin Jingru was the same when she was here, sincere to the two children and Gu Ning, so he would definitely take care of what he should take care of.

Er Ya was the same. It wasn't easy for a rural child to come to the city to make a living. Her cousin, that is, Da Qiangzi, wrote him a letter asking him to take care of his sister.

Although the letter didn't say anything about helping Er Ya find a partner in the city, maybe he was embarrassed to mention it, but he still mentioned the words of his hometown missing Er Ya's age.

Some words don't need to be said too clearly. The girl is already nineteen. Either send her back to her hometown to have a blind date and find a partner, or introduce one in the city.

Keeping her in the city can help for a few more years, and accordingly, her major life event must be solved, otherwise it would be too unkind.

Depending on Da Qiangzi and Er Ya's family, since they sent their daughter over, they wouldn't dare to come and pick her up without Li Xuewu's word.

But even for a poor family, raising a daughter to this size, they are also heartbroken and missing her.

People in the Northeast rarely favor boys over girls. The aunt is also a tough character, not to mention Er Ya has sent a lot of money home in these few years.

Younger brother and sister going to school, older brother and sister getting married, which one didn't use her money? If the parents didn't think about it, that wouldn't be losing their conscience.

Li Xuewu was thinking about this matter. He wasn't lacking people to use and had to keep Er Ya at home, but he didn't want to decide other people's lives.

Er Ya didn't only have Qi Yan as a choice. Qi Yan is a good driver, but he might not necessarily be a good husband.

All marriages have causes and effects. Who knows who is a family with whom.

After Li Xuewu went upstairs, he glanced at the study where the light was still on, first went to see the two children's room, and then entered the master suite.

"Not resting yet? No surgery tomorrow?"

He didn't even need to smell it to know he still had the smell of alcohol on him. Even though he took a shower and changed clothes when he came back in the afternoon, he still went to wash again at this moment.

Gu Ning tidied up her books, went to the cloakroom to help him find pajamas, and when she handed them to him, she said she would go see her sister-in-law and the children tomorrow.

"Is sister-in-law also resting?" Li Xuewu was washing his hair, turned his head to look at her, and asked, "Wouldn't it be better to meet at a restaurant at noon? Save the trouble of cooking."

"Didn't think about it, Zhou Yao came to say it today."

Gu Ning explained, "The two of them asked me, and I wanted to ask you, when are we returning to the courtyard, so it's easy to arrange."

"Both are fine. How about meeting sister-in-law for lunch and returning to the courtyard in the evening?"

Li Xuewu finished washing, but didn't wear the underwear she prepared, wiped his body, and reached out to pick her up.

Gu Ning still wanted to struggle, but her body softened with one sentence from him. ===== CHAPTER 1705 =====

Gu Ning still wanted to struggle, but his single sentence made her body go limp.