Chapter 1706: Good wine

Dong dong—

A knock sounded at the door. Before Li Xuewu could even look up, he heard Shangguan Qi's voice.

"Secretary-General, you were looking for me?"

"Mm, come in," Li Xuewu said, looking toward the youngest female cadre in the group's research department and nodding to signal her. "Sit."

"I just came from the lab and didn't have time to change."

She walked to the desk, smoothed her hair with a touch of embarrassment, and said, "Excuse me, Leader," before sitting down.

"It is I who interrupted your work."

Li Xuewu smiled, looked her over, and said, "I didn't expect you to be so busy."

"No—" Seeing the leader say this, Shangguan Qi felt even more embarrassed. She was about to explain, but when she looked up, she saw the leader was joking.

"I was originally going to go to your research institute this morning, but something held me up."

Li Xuewu had limited time and couldn't engage in small talk, so he got straight to the point: "Director Li talked to me about your research institute."

Shangguan Qi didn't speak; she simply opened her notebook and listened to him very seriously.

Even if the content the leader was speaking about didn't necessarily require notes, what if it did?

When summoned by a leader, bringing a notebook might not always be useful, but it certainly expresses a serious attitude.

Li Xuewu didn't actually place much importance on this, but he didn't find it hypocritical for subordinates to have such an attitude.

Sometimes, if one doesn't even have the heart to put on a show, it means the loopholes in management are already larger than the sky.

"General Manager Xia is joining the group's work this time and will inevitably be distracted by other tasks. Director Li's meaning is that the research institute needs to be more proactive."

"More proactive?" Shangguan Qi looked at him, puzzled, and asked, "How should we be more proactive?"

"A phrase the leader often says: 'Fulfill your own dreams yourself.'"

Li Xuewu smiled as he looked at her and said, "General Manager Xia cannot hold the position of Director of the Research Institute forever. You must have your own subjective initiative."

"Ah?" Shangguan Qi was stunned. She widened her eyes and asked, "Can we really be proactive about this?"

"Why not?" Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows, sat up straight, and said, "Welfare benefits, research funding, and so on—which of these wasn't actively fought for by General Manager Xia on your behalf?"

He asked with amusement, "You didn't think the group just gave these to you voluntarily, did you?"

"That's not it, I was just a bit surprised..." She looked at Li Xuewu and lowered her head in embarrassment. "I had never thought about these things."

"Now you can think about them."

Li Xuewu pushed a notice just issued by the General Manager's office toward her and said, "This is what I fought for on your behalf."

Shangguan Qi looked at him in confusion. She picked up the notice, read a few lines, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"This—" She looked up at Li Xuewu and asked, "The position of Deputy Director is to be selected publicly, with open competition for the post?"

"What's there to be surprised about?" Li Xuewu said calmly. "Doesn't your research institute also speak based on ability?"

"But, how can our institute compare to the academy?" Clearly tempted, Shangguan Qi looked at the document in her hand and said, "There's so little going on at the institute."

"Management is a science and should be categorized under science," Li Xuewu said seriously. "That is why the group can export management experience externally."

"The fact that you can recognize that the Academy of Management is more important than the research institute is very good. I hope you will seize the opportunity and perform well."

"Me—me?" Shangguan Qi's mind was already in a whirl. She looked at him and said hesitantly, "I'm so young, and I haven't achieved anything..."

"The standards and conditions for the public selection are all written above," Li Xuewu said, ignoring her vagueness and tapping the desk to emphasize his point. "If there is an opportunity, you must try. Even if you can't compete with others, you can still see your own shortcomings."

He didn't leave the matter closed, nor did he actively persuade her further. After discussing this, he changed the subject and asked about the situation at the Optoelectronics Research Institute.

Because of the relationship with Peter, the group had arranged for Shangguan Qi to focus on observing Peter's ideological state.

It couldn't be described as surveillance. Starting next year, whether foreign students coming to study went to Huaqing or Yanjing, there would be Chinese students in their dormitories.

Quite bluntly, those selected as student dormitories had the responsibility of monitoring the ideological dynamics of the foreign students.

Shangguan Qi knew the leader would ask about the Optoelectronics Research Institute when she came, so she was well-prepared.

The main reason was that the Optoelectronics Research Institute was too important; it not only shouldered the heavy responsibility of the group's layout for the future electronics industry but also met the technical needs of other research institutes.

For the Aircraft Research Institute, her drone project required multiple electronic technologies. Breaking through barriers required not only their efforts but also breakthroughs in the optoelectronics field.

Therefore, it was both a relationship between classmates and supervision between colleagues. Shangguan Qi was quite knowledgeable about the Optoelectronics Research Institute.

"There should be results very soon."

She thought for a moment and reported, "The lithography system for the Red Star Optics No. 1 has already entered the final testing stage. After obtaining the photoresist, they have even included chip research and development into a new round of key breakthrough targets."

"How is the R&D progress for home appliance chips?"

Li Xuewu had a tally in his mind; according to the schedule, he should ask about it.

Shangguan Qi nodded and reported, "The chips, which have been named the Pioneer series, are also in the final testing phase."

"It's quite convenient for us to conduct experiments because we have our own factories, and the Steel Electronics side is also very supportive of us."

It wasn't just the Steel City Electronics Factory that needed chips; the automotive, shipbuilding, and aircraft manufacturing industries all needed them.

One couldn't always be held by the throat. While the technical barriers for chips hadn't been completely closed yet, it was very necessary to make a push.

"I heard from Peter and the others," Shangguan Qi explained, "the Pioneer series should be able to replace the imported circuits currently supplied by Sanhe."

It needs to be emphasized here that Li Xuewu was very clear that the chips they were discussing were not the MCUs and CPUs of later generations, but ICs, that is, integrated circuits.

To put it more bluntly, it was the content on the circuit boards in televisions, such as the sound channel, which is an audio IC; even black-and-white televisions had them.

Higher-end color televisions required color decoding ICs, image intermediate frequency ICs, synchronization small-signal ICs, and so on.

Color televisions in this era basically had 2 to 4 ICs, namely sound, chroma, and intermediate frequency, while black-and-white ones had one, which was sound.

The Steel City Electronics Factory of the Red Steel Group could previously only produce black-and-white televisions, and the sound ICs were purchased by Sanhe from Japan and sent over.

If it hadn't been for the incident last year, coupled with the introduction of new technology from East Germany, Sanhe wouldn't even have supplied the circuit board technology to Steel Electronics.

Televisions needed ICs, and radios needed them too, such as AM intermediate frequency detection ICs, audio power amplifier ICs, and stereo decoding ICs. The home and car radios produced by Steel Electronics all needed them.

Washing machines and refrigerators didn't have a demand for the time being, but air conditioners, microwave ovens, and so on still needed them; some required diodes and transistors.

Never mind this era, even ten or twenty years later, those people in the capital selling circuit boards, diodes, and transistors could make a fortune.

Where did their goods come from?

It's pathetic to say, but they were electronic waste stripped from old foreign home appliances, which became treasures for civilian electronics once they arrived in the country.

Factories didn't need them, but civilian enthusiasts would be overjoyed to find a good microcontroller, treating it like a treasure.

Starting slow and developing slow—wasn't that how they ended up being left behind later on?

Moreover, the domestic scientific research environment in this period was very complex; everyone fought their own battles, and there was very little exchange of information.

Sometimes two research institutes would study the same thing without knowing it, and only realize they had collided when reporting their results.

That wasn't the most annoying part; it was that the technology had already been developed at home, but one didn't know it and still spent a lot of money to import it from abroad.

Even in later generations, how many good things were dug out during industrial surveys? The people had a mentality of making a fortune in silence and rarely showed off their achievements.

Could this be blamed simply on poor information communication or the almost non-existent industry exchange?

No. At the very least, the group's technology and scientific research development, which Li Xuewu had always been concerned about, had adopted a defensive posture.

In an era without patent laws where anyone could use whatever they wanted, silence became a habit of self-protection.

Even now, Old Li didn't know the R&D progress of the drones. If he asked too closely, he would only be told a little bit.

However, what Old Li knew was also the R&D content from last year; only Li Xuewu and a few others knew the latest R&D results.

The Red Steel Research Institute was located in the original rolling mill factory area. During the planning stage, Li Xuewu insisted on removing all the perimeter walls.

Then how were the security and confidentiality issues of the research institute handled?

Loose on the outside, tight on the inside. The security department was in the light, and the confidentiality department was in the dark. One in the light and one in the dark, they had spread a large net and were waiting for those with problems.

Over the past few years, although Li Xuewu had left the security system, he often heard news of similar cases.

Some were purely idle people asking around, while others had ulterior motives. Zhou Yao handled them without any ambiguity.

Jointly handling cases with the Capital Branch many times, the security department's team had been trained to be very reliable and capable; even the branch sometimes came to borrow investigators.

To improve its investigative strength, the Red Steel Group's security department had customized investigative equipment and vehicles through experts at the research institute.

Having its own scientific research and production strength in the group had this advantage: it was very convenient to get some special things.

Of course, this equipment wouldn't be wasted. If the effect was very good during use, it would be applied to the next generation of police equipment and facilities.

Although the annual profit situation of the Steel Auto Special Vehicle Manufacturing Factory was very average, its development speed was not slow at all.

The country lacked such professional equipment and facility manufacturing institutions. With the Red Steel Group's guarantee, there was plenty of confidence in procurement.

A research institute could support the future of a group's industry; Li Xuewu couldn't place too much importance on it.

Shortly after Shangguan Qi left, Cheng Kaiyuan came to his office.

"Yo, a rare guest—"

Li Xuewu teased him with a smile, stood up, gestured to the sofa, and invited him to sit. "What wind blew you here?"

"A tornado." Cheng Kaiyuan also joked with a smile.

Ma Baosen poured him a cup of tea and went out. Li Xuewu raised his chin and asked, "For you to spare the time to come to me, it really must be a tornado."

"A major personnel change in the group, does that count as a tornado?"

Cheng Kaiyuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, looked at him, and said, "Director Li has already talked to you, right?"

"Actually, it's useless for him to talk to me."

Li Xuewu smiled and explained, "On personnel issues, how much weight do my words carry?"

"Hey—" Cheng Kaiyuan put down his teacup and said with a smile, "Your words carry at least more weight than mine."

"Saying it like that, do you have an opinion about me?" Li Xuewu smiled, but his eyebrows twitched, and his eyes carried a probing look as he watched him.

Cheng Kaiyuan waved his hand and explained with a smile, "What opinion could I have about you? I actually wanted to hear your opinion."

Li Xuewu didn't speak; he simply picked up his teacup. If he wanted to speak, he would; he didn't need to play riddles with him.

After a good while, Cheng Kaiyuan finally asked, "Regarding the personnel adjustments in the industrial sector... what is your opinion?"

"You want the truth?" Li Xuewu looked at him, put down his teacup, and said, "No one asked for my opinion before this list came out."

"And after Director Li gave me this list, I didn't express any opinion either."

He looked at Cheng Kaiyuan calmly and said, "I only made one suggestion, which was to add a Deputy Director to the Research Institute and conduct a public selection."

"Mm, I heard," Cheng Kaiyuan nodded and said, "I read the content on the notice. Do you have plans to promote this policy?"

"It's impossible in the short term; we still need to wait and see." Li Xuewu thought for a moment and explained, "I told Director Li the same thing: experiment, experiment."

"I think it's a good thing—let the capable rise and the mediocre fall." Cheng Kaiyuan commented, "Sometimes, cadres selected by one's own people are more intimate."

He smiled and said, "Of course, there is also a sense of responsibility. I think this policy should be promoted as soon as possible."

Li Xuewu looked at him and stopped talking again. Seeing the other party come today, he knew Cheng Kaiyuan wasn't holding back anything good.

Cheng Kaiyuan himself was mentally prepared. How many people could get anything good from Li Xuewu?

He certainly didn't count as special, so he didn't dare to beat around the bush too much. If he went too far, it would be easy to lose his way and instead be dug into a pit by the other party; it wasn't worth it.

"I have some thoughts on the appointment of Comrade Haiyang." Only then did he take the initiative to state his purpose. "It's a pity to go to the Labor Service Company."

"Have you talked to Director Li?"

Li Xuewu was just like this when talking about work; he was particularly direct. When he spoke, it was enough to make people's lungs ache.

Cheng Kaiyuan shook his head slightly and said, "I saw this list at about the same time as you. It was already about to be finalized; what's the use of mentioning these things now?"

Li Xuewu really wanted to say, you knew it long ago, so why come here to fart?

"I wanted to transfer him to the Production Management Department next year." Cheng Kaiyuan sighed and looked at him, saying, "It's really difficult to cultivate talent now."

"Why do I feel it's much better than before?"

Li Xuewu looked at him and said, "In the past, when a unit lacked someone, they either chose from the workshop or from the office, and the Organization Department would have to choose for a long time."

"Now, graduates from technical colleges are coming up; there's another batch this year. The average education level of workshop workers is rising, and the same goes for the organs."

He emphasized, "What we lack is not ordinary workers, but professional technical personnel, as well as professional management and scientific research strength."

"Starting from the year before last, college graduates have played an important role in the group's development and progress. You agree with this, right?"

"Of course, I didn't oppose college education." Cheng Kaiyuan waved his hand and said, "I'm saying that the current organizational and personnel work environment is complex."

"Then that's not a problem I can handle. You should communicate with Deputy Director Jing or directly with Director Li."

Li Xuewu raised his chin to this point and said, "Oh, right, you can also communicate with Deputy Director Zhou now."

"Are you teasing me?" Cheng Kaiyuan glanced at him, picked up his teacup, and said, "Do you think I want to stir up trouble?"

"I didn't say that." Li Xuewu smiled, looked at him, and said, "And even if you wanted to stir up trouble, it has nothing to do with me."

He raised his eyebrows and said, "Director Li has promised me that my term in Steel City can last until the beginning of next year at the latest."

"You're dreaming—" Cheng Kaiyuan said with a smile, "Even now, how many times a month do you have to run back and forth?"

"Pulling Xu Sinian and Kuang Yusheng up—it's not that you want to free up time to do something else, is it?"

He hit the nail on the head and said, "Although Director Li has already promised you, you have already had to take care of both ends."

"And even if you can come back late, don't you need to prepare in advance?"

At this point, Cheng Kaiyuan sat up straight, put down his teacup, and said, "The organizational ecology has changed, and everyone needs to re-adapt to the environment."

He gestured outside the door and said, "The newly arrived General Manager Fu needs to adapt to the group. Don't we also need to adapt to him?"

"You can't be missing from this process. Just like in personnel work, you can't avoid expressing your opinion, right?"

As if he had planned it long ago, he stood up, walked behind Li Xuewu, patted the back of his sofa, left a question, and left.

Li Xuewu didn't get up to see him off; he sat there watching him walk out the door. Ma Baosen came in to tidy up the teacups and was slightly stunned to see him like this.

"Secretary-General, you..."

"Mm, it's nothing, go about your business."

Li Xuewu supported himself on the sofa armrest and stood up, asking, "Is there anything this afternoon?"

"Nothing, just whether the morning's itinerary should be pushed to the afternoon?"

Ma Baosen asked, "You were going to the Research Institute; do I need to say a word in advance?"

"Forget it, I won't go for now."

Li Xuewu had already talked to Shangguan Qi. If he went again, people would think he was raising insects at the Research Institute.

"Let's go to the United Savings Bank this afternoon."

He thought for a moment; it wasn't appropriate to go to any unit at this time. Old Li was making such a big fuss this time, just waiting for Gu Weijie to leave.

With such a large scope of adjustment, if he went down, wouldn't it cause some trouble? So, if he went, he would go to a place that wouldn't cause trouble.

The management team of the United Savings Bank would not move in this adjustment; Xie Lan Zhi would still serve as the bank president.

However, saying it wouldn't move meant Xie Lan Zhi's position wouldn't move. Previously, the United Savings Bank had already made minor adjustments due to personnel changes at the credit cooperatives.

The two sides had a joint-stock operation relationship, so cadres were also jointly dispatched. The organizational relations of cadres and employees below the main person in charge were all at the Savings Bank.

The organizational relations of the main persons in charge were still at their original units and could be transferred.

Of course, transferring meant transferring one's own people; the credit cooperatives couldn't transfer Xie Lan Zhi away.

According to the share ratio and execution ability, the positions of president and executive vice president were already held by cadres belonging to the Red Steel Group.

This didn't mean that the Red Steel Group intended to force the credit cooperatives out of the United Savings, but rather an adjustment that both sides agreed upon in terms of business.

The business owned by the United Savings Bank had already exceeded the scope of operation and management of the credit cooperatives, and some businesses belonged to a category that couldn't be managed.

This was a chemical reaction that occurred during the development process of United Savings after establishing a comprehensive cooperative relationship with the Oriental Era Bank.

As a credit institution representing cooperatives, credit cooperatives only had loan and deposit businesses, and couldn't even keep up with the pace of the insurance business created by the Red Steel Group.

The number of persons in charge of the United Savings Bank was fixed, and the management responsibilities of each vice president were also fixed.

Cadres from the credit cooperatives couldn't develop horizontally and manage businesses that the credit cooperatives didn't have; the credit cooperatives wouldn't allow it either.

Only by exerting professional ability in savings and loan businesses, plus the proportion of businesses such as organization, personnel, and propaganda, had the credit cooperatives gradually narrowed the scope of cadre dispatch in the several personnel adjustments of the United Savings Bank.

However, the experience learned from the United Savings Bank was still fed back to the credit cooperatives; at least their work ability and thinking were much stronger than before.

"Let me treat you to a meal, just the two of us."

Coming out of the United Savings Bank headquarters, Xie Lan Zhi took the initiative to see him off.

Li Xuewu walked down the steps and explained with a smile, "It's not fake politeness; it was already set. I'm eating with Sister-in-law Aunt Xiao Ning and Gu Yan and the others at noon, and going to the compound in the evening."

"You really are busy," Xie Lan Zhi looked at him and asked, "How many days can you stay this time?"

"If there are no changes, the plane on Monday."

Li Xuewu pursed his lips and said with a smile, "There's still a pile of things waiting for me in Steel City and Feng City."

"Understood, you're at your busiest right now."

Xie Lan Zhi nodded. Seeing the car coming, she said, "This meal of mine doesn't matter, but your Han Laoshi has been saying she hasn't seen you for a long time."

"Tomorrow, tomorrow evening, Aunt Xiao Ning and I will go over." Li Xuewu said helplessly, "You also know Aunt Xiao Ning's personality; she doesn't visit people easily."

"This is just going to Han Laoshi's house; she doesn't even go to those relatives."

Don't look at the fact that it's working hours now, but they were outside, and the two were talking privately, so it wasn't very serious.

Actually, it couldn't be serious. They had known each other since the first day Li Xuewu went to work, and later there was the relationship with Gu Ning.

Speaking of which, the relationship between Ren Xiaoyu and Gu Ning, and Dong Wenxue and Gu Ning, was the same; both grew up in the Gu family.

Otherwise, why would Ren Xiaoyu and Dong Wenxue not have the same surname but be so close? They were closer than childhood friends; they were like brothers.

The two looked at Gu Ning as a younger sister, and even more so at Li Xuewu. It was the same with Xie Lan Zhi.

At work, Li Xuewu was now her leader; privately, she was Li Xuewu's elder sister. Many old people at the Red Star Factory knew about this relationship.

It was the young people in the bank and those accompanying Li Xuewu on research who didn't understand why the Secretary-General and President Xie had such a good private relationship.

After saying goodbye, Li Xuewu got into the car, checked the time on his hand, and told Qi Yan to go straight home.

It was less than half an hour before getting off work, so there was no need to go to the group and toss about again.

He had originally planned to pick up Li Ning, but Zhao Yaping got out of school early today and had already brought Li Ning home.

After finishing lunch with Mu Hongyan, Gu Ning didn't come back; she went back to her maiden home and brought Gu Yan along by the way.

Li Xuewu went home to take a bath and change clothes, and by the way, pick up the two little ones to pick up Gu Ning, and then go to the compound.

As for Gu Yan, naturally, he had to pick up Zhou Yao from work, which could be considered fulfilling a husband's responsibilities.

"Grandma's house doesn't have a vegetable garden."

Li Ning had already changed his clothes. He squatted on the steps of the foyer, looking at the green vegetables in the vegetable patch, and said, "Grandpa likes to eat vegetables dipped in sauce."

"Then you go and pick them. After picking them, wash them clean and bring them to your grandpa."

Li Xuewu walked up the steps and couldn't help but find it funny to see his son being so calculating.

Li Ning looked up at his father. The sunlight on his face made it hard to open his eyes, but he still said, "Actually, Grandpa can skip this meal too."

"You're so lazy, there's no way around it."

Er Ya found it funny and annoying. She carried the small basket for buying vegetables to the vegetable patch, picked a lot of the big ones, and washed them clean at the faucet.

Li Xuewu went upstairs to take a bath and change clothes, which took ten minutes in total. When he came down, Li Shu had also arrived home.

The little girl was at the age of loving beauty. The hairpin brought back from Japan for Gu Ning was pinned on her head, looking extremely brilliant.

It wasn't that he only brought a hairpin for his wife on a trip to Japan, but there were too many gifts, and the hairpin was the most practical one.

"I also want to change clothes—"

Seeing her father come down, Li Shu didn't argue with her younger brother about who should take the vegetable basket; she ran upstairs to her room.

Li Ning didn't care about that; he wore a vest, shorts, and small sandals, whatever was comfortable. When Er Ya wanted to change his clothes, he wouldn't even agree.

"Yaping isn't going?" Before the three of them left, they asked Zhao Yaping again. Zhao Yaping still insisted on shaking her head, saying she wasn't going.

Her sister came to see her every month, and she could go home when she had a holiday. She was already used to living here and didn't miss home.

She was going to take the high school entrance exam this year, and her studies were becoming increasingly tense. The pressure was greater for the one ranked first, while the second and third were relatively relaxed.

Li Xuewu didn't want to disturb a good child who loved to study. Now Zhao Yaping's study rhythm and environment were very healthy, and there was no need for him to intervene.

So after asking, the three of them got into the car. After circling around to pick up Gu Ning, it was already dusk and the lights were on in every household when they arrived at the compound.

"I knew you would come back."

Sha Zhu was standing at the entrance talking to the old man from the Sun family in the neighboring courtyard. Seeing the car coming, he recognized it was Li Xuewu.

After they got out of the car at the entrance, he took the initiative to greet them with a smile.

Li Xuewu held his son, greeted Old Man Sun, and then responded to Sha Zhu, asking, "Are you able to divine the future?"

There were still many people at the entrance, mostly those who had finished work and were walking home waiting to eat. Seeing him come back, they stopped.

Li Xuewu didn't engage in too much small talk; he teased Sha Zhu for a few words and then entered the main gate.

It wasn't that it was lonely at the top, but he was here, and everyone felt uncomfortable and couldn't let go. Seeing them restrained made him tired.

"Dad—" He Zhuang ran out of the compound, flew through the moon gate, braked with one foot, and turned around to see his father glaring at him.

"Huo—" Li Xuewu wouldn't miss this opportunity and teased, "This 'grass-flying' skill is much stronger than the Liu Guangfu brothers back then."

"How many times have I told you?"

Sha Zhu naturally remembered this incident. He glared and scolded his son, "Are you not allowed to run in the courtyard? Did you hear me?"

"I heard you." He Zhuang promised, dodged, and was about to run again, but was grabbed by the collar by his father and given a kick.

He Zhuang was very naughty, looking naughtier than Bang Geng. He didn't care at all after being kicked by his father and continued to fly outside.

Sha Zhu was also helpless. He turned back to explain to Li Xuewu, "It's all spoiled by his mother."

"Mm, I know that." Li Xuewu said with a smile, "You don't usually have moments of doting on your eldest son."

"Hehe—" Sha Zhu felt a bit embarrassed by what he said. He raised his hand to gesture to the inverted room and said, "Eat here tonight."

"You're preparing the food?" Li Xuewu said with amusement, "Why do I have to make you spend money every time I come back? That's so embarrassing."

"Hey! Why are you saying that—"

Sha Zhu patted his arm and said, "Everyone is here tonight. I still have a bottle of good wine; let's finish it."

"How much? Two taels?" Li Xuewu teased him on purpose, "You can't drink much more than that."

"I can't drink you under the table, but Guodong is no problem." Sha Zhu said with a smile, "His drinking capacity has decreased recently; I guess it's Xiaoyan's credit."

"I see you're almost there too." Li Xuewu gestured to Diliya, who was coming out of the inner courtyard, and said, "Wait for your show."

"Brother Li, you're back."

Diliya still called him brother, but Li Xuewu sometimes had to call her sister-in-law; it was that kind of situation where everyone had their own way of addressing each other.

Gu Ning greeted her with a smile and took Li Shu and Li Ning into the house.

The door of the Li family's outer room was open, and steaming hot air was drifting out; they should be boiling hot water.

Li Xuewu didn't see clearly who was in the middle room, but the figure of the grandmother appeared on the kang in the north room.

"Where's He Zhuang? Did you see him?"

Diliya only greeted them and then asked He Yuzhu where his son had gone.

"Just went out, still complaining that I delayed his takeoff." Sha Zhu also loved to tease; he did it with everyone, and he didn't see that Diliya was angry.

"It's so late, you don't stop him. If he runs far, you go find him?"

Can't blame Diliya; there was a smaller one at home, and this big one was like a wild dog off the leash, completely disobedient.

Once he said something, he would run away without a trace; he finally had two legs.

He Zhuang lived up to his name, inheriting the good physique of his father and mother. The family didn't lack conditions, and Li Xuewu said that his flying was already restrained.

He was tall and strong, looking like good material for learning martial arts. He Yuzhu hadn't had time to discipline him yet; when he was a little older, he should be sent to learn skills.

He was strong, but he just didn't like to study. The kindergarten couldn't restrain him at all. Sometimes he would slip away while the teacher was distracted.

The teacher hadn't finished work yet, and he had already finished school.

He had come to the house several times; he had been beaten and scolded, but the effect was very average.

Sha Zhu was not a cultured person to begin with. His attitude toward children's education was always that they shouldn't be bullied, and he had no other requirements.

To compare, compared to the children of the Li family, which couple had that time?

Diliya was at the door of the house, but she was also busy from morning to night. Sha Zhu was even more so, not even resting on weekends to make money.

The couple was making money faster than before, but the children were neglected.

In the Li family, the eldest had two children, and the second had two children. Not to mention Li Xuewu hiring tutors for the children, just talking about the eldest couple.

Li Xuewen and Zhao Yafang were both university teachers; could the children be lacking?

Li Ning wasn't as good as his older brother Li Tang. Li Tang could now recite more than a hundred Tang poems; it seemed he had really inherited his mother's talent and intelligence.

Li Ning could also recite them, but not as many as his brother. His playfulness was much more than his brother's.

Li Xuewu had never personally taught his son even one plus one equals two; it was either Xiaoxiao who taught him or he learned it at school.

At this time, school teachers wouldn't send messages to parents to urge children to do homework. If they didn't do their homework, the teacher would definitely discipline them.

Er Ya's cultural level was average; she hadn't even graduated from primary school. Zhao Yaping taught Li Ning very little, and she spent more time doing homework with Li Shu.

With the two little ones together, the room was lively.

"My second brother can drink, but I've never seen him drink too much."

Li Xue stood by the cabinet in the inner room and said to the grandfather on the kang, "Anyway, I've never seen him drink too much."

"What are you saying about me?" Li Xuewu entered the room, greeted everyone one by one, and then looked at Li Xue and asked, "Is your skin tight?"

"What can I say about you? What dare I say about you?"

Li Xue looked at him with amusement and said, "Grandfather was talking about Grandpa, saying Grandpa couldn't drink."

"You know about this?" Li Xuewu looked at her with amusement and said, "You weren't even born when Grandpa passed away."

"Neither were you—" Li Xue glared at her second brother unconvincingly. Seeing him glare, she couldn't help but laugh again.

"Your grandpa was afraid of drinking back then."

The grandmother sat on the kang, recalling the past, and said with emotion, "There were no streetlights back then. People would leave food, and if you came back after drinking too much on a night walk, you wouldn't even know where you fell."

"Back then, it wasn't like now. If you fell, that was it; few could get up."

This was vague, but it wasn't false. Sleeping outside after drinking too much was equivalent to being a wild red envelope.

They would take the silver on your body and also take your life.

Why take money and also take life?

Because they were afraid you were pretending to sleep and would remember things.

Not to mention passing thieves, even honest and kind farmers would have evil intentions if they met you.

"That was the world back then."

The grandmother said with emotion, "It's not like now; you're not afraid to go out late at night. Back in our time..."

"What are you talking about?" Li Xuewu comforted her with a smile, "Why are you talking about the past?"

"Talking about these people in the family, so I talked about the past."

Eldest sister-in-law Zhao Yafang held the babbling Li Yue in her arms and explained to Li Xuewu with a smile, "Before you came back, she said you looked like Grandpa."

"Do I look like him?" Li Xuewu touched his face, looked at the small photo pinned to the mirror, and said, "Why don't I feel like it?"

Actually, the photo was a bit blurry. It had been stuck on the mirror for so many years, and the grandmother would look at it every morning when she got up.

That is, when she finished washing her face and combing her hair, it could be considered a thought.

In that era, the Li family had a little property to be able to afford a photo. A doctor could always earn a living.

However, limited by the technology of the era, the photo was very small, only one inch. In the photo, the old man was very young and was wearing a felt hat.

Pure Qing Dynasty attire, quite out of place with the present.

Li Xue said that Li Xuewu wasn't born when Grandpa passed away. In fact, even Li Xuewen wasn't born; mother Liu Yin hadn't even entered the house.

Seventeen years old, just following the old man to learn the craft, and then he passed away from a sudden illness.

It really fulfilled that saying: a doctor cannot heal himself.

Just as they were talking, Sha Zhu knocked on the window from the outside, lay on the fine cloth window screen, and greeted with a smile, "Still chatting? Time to eat."

"Eat, eat, everyone is hungry."

The grandmother tidied up her mood and greeted the children and grandchildren in the room to eat, so as not to be nostalgic with her.

The children were the most excited. Li Tang and Li Ning had already run out first. The brothers had infinite happiness when they were together.

Li Shu considered herself the eldest sister and wouldn't be as naughty as them. She waited for the grandmother to put on her shoes and get off the kang, and then she took her grandmother's hand and walked together.

"Li Xue was like this when she was a child."

The grandmother looked at Li Shu with a smile. Although her appearance wasn't that of the Li family, her personality and behavior were exactly the same as her little aunt's when she was a child.

After all, they were a family, growing up at home, and learned everything.

Now Li Shu also quarreled with her little aunt, but not as unscrupulously as when she was a child; she had the appearance of a big girl.

Hearing what her grandmother said, she turned back to look at her little aunt, and the two looked at each other and smiled.

Sha Zhu called them to eat, which was preparing good food in the inverted room, and it was also because Li Xuewu came back, otherwise he really wouldn't be able to catch him.

Gradually, Li Xuewu returned to the compound less often, mainly to see his parents and reunite with his family.

There were fewer neighbors in the courtyard, and there was nothing to say. As his position got higher, everyone's attitude toward him became more distant and respectful.

If he lowered his attitude and took the initiative to chat with people, they might not be willing, so everyone was comfortable.

Yushui came over from the back courtyard holding her brother's little one. Seeing him there, she was slightly stunned and greeted him with a smile.

The two hadn't seen each other for a while, and Li Xuewu deliberately avoided her; she understood it herself.

It was still the west room, three tables on the kang, one table on the floor.

Those who drank gathered together, the children gathered together, and the women gathered together, each sitting clearly.

Sha Zhu really had good wine, in a glass bottle. He took it out like a treasure, opened it, and poured a glass for each of them.

Shen Guodong joked with him, his hand wanted to shake, but he was slapped by Sha Zhu.

Everyone laughed and asked about each other's recent situation.

Li Xuewu wanted to take the wine bottle to help him, but was let go by Sha Zhu, who insisted on pouring wine for everyone himself.

"The eldest uncle didn't come back. I told him, and he said he was tired, so I didn't force him."

Sha Zhu explained while saying, "Actually, I also know that he is afraid of seeing things and thinking of people when he comes back. It's better not to come back."

"Hasn't he been back for such a long time?"

Li Xuewu looked at him and asked, "Has he been upstairs all the time?"

"Mm, he said he wanted to finish the work at hand." Sha Zhu explained, "Actually, his work isn't tiring now."

He put down the wine bottle, raised his glass and said, "Alright, it's rare to gather once again. Eat well and drink well." ===== CHAPTER 1707 =====