Chapter 176

Hong Na, having had her intentions exposed, was not annoyed: "This kind of thing, whoever has the ability gets it. We haven't even confirmed a relationship yet, and you're already being this possessive?"

Feng Juan wrinkled her little nose and said fiercely, "In the cafeteria, you didn't even look at that scarred face. Why are you fighting with me now?"

"I've taken a liking to him now."

"You..."

"Hmph..."

An older sister spoke up to advise them: "Everyone, pay attention to unity. A joke is a joke; don't let it turn into real anger."

Setting aside the verbal sparring in the Finance Office, Li Xuewu returned to his office, locked the file in the cabinet, and left the office to call Xu Ning for a spot check.

Inspections are the most direct method of maintaining discipline. Although there might be some slacking guards, irregular inspections create a tense atmosphere for those below, preventing them from becoming lazy.

Today was indeed a bit busy, and since they had to go on a field assignment tomorrow morning, he could only make the arrangements first.

Using the morning time, he gathered the heads of the Security Division, Guard Division, Guard Team, and Militia Office for a meeting to determine the work content for the week.

While eating in the cafeteria at noon, he ran into Zhao Yajun, who was sitting at a table with the guard team. Seeing Li Xuewu and his group enter, he wanted to stand up to greet them, but was stopped by a wave of Li Xuewu's hand. He smiled awkwardly and sat back down to continue eating.

Xu Ning and Han Zhan, who were following behind Li Xuewu, both looked at Zhao Yajun with strange expressions, examining him carefully.

A young man not wearing a factory uniform, sitting with the guard team and looking a bit uneasy—there was nothing special about him. If he could greet the Li Kezhang, he must have some special connection.

Han Yating only cared about her own department; seeing the few people from the Security Division sitting at one table, she nodded and didn't look again.

Old Zhou, who was at the very back, glanced over with his usual expression, without a flicker of emotion.

Li Xuewu had never fully grasped the temper and character of this Zhou Xiangnan, nor could he see through his depth, but subconsciously, he felt that this gun vault keeper was definitely not a simple character. At the very least, this level of composure was something others lacked.

Li Xuewu and his group came over to get their food, lining up behind the others, which caused pressure for those in front.

With the elite department gathered, those in front sped up their pace and stopped their idle chatter.

After getting their food, they sat at the Security Division's table.

Ren An wanted to stand up to greet them and offer his seat, but was pressed back down by Li Xuewu.

"Sit down and eat properly. We don't have a rule about giving up seats in our Security Section."

After eating, Li Xuewu followed his usual routine of taking a nap. Even if it was only for half an hour, the entire Security Section had developed the habit of taking a lunch break, whether it was resting their heads on the table or finding a secluded spot to lie down for a while; everyone found it very refreshing.

During this noon hour, the building and the dormitories were quiet.

Old Zhou from the Militia Office didn't need much sleep, and fearing he would disturb the female comrades in the same office, he locked the vault door and went to stroll by the nearby Unity Lake.

Because it was a cooling water storage pond, the water in the lake circulated through the cooling tower before returning to the lake, so it didn't freeze in winter. The fish inside were exceptionally fat, and some cadres often went to the lakeside to fish.

Workers wouldn't go; firstly, they had no time, and secondly, the Security Section wouldn't allow it, as this was the source of fish meat for the cafeteria.

The fear was that workers would catch them and take them home.

Cadres wouldn't be so crude as to fish endlessly every day; it was only occasional. More often than not, whatever was caught was either released back or sent to the cafeteria.

Waking up in the afternoon, Li Xuewu threw the bicycle keys to Zhao Yajun and said, "Go learn to ride. You can't keep riding on my bike forever."

"Thank you, Li Kezhang! I've wanted to learn for a long time, but there were only two bicycles in the village. When my sister learned to ride, she borrowed someone else's bike. They weren't willing to lend it and locked it in the room, so my sister jumped through the window in the middle of the night to steal the bike to practice, then returned it before dawn. It took her three or four days of tossing and turning before she could ride."

Zhao Yajun happily took the keys, agreed, and ran out.

Watching Zhao Yajun, who had sold out his own sister the moment he was happy, Li Xuewu couldn't help but laugh. He hadn't expected his sister-in-law to have such a fierce side; no wonder his older brother was kept so well in check.

"Swallowed Star: Signing In to Become a God"

Li Xuewu put on his clothes, left the dormitory, and strolled over to check the duty dormitory on the other side of the main gate.

The duty dormitory was originally used by Wang Jindong when he took turns on night duty with two other division heads. After Li Xuewu became Li Kezhang, no one lived here anymore.

This was because Li Xuewu stipulated that the leader on duty must live in the dormitory and was not allowed to detach from the masses. Although Li Xuewu hadn't taken a single shift himself—it was always Xu Ning—his luggage had always been kept in the dormitory.

The guard team dormitory was very large and wasn't full yet.

The Security Division worked in shifts and went home after work; very few lived at the Steel Mill.

Li Xuewu checked the duty dormitory because he was worried about accommodation issues arising from the upcoming expansion, so he came out to look at alternative plans.

It was alright; even if the large dormitory became full, this place could be renovated.

Li Xuewu stayed in the office all afternoon, writing a lot on draft paper, and the ashtray on the table was piled high with cigarette butts.

Just as the sun was setting behind the mountains, Xu Ning knocked on the door and entered.

"Li Kezhang, I've obtained the floor plan for Hu Zhengquan's house." As he spoke, he handed Li Xuewu a three-panel blueprint.

This Xu Ning must have studied drafting before; the blueprint he handed to Li Xuewu was neat and orderly, with every detail marked, even the number of steps on the staircase.

Li Xuewu spread the blueprint out on the table. According to the markings, this was a residential complex outside the city, all three-story buildings with numerous structures. Saying there were numerous structures might seem laughable in later generations, but for now, having such a large complex outside the city was indeed rare, especially since it wasn't far from the Steel Mill. Standing in the building, one should be able to see the Steel Mill and its chimneys.

But thinking about it carefully, it wasn't hard to understand why there was such a large complex of buildings outside the city. The area around the Steel Mill was all factories, and the gathering area originally named "Expert Buildings" was on the road back to the city from the industrial zone—firstly for convenience, and secondly for defense.

The buildings where engineers lived were in an even better location; opposite the residential complex where Hu Zhengquan lived was a commercial building.

Xu Ning pointed to a building marked with a five-pointed star and said, "This is our Steel Mill's Expert Building. After the experts were withdrawn, the Steel Mill's engineers and senior technical personnel all moved in. Now, factory-director-level staff all live there, though not in the same location as them."

Li Xuewu pointed to a large courtyard next to it and asked, "What is this for?"

Xu Ning looked and said, "It's a stationery factory, producing paper, pens, and other stationery. It's a collective industry of the neighborhood, but it doesn't look small. I heard people say it used to be some kind of office. The guard room was originally a bunker that was renovated; it looks quite authentic. There's even a sidecar motorcycle parked in front of the guard room, hehe."

Seeing Li Xuewu remain silent, Xu Ning continued to introduce, "This whole area is Expert Buildings, just belonging to different units. There are also some foreign teachers from universities living here."