Chapter 248: Just Kidding

Liu Guangtian said dismissively, "Where does all that danger come from? Besides, one must endure the bitterness of bitterness to become a person above others. I'm still so young; I'm willing to give it a try."

Qin Laoer Master nodded, "Fine, go ahead and try. I can't control you anymore. If anything happens in the future, don't come looking for me; go look for your father."

As he spoke, the Second Master turned and went home in a rage.

Liu Guangtian looked at his own home, then at the room door separated by the white gauze curtain, feeling that the opportunity was right in front of him and he must persist.

He didn't know how long he had waited, but there was movement from the room. Liu Guangtian heard Yu Li's voice, sounding as if she had been startled.

After three or five minutes, he saw Yu Li open the door with a slightly flushed face and call out, "Guangtian, come in."

"Hey, Sister-in-law, why is your voice hoarse?"

Liu Guangtian didn't think much of it, just seeing Yu Li's face was a bit red and her legs seemed a bit weak.

Seeing Liu Guangtian looking at her, Yu Li said with a smile, "It's hot in the room, there's a fire. We were doing it for too long just now, and my legs went numb. I almost stumbled on the coffee table when I stood up, which gave me a fright. Brother Guangtian, you must be frozen, right?"

Liu Guangtian saw Yu Li wearing slippers and changed his own shoes. He said to Yu Li with a smile, "My legs went numb from sitting too long too, no wonder I heard your startled cry. It's fine, not that cold; I've got plenty of internal heat."

Entering the room, he saw Li Xuewu sitting on the sofa in blue cotton pajamas, smoking. His expression was very lazy; it looked like Li Ke had been busy all day, had arranged so many things in the evening, and had talked about work with them, so he was very exhausted.

Yu Li greeted Liu Guangtian very warmly, sat him down, poured him a cup of hot water, and then said to Li Xuewu, "Well, Li Ke, I'm heading back."

Li Xuewu waved his hand, "Sit down and wait a while. Guangtian isn't an outsider; what could there be that you have to hide from him? Wait a while and you two can leave together. Don't let people gossip about Guangtian, as if there's some unspeakable secret."

Yu Li looked at Liu Guangtian's awkward expression and said, "Look at what you're saying. Guangtian has always told me he wants to work with you, so he begged me for this."

As she spoke, Yu Li said to Liu Guangtian, "Don't blame Sister-in-law for talking for so long and letting you freeze for so long. One thing is our family matter, which you know about, and the second is your matter. A fine young man like you, how can you be so frustrated?"

Liu Guangtian looked at the wall clock. He hadn't felt it outside, but looking at the time, he realized he had waited outside for a full hour and a half. No wonder Li Ke looked so sleepy; it was already time to rest.

"Thank you, Sister-in-law. There are some things I really felt embarrassed to say."

Li Xuewu tossed a box of Zhonghua cigarettes to Liu Guangtian, "Help yourself, don't be polite. We're all living in the same courtyard, and our families are across the street from each other."

Yu Li stood up, pushed the ashtray toward them, and wiped the water on the coffee table with a rag.

Liu Guangtian excitedly pulled a Zhonghua cigarette from the box—a brand he had only seen the box of but never the cigarette itself—and lit it with trembling hands.

He exhaled a puff of smoke and took the opportunity to look at the furnishings in the room. They all looked like simple, plain furniture, but there was a sense of nobility.

This is what they call "a mountain doesn't need to be high to be famous, and water doesn't need to be deep to be spiritual."

"Li Kezhang, I..."

Li Xuewu flicked the ash into the ashtray and interrupted with a smile, "You're younger than me. You can call me Li Xuewu or Li Ge. Don't call me Li Kezhang or anything. I call Yu Li 'Sister-in-law'."

Yu Li also said with a smile, "Exactly. Don't talk about work in the courtyard. You're different from Jiecheng; he's at work 24 hours a day, so that's why he calls him that."

Liu Guangtian said with some emotion, "Then I'll call you Li Ge in the courtyard."

Seeing Li Xuewu nod, Liu Guangtian continued, "Li Ge, I've told Sister-in-law Yu Li my thoughts, and you probably know them too. I just want to join the Security Section. I'd be fine even if it's just driving for you."

Yu Li, having had her heart settled after today, wasn't in a hurry to pry Yan Jiecheng's position away, possessing the "advantage is with me" aura of Chiang Kai-shek.

Yu Li said with a smile, "If your Brother Jiecheng heard you say that, he'd definitely be in a hurry with you."

Liu Guangtian only then realized he had said the wrong thing and hurriedly said, "I was just expressing my inner thoughts; I didn't mean to steal Brother Jiecheng's position."

Seeing Liu Guangtian's serious expression, Yu Li said with a smile, "Alright, just kidding. Why are you taking it so seriously? If you're willing to drive, it's fine if your brother changes his position."

Li Xuewu leaned on the sofa and asked with a smile, "Can the Second Master agree to you changing positions? This isn't child's play. Once you're in the Security Section, it won't be the same if you want to go back."

Liu Guangtian nodded, "This is my own business. I can make the decision."

Li Xuewu nodded, "Having ideas is good; it shows our Security Section has achieved results. But you also need to pay attention to your family's thoughts. After all, I don't want the Second Master to keep saying others are my dogs or something. That's not good."

Liu Guangtian waved his hand, "Li Ge, I've never said that. My father is my father, and I am me. I am determined to join the Security Section."

Yu Li was also a bit annoyed when she heard Li Xuewu mention the Second Master.

"Qin Laoer Master is really something. Jiecheng is a driver at the factory; just because he has a good relationship with Xuewu, he says things like that? There are many people who have a good relationship with Xuewu."

Liu Guangtian was also a bit awkward. He had known Li Xuewu's previous thoughts from Sister Qin.

Originally, his chances to show himself with the two ashtrays had all been ruined by his father. Now, seeing Li Xuewu still had reservations about him, he felt uneasy.

Before Liu Guangtian could express himself further, Yan Jiecheng suddenly pushed the door open and entered. Seeing the three of them sitting on the sofa talking, his originally urgent expression became awkward.

It turned out that Yan Jiecheng had gone home intending to lie on the quilt on the kang for a while, but he had fallen asleep.

He didn't know how long he had slept, but when he opened his eyes in a daze, his wife hadn't returned yet, so he hurriedly jumped off the kang and headed to the back courtyard.

Yan Jiecheng's heart grew more panicked with every step. The silence of the winter night turned this panic into a rapid heartbeat.

He reached the door, and that fire in his heart was almost extinguished, and he almost collapsed because he heard his wife's giggling from inside the room.

"Damn it, she's never laughed like that for me."

He touched the hat on his head; he didn't know if his eyes were green or his heart was green, but it felt green.

With this fire, anger grew from his courage. Yan Jiecheng pretended to be calm, pushed the door open, and walked in, wanting to catch them in the act. He went around the screen and looked.

Awkward. Two men and one woman...

"Oh, look at us chatting; we didn't even check the time, and we made our Jiecheng anxious. Let's call it a day."

Seeing Yan Jiecheng enter, Yu Li stood up with a smile and said the words to end the gathering, also pushing away Li Xuewu's topic about Liu Guangtian.

Liu Guangtian felt bitter in his heart. So, she had been charging for 2 hours in the room, and he only got 5 minutes of talk time when he came in.

Yan Jiecheng hurriedly waved his hand, "No, that..."

At this moment, Yan Jiecheng's brain was spinning wildly, desperately thinking of an excuse, and he actually found one with his 12KB memory brain.

"That... Li Kezhang, I came to say you don't need to get up early tomorrow; I'll get up early to boil water and warm up the car."

Li Xuewu looked at Yan Jiecheng, "You're the driver. If you don't get up, are you really expecting me to get up and boil the water?"

"Hey, I know." Yan Jiecheng was overjoyed. He had thought that because of his family's affairs, he couldn't drive for Li Xuewu anymore. Now that he had received Li Xuewu's instruction, he was definitely still being used.

Hearing Li Xuewu and the others talking about the car, Liu Guangtian was even more anxious. He looked at Li Xuewu with a bitter face and begged, "Li Ge, Li Ke."

Li Xuewu waved his hand, "Everything requires a procedure. I understand your desire to progress, but you also have to give the organization time, right? I will consider your matter and also look at your performance."

Seeing Li Xuewu speak vaguely, Liu Guangtian didn't know if Li Xuewu was really going to use him, so he felt a bit unsteady on his feet.

It was Yu Li who saw Li Xuewu's meaning and said to Liu Guangtian with a smile, "Hurry up and get up, go home and settle your father, then perform actively and prepare for the transfer."

Liu Guangtian, having received Yu Li's hint, stood up happily, gave Li Xuewu a not-so-standard salute, and walked out.

When Li Xuewu sent the Yan Jiecheng couple off, he instructed, "Tell Biaozi and the others tomorrow morning to help you hook up that Jeep; we're towing it to the steel mill."

As for why he unhooked it at night and hooked it up again in the morning, it was because Li Xuewu cared about the car and was afraid it would have problems if it sat there all night.

"Hey, got it. You rest."

After sending off the Yan Jiecheng couple, Li Xuewu yawned and went back to his room to sleep.

Liu Guangtian arrived home first. Qin Laoer Master got up to look, and seeing the Yan Jiecheng couple coming out behind Liu Guangtian, he couldn't help but mutter to himself that this couple was really hardworking, coming to suck up even in the middle of the night.

But then he thought of his son Liu Guangtian, and seeing the second son smiling and preparing to sleep, he couldn't help but curse in a low voice, "Did you eat bee poop?"

Liu Guangtian was in a good mood today, so he didn't argue with his old man and just lay down with a grin.

This whole night was full of misunderstandings.

Yu Li misunderstood the arrival of Xiao Yan.

Liu Guangtian misunderstood that Yu Li was helping him speak in the room.

Li Xuewu misunderstood that Yu Li didn't have this determination.

Qin Laoer Master's wife misunderstood that her son Liu Guangtian was still angry with his old man.

Qin Laoer Master misunderstood that Yu Li had come with Yan Jiecheng.

Yan Jiecheng misunderstood that his wife had put a hat on him.

Who could have imagined that so many misunderstandings would happen in such a short time?

Yan Jiecheng also hadn't imagined it; he was currently apologizing to Yu Li.

"I really didn't do it on purpose. I didn't even check the time and just..."

"Just what? What kind of person do you think I am?"

Yu Li didn't care about Yan Jiecheng's fawning and angrily walked home, shaking off Yan Jiecheng's hand.

Yan Jiecheng knew his wife hadn't lost her temper at Li Xuewu's place for the sake of his face, so once they were outside, he stopped having a good expression.

"I was wrong, wife."

"You weren't wrong; I was wrong. I shouldn't have interfered in your business."

"I was wrong, I was wrong."

"Do you know how many good things I said for you at Li Xuewu's place? My mouth is tired and sore, and that's why I didn't pay attention to you. You also need to stand up for yourself. If you're so soft, how can you represent Li Xuewu when you go out? If you can't even handle your own family affairs, would he dare to use you?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I won't be soft anymore."

Yu Li pushed the door open and entered the room, saying while taking off her clothes, "You don't trust me, right? Come and see."

"Wife, what are you saying? It's freezing cold, hurry up and lie down to sleep." Yan Jiecheng hurriedly pulled Yu Li onto the kang to sleep; he couldn't let Yu Li lose her temper again.

"What did you mean when you entered the room, huh? What did you mean by touching your hat?"

"Oh, it was just hot in the room."

"You said..."

In the morning, when Li Xuewu walked from the back courtyard to the side room to eat, he saw Yan Jiecheng's mental state wasn't good, so he asked, "Didn't sleep well last night?"

Yan Jiecheng looked at his wife, who was serving him porridge, and laughed at Li Xuewu, "I slept a bit too much."

Yu Li glared at Yan Jiecheng, then served porridge for everyone, and sat down next to Yan Jiecheng with her own bowl to eat.

Because there were more people, Li Xuewu had Grandfather make a new dining table. Breakfast was eaten in the kitchen, at a dining table nearly two meters long, seating more than a dozen people.

Banggeng also came to join the fun after feeding the chickens, chewing on a cornmeal pancake and drinking porridge with a slurping sound, eating happily.

It wasn't that the food here was particularly fragrant, but that it was lively here.

After eating, Li Xuewu took Yan Jiecheng to the car and headed to the steel mill. Yan Jiecheng didn't speak on the way, and only after arriving at the steel mill and unloading the Jeep behind did he say to Li Xuewu, "Li Kezhang, that house of ours..."

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow, "Sister-in-law Yu Li didn't tell you?"

Yan Jiecheng smiled awkwardly, "I slept early last night, so we didn't talk."

Ho, slept early last night, and said he didn't sleep well this morning. No problem.

"Master Zhang, please list all the repair costs for this car, including labor costs. Once it's repaired, I'll go to the Finance Section to pay."

As he spoke, Li Xuewu placed a pack of cigarettes on the rest area of the repair workshop and walked out with Yan Jiecheng amidst the polite remarks of Master Zhang and the others.

Li Xuewu said while walking, "I told your sister-in-law yesterday that I'll go ask for the land, my father will pay for the house for my brother, and for your side, consider it a loan from me. You have to pay it back."

"Yes, yes, yes, I will definitely pay it back."

"Alright, go to work properly."

After sending Yan Jiecheng away, Li Xuewu habitually walked toward the building on the right. But before he could enter, he saw Li Kezhang Zhang from the Logistics Section coming out with some people.

"Oh, Li Kezhang Zhang, what are you doing?"

Li Kezhang Zhang was also stunned when he saw Li Xuewu standing at the door, then laughed, "I should be asking you that. What are you doing at our Logistics Section?"

"Ah? Oh, damn."

Li Xuewu slapped his forehead, smiled wryly, waved at Li Kezhang Zhang, and walked toward the new building on the left. Han Yating, standing at the door of the new building, let out a giggle when she saw Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu laughed angrily, "You saw it, why didn't you remind me? You'd rather watch me lose face, right?"

Han Yating said defiantly, "I just came out too, and I saw you go over there. Before I could even call out, Li Kezhang Zhang came out."

Li Xuewu ignored Han Yating, who was still laughing, and asked while walking inside, "Everything moved over, right?"

Han Yating nodded, "Everything is over. Your office and the two section chiefs' offices were moved by me, and they're all cleaned up."

Although Fu Bin said he wouldn't move, Li Xuewu still instructed Han Yating to take people to move Fu Bin on Sunday.

This wasn't acting first and reporting later; this was tacit understanding.

Li Xuewu walked around the first floor. It was alright; it was much more organized than the other side, and the rooms were brighter.

His office was still the same—a small, rectangular room. Han Yating was quite thoughtful, even setting up a frame bed behind his chair, which made it convenient for his noon nap and duty shifts.

"Is it alright?"

"Good, quite nice."

Li Xuewu sat at his desk and began to work. The Security Section's affairs weren't complicated, but Li Xuewu had expanded them to be complex.

Patrols, interrogations, investigations, detentions, etc., for the Public Security Section all required the section chief to write reports for him to review.

The training progress of the Guard Team, personnel assessments, etc., also had to be formed into reports.

The most tedious was the Security Section, because there were escort and field missions. Every duty roster, assessment form, etc., as well as gate logs and security training, had to be reported by the section chief.

These departments summarized their weekly work every Saturday afternoon, and reports had to be on Li Xuewu's desk by Monday morning, facilitating Li Xuewu's instructions and the content of the week's work.

At the same time, this was the basis for Li Xuewu to present his work report to Dong Wenxue. On Monday, Li Xuewu had to submit his work report to Dong Wenxue before getting off work.

This was the work system of the government agencies. It looked tedious and boring, but it was the foundation for leaders and cadres to grasp the overall situation.

Every leader and cadre had the basic skill of reviewing documents and summarizing experience to form reports; this was the most basic professional quality of a cadre.

There would never be a farce like the one in the southeast corner, where someone couldn't even handle official documents but still had the face to run for the parents' official of Taoyuan City.

Actually, everyone was busy on Monday. Just looking at the people rushing through the corridor, one could tell that Monday was the busiest day of the week for the steel mill's agencies.

But it was precisely on a Monday that someone dared to disturb Li Xuewu. It wasn't anyone else, but Sister-in-law Xie from the Personnel Section.

"Oh, Sister-in-law, why are you here? Your arrival is a great honor, and I failed to welcome you from afar."

Seeing Sister-in-law Xie leading a young man into the room, Li Xuewu hurriedly stood up and greeted her with a smile.

Sister-in-law Xie didn't stand on ceremony with Li Xuewu, waving her hand, "Long story short, you're busy and so am I. Here's the deal: the demobilized soldiers newly assigned to our factory are directed to your Security Section. Receive them."

Li Xuewu looked at the young man standing at the door. Seeing Sister-in-law Xie was really in a hurry, he signed the receiving document.

After sending Sister-in-law Xie away, he invited the young man into the room.

"Which unit?"

"Diannan Province J District Military Dog Training Team."

"Oh?"

Li Xuewu thought he was a demobilized soldier from some regular unit; he didn't expect it to be that professional unit.

This name didn't exist in later years, and even the J character had changed, directly turning into G An J, and then into police.

Anyway, no matter how it changed, this unit had always been under the Ministry of Public Security; it was considered a professional unit.

Li Xuewu instantly remembered a person who had bragged to him a while ago before handling a case that he would find him a professional person.

"Sit, sit, sit." Li Xuewu offered a seat and then carefully looked at the young man in front of him. He looked just like he did when he first arrived—wearing the same green uniform, just as spirited.

"How did you get assigned to our steel mill?"

Li Xuewu was now playing the role of a qualified leader, starting to inquire about the newcomer's situation.

"My home is in Liulichang. I was a soldier in Diannan. My family wrote to ask if I wanted to come back, saying there was an arrangement here. I thought my age was up, so I applied for demobilization from the team."

Li Xuewu nodded, "We really have a matching position for you here. Our Security Section also has its own police dog team, but the scale isn't large—only 10 dogs. The breeds are also hunting dogs from the mountains, and the personnel currently training them are from the villages, so it's still very unstandardized."

Li Xuewu introduced the situation of his police dog team and then asked the young man named Zeng Jinjun, "Well, are you willing to go back to your old profession and continue training police dogs?"

Zeng Jinjun didn't expect that after leaving the police dog training team, he would still have the opportunity to train police dogs. He nodded to Li Xuewu with a smile, "I'm willing. Thank you, Li Kezhang."

Li Xuewu waved his hand, picked up the phone on his desk, and called the gatehouse, asking the gatehouse to notify Wei Tong to see him.

Wei Tong was also very busy now—one thing was the daily training of the Guard Team, another was the construction of the Guard Team's factory training ground, and there was also the emergency response training Li Xuewu required.

Because the functions had changed, the emergency response procedures had also changed, and the Guard Team had been very hard-working recently.

Seeing that Zeng Jinjun didn't seem very talkative, Li Xuewu didn't say anything more, just busied himself with his work.

People who came to report to Li Xuewu also looked at the young man sitting opposite Li Xuewu when they entered the room, because demobilized soldiers naturally had that kind of temperament.

"Li Kezhang, busy? What's the matter with me?"

Seeing Wei Tong knock and enter, Li Xuewu waved his hand, "This is Zeng Jinjun, just demobilized, a professional police dog training personnel. He's assigned to your police dog squad. Take him to report, and at the same time arrange for him to receive his uniform and dormitory. Go."

Wei Tong was also surprised that Li Xuewu could recruit such talent. He shook hands with Zeng Jinjun very excitedly, "Hello, hello, come with me quickly."

Zeng Jinjun was also quite moved that the people in the Security Section were really good. Although he didn't know how old the section chief was, he looked very mature in his speech and actions, very much like the leaders in his unit.

"Goodbye, Li Kezhang."

Li Xuewu smiled at Zeng Jinjun, who saluted and left. He busied himself for a while before calling Ji Wang Weidong.

"Hahaha, the person has arrived, right?"

Li Xuewu said very gratefully, "Thank you, Captain Ji, for your strong support. I'm very pleasantly surprised."

Ji Wang Weidong didn't say much to Li Xuewu on the phone—phones were very tight at this time—just said, "What I, Ji Wang Weidong, say always counts. Even bigger surprises are waiting for you."

Li Xuewu exchanged a few polite words with Ji Wang Weidong, mentioned the weapons for his brother's school, and after hearing that Ji Wang Weidong had already arranged for his application, he hung up the phone.

He was busy until noon and met Xu Ning, who was waiting for him, in the cafeteria.

"Li Kezhang, the team you found is really efficient. They finished cleaning up the things in the building this morning, and construction will start this afternoon."

Li Xuewu took a sip of clear soup and asked, "How many people entered the site?"

"There must be more than forty."

Li Xuewu pointed at Xu Ning, "Make it clear to these forty-plus people that they are only allowed to work and rest within the scope of the guesthouse. They are not allowed to go to other places, and wandering around is not allowed."

"I told Master Dou about this, and I'm telling you again. There are many danger sources in our factory. We know, but these people might not. There must be no danger in the places where people live."

Xu Ning nodded, "I borrowed a few people from the Security Section to help."

"How was the lunch problem solved?"

Since he saw Xu Ning, Li Xuewu asked clearly.

Xu Ning put down the steamed bun in his hand and replied, "It's agreed that they will solve their own food problems. The guesthouse cafeteria is already in use."

"Since we're renovating the first floor first, then the first floor cafeteria should be cleaned up directly. How about this: you arrange it, and I'll take you to see the cook in a while."

Hearing Li Xuewu say he was finding him a cook, Xu Ning said pleasantly, "That would be great. I'll go back after eating and say something. Let's set off at one o'clock."

Li Xuewu nodded and instructed Xu Ning, "Don't forget what I said."

"Understood."

After the conversation, Xu Ning ran to the guesthouse after eating quickly. After the explanation, Li Xuewu reported to Dong Wenxue, called Yan Jiecheng to drive him and Xu Ning into the city.

The pigeon market by the sea was much livelier during the day than at night, and it was all junk.

Li Xuewu had the car stop at the alley entrance and took Xu Ning to the courtyard of Master Yang's house from last time.

Remembering it was Courtyard 22, Li Xuewu and the other person entered the courtyard gate and asked the people in the courtyard. After explaining their purpose, the old lady pointed out the door.

The courtyard here wasn't as big as theirs; there were only four households in one courtyard. The old lady pointed to the East Wing.

Li Xuewu hadn't even walked over when the old lady shouted, "Old Yang, you have guests!"

Li Xuewu turned back to thank her, and looking at the East Wing, Master Yang from last time had already opened the door and come out.

Residents of old Sihe Academy or such old courtyards were all like this, because they lived close, they took care of each other.

If something happened to your family, as long as your character wasn't too bad, someone would help you.

Old neighbors didn't even need to lock their doors when they went out; they'd just shout, "Grandma Sun, I'm going out for a while," and then go do whatever they needed to do.

This Grandma Sun would watch your house with an attitude even more responsible than watching her own.

The old lady cleaning at the door asked Li Xuewu in detail when he entered the courtyard, and even then, she had to shout for him, afraid he didn't know the resident.

Seeing it was Li Xuewu, Master Yang greeted him warmly and shouted to the old lady at the door, "Grandma, this is my friend, here for a visit. Thank you!"

The old lady didn't answer, just waved her hand and continued her work.

That's just how it was. If this were later years, hey, your house could be emptied, and the people living across the street wouldn't even ask.

People could live in a building for ten years without saying a word to each other. Don't look at the space and distance—the human touch was gone.

Invited into the room by Master Yang, he saw an old man sitting by the side table, and a thin, middle-aged man leaning on a crutch in the middle of the room looking at the two of them.

"Master, this is the client I told you about last time, the one for the set of tools for you and Senior Brother."

Li Xuewu knew Master Yang didn't know his name, so he introduced himself, "My surname is Li, I live in Courtyard 99, Nanluoguxiang. This is a buddy of mine, and we both work at the steel mill outside Dongzhimen."

"Hey, hey, good, sit, sit." Li Xuewu offered cigarettes to the three people, including Master Yang, and gave one to Xu Ning. They lit them and took the first puff before starting to talk.

"Master Yang, can you still recognize me?"

Old Yang laughed, "This is one of our basic skills. We used to be waiters too."

Seeing Li Xuewu bring someone, there must be something going on; otherwise, he wouldn't have come to find him during work hours on a Monday.

"Li Ge, how are you using that set of knives?"

Li Xuewu took a puff and praised, "Let me tell you, whether it's the steel quality or the sharpness, they're top-notch. But there's one thing..."

"What? Is there a problem?" Seeing Li Xuewu pause, Old Yang thought there was a problem and asked.

"There are too many knives; I don't know how to use them."

"Hahahaha."

The three cooks in the room all laughed, and Li Xuewu also had a wry smile on his face.

"That's because we masters of government cuisine are lazy, wanting a convenient tool for everything, hehehe."

The old man sitting by the side table explained to Li Xuewu with a smile.

Li Xuewu was quite eloquent, "I think specialization is the key. Aren't the tools in this world invented by lazy people? Lazy to walk, so they invented bicycles; lazy to draw water bucket by bucket, so they invented water pumps."

"Hehehe, every trade has its rules, and since there are rules, there must be a necessity for their existence."

The old man looked at Li Xuewu with a smile, "Is Master Li also planning to enter our trade?"

Old Yang felt the same way, because when Li Xuewu bought the knives, he said he was preparing to learn to be a cook. Coming to find him today must be to apprentice.

This wasn't strange; many cooks from factories came out to apprentice. It depended on fate and also on the "money ability."

Now that martial arts could be put in textbooks, it wasn't strange to sell culinary skills.

Have you not seen "Friends of Military and Civilian Dual-Use Talents," "Barefoot Doctor Manual," or "Militia Military Training Manual"?

Seeing that the three masters in the room had misunderstood, Li Xuewu didn't explain, but asked Master Yang, "Master Yang, we didn't say much last time. I haven't asked where you're working."

Old Yang looked at his master and senior brother. Seeing his master had lowered his eyebrows and his senior brother had turned his head away, the atmosphere in the room became awkward because of Li Xuewu's question.

Old Yang paused before saying, "Where is there any high position? I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but we three masters and apprentices are currently trying to figure out how to make a living."

Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes and looked at Master Yang, waiting for him to explain.

Seeing Li Xuewu had the attitude of getting to the bottom of things, Old Yang didn't get angry at Li Xuewu's attitude and explained his situation.

"I was originally cooking at the management office by the sea, but a while ago, because I was taking private jobs outside with my master and senior brother, I was fired by the management office. These days, I've been relying on selling things from home to support us. It's getting to the point where we can't hold on anymore. So, the three of us are thinking about how to get some food."

After finishing his situation, Old Yang looked at Li Xuewu and asked, "What are you here for today?"

Seeing Master Yang had told his situation, Li Xuewu didn't hide anything and pointed at Xu Ning with his finger, "This is the director of our steel mill's guesthouse, Xu Ning. I'm the section chief of the steel mill's Security Section. My name is Li Xuewu."

With Li Xuewu's self-introduction, everyone in the room was stunned. They thought he was here to apprentice, but it turned out two cadres had come.

Upon hearing that Xu Ning was the director of the guesthouse, hope shone in Old Yang's eyes. When he heard Li Xuewu was the section chief of the Security Section, the three in the room knew they had misunderstood.

How could the section chief of the Security Section of such a large factory learn to be a cook?

"You are?"

Seeing Master Yang hesitate, Li Xuewu laughed, "I heard from a Sichuan cuisine chef friend of mine about the meaning of the set of knives you sold me. Only then did I know about this government cuisine. It just so happens that our guesthouse needs to recruit cooks, so I thought of you."

"Oh! Li Ke, this, I don't know how to thank you enough."

Li Xuewu waved his hand to tell Master Yang to calm down, then said with a smile, "We can be considered acquaintances. You can call me Li Xuewu. We have fate, so I'll speak directly to you."

"Please speak, please speak."

"Every unit has its rules, and our factory has its rules for recruiting and using people. Things like taking private jobs shouldn't be done in the future, hehehe."

Old Yang's face turned red, and he replied with a dry laugh, "It was really because we couldn't afford to eat that we made a mistake. It won't happen again."

Li Xuewu nodded and said again, "The guesthouse is under renovation. We have set a relatively high standard, and the service level is also high. The people we serve are also special, so we require your skills to meet our standards."

Old Yang looked at his master, because his master was here, so he couldn't brag about his own skills.

The old man who hadn't said much looked at Li Xuewu with a smile, "My surname is Qian, named Qian Shutong. I learned government cuisine since I was a child and am considered a successor in this line. This is my eldest apprentice, named Wei Wei, who is also my direct disciple. This is my second apprentice, Yang Shuqian, who is considered my last disciple."

Qian Shutong was introducing himself, reporting the identities and names of himself and his apprentices, which was the rule of the older generation.

"In our trade, cooking pays attention to taste—quality over quantity. The three of us can only make two or three tables of dishes. Of course, taste is our survival skill; you don't need to worry about that. But the quantity..."

Li Xuewu looked at Xu Ning. Xu Ning knew it was his turn to speak, so he said, "The guesthouse has a total of more than forty rooms. The people eating at the guesthouse are just that many. I'll assign you two kitchen helpers, so it shouldn't be a problem."

Hearing there were kitchen helpers, Yang Shuqian hesitated and looked at his master, because in government cuisine, others were not allowed to watch while cooking.

Qian Shutong tilted his head, indicating he understood his apprentice's meaning, and looked at his two apprentices, "We're almost starving to death; are we still going to be particular about whether the craft is passed on or not? Nowadays, even if you want to teach, people don't want to learn. It's fine."

Li Xuewu said with a smile, "Only when the craft is passed on can it be called a craft. If you keep it to yourself and it can't be passed on, it becomes a legend. You can even take apprentices when you get to the steel mill."

"My master is going too?" Yang Shuqian asked in disbelief.

Because his master was already 56 years old, no unit was willing to accept someone of this age. Even someone like him, who was 30, was rejected. He didn't expect Li Xuewu to recruit his master into the factory.

Li Xuewu looked at Wei Wei, who was sitting on the side, and asked, "Master Wei, I don't know how your skills are?"

Seeing Li Xuewu had something in his words, Yang Shuqian hurriedly said, "Even though my senior brother's leg isn't flexible, his hands are still usable. Helping me cut vegetables and stir-fry is no problem."

Li Xuewu nodded and said to Xu Ning, "Take people to pick them up this weekend."

After saying this, he said to the three masters, "I'm hosting a meal this weekend, with eight or nine tables. My Sichuan cuisine chef friend will also be there. I'd like you three to try your skills. If it's good, I'll have people go through the procedures. If not, then we'll just be friends."

Yang Shuqian stood up excitedly, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, Li Ke."

Li Xuewu held Yang Shuqian's hands and said, "Hey, call me Li Xuewu or Li Ge, hahaha. Then we'll see you on the weekend?"

"See you on the weekend."

Li Xuewu said goodbye to Master Qian and Master Wei, who was leaning on a crutch, and walked out. When Yang Shuqian sent him to the car, he said again, "I'll bring your set of knives over then."

Yang Shuqian cupped his hands embarrassedly and sent Li Xuewu's car off.

When they returned to the room, Yang Shuqian saw his senior brother crying, clearly excited by the news.

"Senior Brother, why are you doing this? It's a good thing."

Wei Wei sat on the bed, letting tears stream down his face, full of remorse and complex emotions.

Qian Shutong sighed and said in a calm tone, "Everything is fate; nothing is up to us. Alright, this can be considered a turnaround. Clean up your skills and prepare to handle the weekend."

Yang Shuqian looked at his master's expression and asked softly, "Master, do you think we can tell Li Ke about Senior Brother's matter..."

"Don't even think about it. I told you to forget about this matter long ago. You are not allowed to say it."

Seeing his master get angry, Yang Shuqian fell silent. Looking at his senior brother, he really couldn't swallow this breath.

"But Senior Brother, he..."

"That's his fate. If he didn't have this leg, could he have lived until now? Besides, what do we have that's worth helping you, someone you just met? Do you really think everyone is a living Bodhisattva?"

"But this Li Xuewu looks like a good person."

"A good person has such a big scar on his face? Can't you see his build? He's either a strong soldier or a fierce bandit."

Yang Shuqian was still a simple and honest man; otherwise, he wouldn't have delayed finding a wife to support his master and senior brother. He was 30 years old and couldn't even find a wife.

The craftsmen of the older generation paid attention to the first disciple to create a reputation, and the last disciple to provide for their old age.

This Yang Shuqian wasn't the last disciple, just an ordinary one among the middle disciples, but seeing his master and senior brother had nowhere to go, he took them home to serve them.

Such a simple and honest man looked at Li Xuewu as a good person.

"Then it must be a strong soldier. He's the section chief of the Security Section."

Qian Shutong lowered his eyelids and said, "Not necessarily. There are also fierce bandits who have become cadres."

"How is that possible, Master? That..."

Good brothers~

I've already received many monthly ticket notifications~

Please continue to support "Wu Wen Nong Mo"~

We agreed on a limit for this week,

As long as the monthly tickets reach 4,000,

I will explode with 30,000 words!

As long as the monthly tickets reach 6,000,

I will explode with 50,000 words!

The results will be out on Sunday, and the explosion will start next Monday!

I will never break my word! ===== CHAPTER 249 =====

I will never break my word!