Chapter 265: Eldest Brother's Illness Is Not Very Serious Anymore

Old Song and Xiaomi looked at each other, both seeing the resentment toward Li Xuewu in each other's eyes.

Such a big director, why is his heart so small?

"Hahaha," Old Song laughed dryly and guaranteed to Li Xuewu: "You are right to criticize, we will definitely change. Now you can hand this over to us."

Xiaomi also chimed in from the side: "Yes, Li Suo, it's great to correct mistakes, you have to give us a chance to correct them."

These two knew that Duan Suo had recently been busy with a joint operation with Jiaodaokou, and the police officers here had received the news. The position of deputy director was right in front of them.

Xiaomi was still young and didn't count on that position, but Old Song could.

Old Song was Xiaomi's master. If he was promoted to deputy director, it would be good for Xiaomi too, so Xiaomi was working so hard to help Old Song fight for the opportunity.

Both knew that the key person in this operation was the "small-hearted" one in front of them, so now that they had encountered this matter, how could they let it go? They both treated it as an opportunity.

Li Xuewu looked at Weimin, who had been smashed dizzy by himself, and then looked at Seeing Wei Guo, who had been thrown dizzy by Xiaomi, and the young man who was handcuffed on the ground without speaking.

He didn't know how Old Song and Xiaomi would look if Duan Youting knew the background of these people.

"Will you really enforce the law impartially?"

Seeing Li Xuewu's mouth loosen, Old Duan nodded busily: "Don't worry, I will definitely give you an account when we get to the station."

Xiaomi was more direct, directly dragged Seeing Wei Guo, who had been thrown dizzy, and threw him into the back seat of the jeep, and dragged the handcuffed one and stuffed him into the back seat.

"Li Suo, you drive in front, go directly to our station, and we two will follow on bicycles behind."

Li Xuewu looked at Old Song and Xiaomi with horizontal eyes, and asked distrustfully again: "Really send them to your station?"

Seeing Li Xuewu didn't trust him, Old Song said somewhat indignantly: "If you don't trust me, I'll go back and take off my clothes and resign."

Xiaomi was also a bit resentful and said: "You are the director, this little......"

Li Xuewu knew what Xiaomi wanted to say. He looked at this rookie and then turned to look at Old Song: "It's not that I hold a grudge, you saw it too, these three people's dress seems to be of some status, and they are carrying two large Type 54s. I'm afraid you......"

Seeing Li Xuewu didn't distrust him, but looked down on him, Old Song's eyes were about to turn red. He glared and said: "Don't worry, this kind of behavior of bullying men and women is enough to be shot. I don't care what status they have."

Li Xuewu looked at Old Song with great appreciation, patted Xiaomi on the shoulder, and didn't mention at all that these three people came in a jeep.

After discussing, Li Xuewu turned to look at Gu Ning standing on the other side of the car and said: "I am Li Xuewu, Deputy Director of the Jiaodaokou Police Station. I just saw these three people holding guns and holding this female comrade...... although my colleagues and I have dealt with the lawbreakers, I still have to trouble you to go with us to make a record."

Good, Li Xuewu's identity changed really fast. Just a moment ago, he was the progressive youth Li Xuewu browsing the bookstore with Gu Ning, and now he became Li Suo, who was on holiday on Sunday and saw justice done.

Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu, then looked at the young man who raised his head to look this way in the back of the car, and asked Li Xuewu softly: "Are you sure?"

Li Xuewu grinned and smiled: "Although the place we are going to isn't my station, you have to believe in the comrades of the Beixinqiao Police Station, they will definitely help you."

The young man handcuffed in the back glanced at Li Xuewu. He didn't know why the flower of the courtyard was with this shameless kid.

Although his hands were handcuffed, he wasn't afraid at all. If the sky fell, there were the two lying beside him to hold it up.

Glancing at the two big fools standing outside the car, the young man pursed his lips and lowered his head again.

"Alright, wherever you say."

Gu Ning glanced at Li Xuewu, grabbed the door handle of the Willys, and got into the passenger seat.

Li Xuewu said to the two beside him: "Then let's go to your station to make a record first, and make the case solid."

Look, isn't this a pie falling right in front of your eyes? Everyone says handling cases is difficult, everyone says handling cases as a neighborhood policeman is difficult. Look, isn't this a case delivered to your door?

"You lead the way."

Old Song and Xiaomi agreed happily, picked up the weapons on the ground, threw them into the bags they were carrying, ran to push their bicycles at the street corner, and followed Li Xuewu to the station.

Li Xuewu didn't drive fast, firstly for fear of the cold, and secondly to wait for the two "impartial" ones behind.

Seeing Gu Ning staring at him, Li Xuewu turned his head and glanced at Gu Ning, then asked with a chuckle: "Why are you looking at me?"

"You are sick."

Gu Ning said this very plainly but affirmatively.

"You!"

Li Xuewu's expression froze, then he tilted his head and glanced at Gu Ning, asking in disbelief: "Are you scolding me or saying......"

Gu Ning stared at Li Xuewu's face and said: "I am a doctor."

Li Xuewu understood what Gu Ning meant, that he was really sick, not scolding him.

But his mood now was even more uncomfortable than if Gu Ning had scolded him.

Thinking it was because his complexion was bad due to last night's "messing around," and fearing that Doctor Gu Ning would see something, Li Xuewu forced himself to explain calmly.

"My body has had some problems recently, looking at my bad complexion, it's still the problem of excessive blood loss last time......"

"Not this."

Li Xuewu had only said half of his words when he was interrupted by Gu Ning.

"Huh?"

Before Li Xuewu could ask again, Gu Ning said affirmatively: "I'm talking about mental."

"Damn! You have a mental illness?!!!"

Seeing Gu Ning say Li Xuewu was sick, and now saying Li Xuewu had a mental illness, the young man sitting in the back looked at Li Xuewu in horror, and shouted out loud with a broken voice.

This voice even broke in the howling wind.

At this time, the understanding of mental illnesses wasn't that comprehensive, nor was it popular, so these kinds of illnesses were spread very strangely, with some saying they were contagious.

The young man in the back belonged to the type who knew more than others but didn't understand professional knowledge. If it were an ordinary person, they wouldn't understand what mental illness meant. It was this kind of half-knowledgeable person who believed this kind of stupid talk.

"Get lost, you're the one with mental illness. Did I tell you to speak?"

Li Xuewu turned his head and cursed at the young man behind him, then said to Gu Ning: "I know what you mean. It's war psychological syndrome, right? Irritable, angry, over-alert, amnesia, and easily frightened, and even excessive violence or even killing people, right?"

Li Xuewu had heard of this syndrome in later generations, originating from those American movies like First Blood, all talking about this.

Actually, this illness wasn't a rare one; the concept was proposed as early as 1807.

"But I don't have these symptoms?"

Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu defending himself innocently, feeling amused while also feeling that this person really knew a lot.

The young man behind looked at Weimin, who was still dizzy beside him, pointed at Li Xuewu's shoulder with his finger, and asked cautiously: "Big brother, how about I apologize to you? I was wrong. Look at me, young, haven't browsed the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, haven't made contributions to national construction, I don't want to die."

Li Xuewu glared at the young man behind and asked: "Do you also think I'm sick?"

The young man's tears were about to fall. Looking at Li Xuewu's big scarred face, he cursed the Wei brothers for being bastards, dragging him into a fire pit.

Looking at the mentally ill person who didn't know it, he felt like he was going to die.

"Bi-bi-bi... big brother, the symptoms you mentioned seem to be just short of wanting to kill......"

Looking at the young man whose speech was stuttering, Li Xuewu turned to look at Gu Ning and asked: "Am I really sick?"

Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu and explained: "This kind of illness belongs to a type of 'post-traumatic stress disorder,' previously called shell shock, later called post-traumatic stress disorder."

"Refers to the sequelae of psychological imbalance after encountering or confronting major stress. These experiences include threats to life, serious physical injury, physical or mental coercion."

After explaining, Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu again and said: "The symptoms of this disease are not just the obvious ones you mentioned, but also many invisible ones, including nightmares, personality changes, emotional separation, excessive physical desire, etc."

Hearing Gu Ning say this, Li Xuewu shook his head and denied: "I don't have any of these. My sleep quality is very good, my emotional life is very simple, I'm still single now, I can maintain sufficient restraint toward the opposite sex, and have never had any improper style."

Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu, who was over-emphasizing, not knowing why Li Xuewu's reaction was so big.

"I judged your symptoms based on your performance at the Southern Hospital. I don't know how many people you specifically killed, but that injury must have stimulated your nerves, causing your amnesia."

"Can it be explained like this?" Li Xuewu asked in disbelief.

Gu Ning nodded and said: "I discussed your condition with my teacher. Your performance of crying and making a scene in the ward is very similar to this disease."

Seeing Li Xuewu silent and unwilling to mention the South, Gu Ning didn't stimulate Li Xuewu.

"Not just you, there are many soldiers like you who are also unaccustomed when returning home after retirement or transfer, appearing with various physical discomfort symptoms such as mental depression, fatigue, headache, insomnia, diarrhea, memory decline, distraction, muscle and joint pain, respiratory disorders, etc."

Li Xuewu shook his head and said: "I'm not sick, I don't have any of these you mentioned."

"Bi-bi-bi... big brother, only drunk people say they aren't drunk, only sick people say they aren't sick. You shouldn't avoid the doctor because of fear of illness."

Annoyed by the buzzing fly behind him, Li Xuewu wanted to give the kid a slap.

But seeing him raise his hand, the kid looked at him with a terrified expression, his face full of "See, see, having an episode, aren't you?"

"Damn."

Li Xuewu had never felt so stifled. Looking at this look, he couldn't bring himself to hit him.

"Big brother, hit here."

The young man put his face forward for Li Xuewu to hit, muttering: "Vent it out, vent it out and you won't want to pull a gun and kill people."

"Get lost," Li Xuewu cursed and turned to hold the steering wheel.

Seeing Li Xuewu didn't make a move, the young man was still a bit unwilling, and asked Gu Ning cautiously: "Little Ning sister, does he... does he have a contagious illness?"

Gu Ning looked at the kid behind and explained: "This is a psychological illness that occurs due to suffering from force strikes and psychological strikes under the pressure of high-tech war."

Seeing this kid staring at her, Gu Ning said affirmatively: "This disease is contagious. If it cannot be treated and contained in time, it will......"

"Ah!!!"

"Con... contagious!!?"

Li Xuewu turned his head to look at the young man who was hiding from him as much as possible, and cursed angrily: "What are you howling for? Don't you see how normal I am? It's about to be better, it's fine!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

The young man hiding behind the car covered his mouth and nose and nodded continuously to agree with Li Xuewu's point of view.

But the terrified eyes and the action of trying to hide from Li Xuewu betrayed his inner thoughts.

Gu Ning also saw the state of the kid behind the car, feeling amused inside.

But she didn't explain that this contagion was within the army and only triggered large-scale illness under high-intensity combat conditions, and wasn't transmitted through the mouth and nose.

Li Xuewu turned back and asked Gu Ning: "Why do you say I'm sick when my symptoms aren't obvious?"

Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu and explained: "You had already started to recover slowly in the South. Amnesia is also a kind of self-protection of the brain, avoiding the aggravation of your illness. Coupled with the influence of family affection, friendship, and love after returning home, your illness is slowly being eliminated."

Speaking of this, Gu Ning was also surprised and said: "In the South, you were the one with the most serious stress reaction after being injured—amnesia, irritable, angry, distrustful. Your symptoms were more serious than anyone else's. When I met you in November, you still had shadows of the illness, but I feel you are much better seeing you these two times. Is there any channel for venting? Target practice or exercise?"

Hearing Gu Ning's analysis, Li Xuewu also knew that his psychology in the first two months seemed to be a bit abnormal. This was first expressed on Wang Weidong.

That time he had directly made a move. If it were the current him, he might not be so excessive.

Then there was Sister Lou, Sister Qin, Sister-in-law Yu Li......

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I am the Security Li Kezhang at the steel mill, I have always had shooting training and physical training."

Li Xuewu was afraid that if he denied this point, Gu Ning would guess other venting channels.

"That's it, low-intensity military training will slowly eliminate the impact of this illness. I also saw your ferocious expression today, and only then did I fully confirm your illness when you hit Weimin."

"So big brother's illness isn't very serious anymore? Then it won't be contagious?"

The young man, whose face was flushed from holding his breath, heard the two's words and came over to ask about the contagion.

Gu Ning turned back to look and said: "I'm not sure if it will be contagious, after all, I am a surgeon."

After saying this, she said to the young man: "It's fine, I'll tell Uncle Zuo when I get home that you followed the Wei brothers with a knife to intercept me, so you don't have to worry about this illness."

The young man's face wrinkled all at once, begging Gu Ning: "Little Ning sister, I was wrong. I just came out to play today. Who knew I followed Weimin out, and when I got here, Seeing Wei Guo gave me a fork to hold the line."

After explaining this, the young man swore: "If I knew you were here, I wouldn't have come for anything, and I was really forced to be here just now."

Seeing Gu Ning not speaking, the young man didn't dare to beg Li Xuewu, but still begged Gu Ning, wanting to get forgiveness.

After messing around for a while, seeing the young man about to cry, sometimes saying he would die of mental illness, sometimes saying he would be beaten to death by his father, he was miserable and regretted it.

Li Xuewu drove the car, and muttered inadvertently: "Actually, witnesses don't have to bear responsibility."

"Huh?"

The young man looked at Li Xuewu, then looked at Gu Ning, then looked at the two who were dizzy beside him.

"Bi-bi-bi... big brother, are you asking me to betray my brothers? Betray my comrades? I can't do that," the young man said firmly, although he hesitated.

Gu Ning shook her head and said: "Don't persuade him. Zuo Jie is very capable. Isn't it just going to prison? Isn't it just getting shot? It's fine, Uncle Zuo has three sons."

"Little Ning sister, don't try to shake me, I won't betray!"

Li Xuewu also shook his head and sighed: "I'm not feeling sorry for it, just a good young man, hasn't played with anything, and is going to lose his life for helping others rob the road."

"Not only is his own reputation ruined, but the reputation of his parents and family is also ruined. Tsk, tsk, tsk, robbing the road, sigh~"

The young man named Zuo Jie looked at the couple in front of him and felt that Little Ning sister in the courtyard had gone bad.

Li Xuewu finished this sentence, then smiled and said: "Originally, it was almost New Year, and I didn't intend to add any more lives to my hands. I sent away more than thirty people a few days ago, and haven't slept well for several days."

Seeing Li Xuewu say this, Zuo Jie became nervous again. Didn't he say he didn't kill anyone? How did he send away more than thirty?

Seeing Zuo Jie didn't believe it, Li Xuewu said inadvertently: "It was the case of setting off firecrackers in the East City last month. I handled that. I shot two on the spot, and sent away more than thirty a few days ago."

"Damn, Little Ning sister, you call this symptom reduction?!!!"

After saying this, he turned to look at Li Xuewu, who was looking at him with a ferocious and evil smile, hid in horror, and asked tremblingly: "Witnesses really don't have to die?"

Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu's scary face and said: "Which witness who goes to court have you heard of being sentenced?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Zuo Jie agreed and stopped speaking. Li Xuewu and Gu Ning looked at each other and stopped speaking.

The couple in front didn't speak, which instead put psychological pressure on Zuo Jie.

Entering the Beixinqiao Police Station, Li Xuewu parked the car, and Old Song and the others also caught up.

"Get down, get down."

Seeing Li Xuewu standing to the side, Xiaomi dragged Zuo Jie out of the car, and then with Old Song, each carried one of the Wei brothers out of the car.

Don't know if Xiaomi's move was too ruthless, Seeing Wei Guo was still dizzy now and couldn't stand steady.

Not to mention Weimin, he was like a soft noodle, and the blood on his face had frozen into ice dregs.

"What's this?"

Seeing Li Xuewu drive in, and Old Song and the others bring down three people, a policeman on duty walked out to inquire.

Old Song pointed at Li Xuewu and said: "This is Deputy Li Suo of the Jiaodaokou Police Station. In our jurisdiction, he saw these three people holding guns and holding this female comrade......"

"I am a witness!"

Old Song was interrupted by Zuo Jie's words and was dissatisfied and wanted to make a move.

Li Xuewu pulled Old Song and said softly: "He is not the main culprit. If he is to testify, give him a chance."

Seeing Li Xuewu say this, Old Song nodded and said: "If you perform well, I can turn you into a witness."

After finishing with Zuo Jie, Old Song said again: "It was Li Suo who saw justice done and stopped these two thugs."

"No, no, no."

Li Xuewu waved his hand and said: "It was the three of us who saw justice done and stopped these two thugs."

"This......"

Old Song and Xiaomi showed smiles, looked at each other, and both shouted in their hearts: "Good man Li Xuewu!"

Old Song smiled reservedly and asked: "Li Suo, is this okay?"

Li Xuewu nodded affirmatively and said: "This is the fact. It was the three of us who joined hands to subdue these two thugs. Let's go, let's go make a record."

"Hey, hey."

Old Song agreed and took Li Xuewu and Gu Ning to make a record. Actually, it was Li Xuewu writing the narrative of the matter.

"Like this, the records of the three of us are in duplicate. You keep one, and I'll take one."

"This......"

Seeing Li Xuewu wanted to take one copy of his own, Gu Ning's, and Zuo Jie's records, Old Song hesitated.

"Li Suo, you don't trust us?"

Li Xuewu pulled Old Song away from the interrogation room, came to the corridor outside, handed Old Song a cigarette and said: "Are you stupid? This is for your own good. If pressure comes down, you just say there is another copy of the record at the Jiaodaokou station."

"Ah, this......"

Old Song was also confused, not knowing if Li Xuewu was restraining them or if it was really for their own good as Li Xuewu said.

Li Xuewu pointed at the interrogation room and said: "Those two are stubborn elements. If you should start a project, start a project. Interrogate them overnight. Whether you can withstand the pressure depends on you."

"Yes." Old Song agreed and went to get Zuo Jie's record.

Gu Ning walked out and stood in the corridor, staring at Li Xuewu with big eyes, not speaking, as if she couldn't understand Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and asked: "Looking at me again, what are you looking at this time?"

Hearing Li Xuewu ask, Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu carefully again, then stood sideways against the corridor wall, her eyes looking at the slogan opposite, and said: "I have never seen so many types of personalities in one body."

Li Xuewu frowned, then smiled freely and said: "You still think I'm a mental patient?"

"Hehe," Gu Ning laughed twice, then lowered her head and said: "No, just feel that you are the same as me, both are trauma stress patients......"

"Considered sympathy for each other?"

Li Xuewu teased, then asked seriously: "When did you find out I was sick?"

Gu Ning lowered her head, stood with her hands behind her back, and said softly: "In the hospital."

Feeling it wasn't specific, because the two had met in the hospital several times, she emphasized again: "In the Southern Hospital, that night you cried in the ward, very loudly. The next day Doctor Zhang asked you, but you didn't know about crying at night."

Li Xuewu's memory at that time was like a time wheel, his memory was shattered, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing.

"And when I was sure, it was just now, the moment you turned your head to look at me."

Seeing Gu Ning say this, Li Xuewu asked in confusion: "What was I like then?"

Gu Ning looked up at Li Xuewu and said: "Eyes, the same as when I crawled out of the ruins. I can understand being stimulated, that reaction and mood."

Being looked at by Gu Ning's big eyes, he felt uncomfortable. Now it was Li Xuewu's turn to lower his head.

"I don't know what my mood was then, I just wanted to protect myself. Perhaps my reaction was excessive, but why did you still come here with me?"

As if afraid Gu Ning wouldn't understand his meaning, Li Xuewu explained: "I mean you should be more...... familiar with those three than me, or have a friendship?"

Gu Ning didn't know why she asked that "Are you sure?" just now, nor why she was willing to abandon the "friendship" with those three and choose to follow Li Xuewu here.

Maybe the obedient personality she had raised for more than twenty years wanted to be dark-bellied.

"You are all children of the big courtyard, you should be more...... to me than......" Li Xuewu wanted to say, but couldn't go on, not knowing how to express his meaning.

Gu Ning understood the implication of Li Xuewu's words, nodded and said: "I understand."

After saying this, she was silent for a while before saying: "Maybe I am too sober and too calm. I can't adapt to the kind of happiness they call it, and it's not true friendship."

Li Xuewu was interested in Gu Ning now, looked at the bowing Gu Ning and asked: "What kind of friendship do you yearn for? Like Pavel and Darya?"

Gu Ning looked up at Li Xuewu and said: "Actually, you are quite boring."

After saying this, Gu Ning lowered her head and continued: "Do you always use jokes or questions to cover up your emotions?"

Seeing Gu Ning say this, Li Xuewu was also stunned, then smiled and said: "A friend of mine said, don't debate human issues with doctors."

Seeing Gu Ning look up at him, Li Xuewu continued: "Because people in this profession can see through the human heart."

Seeing Li Xuewu say it interestingly, Gu Ning smiled beautifully: "That friend of yours is actually yourself."

After saying this, Gu Ning stopped smiling and said to Li Xuewu: "You are the same as me, neither of us is the type to easily give our hearts to others, so neither of us has friends."

Li Xuewu squinted and thought about it. It was really like this. Old Biaozi and the others were old friendships, familiar with each other for many years.

Even so, Li Xuewu still kept an eye on them.

As for Seeing Sha Zhu and the Second Uncle, the feelings were really more than a layer apart.

Now that Gu Ning said it, Li Xuewu wasn't sure if he was really sick.

Is this selling crutches?

"I still have a few friends, exchanged with my life."

Gu Ning heard the sound in the corridor and said: "Then you are very lucky."

"Li Suo."

Old Song saw Li Xuewu and "passerby" Gu Ning chatting, and called out from a distance, as a reminder.

When they walked closer, Old Song handed a record to Li Xuewu and said: "This is Zuo Jie's record, but why did this kid say you are mentally ill?"

Li Xuewu took it and looked, nodded at Old Song and said: "Nothing, maybe this kid was scared by us. Nothing else, I'll go first, still have things to do in the evening."

Old Song smiled and saw Li Xuewu and the other off, not asking at all why Deputy Li Suo, who was "on holiday on Sunday and saw justice done," left with the victim.

"I'll send you home."

Li Xuewu drove the car out of the Beixinqiao Police Station and walked toward Andingmen.

On the way, Gu Ning didn't talk to Li Xuewu anymore, but looked at the buildings flashing by outside the car.

When entering the courtyard, Li Xuewu was about to park and take out his ID, but saw the lever was opened.

Li Xuewu was stunned for a moment, then drove the car in.

At the door of the small courtyard, Gu Ning jumped out of the car, carried the books in her hands, stood to the side and said to Li Xuewu: "Thank you for sending me back today, and thank you for taking care of me today."

Li Xuewu smiled, jumped out of the car, and took out the four-volume bundle of "Art of Slaughtering Dragons" from the pile of books behind and handed it to Gu Ning.

"For you. Reading novels can enrich emotions, but reading this can arm the mind. Emotions and mind are indispensable, right?"

Gu Ning looked at the red book in Li Xuewu's hand

Li Xuewu smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, I bought two sets. One of them is meant for you, as a supplementary gift for my last visit."

Before Gu Ning could speak, Li Xuewu saw Aunt Ding walk out from the foyer.

From the living room, Ding Bianji had seen Li Xuewu park the family's old car at the gate, and then saw her daughter get out of it.

She had assumed the two were coming inside, but seeing Li Xuewu hand a book to Gu Ning, she realized they were preparing to say goodbye at the gate.

"Xuewu is here, I see. Come on, let's go inside to warm up. Your Uncle Gu's car is drafty everywhere; it's so cold driving that in this weather."

Seeing her mother's voice coming from behind, Gu Ning looked at Li Xuewu in a flustered manner, then looked back at her mother.

Li Xuewu greeted her politely, "Aunt Ding, you're home. I just got back from the bookstore with Dr. Gu."

Ding Bianji walked up to them, looked at the book in Li Xuewu's hand, and was quite stunned for a moment. Then, she looked at Li Xuewu with a wry smile and said, "Xiao Ning rarely reads philosophy books."

Li Xuewu smiled and nodded, "Yes, I just found that out myself."

Seeing her mother chide Li Xuewu, and noticing that Li Xuewu didn't explain why he had given her the book, Gu Ning glanced at him and reached out to take the bundle of books from his hands.

"Thank you. You're right; a person shouldn't just have rich emotions, but should also have a healthy and firm mind."

Seeing Gu Ning accept the books, Ding Bianji smiled, then looked at Li Xuewu and said, "Stay and eat here tonight. Auntie will make you something delicious."

Li Xuewu thanked her, "Thank you, Auntie. I really want to eat your cooking, but I have work matters to attend to tonight. I had planned to take Dr. Gu out for a stroll this afternoon and then taste your cooking tonight while dropping her off, but I really can't get away from things at the factory. It's truly a pity. I'm sorry, Auntie."

"Hey, what's there to be sorry about? I told you before, come over whenever you want to hang out. Don't be formal; Auntie will make you something delicious even without an excuse."

Ding Bianji chided Li Xuewu slightly, then said, "Since you're busy, Auntie won't keep you. Come over whenever you have time."

"Alright, thank you, Auntie."

As he spoke, Li Xuewu said goodbye to Gu Ning once more, jumped into the jeep, nodded, and left the Gu residence.

Watching Li Xuewu's car drive away, Ding Bianji took her daughter's hand, looked at the book in her daughter's hand, and asked, "Doesn't your dad have a set on his bookshelf?"

Gu Ning felt a bit embarrassed but stubbornly retorted, "Mm, those are Dad's. I can't just flip through them."

Ding Bianji looked at her daughter, whose face was about to turn red, and stopped talking about that topic, asking instead where they had gone today.

Once inside, Gu Ning put the books in the study, walked out, looked at her mother hesitantly, and said, "Mom, I want to tell you something."

Ding Bianji didn't know what was wrong with her daughter. She had just seen her getting along quite well with Li Xuewu; could she have been bullied?

"What's wrong? What do you want to tell Mom?" Ding Bianji pulled her daughter onto the sofa and asked.

Gu Ning softened her tone and began, "Today at the bookstore, after we bought the books and came out..."

"Creeeak~"

When Li Xuewu drove the jeep to the gate of the compound and saw the guard raise the barrier again, he parked the car at the entrance of the guard post.

Under the guard's puzzled gaze, Li Xuewu braced himself against the jeep's door frame, jumped out, walked to the guard post, and saluted the guard.

After the guard returned the salute, Li Xuewu asked with a smile, "May I know why you opened the barrier for me without checking my car?"

"What do you mean?" the guard asked, confused.

Li Xuewu waved his hand and said, "Don't misunderstand. I don't come here often, but the first time I came, my credentials were checked. How come they weren't checked this time?"

The guard looked at the jeep behind Li Xuewu and said, "We have the license plate registered."

Hearing the guard's words, Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes instantly, took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, handed it to the guard, and said, "Thank you for clearing that up for me."

The guard looked at this person, who seemed to have a screw loose, with a wry smile. Was he running a fever from driving a convertible?

Giving a whole pack of cigarettes just for asking one question?

"No, no, no, we can't accept these."

Li Xuewu chuckled, placed the cigarettes on the windowsill of the guard post, jumped back into the jeep, and drove out of the compound through the barrier the guard had opened.

It was already past three o'clock when Li Xuewu returned to the compound. He called Seeing Sha Zhu from the middle courtyard, moved the set of kitchen knives into the jeep, and loaded twenty fish and a barrel of liquor into the back seat.

By now, the fish were frozen solid and packed in bags, so there was no longer any fear of them making the car smell fishy.

"Hey, this little car you've tinkered with is really not bad."

Seeing Sha Zhu sat in the passenger seat, looking at the compact Willys and couldn't stop praising it.

Li Xuewu started the engine, stepped on the gas, shouted "Hold on tight!", and drove the car rushing out of the gate.

It was past three o'clock when he entered the compound; it would be four o'clock by the time he reached the steel mill.

Entering the factory gate, Li Xuewu greeted the security guards and drove toward the guesthouse.

Upon entering the guesthouse compound, Li Xuewu saw that the construction site at the entrance had been cleared.

Seeing Li Xuewu arrive, Xu Ning ran out, bringing several people with him to help move things.

"Hey, quite a few people helping out today, huh?"

Seeing Sha Zhu watched Liu Lan lead people to move the fish and kitchenware inside, and was also somewhat surprised by the scale of Li Xuewu's setup.

Li Xuewu didn't linger with Seeing Sha Zhu to reminisce; instead, he followed Xu Ning to check out the restaurant and kitchen on the first floor.

By the standards of this era, this guesthouse could be considered three-star.

White walls, green window frames, natural wood-colored tables and chairs, and uniforms for the service staff.

Xu Ning reported to Li Xuewu, "The service staff have been in training for almost a week. We brought them over this time to test them out."

Li Xuewu smiled and nodded, then entered the kitchen.

By now, Seeing Sha Zhu had also come in and was exchanging pleasantries with the three chefs Xu Ning had brought over.

Liu Lan had known Master Yang and the others a bit earlier than Seeing Sha Zhu. As the manager of the back kitchen, Liu Lan introduced them to Seeing Sha Zhu.

"Good, good, good. I've long wanted to learn some skills from the palace-cuisine masters. Coming here today was truly worth it."

Seeing Sha Zhu had just finished being polite when Liu Lan urged, "Hurry up and get to work. We have enough to keep us busy today."

"Got it, Li Kezhang Liu," Seeing Sha Zhu replied with a playful quip.

Liu Lan didn't have time to joke around with Seeing Sha Zhu; she just glared at him and went to get busy.

Seeing the knives on the cutting board, Master Yang and Master Wei were both stunned for a moment, then each collected their thoughts and went to work.

Master Qian, however, stood in front of the cutting board for a while, looked at each knife one by one, and only then began directing his two apprentices to get to work.

Because there was one Sichuan-cuisine chef and three palace-cuisine chefs tonight, the menu for the evening was set to be simple and very orderly.

One Sichuan dish, three palace dishes, in large portions, and Seeing Sha Zhu would make a soup to finish the job.

Li Xuewu had set it up according to state banquet standards: four dishes and one soup.

In this era, that wasn't considered meager, because there was fish, meat, chicken, and rabbit, so the four chefs had plenty of room to showcase their skills tonight.

Seeing that things here were being managed in an orderly fashion by Xu Ning and Liu Lan, Li Xuewu smiled and nodded, then said to Xu Ning, "You've worked hard these past few days. Drink well tonight."

Xu Ning seemed to understand Li Xuewu's situation well and said hesitantly, "Li Kezhang, do you need me to... regarding the money for this time?"

Li Xuewu pulled Xu Ning aside, and the two walked to the side of the corridor. Only then did Li Xuewu say, "The rabbit and chicken were hunted by Deputy Li Kezhang Fu and me, and the pork was too. I provided the fish and liquor, but it was all offset by gasoline coupons."

"It's not just these, is it?"

Li Xuewu waved his hand and said, "Everything else was purchased by Li Kezhang Han using our retained funds. The Security Section has worked hard for a year; it's only right to have some fun."

Hearing Li Xuewu's arrangements, Xu Ning nodded, stopped talking about the money, and reported on the other arrangements for the evening.

In government units, money is always an unavoidable point of conflict between superiors and subordinates, but nothing can be done without money.

Li Xuewu drew a very clear line between work and personal matters; work is work, and personal is personal.

When entrusting Li Kezhang Guan of the steel mill workshop to help cast radiators, one must go to the finance department to settle the accounts, and the same applied to car repairs.

Conversely, when buying police dogs for the steel mill, he wouldn't wait until dawn to get his own ten yuan back. Even for this banquet organized by the steel mill, Li Xuewu wouldn't spend a single cent that should come from the retained funds.

As a worker, what Li Xuewu could provide was the same as Fu Bin: "selflessly" contributing the game hunted during official business.

But as an individual, if he provided fish and liquor to the Security Section, the corresponding gasoline coupons would be deducted from the Security Section's accounts.