Chapter 305: Immediate Departure

While they were talking, Yu Li came over after finishing the cleaning in the back courtyard.

Seeing Yu Li enter the room, Yan Jiecheng glanced at her, wanting to say something, but seeing that his wife ignored him, he dejectedly lowered his head to eat.

Li Xuewu held the steamed bun in his hand and said to Yan Jiecheng, "In a while, drop me off at the Steel Institute; you go pick up Han Zhan and Liu Zhaolun."

"Understood."

Yan Jiecheng agreed and said nothing more.

This had been decided yesterday; Li Xuewu planned to take Han Zhan and Liu Zhaolun to the Northeast, to settle things quickly and strive to bring the person back before New Year's Eve.

After finishing the meal, Li Xuewu put on his coat, grabbed his bag, and got into the car Yan Jiecheng had prepared.

Knowing Li Xuewu was leaving today, Liu Yin, Da Lao, and the others stood in the west courtyard to see him off.

Li Xuewu didn't take this trip seriously; the last time he went to the Northeast, nothing much happened, and this time he was taking the express passenger train, so it wouldn't be too tiring.

He waved his hand toward the window to say goodbye to his family, and the car drove out of the west courtyard.

The two drove along Gulou West Street, exited Deshengmen, and headed straight north. After passing Madian Bridge, they turned left onto Xueyuan Road once they reached Beiji Temple.

At this time, on Xueyuan Road, there was a school ranked first among the eight major institutes of Xueyuan Road, known as the "Peking-Tsinghua-Steel Third," which was the Steel Institute affiliated with the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry.

This school was impressive because it was established early and had a very strong start.

After all, the founding of the Steel Institute gathered many faculty members from high-quality higher education institutions such as Tsinghua University and Beiyang University.

Li Xuewu coming here was considered pulling strings; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to enter such a school.

The final exam was at 8:00 AM, which was the time for the first class of the day.

Li Xuewu didn't arrive early, because when he entered the school gate, he could already hear the morning music playing on the broadcast.

Because it was his first time here, he had Yan Jiecheng park the jeep at the school gate. Li Xuewu jumped out of the car and asked the guard about the location of the teaching building.

The guard looked at Li Xuewu's attire and then at his face, thinking he was some leader's secretary, and smiled as he pointed out the direction.

Li Xuewu waved his hand to thank him and got back into the passenger seat.

The guard watched this strange-looking jeep enter the school gate, wondering in his heart which big shot's family member had sent their child to school again.

Because the jeep's license plate belonged to the Steel Rolling Mill, the guard was certain it was a car for a leader within the system.

Yan Jiecheng looked at the road and drove the car directly to the entrance of the teaching building. After Li Xuewu got out, he turned the car around and drove out to pick up Han Zhan and Liu Zhaolun.

Li Xuewu got out of the jeep and looked up at the teaching building in front of him; it wasn't very tall, four stories, with the main building being taller, at seven stories.

At this time, the school was already an important department of the state, so the hardware facilities were all excellent.

Li Xuewu's luggage was still in the trunk, and he had nothing in his hands, only a fountain pen tucked into his pocket.

This was the same bear-like state as when Li Xuewu went to take exams in his past life, which was never to bring books to the exam hall to sharpen his spear at the last minute.

Following the flow of people, Li Xuewu pushed open the wooden building door and entered the first-floor lobby.

Han Laoshi had only said the exam was in classroom 203 on the second floor. Li Xuewu didn't know which side the room numbers started from, so he just followed a staircase on one side up to the second floor.

Classroom 203 wasn't hard to find; every classroom door lintel had a horizontal sign with the room number on it.

At first, no one noticed Li Xuewu, but as he walked toward the classroom, more and more people looked at this burly young man wearing a leather jacket with nothing in his hands.

Li Xuewu was particularly eye-catching among this group, because these proud sons of the era were all wearing blue school uniforms, with ceramic school badges pinned to their chests.

And only Li Xuewu was wearing a leather jacket, black, neat trousers, and leather shoes on his feet; this outfit was rarely seen even on the professors in the institute.

The crowd didn't know what Li Xuewu was doing; students walking in front of Li Xuewu secretly looked back, while students walking behind Li Xuewu pointed and speculated about Li Xuewu's identity.

Entering the classroom, there were ordinary wooden desks and chairs. Li Xuewu found a seat near the door, just for the convenience of leaving later.

Handing in the paper on time was impossible; the exam was an hour and a half, and Li Xuewu planned to finish the exam as quickly as possible.

It wasn't time yet, and people were entering the classroom one after another. Every student who entered would glance at Li Xuewu.

Originally, Li Xuewu didn't feel awkward, as he didn't know anyone.

Checking the time, just as he was about to go out for a smoke, he saw a male student wearing glasses ask him, "Teacher, what time are the papers being handed out?"

"Hmm?"

Li Xuewu looked behind him and found that everyone was looking this way. It turned out that this male student was asking him. Only then did he understand that this silly child had mistaken him for the invigilator.

"Sorry, I'm here to take the exam too."

"Hahahaha."

Buzz buzz buzz~

Hearing Li Xuewu's answer, the students around him laughed, and those further away who hadn't heard what was said were asking the people in front.

This male student looked at Li Xuewu in a daze, smiled, said sorry, and went to the back.

Li Xuewu felt a bit uncomfortable with the gazes and laughter behind him, having a feeling as if he had been held back a grade.

Standing up and walking out the door, seeing there was no "No Smoking" sign in the corridor, Li Xuewu took out a cigarette and lit one for himself.

"Classmate, which class are you from? How come I haven't seen you before?"

Li Xuewu had just taken a puff when he heard someone greeting him from behind.

Turning around, he saw it was the bespectacled young man who had just spoken to him.

"Oh, oh, I don't know which class I'm in either," Li Xuewu replied with a dry laugh.

This wasn't Li Xuewu deliberately acting mysterious; he just didn't know which class he was in, because Han Laoshi hadn't told him about these things.

"Hiss."

This boy looked at Li Xuewu in surprise and asked mysteriously, "You wouldn't happen to be someone with status, would you?"

After speaking, he looked Li Xuewu up and down, as if he could judge Li Xuewu's identity from his attire.

"Hehehe, we're all classmates, what status could I have?"

Li Xuewu smiled and gestured with the cigarette in his hand to the male student, saying, "I usually don't find it convenient to come to the school, so I can only come during exams. Want a smoke?"

The boy looked at the cigarette in Li Xuewu's hand and hesitated, declining, "No, I can't afford to smoke this."

"Hehe."

Li Xuewu didn't insist and put away the cigarette case and lighter.

University students at this time were all proud sons of heaven, with strong self-esteem and a great need to save face.

Li Xuewu naturally wouldn't bring his social side into the campus.

Seeing Li Xuewu's action, the boy smiled and said, "My name is Zhou Shusheng, I'm in the Marxism-Leninism class. We might be classmates."

Li Xuewu reached out and shook hands with this short but socially adept classmate, saying, "Hello classmate, my name is Li Xuewu."

Once they exchanged names, they were considered acquaintances. The two stood by the window, looking at the campus outside, and talked about the situation in the school.

Just as this Zhou Shusheng was telling Li Xuewu how cold it was in the North, Han Shu walked behind Li Xuewu and asked, "Xuewu? Why are you standing outside?"

"Han Chuzhang."

"Han Laoshi."

The two different forms of address were both for Han Shu. Zhou Shusheng saw that Li Xuewu knew the director in the school, so he must be a person with a background. He felt that Li Xuewu's humility just now was just him being low-key.

Greeting Han Shu and nodding to Li Xuewu, Zhou Shusheng went into the classroom.

Han Shu looked at Li Xuewu with a smile and said, "Your social skills are really something. You've made a friend in such a short time?"

"Hehehe."

Li Xuewu chuckled, "Maybe it's because my attire is special."

Replying to his teacher, Li Xuewu explained, "I have to go on a business trip in a while, and time is very tight, so I'm dressed inappropriately. Please forgive me, teacher."

Han Shu nodded and said, "I heard your teacher mention it. Go in and prepare for the exam. You can leave after you finish."

"Thank you, teacher."

Li Xuewu smiled and agreed, then entered the classroom.

Because they saw Han Shu following Li Xuewu in, the students in the classroom looked at Li Xuewu with even more different eyes.

Zhou Shusheng, who had been chatting with Li Xuewu earlier, was surrounded by people asking him questions.

Han Shu ignored the talking in the room, opened the exam papers, and placed some in each row of the first column to be passed back.

As the exam papers were handed out, the talking in the classroom gradually disappeared, followed by the rustling sound of pen tips rubbing against the paper.

Li Xuewu looked at the exam paper in his hand; because it was printed with ink, there were ink stains on it.

There weren't many questions. Under Han Laoshi's supervision, Li Xuewu had flipped through the textbook, so this exam paper had no difficulty for him.

The slightly difficult part was the second half of the paper, with large sections of narrative and subjective questions.

This was even more of a strength for Li Xuewu.

After answering the last question, Li Xuewu looked at his watch: fifty-one minutes.

Signaling to his teacher, Li Xuewu handed in his exam paper early under the gaze of the entire classroom.

In this era, there was no such thing as handing in the paper early; Li Xuewu could be considered to have refreshed these students' cognition.

What surprised the students in the classroom the most was that the always serious and earnest Han Chuzhang didn't stop this person.

Although the students were surprised by Li Xuewu's behavior, most just glanced at him and buried their heads in the exam again.

Only the student sitting by the window saw the person who had just left the classroom get into a strange-looking jeep and drive away from the school.

Li Xuewu looked at Han Zhan and Liu Zhaolun in the back seat; both were wearing military coats, looking like they were going on a long trip.

"Don't tell me you all came carrying military luggage."

"Hahaha, how could that be?"

Han Zhan replied with a smile, "I only brought one bag, for carrying the long guns."

"Me too."

Liu Zhaolun was very excited to be named for a business trip, and he was also a bit nervous about Li Xuewu's question, so he just followed Han Zhan's words when answering.

Li Xuewu saw Liu Zhaolun's nervousness but didn't comfort him; after all, it wasn't his first mission, and there would be plenty of time on the road for this rookie to learn to be calm and think.

"We're taking the noon train, and we expect to arrive tomorrow morning. Once we get there, we'll go meet this legendary young talent."

Liu Zhaolun was now both nervous and excited; after all, there weren't many opportunities to show his face while following a leader.

"Ke-zhang, are we taking the sleeper train?"

"Hmm?"

Li Xuewu looked back at Liu Zhaolun, who had wide eyes and a curious face, and asked, "How come you thought of asking about the sleeper?"

Liu Zhaolun said embarrassedly, "I heard them say that the best seats on the train are the sleepers."

"Hehe."

Han Zhan winked at Liu Zhaolun and said, "Work hard this time, catch the target, and our Ke-zhang might be able to take a sleeper next time."

"Hehehe."

Watching Liu Zhaolun look at Han Zhan with a confused face, Li Xuewu threw two unopened packs of Da Qianmen from his pocket to the back.

"Sleepers aren't for anyone who wants to sit in them; you have to be a cadre at the division level or above to be eligible to queue up."

"Ah?"

Hearing Li Xuewu's explanation, Liu Zhaolun was surprised, then asked, "Then why do those people in the team talk like it's true, all saying the sleepers they've taken are good?"

"Fooling the silly kid!"

"Hahahaha."

Following Han Zhan's teasing, laughter instantly erupted in the car, and even Yan Jiecheng couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Teasing Liu Zhaolun, the jeep entered the courtyard of the D City Branch Bureau.

Li Xuewu came here to report to Zheng Ju about the case situation and the upcoming departure.

Going up to the third floor, he knocked on the door of Zheng Fuhua's office.

"Enter."

Hearing Zheng Fuhua's voice, Li Xuewu pushed open the door, smiled, and saluted, "Zheng Ju."

"Oh, Comrade Xuewu, come, come, come."

Zheng Fuhua stood up and waved at Li Xuewu, signaling him to sit on the sofa, while he himself walked toward the side of the sofa.

Li Xuewu waited for Zheng Fuhua to sit on the sofa before sitting down.

"Zheng Ju, I'm here to report to you on the progress of the case and the upcoming arrest situation."

Zheng Fuhua took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled out two, and threw one to Li Xuewu, while he himself lit one. Seeing Li Xuewu about to stand up to light it, he waved his hand to signal he would do it himself, letting Li Xuewu continue.

Li Xuewu tucked the cigarette behind his ear, introduced the general situation of the case to Zheng Fuhua, and then talked about the investigation progress at the Steel Rolling Mill.

Because he needed so much, Li Xuewu didn't reveal everything about Fu Bin's situation, but prepared to slowly unfold the investigation after bringing Fu Haibo back from the Northeast.

Zheng Fuhua narrowed his eyes, smoking, and listened carefully to Li Xuewu's report.

He had already heard some implications from Li Xuewu's report; after all, he was an old public security officer and a proper leader. Zheng Fuhua didn't care much about these petty schemes.

As long as the plate was controlled well, the food on the plate could be eaten however one wanted.

"Hmm."

Seeing Li Xuewu finish his report, Zheng Fuhua nodded and said, "Since the case in the city is over, you go ahead and busy yourself with the next matters. Leave the interrogation work to Shen Fang and the others; the case won't be closed until after the New Year anyway."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "Yes, whether it's the number of people involved or the amount of money involved, it far exceeds my expectations. I estimate the case won't be processed until at least March."

"Hehehe."

Zheng Fuhua smiled and pointed at Li Xuewu, saying, "Is there anything you, Li Xuewu, can't predict? Don't use that set of Shen Fang's here with me."

As he spoke, Zheng Fuhua stood up, walked to the desk, picked up an appointment document and an introduction letter, and placed them in front of Li Xuewu.

The first thing Li Xuewu saw was the introduction letter; Li Xuewu actually knew the form of the letter very well, having seen many of them when he was in the Security Section.

As for why Li Xuewu had to come to the Branch Bureau for an introduction letter, it was because the person he was going to arrest now wasn't local.

Handling cases across regions without an introduction letter from above the Branch Bureau level, he probably wouldn't even be able to bring the person back.

Regional protection now was very serious, unlike later generations where cross-regional cooperation was casual.

Even in later generations, cross-regional case handling was a difficult problem.

If Li Xuewu held an introduction letter from the Steel Rolling Mill, it might work at the Hong Kong Branch, but if he went outside the jurisdiction of the steel system, it would be a piece of waste paper; the local authorities wouldn't recognize it at all.

The format of the introduction letter given by Zheng Ju was the same as the Steel Rolling Mill's, just with different content. What surprised Li Xuewu the most was the rank of the team leader.

Li Xuewu saw that the rank after his name on the introduction letter was deputy division level.

"Zheng Ju, this... is it written wrong?"

Actually, Li Xuewu didn't suspect the introduction letter was opened wrong, but thought the bureau did it on purpose.

Sometimes, when performing tasks across regions, the rank of the leader is falsely marked, just for convenience when going out.

This was the reason why a bunch of division chiefs and directors appeared on trains in the 80s and 90s.

Of course, this trend was rare now, but Li Xuewu couldn't help but guess so.

Zheng Fuhua pointed his finger at the document below the introduction letter, signaling Li Xuewu to take a look.

Li Xuewu glanced at Zheng Fuhua, then picked up the document below and read it.

Actually, there was no need to read much; the text of the appointment document was very concise, just a few lines.

Especially when Li Xuewu saw his name right at the top.

The header of the document was "Beijing Public Security Bureau D City Branch Bureau Document," and below it was the file number: Beigongbanfa 【1966】 No. 7.

Below a red horizontal line was: "Notice of the Beijing Public Security Bureau D City Branch Bureau regarding the appointment of Comrade Li Xuewu."

To all district sections, brigades, and stations:

The Branch Bureau has studied and reported to the Municipal Bureau for a decision:

Appoint Li Xuewu as Deputy Director of the Security Section of the Dongcheng Branch Bureau, and remove him from his position as Deputy Director of the Jiaodaokou Police Station.

The entire notice was just this one line, and below it were the four words "Hereby notified."

Of course, the complete format had more below these four words:

Beijing Public Security Bureau D City Branch Bureau, January 16, 1966.

Subject words: Notice of appointment and removal of positions.

Beijing Public Security Bureau D City Branch Bureau.

Printed and distributed on January 16, 1966.

Li Xuewu stared at the appointment document in his hand in a daze. Zheng Fuhua smiled and said, "Gao Ju has high expectations for you. Yesterday, it was brought to a meeting, and then it went to the Municipal Bureau to finalize this matter. Isn't that right?"

As he spoke, Zheng Fuhua pointed at the document in Li Xuewu's hand and said, "The document in your hand is still hot; it was just sent to me."

Li Xuewu could tell the document was new from the file number; it was January now, and also the New Year season, so the file number was still very small.

Looking at the content of the document, he knew that appointment documents were usually issued for several people at once, rarely for just one person.

Raising his head to look at Zheng Fuhua, Li Xuewu said excitedly, "Zheng Ju, Xuewu is new to the world and inexperienced. I am honored by your misplaced love to take on such a heavy responsibility. I fear my talent is short and my thoughts are shallow, like a small cup trying to hold a large amount."

Looking at Li Xuewu's face full of surprise and humility, Zheng Fuhua smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Gao Ju and I have both seen your ability; there's no need to belittle yourself."

As he spoke, Zheng Fuhua leaned back on the sofa and explained, "Another thing, we didn't give you this position for you to enjoy the treatment; it's because the Branch Bureau now needs you to contribute your strength."

To tell the truth, Zheng Fuhua really started to appreciate Li Xuewu.

Putting aside other reasons, just speaking of Li Xuewu's knowledge and talent, he was a rare gem among a group of rough-and-tumble people in the system.

If one were to compare knowledge and talent, there were people more powerful than Li Xuewu, but most of them were writing articles in the Municipal Bureau, and they were rarely seen in the action units below.

This was very normal; after all, high-quality talent was still very scarce now.

If one were to compare action ability and professional ability, Li Xuewu could beat the current front-line personnel on the basis of his talent.

Especially since Li Xuewu could connect with Zheng Fuhua; to put it simply, Li Xuewu's thinking could be on the same channel as Zheng Fuhua's.

This was something Zheng Fuhua couldn't see in Shen Fang, let alone in Duan Youting, who was older and had a lower education.

Li Xuewu put down the document in his hand and sat up straight, saying, "Zheng Ju, as long as the bureau has a place for Xuewu, I will definitely be duty-bound, but this...".

Hesitating for a moment, Li Xuewu pushed the appointment document forward and said, "My ability can still be used in the Steel Rolling Mill. There are countless talented people in the bureau, and besides, my age is really...".

Li Xuewu's intention to decline was very clear, and Zheng Fuhua could naturally see what Li Xuewu meant.

"Hehehe."

Zheng Fuhua pushed the document on the coffee table back and said, "We didn't ask you to leave the Steel Rolling Mill; the personnel files are on two lines. Another thing is the age problem you mentioned."

As he spoke, Zheng Fuhua stood up, walked to the desk, and flipped through the documents on the table. While searching, he said, "It's a good thing you can humbly recognize your own shortcomings."

Finding the document he was looking for, Zheng Fuhua walked back and said, "But you must know that the nature of our unit emphasizes that learning has no order of seniority; the capable come first. Being humble and yielding is the most undesirable thing."

Walking to Li Xuewu's side, he handed a document to Li Xuewu and said, "Take a look."

Li Xuewu took the document Zheng Fuhua handed him and looked at it, seeing it was a meeting minute.

Flipping it open to read, from the content of the meeting, it was discussing the issue of Li Xuewu's appointment.

Actually, this kind of document shouldn't be shown to Li Xuewu, because there were those who supported and those who opposed the appointment discussed at the meeting.

This didn't conform to organizational procedures, but Zheng Fuhua thought that Li Xuewu wasn't a person from the Branch Bureau before, so he wouldn't have any thoughts, which was why he handed the record to Li Xuewu to read.

Looking at it so intuitively could let Li Xuewu know the bureau's attitude toward using him, and could also let Li Xuewu know how much pressure Gao Ju and Zheng Fuhua were under to give Li Xuewu this opportunity.

The resolution finally formed by the meeting minutes, besides Li Xuewu's appointment, also determined Li Xuewu's assigned work and responsibilities.

Comrade Li Xuewu shall assist the Director of the Security Section in managing the security work of the Security Section. At the same time, Comrade Li Xuewu shall be responsible for managing the command, training, and team building of the Branch Bureau's action personnel, coordinating, integrating, and improving the action ability and defense awareness of the security forces belonging to key units, factories, and mines within the entire region, and concurrently managing the Branch Bureau's equipment construction work.

Li Xuewu looked at the meeting minutes in his hand; this scattered assigned work surprised him quite a bit.

This wasn't a deputy division director at all; this power structure was almost catching up to a deputy bureau director.

Another thing, this work division usually wasn't divided like this; it should be that Li Xuewu joined the section, and the director presiding over the work discussed it at a work meeting and reported it to the Branch Bureau for a decision.

But Li Xuewu's work division was now discussed by the Branch Bureau meeting and decided directly along with the appointment document, which was rare.

Looking at Li Xuewu's surprised expression, Zheng Fuhua smiled and said, "Gao Ju is a leader with great courage. The power has been given to you; it just depends on whether you can still achieve such dazzling results as that night."

Li Xuewu actually didn't want to wade into these muddy waters; the changes here this year might be very large, and his own layout here might be washed away.

But now Li Xuewu was completely forced into a corner by Zheng Fuhua.

The atmosphere had been built up to this point; if he didn't take this deputy division director position, Zheng Fuhua would dare to let Li Xuewu not walk out of this door.

"Since Gao Ju thinks highly of me, and I can be honored by your misplaced love, I will take on this burden."

"Hey!"

Zheng Fuhua exclaimed and said, "If it weren't because it's almost the end of the year, and if it weren't because your case this time was indeed handled beautifully, this deputy division director position of yours would really be hard to say."

After saying this, he asked, "How many people are you taking to the Northeast?"

Li Xuewu replied, "Three people including the driver; it should be enough."

Zheng Fuhua waved his hand, walked to the door, opened it, and went out. Not long after, he came back, bringing Duan Youting with him.

"Hello, Deputy Division Director Li, hahaha."

Seeing Li Xuewu stand up, Duan Youting very formally saluted Li Xuewu, then saw Li Xuewu's expression and laughed again.

Zheng Fuhua smiled at the two and said, "Each generation of talented people emerges from the mountains and rivers, each leading the way for hundreds of years. Falling behind means taking a beating; this is the reason I let you all learn more."

These words were to explain to Duan Youting the reason for Li Xuewu's promotion, and also to give Li Xuewu a gentle step down.

After explaining, Zheng Fuhua said to Li Xuewu, "The people you brought aren't enough; at the very least, the identity is too singular. Like this, let Beixinqiao send you a person; it just so happens Youting is here."

After instructing Li Xuewu, Zheng Fuhua said to Duan Youting, "I'm grabbing you as a strong laborer today; hurry up and arrange for someone to prepare to go with Li Xuewu, and then tell the people in the office to call the railway to ask for tickets."

"Yes."

Duan Youting agreed and said to Li Xuewu with a smile, "I came to report work to the leader today, didn't expect to pick up a bargain, haha. Wait a moment, I'll go call someone now."

Without waiting for Li Xuewu to be polite, Duan Youting had already gone out the door.

Zheng Fuhua extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand in the ashtray on the desk, then said to Li Xuewu, "We'll talk about your office and equipment when you come back. This is your identification."

Li Xuewu took the identification Zheng Fuhua handed him, saluted, and said, "Yes."

"I wish you a smooth journey and success."

"Yes, guarantee to complete the mission."

Shaking hands with Zheng Fuhua, Li Xuewu took the document and his identification and left the office.

Until he walked downstairs, Li Xuewu still felt it was unbelievable.

The deputy division director position he sought but couldn't get hadn't been realized in the Steel Rolling Mill, but it was realized here at the Branch Bureau.

It really is a little monk riding on a roof beam—strange and wonderful.

Just as he walked to the car, he saw Duan Youting walking over with a person.

Li Xuewu squinted his eyes against the sun and looked; wasn't this He Yu Shui's partner, that... that one called Jing Yongjie?

"Deputy Division Director Li, this is our station's 'Desperate Third Young Master,' his name is..."

Before Duan Youting could finish the introduction, Li Xuewu reached out and shook hands with Jing Yongjie, who was stunned by his station chief's address to Li Xuewu.

Jing Yongjie stammered, "Hello... Hello Deputy Division Director Li."

What kind of god-like progress speed is this? Is he progressing by riding a rocket launcher!

Li Xuewu shook his hand and let go, saying with a smile, "We know each other."

"Oh?"

Duan Youting looked at Li Xuewu in surprise, then looked at Jing Yongjie beside him.

That someone in his own station knew Li Xuewu wasn't a good situation; this made Duan Youting couldn't help but think of what Shen Fang had said.

Back then, when Old Song and Xiao Mi made mistakes, Duan Youting wanted to protect his own people, and Shen Fang told Duan Youting that if Li Xuewu wanted to investigate him, he could investigate him to the bottom, and Li Xuewu must know whether he had been in solitary confinement or not.

Hey, didn't expect this to really be said by Shen Fang; there really was someone in his station that Li Xuewu knew. Could this person be from the Investigation Department?

Jing Yongjie also saw the change in his station chief's expression and wanted to explain something anxiously.

Because he also remembered the question Li Xuewu asked when he met him last time.

Damn, Jing Yongjie now had no excitement about the opportunity to make a contribution; all he thought about was how he would come back, how he would explain this to the station chief!

Li Xuewu smiled and explained, "Neighbors in our courtyard, he is Jing Yongjie's partner."

"Oh, oh, oh."

Duan Youting looked at Li Xuewu suspiciously; this big bluffer had dug too many pits for Duan Youting, and now Duan Youting basically didn't believe what Li Xuewu said.

Why else would people say Duan Youting's cultivation wasn't enough? He wasn't as cunning as Shen Fang; Shen Fang didn't believe even a punctuation mark of what Li Xuewu said.

"Alright, we have to catch the train. Station Chief Duan, you and Station Chief Shen work hard at home."

"Yes."

Duan Youting entered the role quickly; the change in status made Duan Youting execute Li Xuewu's orders even more justifiably.

Agreeing with Li Xuewu, Duan Youting instructed Jing Yongjie, "Obey orders and listen to commands, cooperate well with Deputy Division Director Li's action this time."

"Yes."

Jing Yongjie composed himself and saluted Duan Youting.

Li Xuewu had already jumped into the passenger seat, and once Jing Yongjie got into the car, he waved his hand to signal departure.

On the road, Li Xuewu didn't say much, still digesting the changes brought by his status.

This change wasn't just in the address, but also in the responsibility.

Han Zhan and Liu Zhaolun in the back seat heard the conversation between Li Xuewu and Duan Youting, not knowing how the Ke-zhang became a deputy division director.

Especially Liu Zhaolun, he hadn't even worked hard yet, and the Ke-zhang was already a deputy division director?

The jeep entered the Beijing Railway Station. Han Zhan and Jing Yongjie took their identification to the service office to pick up tickets, while Li Xuewu and the three others entered the waiting room.

The railway station of this era was actually the same as the later generations; at the very least, the layout was the same, with no major changes.

Li Xuewu came back last time at night and really didn't take a good look at this station with a historical flavor. Now looking at it, it was indeed a building with the characteristics of the era.

Outside the window, the train rumbled and squeaked into the station, and passengers crowded to get on and off the train.

Just as Li Xuewu was observing the waiting room, Han Zhan and Jing Yongjie returned, accompanied by a middle-aged man in a railway uniform.

When they reached Li Xuewu, Han Zhan introduced the person to him, "This is our Deputy Division Director Li."

After the introduction, he introduced the person to Li Xuewu, "This is Li Kezhang Xia from the service office."

Li Xuewu smiled and reached out, "Hello Li Kezhang Xia, on an emergency mission, sorry to trouble you."

Li Kezhang Xia knew Li Xuewu was being polite about the ticket just booked; the tickets for the four of them had been booked yesterday.

"Deputy Division Director Li is too polite, we are brother units, but..."

Li Kezhang Xia hesitated and said, "You booked too late, there are no sleepers on the train."

Li Xuewu waved his hand and said, "It's fine, it's fine, we didn't plan to use sleepers anyway; hard seats are fine."

Li Kezhang Xia only knew that the person who booked the tickets yesterday was a deputy division director after seeing the identification Han Zhan gave.

Generally speaking, this rank didn't count for much in front of the railway service office; it was just a small shrimp.

There wasn't much else in this Four Nine City, just a lot of people with "Chief" in their titles.

Even if a division chief came to book tickets, they would have to have a good relationship and face here to be able to queue up.

But Li Xuewu's deputy division director position was different; this wasn't a deputy division director of an enterprise, nor of a government office, but of a powerful department.

This power was huge. Li Kezhang Xia didn't need to come out to explain; he could have just told Han Zhan.

But coming here was just to build a good relationship.

Why else would people say there are no fools once they reach a certain level? They are all human spirits.

Seeing Li Xuewu wasn't old, Li Kezhang Xia didn't dare to underestimate him. Once they reached this level, the younger they were, the more overbearing they were.

"Really sorry, but we have already contacted the train. You can go to the dining car for meals when you eat, and we will arrange sleeper seats for you as soon as they become available."

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "No need for such trouble; being able to arrange seats for us is already troubling our railway comrades."

"Hahaha."

Seeing Li Xuewu was humble and polite, Li Kezhang Xia also felt this young deputy division director was worth befriending.

"The train will arrive soon, I won't invite you to the service office, I'll take you to the platform to wait for the train first."

Hearing the ticket checker ringing the bell at the ticket gate, Li Kezhang Xia took the few people through the side passage to the platform.

On the platform, Han Zhan took out the Da Qianmen Li Xuewu had given him earlier, offered a cigarette to Li Kezhang Xia, and the few people chatted on the platform while puffing smoke.

Watching the train enter the station, Li Xuewu and the others stopped talking, instead watching the rumbling black locomotive with green carriages drive into the platform.

With a squeaking sound of brakes, the train stopped at the designated position.

Li Kezhang Xia took the few people to the side of the carriage to communicate with the crew who had come down, shook hands with Li Xuewu again, and said, "Deputy Division Director Li, I'll send you here. I wish you a pleasant journey and a smooth trip."

Li Xuewu expressed his gratitude, "Thank you for your support, let's keep in touch."

After saying this, Li Xuewu took the few people onto the train.

Because they were reserved tickets, the seats for the few were in one place, and even Jing Yongjie, who had just booked the ticket, was helped by the train attendant to be adjusted here.

The five people's seats were by the door. Because it was the doorway, the seat layout was 3 against 2, just enough for five people to sit.

Liu Zhaolun diligently helped put away the luggage, while the bag containing the long guns was placed inside the seats.

This time, they only brought two 56-style assault rifles, and the rest were short guns.

This was also for emergencies; Li Xuewu was afraid that the situation at the branch factory wouldn't be right, and he wouldn't feel secure without weapons.

The train attendant also knew that these five people were carrying weapons; this had been reported at the beginning, so he stood here the whole time when passengers were coming up, afraid of any situation.

Li Xuewu gave instructions to Liu Zhaolun and Jing Yongjie, and the two handed the short guns to Han Zhan, stood up, and went to help the train attendant maintain order.

Approaching the Spring Festival, there were many passengers getting on the train. At this time, there was no situation of people entering the city for work, so the grand occasion of the Spring Festival travel rush hadn't appeared yet.

But now it was four days away from the Spring Festival, so there were quite a few people on the train.

Workers in this era all had family visit leave or convalescence leave, and most people would choose to travel during holidays to visit relatives and friends.

Li Xuewu watched the train start, and Han Zhan and the other returned.

"The five of us will take turns on duty in groups of two, rolling style, and the others will sleep."

Han Zhan looked at the carriage; it was basically full.

If it were normal times, it might be possible to find a three-person long chair to use as a sleeper, but now don't even think about it.

"Ke... Division Director."

Han Zhan called out but felt it wasn't right, hesitated, called him Division Director, and then said, "You and Jing Dui will take the first shift, we'll sleep first, and I'll get up to replace Jing Dui in a while."

Li Xuewu knew Han Zhan arranged it this way to take care of him; where could one rest well at this time?

Not to mention the carriage clattering on the tracks, just the noise in the carriage now was enough to keep one from sleeping peacefully.

But there was no way; executing a mission on a business trip was like this, someone must be awake 24 hours a day.

Now that five people were on a business trip, two people must be awake.

Li Xuewu pointed to his clothing bag and said to Han Zhan, "Use that bag as a pillow, it's softer, and another thing."

Looking at Han Zhan and Liu Zhaolun, he said, "You all still call me Ke-zhang; just follow the rules of the Steel Rolling Mill when you're at the Steel Rolling Mill."

Han Zhan and Liu Zhaolun looked at each other, agreed, and prepared to rest.

The trains now didn't have the sponge seats of later generations.

Later generations think those sponge seats are hard? The current ones are even harder, because they are pure wood.

Han Zhan was experienced, letting the small Liu Zhaolun wrap himself in a military coat and crawl under the two-person seat, while he himself crawled under the three-person seat.

Compared to sleeping on a wooden stool, sleeping on the car skin felt more comfortable.

Because they knew this trip would definitely be more uncomfortable than escorting, these few people were all wearing thick cotton-padded jackets and military coats, so they didn't feel cold shrinking under the seats.

Because there was heating under their feet.

It's worth mentioning that the heating on the train now is coal-fired, and the furnace for adding coal is at the front of each carriage.

The train attendant not only has to serve passengers and maintain order but also has to burn the boiler.

Yan Jiecheng originally fought to let Han Zhan sleep on top, and he would sleep below.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, he was rejected by Han Zhan. Firstly, the chair was really uncomfortable to sleep on, and secondly, Han Zhan told Yan Jiecheng to be smarter and do a good job serving the leader.

This wasn't looking down on Yan Jiecheng, but Yan Jiecheng's job on this trip was service.

Although Yan Jiecheng also brought a gun, that was just a decoration. The first thing to do was service, including driving, carrying bags, fetching water, buying cigarettes, and other logistical support work.

This chapter has an Easter egg chapter, which may need time for review. You might see it when you refresh in a while. It's about the Steel Institute. ===== CHAPTER 306 =====