Chapter 342: Tonight's Expenses Are On

Han Zhan handed several sheets of paper to Zhong Huilian and said, "I've just given the leadership my guarantee, and it means exactly this. You take these two copies of the guarantee, go in with me, and find those few to sign them; then this matter will be considered settled."

As he spoke, he emphasized, "But there is only one chance. You mustn't go in there and act recklessly. Our leadership is not easy to talk to; I have given guarantee after guarantee for this matter of yours."

"Yes, yes, yes, we understand, Comrade."

Old Zhong's wife was terrified by this point and only knew how to nod and agree busily.

Zhong Huilian pulled her ignorant sister-in-law, looked at Han Zhan, and said, "I know you've put in the effort. Thank you."

Han Zhan didn't care much about the small actions of these two. He waved his hand and said, "Just the two of you come with me; the others wait here."

As he spoke, he had already taken the lead and headed into the corridor.

Zhong Huilian pulled her sister-in-law and hurried to follow, knowing that he was taking them to see her eldest brother and the others who had been arrested, so they could sign and press their fingerprints together.

As soon as Han Zhan opened the door, Zhong Huilian frowned at the sight of the situation inside the room.

And Old Zhong's wife had already burst into tears at this moment.

She saw a room full of "fat pigs" on the floor, occasionally letting out a few "oink-oink" sounds.

Calling them fat pigs was because Old Zhong and his several sons were all crawling on the ground, with their hands and feet bound behind their backs, crossed and handcuffed.

It was the left hand and right foot, and the right hand and left foot, crossed and handcuffed together.

The few of them were like slaughter-ready hogs, arching their backs, baring their teeth, their faces full of pain.

Han Zhan ignored Old Zhong's wife, who had lunged over, and instead said to Zhong Huilian, "You talk first. When you're done, come to the corridor and call me."

As he spoke, he had already walked out and closed the door behind him.

Zhong Huilian turned to look at her eldest brother and nephews again. By now, their arrogance was long gone; one by one, they were bruised and swollen, crying and shouting in pain.

Old Zhong's wife threw herself beside her husband, wanting to undo the handcuffs, but that was just nonsense.

Han Zhan wasn't afraid of them playing tricks once he walked out; there were no keys in the room, and the only way to relieve the pain was to sign as quickly as possible.

Old Zhong looked at his younger sister and, seeing no one else behind her, knew that his brother-in-law was no longer going to help him.

"Xiao Lian."

"Eldest Brother."

Zhong Huilian walked to Old Zhong's side, squatted down, and supported her eldest brother's body.

"Xiao Lian, do I have to admit it?"

Zhong Huilian looked at her eldest brother's defeated complexion and the blood scabs all over his face, frowned, and said, "He didn't say they beat you. I'll go find them right now."

"Forget it."

Old Zhong also knew his sister was just comforting him; at a time like this, what was the point of saying that?

Not to mention whether his sister would go find them, even if she did, what could she do?

Wasn't it his own fault for crashing into them?

Zhong Huilian glanced at her eldest brother, hurriedly repeated the terms decided upon outside, and then waited for her eldest brother's opinion.

Old Zhong, just as Zhong Huilian had thought, did not hesitate and nodded in agreement to sign.

Zhong Huilian stood up, walked to the door, opened it, and called Han Zhan.

Han Zhan walked in and first unlocked the handcuffs for the youngest one, letting him go sign and press his fingerprint first.

This Zhong the Fifth, having gained his freedom, glanced timidly at Han Zhan and, under his aunt's instruction, went to the desk to sign and press his fingerprint.

In this way, six times over, the members of the Zhong family were released from their handcuffs one by one and went to the desk.

When the last one, Old Zhong, walked to the desk with his wife's support, trembling as he signed and pressed his fingerprint.

Zhong Huilian originally wanted to hand the signed papers to Han Zhan, but was held back by Han Zhan.

"You sign too."

"Me?"

"Yes."

Han Zhan looked at Zhong Huilian and said, "You are the involved party handling this matter, so you must sign."

Zhong Huilian glanced at her dejected eldest brother, picked up the pen to sign her name, and then pressed her fingerprint over it.

Han Zhan collected the papers on the table and said to the Zhong family and Zhong Huilian, "Remember, this case still has a criminal record with us."

"You..."

Zhong Huilian hadn't expected that her eldest brother and the others would have a criminal record here after giving their statements, and she was about to talk to Han Zhan about it.

But Han Zhan waved his hand and said, "Since I've helped you resolve this matter, I don't want to see any repetition, so don't you go causing any more trouble. That criminal record is just waste paper."

"But if I hear any more nonsense, we will come looking for you at any time."

As he spoke, he ignored the crowd, pulled open the door, and walked out.

This place was just a storeroom of the guesthouse, empty and desolate, just like the hearts of the Zhong family members.

Old Zhong, who didn't have a leg to stand on, didn't bother arguing about it anymore; supported by his wife, he walked out in silence.

Zhong Huilian pulled on the eldest son's clothes and asked in a low voice, "Did they torture you?"

The eldest son looked at his aunt hesitantly and whispered, "They beat us at the restaurant, and it never stopped once we got back. They beat us every little while."

As he spoke, he touched his body with his hand and said, "The stuff on my face doesn't count for much; my whole body hurts wherever I'm touched. There isn't a single good spot left."

Han Zhan didn't care about the joy of the Zhong family members reuniting; he gave an order and led everyone to pack their luggage, preparing to return to the camp.

The Zhong family members looked at the lobby, which was now empty of people, hurried their steps, didn't even exchange pleasantries with the relatives who had come over, and with their heads bowed, left the guesthouse and headed outside.

This is what you call refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit.

Li Xuewu smiled and waved his hand, declining the invitation from Dou Changfang of the Steel Mill to arrange a banquet, saying that he still had to drive tonight.

Dou Changfang knew full well the reason for the arrival of Xu Ning and the others, although the people at the Steel Mill were unwilling to have people from the main factory come to hold positions.

But there was no help for it; one must reap what one sows, and bear the consequences of one's own actions.

Not only did they have to welcome the exchange cadres from the main factory, but they had to welcome them warmly.

Dou Changfang, as the acting head of the Steel Mill, organized the employees to enter the grand auditorium for the second time this month to attend the cadre assembly.

Li Xuewu declined Dou Changfang's invitation, signaled for them to go to the podium, and sat in the first row, slightly to the right, along with the other cadres.

Seeing that Li Xuewu refused to go on stage, Dou Changfang had no choice but to accompany Yang Shuji, Yang Zongfang, and the others onto the podium.

The cadre assembly was convened under Dou Changfang's chairmanship, and the employees of the Steel Mill had long been discussing today's meeting.

Everyone knew that cadres from the main factory had arrived today; if someone comes, someone must go, and if someone goes up, someone must go down.

Now everyone was anxious about who would go up and who would go down.

Actually, those who go up know, and those who go down also know.

Those who don't know are the ones who are neither going up nor down.

For such a cadre assembly, the leadership had long since spoken with the comrades in the relevant positions, and the cadres from the Steel Mill who were to be exchanged to the main factory were already preparing.

They were preparing to conduct the handover after the meeting, and once they received the transfer orders from the main factory, they would have to set off for the south.

"Welcome Yang Shuji to... On behalf of the Steel Mill... I firmly support the decision of the Red Star Rolling Mill, unite the comrades..."

Li Xuewu listened to Dou Changfang's speech; he had to say, it was indeed eloquent, but it was just a bit too confident.

Everything before was fine, but that last sentence about uniting the comrades from the main factory—was this him pre-determining his position as the head of the Steel Mill?

"Next, let us invite the Secretary of the Red Star Rolling Mill, Yang Shuji, to deliver an important speech!"

Li Xuewu pretended not to understand the implication of this sentence and applauded along with the workers behind him.

Yang Yuansong clearly understood Dou Changfang's meaning, but on the podium, he could not show an expression of dissatisfaction in front of the cadres of the Steel Mill.

However, in the speech that followed, Yang Shuji left Dou Changfang hanging on the stage.

"The Rolling Mill has sent a deputy factory director and a security division chief this time... It is correct to say we should unite the comrades, but my requirement for them is that they must not be 'goody-two-shoes'."

Li Xuewu clearly saw Dou Changfang's face flush, but since it was Yang Shuji speaking, no one noticed him.

"They must not be like the likes of Yang Mingsu and Xiao Changqing, who only knew how to say 'yes' when faced with the unreasonable demands of Luojiaping."

Yang Yuansong's language was intense, and his wording was harsh as he pointed at the cadres below the stage: "You are cadres of the Steel Mill; the Steel Mill is the people's Steel Mill, not anyone's private property. You are also the people's cadres; you must not drift with the tide or curry favor..."

These words were harsh; Li Xuewu clearly felt the nervous mood among the cadres below the stage.

He turned his head to look at the expressions of Xu Ning and the others beside him; by now, everyone had a serious expression.

This was also unavoidable; after all, with the incident at Luojiaping, the loss was not just to the Steel Mill itself, but a loss for all the employees of the entire factory.

This was a relationship where one prospers or suffers with the whole.

One only needs to look at the performance of those bastard factory leaders in later generations who ruined factory after factory during the early stages of reform to know.

The foolish moves of the decision-making layer and the leadership layer will absolutely destroy a factory, regardless of how many people it has or how large its volume and scale are.

By the end of his speech, Yang Yuansong still left some face for the cadres of the Steel Mill.

He attributed the past achievements of the Steel Mill to the cadres present, the workers in the workshops, and the collective.

Instead of attributing it all to the leadership of Luojiaping, as Feng Xingke had said.

This caused the expression of Feng Xingke, who was sitting on the podium, to shift for a while.

Although the transfer notice had not yet been issued, he had communicated with Deputy Factory Director Nie, who was in charge of production, for a long time.

Deputy Factory Director Nie's reply was that the current situation was not clear, and Yang Fengshan had already convened many cadres for a discussion to listen to the opinions of all parties.

The competition for the position of the head of the Steel Mill and other deputy factory director positions was very intense.

Whether they were currently in office or were deputy division or section-level cadres from the Rolling Mill, everyone wanted to try to see if they could catch this ride.

This situation was also normal; when an organization or unit is in the limelight for promoting or transferring cadres, it often pays close attention to the relevant cadres' tenure and work performance.

If the leadership sets its sights on your performance and tenure, what that means is self-evident.

"Thank you to the vast number of cadres and employees of the Steel Mill for their support of the Steel Mill's cause and for their support of the Rolling Mill's leadership. In the future..."

All the leading cadres on the podium expressed their positions, especially Yang Zongfang, who made a statement as the representative of the cadres transferred from the Rolling Mill.

"After hearing Yang Shuji's words, I feel the burden on my shoulders is heavy... I will be in my new position..."

Li Xuewu watched Yang Zongfang's high-spirited appearance and smiled while applauding.

To be honest, he was still a bit envious of the cadres sent abroad; they said the burden on their shoulders was heavy, but actually, it was quite relaxed.

Could Li Xuewu be sent abroad?

Yes, he definitely could. What Yang Yuansong said to Li Xuewu that day was not a joke; he was actually testing Li Xuewu's attitude.

If it weren't for Li Xuewu's firm refusal, it was entirely possible for him to stay here and hold a position now.

This was also the reason why Li Xuewu made that phone call to Beijing; he could not leave Beijing.

The reason Li Xuewu refused to be sent abroad was not because of family reasons, nor was it because he was reluctant to leave anything, but because he didn't dare.

In Beijing, it was still possible to hide in the grass, hide oneself in the shadow of a big tree, and see things more clearly.

The further away one is from the political center, the more distorted the transmission of principles becomes.

In Beijing, they talk about the Qianmen Tower; once it reaches the local level, it might just be the hip bone.

After the cadre assembly concluded, Li Xuewu returned to the guesthouse with Yang Shuji, while Yang Zongfang began his official duties at the Steel Mill.

Today, he officially entered his work position with Xu Ning.

And Xu Ning found some free time after the assembly to chat with Li Xuewu for a while longer before confidently following Yang Zongfang to conduct the handover.

At the guesthouse, everyone was preparing to pack their luggage, and Yang Shuji brought Li Xuewu into Luojiaping's room.

Li Xuewu and the others had been here for five days, and Luojiaping hadn't had a good rest for four days.

After the interrogation yesterday, they let Luojiaping sleep for a while; the duty officer said that the snoring was enough to almost shake the house down.

Li Xuewu walked into the room and saw that Luojiaping's condition was still okay; his expression was very calm, and he didn't show any excited expression upon seeing him.

He walked to the window and reached out to pull the curtain open with a "swish."

The afternoon sun wasn't very intense, but for Luojiaping, it was dazzling enough.

Watching Luojiaping close his eyes to adapt to the light, Li Xuewu pointed outside the window and said, "Do you want to take another look at the Steel Mill? You might never see it again in this lifetime."

Luojiaping braced himself against the glaring light to look outside the window, then turned his head to look at Li Xuewu.

"Heh heh."

Li Xuewu looked at Luojiaping's eyes, smiled, and said, "I don't quite understand what you're insisting on."

As he spoke, he walked to the seat beside Yang Shuji, watching Luojiaping, who hadn't enjoyed the sun for several days, still adapting.

"Yang Mingsu has confessed, your son has confessed, and things have been searched out from your home."

Li Xuewu smiled and leaned back in his chair, looking at Luojiaping and saying, "Even the account book between you and Yang Mingsu has been found; what are you still insisting on?"

Luojiaping squinted at Li Xuewu, his expression very subtle, and said, "I said on the first day that whatever tricks you have, feel free to use them on me; I'll take them all."

"Heh heh."

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "I really did misjudge you."

As he spoke, he even joked to Yang Shuji beside him, "Our unit really does have a hero, ha ha ha ha."

Yang Shuji didn't laugh along with Li Xuewu, but leaned forward, looked at Luojiaping, and asked, "Still not planning to talk? Talking here and talking in Beijing are not the same thing."

"Hmph~"

Yang Shuji took out the interrogation record, pointed to the comments section, and said, "If you don't talk now, I'm going to write down that you refuse to cooperate."

"Whatever."

"Very well."

Yang Shuji unscrewed his fountain pen, picked it up, and began to write the relevant comments in front of Luojiaping.

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "I know what you're planning."

As he spoke, he counted on his fingers for Luojiaping: "What your son said can be retracted, what Yang Mingsu said can be called shifting blame and framing, the account book can be called a forgery, and the money can be called unknown, heh heh."

Li Xuewu stood up and walked toward the head of the bed, saying as he walked, "The premise of what I'm saying is that someone can protect you and get you out, helping you untie the knots one by one from top to bottom."

He walked to the head of the bed, picked up the telephone, and walked back to the desk while smoothing the telephone line, placing the telephone down under Luojiaping's gaze.

"Do you still remember what I said to you the day I arrived? Heh heh heh."

Li Xuewu chuckled and shook the telephone in his hand, saying, "I said, I'm very vengeful. If you don't want to talk, you don't have to; it's best if you don't, heh heh heh."

"Where to?"

A question came from the receiver, sounding somewhat cold and impatient.

Don't look at Li Xuewu sneering and joking with Luojiaping; he was very polite to the telephone operator.

Because if you annoy these women operators, they really dare to cut your line.

"Help me get the Beijing Dongcheng Bureau."

"I don't know if it'll go through; wait a moment."

Having just replied to Li Xuewu like that, the operator went silent.

Li Xuewu held the receiver without feeling awkward, leaning his hand on the table, looking at the defiant Luojiaping.

Luojiaping sneered and said to Li Xuewu, "That trick of bluffing isn't used like that, you..."

Just while Li Xuewu was waiting for the call, Luojiaping couldn't help but start mocking Li Xuewu.

But before he could finish, he saw Li Xuewu pick up the receiver and place it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"I am Li Xuewu from the Security Division; help me find Director Xiang Yunian who is handling the case at our place."

"Yes."

After finishing the contact, Li Xuewu pointed at the receiver with his finger and said to Luojiaping, "Don't be in a hurry; it's a long-distance call, let the signal fly for a while."

"Pfft~"

Luojiaping chuckled, "Where is the other end of the phone? The next room? Putting on a double act with me? Trying to scare me? What a laughable trick!"

"Heh heh heh."

Li Xuewu held the receiver without responding to Luojiaping's mockery, and after waiting for more than three minutes, the sound came through the phone again.

"Is this Deputy Division Chief Li Xuewu?"

"Yes."

Li Xuewu looked at Luojiaping with his eyes, smiled, and said, "I am currently in Luojiaping's interrogation room; he is particularly concerned about the situation of his old leaders and asked me to call you to ask. I don't know if it's convenient to say."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Luojiaping didn't know what Li Xuewu was laughing about on the phone, but Li Xuewu's words did indeed startle him.

"All right, all right, then I'll give the phone to Luojiaping."

Li Xuewu said, handed the receiver to Luojiaping, and smiled, "This is Director Xiang from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Do you want to hear about the situation of those you're counting on? Hmm?"

Luojiaping looked at Li Xuewu hesitantly, not knowing what kind of trick Li Xuewu was playing.

Li Xuewu shook the phone in his hand and said, "You didn't believe what I said, right? Why don't you listen and find out?"

Luojiaping, in suspicion, took the phone from Li Xuewu's hand, placed it to his ear, and then whispered, "Hello?"

Li Xuewu didn't know what Xiang Yunian had said to Luojiaping on the phone, because he hadn't asked just now, and didn't want to ask.

He only saw Luojiaping say that one "hello," and then his suspicious eyes became fixed as time passed.

Li Xuewu smiled, sat on the bed, and took out a cigarette to light one for himself.

At this very moment, it wasn't convenient to drink, otherwise, Li Xuewu would have insisted on drinking a full cup.

Destroying a person can not only be destroying their body, but also shattering the thoughts they have always insisted on and destroying their will.

"Clang!"

He saw Luojiaping throw the receiver in his hand and lunge toward Yang Shuji, who was writing the comments.

"Secretary, don't write it, I'll talk!"

Li Xuewu didn't know what Luojiaping had said; after putting away the phone, Li Xuewu went out to prepare for the return journey.

Last time, they left in a hurry and didn't have time to prepare, so the journey was very hard.

Now that they had the convenience of the guesthouse, how could Li Xuewu be willing to suffer again?

"Tell the kitchen to prepare more food for tonight."

"We want meat dishes, preferably stewed meat."

"Also, make white flour pancakes; we'll heat up meat soup and eat pancakes on the road."

Li Xuewu stopped Han Zhan, who was going to inform the kitchen, and exhorted, "Remember, tonight's expenses are on Yang Shuji."

This was just a joke; the guesthouse here was all on credit, and the Steel Mill would conduct a financial offset with the Rolling Mill, canceling out the expenses here.

Just when Li Xuewu thought there was nothing else to do today besides setting off, the duty room said there was a call for him, from Guancun.

As soon as Li Xuewu heard Guancun, he frowned, then stood up and went to the duty room to answer the phone.

"Hello, I am Li Xuewu."

"Xuewu, it's that person from last night."

"Where?"

"Said they are waiting for you here."

"I know."

Hearing Zhou Wang Yamei's voice, Li Xuewu knew she was fine, but her slightly trembling voice still indicated Zhou Wang Yamei's fear.

Li Xuewu hung up the phone, gave an order to Han Zhan, and drove back to Guancun.

When he came out in the morning, he said he wouldn't be back tonight; he didn't expect to be back before nightfall.

Zhou Wang Yamei also didn't expect Li Xuewu to be able to come back, and when she saw Li Xuewu stop the car, she greeted him.

"He came suddenly; as soon as he arrived, he said he was looking for you."

Looking at the somewhat frightened Zhou Wang Yamei, Li Xuewu smiled and patted the hand she had pulled onto his arm.

"It's fine, don't worry."

As he spoke, he opened the door and entered the room.

In the living room, Yu Min stood smiling by the sofa and said to Li Xuewu, "Although I knew you were leaving today, the matter was truly urgent, which is why I have rashly visited again. I hope Division Chief Li will not mind."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Hearing Yu Min say this, Li Xuewu walked toward the living room and said, "Too polite, we are all friends."

He smiled and waved his hand to tell Yu Min to sit, but his eyes were looking at Nie Liansheng, who was standing awkwardly to the side.

"Captain Nie is here too."

As he spoke, he walked to the sofa, patted Nie Liansheng's arm, and smiled, "Sit, sit, what kind of relationship do we have? Don't be polite."

Letting the two sit, Li Xuewu asked Zhou Wang Yamei, who had followed him in, "Where's the child?"

"Playing upstairs."

"Hmm, hmm."

Li Xuewu had an expression of being accustomed to it and said to Zhou Wang Yamei, "Yamei, make a pot of tea."

Hearing such an intimate address, Zhou Wang Yamei was slightly stunned, then nodded and went to the tea cabinet to make tea.

And the expressions on Yu Min and Nie Liansheng's faces were all "I knew it."

Especially Yu Min, whose smile was the most meaningful.

This is a situation, huh? Child? Yamei?

Just say this person is shrewd; yesterday he said it was a friend's house, and said he brought his partner, it seems those were all covers.

Thinking of this, Yu Min admired Li Xuewu somewhat; he could think of such a peculiar trick, letting his partner come to his lover's house, so that no one would believe anything anyone said in the future.

High, truly high!

Admiring Li Xuewu in his heart, he also spoke polite words.

Before the tea was poured, everything said was polite; after the wine was poured, everything said was polite.

"Division Chief Li, I have been friends with Captain Nie for many years, and we are all from the same city, so Captain Nie introduced you to me; I hope you don't mind."

"No problem, no problem."

Li Xuewu smiled and gave them cigarettes, saying, "More friends, more paths; more enemies, more walls. I just like making friends."

As he spoke, he pointed at Yu Min and told Zhou Wang Yamei, who had come over, to pour tea for Yu Min first.

"Besides, my relationship with Captain Nie is also very close; after all, we have experienced one cooperation, and we are both friends. Isn't it natural for friends to introduce friends?"

Seeing Li Xuewu and the two talking about him, Nie Liansheng smiled somewhat awkwardly.

Yu Min smiled and looked at the blood scab on Nie Liansheng's forehead; if he didn't know who hit him, he might have believed Li Xuewu's words today.

"Ha ha ha, I said Division Chief Li wouldn't mind. Captain Nie, look at you, you've acted like a villain and judged the gentleman's heart with your own."

Nie Liansheng smiled awkwardly, took the teacup handed over by Zhou Wang Yamei, signaled to Li Xuewu, and said, "About the case, it's my brother..."

"Hey, that's enough, that's enough."

Li Xuewu waved his hand, signaling Zhou Wang Yamei, who had brought him tea and was about to go upstairs, to sit beside him.

"You sit too, there are no outsiders here, ha ha."

As he spoke, he said to Nie Liansheng, "Brother, things are in the past. I understand you, and you understand me. Isn't that what friends are? Don't you think?"

Hearing Li Xuewu's words, Zhou Wang Yamei's complexion changed, but she still sat in the seat beside Li Xuewu.

Seeing Li Xuewu's arrangement, Yu Min smiled and looked at Zhou Wang Yamei, his thoughts even more confirmed in his heart.

"I think Division Chief Li is right. Captain Nie, you really didn't handle that case well, but aren't we friends? If there's something, just say it directly; why be so roundabout?"

"Yes, yes, yes, it was my poor handling."

Nie Liansheng couldn't afford to offend Li Xuewu, nor could he out-talk Yu Min, so he could only nod and admit it.

And Li Xuewu didn't pick up this topic, but smiled and looked at Yu Min, waiting for his follow-up.

Just now, Yu Min said that if friends have something, they should say it directly; he was paving the way for what he was about to say.

Seeing Li Xuewu not picking up the topic, Yu Min looked at Nie Liansheng, signaling him to say it.

Nie Liansheng, getting Yu Min's signal, hesitated for a moment and said to Li Xuewu, "About what we said last time, those things you wanted..."

"Oh?"

Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes upon hearing Nie Liansheng's words and asked with a smile, "Captain Nie is cooperating with Director Yu?"

"Heh heh heh, let me say it."

Yu Min smiled and explained, "Actually, this matter really has nothing to do with me; it's still Captain Nie's matter."

"Captain Nie had a batch of confiscated goods to process, so he found me, asking me to help process them. But then Captain Nie said he found a buyer. By coincidence, that's how I met you."

Li Xuewu picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and then sat back on the sofa with his legs crossed.

And Zhou Wang Yamei sat to one side with a pale face, listening to the few of them talk.

"But the incident the day before yesterday and last night made Captain Nie feel embarrassed, which is why he found me again."

"I thought, you said you didn't want much, and isn't Captain Nie just right? Why ruin the relationship over such a small matter?"

"Isn't that right? I came with Captain Nie to talk to you about it."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Li Xuewu saw Zhou Wang Yamei's complexion turn pale again from his peripheral vision, reached out and patted Zhou Wang Yamei's thigh lightly, pointed at Yu Min, and signaled, "Pour tea for Director Yu."

Zhou Wang Yamei's body jolted, but she still stood up, walked to the tea table, picked up the teapot, and refilled Yu Min's tea.

"Thank you."

Yu Min smiled and said to Li Xuewu, "I really envy Division Chief Li's life, with red sleeves adding fragrance and a soulmate by his side."

"Ha ha ha ha ha."

Li Xuewu waved his hand and said to Yu Min with a smile, "All friends, ha ha."

After laughing, he said to Nie Liansheng beside Yu Min, "Actually, there's no need to trouble Director Yu; you still don't think highly of me, Li Xuewu!"

Actually, Li Xuewu knew what Yu Min meant—testing and cowardice.

Because he was cowardly and afraid that Li Xuewu would have other thoughts after seeing those things last night, he used Nie Liansheng's matter to test Li Xuewu.

You said you wanted everything, you said you had friends doing business, and you said the quantity wasn't large.

Now the business is here, and the quantity isn't large; do you want it?

If you don't want it, then there's a situation, or you're here to scout, or you have some purpose.

If you want it, then Yu Min wants to see what kind of ability Li Xuewu really has.

"Heh, I really don't mean that, brother."

Nie Liansheng gave a bitter smile and said, "This time, I was bragging, and the matter went awry."

"Heh heh heh."

Li Xuewu signaled Nie Liansheng to drink tea, then smiled and said, "I said, it's all in the past. I don't know what you've prepared, brother?"

Nie Liansheng glanced at Yu Min, then said to Li Xuewu, "White liquor, rice, corn, and a few machines."

"What stuff?"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and looked at Nie Liansheng, asking, "Why are there machines?"

Nie Liansheng inadvertently glanced at Yu Min again before replying, "It's Ma San'er's stuff; these are all it. That machine is a set of cardboard box production equipment."

"Ma San'er also ran a cardboard box factory?"

"Hmm."

Nie Liansheng nodded and said, "Not big, contacted Fu Bin, directly supplying the Steel Mill."

Li Xuewu didn't know much about this stuff; his knowledge of cardboard boxes was only from when he unpacked express deliveries every time.

But Li Xuewu knew the profit of this stuff; in his previous life, there was an industrial cluster opposite his former unit.

It was truly village after village doing it, village after village getting rich.

Li Xuewu nodded and asked again, "Where did the rice come from? The Northeast doesn't produce this stuff, right?"

What Li Xuewu said about not producing didn't mean there was no rice cultivation in the Northeast.

Actually, thousands of years ago, there was a history of rice cultivation in the Northeast; the New Book of Tang says that Wu Zetian even launched a war for the rice of the Bohai Kingdom.

This Bohai Kingdom is the Northeast region.

Li Xuewu's meaning was large-scale cultivation, the kind that is the main food crop in later generations.

Now there is rice cultivation in the Northeast, but it is not enough for the locals to eat, let alone support the whole country in later generations.

At this time, the main food crops in the Northeast were still corn and sorghum.

Corn grits, two-rice meal—that's what these two crops refer to.

"Yes, the Northeast doesn't produce it."

Nie Liansheng explained, "It came from the south; I don't know how Ma San'er and the others got their hands on it."

Li Xuewu nodded and asked, "How much is there?"

Nie Liansheng took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Li Xuewu, saying, "This is the list."

Li Xuewu glanced at Nie Liansheng and reached out to take it.

Twenty barrels of white liquor, five tons of rice, ten tons of corn.

Shaking the white paper in his hand, Li Xuewu knew what was going on; this might not be Ma San'er's stuff.

"Click."

Li Xuewu took out his lighter and lit the paper strip in the ashtray.

"Brother..."

Nie Liansheng was dumbfounded by Li Xuewu's action, not knowing what Li Xuewu meant by burning it.

And Yu Min narrowed his eyes as he watched Li Xuewu; he actually believed Li Xuewu's words a bit more.

This is looking for trouble!

The person who believed Li Xuewu so much last time now has his wife sitting beside Li Xuewu.

And Li Xuewu took a puff of his cigarette and smiled, "Two thousand jin of white liquor, market price one thousand six."

Li Xuewu's words stunned Nie Liansheng and the other; he really did know the price.

Then, under the quite surprised gazes of Nie Liansheng and Yu Min, Li Xuewu continued, "Five tons of rice, market price one thousand; ten tons of corn, market price one thousand one hundred ninety."

"Not bad, brother."

Nie Liansheng looked at Li Xuewu in surprise and couldn't stop praising him.

Li Xuewu pointed at the ashtray and said, "Next time, don't use paper; use your head."

As he spoke, he even used his cigarette butt to crush the paper ash.

"Yes, yes, yes."

Nie Liansheng also knew what Li Xuewu meant, and looked at Yu Min with some embarrassment on his face.

Yu Min stared at Li Xuewu for a while, then smiled, "Division Chief Li is truly formidable."

Li Xuewu waved his hand and asked, "How to calculate that pile of junk machines? My friend collects scrap, he doesn't buy new machines."

Seeing Li Xuewu ask him, Yu Min knew his test had been seen through by Li Xuewu, so he stopped pretending.

"Sell it as scrap iron."

Ignoring Nie Liansheng's surprised gaze, Yu Min looked at Li Xuewu and said, "White liquor, grain, I'll give you a fifty percent discount, plus that pile of scrap iron, just give me two thousand three."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Li Xuewu laughed upon hearing Yu Min's words, and under the surprised gazes of everyone in the room, he took a stack of money out of his pocket and threw it on the table.

"Director Yu is truly good at calculating; my friend just gave me two thousand three. If you wanted one more cent, I wouldn't have it."

"Ah? Ha ha ha ha!"

Yu Min looked at the money Li Xuewu took out and laughed quite unexpectedly.

He could see that it wasn't Li Xuewu lying; that stack of money was bundled with a rubber band.

He hadn't said the number two thousand three before, and people bundle money in whole numbers; they wouldn't specifically bundle three thousand.

So it really was a coincidence.

Li Xuewu smiled and pushed the money on the tea table toward Yu Min, saying, "Don't be so sudden next time; if I hadn't brought that much money, wouldn't I have been dumbfounded?"

Seeing Li Xuewu pay first, and then hearing Li Xuewu satirize his sudden test, Yu Min smiled quite embarrassedly.

"You trust me that much?"

Yu Min looked at the money in front of him and didn't move, while Nie Liansheng pursed his lips looking at that stack of money.

And Zhou Wang Yamei, sitting beside Li Xuewu, also opened her mouth in surprise as she saw Li Xuewu throw out two thousand three hundred yuan with a flick of his hand.

"All friends, what's there not to trust?"

Li Xuewu leaned back on the sofa, smiling at Yu Min.

Now it was his turn to put Yu Min on the spot; he really wanted to see what kind of person Yu Min was.

"Heh."

Yu Min chuckled at the money on the table, pushed the money back, and said, "Since we are friends, there is no such rule; we must take the goods before giving the money."

Li Xuewu smiled and waved his hand, signaling Yu Min to put it away, saying, "I'm leaving tonight. If you are well-prepared, the goods will leave with me tonight. Where will you go to collect the money?"

Yu Min's hand pressing on the money paused for a moment, but he changed direction and pushed it directly toward Zhou Wang Yamei.

"You are not here, but sister-in-law is, so just leave it with sister-in-law."

Zhou Wang Yamei looked at Li Xuewu somewhat unnaturally as she saw Yu Min push the money toward her.

Li Xuewu didn't look at Zhou Wang Yamei, but smiled at Yu Min and said, "You are truly a particular person. Fine, let's do it this way."

If someone isn't afraid of death, is he still afraid of suffering?

As he spoke, his hand patted Zhou Wang Yamei's thigh lightly again, saying, "Sister-in-law, you keep it for now."

Hearing Li Xuewu also call her sister-in-law like he did, Yu Min couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Pretend! Keep pretending with me!

Is this your sister-in-law?

Even if she is, she's not a proper one!

Zhou Wang Yamei felt her thigh numb and itchy, and didn't even dare to look at the money on the tea table.

This actually made Yu Min think more highly of Zhou Wang Yamei.

Judging from her dress and temperament, this woman is indeed one with culture and cultivation.

Now she doesn't even look at the money he pushed over; looking at it this way, this woman has seen the world.

At least she has more knowledge than Nie Liansheng beside her.

Thinking back to the matter of Fu Bin introduced by Nie Liansheng when he came, Yu Min could also understand why the wife of his "peer" Fu Bin was so "not lacking in money."

"Then, Division Chief Li, how shall we conduct the handover?"

Yu Min looked at Li Xuewu and asked, "Just now you said the things would leave with you; I don't know if you are...?"

Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes and said, "Steel Mill. Before six o'clock, load the things onto a truck with a rear bucket and a canopy, and drive it directly to the Steel Mill's parking lot."

Yu Min's eyes widened; he had mixed machinery into this batch of goods just to see how Li Xuewu would transport them back.

Now he roughly knew; it turns out it's the railway.

He had to say it was awesome. He was thinking before, what kind of power could use train cars to transport these things, and what kind of power could open up this entire line.

Now he understood; it turns out they are using a dedicated line.

An ordinary person can't compare to this; not to mention the resources, just the power of such a large factory is not something an ordinary person can possess.

It seems his fifty percent discount wasn't high; this Li Xuewu might have given him face because it was their first cooperation.

Since Li Xuewu gave him face, Yu Min naturally accepted it.

"Then the truck..."

"Tomorrow morning."

Hearing Yu Min ask about the truck, Li Xuewu shook his leg and said, "Tomorrow morning, just go to the Steel Mill and drive the truck away."

"Good."

Yu Min agreed, stood up, said to Li Xuewu, "Then I won't delay any longer; I'll go prepare, and the goods will definitely be delivered before six o'clock."

I opened an account on Dou. yin; everyone can search for "Wu Wen Nong Mo" to follow me. It can only be broadcast on mobile for now. Once the number of followers reaches 1000, I will use a computer to broadcast. At that time, everyone is welcome to supervise my writing. ===== CHAPTER 343 =====