Chapter 344: Graceful and Elegant

Li Xuewu nodded with a smile and said, "There is pressure, that is certain. There has never been a female Security Division Chief in the history of the Security Division. I hope you can carve out a sky that belongs to female security cadres."

"Yes! Guarantee to complete the mission!"

Han Yating stood up, saluted Li Xuewu, and left.

Li Xuewu looked at the list in his hand, thinking about the gap after the adjustment of the Security Division, and felt somewhat head-scratching.

The disadvantage of short working time appeared, and there was a gap in the people he could use.

Just when Li Xuewu was scratching his head, the big loudspeaker of the Rolling Mill broadcast station started playing songs.

"We workers have strength, we workers have strength..."

Li Xuewu looked at his watch; unknowingly, it was already noon.

This damn thing is already at mealtime, who still has strength!

He stretched, turned his head to look outside the window, and factory employees were already walking toward the cafeteria in twos and threes.

Li Xuewu picked up his lunch box net bag, closed his office door, and walked toward the cafeteria.

Everyone was walking in one direction, so few people greeted each other, and they only chatted with a few acquaintances when queuing.

"Oh, Division Li Kezhang, come, come, come, stand in front of me."

A few familiar people in the office saw Li Xuewu and were yielding to each other, letting Li Xuewu stand in front.

How could Li Xuewu take this advantage? Waiting a while longer wouldn't starve him to death.

Don't look at them yielding to him now, but if Li Xuewu really walked forward, who knows how these people would talk about him in their hearts.

They might even curse in their hearts, and they could curse whatever sounded bad.

The wolf of Zhongshan, rampant once successful.

Li Xuewu didn't want to be a wolf, so he didn't let people say that.

"No, no, no, it's not that long."

Li Xuewu pulled back the few people who wanted to give him a position and said with a smile, "I've been busy before and after the New Year, and we haven't seen each other for a long time. I'll stand at the back to see everyone, ha ha ha."

Seeing Li Xuewu speak straightforwardly, the few office cadres who were yielding also laughed and stood back.

Someone turned back and joked, "Division Li Kezhang, we've agreed, look is fine, but don't keep thinking about it."

"Ha ha ha ha."

What this person meant was that if Li Xuewu keeps thinking about someone, that person will be unlucky. If the Security Division keeps thinking about you, isn't that looking for bad luck?

"Ha ha."

Li Xuewu also laughed for a while, walked forward with the queue, and teased, "If you're fine, why would you be afraid of me? Did you do something bad?"

Seeing Li Xuewu joking, someone also followed up: "Old Zhang, did you not sleep in the middle of the night and go looking for the little widow again?"

"Go to hell! You're the one looking for the little widow!"

"Ha ha."

While the few were joking, Cafeteria Director Guo ran toward Li Xuewu's side with his short legs.

"Oh! Division Li Kezhang, why did you come here to eat? The leadership's small cafeteria has already moved to the guesthouse."

He was still panting when he ran to Li Xuewu's side, and said with a bitter face, "Look, we haven't prepared anything here, or should I call Seeing Sha Zhu..."

"No need for courtesy."

Li Xuewu waved his hand with a smile and said, "My deputy division chief is useful in Dongcheng, but here I am still Division Li Kezhang, so I have to eat here."

"This... look at what you're saying, the deputy division chief here is also just a blink of an eye..."

"No need!"

Li Xuewu said with a smile, "What time is it? You're the one who conferred it! Don't listen to rumors, there's no basis at all."

While joking, he pushed Old Guo and said, "Fine, Director Guo, don't be busy, I'll eat here, it's steady, you go do your work."

Seeing Cafeteria Old Guo coming to curry favor with Li Xuewu, everyone around looked over.

Li Xuewu had already attracted a lot of attention when he walked into the cafeteria, and now those eating and getting food were watching the fun.

Everyone wanted to see how Li Xuewu would reply to the rumor of deputy division chief and how he would deal with Old Guo's flattery.

This Old Guo is not a good thing either; when Li Xuewu was a section chief before, he didn't even look at Li Xuewu.

When Li Xuewu was a division chief, he said nice things to his face, but behind his back, he said small things; Seeing Sha Zhu didn't criticize him less for this.

Now hearing that Li Xuewu was going to be promoted to deputy division chief, he came to curry favor with Li Xuewu again.

Calling it flattery, actually, this is digging a hole for Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu didn't want to bother with him now; this guy flattered Li Huai De well and patted his horse's butt comfortably, but arguing with him was falling in status and tasteless.

Old Guo saw that he couldn't persuade Li Xuewu, so he had to walk to the front and greet Seeing Sha Zhu.

"Seeing Sha Zhu, give Division Li Kezhang more later!"

Seeing Sha Zhu glared at Old Guo and said unpleasantly, "Is the extra you give on your account?"

"You!"

"What about you? Or should I give you the spoon and you come and hit it? Go back to your office and wait!"

As he spoke, he didn't bother with Old Guo and continued to serve dishes with a face of unkindness.

Old Guo was embarrassed and could only return to the office.

"Can't make small stove, I'll see who covers you later, wait for me, sooner or later I'll..."

Seeing Sha Zhu naturally didn't hear Old Guo's muttering.

A deputy section chief of logistics procurement standing in front of Li Xuewu turned his head and said to Li Xuewu, "This Old Guo has a lot of thoughts, ha ha ha ha."

Li Xuewu naturally heard the sarcasm in his words and replied with a smile, "He has learned to sympathize with us subordinates after contacting the leadership more."

"Ha ha, you speak really maliciously."

Everyone in the cafeteria saw that there was no fun to watch, so they all turned their heads back to eat, but they started chatting about Li Xuewu's rumors while eating.

"Hey, did you see?"

"What?"

"Deputy division chief!"

This person turned his head and glanced at Li Xuewu's side, then turned his head back and said to his colleague opposite: "Now it's rumored that Li Xuewu is going to be promoted to deputy division chief!"

The person opposite didn't even raise his head and said, "News from eight hundred years ago."

"This time it might be true, that Old Guo is famous for being able to pick up hot ones when eating shit!"

"Damn! Are you still eating or not!"

Li Xuewu just pretended not to hear, and when it was his turn to get food, seeing Seeing Sha Zhu's impatient face, he said with a smile, "Master He, give me more!"

"Get lost!"

"Ha ha."

Everyone knew Li Xuewu was in the same courtyard as Seeing Sha Zhu; actually, if Old Guo hadn't said that sentence, Seeing Sha Zhu wouldn't have given Li Xuewu less.

After saying that sentence, Seeing Sha Zhu was embarrassed to give Li Xuewu more.

But this time, Li Xuewu's joke made the people watching around laugh.

The reason was that a division chief like Li Xuewu, who was about to be promoted to deputy division chief, actually followed the rules and came here to eat.

Another thing was that Li Xuewu, like them, said "give me more" when getting food.

At this time, there was no oil in the food, and if you ate less, you wouldn't have strength to work.

After getting the food, he carried the lunch box and sat in the seat of the Security Division.

Xu Ning was gone, Han Zhan was resting, and today only Han Yating and Wei Tong, two section-level cadres, were there.

Fan Hua, who had a good relationship with Han Yating, also sat here, with her partner Ren An sitting beside her.

As soon as Li Xuewu came over, Fan Hua greeted him with a smile and kicked her partner Ren An beside her.

"Division Li Kezhang, Happy New Year! Is the business trip hard?"

"Division Chief."

Ren An was clumsy, only called out Division Chief, and couldn't say anything else, which made Fan Hua glare at him.

Seeing the glare at her partner, Ren An was good-tempered, endured the pinch, grinned, and lowered his head to gnaw on the steamed bun.

Li Xuewu naturally saw the small actions of the two, but pretended not to see them, and said to Fan Hua with a smile, "You've been with our Ren An for so long, how is it? When will it be decided?"

Fan Hua saw Li Xuewu joking and replied with a smile, "This elm-headed guy, I haven't thought about whether to be with him or not."

Hearing this, Ren An was anxious and raised his head, saying, "It's not..." Hiss.

Before he finished speaking, he felt the meat on his waist hurt, and then seeing the smiles of others at the table and Fan Hua's glare, he knew this was a joke, so he lowered his head again.

"You can't bully Ren An just because he's honest."

Li Xuewu said with a smile, "Our table is all Ren An's family, ha ha ha."

Fan Hua replied with a smile, "I won't dare to come here to eat in the future, I'll be bullied."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Everyone chatted and laughed while eating lunch, and Li Xuewu led everyone out.

On the way, he asked in a joking tone, "Is Fan Hua interested in working in the Security Division?"

Fan Hua was stunned when she heard Li Xuewu's words, and then said jokingly, "Good, as long as Division Li Kezhang lets me come, I'll come."

"Ha ha."

Li Xuewu said with a smile, "Then it's decided. Ren An told me he was worried about putting you in the Confidential Division."

"Him? He still has this thought?"

As she spoke, she looked at Ren An, and Ren An also smiled awkwardly.

Ren An hadn't told Li Xuewu this; he was so scared of Li Xuewu that he didn't dare to speak, how could he make this joke?

And Fan Hua also knew Ren An wouldn't say it, but since Li Xuewu said so, she took it as the truth.

Otherwise, Han Yating would always say Fan Hua was full of thoughts.

She also heard what Li Xuewu said to Fan Hua just now, and probably guessed that Li Xuewu wanted Fan Hua to take over her position as the Security Li Kezhang.

Li Xuewu had told her about this before, but there wasn't the current environment at that time.

Now that it was roughly determined that Han Yating would take over the Security Division, Li Xuewu had to find a successor for the Security Section of the Security Division.

Li Xuewu also wanted to use the cadres he cultivated, but the time was too short, and he had no one in his hands, so he could only find suitable cadres to cultivate slowly.

This is called using stones from other mountains to polish jade.

Actually, Han Zhan could also take over the Security Division, but Li Xuewu thought and thought, and still felt Han Yating was more suitable; Li Xuewu was prepared to use Han Zhan in other places.

In the afternoon, Li Xuewu opened the bedding that hadn't been used for a long time, preparing to take a nap.

Although Li Xuewu hadn't come to the office for half a month, the hygiene here was very clean, and those plants were growing very well.

He fell asleep after lying on the bed for a while, because he was really tired on the road, and he didn't sleep well last night, so Li Xuewu slept very soundly this time.

So much so that he didn't wake up when the office secretary came to knock on the door.

It was Han Yating who heard the knocking sound here, walked over to look, and seeing the secretary standing at the door hesitating, she asked, "Are you looking for Division Li Kezhang?"

"Yes, our Director Xu asked me to bring a message to Division Li Kezhang."

"Did you knock and get no response?"

"No, or you can take a look."

Han Yating walked over and opened the door directly, heard Li Xuewu's thunderous snoring, and said to the secretary with a smile, "You can come in, I'll wake him up."

The secretary was also embarrassed and said, "Sorry, our director really instructed that it must be told to Division Li Kezhang himself."

"It's fine."

Han Yating smiled understandingly, walked to Li Xuewu's bedside, pressed the pistol beside the pillow, pushed Li Xuewu's arm, and said, "Division Chief, Division Chief?"

"Hmm."

Li Xuewu's snoring stopped, but his eyes didn't open.

"What's wrong?"

Recognizing it was Han Yating's voice, and knowing he was in the office now, his hand didn't touch the pillow.

Han Yating whispered, "Factory Office Director Xu sent a secretary to bring you a message; it must be an important matter."

"Hmm."

Li Xuewu agreed and opened his eyes, looking at the secretary standing in the room.

Seeing Li Xuewu wake up, Han Yating smiled at the secretary and walked out, closing the door behind her.

She knew Li Xuewu's relationship with Xu Sinian; Xu Sinian didn't call Li Xuewu but sent his own people to pass the message, so it must be a confidential matter.

So Han Yating didn't care about the secretary's actions, but stood at the door of her office after going out, looking over here.

Li Xuewu is a person who protects his own, which is known in the Security Division.

Everyone also knows that Li Xuewu takes great care of the people under him, so everyone in the Security Division, including Xu Ning and Han Yating, didn't fight for positions.

Previously, knowing Xu Ning was coming back to take over the Security Division, Han Yating thought about transferring to office work.

Now Xu Ning couldn't come back, and with one word from Li Xuewu, Han Yating had to prepare to take over the Security Division.

And Han Zhan of the Security Section and Wei Tong of the Security Team didn't have the idea of fighting for this position.

One is that their own ability is not enough, and the other is Li Xuewu's temper.

Everyone knows Li Xuewu does things fairly; what should be yours is yours, and what isn't fought for is also yours, and it will definitely be arranged well.

If you fight for it, it definitely won't be yours; Liu Fusheng is an example.

This is why the Rolling Mill says the Security Division is terrifyingly united.

Li Xuewu sat up and smiled at the factory office secretary, "Sorry, I only slept in the middle of the night, so I was exhausted."

"Division Li Kezhang, don't be polite. Our director couldn't come, so he asked me to bring you a few words."

As he spoke, he walked to the bedside and whispered to Li Xuewu: "Our director said that the factory office meeting was very fierce; Deputy Factory Director Li and Deputy Factory Director Nie quarreled, and neither agreed with the candidates proposed by Factory Director Yang. The Secretary tried to persuade them but it was useless, and in the end, the Secretary didn't even dare to propose a candidate."

"Hmm."

Li Xuewu knew that the person Xu Sinian could send must be reliable, so he didn't pretend, but didn't give any response either.

The factory office secretary looked at Li Xuewu and continued: "The office meeting in the morning broke up in discord, but the Secretary who presided over the meeting finally spoke, saying he would not recommend candidates, but the meeting in the afternoon must select the head of the Steel Mill."

"Did Director Xu say anything else?"

The factory office secretary didn't get Li Xuewu's response about the meeting situation, but didn't dare to ask, and continued to answer: "Our director said that the meeting in the afternoon was originally to determine the deputy positions of the Steel Mill and the cadres at the deputy division level and above on the Rolling Mill side. The director said the organizational talks might be dragged until the evening, so he told you not to leave and wait for notification here."

Li Xuewu looked at the factory office secretary and nodded, "I know."

As he spoke, he took two boxes of Zhonghua cigarettes from the desk drawer and stuffed them into the secretary's hand, saying, "Sorry to trouble you for running this trip. When I invite Director Xu to dinner later, remember to come together, and let's sit down properly."

The factory office secretary was surprised by the two boxes of cigarettes in his hand, and then declined: "No, no, no, Division Li Kezhang, I can't accept..."

"Take it."

Li Xuewu put the cigarettes away and said with a smile, "If I don't give you benefits, your director will scold me for being a stingy ghost later."

Looking at the secretary's surprised eyes, he smiled and patted the secretary's shoulder again, saying, "Go, we are all our own people, don't believe it, ask your director, he definitely won't blame you."

The factory office secretary didn't know when he became one of the own people of the Tiger of the Security Division.

Not to mention this secretary didn't know, even his leader, Xu Sinian, wasn't sure if he was one of Li Xuewu's own people.

Don't know when Li Xuewu's own people became a kind of sign.

Zhang Songying was the first to actively strive for this sign, but she wouldn't be the last.

"Hey, Division Li Kezhang is back."

"I know, he rested upstairs last night."

Qin Huairu looked at Zhang Songying, who came over mysteriously to talk to her.

Zhang Songying saw Qin Huairu's knowing expression and was surprised: "You knew?"

Qin Huairu saw the meaning in Zhang Songying's eyes and hit Zhang Songying angrily, saying: "What are you thinking! I saw it when checking the rooms."

"Hee hee, I didn't say anything about you, why are you reacting so strongly? Besides..."

Zhang Songying whispered in Qin Huairu's ear, making Qin Huairu lightly push the Zhang Songying beside her and say: "Go to hell! I'm that old!"

Qin Huairu hit Zhang Songying and complained: "I'm considering it for you and you still think I'm annoying."

"Oh, my good sister!"

Zhang Songying leaned against Qin Huairu and bumped her shoulder, saying: "Look, you care about age so much, and I don't care? Now I still have some capital, do you want me to wait until I'm worth nothing before letting me regret it?"

"Fine, fine, fine, I won't care about you!"

"Hee hee, thank you!"

With a giggle, Zhang Songying stretched out her hand and smiled: "Give it to me!"

Qin Huairu glared at Zhang Songying, hit Zhang Songying's little tender hand stretched out in front of her, and then placed a key into Zhang Songying's hand, who was pouting.

"Thank you, sister."

As she spoke, Zhang Songying was about to hug Qin Huairu and kiss her, but was pushed away by Qin Huairu.

"Go, go, go, someone will see!"

"So what if they see? I'll let them see, I'm yours, so those old perverts won't stare at me."

Qin Huairu naturally knew who Zhang Songying was talking about; she had also encountered it before.

But since coming here, no one dared to say those flirtatious words to her anymore.

The reason she agreed to Zhang Songying was also because of the emotion of pitying each other.

She was originally a young woman with a beautiful face and a slim figure; the workshop director stared at her in the workshop, and the leaders who came here to eat stared at her.

Zhang Songying was a plate of braised pork placed on the table, and everyone wanted to taste a bite.

Don't think this era is simple; people in this era are all simple.

People with flowery intestines are in every era; Zhang Songying either chooses to face it directly, putting all the ill intentions out in the open to dry.

Not much, just find one who can be provoked, and scold them directly in front of everyone, and no one will dare to provoke her again.

Or like Qin Huairu, find a lover as a backer, no need to worry about progress, no need to fear villains.

Zhang Songying had decided, since it's all giving, why not find a good one?

Just when the two were whispering and laughing, a voice suddenly came from behind.

"What are you talking about? So mysterious?"

The two turned around and found it was Liu Lan, the section chief of the catering section, looking at the two inquiringly, with a not-so-good expression on her face.

Qin Huairu smiled and said: "Nothing, talking about work."

Liu Lan asked suspiciously: "Really? You wouldn't be talking about me behind my back, would you?"

Today, Li Huai De hinted at Liu Lan at the corner of the restaurant and made a gesture with his hand.

Liu Lan was already used to Li Huai De's moving hands and feet, because this was her backer.

Just after a sweetness with Li Huai De, she turned around and saw Zhang Songying standing at the restaurant door.

Liu Lan didn't know when Zhang Songying came, whether she heard it or saw it.

Now looking at Zhang Songying whispering with Qin Huairu, with that mysterious smile on her face, Liu Lan felt that these two were not saying anything good.

"Heh, you didn't do anything, what could we talk about you?"

Qin Huairu heard Zhang Songying's words and reached out to pull her, signaling her not to speak like that.

Liu Lan naturally heard the sarcasm in Zhang Songying's words and said with a cold face: "That's best, keep your mouth shut, illness enters through the mouth, disaster comes out of the mouth."

After saying this, Liu Lan glared at the two and left.

Qin Huairu pulled Zhang Songying, who was about to speak, and whispered: "You clearly know

"Heh, you haven't done anything, so what could we possibly hold against you?"

Upon hearing Zhang Songying's words, Qin Huairu reached out and pulled her, signaling her not to speak like that.

Liu Lan naturally caught the sarcasm in Zhang Songying's words and said with a cold face, "That's for the best. Mind your own tongue; illness enters through the mouth, and disaster exits through it."

After saying this, Liu Lan glared at the two of them and left.

Qin Huairu pulled on Zhang Songying, who was about to say more, and whispered, "You clearly know who she has backing her, yet you still provoke her."

Zhang Songying said angrily, "I just can't stand her bossy attitude."

As she spoke, she told Qin Huairu about what happened at noon, then curled her lip and said, "Playing the whore while demanding a memorial arch for chastity."

Why else do they say three women make a drama? Liking someone needs no reason, and hating someone needs none either.

After receiving a tip from Xu Si, Li Xuewu delayed his trip to report to the bureau. After a brief exchange with Dong Wenxue upstairs, Li Xuewu used the phone to report the situation in Steel City to Zheng Fuhua.

After Li Xuewu explained that they still had finishing work to do here, Zheng Fuhua mentioned that the bureau had already registered Li Xuewu for a training course. On February 1st—that is, tomorrow—Li Xuewu would need to take a train to Jinmen to attend a half-month training session.

"I was originally worried you wouldn't make it in time for this training class, but fortunately, you returned in time."

Li Xuewu had long known such training would happen, but he hadn't expected it to come so soon.

"Yes, I will arrive at the assembly point on time."

After agreeing, Li Xuewu called Xiang Yunian, who was working at the bureau, to report that the Steel Mill's Discipline Inspection Department was preparing to initiate the case conclusion and public prosecution procedures.

Xiang Yunian's side was already prepared and was just waiting for the progress from the Steel Mill's side.

Both sides would exchange case information and synchronize their public prosecution work.

What Li Xuewu did that afternoon was coordinate with Xiang Yunian's side while also inspecting the on-site situation of each department under the Security Section.

He was busy until it was time to get off work in the evening. As Li Xuewu walked out of his office and prepared to head to the cafeteria for a meal, he happened to run into the factory office secretary who had come to deliver a notice.

"Hello, Li Chu."

"Oh, what's this?"

The secretary said politely, "I was just on my way to find you. The leadership has notified that you are not to leave work yet; you are to wait for a talk with the leadership."

"Alright."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "I'll go eat first and will be back in a while."

The factory office secretary stopped Li Xuewu and said with a smile, "Please go directly to the guesthouse cafeteria for your meal. The factory office has arranged for all cadres scheduled for talks today to dine at the guesthouse cafeteria, and the subsequent talks will also take place on the fourth floor of the guesthouse."

Li Xuewu asked with a smile, "You've even prepared food? Is this a war of attrition?"

"It really is."

The factory office secretary explained with a smile, "There are quite a few cadres to talk to today, and we don't know how long it will take, so the factory office has arranged food and lodging for them."

"Whoa!"

Li Xuewu said with a smile, "I was actually planning on going home today."

The factory office secretary really wanted to say, "I'd trade a year of not going home for your chance to talk tonight."

"Li Chu, I won't chat with you anymore; I still have to go notify Dong Chuzhang."

As they joked, the secretary pointed upstairs and said, "Dong Chuzhang is also on the schedule for talks."

"Alright."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "Go ahead."

After seeing the factory office secretary off, Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes.

Dong Wenxue's appointment talk had already taken place last month, and the appointment announcement had also been completed last month.

Now that it was a formal handover, there was no need for another organizational talk.

But since Dong Wenxue was also included in this round of cadre adjustment and appointment talks, there was a lot to speculate about.

Li Xuewu waited downstairs for less than five minutes before Dong Wenxue indeed came downstairs with the factory office secretary.

The factory office secretary greeted both of them and went off to notify other cadres. Li Xuewu and Dong Wenxue exchanged a glance, and with a tacit understanding, they said nothing and walked toward the guesthouse in step.

As soon as they entered the guesthouse lobby, they saw Liu Lan directing the servers to bring dishes to the restaurant.

Li Xuewu glanced into the restaurant; quite a few people were already seated.

Although he hadn't spoken to most of them, Li Xuewu still managed to pick up on some clues.

Most of these people were cadres at the deputy division level or above, with a few being section-level cadres like Li Xuewu.

After entering, Li Xuewu parted ways with Dong Wenxue and consciously sat at the table for section-level cadres.

It is interesting to note that in an official cafeteria, you would never see the mixed seating that occurs in the main cafeteria.

There is one table for deputy division level, one for division level; even if there are empty seats, no one sits randomly.

Usually, when the small cafeteria serves meals, there is always some chatter, with cadres of the same rank joking with each other and talking about work-related matters.

But today, the cadres in the small cafeteria seemed collectively mute, each holding their bowl and eating in silence.

Even those who knew each other or were on good terms only nodded at one another.

Li Xuewu held his bowl and scanned the room: Personnel Division, Production Division, Service Division...

It really does have that kind of vibe, heh.

After finishing their meal, everyone didn't just sit there waiting; they each returned to the rooms arranged by the factory office.

Li Xuewu had arrived late and ate a lot, so he was among the last to finish.

When he walked to the front desk to get his room key, he saw Qin Huairu walk out of the office and hand Li Xuewu a key.

"Li Chu, the room was just tidied up; I have the key here."

"Not off work yet?"

"I'm on duty today."

Qin Huairu smiled and glanced at Li Xuewu, saying, "Staying in the double room from last night?"

"That's not an issue at all."

Li Xuewu took the key, smiled at Qin Huairu, and headed upstairs.

Lou Lou Xiaozheng, standing at the front desk, watched the interaction between Li Xuewu and Qin Huairu and pursed her lips with envy.

After Li Xuewu left, Lou Lou Xiaozheng looked at Qin Huairu and asked, "Section Head, do you know Li Chu?"

Qin Huairu turned back and smiled, "We're neighbors in the same courtyard."

"No wonder."

Lou Lou Xiaozheng bit her lip and asked softly, "Section Head, is Li Chu this dashing at home too?"

Qin Huairu looked at the intrigued Lou Lou Xiaozheng, then turned her head to look in the direction Li Xuewu had left, and asked casually, "Dashing? Is he?"

Lou Lou Xiaozheng said with an admiring look, "Really, he just looks like a man with a lot of substance and style."

"Heh, get back to work."

Qin Huairu glanced at Lou Lou Xiaozheng and said, "He has a partner."

As she spoke, she turned and entered the duty room.

Lou Lou Xiaozheng pouted at Qin Huairu's back and muttered softly, "Having a partner doesn't mean it's you, what are you being so smug about!"

Room 321 on the third floor. Li Xuewu opened the door and looked inside; it was very clean.

He placed his bag on the cabinet, didn't even take off his shoes, and lay diagonally on the bed, waiting for someone from the factory office to come and notify him.

Perhaps because there were many people to talk to, it was already past ten o'clock by the time it was Li Xuewu's turn.

He was just about to fall asleep when the door was knocked on.

Li Xuewu really hoped the person outside would say, "Sir, do you need special services?"

But things went against his wishes; the person outside said, "Li Chu, Deputy Factory Director Li invites you upstairs for a talk."

"Oh, coming!"

Li Xuewu took the last puff of his cigarette, stubbed it out in the ashtray, then stood up, walked to the door, and opened it.

"If you hadn't come, I would have had to talk to the leadership in my dreams."

The secretary who came to notify him smiled and said, "You are in the last group, so the wait was a bit long."

Li Xuewu looked at the hallway; it was indeed quiet now, with only the server at the duty desk remaining.

After reaching the fourth floor, the secretary led Li Xuewu to the door of 402 and knocked.

Knowing the soundproofing of the room door, he didn't wait for a reply from inside before pushing the door open and leading Li Xuewu inside.

As soon as Li Xuewu entered the room, he saw Li Huai De sitting behind the desk, eyes closed, leaning back in his chair.

"No need to busy yourself, leave this to me."

He reached out to stop the secretary who was about to pour tea for him, signaling that the secretary could leave.

The secretary looked at Li Huai De, and seeing no reaction from the Deputy Factory Director, he walked out.

After seeing the secretary off, Li Xuewu first picked up the teacup in front of Li Huai De and refilled it with water.

After placing the teacup back in its original spot, he took an empty teacup from the coffee table, poured himself a cup of tea, and then walked back to the desk with the cup.

By this time, he saw that Li Huai De had already opened his eyes.

"Leadership, please rest a while longer; I'm not in a hurry."

"Hahaha, you're not in a hurry, but I am."

Li Huai De smiled at Li Xuewu and waved his hand, signaling Li Xuewu, who was still standing properly, to sit down.

He then picked up his teacup, took a sip, and asked, "I heard you've started seeing someone?"

"Yes."

Li Xuewu was stunned; he hadn't expected Li Huai De to start with this question.

Seeing the change in Li Xuewu's expression, Li Huai De looked at him with a smile and said, "Don't forget to invite me to your wedding feast when you get married."

Hearing Li Huai De say this, Li Xuewu gave a wry smile, nodded, and said, "Definitely, definitely. I was just afraid the leadership would be too busy with work to come."

Li Huai De smiled, "I've already made the mistake of neglecting to care about a comrade's personal situation once; I can't make it a second time."

As he spoke, he tapped the table and said, "Personal situation is also a standard for testing whether a cadre is mature and reliable. You should consider marriage; if you don't find someone soon, I'll have to introduce someone to you."

Listening to Li Huai De chat with him about such a major life event, Li Xuewu couldn't help but feel it was a bit strange. Why the matchmaking in the middle of the night?

Li Xuewu didn't dare let Li Huai De introduce a partner; who knows if it might be...

"Yes, I know this organizational standard, so after I turned 20 this year, I officially began to consider my personal situation."

Now it was Li Huai De's turn to give a wry smile. His eyes were full of amazement as he said, "Yes, if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten you just reached the legal age for marriage."

It was indeed Li Xuewu's performance that made Li Huai De overlook his age. Just looking at the methods he used to handle things time and again, he didn't look like a twenty-year-old cadre at all; saying he was thirty would be an understatement.

In Li Huai De's view, Li Xuewu's political maturity was no less than that of a division-level cadre in the factory, perhaps even surpassing it.

Li Huai De then smiled and said, "I think you must have been mentally prepared for this talk with me."

Li Xuewu smiled and nodded without false modesty.

Li Huai De also appreciated this sharp, indomitable spirit of Li Xuewu's.

He narrowed his eyes and said, "Time is tight and the task is heavy, so I have no choice but to talk to you all late at night."

Li Xuewu didn't pick up on Li Huai De's lead; instead, he took out a cigarette and offered one to Li Huai De.

Li Huai De waved his hand and said, "No more, I've smoked enough tonight."

Seeing that Li Huai De wasn't smoking, Li Xuewu put the cigarette back into the pack.

Li Huai De composed his expression and said to Li Xuewu, "The organization has decided to promote you to Deputy Division Chief of the Security Division of the Red Star Steel Mill."

Looking at Li Xuewu's calm face, Li Huai De gave him another high score in his heart.

"You were already a cadre in the Steel Mill's Security Section, so you are already very familiar with the Security Division. I won't bother introducing the situation to you again."

Li Xuewu nodded to show he understood, but Li Huai De's next words caught him off guard.

"Because Comrade Wenxue needs to attend to other work, the factory Party Committee has now decided that you will preside over the daily management of the Security Division."

As he spoke, he looked at Li Xuewu's surprised expression and asked, "How about it? Do you have confidence?"

Li Xuewu nodded, though he gradually began to understand in his heart.

Li Huai De said he was to preside over the daily management of the Security Division, not that he was in full charge.

This meant that Dong Wenxue would still retain the primary leadership responsibility for the Security Division.

And if Li Xuewu became the Deputy Division Chief of the Security Division, his original job would have been to assist the Division Chief in handling the daily work of the Security Division; now, he just had more leadership authority.

The position remains the same, the benefits remain the same; it's just more work without more pay.

Who would agree to such an arrangement, and who would do such work?

"Yes, I firmly support the decision of the factory Party Committee and obey the organization's arrangement."

Li Huai De smiled and nodded, saying, "The factory leadership still trusts the Security Division and is very concerned about its work. Although the Security Division has had some problems recently, human effort can overcome anything. The factory Party Committee believes, and I believe, that you will definitely reorganize and do a good job with the Security Division's work."

Li Xuewu stood up, saluted, and said, "Yes, I guarantee to complete the mission."

After ending the talk with Li Huai De, Li Xuewu left the room. Li Huai De was truly exhausted at this point and was in no mood to exchange pleasantries with Li Xuewu.

And Li Xuewu didn't want to engage in empty talk with Li Huai De in the room in the middle of the night either.

"Congratulations, Division Li Kezhang."

The secretary waiting in the hallway smiled and greeted him as soon as Li Xuewu came out.

Li Xuewu was slightly stunned, then asked with a smile, "Has the announcement been posted?"

Since the talks were already over, the secretary didn't hide it and said with a smile, "At the moment you came out, it was already being posted throughout the factory."

"Oh?"

Li Xuewu looked out from the window at the end of the hallway; the cadres from the factory's Propaganda Division were posting notices on the bulletin board downstairs.

Although he wanted to know the content on the bulletin board, Li Xuewu suppressed the urge to go down and look.

Because there wasn't a single person in the hallway at this time, all the cadres who had received talks should know that the appointment announcement had been posted.

But for the sake of face, none of them went out to look, as that would be too undignified—they were, after all, deputy division-level cadres.

Why bother looking? Go back to sleep. You don't need to look tomorrow morning; the announcement will reach your ears on its own.

He walked back to the third floor, nodded to the server who greeted him, walked to the door of room 321, and opened it.

"Phew."

Li Xuewu let out a breath. This step he had designed had finally been taken; the rest was to solidify the foundation and weather the coming storm.

The room's facilities were very complete; the Steel Mill's guesthouse had 24-hour hot water service, which was rare in this era.

It wasn't that the guesthouse was striving for star-rated service, but that the steel mill really didn't lack hot water.

It wasn't that they didn't want to provide 24-hour hot water, but their capacity didn't allow it.

After taking a shower, Li Xuewu wrapped himself in a bath towel and walked to the bed, where he lay down.

He didn't need to worry about the hygiene of this room; since the renovation, Li Xuewu was the first guest, and he would be the only guest for a long time to come.

He hadn't slept well last night, and he hadn't slept soundly at noon today. With thoughts running through his mind over and over, Li Xuewu drifted off into a hazy sleep.

In the middle of the night, there was no one left in the hallway, and even the server on duty had returned to the break room to rest.

A figure came up the stairs, looked left and right, smoothed back their hair, walked quickly to the end of the hallway, gently turned the doorknob, and the door was quickly pushed open as the figure slipped into the room.

Just returned from my hometown, drove for 5 hours, and was delayed for another 3 hours at the highway exit. I'm exhausted, so I'm taking half a day off. This chapter, originally scheduled for 12:05 AM, will be updated tomorrow.