Chapter 497: Spring Heart

"Bang!"

Li Xuewu pulled the car door shut and signaled Han Jiankun in the front to drive.

Once the car was out of the alley, Sha Qizhi turned around with a smile and said: "That business is truly huge, three hundred million already."

"Heh."

Li Xuewu also knew Sha Qizhi was taking it as a joke, but he had no intention of explaining to Sha Qizhi that it wasn't a joke.

"What's the schedule for today?"

"There are many meetings today."

Sha Qizhi skillfully opened his notebook and reported: "At nine this morning, there's an office meeting at the factory; the topics were released last week. At one-thirty this afternoon, there's an office meeting at the branch bureau. After that, you have to return to the factory to preside over the office meeting of the department."

"All squeezed into today."

Li Xuewu rubbed his head; there were really too many meetings.

That's how it was at this time. Communication wasn't convenient, so the best way was to sit down and talk slowly.

If you couldn't talk it through once, you did it twice; if not twice, then three times. Eventually, there would be a day when it was talked through.

"Qizhi, keep in mind to bring all the documents that need to be processed today. Try not to drag them until tomorrow if they can be processed on the road."

Li Xuewu gave the instruction, then thought for a moment and said: "Call the Security Brigade and say that my night shift is arranged for today; I'm going to follow the patrol team on their rounds."

"Understood."

Sha Qizhi made a note in his notebook. He was now used to Li Xuewu handing over the work at the branch bureau for him to arrange as well.

Although he didn't get two salaries like Li Xuewu, this was also a form of training.

It was just that he was now familiar with the work at the branch bureau, and it would be useful sooner or later.

Last week, while chatting with Director Yu, he heard the director say that if he did well this year and didn't make mistakes, he would be able to resolve his treatment as a stock-level cadre next year.

Of course, stock-level wasn't called a cadre yet, but it was still a higher level than the current clerk.

Whether it was salary or welfare benefits, it was always better than before.

He was now looking forward to following Li Xuewu for a few more years, not just to learn knowledge, but to rise quickly by the leader's side.

Generally speaking, leaders are very cautious about the use and arrangement of secretaries, changing them every three years so as not to delay the secretary's personal development.

There are leaders who haven't changed secretaries for more than ten years. It's not that they are used to it or that the leader is selfish; there are also reasons on the secretary's side.

Some secretaries just like serving by the leader's side, because "the fox borrows the tiger's might." As long as they are Li Xuewu's secretary for one day, they represent Li Xuewu.

Just look at the contrast between Yan Jiecheng at the training ground and the current driver, Xiao Han, and you'll know what's different about being by the leader's side.

Sha Qizhi was making notes, already thinking about who to send a message to home, as he would be checking the posts with Li Xuewu tonight.

Don't look at Li Xuewu doing the branch bureau's work; you couldn't let the leader drive himself, or let the branch bureau send a car.

Can the secretary rest when the leader is working?

Han Jiankun had the same idea as Sha Qizhi and had already prepared for tonight's arrangement.

Anyway, they would rest when the leader slept, and they had to persist when the leader was working.

The command vehicle slowed down at the salute of the gate guards and slowly turned onto the road to the office area.

A crowd of workers on the road walked along both sides, not paying much attention to the command vehicle passing by.

People in the Steel Mill knew that factory-level leaders sat in old Warsaw cars or the latest Magic City SH760, while division-level leaders mostly used Gaz cars.

And not all division-level leaders had assigned cars; usually, the Division Chief and Deputy Division Chief shared one, or the Deputy Division Chief used another older car.

It all depended on the specific situation, and it was all arranged by the factory office. Every year, quite a few people got emotional because of car assignments.

And the factory had this one latest Jeep 212, which even had an antenna on it. Without asking, one knew it was for Li Xuewu, the Deputy Division Chief of the Security Department.

Because the Security Department Chief, Dong Wenxue, was now the Secretary and Factory Director of the Steel City Steel Mill and didn't work in the factory, so no one dared to say anything about the Security Department's car usage.

Watching the command vehicle sway and turn into the office area, the workers on the road laughed and talked about the incident from a few days ago, pointing at the exhaust that hadn't dissipated yet and whispering that the case was handled by Li Xuewu.

This matter, if it hadn't been Huang Ping but someone else, wouldn't have caused such a big discussion.

Although the case was handled without any explanation, those with a heart still sensed something wrong and inevitably had to talk about it.

Those who were curious stood by the bulletin board, pointing at the announcement posted by the Security Department and explaining their guesses with certainty, attracting the attention of a crowd of workers.

Li Xuewu also saw the crowd in front of the bulletin board, but he only took a glance and didn't say anything.

This case could only be handled this way. If they really interrogated Liu Haizhong to death and made materials, Huang Ping wouldn't have survived.

So it wasn't that Li Xuewu wanted Liu Haizhong to live, nor was it that Li Xuewu wanted to handle Liu Haizhong this way; it was Yang Fengshan who wanted to do it.

It's just that he was the Factory Director, and this matter couldn't be spoken through his mouth; it could only be handled and spoken by Li Xuewu.

As for what was paid, that was not for outsiders to know. Anyway, Li Xuewu mentioned it this way at the hospital, and no one from the Confidentiality Department came looking.

"Deputy Division Chief Li, morning."

"Morning, Division Chief Zhang."

Just as he got out of the car, he happened to meet Old Zhang from the Logistics Department, who worked in the building next door. He didn't know what was on his mind, but he took the initiative to greet Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu also responded with a smile and asked casually: "When is our leader coming back? Any news?"

"You don't know when the leader is coming back?"

Zhang Guoqi walked over with a smile, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, and flicked one to Li Xuewu.

Both of them were under Li Huai De, and they had drunk together quite a bit, but their relationship was just so-so.

It wasn't that people under the same leader were all in harmony; the leader didn't want to see that situation either.

However, Zhang Guoqi didn't have a conflict with Li Xuewu, and they got along quite happily. Even though Dong Wenxue snatched his position in the Steel City, he didn't vent his anger on the Security Department.

After all, they weren't children anymore, and everyone knew the meaning revealed by this matter.

The key was that he had fought too fiercely with Wang Jingzhang of the Service Department; otherwise, it wouldn't have been cheap for Dong Wenxue, who had just come up in the Security Department.

Time and fate; he couldn't blame others.

And they all had to work under Li Huai De in the future, so there was no need to make things look too ugly.

Another thing was Li Xuewu himself, who always liked to deal with those of higher rank than him. Those with a heart counted them; unless they had no contact with him, basically everyone had been backstabbed by Li Xuewu—it was terrifying.

Even the nominal number one, Secretary Yang, had been made to look gray-faced by Li Xuewu in the incident of the report letter. Now, no one dared to say they would handle a cadre with some broken report letter.

He could be considered to have started a bad precedent; now, the Discipline Inspection Department must have real names and evidence to accept reports; random editing and random talking didn't work anymore.

Connecting all this, everyone knew it was better to be on good terms with Li Xuewu, which was why Zhang Guoqi took the initiative to talk.

Of course, he wasn't trying to curry favor with Li Xuewu; he was a full Division Chief, so he didn't need to do that.

It was nothing more than Li Huai De's matter; they were under the same leader, so they needed to feel each other's temper to get things done.

Li Xuewu also returned the favor, took out his lighter, and took the initiative to light Zhang Guoqi's cigarette, then lit his own, and then said with a bitter smile: "The last time I contacted the leader was when the leader arrived at the place. I've lost contact with the leader for these two weeks."

"Heh."

Zhang Guoqi didn't know if what Li Xuewu said was true, so he took it as true for now. He reached out and patted Li Xuewu's arm lightly, signaling him to stand to the side.

Seeing his behavior, Li Xuewu followed him to the side with a smile.

The two stood by the flower bed and started talking as if nothing had happened.

"The leader is coming back on Sunday."

"Is that so?"

Li Xuewu was surprised in his heart. He didn't expect Li Huai De to really rush back before Yang Fengshan held the big meeting. This must be some special preparation.

Even he hadn't heard the news. It seemed they were going to catch Yang Fengshan off guard.

Heh, today's expanded meeting would be interesting.

Seeing Li Xuewu's calm expression, Zhang Guoqi nodded knowingly, knowing this kid's mind was deep; one couldn't see anything from his face at all.

He said this to pass a message to Li Xuewu, which could be considered a favor.

"You don't really not know, do you?"

At this moment, Zhang Guoqi said with feigned surprise: "I thought the leader would look for you first when he came back."

"Why would he!"

Li Xuewu took a puff of his cigarette and said with a light smile: "I actually think the leader should look for you first. This meeting is about your Logistics Department's business; you're the main attacker today."

"Me?"

Zhang Guoqi glanced at Li Xuewu, flicked the ash with the cigarette held in his hand, curled his lips, and said: "Heh, forget it. With my old arms and legs, who can I fight!"

As he spoke, he used the hand holding the cigarette to pat Li Xuewu's arm lightly, with a force so light Li Xuewu couldn't feel it at all.

Then he said with a smile: "The world is yours now!"

"You're just joking."

Li Xuewu smiled modestly: "If it were really about fighting, of course I wouldn't be vague, but this isn't something that can be solved by moving hands."

Following Zhang Guoqi's action, Li Xuewu also patted Zhang Guoqi's clothes lightly, saying flatteringly: "Today's scene is about fighting with hearts. You also know that I've always been honest and simple, with a dull mouth and a silly heart. How can I fight those old guys?"

Zhang Guoqi raised his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch, and he sized up Li Xuewu, really doubting if this kid had taken the wrong medicine today.

He wanted to laugh just hearing this!

Still calling himself honest and simple—damn, Fu Bin would have to jump on his hospital bed and curse if he heard this, and the graves of those who were shot would have to tremble a few times.

Not for anything else, just because they felt wronged hearing this.

Of course, he, Zhang Guoqi, had received strict training, but no matter how funny it was, he wouldn't laugh.

"Heh, Deputy Division Chief Li is very humorous!"

This wasn't his fault; Zhang Guoqi had received training, but he really couldn't hold it in anymore. He glanced at Li Xuewu, threw the cigarette butt at his feet, stepped on it, and turned to walk toward the Logistics Department office building with a smile.

Li Xuewu also blinked, scrutinized Zhang Guoqi's back for a while, finished the cigarette in his hand, extinguished it with his fingers, and then flicked it into the trash can at the door.

"Truly unhygienic!"

He looked at the cigarette butt Zhang Guoqi had just extinguished, curled his lips, said this about him, and then walked toward the Security Department office building.

Sha Qizhi had already gone upstairs. When Li Xuewu entered, he was tidying up the documents in the office.

Seeing Sha Qizhi going to make tea, Li Xuewu took off his coat and walked into the inner room, instructing Sha Qizhi: "Brew the box that Director Xu brought. Taste it and see if it's good. If it's not good, seal it up; I'll keep it to give to others."

"Heh."

Sha Qizhi knew the Division Chief was joking. There was quite a bit of tea in the tea cabinet, and he hadn't seen the Division Chief take any of it to give away.

If one were careless and sent back what others had given him, it would be a scene.

The key was that he knew Li Xuewu didn't lack this money; he wouldn't say he was wealthy, but at least he didn't lack this.

Of course, there was also the fact that no one was willing to accept Li Xuewu's gifts, as everyone knew this kid was bad.

Maybe what they received wasn't a gift, but a hook—a hook to pull them into the detention room.

The four-nine city at the end of March could be said to be very warm. The big sisters from the service department who came to clean up in the morning not only watered the flowers but also helped open the windows, and the air was very fresh.

Li Xuewu took off his coat and only wore a pure white silk short-sleeved shirt. The collar, sleeves, left chest pocket, and seams were made of pure cotton cloth.

So Li Xuewu didn't look loose at all when wearing it; instead, he looked spirited.

Especially with a Party badge pinned to the left pocket, it made this white shirt look even neater.

This shirt was made by Lou Jie. Li Xuewu didn't know where Lou Jie got the material, and the needlework didn't look like Lou Jie's either.

But Lou Jie said he had to wear it and had to say it was good.

But it was really good. It was found together with the black pure cotton slim-fit trousers he was wearing now, and it fit Li Xuewu perfectly.

On his waist was a black belt made by a leather craftsman, with a silver belt buckle, and on his feet was a pair of pure black wide-soled leather shoes.

Don't mention it; wearing this outfit, plus Li Xuewu's hairstyle that looked like it had been struck by lightning all year round, he was truly a handsome young man.

If he weren't a Deputy Division Chief sitting in an office, young girls would have come to his door to build a relationship long ago.

Just look at how many things this had delayed for Li Xuewu!

When Li Xuewu came out after tidying up, Sha Qizhi had already placed the teacup with brewed tea in front of Li Xuewu's right hand, with the handle slightly to the right for easy access.

Li Xuewu unscrewed his fountain pen and began preparing the documents for today's meeting.

Today's official documents would be pushed back because this was an expanded meeting of the office, and the topics would definitely be related to various departments, not just the two matters of the workers' residential area and the joint enterprise.

Including but not limited to the Steel Mill's current task indicators, quarterly work summary, work arrangements and plans for the next quarter, etc.

Li Xuewu, who was involved in the Security Department, had to look at them one by one and make notes on those that needed the Security Department's assistance and supervision. This had to be stated and spoken about at the meeting.

Otherwise, if someone asked for your assistance and you clearly couldn't do it, but you didn't look clearly and said you could, then after the meeting, you'd look at the documents and feel cold in your heart.

"Division Chief."

While Li Xuewu was reading the documents, Han Yating from the Security Section entered the office. She didn't sit on a chair and reported directly: "Qian Zhendi's detention has officially begun. Her family doesn't recognize this handling plan and is about to find the factory..."

"Make trouble? Heh."

Li Xuewu kept his head down reading the documents. Hearing Han Yating's voice slow down and become hesitant, he asked a question, and after asking, he gave a light laugh.

"I estimate they won't make trouble."

Han Yating frowned and said: "Qian Zhendi's sisters came to the factory to find the Factory Director, seemingly to talk about Huang Ping and Liu Haizhong's matter."

"Let them talk."

Li Xuewu waved his hand holding the fountain pen indifferently and said: "Don't bother with them. The Security Section must have strict discipline. If everyone can bargain, it might as well be called a vegetable market."

As he spoke, he looked up at Han Yating and asked: "How is Liu Haizhong?"

"Surveillance execution work is ongoing."

Han Yating replied: "He is under the surveillance of the Confidentiality Department in the transformation workshop. Outside the workshop, he reports to the Security Section morning and evening, and must submit a psychological dynamic report on time every week. The surveillance execution after the detention punishment is executed and signed by the workshop director."

Liu Haizhong's handling wasn't lenient, and surveillance execution wasn't just talk. While ensuring he didn't delay labor, his personal freedom was limited to the greatest extent.

He didn't even dare to run now, because if he ran, many people would be implicated.

So it wasn't just the Security Department monitoring him; every ordinary worker, including everyone in the Steel Mill, had the responsibility and right to monitor him.

This was the condition for staying in the factory for observation, which could be said to be a sword hanging over Liu Haizhong's head.

"Hmm, think about it."

Li Xuewu pointed at the desktop with his fountain pen and instructed Han Yating: "Take this opportunity to see if you can summarize a set of supervision rules and flexible application methods for staying in the factory for observation."

As he spoke, he explained to Han Yating, and also to Sha Qizhi who was standing to one side: "In the future, the Security Department must use this handling method more flexibly and extensively."

"Yes!"

Han Yating stood at attention and said yes, indicating she understood Li Xuewu's meaning.

She and Sha Qizhi both understood that it wasn't that easy to fire a worker in the Steel Mill; it required reporting for approval and going through procedures.

But firing plus staying in the factory for observation was different; it could be advanced or retreated.

Supplemented by conditions such as lowering rank treatment, it could better warn the workers in the factory.

Li Xuewu's work goal in the Security Department was still to punish the past to warn the future and cure the sickness to save the patient, including all kinds of criminal and illegal acts, all aimed at saving the workers.

It was very difficult at this time, and everyone had their own difficulties, so they didn't easily use a ruthless knife.

It was also an attitude of acceptance and welcome to the comrades in the rectification period. The Security Department couldn't be an abuser of power, and even less could it be the axe of some ambitious person or someone with ulterior motives.

This work attitude of Li Xuewu was also tacitly approved by Yang Fengshan, supported by Yang Yuansong, and approved by a group of leaders for Li Xuewu to become the Deputy Division Chief of the Security Department.

No one hoped that the Security Department would become a wild horse off the reins in Li Xuewu's hands.

Watching Han Yating leave the door, Li Xuewu asked Sha Qizhi: "Did you see Deputy Factory Director Li's car come in?"

"No."

Sha Qizhi stood to one side and explained: "I was busy just now and didn't pay much attention."

After explaining, he asked tentatively: "Then, should I call Jiankun?"

Han Jiankun was on duty in the small car class. As long as he saw Deputy Factory Director Li's driver, he would know if the person had come or not.

Li Xuewu waved his hand and said: "No need. Whether he comes or not means the same thing. Go busy yourself."

After giving the instruction, he continued his work.

He waited until the sunlight moved from the outside of the table to the inside before Sha Qizhi walked in from outside the door.

"Chief, time's up."

"Good."

Li Xuewu screwed on the fountain pen in his hand and stuck it on the notebook.

Lou Jie had instructed him before he went out that he wasn't allowed to put things in his shirt pocket and wasn't allowed to stick a fountain pen there, as pure white was easy to get dirty.

He took the notebook and documents in his hand, took his water cup, and walked out.

Because it was an expanded meeting of the factory office, there was no place for a secretary to enter, so Li Xuewu didn't put on airs and went downstairs directly with them.

"Chief, you look really spirited today!"

"Heh, is this spirited?"

Seeing someone with a sweet mouth praising him, Li Xuewu also laughed and brushed it off. He walked down step by step, talked and laughed with the people he met, and arrived downstairs.

Today, perhaps it was fate with Zhang Guoqi. Just as he went out, he saw Zhang Guoqi also going out with his secretary.

Perhaps seeing Li Xuewu holding documents and a water cup himself, he also turned back to take his own documents and water cup, signaling his secretary not to go.

His secretary looked at Li Xuewu and knew the leader's meaning, so he stood at the building entrance and didn't move again.

Li Xuewu signaled to Zhang Guoqi, and the two walked toward each other and joined together to walk toward the main office building.

"I don't know if I caught a chill last night, but my shoulder hurts."

Zhang Guoqi didn't talk about work matters at this time, but instead talked about idle gossip.

Li Xuewu tilted his head to look and asked: "Didn't you get a stiff neck?"

"I don't know."

Zhang Guoqi shook his neck and moved his shoulder, as if looking for an excuse for bringing his secretary out.

"Heh, shall I take a look for you after the meeting?"

Li Xuewu said with a smile: "Our family has practiced medicine for generations and has the ability to separate tendons and dislocate bones."

"Forget it!"

Zhang Guoqi laughed: "I don't know you? It's true that your family has produced doctors for generations, but it's considered abandoned in your generation. Your grandmother mentioned this when the leader went to your house last time."

As he spoke, he used the hand holding the water cup to signal his shoulder and said: "But I believe you know how to separate tendons and dislocate bones. Hahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

Li Xuewu followed Zhang Guoqi and laughed, saying: "I said I would write a prescription for myself, but my father wouldn't let me, saying that if I were poisoned, he wouldn't know how to detoxify it. Haha~"

"With this hand of yours, you still dare to say you'll treat my illness?"

Zhang Guoqi was also amused by Li Xuewu's words and teased: "I, Old Zhang, have never offended you, Division Chief Li, in the past!"

"Look at what you're saying."

Li Xuewu went upstairs with Zhang Guoqi. At this time, people from other departments were also going upstairs, and everyone nodded and greeted each other.

With more people, it wasn't convenient for the two to say anything else, so they just chatted about this and that.

Those who followed also chatted together, anyway, not saying a single useful word.

Of course, they didn't say anything useful outside the meeting room, because they didn't say anything useful even after entering the meeting room.

These department heads had to come early; at the very least, they couldn't be later than the leader, otherwise, what would that be?

Name tags were already placed on the table, and everyone was seated according to their name tags.

Li Xuewu took a glance, but saw that his seat was exactly behind Gu Weijie's.

Directly opposite was Li Huai De.

The appearance of name tags on the table meant that the factory office knew the news of Deputy Factory Director Li's return.

According to the meeting agenda and arrangements, there would be Li Huai De's speech and position.

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and sat in his seat.

Male and female secretaries from the factory office were carrying thermos bottles to pour hot water for the leaders, each one like a little honeybee.

As long as they had a brain, they wouldn't brew good tea in the teacup brought over. It was so far, and just relying on a porcelain lid on top, it would spill all over their pants.

Holding a meeting and looking like you wet your pants was very ugly.

"Yo, Director Xu."

Li Xuewu saw Xu Sian entering with a notebook and water cup. Knowing he was sitting beside him, he greeted him.

Xu Sian looked at Li Xuewu, blinked, and then placed his notebook and water cup at the end of the round table in the middle.

That was the Factory Director's seat. It seemed Xu Sian was doing the secretary's work again.

After putting away the leader's things, Xu Sian went back to get his own, and then sat beside Li Xuewu.

"What?"

Li Xuewu looked at Xu Sian with his eyes hanging and asked: "Is it necessary to be so obvious when flattering the leader now?"

"You're just a dog's mouth that can't spit out ivory!"

Xu Sian laughed and scolded in a low voice: "Do I need to flatter the leader?"

"Right, the leader flatters you."

Li Xuewu nodded and replied with a wicked smile.

"Go!"

Xu Sian explained with a smile: "The meeting group is short of hands today, and the secretaries have all been transferred over. I'm just being forced to the shelves."

"I see you're doing it quite smoothly!"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and asked: "Did you work as a secretary before?"

"Don't be sarcastic!"

Xu Sian poked Li Xuewu and said: "I'm just a worker. You gods are fighting; don't involve us little ghosts."

"Nonsense!"

Li Xuewu laughed: "When did I become a god? And you, Director Xu, can't be called a little ghost."

As he spoke, he sized up Xu Sian and laughed: "Old ghost is about right!"

"Hahaha!"

Xu Sian laughed: "Old ghost it is. At this age, I can't compare with you young people."

As he spoke, he sized up Li Xuewu's outfit and clicked his tongue: "You're single, and you take two salaries. You really dare to wear this!"

"What? Envious?"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and asked: "Do you want me to talk to your wife and give you your freedom back?"

"Don't, it'll kill people."

Xu Sian blinked and said: "You don't know, your sister-in-law loves me so deeply; she'd rather die than break up!"

"Ho, it's still early in the morning!"

Li Xuewu pointed at the big sun outside and asked with a smile: "How many dishes did you have? Drinking like this."

"Hahaha!"

Li Xuewu and Xu Sian were joking around here, and those sitting nearby who heard it all followed with big laughs.

Xu Sian also laughed along, pointed at Li Xuewu, and said to everyone: "See that? This glib tongue—if you didn't know better, you'd think a crosstalk performer from Tianqiao had come!"

Li Xuewu flicked cigarettes to the few people nearby, lit them for each other, and laughed: "If you ask me, Director Xu doesn't have to worry about being single. He works hard in the factory and often doesn't go home. Being single or not is the same thing."

"Hey! These words hit my heart."

Xu Sian understood what Li Xuewu meant. At this moment, he also joined in, holding the cigarette and pointing at the air: "Just for this meeting, a full week, I couldn't go home, couldn't sleep, couldn't sleep. If you all don't open up a flower today, I'll feel wronged."

"Hehehe~"

Everyone looked down at the documents on the table and chuckled.

This was giving everyone a hint; everyone understood what was going on.

Li Xuewu didn't care, took a puff of his cigarette, glanced at the secretaries in the meeting room, and asked: "Why does it seem like there are more people?"

"Sentiment!"

Xu Sian said with a smile: "Ah, just because your Security Department added people, the factory office can't add newcomers?"

"Can, can, can."

Li Xuewu nodded and said: "I'd say yes even if you said you were assigning ten secretaries to Director Xu."

"Hahaha~"

Xu Sian laughed, leaned close to Li Xuewu, and said in a low voice: "Hey, seriously, a batch of college students was recruited, quite a few beautiful little girls. Do you want me to arrange one for you?"

"What for? To put in a vase?"

Li Xuewu replied with a smile: "Can looking good be eaten as a meal?"

"Hey! You have no taste."

Xu Sian laughed and said: "But someone came to me asking to change secretaries. Don't you want to go take a look? What's our relationship? I guarantee I'll leave the best one for you."

"Pah!"

Li Xuewu said disdainfully: "I'm afraid you've really developed a spring heart, haven't you? An old tree longing for spring?"

"Just saying~"

Xu Sian narrowed his eyes and looked around at those who heard and those who didn't. The smile on his face gradually cooled down.

Li Xuewu was the same as him, smoking with a deep face, as if thinking about something very important.

Actually, he was thinking about whether to really go see how beautiful they were. If they were truly national beauties, he would know if the melon was fragrant before something happened.

Xu Sian's relationship with Li Xuewu wouldn't cause a conflict because of what happened last week. As already said, gods fighting had nothing to do with them.

If the two of them got hair stuck on them, it wouldn't be a problem to send them to the zoo as gorillas.

Joking?

Who was joking with you?

This was a big meeting room, the scene of an expanded meeting of the factory office. Who had the time to joke around here?

If there was laughter, it was nothing more than a cover. A few words between each other said everything that needed to be said, and everything that should have been said.

Didn't you see how many ears were pricked up listening when the two were talking?

Who would believe that the Security Department Chief and the Factory Office Director came here to chat about idle gossip?

As both of them stopped talking, the air around them gradually quieted down, as if there were a monitor. As soon as it quieted down here, the big door of the meeting room was opened.

Factory Director Yang Fengshan and the Secretary took the lead, their heads together as they walked, talking about something.

Behind them were Li Huai De and a group of Deputy Factory Directors and Deputy Secretaries, with no expression visible on their faces.

But Li Xuewu knew they had just come down from a meeting.

There was a factory director-level office meeting before this meeting, not to mention the small meetings held for today's meeting.

Isn't there a saying: meetings with many people aren't important, and important meetings don't have many people.

Small meetings solve big problems, big meetings solve small problems, key problems aren't solved by meetings, but meetings are held constantly when problems aren't being solved.

In the end, the value of a meeting is determined by the number of people attending. Remember, it's not directly proportional, but inversely proportional!

The words spoken at the meeting and the topics discussed basically don't harm unity.

The busy work Xu Sian said he had been doing for the past week wasn't writing; these topics didn't have many words. The effort was all spent on coordination between various leaders.

Some leaders don't speak directly, but let the factory office submit reports again and again, communicating, anyway, just grinding.

Secretary office meeting, factory director office meeting, team meeting, anyway, all these topics are gone through one by one.

What reaches the expanded meeting has already set the tone and unified the tone.

Unless the contradiction intensifies to the extreme, the factory director puts the shelved topics to a vote at the expanded meeting.

But this is a real fight with real swords and guns; either the East Wind suppresses the West Wind, or the West Wind suppresses the East Wind.

If the factory director is confident enough to put someone's topic at this meeting and then everyone doesn't pass it, it will cause great damage to that person's prestige.

This person might deviate from the center of the team for a long time and be marginalized.

Of course, the factory director generally won't use this method because it hurts unity and leaves a bad impression on those above.

Number one, what are you holding?

This is a double-edged sword. If you flip the car, you don't have to do it anymore.

Even if you don't apply for a transfer yourself, those above will transfer you on the grounds that you can't control the situation.

This was also why Li Xuewu didn't care much about the topics of this expanded meeting.

After everyone was seated, Secretary Yang Yuansong looked around, confirmed that everyone who should be there was there, and said something to Yang Fengshan.

Yang Fengshan coughed and said: "Comrades, spring is blooming, and it's the end of the first quarter. Let's hold a summary meeting and also a deployment meeting to discuss several topics."

As he spoke, he looked at the people around him before putting his gaze back on the conference table in the middle.

"First, let's welcome Comrade Huaide who has returned from supporting the disaster area!"

After Yang Fengshan finished speaking, he took the lead in applauding, and everyone in the office followed suit.

Li Huai De stood up and bowed slightly to everyone, sitting down as the applause faded.

"This year, the country and our factory have encountered natural disasters of different levels. All cadres and worker comrades have fought together to resist disasters and save lives."

Yang Fengshan pointed at the desktop and said with great emotion: "In supporting the border work, our factory has achieved results; in the earthquake relief work, our factory performed excellently; in the action of supporting the disaster area, we were swift and decisive."

"Comrades, what are we? We are Party member cadres. We must walk in the forefront of society and play a pioneering and leading role."

"Disasters are heartless, but people have feelings. In this earthquake disaster, Comrade Huaide fought on the front line on behalf of the Steel Mill, overcoming difficulties with the people in the disaster area. This is the embodiment of the Steel Mill's spirit of risk!"

Li Xuewu listened to Yang Fengshan's long-winded speech with his ears and squinted his eyes to look at Li Huai De's complexion.

Black and fat. Damn, he didn't steal the villagers' relief food, did he?

It's one thing to be black, but what's with the fat?

Did he go to disaster relief or on vacation? Did he go to Sanya on the way?

Heh, this was Li Xuewu muttering to himself. Sanya hadn't been developed yet at this time, so where would he go on vacation?

But Li Huai De was really fat; meat had grown on his cheeks.

Yang Fengshan also knew there were many topics today, so a long-winded speech wasn't appropriate. It was nothing more than turning Li Huai De's personal credit into the credit of the entire Steel Mill.

You want to perform, right? But you're in this collective, so no matter how good your performance is, it's a manifestation of the collective.

Why did Li Xuewu look at Li Huai De's complexion? This was Yang Fengshan sending a signal to everyone at the scene.

Damn, the mountain rain is coming and the wind is filling the building.

It was estimated that part of Li Huai De's black face had to do with Yang Fengshan's words; otherwise, it wouldn't be this black.

Li Huai De also noticed Li Xuewu's gaze, but only took one look before continuing to stare at the documents in his hand.

Yang Fengshan's speech ended with a round of applause. Li Xuewu looked at Xu Sian beside him, and they both clapped along with strange expressions.

Last time Li Huai De had time to speak, but this time Yang Fengshan didn't even give Li Huai De time to deliver an "acceptance speech."

This had to make Li Xuewu look sideways, and Xu Sian frown.

If it were according to this atmosphere, today's meeting might really have gunpowder smoke.

But in fact, the meeting went very smoothly. Topics were passed one after another, and no one made a fuss when raising their hands to vote.

In the second half of the meeting, the topic of the joint enterprise was discussed first. After Yang Fengshan expressed his opinion on accelerating the development of the joint enterprise and steadily advancing the negotiation work, everyone tacitly lowered their heads.

It had already reached this step, so there was no need to discuss it, right? There had been many meetings about this topic, and there was a lot of related work, but today it seemed particularly different.

Li Xuewu frowned and didn't express anything.

In Yang Fengshan's opinion draft, Li Huai De was still the main leader, but the relevant authority had been divided quite a bit by Jing Yunong.

The key was that this project was now the main body of the Finance Department, with other departments cooperating, which meant Jing Yunong officially took over the joint enterprise project.

Li Huai De looked very calm at this moment and didn't express opposition, and several relevant leaders didn't express opinions either.

Only Jing Yunong made a statement and introduced the work plan for the next step.

Seeing Li Huai De not making a sound, Li Xuewu naturally wouldn't make a sound.

If Li Huai De made a sound, then there would be no need for anyone else to make a sound, and Li Xuewu wouldn't make a sound even more.

The atmosphere of the meeting room was becoming strange now. Those who didn't understand were guessing in their hearts what had happened at the previous team meeting.

Why did Li Huai De "willingly" hand over the projects in his hands so quietly?

Li Xuewu didn't know, but he guessed there must be some pressure applied to Li Huai De; otherwise, how could he have ended up like this after returning with the prestige of earthquake relief?

Xu Sian patted Li Xuewu's thigh under the table, signaling him to stay calm and not speak.

He was overthinking it; Li Xuewu had never been a pawn, he was always the cannon behind the horse. ===== CHAPTER 498 =====

Xu Sinian patted Li Xuewu's thigh under the table, signaling him to keep his composure and not speak.

He was worrying in vain; Li Xuewu had never been a pawn, he was always the cannon behind the horse.