Chapter 548: Wind and Cranes

Yang Yuansong naturally knew that this was a negotiation tactic of Yang Fengshan, but he still clearly rejected Yang Fengshan's decision to promote Li Xuewu to the Party committee.

Because Li Xuewu was more dangerous than Li Huai De, there was no need to add the variable of Li Xuewu to the multiple-choice question of balancing Li Huai De.

Yang Fengshan was just testing the Party secretary's bottom line. As for really promoting Li Xuewu to the Party committee, the resistance was not only from the Party secretary, but he himself was also unwilling.

The Party committee represents the highest power organization of the Rolling Steel Mill, and Yang Fengshan also didn't want the younger generation like Li Xuewu to enter too early.

Currently, the Party committee of the Rolling Steel Mill, except for leaders at the deputy factory level and above, only Dong Wenxue of the branch factory will be nominated at the expanded meeting in the middle of this year.

As for the probability of passing, it depends on the report card of the Rolling Steel Mill in the first half of the year.

And once Dong Wenxue enters the Party committee of the Rolling Steel Mill, it means that his time to enter the deputy factory-level leadership has entered a countdown.

Why did Yang Fengshan suddenly mention Li Xuewu? This has to be said about the subsequent impact caused by the superior leaders coming to investigate the day before yesterday.

How many aftershocks can a leader's investigation cause?

The answer is equivalent to the aftershocks after a major earthquake like the one in Xingcheng.

Just two days of fermentation, Yang Fengshan could already see from the reports and discussions in the newspapers that the superiors attached great importance to this safety awareness and preventive measures.

In particular, the central idea of people-oriented and prevention-combined stated by Li Xuewu in the dual-plan report made the superiors attach great importance to this safety prevention and control system.

Not to mention Yang Fengshan, even Li Huai De didn't expect Li Xuewu to do so much preparatory work silently.

Although the factory attached great importance to the dual plans, it was not emphasized to a certain extent, which also gave Li Xuewu a full opportunity to perform.

There is a set of data in the newspaper comparing the daily average number of injuries and the probability of accidents before and after the implementation of the dual-plan safety system in the Rolling Steel Mill.

Facts have proved that safety production accidents and natural disasters can be prevented and the degree of injury can be reduced.

It can be said that the Rolling Steel Mill's safety system has become popular, the Rolling Steel Mill's safety management cadres have become popular, and Li Xuewu, the person in charge of the Security Department, is also about to become popular.

With such great work achievements, it is very difficult for Yang Fengshan to deal with Li Xuewu, this young cadre who is making rapid progress.

The promotion to the Party committee proposed to the Party secretary is not the end of Li Xuewu's progress; it may be a new starting point for him.

Yang Yuansong naturally knows this. It is not abrupt for the top leader of a branch factory to enter the Party committee, but for a deputy section chief, especially Li Xuewu, to enter the Party committee may cause instability in the current political ecology of the Rolling Steel Mill.

Li Xuewu is an unstable element.

A deputy section chief absolutely cannot hold a position on the Party committee. If Li Xuewu wants to enter, he must hold the position of deputy Party secretary on the Party committee side.

The only way is for Dong Wenxue to be promoted to deputy factory director, Li Xuewu to be promoted to section chief, and at the same time hold the position of deputy Party secretary, in charge of the factory's safety production supervision work.

But Yang Yuansong cannot let Li Xuewu progress so quickly, because Li Xuewu's promotion is a challenge and weakening of the enthusiasm of other young cadres and the fairness of the Party committee.

"I still suggest that you communicate with Deputy Section Chief Li."

Yang Yuansong had already made up his mind while thinking, so the reply to the factory director was also very clear.

He understood Li Huai De's intention very well and did not suggest that the factory director talk to the deputy factory director.

"I think Deputy Section Chief Li is still a serious and responsible comrade. His attitude towards the division and changes in work will not affect his Party spirit."

Yang Yuansong said, thought for a moment, and said, "If you think it is necessary, I can also call Deputy Section Chief Li."

Yang Fengshan looked at the Party secretary and nodded, neither saying that he would contact Li Xuewu nor asking the Party secretary to communicate with Li Xuewu.

"The distant water of Deputy Section Chief Li cannot quench the near thirst of the Rolling Steel Mill. If the matter of the Frontier Office is not resolved for one day, the tight hoop on the head of the Rolling Steel Mill will not stop for one day, limiting and restricting the stability of multiple projects."

"Hmm."

Yang Yuansong understood Yang Fengshan's current mood very well, but it had not yet reached the point of exhaustion, so he did not intend to disrupt the existing balance of the Rolling Steel Mill.

"You are the factory director, the administrative decision-making power is in your hands. I support your adjustment of the personnel of the Frontier Office, and I will also support your subsequent handling as much as possible."

Yang Fengshan looked at the Party secretary and knew that he would not get a solution to the problem here today.

Originally, when he came to talk to the Party secretary today, he had prepared his bottom line, which was for the Party secretary to come forward and talk to Li Huai De.

Politics itself has the attribute of compromise; there is nothing that cannot be talked about.

But the Party secretary obviously didn't want to intervene in this kind of struggle and insisted on his theory of governing by doing nothing.

"Alright then."

Yang Fengshan stood up, looking embarrassed, and said, "Please do more work in this regard."

After finishing, he walked out. Yang Yuansong followed him out. In the corridor, Yang Fengshan's secretary was already waiting.

"Hello, Party Secretary."

The factory director's secretary greeted Yang Yuansong with a smile, then followed Yang Fengshan back, reporting in a low voice while walking: "He Yuzhu has been notified. Are we leaving now?"

Yang Yuansong, who was about to turn back to his office, steadied himself, looked at Yang Fengshan who was walking further and further away in the corridor, and his eyes couldn't help but narrow.

He Yuzhu is a cook in the big canteen. The only relationship with the factory director is that Yang Fengshan often takes him to Deputy Minister Xiao's house.

Hearing the secretary's words, it turned out that the factory director didn't seek a solution to the problem on his side, but turned around and went to the leader to learn from experience.

And it was decided before coming to his side, so everything talked about in the office just now was a prerequisite for reporting to the leader.

Yang Yuansong's brows tightened immediately. Yang Fengshan doing this is not a good phenomenon.

At least it's not a good thing for him.

The Rolling Steel Mill made seven or eight calls to Steel City, but Li Xuewu didn't answer any of them.

Even the call Xu Nian made to Dong Wenxue was rejected by Li Xuewu, who directly told Dong Wenxue's secretary that he couldn't find him and that he had gone to execute a mission.

Since he had already come to Steel City, why would he care about the messy business in the capital?

No matter what it was, Li Xuewu didn't want to be contacted by the Rolling Steel Mill now.

Because he felt the wind direction was wrong when he came out yesterday, Li Xuewu didn't even go to the Security Building when he returned to the Rolling Steel Mill, but went directly to the platform.

Calling to find him at this time, it would be strange if it were a good thing.

"Go ahead."

Li Xuewu looked at Wen Saner, who had become a bit fatter, with amusement and said, "Is the food here good, or are the girls good?"

"Forget it."

Wen Saner rubbed his face helplessly and complained, "If you didn't come again, I would really think you were going to borrow a knife to kill someone."

"Just you?"

Li Xuewu retorted with a slightly mocking tone, then looked at Shopkeeper Zhang beside Wen Saner.

"Shopkeeper Zhang, you've worked hard."

"Section Chief Li, you've worked hard."

Zhang Wanhe looked okay, but he also had a bitter and deep look, obviously being tossed around enough here.

Wen Saner and the others had just entered the room. After meeting Li Xuewu, they were speechless, and tears almost came down.

"Old Zhang and I cooperated to find a warehouse, but when we went, we were almost killed there."

Wen Saner told Li Xuewu about the fierce folk customs here, sucked hard on his cigarette, as if accumulating strength to complain to Li Xuewu.

"Yu Min was stabbed with a knife, almost reaching his liver. Hehe, thanks to my good fortune."

"Hmm, hmm, I have always believed in Third Uncle's good fortune."

Li Xuewu took a puff of his cigarette, nodded, and affirmed Wen Saner's words.

However, this sounded like a tease, making Wen Saner blink his eyes, wanting to squeeze out a few tears.

Maybe the wind in Steel City was strong and the climate was dry, so the tears didn't come out, but the eye boogers that had been running all afternoon were squeezed out.

"I have made contributions to the Party and the country!"

"Hahahaha~"

Hearing Wen Saner acting shamelessly with Li Xuewu, everyone in the room laughed out loud, even Zhang Wanhe, who was sucking on his cigarette pouch with a face full of gullies, laughed until his face was full of wrinkles.

Li Xuewu walked to Wen Saner's side, patted this cheap third uncle's shoulder, and laughed, "Don't worry, the Party and the country will not forget you."

"Hahaha~"

Amidst everyone's laughter, Li Xuewu took the thermos to refill hot water for everyone, and asked, "What I want to know is the scale and quantity of the warehouses mastered at the current stage."

"This..."

Wen Saner hesitated, but still looked at Xu Ning and said, "Has Section Chief Ji not returned yet?"

"He went out to arrange tasks."

Li Xuewu answered Wen Saner's question on behalf of Xu Ning, nodded, and said, "You can just say it directly."

Wen Saner nodded and said, "Because of Yu Min's sudden injury, plus the investigation into Nie Liansheng, the two warehouses I contacted have been confirmed, but..."

Speaking of this, Wen Saner hesitated again and said, "These warehouses are all inside relevant departments and enterprises, and are stored in the name of temporary rental. We can't get specific data for the time being."

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow, understanding the key point. Guandong borrowed the local relationships in Steel City to store these illegal materials in legal enterprises and departments in the form of cross-leasing.

Under such an outer garment, who could find the wrongness in it?

Because rental matters are generally handled by the office, or directly by the logistics department, even the leaders and workers of those units don't know whose things are in the warehouse.

And there is also the security of relevant units helping to guard it. The safety is much more reassuring than the wild warehouse Li Xuewu saw.

Li Xuewu also knew that the warehouse he saw in the wild at the beginning was just a temporary cargo transfer point, and the scale could not meet the requirements at all.

So looking for these warehouses all over the city was simply a futile action.

"How is Yu Min's body?"

Li Xuewu thought about these things, turned his head and asked Wen Saner. The last contact with Yu Min had been a long time ago, it must have been two or three months.

"Still okay."

Wen Saner frowned and said, "Stitched fourteen stitches, and the hatred shown towards Guandong is even more serious than these fourteen stitches."

"Hehe."

After listening to Wen Saner's explanation of Yu Min's situation, Li Xuewu just gave a light laugh, and then asked indifferently, "Do you believe it?"

Wen Saner raised the corner of his mouth, gave a few "hehe" sounds, and said, "I don't believe it."

Zhang Wanhe saw the conversation between the two, and the action of sucking on his cigarette pouch also paused.

These days, Wen Saner was in the light, he was in the dark, and Yu Min was in the back. The "tacit cooperation" of several people indeed confirmed quite a bit of warehouse information.

Why did Wen Saner define Yu Min, who had "turned over a new leaf," as an untrustworthy object when reporting to Li Xuewu?

The phrase "things of the same kind hurt each other" suddenly exploded in Zhang Wanhe's mind. Did Li Xuewu's group not even trust him?

Then what is the significance of isolating Yu Min and bringing himself to participate in this kind of meeting?

Trust and distrust constantly flipped in Zhang Wanhe's mind, and the gaze looking at the two people talking also became profound.

"He just got injured."

Wen Saner tilted his mouth and said, "He also just got injured. If this knife had really stabbed him to death in front of me, I would believe him."

"Hmm."

Li Xuewu nodded, and his eyes met Wen Saner's, both feeling that their thoughts had reached a common height at this moment.

What kind of person is worth trusting?

Li Xuewu's answer is a dead person; only dead people will not tell lies again.

Wen Saner has followed Li Xuewu for so long, and he knows exactly what kind of person he is.

Even he himself didn't feel that Li Xuewu trusted him completely.

Otherwise, why were there people with other identities in several missions? Last time it was Lou Xiaoe and Zhou Wang Yamei.

These two women were not on the same path at all, and he had nothing to do with them, but Li Xuewu arranged for people on three lines to cooperate.

To say it was entirely to adapt to local conditions, Wen Saner dared to stand on his head and eat shit!

This time it was even more so, linking himself with Yu Min, and letting Zhang Wanhe be involved in the dark, and several people had to act under the eyes of the Investigation Department...

"Hehe."

Wen Saner looked at Li Xuewu with a full face of smiles and said, "This is the second trip to the Northeast. I remember what you told me before I left... Hehehe."

"Hehehe~"

Li Xuewu also laughed, blinked his eyes, didn't let Wen Saner continue, and asked, "What about Nie Liansheng? What's the situation?"

"Didn't Section Chief Ji tell you?"

Hearing Li Xuewu ask several related questions in a row, Wen Saner was also surprised.

Li Xuewu also said when they met just now that he had met Ji Wang Weidong first, so why did he come to ask him?

"I only helped find warehouses and channels. I have to ask Section Chief Ji for the specific situation."

"Tell me what you know."

Li Xuewu waved his hand, didn't make it difficult for Wen Saner, and explained, "Ji Wang Weidong has some things to be busy with, and he won't be back until tonight."

"I don't know the specific situation either."

Wen Saner thought for a moment and said, "Except for Section Chief Ji bringing him back to talk once and taking us to find several key figures, he continued to go to work. Today, it was also because the food factory asked that he made an appointment for us to go over and see the sealed warehouse."

Li Xuewu nodded knowingly. It seemed that Ji Wang Weidong didn't tell Wen Saner too much about the problems inside.

Li Xuewu knew when he was looking for Nie Liansheng at the beginning. Ji Wang Weidong didn't say what happened to Nie Liansheng later.

Now that Wen Saner said Nie Liansheng went to work normally, it must have been arranged by Ji Wang Weidong.

"Alright, I know."

Li Xuewu patted Wen Saner's arm and said, "Everything is fine at home. You've worked hard this time. Just finish these few days, and you can go back with me."

"Oh my god, it's finally over."

Wen Saner smiled and leaned back, saying to Li Xuewu, "It was still cold when I came, and now I'm preparing to change into thin clothes."

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow, didn't say anything, signaled to Xu Ning, and went out.

Wen Saner shook his head and looked at Zhang Wanhe beside him, but found that there was no such relief smile on Zhang Wanhe's face as his own.

"What's wrong? Didn't you hear him say it's ending soon~"

"It's you who is ending."

Zhang Wanhe took a puff of his cigarette pouch, then squinted his eyes and said, "The proprietor didn't say let me end."

Wen Saner was stunned when he heard this, then sat up, slightly frowned, looked at Zhang Wanhe, and asked, "Everything is ending, what are you staying here for? Either go back to the capital or let you go back to Changchun. How can it still be Steel City?"

"That has to be asked of the proprietor."

Zhang Wanhe is a person who has experienced great storms and waves, and has long practiced the skill of not changing his face when Mount Tai collapses in front of him. Now that he was asked by Wen Saner, he also had a plain face.

It was just that the gullies on his face fluctuated, indicating that his heart was not as calm as he appeared.

Zhang Wanhe knew that Wen Saner was different from himself. No matter what, he was Li Xuewu's own person, while he was a new defector, and the certificate of surrender for this time hadn't been handed in yet.

Perhaps Li Xuewu didn't think about letting him hand in the certificate of surrender for this mission at all, it was just a test.

Or perhaps this ending was the opportunity for him to express his defection.

Li Xuewu's words and actions simply didn't leave any room for people, and one couldn't see what he wanted to do.

So Zhang Wanhe didn't ask when Li Xuewu went out, and didn't dare to ask about his own arrangements.

Since Li Xuewu didn't say he was finished, he had to continue to play the role of a dragon crossing the river in Steel City.

The people brought by Da Qiangzi had been waiting in Steel City for many days. I'm afraid Li Xuewu had already calculated his next step for him.

"This..."

Wen Saner also had some friendship with Zhang Wanhe after cooperating for these days, and this Northeastern man still had a very straightforward personality.

But to say that he would help Li Xuewu make any promises to him, Wen Saner didn't dare at all.

Others don't know Li Xuewu's personality, but he knows it very well. This kid has no scruples in his eyes at all.

If there were any scruples, he wouldn't have given him a slap as soon as they met on the night they reunited before the New Year.

"Do you want me to help you ask in a while?"

After saying this, Wen Saner regretted it, and quickly added, "But you also know that I can't make any decisions about his affairs. If he doesn't say it, I..."

Zhang Wanhe looked at Wen Saner and suddenly laughed, "No need, thank you, big brother."

After finishing, he took another puff of his cigarette pouch, then slowly knocked the cigarette ash that had become embers on the sole of his shoe, and said indifferently, "Steel City is okay, it's the same for me everywhere."

Wen Saner looked at Zhang Wanhe and pursed his lips. He didn't feel the joy of Zhang Wanhe refusing him, nor did he feel pity for this stubbornness.

He knew exactly what these people Li Kezhang Wanhe did before. He didn't dare to get involved in whether Li Xuewu treated these people as wolves or dogs.

Don't look at this as an old farmer's image now. If you change the cigarette gun to a real gun, who knows how fierce it will be.

"I didn't pay much attention to him before."

Wen Saner suddenly opened his mouth to talk to Zhang Wanhe about Li Xuewu. At this moment, he also lost the joy of going home, and said in a slightly low tone, "A little kid, taking my nephew and the others, a few half-grown boys, dangling around with iron chains on their waists. To put it bluntly, it's like carrying a dead rat on the waist and pretending to be hunting."

Zhang Wanhe raised his left eyebrow slightly. It was the first time he heard about Li Xuewu's past.

"The capital wasn't as stable as it is now at that time, and there were many such little kids."

Wen Saner thought for a moment, then shook his head with emotion and said, "Who the hell could have thought that he is only twenty years old, and he can already dangle around in the East City. Tsk tsk tsk."

After sighing, Wen Saner also clicked his tongue a few times, expressing his incomprehension of Li Xuewu's current power.

Zhang Wanhe pursed his lips and didn't express anything. To say Li Xuewu is awesome, he believes it, but he really hasn't seen Li Xuewu use force.

Of course, the armed vehicles suddenly added to the courtyard don't count. The light machine gun on that strange-looking armored vehicle is too scary.

Playing black, playing the bandit set, he, Zhang Wanhe, is definitely fine, but to say using real stuff, well, the people in the mountains were scared to death in the years when the country was just founded.

How to deal with bandits?

Turn the cow trough over, bottom up, hold down both hands, take a big ocean nail and nail it to the bottom of the cow trough, let you squat and dry into a mummy.

This move was also suffered by the old man named Jesus in the West. How painful it is, just look at how many believers are under the cross.

Why did Zhang Wanhe kneel down as soon as Li Xuewu showed a little bit of wanting to use him?

Kneeling now is still in time. If you kneel after the Steel City matter is over, you have to go to the execution ground to kneel.

To talk about courage, Zhang Wanhe and these people dare not say they are the first in the Northeast, but to talk about wanting to survive, he, Zhang Wanhe, only hates himself for not having the ability, and would have knelt down as soon as he discovered Li Xuewu's awesomeness.

Carrying big work can support a few families, but only those who can mobilize trains are considered awesome.

The grievance and obedience shown to Wen Saner now are what he hopes Wen Saner can express to Li Xuewu on his behalf.

So now, hearing Wen Saner's words, he appeared even more obedient and listening. Whatever Li Xuewu says, he does.

Those who know the current affairs are heroes.

Yu Min is acting very much like a hero now, but Li Xuewu doesn't trust him.

"Where was the knife stabbed?"

Li Xuewu looked at Yu Min, who was sitting on the chair by the bed and feeling a little uneasy, and raised his hand to signal Yu Min to show his stomach.

Yu Min was startled by Li Xuewu's sudden arrival. Looking at Xu Ning behind Li Xuewu, he didn't know what to do.

Xu Ning had always maintained calmness and independence according to Li Xuewu's requirements during the case investigation, so although he knew Yu Min, he didn't show any attitude.

Yu Min knew that he was a fish on the chopping board now, so he didn't hesitate about Li Xuewu's overbearingness, lifted his shirt, and revealed the scar.

Li Xuewu tilted his head and looked at it. Perhaps Yu Min struggled after the knife was stabbed in, which opened the knife wound, looking a bit scary.

However, those who understand know that stabbing the stomach with a knife is not a big deal; the intestines are slippery and will hide from the knife by themselves.

If a professional like Gu Ning had come, they could have stabbed him dozens of times without him dying.

"Do you know who did it?"

"I know."

Yu Min slowly calmed down at this moment, lowered his head, and his voice sounded somewhat heavy.

He used to be a local big brother in Steel City, the kind who could boss people around on his own turf.

Especially when he saw a powerful outsider like Li Xuewu, he wasn't afraid; he could even sit down with him to discuss business and such.

But now, he was like a rat crossing the street; if he really went back to the club, he might be hacked to death in the next second.

Yet, staying here, he wouldn't be able to escape the disaster of imprisonment sooner or later.

Yu Min didn't believe what that Ji Wang Weidong said about finding a way to help him escape punishment as long as the case was solved.

He knew best what he had done himself; if it were so easy to escape charges, then Brother Guan would have already gone straight long ago.

Li Xuewu shook his chin, sat with half his buttocks on the table by the window, looked at Yu Min, and asked, "How much evidence of Guandong's illegal activities do you have in your hands?"

Yu Min raised his head to look at Li Xuewu and said, "I've already handed it all over to Section Chief Ji."

Li Xuewu looked at Yu Min for a while and said, "Then why can't we find Guandong's smuggling channels now? Don't tell me he contacts everything himself and carries it into the warehouse himself."

Yu Min looked at Li Xuewu, not daring to shift his gaze, because at this moment all his movements represented his emotions; avoiding Li Xuewu's eyes would mean he was feeling guilty and lying.

"I'm not the person in charge of the front end; I don't know how the goods get into the warehouse. I only handle contacting people to sell them."

"That's not what you told me last time."

Li Xuewu didn't give Yu Min any face for this kind of surrender and said bluntly, "Last time at that warehouse by the river, you told me your channels were very broad, that you had whatever you wanted, and if you didn't have it, I could tell you. Could it be that after I told you, you went to Guandong's mouth to find that person?"

Hearing Li Xuewu's tone become increasingly severe, Yu Min's heart began to drum.

This Li Xuewu used to look all smiles, completely different from the ruthlessness he showed today.

"I really don't know."

Yu Min emphasized, "We just brag when we sell things; of course, we can't tell the truth."

"I think you're the one not telling the truth."

Li Xuewu shook his lower leg, then stood up, hands in his pockets, and while walking out, he instructed Xu Ning, "Process him for detention; if he doesn't want to talk, then don't bother."

"Yes."

Xu Ning hadn't expected Li Xuewu to flip his face after just two sentences, but knowing Li Xuewu's temper, he quickly responded.

Hearing Li Xuewu's words, Yu Min also stood up in surprise and said to Li Xuewu's back, "Why are you like this? Didn't we agree that if I cooperated, you wouldn't arrest me!"

"Who said that?"

Before Li Xuewu could finish speaking, Xu Ning, seeing Yu Min stand up, drew his gun directly and pointed it at Yu Min, signaling him to sit down.

Yu Min looked at Li Xuewu and tried to argue, "Section Chief Ji said so!"

"Heh heh."

Li Xuewu sneered with a crooked mouth and asked Yu Min back, "Do you know what they call me? 'Section Chief' doesn't carry any weight now."

After saying this, he turned and left the room, ignoring Yu Min's shouting.

This kid was a slippery character, a mud-legged peasant; he didn't want to miss any chance to save his life, but he wouldn't provide any information that would harm himself.

Ji Wang Weidong had been too merciful to him in the early stages to open up the situation; if they had broken his two legs, he would have known when to act and when not to.

And he claimed to know the person who stabbed him—nonsense. Li Xuewu knew the kid was playing games the moment he heard that.

Guandong knew Yu Min was in the hands of the Investigation Department; would he still use someone Yu Min knew to kill him? To provoke Yu Min into saying more things?

He was treating him like a child!

Li Xuewu was a man who acted according to his heart; even if Yu Min had truly surrendered voluntarily, he wouldn't believe Yu Min's words.

He was preparing to take action tonight, and he wouldn't leave an unstable factor by his side.

Since foreign machinery could be brought in, couldn't foreign listening devices also be brought in?

Li Xuewu didn't trust the telephone, and he trusted the confidentiality of the Steel Mill's guesthouse even less.

Ji Wang Weidong also knew this, so he didn't complain even though Li Xuewu only gave him a few hours.

When Li Xuewu was about to return to Wen San'er's room, he saw Nie Liansheng coming up.

"Yo, how did you know I came to Steel City today?"

As soon as Li Xuewu saw Nie Liansheng, he greeted him with a smile and took the initiative to reach out and shake hands with him.

Nie Liansheng kept looking at Li Xuewu's smiling face, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

"Long time no see."

"Heh heh, why so polite?"

Li Xuewu smiled, let go of Nie Liansheng's hand, gestured toward the room, and invited him in.

Nie Liansheng steadied his mind and followed Li Xuewu into the room.

Only Wen San'er was left in the room at this moment. Li Xuewu waved his hand and introduced, "This is Captain Nie; you've met before, so I won't introduce you further."

Wen San'er smiled and took the initiative to shake hands with Nie Liansheng, then invited him to sit while he went to make tea.

Li Xuewu sat on the sofa with Nie Liansheng and took the initiative to light a cigarette for him.

"It's been almost three months since we last parted, right?"

Nie Liansheng nodded, took a puff of his cigarette, and his expression was somewhat silent.

Li Xuewu saw that his mood was low. He watched Wen San'er place the teacup on the coffee table and leave before continuing, "Did Ji Wang Weidong notify you?"

"No."

Nie Liansheng glanced at Li Xuewu, then lowered his head to look at the teacup and said, "The families of the several suspects I was monitoring were all brought here, so I followed them."

"Oh?"

Li Xuewu expressed slight surprise but didn't explain anything.

Seeing that Li Xuewu wasn't speaking, Nie Liansheng took the initiative to talk to him.

"These people... won't have any..."

"Have any what?"

Li Xuewu looked at Nie Liansheng with his eyes narrowed and asked, "Do you want to ask if they will be implicated? If it will affect their families?"

Nie Liansheng raised his head to look at Li Xuewu without speaking. He knew Li Xuewu understood what he meant; there was no need for excessive explanation.

Li Xuewu nodded, exhaled a puff of smoke, looked at Nie Liansheng, and asked, "Instead of asking about the handling of these people, you might as well ask me directly how your family will be handled."

Nie Liansheng looked at Li Xuewu's young, cold face and asked back in a low voice, "Will you tell me?"

"No."

Li Xuewu had no intention of deceiving Nie Liansheng and shook his head very bluntly.

"This case is definitely not something a Municipal Bureau Security Captain can handle."

After saying this, Li Xuewu pointed at Nie Liansheng with the hand holding the cigarette and said, "Let me warn you again: being too clever with schemes will only end up costing you your life."

Nie Liansheng stared at Li Xuewu with a bitter, resentful face for a long time before taking a hard drag on his cigarette and saying, "It's all my fault; it has nothing to do with them."

"Who is 'them'?"

Li Xuewu uncrossed his legs, leaned over to flick the ash, then leaned back on the sofa, looked at Nie Liansheng, and asked back, "Have they enjoyed any of your ill-gotten gains?"

Looking at Nie Liansheng's slightly red eyes, Li Xuewu tapped the armrest of the sofa and said to Nie Liansheng, "As long as you tell me now that the 'them' you speak of haven't enjoyed your care, I will call Ji Wang Weidong right now, and I will never break my word."

Nie Liansheng didn't dare say those words because he knew the Investigation Department had already controlled his relatives in the countryside, including his son.

This wasn't because Ji Wang Weidong was omnipotent and could calculate that Nie Liansheng had an illegitimate child in the countryside.

Being able to control Nie Liansheng was all thanks to Yu Min.

While monitoring Zhou Wang Yamei and her son, his subordinate, Xiao Laosan, had inadvertently discovered Nie Liansheng's affair with a certain woman.

And Yu Min wouldn't let such an opportunity slip; after verifying it wasn't the woman at the hotel, he investigated from both sides and really let Xiao Laosan find the child Nie Liansheng had settled in his hometown.

Xiao Laosan had just returned to report to Yu Min, but Yu Min had already been caught, and Nie Liansheng's little tail was directly held in Ji Wang Weidong's hands.

This was why Nie Liansheng had such an agitated reaction when he saw the families of the deceased suspects suddenly being taken away.

After entering the courtyard and seeing those cars, he knew that the day he had been waiting for had arrived.

"How old is the child?"

Li Xuewu looked at Nie Liansheng, whose hair had turned completely white, and continued, "I've talked to Ji Wang Weidong; as long as the compensation you provide or the merit you earn exceeds the loss you caused the organization, he will find a way to settle the child."

"Thank you."

Nie Liansheng also said a stiff thank you at this moment, very sincerely.

If Li Xuewu had said he could let his family go when he asked just now, Nie Liansheng would never have believed him even if he were beaten to death.

Now that he heard this arrangement, he knew that as long as he did his part, Li Xuewu would definitely do his.

Because there was a ready-made example right here: the wife of Fu Haibo from Steel City was now in Beijing, under Li Xuewu's protection.

Don't ask how he knew; it wasn't just that Guandong had been deceived and wanted to kill Zhou Wang Yamei—many people in Steel City were looking for Zhou Wang Yamei, wanting to ask where Fu Haibo's assets went after his death.

Anyone with a heart knew that the things taken away by car back then were definitely not all of Fu Haibo's assets; many people knew clearly how much Fu Haibo had fished out by cooperating with Ma San'er through the Steel Mill.

So wasn't Nie Liansheng afraid that his wife and children would be targeted by others just like Fu Haibo's wife and children?

The answer was no.

One reason was that what he had fished out wasn't much, not worth killing for.

The second reason was that when the wind is strong, the ants are small.

Steel City might look calm on the surface, but it was actually already in a state of panic.

People with a heart looked up at the sky and thought a rainstorm was coming, so they hurried to collect their clothes.

And some people were looking forward to this heavy rain to purify the air and wash away the filth.

The rainbow after the rainstorm is the most beautiful, and the clear air is also sweet.

After finishing a cigarette, Nie Liansheng looked at the sky outside the window where the dark curtain was about to fall, turned his head to look at Li Xuewu, and asked, "How long will you stay in Steel City?"

"Not necessarily."

Li Xuewu shook his head with a smile and said, "There's still a pile of things at the Rolling Mill; I'm still waiting for Comrade Yun Nian to return to confirm how long I'll stay."

Nie Liansheng wasn't surprised that Li Xuewu told him these things, because from the time they met until now, there had been no fundamental conflict or contradiction between them.

Instead, there was some mutual understanding and recognition.

Li Xuewu scratched his eyebrows with his hand and said, "If time permits, I'd like to invite you to a meal."

"Heh heh, why?"

Nie Liansheng didn't think he was still qualified to talk about work or leisure with Li Xuewu.

"I've been to Steel City several times, and you've been the one treating."

Li Xuewu smiled embarrassedly and said, "I'm a person who doesn't like to owe others favors."

The sunset hadn't set yet, but the bell for the end of the shift at the Steel Mill had already rung.

Only Li Xuewu and the other person were in the room, smoking in silence; after the tea in the teacups was finished, neither of them had the mood to get up and refill it.

It was the sound of a car in the courtyard that broke this silence. Nie Liansheng supported his stiff body hard and stood up, looked at the car downstairs, and turned his head to look at Li Xuewu.

"So, am I waiting here for your treat, or...?"

Nie Liansheng gestured toward the guesthouse, asking how he should cooperate with Li Xuewu now.

Li Xuewu also scratched his forehead and said, "If you want to listen, you can sit down and listen."

Nie Liansheng stood there and looked at Li Xuewu for a long while before smiling and waving his hand, saying, "Forget it; I'm afraid I've heard this kind of meeting hundreds or thousands of times. I'm tired."

Li Xuewu also laughed, gestured to Xu Ning who was entering the door, and didn't get up to see Nie Liansheng off.

After hearing Li Xuewu's joke, Nie Liansheng felt much more relaxed. He walked over, greeted Xu Ning, and was about to go out.

But before going out, he turned back and exhorted Li Xuewu, "Remember that incident at the Qianshan Ski Resort in winter, right?"

"What about it?"

Li Xuewu raised his head slightly, signaling Nie Liansheng to continue.

"The Zhong family brothers have gained power."

Nie Liansheng hesitated for a moment before explaining, "Their aunt is... is Zhong Huilian, Hu Huisheng's wife."

"Oh."

Li Xuewu nodded knowingly, indicating he understood.

Nie Liansheng glanced at Li Xuewu again before following Xu Ning out the door.

Actually, Li Xuewu already knew about this even without Nie Liansheng saying it; Xu Ning had investigated, and the person Nie Liansheng was seen with in the car by Yu Min's subordinates was this Zhong Huilian.

And Zhong Huilian's husband was an old acquaintance of Guandong, a key figure identified by Ji Wang Weidong and one of the people who must be arrested in this operation.

Li Xuewu hadn't expected that Nie Liansheng, who had introduced him to the woman at the hotel, had another trick up his sleeve.

This trick was indeed played very well; no wonder Nie Liansheng had been so vague about trying to smooth things over back then.

And when Li Xuewu had a conflict with the Zhong family, that old Zhong at the hotel had indeed called out Nie Liansheng's name.

Li Xuewu hadn't paid much attention to it, thinking they had met during Nie Liansheng's previous communication; he hadn't expected them to be relatives.

Calculating it this way, the one killed at the ski resort back then was Nie Liansheng's cheap nephew.