Chapter 574: I Am Your Brother-in-law

"It's the old lady."

Li Xuewu didn't hide it anymore and told her about the afternoon's events.

He also mentioned the old lady's condition and his father's diagnosis.

Gu Ning only felt a tightness in her chest.

Her relationship with the old lady was very harmonious, at least that's how it seemed to her.

Although the words she had spoken to the old lady were far fewer than the words the old lady had spoken to her.

They mostly just looked at each other and smiled.

But in her heart, because of Li Xuewu and the kindness of Li Xuewu's family, Gu Ning treated the old lady as family.

Gu Ning's heart was somewhat closed and lonely, but she wasn't a naturally cold and heartless person.

It was just... just that she wasn't good at expressing her emotions.

Hearing Li Xuewu finish, Gu Ning pursed her lips, hesitated for a long time, and asked, "How about... we just live in the back courtyard house."

Li Xuewu turned to look at Gu Ning, then smiled warmly.

This girl's heart was soft enough; it was just that her exterior looked cold and hard.

It was precisely this coldness and hardness that protected her pure heart and nature.

"The old lady will be angry."

Li Xuewu turned his head to look ahead; although it wasn't dark yet, there were lights in every house.

With Gu Ning by his side and a home to return to, Li Xuewu had a new definition of marriage.

"The old lady didn't keep her sons by her side; Second Uncle is in Jicheng, Third Uncle is in Yangcheng."

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "She won't keep her grandsons by her side either; spreading branches and leaves is her hope."

Gu Ning listened to Li Xuewu's chatter but didn't answer.

When parents are here, don't travel far; if you travel, you must have a destination.

Even if there is a "destination," it's hard to escape the reality of being far from parents; how could Gu Ning not understand the old lady's longing for her relatives?

The "destination" of the two sons was mostly a compromise for survival and life.

Who isn't constantly compromising in life? Even her; she listened to her parents' teachings when young, listened to her parents' opinions when taking the college entrance exam, and listened to her parents' arrangements when starting work.

Even in her emotional life, she listened to her parents' opposition and listened to her parents' approval.

Where is the mistake in compromising?

Li Xuewu's second uncle and third uncle running far for their future is not wrong; Gu Ning listening to her parents' opinions and arrangements is not wrong.

From the matter of choosing Li Xuewu, one could see that she could feel the love in her parents' opinions.

Judging others by oneself, Gu Ning could better understand the old lady and better understand the current Li Xuewu.

Looking at Li Xuewu's slightly melancholy smile, Gu Ning paused and said, "Then stay for a few more days."

"Hehehe~"

Listening to Gu Ning's "compromise-style" suggestion, Li Xuewu couldn't help but laugh out loud and nodded very seriously, "Good, listen to you."

Gu Ning didn't look at Li Xuewu again; she knew the smile on this person's face now was happy.

When the two arrived at the west courtyard, work was just finishing there.

Shen Guodong sent the bag in his hand into the warehouse, walked out, and called Sister-in-law to Gu Ning, who was getting out of the car.

Gu Ning nodded with a smile, signaled to Li Xuewu, and walked into the courtyard first.

Li Xuewu waved at Shen Guodong, signaling him to get busy first and talk tonight after cleaning up.

After catching up with Gu Ning and entering the hanging flower gate together, the lively sounds in the house rose again.

When Li Xuewu came back, only his little brother Li Xueli came out to greet him, but when Gu Ning came, the second aunt and mother both walked out of the living room, followed by eldest sister Li Juan.

Although Li Juan came from Jicheng, at this moment, representing the Li family, going out to greet Gu Ning, the newcomer, was etiquette.

Actually, it was also because the second aunt loved the house and its crow; she liked Li Xuewu, so she felt she liked Li Xuewu's wife.

Plus Liu Yin, this eldest sister-in-law, praised the second daughter-in-law again and again, and even the old lady admitted she was good, so how could she not like her?

Facing the second aunt's enthusiasm, Li Xuewu was really worried that Gu Ning wouldn't be able to handle it.

Gu Ning didn't need him to relieve her; she smiled and greeted the second aunt and eldest sister under the mother-in-law's introduction.

"Oh my, this face, it's truly blessed."

Han Xiumei didn't look at Li Xuewu anymore, but followed Liu Yin, holding Gu Ning's hand and entering the room, praising her non-stop.

Even though Gu Ning had been tempered by Li Xuewu, this thick-skinned person, she still couldn't help but blush.

This, this praise was too good~

After Gu Ning entered the inner room, greeted the second uncle under Li Xuewu's introduction, and was polite for a while, she was called to her side by the old lady.

Sitting on the head of the kang in the inner room was the old lady, in the middle was the eldest aunt, and on the end of the kang were Li Shun and Li Gan.

Little devil Li Shu was currently gnawing on snacks in her grandfather's arms.

Gu Ning looked at Ji Yuxiu and the eldest sister-in-law sitting on the bed opposite and wanted to go over, but was beckoned by the old lady to sit on the edge of the kang.

Ji Yuxiu saw Gu Ning was embarrassed and smiled, "Hurry and let Grandma cherish you; I had the same treatment this afternoon."

"Hahahaha~"

Ji Yuxiu was different after becoming a director; a few words helped Gu Ning resolve the embarrassment.

Gu Ning also sat on the edge of the kang beside the old lady amidst everyone's laughter.

"Look at this face, ah~"

The second aunt felt the more she looked at Gu Ning, the more she felt she was rare; this girl looked too noble and too blessed.

She had already said it once at the door, and after entering, she said it again to the old lady.

The old lady smiled and patted Han Xiumei's arm, "Stop talking; today my three granddaughters-in-law are all here~"

"Hahahaha~"

Seeing the old lady take the initiative to joke, everyone followed suit and laughed.

Ji Yuxiu sat beside the eldest sister-in-law and picked up the topic, "I don't mind, I'm just afraid the eldest sister-in-law will secretly discipline the second sister-in-law later, haha."

Zhao Yafang pretended to be fierce and scared Ji Yuxiu, "I'll discipline you first~"

"Hahahaha~"

Gu Ning's arrival raised the atmosphere in the room to another height; Li Xuewu saw the old lady had slept and her spirit was much better, and the heart that was hanging was also let down.

The women in the room were joking, while the men could only follow suit and watch the excitement.

Even when speaking, they had to lower their voices so as not to disturb their liveliness.

Li Xuewu looked at his eldest brother Xuewen, Xuecai, and Xueli standing on the side.

Then looked at the eldest sister-in-law, Ji Yuxiu, Li Juan, and Li Xue sitting on the bed.

He wanted to find a place to sit but had no position; he wasn't even as good as his eldest daughter Li Shu.

Li Shu didn't dare to be presumptuous when her dad came in, or ask for hugs.

Because Dad brought that woman again, and she was sitting on the head of the kang.

Li Shu's big eyes looked towards the head of the kang, but found that the woman was looking at her.

The old lady and Han Xiumei both noticed Gu Ning's gaze; at this moment, they slowed down their speaking speed and softened their voices.

Li Shu, sitting in her grandfather's arms, hesitated for a moment, looked at the shrimp jerky in her hand, but still stood up with her small legs.

Then, under everyone's gaze, she stepped with her small legs and quickly ran in front of Gu Ning.

"Wow~"

Gu Ning looked at the half shrimp jerky handed in front of her and couldn't help but laugh.

She didn't take the shrimp jerky, but reached out to tidy up the clothes Li Shu had tucked in.

Li Shu saw she didn't want it, so she took it back, followed Gu Ning's force, sat directly on Gu Ning's lap, and leaned against Gu Ning's body.

This made the old lady and Han Xiumei laugh out loud.

"This little clever ghost! She even knows how to coax her mother~"

Han Xiumei smiled and teased Li Shu's small hands; Li Shu raised her eyes to look at her, but sighed like her grandfather did before.

I, Li Shu, have finally shouldered everything...

This small appearance made everyone laugh again.

Gu Ning saw her when she entered the room and only had time to tease her at this moment.

She took the handkerchief tucked in front of Li Shu's chest and wiped Li Shu's drool; the little devil obediently let Gu Ning tidy her up.

The two got along very harmoniously, which also made the last worries of the Li family disappear.

Liu Yin walked to the kang side, touched the top of the eldest granddaughter's head who was in her daughter-in-law's arms, and smiled, "Very clever, she knows how to coax people."

The old lady's gaze was always on Gu Ning, asking about work, asking about the family, and Gu Ning was also responding while holding Li Shu.

Li Xuewu saw the time was about right, Old Biaozi signaled to him at the door, so he called Xuecai to come out and move the table.

Eldest brother Xuewen and Xueli also followed out to help; Xuecai wanted to be polite, but the two whispered: rather than standing in the room as a sidekick, it's better to come out and work.

The evening meal wasn't cooked by the Li family; it was brought out from the inverted room side, cooked by Sha Zhu.

If there were no accidents, the Li family wouldn't cook tomorrow, the day after, or the day after that; they would all go to the inverted room to eat.

Second uncle's family of four, third uncle's family of three, suddenly seven more people; they couldn't sit here.

Li Xuewu discussed it with his mother and arranged for the inverted room to prepare it uniformly.

"Coming~"

Shen Guodong walked into the room with a smile, carried a few dishes with a tray, and shouted "careful, careful~"

The two eight-immortal tables in Li Xuewu's house were set, plus a table on the kang, and they just barely sat down.

Li Xuewu couldn't go up to the table on the kang; the old lady, eldest aunt, father, and second uncle were there, and there was his daughter Li Shu.

The table in the living room was sat by mother, second aunt, eldest sister, and eldest sister-in-law; Gu Ning and Ji Yuxiu were also at this table.

The remaining table was for the young people of this generation, led by eldest brother Xuewen, with the youngest Xueli bringing up the rear.

They also invited Sha Zhu and Old Biaozi, who cooked, and introduced the little brother Xueli to them, then started drinking.

Xueli looked at the good brothers at the table and said somewhat shyly, "My alcohol tolerance isn't great... I don't really know how to drink..."

"Hey! We like you being honest."

Old Biaozi and Sha Zhu's eyes lit up as soon as they heard Xueli say he couldn't drink.

They looked at each other, and the excitement in their eyes was understood even by Li Xuewu.

Counting one by one here, to be honest, none of them had good alcohol tolerance.

Don't look at Sha Zhu being the oldest here; he was actually the weakest and couldn't drink as much as eldest brother Xuewen.

Eldest brother Xuewen drank silently and didn't speak; if you drank, he drank; if you didn't leave the table, he wouldn't; if you didn't fall, he wouldn't.

Old Biaozi could shout; he was the most mischievous in the room, but his alcohol tolerance relied on being young, beating Sha Zhu.

But these guys were all familiar with each other, including Li Xuewu; don't look at them not being able to drink, but they would drink until the end by fooling around.

The main thing was fooling!

Old Biaozi put his arm around Xueli's shoulder, cooperated with Shen Guodong on the side, and had Sha Zhu help, constantly teasing Xueli to drink.

The second uncle at the inner room table and the second aunt at the side table also noticed the liveliness here.

Seeing their son was popular, they were very happy and didn't worry about what would happen if their son drank too much.

Xueli was new to Beijing, had a new understanding of his second brother, and met his second brother's good friends.

This kid was also a newborn calf not afraid of tigers; Old Biaozi organized one, he accompanied one, accompanied one, and then organized Shen Guodong to drink.

Separated by two people, he toasted Sha Zhu, and after toasting, listened to Old Biaozi's greeting and followed to drink.

Good guy, Li Xuewu saw something, but since they were either brothers or childhood friends, he didn't speak.

Just blinked and smiled at Erhai.

Erhai couldn't drink; it wasn't that he couldn't, but that his body wasn't good.

Getting Li Xuewu's hint, he took the remaining white wine to the inner room and changed to the beer Old Biaozi bought.

This was good; the white wine was finished, and Xueli took the initiative to organize beer, saying he really couldn't drink white wine, but could have a little beer.

Sha Zhu's face was flushed, and his whole body was exuding alcohol; Old Biaozi was the same, holding the table and looking at Li Xuewu's little brother with straight eyes.

The remaining Shen Guodong was pale, getting paler as he drank; he was almost using his complexion as a French flag.

"Come, come, come, have another."

Xueli took a large jar and divided it for them, and his way of serving dishes made eldest brother Xuewen laugh.

Sha Zhu looked at the large enamel jar of beer in front of him, then raised his head to look at the humble Xueli.

"Brother, I can see you're the honest type; tell brother the truth."

Sha Zhu pointed at the enamel jar and asked, "How much more can you drink?"

Xueli looked at Sha Zhu and asked, "Beer?"

"Yes."

Old Biaozi didn't hold back anymore and asked, "How many more can you drink?"

Xueli thought very seriously and held up a finger.

"That's it!"

Old Biaozi smiled and patted the table, revealing a victorious smile at Sha Zhu.

"Let's accompany him for one!"

"Yes, little brother came from afar!"

"Yes!"

Sha Zhu also revealed a smile of seeing the dawn and raised his enamel jar, "If you had said earlier you could only drink one jar, we would have accompanied you to drink white wine."

"No, no, no~"

Xueli's face was also red, but he spoke very clearly and didn't stutter at all.

"You asked about beer; I really don't have a standard for that, because this thing doesn't make you drunk at all; I can drink it forever."

"Damn!"

At the end of the drinking game, if there were no accidents... there were accidents.

Sha Zhu was sent back by Li Xuewen, and Old Biaozi was sent back by Li Xuecai.

Only Shen Guodong, who surrendered first, walked back with Erhai.

This drinking game belonging to young people expounded a truth: when a Northeasterner says he can't drink, it doesn't necessarily mean he really can't drink.

Or rather, the standard he speaks of is not the same as your standard.

When drinking tea after the meal, looking at Xueli's flushed face, he helped serve tea and water, and the cup in his hand didn't shake at all.

The second uncle also explained with a smile, "Only this point followed me."

The meaning of this was that the second uncle had a full body of advantages, and Xueli only learned one point.

To talk about Versailles, Li Xuewu still had to learn a few more tricks from his second uncle; he simply praised himself.

Gu Ning and Ji Yuxiu wanted to reach out to help clean up the table, but were stopped by the second aunt.

Zhao Yafang also joked, "Don't worry, Xiao Ning still has three days, and Yuxiu can wait a few more days."

"Hahahaha~"

Women's laughter at a family gathering was naturally very hearty and was a rare home field.

It was only after drinking a few cups of tea after the meal that Liu Yin asked Li Xuewu and Li Xuecai to send Gu Ning and Ji Yuxiu back.

The atmosphere of this time was ultimately conservative in the hearts of ordinary people; how could girls go home too late?

Are there really girls who go clubbing until two in the morning in later generations?

The 30th, the last day of April.

Li Xuewu opened his eyes early; it wasn't that he was thinking about the wedding, but that Li Xuecai and Xueli were already up.

Because the back courtyard was given to the second uncle's family, Li Xuewu came to the east courtyard.

Xueli was someone who loved to join in the fun, especially since he hadn't talked much with his second brother all afternoon, so he came to the east courtyard to live together at night.

He also chatted with Li Xuewu for a long time last night; Li Xuewu didn't know what time it was when he fell asleep in a daze.

This little brother's alcohol tolerance was really good; if this habit of clinging to people could be restrained, he would definitely be a good young man.

Li Xuewu rubbed his face, changed into the clothes Yu Li had prepared early, finished washing, and went to the inverted room for breakfast.

Xueli followed behind and asked why Sister Yu, who sent clothes to the second brother last night, was doing this, and why she managed everything the second brother wore.

Li Xuecai had long been annoyed by the chatter of his little brother from Jicheng, especially this question; was this something that could be asked?

The two were whispering behind, and Li Xuewu didn't care; entering the inverted room, he already saw a kang table placed in the west room, and the second uncle, father, and others were all there.

"Is there someone at Xiao Ning's house today?"

Liu Yin saw her son enter and asked.

According to old etiquette, the groom's side entertains, which is the day before the wedding, and the bride's side entertains relatives and friends.

Correspondingly, they would also accept some gifts or gift money, and on the day of the wedding, the bride's side would have close relatives to send the bride off.

Of course, this custom varies from place to place, and the emphasis is also different; if you go back to ancient times, the bride's family wouldn't even send the bride off.

Not only wouldn't they send the bride off, but they would also bring dowry maids; can this be talked about?

Li Xuewu asked his father-in-law if there were dowry maids?

Then his father-in-law would have to ask which kind you want?

There are 59-1 type 130mm cannons, 59 type 100mm anti-aircraft guns, and 81 type 122mm 40-tube rocket launchers...

These are all very good; they don't hurt at all when they hit you.

"I'm going to send Xiao Ning in the morning and meet her dad and two brothers-in-law."

Li Xuewu said his arrangements and instructed, "Third Uncle's family should arrive around that time too."

The Gu family had an entertainment, and Li Xuewu had to show his face.

Not only to meet his father-in-law and the two brothers-in-law he had never met, but also to meet the matchmaker he found.

Today, Yu Huaiyou and Zhang Shuting would come to the Gu family to sit, and then come to Li Xuewu's side tomorrow to attend the wedding.

Li Xuewu estimated that there wouldn't be too many people on the Gu family's side; after all, it was this time, and even for children's weddings, it wasn't convenient to have so many people gathering.

Actually, his guess was very accurate; Li Xuewu deliberately arranged to work at the Security Brigade in the morning, and around nine or ten o'clock, he went to pick up Gu Ning.

The Security Brigade knew he was getting married these two days, so they all greeted him with a smile, but the work was all handled by Shen Fang and Wang Xiaoqin.

When Li Xuewu picked up Gu Ning and rushed to the Gu family, it was already past ten o'clock.

As soon as the command vehicle entered the courtyard, Li Xuewu saw several cars parked in the courtyard.

Don't look at the license plates; Li Xuewu could guess the identity of these people.

Waiting for him and Gu Ning to get out of the car, mother-in-law Ding Fengxia and Mu Hongyan greeted them.

A mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law is naturally smiling, especially on this day.

Mu Hongyan also glanced at Li Xuewu a few times, responded to Li Xuewu's greeting, and held Gu Ning's hand.

If there were opinions, where would she have the share to complain about Li Xuewu, because she and Li Xuewu were both outsiders.

It was just that her perception of Li Xuewu was too perfect before, and she felt disappointed after hearing those things about Li Xuewu.

This was just an ordinary person.

Li Xuewu was just an ordinary person, a worldly person, doing worldly things.

For example, pleasing the mother-in-law, entering the living room with the mother-in-law, greeting the father-in-law, and greeting the guests in the living room under the mother-in-law's introduction.

Li Xuewu was still in his white-and-black attire today, only the belt buckle on his waist had a bit of copper color, which made the whole person look very spirited.

Standing with Gu Ning, they couldn't be called a golden boy and jade girl, but at least they were a match.

Neither of them was short, and both had well-proportioned figures; everyone in the room looked at them with smiles on their faces.

Gu Haitao hadn't been home long and nodded with satisfaction as he watched their occasional interactions.

The guests actually knew Li Xuewu's situation early on, especially with Yu Huaiyou and Zhang Shuting there, they understood the Gu family's son-in-law from the side.

To talk about who knew earliest, it had to be Ding Fengxia's colleagues, and those familiar in the courtyard also knew.

Ding Fengxia didn't praise this son-in-law less, and wouldn't tolerate others saying anything bad about him.

When Li Xuewu toasted Yu Huaiyou, he thanked him very sincerely, which made Yu Huaiyou laugh out loud and told Gu Haitao about Li Xuewu forcing him to be a matchmaker at the time.

Talking about it now was naturally a joke, but at the time, it was also Li Xuewu's ability.

Gu Haitao naturally wouldn't openly praise his son-in-law, but his satisfaction could still be seen.

The Gu family didn't arrange a banquet or entertainment; guests came and went, and it never stopped.

Reaching Gu Haitao's level, the people he associated with were also busy; coming to sit at home on a workday wasn't looking at Li Xuewu, but at Gu Haitao, who hadn't returned to Beijing for a long time.

At this point in time, talking about children's affairs, some believed it, and some didn't.

What Gu Haitao represented wasn't just himself, and others didn't look at him just as an independent individual.

This was the influence of identity; it could be called a halo, invisible, invisible, but real.

The fruit Li Xuewu and Gu Ning brought came in handy; not being able to entertain with a banquet, having tropical fruit made up for the regret.

Beijing rarely saw these fruits; even Gu Haitao, who worked in Yangcheng, hadn't seen many.

Although economic activities there were relatively active, communication in terms of materials still had obstacles due to special reasons.

It was already past ten o'clock when they arrived; after sitting and chatting for a while, and receiving several batches of guests, it was time for lunch.

Ding Fengxia kept Li Xuewu, and Li Xuewu also followed his mother-in-law's words and said directly that he came to have a free meal today.

Few people came at noon; Yu Huaiyou and Zhang Shuting left early.

Taking advantage of the fact that only family members were left in the living room, Li Xuewu took the initiative to report his recent situation to his father-in-law.

Gu Haitao listened carefully without interrupting Li Xuewu, and gradually, only the father-in-law and son-in-law were left talking in the living room.

Ding Fengxia went to arrange lunch, while Mu Hongyan pulled Gu Ning into the study, leaving space for the two in the living room.

To be honest, Gu Haitao never expected that Li Xuewu could grow so quickly.

When he arranged for Dong Wenxue to bring Li Xuewu home for a blind date, he hadn't thought about finding a son-in-law with such a high position.

If he really wanted to look, he could have helped his daughter pick one out by hand.

He had a full understanding of Li Xuewu's family conditions, including Li Xuewu's social environment.

Yet, these ordinary relationships were woven by Li Xuewu into a massive web.

At first, Dong Wenxue might have been a big tree Li Xuewu found for himself, but looking at it now, he himself had already become a big tree.

And a big tree in a forest at that, with a much stronger ability to resist storms than he had imagined.

Being in Yangcheng, he was quite worried about this son-in-law; his two sons were both in the military, so they naturally had advantages.

But Li Xuewu had never sought him out, let alone asked him to do any favors.

From their few conversations, one could see Li Xuewu's caution and care, but from the feedback of Dong Wenxue and his beloved wife, one could see their surprise at this son-in-law.

If he didn't want to rely on himself when he was just a section chief, then the current Li Xuewu was even less likely to beg him for anything.

Although Gu Haitao had said that his sons received no special treatment from him, his daughter and son-in-law could.

But what could satisfy him more than his son-in-law's self-reliance?

No wonder his wife only spoke well of their son-in-law on the phone; in fact, it wasn't entirely because of the son-in-law's deliberate flattery, but because of the person himself.

When Li Xuewu reported his situation to Gu Haitao, his thinking was unique, his logic clear, and he possessed a keen eye and even more unique insights.

Especially when speaking about the difficulties he faced under the current situation and his ways and means of responding, all of which gave Gu Haitao much food for thought.

Being in Yangcheng, how could he not feel the wind from Jingcheng? The wind in Jingcheng also started blowing from Yangcheng.

Listening to his son-in-law, if he didn't know his family background, he would have really thought there was some incredible monster of a figure behind him.

These mature and unique insights were absolutely not something a twenty-year-old young man could think of.

Yet the facts were right before his eyes, and his son-in-law's words faintly carried a sense of persuasion, which could be considered a reminder.

Gu Haitao frowned slightly and thought for a long time, then looked at Li Xuewu, who was drinking tea, and asked, "I heard you also started a sports club?"

"Was it Department Head Huaiyou who told you?"

Li Xuewu smiled and explained, "It was my classmates from the training class after the New Year. When we were training, we all discovered our respective shortcomings—a serious lack of operational ability—and that's how this like-minded club came to be."

Gu Haitao nodded slightly. His son-in-law was not surprised when he suddenly changed the subject, and this composure was also worth affirming.

"It was Comrade Deshan who called me."

Gu Haitao explained, then continued, "Since you have a complete plan, full preparation, and know how to avoid the heavy and focus on the light, I won't offer any opinions."

Speaking of this, Gu Haitao paused, then continued, "But assessing the situation doesn't mean you can always avoid risks. Some waves must be broken through. You must be prepared to ride the wind and break the waves."

"Yes."

Li Xuewu nodded in response. Regardless of whether he actually had such plans, this point raised by his father-in-law was just out of concern for him.

As the two were talking, the courtyard became lively again.

Ding Fengxia went into the courtyard directly through the door by the kitchen. Mu Hongyan and Gu Ning, who had walked out of the study, glanced at the courtyard and explained to the two in the living room, "It's Gu Yan who's back."

Li Xuewu was about to get up, but his father-in-law pressed his hand and patted it, signaling him to stay seated.

Seeing Li Xuewu looking somewhat embarrassed and awkward, Gu Ning walked to the side of Li Xuewu's sofa and stood still.

Watching Gu Ning's actions, the expressions of the three people in the room were all different.

Mu Hongyan was a bit startled, but also a bit relieved.

Gu Haitao was full of relief, but also felt a bit of regret; his daughter knew how to care for people, but unfortunately, it wasn't for him.

Li Xuewu looked at Gu Ning, who was faintly protecting him, and felt both moved and amused inside.

Since when did he need someone to protect him? However, this feeling of being cared for made him unable to help but smile at Gu Ning.

Gu Ning looked down and saw Li Xuewu smiling at her, especially in front of her father, and turned her head away quite embarrassedly.

And when she turned her head, what she saw was her father's slightly melancholy gaze.

Is he not even going to let her stand here now~

Fortunately, this only lasted for a short moment; the liveliness after Gu Yan entered the room rescued Gu Ning from her awkwardness.

"Sister, this is my brother-in-law, right?"

Gu Yan was very tall and sturdy, but the youthful look on his face exposed the fact that he was still a student.

His green uniform was very spirited, and his greeting after entering the room also left a good impression on Li Xuewu.

Gu Ning had just escaped her awkwardness when she was cornered by her younger brother's words.

She glared at her brother, and before she could reply, Li Xuewu stood up and took the initiative to reach out his hand.

"Hello, I am your brother-in-law."

"Hehe, fortunately, your personality is actually different from my sister's."

Gu Yan's personality was quite lively; he smiled and shook hands with Li Xuewu while teasing Gu Ning.

"Go away, you're not allowed to mess with your brother-in-law."

Ding Fengxia smiled as she took her son's satchel and gave him a light tap.

Gu Yan smiled and explained, "If he were really like my sister, I'm afraid it would be quite boring..."

Before he finished speaking, he received another tap from his mother, which beat the rest of his words back.

Seeing his father's slightly serious gaze, he didn't dare to make any more jokes.

After he took off his hat, sat on the sofa, and looked at Li Xuewu carefully, he smiled and said, "Hehe, Zuo Jie mentioned you to me last time, but I was in a hurry to get back to school and didn't get to see you."

"It is indeed a pity."

Li Xuewu's gentle smile was very infectious, and his firm and powerful tone made his brother-in-law not dare to underestimate him.

He had long heard that this brother-in-law was very formidable; he was the same age as him, yet he was already a prominent figure in the East City.

He naturally didn't believe Zuo Jie's boasting at the time. Looking at the gentle and elegant brother-in-law now, there was no sign of him grabbing people's heads and smashing them onto car hoods, let alone smashing people's hands with hammers.

Being called a big cadre, this depth and bearing were enough.

It was only because he was at home and had his sister sitting by his side that he appeared more approachable.

Li Xuewu had his own way of dealing with young people. It was out of the question to say he had "conquered" his brother-in-law, but there was naturally no problem with getting along harmoniously.

Because there were more people in the living room, Li Xuewu and his father-in-law naturally didn't continue their previous topic, but Gu Yan had a lot to say.

"Brother-in-law, I heard you now have two deputy section chief positions..."

"Brother-in-law, I heard that in the south you were with..."

"Brother-in-law, what did you see in my sister..."

Gu Ning only felt that her brother was good in every way, except that he had too big a mouth.

In the past, when he was at home, he wouldn't stay near his father; he was either out meeting classmates or had made plans to go out and play with people in the courtyard, and wouldn't return until dark.

He would avoid talking to his father whenever possible, but today, he relied on Li Xuewu's visit to brush up his presence.

Li Xuewu also felt a connection with this brother-in-law; he was on par with Li Xueli.

The questions his brother-in-law asked were naturally not childish; in fact, they had the cleverness of his age.

Li Xuewu didn't mind the probing in his words. As long as people exist, there will be curiosity and competitiveness, let alone in this kind of relationship.

Perhaps it was because he heard his mother-in-law's praise, or perhaps he heard something from others, which just added to Gu Yan's curiosity about him.

Li Xuewu answered his questions one by one in a very relaxed and humorous way.

Until Gu Ning was about to get annoyed, the kitchen signaled that the meal was ready.

Although there was no banquet to entertain the guests visiting today, they couldn't fail to entertain their son-in-law with good wine and food.

What's more, the younger son was also back today, so there were six full dishes on the table, and the wine was also good wine.

Li Xuewu sat next to his father-in-law, and Gu Yan sat next to Li Xuewu on the lower side, picking up the wine bottle to pour the wine.

Ding Fengxia was afraid that Li Xuewu would still have to work in the afternoon and delay things, so she tried to persuade him, but Li Xuewu smiled and took the initiative to accept the wine from his brother-in-law.

"This is my first time meeting Gu Yan, we should have a drink, not to mention that Dad is back today."

Li Xuewu took the wine bottle from Gu Yan's hand and filled a glass for his father-in-law.

Pouring wine was nothing, but Li Xuewu's use of the word "Dad" moved Gu Haitao a little.

In the past, Li Xuewu had always called him "Uncle," even though he had long called his wife "Mom," he still called him "Uncle."

This form of address was not just the difference between "Uncle" and "Dad," but also carried a sense of distance.

Li Xuewu was very respectful and admiring of him, but this respect and admiration kept a great distance between the two.

Today, Li Xuewu was able to take the initiative to report his situation to him and changed his form of address while pouring him wine.

This represented that the relationship between Li Xuewu and him had drawn closer. With a closer relationship, some things were easier to say, and some things were easier to do.

Ding Fengxia also heard Li Xuewu's form of address, smiled at her husband, and used her chopsticks to serve food to Li Xuewu and her son.

Li Xuewu poured wine for his father-in-law and wanted to help his brother-in-law pour, but Gu Yan snatched it away, saying he wouldn't dare let his brother-in-law pour him wine.

While speaking, he also glanced at Gu Ning with some fear, which set the atmosphere at the table very well.

In this kind of family, there were rarely jokes at the dinner table; let alone the dinner table, even in this house, seriousness outweighed liveliness.

This was also why Gu Yan didn't want to stay at home during the holidays.

Today was different; although there were no outside guests, today could be considered the day before Li Xuewu and Gu Ning's wedding.

This celebration deserved to be a bit livelier. Gu Yan's liveliness was just right; at least in Li Xuewu's view, this brother-in-law was not a reckless person.

Could he handle the little pranks in the courtyard if he lacked wit?

Zuo Jie had told Li Xuewu quite a bit about this brother-in-law. To say he was very bad, that wasn't the case, but he didn't believe the admiration shown in the conversation just now.

Li Xuewu had no heart to overestimate himself, and even less intention to be sentimental.

So what if he's a brother-in-law?

If he needs to be disciplined, he must be disciplined; just stay away from his father-in-law and mother-in-law.

After lunch, Li Xuewu didn't stay long. Even though Gu Yan was making a fuss, they didn't drink much of the wine.

No matter how happily he made a fuss, a single look from his father-in-law could drain his energy.

Sha Qizhi and Han Jiankun also ate lunch here, but they didn't come here; they ate with the security guards and chefs in the courtyard.

They only knew that their section chief's father-in-law's family was capable, but this time they deeply experienced it.

Just the cars and people seen in the courtyard while waiting for the section chief in the duty room were enough to startle the two of them.

Not to mention that when they actually saw the section chief's father-in-law, they directly recognized who it was.

In the car back to the steel mill, Sha Qizhi looked at Han Jiankun, then looked at the section chief in the back seat with his peripheral vision, and for a moment didn't dare to speak.

Li Xuewu didn't mind their gazes, leaning back in the back seat, thinking about the events of the past two days.

When the car arrived in front of the security building, Li Xuewu instructed before getting off, "Jiankun, prepare yourself, come downstairs at 3:30 in the afternoon to wait for us."

"Yes, Section Chief."

Before Han Jiankun could finish responding, Li Xuewu jumped out of the car and walked toward the office building.

The cadres and clerks in the security section he met on the first floor all congratulated him in advance upon seeing Li Xuewu, and Li Xuewu also responded with a smile.

When he reached the office, Yu Decai followed him in.

"Section Chief, Director Xu called this morning."

"Hmm, did he say what it was about?"

Li Xuewu sat in his chair, dropped a cigarette, lit it, and threw the cigarette case toward Yu Decai's direction.

Yu Decai didn't move to take the cigarette case, just waved his hand, but continued to report, "It seems to be about the leaders going to visit brother units yesterday. He didn't say, it's something I inquired about."

"Not going smoothly?"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows, took the teacup handed over by Sha Qizhi, took a sip, and said, "If that's really the case, I don't want to take this job either; it's thankless and nameless."

"It's mainly because the leaders are asking for too much."

Yu Decai reported in a low voice, "Listening to that tone, the factory director wants to use this exchange as a breakthrough to open up the deadlock of the joint enterprise formation."

While speaking, he pressed his hand on the phone and continued, "It's just that not only was the deadlock not opened, but now there are new problems. The textile factory refused the cooperation proposed by Deputy Factory Director Jing, saying she lacks integrity."

"Damn it, how much is integrity worth per jin!"