Chapter 648: Talking about money doesn't hurt the relationship

After seeing Li Xuewu and the others off, Ding Fengxia looked at the house where only she and her daughter-in-law remained.

In a few more days, her daughter-in-law would be leaving, and she would be leaving too; she suddenly felt a sense of loss.

Her daughter hadn't been married for even a month, and before they had really settled in, the family was already scattering to the four winds.

If it weren't for the unfavorable situation, she would never have applied for a transfer to Yangcheng.

Then there was her husband's health; her son-in-law had specially prepared medicinal wine for him again that evening, urging him not to stop taking it and to drink it on time.

This was also the thoughtfulness of the in-laws, knowing that her husband had spent his early years in a military career and his health had suffered, which was why they wanted to help him recover.

Speaking of which, Li Shun and Gu Haitao had first met during Li Xuewu and Gu Ning's wedding.

Both men had reserved personalities, and they got along quite harmoniously.

In private, Li Shun had taken Gu Haitao's pulse and written a prescription, and Ding Fengxia had also called Gu Haitao's secretary in Yangcheng, urging the secretary to remind her husband to take his medicine on time.

Regardless of anything else, they were both nearing fifty; no matter how diligent the secretary was, it wouldn't be as good as her being there to take care of him herself.

Therefore, her going to Yangcheng and her daughter-in-law going to her eldest son's place was a settled matter.

Ding Fengxia was also worried about the family, but fortunately, her daughter had married well, her life was comfortable, and the couple looked harmonious, so she felt at ease going to Yangcheng.

Mu Hongyan also saw her mother-in-law's thoughts and took her hand to comfort her.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went upstairs together, which actually brought a sense of warmth to the home.

It was already quite late when Li Xuewu arrived home, as he had to pick up the old lady first before coming to the Haiyuncang area.

Because she was truly tired, Li Shu had long since fallen asleep, and Gu Ning carried her to the old lady's room before the couple went upstairs.

After going upstairs, they discovered that the bed sheets and quilt covers had all been changed to new ones, and even the clothes in the walk-in closet had been reorganized.

Gu Ning also discovered that the bathroom had been cleaned, and the bath towels had been sun-dried and folded neatly on the rack.

Li Xuewu smiled at Gu Ning, who was looking over, and said, "It seems I'll have to give out pocket money next week; the results are just different."

Gu Ning glanced at him, said nothing, and went to the bathroom to take a shower.

Neither of the couple were the type to live a life of extreme frugality; it seemed that problems solvable with money were not problems at all.

Indeed, everyone knew that money was a good thing; not only could it solve problems, but it could also solve people.

The scene Deng Zhiwang had created ultimately tore away the fig leaf of the Steel Rolling Mill's residential area project.

And he, having had his bottom line lowered by money, also had his future path destroyed.

Money could solve problems, but the key was that there was no money.

The Steel Rolling Mill had no money and didn't dare to easily dump more into this project, so in the last week of May, they held meetings for three consecutive days.

By Wednesday, the work arrangements regarding the residential area project's management, construction, safety, personnel, and so on had not been fully implemented.

Yang Fengshan had been running to the ministry since last week, hoping to secure more resource allocation and support.

But these were troubled times, and all policies and work were being tightened, including those already approved.

The Steel Rolling Mill's residential area project was, of course, among them; this was a factor beyond human control.

During these three days, Li Xuewu had also participated in the relevant meetings throughout with Li Huai De; upon returning to his office, he only felt that this matter would inevitably end in a mess.

The mid-year financial budget made by Jing Yunong had not listed the residential area project separately to support it as a special project.

Correspondingly, after entering summer, the housing problem became blurred, and the workers' reactions to this point were not as intense as they had been in April.

Everyone stopped talking or mentioning the earthquake, as if it had never happened at all.

Correspondingly, after entering the summer, this housing issue has also become blurred, and the workers' reactions to this point are not as intense as they were in April.

But this was a misconception; the seasons would change. They could cope in summer, but what about autumn? What about winter?

If there was no hope for the residential area buildings before autumn, it would inevitably cause a huge uproar.

The workers hadn't noticed, but the Steel Rolling Mill's leaders had to; this was likely what Yang Fengshan was most troubled by now.

Previously, Deng Zhiwang had opened up the construction gap, allowing Steel Rolling Mill workers or their children to enter the construction site to earn work points, striving to be allocated housing sooner.

But this was a short-sighted move; when finances were tight, Deng Zhiwang, in order to ensure the project's stability, actually cut construction expenses and used workers to fill the gap.

This not only caused slow construction progress but also gave the workers, who were auxiliary forces, excessive expectations for the buildings.

Now it was fine; Deng Zhiwang had collapsed, and the investigation into him from above wouldn't have results for a while, but the project couldn't wait for his results.

Furthermore, the quota for a deputy factory director at the Steel Rolling Mill couldn't be decided for the time being; they had to wait for a preliminary opinion on Deng Zhiwang's matter, at the very least until the dismissal notice.

Without a deputy factory director specifically in charge of this work, no one was willing to pick up the mess.

Including Li Huai De, who was currently managing it; after Li Xuewu's analysis and summary, looking at the data in the report, he was also intimidated.

If he could win that position through schemes and activities, then why would Li Huai De still want to do this kind of actually difficult work to polish his performance record?

Moreover, this project was a thankless task; if done well, it was the collective's achievement, and if done poorly, he would have to be the scapegoat for Deng Zhiwang.

The reason the three-day meeting couldn't be concluded lay here; although they had set the propaganda direction, pinning the project's unfavorable situation on Deng Zhiwang's side.

But this kind of propaganda was to prevent workers from having opinions, and it also had to wait for a preliminary conclusion from above.

It had no effect on the current development of work, so the leaders were as troubled as ever.

What was temporarily decided was that Yang Fengshan would be in charge, with Li Huai De and Jing Yunong assisting in managing the project.

If you asked Li Xuewu, this was utter nonsense; three people doing one person's work.

Even children now knew the principle that one monk carries water, two monks carry water together, and three monks have no water to drink.

Every time Li Xuewu saw Engineering Department Director Xiao Zihong wandering between the three offices with a bitter face, he secretly urged himself to be careful; until a certain point, he must never dig Li Huai De out.

If there were just one leader in charge, the work wouldn't be this difficult; if there was a problem, you'd just go to the leader.

Anyway, he was the one signing; if something went wrong, just go to him.

Li Xuewu had to help Li Huai De stand firm, otherwise, who would block for him... *cough cough*.

Look, who the hell said Li Xuewu was a leader-killer!

Who!

Isn't that just spreading rumors!

Look at how good Li Xuewu is to Li Huai De, fully supporting him to get to the top!

So in the future, don't say Li Xuewu is uncooperative or relies on digging out leaders to get ahead; it's not true.

"Director, something happened at the Joint Enterprise project site."

Li Xuewu was just thinking about the problem while approving documents when Sha Qizhi walked in and gave him a shocking piece of news.

"Joint Enterprise project?"

Li Xuewu looked up at Sha Qizhi and asked, "What could happen over there?"

"They are causing trouble."

Sha Qizhi's expression was also very serious as he explained, "There is a lot of news about no Steel Rolling Mill workers' children being hired for the Joint Enterprise project; all kinds of rumors are flying everywhere, and the Engineering Department's land-leveling machinery has been forced to stop."

"Who is at the scene?"

Li Xuewu asked with raised eyebrows, "Deputy Factory Director Jing?"

"No, no leaders."

Sha Qizhi reported softly, "Only the person in charge of the project department from the Engineering Department is there supporting the work, but the explanation doesn't seem to be accepted by the workers."

"How could this happen?"

Li Xuewu frowned and asked, "It's working hours now; the workers all ran to the construction site, and there's no feedback from the workshop side? No news from the Production Management Department either?"

"It's not the workers; it's the workers' family members."

Sha Qizhi reported, "They all have children of recruitment age and are dissatisfied with the new personnel arrangements made by the factory."

"I see."

Li Xuewu took a deep breath; he knew who had done this again.

It really was relentless; the residential area project matter hadn't even been sorted out, and now they were starting to stir up trouble with the Joint Enterprise project.

Regarding this, Li Xuewu was helpless; he didn't know who had advocated it last time, letting Gu Weijie talk to him about this project.

Gu Weijie's meaning was that she didn't suggest Li Xuewu set up obstacles for Jing Yunong or related people on this project, or cause any influence.

Li Xuewu was also very wronged; he had never thought about causing anything on this project, or letting Jing Yunong lose to him.

But since someone could find their way to Gu Weijie, Li Xuewu naturally didn't say anything and agreed.

Regardless of whether he had the intention to do anything, since others thought he did, then his own sophistry was meaningless.

But he had just agreed, and Deng Zhiwang had an accident; Deng Zhiwang's matter had just been handled, and the Joint Enterprise had an accident again.

Li Xuewu felt a big hand pushing this matter hard toward him, and he couldn't even hide.

"Let Wang Yimin take people to the scene to ensure no extreme behavior occurs."

"Understood."

Sha Qizhi agreed and went out the door, while Li Xuewu rubbed his face and glanced in the direction of the main office building.

Li Huai De's way of doing things was too tricky, and he was too good at finding the right time, leaving no room for Yang Fengshan to survive.

And correspondingly, Yang Yuansong's attitude would also change; from supporting Li Huai De, he would definitely turn to support Yang Fengshan.

Previously, Li Huai De was still competing for these things within Yang Yuansong's acceptable range, but now he was becoming increasingly unscrupulous; how could that be allowed?

At the very least, Yang Yuansong would not allow the Steel Rolling Mill to have a deputy factory director who sidelined the factory director.

Yang Yuansong sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight; Yang Fengshan and Li Huai De, and even the other parties—whichever side was stronger, he would support the weaker one.

Balance, after all; you couldn't directly suppress them, as that would invite controversy.

Supporting the weaker side to cause influence on the stronger side, thereby achieving his goal.

And in the current main contradiction of the Steel Rolling Mill, Yang Yuansong was also finding a balance between Yang Fengshan and Li Huai De as the situation changed.

Previously, he was more inclined toward Li Huai De, but that wouldn't work now; Li Huai De was clearly ignoring his words and continuing to stand out.

What else was there to say? Even Li Xuewu could see that Li Huai De would definitely be beaten next.

But this depended on Li Huai De's goal; he had been beaten many times, and if he could use this time to test out the bottom lines of Yang Yuansong and Yang Fengshan, there wouldn't be many people who could beat him next time.

Moreover, Li Huai De was very good at reading the timing and the pulse of the situation; at this stage, it might be the time he was closest to the top level.

Li Xuewu had been in contact with him a lot these past few days, but he saw him in the factory less.

What he went out to do during working hours, one could guess.

Li Xuewu's arrangement this time was much more cautious than the last; it wasn't because there were fewer people this time, nor was it because the last disciplinary warning had scared him out of his wits.

It was because today was May 28th.

Li Huai De also never dreamed that the changes in the situation would be so chaotic, yet there would be a turning point.

"Director, news report, a new working group has been established..."

It was as if the boiling seawater had suddenly been calmed by a needle.

On Thursday, when Li Xuewu went to work again, there was no trouble at the Joint Enterprise side, Deputy Factory Director Li also returned to sit in the office peacefully, and the review from above suddenly accelerated, as if the sky was about to clear.

Li Xuewu stood in the office smoking, his eyes looking out the window, his face full of mockery and helplessness.

Perhaps Li Huai De, sitting opposite, was also very helpless; he had made so many preparations, never expecting the wind from above to change again.

This time, the person in charge of the working group wasn't the one he had thought of, but the one Li Xuewu knew.

Correspondingly, the east wind Li Huai De wanted hadn't come, and those actions of his had also died down.

Li Xuewu knew this matter wasn't over; Yang Fengshan would settle these accounts with Li Huai De one by one.

This change in wind direction should have been Yang Fengshan getting the news first, which was why he was setting an ambush for Li Huai De here.

But he didn't know if the result of Li Huai De losing a thousand and himself losing eight hundred was what he wanted.

This pit wasn't dug deep enough; at the very least, Li Huai De wouldn't be affected much, but if it were Li Xuewu... *hehe*.

"Director, the car is ready."

Sha Qizhi walked into the door and said to Li Xuewu, then picked up the handbag Li Xuewu had placed on the table.

Li Xuewu nodded and snuffed out the cigarette butt in his hand in the ashtray.

"Mm, let's go."

The two went out together, and when passing Yu Decai's office, Sha Qizhi reminded him.

Yu Decai walked out and reported to Li Xuewu, "Director, yesterday the training ground sent some canned goods, saying they were for us to taste. What do you think about this..."

"The cannery has produced goods?"

Li Xuewu turned his head to look at Yu Decai, waved his hand with a smile, and said, "Then distribute them to the colleagues in the department and let everyone have a taste."

After finishing, he signaled to Yu Decai and said, "Remember to collect opinions; don't waste their good intentions."

"Yes, I'll keep an eye on it."

Yu Decai followed Li Xuewu a few steps forward and added, "The factory office wants to communicate with you about work; it's about the residential area project. What do you think?"

"No time for now."

Li Xuewu looked at his watch and said, "I have an appointment with the Light Industry Institute, and there's something at the Public Security Brigade in the afternoon. If it's about safety, let Han Zhan handle it."

After finishing, he paused and looked at Yu Decai, saying, "If it's anything else, just say I have a lot of things to do recently and don't have time for now."

Li Xuewu didn't want to wade into these muddy waters; because his rank wasn't high enough, and he could see this was a cake, but he couldn't eat it.

Li Xuewu had some thoughts about this project, but whether it was Li Huai De or anyone else, they wouldn't follow his advice to handle it throughout.

When problems arose, it might even make him the scapegoat; who would do such a thankless task?

Let it be for now; anyway, this project wouldn't be left unfinished, and someone would eventually come out to solve it.

Or just wait for him; wait until Li Xuewu became a deputy factory director, or had the status to participate in it, before taking it over.

Compared to the residential area project, Li Xuewu was more concerned about the Joint Enterprise project; this was what he was determined to get.

But at this time, Li Xuewu couldn't show it, and even less could he do work related to it.

Even if he had done the preparatory work and was just waiting to take over to quickly carry out the work.

But what he had to do now was to lie low and wait for the other side to make a mistake.

Yu Decai saw Li Xuewu off, turned back to his office, glanced at the receipts on the table, picked them up, and went to the Comprehensive Office.

"Little Zhou."

"Director."

Zhou Yao saw Yu Decai come in, and since he was coming toward her, she quickly stood up.

Yu Decai was quite kind, smiled, waved his hand, and signaled her to sit.

Zhou Yao didn't sit; the leader's politeness was real, but her respect was also real.

"Director, is there a work arrangement?"

"Hehe, just asking you, have you finished the handover?"

Yu Decai glanced at Zhou Yao's desk, saw that there weren't many documents left on it, and said, "Are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Yes, everything is handed over."

Zhou Yao smiled and nodded, saying, "I have to report to the factory office tomorrow; Director Xu said he would send us back together."

"Director Xu cares about you."

Yu Decai said, placed the receipts in his hand on Zhou Yao's desk, and said, "Then here's another task for you today, hehe."

After Zhou Yao picked up the receipts, he explained, "The cannery on the mountain sent some canned goods to our department, asking us to taste them. You distribute them to each department and let everyone have a taste."

After finishing, he urged Zhou Yao, "Pay attention to collecting everyone's opinions on the taste and packaging; we can't just take people's gifts for nothing."

This was the art of speaking; clearly, it was Yu Decai who had asked for Li Xuewu's opinion, which led to this arrangement.

But when Yu Decai passed the arrangement down, these opinions and arrangements became his own.

It couldn't be said that Yu Decai was cunning, stealing the leader's credit and rewards; these actions and words carried risks, and if problems arose later, he would be the one helping Li Xuewu handle them.

Calling it reputation and benefits, in reality, they were all empty; Yu Decai didn't want them either, but this was the work an office director should do.

Zhou Yao looked at the receipts and calculated the quantity in her heart; it was clearly not enough for one per person.

"Director, this distribution..."

"It's up to you."

Yu Decai heard her and also saw the gazes looking over from the office, smiled, and said to Zhou Yao, "Since the work has been handed to you, it's all based on your opinion."

After finishing, he nodded at Zhou Yao and said, "The canned goods are in the small warehouse downstairs; just tell the duty room when you go to collect them."

After giving the instructions, without waiting for Zhou Yao to say anything more, or for others to ask, he turned and left the office.

"Whoa! This is a good task~"

"Director Yu is really something; Zhou Yao is about to leave, and he still arranges this~"

"What do you know? This kind of thing is just a job that offends people~"

"Isn't that the truth? Giving more or less..."

Zhou Yao also heard the colleagues' discussions; loud ones, soft ones, all ringing in her ears, buzzing.

Clutching the cargo receipts in her hand, Zhou Yao only felt that there wasn't a single day in the workplace where one could relax.

Director Yu's arrangement couldn't be said to be targeting her, but it was also a test, a training, and a reminder for her.

How should this be arranged?

There were over a hundred people in the whole department, and only a few dozen bottles of canned goods; distributing them like this, with some getting more and some getting less, wasn't that just asking for gossip?

If you asked if Director Yu knew how to distribute them? He must have known, but Zhou Yao couldn't go and ask.

Because this was a test; if she went to ask, it meant she had admitted defeat, and her final assessment for these two-plus months of internship would be a failure.

Although it wouldn't affect the achievements she had already obtained, and she would still enter the Security Department after returning, she didn't want to admit defeat.

Lifting her head, she took the receipts in her hand and walked out the door; she had to go and see what the situation was with the canned goods downstairs.

What kind of fruit, how much per bottle, what they looked like—she had to have a count in her heart.

"Let's just say, it's been twenty-plus days, what have you researched?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, your face changes really fast!"

Li Zhengfeng looked at Li Xuewu's appearance and sucked his teeth, wishing he could take the folder in his hand and split this kid open.

And Li Xuewu, acting like a rascal, knocked on the scrap metal on the table and said, "It's been so long, and you've only made this much progress, and you still have the nerve to say my face looks bad?"

"What do you think this is?"

Li Zhengfeng carried the folder in his hand and pushed away Li Xuewu's hand that was poking at the metal block, saying, "You think you're cooking? You bring a plate of vegetables, and I have to steam buns for you, ready in half an hour?"

"Then how long will it take?"

Li Xuewu frowned and said, "I'm waiting to use it; can you give me another month?"

"Fine, fine, fine, take it away as soon as possible!"

Li Zhengfeng gestured toward the gun case over there and said, "Hurry up and take it away; I'm not taking this job."

"Old Uncle!"

Seeing him throwing a tantrum, Li Xuewu knew he couldn't act up anymore himself, so his tone changed, and he prepared to step forward to persuade him.

Li Zhengfeng, however, acted as if he were injured, waved his hands, and said, "Don't call me Uncle; calling me 'Grandpa' won't work either. Who could possibly get this done in this amount of time? Aren't you just making things difficult for me?"

"Old Uncle! Look at you, what kind of temper is that!"

Li Xuewu, on the contrary, turned the tables this time, blaming Li Zhengfeng: "I'm just discussing and consulting with you, aren't I? You get all worked up the moment you get impatient!"

"You really need to change this temper of yours! Be careful of suffering for it!"

Li Xuewu went to take the document from Li Zhengfeng's hand, and seeing Li Zhengfeng shaking his hand to keep it away, he snatched it over forcefully.

While looking at it, he pointed at Li Zhengfeng and said, "It's only because you're my Old Uncle; if it were anyone else, who would put up with you? Throwing a tantrum whenever you feel like it, giving people the cold shoulder whenever you feel like it—how unpleasant~"

Li Zhengfeng looked at this "Zhu Bajie" and felt his teeth itch with hatred; the kid had said all the good and bad things, and in the end, it was his own fault.

He had figured this kid out; he just had a silver tongue, and since he knew he couldn't out-argue him, he was just acting like a rascal.

Li Xuewu also carefully looked at the data in the document, tossed it aside casually, and asked Li Zhengfeng, "What kind of thing is this?"

"You...!"

Li Zhengfeng widened his eyes and looked at Li Xuewu, laughing in spite of his anger, saying, "You can't even understand it, yet you've been staring at it for half a day!"

"Nonsense!"

Li Xuewu curled his lip and said, "If I could understand it, would I need to look at it for half a day?"

"You've really got a point there, haven't you!"

Li Zhengfeng picked up the folder, pointed it at Li Xuewu, and said, "Get lost, I don't feel like dealing with you."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Li Xuewu followed him, and Sha Qizhi, having no other choice, could only follow as well.

Last time he came, he felt that the communication style between the Division Chief and this Institute Director was a form of torture, and it was the same this time.

Li Xuewu, however, didn't find it difficult to get along with Li Zhengfeng; this Old Uncle still had a few tricks up his sleeve.

Following him along the way, pestering him and asking questions, he finally managed to torture Li Zhengfeng into opening his mouth.

"It's the material, the gun body material."

Li Zhengfeng walked into his office and explained to Li Xuewu, "There are many types of steel. You're from the steel mill, so you'd know even if I didn't go into too much detail."

"So, have you found it?"

Li Xuewu didn't stand on ceremony when he entered Li Zhengfeng's office; he sat directly in front of his desk, looked at Li Zhengfeng, and said, "If you can't find it, I can have the steel mill's engineers help you take a look."

"That's not the problem."

Li Zhengfeng waved his hand and said, "It's the relevant technical parameters and production difficulty."

He glanced at Li Xuewu, used his fountain pen as a demonstration, and lectured Li Xuewu on the rifling inside the muzzle, the mechanical relationships, and the application of alloys—anyway, he talked for quite a while.

Li Xuewu frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Regarding production, I can say that the steel and alloy materials aren't a problem, and the processing machinery shouldn't be a problem either. We can research the scopes, mounts, and so on."

"But I can't do anything about the manufacturing process because I don't understand it."

Li Xuewu scratched his chin and said, "I really do need your help to design it properly, and then we can conduct experiments and processing based on your plan."

"But this requires time and manpower."

Li Zhengfeng tapped the table and said, "It's not easy to get a project approved now. The thing we build can't look too similar; it has to have some novelty. If you rely solely on me, you can't complain that it's slow."

"How can it be just one person?"

Li Xuewu looked left and right and asked, "Where are the people in the institute? Where are the designers? Where are the engineers? This is the Light Industry Institute!"

"So you do know!"

Li Zhengfeng put that document aside, then patted the pile of documents on the table and said, "We can't have our own work to do, is that it?"

After finishing, he looked at Li Xuewu and asked, "I'm asking you, how do you plan to handle this gun once it's built? You aren't just going to have your unit purchase it, are you?"

"How to handle it~"

Li Xuewu rubbed his chin and asked Li Zhengfeng, "Old Uncle, how do you think it should be handled?"

Li Zhengfeng was so angered by Li Xuewu's words that he closed his eyes; he knew this kid was just teasing him, and he himself hadn't figured out how to handle this gun either.

"You're the one who came to me; I didn't come to you asking to build a gun!"

"I know, I know, I'm just consulting your opinion, after all, you have more experience."

Li Xuewu pacified Li Zhengfeng, took the tea Sha Qizhi handed over, and gestured, "I have ways for production and manufacturing, but as for the application, I do have some small ideas, but it depends on whether you have the willingness."

Li Zhengfeng leaned back in his chair, looked at Li Xuewu, and said, "As long as I don't have to spend money and don't have to spend favors, anything is fine."

"Hiss~ Old Uncle! Why are you like this~"

Li Xuewu frowned and said, "This is a win-win situation. You are responsible for the design, we are responsible for production, and we research sales together—cooperation and mutual benefit, isn't that a win-win?"

"How do I see it as you winning twice?"

Li Zhengfeng looked at Li Xuewu and said, "You just bring a gun, we spend the funds to design it, and I still have to help you promote it—you're winning twice!"

After finishing, he gestured to Li Xuewu and asked, "Are you doing this to find a path for your factory? What's up, looking to expand your business?"

"Look at you, letting your imagination run wild again!"

Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes and said, "Is our factory lacking business? We're already too busy with our current tasks."

"Isn't this a rare opportunity?"

After saying that, he looked at Li Zhengfeng and said seriously, "Think about it, the institute also needs funds, right? With the tasks from above, the funds allocated to you must be very tight, right? What about benefits?"

"Let's talk business."

Seeing Li Xuewu trying to tempt him again, Li Zhengfeng gestured and said, "The research work has just begun. Let's talk about money without hurting our relationship. Give me a reasonable plan so I can have an explanation for the institute."

Li Xuewu knew that it wasn't easy to take advantage of this old man; he kept talking about their relationship, but in the end, it still came back to funds.

"The Light Industry Institute is responsible for designing what we need, we are responsible for production, military products require your help for promotion, and we will handle the sales of civilian products ourselves."

Since they were already talking about money without hurting their relationship, Li Xuewu spoke without any emotion.

Li Zhengfeng also felt that this kid was quite a jerk; the moment they talked about money, he was like a different person, very mercenary, not even calling him Old Uncle anymore.

"What about the initial research funds? What about the sales profits of the products? How is it calculated?"

Li Zhengfeng looked at Li Xuewu and asked, "Which factory is cooperating with us? There must be a formal procedure, right?"

"That depends on you."

Li Xuewu tilted his head slightly and said, "After all, the original material was provided by me, and production and materials are ours. If you even want us to cover the design costs, then we will only pay a one-time design fee for the sales profits."

"Hey! You kid!"

Li Zhengfeng sat up straight, pointed at Li Xuewu, and said, "You really are the type to use people when you need them and ignore them when you don't—we're doing all this work for nothing!"

"That's not right."

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and said, "You're the one who said to talk about money without hurting our relationship. I'm seriously discussing cooperation with you. More effort, more reward—this is very normal."

After finishing, he explained to Li Zhengfeng while counting on his fingers: "We provide the original material, we provide the design funds, we provide production and sales—all you get is the design fee."

"Hiss~ You say!"

Li Zhengfeng also knew that there was a market for this gun once it was built, because domestic weapon development was still "crossing the river by feeling the stones" from the Soviets.

Including the Type 56 currently in use, this sniper rifle inherited the consistent Soviet characteristic of being rugged and durable, existing as a supplementary force to the Type 56 in squad firepower.

As long as it could be built, he could talk to the General Logistics Department; after all, on the Annan battlefield, the performance of this gun had already been tested.

Any firearm that could withstand the test of war was a good gun; no matter how fancy the design or style, it was all useless.

The visible benefits were right in front of him, so how could he be willing to take only a single design fee?

Moreover, this wasn't the first time he had seen this gun; perhaps other institutes were researching it too.

Whoever could achieve mass production a day earlier would be the one to eat the first order.

Li Xuewu wasn't afraid anyway; there was no problem with this gun, so it could be used in cities, at least the Security Brigade could use it.

Li Zhengfeng's current point of struggle was whether to pay the initial costs and how much return he could get if he did.

"Tell me, if we are responsible for the design funds, how much profit can we get?"

"That still requires specific analysis and consideration."

Li Xuewu now held the initiative, so naturally, he couldn't satisfy Li Zhengfeng in one go.

"If the Light Industry Institute provides the complete design plan, including the process plan, then you will get a commission from the product profits."

"If the Light Industry Institute only provides a part of the design and process plan, then the commission will be reduced accordingly, perhaps only a design fee."

"If the Light Industry Institute can make contributions in the later promotion, then the commission on product profits can be increased."

Li Xuewu spread his hands and said, "A very fair principle—more work, more pay."

Li Zhengfeng curled his lip and asked Li Xuewu, "What do you mean by a partial design plan?"

"It's very simple, for example, this gun."

Li Xuewu shrugged and said, "You don't want to take the original design fee of Mr. Yevgeny Fyodorovich Dragunov as well, do you?"

Li Zhengfeng knew this kid was playing dumb with him; before, he said he didn't know this gun and didn't know who designed it, but now he was using the Soviet language to recite the gun's designer.

"Tell me, what else do you want us to help you design?"

Li Zhengfeng was also at his wit's end; the conditions were just like that, and the principles were the principles in each other's hearts—it was already very fair.

Come to think of it, life at the Light Industry Institute wasn't easy either. If it were a task assigned from above, the benefits obtained would be even less than this.

"It won't be weapons again, will it?"

Li Zhengfeng looked at Li Xuewu and said, "We have our own design tasks; we can't reassign manpower to you, and we certainly can't delay the tasks from above."

"No, at least not firearms."

Li Xuewu rubbed his chin, smiled, and said, "There are some other little things. Once you've finished the gun matter, we'll talk about others—after all, you have to eat one bite at a time."

Li Xuewu was a person who wouldn't release the hawk until he saw the rabbit, and Li Zhengfeng was the same; when an old fox met a young fox, neither should call the other cunning.

Li Zhengfeng nodded, which counted as accepting Li Xuewu's plan. The Light Industry Institute would pay the initial design costs; at least they had to eat this gun, as the benefits were visible.

As for what Li Xuewu said about other designs and products later, he was also aiming for the "hit three times whether there are dates or not" approach.

However, he had inquired; this kid had some ability and was well-connected in both the steel and public security systems. Just for this, he still had some confidence.

The main source of confidence was Li Xuewu's father-in-law. If he couldn't guarantee anything else, Li Xuewu's father-in-law was a big shot. If this gun were built, and the quality and demand were fine, could the orders be lacking?

"Alright, since you've agreed, this matter is settled."

Li Xuewu stood up and said, "You can talk to me about money without hurting our relationship, but I can't do that. When talking to you about money, I must also talk about our relationship."

After finishing, he gestured for Sha Qizhi outside the door to come in and placed the two bags he was carrying next to Li Zhengfeng's desk.

"What are you doing!"

Li Zhengfeng stood up, intending to refuse; after all, he was a cadre, and he couldn't let people gossip—this was at his workplace.

Li Xuewu, however, waved his hand and said, "I already said we're talking about our relationship. This is for my Old Uncle; whoever says anything, I'll slap them with my big mouth!"

After finishing, he wrapped his arm around Li Zhengfeng's shoulder as he walked out, and while walking, he smiled and said, "I don't believe there's any family that doesn't visit relatives, right, Old Uncle?"

Li Zhengfeng was also at his wit's end with this plaster; he had invited Li Xuewu today to talk about money, but he hadn't expected to get himself wrapped up in it instead.

He hadn't gotten a single cent, and it seemed he even had to chip in a bit.

Once they walked out the door, the people in the institute saw the two of them walking out with their arms around each other's shoulders and greeted them while holding back laughter.

Li Xuewu kept calling him "Old Uncle" and talked about family matters.

Things like his daughter learning to talk, the old lady at home asking him to come over for a visit, and finding time to go see his Old Aunt.

Li Zhengfeng was also helpless; how could he bear to refuse such an enthusiastic nephew? Especially a capable nephew at that.

When they reached the entrance, Li Zhengfeng pulled Li Xuewu and asked, "Which factory is going to do this?"

After finishing, he reminded Li Xuewu, "Factories that produce firearms must have certain discipline and filing records. The steel mill is so big, can it handle it?"

This was correct; factories that produced firearms and weapons weren't very large, and their locations were very hidden—at least safety was the key issue.

When Li Xuewu was in elementary school, there was a big wall outside his classroom window; he could often hear the sound of machines inside, and sometimes he could stand in class and see people working on the opposite building.

Passing by that factory on his way to and from school, he didn't have any good ideas, and it wasn't until he was in high school and started getting mischievous that he learned through a beating that it was an arsenal producing pistols.

The steel mill had over ten thousand people; if they were to enforce the strict discipline of such a specialized factory, he was afraid the people above wouldn't agree.

That was why Li Zhengfeng asked Li Xuewu; he knew it wasn't the steel mill, and asking helped him have a better idea.

Li Xuewu stood by the car, pulled Li Zhengfeng's arm, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "In Steel City, a branch of our factory, specifically for smelting special steel, also has confidentiality requirements."

"Is that so~"

Li Zhengfeng was satisfied in his heart when he heard it was in Steel City.

Because as long as it wasn't produced in the capital, the safety requirements would be lowered by one level—at least it wouldn't be as strict as in the capital.

Furthermore, the steel mill Li Xuewu mentioned was a strong support for production.

Seeing Li Xuewu's confident appearance, he knew he had a say over there.

This confidence undoubtedly gave Li Zhengfeng a sense of confidence, letting him know that this matter could be done for a long time.

The replacement of firearms was very slow; as long as this time was done well, with a steady stream of work, the Light Industry Institute shouldn't have to worry about funding issues.

"Good, good, Old Uncle is at ease with you doing things."