Chapter 649: In the Prime of Youth (Added for Alliance Leader Mo Chengyun)

Li Xuewu saw Li Zhengfeng calling himself Old Uncle again at this time and curled his lips.

It seemed he also knew that the title of Old Uncle had no bottom line—putting it on when useful, and throwing it away when not.

Li Xuewu actually wanted to weld this hat firmly onto Li Zhengfeng's head, but having contact more often, this cheap Old Uncle also knew how to be flexible.

*Sigh~~~*

Li Xuewu was also tired in his heart; there were fewer and fewer honest people in this world, and a good young man like him—simple, kind, and gentle—was rare.

After chatting with Li Zhengfeng for a while, he got in the car and left.

Li Zhengfeng also stood at the gate watching the car leave before turning back to his office.

Going to look at the two bags next to the desk, he hesitated, but still went to pick them up and open them on the desk to look.

"Hey! This kid is quite generous!"

Li Zhengfeng picked up a bottle of Moutai to look at; the sauce-colored porcelain bottle exuded a mellow aroma of wine.

Looking at the other bag, inside were several packs of cigarettes—Daqian Sect.

Adding the two together, it had to be over ten yuan.

Li Zhengfeng calculated in his heart and smacked his lips in pain; having accepted Li Xuewu's thick gift, how the hell was he supposed to return it?

Based on this kid's character, he would probably have to smash his old arms and legs to pay it back.

However, looking at the cigarettes and wine on the table, Li Zhengfeng comforted himself in his heart: it was sent by his nephew, just return it as a private gift.

Thinking that when he got home, he had to urge his wife that in the future, Li Xuewu's child's full-month gift and such couldn't be missed.

What is called a relative? Only those who interact are called relatives; even without true blood, one can become a relative.

Those who don't interact, even true brothers aren't called relatives, and could even be called enemies.

Li Xuewu's way of speaking wasn't very pleasant, and he was quite a jerk in his work, but in his conduct, he was truly impeccable.

Li Zhengfeng's impression of Li Xuewu was just like this; no matter how they fought or cursed at work, he had accepted this nephew.

He had no choice but to accept him; the whole institute almost knew he had a nephew who often came to see him.

If he didn't accept Li Xuewu, Li Xuewu had many more tricks to deal with him.

"Director, are we going back to the factory first, or directly to the Public Security Brigade?"

Sha Qizhi turned around and asked Li Xuewu, because the matter had been discussed smoothly, and it was still early.

Li Xuewu also looked at his watch and signaled, "Go to the Xinqiao Hotel; we'll borrow the light to have some foreign food."

Sha Qizhi looked at Li Xuewu in confusion, while Han Jiankun had already started the car and drove toward Chongwen Sect West Street.

It wasn't that Li Xuewu was craving Western food, but that someone was treating him today; Li Xuewu wouldn't let go of such a bargain.

Arriving at the entrance of the Xinqiao Hotel, after Li Xuewu got out of the car, he instructed Sha Qizhi, "Wait for Jiankun to park the car, go to the restaurant inside and order directly; wait for me after you finish eating."

After finishing, he patted Sha Qizhi's shoulder and went inside, leaving Sha Qizhi, who was standing at the door, confused.

Wasn't it all eating? Where did the director go?

He didn't go anywhere; it was still eating, but the location was different.

The person who called Li Xuewu had arranged for him to meet in a booth on the second floor, so after arranging for Sha Qizhi and the other, Li Xuewu went upstairs.

This side was an external restaurant; in reality, the Xinqiao Hotel also had an internal restaurant, which wasn't open to the public due to safety issues.

Who the people receiving were, Li Xuewu wouldn't say; anyway, he had no safety needs, and the person inviting him had no safety needs either.

On the second floor, after asking the waiter, Li Xuewu found the person waiting for him.

"Hehe, sorry for being late."

"Director Li is too polite; I just arrived too."

The woman with the golden wavy hair in the booth smiled, stood up, shook hands with Li Xuewu, and then they sat down together.

The one treating was Selena, the one who had hooked Li Xuewu's palm before they parted on Sunday.

Li Xuewu also looked like he was being corrupted; she made a call, and he came.

"Have you ordered?"

Li Xuewu looked at the red wine on the table, moved the tableware slightly, and asked, "Eating Western food or Chinese food?"

"Of course Chinese food."

Selena pursed her lips, looked at Li Xuewu, tilted her head slightly, and smiled, "The Western food in Beijing is really... um, hard to describe."

"That's natural."

Li Xuewu wasn't charmed by Selena's head-tilt, smiled, and said, "Oranges grown south of the Huai River are oranges, while those north of it are trifoliate oranges; Beijing isn't very suitable for Western food."

"Hehe, is this remark pointing at something?"

Selena's smile was charming, especially when her big eyes looked at Li Xuewu, her long eyelashes fluttering as if they could speak.

After asking Li Xuewu, she signaled to others in the restaurant and said, "They all seem to like Russian-style Western food, but I don't."

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows, naturally understanding the meaning in Selena's words, smiled slightly, and didn't dwell on this issue.

Selena's hometown had been raided by the Bolsheviks, so naturally, she had a different definition for the people and things from her hometown; now, even not liking hometown food was normal.

Of course, that was the hometown of Selena's ancestors, not the current one; she said herself she was from Hong Kong.

Perhaps this was the helplessness of losing one's homeland and drifting without support.

"Actually, I don't like it either."

Seeing Selena staring at him, Li Xuewu couldn't help but smile and said something to make conversation, "Differences in taste, differences in culture, and I don't like eating sweets much, and I can't accept things that are too sour; ordinary is fine."

"That's good; the dishes I ordered today don't have strange flavors."

Selena smiled, held up her wine glass to signal Li Xuewu, her manner somewhat alluring.

Li Xuewu was calm in his heart, took his wine glass, clinked it with Selena's, and they looked at each other while drinking half a glass.

"The taste of the wine is not bad."

Selena nodded in approval, as if she had drunk many kinds of wine.

Li Xuewu hadn't tasted it; he would let Li Huai De taste it later—he just didn't know if mixing two brands of red wine would taste good.

"I really don't know how to drink this."

He shook the red wine glass in his hand, saw the wine clinging to the wall, nodded, looked at Selena, and said, "I can tell the quality of white liquor, but I drink very little red wine."

"Waiter~"

Just as Li Xuewu finished speaking, Selena had already called someone.

When the waiter came over, Selena glanced at Li Xuewu and then asked the waiter, "What kind of white liquor do you have here?"

"Don't! Don't want expensive ones~"

Li Xuewu looked nervous and said to the waiter, "Just bring a bottle of Moutai."

The waiter was dumbfounded; this Beijing master had really saved face for the locals, actually bluffing a foreign lady.

If Moutai wasn't called expensive, then what else was expensive?

"Just Moutai."

Selena signaled to the waiter, then looked at Li Xuewu with a beautiful smile and said, "Guess if we sell Moutai?"

"Hi~ I thought you wanted Wuliangye."

"We sell Wuliangye too."

Selena didn't leave any gap for Li Xuewu, smiling and blocking Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu explained and then acted like a rascal, shook his head, and said, "I don't know about this; Director Ai didn't tell me."

"Hey! Why didn't Director Ai come?"

"What do you think?"

Selena's smile faded, her gaze burning as she looked at Li Xuewu; the profound meaning in her eyes was already very obvious.

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows, shook his head, and said, "I don't know; I'm not familiar with her either."

"Then are you familiar with me?"

Selena stared at Li Xuewu's eyes and said, "You've deceived me several times; don't you have any apology?"

While they were talking, the waiter had already started serving dishes:

Sea cucumber with whole chicken, rock sugar hashima, shredded roast duck, osmanthus fish maw.

She really knew how to eat, picking only the good stuff; Li Xuewu had glanced at it just now, and there was even bear paw on the menu.

The last thing served was a bottle of Moutai, which Li Xuewu had just asked for; the waiter had unsealed it, and it was Selena who poured the wine.

"This is what you ordered; you are responsible for finishing it today."

After pouring the wine for Li Xuewu, she signaled to the red wine bottle and said, "This is what I ordered; I'm responsible for finishing it."

After finishing, she looked at Li Xuewu, her red lips moving slightly, her eyes blurred, and said, "Whoever can't finish it is responsible."

*Damn*, it even involved responsibility; Li Xuewu was also in a difficult position, took his small wine glass, and clinked it with Selena's red wine glass.

"Forgive Li for being dull; I really don't know where I deceived you after only meeting twice."

"Many times."

Selena's eyes turned, the wine glass in her hand shook, and she started counting, "Your family, identity, experience—so many, so many, I can't see you clearly."

"You're joking."

Li Xuewu signaled for Selena to eat, moved his chopsticks himself, tasted it, and the taste here was really interesting.

After drinking another glass of wine, Li Xuewu continued, "Everything I said, I'm responsible for; there's not a single lie, and I didn't mean to deceive anyone."

"Of course, my identity is a bit special compared to yours, but I'm just an ordinary commoner; there's nothing unclear to see."

After finishing, he took the red wine bottle and poured half a glass for Selena.

"If you are an ordinary commoner, what am I?"

Selena was good at talking; while eating, she skipped this topic.

The two drank several times with the hot dishes, during which they didn't say anything else.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes, Selena started another topic, asking about Li Xuewu's time in Hong Kong.

Li Xuewu straightened his body, turned his head to look at the surrounding environment, and then said to Selena, "I'm afraid Director Ai doesn't know you invited me here? She doesn't even know you want to talk to me about this, right?"

"Are you worried about the environment?"

Selena straightened her body, looked into Li Xuewu's eyes, and said, "I have a room upstairs that's convenient; we can go up and talk."

"No."

Li Xuewu's expression suddenly became serious; he looked at Selena and said, "I'm talking about people. I'm afraid you are not qualified to talk to me about this matter."

"No matter who asked you to come, please tell them: the goal has been achieved, or hasn't been achieved; I'm only treating today as a meeting between friends."

After finishing, he signaled to the half-bottle of Moutai on the table and said, "The wine is mellow and the mood is thick; it's a beautiful scene, but worldly affairs are hard to escape. Let's leave this wine for the next time we meet."

After finishing, he stood up, signaled to Selena, and walked out.

Selena gritted her teeth, stood up, and followed; she didn't catch up to Li Xuewu until the entrance.

Because Li Xuewu was waiting for Han Jiankun to drive the car over.

When Li Xuewu went downstairs, the two who were eating saw him; Sha Qizhi went to greet Li Xuewu, while Han Jiankun went to get the car.

At the entrance, Sha Qizhi saw that the person following the director was actually the blonde he had seen last week.

And Selena ignored Sha Qizhi, instead chasing to the entrance and asking Li Xuewu, "Did my words make you angry?"

"Sorry, I didn't see you come out."

Li Xuewu turned around, looked at Selena's aggrieved appearance, smiled apologetically, and then explained, "I really have something to do; you misunderstood."

Seeing that the director was going to talk to this woman, Sha Qizhi was very observant and went down the stairs first to wait for the car.

Here, Selena saw that the director's secretary had left, so she opened her mouth and said, "My original intention was to ask you, if you need help in Hong Kong, you can come to me."

"Oh, thank you, really, I'm not going to Hong Kong."

Li Xuewu smiled and said sincerely, "This is a matter of cooperation between units, not a personal one; I hope you can understand."

Selena obviously didn't believe Li Xuewu's words; on Sunday at Li Xuewu's club, although she didn't hear much, she understood the key parts.

The young man in front of her wanted to establish a bank, acquire ports and shipping companies, and carry out commercial activities such as trade, manufacturing, and electronics.

*Damn*, isn't this a shining golden bachelor? More demeanor than those nouveau riche in Hong Kong, more poise than those fake foreigners, and more power than real foreigners.

Having met such a man, could she miss him?

Not to mention how things were in Hong Kong, just in Beijing, Selena's mind was still thinking about that big mansion—what kind of person could possess it?

And this person was standing in front of her, telling her he was an ordinary person.

Low-key, introverted, in the prime of youth, extraordinary demeanor—if she didn't have to follow the company's system and discipline, she would have confessed long ago.

So what if he was married? Were there few second or third wives in Hong Kong?

If Li Xuewu was often in the mainland and had business in Hong Kong, she would be willing to be a Hong Kong wife; wasn't that better than being a wage earner?

But looking at this young man who was impervious to oil and salt, even though she had expressed her meaning clearly at the wine table, he still had a pure appearance—it was really infuriating.

"I'm leaving, returning to Hong Kong."

Seeing Li Xuewu's car arrive, Selena knew that if she didn't speak now, she wouldn't have a chance.

So, to Li Xuewu's surprise, Selena said to him, "No one really asked me to come; I wanted to meet you myself because we are taking a plane to leave on the 30th, and I just wanted to see you again."

"Thank you."

Li Xuewu thanked her sincerely, his gaze also very earnest, but the words in his mouth were still full of rejection.

"It's a pleasure to meet you; you let me understand a lot about Hong Kong's culture and situation. If you come next time, I'll treat you."

From Selena's mouth, Li Xuewu learned that they were taking a plane on the 30th, which meant that Ai Jiaqing hadn't given him an accurate answer in this negotiation.

Perhaps because of the changes in the situation, perhaps because of work and other reasons, Li Xuewu hadn't received this news until now; it seemed the opportunity for cooperation still had to wait.

Perhaps Selena was unintentional, perhaps intentional, but she revealed this information to Li Xuewu; whether she wanted to win Li Xuewu's sympathy or well-intentioned understanding, Li Xuewu had to thank her.

"Since you really have work, I won't delay you. This is a gift I prepared for you."

Selena saw that Li Xuewu's intention to leave was firm, so she had to hand the bag in her hand to Li Xuewu, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you on this Beijing trip; your humor, wit, and gentleness left a deep impression on me. I hope to see you again."

"This, I'm so sorry."

Li Xuewu looked at the bag Selena handed over and was really embarrassed; he hadn't thought she was leaving and had prepared a gift for him, while he hadn't prepared anything.

"It doesn't matter, as long as you can treat me as a friend."

Selena stuffed the bag in her hand firmly to Li Xuewu, then waved her hand and went back into the hotel.

Li Xuewu watched her back disappear, the smile on his face also disappeared, and then he let Sha Qizhi open the car door for him and got in.

The car started again, carrying Selena's infinite regrets toward the Public Security Brigade.

Sha Qizhi had his back to the entrance and didn't dare to listen to anything, but he still felt admiration for the director's demeanor.

It was one thing for the factory beauty to be charmed, but even a blonde beauty was charmed—could it be that men with scars on their faces had a charming sign?

Li Xuewu didn't know Sha Qizhi was thinking about him, but looked at the bag on the seat beside him and frowned.

Li Xuewu recognized the box inside; it should be a watch.

Li Xuewu didn't know about other places, but normally, a woman giving a man a watch—the meaning it represented and the implication it wanted to express were self-evident.

Li Xuewu had been vigilant about today's dinner from the beginning, but he just wanted to see if this was a trick played by Ai Jiaqing or if there was someone else behind her.

As for Selena and this watch, Li Xuewu didn't care; he had heard such sweet talk many times, and it really had nothing new.

Speaking of which, Li Xuewu was better at talking than her; oaths of eternal love, sweet words, all kinds of reluctance—he could write a book.

Li Xuewu ate this meal very cautiously; the people around the booth and what Selena said, including what he said himself, were very cautious.

Don't say he was cold and heartless; one must be wary of others. He didn't believe in love at first sight, and second sight didn't work either.

Having only met Selena twice, Li Xuewu wouldn't believe he had such personality charm that a blonde beauty from Hong Kong would fall for him and offer herself.

He knew exactly what he looked like when he looked in the mirror every day, and he knew exactly how much ability he had; let others eat the pie that fell from the sky—he wouldn't.

Ji Ruixuan left in the middle of the month, and Ai Jiaqing was also leaving; the cooperation between the two sides hadn't been settled yet, as if these few meetings and conversations with Li Xuewu were just playing around when they had nothing to do.

Li Xuewu sat in the car and pondered if there was any place he hadn't paid attention to.

Until the command vehicle arrived at the Public Security Brigade, Li Xuewu hadn't figured it out.

If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't think about it; anyway, this kind of cooperation couldn't be decided in a moment—good things take time.

If it really didn't work, then change people, start from other channels; could a living person be suffocated by urine?

"Oh, Director Li, you've finally come."

As soon as Li Xuewu entered the courtyard, he was greeted by an old cadre wearing big-framed glasses, a white shirt, gray trousers, and black cloth shoes.

He recognized this old cadre-looking person; he had met him on Monday when he came to sit in the office—the director of the management office of the building near the street in the east courtyard.

"Director Zhang, why are you here?"

"Waiting for you."

Director Zhang had come out from the courtyard; seeing Li Xuewu enter, he turned back and followed Li Xuewu inside, saying while walking, "We are about to have our office door blocked by sand; you didn't do this kindly."

"Oh? What do you mean by that?"

Li Xuewu was also full of surprise, looked at Director Zhang, and said, "On Monday, I explained to you our intention to return to the office building and showed you the documents regarding that building; how can you say I'm unkind?"

The three walked all the way inside; when they reached the office door, Wang Xiaoqin also came out from her office. Seeing Li Xuewu bring Director Zhang into the courtyard, she said, "Director Zhang has already been here twice, coming from my place."

"Is that so?"

Li Xuewu signaled to Director Zhang and took the lead to his office.

After sitting down again, Director Zhang looked at Li Xuewu with a bitter face and said, "I've seen the document issue, and I know the building belongs to you, but... but you can't block our main entrance!"

"Blocking the entrance? What blocking the entrance?"

Li Xuewu looked at Wang Xiaoqin in surprise and asked, "How come I don't know about this? Did our people go and cause trouble for them?"

Seeing Li Xuewu was about to get angry, before Wang Xiaoqin could explain, Director Zhang waved his hand first and said, "It's not people, it's not people."

Li Xuewu saw he was about to curse, widened his eyes, and looked at him again.

Director Zhang also knew he had said the wrong thing, waved his hand, and explained with a dry throat, "I mean, it's not people blocking the entrance, it's sand—the sand for building houses is blocking the entrance."

"Sand? Blocking the entrance? What's the situation?"

Li Xuewu looked at Director Zhang, full of confusion, and asked, "Who is blocking your entrance with sand for what?"

"Hi, it's the construction team."

Wang Xiaoqin saw Director Zhang looking at her with a bitter face and helplessly explained, "It's the construction team arranged from above, saying they are in a hurry to work and are preparing the materials first."

After finishing, she explained to Director Zhang, "Speaking of which, it's all a misunderstanding; we sent you a clearance letter, and the people above thought you were already preparing to move, and that everything would be cleared out this week, so they arranged the construction team."

"But who would have thought the construction team was so anxious and had already prepared the materials first."

Wang Xiaoqin spread her hands and said, "I've also communicated with the construction team; they are being urged by above, saying over a thousand people are waiting to move in, so they have to hurry and change the office building into a dormitory building."

"Look, isn't this a misunderstanding?"

"Is that so?!"

Li Xuewu listened to Wang Xiaoqin's explanation, looked at Director Zhang, and asked, "Director Zhang, on Monday I explained it clearly to you; the letter was sent, and everything followed formal procedures. This sand has nothing to do with me."

Director Zhang also smacked his lips; he couldn't say any more complaints. This Li Xuewu pushed everything away, acting like he knew nothing—how could this matter be discussed?

"I say, Director Li, let's negotiate."

Facing the gaze of Li Xuewu and Wang Xiaoqin, Director Zhang said with a bitter face, "We didn't decide the office address ourselves; it was arranged by above, and we also paid the rent monthly, which is all in the accounts."

"Really sorry."

Wang Xiaoqin explained, "We are an administrative unit; we don't rent out houses and don't collect rent. Whoever you paid it to, go and ask them quickly; it must have been a mistake."

After finishing, she signaled to Li Xuewu and asked, "Director Li, have you approved any rent income items?"

"No~"

Li Xuewu shook his head and said to Director Zhang with a helpless face, "We only took over here a few months ago and aren't very clear about the situation inside, but we haven't made things difficult for you in these few months, have we?"

"Yes, yes, yes."

Director Zhang also understood Li Xuewu's meaning; if they hadn't made things difficult, don't use the rent issue to make things awkward.

He saw this trick wouldn't work, so he opened his mouth again and said, "Then can you give us more time? We need time to find an office address; moving isn't a one- or two-day thing."

"We already gave it."

Wang Xiaoqin played the role of the bad cop; her words were very tough and very direct.

"Last week?"

"Yo, you guys aren't still clearing out, are you?"

Wang Xiaoqin said with feigned surprise, "We sent the letter according to regulations, and it's also because the team is expanding and the safety environment here needs to be upgraded. You've seen it; the safety here is the responsibility of the 816th Regiment."

After finishing, she signaled and said, "We plan to renovate the office building you are currently using into a dormitory building; we have to arrange for two or three thousand people to move in, so it can't be delayed."

"Mm, this isn't something we can decide."

Li Xuewu nodded and said sincerely, "This is a task; we are a profession that takes obedience to orders as our duty, so it's not negotiable."

After finishing, he looked at Director Zhang apologetically and said, "While there is still time, hurry and find an office address; moving is still in time."

"Then..."

Director Zhang wanted to say more, but the phone on Li Xuewu's desk rang, and Li Xuewu also stood up.

However, Li Xuewu didn't go to answer the phone first, but instructed Wang Xiaoqin, "Tell the people above that this construction team did a terrible job; how could they pile sand at the entrance?"

After finishing, without waiting for Wang Xiaoqin to reply, he picked up the phone and started talking, leaving Director Zhang to sigh deeply; it seemed today's communication was in vain again.

He was the person in charge of the management service office over there, but not the person in charge of those units; at this time, those people were hiding behind, waiting for him to run around and waiting for the people above to find a solution.

Speaking of which, it wasn't easy to enter this door; the threshold was high, and the government office looked even more imposing than the branch bureau.

The branch bureau side only had people in white uniforms standing guard; here, *hey*, people in board-green uniforms stood guard.

Especially those big characters on the shadow wall opposite, making this gatehouse look exceptionally imposing.

Seeing him off with Wang Xiaoqin, Director Zhang said helplessly, "You tell me, what can I do? If I could decide, I would have moved today; over a dozen units are squeezed into one building—no one is comfortable."

Wang Xiaoqin sent him out, her words few; seeing the building was about to be taken back, if she said the wrong thing and made Li Xuewu's efforts go to waste, it would be troublesome.

After seeing him off, when Wang Xiaoqin returned to the office, she saw Master Dou from the construction team sitting in the room.

"You said you would handle it yourself, but in the end, you made me the bad guy."

"Hey~ how can there be a bad guy!"

Li Xuewu waved his hand with a smile and said, "Isn't this based on an attitude of stability, harmony, modesty, and concession, convincing people with reason? Who is the bad guy?"

Wang Xiaoqin glared at Li Xuewu and then said, "Whoever is the bad guy, go listen in that building; intellectuals curse people very harshly, and maybe tomorrow's newspaper will have our harsh side."

"Impossible."

Li Xuewu smiled confidently and said, "Absolutely impossible, just watch; there will definitely be nothing in the newspaper."

After finishing, he smiled at Master Dou and said, "You have to be careful; don't let people catch you. Just like Political Commissar Wang said, intellectuals curse people very harshly."

"My skin is thick."

Master Dou's dark face looked very resistant to cursing; sitting in Li Xuewu's office, he also said with a smile, "We send it over at dawn when the sky is just getting bright; the intellectuals haven't gone to work yet."

"I knew it was you!"

Wang Xiaoqin scolded Li Xuewu, "You say, why are you so bad? You could think of this trick of blocking people's entrance; listen to what people are saying about us."

"Let them say whatever they want."

Li Xuewu laughed, "I'm taking back my own house; do I still have to discuss it with them? Then how can it be taken back?"

Flicking the ash into the ashtray in front of him, Li Xuewu looked at Master Dou and added, "Based on their temper, do I still have to find an office address for them and help them move?"

Master Dou didn't dare to take the bait; the smile on his face remained the same, very fake.

Wang Xiaoqin reminded Li Xuewu, "You better be careful; they might be able to complain to somewhere."

"Don't care; this isn't our own family business."

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows and said, "Based on our own family business, it wouldn't work either; occupying someone else's house and still having reason?"

"You have to consider the legacy issues."

Wang Xiaoqin sat on the armrest of the sofa, looked at Li Xuewu opposite, and said, "I also hope the building is taken back as soon as possible, and I also want to arrange the office area and dormitory area, but caution is paramount."

"Mm, I can roughly know their relationships and backgrounds."

Li Xuewu didn't argue with Wang Xiaoqin, smoked a cigarette, nodded, and said, "The most this will do is take the lawsuit to the district and the cultural department; the reason isn't on their side, and even if it's asked, it's not for us to solve. Let's just watch for now."

After finishing, he said to Master Dou, "You really can't hide; find an excuse to go in and look around, understand the approximate dimensions and structure, and give me a renovation and decoration plan as soon as possible."

"Alright."

Master Dou agreed very readily, but hesitated and asked, "What is the main body of this undertaking...?"

"It's our brigade."

Li Xuewu took a hard last puff, snuffed out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, and then said to Master Dou, "After you finish the plan, I'll use the official seal here to sign a contract with you after I confirm it."

After finishing, he said to Wang Xiaoqin, "See if there are any engineering jobs in the courtyard, compile them, and have them do them all at that time."

"Small jobs are fine; the dormitory area needs to be used as an office area now."

Wang Xiaoqin also hesitated and said, "I'll study this with Shen Fang and tell you later."

Li Xuewu pointed at Master Dou and said, "Give them all to him; let him provide a unified design, and we'll look at them together."

After finishing, he stood up, took a document from the desk, handed it to Wang Xiaoqin, and said, "Not only does the Public Security Brigade need to be prepared, but the Special Service Squad should also be expanded; anyway, it's all the same thing."

Master Dou saw Li Xuewu and the others had something to say, so he stood up, signaled to the door, and said, "Then I'll go back first; I'll come again when I have a plan."

"Good."

Li Xuewu walked two steps to the door to see Master Dou off, then turned back to Wang Xiaoqin and instructed, "Study the selection of people for the Special Service Squad with Shen Fang. I see the current Public Security Brigade has a certain foundation; as long as the age is appropriate, you can consider it."

"Also, look for retired personnel who haven't been assigned yet; rural ones are fine too."

Li Xuewu rubbed his chin and said, "If they are from rural areas, the basic quality must still be emphasized; at the very least, they must have an elementary school education—it can't be lacking."

This was true; when he was in the army, some comrades didn't have a high cultural level, and they suffered a lot when executing tasks.

The Public Security Brigade currently being prepared was aimed at a usage period of ten to twenty years; if the cultural level wasn't enough, it would be difficult to achieve anything later.

Especially in the future training sequence, Li Xuewu also had the intention to train several technical talents specializing in urban security in this team.

These years could be slowly polished; in seven or eight years, they would be able to show their skills.

By then, if other places wanted to form similar teams, they would either come to learn or draw personnel from here.

Regardless of which one, Li Xuewu would be able to achieve "peaches and plums all over the world."

The training ground on the mountain had this purpose; the Public Security Brigade and the club at the foot of the mountain were the same—based on the present, looking at the overall situation, not competing for short-term gains, and walking every step well now.

Wang Xiaoqin also saw Li Xuewu's grand ambition; otherwise, he wouldn't have worked so hard on the Public Security Brigade's work.

Li Xuewu had never been on duty here; it was she and Shen Fang who were supporting Li Xuewu.

And Li Xuewu also fully trusted the two; the cooperation of the three was very tacit, cooperating with each other, and the development of the Public Security Brigade made both the Dongcheng and even the Municipal Bureau marvel.

In terms of selecting people, Li Xuewu had made a plan, but he hadn't participated in the specific work, which undoubtedly gave Shen Fang and Wang Xiaoqin great power and freedom.

Everyone knew how difficult it was to find a job now; for those with good physical fitness and good academic performance, who to choose and who to use was just a word from the two.

The image of the Public Security Brigade had already stood firm in the Dongcheng and even the West City.

Professional helmets, masks, uniforms, bulletproof vests, boots, shields, etc. —these equipment were very special and very conspicuous; one could tell at a glance that they were from the Public Security Brigade.

Young people were yearning for the strong in their bones; looking at these people, holding guns, sitting in jeeps, majestic—who wouldn't be both fearful and envious in their hearts?

So as long as the school notified recruitment, these young people all signed up enthusiastically, just wanting to go to the Public Security Brigade to be majestic.

And parents' views on this profession were also positive; after all, it was a job, and it was a police officer, guarding their own doorstep, and they could see them often—where else could they find such a good job?

So even if the Public Security Brigade didn't recruit externally, people who used connections still came to Wang Xiaoqin and Shen Fang.

Li Xuewu didn't receive them because he had been busy recently, and he couldn't be found on the office phone or the phone here.

With these phone calls, Yu Decai or Sha Qizhi registered them after answering, but Li Xuewu didn't return them.

This could also be considered a kind of human favor; Wang Xiaoqin understood the principle that one couldn't eat the whole cake alone, and she did quite well in this regard.

She had also communicated with Shen Fang, setting the ratio for recruitment, recruiting according to the established standards first, and then adjusting according to specific circumstances afterward.

But the most basic requirements Li Xuewu had set—physical fitness and cultural literacy—were hard requirements; those who didn't meet the standards had no possibility of passing.

Wang Xiaoqin deliberated and looked at Li Xuewu, asking, "I haven't asked you yet, are we recruiting female security team members?"

"Mm... this is an important question."

Li Xuewu paced in the office and considered it, finally nodding and saying, "We must recruit; and we can't have too few—at least a hundred."

As he spoke, he looked at Wang Xiaoqin and said, "When our factory's Security Department expanded, we recruited over thirty female security team members; it can be said that the decision at that time was correct."

"Mm, I think so too."

Wang Xiaoqin nodded and said, "The current and future situations and problems we have to face are very complex; we must have preparations in this regard, at least we won't have problems in dealing with gender issues."

"Then the number...?"

Wang Xiaoqin looked at Li Xuewu hesitantly and asked, "Is a hundred too few? How about two hundred?"

"Hehe, no problem, that's fine."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "Tell Pazile to expand the Special Service Squad into a Special Service Squadron, which should also have a female Special Service Squad establishment."

"As for training~"

Li Xuewu considered it carefully and then signaled to Wang Xiaoqin, "Still ask the training ground on the mountain to provide unified training for these people; laying a foundation with systematic and professional training standards will make subsequent work easier."

"Mm, that makes sense."

Wang Xiaoqin nodded and said, "Fresh graduates are all blank sheets of paper; how we train them depends on our ideas, and we must be responsible for the Public Security Brigade and for them."

Li Xuewu decided to arrange for everyone to go to the mountain for training not only considering training costs and standards, but also the unstable factors in the city in the next few months.

These people were all selected from middle schools and high schools; who didn't have classmates? Maybe some had wavering minds and would cause trouble in the team.

Li Xuewu was a firm believer in the concept of system; those who carried guns absolutely couldn't have their own thoughts, and those who held pens absolutely couldn't manage guns.

If these people were allowed to disrupt the order of the Public Security Brigade, would that be allowed?

So going to the mountain, closed training, after half a year, the city would also be stable.

By then, behavioral habits and political ideology would be cultivated, so how could they not be managed?