Chapter 709: Firefight

At this moment, the fact that they were sitting here without being sent away meant they were permitted to sit here, listen in, and broaden their horizons.

However, speaking out of turn was absolutely forbidden; that was the rule.

It was just like Ou Xin; she could play around on her own, but she could not play around with these people at this time.

"Of course, this thing isn't only available in one place."

Ao Zhongliang lowered his head to take a sip of tea, then set down his teacup and looked at Li Xuewu, saying, "News from over there says to wait a month; we can load the trucks after a month."

"Mm."

Li Xuewu didn't give a reply until he heard Ao Zhongliang finish his sentence, and even then, it was just a single word of acknowledgment, with nothing else said.

Ao Zhongliang also silently took a sip of tea, glanced at the few people playing billiards over there, and said, "We still have a lot of these things in our warehouse. Does Commandant Li have any channels to help us process them?"

"Mm, I'll introduce someone to you later."

Li Xuewu pursed his lips and smiled slightly, which counted as agreeing to Ao Zhongliang's request.

When Ao Zhongliang heard Li Xuewu say this, he also smiled, knowing that he had successfully made the connection this time.

"That really solves a big problem for our warehouse keepers. Heh heh, they keep complaining to me that these things are a hassle to maintain and it's a pity to lose them."

"Indeed."

Li Xuewu nodded and said with a smile, "I have a friend who specializes in this. I don't know much about it, so you two can talk later; I'll have him go find you."

Ao Zhongliang smiled and said, "I heard from Huang Gan; just come directly to my unit to find me when the time comes."

Mentioning Huang Gan, Ao Zhongliang gestured toward the few people playing billiards and said, "Huang Gan says the garment industry is doing well right now and suggested we start one too. Jingxue is still hesitating."

Li Xuewu took a cigarette from the coffee table and put it in his mouth. Just as he was about to reach for the lighter, before he could move, Ou Xin beside him had already nimbly picked it up and lit it for Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu smiled at her as a thank you, then lit the cigarette.

Zhong Jingxue couldn't beat Pei Pe, hadn't even touched the ball, and walked over carrying his cue to sit on the side sofa.

The young lady beside Ou Xin helped him set down his teacup, then stood up to take Zhong Jingxue's cue to go play with Pei Pe.

Zhong Jingxue followed up on Ao Zhongliang's words, looked at Li Xuewu, and said, "My situation over there is about the same as Huang Gan's, so as soon as Huang Gan mentioned it, I wanted to do it. But I'm afraid of making too many clothes and having nowhere to sell them. If they get stuck in my hands, that'll be a problem."

It was a very simple and straightforward statement. They were all working; if this kind of idea turned out well, that was fine, but if there was a problem, they would definitely be disciplined.

If they didn't do anything, nothing would go wrong, and there wouldn't be any subsequent problems.

But they were all young cadres, all had a heart for progress, and knew even better that they were currently in a period of career advancement. Naturally, they had to charge forward fiercely while they were young.

The more time they saved earlier, the less effort it would take to climb later.

But Li Xuewu was not his father, nor was he God; he would not provide a safety net for him.

"You still need to consider this carefully and discuss it more with Huang Gan. I'm not a professional, so I don't know much."

It seemed like Li Xuewu didn't know anything when asked, but these matters were all things Li Xuewu had helped Huang Gan strategize.

Now Huang Gan was going to get into semiconductors, a presence even more awesome than the garment and printing industries they were currently in. How could they not be envious?

Just look at the current finances of the Dongcheng First Detention Center; even the guard station at the main gate had been renovated, as if they had so much money they didn't know where to spend it.

Especially Huang Gan, who had been commended by the system internally several times, saying that the rehabilitation of prisoners at the Dongcheng First Detention Center was excellent, their attitudes were particularly earnest, their thinking had been turned around quickly and resolutely, and they were able to learn a skill, gaining the ability to return to society.

Actually, they were all in the same system, and they all knew what these words meant.

Those prisoners didn't want to behave well, but damn it, their housing and food were different from others; how could they have psychological balance!

Those who behaved particularly well even had cigarettes to smoke, and their meals had oil and meat; they shouldn't get fat after serving a few years!

The Dongcheng First Detention Center specifically left some detention areas unrenovated and unmaintained to serve as a comparison. With three levels of detention areas for comparison, one could tell just by looking during yard time.

Now Zhong Jingxue also wanted to follow suit, but he was a bit hesitant; this was mortgaging his political future.

Ma Jun took a shot, then walked over and lightly poked Zhong Jingxue with the butt of his cue, saying, "Are you stupid? Just copy whatever clothes Huang Gan's center is making. If you do whatever he does, can you really go wrong?"

"Hey! That's stealing techniques!"

Huang Gan, over there with his butt stuck out, said this, then with a "Bang," hit the ball out.

The momentum is good, and the effort is there, but damn it, it just won't go into the pocket.

Zhong Jingxue, having received the reminder from the two, also made a decision in his heart. He smiled at Li Xuewu and picked up the teapot on the table to refill the hot tea for both Li Xuewu and Ao Zhongliang.

"Then I'll just follow Huang Gan; whatever Huang Gan does, I'll do."

"You're just daydreaming~"

Huang Gan, having missed the shot, didn't have a kind word to say right now. He muttered, "You want to learn? You've got to pay the tuition fee!"

"Is your mouth rented? Why is it so sharp-tongued~"

Pei Pei, listening from the side, couldn't take it anymore. Seeing that Li Xuewu and the others had finished a segment of their conversation, she spoke up to retort at Huang Gan.

Don't look at how Huang Gan doesn't give an inch when messing around with Li Xuewu and the others; he doesn't dare to chirp back at these young ladies.

"You just find the sewing machines and the tailors first. Later, I'll have a master craftsman go over and give you a copy of the patterns."

"But we have an agreement!"

Huang Gan pointed at Zhong Jingxue and said, "Produce exactly the amount of the task you're given; you're responsible for anything extra."

"And another thing! Not a single piece of the items you're asked to produce can leak out. They must go through the channels here, with unified pricing and unified sales."

"Got it, aren't you annoying?"

Zhong Jingxue glanced at Huang Gan, then turned to Pei Pei and said, "Can't you teach your Brother Huang how to play billiards? This isn't practicing billiards; he's clearly practicing bayonet drills."

"Mind your own business!"

Huang Gan rolled his eyes and signaled for Ma Jun to continue playing. He had just started getting into this, and his addiction was currently at its peak.

Pei Pei's technique was very good; the young lady who had come over earlier couldn't beat her either. Right now, she was playing with the ball by herself. Hearing Zhong Jingxue's words, she looked at Huang Gan with great disdain and said, "He's beyond saving."

"This is called self-taught, a cue technique I created myself!"

Huang Gan argued back, very unconvinced, and then took a shot—hitting one ball at a time, the kind where not a single one goes in.

With the matters mostly discussed, Zhong Jingxue stood up, took his cue, and called the young lady who had greeted him earlier to go play at another table.

Only now did Li Xuewu learn that the young lady was named Su Yu, and the others were named Tian Tian and Li Bai.

Yes, one young lady was named Li Bai—the 'Bai' as in fair-skinned.

Ao Zhongliang drank the tea in his cup and went off to play with the young lady named Li Bai.

Ou Xin saw that Li Xuewu was the only one left on the sofa side, so she asked with a smile, "Brother Wu, why aren't you playing?"

She had seen it earlier; when Li Xuewu tried the billiard cue, his movements were very relaxed—one look and you could tell he knew how to play.

Ou Xin didn't know how to play; it was her first time encountering this. Pei Pei knew how to play because her parents were both in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and often took her to foreign embassies to play, where they had this kind of billiards.

Li Xuewu turned his head to look at the smiling Ou Xin and said with a smile, "I don't really like sports."

After speaking, he gestured to the other side and said, "Go play, no need to keep me company."

"Forget it, I don't know how to play either."

Ou Xin shook her head, curled her lip, shrugged her shoulders, and said, "I'm just poking at the balls randomly; I'm not even as good as Brother Huang."

"Hey! I express my regret at your choice of words!"

Huang Gan, standing to the side, wasn't happy when he heard Ou Xin say this. He looked at her and said, "Your billiard skills are a hundred and eight thousand miles worse than mine; don't make random comparisons."

"Hee hee~"

Ou Xin was amused to the point of covering her mouth and laughing out loud, her eyes squinting into crescents.

Li Xuewu, meanwhile, kept his head down, drinking his tea, not intending to pay any mind to this shameless fellow.

After sitting for a while longer, Li Xuewu checked the time on his wrist, stood up, and said to Huang Gan and the others, "You guys keep playing, I'm going downstairs for a bit. See you at the dining hall at noon."

After speaking, he straightened his trousers and went to grab the cigarette case on the coffee table, but Ou Xin beat him to it, picking it up and handing it to Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu smiled as he took it and said, "Have fun, there's good food at noon."

With just that smiling remark, he took the cigarette case and lighter, waved his hand at Huang Gan and the others, and headed downstairs.

Ou Xin's gaze followed Li Xuewu's back until it vanished at the stairwell before she reluctantly pulled it back.

"Do you really like him?"

At this moment, Pei Pei sat down beside Ou Xin, picked up Zhong Jingxue's cigarette case from the coffee table, took one out, and lit it with a match.

Then, she flicked the match in her hand, looked at Ou Xin who had turned her head, shook her head, and wore a look of pity.

Ou Xin curled her lip and didn't answer Pei Pei's question. She knew that Pei Pei had always been open-minded, had a better relationship with Huang Gan and the others, and knew more as well.

Pei Pei took a deep drag of her cigarette. After exhaling, she leaned close to Ou Xin, raised her chin to gesture at the surroundings, and then asked Ou Xin, "See this big mansion?"

Ou Xin raised her eyebrows, not understanding what Pei Pei meant by this.

When they came in earlier, they had come straight here and hadn't gone anywhere else.

However, she had seen from the open window earlier that this club Brother Huang and the others spoke of occupied a huge area, and there were still many courtyards in the back that hadn't finished being renovated. If they were all fully renovated, how big would this club be!

She had heard of such big mansions before and had even visited old princely residences, but none were as well-renovated as this one.

When they came in, Brother Huang and the others hadn't said anything, so Ou Xin assumed this residence was the same nature as other historical mansions occupied by public units.

But now, seeing Pei Pei ask like this, she looked at Pei Pei with some doubt.

Pei Pei held the cigarette between her fingers, gestured in front of her eyes, leaned into Ou Xin's ear, and whispered, "This, is his."

"How do you know?!"

Ou Xin's first reaction wasn't to question whether what Pei Pei said was true, but to question the source of her information.

"Did Brother Huang tell you?"

"Him?"

Pei Pei curled her lip and said, "When have you ever heard him tell the truth when he's out playing~"

"It's my older brother."

Pei Pei first complained about Huang Gan, then explained, "My older brother works at the Dongcheng Housing Management Office. I heard him mention it once before, saying that the owner of this big mansion had changed, and it had been transferred to a recycling station."

"A recycling station?"

Ou Xin didn't understand what Pei Pei was talking about. They were talking about a big mansion just fine, so why did it get dragged onto a recycling station?

Pei Pei took a puff of her cigarette, squinted her eyes, and looked through the smoke at the few people playing billiards, saying, "Didn't you hear him tell Ao Zhongliang earlier that there were old things in the warehouse that needed to be recycled~"

After saying this, Pei Pei turned her head to look at Ou Xin and asked, "You don't think the things in the Si Courtyard warehouse are all trash, do you?"

Ou Xin blinked. She had indeed been sitting beside Li Xuewu earlier and had heard what Li Xuewu and the others said, but what was the use of hearing it? She didn't know the key information, so hearing it was in vain.

Pei Pei curled her lip and said, "The warehouse at Huang Gan's father's unit is handled by a recycling station. You figure it out yourself."

What was there to figure out? The answer was already obvious. So, the big shot really was a big shot.

When she introduced him to Su Yu, she hadn't thought of these things. Just based on the things she had seen regarding Li Xuewu, he was already a big shot in her heart.

But now, regarding the background Pei Pei mentioned about Li Xuewu, she felt as if she had been blinded by a single leaf and couldn't see Mount Tai. She had only stared at his status and hadn't seen the things behind it.

Pei Pei had a good relationship with Ou Xin, so she said a bit more. She also saw that Ou Xin had different thoughts and was advising her not to be obsessed.

"I won't tell you who his wife is; no need, right?"

"Mm."

Ou Xin saw Pei Pei advising her and patted herself lightly, knowing she was doing it for her own good.

"Thank you."

Giving Pei Pei a beautiful smile, Ou Xin knew that she didn't have even the slightest possibility with Li Xuewu, especially through the path of knowing him via Huang Gan and the others—that was even more impossible.

"Damn~"

Pei Pei heard Ou Xin thanking her and laughed and scolded her. Then she wrapped her arm around Ou Xin's shoulder, leaned back on the sofa together, and whispered, "A man who can make the front page of the People's Daily, a man who can treat five thousand yuan as nothing, a man who reached this level at twenty—it's not your fault."

Ou Xin could naturally understand the meaning in Pei Pei's words. It wasn't her fault, so whose fault was it?

Could she blame Li Xuewu for being too outstanding?

But if he weren't so outstanding, would her heart still be moved?

It wasn't that they hadn't heard of or seen young cadres who were both scholarly and martial, but they really hadn't seen anyone as awesome as Li Xuewu.

And it was precisely because they saw Li Xuewu's photo in the newspaper that they finally knew what kind of person had been accompanying them that night.

Just as written in the newspaper: witty, graceful, and overflowing with talent; and just as written in the newspaper: ruthless toward bad people, like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

The two sat on the sofa, listening to Ma Jun and Huang Gan bickering, feeling emotional that they could still encounter such a man.

For some people, just meeting them is already fate, so why pursue perfection excessively?

It's possible that once you get close to him, he becomes imperfect.

In Sister Lou's eyes, Li Xuewu is imperfect—very imperfect; one could say he's just a bastard.

"You tell me yourself, how long has it been since you came!"

"You tell me, did you do something tricky!"

"You tell me, why is there still nothing yet!"

In Sister Lou's office, Li Xuewu was being pressed by Sister Lou as to why the seed hadn't sprouted yet.

Li Xuewu looked at the fierce Sister Lou, unable to laugh or cry, and asked in return, "You tell me, haven't I been working hard?"

"What tricks could I possibly use? The seeds are already sown in the ground, what else can I do?"

"You know how busy my work has been lately, don't you~"

What's that about having no reason but still having three points of argument? Li Xuewu gave his own answers to Sister Lou's three questions.

He had already worked hard; the rest was left to fate!

Sister Lou looked at Li Xuewu suspiciously and asked, "You don't have some illness, do you?"

"Heh heh~"

Li Xuewu chuckled and asked Sister Lou in return, "You don't know how many doctors we have in our family, do you?"

Lou Xiaoe curled her lip. She didn't believe this either. Not to mention others, Li Xuewu's father was a master in this field.

Back then, Li Xuewu's father had actually checked her out and reminded her that there was no problem with her body, but she just hadn't thought of this aspect.

And Li Xuewu was someone Li Shun had taken care of since he was small. Not to mention checking his pulse three times a day, at the very least, she hadn't heard of any problems with Li Xuewu's body during his recovery from injury.

"Forget it! You come twice a week from now on."

Sister Lou found Li Xuewu's clothes from the cabinet, handed them to him, and said, "Your sportswear. Come exercise more often in the future. You're busy with work, but are others not busy?"

Li Xuewu curled his lip as he looked at the sportswear in Sister Lou's hand. Is this damn thing asking him to come exercise?

It's not for "exercising," is it? She really treats him like a beast of burden.

Taking the sportswear and throwing it to the side, Li Xuewu shook his head helplessly and said, "It depends on the time, it's not certain~"

Sister Lou squinted her eyes and said, "If you can't guarantee the quantity, then guarantee the quality. Can't you succeed in one go?"

"Listen to what kind of talk that is!"

Li Xuewu pointed at Sister Lou and said, "You are Director Lou, you have to maintain your image."

"Fine then!"

Sister Lou tilted her lip, looked at Li Xuewu, and said, "You like this style, right? Then I'll dress like this at home from now on, you come over."

"I'm leaving."

Li Xuewu quickly stood up, carrying the sportswear in his hand, and walked out. As he walked, he said, "I've found a place for the finance department to work, it's over at Huang Gan's place."

"Are you shameless or what!"

Sister Lou had just wanted to say a few words to Li Xuewu about whether he was a man or not, but upon hearing the second half of what Li Xuewu said, she exploded.

Only a bad egg like Li Xuewu could come up with such a rotten idea, sending people directly into the detention center—what was he thinking!

Li Xuewu didn't participate in the afternoon's activities because as soon as he finished eating, he was coerced by Sister Lou to return to Haizi Biyuan to "deliver grain."

And Ou Xin and the others also dispersed after eating lunch.

Huang Gan had things to do in the afternoon, saying he was going to buy equipment for Li Xuewen and also had to find someone to redo the electrical circuits; they had to be replaced with stable and safe ones.

He had already discussed it with Old Biaozi; it was the same routine as the paper mill. He would only handle the inside, and Old Biaozi would handle the outside—a clear division of labor.

This was also because Huang Gan had many tricks up his sleeve. He was determined not to expand his business outside the courtyard walls of the detention center; even if he earned a little less, it was worth it.

Old Biaozi had Director Ma covering for him, so what was he afraid of? As long as the supply and marketing cooperative could digest it, he dared to do anything.

In these few months, Director Ma had grown fat following Old Biaozi. He didn't easily touch the small things in the unit anymore and had instead become a representative of clean cadres.

How much could you earn from small things? Covering for Li Wenbiao and engaging in this kind of bulk commodity arbitrage through the supply and marketing cooperative's channels was much more practical than those peanuts.

Old Biaozi was now hoping that Director Ma could advance. If he advanced to become a leader of the DC District Supply and Marketing Cooperative, he could become a big shot in the underground materials scene of the East City.

Compared to the small-time stuff at the pigeon market, his way of playing both sides between several large units had formal procedures and proper channels, so he wasn't afraid of anyone investigating him.

The key was that there had to be someone to investigate. To investigate Li Wenbiao, you'd have to investigate Director Ma's supply and marketing cooperative first.

This was the power of a closed loop of interests—one ring interlocking with another.

Li Xuewu only chatted for a short while at the evening gathering because Li Xue was busy studying now and didn't come here to play, so he returned to the Sihe Courtyard early.

He spoke to Old Biaozi about the Xicheng detention center matter, telling him to go take a look. Some things he could decide on his own; it counted as training.

He didn't stay at the Sihe Courtyard for long either. After picking up Gu Ning and the old lady, he returned to Haiyuncang.

Li Shu played happily during the day now, but was sleepy early at night. Li Xuewu didn't dare to delay his daughter's sleep; otherwise, being a nuisance was the least of it.

The old lady was getting on in years and couldn't handle being tossed around; it was best for both the old and the young to sleep early and rise early.

Monday.

In the morning, Sha Qizhi and Han Jiankun picked up Li Xuewu and went directly to the Public Security Brigade. Today, he probably wouldn't be able to return to the steel mill until the afternoon.

The Public Security Brigade was truly lively today. There were many people standing near the main entrance, noisy and clamorous.

Because there were guards wearing green uniforms and carrying steel rifles standing watch, these people didn't dare to crowd into the cordon.

But the area outside the cordon was packed with people.

A row of tables was set up at the main entrance with gaps between them. The young people who came to report held their identification documents, verified their identity information with the receptionists behind the tables, and were then signaled by the receptionists to throw back all the luggage they had brought, only allowed to enter wearing the clothes on their backs.

The entrance was full of people coming to report, people coming to send their children to report, and even more people coming to watch the excitement.

The parents were busy taking their children's luggage, thinking that since it was a serious disciplinary unit, they couldn't bring even a single trifle inside.

This included paper and pens, knives, jewelry other than watches, etc. —all would be notified by the receptionists, and after being checked by the inspectors behind the receptionists, they would enter that lacquer-red main gate.

Perhaps only the Public Security Brigade recruiting so many people at once would result in such a reporting scene. If it were a factory recruiting a dozen or so, it could be solved easily.

The Public Security Brigade notified them to start reporting at 6:00 AM and end at 9:00 AM. After the deadline, those who reported but couldn't provide a reasonable excuse would have their files returned.

So the situation now was that people had been waiting here since after 4:00 AM, and it was past 8:00 AM, yet there were still so many people blocking the way.

The new team members passing through the main gate hadn't even had a good look at what the Public Security Brigade courtyard looked like before they were assembled. As soon as a truck was full, they were transported away, which didn't delay things.

Because he knew the Public Security Brigade needed vehicles today, Qi Yaowu had sent all the trucks down from the mountain, and Shen Fang calculated that it was enough.

And when Li Xuewu arrived at the Public Security Brigade, most of the personnel assembly had already been completed; those who hadn't arrived were all waiting outside the gate.

Everyone knew how rare such an opportunity to participate in work was, and no one would joke about their own life.

So it was only them waiting for the Public Security Brigade, not the Public Security Brigade waiting for them.

Li Xuewu stood by the vehicle and talked with Shen Fang for a while. The squadron leader in charge of training ran over to report that everyone was present and they could set off.

Shen Fang checked the time on his wrist and said to Li Xuewu, "Twenty minutes ahead of schedule; our people were slow."

"That's fine, proceed according to the plan."

Li Xuewu smiled and patted Shen Fang on the shoulder. He glanced at the crowd outside the main gate; they hadn't dispersed yet, and even though the tables had been moved back, they were still looking inside the main gate.

What was there to look at? The people had all been taken away; could they still see their children?

The matter of the new team members of the Public Security Brigade training on the mountain was only known to the relevant cadres; the new team members didn't know, and their families naturally didn't know either.

So when the last truck of new team members was taken away, Shen Fang walked to the main gate and told the crowd that was still watching that all the new team members had assembled and headed to the training location for three months of training. The venue wasn't here, so there was no need to watch.

And the crowd, hearing this news, finally reacted. So that was it—the trucks with tarpaulins that had been driving out from the vehicle yard in the courtyard all morning were carrying these new team members.

What's that about a foolish wife waiting for a wayward husband? They had watched all morning only to see nothing, thinking the unit was right next to their home and they could come to see their children from time to time.

Without waiting for the crowd to disperse, Shen Fang returned to the courtyard, jumped into Li Xuewu's vehicle, and they headed to Hongxing Village together.

Hongxing Village was very lively today. Military green trucks drove past the village entrance one after another. The children stood by the roadside playing, and when they saw the trucks coming, they waved their hands.

The children in Hongxing Village now weren't like before, not knowing what a car looked like; when they saw one, they would follow behind to smell the exhaust fumes.

Yin Mancang had specifically notified everyone in the village to be sure to manage their children and not let them play on the main road.

Especially the road from the foot of the mountain up to the mountain. Although vehicle traffic wasn't frequent, it still existed.

After a few incidents where parents carried tree branches and chased their children all over the village to beat them, the children in the village all knew this rule.

And what they saw now was just the excitement. After all, these trucks didn't enter the village; they all drove toward the training ground at the foot of the mountain.

The children didn't understand what a training ground was, or why they could hear a group of people shouting over there.

They had climbed the walls to take a look, but they were caught by the security guards, and then they were taken back by the village head to be beaten by their parents again.

At this moment, the children's focus was only because there were too many vehicles entering and leaving the training ground courtyard today; otherwise, they would rather go play at the food factory.

It was called a food factory, but it was actually a place for making canned goods and pickles.

Now everyone in the village was saying that farming for a year wasn't as profitable as planting vegetables for a year.

Although it was all collective, the collective also had leaders, and there were also people who wanted to earn more money.

The only place the villagers could decide for themselves was the area as big as their courtyard; how many vegetables could they produce?

The food factory needed fruit, which they didn't have. The food factory needed vegetables, which they had, but not many. People from the foot of the mountain often came to pull vegetables, and this state of supply not meeting demand made the villagers' hearts come alive.

Indeed, the food factory's mixed fruit canned goods were good things, but the glass-jarred pickles were also good things.

The retired master craftsman invited by Secretary Yin from Liubiju provided full guidance on how the food factory should pickle vegetables.

Everyone in the village knew how to pickle vegetables, after all, it was for home consumption, but pickling commercial pickles was a technical job.

It's like cooking; you can handle cooking for a family, but you're stuck when it comes to cooking for a cafeteria.

This is the contrast between handicrafts and industrialization.

The children didn't like the food factory pickling pickles because there was a strange smell, they preferred the food factory making canned goods because there was a sweet taste.

The reason the children ran over here to play more was because houses were being built here—such big houses, so many houses.

The big houses in their eyes were only bigger and taller than their own houses because this was a medical service station in the mountain area supported by the Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital.

And the houses built behind the medical service station were used for processing medicinal herbs needed by the hospital, more experimental laboratories, in preparation for the subsequent cultivation of Chinese herbal medicine and the production of Chinese patent medicine.

Actually, houses were also being built on the mountain, but the children knew they couldn't go up because the road up the mountain was watched by people, and going up from the slope was impossible because it was all crops; if they were caught by the green-protection team, it would be over.

Li Xuewu's vehicle was the last one to go up the mountain. Many people and many cadres had come to the Public Security Brigade today; there were many small cars alone.

Fortunately, the Public Security Brigade had many patrol vehicles, so they could handle it. The scene was quite large and had great momentum.

"Division Chief."

"Thank you for your hard work."

Li Xuewu shook hands with Wei Tong, who had come up to welcome him, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work."

It had been many days since he last came up the mountain to inspect. Trusting Wei Tong was also a responsibility.

If Li Xuewu coming often represented his emphasis on the training ground, then not coming represented his emphasis on Wei Tong and the political training cadres stationed at the training ground.

Failing the leadership's emphasis was a very dangerous thing.

So if Li Xuewu didn't come, Wei Tong had to do better and be more prominent.

Looking around, except for the messy scene of the trucks parked side by side in the courtyard while the teams were being organized, the order in the training ground courtyard was orderly and the discipline was solid.

Failing to invite Zheng Fuhua and Gao Zhen, Li Xuewu could only lead Wang Xiaoqin and the others to prepare for today's opening training ceremony.

It was still the courtyard behind the training ground, still that training platform. Shen Fang held the list in his hand and read out the situation of the team assignments.

Starting from the First Squadron, First Platoon, those whose names were called would go to the front to find the main officer of their assigned team.

Encountering people with the same name also required distinguishing them based on personal information, so the progress of the team division wasn't very fast, giving Li Xuewu time to inspect the training ground with Wei Tong.

Office building, cafeteria, dormitory, armory, training equipment, etc. —Li Xuewu looked carefully. When he reached the horse training ground, he emphasized to Wei Tong that the security department's trainees must be trained in horsemanship.

It wasn't to say that all security guards at the steel mill had to patrol on horseback or work on horseback, but that horsemanship would be used in special circumstances.

For example, security guards and security officers stationed in the border regions; in that work environment, horsemanship was particularly important.

The cavalry patrol team inside the steel mill was also an important security force, and Li Xuewu wanted to build this team into a business card for the steel mill's security department.

The symbolic significance far outweighed the practical significance.

The sound of hooves was a warning to those with evil intentions, and even more so, a death stare from atop a tall horse.

There was another reason for requiring the security department cadres to train in horsemanship, and that was to train their brave character and quality.

Riding a horse looks simple, but it's actually not easy to learn, especially when applying it in work; that requires very high horsemanship.

Being able to persist and overcome the fear of galloping on horseback is very helpful for training.

Li Xuewu organized the rotation training for the security department to give these security personnel a heart willing to take responsibility and, even more, the courage to charge forward in the face of danger.

Wei Tong's position was particularly important. Li Xuewu even found three professional personnel from the training department through his father-in-law's connections, and also had help from the 816th Regiment's training section. The training ground could be said to be the source of power and training base that Li Xuewu controlled.

When Li Xuewu was inspecting the office building, he also listened to the reports from Wei Tong and others regarding the training situation of the trainees here.

Those training here didn't include the Public Security Brigade personnel who came today, but also included steel mill security department personnel, steel mill brother enterprise personnel, security personnel from East City related factories and units, the club's security section, two classes of the dual-plan training class...

The training ground also set up different training subjects according to the different training content, arranged professional instructors, assigned classrooms and dormitories, and even transferred related weapons and equipment from the foot of the mountain.

The training ground on the mountain also belonged to this training ground practical base, including weapon training and high-difficulty training like climbing, all of which were carried out on the mountain.

The way of going up and down the mountain also had training significance; there was nothing better than long-distance armed cross-country to train people's will and strong quality.

Li Xuewu didn't have time to go up the mountain to see, he just sat down and talked about the current situation with Qi Yaowu, the commander of the 816th Regiment who was here.

The last time they parted was when the cannery started production. This time going up the mountain, Li Xuewu saw the development of the food factory from the car window.

Changing with each passing day—that was Hongxing Village, and it was also the 816th Regiment and the training ground.

Just after Li Xuewu finished his conversation with Qi Yaowu, Sha Qizhi rushed over to notify Li Xuewu that the team division had ended and the opening training ceremony could be held.

Today's opening training ceremony was still relatively simple, one could say crude. The trainees standing at the scene were wearing their own casual clothes, looking colorful and very lacking in standardization.

Furthermore, most of them had come out of school, and only a small portion were transferred or retired personnel recruited from the locality.

So Li Xuewu looked at the team, which wasn't standing very neatly, and the personnel quality wasn't very excellent, but he was full of hope for these trainees.

In his speech on stage, he also expressed his expectations for the future of these trainees, his requirements for the training personnel, and gave these new trainees a dream for tomorrow.

Which was to paint a big picture~

Official status, bringing honor to one's ancestors, room for advancement, excellent rewards...

Li Xuewu was the most famous "painter" of his time, a pie-painting expert on par with the sages of old. His speech was naturally full of passion and blood, stirring the young men's blood to surge.

After the opening training ceremony, each small team followed the order to receive equipment, bedding, daily necessities, and other materials, and then were led back to the dormitory by the main officer of each small team to organize internal affairs.

Li Xuewu didn't stay at the training ground for a long time, nor did he wait for the formal training of these new trainees in the afternoon.

He just ate a working meal and took people down the mountain.

Whether it was the Public Security Brigade or the steel mill, the current situation didn't allow Li Xuewu to leave for too long. He was afraid of trouble, especially trouble at this time.

Wang Xiaoqin went down the mountain with Li Xuewu. With Shen Fang on the mountain, as well as Pa Zile and Zhai Chuchu, who had already reported for appointment, assisting, the training intensity was guaranteed.

There were only three hundred people in the Public Security Brigade at the foot of the mountain, which Wang Xiaoqin could manage alone.

Plus, Li Xuewu came here every day, which counted as giving Wang Xiaoqin a small vacation for her hard work these days.

And in a week, Wang Xiaoqin would go up the mountain to swap with Shen Fang, giving Shen Fang a time to rest.

Doing this was a bitter task for both Shen Fang and Wang Xiaoqin, but there was no other way, unless the appointment from the branch bureau was issued earlier.

For a unit of over 1,800 people, two deputy division-level, four division-level and deputy division-level supervisors were completely enough to handle the work.

To speak of helplessness, both knew Li Xuewu's helplessness. Today, busy with official business, Li Xuewu only used the time of eating lunch to meet with his father and third younger brother.

It was all for work, that was Li Shun's words, while Li Xuecai missed life in the city and told Li Xuewu that there were many mosquitoes and bugs on the mountain.

Neither Li Shun nor Li Xuewu said anything to him. This mountain wasn't a dragon's den or a tiger's lair; others could stay here, so why couldn't he?

Li Xuewu was too embarrassed to talk to him. Did Li Xuewu not know his little thoughts?

Because Wang Xiaoqin had also returned, Li Xuewu didn't return to the Public Security Brigade but returned to the steel mill.

Just as he entered the room, Yu Decai followed him in, saying that Director Dong had called and also mentioned some things about the factory.

Just today, the factory Party Committee and the factory office issued documents regarding the rectification of the steel mill's office discipline and production and life discipline. The content was aimed at correcting the current organizational life chaos within the steel mill, as well as the production and life chaos.

It emphasized that the steel mill's organ cadres must be responsible for their own territory, strictly enforce work discipline, strictly prohibit random spreading and talking, spreading rumors and slander, affecting the steel mill's office discipline, etc.

And regarding production and life, it also required all steel mill employees to base themselves on the fundamentals, grasp production, grasp reform, and put their main energy into these two, ensuring the needs of the current reform and production.

These two documents were clearly aimed at the working group, and also aimed at the trend recently stirred up by the working group, wanting to suppress the wind and calm the influence.

The Party Committee manages cadres, so the Party Committee issues the document to strictly enforce organizational discipline, investigate a batch, handle a batch, make faces red, and make people sweat.

The factory office manages employees, so the factory office issues the document to rectify production discipline, grasp a batch, fire a batch, and thoroughly rectify the current unhealthy trends.