Chapter 711: Picasso

If the working group wanted to continue to realize their intentions, they had to find a breakthrough in the current work to prove that the Rolling Mill's leadership management ability had problems and needed to be rectified.

But from the report letters and big-character posters, the vast majority of the content was groundless, all thought up by those people listening to the wind and rain.

In the process of investigation, the working group also discovered that these reports were all utilitarian, that was to say, many reports were only produced when their personal interests were damaged or unequal.

This was individualistic behavior that had long been seriously criticized at meetings; how could it be used as evidence?

The working group had worked hard for so many days, but it was all in vain. They had asked for so many people from above with great fanfare, but in the end, they were deadlocked here. Feng Daozong had to bear the pressure.

Especially when the Rolling Mill appeared with different voices, reacting to their rude work attitude and lack of principles and methods, Feng Daozong had already gone back to make explanations and self-criticisms regarding these problems.

Looking at it now, this bone of the Rolling Mill still had to be gnawed in another way, which led to this inspection.

It was also because the Rolling Mill had precedents of middle-level cadres leaning towards them, and also examples of middle-level cadres opposing them, which let the working group see the power of middle-level cadres.

For middle-level cadres, the working group had an innate advantage. At least in terms of level, they had an advantage. Feng Daozong talking to Li Xuewu was a superior-subordinate relationship.

Even if Director Dong came, it had to be a superior-subordinate relationship. Pressing to talk, could the talk not go well?

After seeing the Youth Assault Team, the working group divided into two. Feng Daozong and Jin Liangcai came to Li Xuewu's office, while the rest went to the small conference room.

The small conference room was for material inspection. The working group's clerks would ask Yu Decai for some materials. By inspecting these materials, they could see whether the Security Department had earnestly completed the work handed down from above.

Actually, the inspection was basically this routine. Yu Decai understood it very well, and the relevant materials were also very fully prepared.

Li Xuewu didn't worry that there would be any problems over there. The main purpose of the working group coming today was still aimed at him.

One could tell from the content of the talk Feng Daozong and Jin Liangcai had with him. Every sentence didn't mention attitude, but every sentence was probing his attitude.

Li Xuewu wasn't afraid of this. Playing Tai Chi, he could play thirty-six hands, seventy-two hands were also fine. Anyway, what should be implemented should be valued, what should be rectified should be earnest, what should be improved should be resolute, and what should be cleaned up should be detailed.

They talked about work, Li Xuewu talked about work; they talked about thinking, Li Xuewu talked about thinking. One against two, it was very easy.

With this intensity, Li Xuewu, an old organ cadre who had been engaged in this for so many years and had also been engaged by others, could still play it.

He could turn these two people around.

Feng Daozong and Jin Liangcai treated him as a fool, wanting to use the Security Department's combat power to solve and intimidate some people to achieve their goals. Li Xuewu really wanted to give them a slap.

Not distinguishing primary from secondary was what they were. The working group's main goal should be to help the Rolling Mill complete the development of great study and great discussion, supervise the implementation of relevant policies, rectify grassroots cadre teams, and promote the healthy operation of the Rolling Mill's leadership team.

And when doing this work, it was inevitable to encounter various problems and resistance, so they had to use thunderous means to deter the petty, and strike at small groups and individuals who disturbed the Rolling Mill's political order.

That was the so-called class contradiction struggle and opposition means.

Li Xuewu basically didn't use means when handling public security cases in the Security Department. Could he support them using means?

They were treating this kind of struggle as their main work and throwing the original intention of coming to the Rolling Mill to the side.

Li Xuewu wouldn't take the initiative to criticize them for this kind of behavior because they were already standing on the tip of the wind and waves. A slight carelessness would be powder and bones, so there was no need for Li Xuewu to talk about them.

The more people like this were, the less they could see their own position, and they were still putting up a desperate fight.

From the very beginning, the working group's arrival stood in the wrong position. First, they stood in the angle and position of the Rolling Mill's main leadership cadres to consider problems and look at problems, messing up command and messing up actions.

And after failing to get the support of these leadership cadres, they started this kind of struggle, focusing their work on investigating leadership cadres.

This kind of behavior of "the pig Bajie blaming the rake" thoroughly angered the Rolling Mill's management layer, which led to the current situation of opposition between the two sides.

Now they had no work foundation and had to choose another group to serve as support.

And the object they chose now was the heads of each office of the Rolling Mill, taking these middle-level managers as objects to win over to carry out the struggle for the Rolling Mill's main leadership rights.

The reason they didn't consider the grassroots or the masses was because of the four cleanup and rectifications mentioned in the file issued this time.

There were many contradictions between grassroots managers and the masses now. They wanted to stand in the angle of the masses to solve grassroots managers.

However, solving grassroots managers was targeting the middle level and the Rolling Mill's management layer. This was a relatively contradictory association relationship.

Even "drawing silk from a cocoon" wasn't enough to describe the working group's work content between the cadres and the masses of the Rolling Mill.

From standing in the Rolling Mill management layer to separating, and then to revenge, the working group played the cards in their hands into a mess.

Now they came to stand in the team of each department head. Who dared to play with them? Wasn't this an old birthday star eating arsenic, looking for death?

Furthermore, it wasn't that there weren't people like Li Xuewu who could see their state of cooking oil on fire. Maintaining a clear head was a political quality that every cadre must have.

Now these two were talking to Li Xuewu about progress, and their words were still holding back and promising benefits to Li Xuewu. Yu Li Xuewu's view, they were all mirror flowers and water moon.

There was no one in the Rolling Mill clearer than Li Xuewu, and the two people who thought they were clear were both muddled eggs.

After sending away the two muddled eggs, Li Xuewu also knew that the other party was not satisfied with his attitude, and even had opinions about him pretending to be confused while understanding.

But Li Xuewu didn't care, and walked back to the desk, picked up the phone, and called Secretary Yang Yuansong.

"Hello~ ah, it's me, Secretary."

After connecting to Yang Yuansong's phone, Li Xuewu started complaining: "Just now the working group came to the Security Department to inspect work. Why did I hear that the tone wasn't quite right? Why did they even talk to me about personnel problems?"

Yang Yuansong was also surprised by Li Xuewu's phone call on the other end.

What was surprising wasn't that the working group went to the Security Department to inspect work, nor was it that the working group people talked to Li Xuewu about personnel problems, but rather surprise at why Li Xuewu would call him and why he would tell him the content of the talk.

The key was this complaining tone.

"Since when was the working group responsible for our factory's organizational personnel problems? Why didn't I know!"

Li Xuewu's words were very dissatisfied. He held the phone and said to Secretary Yang: "People who do inspections and investigations talk to me about progress, talk to me about development, talk to me about interest relations. Is this insulting my Party nature, questioning my organizational discipline, and sprinkling ash on my medals?"

"Is that so!"

Yang Yuansong froze holding the phone, his ears numb from Li Xuewu's loud voice, and he couldn't help but slightly frown.

And hearing Li Xuewu say this, he could only persuade him with good words, while feeling sorry for the working group's actions, and also persuading Li Xuewu to think more about the good side; maybe the working group people didn't speak well and misunderstood.

"I don't think it's a misunderstanding."

Li Xuewu said righteously on the phone: "I firmly oppose this form of struggle, firmly resist this erroneous thinking. The Security Department will absolutely not become a tool for such people, nor will it become anyone's knife."

"Hiss~~~"

Yang Yuansong couldn't help but gasp when he heard Li Xuewu's words, feeling that today's Li Xuewu was a bit different. Why did he express his position so easily?

Before he could say anything, Li Xuewu's phone on that side had already hung up.

"This..."

Yang Yuansong held the receiver in his hand and frowned, thinking, not knowing what wind Li Xuewu had caught again, or what policy change he had felt.

He knew Li Xuewu's political sensitivity very well and very clearly.

Now Li Xuewu talking to him about principles, about politics, about stance, definitely wasn't having a fit, shouting blindly for no reason; there must be something.

And looking at it now, the external cause was the working group's inspection, so what was the internal cause?

Could it be the notification issued this morning?

Yang Yuansong hurriedly put down the receiver in his hand and found the file from this morning to read again.

He was an old comrade and even more an old organization with rich struggle experience. After reading it twice and thinking for a while, he understood the meaning of Li Xuewu's phone call.

"This kid!"

Yang Yuansong put down the file in his hand and smiled helplessly, laughing at Li Xuewu for turning so many corners, and laughing at himself for being old and unable to play with young people.

What personnel, Party nature, discipline, and medals, expressing determination, it was all this kid playing a maze.

After saying such a big pile, Yang Yuansong knew that Li Xuewu wanted to divert the disaster, afraid that the working group would find him, but unable to hide, so he expressed a position that he had already stood in.

Stood where?

Of course, whoever he called stood with whoever!

But Yang Yuansong dared to swear to the lamp that Li Xuewu, this kid, absolutely wasn't a person in the same position as him!

Who could figure out his thoughts? I'm afraid Li Huai De himself was also half-hanging his heart, saying maybe one day he would be sold by him.

Yang Yuansong was now thinking about how Li Xuewu saw that above had an opposing attitude towards the working group's problems, and wanted to know how Li Xuewu saw that above was going to have big moves against the working group from this file.

This point was something even he hadn't seen, and he hadn't received any wind, so Li Xuewu couldn't have received wind from his father-in-law.

But as far as he knew, Li Xuewu's father-in-law wasn't in Beijing, and even less in this relationship, so how could he tip him off about such a small problem in the Rolling Mill?

Returning to this notification, Yang Yuansong was precisely using Li Xuewu's attitude to reverse-push and guess, which allowed him to see the meaning above.

Coupled with his understanding of Li Xuewu's past work style, he thought, it couldn't be that Li Xuewu was really leaning towards him. The only thing he could guess was that Li Xuewu was playing a maze.

The main ones being confused were the working group members, including him, who was also an object used by Li Xuewu.

Regardless of whether he saw Li Xuewu's intention or not, from the moment this phone call was finished, there would be people in the factory spreading the relationship between Li Xuewu and him.

Further, the working group would also know about this matter and would naturally change their attitude towards Li Xuewu and the Security Department.

Although there would be harsh criticism, with Li Xuewu's shrewdness, I'm afraid the things the Security Department could show the working group were all problem-free.

As for those that couldn't be shown to them, they couldn't see them either.

Any action the working group took against the Security Department would be seen by the working group and others as a challenge to Yang Yuansong.

Yang Yuansong's prestige in the Rolling Mill would also face a challenge. This wasn't just Yang Yuansong's problem, but also concerned the working group's attitude towards other middle-high-level cadres next.

Letting Li Xuewu go was equal to letting others go, and others would deviate from Yang Yuansong.

Now Yang Yuansong just wanted to call Li Xuewu over to stick hair on him to see if he looked like a monkey.

Diverting contradictions in organ work wasn't uncommon, but it was really rare to pull a group of people to pave the way when diverting contradictions.

The key was that he even tied a knot on the contradiction he pulled over, the kind that couldn't be untied.

Yang Yuansong had to choose between middle-level cadres and compromising with the working group. How would he choose?

From the content in the file, he knew how to choose, but if he really chose this way, he would be standing in front of middle-level cadres and fighting against the working group.

The balance that was hard to find would be broken again, and the person who broke the balance would still be him, who was forced to do so.

This kid is really bad!

Bad to the bone!

This kind of work was usually done by him. Watching Yang Fengshan charging in front, he was the one cleaning up the mess.

Now how did he become a pawn being manipulated by others!

He didn't want to be manipulated, but now the working group wouldn't let him.

Yang Yuansong just said why Li Xuewu on the other end of the phone shouted so loudly; it turned out he was afraid others wouldn't hear!

Li Xuewu went up the mountain again. He set off after talking to Yang Yuansong. He really had something to do today, which had long been arranged.

The extra-large wireless transmission device and antenna ordered from Tianjin had arrived, and the installation and debugging personnel had followed. Now they were going to the installation site.

The truck carrying the equipment had already set off first. Li Xuewu had also been waiting for the working group, otherwise he would have left long ago.

Hongxing Village, halfway up the mountain.

Li Xuewu stood on the platform halfway up the mountain, looked down, then looked up, and asked the technical personnel responsible for the installation: "It won't block the signal, right?"

The technical personnel was surnamed Hu and was from the Tianjin Wireless Equipment Factory. Following over to install this time also meant supervision.

People from the wireless management department in Beijing had also come, but didn't speak, standing on the side watching the installation.

The Rolling Mill reporting to install this kind of long-distance wireless equipment had long been reported, otherwise the Tianjin Wireless Factory wouldn't have dared to produce it for them.

This thing transmitted too far, even to the border. How strong it must be.

Technician Hu explained with a smile: "Director Li, you might not know much about wireless. Since we are using this kind of antenna, there is no need to worry about signal problems."

After speaking, he also learned from Li Xuewu and looked around at the surrounding environment, continuing: "If there is no signal on such a high mountain, then it can only be said that the person you want to contact is on the moon."

"Hahaha~"

The crowd standing at the entrance of the communication station laughed when they heard Technician Hu's joke.

They were all personnel related to this technology and naturally knew more about this kind of communication equipment, so they could laugh.

Li Xuewu didn't understand, but wasn't annoyed by these people's jokes. He looked at the workers setting up the antenna in the courtyard and asked: "Is this equipment simple to maintain? Do you need to come here often?"

"Will give training to your telecommunications personnel."

Technician Hu smiled and said: "Easily damaged parts are also convenient to buy. We have prepared a lot; you can replace them yourselves."

Li Xuewu nodded and didn't ask anything else, smoked a cigarette, and looked at the other houses in the communication station courtyard.

Not to mention, Yin Mancang's organizational ability was really good. He cooperated with the Rolling Mill Engineering Section to build a small two-story building here, and also built several houses and courtyards as living quarters for maintenance personnel here.

The Security Department telecommunications class transferred a few people over to learn from the Tianjin technicians and help with the installation. Li Xuewu coming was purely to watch the fun, and at the same time to set the tone for this communication station.

Establishing a complete communication system wasn't a simple and easy thing, but long-distance communication was something Li Xuewu definitely needed now and in the future, so he could only borrow the Rolling Mill's strength to do this.

The courtyard over there was said to be prepared for the telecommunications class, but it was actually prepared for Sister Lou and those people. Once the situation became bad, they would all go up the mountain.

Li Xuewu had just gone to see this small courtyard. The houses weren't buildings, but they were spacious enough to live in for a family.

Since they couldn't even save their lives, it wasn't bad to have a place to live.

Grow some vegetables, take care of the small courtyard, go to work at the communication station every day, communicate with Hong Kong, communicate with Steel City, communicate with Jilin City, communicate with Urumqi...

With this communication station, all of Li Xuewu's arrangements were connected, and these old Jianghu people would also serve as Li Xuewu's think tank, helping Li Xuewu, and also helping themselves, to re-accumulate strength and get through this unstable environment.

Yin Mancang saw Li Xuewu smoking and lost in thought, with no one else around, so he walked over and asked with a smile: "Spacious enough, right? I followed the living standard of a family in the village."

"Enough."

Li Xuewu turned to look at Yin Mancang and smiled, then asked: "Did it delay farm work?"

"Where is that?"

Yin Mancang waved his hand and said: "Not to mention anything else, just how much was earned from vegetables this year, and there's the food factory. Everyone has a count in their hearts."

After speaking, he also smoked, held his waist with his hand, and looked at the village at the foot of the mountain.

The current Hongxing Village was still the same as before, dilapidated, but looking carefully, it seemed different again.

He couldn't say exactly where it was different, but he thought it should be that people in the village had money in their waists, added some items to their homes, or renovated a few buildings.

There hadn't been any big changes yet, but Yin Mancang believed that as long as they followed the current development momentum, Hongxing Village would definitely be able to live well.

Not to mention every family building a big tile-roofed house, at least people in the village lived better than before.

He had seen life in the city; comparing them, he could feel that people in the village lived too bitterly. They didn't see any money all year, and the grain they harvested was handed over as public grain, and the rest was barely enough to eat.

To say it was bitter, could it be more bitter than the previous few years?

As long as there was hope for the days, Yin Mancang wasn't a greedy person; he just wanted everyone in the village to be able to eat their fill and all the children in the village to have books to read.

If a few more university students like Zhao Yafang really came out, this village would really be awesome.

Don't look at him going to meetings above, all talking about how cultural people are. But he understood in his heart that in this world, cultural people were still the most popular in the end.

Blind as a bat, not knowing a single big character, not knowing which way to go when going out, what kind of prospects could they have.

"I heard from his father that Xuewen went to work at the detention center?"

"Heh heh, you could say that."

Li Xuewu looked at Yin Mancang with a smile and explained: "The school side is a bit chaotic, and my big brother couldn't adapt because of my father and grandfather, so he made this desperate move."

"What kind of matter is this~"

Yin Mancang smiled helplessly and said: "How many years has your grandfather been dead? Can they still chase it back to your grandfather's time? What time was that? It was not bad to have a mouthful of food!"

"Mm, still not very good."

Li Xuewu nodded and said: "The school side is noisy, and they gave him a family background with the word 'rich'."

"Hey!"

Yin Mancang curled his lips, then looked at Li Xuewu and asked: "What about you? Won't you be affected?"

"I'm fine."

Li Xuewu smiled, pointed to the small badge on his chest, and gestured to the scar on his face, saying: "No one dares to bring up my family background, afraid of causing the contradictions behind these medals."

"Also."

Yin Mancang nodded and said: "Criticizing you is criticizing a big pile of people. Which of the army and workers allows others to criticize?"

Li Xuewu shook his head slightly. He didn't want to talk about this topic. It wasn't that he was avoiding anything, but what he saw was even more cruel than what he heard.

The situation in the Rolling Mill was actually quite okay. Zhao Yafang said that the situation at the school was the one that wasn't good.

She often received news from the school; after all, she was still a teacher at the school.

And there was Zhao Yafang's family background problem. Although she was pregnant, it was also mentioned.

No one had a better family background than her. Li Xuewen not being investigated might also have something to do with her family background.

Eight generations of poor peasants, poor to the point of being unable to be poorer.

Yin Mancang saw that Li Xuewu didn't want to talk, so he chatted about the life of the third brother and Li Shun on the mountain.

Li Shun and Li Xuecai's life here wasn't a problem. With him taking care of them and the Zhao family taking care of them, they ate well and dressed well, living more comfortably on the mountain than at the foot of the mountain.

This time coming up, Li Xuewu brought some meat and daily necessities that weren't easy to buy on the mountain to the Zhao family and Yin family, which counted as being used by his father and third brother.

Li Shun and the third brother also said that the in-laws often asked them to eat, and they couldn't refuse. Li Xuewu had to remember their feelings.

This time donating books and stationery, Li Xuewu mainly donated to the mountain area here, in order to make the recycling station have a good relationship with the masses here.

The equipment installation speed wasn't slow, and it was soon debugged and completed. Connecting with the telecommunications class machine at the Rolling Mill at the foot of the mountain proved it could be used.

Two more sets of machines were sent to Steel City and Urumqi, realizing three-place communication was just around the corner.

The equipment for Jilin City and Hong Kong still had to wait. Hong Kong naturally didn't need Li Xuewu to worry, and the equipment for Jilin City still had to be miniaturized, as long as it could connect with Steel City.

Li Xuewu personally tested the telecommunications equipment, saw the head of the telecommunications class nod, and knew it was done.

Sending these technical personnel away, Li Xuewu went to see the Public Security Brigade and Security Department personnel who were training.

It was only the third day, but the training effect was already very obvious. At least there was no chaos like Monday.

According to tradition, the first step of training must be practicing walking. Practice formation during the day, practice folding quilts at night, and learn politics in spare time.

Shen Fang was training here. Seeing Li Xuewu come over, he reported some basic situations.

They were all students, and even many were retired and transferred personnel. They all had training foundations.

As long as they trained earnestly, restoring organizational discipline was no problem.

Another thing was political study. These instructors from Huaging had been brought out by Wang Xiaoqin. The organized political study was decent, and the students' acceptance ability was stronger, so this training was much easier than before.

This was like painting. These students who had just walked out of campus were all blank paper, and you could paint whatever you wanted.

And those selected from the grassroots were all old oilers. No matter how you painted, they were that kind of virtue.

Training still had to start from zero, which was much easier.

The Security Department's training had been going on for many days, so naturally there were no basic training subjects like formation training.

Li Xuewu also went to take a look. Obstacle cross-country was a must-train subject and also a relatively testing subject.

From the team of the Security Department that was training, Li Xuewu saw Zhou Yao's figure, and Zhou Yao also saw the director.

She really wanted to cry. It wasn't that she hadn't trained in university, but she really couldn't bear such high-intensity training.

Especially training during the day and studying politics at night, it was really coming out of a water pit and falling into a fire pit.

She had thought that Li Xuewu arranging for her to participate in training had the intention of cultivating her and the intention of letting her adapt to the Security Department's work intensity as soon as possible.

But, she was a female comrade, an office clerk, learning long and short guns, learning daggers, learning enemy-killing techniques, learning rescue, learning emergency medical care—what was the meaning of this?!

Was this coming to be an office clerk, or damn it, coming to be a female warrior?!

Actually, she also wanted to ask Li Xuewu, but seeing Li Xuewu's half-smiling expression, she felt she should persist. She couldn't go to Director Li's side and cry.

Li Xuewu only glanced at her and talked about other things with Wei Tong and others, but didn't know Zhou Yao was training so hard here.

Only when Wei Tong introduced a team that ran past him at the end did Li Xuewu ask a question.

"You say, was the one that just passed by our department's organ training personnel?"

Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows, gestured to the team Zhou Yao was in just now, which was the side practicing fighting lessons in the training ground in the distance, and asked: "Which team is that over there?"

"That one?"

Wei Tong took a look, turned to Li Xuewu and replied: "It's the special duty backbone training class newly started by our Security Department, selected from the factory guard team and the excellent students who participated in training last time, increasing training intensity and strength, mainly to cultivate future guard team team leaders, instructors, and special security management personnel."

Li Xuewu slightly opened his mouth, as if he understood something, and nodded. It seemed that a certain child had lost her direction when reporting and bumped into an extraordinary training class.

However, seeing her training state was still okay and she was very passionate, Li Xuewu didn't say anything. Since she could still persist, she would eventually gain something in this training.

There was a difference of two words between the special duty backbone training class and the organ backbone training class. The gap between these two words was still quite big, at least in terms of training intensity, it was a world of difference.

Li Xuewu also knew that many of the Security Department organ personnel who came for rotation training were in their thirties. It was okay to let these people practice basics and marksmanship, mainly practicing discipline and cooperation. If they really practiced like the young men in the special duty team, wouldn't they be practiced to waste?

The training plan Wei Tong formulated for the organ backbone training class was determined according to the highest age, lowest age, and physical quality after physical examination of these people.

If they were all young people like Zhou Yao, maybe the current training intensity could be increased, but it wouldn't reach the level of the special duty backbone training class.

Seeing Li Xuewu standing in the distance leave with the political training section chief over here, Zhou Yao really couldn't persist anymore and sat down in the sand.

But before she could react, the opponent she was practicing with gave her a submission technique.

"Ah!"

July in the Four Nine Cities entered the hottest time. Before getting off work in the evening, Li Xuewu asked Han Jiankun to help buy several boxes of soda at the factory cold drink factory, with orange flavor and peach flavor, packed in boxes.

After returning home, Li Xuewu only let them unload four boxes, and gave the remaining two boxes to Han Jiankun and Sha Qizhi, one box each.

Han Jiankun knew that these drinks were bought by the director with his own money, so how could he want them.

It was Li Xuewu who pressed him not to let him move them down, closed the rear trunk cover, and gestured for the two to leave.

Sha Qizhi smiled and thanked Li Xuewu, saying he had taken advantage of the leader again.

Li Xuewu pointed at him with a smile and turned to go into the courtyard.

Qin Jingru saw Li Xuewu buy soda back, very excitedly went to get cold water, busy helping to ice it.

The old lady heard that this thing was one dime and five cents a piece, and her mouth twitched with heartache.

However, Li Xuewu said this was the price outside, it was cheap to buy in the factory, less than five cents.

But even so, the old lady was heartbroken and didn't dare to look, turned around and hugged Li Shu into the room.

Li Shu still wanted to watch the fun, but was hugged away by the old lady at this moment, mouth babbling, and no one could understand the resistance.

She didn't know whether her grandson could earn money, but both husband and wife were working, and there was only one child, Li Shu, in the family, so it was normal for life to be better.

If she bought some meat back, she wouldn't feel anything, but buying these sodas, she felt it wasn't worth it.

It wasn't filling, and it didn't manage hunger. After drinking and burping, it was gone. It was sweet and sticky, what was good about it.

Old people were all like this, used to comparing the standard of spending money with grain. If spending one dime to do something was more useful than eating one dime's worth of food, then it was worth it.

If spending one dime wasn't as practical as eating one dime's worth of food, then it wasn't worth it.

However, she didn't say it wasn't worth it. Living at her grandson's house, the old lady was a person with depth and didn't easily manage young people's affairs.

How much money her grandson had, how much he earned, how much her granddaughter-in-law earned, how the two people's money was managed, how it was spent, she didn't ask about any of it.

Coming here was to take care of Li Shu, not to help Li Xuewu manage the house, so useless words shouldn't be said.

Li Xuewu put his handbag on the cabinet and asked Qin Jingru who walked in: "Where is your Sister Ning?"

"Upstairs, reading, saying there's an exam."

Qin Jingru was used to life here now, and when talking to Li Xuewu, she was much more cheerful, becoming that happy and silly girl again.

Answering Li Xuewu's words, she wiped her hands on her apron and went to the kitchen with a smile.

Li Xuewu didn't know why this girl's personality was so happy; she was so happy just buying soda.

Glancing upstairs, Li Xuewu looked into the old lady's room again, saw the old lady was changing clothes for Li Shu, and asked with a smile: "Grandma, heartache?"

"Hi, you earn money to support the family, spend more if you have money, spend less if you don't."

The old lady nimbly changed clothes for Li Shu, put the dirty clothes aside, and prepared to wash them in a while.

And Li Shu hadn't even gotten angry yet, the clothes were already changed, the expression on her face was done in vain, and at this moment she shook her body and climbed up herself.

Li Xuewu's daughter didn't like to be constrained. She could only accept washing her face twice a day; if it was more, she would get angry.

Changing clothes was the same. If the time was long and the movements were slow, she would also get angry.

She just liked to play. Going out to play was the best.

Li Xuewu saw that the old lady was really heartbroken, so he explained with a smile: "It's summer, afraid of catching a cold eating ice cream, so can only drink soda. If buying zero on the street isn't appropriate, buy more and put them at home to drink slowly."

Seeing the old lady taking Li Shu's dirty clothes out, Li Xuewu dodged, went to the inner room to hug Li Shu, followed out and said: "If you don't like it, I'll change it to ice cream."

"Hurry and don't spend money randomly~"

The old lady couldn't win against her grandson in the end, scolded him, and went to the bathroom to wash clothes.

Li Xuewu smiled and kissed his daughter, hugged her, and walked upstairs.

But Li Shu wasn't willing to go upstairs because Mommy was upstairs. As long as Mommy was reading upstairs, she couldn't talk randomly, couldn't shout randomly, which was extremely boring.

It was better to play downstairs, or go out to play!

Li Xuewu didn't care about his daughter's resistance. After going upstairs and seeing Gu Ning was indeed reading, he put Li Shu on the big desk.

"Look for a while, okay? I'm going to change clothes and take a bath."

"Where's the old lady?"

Gu Ning glanced at Li Shu, saw her also staring at herself with big eyes, and seeing herself look over, moved her gaze to Li Xuewu's side.

"Washing clothes."

Li Xuewu answered Gu Ning in the cloakroom, found a vest and shorts, smiled at Gu Ning and said: "Complaining about me buying soda, heartache."

Gu Ning curled her lips. It was her who muttered last night, saying that the family used to prepare soda in summer, and Gu Yan liked to drink it most.

She didn't expect Li Xuewu to buy the soda back today, but it got the old lady's complaint.

Gu Ning found crayons and paper from the drawer and handed them to Li Shu to let her play by herself, while she lowered her head and read the book again.

Li Xuewu didn't even close the door when taking a bath, asking Gu Ning in the study while washing: "When is Gu Yan on vacation? I'm on vacation and he hasn't finished the exam yet?"

"Didn't say, should have a task."

Gu Ning answered, feeling that Li Xuewu might not be able to hear, but she didn't want to shout hard, so she simply didn't say anything, only listening to Li Xuewu talking to himself and muttering in the bathroom.

Li Shu sat on the large desk, looking at the pen and paper in front of her, and sighed deeply.

She had already played with these things, they were boring. Her drawing level had already far exceeded Picasso's, so what else was there to draw?

But she had been held hostage by Papa to the second floor, to Mama's presence. She didn't dare to say she wanted to go out to play, nor did she dare to say she wanted other toys, so she could only helplessly pick up the drawing pen on the table and start her genius creation while muttering.

Gu Ning listened to the father and daughter both acting like chatterboxes, competing to talk. She really couldn't read the book anymore, so she could only take the drawing pen from Li Shu and teach her to draw kittens, puppies, and bunnies on the paper.

Li Shu sat on the table watching Mama draw, pointing with her little finger, and saying something, as if saying: What the heck is this? You draw even worse than me!

Li Xuewu's bathing speed was also fast. When he changed into a white vest and light green shorts, and walked out while wiping his hair with a towel, Gu Ning and Li Shu had already drawn three or four sheets.

"What's this? A fox?"

"It's a cat!"

Gu Ning slapped away Li Xuewu's hand that was pointing at the drawing, her face full of dissatisfaction.

Li Xuewu smiled and pointed at another one, asking, "This is a rat, right?"

"..."

Gu Ning looked at the rabbit Li Xuewu was pointing at, pursed her lips, raised her head, and asked Li Xuewu, "You're doing this on purpose, right?"

"Heh heh, if it's not, it's not, why are you getting so anxious~"

Li Xuewu chuckled for a while, then wiped his hair hard, draped the towel over his shoulder, and walked toward the master bedroom. As he walked, he said, "The little pig is drawn quite like it."

A little pig?

Gu Ning looked at the drawing she had just made. There was no little pig, but there was a puppy...

When Li Xuewu finished hanging the towel in the bathroom and walked out again, he discovered that Gu Ning and Li Shu were gone.

Glancing at the stairs outside the door, Li Xuewu looked at the messy desk and said with a smile, "Don't even know how to clean up after drawing."

When Li Xuewu walked over to pick up the drawings on the desk one by one, he discovered that the one he had just said Gu Ning drew like a little pig had his name written on it.

"Heh heh~ childish ghost~"

Li Xuewu chuckled and shook his head, collecting all these drawings into a folder, preparing to let her see what kind of "works" she had when she was small when Li Shu grew up.

The study on the second floor was almost filled with books. Li Xuewu had brought some back from the recycling station; they were all ancient classics, not very precious, but could be read daily.

Li Xuewu didn't have much desire to possess these antique calligraphy and paintings; these were things of the nation and history, belonging to the common wealth of humanity.

The reason he spent so much effort collecting and preserving them was perhaps his cherishing and regret for the future and the present in his heart.

No one could watch these national treasures be burned to ashes or smashed into fragments when they had the opportunity, right?