Chapter 732: Congratulations and Condolences

The Rolling Mill was treacherous; one never knew when the banner on the city wall would change.

Before the mid-year meeting, the Rolling Mill organized an inspection team, and the working group also organized an inspection team for comprehensive cleanup, rectification, and screening.

Li Xuewu wouldn't be surprised no matter who was investigated.

But for a factory leader to be investigated, this matter was extraordinary.

Who investigated—this was a very critical question.

Yu Decai replied softly, "It was people from Hanyang Steel; they said it was their working group. The first stop was to visit Yang Shuji, and then they interviewed Deputy Secretary Gu."

Li Xuewu nodded; only then did he understand what was going on. It turned out it wasn't the factory's business, nor was it Deputy Secretary Gu's own business.

He had said so—how could such an upright person have problems?

To say the wind wasn't right could be an objective reason, but Gu Weijie's ability to grasp the wind direction had never been weak; it was unlikely she would have problems.

Seeing Li Xuewu didn't ask again, Yu Decai went out; his work had always been plentiful.

Why Hanyang Steel interviewed Gu Weijie, people in the Rolling Mill were all guessing; no one knew exactly what had happened.

Those few people who came from Quzhou left after talking to Deputy Secretary Gu and didn't take any further action, as if it were just a formality.

But Quzhou was so far from the capital; although they were in the same system, the relationship between the two factories wasn't close, and Gu Weijie had never held a position in Hanyang. Why come to find Gu Weijie?

And they used the form of an interview.

Li Xuewu could roughly guess some of the content, but he couldn't be sure. Such things were really impossible to judge at this time.

But as long as Gu Weijie had no problems, that was fine. Li Xuewu really didn't want to lose this solid assistant.

If it were an unconventional problem that didn't involve principles, Li Xuewu wouldn't sit idly by; he would definitely pull Gu Weijie up.

Including Li Huai and Yang Yuansong and others, work was work; their cognitive understanding of ideology couldn't hinder their integrity in maintaining the Rolling Mill's overall interests.

As long as one was in the Rolling Mill for a day, one was part of this collective and part of what needed to be united.

From this point of view, Yang Yuansong not having a bigger reaction or action showed that Gu Weijie didn't have any major problems.

After hesitating, Li Xuewu still made the call; it was something that happened in the morning, and she shouldn't be busy now.

The call went through. When the secretary on the other side heard it was Li Xuewu's call, she handed it directly to Gu Weijie. Gu Weijie didn't say much to Li Xuewu on the phone, just made an appointment for Li Xuewu to leave with her in the evening and to bring a few people.

Li Xuewu understood the meaning of Gu Weijie's words. After hanging up, he called Han Yating, telling her to bring two people and a camera to wait for him on the first floor after work.

Sha Qizhi was confused but didn't dare to say anything, just quickly organized the day's Rolling Mill documents and handed them to Li Xuewu for review.

Precisely because it was the mid-year meeting next week, and precisely because there were only the last two days of this week, the Security Office's work was busy, and Li Xuewu's work was also busy.

Every department in the factory was busy—busy grabbing construction periods, busy running for positions, busy organizing activities, busy fighting for interests; there were all kinds of things.

It wasn't until after work in the evening that Li Xuewu finished reviewing the Security Office's mid-year work report and also prepared the work materials for his entire meeting agenda.

According to Li Xuewu's personality, it was best to have this work prepared a week in advance, but the current situation changed every day.

All materials and speeches had to be carefully reviewed to ensure not a single word would go wrong, and the list of representatives from the Security Office attending the meeting also had to be reviewed to ensure not a single person would go wrong.

It could be said it was very difficult and not easy at all. After all, the inspection team's work was still ongoing; if the wording was inappropriate, or if the selection or use of personnel was inappropriate, the problem would definitely be infinitely magnified.

Why was this mid-year meeting so highly valued? It was entirely because this was the first large-scale meeting of the Rolling Mill since the storm arrived, and also the first plenary Party member meeting.

The Rolling Mill's decision-making layer and leadership layer had to withstand tests, accept criticism and suggestions, and adjust their rhythm and pace.

All changes would be adjusted within these three days, and a transformation in work rhythm and direction would be realized, thereby more comprehensively and thoroughly adapting to the needs of the new era's work.

The mid-year meeting included the Party Congress, organizational meetings, university study activity promotion meetings, etc., containing deliberation, election, promotion and propaganda, work arrangement, work division, and other meeting contents.

All representatives of the Rolling Mill had to listen to and deliberate on the work reports of the factory's various organizational institutions, elect the Party Committee members, Discipline Committee members, and Party representatives for this term, and pass the work outline of the new Party Committee leadership team, etc.

As the person in charge of the Security Office, Li Xuewu was also an important participant in this mid-year meeting. He had to be responsible for the Security Office's work report and also be responsible for the Security Office's discussion work during the general meeting.

The situation in the factory was like this; all factories had to have such meetings, depending on the size of the factory to determine the specific scope of the meeting.

For a factory as large as the Rolling Mill, with so many units, the meeting had to be held for three days.

Because of the changes and additions to the meeting agenda, the time for these three days could be very tight.

This year's meeting added a promotion meeting for the university study and discussion activity; it was unknown how long it would take.

When Sha Qizhi came in, he took a communication sheet, walked to the desk, and reported: "The Frontier Office called; the long-range radio equipment has been installed and put into use after debugging."

As he spoke, he sent the communication sheet in his hand to Li Xuewu's side.

Li Xuewu took a look; the report on the communication sheet was very simple, just reporting this good news, but the significance it represented was huge.

The erection and putting into use of long-range radio communication equipment represented the Rolling Mill's advanced and barrier-free development in remote management, trade services, business communication, etc.

Compared to telephone communication, long-range radio had the advantages of stability, precision, and speed. As a complement to the telephone communication channel, it laid a solid foundation for the transmission of confidential information.

Li Xuewu raised his head and glanced at Sha Qizhi, tapped the report sheet with his finger, and asked, "Reported to Deputy Factory Director Li?"

"Yes, the General Office has already submitted it to Deputy Factory Director Li," Sha Qizhi reported softly.

"This is what the Frontier Office mentioned on the report sheet, so..."

"Small-minded!"

Li Xuewu snorted, glanced at the report sheet on the table, and instructed Sha Qizhi: "Change the header, sign it as the Rolling Mill Party Committee and Factory Office, and then report it up in the name of the Frontier Office."

After finishing, he picked up his teacup and drank. It was hot, there was a lot of work, and his temper was high.

Sha Qizhi nodded in response, reminded Li Xuewu that it was almost time to get off work, and then took the report sheet to the General Office.

Li Xuewu put down his teacup and looked out the window; it was an eventful autumn, and people's hearts were restless.

When Sha Qizhi returned, Li Xuewu had already packed his office bag.

Sha Qizhi took the bag while accompanying Li Xuewu out, reporting the work just now.

"The report has been delivered to the Factory Office. Deputy Factory Director Li's report should have been withheld; he didn't see Deputy Factory Director Li submit it, perhaps because he knew we resubmitted it."

"Mm."

Li Xuewu walked down the stairs and said to Sha Qizhi, "Doing this itself is wrong. This kind of work report should be given to the supervisor, but how can you hang the leader's header directly!"

"Isn't that just messing around!"

Li Xuewu's expression was a bit gloomy. Both he and Li Huai had high hopes for the Frontier Office; they wanted to open up a career at this point.

When Li Huai arranged for Jin Yaohui to stay at the Frontier Office to preside over the work, Li Xuewu didn't say anything; he was the supervisor, so naturally, he had the right to arrange personnel issues.

But judging from the work in the past few months, this person in charge of the Frontier Office was not responsible.

He was still accustomed to the way of doing things when he served Li Huai, reporting everything to Li Huai.

Doing so could gain the leader's trust, but it also limited his vision and affected the layout of Li Xuewu and Li Huai at the Frontier Office.

This office wasn't Jin Yaohui's, let alone Li Huai's; it was the Rolling Mill's and had to accept the Rolling Mill's leadership.

Now that he, Jin Yaohui, was doing this, what was he trying to do? Give Li Huai a hard time!

Flattery shouldn't be done like this either. How would other leaders view this matter? How would they think about it!

Would the Frontier Office still need the assistance and support of other leaders for its future development?

Foolish!

The Factory Office didn't receive the report this time, so if there were problems with the Frontier Office in the future, people wouldn't care about you either.

You didn't even take people seriously, so why should they care about you?

Li Huai had to mix in the Rolling Mill; how could he let himself be in an awkward position? So that report was withheld and not submitted.

And Li Xuewu didn't leave any face for Li Huai and the Frontier Office; on one hand, he changed the office's telecommunication report, and on the other, he sent back a revised report content to that side, which was considered a slap in the face.

Don't look at Li Huai as Li Xuewu's supervisor; Li Xuewu had put in a lot of effort in the preparation and operation of the Frontier Office, and he also expected to reap the rewards just like Li Huai.

Now that Li Huai's person wasn't doing well there, Li Xuewu naturally had to express his attitude.

If his own person could be managed, manage them; if they couldn't be managed, withdraw them quickly—don't be a disgrace.

Perhaps Li Huai also understood the implication of Li Xuewu's arrangement, so after discovering the office's mistake, he didn't call Li Xuewu.

Li Xuewu estimated that this call should have been made to the Frontier Office.

Blind loyalty—even if it was loyalty, it was stupid. Who would want to be with a stupid person?

Flattery was fine usually, but at critical times and on critical issues, Li Xuewu wouldn't dare to be careless; would Li Huai dare?

Li Xuewu dared to criticize Jin Yaohui directly to the secretary, so he wasn't afraid of this word reaching Li Huai's ears, let alone afraid of it reaching others' ears.

Maintaining unity was something everyone had to do; there were plenty of people like Jin Yaohui in the government—the kind that couldn't be burned out by wild fire and would grow again with the spring breeze.

Li Xuewu was annoyed, but he couldn't stop some people from liking them, nor would he hinder some people from using such people.

But don't affect the overall situation; otherwise, he would have to give them a beating.

What about Li Huai?

On some matters, Li Xuewu would give suggestions, opinions, and even warnings.

Is this work? Is this playing house?!

At the entrance hall, Han Yating was already waiting with people. Seeing Li Xuewu come down, she led them over.

Li Xuewu nodded to Han Yating, then gestured toward the entrance and said, "Get in the car first; we'll talk when we get there."

Han Yating knew there was a mission, so she just followed with her people out the door and got into a jeep.

Originally, she wanted to get into Li Xuewu's command car to ask Li Xuewu clearly about the content of this mission.

She was the section chief of the Security Section; the mission Li Xuewu named her to lead definitely wasn't simple work. Danger wasn't likely, but caution was necessary.

Li Xuewu also wanted to let Han Yating get in the car to talk about work, but just as he opened the car door, Gu Weijie's Volga slid over.

"Get in!"

Gu Weijie sat in the back seat, waved at Li Xuewu from the car window, and called out.

Li Xuewu nodded, gestured to Gu Weijie's secretary who had gotten off the Volga, and then opened the back door of the Volga and got in.

The sedan slid slowly and drove out of the factory office area.

Han Yating followed Li Xuewu's instructions to signal the jeep behind, got into the back seat of the command car with Gu Weijie's secretary, and then the two jeeps followed the Volga sedan out of the factory office area.

This was the time to get off work, and there were many cars driving out of the factory area, which didn't attract much attention.

However, Li Xuewu, the deputy director of the Security Office, getting into the car of Gu Weijie, the standing deputy secretary of the Party Committee, and bringing two Security Office cars, had to attract the attention of interested people in the government office.

The topic of Deputy Secretary Gu being interviewed in the morning was still being guessed at; now that this situation appeared, they naturally wouldn't think that Li Xuewu and Gu Weijie were together to talk about progress; it must be related to the morning's interview.

However, the situations they could think of were nothing more than a few types; it couldn't be that Deputy Secretary Gu was taking Li Xuewu to wipe out those people.

In fact, Gu Weijie calling Li Xuewu was indeed aimed at those people, but the location wasn't elsewhere; it was at her home.

"You heard about the morning's matter, right?"

Gu Weijie sat in the back seat of the Volga, her eyes slightly closed, and asked with a very tired expression.

Without waiting for Li Xuewu to answer, she continued: "It was people from Hanyang Steel who came to investigate Ding Sanping's matter."

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow; he knew the person Gu Weijie mentioned, but he didn't know him—it was Gu Weijie's husband.

Last time at Dong Wenxue's house for a gathering, Gu Weijie got drunk, and it was Li Xuewu and Gu Ning who sent her back.

At the dinner table, Han Shu mentioned this Ding Sanping, but Gu Weijie brushed it off.

At Gu Weijie's home, Li Xuewu also didn't see this person; he was said to be working in a steel factory in the south.

Now that he thought about it, this southern steel factory was Hanyang Steel, and Gu Weijie's husband, Ding Sanping, was a cadre at Hanyang Steel.

"Because it involved economic and lifestyle issues, I need to assist in the handling."

Gu Weijie's expression became more serious. She opened her eyes and looked at Li Xuewu: "Yang Shuji helped me fight for it; they want to see the house. Help me provide a third-party assistance certificate."

"Good."

Li Xuewu answered Gu Weijie's request concisely and efficiently, without the slightest hesitation or delay, just like a task at work.

This was the content of work. If it weren't for Yang Yuansong's permission, Gu Weijie couldn't have let Li Xuewu come here, and bring the Security Office people, and bring a camera.

And Hanyang Steel obviously had also initially understood some of the situation, considering the influence on Gu Weijie, so they made concessions in the inspection and search work.

However, this concession also had conditions: Gu Weijie had to accept a search when she returned home. From the time of the interview in the morning, this place was probably already being monitored.

Now that she was bringing Li Xuewu back, it was even more of a protection for herself.

"You don't have to worry; it's just verifying the situation."

Gu Weijie crossed her legs, took a long breath, and her expression returned to her usual composure.

After saying this to Li Xuewu, she looked out the car window, as if explaining to Li Xuewu, and as if explaining to herself: "It's been almost six years since I've been back to this home, and I haven't even made a phone call. They all know this situation."

Li Xuewu saw that Gu Weijie's tone was very cold, seemingly not surprised by her husband's situation, nor was she sad; clearly, she had known for a long time.

From her words, Li Xuewu could understand that the relationship between the couple had probably developed a rift six years ago and had reached the point of not contacting each other.

And in these six years, Gu Weijie had maintained this relationship on the outside; even Han Shu hadn't discovered it, and it could be seen from the fact that she brushed it off when mentioned at the dinner table that Gu Weijie didn't want her feelings to affect her work.

But now it seemed that what should affect it had come.

In this period, Ding Sanping being investigated might be an abyss for himself, but it wasn't a good thing for Gu Weijie either.

The only thing that could comfort her was probably that in these six years, Ding Sanping hadn't contacted her, let alone returned to this home.

This kind of heartlessness seemed like a sadness in the past, but now it became Gu Weijie's reason to get rid of his influence.

In this period, this kind of marital relationship between Gu Weijie and Ding Sanping was too common; work locations were thousands of miles apart, and even writing a letter took half a month to arrive, so what feelings could there be?

Plus, at this time, the management of marital relations wasn't strict; there were many cadres who lived their own lives, and you wouldn't even know they were husband and wife without checking.

Especially those who came from that era, this kind of marital relationship was even more chaotic and unclear.

What could Li Xuewu say? Comfort her?

It seemed unnecessary; it had been six years, and even comfort was a bit late.

And this was work; what was there to comfort?

What he could do was cooperate with Gu Weijie, complete this inspection satisfactorily, and control the influence of this time, so that this matter wouldn't affect Gu Weijie's career and work.

It sounded very heartless not to ask how Ding Sanping was doing, but only thinking about one's own political life.

But sometimes things had reached this point, and things had already happened, and it wasn't a matter of one or two days. Instead of destroying everything, it was better to preserve what could be preserved now.

Li Xuewu could understand Gu Weijie's helplessness and fatigue now; saying they weren't in contact, saying they didn't care, but...

On the way, Gu Weijie didn't hide it from Li Xuewu, nor did she avoid the driver in front, casually recounting Ding Sanping's situation.

Both were born in 1933, college classmates. After graduation, Gu Weijie stayed at the school, and Ding Sanping went to the Beijing Steel Factory.

Married in 1955, Ding Sanping went to Hanyang Steel Factory as a support cadre in 1958. In 1960, Ding Sanping held a leadership position at Hanyang Steel Factory. In 1961, a rift appeared in the couple's feelings.

As a third batch of cadres going south, Ding Sanping was highly valued by the system leaders. In Hanyang, he also progressed rapidly, holding a leadership position in a large steel factory at a young age, not worse than Li Xuewu now.

At that time, educated people were too needed; Ding Sanping's status as a college student added power and chips to his official career.

They say that when people run fast, they float, and Ding Sanping floated a bit too. However, his ideals were very realistic: he wanted a child.

This wish wasn't hard to realize; the difficulty was that both were career-oriented. In the first two years, they chased their careers and decided to temporarily not have children.

Especially Gu Weijie, who stayed at the Steel Institute to hold a position, which was also a period of career ascent; how could she give up the rapid progress of the career start-up stage?

And by the time Ding Sanping was transferred to Hanyang, they discussed having children again, but time and space were inconvenient.

What defeated the couple's feelings wasn't just distance; it could also be another woman.

Ding Sanping was already a leading cadre in the Production Management Office; could he lack care in this regard?

At that time, it was the critical stage of public-private partnership. Ding Sanping went to a cocktail party and suddenly met the daughter of a wealthy family—wasn't that a coincidence?

Dignified and beautiful, a lady from a good family, sixteen years old, beautiful as a flower—she didn't covet his money, didn't covet his appearance, just wanted to have a child for him. Tell me, which cadre could withstand this test?

So, starting in 1961, Ding Sanping said bluntly in a phone argument that he would never return to this home again.

At the time, Gu Weijie might have thought the other party was speaking in anger, trying to provoke her, so she also stubbornly didn't call the other party.

The two were at a stalemate for more than three months. Both sets of parents couldn't stand it and arranged for Gu Weijie to visit Ding Sanping in Quzhou.

But when she got there, she discovered Ding Sanping living in a villa, sitting in a small sedan, with a beautiful woman with a slightly bulging belly by his side.

What could she do? Turn back and return the way she came.

Since then, the two had tacitly defaulted to a breakup; the only thing missing was that divorce paper.

In the six years, Gu Weijie occasionally heard news of the other party, but they were all "good news" about family harmony and smooth work. Ding's parents had a grandson, so they didn't think of Gu Weijie in the capital anymore.

Today, the arrival of the Hanyang Steel Factory working group finally caused the disguise that Gu Weijie had maintained for six years to completely disintegrate.

Li Xuewu didn't experience the things Gu Weijie said, nor did he understand them well. After all, Gu Weijie was thirteen years older than him; he didn't understand the stage of going south well. At that time, he was still naughty and mischievous; how could he know these things?

However, he understood this kind of disagreement in feelings quite well; after all, he was more experienced in this regard.

In his view, there was no right or wrong in this matter; if the relationship between a man and a woman couldn't continue, they would just break up and find someone else.

The key point was the cognitive error in people's thinking in this era, still like the old society—the world was not connected, and a phone call broke up the home.

In the old society, many literati liked to announce divorce or breakup in the newspaper; they were playing for excitement.

At that time, it had only been a few years since entering the new society; having this kind of thinking wasn't a big problem.

The problem was that this old brother might have had a crooked butt, or rather, stood in the wrong position; otherwise, there couldn't have been this investigation team.

People also said it was aimed at his economic problems, which led to lifestyle problems.

The child was already there, and they were still talking about lifestyle—wasn't it a bit late?

Still the same sentence: Gu Weijie proving that she broke up with Ding Sanping would cut off the relationship between the two, and she wouldn't have to be affected by this situation.

After all, the fact of a six-year split marriage was there; the working group would definitely recognize it. After all, this was the capital; otherwise, they couldn't have waited for her for a day.

It was also to check if Ding Sanping had hidden any criminal facts here.

And Gu Weijie proving that the two had already broken up meant there was no need to pursue Ding Sanping's lifestyle problems.

However, this premise was that he only found that one wealthy lady and didn't have other women.

Otherwise, lifestyle problems would be fatal.

As for economic problems, it was unlikely to die at this time, but it was certain to be uncomfortable; it depended on what the situation was over there.

Gu Weijie's bitter smile while recounting might also be thinking of this point; her report could directly determine the other party's life and death, which was also a kind of irony.

However, she couldn't make a report unfavorable to herself; choosing to let go of the entanglement of this relationship was also considered letting herself go.

Of course, saying so much wasn't Gu Weijie telling Li Xuewu about her melancholy, nor was it asking for comfort; this was a necessary work procedure.

Li Xuewu represented the Security Office and had to cooperate with the working group personnel from Hanyang to complete the search of her home, and at the same time, he also represented the Security Office to prove her innocence.

Some things had to be made clear to Li Xuewu; otherwise, the loss would be her own.

It was the same small courtyard and small villa as when he sent Gu Weijie back last time. Li Xuewu was standing in the courtyard smoking.

Han Yating and others, after Li Xuewu's instructions, cooperated with the working group members who had been waiting here to enter the house for a search.

Sha Qizhi, Han Jiankun, and Gu Weijie's driver and secretary also went in to help.

The leader of the Hanyang Steel team was very kind, and his work was very thorough, leaving Gu Weijie with nothing to say.

They had already clarified things with Ding Sanping in Hanyang, and coming here was just the final confirmation and search; how could they make things difficult for her?

Ding Sanping himself was a Hanyang Steel connection, but Gu Weijie was a cadre of the Red Star Rolling Mill; in essence, she wasn't managed by the other party.

And Gu Weijie's status wasn't ordinary, so she couldn't be treated casually, which led to the situation of asking the Rolling Mill's Security Office to assist in the search.

It wasn't considered a loss or low status; Li Xuewu could see the other party's sophistication and smoothness instead.

Using anyone was the same; having the Rolling Mill's Security Office search gave Gu Weijie face and gave the Rolling Mill face, while also ensuring the quality of their work.

Would the Security Office's search help Gu Weijie hide some facts?

Impossible. As long as there was concealment, it was impossible not to leave clues in the home where she lived.

Their people were also following; whether they found it or not, could they not know themselves?

With the addition of Li Xuewu's secretary and driver, and Gu Weijie's secretary and driver, the four people actually gave face to the Hanyang Steel team leader and proved Gu Weijie's confidence.

Search, search as you please.

Gu Weijie didn't even enter the house, just standing in the courtyard smoking with Li Xuewu.

The cigarette was Li Xuewu's; Gu Weijie smoked very skillfully, clearly having used this as a pastime before.

After six o'clock, the sky was still bright. Li Xuewu glanced around the courtyard and looked at this small villa, pointing with his finger and asking Gu Weijie, "Old house?"

"Mm, my family's."

Gu Weijie glanced at Li Xuewu and explained casually: "My parents are experts in metallurgy; the house was bought before and left to me."

Li Xuewu smiled and said, "I was just asking; the house looks good, but the courtyard is ruined and messy; I didn't mean anything else."

Gu Weijie rolled her eyes, blew a puff of smoke with a smile, and said, "Still didn't mean anything else? Mocking me for being sloppy, right?"

After finishing, she looked at the weeds in the courtyard and felt a bit embarrassed.

Today was truly a disgrace. She lived alone in such a large villa, and she was a cadre; she spent more time at work and less time at home, so how could she take care of it?

Even if she rested on Sunday, she just wanted to rest, so she would pull the curtains and pretend not to see the weeds in the courtyard.

This was just the courtyard; the house was even messier. She didn't want to ask anyone to help tidy up, so she just dealt with it. The villa only used a small part, and the rest was left empty.

The people searching in the building also felt Gu Weijie's living situation; the second floor probably hadn't been visited for a long time, and there was dust on the floor.

The people searching also looked at each other; a cadre like this lived in such a good house and ruined it to this extent.

The Hanyang working group had a bitter smile and didn't say anything, but the house and the property in the house were fine. Gu Weijie bought the house in the new society and had proper procedures; the owner wasn't Ding Sanping, but Gu Weijie's father.

What they mainly had to do was register the valuables, which was convenient for comparison with Gu Weijie.

The scope of valuables was also very simple—gold, silver, money, etc. Could Ding Sanping have moved a few big things back to the capital from Quzhou?

Perhaps seeing the strange looks of the inspectors in the house, facing Li Xuewu's teasing smile, she became a bit sensitive and glared at Li Xuewu, asking, "Is your house tidy?"

"It's okay."

Li Xuewu took a puff of smoke, then gestured to the villa in front of him, which was about the same size as his own, and said, "My grandmother is helping me take care of the children, and I also asked a girl from a relative's family to help take care of them together, so it's kept quite clean."

"That's right, your family has many people."

Gu Weijie curled her lips, then smoked, flicked the ash, looked at her house, and said, "I also want to ask someone to clean, but I'm afraid people will gossip."

"Normal."

Li Xuewu nodded and said, "At this time, people will gossip about whatever you do, so I also don't dare to ask anyone casually; relatives, you know."

He was just spouting nonsense; he didn't have a shred of kinship with Qin Jingru; it was completely a unified caliber, said for all outsiders to hear.

No need to ask; after Qin Jingru leaves in the future, everyone who comes to help at home will be a relative.

If they ask, just say they aren't paid and are all here to help; what can you do to me?

Gu Weijie glanced at Li Xuewu and asked, "You still have such relatives? Introduce one to me; I also need such relatives."

Clearly, Gu Weijie saw through Li Xuewu's little cleverness; she was learning and using it now.

"Hehe~ Yes, there are plenty~"

Li Xuewu said with a light laugh, "Poverty in the bustling city has no one to ask; wealth in the deep mountains has distant relatives."

After finishing, he gestured to himself and said, "I'm not rich or noble now, but at least I eat well, so there are still relatives coming to rely on me. I'll introduce a cousin or something to you later."

Gu Weijie curled her lips, taking it as Li Xuewu spouting nonsense.

She understood this kid's personality: calculating in work, lively and active in life—a huge contrast.

She asked Li Xuewu for "relatives" not because she wanted Li Xuewu to help her find a nanny; she was teasing Li Xuewu's little cleverness.

And Li Xuewu's counterattack was still sharp, just like last time at the Dong family; the two were also standing in the courtyard, trading barbs and sword shadows.

Gu Weijie teased him, and he teased Gu Weijie for being heartless, not even having relatives to rely on—wasn't that a failure!

Why else would they say that people with the same frequency can stand together and play? If the brain turns a little slower, standing here, they wouldn't understand what the other person was saying.

Li Xuewu stomped his feet, gestured to the weeds in the courtyard, and said, "What a waste of this courtyard; planting some small vegetables and getting some food in the evening—wouldn't that be very warm?"

After finishing, he glanced at the driver of the other Security Office car standing outside the gate, seeing he wasn't distracted, and then continued: "Tidying up the garden and cleaning on Sunday—wouldn't that make you feel better?"

Gu Weijie glanced at the overgrown courtyard and pursed her lips, not speaking. Did she not know the principles Li Xuewu was talking about?

The courtyard was well-planned, the house was clean and tidy, and she knew it would make her feel better.

What about time?

What about manpower?

What is called standing and talking without back pain? Gu Weijie would bet that this person standing here babbling at her was also someone who didn't care about anything at home and only knew how to move his mouth.

"Is Dong Wenxue arriving tomorrow or the day after?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

Li Xuewu threw the cigarette butt and stepped on it, ignoring Gu Weijie's frowning expression, and replied, "We have an appointment to eat at the guesthouse in the evening; do you have time?"

"Not going~"

Gu Weijie answered very crisply, took a puff of smoke, and also threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stepped on it.

Li Xuewu had already thrown his, so she didn't care about this one.

Besides, there was no room to ruin this "garden" in her mind; two cigarette butts wouldn't affect the overall appearance of the "garden."

"Then Sunday."

Li Xuewu smiled, not minding Gu Weijie's refusal, and invited her again: "There's a family banquet at Secretary Dong's house on Sunday noon; Han Laoshi asked me to invite you."

"If Han Shu wants to invite me, why didn't she tell me herself, instead of going around you?"

Gu Weijie naturally understood the meaning of Li Xuewu's words; it probably wasn't Han Shu inviting her, but the person in front of her.

Li Xuewu pretended not to know and said, "Maybe Han Laoshi is busy; you know, there's been a lot of school work lately."

"Heh~ Really a lot~"

Gu Weijie looked at Li Xuewu's solemn nonsense and sneered, "Classes are suspended and it's a holiday; how could it not be a lot."

"That's right~"

His reason was dismantled, but Li Xuewu didn't care. The point wasn't what reason he used to invite Gu Weijie; the point was who was at the gathering and where the gathering was.

The gathering at the guesthouse tomorrow evening was mainly Li Huai's group, which was considered welcoming Dong Wenxue, and even more so a dinner before the mid-year meeting.

And the gathering at Dong Wenxue's house the day after tomorrow was the people in Dong Wenxue's own circle, which was considered a reunion of friends; the significance was different.

Gu Weijie wouldn't integrate into Li Huai's circle; this was a matter of principle, and even more so her code of conduct.

Rash contact would only cause suspicion from others and affect the political reputation of both.

Li Xuewu also knew that inviting her to Li Huai's gathering would definitely be rejected; that was why he had the second invitation.

And the first invitation was more like telling her what he and Dong Wenxue were going to do in the next two days.

Trust is mutual. Today Gu Weijie trusted him and invited him to her home to assist in work, so Li Xuewu was returning the favor.

No one can be a maverick in a government unit and always maintain independent style and work; everyone needs interpersonal relationships.

In any period, in any era, this is the truth; otherwise, there wouldn't be sons inheriting their fathers' careers in factories.

So Gu Weijie needed a circle; when she didn't have her own circle, she needed help in this regard.

Because of Han Shu's relationship, she had a natural relationship connection with Dong Wenxue, so she couldn't refuse this invitation.

Just like what Li Xuewu said, cleaning up, tidying the house, and tidying the courtyard on Sunday was purely nonsense.

Li Xuewu saw her today, so they would sit together on Sunday; when Li Xuewu couldn't see her, did she not have other social engagements?

Transferred to a new unit, did the relationships in the original unit break off?

How could that be? Now she was still in this system; maybe one day she would go back.

In feelings, she was stubborn and drilled into a dead end, but at work, she was a wise and strong woman.

The words the two said here, the confrontation in language, were all chatting while understanding and relying on each other.

The speed of inspection inside the house wasn't slow, and the Hanyang Steel people also looked at the courtyard; there was no place where the earth had been moved, so this investigation ended.

The valuables registered from the house weren't many, and the gold and silver jewelry were all old; Gu Weijie could explain their origin—they were her mother's.

And the remaining money and tickets were even easier to judge; the ones issued in the capital were generally local tickets and wouldn't have Quzhou tickets.

And money was even easier to judge; Gu Weijie's salary level was transparent, and everyone knew how much it was; a mental calculation would make it clear whether there were other situations here.

After determining that there was indeed no relationship with Ding Sanping here, the leader of the Hanyang Steel working group talked to Gu Weijie for a few words and then said goodbye.

Li Xuewu gave a few instructions to the Security Office people and arranged for them to leave.

Turning back to look at Gu Weijie, Li Xuewu didn't know whether to say congratulations or condolences. ===== CHAPTER 733 =====

Li Xuewu gave a few instructions to the men from the Security Division, then arranged for them to leave.

Turning back to look at Gu Weijie, Li Xuewu didn't know whether it would be better to offer congratulations or condolences.