Chapter 748: Go to the Second Floor

"How is it?"

Li Xuewu looked at Xiao Zihong opposite him, took two cigarettes from the cigarette box on the table, handed them over, and asked: "Is the new office tidy?"

"It's quite good."

Xiao Zihong took the cigarette, lit it with a match, swept his gaze over the lighter Li Xuewu had placed on the table after lighting his own cigarette, and said: "The environment of the new office building is indeed stronger than that of the main office building."

"Hehe~"

As he spoke, he smiled lightly again, took a puff of the cigarette, and used the hand holding the cigarette to gesture toward the main office building outside the window: "After coming here, the office is actually bigger than before."

"New buildings are all like this; the budget was well-planned."

Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes slightly, the cigarette he was holding was right by his mouth, and the smoke curled around, as if adding a bit of mystical color to the atmosphere of the two's conversation.

Xiao Zihong saw Li Xuewu's gaze was deep, knowing it was time for him to take the initiative to express his stance, but he still had some hesitation.

They had had little contact before, which didn't mean he didn't understand the ideology and political thinking of the Security Division. One could tell a thing or two from the lighter on the table.

"I really hadn't been to this side since the Security Building was completed."

Xiao Zihong smiled, flicked the ash calmly into the ashtray, and also noticed the special nature of the ashtray on Li Xuewu's desk.

It wasn't that there were no glass ashtrays at this time, or iron ones, but it was rare to see an ashtray machined from such a large chunk of steel.

Was this really an ashtray, or a meteor hammer?

"I can still remember what the Security Division was like before, but the changes over the past half year have been too great."

Xiao Zihong leaned his arms on the desk, looked at Li Xuewu, and said: "It's enough to keep me busy familiarizing myself for a while."

"Then you'll have to whip your horse to go faster."

Li Xuewu smiled slightly and said: "There is still quite a lot of work in the Security Division, and the leaders are also considerate of me, knowing I'm too busy here, so they invited you over."

"Hehe, a defeated general, how can I talk about bravery?"

Xiao Zihong waved his hand modestly, then said: "I haven't been in contact with security work before. This time, I have to settle down and learn properly."

"Life, you know, has its ebbs and flows; how can there always be glorious moments?"

Li Xuewu raised his left eye slightly and said with a smile: "Learning is necessary, but it shouldn't delay work."

As he spoke, he glanced at the pile of documents on the table, looked at the person opposite, and said: "You also know that I'm still holding a post at the branch bureau, running back and forth morning and afternoon. You have to familiarize yourself with the business as soon as possible and help me support the Security Division."

Xiao Zihong brought the cigarette to his mouth and took a puff. When he looked at Li Xuewu, he nodded slightly, agreeing to Li Xuewu's request.

This kind of request might be Li Xuewu's polite words, or it might be a probe thrown out by Li Xuewu.

The path in front of him wasn't obvious now, and he had his own pursuits and thoughts. Coming to the Security Division now didn't mean he had to follow Li Xuewu's pace.

But if he did that, he would face a very severe fact: the problem of whether he could carry out work and open up the situation.

If his work couldn't be carried out, Li Xuewu would at most leave an impression of being autocratic with the Secretary, but he would definitely have to face adjustment again.

This period might be a year, or it might be three years; it was hard to say.

How many three years are there in a life? Time flows like a river, day and night.

If he follows Li Xuewu's footsteps, it means he has to put down his previous thoughts and directions, and not have any other actions in the short term, automatically transferring to this line.

In fact, as long as the supervisor changes, the division of labor changes, or the position changes, it will bring about this choice dilemma.

Whether to follow the original work ideas or follow the current leader's ideas—some people have a choice, and some people don't.

Normally speaking, a Deputy Chief can also have his own choice, but under a relatively strong leader, there isn't much room for choice.

He saw Li Xuewu's current attitude very clearly; there was no room for discussion or hesitation left for him at all.

To say he was strong—who in this compound didn't know Li Xuewu's strength? But who didn't say he was righteous and reliable?

It's very contradictory, right? This is all because of the angle of standing.

People standing on his opposite side naturally say he is strong in work and has a strong desire for control.

But as a cadre of the Security Division, or someone standing on the same side as him, they naturally feel he is organized in handling things, has good plans, and is reliable.

Xiao Zihong faced the choice dilemma of where to stand. Should he experience Li Xuewu's strength, or feel his righteousness?

Was the choice in his hands?

Not necessarily. If he wants to stand over, he has to shake out what he has in his pockets and show what abilities he has.

It's very realistic and very cruel. Having been a Chief doesn't mean he can be a good Deputy Chief, and having been a Deputy Chief of the Engineering Division doesn't mean he can be a good Deputy Chief of the Security Division.

The meeting time with Li Xuewu wasn't long—the time for a cup of tea—and it ended after Sha Qizhi came in.

Xiao Zihong took the initiative to stand up and say goodbye, and Li Xuewu also stood up to see him off.

In the office, the two shook hands again. Li Xuewu signaled Sha Qizhi and said: "Director Sun and Deputy Chief Xiao are still in the stage of familiarizing themselves with work. You arrange and do a good job of service."

Xiao Zihong shook hands with Sha Qizhi again and said with a smile: "Sorry for the trouble, Comrade Qizhi. Help us arrange the materials and the investigation."

"Okay, no problem, Deputy Chief Xiao."

Sha Qizhi nodded decisively. With Li Xuewu's request, he naturally wouldn't hesitate.

A new leader taking up a post naturally has to go around, and transferring across units also involves going down for investigation. This is the due meaning of carrying out new work in a new post.

Li Xuewu saw Xiao Zihong to the door. After returning to the office, Sha Qizhi reported the work he had just arranged to Li Xuewu, and also reported the feedback from the inspection group last week.

"Fourteen units submitted entrustment training applications, seven of which are comprehensive entrustments, including business in security, dual plans, fire emergency, and safety production standardization."

"The other seven units have choices in security, and also choices in dual plans. This is the list and materials."

Sha Qizhi reported while placing the list on Li Xuewu's desk.

"The entrustment application letters have already been sent to our office. How do you plan to arrange the relevant registration procedures?"

"As soon as possible."

Li Xuewu looked at the list, thought for a while, looked at Sha Qizhi, and asked: "There's nothing tomorrow, right? Let's arrange it for tomorrow."

"Morning is fine. Organize a symposium for the persons in charge, and invite comrades from the Training Section to participate."

Li Xuewu thought for a while, pointed at Sha Qizhi, and added: "Please also invite Deputy Chief Xiao to participate in this matter."

"Okay."

Sha Qizhi nodded and recorded Li Xuewu's work arrangement in his notebook.

"How do you see the investigation arrangement for Deputy Chief Xiao...?"

The pen in his hand paused, and Sha Qizhi asked Li Xuewu about the work just now.

Li Xuewu waved his hand, signaled toward the next room, and said: "Ask Deputy Chief Xiao about this; let him decide for himself."

After saying that, he looked at the time on his hand and asked: "What time is Secretary Wenxue's train?"

"Two o'clock in the afternoon."

Sha Qizhi put away his notebook and replied: "He called and said don't send us off. He will eat at home and then go directly to the station to meet the comrades from the Steel Mill."

"It's not good not to go."

Li Xuewu pursed his lips and said to Sha Qizhi: "Help me prepare some fruit, wash it, and send it to the station."

Knowing Dong Wenxue didn't want him to send him off, Li Xuewu didn't force it, but the friendship that should be expressed still had to be expressed.

Sha Qizhi nodded and agreed to Li Xuewu's instruction, and also reminded: "Chief, the second trade train departs tomorrow afternoon. Deputy Factory Director Li arranged a work meeting, held tomorrow morning, and specifically named you."

"I know."

Li Xuewu nodded and signaled Sha Qizhi that he could go get busy.

The trade train matter was arranged last week. Zhang Guoqi didn't even attend the grand meeting and went straight to Yuezhou to prepare for the yellow wine.

After yesterday's meeting, Zhuang Cangshu, Deputy Chief of the Sales Division, also rushed to Jinmen this morning to coordinate the seafood matter.

Fruit from the border area naturally didn't need to be worried about; there was already a successful cooperation experience, and Jin Yaohui's preparation wouldn't be a problem.

Yuezhou's yellow wine had Li Xuewu's connections paving the way. Zhang Guoqi just went to finalize the subsequent handover and procedures, and also discussed the establishment of a Sales Division office in Yuezhou.

As for Jinmen, Li Xuewu first called Zheng Xiaoyan, who worked in Jinmen, and then contacted Pei Jungang, whom he met during the last training and who collected seafood at the pier.

Zheng Xiaoyan was at the Jinmen Electronics Factory and didn't have connections with the pier and fishery company, but she talked about the procurement of electronic parts.

The First Prison Institute asked Li Xuewu to help contact the Jinmen Electronics Factory for large-scale procurement of electronic equipment and parts. Zheng Xiaoyan also took advantage of this call to tell Li Xuewu about the current situation.

The great study and great discussion activities in the capital were in full swing, and Jinmen was also carrying them out, after all, it was very close.

The Jinmen Electronics Factory would inevitably be affected. Zheng Xiaoyan was in the business department and was quite concerned about the First Prison Institute's procurement.

She wanted Li Xuewu to make arrangements. People from Jinmen would come over for investigation, and they would also invite the leaders of the First Prison Institute to Jinmen to re-negotiate the procurement business.

Actually, the procurement business of the First Prison Institute wasn't negotiated by Huang Gan and the others, but by Old Biaozi, who used the name of the First Prison Institute's electronic training class to connect with them.

Now that a situation had arisen, although it wouldn't directly stop the supply of parts, if the reception and docking work wasn't done well, it would make it difficult for Zheng Xiaoyan, and the subsequent business wouldn't be easy to carry out.

The Jinmen Electronics Factory coming for investigation was nothing more than wanting to see if the First Prison Institute was really running an electronic training class and producing equipment.

The electronic training class didn't matter; what was important was the radio equipment. This was restricted on one hand, and affected the sales of Jinmen's products on the other.

In other words, procuring parts was fine, and assembling them into radios was also fine, but it couldn't affect the sales of Jinmen Electronics Factory's products.

Li Xuewu hadn't really inquired carefully about how the First Prison Institute's electronic business was going. He first agreed to Zheng Xiaoyan's words, and had to ask Old Biaozi later; he couldn't really affect Jinmen.

As long as it was the production of commodities, and the geographical distance was so close, once the output went up, there would definitely be an impact.

But this wasn't a big problem. Controlling a certain output and selling the excess as trade procurement commodities for the Steel Mill to other places would be fine.

Radios are not lacking buyers at this time, and Jinmen side saying this through Zheng Xiaoyan is obviously not in a hurry, just preventing such a trend.

Li Xuewu could guess this, and Zheng Xiaoyan was also a bit embarrassed, using the name of the great study and great discussion to talk about this situation.

Of course, since he was using others, he naturally couldn't make things difficult for them, just like Li Xuewu calling Pei Jungang.

Pei Jungang was very surprised to receive Li Xuewu's call. They hadn't been in contact for half a year, and suddenly they were in contact; he almost didn't remember who he was.

However, having purchased so many dried seafood products at once, he naturally wouldn't forget who Li Xuewu was.

This time it wasn't buying dried goods, but buying seafood, and it was a whole train car's worth, and it was public-to-public, which naturally made him very hesitant and nervous.

What he was hesitant about was what he could gain from this, and what he was nervous about was whether Li Xuewu was fishing.

However, on the premise that the Steel Mill would delegate cadres from the Sales Division to bring a cooperation letter and everything would go through formal procedures, Pei Jungang agreed to help introduce the leaders of the aquatic products department.

Of course, this was just an introduction, and nothing else was said.

But how could Li Xuewu let him stay out of it? So he mentioned fruit and yellow wine.

Aquatic products were their work, but fruit and yellow wine became welfare products and sources of logistics business. This had benefits.

He wasn't in charge of logistics, but this business was handled by him, so wouldn't he gain benefits in logistics and from his leaders?

Who would want to squat by the sea as an acquisition clerk for a lifetime? Who wouldn't want to take a shortcut to advance as soon as possible? Wasn't this opportunity here?

Some things naturally didn't need to be said very clearly. Smart people and success were only one opportunity apart. Li Xuewu was the person good at creating opportunities and providing opportunities.

In the past, the recycling station naturally didn't dare to touch these out-of-town materials and transportation. Li Xuewu had convenient conditions but couldn't run all over the country.

So, giving others convenience is giving oneself convenience.

Taking the Steel Mill's trade project train, the recycling station was now openly doing trade, with no danger, no risk, not touching the goods, only bridging the gap between two cooperative units.

This matter only needed an Old Biaozi and two accountants. Li Xuewu could safely hook his own network of relationships onto the trade train.

At this time, it was very difficult for people in the capital to eat seafood. Although it was very close to Jinmen, even with such a short distance, the seafood became "sea-stinking" by the time it arrived here.

Fresh-keeping transportation was a big problem. What needed to be solved now wasn't the taste problem, but the problem of being able to eat one's fill.

But the current economic environment was contradictory. The countryside indeed had food problems, hovering on the line of food and clothing, but the city wasn't.

The city had now entered a channel of rapid economic development. Workers went to work, had money in their hands, but couldn't buy matching commodities—that is, there was too much money and not enough goods.

This was also the reason why commodities in the supply and marketing cooperatives were in short supply; there were too many people buying, and tickets had to be used to limit them.

Then what about seafood?

People in the capital wanted to eat it, had money to buy it, but had no channels, and no corresponding ticket channels.

Anyway, Li Xuewu hadn't seen seafood tickets in the tickets issued by the factory. The aquatic products market would occasionally have some seafood, but how many could actually buy it?

Mostly it was river products, crabs and shrimp, fish and turtles; these were still available.

Tomorrow's train was coming from the Steel City, loaded with grain and dried goods, mainly edible fungi, walnuts, pine nuts, and other non-staple foods.

A batch would be unloaded in the capital, and then twenty second-hand Willys cars and light textile products prepared in the capital would be loaded.

After arriving in Wucheng in the border area, these goods would all be unloaded, sold in Wucheng or exchanged for fruit bills, and then a new batch of fruit would be loaded to set off for Yuezhou.

A portion of the fruit would be unloaded in Yuezhou to pay off the yellow wine bill, and then yellow wine would be loaded to head north to Jinmen.

A portion of the fruit and yellow wine would be unloaded in Jinmen to pay off the bill for the seafood products loaded, and then go directly to the Steel City.

After unloading a portion of yellow wine, fruit, and seafood in the Steel City to pay off the bill for grain and dried goods, a new batch of grain and dried goods would be transported back to the capital.

Throughout the whole process, each location obtained local scarce specialties, and these specialties wouldn't stay on the train for too long, causing freight losses.

The capital headquarters didn't need to invest a large amount of capital and operating costs, and even the freight could be settled with the capital railway station using these products.

Finally, a portion of these products would be supplied to factory workers for ticketless purchase, a portion would be supplied to cooperative units, and the rest would all be supplied to distribution units.

There were many goods coming down from the trade train, but there were also many types. When broken down to types, and then broken down to distribution channels, it wouldn't seem that many.

Cooperative units were well-fed, factory workers ate well, and the recycling station responsible for distribution also ate well.

The trade project still implemented a planned economy. The train hadn't left yet, so the goods must be prepared; the goods hadn't arrived yet, so the sales channels must be prepared.

That is to say, fresh foods like fruit and seafood would be sent to sales channels as soon as they got off the train.

It was possible that goods arriving in the morning could appear on the shelves of the supply and marketing cooperative in the afternoon.

This kind of rapid distribution system allowed the Steel Mill not to bear the pressure of goods sales and losses, and also allowed the recycling station to be free from the pressure of transportation and network construction.

The supply and marketing cooperative wasn't afraid of this kind of pressure. Their channels were relatively fixed, which limited the diversity of the commodities sold.

For example, seafood products: coming ashore from Jinmen, they had to go through Jinmen Aquatic Products, then through the transportation company, then through Capital Aquatic Products, then through the General Supply and Marketing Company, and then to Director Ma's supply and marketing cooperative.

Not to mention anything else, the seafood definitely wouldn't be good; by the time it reached him, it really would be stinking.

But the Steel Mill's channel was different. It seemed like many hands, but it was only hands on the books, and didn't involve the hands of the goods.

Fish and shrimp came out of Jinmen Aquatic Products and got on the train, and got off the train and went to the supply and marketing cooperative, at most being distributed from Director Ma's central supply and marketing cooperative to other outlets.

Being able to get this kind of thing through formal channels, the supply and marketing cooperative didn't care; after all, they were responsible for commodity sales, and work performance was still seen from sales performance.

At this time, the wind and rain, the one least affected was the supply and marketing cooperative. Everyone knew it wouldn't work without it.

After Sha Qizhi left, Li Xuewu recalculated this trade route again, determined there was no problem, and then placed the documents to be used for tomorrow's meeting on the table.

In the busyness of the morning, Li Xuewu was also thinking about the personnel and work problems of the six sections and twenty groups of the Security Division.

In the past, he was the only one responsible, and personnel and business work were all handled according to his meaning, but now there was a change, and he couldn't help but consider the impact of Xiao Zihong's arrival.

Just like the scruples Xiao Zihong had, Li Xuewu couldn't help but give him authority, nor could he restrict his work. Cooperation was the best, but if there were crooked thoughts, then if they fought, neither would end up well.

Li Xuewu occupied an absolute advantage. A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger; Xiao Zihong was in his prime, his ambitions unfulfilled. The two working together was very suitable, and also very unsuitable.

Generally speaking, the work of an office wasn't like that in the factory, where there was a division of labor. A Deputy Chief was also responsible for the business of all departments.

But some departments would arrange for the Deputy Chief to be specifically responsible for certain business, fixing the Deputy Chief's work authority.

This all depended on how the number one person in charge of the department arranged it. Li Xuewu could do this to comrades promoted from the Security Division, but couldn't easily treat comrades transferred from outside like this.

Unity was an eternal topic. Li Xuewu knew that there were no telling how many people were waiting to see the joke of the Security Division.

Either Li Xuewu subdued Xiao Zihong, or Xiao Zihong overturned Li Xuewu. What they least hoped for was the two peeing into the same pot; that would have no meaning.

Without trouble, how could intentions be realized? How could a big tree be pried? Only by breaking the outer shell could the essence inside be seen.

Those watching the fun didn't think it was a big deal, but Li Xuewu, who was in the fun, had already made up his mind to hold onto his original heart, deal with changes with constancy, and focus on defensive counterattacks.

Noon, small cafeteria.

Xu Si was really following the trend. Last week, he dragged Li Xuewu over to ask for opinions and mention rectification, and this week it was already open on time.

Perhaps because of the location, the entrance here wasn't as hot as the reception side, and it felt quite cool.

The number of people coming to dine is relatively large, and Li Xuewu is also holding his lunch box and queuing up, restarting the life of queuing for meals.

It was different at the reception side. There, bowls and plates were used, and the number of people at a table was fixed, and the rice or steamed buns were also fixed in quantity. Everyone knew how much the others were eating.

It was equivalent to going to a restaurant to eat, but it was AA (split the bill), with many dishes and good food.

It wasn't like that here. Cadres at the deputy section level and above all came here to eat. There were hundreds of people; if they really did that, it wouldn't be manageable.

So the Secretary and Factory Director took the lead, and all the cadres prepared their own aluminum lunch boxes again.

Doing this also had its benefits—it saved the cafeteria from arranging dishwashers. After eating, they went to the sink to wash them themselves, and after washing, they took them back to the office.

With one more small cafeteria, the reception side freed up space, and the large cafeteria could also reduce part of the food pressure.

Seeing Li Xuewu, Sha Zhu raised his eyebrows and smiled, swinging his spoon to put three dishes into Li Xuewu's lunch box.

The small cafeteria here was a bit special, with one more dish than the large cafeteria, but also one less dish than the reception side, not reaching the national banquet standard.

"Come, next!"

It wasn't that Sha Zhu was a bit slow; he was used to shouting at the large cafeteria. When he got here, he still shouted like that, causing many people to look at him.

Zhang Songying glanced at him, knowing he had to talk to Chef He after lunch ended.

Li Xuewu didn't care, holding his lunch box and taking two steamed buns toward the stairs.

What he told Xu Si last week was that the second floor was all small private rooms, without doors, but with a pair of short white cloth curtains.

There was no rule saying who could go upstairs and who couldn't, but section-level cadres consciously knew they couldn't go up.

Actually, it wasn't just section-level cadres; deputy division-level cadres didn't go up either. There were only so many private rooms. Excluding the nine leaders, counting the people from the working group, plus the nineteen office heads, where would there be room?

Yes, there was still room, but now the nine leaders weren't eating in one room, and might be eating and talking about work with the office heads below. Would you be embarrassed to intervene?

This was the reason Li Xuewu told Xu Si not to install doors. Without that door, people outside could know who was sitting inside, and people inside could know who was passing by outside.

What if the door was opened and inside were people who weren't convenient to eat at the same table? How awkward.

So even if there were sporadic empty seats on the second floor, those below the deputy division level consciously didn't go up.

Going to the second floor really became a symbolic meaning.

Li Xuewu naturally wouldn't care about this; he was the person in charge of the Security Division, so naturally, he had the qualifications.

But Xiao Zihong was a bit awkward. He had arrived earlier than Li Xuewu, but he was looking at the seats in the hall, not knowing who to sit with.

He was a Chief before, and he sat with those full Chiefs. He basically had no relationship with those at the deputy division level, and had little contact with people from other departments.

The section chiefs and deputy section chiefs of the Engineering Division smiled and nodded at him, but didn't mean to invite him to sit together. The people from the Security Division didn't know him, and he couldn't find anyone to call.

The office itself was on the third floor, and the Security Building was far away. When he arrived, the eight-person tables were all occupied.

No relationship with the deputy division level, no friendship with the full section or deputy section level; he looked like a lonely person.

The bitterness in his heart was really rolling in his mouth.

"Let's go, go upstairs together to talk about something."

Just as he was looking for a seat, he suddenly heard someone greeting him. Xiao Zihong turned his head and saw Li Xuewu standing by the stairs looking at him.

"Chief."

Xiao Zihong smiled awkwardly, still hesitating whether to go over.

Xu Si came in from the door and greeted the two: "Go upstairs, go upstairs, find a place to wait for me, have something to say."

Hearing Xu Si say this, Xiao Zihong had no choice but to follow Li Xuewu upstairs. The various eyes of the interested people in the hall went without saying.

Actually, Xiao Zihong himself also knew that Li Xuewu inviting him upstairs was entirely out of consideration for his face, not wanting to let him stand there awkwardly.

Xu Si was the same. He had no friendship with Factory Office Director Xu, and now there was even less business contact. It wasn't worth talking about work at noon.

Calling him was entirely for Li Xuewu's face. Everyone knew the relationship between the Factory Office Director and Security Division Deputy Chief Li Xuewu.

Speaking of which, he had only paused for a moment while holding his lunch box, but Li Xuewu could perceive his thoughts, and Xu Si could also perceive them the moment he came in. It had to be said that both of their eyes were really sharp.

The awkwardness came partly from not being familiar with the people below, and partly from the lowering of status.

It didn't reach the point of expressing anything because of this awkwardness and bitterness, but at least his impression of Li Xuewu had changed greatly.

To say he was adjusted, he wasn't the only cadre at the division level; there were three.

Look, Zhang Guoqi was out of town, and the one who followed them in was Wang Jingzhang.

"Whoa~ This new cafeteria, new environment is really different."

Wang Jingzhang was quite familiar, not at all polite. No one invited him, but he followed them into the room.

Wei Zai looked at Li Xuewu with a half-smile, found a seat inside, and sat down.

Kuang Yusheng rolled his eyes, looking as if he had seen a fly, and slammed his lunch box with a clatter.

Xia Zhongquan was a good-natured person, so naturally, he wouldn't express it as obviously as Kuang Yusheng, but he didn't respond to Wang Jingzhang's words either.

Bi Yuding and Gou Zirong looked at each other, didn't speak, and sat next to Wei Zai who was inside.

This room was a round table layout specially left by Xu Si, for the convenience of reception and banquets.

Other rooms were square tables, an "eight immortals crossing the sea" layout, which couldn't seat Li Xuewu and the others.

Perhaps seeing that it wasn't convenient in other rooms, Wang Jingzhang, who had gone to the second floor, followed them here.

He was quite thick-skinned. He said a sentence, no one responded, but he didn't feel ashamed, and was about to sit down.

But Li Xuewu moved his foot, kicked the stool beside him, didn't look at the stunned Wang Jingzhang, beckoned to Xiao Zihong who was standing at the door, and said: "Hurry up and sit, what are you waiting for? Eat while talking."

Xiao Zihong looked at Wang Jingzhang, stepped past Wang Jingzhang's body, and sat down next to Li Xuewu.

Wang Jingzhang shook his chin, wanting to say something, but didn't dare to provoke Li Xuewu, so he had to look at the stool beside him again.

What a coincidence, Xu Si came in at this moment.

"Whoa! I didn't say you guys would find this place yourselves."

Xu Si didn't even look at Wang Jingzhang who was still standing, squeezed into the stool at the door, sat down next to Xiao Zihong, and said with a smile while unpacking his lunch box: "How is this room? I knew you guys wouldn't find the food fragrant without me, so I didn't listen to Li Xuewu and changed them all to eight-person rooms. Wouldn't that be crowded to death!"

After saying this, he looked at the strange expressions and eyes of everyone, as if he had just discovered the abnormality. He turned his head to look at Wang Jingzhang behind him and asked in surprise: "Whoa! Deputy Director Wang, why are you here?"

Wang Jingzhang gritted his teeth, looking at the last seat at the door being occupied by Xu Si, his heart cursing his mother.

There were two seats next to Li Xuewu, but Li Xuewu's chair was against the wall, and there was no intention of giving him a seat at all. He didn't dare to tell Li Xuewu he wanted a seat.

"Hehe~ Is my being a Deputy Director an eyesore to you?"

Wang Jingzhang's smile was skin-deep, but the meat wasn't smiling; it looked really cold.

The smile was cold, and the words were also cold: "I really have to learn from Director Xu. This butt and heart are quite easy to use."

"Oh? How should I put this!"

Xu Si looked at everyone innocently and said helplessly: "I never said Deputy Directors couldn't come upstairs to eat. Calling you Deputy Director, it's just because I haven't figured out what rank you are now."

This was a bit of a heart-killer. Wang

"He wanted liquor, so I gave him liquor first, but I kept a guard up. I went to deliver the liquor at night."

"Guess what I saw?"

"A girl?"

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow and said his guess, cooperating with Old Biaozi.

"How did you know?"

This time it was Old Biaozi's turn to be surprised, as if Li Xuewu could predict the future.

Li Xuewu curled his lips, took a sip of tea, and said: "Because every time you mention girls, your eyes shine."

"Really?"

Old Biaozi blinked and looked at Li Xuewu suspiciously, as if blinking could cover up the lecherous light.

"Now that you mention it, I have to be careful. Is it that obvious?"

"Talk about business."

Li Xuewu reminded him again after putting down his teacup. The big brother only had this one flaw: he was very prone to going off-topic.

Old Biaozi didn't dare to look at Li Xuewu directly this time. He blinked while speaking, wishing there was a mirror in front of him so he could see if there was really that kind of light in his eyes.

"It wasn't one girl, it was more than a dozen girls, hugging and touching those little brats, swaying around in the room."

"Dancing, right?"

Li Xuewu drooped his eyelids and explained: "This doesn't count as anything; it's a kind of proper social activity. They dance this in clubs; it was passed down from the Russians."

"Proper?"

Old Biaozi looked at Li Xuewu with a wicked smile, then raised an eyebrow and asked: "Brother Wu, does the proper dancing you do also involve putting your hand into a girl's pants?"

"Hmm?"

Li Xuewu's drooping eyelids suddenly flipped up. He flicked a finger at his forehead with a laugh, then said: "This isn't proper. Tell me in detail."

"Hehe, what else is there to say? You've already danced it, haven't you?"

Old Biaozi teased him with a smile, then seeing Li Xuewu's eyes signal toward the stairs, he didn't dare to mess around anymore and explained softly: "It's just like that, drinking, listening to the gramophone, hugging and dancing, and then in the room, well~"

"You saw it?"

Li Xuewu squinted at Old Biaozi. Dancing was fine at this time, but putting a hand into pants—who knew it wasn't proper? Could they pull out a hand grenade?

If they used this to do things, it was indeed possible. Small organizations could hold activities, but they couldn't touch the bottom line. The bottom line was what was currently clearly prohibited, including mass gatherings of that sort.

Don't say that young people at this time weren't conservative at all. The era they were in was the most contradictory and also the craziest period; what couldn't they do?

The clubs at night were no longer open, saying it was the decadent music of the petty bourgeoisie. This saying was actually thought up by these little brats themselves.

And then?

No one had anywhere to play, so they started playing this themselves.

A crazy time at Old Mo's at night, finding a safe and hidden place, inviting a few women, listening to the gramophone and dancing in the living room, and adding some liquor to help the mood—the rooms were all ready-made; what couldn't they do?

Young men and women without the constraints of parents, without the constraints of school, and without the constraints of morality—the more ruffian and rowdy the young man was, the more the girls liked him. If the girls liked him, what did the young man have to worry about?

However, these could only be done behind people's backs, playing privately. If they were caught, it would be a big deal.

Li Xuewu asked Old Biaozi if he had really seen it, just to confirm whether what he had seen was real or just his speculation.

Old Biaozi said seriously: "I saw them hugging and touching with my own eyes. One pair came out of the room, and another pair went in; I saw that too."

After finishing, he curled his lips and said: "I haven't eaten pork, but I've seen pigs run. I actually wanted to follow them in to see how they played, but they wouldn't let me."

Old Biaozi spread his hands and said with a smile: "I guessed they were going to play this, so I went to deliver liquor at night. But these little brats were too stingy and didn't ask me to stay, so I came out."

"How often?"

Li Xuewu squinted and thought for a while, then said to Old Biaozi: "You have to find a way to take photos. It's best if they are photos of the scene, with clear faces."

"Hiss~~~"

Old Biaozi thought for a while and said: "They play quite frequently. Because I didn't give them that much liquor at once, they even asked me to deliver more. But if I want to go in, they will definitely be on guard..."

Li Xuewu watched Old Biaozi thinking and didn't speak, just drank his tea.

Li Xuewu didn't know much about the situation of those little brats, nor had he been to the scene, so he was waiting for Old Biaozi to come up with an idea so he could act as an advisor.

Old Biaozi thought for a while, looked at Li Xuewu, hesitated, and said: "If I arrange for a girl to go in, it might work. If she takes photos, I can pick her up, no problem."

"It's just the choice of person..."

"Must be reliable."

Li Xuewu squinted at Old Biaozi and warned: "You can be flexible in doing things, but you must also have principles. I don't care who you find, but you must not leak the bottom line, and they must be clever and capable."

"As for the pickup,"

Li Xuewu put down his teacup and instructed: "If you use a car, pay attention to hidden markings. If you use people, remember not to show faces. Also, think about the follow-up placement of the person you arrange."

"I know. Don't worry about this matter."

Old Biaozi promised solemnly, knowing that Li Xuewu avoided such things and was unwilling to let him use crooked paths.

His original intention was to find a woman and use some money to handle the photo matter, but since Brother Wu said it had to be safe and he had to be able to control the person taking the photos, then he really had to find someone reliable to handle it.

Li Xuewu didn't say the root cause, but he could guess it. The person who talked to Brother Wu last week about the partner of Li's third son, the Director Ji who lived in the East Courtyard, must have been talking about this matter.