Chapter 790: My Good Brother

"Heh~ heh~ heh~"

Xu Sinian felt so irritated seeing Li Li Xuewu's gleeful expression that he knocked on his desk and said, "You're enjoying my misery, aren't you?"

"Hehehe~"

Li Li Xuewu set aside the document he had just signed with his comments, picked up another one to read, and chuckled lightly, "You've completely confused me; where's the misery to enjoy~"

"It's plenty miserable~!"

Leaning his elbows on the desk, Xu Sinian said to Li Li Xuewu, "Don't give me that 'I just got back and know nothing' routine!"

As he spoke, he pointed toward the door and said, "If you dare say that, I'll call out Comrade Sha Sha Qizhi by name!"

"You called for me, Director Xu~"

He had his hands clasped behind his back, but by pure coincidence, Sha Sha Qizhi had just walked in and heard every word.

Xu Sinian felt utterly helpless; when it came to interrupting, these secretaries were truly masters of the art.

Li Li Xuewu, however, smiled and waved his hand, gesturing to Xu Sinian as he said, "Serve Director Xu a cup of tea."

After saying this, he looked at Xu Sinian again and added, "You're full of fire and anger."

"Yes."

Sha Sha Qizhi glanced at Xu Sinian, agreed with a smile, and then busily set to work at the tea cabinet by the door with practiced efficiency.

Xu Sinian sighed and said to Li Li Xuewu, "I'm not here to complain to you, nor am I trying to cause you any trouble!"

Li Li Xuewu waved his hand, signaling Xu Sinian not to get agitated and to speak slowly.

Sha Sha Qizhi walked over carrying the teacup and said with a smile, "Zhou Yao just returned; I had finally coaxed her into stopping her tears, only for Director Xu to make her cry again."

"What?"

Xu Sinian turned sideways to look at Sha Sha Qizhi, finally realizing that the university student crying in the corridor earlier must have been from the Security Department.

Perhaps feeling guilty and afraid Sha Sha Qizhi would mention what had just happened, he waved his hand as soon as the teacup was set down, signaling him to leave.

Li Li Xuewu glanced at the embarrassed Old Xu, nodded to Sha Sha Qizhi, and then turned back to ask Xu Sinian, "Did you bully a comrade from our Security Department?"

"Hey~ nothing of the sort!"

Once Sha Sha Qizhi had left, he turned back around, intending to say something, but then forgot what it was: "Where was I just now?"

"You were saying you wanted to cause me trouble."

While keeping his hands busy with his work, Li Li Xuewu teased Xu Sinian with this remark.

Xu Sinian knew he was joking, so he smiled himself and said, "This kid has completely ruined the mood I had just carefully built up~"

"Then build it up again."

Li Li Xuewu glanced at him with a smile, knowing that Xu Sinian's visit, filled with this air of demanding justice, was entirely performative.

Xu Sinian showed no embarrassment at being seen through and said seriously, "I'm telling you the truth; the Steel Rolling Plant's security environment really cannot function without you!"

"Just look at the chaos from a while ago; what a state of affairs~"

Xu Sinian said indignantly, "I never imagined the Steel Rolling Plant would one day become like this, nor did I ever think that one day machines would stop devouring people and ideologies would start devouring them instead."

"Hey~ hey~ hey!"

Li Li Xuewu tapped the fountain pen tip toward the opposite side as a reminder, "Watch your wording; you're still the Factory Office Director, you can't just speak recklessly~"

"So I can't even say it here with you~?"

Xu Sinian spread his hands and said, "Just kill me then, so I don't have to suffer from holding in my frustration."

Li Li Xuewu ignored this display of supposed heartfelt sincerity and, looking at the document in his hand, said, "Who stopped you from speaking? I will defend your freedom of speech to the death."

"Oh, come on~"

Xu Sinian took a sip of tea, pursed his lips, and said, "Just focus on defending the Steel Rolling Plant's public order first."

Li Li Xuewu frowned slightly, put down the document in his hand, and said to Xu Sinian, "Both you and I are very clear about the situation at the Steel Rolling Plant; this isn't just my affair, nor is it something the Security Department can intervene in."

As he spoke, he gestured to the documents on the desk, saying, "You should be able to see how much the Security Department has done; the armed guards standing watch on the sentry posts at the main gate when you arrived for work today are the greatest guarantee of my fulfillment of duty."

"I know what has happened at the Steel Rolling Plant, and I am deeply pained by it."

Looking at Xu Sinian, whose brows were tightly knitted, Li Li Xuewu said, "Just like you, the Steel Rolling Plant is my home and the foundation of my livelihood."

"Sigh~~~"

Xu Sinian sighed, shaking his head slightly as he said, "The world shouldn't be like this, and people shouldn't act like this, Director Li."

Li Li Xuewu raised his eyebrows slightly and said calmly, "All life is suffering; only self-deliverance exists."

"That sounds easy enough, but when one is trapped within the situation, how many people can walk out of it with clarity?"

Xu Sinian looked at Li Li Xuewu and said, "You should clearly recognize that a factory cannot have two sets of management teams, right?"

"Like Red Flag and Dongfeng?"

Li Li Xuewu glanced at him, continued reading the document in his hand, and replied, "Do you understand what is meant by the objective laws of organizational correctness?"

Xu Sinian frowned and said, "Must we really go through struggle and compromise to achieve that kind of balance?"

"Can't we just sit down and talk things out properly?"

Xu Sinian said bitterly, "They all claim to be acting for the good of the Steel Rolling Plant, all thinking about leading the Steel Rolling Plant toward glory—bullshit!"

"Are you a child?!"

Li Li Xuewu frowned and said, "Do I need to teach you this? Do you understand 'survival of the fittest'? Do you really think organizational work is like hosting a banquet or sharing a meal!"

After saying this, he knocked on the desk and added, "Excessive complaining risks breaking one's intestines; one should always take a long-term view of things. We're only at the beginning; this is just the first step of the Long March, so you must hold on."

"I!... Sigh~"

Xu Sinian waved his hand helplessly and said, "You are a man of capability; your vision and ideological height far surpass mine, so your future development certainly cannot be limited to this place."

As he spoke, he gestured toward the office building opposite and said, "Currently, the factory has the Party Group responsible for organizational work, the Factory Office responsible for production work, and the Management Committee overseeing both aspects."

"Just as you said, sooner or later a winner and a loser will emerge."

Xu Sinian drank the tea from his cup, looked at Li Li Xuewu, and said, "The dangers hidden within this are no less than those of last month; you should mentally prepare yourself."

After speaking, he stood up and instructed, "Nine o'clock, small conference room, Party Committee meeting."

"Are you also concurrently serving as the Director of the Management Committee Office now?"

Li Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow, glanced at Xu Sinian who was about to leave, and said, "Not holding a Management Committee meeting, but a Party Committee one?"

"Hehe, how could I possibly have that kind of talent?"

Xu Sinian turned sideways and smiled at Li Li Xuewu, saying, "The Director of the Management Committee Office is your good brother, Director Zhang Zhang Guoqi."

Watching Xu Sinian exit the room, Li Li Xuewu merely snorted and muttered, "So he's still just complaining~."

"Director, Zhou Yao has returned."

Sha Sha Qizhi entered with Zhou Yao, gesturing for Zhou Yao to sit while he went to change her cup of tea.

Li Li Xuewu lifted his head, took a look at Zhou Yao, and smiled, saying, "You look quite spirited."

Praised by Li Li Xuewu, Zhou Yao felt somewhat embarrassed; after sitting down in front of the desk, she smoothed the hair at her temples.

Seeing her eyes were red-rimmed, Li Li Xuewu smiled and nodded, saying, "These three months of training were not in vain; you now possess a certain heroic spirit."

"You did that on purpose, didn't you~"

Zhou Yao looked at Li Li Xuewu and said aggrievedly, "You clearly knew I had made a mistake during my reporting-in, yet you said nothing..."

"Hehe, it's quite good."

Sha Sha Qizhi handed her the teacup and smiled, saying, "Looking at you now, you could probably take on ten of me."

Zhou Yao pouted in dissatisfaction, then accepted the teacup and expressed her thanks.

She had figured it out: everyone knew she had messed up her reporting-in, and they were all waiting to see her make a fool of herself.

After making a joke, Sha Sha Qizhi exited at Li Li Xuewu's gesture.

Seeing that only she and Li Li Xuewu remained in the office, Zhou Yao's expression turned desolate again, and she said softly, "Director, do you know..."

"Mm, I only found out about it later myself."

Li Li Xuewu knew what Zhou Yao wanted to ask; he could tell from her expression.

"It is very regrettable; I was not at the factory at the time. Deputy Director Xiao handled the matter."

"I know; Director Sha just told me."

Zhou Yao kept her head lowered as tears fell again with soft patters; the three people involved in the incident were all her classmates, and Hearing Fu Linfang had been particularly close to her—she simply could never have imagined such a thing happening.

Especially given what those people in the office were saying, it was as if they had demonized all of them college students.

Although Director Sha had told her not to be influenced by those people, her heart was inevitably in turmoil, and she could not help but feel sorrow.

Li Li Xuewu took a tissue from the desk and handed it to her, offering comfort verbally: "The value of a person lies in self-rescue, in self-respect, self-love, and self-esteem."

"I understand."

Zhou Yao took the tissue and wiped her eyes, saying in a low voice, "I just cannot accept this reality for the moment."

"Mm, such is life."

Li Li Xuewu nodded and said, "I hope you can emerge from this incident, learn something from it, and mature as quickly as possible."

"I understand. Thank you, Director."

Zhou Yao looked at Li Li Xuewu and said, "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to train and study; I will pull myself together as soon as possible."

Li Li Xuewu nodded with gratification; looking at her red-rimmed eyes, he said, "Tears will not make us stronger, but they are an outlet for emotion; I understand you very well."

"Director!"

At the doorway, Han Han Yating entered and saluted Li Li Xuewu.

Li Li Xuewu beckoned her in and asked with a smile, "Should I say congratulations?"

"Director..."

Han Han Yating licked her lips and said, blushing slightly, "I will not let it interfere with my work."

"What kind of talk is that?"

Feigning dissatisfaction, Li Li Xuewu glanced at her and rebuked, "Publicly, you are my comrade and a member of the Security Division; privately, you are my friend. Whatever happens, we share the burden together."

While speaking, he pointed at Zhou Yao, who had stood up, and said, "This is Zhou Yao; you know her. She has just returned from training at the training grounds. I'm assigning her to you; guide her well."

"Yes!"

Han Han Yating saluted Li Li Xuewu, then took the personnel order he handed over and glanced at it: Deputy Li Kezhang.

As a female comrade stationed in a frontline post like the Security Section, her personal circumstances had to be reported truthfully to the organization.

Therefore, it was no surprise that Li Li Xuewu knew she was pregnant, and assigning a female Deputy Li Kezhang to the Security Section was also a form of consideration for her.

Although he was speaking about guiding the new person well, she understood that Li Li Xuewu's true meaning was succession.

Under conditions where her physical state did not permit it, someone needed to assist her in completing the management work of the Security Section.

Originally, Li Li Xuewu had intended to cultivate Fan Hua, but she herself had committed an error.

Now they could only use Zhou Yao; this Miss had persisted at the training base, and as Sha Sha Qizhi said, she could take on ten of him.

"Director..."

After receiving the document handed over by Han Han Yating and reading it, Zhou Yao hesitated and said, "I... the Security Section..."

"I believe you can do it."

Li Li Xuewu smiled faintly, found a file among the stacks on his desk, and placed it opposite her, saying, "Take this as your first case upon assuming your new post in the Security Section."

Zhou Yao glanced at Li Li Xuewu, hesitantly picked up the file folder, but upon seeing the file's title, she could not help but tremble slightly.

"The Case of Hearing Fu Linfang's Suicide by Hanging"

"One point five million?"

"One point five million!"

Xiang Xiang Jingyu's brows were tightly knitted as he looked at the document in his hand, his tone becoming sharp.

"Yes, exactly one point five million."

Li Li Xuewu nodded calmly and said to Xiang Xiang Jingyu, "Deputy Factory Director Xiang, no matter how much you emphasize it, the two zeros on the document won't disappear."

The corners of Xiang Xiang Jingyu's mouth twitched slightly; unable to help himself, he shot a glance at Li Li Xuewu, then shifted his gaze to Yang Yang Yuansong and Cheng Kaiyuan.

"When this project was declared, the budget was never set this high."

Speaking, he flipped through the documents in his hand and emphasized, "The budget approved at the time was only two hundred thousand; exceeding it by this much...!"

Yang Yang Yuansong also frowned but remained silent; as the Party's senior official, not a cadre of the factory office meeting, he maintained a conscious and cautious attitude toward operational work at all times.

With Yang Yang Fengshan absent, during his period of labor reform he would no longer execute the duties of Factory Director; the factory's production and management operations were temporarily entrusted to Cheng Kaiyuan to act on his behalf.

Cheng Kaiyuan was acting as Factory Director, yet he found himself in a dilemma: to advance meant leading the factory office to contest authority with Li Li Huai De's Management Committee; to retreat meant admitting defeat, serving as Li Li Huai De's deputy, and leaving Li Li Huai De to call the shots at the Rolling Steel Factory from then on.

The Secretary had already spoken with him, yet he had not taken a clear stance; weighing the pros and cons required time for thought.

Today's meeting agenda contained many items, primarily studying tasks assigned from above some time ago regarding the establishment of liaison stations and reception offices.

Furthermore, in the period since the dissolution of the Red Flag Commune, too many upheavals had occurred within the factory, necessitating adjustments and arrangements.

Especially concerning personnel, from top to bottom, leadership rights and management rights needed to be confirmed.

Any Party Committee member could temporarily propose an agenda item during the meeting; what Li Li Xuewu had thrown out was the one million five hundred thousand from the Steel Smelting Factory acquisition case.

This figure was neither large nor small; the Rolling Steel Factory easily exceeded one million in machinery procurement, yet it was also substantial enough to build numerous residential buildings.

"Let us first hear Deputy Secretary Li's opinion."

Cheng Kaiyuan was skilled with words; at the conference table, he did not address him as Deputy Division Chief Li, but instead chose Li Li Xuewu's position within the organization.

Li Li Xuewu spread open the documents before him and began his introduction, "First, let me explain the initial applied budget, that is, the two hundred thousand."

"According to the Steel Smelting Factory's introduction, to complete the basic maintenance and new construction tasks for thousand-ton cargo ships, at least several thousand square meters of operational workshops are required."

"Based on the workshop size, the preliminary assessment of machinery used for shipbuilding, and a comprehensive consideration of the existing shipyard's production capacity, this resulted in the two-hundred-thousand budget assessment quota."

After finishing his explanation, Li Li Xuewu tapped the documents on the table and said, "This is the opinion provided by the assessment team jointly formed by the Technical Division, the Engineering Division, and the Finance Division."

Having said that, he tapped the open documents beside his hand again and explained, "During the inspection of the shipyard, the Steel Smelting Factory fully exercised subjective initiative; adhering to the principles of thrift and maximizing benefits, they conducted inspections of coastal shipbuilding factories."

"Here, the Yingcheng Shipyard happened to enter the inspection team's field of vision at this time."

Looking at the documents in his hand, Li Li Xuewu introduced, "The Yingcheng Shipyard is a newly built factory, possessing seventy thousand square meters of shipbuilding workshops under construction."

"This includes a complete set of hull workshops, electromechanical workshops, shipping workshops, outfitting workshops, machining workshops, and so on."

"Taking just the machining workshop as an example, as the primary workshop, its factory building under construction is one hundred and twenty meters long and forty-two meters wide, with a central span equipped with a twenty-ton crane and side spans equipped with five-ton cranes."

"The shipyard employs over two thousand staff and workers, boasting mature departments such as Design, Construction, and Management; the construction zone includes residential areas for workers and factory buildings..."

After introducing the basic information of the Yingcheng Shipyard, Li Li Xuewu looked at the people around the conference table and said, "The reason Yingcheng decided to sell the shipyard is not because it lacks value; quite the opposite, it is because it is too valuable."

"The acquisition price of one million five hundred thousand was determined through coordination under the premise that the main workshops of the Yingcheng Shipyard lacked steel, and it was a comprehensive consideration given the current general environment."

"The price was comprehensively assessed by both the Steel Smelting Factory and the Yingcheng side; the Rolling Steel Factory may establish a dedicated investigation team to conduct a re-audit."

Li Li Xuewu signaled to the Steel Smelting Factory office personnel stationed at the Rolling Steel Factory, who were preparing tables by the door, to have the relevant documents ready, as relevant leaders might wish to review them.

Li Li Huai De beckoned for a copy, and Xiang Xiang Jingyu, Cheng Kaiyuan, and others subsequently raised their hands to request copies as well.

This action signified that they were already formally considering this proposal.

One million five hundred thousand was no small sum; the Rolling Steel Factory could produce it, but it would require mobilizing the overall budget, which was a different matter entirely from constructing residential buildings or establishing joint enterprises.

Residential buildings were outside the plan and had no comprehensive budget; joint enterprises were cooperative factories where budgets could be made, but cost-sharing had to be considered.

The shipyard acquisition case was a complete transfer; just like the acquisition of the Steel Smelting Factory back then, from the moment acquisition negotiations began, the shipyard's personnel and assets were frozen.

And after the acquisition case concluded, all personnel and property relations would be transferred into the Rolling Steel Factory system.

To put it plainly, the authorities allowed the Rolling Steel Factory to spend money to merge with other factories, but they held a conservative attitude toward new construction projects by the Rolling Steel Factory.

The reason was simple: no matter how many enterprises the Rolling Steel Factory merged with, the money was merely transferred within the fiscal sector; it was just moving from the left hand to the right.

But constructing new residential buildings was different; that was taking money out of the fiscal coffers and throwing it away.

Of course, this was viewing the budget plan from a macroscopic perspective; specifically regarding factory operations and actual needs, capabilities had to be inspected and purposes audited.

Everyone present was very clear that Li Li Huai De's ability to boldly assemble the Management Committee team was largely related to trade projects.

And now, Li Li Xuewu actively proposing shipbuilding and shipping operations also aligned with trade projects, as well as the Steel Smelting Factory's raw material imports and steel transportation businesses.

From the starting point and operational purpose of acquiring the shipyard, there was naturally justification, but acquiring such a large factory all at once caused everyone to mentally weigh the burden on their shoulders.

Acquiring the shipyard was not the end of the matter; continuous investment was required to complete the factory buildings under construction, and ships had to be built for use or sale.

If profitability could not be achieved, or if the production tasks assigned from above were not completed, this shipyard acquisition project would be a failed product.

At that time, someone would naturally have to bear responsibility; Li Li Xuewu's speech today did not mean he would be the one to bear responsibility when the time came.

Whoever signs, bears the responsibility.

And now, logically, Yang Yang Fengshan should be the one to sign, but with Yang Yang Fengshan absent, it depended on the opinions of Li Li Huai De and Cheng Kaiyuan.

Voluntarily assuming this responsibility and signing this document represented that person's authority in production and management rights.

If something went wrong in the future, he would have to bear the corresponding responsibility; if it truly became profitable, he would also gain the corresponding credit.

Of course, this referred to primary responsibility; secondary responsibility fell to the relevant deputy factory directors who signed as affiliates.

Depending on which business was involved, the relevant deputy factory director had to sign.

If one did not wish to sign, then one must clearly express one's opinion at the meeting.

At that time, signing would be done with the meeting minutes as reference; if something went wrong later, it would have little to do with him.

Similarly, if he opposed it and the shipyard achieved results, it would have nothing to do with him either.

Therefore, a Party Committee meeting was like a card table; even if you had the qualification to sit at the table and play cards, you did not necessarily have the ability or courage to play.

One cannot fold every hand; over time, there would be no place for you at the card table.

Li Li Xuewu had just taken his seat at the table, but he had already played a very beautiful hand; last month's 'Four Identical Pairs' and this time's 'Big Dragon' both proved he had the qualification to sit at the table and the ability to play.

Cheng Kaiyuan needed to sign, so naturally he looked very seriously; he tapped the ash from his cigarette, narrowed his eyes, gestured toward Li Li Xuewu, and asked, "Deputy Secretary Li, does your meaning imply that we have made a profit?"

Cheng Kaiyuan needed to sign, so naturally he read it very carefully; he tapped the ash from the cigarette in his hand, squinted, and gestured toward Li Li Xuewu as he asked, "Deputy Secretary Li, are you saying we've made a profit?"

"Hehehe~"

Everyone in the room chuckled softly; this was precisely the implication behind Li Li Xuewu's words.

Originally, I had prepared two hundred thousand to buy a car, but after wandering around my fourth son's shop, I found nothing suitable.

Suddenly, I spotted a luxury car worth ten million; because it was missing four wheels, it was marked for sale at one point five million.

After thinking it over carefully, what a coincidence—our family makes wheels, and we also have the capacity to purchase this vehicle; once bought, wouldn't that be a pure profit of nearly ten million?

That was the gist of it; none of them were children, and although Li Li Xuewu's words had already influenced their inner thoughts, they all remained calm.

It wasn't enough for you to say this thing was worth ten million and that buying it meant profit; it actually had to generate ten million in value.

Li Li Huai De also smiled, took a puff from his cigarette, and gestured to Li Li Xuewu as he asked, "How did the negotiations with Dongfeng Shipping go?"

After asking this, he explained to everyone, "The Sales Department is opening offices in Yuezhou, just like in Wucheng, and also in Jinmen."

His words were simple, but everyone understood clearly: Wucheng used trains to complete trade, and after these few runs, the trade projects had earned a fortune.

The most profitable time had arrived; in autumn and winter, a continuous stream of border specialties would arrive in Jingcheng.

As long as the Sales Department didn't get confused and the Finance Department didn't miscalculate, this year's mid-year accounts for the Rolling Steel Factory would certainly look beautiful.

Now Li Li Huai De wanted to expand trade again, shifting from the west to the south, canceling train transport in favor of shipping; this was the background for acquiring the shipyard.

Li Li Xuewu nodded and introduced, "The person in charge of Dongfeng Shipping has already negotiated with the Steel Smelting Factory and will fully undertake the freight orders for our factory's trade projects."

"Good."

Li Li Huai De said with a smile, "The limitations of train transport are too great, whereas the cost of shipping is far lower than that of train transport."

Xiang Jingyu Nong interjected, "Director Li, if we're going to use shipping services for trade, there's no need to buy a shipyard, let alone one this large, is there?"

After speaking, she shook the documents in her hand, licked her lips, and reminded them, "Even if buying it means we profit, where exactly does its inherent value lie?"

Li Li Huai De smiled and waved his hand, signaling Xiang Jingyu Nong not to rush, then pointed in Li Li Xuewu's direction and said, "Listen to Deputy Secretary Li speak."

Li Li Xuewu took a sip of tea and explained, "The decision to acquire the shipyard was not made in order to transport goods; rather, once the intention to acquire the shipyard existed, the direction for trade development was decided."

First correcting the sequence between the shipyard and trade, he continued, "The Rolling Steel Factory possesses abundant industrial manufacturing capabilities and potential; developing upstream and downstream within the industry can only mean seeking better manufacturing projects."

Li Li Xuewu tapped the acquisition proposal for the shipyard and said, "When it comes to trade, we are not veterans, but regarding industrial manufacturing, our Rolling Steel Factory has it in the bag."

Speaking thus, he looked at Xiang Jingyu Nong and said, "Deputy Factory Director Jing, no matter how much the Rolling Steel Factory exceeds its targets this year, come year-end, our accounts will zero out and a new budget will be formulated."

"The fact that the Rolling Steel Factory exceeds its targets every year represents an overflow in our industrial production capacity, which needs to be consumed."

Li Li Xuewu gestured to Cheng Kaiyuan and said, "Deputy Factory Director Cheng, you should understand what I mean; high overflow production is essentially a waste of potential."

"Converting overflow production capacity into other industrial production plans is the rational allocation of potential."

"Therefore, funding is not the issue."

Clenching his fist, Li Li Xuewu lightly tapped the documents in his hand and said, "The issue is whether the Rolling Steel Factory has the confidence to step out of its comfort zone and take the crucial step of self-reform."

"A thousand soldiers are easy to find, but one general is hard to seek."

Cheng Kaiyuan walked out of the conference room alongside Li Li Huai De, saying with a laugh as they walked, "Young people these days are truly remarkable; one cannot help but admire them."

"Hahaha, you are the capable general!"

Li Li Huai De laughed and patted Cheng Kaiyuan's arm, saying, "Young people always have some passion and ideals, eager to achieve results; you must understand them more."

"No, no, no~!"

Although Cheng Kaiyuan wore a smile on his face, his tone was very serious as he said, "Deputy Secretary Li indeed spoke with substance; this is not something ordinary young people can compare to."

Saying this, he pointed behind him and spoke to Li Li Huai De, "It's truly a pity to keep him in the Security Department; I think he is qualified enough to serve as the Director of the Production Management Department."

"Hahaha~"

"Hahaha~"

……

The verbal sparring between the two old foxes did not affect Li Li Xuewu's mood; he remained in the conference room, engaging in further communication with Xiang Jingyu Nong, who had stayed behind.

The acquisition case for Yingcheng Shipyard had received unanimous approval; preliminary work would temporarily remain the responsibility of the Steel Smelting Factory, but the Rolling Steel Factory would dispatch a working group to Yingcheng to carry out operations.

At the same time, preparations for the plan to transfer management personnel from Yingcheng Shipyard had already begun.

In other words, from the moment the conference room doors opened, another cadre at the deputy factory director level would emerge.

Naturally, the original factory director of Yingcheng Shipyard could not be retained, nor would he stay; other management cadres, except those related to design and production, would also be coordinated for transfer after the freeze order was lifted.

Xiang Jingyu Nong stayed behind to confirm the specific details of the acquisition case with Li Li Xuewu and the personnel from the Steel Smelting Factory stationed in the office there.

The two sat at the corner of the conference table, surrounded by quite a few people; not only were there staff from the Steel Smelting Factory's resident office, but also from the Finance and Personnel Departments, along with Xiang Jingyu Nong's secretary, Li Xue.

With Li Li Xuewu and Xiang Jingyu Nong taking the lead, the two studied and analyzed the details of the acquisition case item by item; Xiang Jingyu Nong was the factory leader representing the Rolling Steel Factory to complete the acquisition.

This had been determined during the meeting just now, and as the promoter of this project, Xiang Jingyu Nong naturally needed to discuss matters with Li Li Xuewu.

Li Xue stood beside Xiang Jingyu Nong, ready at any moment to provide her with necessary materials, as well as the preliminary acquisition plans issued by the Finance and Personnel Departments over there.

For Xiang Jingyu Nong to host the acquisition case, she naturally would not go alone, nor would she take just ten people; she would take a team.

Not only did she need to prepare financial personnel to take over accounts, audit finances, complete fund allocations, and so on over there, but she also had to establish a complete personnel management team on site.

After all, she was the one in charge of both the Personnel Department and the Finance Department.

Proposing and preparing the acquisition case was not easy, and completing the acquisition and takeover was even less so; it wasn't something that could be done simply by Li Li Xuewu pointing at the map and saying a few casual words during the meeting.

Li Li Xuewu could promote or even influence the voting results, but truthfully, he was quite unwilling to do this kind of brain-taxing work.

When it came to financial management and personnel management, although he was reluctant to admit it, he still had to speak a fair word: no one in the Rolling Steel Factory could compare to Xiang Jingyu Nong.

This was also why, after Li Xue conveyed Xiang Jingyu Nong's plea for help, he directly named Zhang Zhang Guoqi, insisting that he must be dealt with before Wang Wang Jingzhang could make a move against Xiang Jingyu Nong.

When Li Li Huai De communicated and deliberated with Li Li Xuewu regarding the future management team of the Rolling Steel Factory, he also frankly admitted that Xiang Jingyu Nong was a highly capable hand, a person who must be utilized.

Li Li Xuewu's advice to him was the same: since Li Li Huai De had no desire for the mentally and physically exhausting work of finance and personnel, he should let go and display the appropriate magnanimity.

Li Li Huai De lacked nothing when it came to magnanimity; this old fellow was extremely shrewd, and if someone else did the work for him, he would be delighted.

As long as one recognized his management and leadership, he appeared very generous regarding certain issues of interest.

This could be seen from how he handled Dong Wenxue; he was very willing to pull the other party up to a higher position.

Saying that Dong Wenxue's entry into the leadership team was driven entirely by Gu Gu Weijie was less accurate than saying that Li Li Huai De actively vacated the position, sacrificing his own interests to fulfill the other's advancement.

It was only after experiencing the conflict in his cooperation with Yang Yang Fengshan and seeing this reality firsthand that Xiang Xiang Jingyu took the initiative to express his change of stance to Li Li Xuewu.

Li Li Xuewu, being very adept at handling people, did not kick someone while they were down; instead, he pushed Li Li Huai De to the forefront and asked Xiang Xiang Jingyu to communicate with him directly.

Of course, Li Li Xuewu had already spoken to Li Li Huai De in advance, and judging by the current situation, the effect of their conversation was very good.

The opinions Xiang Xiang Jingyu voiced and the views he expressed during the meeting were very pertinent; as the leader in charge of finance and personnel, he had approval authority over every project.

Although he appeared very strict, this was actually a requirement of the job; once normal work procedures began, Li Li Xuewu could clearly sense his professional capability and level of expertise.

In truth, Li Li Xuewu was very willing to cooperate with such a person; as long as his mind didn't get stuck on some non-mainstream ideas or opinions, everything was negotiable.

Sometimes you discover that even if you dislike someone, you can still be convinced by their degree of professionalism.

Would you rather lead a group of idiots to do work, or would you rather cooperate with a professional?

Cooperation, of course; even an idiot like Li Li Huai De knows how to choose, so is Li Li Xuewu stupider than Li Li Huai De?

As for those past unhappinesses, naturally, they would be settled slowly later on.

After finishing the discussion with Xiang Xiang Jingyu, Li Li Xuewu smiled, stood up, and said, "You've worked hard, Deputy Factory Director Xiang."

"If you know I've worked hard, why not drop this acquisition case?"

Xiang Xiang Jingyu joked with Li Li Xuewu with a helpless expression, then also stood up and walked out of the conference room together with Li Li Xuewu.

Naturally, the people from several departments behind them had to organize the materials and complete the content the two had just discussed.

Leaders, of course, are there to make decisions; how could they attend to every single task personally? Even a smart person like Little Zhuge Liang would be worked to death doing that, which would prove he wasn't a smart person after all.

"To be honest, even if I hadn't proposed this plan, sooner or later some other direction of development would have been brought up."

Li Li Xuewu said with a smile, "Industrial production is like pouring water into a bucket; once it's full, it can't hold any more, and anything spilled outside is wasted, so you can only find a new bucket to catch it."

"Very vivid; even an outsider like me in production management understands it."

Xiang Xiang Jingyu smiled, nodded at Li Li Xuewu, and couldn't help but ask, "Can you talk about the original planning for the joint venture? If you had been in charge, there wouldn't be today's result, would there?"

What was this?

Admitting defeat?

Returning a favor?

Or did he have some other purpose!

Li Li Xuewu smiled slightly, waved the documents in his hand, and gestured toward Li Li Huai De's office, saying, "I happen to be going to Director Li's to report on the production base work in Steel City; are you interested in coming along to participate?"

Xiang Xiang Jingyu raised his eyebrows slightly, smiled, and said, "Of course, let's go."

Li Li Xuewu smiled and gestured for her to go first; since the other party had already shown their stance, he could not be rude.

It was still too early to talk about letting bygones be bygones; that could only be discussed when the joint venture was returned.

Li Li Xuewu's pettiness was terrifying; Xu Si didn't dare to offend him lightly, as this guy held grudges intensely.

He came out of his office, saw the backs of Li Li Xuewu and Xiang Xiang Jingyu in the corridor heading toward Li Li Huai De's side, raised his eyebrows with a smile, his expression profound.

"Director Xu."

Li Xue came out of the conference room, saw Xu Si standing at the door, and took the initiative to greet him.

Xu Si turned around, saw Li Xue, smiled and nodded, then asked, "Has this been settled?"

"Not yet~"

Li Xue smiled slightly and said, "There are too many clauses; we still need to coordinate with other departments for review and planning."

After speaking, she gestured with the documents in her hand and said, "Then you get busy, Director Xu; I'm heading over."

Xu Si's smile grew even more profound; he nodded, watched Li Xue walk away, and muttered, "Like brother, like sister."

Initially, it was he who had insisted on placing Li Xue in the factory office for training, precisely because of her relationship with Li Li Xuewu, wanting to be more proactive.

He never expected that Li Xue would be requested by Xiang Xiang Jingyu, and the two got along quite well.

Previously, he had wondered if Xiang Xiang Jingyu was using her to constrain Li Li Xuewu, or to express some kind of attitude.

After all, at that time Xiang Xiang Jingyu had stood on Yang Yang Fengshan's side, yet his relationship with Yang Yang Fengshan was not harmonious, so his actions would naturally be speculated upon.

Afterward, Xu Si had also wondered if Xiang Xiang Jingyu was leaving himself a way out; at the time, it had been vague.

Who would have thought that Factory Director Yang would really meet with disaster, and Li Li Huai De would actually rise to power.

He had heard that Xiang Xiang Jingyu had arranged a private meeting with Li Li Huai De, which was orchestrated by Li Li Xuewu.

Of course, Xu Si was not saying this was bad; they were all cadres of the Rolling Steel Factory, so whether communicating within the factory or discussing work privately, it was all appropriate.

He was also a division-level cadre; in politics, where are there eternal friends? If Xiang Xiang Jingyu didn't choose Li Li Huai De, would he choose the newcomer Cheng Kaiyuan?

He was naturally clear about the Secretary arranging a talk with Cheng Kaiyuan; perhaps only Cheng Kaiyuan was still pondering whether he should step forward to preside over work and balance Li Li Huai De's influence.

Those involved were confused~

How many years had Li Li Huai De been in the factory, and how long had he 【Cheng Kaiyuan】 been here? Li Li Huai De's layout had already permeated the entire factory; how many people did he 【Cheng Kaiyuan】 have under his command?

Even if the factory people closed their eyes to choose, they wouldn't choose wrong; cooperating with Cheng Kaiyuan was fine for now, but if he dared to make trouble, he might just become the next Yang Yang Fengshan.

He might even fare worse than Yang Yang Fengshan.

After all, Li Li Huai De was not a good-for-nothing like Wang Wang Jingzhang; if it really came to a fight, sweeping floors for labor reform would be impossible.

Today, Xu Si going to talk to Li Li Xuewu also carried the intention of leaving himself a way out; he still had some pride and did not want to actively cling to the Management Committee.

Despite the fact that he had frequently attended Li Li Huai De's banquets in the past, had a good relationship with Li Li Huai De, and got along well with the cadres on Li Li Huai De's side.

But asking him to actively curry favor with Li Li Huai De was something he could not do.

In the past, it was about friendship within the same pot; now that Li Li Huai De had started a new stove, if he rushed to visit eagerly, not only would others poke him in the spine, but even Li Li Huai De would look down on him, and he would look down on himself.

Of course, if Li Li Xuewu could give him a hand, he was willing to work; that was simply the nature of the Office Director's job.

This wasn't his first time experiencing a change in leadership, yet wasn't he still sitting in the position of Office Director?

In the past, it didn't matter, but now his sense of crisis was very strong.

Because Zhang Zhang Guoqi was Li Li Huai De's confidant and a key general in this instance, he had also heard that this guy had frequently curried favor with Li Li Huai De.

Sure enough, the position of Office Director for the Management Committee had already been assigned to Zhang Zhang Guoqi; considered a reward for merit, he couldn't feel envious.

Today, a message was passed to Li Li Xuewu; for now, he would simply wait. If things truly did not work out, he would have to seek another path.

Li Li Xuewu had already planned out Xu Sinian's path; at this juncture, with Li Li Huai De presiding over the steel rolling mill's operations, Xu Sinian was indeed no longer quite suitable for the position of Office Director.

"Director, how about appointing Comrade Xu Sinian as the director of the shipyard?"